Ghouls, Ghosts and Goodies

I missed my mid-week post because it has just been one of those weeks.  The day job, my writing, time with the family, family from out-of-town who stayed for a few days, a family birthday, and more Halloween get-togethers left little time to add blogging to the list of to-do’s for the week.

Sometimes days get too busy or they are just too full of fun and other distractions, especially around the holidays.  For most households, the fun and distractions for this holiday include dressing up and carving pumpkins.  Dressing up in ghoulish get-ups is not something the kids in my household can resist, especially when it marks the beginning of a prank. 

Imagine these two ghouls hiding outside at night behind a vehicle in the driveway: 

The mission?  To stay hidden until an unsuspecting family member arrives home in order to jump out and scare the crap out of them.  The mission was accomplished.  The target, my oldest son, is a good sport.  He joined the fun by dressing up as a ghoul himself.  I think this mask is definitely one of the creepier ones:

From ghouls we move on to ghosts, the Grim Reaper, bats, wolves howling at the moon, spiders and…a Chinese pumpkin?

We all had a lot of fun carving pumpkins and each design was even more intricate than the last.  The Asian pumpkin was my brother’s contribution, complete with a hat from China which did not photograph well since a flash could not be used to make the designs stand out.

We have used the pumpkin carving designs for a number of years now and while the task itself can be a real chore, especially if you choose a challenging design, the final results are always worth all the time and effort.

Goodies may be a word synonymous with Halloween but while I do love candy, especially dark chocolate, candy is not the type of goody I’m talking about.  I received two special treats this Halloween season, both of which were received from two very special aunts. 

First, in the spirit of Halloween, I was given this very cute box shaped like a book:

I absolutely love this box and in my opinion, it is the cutest Halloween decoration.

Second and not even closely related to Halloween but in the spirit of giving “just because,” I received this beautiful handmade quilt:

This gift is a treasure for sentimental reasons but it is more than beautiful; it is also very effective at keeping me cozy.    

There are still a few more days left before Halloween with many more activities to choose from for all ages.  Kids will be looking forward to a jaunt around town to fill up their Halloween baskets, teens will visit the best haunted houses or haunted corn mazes and many adults will attend yet one more Halloween party.  I don’t know if I’m in store for any more ghouls, ghosts or goodies but at this point I can safely say I need nothing more to make this holiday complete…

Well, except for maybe a bit more chocolate…   

And time to watch at least one more scary movie. 

Hope your Halloween is a treat!