Not last night but the night before...

forty-two robbers came to my door.  Okay, it was last night.  And they all asked very politely.

pumpkins, washed, and awaiting their fate

The first swarm of 6 little girls were costumed as Dorothy, a bee, and various princesses.

Next came a tiny walking Jack-o-lantern, 

and then two social workers (really) asking for non-perishable food items (they got the best haul of the evening),

followed by a witch with a glowing blue skull on her hat.

Then came not one, but two Freddy Kruegers (they were going to dress as a Teletubby and a nerd-ostrich combo, but couldn't muster the energy or so they said)...

Carving in progress--deadly nightshade and poisonous toadstools

The next loud twist of the doorbell was from a stormtrooper.

Then our across the street neighbours arrived with a new babe in arms all dressed in pink,

followed by a witch and a pirate,

a mad scientist,

a leprechaun (self described as the Lucky Charms guy),

a spy,

a sparkle witch,

tiny Papa Smurf,

a ninja,

an alien,

a clown,

a superhero with an H on his chest (Hyperdrive?)

a glamrock zombie (fantastic costume!)

a witch,

a lamb,

a Scream-masked ghost,

a much bigger smurf,

a vampire...

my out of focus, but favorite, barn owl pumpkin

Then, at 8, there was a lull.

...

Then arrived a panda bear and her very young mom who was also eager for candy, signalling a change in tone.

Next came Super Mario and his teenaged parents,

a marijuana leaf emblazoned flag wearing "green party" member (who liked my magic mushroom pumpkin),

a biker,

a boss bear (sporting a moustache),

a girl (or was it?),

a lingerie model in an overcoat,

and a cowboy (a pimp cowboy explained his friends).

the rechristened magic mushroom pumpkin

And then, like that, they were all gone, bump, into the night.

We survived the onslaught and even have leftover chocolate, mostly of the 70%+ cocoa variety...

as planned.

Regular house-related blog posting to resume shortly.