Monday, October 31, 2005

happy halloween!

When I was a sophomore in college, I shared a suite in a dorm with 7 other girls. It was crazy, hectic, cramped and SO MUCH FUN. 4 bedrooms with 2 girls in each, 2 bathrooms with separate sinks, toilets and showers, a kitchen and a huge living room and dining room made for great living. We all got along except for one girl that happened to be my direct roommate, but that is a story for another time, I think.

We decorated for every season, and Halloween, of course, was the main attraction. I went nuts with the decorations and put all of my roommates to work hanging lights and ghosts and decorating the windows. That year we had a huge co-ed slumber party and dragged all our mattresses into the living room and camped out watching scary movies into the wee hours of the morning.

One afternoon that year, one of my roommates (the now Brilliant Pediatrician) and I arrived home from class to find that all of our decorations and signs bearing the words "Happy Halloween" had all been changed to "Happy Happoween!" We set out immediately to figure out what was going on. We walked around the house examining all of the signs to make sure they were all the same, all wishing us a Happy Happoween. Once that was set, we sat down to try to figure out who had done it, why they'd done it, and what it could possibly mean. Did it mean happiness on Halloween? Was it a cultural thing? Had our Indian roommate changed them? Was it a joke? Why didn't we get it? I kid you not, we fretted about it for HOURS trying to figure out what it meant and who'd done it. In the meantime, various roommates were arriving home and expressing surprise and insisting that they weren't the culprits of the redecorating.

We were stumped, and seriously disturbed over what we considered a vandalism of all our hard-work decorating the house. That night, while we were wandering down the hall, we heard muffled laughter coming from one of the bedrooms. We cracked open the door and found two of our roommates dissolved in tears from laughing so hard. It turns out they were the vandals and they'd done it for precisely the effect it had elicited, to DRIVE US CRAZY.

The idea had sprung into their minds that morning, and they knew that when we got home and discovered the signs changed, we'd wonder and worry about it all day, as we had. 7 years later, that story still makes me chuckle.

Last night the Brilliant Pediatrician came over for a pre-Halloween celebration. We made Scrivener's Frankenstein pie (minus the meat), she brought Halloween cupcakes, we watched scary movies in front of a crackling fire and carved pumpkins.

Here are our masterpieces...




My haunted castle is on the left, and Herman, the Brilliant Pediatrician's pumpkin, is on the right.






Here is a rat trying to sneak his way into the haunted castle...
















I am hoping to get home in time to hand out a little bit of candy to trick-or-treaters, although Josh says that kids will come out before the sun goes down and the odds of my getting home by 4pm or so are pretty slim. I left out a big bowl of candy, though, let's hope the squirrels don't get to it!!














Tango and Murray, dressed as their favorite Red Sox players, and the rest of the Halloweenlover family wish you a very very Happy, Spooky, Creepy, Scary Happoween! Happy Halloween everyone!

22 comments:

Liz Miller said...

That pumpkin is AMAZING. I'm in awe. I bow to you.

You most truly are the goddess of Halloween

Anonymous said...

Happy Halloween, Hallowenlover!
Will be thinking about you all day and hoping that you get home early so you can enjoy the candy distribution.

Beautiful pumpkins carvings and lovely picture of you and Josh!

Anonymous said...

Hey, it's your big day! Happy Halloween! And thanks for sharing the pictures; your carved pumpkin is the coolest one I've ever seen.

Pink Cupcake said...

I have NEER seen such a fantastic pumpkin - I love it!
Hope you have a wonderful day.
Oh, and Tango and Murray are just too cute!
Happy Halloween HL!

Notes from the Trenches said...

Happy Halloween! Is it odd that I thought of you first thing this morning... as in, I have to wish halloweenlover a happy Halloween.

Love the jack-o-latern. We just finished up carving our seven, yes seven. Seemed like a fun tradition a few years (and kids) ago ;-)

Phantom Scribbler said...

Happy Halloween!

Scrivener said...

Happy Halloween! Wow, those jack o' lanterns really are amazing! I see now why you've taken this holiday as part of the name for your blog.

Frankie said...

I love those carvings! Excellent work.

Yankee, Transferred said...

I thought of you before anyone else outside my house this morning! Happy Halloween, Halloween Lover! Your pumpkin carving skills are amazing!

Running2Ks said...

(how 'bout) Hippie Happoween, and those pumpkins are incredible. You really know what you are doing!

Crunchy Domestic Goddess said...

awesome pumpkins!!

happy halloween! :)

i left a bowl full of candy out one year (when i didn't feel like answering the door for trick-or-treater) with a note that said "Please take one." after the first bunch of kids showed up, there were like 2 pieces of candy left. sheesh! i should've known better i guess. i just remember seeing signs like that when i was a kid and only taking one piece. of course, i was a good girl. ;)

KLee said...

Hally Happoween! :) (Sorta sounds like you've been drinking, doesn't it?)

I agree with all the comments that your jack o' lantern is great! (I love the mousie!)

Thinking of you and all of the HalloweenLover household! Enjoy your favorite day!

Unknown said...

Oh, I love your pumpkins, your pups, and the two of you!

Anonymous said...

That "Happoween" thing is a little twisted.

But it does sound like something you'd hear on Homestar Runner.

Love all the pictures! What cute doggies!

jo(e) said...

I am laughing at the story about your roommates changing the signs. That is just the kind of thing that would drive me absolutely crazy. Too funny!

ccw said...

I thought your dogs were stuffed animals dressed up until I read that the picture was really your dogs. They are really good in their costumes, so cute!

The pumpkins are great! So glad you were able to enjoy yor favorite holiday.

RussianViolets said...

Your pumpkins are awesome! Mine are so inadequate by comparison!!! And I *heart* Tango and Murray and their costumes.

Piece of Work said...

I LOVE the Hally Happoween story. Pure genius! Happy Halloween (a little late)

Kait W. said...

Awesome pumpkins! Adorable doggies! I'm so envious of the pumpkins--the pumpkins here in the UK are pale and dry and shabby in comparison :(

K said...

My college dorm years were super fun, too. The first year, we went all out. Hung a giant, garbage-bag bat in the corner over my bed, and it feel down on me in my sleep. Ah, good times. We called our room the Bat Cave for the rest of the year.

Anonymous said...

OMG your pumpkins are SO FAB! You should quit your job to be a pumpkin decorator. Full time. Swear.
:)

purple_kangaroo said...

How fun! And I love the pumpkin too.