November means Halloween at Sears

I arrived home from work a few days ago - November 12th to be exact - to find this catalogue staring up at me from the front porch. My first thought was: Sears sells Halloween props? Who knew? Not me. After my initial suprise, I was filled with admiration. The Sears people are marketing geniuses! Who would think to send out Halloween ads while there are still jack-o-lanterns withering on doorsteps? However, upon closer examination, I decided that perhaps genius wasn't the right word. It seems that if I wanted any of these props, I would have to have placed my order days ago. I held in my hands an expired 2008 catalogue.

Clearly, one of two things had happened here. Either someone at Sears confused Halloween with Christmas (their Christmas catalogue arrived in August!) or the rarely-seen phantom who delivers catalogues, flyers, newsletters and random pieces of junk mail to my doorstep had misplaced these in the weeks leading up to Halloween (busy planning his own haunt perhaps?) and then thought, better late than never. True. It's never too early to plan for 2009. As anyone at Sears can tell you.

it's over

The cobwebs are gone. The candles have been extinguished. Pumpkins are disappearing from neighbours' front porches. Leftover chocolate bars have almost all been eaten (except for the Coffee Crisps - I know Halloween is truly over when all I have left are Coffee Crisps!). My daily postings are over too, as I am compelled to turn my attention to everything I typically neglect during the long Halloween season (did anyone remember to feed the cat?). But of course . . . Halloween is never really far away. It's there all year. Lurking just behind the Christmas tree, the Valentine hearts and the Easter eggs. I'll often see something that catches my attention . . . or reminds me of a Halloween night long past . . . or gives me a new prop idea. But for now I'm off to spend the next few weeks reflecting on Halloween past, browsing through photos from all the wonderful haunts out there, planning for next year, and maybe, maybe even get an early start on some props. It would be a nice change not to run out of time trying to get everything done in the fall.

the day after . . .

November 1st is usually a quiet, relaxed sort of day. Un-decorating day. And this November 1st is a beautiful day: bright sunshine . . . a light breeze swirling through the dry leaves, torn curtains and remaining cobwebs . . . and freezing cold. The jack-o-lanterns on the porch do not have to fear rotting any time soon. They're safe. If the temperature remains where it is today, they just might make it until Christmas. It's time now to enjoy a last pumpkin spice latte and some leftover miniature chocolate bars (they're small so you can eat 10 times as many) and reflect on a great Halloween night. Perfect weather. Clear and frosty. Lots of trick-or-treaters . . . not counting those who were afraid to approach the house. Some laughed. Some screamed. Some screamed and laughed. And only a few cried (even when I took off my mask). Hmmmm . . . odd.

And it's time for my least favourite Halloween activity: packing it all away. Rolling up cobwebs and torn curtains. Stacking the tombstones. Tearing heads and arms off props. Snuffing out the candles . . . and then . . . starting to plan for next year (perhaps after a short break). It's also time to catch up on some of the Halloween countdown blogs I've been too busy to read during the past few weeks.

A little more leftover candy would make a nice accompaniment to blog reading . . . uh-oh . . . all gone. I wonder if my children would notice if I took just one . . . or two . . .

halloween night

. . . more of my yard haunt photos here