Skeleton Family

I should probably post our Halloween photos before the month after Halloween is over! I love our costumes. They are so comfortable, and we were all nice and warm on that cold night because we each had two shirts and a pair of pants underneath our costumes. I wasn't kidding last year when I said that we're going to get some serious mileage out of these costumes--they'll be back next year too.

 Church party and trunk-or-treat. The backdrop just happened to be a graveyard--perfect for our little family photo!

Trick-or-treating: For the 2nd time in 6 years, D got to go trick-or-treating with us. Maybe you're wondering what's up with his hair. Well, he decided to shave his head, and I didn't like the look, so I've been making him wear a wig. Costly mistake, D!!! Just kidding. It's a bearskin hat.

Living with squirrels

I didn't grow up around squirrels. In Panama we had monkeys, exotic birds, opossums, bats, neques, and iguanas. But I found squirrels to be fascinating when I came to the States for my first year of college (in Missouri). They scampered everywhere, chasing and playing with each other, and I was surprised to notice that they didn't disappear during the winter--I still saw them out playing when there was snow on the ground. My years in Utah and Arizona didn't allow much squirrel-watching because they just didn't live nearby (although my in-laws get robbed of their walnuts every year by the squirrels). When we moved to Michigan, we were in squirrel heaven again, with the plentiful tall trees and seeds available everywhere. The kids love looking for squirrels when we're out in the Baby Jogger. We love watching them play and chase each other and gather and stash their winter cache. One of my favorite things right now is hearing Chiquitita's little voice say, "Hola, ardilla!"

D and I discovered that we have some squirrels living inside our house. They scamper everywhere and are so adorable when they play. They also love to stash things in special places. I find laundry baskets full of random items like one shoe, a doll, a pan, a plate, important mail, a ball, a bag of Cheerios, and a napkin. I also find plastic bags, drawers, purses, cupboards, and cardboard boxes full of the same random assortment of items. Scamper, play, gather, and stash--that is what they do. I told the kids, "Guess what? We have squirrels living inside our house! Sometimes when we can't find things, it's because the squirrels took them and hid them in a secret place." They thought that was pretty fascinating. They say they've never seem them in action though. But I have, oh, yes, I get to watch them every day. They are such cute little things, but, man, these little squirrels are not helping me to be more organized!!

Market Magic

I took the kids to the local farmer's market (for the first time here) the past two weekends and I've been wondering, "Why haven't we come here every weekend?? I love this!" Local vendors selling handmade/homemade treasures like candles, jam, bread, cider (unpasteurized!!), flower arrangements in pumpkins, as well as the abundance of "real" produce that isn't pre-packaged... I'm a sucker for markets. I've loved them since I was little. There's just something about touching something with your bare hands before buying, or having the opportunity to sample a little bit first, or knowing it was made by hand--instead of buying everything all packaged and processed and factory-produced. I grew up eating fruits and vegetables that mostly came from the produce market, and I spent many happy hours bargaining at artisan markets for jewelry or other tropical treasures. Whenever I travel outside the U.S., the market is one of my favorite places to go. Which is maybe my hang-up. The markets inside the U.S. seem so overpriced compared to the markets I've been to. But I should be honest with myself--if I were to sell some of my blackberry jam at the market, would I sell a little jar for $1? NO WAY!! Not when I've spent hours picking, washing, cooking, and canning it. After all that work, you couldn't get me to part with a half-pint for less than $10. Unless I really like you, and then I might give you some as a gift (if I ever start canning again).

Anyway, this market is particularly magical because they have a weekly market basket giveaway--something from all the vendors in a basket given to one lucky winner. We happened to be the winners (WOW!!) of lavender soap, an orange clove candle, unpasteurized cider, pumpkin scones, a pastie, cheese, an oil change, kettle corn, truffles (and D can attest that they're good), spicy curry mustard, Matt's seasoning, peanut butter, yoga class, elderberry syrup, donuts, a movie ticket, wonderful produce... I can't remember all of it. Most of it homemade or home-grown--what a treat!!

I'm thinking that I should start supporting local industry by having a little market budget--feed my market habit by spending $5-10 per week. Sure, I could probably buy stuff cheaper at the store, but it wouldn't have that market charm. Plus, I need to get my kids hooked on markets so that when we move back to Panama when student loans are paid off, they'll be old pros at navigating the market. YESSSSS!

No Costumes, No Candy!

I love Halloween! I love dressing up and going to parties and trick-or-treating. I will confess that I dressed up and went trick-or-treating to age 29 (always had a sibling young enough to take), after which I had my own child(ren) so I haven't had to suffer a break in the glorious trick-or-treating tradition. Last night all of us got dressed up and went trick-or-treating around the neighborhood. D and I did NOT have our own bags, but we do buy candy from the kids or have them pay us with their candy for misbehavior. Fun times! We stopped by a house that had an interesting sign, "No Costumes, No Candy!" (I should've taken a photo). I thought it was a good policy, but I wondered why they'd even have to post that sign...

And then a few streets down we saw a van full of kids from another part of town. Nobody was dressed up, there wasn't a kid under 14 in the group, they were all overweight, and they shamelessy went from house to house asking for more candy to add to their huge pillow cases. Oh, and the obese mom had a pillow case and was right there with them. Something's wrong with this picture!!