Halloween Retail Therapy In July

 In Real Time it's only the 3rd of July and The Man said he'd rather just watch Fireworks on the TV than try to see them anywhere around us.  I may just go out myself to see if any are visible from further away?  I don't wanna go to any of the crowded venues and be uncomfortable or stuck in traffic.  I took him out for a drive, we stopped by a couple of GOODWILL Locations to look at more of the Halloween Merch they just put out, great Selection.  I did some Halloween Retail Therapy in July.  *Winks and Smiles*  Never too Early for me to get excited about Halloween and it's Merch!  *Ha ha ha*  I got the Red Cast Iron Vintage Kitchen Scale for Ten Bucks too at SAVERS.

They had such ridiculously low prices on it all that they were practically giving it away!  Most was New Old Stock from the SPIRIT Store, expensive pieces that they had marked at only $2.49-$3.49!!!  Below is part of my Haul, I also got a couple of those Vintage Colorful Neon Colored Plastic Jack O'Lantern Pumpkin Pails {not Photographed} and a Medium sized squat realistic looking Faux Pumpkin with long Stem {not Photographed}, and another Vintage Mummy Tumbler and same Era Vintage Frankenstein Tumbler, they were $1.99 each:

The Glass Skull with an Eyeball in it was 99 Cents.  I got some Harvest Themed Paper Plates Platter sized for 99 Cents too.  The Fabric Pumpkin Pair I got for $2.49 each Light Up and still had their $30 Retail Price Tag on them, so that was Sixty Bucks worth for $5.  The Harlequin Pumpkin is large and Resin, it too still had original Retail Price Tag on it of $30.  Zombie Baby "Snackin' Stevie" munching on the severed Hand from SPIRIT Store Retailed for $45 and I got him for $3.49.   The severed Heads Retailed for $20-$40 and it was $3.49.  The Two Headed Cobra Skeleton was around $30 Retail, it was $7 and the most expensive thing I bought, but still a Bargain.  And yeah, I know my Truck is filthy, we had a Dust Storm and Monsoon Rain Storm, so it Rained Mud.  And the Foam Pumpkin is a Vintage Black Jack O'Lantern Pumpkin Pail with Caulking Foam over it, then painted, very Clever.

Hey, I never really got all of our Halloween Harvest Decor off the Front Porch after Thanksgiving of 2025 was a Wrap, and I didn't really mind it staying out there almost a full Year now.  *LOL*  The Older I get the Lazier and less Conventional I'm becoming, especially about Seasonal Decorating.  I like it being up longer to enjoy it coz I have more Holidays behind me now than in front of me.  And for Halloween we always Decorate more extensively, especially Outside, than we even do for Christmas.  We have some Year Round Christmas Trees up too and in The RV Garage Mahal we have a Black Christmas Tree up Year Round that is Decorated for Halloween to Display my Halloween Ornaments continuously.

So, anyway, from here on out I'll be trawling GOODWILL Stores around the Valley to check out their Halloween Merch early.  I look forward to that every Year.  Princess T said SAVERS Halloween Merch is shitty this Year and will be disappointing and underwhelming, I don't know why?  Halloween now outperforms even Christmas in Retail Sales for the Decor folks Buy for it.  It's a more Imaginative Holiday so no matter how you want to Decorate for it, only your Imagination limits you.  You don't have to go Dark, Scary or Macabre.  You can go with a Fantasy Theme, Harvest Theme, Whimsical Theme, a particular Genre like Pirates, Cartoon Characters, Super Heroes, Princesses, Dia de los Muertos, Carnival, whatever.

Yes, I do know some Fundies who won't and don't Celebrate it coz they Imagine they're conjuring Devils or something.  I find it Ironic then that they Support one in the White House.  Even going so far as to give him a Status of damned near Divinity!!!  *Shrugs, Shakes Head and Laughs*  The lack of logic with those Extremist Fundamentalist Religions is just very Weird and completely Whacko like Cults are.    Anyway, it's my Favorite Holiday and time of Year, so I always look forward to Autumn and Halloween rolling around.   Any Store kickin' off the Holiday Early is okay with me even tho' it gives some folks the absolute Vapors.  *LOL*  I'm such a Big Kid at Heart that I extend every Holiday before it gets here and after it's gone.  It brings me Joy to.  And one can never have enuf or too much Joy IMO.

The Son Won $20 on his Scratch Lottery Ticket, I've Won $5, so we're ahead of the Game.  *Ha ha ha*   We are not Gamblers, and rarely Play, but, you can't Win if you don't Play.  So, every so often we'll spend a couple Bucks on a Scratch Ticket and usually we do get Lucky and Win a little more than we spent.   I J'Adore the Graphics on the Frida Kahlo Scratch Tickets so keep my Losing Ticket.  We have a big ole' Mouse on the Back Porch that won't fall for the Rodent No Kill Trap we have Baited with Peanut Butter and Granola.  Found out he'd found Tyson's Gravy Train Dog Kibbles instead, so I had to bring the Bag inside the House, no Wonder that Mouse was so damned Big, he'd eaten half the 5 lbs. Bag of Gravy Train!!!  And, then the lil fucker was taking to coming up on the Kitchen Window Ledge and looking in at us in there in the Morning, Bold as Brass it is!!!  *LOL*

It's Cute, Huge, and a Mouse, not a Roof Rat, but, it's gotta Go.  Smart lil bugger too and Curious, peeks in the Window now when we're standing there having Coffee, the Kiddos are getting a real Kick out of it!   The Son and The Daughter had told me it comes right up to them when they're on the Back Patio Smoking, so it's not afraid of Humans either.    But Arizona does have Hantavirus carried by Rodents, so we don't want them or their deadly diseases they could be carrying.  It's what Gene Hackman's Wife Died from, Pulmonary Respiratory Disease from Hantavirus, which can be Fatal.  So we Hope to humanely Trap it and then release it at the River Preserve where it can then Peacefully live out it's Rodent Life in Nature rather than an Urban Setting it's Unwelcome in.

I never Poison Rodents coz other Animals then eat them and get Poisoned.  Both Wildlife and Domestic Pets like Cats.  We think that is what Killed our Old Working Female Cat, Miss Priss, we think she got Poisoned from eating what someone had killed with Poisons.  Coz being a Working Cat she caught Rodents, Scorpions and Bugs constantly, it was her Job and sometimes she did eat them or bring their Corpses to us as Pressies and to be Praised, sometimes half eaten.  *Ewww but Good Girl*   It's why we always used to have Working Cats on our Acreages we Owned, they're Invaluable and Earn their Keep.   Now, our current Cat, tho' Huge and Aggressive, is a Cowardly Fraidy Cat, Eli will not Hunt a damned thing and is Scared if he sees a Dead Bug or his own Shadow!

Princess T doesn't Work Tomorrow for the 4th of July so she'll have a Three Day Holiday Weekend.  Rusty spent most of his Day Off Today here working on her Car, replacing her Battery, putting new Brake Pads on it, sweating Bullets out there coz it was already 100 Degrees!  I brought him an Ice Chest filled with Waters, Juices and one Modelo Beer.  He called Princess T to say her Gramma had given him a Beer, but that he didn't drink it.  *LMAOROTF*  I don't know if he thought I was Setting him Up or not?  *Smiles*  He's Old enuf to Drink and I didn't know if he Drinks or not?  Princess T said that like her, he doesn't want or choose to Drink, which is good to know and to hear actually.  But, I didn't know and so I wanted to offer one while he was out there broiling under the Hot Sun coz her Car isn't Parked in Shade that early coz The Pine's cast Shade that side nearer Sunset than Sunrise.  I found it comical he Texted her about the Beer in the Cooler.  *Bwahahaha*

She Laughed about it and said that she "wouldn't ALLOW" him to Drink anyway, coz it's a Trigger to her being around Drinkers, like it is to me.  In so many ways that Child sounds like a Younger Version of me, No?  *Bwahahahaha*   Obedience being better than Sacrifice, or being Sacrificed, our Menfolk know to not rock the Boat and fall into our Waters, it would be like Chum in the Waters where Big White Female Shark swim.  *LMAOROTF*   Anyway, The Daughter and I are rooting for Rusty, we like that Young Man.  *Winks* 

  I'm watching some of the Celebrations going on across the County on TV and the reminders of Heroic Acts of Courage various Ordinary Americans have done thruout 250 Years to Preserve this Democracy and Fight for Human Rights to make this Experiment work better for everyone.  It's quite Emotional, becoz I remember some of those Milestones in my own Lifetime.  Of Ordinary People who chose to Stand for Something and make a profound difference in the Country I Love.  We are a Country at the Crossroads again.   Ordinary People Standing Up in Extraordinary Times.

I took a long Nap so that I'd be up for the Fireworks.  I Woke at 6:00 p.m. to give The Man his Night Meds.  Luckily both of our Phones have an Alarm for that and were both in our Bedroom.  I couldn't ignore them and Sleep thru it.  *Smiles*   The Fireworks Display in Glendale Tonight is at 9:00 p.m. and Princess T told me where she and Rusty viewed it last Year and not far from our Mini Farms Community on a Dead End Street near the Spring Training Fields for Baseball.  She said most people don't know what a good vantage point to the Football Stadium in Glendale that is, where they are Hosting the Display and have for the past few Years.  We can see the Stadium from some vantage points here in our Community, it's that close to us.  But we have a lot of very Old Magnificent Trees that are tall, and there has been a lot of development of what used to be enormous Commercial Agricultural Fields, now it's a Sea of Residential Subdivisions where they used to grow Crops just a Year ago.  *Le Sigh*

 

I don't mind responsible Development but I think they are overbuilding and it won't be sustainable long-term.  So, the short-term Greed is problematic with these obscenely wealthy Investors and Corporations that are able to get Zoning changed by Paying Off all the Right People.  And seeing our Communities merely as Commodities to be Exploited and Profited from.  A lot of folks are moving to Arizona as the Exodus from less desirable places in the Country intensifies.  Whether coming here for the Job Opportunities or the Weather, or just to Retired somewhere that has Sunshine you don't have to Shovel, one thing is clear, it's driving up the Cost of Living here significantly to where a lot of Locals now can't afford to live here anymore.  So, an Exodus is happening too of our Younger, Retired, and our less Affluent Populations to other parts of the Country with lower Costs of Living than ours now.

So many of my Retired Friends have moved to States where they can find more Affordable Housing, just like so many used to move here, and some still do, coz where ever they came from was already unaffordable to them.  At some point tho', there will be no more place in America to move TO that is more affordable.  Thus, I can't begin to tell you how many are becoming Ex-Pats and moving Abroad now.  You gotta go where you can afford to live and have quality of Life or opportunities lacking from where ever you came from.  This is why Immigrants have long come to America, but now, some Americans are Immigrating Abroad for the very same reasons.   And... if Democracy can't be held onto here... I suspect that Exodus will be magnified and we'll lose a lot of good Americans of Value to other Countries that will Welcome them as Immigrants. 

Anyway, even tho' I have been distracting myself with the Fluff of Life, and especially as things get dire and uncomfortable, and Too Much to Cope with 24-7, I do think about the Serious Stuff most of the time.  I realize what's at stake and I will not be in Denial, I won't be Indifferent, or Ambivalent, or Passive and Neutral.  If you never Fight or Stand for Something, then you are sure to Lose and Stand for Nothing.    LATER: Back from watching the Fireworks, only The Son came with me.  Princess T and Rusty saw the same Display but went to a different Location than the one I thought they'd told me about.  I'd misunderstood her directions but it turned out more perfect than their location!  No other people, perfect view with no obstructions, 5 Minutes from Home, perfect Night coz it was only about 95 degrees Tonight, so, comfortable and with a slight Breeze.  The Son bought me a Fountain Soda so I didn't even need to drink what I brought in the Ice Cooler.

The Display was a nice one, not any more or less than previous Years tho'.  The Finale' was good, but not Extra than previous Years either.  I had thought more would be done for the 250th actually, but, it was a nice Free Display put on by the City of Glendale at the Stadium.  I enjoyed it, the Weather was more perfect than previous 4th of Julys have been, Cooler than usual, it got to 104, but it's been up to 113-116 already and will be again next Week, so, the drop in temperature was Welcome for the Holiday Weekend.  Princess T got Home slightly after we did.  The Man had kept waffling about going or not going, finally deciding not to go, which was probably for the best.  He's not really into watching Fireworks or just sitting Outside waiting for them to begin.  We got to our spot about 30 Minutes early to ensure the best location was available to us.  Nobody clearly knew about that Location tho', which was Ideal.  It's in another Mini Farms Community North of ours.

The Son talked to a couple of his Friends on the Phone while we were there to wish them a Happy 4th of July.  I think he felt Down a bit to be spending it hanging out with me rather than getting together with his Peers, but he appreciated me inviting him along.  I was willing to do it Solo.  The Daughter Opted Out at the last Minute waiting on a Friend to pick her up, don't know if her Friend showed up or not tho', if she did it was cutting it to the Wire to go anywhere Hosting a Celebration.  I won't wait on anyone so had told The Daughter, we're leaving at 8:30 coz the Fireworks start at 9:00, if you want to join us you're Welcome to.  But, if you'd rather wait on this Friend to show up, that's Fine too.   I just Hope that The Friend wasn't a No-Show?  Don't know. 

 That's why The Son didn't get his Hopes up that anyone he knows would come get him to go do anything, too many end up cancelling last Minute for one reason or another... then it's a Let Down and spoils the Holiday for you, if you had other opportunities you Passed On, waiting on or depending upon someone unreliable or inconsiderate.   I don't do that and don't Play that, never have, never will.  I make my Plans and stick to them, regardless of what anyone else is or isn't doing.  It's not contingent upon them.   Above is my Vintage Carnival Midway Game Set as I first saw it.  I waited Months to get it, coz the Vendor did want a Fair but Spendy amount for it, but, when would I see another one, Right?  Got it for far less than the few Sold for Online, so I felt it was a Fair and Reasonable amount.

So, what did you all do for the 250th Celebration for the 4th of July?  Anything Special, or, weren't you Feeling it this Year?   I only Wish we'd had a Presidency of Decency for it, and not some Fascist Leaning Greed driven Perverse Lunatic, I'd of felt Prouder, that's all.  I refused to let it spoil the Holiday for me tho', we don't usually do a lot anymore now we're Older, like we did in our Youth, to Celebrate, mostly it's Quietly Observed now.   The Man isn't much into Celebrating Holidays actually, if I didn't Decorate for them or Celebrate them, I think he'd Opt Out of most of them, even the Major ones.  It's just not his Jam and I see very little Enthusiasm he can muster for any of them.   My Parents were rather similar actually, Mom never did get the hang of most American Holidays and Dad, like The Man, Observed every one Quietly with no Fanfare.  He mostly did what he did for us Kids, otherwise, I know he wouldn't have bothered.

As a Kiddo I don't remember my Parents taking us to Fireworks Displays and mebbe most of the places we lived didn't even have them like they do now actually.   But, they'd buy us some Sparklers, that was the extent of it.  *Ha ha ha*  Halloween they didn't Decorate for but they always handed out Candy and usually made our Costumes.  Except one Year they had the Money to Buy us Store Bought ones.  I think we were Older Grade School Aged by then, I think Costumes in the Box were Cheap $1.98 each, but we were Poor and just didn't know it.  *Smiles*  And, I remember my Brother and I got a Mister and Missus Bugaboo Costume.  The Face Masks were transparent and glowed in the Dark, mine had a big Black Rubber Spider on one Cheek and his had a big Rubber Green Lizard on one Cheek.  The Plastic Jumpsuits barely fit over our Snowsuits and you couldn't Breathe with the Mask on and it would Fog Up with condensation from your Breath!  So you wore it up 'til you got to someone's Door.  *LMAO*

I've never seen those Costumes since and even Googling, can't even find an Image of one or the other of the Bugaboo Costumes of the early 1960's.   Google is mistaken that the Bugaboo Characters didn't exist in the 1960's coz I know they did before the 1990's version of whatever that Named Character was... we wore the fucking 1960's early Costumes!    Artist Jill Thompson of the 1990's Character called Bugaboo didn't Invent the Character or the Name really then, but Google doesn't know that and when AI doesn't know something it just makes shit up.  Ben Cooper made a lot of the mass produced Cheap Boxed Magic-Glo Halloween Costumes of that Era I speak of 1960's onwards.  Collegeville  and Halco were other Makers of mass produced Cheap Boxed Halloween Costumes.

And even tho' our Dad was Madly Creative and made some of the best Halloween Costumes for us, we coveted that silly uncomfortable Boxed Costumes.  The Boxes themselves were Marketing Genius to make Kids WANT one.   And I do remember the Price Point being under Three Bucks for almost all of them back then, but, our Dad was a low ranking Enlisted Military Career Man and our Mom didn't Work outside of the Home, so, that was often sacrificial for them to spend that much on something worn once and for a Night.  I look at what Passed as Flame Retardant and Ventilated now and laugh, it's a wonder we survived even a Night of wearing these things.  Most never Survived the Night, the Elastic on the Mask would Break and the Mask would Crack.  The Onesie was flimsy and ripped.  But, Hey, most were under Two Dollars.   I still have a Gypsy one New Old Stock, still in her Box and never taken out, I Cherish it in my Vintage Halloween Collectibles Cabinet of Curiosities in the Guest Bedroom.   The last Pix above of a Costume reminds me most of my Missus Bugaboo Transparent Glo Mask.  Stick a Rubber Tarantula on there at one Cheek and it's close enuf.  *LOL*

I have a few of the Brittle Masks, in poor condition, but, they still exist.  I often see Antique Stores having the New Old Stock of Boxed Halloween Costumes but they can fetch a lot more than I'd pay for one.   And I do trawl Online Auctions to see what Vintage Halloween is fetching these days, coz so little of it exists.   The New Old Stock of Boxed Costumes and the Paper Mache' Pumpkins can fetch a Fortune Online at Auction!  It is Fun to see what used to be the most Popular Costumes for each Era.  There is a metamorphosis of what Popularizes in the Genre of Costumes for various times in our History of Celebrating Halloween.  Which is uniquely American BTW.   It was so difficult, when Stationed Abroad in the Military to be able to Celebrate distinctly American Holidays, for lack of availability of Product for them elsewhere around the World.

I don't even recall many of our Homemade Costumes, just that one Special Year we got the Boxed Store Bought ones.   And even once I was too Old to go Trick-Or-Treating, I'd Dress Up to hand out the Candy to Kids who came to our Door.  Kids and their Parents always liked that a lot, they still do.  We still do it, and it's still as appreciated now as it was back then.   And my Parents never Cheaped Out on the Candy they handed out, they'd always Buy the best they could afford and enuf of it that we never ran out.   I do remember, back when it was Safer and you knew all your Neighbors, many would make Homemade Treats to hand out like Popcorn Balls and other Confections.  You wouldn't dare to do that now of coarse, and the Urban Myths of Yesteryear were mostly Myths back then too, tho' Parents did check the Candy before letting you partake.  My Family mostly gave ours away coz we weren't Sugar Fiends and rarely ate Candy even as Kiddos.  We were never on a Sugar Blaze.

Even our Kids and Grandkids we Raised mostly gave theirs away, they just enjoyed dressing up in Costumes and going to get the Candy.  Mostly they didn't even eat it, tho' The Man often did, he is a Sugar Fiend.  *Ha ha ha*  It makes me often Wonder if he was deprived of such things as a Child and why he craves it now?   My Parents did what I always did, I always had a Treat Box and a Bowl of Candy sitting out 365 and so it was available and rarely eaten by us, mostly by our Guests who didn't have it as readily available.  My Dad said it was Reverse Psychology that works.   If he didn't want us to have a lot of something, he just made it so readily available we lost Interest, it wasn't Forbidden or Special, and it was always just there for the Taking, so we rarely did Partake of it.  That's been Tried and True, Tested now thru Three Generations and still works.   We like Savory, Salty or Sour over Sweet anyway on my side of the Family, except for The Man.   He said it's coz we are Salty and Sour, he could be Right?   And he's allegedly so Sweet?  *Bwahahahaha Okay then.*

 

I'm still hearing the Amateur Fireworks going off around us coz it is Legal in Arizona to Buy them and use them, except near Nature Preserves.  I don't like Amateurs using something that could be dangerous if not properly used and carelessly or drunkenly could cause Fires or Injury.  So not a Fan of the Sale of it, coz every Year someone does something Stupid and causes a Situation with Amateur Pyrotechnics.  And, some do it far too late, it's past 11:00 p.m. and they really should have wrapped that shit up by around 10:00 p.m..   All Professional Displays are a Wrap by around 9:30 p.m. everywhere.   Some areas did Cancel up North of our State around Flagstaff due to the Fire Danger being exceptionally High.   Some resorted to Drone Displays, like in Flagstaff, Arizona.  I heard back East in D.C. they Cancelled a lot due to it being 103 Degrees and an Extreme Heat Warning.  It was only 104 here in Arizona, so I couldn't Imagine 103 back East! 

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Blessings, Love and Light from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian