Halloween

For once we actually had a lot of Trick Or Treaters. There are years when we have less than 20, and this year we had 73 kids. Many of them were Bear's pals from the neighborhood school bus stops, and they were very glad to see Bear sitting in the front hall, patiently waiting until he could safely go sit and guard the candy basket again. (Mustn't let the kitty get near the candy!)
It was a nice day for Halloween today. Sunny, but turned cool and cloudy by afternoon. The North wind was nippy as the little goblins made their rounds.
We had the usual assortment of cute little bees, monkeys, and teddy bears. We also had the requisite witches, vampires, pirates, princesses, at least one bride, and lots of hockey mask wearing scary guys. (Who were really too short to be very scary, but I didn't tell them that.)
I had one very polite little man in a Batman mask who asked if he could "have a Butterfinger bar, please." Of course I gave him one, though his mother was aghast that he had asked for a specific thing instead of being happy with what he got. He did say thank you, and he asked so very politely for the Butterfinger. I think such civility in a child (who was five at the most) should be reinforced and rewarded.
I am sending the small amount of leftover candy off to fatten up Matt's coworkers. We don't need the temptation of all those extra calories around here. (I really shouldn't have made the free form apple pie this evening, but it was a whole wheat pastry and generally less unhealthy than my usual apple pie. We will have pie for two days at least.)
Now I have to change all the calendars in the house. (There are quite a few, I like time keeping devices) The time change this weekend will be time consuming. I really like clocks, you see. We also have to change the batteries in all the smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors. (We are also paranoid about safety, so there are several of those devices, as well.)
There really isn't a whole lot to write about at the moment, or at least there isn't much that wants to be written. Too many other things want to be done right now.

Of Parades, Homemade Pizza, and Yet More Laundry

Today was the Red Ribbon Parade in Moore. This is an annual event to show support for the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program. The kids make floats and so do many community agencies and businesses. It is a large, community wide event that snakes through "Old Town" Moore to the high school.
Bear and I walked again this year, once again helping Julie and her Corgi, Molly, carry the banner.
Molly got too tired partway through and rode the last bit in the van, but Bear was rarin' to go the whole time, and making friends all along the route. He seems to enjoy seeing all the kids and getting petted and talked to.
The commentators as usual made fun of poor Molly. She's a Corgi, so she's short. They also made fun of our purple banner, t-shirts, and van. They said something like "Your Pioneer Library System, connecting you to the joy of reading and lifelong learning.... and they REALLY like purple!"
I guess it is kind of corny, but the parade is one of our town's oldest and happiest traditions. It is how we know for sure when the first really cold morning will be. They usually happen on or near Red Ribbon Saturday. It is a chance for all the kids in the area to be in a parade or see a parade. They don't do one at holiday time because so many other towns do, and this one is all about the kids. The participants hand out candy, so many kids go to the parade instead of trick or treating on Halloween. (They probably get more candy, if they are in the right part of the parade route.) It is always heartwarming to hear how many of the people cheer for the library. They are so happy to see us coming up the street, they like the dogs, of course, they all giggle at "Jessica" our mascot riding in the convertible, and of course the big purple van that brings the delivery of books and other materials to each library daily. (So, if you ordered a book from another branch, that van brings it, and the kids know that.) It helps that our Friends of the Library group is so generous with the candy every year. The Friends ladies are very popular with crowds along the way. We are also one place in town that almost everybody has been, and they really enjoy seeing us in the parade.

We are having homemade pizza today. The dough is in the refrigerator. I still have to make the sauce. I decided it would be a good thing to do since I have pepperoni and cheese that need to be used. I really like pizza from an Italian restaurant better, but I don't feel like going out after walking (quite literally) all over town this morning.
I use a pizza recipe from the Betty Crocker Italian Cookbook. (I know, Betty Crocker isn't exactly an Italian household name, but the cookbook was written by Anthony Cecceoni, so the recipes are actually Italian. ) The pizza usually comes out pretty good, and we always have plenty leftover to freeze for lunches or snacks.


The laundry once again awaits. It is Saturday, so the laundry must be done. The sorting is the hardest part. Once I get that over with, the rest of it comes along in smaller, more easily digested chunks of work. Alas, getting started sorting is the hardest part. I think after the pizza is made and consumed I will get to the laundry.

I just found out there is a new Mitford novel out. Guess I better get to BOMC web site and order it. Those I collect. Most of my other series novels I have started just getting from the library due to space concerns, but I re-read the Mitford books from time to time, so I like to have my own copies. I also have all the Harry Potter books. There shouldn't be any more of those to worry about finding space for.

This has been a pleasant way to spend time while the pizza dough rests and rises again, but I think I am out of things to write and out of time.