Take One Bag Please!

 It's a little hard to believe, but at our house Harry Potter has taken a bit of a backseat to another fictional hero. This season Char is all about Percy Jackson. She listened to the first four books with me in the car, and then she went back and read all five books by herself.

Percy's best friend is Annabeth Chase. She's often seen in her Camp Half-Blood t-shirt. Annabeth turns invisible when she pulls her New York Yankees ball cap over her blonde hair that's tied in a ponytail. 

Here is Char's version for Halloween (without the face mask):

One of the few things that Annabeth cherishes is a laptop given to her by the inventor Daedalus. There's a large blue Delta (Greek ∆) is on the laptop's lid. Char had the idea to use an old laptop carrying case as her candy bag. Daphne helped make the case look official.

A new book series wasn't the only thing different this Halloween, of course. I wasn't even sure Char would get to go trick-or-treating during a pandemic. The city decided it would be okay if people were careful, in the end. We did our best. We put candy in individual baggies the previous weekend, and then let them sit in storage all week. I wore a mask and gloves, and I stood behind the glass storm door when the monsters, ghosts, spacemen, and superheroes started coming around.

I  replaced the bags on the front porch as they were taken.

There weren't as many houses giving out candy this year, so I went through 50 bags in 45 minutes. That was really fast, and I wished had prepared more. We just didn't know how many kids would be out. I felt bad about turning off our house lights so early, but I didn't have a choice. 

Each morning the teachers in our school district get clean towels and spray bottles filled with Ozone water to disinfect the tables and chairs after each class. 

The water only acts as a disinfectant for 24 hours, so what is unused gets poured down the drain each night. Daphne took an empty spray bottle to work, and filled it with the Ozone water that would have been discarded. When Char got home from trick-or-treating, we spread her candy across the kitchen counter and sprayed it down.

Daphne and I had a quick dinner while Char played with Ellie. Then Char watched "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" for the first time. She liked the classic cartoon, but she didn't like Ichabod, "He just likes Katrina for her dad's money!" 

When it was all over, I asked Char, "Even though you had to wear a face mask and be extra careful this year, did it still seem like a normal Halloween?"

Char thought for a moment and said, "Well, I didn't get to go to as many houses, but yeah, it was a lot of fun." 

That's all that we could have hoped for. 🎃 👻 ☠️👀

Hunting Eggs

Last year Char wore a winter coat for the Easter Egg hunt at our church. This year she wore shorts. 

You just can't predict what the Iowa weather will do. 

Char had a good time until she discovered that most of the chocolate had melted in the morning sun.

"It's okay... we'll just put them in the fridge."

Last year Char argued and argued that the Easter Bunny wasn't real. This year she wanted to put out a plate of goodies like she does for Santa.

You just can't predict what your kid will do.

Halloween '18: Hot Dog and a Movie

I got the idea from a friend at work. He said he was going to sit outside with his family and project cartoons on his house while they handed out candy.

After talking to him, I thought, I could do that instead of playing Halloween music. I bet Charlotte would get a kick out of it. All I needed was my old Proxima, a DVD player, and the computer speakers I was already going to use. 

I was thinking of showing either The Nightmare Before Christmas, Pooh's Heffalump Halloween, or It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. I went with the Peanuts gang.

Here's the test run at 5:45. The image is dim, but you can see it.

It was looking pretty good by 6:30. Next year I'll remove the bulbs from that house light.

Okay, the driveway is ready.

Is the front porch lit? Yep!

Is Charlotte ready to go? You bet! (The irony of this costume is that Charlotte refuses to even touch a real hot dog... I suppose that makes the outfit scary to her.)

Daphne and Char hit the neighborhood haunts while I stayed home to hand out candy and babysit the DVD player.

I wondered if only the parents would recognize It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, but many kids told me that they love this cartoon. One princess excitedly shook the top of her candy sack as she whispered to me, "That is my favorite movie!" 

The ladies got home around 8. For fun, I turned down the house lights and fired up the opening scene of The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Did Charlotte get any candy?

When she was little, Daphne would organize her candy and tally it on a sheet of paper. So when her dad stole a piece of Halloween candy, Daphne would catch it and call him on it.

Char also organized her candy, but she didn't write anything down. *rubs hands together*

I think I can get away with a few thefts...

My Time Travel Foods

I blogged about tater tot pizza crust yesterday, and as I was finishing that post I had a thought. I wondered if Charlotte will remember that tater tot meal when she grows up?

Maybe, but there's no way to know. I've got a good memory, but I can only remember what happened from my own point of view. I could spend an afternoon at the park with my sister and my parents, and we would all have different memories of that day.

I can't predict what will be memorable for Charlotte, but I can tell her what foods stood out to me as an Iowa kid living in Inwood and later Rock Valley.

These are my time travel foods; one bite and I'm a kid again.

Ramen Noodles.

My dad made these noodles when I was Charlotte's age, and I was soooo impressed by them. I thought that Dad had taken spaghetti and worked some kind of magic that made the noodles curly. I'd ask him, "Are we having your fancy noodles tonight?" Dad laughed every time I called them that. 

White Castle Burgers.

My mom was excited to get Chinese take out when we visited my Great Aunt Elnora (we called her Grandma) in Minneapolis. Mom always ordered chicken chow mein. I thought that was grossest looking stuff ever. Dad would bring back hamburgers from White Castle to make me (and him, I suspect) happy. These were memorable for multiple reasons. One) There are no White Castle restaurants in Iowa. Two) These burgers are kid-sized, and I felt pretty grown up because I could eat more than one. Three) At 17 cents a piece, Dad would buy as many as I wanted. 

Vanilla Ice Cream with Toppings.

One of my favorite desserts was vanilla ice cream topped with Hershey's Chocolate Syrup and Spanish peanuts. We always ate this when my family was hanging out with the Paulsons at their house. The ice cream was served at sunset, and we would sit outside on a porch that faced a corn field. Watching fireflies floating between the corn stalks was like seeing the stars dance. 

Eating this now is like holding a bowl of liquid summer.

Snickers with Toppings.

For years Reese ran TV commercials with someone accidentally dropping a chocolate bar into a jar of peanut butter. Those commercials inspired me to smear a layer of peanut butter on top of a Snickers bar. I was eleven, and I never looked back. Since my mom kept a jar of Bacos next to the peanut butter, I'd sprinkle some bacon bits of top, too. I mean, why not? 

More than once Mom told me how disgusting that snack was, but fast forward to 2011:

And in August of last year, Bacon Today published this recipe:

See, Mom? I wasn't gross. I was cutting-edge.

Chick-O-Stick.

My love for the Chick-O-Stick came from an economic decision. When I was little, my mom would give me a quarter to buy candy once a week. Dan's Clover Farm, the only grocery store in Inwood, sold candy bars for a twenty cents. Chick-O-Sticks were a dime. Even a second grader could do that math. I can get one candy bar, or two "chicken sticks"?  If I saved my change, I could get three "chicken sticks" next time! Hellooo, dentist!

Tasting good was almost an afterthought. Happily, the crunchy Chick-O-Stick (named because it resembled fried chicken) is made up of peanut butter, granulated sugar, and toasted coconut - three of my favorite ingredients. Hellooo, 1976. Speaking of fried chicken...

Broasted Chicken.

Broasted chicken is different than fried chicken, but I didn't know that growing up. If we wanted chicken for dinner in Rock Valley, we could get it from Bake's Bar, Green Acres Drive-In, or The Windmill Drive-In. It was always called "Broasted" or "Broaster chicken", and since everyone (in my very small world) served it that way, I thought Broasted must be the only way chicken is ever prepared.

FYI: Broaster is a company name whose equipment is only available to commercial restaurants, so the Broasting method isn’t something that can be done at home. Broatsed chicken is cooked using high pressure cooking, and it produces chicken pieces that are juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside. As a bonus, it’s has 40% less fat and fewer calories than your typical fried chicken.

If I want to eat Broasted chicken in Des Moines (and I do!), I can get an authentic 70's vibe at the High Life Lounge or just eat at a Pizza Ranch buffet - a franchise that began in Hull, Iowa which is less than 10 miles from Rock Valley. 

BTW, telling people that I ate at the very first Pizza Ranch in 1981 impresses no one. I'm just saying.

Any Fast Food.

For most of my youth, the closest fast food restaurant to Rock Valley was an hour away. It's hard to explain to someone who lived in the city how going to McDonald's was special. You'd be laying on the couch watching The Greatest American Hero, and at the commercial break they'd advertise something like a McRib. If it looked good, you'd know that it might be a month before you got to try one. When Dad finally pulled the car in to the parking lot beneath the Golden Arches, it was an event. 

For example, in 1985 Sioux Center (located 14 miles from Rock Valley) was lucky enough to have Hardee's build a returaunt in their town. Here's a picture from Google maps:

How big of a deal was that? I knew a lot of guys who took their prom dates there, and the girls didn't complain!  

"I got you a char-broiled brown corsage," he said proudly.

Taco John's Apple Grande.

Have you ever seen a cheese tray that also offered grapes or sliced apples? Of course you have. That's my point. Fruit and cheese go together. Apple pie and cheddar cheese is another great food combination from my youth. My Grandma liked to sing in the kitchen at Christmas time, "Apple pie without the cheese is like a kiss without the squeeze!" 

Christmas might be why I liked the Apple Grande so much. Eating it made me think of the holidays. Now the holidays are the only time you can get one. To quote the TJ website, "There’s nothing else like an Apple Grande, and it’s back for a limited time! Sweet apple filling is spread over a crispy, flaky shell then topped with shredded cheddar cheese and cinnamon candy sugar. Get it while you can!" 

I think I will.

Gotta go.

Happy Halloween!

Unlike the rest of the world, we Trick or Treated last night on the 30th. Don't get me started on weird Des Moines traditions...

After twenty minutes of scanning Google images, Char decided she wanted a pumpkin with these eyes:

And this mouth:

I think I did okay.

Char seemed happy with it.

This year Char went as an ice cream sundae. The weather was pretty good last week for Trunk or Treat at church.

But Char and mom had to bundle up last night. It was pretty cold (even for an ice cream). Luckily the costume fit right over her winter coat. I stayed home to hand out candy. 

She doesn't know it yet, but after she goes to bed, this kid is going to be robbed of at least four Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. 

After the robbery, I'm going downstairs to watch Get Out. It's my Halloween movie pick for this year.

PS. Maybe next year I can convince Charlotte to go as a Bald Knobber...

Halloween '16

Saturday's Halloween celebration began at the Salisbury House in Des Moines.

 In case you didn't know much about the location (I didn't), here's some info from Wikipedia:

"Salisbury House in Des Moines, Iowa is a Tudor, Gothic and Carolean style manor home. It was built by cosmetic magnate Carl Weeks and his wife, Edith Van Slyke Weeks, between 1923 and 1928. Salisbury House was modeled after the King's House in Salisbury, England, contains 42 rooms and measures just over 22,000 square feet. The property is owned and operated by the Salisbury House Foundation and is open to the public for tours, public events, and private rentals."

The event is called "Mysteries at the Castle." I don't know if the Salisbury House is really a castle, but it is impressive.


The front:

The back:

I don't identify other people's children in my blog, but Char had a friend to play and pose with.

Be careful, Vampire! That sword looks like a cross! (FYI: I hate balloon animals/ swords.)

But I really liked the portico (porch). 

The ceiling beams are cool.

My favorite part was the outside radiator. I'd bet that baby pumps out a lot of heat. That makes this a three-season portico... pretty forward thinking for a house built in the 20's.

The artwork and knight sure give you a castle vibe.

There was story time in the common room.

Once you name your daughter Charlotte, you will see her name everywhere.

Steven King once said, "Nobody likes a clown at midnight." I agree, and I think nobody likes to meet an eight-foot-tall mascot in a narrow hallway. That's where a friendly wave looks sinister.

We darted out of the hallway, and ran into a box of monster ears. "Char, I dare you to touch them!"

She did dare.

We took an ice cream break.

And then it was time to jump in the bounce house.

This year Charlotte wanted to design the pumpkin all by herself. She had a plan...

FYI: If you mess up your permanently marked design, you can erase the lines with Goo Gone.

"Don't forget, Mom, we need to save the pumpkin guts."

So, what was her plan?

It's a puking pumpkin! 

I took Charlotte to the Kids Halloween Concert performed by the Central Iowa Wind Ensemble on Sunday. 

This is why we were there. It's too bad the camera's focus was off. 

Char was excited to see Mom's name in the program.

Here are Charlotte's comments about the concert. A smiley face means "Yea!", a straight mouth is "Okay...", and a ? means "What was that?" Everone's a critic.

The Harry Potter music was her favorite. 

The focus was also off for this picture of Char posing with her candy haul. It was too late for a retake when I noticed. Trick or Treating on a Sunday night is weird, but Des Moines' tradition of Beggar's Night (you trick or treat the night before Halloween) is weird, too.

Oh well, the candy still tastes good!