Happy (belated) Halloween

Saturday night was Halloween, bringing back fond memories of traipsing around our neighbourhood streets with the kids, urging them on to "Just one more street" long after they were tired and wanting to go home. Then we would return home to Jeff and the cosy woodstove. The kids would tip all their candy out on the floor of the family room and inspect the goodies. The Butterfingers went to me, a tariff for their night of gathering booty. Besides, I don't think any of them really liked Butterfingers. We usually watched Garfield's Halloween Adventure, which ran annually on CBS from 1985 till 2000. You can watch it in three parts here, here, and here, if you have missed it. It's full of quotable lines...
I'll have you know Halloween is my middle name...Gar-Halloween-field.
Arrrgh, it do be a landlubber who be shoving lasagna in his face.
Come along matey, we've got a village to pillage.
...and was the first time Binky the Clown showed up on Garfield. It also has memorable songs by Lou Rawls and Lorenzo Music.
I was going to find some old photos and scan and post them here, but it has proved to be beyond me today, so maybe tomorrow.

Meanwhile, here are way too many photos from my evening with the next generation.
Jenny is a real party girl.
She decorates for Halloween in September.
I kid you not.
Early September.
She painstakingly sewed all of the dots on Thomy's costume this year.
I was impressed.
Jeff is Bob the Builder, of course.


We went downtown Newberg, where hordes of children and their doting relatives descend on 1st Street every year and hold the shopowners for ransom.
Here is the most impressive pumpkin of the evening, made by my best friend's sister.


It curdled MY blood, for sure.

Tinkerbells abounded.


One of the many civic volunteers who controlled traffic for the little ghosts and goblins.


We got lucky in that the weather dried up.
There's nothing worse than a wet and bedraggled Halloween, although over the years we have had surprisingly few.


A delicious treat at the pet store.
Giant mealworms amidst the mints.


On our travels, we drove past this magnificent haunted house.


This fellow scared the dickens out of the boys when Jenny took candy from his bowl.


Jenny was excited to have her photo taken with Mr. Spock.
Jeff, not so much.


We went back to the apartment to pick up Jon, who had been sleeping off his shift, and drove up to the best Halloween street in Newberg.
Jenny had many photo opportunities!
I was torn between using the flash for detail and not using it for better ambience.


I got home and the house was dark and locked up tight.
Not the homecoming I fondly remember.