This…is when things get really interesting out there.
In here, it was a day of potentials. We had lots of ideas for our day. That’s the way it is in Autumn. So many plans possible. So many wonders to fit into so few weekends.
At first, we were going to hit up Salem. The girls have both decided that they wanted to be witches for Halloween and already have their costumes, so of course we want to take them to the only city on the planet where you can walk around in full costume whenever you want and it’s not weird. Or, at least, it’s less weird than everything else going on in the city.
But then we decided that Deerfield Fair had really beat us up and, besides, I had just been to Salem on Friday. So we wanted something more low-key. Like bottom of the door low-key. Plus, we could postpone Salem until next weekend.
So we decided to go get our pumpkins. But then we had a lazy morning and didn’t leave the house until about noon. We didn’t want to hit up the farm stands so late on a weekend day. See, that’s when they get crowded with people in cars bearing Massachusetts license plates looking to get up into the “country” for dose of a different life. So we ejected out of that plan. It’s another activity that’s easily done later.
Finally, we decided to just hit up a store, grab some caramel apple fixin’s, and then watch a movie at home. Caramel apples. One of the three ritualistic foods of Autumn. There with popcorn balls and candy corn.
We chose Walmart for our materials, because we haven’t been there all of September so hadn’t yet seen its Halloween aisles. “Get Spooky” was its theme, and it had enough to make the trip worth it, although I still hear the comment of my colleague bell-ringing in my ear about how much less Halloween stuff is out there and can’t help but wonder if the few, messy aisles I’m seeing is evidence of that. Also, they had already stared transitioning their shelves to Christmas.
From there, we stopped off at the liquor store, where I saw the below wine display. They also had gathered all seasonal liquors into a single display and then stuck a ghost sheet with black eyes on a tall stand beside it. The boo in booze and all that. This store does stuff like that every year.
Finally, at home, we made caramel apples. The one thing we didn’t have were sticks, but fortunately Lindsey remembered this cheap set of small Halloween spreading knives we owned. Small metal blades topped by Jack-o’s and a witch and a ghost and a black cat. All made in China. I have no idea where we got them, just that they’ve been in a kitchen junk drawer for two or three years now. Turns out, they made awesome caramel apple sticks. You had to be careful not to bite the blade (right, I know, we bladed our own apples), but only because clicking your teeth on that metal would be unpleasant, not because they were sharp.
We’re going to keep these things forever now, changing their original fate of getting thrown out during some random winter or spring when we got tired of seeing them, still in box, taking up too much space in a drawer.
I ended my October Eve working on a spooky writing project and practicing my presentation on macabre sites in Massachusetts for Wednesday night at the Westhampton Public Library.
September’s over, and October will also fly by this fast. Just peek into your local Walmart’s burgeoning Christmas section if you doubt that.
So we decided to go get our pumpkins. But then we had a lazy morning and didn’t leave the house until about noon. We didn’t want to hit up the farm stands so late on a weekend day. See, that’s when they get crowded with people in cars bearing Massachusetts license plates looking to get up into the “country” for dose of a different life. So we ejected out of that plan. It’s another activity that’s easily done later.
Finally, we decided to just hit up a store, grab some caramel apple fixin’s, and then watch a movie at home. Caramel apples. One of the three ritualistic foods of Autumn. There with popcorn balls and candy corn.
From there, we stopped off at the liquor store, where I saw the below wine display. They also had gathered all seasonal liquors into a single display and then stuck a ghost sheet with black eyes on a tall stand beside it. The boo in booze and all that. This store does stuff like that every year.
We’re going to keep these things forever now, changing their original fate of getting thrown out during some random winter or spring when we got tired of seeing them, still in box, taking up too much space in a drawer.
I ended my October Eve working on a spooky writing project and practicing my presentation on macabre sites in Massachusetts for Wednesday night at the Westhampton Public Library.
September’s over, and October will also fly by this fast. Just peek into your local Walmart’s burgeoning Christmas section if you doubt that.
