Okay, so, it's a long Post Title Hook Today but pretty much explains what happened. For the first time since 1987, almost 40 Years, it Rained on Halloween and Dia de los Muertos too!!! So, yeah, torrential Rains and epic Flooding requiring over 600 Water Rescues on regular City Streets that quickly became raging dangerous Rivers, plus a Tornado in North Scottsdale, was how it played out this Holiday Weekend!!! Oddly, on the East Coast where some of my Granddaughters live, the Weather was glorious for Halloween, no Bad Weather in Pittsburgh and so the Great-Grandkids had a wonderfully balmy looking Halloween, while in the Desert we needed an Ark! *LOL*
Even tho' it poured, Trick-Or-Treaters donned Umbrellas or just got soaked to the Skin and came out in force anyway looking like Drowned Rats, Bless them!!! Mostly coz we Decorate extensively, most think I'm a Real Witch or practice Voodoo *Winks* and we hand out full Bags of Candy and Small Halloween Toys. So, we had way more Kiddos that came than expected in inclement Weather and they didn't let Climate Change ruin their Halloween Haul! We had a line of Cars in front of our House most of the Night!!! *LOL* In fact, some Parents told us that their Kiddos said if they only went to ONE House, it would be ours coz we always have the best Decorations and give out the most Candy, plus, what will the Witchy Voodoo Priestess be like on Halloween?! *LOL* That Warmed and Touched my Heart!!! We did make it worth their while to come out in the Elements and brave it to get the Bag of Candy we handed out to each one. We even gave a Bag of Candy to our AMAZON Delivery Driver and he was as happy as any Child to receive it, having to be out in that Weather doing Deliveries. *LOL*
We took loads of Pixs coz even in the Rain, and perhaps becoz of it, the Lighting was ideal for Photography. Even pushing me way back into our Entryway to hand out Candy worked really well for the Photo Ops. Becoz it was Chilly and Fresh Air Breezy, we opened the Front Door and set up a line of Chairs for the Family to sit behind me. So everyone could not only see our Exterior Decor, but some of the Interior Decor as well, which was a Big Hit for the Families that came. And we could just all sit and visit with each other while waiting for Kids to walk up. The Niece and The Son enjoyed that a lot. Princess T went out with Rusty, The Daughter never did come Home. The Man watched TV in the Living Room and we could keep an Eye on him from our vantage point.
So, despite the Bad Weather, I'd say it was a very nice Halloween. Tho' it's still Raining like Hell so the Dia de los Muertos Celebrations are also compromised significantly and they are all Outside. I had planned to attend a Dia de los Muertos Event at The Desert Botanical Gardens but won't in the Weather and heavy Rain. It will run thru the 3rd so we'll see if it Rains all 3 Days of it? I hope not, but it looks likely that it will and Streets are dangerously Flooding, So it would be unwise to take the risks to do any unnecessary traveling in the City or Freeways. They've had Water Rescues and Cars literally swept away or totally submerged on City Streets that the Water was raging as fast as any Dangerous Rivers!!! And the Tornado that Touched down in Scottsdale, I don't think that's ever happened before, lots of damage caused.
At one Elementary School in El Mirage Four Adults were struck by Lightening that hit the School while Kiddos were being picked up!!! El Mirage is a City not that far from here, just North of our City in the Metro Phoenix Area, and Lightening Strikes too were looking very dangerous and touching down everywhere. Below is some of the Live Feed I was getting Halloween Day/Evening about the Weather, since we were monitoring it closely for Safety reasons. And some areas relatively close by were not looking Safe, some had Hail the size of Quarters pelting down too and causing considerable harm and damage! Luckily, we just got the torrential Rains and not much Wind in our Neighborhood. *Whew* I still have The RV Garage Mahal Roof Tarped and not replaced yet, Roofers are so backlogged and Claims delayed or won't pay out 'til all Work is done and inspected. So I am always holding my Breath about more catastrophic Weather... I haven't even been Paid Out yet on the initial Claim and had Work done or even started yet on the last Property Damage it caused. Below are Images of the Lightening Strikes and Scottsdale Tornado coming down behind Camelback Mountain!
Anyway, Cars were lined up in front of our House at one point dropping off Costumed Kiddies, regardless of the Weather and the Weather was BAD for the whole shebang, Sideways Rain, Street and River Flooding. So I was pleased to see that Halloween wasn't a Bust due to the Crazy Weather. Otherwise I would have ended up with way more excess Candy/Giveaway Halloween Toys than I did! We're Diabetics, The Man and I so we couldn't have all this Candy not handed out! *Whew* I do have plenty left to hand out Post-Halloween that I'll bring in to our Antique Mall and hand out where Princess T Works too, to rid myself of it that is Bagged to hand out. We wanted to ensure we had enuf to hand out, since every Year we've had more Kids than the previous Years before, as more people hear about how we Decorate and that we hand out the Good Stuff. *Winks* All Night long Friends and extended Family were sending me Pixs of their Halloween activities and Costumes, or Cool Decorations seen. Some were Videos, which I don't know how to load to my Blog or transfer from one Social Media site to how my Blog loads Videos. The Niece may School me on that, she's a Tech Guru.
Q showed up with his Family, a carload of Kids and their Cousins, so we took some Pixs together. He has one Child with severe Allergies and Health Issues so has to be very Careful about what Treats the Kiddo is exposed to. That Child didn't get out of the Vehicle in case anyone was handing out what he's deathly allergic to. They didn't want a Trip to the ER on Halloween Night. Q knew I wasn't handing anything out with Nuts in it, which is what the Boy is most allergic to apparently. But, poor Child has a litany of Allergic severe reactions, costing his Family a Fortune in Medical Bills. Princess T has a lot of Allergic reactions to Foods especially, but other things too, Gut Issues galore, which is why she's so Thin and Frail, only 90 lbs., so I know how Careful you have to be when someone can't tolerate a lot of exposure to certain things that trigger Medical reactions that can put them in the ER or Hospital. A Medically compromised Child is always a big worry for any Parent or Guardian.
The very first Kiddos we got were our Next Door Neighbor Omar's Niece and Nephew with his Brother and Sister-In-Law. {See Below} They told me their Kids said if they only went to One House if Halloween got Rained Out, it would be ours! Coz ours is always the Best! Awwwww... Bless 'em, they let me take their Pix, Adorbs!!! Their Parents always dress up in Costume too. Kids began coming at around 5:30 p.m. which was about 30 Minutes earlier than usual and at 8:00 p.m. I didn't have any more coming, which is an hour earlier than usual to finish handing out Candy when Weather is good. I watched Holiday Halloween Baking Championships after 8:00 p.m. when I decided to go Inside and not sit Outside with the Front Door open anymore. Which was perfect Timing coz I had no more Trick-Or-Treaters anyway by then, the last of them had come at around 7:50 p.m. and they were much Older than the earlier Kiddos, one even was the Driver. *LOL* But she looked Adorable and I hand out Candy Bags to everyone, regardless of Age. Hell, if you dress up your Dog in Costume I'll give you a Bag for being all up in the Spirit of the Holidays! *LOL*
So, The Niece took Pixs of me handing out Candy so I'd be in Front of the Lens too. She said I looked Awesomely Eerie sitting there in the Glow of our Exterior Lighting and Autumnal Colors of our Doorway, like I might just tell your Fortune too or Cast some Spells!? She's pretty convinced her Aunt Dawn is a Good Witch. *Bwahahaha and Winks* The Son and I had pushed his non-working Vehicle back some in the Driveway so as to open up the Porch Decorations to be seen easier and not obstructed. A lot of people without Kids drove by too and slowed way down to look at the Decorations and Wave to us. I Parked in the RV Driveway on the other Side. The Niece spent some time here and some time at the Casino playing in a Poker Tournament, but, she didn't Win this time. She said one Guy was Cheating and they should have banned him from the Tournament, instead, he ended up Winning, she made a Complaint and so did some other Players. She said if Desert Diamond Casino keeps allowing what he did, they'll get a Bad Rep among the Poker Tournament Crowd and lose Business. She's never seen it allowed anywhere else Nationally that she had ever played. She tried explaining the Tactic, it's Lost on me tho'. *LOL*
The Witch is 'In' *Winks*
I did take a bunch of Pixs of our Set Up Outside both before and after the Sun went down, before and after the Storm hit. It almost looked like it might not Rain up until around 3:30 p.m. and then it was nonstop from there on out including Today. Below is a Vendor Friend Jeri from the Antique Mall in her Costume, she look fabulous for being in her 70's. She and her Husband, Jackson, who I often work with, just got back from another Tropical Cruise for her Birthday to Bonaire, which is just before Halloween. A couple of the Pixs she Shared are Below, it looks like a Tropical Paradise, will have to now add that destination to the Bucket List. *LOL* One day... one day... perhaps I shall start actually crossing some of the Bucket List destinations off...
In the meantime I shall just live vicariously thru the Adventures of Family or Friends who are Sharing the Experiences as they're Living their Best Life and Traveling the World in Style. It was their first time to Bonaire, they've been on over 50 Cruises. That's not hyperbole, they really have!!! They go on several every Year. I was Surprised there were still Cruise destinations they had never been actually!!! I had never heard of Bonaire, it's part of the Dutch Caribbean and a Municipality of the Netherlands off the Coast of Valenzuela and their currency is the U.S. Dollar. It looked like a fabulous Birthday Cruise and I'm glad Jeri Shared so many Photos of the Island, she's got a good quality Camera and is a very good Photographer. I Wish I could take such good Selfies. Alas, mine turn out dreadful. *Le Sigh* Loved the Family Costumes Below of some of the Members of The Addams Family, well done.
Our Downtown Phoenix "Brass Armadillo Antique Mall" did have some Employees in Costume and Shared a Pix of it. {See Below} They've had a high turnover of Staff and Vendors too so I don't know many of them anymore, I used to know so many of them for so many Years. Those days are gone now for both Locations retaining people, be it Paid Staff or Vendors. So there isn't the camaraderie we used to have and enjoyed so much. As people either leave the Malls or Die Off, Newbies just don't connect in the same way as the Old Days of the Industry. And most of them don't remain long enuf to either. Before I get their Names imbedded into Memory, they're already gone, never to be seen again, coz they never even come back to visit or shop there. It's a shame coz Once Upon A Time it was like a big extended Family of folks. I miss that coz you could make a lot of good Friends with common interests that were Kindred Spirits and remained close and connected for a long time.
Anyway, with the Weather turning bad and Road conditions being sketchy, I've not been productive or left the House Today, didn't even get out of my Jammies and took a long midafternoon Nap too. Only The Son is still Home with The Man and I, both of them seem glum, perhaps due to how gloomy it is Outside, I dunno? I think The Niece went to the Casino again, she Gambles a lot, but it's not my place to tell her so, her Family has done enuf of that and becoz she has Won big, she contests that it's not a problem... perhaps it's not... I don't know the Math of what her Winnings versus Losings are, it's none of my business. And it seems to be her only Hobby and form of Recreation/Entertainment so it doesn't necessarily have to be profitable to be a Hobby, so long as it's not moved in the direction of an Addiction to Gambling. Most of her Friends are other serious Poker Players who play the Tournaments and all seem to know one another and have mutual Respect for each other and the Game.
With The Daughter not being here she's not managing what she earns well at all. I get concerned that people can and sometimes do take advantage. I usually help her manage whatever she earns to make it last and ensure nobody is taking advantage when she has some Money. Anyway, she has her Account linked to mine so I can monitor her spending habits and it seems she forgets if she uses a Non-Chase ATM she will incur a Fee and I think that's how she got slightly overdrawn. I transferred to cover it in time before she incurred any overdraft fees. She's way out in a Rural Area so I'm sure there's no Chase ATM out there and she's using whatever is close by. She should just use her Debit Card and not rely on taking Cash out of ATM's to avoid Fees. Anyway, it's a process when someone has Mental Impairment to get them to be able to manage their affairs and why most require a Trustee. I haven't been able to get hold of her on the new Phone Danae got for her, but I have left Text Messages for her to remind her to use more Care.
Above was Gypsy James, his Daughter, and a new Girlfriend and her Child. He hasn't had much Luck with his Relationships, but he has Dated some nice Women who also have an Only Child, and his Child and their Child have gotten along well. He has shared custody with his Ex and he's a really good Dad, he and his Daughter are so close and she's quite the little Tomboy doing everything her Dad does. She's a good Kid and growing up so fast! Below is The Niece and The Son as they were sitting behind me in the Doorway while we handed out Candy. She'd gotten The Son the Gag Gift, a succession of a bunch of little Purple Plastic Gift Boxes, one inside the other, about 5 or 6 going smaller and smaller until in the last tiny one was a plastic Hand giving you The Finger. *LOL*
I did Mail our bills in a Postal Drop Box nearby, it's still Raining hard off and on, the Sky looks ominous still so we'll probably get Storms all Night long and potential Flooding. We're Sandbagged and so far it's holding, we also have Rain Barrels and they've filled up several times for the past Two Days and had to be emptied into the Pasture area. I think all of the Celebrations for Dia de los Muertos will be compromised now, I don't think this Weather is lifting for Days by the looks of it. Ironic that Family in Pittsburgh had perfect Weather and here in the Desert we practically needed an Ark this Halloween!!! It's Raining so hard now our Pool is almost cresting with Water!!! This is not good and I'm hopeful it stops before it crests the Sandbags too and risks getting into the House!!! We've done all we can to inhibit Flooding, but when it Rains this much in a Desert, the Ground can't absorb it sufficiently either once it's past saturation point. When you get too many Days of way more Rain all at once than you'd usually get Annually, everything Floods really bad.
So, anyway, miserable Outside, but I got all the Bills mailed, bought myself a Starbucks Frappuccino and went straight back Home! I have Cute Jammies on that look like Street Clothing so I didn't bother to get Dressed. And rather than watching all of the coverage of the depressing Politics on TV right now due to the Elections being upon us, I'm watching Old Episodes of "American Pickers" instead. Back when Frank was still Alive and some of the Episodes I don't remember ever watching. They were better Episodes, the Older ones, IMO. I keep checking on the Flooding and have asked The Son to try to empty out some of the Rain Barrels into the Pasture again so they have room to catch more coming off the Roof. It's Labor Intensive work emptying heavy Buckets of Water out of Rain Barrels for Days on end coz they're just filling up too fast and Top Off.
I emptied our 2/3 of both Rain Barrels before it was too much for my Back, The Son had emptied them out about an Hour beforehand. The Rain is so constant it's hard to keep them emptied out sufficiently before they Top Off again, the Water over the Sandbags did crest a bit, but not enuf to cause Panic or damage. *Whew* The Tarps on The RV Garage Mahal are holding. *Double Whew* No use getting hold of our Contractor to do that Roof until things dry out again. Princess T said she'll Front me whatever it costs to get the Job Done and then I can reimburse her after I get a Settlement when it's Inspected and the Money is released from the Insurance Company and then the Check is Endorsed by the Lender. Then I can pay our Roofer whatever extra he's owed beyond Supply Costs. It's been such an Ordeal that I Hope never have to file a Hazard Insurance Claim of any significance again. Not with the outrageous Deductibles of $5,200 per Claim! It almost negates having Insurance at all when you're out of Pocket that much per Claim unless you had a total Property Loss of Hundreds of Thousands.
I'm disappointed the final Events of the Season are Rained Out, I'd looked forward to attending and precisely why we renewed our Garden Membership to attend it all in Oct-Nov! Dammit! If they'd only had the Ofrendas set up Inside like they used to, I'd still go to experience it, but the last few Years they've only done an Outside Dia de los Muertos Display of Altars/Ofrendas. Altho' they have done the Mercado still mostly Inside a Building. But, I haven't bought anything since the Priest I used to Collect the Retablos Art of hasn't been there anymore. I don't know what happened to him and I signed up for his Class to make them Two different Seasons and couldn't attend when The Man had Medical Emergencies right around that time and I had to Cancel going. Seemed every Holiday Season he'd have some Health Crisis that was Major for so many Years in a row, that I quit making firm reservations or plans. When you are a Full Time Unpaid Caregiver it's 24-7 and 365, so your Time is no longer your own.
One of the Kiddos Childhood Friends, Felicia, had a Baby late in Life and this is her Little Girl. I remember when I first saw Pixs of the Baby, I thought it was her Grandchild and was embarrassed to learn it was her Baby! Ooops. She's the Youngest Daughter of our long time Friends Dino and Yolanda, Felicia's other Children are Adults, and her Older Brothers all have Grandkids the Ages of this Youngest Daughter. Which is why I thought this little one was her Son's Child and not hers! She's a pretty little thing but always has such a Serious Countenance, so I suspect she's an Old Soul. Last Year she was Wednesday Addams and that was a perfect Character and Costume for her usually dour Countenance! *LOL* But this Pix she Shared of that Year didn't Copy for some reason so I couldn't Crib it off FB's Feed to me when she Re-Shared it.
My long time Francophile Blog Friend, Andie, of "Divine Theater" Blog Adopted Three Siblings and so she had them adorably Costumed resplendent in what her French Versailles Style Home {inside and out it's spectacularly transformed} would match. What she's done with this Property in a few short Years is miraculous becoz it is a newer Subdivision Home and you'd never know by what she's transformed the interior and exterior to look like and resemble a Historic Chateau in France!!! She's got such a Green Thumb too that everything has lushly grown in record time as well. I always look forward to her FB Shares with me now that she doesn't Blog anymore. We used to exchange Friendship Gifts back when Bloggers used to do that and send Surprise Gifts to one another back in the Old Days of Blogging in it's heyday. The Community and Land Of Blog was much bigger back then and has shrunk considerably in recent Years.
I so wanted to visit the Historic 1895 Queen Anne Victorian Rosson House during Halloween coz they were doing several Holiday related Event Tours there. But, alas, October sped by too quickly and I didn't get there in time to do it, dammit. I remember in the early 1970's when I Worked on the 11th Floor of the Valley National Bank Building as a Corporate Executive and my Office looked out over Rosson House before the City bought and renovated/restored it to it's original splendor. It was a Flophouse at the time and I always hoped it would get bought by a Preservationist and be brought back to it's original Glory. It took over a Million Dollars to do, but the City accomplished it, along with some other Historic Structures occupying Heritage Square, and they didn't get razed like so many others sadly were Lost in those days. I couldn't have been Happier. I always wanted to buy a Phoenix Victorian but they were always in now the worst parts of the City, even tho' when built in the 1800's they were in the Aristocratic Neighborhoods of Phoenix's most Wealthy. Heritage Tourism wasn't cultivated here much so we Lost most of them to development. Nor was Gentrification until recently.
"MacAlpine's" has been continuously operated as a Soda Fountain & Restaurant, plus Storefront Areas Selling mostly Collectibles now, since 1929. I Love going there too and the Waitresses often wear Era specific Costumes at Halloween. They still make their Milkshakes using the original 1920's Commercial Soda Fountain Equipment, which are in a lovely Seafoam Green Color of that Era that they made Appliances that lasted forever without breaking down or wearing out. The Original Booths are still there too, I Love eating there, so Nostalgic and takes you way back to a different place in Time, even before my Parent's Era. My Mom would come with me sometimes and say it reminded her of when she was a very Young Child in the early 1930's, when places existed like that. Her Mom, my Nanna, got Married in a Fringed Flapper Wedding Dress and Cloche Hat!!!
Nanna used to wear a lot of Cloth Turbans, Bandeaus and elaborate Headbands too of that Era and inspired me to in the 1970's. My Nanna was an Entertainer, an Actress on Stage, a Dancer and Singer, back when she was a Young Woman, it's where my Gran-Gran met her. So Nanna was VERY Theatrical and Gorgeous. She had very Corkscrew Curly Blue Black Hair and the most Amazing Green Eyes. My Grandson, The Young Prince, has my Nanna's Color Eyes. He used to get so embarrassed when he was a Child and everyone would stop, stare, and tell him what Beautiful Eyes he had. I still have loads more Images for Future Posts... so will end this Post now with some Halloween Visuals that just made me Smile...
I do hope your Halloween was memorable in all the best of ways my Friends... Dawn... The Bohemian
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