Chit-Chat: What's On Your Mind Today?

[Dimity]

I think it changed when boomers had their own kids and wanted to stay part of things. I know my husband turns into a big kid at Halloween. I mean we're not over the top but he does get a kick out of decorating.

[ECM1231]

How festive, @GHScorpiosRule! Happy Diwali!

@StatisticalOutlier,I loved reading your very detailed, and descriptive memory about the milkman. I can't even remember a time when people felt safe enough to let strangers enter their homes on their own Such simpler times. I do remember our doors being unlocked in the daytime, though.

We never got milk delivered, but I remember being jealous of my neighbor friend across the street because her folks got deliveries from the Charles Chips truck. This company sold snacks like pretzels in large, tin cans, as well as chocolate chip cookies. 

[Anduin]

8 minutes ago, EtheltoTillie said:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/halloween-costumes-pumpkin-australia-haunted-house-5605249f?st=5tAoks&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

Here is the link.  I can't say that this article has a coherent theory.  More an excuse to run funny anecdotes about anti-Halloween complainers.

Here in the US Halloween wasn't a thing for adults when we (boomers) were kids, and people didn't spend so much on decorations.  I think that changed in the 80s. 

I'm not grumpy about it, somewhere between amused and resigned. Some people love any excuse to do something different, and big companies love any excuse for us to open our wallets.

However. “I don’t think it’s necessarily Americanizing us,” That made me grit my teeth. It's spelled with an S! Americanising. I will defend Britstralian spelling to my death.

[annzeepark914]

8 minutes ago, EtheltoTillie said:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/halloween-costumes-pumpkin-australia-haunted-house-5605249f?st=5tAoks&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

Here is the link.  I can't say that this article has a coherent theory.  More an excuse to run funny anecdotes about anti-Halloween complainers.

Here in the US Halloween wasn't a thing for adults when we (boomers) were kids, and people didn't spend so much on decorations.  I think that changed in the 80s. 

Yes...Halloween was just for young kids back in the day. I'm wondering which generation dragged it into adulthood. When I see OTT creepy decorations, I worry about little ones seeing "dead" bloody bodies hanging from trees, huge gaping jaws artwork on garage doors, monster size bats hovering over doorways, etc.

[Dimity]

3 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

Yes...Halloween was just for young kids back in the day. I'm wondering which generation dragged it into adulthood. When I see OTT creepy decorations, I worry about little ones seeing "dead" bloody bodies hanging from trees, huge gaping jaws artwork on garage doors, monster size bats hovering over doorways, etc.

Agreed! Typical that a segment of the adult population had to hijack a day meant for children and make it into something for themselves instead.  Oh and get off my lawn!!

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Here in the US Halloween wasn't a thing for adults when we (boomers) were kids, and people didn't spend so much on decorations.  I think that changed in the 80s. 

I think it started a few years earlier when we former Baby Boomer trick-or-treaters became adults?
It was 1977 when my neighbor friend dressed up as a clown for a Halloween party. She invited me along, but I didn't enjoy it. But 4 years later I painted her portrait from a photo from that night.
I think I've shared this before here?
(she painted the spots on a sheet and sewed the costume)

Although I enjoy costumes, gore sickens me, so I tend to hold my breath until Halloween is over, something I don't do for other holidays. I'm a fan of the show Ghosts and read Casper the Friendly Ghost comics as a kid, but I've never watched a Nightmare on Elm Street movie. 

Maybe the popularity of The Adams Family and The Munsters TV shows (1964-66), and later the cult following of the Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) fed the Halloween marketing?

My little 2¾ year-old grandson was adorable in a simple Mickey Mouse costume this year, his sweet little face with its expressions of curiosity and wonderment entirely visible.

 

[Dimity]

57 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

I think it started a few years earlier when we former Baby Boomer trick-or-treaters became adults?

I definitely think Halloween started getting over the top when Boomers got old enough to be in charge but I don't think it's the boomers who are responsible for the gory turn that the Halloween decorations have taken!  I mean I'm not saying ghosts and ghouls were the kind and gentle side of Halloween but there is a line that seems to have been crossed that has made me cringe a bit and worry about the impact on the little ones, who IMO, are the point of Halloween.  In our house it's all about trick or treating not grossing out the neighbours.

[Bastet]

6 hours ago, fairffaxx said:

My current neighborhood in Calif includes several houses built 100+ years ago with a small cupboard set in the kitchen wall for the milkman to put deliveries in through a little door in the outside wall. 

My house had that, but it had already been covered over outside by the time I bought the house.  It's not in the kitchen wall, but of the utility room next to the kitchen. 

[ECM1231]

It's after 4 pm and not a ghost or goblin in sight trick or treating. Each year the numbers keep dwindling.  I didn't buy much candy this year, but hopefully they'll start coming soon. The younger, grade-school ones are the ones who used to come right after school let out at 3 pm. I don't open my door after 9 p.m., but honestly, there haven't been any late at night these past few years.

 

[Ohiopirate02]

17 minutes ago, ECM1231 said:

It's after 4 pm and not a ghost or goblin in sight trick or treating. Each year the numbers keep dwindling.  I didn't buy much candy this year, but hopefully they'll start coming soon. The younger, grade-school ones are the ones who used to come right after school let out at 3 pm. I don't open my door after 9 p.m., but honestly, there haven't been any late at night these past few years.

 

I know some places in the US have their own time for trick-or-treating, but I have only ever done it (also given out candy) on Halloween between the hours of 6pm-8pm on a weeknight, weekends were always open-ended. I remember when I lived in the Akron, Ohio area and each town had their own rules for it that pushed trick-or-treating to the weekend before the holiday during daylight hours. One one hand, I get wanting to make it safer for little kids, but trick-or-treating at 3pm on Sunday October 26th really takes away the magic. Though that did make it possible for enterprising children to hit up multiple towns over the weekend and maybe also on Halloween. There were still some towns that kept to tradition.

[emma675]

My neighborhood does a trunk or treat now where people drive their cars to a street in our hood and the kids go trick or treating in one location. It started during covid and has gotten bigger every year. It's safer for the kids and homeowners and it has a set start and end time.

I stopped giving out candy a few years ago when it was all kids who were bigger than me, not wearing costumes, and carrying pillowcases, and a ton of moms carrying newborn babies who obviously couldn't eat candy, with no older children in sight. I didn't recognize anyone and someone later told me a bus dropped off all of these people at the end of my street, so they weren't even neighbors. I'm a single woman, so it started feeling a little unsafe.

[Bastet]

I've never seen anyone trick-or-treating while it's still light out, but it's certainly possible it goes on when I don't happen to be outside.

I don't hand out candy*, and, judging from all the dark porches on my block each Halloween, that is true of most of my neighbors, but I don't know that many kids even bother with the houses that do, as all they have to do is walk up a couple of blocks to a section of neighborhood that goes absolutely crazy each Halloween.

*I only went trick-or-treating once as a kid, as I thought it was silly and didn't choose to do it again (but my mom did make me a costume each year when I was in elementary school, as we had a carnival each Halloween [or the Friday before if it was on a weekend] where we wore costumes and played games all day), so it's not even like it's my turn to be on the other side of the door.

[Dimity]

I was one of those kids who went out with a pillowcase and came home,  changed costume and went out again.  Turned out my husband did the same back in the day. Fated to be mated 😬!

 

[shapeshifter]

11 minutes ago, Dimity said:

I was one of those kids who went out with a pillowcase and came home,  changed costume and went out again.  Turned out my husband did the same back in the day. Fated to be mated 😬!

That shared background makes me wonder:
So what do you do now regarding trick-or-treaters?

[PRgal]

I volunteered at my son's school today.  Due to a last minute costume change, I wasn't able to coordinate my costume with him (he went from spider (which he was for a party last week) to a caterpillar...the VERY HUNGRY one...no butterflies or food available and I had ZERO time to make something).  Spider?  I was going to be Miss Muffet (who was just crowned Miss Tough-It, complete with a cottage cheese crown...get it?)).  I was able to get my hand on cat ears though.  With a black sweater and black leggings.  I guess we were things you might find in your backyard?  Coordinating costumes are a thing!

[Dimity]

18 hours ago, Dimity said:

That shared background makes me wonder:
So what do you do now regarding trick-or-treaters?

 

Oh we give out! We lived in England for awhile and missed the fun of trick of treaters coming to the door!

 

This question was asked of me by @shapeshifter not sure what happened here!

Edited November 1 by Dimity

[Anela]

1 minute ago, Dimity said:

Oh we give out! We lived in England for awhile and missed the fun of trick of treaters coming to the door!

We tried a couple of times, when I was a kid in England, and most people turned off their lights, or told us to stop begging.  I couldn’t really get into it, until we moved over here. 

Edited October 31 by Anela

[PRgal]

18 minutes ago, Dimity said:

I was one of those kids who went out with a pillowcase and came home,  changed costume and went out again.  Turned out my husband did the same back in the day. Fated to be mated 😬!

 

You must have lived in a neighbourhood with lots of houses!  I did as well and had to go home to empty my bag!  100 houses.

[Calvada]

Living in Wisconsin, we often had our winter coats on under our costumes.  There were two houses we had to go to.  One owned by a dentist who gave out toothbrushes (boo! but my mom wanted us to get those free toothbrushes) and then the one house where they gave out full-size candy bars.  I remember being confused as a 6 or 7 year old by some comment my dad made about how they could afford it because they had everybody's money.  Why did they have everybody's money?  Because they owned the local liquor store!  

[Browncoat]

It's a little after 6pm here, and not quite broad daylight, but not anywhere near dark, either.  I just got home, and I've apparently missed about a half dozen trick-or-treaters.  And my porch light is broken, so I doubt I'll get anybody anyway.

 

[luv2lurk]

I gave up handing out treats years ago when it became too hard to lure kids for treats. (I had no children in school and the block beyond me was dark)

I just asked to cat if she would like to go out trick and treating (she is a tortie so wears the perfect Halloween colours year round) She responded no, but dinner would be good 😁

                  

[Dimity]

19 minutes ago, Anela said:

We tried a couple of times, when I was a kid in England, and most people turned off their lights, or told us to stop begging.

According to friends and family we have back in the UK it's becoming more common for kids to trick or treat and people are giving out but I don't know if that's all over or just in the areas they live in.

[Anela]

21 minutes ago, Dimity said:

According to friends and family we have back in the UK it's becoming more common for kids to trick or treat and people are giving out but I don't know if that's all over or just in the areas they live in.

Yeah, I have friends who celebrate it, too.  I’ve seen pictures of them getting ready (kids, too).  :) 

[Absolom]

1 hour ago, emma675 said:

I didn't recognize anyone and someone later told me a bus dropped off all of these people at the end of my street, so they weren't even neighbors.

That's when I quit.  We had two busloads and a woman almost broke my steps trying to push a kid about 8 years old size up them in a stroller.  She yelled at me when I told her to stop pushing the stroller up the steps so I went in the house shut the door and turned off the light.  The gracious group pounded on my door for a couple of minutes.  I don't need to reward that kind of behavior.  After they left I went out and locked my front gate.

Since the grandchildren came along, I visit them.  For some reason almost no one comes down their street.  

Edited October 31 by Absolom

[Cloud9Shopper]

I feel so dumb right now. I was trying a new recipe tonight and completely read it wrong. I saw “3 cups of rice” but by the time I REREAD and saw “three cups of cooked rice” it was too late. I was wondering why I had an Everest mountain full of rice when I went to put it in the pan with the other ingredients. (I was trying chicken fried rice.) And of course the meal completely tastes like mush and is likely going to go to waste. 

I have been living on my own for five years and I still can’t cook and occasionally botch recipes because I didn’t read enough or had a hard time with the instructions. (I have some favorite meals I have down pat but tend to struggle with anything new so I guess saying “I can’t cook” is a semi exaggeration.) A couple weeks ago I messed up a pasta and couldn’t blend the ingredients of a sauce and it was all chunky and basically inedible. I also got a multicooker last month and am having a hard time using it for pasta and rice because I’m not measuring right and the cooker never seems to stop, just cooking forever because I mismeasured. It is so beyond frustrating. I like to have leftovers for lunch….and well…thank goodness I’m stocked up on soup because I keep having to put things in the garbage. 

Edited October 31 by Cloud9Shopper

[ECM1231]

Well, we had a few treaters and were lucky enough to eat our dinner in peace, without the doorbell ringing. Something funny happened that's never happened before. Some kid refused our candy as he wanted Skittles. I only buy candy that we like. This year it's Baby Ruth and 100 Grand candy bars.

[emma675]

25 minutes ago, Absolom said:

That's when I quit.  We had two busloads and a woman almost broke my steps trying to push a kid about 8 years old size up them in a stroller.  She yelled at me when I told her to stop pushing the stroller up the steps so I went in the house shut the door and turned off the light.  The gracious group pounded on my door for a couple of minutes.  I don't need to reward that kind of behavior.  After they left I went out and locked my front gate.

Yikes, that's a lot to deal with all at once. I'm glad they didn't trash anything or egg your house. 

[chitowngirl]

11 minutes ago, ECM1231 said:

I only buy candy that we like.

I’m the opposite, I buy what I don’t like so I don’t partake of the leftovers. My husband and son will take care of those.

I've had about 50 customers so far with 45 minutes to go.

[ECM1231]

5 minutes ago, chitowngirl said:

I’m the opposite, I buy what I don’t like so I don’t partake of the leftovers. My husband and son will take care of those.

I've had about 50 customers so far with 45 minutes to go.

Do you stop at a designated time? 

I only empty one bag at a time into a large bowl. I keep my receipt and return the unopened bags to the supermarket otherwise I'd be in a whole lot of trouble, because I can't resist chocolate candy. Also, for what candy costs these days, I don't feel too bad returning it. 

[chitowngirl]

6 minutes ago, ECM1231 said:

Do you stop at a designated time? 

Trick or treat time is 6-8 pm here. 

[Calvada]

Many years ago, I lived in a neighborhood with lots of little kids, which was fun on Halloween.  I usually bought about 10 bags of candy.  One year the weather was terrible throughout the Midwest.  Driving rain and 60 mph winds.  I had all this candy and no one was out.  (I bought early, to get the good stuff, before I knew what the weather would be like.)  But suddenly my doorbell rang and there was a very determined little boy who lived a few houses away, with a costume on under a raincoat, holding up a large plastic bag.  He and his father, who was accompanying him, were completely soaked.  I said here you go, and I dumped my entire bowl of candy into his bag.  His dad later told me they only went to a few houses since just about everyone did what I did and the little guy was very satisfied with how heavy his bag was.  He was 5 years old, was so excited about Halloween, and was devastated when initially his parents said he couldn't go out.  His dad said they would have to remember to tell him the following Halloween that he wouldn't get that much candy at each house.  I had at least 3 bags of candy in that bowl!  

I remember that a lot of my co-workers brought in bags of candy that year; it lasted past Thanksgiving.  I brought in the rest of my supply, except for the mini Snickers.  Those went in my freezer.  And the Skittles - those I kept for when my nieces and nephews came to my house.  

[PRgal]

It was really warm tonight and no rain, so it was a fun night.  We got lots of candy!  My guy is really shy, so even though this is his THIRD outing, his "trick or treat" is barely a whisper!  I don't remember being like that.  I was super loud!!!  Some homes just left candy out on the porch with a sign "help yourself!"  Some had a two piece limit, but really, do kids listen???!!!!!  I MADE him take two regardless of whether the sign said "please take two" or not.  I told him that he had to leave candy for other kids.

[fairffaxx]

For anyone wondering what to do with leftover Halloween candy, I know of 2 grateful groups of recipients (in no particular order):

#1/  if there are poll workers where you live, we used to depend on donated leftover candy for the extra energy that was badly needed throughout the day & especially late at night during the rigorous final tabulations;

#2/  homeless encampments, or even just those panhandling outside of grocery stores or waiting for community centers to open -- candy is food, after all.

[Absolom]

1 hour ago, emma675 said:

Yikes, that's a lot to deal with all at once. I'm glad they didn't trash anything or egg your house. 

Flood lights tend to discourage that behavior and since they came in on the bus they wouln't have eggs or toilet tissue or anything like that. Another reason I locked the gate.  

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, PRgal said:

Some homes just left candy out on the porch with a sign "help yourself!"  Some had a two piece limit, but really, do kids listen???!!!!! 

That seems fairly common around here, and it also seems kids do indeed follow the limit; whenever someone posts footage of some asshole taking the whole bowl (usually dumping the bowl's worth of candy into their bag, but sometimes literally taking the bowl!), it's a teenager.  And, on the flip side, I've seen video of kids (and, to be fair, teens) coming upon an empty "Help yourself" bowl and putting unwanted candy from their bag into the bowl.

Edited November 1 by Bastet

[Dimity]

1 hour ago, PRgal said:

Some had a two piece limit, but really, do kids listen???!!!!! 

I had left the bin of chips on the porch when I had to step inside for a second, when I came back out a little witch was very carefully taking one bag to put in her plastic pumpkin.  I loved that even though there was no adult around she was just taking one.

[shapeshifter]

4 hours ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

I feel so dumb right now. I was trying a new recipe tonight and completely read it wrong. I saw “3 cups of rice” but by the time I REREAD and saw “three cups of cooked rice” it was too late. I was wondering why I had an Everest mountain full of rice when I went to put it in the pan with the other ingredients. (I was trying chicken fried rice.) And of course the meal completely tastes like mush and is likely going to go to waste. 

I have been living on my own for five years and I still can’t cook and occasionally botch recipes because I didn’t read enough or had a hard time with the instructions. (I have some favorite meals I have down pat but tend to struggle with anything new so I guess saying “I can’t cook” is a semi exaggeration.) A couple weeks ago I messed up a pasta and couldn’t blend the ingredients of a sauce and it was all chunky and basically inedible. I also got a multicooker last month and am having a hard time using it for pasta and rice because I’m not measuring right and the cooker never seems to stop, just cooking forever because I mismeasured. It is so beyond frustrating. I like to have leftovers for lunch….and well…thank goodness I’m stocked up on soup because I keep having to put things in the garbage. 

It sounds like you would enjoy cooking but are struggling with the recipes.
In your defense, not all recipes are written in a way that is easy to follow, and if you have a touch of dyslexia, or are close to needing reading glasses, or are easily distracted, or tired, or something else, well…
So. How about YouTube videos to follow? 
You could watch the whole thing first, then start and stop it as needed. 
I've done that with resolving tech problems, descaling my electric teapot, and, more recently, learning how to clean CPAP equipment. 
 

[Cloud9Shopper]

34 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

It sounds like you would enjoy cooking but are struggling with the recipes.
In your defense, not all recipes are written in a way that is easy to follow, and if you have a touch of dyslexia, or are close to needing reading glasses, or are easily distracted, or tired, or something else, well…
So. How about YouTube videos to follow? 
You could watch the whole thing first, then start and stop it as needed. 
I've done that with resolving tech problems, descaling my electric teapot, and, more recently, learning how to clean CPAP equipment. 
 

I really do want to enjoy cooking! And for the things I’ve mastered, or crockpot recipes, I do fine. I also like to bake and tend not to fail at that as much. I just love seeing photos of good food on Pinterest and wish I could be one of those food bloggers LOL. (It will likely never happen, which I’ve accepted; doesn’t mean I don’t still fantasize about it.) I like looking at kitchen gadgets, all of that. Just that for some reason, my efforts tend to come out not so great. The comments of a food blog will have everyone raving about how great a recipe is, they’ll put it in their rotation, even their cousin’s neighbor loved it, but I just don’t get that hype. 

I haven’t thought about watching a recipe video instead but maybe that would help. 

Edited November 1 by Cloud9Shopper

[annzeepark914]

13 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

My little 2¾ year-old grandson was adorable in a simple Mickey Mouse costume this year, his sweet little face with its expressions of curiosity and wonderment entirely visible.

 

So, Lambchop was a mouse this year? That little cherub must've been precious 🤗. 

We only had 34 kids. Usually we have 60+. Maybe nearby neighborhood kids weren't hauled over to our section as it was a school night. One little boy (maybe 4) walked into the house, looked around and when he saw the huge candy bowl, helped himself to some more! The little ones are hilarious 🧡

[Yeah No]

On 10/28/2024 at 11:15 PM, Ancaster said:

Did you made clothes peg dollies?

 

No I didn't but they're really cute!

On 10/29/2024 at 11:40 PM, Anela said:

My grandma in England, had milk, eggs, and maybe butter delivered, for as long as I can remember. She died in the 80s, so I don't know if they ever stopped. 

The first time I went to England in 1984, my parents and I stayed at my mom's friend's "Two up Two down" townhouse in Hatfield while she was away traveling in Australia. It was awesome because it was a real slice of life, not a tourist experience. She didn't have the milk delivery suspended so we benefitted from that, eggs, and streaky bacon every morning. The neighbors were so welcoming, they gifted us with homemade food. We rented a car and my Dad drove, having mastered right-hand drive in the Army. Having collected every map I could find, I was the designated navigator. We had not had milk delivered since the 1970s so it was like a blast from the past for me, and a welcome one.

On 10/30/2024 at 7:48 PM, PRgal said:

The only "milk delivery" you can get these days is via a grocery delivery service like Instacart! 

Some of the farm markets in my area participate with a local milk delivery service. My friend gets it. There's also a legendary dairy in Litchfield County that sells their milk at Whole Foods and my friend said it's just like the milk we used to get with the cream on top.

14 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Here in the US Halloween wasn't a thing for adults when we (boomers) were kids, and people didn't spend so much on decorations.  I think that changed in the 80s. 

I'll never forget in 1982 my husband and I were invited to a Halloween costume party by one of his childhood friends in the Heights in Manhattan. I went as a cop and he went as a criminal, LOL. We were never partiers so that was kind of out of our comfort zone but it was the absolute BEST party I ever went to, hands down! At the time we thought the idea of adults having such parties was a new and novel idea. His friend never had another party and we never went to another one either, but in the '90s when we lived in a huge cluster home development we got a LOT of trick or treaters, so we used to dress up in costume and put speakers in the front bedroom windows playing spooky organ music, which was easy for my husband to find because he's an organist, LOL. We put on our choir robes and held huge candelabras. The kids loved it and we had tons of fun every year. Little did we know back then how out of hand the whole Halloween thing was going to get in the future, LOL.

14 hours ago, ECM1231 said:

We never got milk delivered, but I remember being jealous of my neighbor friend across the street because her folks got deliveries from the Charles Chips truck. This company sold snacks like pretzels in large, tin cans, as well as chocolate chip cookies. 

LOL, I remember Charles Chips from when I was in day camp in the 1960s! The counselors would throw a huge can on the table after lunch and we'd all clamor around it. I used to love those chips with what we called "bug juice", which was really Kool Aid, LOL.

11 hours ago, Dimity said:

I definitely think Halloween started getting over the top when Boomers got old enough to be in charge but I don't think it's the boomers who are responsible for the gory turn that the Halloween decorations have taken!  I mean I'm not saying ghosts and ghouls were the kind and gentle side of Halloween but there is a line that seems to have been crossed that has made me cringe a bit and worry about the impact on the little ones, who IMO, are the point of Halloween.  In our house it's all about trick or treating not grossing out the neighbours.

You sound like me about this. In my area some of the house decorating has gotten out of control, over the top and gross. Some of them in an adjoining town have received anonymous threats from neighbors. Some of them have been intimidated to dismantle their displays. It's gotten to be a real nasty fiasco! I think it's worse to threaten people than to put up those displays but I just think people have gotten out of hand in every way with this issue.

I don't mind the displays if they're fun and creative. A house made the news because of the quirky displays they put up with their "skeleton family" engaged in everything from a picnic on the lawn, to pickleball, to sunbathing, to beer pong, to basketball, you name it! I just loved that!

 

[Yeah No]

Speaking of trick or treat, my husband spotted this guy making himself a treat out of our next door neighbors' garbage, LOL!

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

I haven’t thought about watching a recipe video instead but maybe that would help. 

For something that's just a variation on what I've been doing my whole adult life (e.g. following a recipe), I can still easily do it by reading, but if it's something new (e.g. repairing something I've never previously worked on), I find I do much better now reading as an overview, then watching a demonstration, and then having the detailed written material available to consult as I complete each step.  I never used to need a visual for anything, but in my advanced middle age, it helps with the unfamiliar.  You're younger than me, but it still might be worth experimenting with.

37 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

One little boy (maybe 4) walked into the house, looked around and when he saw the huge candy bowl, helped himself to some more!

That's obviously not malicious, or any intent, given his age, but is that really something you and his accompanying parent(s) treated as perfectly okay without following it up with a gentle statement he needs to ask permission first?

[shapeshifter]

56 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

So, Lambchop was a mouse this year? That little cherub must've been precious 🤗. 

Totally. And he talks now!🥰😍
And Baby Brother Lambchop was a Hotdog King! 🤣
Like this, but in a stroller:
https://www.target.com/p/baby-hot-dog-infant-carrier-and-hat-halloween-costume-hyde-38-eek-boutique-8482/-/A-89560285

[EtheltoTillie]

2 hours ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

I really do want to enjoy cooking! And for the things I’ve mastered, or crockpot recipes, I do fine. I also like to bake and tend not to fail at that as much. I just love seeing photos of good food on Pinterest and wish I could be one of those food bloggers LOL. (It will likely never happen, which I’ve accepted; doesn’t mean I don’t still fantasize about it.) I like looking at kitchen gadgets, all of that. Just that for some reason, my efforts tend to come out not so great. The comments of a food blog will have everyone raving about how great a recipe is, they’ll put it in their rotation, even their cousin’s neighbor loved it, but I just don’t get that hype. 

I haven’t thought about watching a recipe video instead but maybe that would help. 

Another idea is mise en place, which is what chefs do. Get out all the ingredients and measure them out before you do anything else. You know the way they do on cooking shows. Then you could double check whether you have the right amounts before you proceed.  It also makes cooking easier when you have everything ready. 

[Bastet]

30 minutes ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Another idea is mise en place, which is what chefs do. Get out all the ingredients and measure them out before you do anything else. You know the way they do on cooking shows. Then you could double check whether you have the right amounts before you proceed.  It also makes cooking easier when you have everything ready. 

I do that, for the most part. 

If it's a recipe that's going to go pretty quickly, I prep everything in advance, but not in an individual vessel for every ingredient like on the cooking shows where PA's, not me, are doing the dishes (and with dishwashers, not by hand); I do it in piles on my large cutting board, with the piles combined whenever dry ingredients will be added at the same time (and moving the first ingredient/s onto my large food scraper if I need room on the board), with liquids in a bowl or cup.

If, on the other hand, a recipe starts with an initial set of ingredients that need to sauté and/or simmer for a while before anything gets added, I'll get that batch going and then prep the rest while it does its thing.

I love time management in general, although I suck at it in certain circumstances.  But I'm generally good, particularly when it comes to food -- limiting my prep, cooking, and cleaning time as much as reasonably possible.

Edited November 1 by Bastet

[Anela]

I made scalloped potatoes tonight, but I messed up the middle. I should have layered them a bit at a time, instead of following the instructions, and putting half the potatoes in, before adding any of the sauce. It's missing sauce in part of it. they're still edible, maybe I'll make a bit more sauce tomorrow, and add it in. 

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Another idea is mise en place, which is what chefs do. Get out all the ingredients and measure them out before you do anything else. You know the way they do on cooking shows. Then you could double check whether you have the right amounts before you proceed.  It also makes cooking easier when you have everything ready. 

Although I’d never heard the French term for it, you reminded me that I was taught back in Home Ec. in high school to get all the tools and ingredients ready before you begin.
When I later lived 10 miles from the store and had babies and small children at home, I remembered this basic rule of cooking, without which I could wind up in the middle of preparing a casserole and not have a crucial ingredient and no feasible way of getting it. 
This is also important so you don’t wind up reading “now add the beaten eggs” only to realize you don’t have enough eggs, or the whisk is in the dishwasher with food dried onto it from several days ago.

[PRgal]

Transformers a thing again with boys?  I saw a few Optimus Primes walking around both at school and last night.  It’s quite a clunky costume for school!  Or is it more nostalgia for dad?  On the girls’ side, cowgirl/western Barbie was a thing.  My favourite was a kid who came as a car.  Another clunky one though.  Like he would take up a good part of the sidewalk/path to someone’s house.  

[EtheltoTillie]

Agree with @Bastet  definitely don’t use all those little glass bowls for prep. I put everything on one plate in little piles. 

[EtheltoTillie]

Someone in my husband's office brought in fake tattoo sleeves for Halloween.  They're made of sheer stretchy material, and they look surprisingly realistic.