Happy Halloween!

When my daughters were young, Halloween was my favorite holiday. It's free of the stress of Christmas and even Thanksgiving with that cooking nightmare. The girls would decide what they wanted to be and we made a costume or sometimes got a second use out of a dancing costume. It was all fun and exciting.

Somewhere along the way, I lost some of that creative spirit and I can't remember the last time I actually wore a costume for Halloween. This year the ladies involved in the Christmas stocking project put on a Halloween party. Each attendee was asked to bring something to put in the stockings which are destined for the homeless children in the area. Granola bars were suggested - good, but also with some nutrition. It was a rousing success.

But back to my costume. A couple of weeks ago, Ron and I went to Goodwill to see what they had to offer. I found a dress that I think was supposed to be a witch, but I decided was a spider. When I showed it to Ron, he suggested that if I added a mourning veil, I could be a 'Black Widow'. Isn't he clever?

Here I am in all my finery.


Here's a closeup of the sleeve. Cute, huh?


And what was Ron, you ask? Well, he went as a resident of an over-55 community.


Here's a closeup of the veil. Even with bobby pins, I had trouble keeping that spider on straight.


Here are Storm and Fern to welcome us. That's when I realized I was supposed to dress as a gypsy. Sure, I knew the theme was a Gypsy Encampment, but somehow I just forgot or ignored it.


What the heck are these ladies squirting on the bread?


Thank heavens - some more non-conformists - our good neighbors Linda and Steve.


And Sue and Joe from across the street came as a witch and 'King of the Gypsies'. Joe won the prize for the best costume with his creativity.


Here's the king surrounded by all his minions.