HALLOWEEN - 2012

I'm not sure I will have any tricks but I know that I do have treats.  With my grandkids being here, I feel I have  been treated and it has been several years since I've celebrated a Halloween with them.  When my husband and I moved here 7 years ago, we noticed there were no small children near us so we have never had trick or treaters come here and really no different this year, except that my own grandchildren are here and with the move so recent and still unpacking and settling in, there won't be a lot going on here.  But I do have to go to town for supplies and groceries today so will look for something a little special either for our supper or a treat for later.

I hope all your little ghosts and goblins as well as you have a great Halloween.  Now here is my treat for all you special people.

THE SOUNDS AND SHADOWS OF THE NIGHT

The three children had been out on their rounds gathering up the treats on this Halloween night.  The sky was clear so the stars were twinkling and the big full moon was rising in the east casting shadows along with the street lights as they walked along.  It was a dark night but the three of them felt safe as a group and hurried from street light to street light to avoid the dark and the possible hiding places of those who prowl this night.

After an hour of walking around the neighborhood, they had a lot of treats and were heading back home.  The youngest, a boy of 11 told his sisters, "Let's cut through the vacant lot as we can get home faster and see what we have."

The girls weren't excited about entering the vacant lot.  There was a house on each side but both were empty and dark and eerie looking and as they looked at one another, told their little brother, "Let's stay on the street."

But Matthew was off an running across the lot as the girls stood there.  Afraid he might get hurt in the dark, they decided to follow calling out his name.  "Matthew, wait up."

Matthew was still running but stopped suddenly as he saw something run in front of him and hide in the tall grass near where he would have to walk.  He was standing there when his sisters reached him and were asking, "What is the matter?"

"I don't know but I just saw something run in front of me and it is in those weeds over there."  He was cowering down behind his oldest sister who put her arm around him.

Brianna told him, "It is okay.  It was probably just a dog or a cat."  She was wary as she took a step with her arm around her brother and looked at her sister, "Come on Hailey, let's go."

Hailey shook her head, "I'm not going there."  She turned to run back the way she came but let out a scream as she saw something too.  She ran back to her brother and sister, "We are trapped.  There is something in front of us and something behind us.  What are we going to do?"

Brianna looked around and then they froze as they heard the low growl of something very close to them.  Huddling together they each were looking in all directions.  The tall grasses were moving as the moon kept rising higher casting more shadows and then they saw something.  They screamed as they started to turn but there there was something behind them.  They turned back.

It seemed that there was more than just one or two as the noises were coming from all directions while the grass was moving and they could hear the crunch from the leaves under foot of what was in there.  They could almost feel the eyes watching them and the low growls and heavy breathing.  Occasionally a tall blade of grass would move revealing a shape but they couldn't tell what it was.

Brianna started running holding on to her brother's hand and calling to her sister, "Come on,.  Let's run."

But it was too late.  They all stopped as something came out of the tall grass and stood in front of them.  The growl was low and threatening and the light was reflecting off the eyes giving an eerie yellowish look.  The flash of white teeth glowed in the moonlight as the three children stood huddled together looking for another way around what ever this was.

The thing that had been in front of them just disappeared and slowly they started on their way to get home.  They could see the street and the house but they still had to walk by the tall stand of grass and whatever was hiding there.  

Tiptoeing they moved slowly until they were even with the spot where they had seen the object and then began to run.  Suddenly they heard the noise behind them and ran faster as the thing was getting closer, growling and they could almost hear it breathing,

They reached the end of the lot and were safely on the street under the street light but were still running until Brianna stopped to look behind them.

She began to laugh while Matthew and Hailey looked on.  She pointed to the thing that had come out of the vacant lot, "Look it is our dogs, Jazzie and Poe and some of Grandma's cats.

They arrived home with their tale of the sounds and sights they'd seen in the vacant lot vowing never to go there again and especially on Halloween.  While they told their tales and showed their mother and grandmother what they got, they didn't see the yellow eyes and flash of white or hear the low growl of what had followed them home and was watching through the windows.  Jazzie ad Poe were hunkered down in their cage not making a sound as the thing grew close.

At the screech of the old tom cat, the thing ran away, back to the vacant field and disappeared into one of the dark houses.  Later that night, there was a glow peering from one of the windows, two yellowish eyes watching the house where the children lived.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!!  DON'T LET THE GHOSTS AND GOBLINS GET YOU!!! AND WATCH OUT FOR THOSE SOUNDS AND SHADOWS ON THIS NIGHT.

Changing my Lifestyle

On Saturday, October 13, 2012 my life style changed and I really think it is going to be for the best.  My youngest daughter, Michele and my three grandchildren, Brianna, Hailey and Matthew arrived with a U-haul truck and trailer and two friends with their belongings which now are part on my carport, part on my covered porch and part in the storage shed.  Oh, and I can't forget three dogs, Greta a german shepherd mix, Jasmine, a boxer mix and Poe who bless his heart is a combination of who knows but they are all good dogs and it has been interesting to see them interacting with my cats, inside and outside.

First, the outside cats disappeared as soon as the truck drove in and Michele got out of the car with three dogs on leashes.  They are slowly coming back but it is going to take some time for the two outside dogs, Jasmine and Poe to realize they can't just run up to the kitties and play and for the kitties to realize the dogs are not going to eat them.

The two inside kitties hid and we didn't see them until the middle of the night on Saturday.  Then yesterday one of them began coming out just a little bit but still very cautious.  About 11 PM on Sunday night, the other cat came out and was curious about Greta who was sleeping in her cage.  We think he might have come too close and woke her up as we saw a flash as he raced through the bedroom and heard Greta barking up a storm.  Then I caught him peeking around the corner.

This morning everyone was up at 6 AM as the kids got ready to go back to school.  Michele took them in to get them enrolled which has taken longer than she thought.  But she is very pleased with the school and thinks the kids will be once they are familiar with them.  

One of Matthew's teachers is married to the bus driver of the bus she rode when she went to school here and when she went to enroll Hailey who was really nervous about finding her way around, she was introduced to a girl who is President of the Honor Society and a cheerleader and so she will be meeting a lot of new people and finding new friends today.  I think she will relax a little bit now and quit worrying so much about it.

They went to get Brianna enrolled in the high school but the counselor won't be back until 12:30 so they are doing some other business in town and then will go back to get her enrolled.

I'm babysitting all the cats and dogs this morning.  Greta is being good unless I go outside and then she thinks I'm leaving her.  I let the two outside dogs out of their cage to run around and go to the bathroom and then had a time getting them back into the cage but once I had a treat for them, they went willingly.  We will keep them locked up for a few days until they really get to know their new surroundings and we can teach them not to run out the gate each time it is opened.

When the kids get home later, it is going to be a nice warm day so they can be out there with them and give them some exercise and work with them about the gate.

In the meantime, I'm still packing up stuff in the two rooms the kids will use so we can start getting their beds set up.  Right now, we are on temporary sleeping arrangements but so far everyone is comfortable and hopefully by the end of the week everyone will have their own room and the unpacking can start.

It is nice to hear the sound of voices and laughter again in the house after almost three years of living alone and only having the cats to talk to daily and the occasional visits from Melanie and Zach or when I was able to go visit a neighbor.

It is going to be a lifestyle change but I think once we are all settled in, we will begin to function like a family unit and I know that I'm very happy to have them here with me.  Although I will admit being around teens and a preteen reminds me of the days when my own two were growing up but times have changed so I'm being updated too.

As I said in my previous blog, my indecision may have been because I was being guided to stay here and when the time came, it was meant for my daughter and family to move here to be with me.  We all believe in a higher power and we feel we were guided into this decision so we know it will work for us.