Had breakfast while watching The Woody Woodpecker Show. The only cartoon made directly for the show, "Spook-a-Nanny," was set on Halloween. Woody spends most of the episode blowing up balloons for his boss Walter Lanz. He finally finishes just in time for the big party with Lanz characters like Andy Panda, Chilly Willy, and Wally Walrus, but they play tricks to keep him out. He finally gets in with a ghost rock band, but can't walk through the walls like they can.
Moved to YouTube for The Worst Witch. I go further into this British adaptation of the popular book series with Charlotte Rae, Fairuza Balk, and Tim Curry at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.
Since it was on YouTube, I watched Garfield's Halloween Adventure next. Garfield and Odie are looking forward to a night of trick-or-treat booty dressed as pirates. The last thing they'd ever expect is to be stranded on a spooky island at midnight where pirate ghosts have buried their treasure!
Went for a walk after that. My brown stockings were the perfect color to match my new light brown strap shoes...but they also ran the second I put them on. This is why I avoid wearing the darn things. I searched Family Dollar and Dollar General and couldn't find any. I'd just wear the darn things and hope they didn't go far enough down to show.
Had a quick lunch while watching the Donald Duck short "Trick or Treat" in its entirety on Disney Plus. Donald would rather play mean tricks on his nephews and keep the treats for himself. Witch Hazel makes sure he gives up the goodies, even if she has to cast spells on him that make him dance until he coughs up the key!
Prepared my costume after lunch. I was Little Red Riding Hood. The WalMart velvet cape looked shiny and pretty and was actually rather warm, but the hood kept sliding off and it unraveled all night. It was not worth the $9.99 I paid. I was hoping to find a long-sleeved blouse with a lace collar, but I figured my short-sleeved blouse with the crocheted lace collar would do if I wore the cape and a red cardigan. Tied my original red cape around my jean skirt to make it look more medieval fairy tale. Unfortunately, I made a mess putting on the little makeup I needed and had to scrub the shirt off. (Thankfully, it did come clean.) Carried my stuffed Beanie Baby wolf Howl in a flowered Easter basket.
Watched more frightening Sale of the Century episodes while I got everything together. The scariest thing about the first episode was how badly everyone played. Even the champ didn't make more than 50 points. They also bought all the prizes...which admittedly ended up being pretty cool when one lady bought a portable TV, only to get a bonus projection-sized set that went with it. There were also trips to Ireland and Bermuda, a beautiful sleek upright red piano, and a fancy black dress with a huge red lace collar worn by a lady zombie.
They played much better in the second game. The winner blew away the competition, getting 100 by the end of the Speed Round. He still had trouble with the Bonus Round, though...
Went outside with the Mystery Bags promptly at 3 PM. Kids didn't really start coming around until past 4:30...and when they did, they came in droves. The Mystery Bags vanished within an hour after that. I saw some terrific costumes. There was a Barbie in the pink flared jumpsuit and cowboy hat she wore in the movie. Saw teen girls in blood-smeared leotards and ghoulish dresses. One little girl wore a gorgeous purple and black Victorian-style gown. Another young lady was a pretty Elsa in a blue sparkly dress. There were at least five different Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, an Incredible Hulk, a Black Panther, Jason of Friday the 13th, three Spider Men, and a ninja.
One kid had an inflatable dinosaur costume. A group of rowdy teen boys mostly wore weird inflatable costumes, except the kid on the skateboard in the powder-blue leisure suit and ugly blonde wig. He took a nasty tumble on the board just seconds after leaving me and my bowl of candy that made him decide to carry it for a while. There was a tiny Curious George with a mom Woman In the Yellow Hat and a Doctor Who group with a boy Tom Baker Doctor, a mom Sarah Jane, and a dad in a Tardis T-shirt. Saw a kid monkey and a pre-teen polar bear leading around her ghoul brother. Two teens were a cheetah and a black cat. A Disney crew family with a brother Mickey, Mom Minnie, baby sister Daisy, and dad Donald asked if we'd seen their orange cat around.
I received many compliments on my Red Riding Hood costume. Howl in particular was a big hit. The teens thought he was adorable. The little guys wanted to squeeze him. One toddler miss in an Elmo costume cuddled him. A little ladybug gave him a big hug. Even a frisky beagle rubbed noses with him.
It had been cold, cloudy, and breezy all day. Perfect Halloween weather, but not so great for sitting outside. I read The Hound of the Baskervilles between kids until it got too cold to be sitting around. Not to mention, I was fed up with the stockings. The runs were worse, and they kept sagging. When the candy bowl was down to the last few bits, I went inside, changed the stockings for socks, and threw my heavier cream and sienna sweater with the embroidered flowers under the cape.
Since I left a little early, I had plenty of time for pizza at Phillies Phatties. Some folks had already called trick-or-treat and were having dinner, too. I enjoyed a slice of sausage, a slice of margarita, and a bottle of Diet Pepsi while watching a little Minnie Mouse play with her dad.
Strolled around the neighborhood next, looking at decorations. Some families here get nearly as into Halloween decorations as they do for Christmas. One house was covered in cheesecloth spiderwebs. Another had a massive, moving inflatable dragon outside, complete with glowing red eyes.
Joined the crowd waiting for Oaklyn's Halloween Parade when I returned to West Clinton. There were some darn good Halloween costumes here, too. One boy was Willy Wonka. Another was a truly scary zombie clown with a terrifying mask. Four hilarious fifth-grade girls were dressed as Teletubbies (and won first-place as a group). Another pre-teen group sported pastel preppy plaid skirts and polo shirts.
There were at least two Scooby Doo groups, one with a Mystery Machine wagon. There was a dad Freddy Kruger and another who sported massive horns. A little girl kept tripping over her long sequined Elsa train. The girl pumpkin was utterly adorable, dancing around with abandon in her orange tulle skirt. Saw another Iron Man, a Flash, a Venom, and several more Spider Men. A taco, a hot dog, and a hoagie sported nifty printed fabric costumes; their dad was a slice of pizza. A mom Day of the Dead skeleton looked stunning in her makeup and flowered headdress.
It was slightly after 7:30 when the group finally headed raggedly down West Clinton. Most of our audience was at the block in front of Tonewood Brewery and Phillies Phatties, but it was still fun to walk with everyone. I didn't win anything in the costume competition this year (there were way too many better costumes, including Freddy Kruger and the Horned King), but I still had a good time.
(And for the second year in a row, it's a good thing the Parade ended when it did. It sprinkled a little while everyone was on the last block going to the Fire Hall. It didn't really start to pour until around 9 PM and has been off and on ever since.)
Took a shower as soon as I got home and put everything away, then spent the rest of the night back on YouTube. After the regular Match Game and Password Plus premiere, Match Game Productions had a short marathon of Halloween episodes from other game shows. To tell the truth, I'd seen all of them, either last year or last night, but that didn't stop me from enjoying seeing Ray Combs of Family Feud dressed as Robin Hood or Paul Lynde as Frankenstein's monster again.
Here's the marathon, for your own Halloween enjoyment:
Here's hoping you also had a scary good Halloween with all your favorite little witches and ghouls!
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