All Hallow's Eve

Arabis has slept for three nights in a row and I am in heaven. I am almost giddy with sleep.

She was an adorable witch on her first actual trick-or-treating excursion and got lots and lots of candy which I am now munching on as I sit and write. A few people looked askance and asked how old she was. "Seventeen months," we proudly proclaimed. We could easily read the thought process on their faces. Is the candy for the baby? She's too young for candy. Am I giving my chocolate to the parents?

We did visit one house who had Playdoh for the non-candy-eating set, which I found wonderfully thoughtful. She gets to play with that, with supervision of course. But the door-to-door begging? That all goes to mama and papa.

Last year, Arabis' first Halloween, we stayed in the building and celebrated Halloween with the two toddler hellions, Viggo and Avo, by running up and down the halls and harassing tenants (who are generally unprepared for this sort of thing).

Here's Arabis and Papa last year.



This year, Mojo and I pondered what exactly to do with the Bit on Halloween, only to come up short each time. At the last minute we decided to trick-or-treat in Albany, where Mojo works.

We wandered for about five or six blocks down residential streets adjacent to the main strip. Arabis started out the journey on Mojo's shoulders but decided after about a block that she would much rather walk.

She was happy, climbing steps to stranger's houses, clutching her pumpkin in hand, thrusting it at the poor person who answered the door. She stared down kids in ghoulish masks to climb stairs (a favorite pastime that she doesn't get to do nearly enough of in her opinion) and shaking down hapless adults. When someone would drop a treat into her bag, she would look at it, grunt and climb back down the stairs.

We saw great pumpkin art and chatted with other folks out with spawn of various sizes. It was lovely to walk in a neighborhood, so different from industrial West Oakland, where we live in a warehouse across the street from a steel mill and the mournful cry of the freight trains lulls us at night. There were lawns. Gardens. Lovely cottages with overgrown wild yards. Something in me wanted this life. Arabis went wild whenever we saw grass and wanted to roll in it.

After an hour we headed home, stopping at the Emeryville Public Market for cheap dinner to go.

We all changed into our pajamas and curled up on the day bed in a big pile to watch "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown." Arabis was fast asleep within ten minutes. Lovely.