Ahh good old Halloween! How it has changed since I was a little girl. Back then it was a case of us terrifying each other with ghost stories, and a bit of apple bobbing if you were lucky, and if Mum was feeling extra festive, we even got a toffee apple!! No dressing up for us, and we would not have been allowed to go around ‘Trick or Treating’

For my daughter’s generation it is totally different. I have already been stockpiling sweets for the last few days as we have loads of ‘Trick or Treaters’ coming round.  I actually enjoy seeing them all in their costumes; I love the effort that has gone into some of them, and the way that the local kids all participate, as do a lot of their parents.

We live on a large square which then branches off in a big loop. so there are a lot of doors for the kids to knock on. In the past I have often gone with Miss Hap, either as part of a large group, or just me her and Mr Grump. Either way, people have been pretty generous, and Miss Hap’s Halloween bucket is normally full to the brim with all sorts of scary and sweet delights!

This morning we were all up pretty early, and i decided to crack on with putting up some decorations. Mr Grump had got himself out of it by going off to the scrap yard to get some parts for my car (it failed the MOT).He did however, kindly get out all the bits from last year, so that Me and Miss Hap could put them up.

It was not as easy as I thought it would be. Every time I opened the front door to put the decorations on it the dog would make a dash for freedom! Luckily she came back with a bit of coaxing. I then shut her in the kitchen for 2 minutes whilst I balanced precariously on a chair trying to hang something up on the little roof bit. Well the dog kicked up such a racket with her pitiful barking and yelping, that I rushed the job, and although ‘Happy Halloween’ is up over the door, it is looking a bit droopy and sorry for itself!

Anyway i managed to finish off the inside decorations without too much trouble, (or tripping over the dog who had been let out of the kitchen, but insisted on getting under our feet). Mr Grump of course came back when everything was done, but seemed impressed with it. I was mad though because I knew we had some little lights that went across the kitchen window that were shaped like bats and were different colours, but I couldn’t find them anywhere.Miss Hap by now of course had already gone out to play in the unseasonably warm weather outside, as she had done her bit helping me, plus pilfered some of the sweets out of the bowl!

I decided to get on with some other bits, and as usual there is washing to be done. As I went to get the detergent out of the kitchen cupboard, I saw the box with the bat lights in on one of the shelves. Oooh, great, I pulled the box off the shelf, but everything else cascaded downwards and landed in a heap on the kitchen floor. Bugger it, what a mess!!  Well that is Mr Grump’s domain, he puts all sorts of odds and ends in that cupboard that we neither use nor need (well excepting the lights and detergent of course). I shouted up the stairs that I had found the lights, and that by the way there was a mess on the floor.

He was crabby. He had just finished shaving his head and bathing the dog (who was running around like a mad thing shaking water all over the place)! He tidied up the mess in the kitchen then came in to sit down for a minute. I reminded him that the lights actually needed to be put up now I had found them, and for some reason he got a bit snappy and cross!

I think I’ll send him to the door tonight when the kids come, as his face would be enough to scare the pants off anyone! Having said that Miss Hap would probably gorge herself senseless on all the sweets that would be left,  as the kids would be legging it  as soon as they glimpsed old Sour Puss!!

Happy Halloween!

Couldn’t resist the pics of our dog!!

Roxy HalloweenRoxy (2)