Baby Monster Mash

Started the morning with Life cereal and the Rugrats disc. Despite having done an excellent Christmas episode early on, it was well into the 21st Century before the Rugrats got around to Halloween. Turned out to be worth the wait - this was a cute and inventive episode. It's the kids' first big Halloween adventure. Tommy and Dil's parents are taking them to an amusement park that's been decorated in spooky regalia for the holiday. Trouble is, Angelica convinces the kids that they'll turn into whatever they dress as for Halloween after the holiday is over! Chuckie doesn't want to be a werewolf forever! Both Chuckie and Angelica learn that Halloween is nothing to be afraid of when Chuckie uses his "wolf-ness" to get a frightened Angelica and the other kids out of the haunted house.

There were four other spooky-themed episodes on the disc. My favorite was the first, "Ghost Story." The kids all take turns telling a story about a little boy named Chuckie who explores a scary-looking house. Angelica wants a good, frightening tale, but the others do their best to remind Chuckie that a ghost story is still just a story, and not really scary at all.

Made a quick run to the Oaklyn Library around quarter of 1. It rained overnight, but the weather for most of the morning and afternoon was just gloomy, cool, and cloudy. As with the Haddon Township Library yesterday, there wasn't much to do. I rearranged a few DVDs and did the kids' books.

It was still cloudy as I strolled home. Oaklyn's yards are definitely showing more signs of fall. Mums and the last of the roses bloom in every garden. Banners depicting leaves and pumpkins or Halloween scenes wave from flag poles. Pumpkins, some carved, some still whole, perch on porches and stairs. Scarecrows stand watch over bushes with leaves that are just starting to turn colors. Some folks even have their Halloween displays out. Witches ride on trees, ghosts hang from branches, gardens are mini-cemeteries, and every bush has a cotton cobweb.

Spent the rest of the afternoon watching the Rugrats and the Disney Halloween Treat and Scary Tales Halloween specials I dubbed last month while baking Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies. I used a variation on my favorite recipe from a Prevention cookbook. They came out even better than usual, wonderfully soft and chewy.

I had a quick lunch, then headed to work. Other than some problems with an order mid-way through the night, work was busy when I came in (I arrived just in time for the usual 4 to 6 rush hour), quiet enough to spend a half-hour shelving candy right before I left.