The first year we lived in our house, I went NUTZ buying Halloween decorations at Target. It was '07, before everything went in the crapper, economy-wise, and I remember it was a rainy day at the beginning of October. I remember, because I was supposed to have a flying lesson that day, but it was called off because of the weather. I felt like I was playing hooky from school, hopped in the Jeep, and made a break for Big Flats. Target was having a glorious sale, with after-Halloween prices on Halloween stuff, way before Halloween!
I can tell you what I bought, even. My two gunmetal-colored resin skulls, Yorick and Horatio, who've made their permanent home on the mantel. I have a thing for skulls. Before Zoe, I even used to "dress" them up for other holidays: Indian head dresses and feathers for Thanksgiving, custom-knitted Santa hats for Christmas, bunny ears for Easter. Besides the skulls, I got a couple big, heavy-looking plastic chains, a couple of claymore-type swords, a black "trick or treat" basket to hold the candy for the trick-or-treaters I was sure were going to flock to our house, and 4 Really Big Bags of Halloween Candy. The Halloween candy didn't make it to Halloween week, so I had to run to Tops for a replacement bag before Halloween went live. I also got some of those foam tombstones, and I had a coupon for Jo-Ann's, so I bought two of their little skeleton votive-holders that stand on a porch or that can be used inside. They're really cute!
All that stuff is up in the attic, waiting to be brought down and put in place. Even the foam tombstones, which is kind of a miracle, because they're lightweight, and I thought I lost one after a good North Bingham wind one night, but I found along the road when I went after my mail the next day. All it needed was some more stakes. The feeble plastic ones snapped off when the wind whipped it from its place. A couple sharpened pencils hot-glued in did the trick. Plus, I wedged it in to the lilac bush, so it was nice and secure, even if nobody driving up the driveway could see it.
I even went really crazy and made two flags for the banner poles outside the front door. I used black tulle and garbage bags and a macrame technique known only to me to make some tatty-looking flags, in the mood of the moth-eaten Black Pearl from the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie.
I want my house to look cool for Halloween. I really do! Even though we only ever get six trick-or-treaters and hardly any visitors. I just can't seem to find the motivation to go up into the attic and grab the stuff and put it up. Seems kind of waste-y now. Halloween's only 12 days away.
My mini-Smiley Cookies arrived today, though, for the trick-or-treaters. They taste really good with hot cocoa and milk and coffee, too. And they call my name, right out loud. I'm not sure they'll last the 12 days until Halloween. I really am not all that sure at all. I'd say that keeping my hands busy, decorating for Halloween would keep my mind off the cookies, but that'd be a bald-faced lie. I know they're in the house, and I'm obsessed with Smiley Cookies. Maybe 12 days is a really long time, now that I think about it.
I might have to re-visit calling it too late to put up Halloween decorations, after all.
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