Weekend Plans Post: We’re Getting It Back
Back in 2005, lawmakers decided that it would be best for safety if Daylight Saving Time extended to the first weekend in November, because it’d be safer for children to go trick-or-treating when the sun was still out.
My neighborhood gets, maybe, 3-5 kids anymore. There was an awesome period back around 2005ish where we had, like, 30 kids in the neighborhood but they all grew up (the household that had 5 kids moved to Alaska, if I recall the gossip correctly) and we just don’t get the kiddos anymore.
My buddy who lives down near Fountain, however, lives in a neighborhood *TEEMING* with children. Like, every year, they get a hundred kids. So I have been enlisted to go over to his house every Halloween and sit in the driveway with his brother-in-law while he and his wife and his sister take the brood of kids all around the neighborhood. We grilled hot dogs and sat in lawn chairs and laughed until sunset, at which point the trick-or-treating began.
But it was fun to watch the little kids wander around and walk up and some would immediately yell “TRICK OR TREAT” and some would get up to us and freeze up and we’d have to give them a nudge and say something like “say it!” and others would come up and yell “Happy Halloween!” and we’d have to point out that that is *NOT* what you say and, between toddlers dressed up like baby chickens, me and the brother-in-law would discuss smoking weed in the 90’s and politics and he asked me about whether the cold war was really that big of a deal (he’s in his 30s and grew up in Durango so he missed out on a lot of local drama) and I’d say that it was a somewhat slow year with us only getting about 70-80 kids.
When my buddy got back from doing the rounds, I asked “did they hand out jello shots to the grownups?” and he said “every fourth house had jello shots” and he handed me a small bottle of Fireball. “I got this for you a couple houses ago.”
Seriously, going over to hand out candy for Halloween at his place is, like, my 7th or 8th favorite night of the year.
This weekend will be spent recovering from the last 8 months in the form of FINALLY GETTING MY HOUR BACK. Seriously, the night where I get my hour back might be my 2nd or 3rd favorite night of the year.
Oh, there will be trips to Costco and trips to Sprouts and I’ll probably pick up a cherry pie to bake at some point but, seriously, the whole weekend is overshadowed by how wonderful it will be to have my hour returned.
Let’s hope that this weekend is the last weekend it’s stolen.
So… what’s on your docket?
(Featured image is “heated blanket 2”, photo taken by Maribou.)
Let me know when the pie is ready and I’ll pop over for a slice. I’ll bring the milk.Report
Do you guys have The Village Piemaker out there? I can’t believe how good their stuff is. The cherry pies are as good as any homemade one I’ve had. The pumpkin are *ALMOST* as good as some homemade ones I had a decade ago from the little small batch artisanal pie shop.
If you see the white box in the endcap at your grocery store, pick one up. It’s amazing.Report
Round 1 of the high school football playoffs is this weekend, and I have a game tonight. High seed against a low seed, so it’s likely gonna be a stinker.
We just got our kitchen remodeled, so this weekend is going to be spent reassembling it and restocking the fridge and pantry. Plus, haircut a visit to the golf store for a new driver (just in time for it to sit in my bag all winter ;-(). Gonna be busy!
Sunday is going to be go to church and sit on my butt day.Report
We never got vary many kids at our house. For a while we used to get one big family (or a big family and all their friends) of somewhere around 5 kids and we’d just hand them everything we had, but it’s been years since the last time we saw them. Last night we had our usual Thursday Night Magic (The Gathering, not prestidigitation (yes I looked up the spelling)) and no kids were seen.Report
I didn’t hand out candy this year. Last year I sat around for three hours listening for knocks on the door (I don’t have a doorbell) and I got one family of three kids. So this year, considering I’ve put in a number of 10 1/2 hour workdays in the past few weeks (teaching four classes,, serving on two hiring committees, trying to do research), I was just too tired to feel like maybe being at people’s beck and call in an evening. I didn’t see any kids out on the street, either – the “safe alternatives” (because apparently we don’t trust our neighbors any more, but do trust businesspeople) drew them away to trunk-or-treats or the downtown thing.
At any rate.
It’s going to be a working weekend – I am still grading at nearly 4 pm, so I’m not doing the research task I have that may take 2-2 1/2 hours. And I’m filling in (Yes, the pulpit) at church on Sunday, which I rashly agreed to a few weeks ago.
I’m just…..really tired.
I do also need to grocery shop, want to be sure to have as much fresh food on hand as I can manage
I voted early Thursday. Didn’t really have time, but figured I wouldn’t really have time today, or Saturday, or on Election day, and figured the lines would be worse on Tuesday anywayReport
We leave a bowlful on the porch. I arranged them in the bowl in a pattern (circles by type) that would let me know if someone came up and took some (or, I suppose, just stuck their hand in and mixed the candy up) and we had, by my guess, either one kid who took a handful or two-three kids who took a couple pieces each.
So we’ll do that again next year.Report
Lady Marchmaine and I will be getting our hour back on a big Celebrity cruise ship. We’re trying their ‘cruise within a cruise’ after a trying few years. My first proper vacation in 2yrs after changing companies, and our first vacation without the kids since 2017.
Right now sitting on a balcony on the intercoastal watching actual yacht yachts sail by because it is apparently Boat Show Week. Walked past one docked by our hotel… didn’t ask the price, but the crew of 14 would bankrupt us right quick.Report
You guys shipping out of Bmore or did you go all the way out to Norfolk?Report
All the way down to FL… would be nice if the ship/line we wanted used Bmore.
Someday hoping to do a Trans-Atlantic.Report
Trans Atlantic would definitely be cool.
Normally I’d say it’s probably nicer to ship out of FL than anywhere up here… but for the fact that it’s clear and 78 degrees.Report
We probably had something like 300 trick or treaters last night and I love it. Not the whole neighborhood participates but most do and with lots of enthusiasm which is great fun. I was so in the spirit I carved 3 jackolanterns instead of my usual 2.
As for us my oldest is with my MIL tonight. Sadly her father/my wife’s grandfather passed last Sunday. Hopefully some time with her grandson cheers her up.
With the lighter load we’ll stream some From (highly recommended for horror fans). When my wife and the little guy inevitably pass out I may go up the street and get some beers and games if darts in.
Tomorrow back to adulting with Costco, soccer party, then me versus the kids solo for dinner while the wife is out with her mom and sister. Sunday flag football and hoping to see Jayden Daniel’s annihilate the Giants.Report
Three hundred!
I can’t even imagine!Report
I’m sure the Commanders’ D backs will actually carry out their assignments, unlike a certain Chicago Bear. What an embarrassment.Report
After the euphoria subsided I actually felt kind of bad for Bears fans. For almost 25 years under Snyder I watched Washington be on the other side of that kind of thing constantly. Not just losing but losing in utterly inexplicable, odds defying ways. I have been there and it is awful.Report
When I lived in the house with the now ex, we would block off the cul de sac and sit on the grass island. We lined the kids up in front of the table of candy and everyone checked out the outfits. Where I live now, there are no kids-i’ve had 1 in a decade. This also has the advantage that no one drives into the area trying to steal stuff from cars. It’s kinda outta the way. Perfect.Report