Pages

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Mermaids Manic Monday....

Its finally here......

The weekend is gone.... The alarm bell has rang... time for a cuppa before the next week I begin... My thoughts down in type... a picture or two...I have the weekends happening ready to share with you.

The song Manic Monday is playing in my head.. As I smile and the publish button is pushed and our link up begins


So... watch this space and read the list on a previous post titled ....Last curtain.... A new beginning... Here's your invitationYour all invited to join in!



Halloween in Northern British Columbia where I grew up and especially down the long windy narrow road that followed the Francious Lake road out through a community called Colleymount. Halloween was quiet!.. Very very  QUIET. In fact as a child Halloween just did not happen! There were no pumpkins in the earlier years. They didn't grow in our short growing season and I do not remember even seeing them in the grocery store. I do remember one year a neighbor girl using a huge turnip to carve a jack o lantern out of. I thought that was inventive. Usually there was also so much snow that even the "townies" had to climb over snow banks along the roads when they went trick or treating.  The one thing I had almost forgotten though until I sat to write this was that at our Elementary School of Francious Lake. Our principle Peggy Shelford use to buy candy and knowing Peggy it was probably her own money and make up baskets for the party.. We dressed up and then had home baked goods brought in by everyones moms to share in the classrooms and we would play games and dance. We would spent  time making up decorations for the classrooms and also our own little baskets which we decorated. The seniors were allowed to make a Haunted house in the downstairs area of the little two room school house.. Something that we all eagerly waited for yearly.. We sure would of loved all the ideas on Pinterest but we did okay with just our imagination.
Halloween for my girls in their earlier days didn't happen as we were a British Army family and at that time at least in the areas we lived in Halloween again just wasn't celebrated in the community's instead it was Guy Fawlks night.
Once the girls and I returned to living in Northern British Columbia the small community had changed in that the other children I had grown up with had had families and started holding Halloween parties complete with costumes etc except by the time we moved back....their children had grown and moved on and my three girls and their one cousin were the only children in the community again.  My girls however did dress up and the community did themselves proud with spoiling the girls with rather big assorted bags of both bought and home baked goods. Because we were a close knit everyone knows everyone (and everything about you!)  Home baked goods were and are still very sought after in that community. I'm just saying that those ladies know how to cook! Any excuse for costumes is happily embraced by all three of my girls to this day. I'm always waiting to see what they will come up with yearly. The preparation of costumes is well thought out and the costumes are generally hand made by them with some very professional help from the eldest if need be. She is and always has been a whiz at being able to recreate patterns for things she sees in movies or TV. Now she actually works in a costume department at a historical park. Costumes and designing is her very special talent..
Where I live now its a bit remote and the children seem to go to what they call "Trunk or Treats" the local churches have their members who volunteer to bring their cars and decorate their open trunks.. Then the children go from car to car and collect their treats. This year it was pouring with rain for a few days before and was expected to be a down pour on Halloween day. So the Ridge Point church moved it inside. I had volunteered to help direct and help the visitors. Incredibly cute kids and family's dressed up to collect candy. The favorite costumes seemed to be Spiderman, Ladybugs, Dinosaurs, Princess's, Superman and Ninja's. One family of Raggedy Andy and Raggedy Ann with their baby Raggedy Autumn!. They also had the street performers from down town Hollands summer festivals in to entertain. Inflatable castles and a bucking dog instead of a bull were there for family's to play in. Downstairs you could enjoy the flowing fountains of caramel to make your own fresh caramel apple. The church reported that they had four thousand visitors come through. Its no wonder that it was all just a bit over whelming for me and as soon as my shift was over I went home to sit and watch the movie "Practical Magic" and enjoy hot apple cider and freshly popped popcorn and a wood fire warming the living room. 
I hope that everyone had a wonderful time and that the evening ended safely for everyone.
Tomorrow November the 5th will be Guy Fawlks night.... Bon fires and burning a scarecrow and the movie V for Vendetta will be the order of the night.
I'm looking forward to hearing all about your Halloween experiences, your traditions.
I'm happy to say that there is not a single piece of candy in this house to tempt me at this time..... How about you?  Did you have Trick or Treaters? Did you go to a party?  Do you have traditions. Nows your chance to tell us all. Won't you please join in and share...

                                                                 Kate.  




No comments:

Post a Comment