Autumn is my favorite time of year. Who can resist the jewel-colored trees and the crunch of leaves beneath your feet? There’s Iowa Hawkeye football, hikes with Lolo, trips to the apple orchard and the mosquitoes take their long-anticipated trip back to hell where they belong.
I get to pull out my favorite jeans and ratty cardigan and the crock pot because let’s be honest ~ one of the best things about fall is the food. There’s vegetable soup, potato soup, beef stew and my husband’s famous chili – best I’ve ever tasted – to warm us on blustery days. Then there are the deserts: apple cake, pumpkin bars, caramel apples, apple pie, pumpkin-butterscotch gingerbread trifle (okay, I’ve never made this but maybe some day).
And then there’s Halloween. As a kid, Halloween was one of my favorite holidays. The hours spent pouring over the K-Mart circular searching for the perfect Halloween costume. What would I be this year? Holly
Hobbie? Cinderella? A hobo? Maybe a ghost. It was such a big decision. Pumpkin carving was a big event in our house too.There were six of us kids but our interest in Halloween waxed and waned so there weren’t many squabbles over designing the two or three pumpkins among us.
We trick-or-treated in small gangs – sent out into the night without an adult. It was a different time and the freedom we felt was intoxicating. We would wander the neighborhoods in search of the best candy bars ~ full-sized Snickers and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. When we arrived back home the serious candy-swapping would begin. Ten Tootsie Rolls for a fun-size Milky Way, Two Baby Ruths equaled a popcorn ball and there was no trading Lik-m-aid Fun Dip or Marathon Bars . Those were rare acquisitions and not to be parted with.
My own children are grown now, but I still can’t help but get into the Halloween spirit. Time to go pick out those pumpkins.
Oh, and I have a BIG Halloween giveaway planned. More details coming the evening of Sunday, Oct. 14th. Stay tuned!
