Tricks or Treats

Bright sunshine, blue skies. The warmest Halloween we've yet to experience here in Sleepy Hollow.

This year, Arianna dressed as 'a 50's girl'. The neighbors got a bang out of the poodle skirt and reminisced how they had a skirt similar to what Arianna was wearing.

I. 50's Girl

II. Arianna holds the door for Grandpa as we set off

As is our ritual now, the entire family accompanies Arianna as she goes trick or treating. After we visit Dotty's house -- an 86 year old widow, who, like Bruno hails from Chicago, and with whom he's shared numerous stories about life growing up on Chicago Avenue -- Sharon escorts her Dad back home, and Arianna and I pursue more treats under a darkening sky.

This year, due to the warmth and Arianna's 'perseverance' we managed a bit further than previous years.

It was a memorable evening. As the glow of the setting sun diminished and Venus rose above a sickle moon, cicadas began calling to one another from the Oaks and Hickories -- as if it were late May, instead of late October. As we walked toward home, Arianna took my arm and put it around her.

Such simple, tranquil moments are too rare.

Day Off

Stayed in today. Although there are plenty of leaves to gather in the yard, two days of intermittent rain makes for a rather unpleasant cleanup task. No worries. There's always next week.

Sharon in Hyde Park.

Arianna watching the Three Stooges with Grandpa. (Go figure!)

Cutest Pumpkin

Sharon, Arianna, and I attended St. Catherine's Family Fun Night earlier this evening. Bruno was not feeling well and so he -- wisely -- stayed home.

As you might imagine . . . lots of kids in costume, running around and screaming, eating hot dogs and nachos, and of course C A N D Y.

Did I say it was noisy?

Our pumpkin was awarded the cutest entry.

[place holder for photo]

Around 7:15 p.m., the call went out to 3rd graders that it was their turn to go trick or treating. So, out we went into the rain to grab handfuls of candy out of trunks of cars. Well, 'handfuls' is an exaggeration. Arianna very politely held open her sack and allowed the adults to give her what they wanted her to have. This, in contrast to many of the other children.

As we walked around the section of the parking lot reserved for the decorated vehicles the rain increased. Sharon reminded me that it had rained last year too. The result: Arianna caught a cold and was not able to go trick or treating.

Arianna enjoyed herself. In particular she liked sitting in the hall outside her classroom with her classmates and trading pieces of candy. From what I saw after we got home, she seems to have made out okay.

Pumpkin Carving

Friday is Family Fun Night at St. Catherine of Siena. Arianna asked that we enter the pumpkin carving contest. So, tonight I scraped out and carved a cat face into the pumpkin.

Anniversary

I remember vividly taking a day off work from my new job at Allstate in anticipation of the delivery of our possessions from Kansas City. Why I remember this "vividly" has to do with the moving company changing there policy about accepting credit card transactions. Of course, it being Columbus Day, I had no access to the cash the moving men demanded. So, they drove off with our things.

Oh, they returned the next day. But I was not at the house to oversee the delivery. Sharon and her Dad -- and a wee Arianna -- oversaw the fun.

That was seven years ago.

It seems like a lifetime ago. We've experienced so much since returning to Chicagoland. Joy. Turmoil. Grief.

Of late the familial circumstance are as good as anybody could ever hope. And yet the spectre of the larger world -- the fear of losing my job and being put out into the street -- checkers what might otherwise be characterized as the 'best of times'.

Exercise

After applying another coat of paint to the "pew", and spending two hours splitting and carrying purple coneflowers from the Prairie Garden to a section of the Rockwall Garden, Arianna escorted me to the park, where she ran me back and forth on the soccer field.

What a wonderful day!

This ramshackled ol' house of ours . . .

Its been an ongoing conversation . . . between me and this house, that is. Of late, I've retreated entirely. There's nothing to be done. Thousands of dollars have already been spent and with little to show for it.

This morning Sharon telephone me at work before I even arrived at my desk. 'Water is leaking at the base of the fireplace in the basement.'

The worst-case scenario has been realized: the pipe embedded in the concrete floor of the basement has sprung (another) leak.

Whereas last year we were in a position to repair the damage, this year we are not. And so we've had to turn off heat in the basement. This is a bitter decision to have to make. And, it will impact us negatively for the foreseeable future.

As I said, there's nothing to be done. The builder of this house did the best he could at the time (1960-61).

October Chill

Temperatures have been cool the past couple of nights. Today I turned on the boiler. The earliest date I can remember having to do so.