Welcome to Tricks and Treats

My first Halloween at my house was so much fun. I’m glad Halloween fell on a Friday this year, so I could fully enjoy the holiday (next year it’ll be on a Saturday!).

I didn’t have a lot of decorations to put up, but a lot of houses in my neighborhood went all out with lights, inflatables, and giant skeletons (they are quite popular in this area). One house even had zombies “rising” up from the ground. I put up my door sign - though I couldn’t find the actual hanger so it was on the storm door’s handle - and carved a pumpkin to put on my stoop.

It’s a winky face!

Some of my neighbors set up a small bonfire and handed out candy as a group. A few dressed up or wore Halloween themed clothes. I found a headband shaped like cat ears, wore a “Hocus Pocus” shirt, and layered my original Busch Gardens Hallow-Scream sweatshirt. I chose to sit on my stoop and enjoy the ambiance of kids running around collecting their treat with a bag and a half of candy.

I did not buy enough candy.

I didn’t know what to expect from Halloween in my neighborhood. At the apartments I used to live at, only one had trick or treating and it wasn’t an annual thing. When I lived in the house in New Jersey, I only ever had one trick or treater. Every year, I’d buy candy and be left with too much to eat until January. I asked the previous owners of the house if they got trick or treaters and they said “not really”.

I don’t think the family put much effort in the holiday because there were tons of kids and families out and about. Trick or treating started promptly at 6:00, just as the sun was setting, and went until just after 8:00. I went inside right at 8:00 and had one last group of kids knock on the door at around 8:10.

My first half bag of candy quickly and realized that I could only give one piece if I wanted to stretch the amount I had into the night. I met a few witches, some Disney Princesses (Snow White was a nice surprise), grim reapers, and quite a few blow up characters of various designs (standouts include a giant rubber chicken and a hot dog being abducted by aliens; there may have also been a Pikachu). I even saw little angel. Family costumes were popular and I saw a mom and dad with their daughter as “A League of Their Own”. My least favorite duo were a duo of clowns (one had to have been a dad or older brother) who went around honking horns to announce their presence. It brought me back to the 2010s clown attacks.

I ran out of my traditional candy within an hour. I broke out my fancy pumpkin spice chocolates and tried to keep to one piece per kid. But I’m a sucker for the “my mom really likes this candy, can I have an extra for her?” puppy dog eyes. I don’t care if they were lying, they get an extra piece for mom.

The chocolates were gone so much faster than the original bags. I then approached my neighbors, looking to meet new people and moan about not having enough candy. They took pity on me (after exchanging names and some small talk) and gave me a refill of their candy. 

So, I went back to my stoop where I met a pair of teens dressed in black and clearly not in any costume, but begging for candy none-the-less. I complimented their “ninja” costumes and the teens seemed to appreciate me playing along. Then came a group of multiple families with all the kids in costumes of characters I wasn’t at all familiar with. I thought one might be a Pikachu, but I got a groan as a response. 

My knowledge of gen alpha’s favorite things is pretty much nonexistent despite having gen alpha cousins. At least I understood the two parents walking around with a balloon 6 and 7. I still have no idea who the kid in a yellow fur suit was supposed to be.

Refilled bag of candy ran out just as quickly and the neighbors gave me a second refill. They also told me to head inside at 8:00. I agreed with that deadline because it was getting colder. 

I did leave my pumpkin and porch light on, just in case there were a few late night treaters. There were a couple and I gave them a few extra pieces of candy from the second refill. I finally brought the pumpkin in and turned off the porch light around 10:00 (later than necessary, but I got wrapped up in a movie).

All in all, it was a fun evening. I’m so happy I finally had tons of trick or treaters. It reminded me of when I was a kid walking around my neighborhood with my parents or the years my dad would decorate his truck and drive around a group of us in the bed (we sat on hay bails and had plenty of supervision). My parents used to go all out decorating our house - complete with a graveyard, our skeleton (named Fred), and a fog machine. Mom usually passed out candy dressed as a witch.

I’m glad I’m able partake in the trick or treating traditions in my neighborhood. I hope to have more decorations next year and dress up a bit more. 

But that’s next year. This year, I made some nice memories to look back on.

Until the next week.

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Welcome to All the Fall Things

 Yes, that is a misquoted blink-182 song title.

No, I will not follow all the lyrics in this post.

Fall is still technically a couple of weeks away. However, that hasn't stopped me from excitedly starting my celebration of the best season (don't argue with me on this - I'll ignore you). This past week, it was in the high 90s, nearly 100 degrees F (or around 28 - 30 degrees C). That did not stop me from picking up a pumpkin spice cold brew from Starbucks...or a bag of witches brew KitKat bars from Target.

But it was my trip to Trader Joe's where I finally caved and just bought all the fall (and pumpkin) flavored goodness. I admit that I have no shame. Though, I will need self control to not eat everything in one sitting. Pacing myself is key - especially since a lot of this fall themed merchandise is either sold out by mid-October or replaced with Thanksgiving or (ugh!) Christmas nonsense before Halloween has passed.

Today, I added to my fall festivities by going apple picking with a friend. We each left with a huge bag of apples and a quart of apple cider (the non-alcoholic verity). I also grabbed a six pack of apple cider donuts...and may have already eaten three.

Aren't apple blossoms so pretty?

Don't judge me, you know you'd do the same.

And you know what, I don't feel bad about starting my fall celebrations. Despite the heat, the leaves are already starting to change. Plus, this was the last week for peaches at the farmer's market. Once the peaches are done for the year, it's officially fall.

Peaches are the unofficial fruit of summer. Apples are the fruit of fall. (Please note: oranges are for winter and berries are for Spring). This is just my personal feelings on seasonal fruit, technically blue berries, blackberries, and raspberries can be gotten locally throughout summer in my area. 

I'm super excited to try my hand at butternut squash soup this year. My first batch of apple sauce will likely be made tomorrow night (or Tuesday, I'm not picky).

And let's not forget EVERYTHING PUMPKIN!

This is from a Kusama exhibit

I promise to not go too overboard this year (you can't see my fingers crossed behind my back....not at all).

My friends and I are already planning on going to a few farms for corn mazes, hay rides, and other fall goodness. No haunted houses for me, but I will appreciate other people's creepy decorations. I'm still not a fan of jump scares. 

My first big horror movie of the season was the 2021 Resident Evil movie and while it wasn't anything spectacular (critics panned it), you can tell it was made as a labor of love. There are some scenes straight out of the first two games. They even get a Jill's sandwiches joke in.

What are you excited about for fall? Is it the cooler weather? The pumpkin flavored nonsense? Apple cider donuts? Do you go out and visit farms or celebrate Mabon? Is Halloween your favorite holiday? Any haunted houses to recommend (sorry I'm too chicken)? Please leave a comment below.

Until next week. 

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y'all like hearing from me.

Welcome to the Unpredicitable Way of Life

Story time everyone!

Though today was a usual day, there were a few key events that changed how things went. I’m not saying they were extremely significant or changed the course of my life forever. They were just mundane events that turned my day from predictable to delightful.

To start, I locked myself out of my apartment.

I’ve lived in my current place for almost three years and this was the first time I managed to close my front door without my keys in my pocket. Unfortunately, my landlady hadn’t been home at the time to let me back in, though she was thankfully on her way when I texted her. And to add insult to injury, it was raining.

I could have gotten angry over my rotten luck and sheer stupidity, but there didn’t seem to be a point. If things had been worse, I’d have texted all my friends to find one who could take me in like a lost puppy.

So, I sat on my front stoop, a little damp, and played on my phone until my landlady came back. It was nice and a little peaceful. The birds were chirping, and I got to pet a friendly doggie. It was nice to relax for a minute and enjoy the last day of March...even if I did get a little wet.

Fast forward a few hours and I’ve gotten to my favorite hiking spot. It was later than I wanted it to be, but beggars can’t be choosers (especially after they’ve locked themselves out of their apartment for half the morning). I decided to try a new trail, which was very muddy and partially flooded. Not a big deal for me. I don’t mind getting dirty, it’s not for everyone.

That’s when I met another hiker - a visitor from Belgium staying in one of the nearby towns for work and wanted to do something on her one day off. Unfortunately, since she was a visitor, she didn’t know much about the trails.

Fortunately, she ran into me.

She asked if she could join me and I said yes. I took her to some of my favorite spots on the trails that wouldn’t be as muddy, including the lookout peak where you can see New York City on a clear day. We couldn’t see the city, but it was still a nice view and we had a great time talking with each other.

However, neither one of would have met if she had decided to hike earlier and I hadn’t locked myself out of my apartment.

What’s the point of this anecdote?

Well, my aunts would tell me that this is an example of “everything happening for a reason”. Because I locked myself out, I was able to meet someone new. I don’t know how much I believe in that. My feelings on the idea of fate and destiny are mixed at best.

Nah, I think this is one of those times where I didn’t allow an unfortunate incident ruin my day and therefore got to make someone else’s a little better too. I mean I could have stayed home and sulked all afternoon.

Why today’s events happened aren’t as important as learning from them. Like making sure my keys are in my pocket before I close my locked front door.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Until next week.