...the Spooktacular Monster Walk, endings, & camaraderie of Halloween...

“Monsters die out when

the collective imagination no longer needs them.”

~ Glen Duncan, The Last Werewolf

We totally need monsters! We need imagination and we need fun. I'm always surprised how many compliments I receive this time of year. "I love your necklace"; "Those bats are adorable!" How do they not notice such things throughout the year?!?  Recently I snagged one of the Streamline Crossbody Disney Couture for Harvey's bags in the Bats print. When they sold out in minutes, customers complained on Facebook. When it was available for a pre-order due in early November, folks still complained because the bags wouldn't be around in time for the season...um... there's a season for bats? I know that they mean Halloween but doesn't it come annually? You know, save the bag until next year. AND, if you like the bats print, why can't you use it in February or July? Y'all gothy folks already know the answer so I'm merely lamenting. 

Today was the town’s first Monster Walk. It was so nice to see everyone excited about dressing up. A few of my friends couldn’t make it but I still had quite a crew of *Dracula’s Dolls* (that was our fundraising name). We complained about our fangs. I worried that I could possibly even swallow one :p While we were vampires, there was quite an assortment of costumes including zombies, skeletons, and one teen that dressed like a devil and wore roller blades. My fella chuckled, Hell on Wheels. 

We walked through town which isn't very big. After, my friends and I gathered in one of our favorite local restaurants, Trackside Grill.  It's completely family-friendly so the young vampires could eat hot dogs (because that's what little vamps eat!)

Avec crazy eye!

Bitten!

After the walk began, there was a car show with hearses and some other bloody vehicles. We checked out some of the hearses. One interior reminded me a great deal of my dad's Studebaker. 

There were spooky cupcakes with spider and bat rings. The Chiffarobe Antiques and Gifts also gave our spider rings to the kids who adored them even when they continued to get tangled in their vampire wigs. 

A few months back, my fella bought me two Car Costumes. Today I jazzed up my car (it’s dirty, I know… the interstate’s roads are being repaired and soot is all over the front and sides which will require time and energy to clean) with the vampire one. The other is a bat costume that I will most likely only keep for the bat wings!

My fella took a ton of pictures, most of which I cannot post because they include my friends’ young daughters. And while I'm sure YOU are not a creeper, creepers troll the internet! No Kids Here! Move along, Creeper! 

If we’re Facebook friends, you can see them in my private album. I have to say that the pictures with the little girls (as young as 5) are my favorite. In general, I’m not a big fan of kids but these young girls were different. They donned their best vampire attire and looked amazing. I always figured if I ever had a child she would be the very opposite of me. If one could hand-select children, these would be my daughters. I’m usually a crowd favorite for kids even outside of events like this. I tend to make faces and I have fun shiny accessories and jewelry.

So many worlds, so much to do

So little done, such things to be.

~ Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Even though I had tons of fun with my friends, I always get a little down at the end of such events. This was something that I looked forward to for a while and now it has passed. Does this ever happen to you?

This morning, I also harvested three of our pumpkins from our wedding last year. It’s hard to believe that in two weeks we’ll be celebrating our wedding anniversary. We still have a fourth pumpkin on the vine who is mighty and holding on to summer. I feel ya little pumpkin. There were five pumpkin blooms this morning. Grow! Grow! Young Pumpkin! You can make it!

This too makes me a bit sad. The season slowly passes. Perhaps I'm just melancholy today. I normally do not mourn time so. Maybe it was the babydoll dress like the ones that I wore in my youth; maybe it was the hearses... Dad and I always talked about remodeling an old one; maybe it was just being around friends knowing that within this busy spooky season, they made the time to participate with me. Nostalgia? Love? I suspect that I am a little down because soon the death-anniversaries of my friends begin... but those are thoughts for another day. Tonight I'm going to enjoy the camaraderie of Halloween.