Thursday, October 31, 2013

Trick-or-treat-or-yarrrrr.

We've been down with a stomach bug.


Remember last Halloween, when everyone had the Yelling Vomits except Eleanor, who dragonned happily around my parents' house because she was an infant and didn't know it was Halloween? Did I never blog about that? The other night, while I was hunched over the toilet, I was thinking, At least this isn't as bad as that time at mom and dad's when we were all so sick. (We were all of us so, so sick. My mom and my sister and I each thought, at separate times, So this is how I die.)

Anyway. E and I both awoke this morning HUNGRY and HEALTHY and PIRATEY.

We've been talking Halloween up, reading books about ghosts and ghouls and goblins. Eleanor loves a goblin. She also loves a pirate, and pink things. So.


Behold, my trusty cutlass. YARRRRRR.


And then she dropped her cutlass and had to give it a hug. Tears, she says. Cutlass a sad.


This whole outfit is things she or I already owned, plus a cutlass, plus a vest, plus a hat I made out of some fun foam this afternoon. Ran us about $5.

When Joel got home, we went trick-or-treating, and Eleanor loved it. Shy Eleanor Who Is Sometimes Reticent In New Situations stayed home, and Eleanor the Gregarious Who Keeps Up A Steady Stream of Chatter went charging from house to house.


You couldn't keep her in focus if you tried. We stopped by Walter and Gloria's first, and they invited us in for a second, so Eleanor thought that was just the drill, and the next few houses she kept trying to barge in to people's entryways.


It took maybe four houses for her to get her patter down, and then as soon as they'd open the door she'd 'trick-or-treat,' loud and clear. And then brandish her cutlass at them, and then thank them for the candy and wish them a happy Halloween. Then, on the way back down the walk, she'd say, Dat was a lady, or Dat was a man, or Dat was a ghost.


It was clear and dry and about 5 degrees. Eleanor had an extra layer on under her gear, but nobody needed mittens or scarves or balaclavas. Eleanor kept telling us how much she liked everything. I like a pumpkin! I like a trick-or-treating! I like a cutlass!


We only went up and down our block, and that took 45 minutes. Eleanor wanted to chat with every jack-o-lantern, pet every puppy, comment on the hat of every kid who was wearing a hat. We didn't even hit every house, even though Eleanor would go, Dat a lights on! Dat a pumpkin! If they didn't have a zombie butler or a giant, inflatable skull, we weren't going to bother.


Despite this choosiness, we still picked up an impressive haul.  Joel and I have already eaten all the good stuff.


5 comments:

Anonymous said...

What is all that atuff? weird Canadian candy... Where's the Twix and Skittles lol

alice c said...

That is the Best Halloween post ever. Eleanor is so awesome in her pink piratical hat I could smooosh her.

Karen said...

I don't know whether you have this pirate kid commercial up in Canada (where they give out lots of CHIPS for trick or treating?): http://youtu.be/awyLQYwciMU

Amanda said...

Yeah, what is with all the chips? My Eleanor got a bunch of those too, and this is baffling to my inner American child. Back in the Old Country, it was candy all the way, with the occasional apples and toothbrushes. Not a chip to be found.

Reading Rambo said...

AGREED ON THE CHIPS THING. That is weird. Not unwelcome. But weird.

Still approve of the cutlass. And also, I have no idea what 5 degrees is in Canadian. Here, 5 degrees means you do not go outside ever. Unless you live in Chicago, because then you sigh heavily and trudge on.