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| Lola on the hay-ride that takes you to the maze (left). Lola and my brother leading the way (right). |
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| This was the layout for this year's maze. I was impressed. |
This season we also went to the local Pumpkin Festival. I go every year, primarily for the pumpkin dumplings and ice cream.
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| It tastes better than it looks. Sweet, sugary, syrupy heaven. |
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| We bought Lola a duck on wheels. She pushed it up and down the sidewalk yelling "quack, quack!" It was a big hit. |
Finally, in celebration of Halloween this year, I am posting an excerpt about Halloween from my book. I hope you enjoy!
"Halloween was
always a big deal in my family, possibly because it is also my brother’s
birthday. Come late October, we carved
pumpkins, and baked the seeds with cinnamon as snacks. We told scary stories around bonfires in the
backyard, and at night, after trick-or-treating, the neighborhood kids met at a
family cemetery at the end of our dead-end road to play light as a feather,
stiff as a board.
My parents
believed that allowing their children to pick their own Halloween costumes
would foster creativity. My brother
usually opted for a costume that would allow him to wear fake blood and carry a
realistic looking plastic weapon. I
picked out costumes that would allow me to blend in, such as a princess, a ballerina,
or a witch. In the fourth grade, I decided
to let my dork flag fly and dressed as Mary Travers from Peter, Paul, and Mary
for my class costume party. I was
irritated when no one knew who I was by my straight blonde hair, bangs, hippy
clothing, and guitar.
“C’mon guys,” I
said, exasperated. “Puff the Magic
Dragon? Blowin’ in the Wind? Leaving on a Jet Plane? Don’t you ever listen to music?”
I looked around
the classroom and realized that half of the costumes didn’t even make
sense. Several students had taken their
favorite parts of conflicting disguises and thrown them together into some sort
of costume casserole. The girl who
couldn’t decide between a vampire or a ballerina opted for a tutu and fangs,
while one boy in my class tried to masculinize his pirate costume by wearing a
basketball jersey over his frilly white blouse.
When my mom picked me up I said, “I knew I
should have dressed up as Mama Cass and carried a partially eaten
sandwich. Everyone would have known who
I was then.”
When it came time
to pick out a costume for the Girl Scout Halloween party in the fifth grade, I
knew I needed to play an entirely different angle. “I can
pick out a random Halloween costume with the best of them,” I decided.
After little
thought, I informed my mom that I wanted to be a Mexican hobo. I wore a hobo mask, a Mexican poncho,
moccasins, a sombrero, and carried around bright red maracas. I don’t know why my parents allowed me out
of the house in such a blatantly, albeit confusingly, offensive costume. I picture them having a good laugh about it
after dropping me off.
When prizes were
awarded at the end of the party, I took home the first place trophy for best
costume. I am as thoroughly confused by
this honor today as I was then. Since
the fifth grade I have gone back to safe, generic costumes. I just can’t handle the heartbreak and confusion
that accompany creative costume design."
Happy Halloween everyone!
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| Here I am humbly receiving my award. Sorry Simba, better luck next year. |
Happy Halloween everyone!
