Halloween 2010

Halloween, what can you say?  I lived four and half years in the US previously, but nothing from those years really stood out about halloween.  New Yorkers really seem to get into it, starting even the previous weekend with kids walking around in costumes in the parks.  I think there must of been halloween parties around.  Over the weekend it was not only the little kids who were into dressing up, but the big kids as well. Surprisingly though, the costumes did not really have a sort of "scarey halloween" theme to them.  Many were pretty normal...Cat women, Trekkies, Cookie Monster, plenty of Harry Potters etc and that's even the adults.  In some ways at home, Halloween seems to reflect the more a blood dripping ghoully side of it.  Any way, I still think it is a weird holiday. 

Decorations

There was a big halloween parade on at Greenwich Village, but I was all over it, so couldn't be bothered going, I am sure there would of been a lot of interesting sights down there. It is the start of the holiday season over here.  The next big celebrations will be Thanksgiving.

Picking the pumpkin!

Award winning carving.

One of the things which has stuck out this time to me is the pumpkins. I am amazed at the pumpkins  and it seemed to go to peoples head.  I heard  Dunkin Donuts advertise pumpkin flavoured coffee and donuts.  Donuts I can understand, a bit like Lady Flo's pumpkins scones (for Queenslanders), but coffee????  I should of  been on the look out for pumpkin flavoured hot chocolate! There was even some pumpkin cheesecake, but I had to control myself and not taste it.  The only sweet way I like pumpkin is a dessert my mother makes  she calls Gramma Pie.  Yummy!!!

Pumpkins!

I didn't see to many carved pumpkins around the place, but I went to a farmers market at Union Square in town on Saturday and saw some great ones.  There are pumpkins of all different sizes and shapes.  Here are some of the photo's.  I have bought some pumpkin since being here which I thought was Jap pumpkin, to mash and eat...not the same, very different.  

Trunk: trick or treating

I went to a Halloween Party last night at Church with some friends I knew from Brisbane, Kerry and Tuata Angus.  They live in Scarsdale one the suburbs of New York and it was great to get out beyond the city.  I caught a train up which was an adventure in itself.  The trains lines are not part of the subway system, so I had to transfer from a subway to a train station.  I thought the stations would be in the same place. Wrong!  I came out on to the street from the subway, a very disorientating experience if any of you have done it, particularly when the area is unfamiliar.  Surfacing from the subway, I found myself in the middle of a Harlem area.  Ok for during the day, but still a bit un-nerving.  I found the station however, then had to figure out which train I needed to catch.  Just when I thought I had mastered  getting around New York via public transport, I find I don't really know very much at all!  To make a long story short, I eventually caught the right train, but when we started speeding past all these stations I realised I was on a express train.  Lucky for me the next stop was only two stations on from where I had to be, so I caught another one back making sure it wasn't and express back to New York City!

A Mummies boy!

Halloween Princess

 The party was a Chillie cook off and then a trunk trick or treating.  Instead of walking from house to house, the kids go from car to car in the Chapel carpark.   People open the trunks of their cars (car boots to us Aussies) and the kids make their way along trick or treating.  I thought this was a pretty good and safe way of doing it.  Although, I wouldn't liked to have been in primary or nursery on Sunday with all the kids hyped on sugar! The church members got really into dressing up.  It was a fun activity and the Chillie was great. 

I'm not sure how many of you keep up my waffling, but you will have to excuse my bad english and missing words.  I have a bad habit of doing this, I try fix it up before sending however don't catch all my mistakes.  I have also yet to work out the fine art of setting up the pictures and text so they match up, but anyway not bad I think for a MS!  

Take care and hope you had a Happy Halloween!