Halloween retrospective

Ok, I've finally made the switch from spelling "Hallowe'en" to "Halloween". After posting yesterday's Blathering, I did some online research and found both uses, but also the following sentence in Wikipedia:

"The term 'Halloween' is derived from Hallowe'en, an old contraction, still retained in Ireland, Scotland and some parts of Canada, of 'All Hallow's Eve.'"

I realize Wikipedia may be highly unreliable as an information source but it saves me having to type an extra character. :-)

Went trick-or-treating with our nieces last night. This consisted of waiting on the sidewalk with the other adults while the kids went door-to-door. Strange and somewhat sad to think that back when I was that age, we kids roamed freely on Halloween without adult supervision; that would be unthinkable now for younger children.

Is this because there's more risk now, or is it because we are all less trusting? Perhaps a little of both, I think. Back in the "caveman days" (my niece's term for when her Uncle Jeff and I were kids), we used to get homemade candied apples and never worried about whether candy was in sealed packaging or not.

Annie's pumpkin.

One change for the better: I'm SO glad no one hands out those hard wrapped toffees with black and orange packaging anymore. Anyone else out there remember those? Tasted like petrified cardboard, and always ended up in the trash pile.

I remember being obsessed with the candy, of course, but as a kid I always delighted in the whole strangeness of the evening: the masks and costumes, flickering shadows and ghoulish decorations.

And now I feel like rereading Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes.

My favourite pumpkin picture this year is Lissa's pumpkin...very creepy!

Went home last night and worked on a new song, then watched part of an Alias episode on DVD from Season 2. Jeff and I have been without cable TV for TEN MONTHS, by the way. Neither of us have missed it. I definitely get in a lot more reading, writing, drawing, songwriting, and regular exercise since we got rid of cable. Some people ask how I manage to find time to do all the things I do. A large part of the answer: I stopped watching so much tv.

Thanks to Sabine and Aryana (of geBORGt) for the lovely postcard they sent while on holiday!

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