pumpkin F5

Singing Owl brings us this Friday's long-anticipated (for a whole week now) pumpkin/apple friday 5.

1. How did you celebrate this time of year when you were a child?

Dressing up in not too extreme a disguise with makeup rather than a mask and going around the neighborhood trick-or-treating, probably soliciting about 3 or 4 dozen houses.

2a. Do you and/or your family “celebrate” Halloween? Why or why not? And if you do, has it changed from what you used to do?

Currently I'm living without immediate family, roomie or spouse, but one or another church almost always has a party for kids and adults, and I try to hit one of those. Why? Hey, it's the Eve of All Saints' and in my theological and ecclesiastical tradition it's also Reformation Day, and I know Martin and Katie would glory in the day! Trick or treaters have been trickling down to fewer every year; since I don't care for candy and no one I know needs the calories in leftover candy, I've been buying pens, pencils, erasers and pencil sharpeners to give out to the kids, which they love, since school started a couple months ago and they're running low by late October.

2b. Candy apples: Do you prefer red cinnamon or caramel covered? Or something else?

I'll take my apples fresh, crispy and cool.

3. Pumpkins: Do you make Jack O’ Lanterns? Any ideas of what else to do with them?
Sometimes.

4. Do you decorate your home for fall or Halloween? If so, what do you do? Bonus points for pictures.

Due to condo "community" CCR's, we're allowed obvious holiday décor on doors, windows, etc. only so many days before and after a holiday, and how many days that is escapes me, but I usually hang a holiday wreath or arrangement or related on the front door and when available, window clings on the front windows. Inside I have a few Halloween Beanie Babies and placemats; that's about all. BTW, the pictures I've included in order to qualify for bonus points are PumpkinMarigold under the Christmas tree in one of our residences of yore.

5. Do you like pretending to be something different? Does a costume bring our an alternate personality?

I enjoy putting together a creative inexpensive costume, but just as when I was little I'd rather do an extreme version of regular street dress or party clothes with creative face painting rather than makeup or a mask. I want people to be able to recognize me as my usual identity with a hint of whoever it is I'm thinking about becoming for the future.

Bonus: Share your favorite recipe for an autumn food, particularly apple or pumpkin ones.

I want to post this now, Thursday evening, but I have several pumpkin, apple and other recipes I'd love to share, so I'll try to do that some time on Friday.

My own bonus bonus: A few years ago I won 1st prize in a writing contest for a Halloween story with a story about my Orange Cat, PumpkinMarigold, dressed up as a black cat!