Coming soon!

It won't be long until Halloween is here, and what do I have for decorations? Nothing besides a pumpkin who still doesn't have a face. Luckily, we have neighbours who make up for these shortcomings. Even the skeletons look excited. 

What I do have is treats for any brave, costumed visitors we might get on Thursday night. Juice boxes for little ones, pop for bigger kids, along with chips or Rice Krispie treats (store-bought, of course, gone are the days of handing out anything homemade) as a bonus. 

We don't get as many Trick or Treaters as we once did. I think many of them go to the mall where the prizes are likely bigger. And I don't think the costumes are as good as they used to be. I've always preferred the homemade (maybe last-minute) ones where somebody has too much lipstick on, along with bangly earrings and a witch's hat for contrast. 

Maybe the best costume ever was when a neighbour boy showed up as Kim Jong-Un, right down to the over-the-ear haircut, complete with a passle of would-be bodyguards. I think we probably gave them extra treats for their efforts. 

It won't be long until the holiday arrives, and I'm sure the pumpkin will be smiling by then, probably with the traditional 'missing-tooth' look. Until then I'll be doing my best to keep the treats up on the top shelf of the closet, and not keep giving myself permission to test them. 

Five and five

Today, Cinco de Mayo, or 05/05, seemed like the right day to get my toes (all five and five of 'em) out from their wool socks and duck shoes. Starting today, and probably to October, it's likely I'll be wearing sandals. At least that's the plan.

Because today also happens to be Taco Tuesday, there are quite a few Mexican recipes floating around the internet. And since we just happen to have some homemade tortillas (yep, we're doing all sorts of crazy things in the kitchen these days), soft tacos will probably be part of tonight's menu.

One of my friends has a tradition of hosting a party to celebrate this day, but this year, along with the rest of us, she's staying home on her own.

But that doesn't mean the rest of us can't find a way to celebrate -- and it doesn't have to be as goofy a way of celebrating as getting your toes out into the sunshine.

Not sallying forth

Plenty of people like to observe today, March 4th as a day to 'march forth' and do something, but I've been seeing it more as the day that spring is springing forth.

Not sallying forth, which I'd always thought meant dawdling in a forward direction. Only it turns out, its meaning is actually something much speedier sounding, with even a bit of abruptness to it. So I guess I even learned something today.

Whatever phrase, today made me feel that spring is finally here, and the little garden patch I walked past on the way to the dentist seemed to affirm that.

Even my teeth-cleaning day at the dentist felt like spring. It helps that their office is on the third floor and in line with a tree the crows seem to love to gather in. The blue sky and puffy clouds were putting on a pretty good show too.

This proved to be the day I even got to wear shorts -- really just because I was cleaning the hot tub, and refilling it so it's ready for a new season, something I usually do so it coincides with the equinox. But where that observance is a bit early this year (earliest it's been in a century), it maybe doesn't hurt to look after this chore a bit early too. Now it's just a matter of waiting for the water to come up to temp from what flowed out of the hose. So I guess I did 'march forth' and do something after all.