November 1st: Recovering From Halloween

 While I don't like the shorter days and the oncoming cold weather (there's no avoiding it), I am grateful for the extra hour of sleep I got this morning.  (Or maybe that should be the return of the hour that we lost in the spring.)  I didn't get enough sleep the night before (https://bfthsboringblog.blogspot.com/2026/10/halloween-2026.html) and Halloween is always a long (but fun) day.

I had a lot of errands to run in the morning, but I didn't get to them as early as I would have liked.  (I let time run away from me...the weekend being the ONLY time I can do that.)  I wanted to go to the farmer's market which is about a half an hour drive away.  It was a beautiful day for it.  I had a light(ish) jacket on and I definitely didn't need it as I wandered around courthouse square, checking out all the vendors.  (I was tempted by one of the wineries there, especially as they make one of the only chardonnays that I like, but I'm trying to cut down on my wine consumption and the bottles were a little pricier than I had remembered in the past.)  After wandering around, I headed towards a thrift shop nearby in search of a red handbag.  I didn't find it, but I did find a really cute pair of Minnie Mouse slip ons and a couple of sweaters.  They took credit cards, so how could I resist?  It was one of the most organized shops I've seen and I WILL have to go back!   I kept walking and hit two more shops, neither of which had a handbag in red. (Though one had some really nice bags, which I found hard to resist, but I did.)  Then it was on to my favorite natural foods store because I know I can find vegan goods that I can eat and enjoy.  (I haven't found any other place in my area of PA that has vegan baked goods.  While I am not vegan, with all my allergies vegan baked goods are safe and delicious for me.)  It was quite crowded.  (Note to self don't go midday on a Saturday!)  As a result it took me a bit longer than I would have liked.

Nonetheless, after one more quick stop, I managed to get home before 1 and enjoy some of the warm weather in the backyard. I needed some downtime because it was going to be a busy night.  Why?  Were trick or treaters going to be coming down our private road?  NO!  The road was actually going to be blocked off. (Or it was supposed to be, I don't think it ever really was.)  What I was doing, for the second year in a row (and I hope there is a third, fourth and so on) was help out at the local Halloween House.  (Also known as the Riddle House, as the owner will give you, in additional to a "regular" bag of small candies, a FULL SIZE candy bar if you can correctly answer one of his riddles. [He has about 8 pre-printed].)  This is NOT just a display but an amazing walk around with actors and audio animatronics.  The photos below are from my walk through BEFORE the official opening.  (Note:  the town has trick or treating from 6-8.  The display opened at 5:30 and there were people looking to get in even before that.)

I am NOT an actor (although maybe I would consider it for next year if I can do something not too scary), but I help out by handing out goodie bags.  The whole thing is incredibly planned out by my friends/neighbors (amazing people if you hadn't already guessed that) who make three "types" of bags:  chocolate, no chocolate or mixed.  By the end of the night my voice is hoarse from saying that over and over again.  (And I'm not the only helper, so there are at least two of us repeating the words over and over again.)

Kids of all ages love it.  Everyone can get a bag of candy.  (I think the adults love this.)  I will also admit that my helper and I gave more than one bag to kids who were a little (or maybe a lot) traumatized by walking through places that were a little too scary for them.  (The candy station is midway through so there is still more to walk through before reaching the exit.)  (Parents maybe you should be careful before doing this with your kids.  Although the actors will tone it down with little kids, the whole thing can be overwhelming for a kid or even an adult.)

What impresses me is that almost everyone is polite.  (Although we do get some who try to get more candy to take the larger sizes.)  There are always people who want to make a financial donation.  (My neighbors DO NOT take money; this incredible display is funded solely by them.  They will say you can make a donation in honor of the Halloween House to the local meals on wheels or a charity of your choice, which really tells you what kind of people they are!)  

It's exhausting (or maybe I'm just old) and it always gets cold an hour or so in.  While the official "end" of Halloween (again according to the township) is 8, when I left (because I was COLD) around 8:40, there were still people coming in.  (Although the bulk had come and gone.)  I'm sure they didn't shut down until nearly 10 because they want to make sure everyone is able to have the experience.

As for me, I was happy to get home and take a LONG HOT shower.  (COLD!)  I jumped into a warm bed and watched some "scary" movies.  (I switched around a lot.  Who knew I would like The Tingler so much?  And I'm thinking I need to give The Exorcist III [which really should just be titled Legion as the writer/director wanted] a full watch -- that is if it's the 2016 director's cut which I happened to stumble on and seemed to tell a more compelling tale.)

Now, after being the lector at this morning's early church service (another reason why I didn't want to stay out too late), I'm taking down the Halloween and putting up (limited) Thanksgiving decor, to remind myself that November is National Gratitude Month. Today I am grateful for all the fun that I had last night and I am especially grateful to have such fun and generous neighbors.