Halloween. I was sitting at the dining room table working on program materials, and it began to get dark. I wondered where everyone was, they're usually home before it gets dark, then I looked at the clock and realized that it was only 3:15... The hour change has taken a bite out of the afternoon. By the time the kids were ready to go trick-or-treating, it was pitch black and frigid outside. Kirsten's friend came over, bringing the two pre-schoolers she was chaperoning, little cuties, one dressed as an owl and the other as a zebra, full body furry costumes. Joeby was very intrigued by these small animals, went and sniffed them thoroughly, which the little guys thought was hilarious.

We had a steady stream of kids at the door, we closed the inner door and stood by the front door in our parkas, and dispensed candy to probably a hundred kids. Some of them were being pulled around on sleds behind snowmobiles, others were walking in noisy groups. One tiny boy, during a lull where I had gone to sit on the couch, opened the door and barged in, yelling "Hello!" Everyone seemed in good spirits, despite the cold, and lots more said thank-you than last year in Nanaimo. The streets are usually pretty quiet here in the evenings, and it was different to see them full of kids and parents and sleds. We ran out of candy in about an hour, something we attributed to having bought it too early and eaten too much of it ourselves.