Yesterday was a lovely day with the temperature over 70°· Today too is a delight with a bright sun, a blue sky and a high of 68°. Yesterday I was out and about doing a couple of errands. Today I’m staying close to home. I have a few chores. The dogs are outside and have been for a while. They came in only to get their morning biscuits and coffee then went back outside. They are loving the day as much as I am.

When I was a kid, Halloween planning started early. We never bought Costumes from Woolworths, but I do remember the costumes sold there and kids wearing them. The costumes had a similar look, were worn over clothes, tied in the back and had plastic masks which got hot and made you sweat. The masks were held to the head with a black elastic which broke easily. We wore costumes my mother put together through sometimes we also wore masks, Lone Ranger sort of masks. My mother was quite clever in using what was on hand to make costumes. We decided what we wanted to be, and she figured out what we needed. One year my sister was a ballet dancer wearing a tutu. That one, though, was an obvious choice. My sister took dancing lessons. Ghosts were the easiest needing only a white sheet and holes for eyes. I was a hobo one year. Another year I was an old lady. I wore my mother’s fur stole. We sometimes carried Halloween shopping bags while other years we used pillow slips, wistful thinking I suspect.

I have ordered my Halloween candy. I’ll be giving out Hershey bars, Reese’s and Kit Kats, all candy I like in case of leftovers. It seems every year I get more kids. They love the big bars, what we used to call nickel bars. I figure my house is probably marked in some way, the way hobos used to mark houses when they were looking for food or work. Last year I had only a few bars left, probably a good thing.