Small Talk: The Prayer Closet

[lookeyloo]

I assume the show of respect with the salute encourages them to bring out their best taste when cooking?:)!!

Isn't that hilarious!  I didn't notice when I hit the button.  

[Wellfleet]

It's very, very rare that my family ever has leftover mashed potatoes, but for the few times that we have the next day is Mashed Potato Pancake Day, which is better than Thanksgiving, Christmas, and your birthday ! I'm drooling over them already !

 

So easy even I can do it - shape potatoes into patties the size/shape of hamburgers, fry in either butter or bacon fat (this is NOT supposed to be healthy !) until they are med-to-dark brown on either side, drain on paper towels, and that's it. The thinner and crispier the better...

 

Aaaaaannnd now I have to make mashed potatoes so I'll have them for pancakes tomorrow. You can make them same day, but they are infinitely better if you let them "set" in the fridge overnight. Instant potatoes are okay to use, but fresh ones hold up and crisp better. 

 

My Mom made her potato pancakes exactly the same, but thicker - about an inch I'd guess. My mouth is watering for them. Only me and my Dad liked them so we got them all, not that there were ever a lot. With 6 kids and 2 adults - and me - in the house, there weren't a lot of leftover taters around. Yum.

[StaceyNotStacie]

I usually buy the Wonka candies for Halloween.  Otherwise, I will buy a bag of Smarties and/or Dum Dum lollipops.  The younger boy has decided that he wants to be Minecraft Steve, same as last year.  He had the cardboard box last year that was too big for his head.  He wore it for about five minutes and then decided that he was tired of wearing it, so I carried it around while he trick or treated with his Minecraft torch and a plain blue t-shirt.  Hopefully the blockhead will fit better this year.  The older kid has decided that he no longer wants to trick-or-treat.  I tried to talk him into a yellow t-shirt with a black zigzag as Charlie Brown or a yellow t-shirt with Minion goggles (he's obsessed with Minions).  He will hand out candy with Dh, who likes to dress up.  A few years ago he dressed up as an Amish person; half of the people who saw him thought he was Abraham Lincoln.  Only the ones who recognized the Amish hat knew he was an Amish person.  He's a big Washington Nationals fan, so he usually wears one of his Nationals players t-shirts with baseball pants and his curly W hat.  He likes to carve a pumpkin with a curly W; we get at least one teenaged girl who asks him why he has a Walgreens pumpkin.  

 

As for Thanksgiving, my mom likes to do all of the cooking.  It's fairly low-key with my family, my parents, and my elderly aunt; Dh will miss Thanksgiving this year (military).  My dad and I are the only ones who eat cranberry sauce, so my mom always opens a can (my dad's preference).  Last year they were out of town and it was just the boys, Dh and I, so I cooked for only the second time in the 16 years that we have been married.  I had it in my head that I just had to make homemade cranberry sauce.  I made it the day before and it turned out great.  I was the only one who ate it, but I enjoyed every bite and nibbled on it for a few days.  I'm thinking about making sauce this year and putting it next to the canned cranberry sauce and my dad and I can have a taste test.  Our Thanksgiving menu is turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes w/gravy, candied sweet potatoes, broccoli, cranberry sauce and KFC coleslaw.  My paternal grandmother used to serve coleslaw for Thanksgiving and when we moved away (my dad is retired military), my mom would pick up a large container of KFC coleslaw every Wednesday before Thanksgiving to serve with our dinner.  My mom makes a really good homemade bread stuffing that is surprisingly similar to MIL's stuffing recipe (mom is from NEPA, MIL is from Lancaster).

[frenchtoast]

frenchtoast, what kind of a doggie is that?  Besides "awesome", of course! (I am guessing grayhound, but I am a cat person, so I may be wrong)

You guessed correct! 45 mph couch potato greyhound. He's still getting used to the house (he's 2 and he's never been in house so the sliding glass door got bumped, he's unsure about the hardwood and vinyl floors and he's refused the stairs. Time, patience and love work wonders. I'll definitely be updating. With pictures :)

 

I love just about any mashed potatoes, but they have to be smooth. And hubby loves the chunky with potato skins time. So I may have to make two batches this year :) I will eat one batch on my own.

[Cherrio]

I use yukon potatoes for my mashed pots.

   I boil them, then mash slightly chunk, add cream, a bar of cream cheese, salt and pepper.

     I whip an egg and then add it to the mix.   Its a thick mixture

 

 I refrigerate for a few hours and it rises a little.

 Then I dust with paprika and bake for about an hour until its crusty on top.

 

 They are vedy vedy good.

[Absolom]

He looks such a sweetheart.  I'm sure he'll adjust quickly.

[springtime]

Give it until Tuesday then see if your bank will refund it under a fraud claim.

I'm sure all will be fine- Go fund knows what they are doing and protections in place.

We were lucky that it was a Go Fund Me account  and we weren't sending money to a PO Box (which was suggested at one point)

Edited October 18, 2015 by springtime

[BitterApple]

I prefer Yukon golds for mashed as well. I think they have a nice buttery flavor and creamy texture. For Thanksgiving I do just a standard mash with butter, milk, salt and pepper, but I get a little more creative when I'm not cooking for a crowd.

[lookeyloo]

I'm sure all will be fine- Go fund knows what they are doing and protections in place.

We were lucky that it was a Go Fund Me account  and we weren't sending money to a PO Box (which was suggested at one point)

I never would have done the PO Box, although I did the GoFundMe.  I'm just waiting to check the bank.  Probably next week when I would do it anyway.

[KittyS]

I know WW burned a lot of people, but I don't want to become so cynical that I suspect everyone of being either a scammer or a sock puppet. Some people just have shitty lives. Or are insufferable know-it-alls.

Halloween - I buy the chocolate mixtures and am always sure to test all of the Reese's and Kit Kats (especially the white chocolate ones) for poison. Must protect the innocent children!

Thanksgiving - I don't especially like Thanksgiving food, but I do love me a post-Thanksgiving panini with leftover turkey, sharp cheddar, cranberry sauce, squash, green beans, and bacon. Yum! There isn't a food that can't be made better by adding cheese and squishing between two slices of toasty bread.

Edited October 19, 2015 by KittyS

[Wellfleet]

I prefer Yukon golds for mashed as well. I think they have a nice buttery flavor and creamy texture. For Thanksgiving I do just a standard mash with butter, milk, salt and pepper, but I get a little more creative when I'm not cooking for a crowd.

 

Me too. I get a little crazy when it's just me. Here's my "recipe" for Lazy Mash. Take a little net bag of new baby potatoes - you won't even need to scrub them they come so clean, just rinse them a bit. Place them in a microwavable bowl - or bowls - along  with sliced shallots and a sprinkling of water. Cover and irradiate for 10 min. Remove covers and mash potatoes with a fork roughly. They'll be very "rustic" and chunky and you get the vitamins from the skins too. Mush in as much butter as you like and maybe some plain Greek yogurt. I like lots of black pepper too.

[Liz Tudor]

Been a busy afternoon, but thought I'd chime in.

I love Halloween and still dress up (as does Mr. Tudor). I have a good size chunk of closet for costumes: pirate, witch, devil are what I can think of off the top of my head. And NOT the "slutty" version. All my costumes are tricked out with realistic accessories (brooms, wands, hats, swords, pitchforks, etc.). I've won costume contests. I'm hoping to find a good adult party/pub crawl, I've done those before and they can be so much fun! One of the best was about 5 years ago, with a fun bunch of complete strangers, including a group that came as the Addams Family. We decorate the house, inside and out (my Halloween decs are catching up to the Xmas ones!) and we still have trick-or-treat goodies for neighborhood kids, but as someone mentioned, all the "harvest festivals," etc. are cutting into it, which makes me sad.

Favorite candy: love any chocolate, like sprees, smarties, skittles. Hated good & plentys, ick! Mike & Ikes were okay. In typical first born, Virgo form, as soon as we were done trick or treating for the night, I'd dump my bag, organize it by brand/type, eat maybe 3-5 pieces, eat some more over the next week, and call it done for the year (I think my parents got the rest). My brother would eat it as fast as we were getting it and get the classic sick stomach by the time we got home.

Thanksgiving food: love to cook, so I do most everything if we are at home (and it's all just for the 2 of us!). When Mr. Tudor was active duty, we were (and still are) rarely in a position to be with family (would rather save leave for Xmas), so we enjoyed sharing with neighbors & fellow military folks. I adore sweet potato pie, and last year, tried something new and brined the turkey in a citrus brine and it was mighty fine.

You clever folks are killing me with the "sock dramas." I'm hoping we can all recover from the WW sham. We will all be a LOT more wary, that's for sure.

That's all I've got for now, have a great night!

ETA: frenchtoast, congrats on your new fur babies! My brother has 2 rescue greyhounds, a girl and a boy. The girl was first, then a couple of years later he got the boy. They are so docile and sweet and seem to appreciate their life off the track. I know you'll love them both!

Edited October 19, 2015 by Liz Tudor

[Purpose to defraud]

Me too. My theory was that GEML has finally had enough, for a while at least, and now she has the excuse of being in Ireland. She's just decided to take a break and see Ireland. Maybe she'll be back, maybe not.

I was wondering why GEML was on here so much when her life sounded so wonderful, husband, kids, money, travel, living abroad. I know I sometimes quit things cold turkey when it gets too much.

[birkenstock]

Growing up, I loved tootsie rolls more than any other candy. Like trade chocolate bars for tootsie roll pops kind of love. My favorite is snickers now.

 

Costco has the best Halloween candy bags. I like to get the one with the Reese's peanut butter cups, twix, snickers and other chocolate bars.  My neighborhood doesn't get that many kids, but I like to get one of the big bags just in case.  There have been a lot of new families with young children moving in the past few years, so I may need to buy two bags.

 

My family have been eating turduckens during Thanksgiving for about 5 years. It is delicious but the stuffing to meat ratio is sometimes disappointing.  I second the poster who loves oyster dressing. Yum! I make baked macroni and cheese that is almost foolproof and am sure to have the cranberry sauce in a can in the refrigerator throughout the season.  

[GeeGolly]

Growing up, I loved tootsie rolls more than any other candy. Like trade chocolate bars for tootsie roll pops kind of love. My favorite is snickers now.

 

Costco has the best Halloween candy bags. I like to get the one with the Reese's peanut butter cups, twix, snickers and other chocolate bars.  My neighborhood doesn't get that many kids, but I like to get one of the big bags just in case.  There have been a lot of new families with young children moving in the past few years, so I may need to buy two bags.

 

My family have been eating turduckens during Thanksgiving for about 5 years. It is delicious but the stuffing to meat ratio is sometimes disappointing.  I second the poster who loves oyster dressing. Yum! I make baked macroni and cheese that is almost foolproof and am sure to have the cranberry sauce in a can in the refrigerator throughout the season.  

Oh, baked mac & cheese, one of my favorites. Not at Thanksgiving, but any other day will due. My 3 favorite comfort foods are mashed potatoes, baked mac & cheese, and meatloaf.

[Almost 3000]

You guessed correct! 45 mph couch potato greyhound. He's still getting used to the house (he's 2 and he's never been in house so the sliding glass door got bumped, he's unsure about the hardwood and vinyl floors and he's refused the stairs. Time, patience and love work wonders. I'll definitely be updating. With pictures :)

 

I love just about any mashed potatoes, but they have to be smooth. And hubby loves the chunky with potato skins time. So I may have to make two batches this year :) I will eat one batch on my own.

That's interesting about the stairs and glass. I've had several rescues that I've mentioned here and there on Previously boards and am guessing they came from homes because they immediately knew those things. Looking forward to more pix!

[magpye29]

So this afternoon I ushered for a performance of Mendelssohn's "Elijah" by the local symphony orchestra and a combined chorus.  I thought of you guys when I read this in the program (and had to just shrug my shoulders when a couple of people asked me why I was laughing!):

 

  (This is Dvorak talking about his New World Symphony) "It is in reality a study or sketch for a longer work, either a cantata or an opera, which I purpose writing, and which will be based on Longfellow's Hiawatha."

 

I'm a Thanksgiving omnivore.  Most of my family like dark meat, and my husband's family only like white meat, so sometimes I just make my own turkey so I can have all the dark meat I want.

 

I'm with all the Reese's peanut butter cup lovers.  That is my go-to snack, and I'm feeling a little deprived since I started doing the 21 Day Fix food program (I haven't been doing the exercise part of it yet, but I've lost 8 pounds in 5 days and I am eating my head off!), because chocolate covered raisins or almonds just are not the same as PBCs.  I also love 100 Grand bars, giant Tootsie Rolls, Cow Tails, Good & Plenty, Charleston Chew, and Milky way caramels.  I couldn't wait to move back to Massachusetts so I could have a peanut butter cup sundae at Friendly's.

 

True confession time:  I'm 55 years old, used to have a mullet, and have a distinctive high-pitched voice.  My name begins with an M, but it is NOT Michelle.  I cut the Mullet some slack on her voice, although I can lower my voice when I have to (like when I played Mama Morton in "Chicago").  Also, I don't look 55, and I have never been accused of acting my age.  And I will have a stockpile of L'Oreal in my cabinet for as long as I can be bothered to keep coloring my hair.

So this afternoon I ushered for a performance of Mendelssohn's "Elijah" by the local symphony orchestra and a combined chorus.  I thought of you guys when I read this in the program (and had to just shrug my shoulders when a couple of people asked me why I was laughing!):

 

  (This is Dvorak talking about his New World Symphony) "It is in reality a study or sketch for a longer work, either a cantata or an opera, which I purpose writing, and which will be based on Longfellow's Hiawatha."

 

I'm a Thanksgiving omnivore.  Most of my family like dark meat, and my husband's family only like white meat, so sometimes I just make my own turkey so I can have all the dark meat I want.

 

I'm with all the Reese's peanut butter cup lovers.  That is my go-to snack, and I'm feeling a little deprived since I started doing the 21 Day Fix food program (I haven't been doing the exercise part of it yet, but I've lost 8 pounds in 5 days and I am eating my head off!), because chocolate covered raisins or almonds just are not the same as PBCs.  I also love 100 Grand bars, giant Tootsie Rolls, Cow Tails, Good & Plenty, Charleston Chew, and Milky way caramels.  I couldn't wait to move back to Massachusetts so I could have a peanut butter cup sundae at Friendly's.

 

True confession time:  I'm 55 years old, used to have a mullet, and have a distinctive high-pitched voice.  My name begins with an M, but it is NOT Michelle.  I cut the Mullet some slack on her voice, although I can lower my voice when I have to (like when I played Mama Morton in "Chicago").  Also, I don't look 55, and I have never been accused of acting my age.  And I will have a stockpile of L'Oreal in my cabinet for as long as I can be bothered to keep coloring my hair.

[Barbie]

love the Thanksgiving talk... one of my faves is,  I don't know if it has a name.... it's equal parts dried cranberries, mandarin oranges w/juice, and chopped pecans...

mixed together and let it sit overnight in the fridge so the orange juice plumps up the cranberries... it's so yummy.... it guess it's like a relish,  It's so good with Turkey... can't wait for Thanksgiving... 

[Julia]

love the Thanksgiving talk... one of my faves is,  I don't know if it has a name.... it's equal parts dried cranberries, mandarin oranges w/juice, and chopped pecans...

mixed together and let it sit overnight in the fridge so the orange juice plumps up the cranberries... it's so yummy.... it guess it's like a relish,  It's so good with Turkey... can't wait for Thanksgiving...

I do something a lot like that. I simmer fresh cranberries and craisins in apple cider with candied ginger and a cinnamon stick until the fresh berries burst, and then mix in a jar of peach jam before it goes in the fridge. It makes pretty decent chutney on those next-day sandwiches.

[Chicklet]

Oh now with all this turkey talk I'm going to have to roast a turkey before thanksgiving. I have to go to Telluride to meet up with the parents and god only knows what restaurant my mother has planned to visit.

And pumpkins aren't going to be readily available this Thanksgiving. I hate pie, I just eat the guts. But I love pumpkin pie guts. With more whipped cream than is decent.

[ItsPat59]

Long,long,long time lurker but too inept to register til now. Finally have to post since we're discussing food. Our Thanksgiving is just one carbohydrate orgasm. Turkey, of course. Then we usually have 4 different starches. I made my kids choose 2 for Thanksgiving and 2 for Chrismakuh last year. That didn't go over well, so this year it's: mashed potato casserole, stuffing, corn casserole and noodle kugel. Oh, and tofurkey for my newly vegetarian son. 2 veggie dishes, the trimmings and dessert. The only reason I'm agreeing to this is because I don't have to follow up with Chrismakuh a month later. I've been enjoying all the posts for all the threads for 19kac. You all make me realize there are many like-minded, sane people in the universe.

[BradandJanet]

My husband wants to stuff the turkey with pork stuffing, which I just can't stand. My mom made the best light cornbread dressing, and that's want I want. She didn't use a recipe, so I could never get it quite right. We compromise with breading stuffings with nuts and berries. 

[Wellfleet]

On the candy front, I've never been a sweets fan. I don't even like sugar in coffee or tea. If I have calories to spend, I usually opt for the salty, savory snacks. Potato chips, popcorn, Fritos/Doritos, your basic starchy, salty junk. I LOVE Bugles. However, I am normal and do eat sweets, just not often. #1 with me is probably anything with chocolate and peanut butter. Or Three Musketeers bars. Until my Mom died, there was one in my stocking every year from the time I was about 5. Oh, and I really miss Hershey's Caramels. Couldn't find them one Fall - contacted the company - apparently they no longer make them - heartbroken. I swear, one of the worst things about getting older is seeing things you've used and loved for years suddenly disappear.

Edited October 20, 2015 by Wellfleet

[Almost 3000]

On the candy front, I've never been a sweets fan. I don't even like sugar in coffee or tea. If I have calories to spend, I usually opt for the salty, savory snacks. Potato chips, popcorn, Fritos/Doritos, your basic starchy, salty junk. I LOVE Bugles. However, I am normal and do eat sweet, just not often. #1 with me is probably anything with chocolate and peanut butter. Or Three Musketeers bars. Until my Mom died, there was one in my stocking every year from the time I was about 5. Oh, and I really miss Hershey's Caramels. Couldn't find them one Fall - contacted the company - apparently they no longer make them - heartbroken. I swear, one of the worst things about getting older is seeing things you've used and loved for years suddenly disappear.

Is this it? I comes in bars and smaller pieces in bags:

http://www.amazon.com/Hersheys-Caramels-Milk-Chocolate-Ounce/dp/B00XLIKBLQ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1445220118&sr=8-3&keywords=Hershey%27s+Caramels

[Julia]

On the candy front, I've never been a sweets fan. I don't even like sugar in coffee or tea. If I have calories to spend, I usually opt for the salty, savory snacks. Potato chips, popcorn, Fritos/Doritos, your basic starchy, salty junk. I LOVE Bugles. However, I am normal and do eat sweet, just not often. #1 with me is probably anything with chocolate and peanut butter. Or Three Musketeers bars. Until my Mom died, there was one in my stocking every year from the time I was about 5. Oh, and I really miss Hershey's Caramels. Couldn't find them one Fall - contacted the company - apparently they no longer make them - heartbroken. I swear, one of the worst things about getting older is seeing things you've used and loved for years suddenly disappear.

Is this it? I comes in bars and smaller pieces in bags:

http://www.amazon.com/Hersheys-Caramels-Milk-Chocolate-Ounce/dp/B00XLIKBLQ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1445220118&sr=8-3&keywords=Hershey%27s+Caramels

 

Is it possible they've just rebranded? Because I've been seeing ads for these.

[Itsnotreality]

Yikes. Away for  only a couple hours and pages to catch up on :) I was away for a good reason though. My hubby was kind enough to invite my brother-in-law & nephew over for dinner (again, because I ranted here perhaps I didn't rant enough to hubby about the last snotty\weepy eye visit).  SIL was working and surely he can't cook. He brings a bag of carrots. A baggie of cut up carrots, presents them to me like it's a bottle of fine wine and says "Appetizers!". No dip. Your Thanksgiving recipes are making me hungry. To be fair, the kids did eat the carrots, but he is still getting ranted on.

[CherryMalotte]

If anybody has an Aldi near them they do have the Halloween fruit snacks that are yummy for the kids, if you are making treat bags.  I've made treat bags the past few years when my husband's bus route had the little Head Start kids, but this year he's got the older ones, so I might just get Tootsie Pops and have his monitor hand those out.  I do the same at home, buy candy I like because depending on the weather if I don't get a lot of kids I'd rather be stuck with something I like.  Our one demented orange beastie cat Ollie loves lollipops, have to hide them.  Never had any other of our cats like to lick lollipops but him, though long ago Tiger the smart one loved sweet corn.  We'd have to shuck it outside and he'd be in the house screaming for an ear.  Mom would boil them up and put one on a plate for him, with butter.  Damn cat would make short work of that ear and beg for more.  

[StaceyNotStacie]

I love anything Hershey.  I grew up in Pennsylvania and went to Hershey Park a few times as a child.  Dh and I have taken our boys to Lancaster a few times and, although we have not taken them to Hershey Park, we have made a few visits to Chocolate World.  It has gotten to the point where they request a trip to Chocolate World whenever we are in Pennsylvania.  Now that they're finally old enough to ride the "grown up" rides, Hershey Park is at the top of our vacation list for next summer (this past summer was Disney).  They're still not big on roller coasters, but they love anything that goes fast or spins around.

 

Pennsylvania has some of the best junk food.  Aside from Hershey chocolate, I also love Gertrude Hawk chocolates.  I had many Easter baskets filled with Gertrude Hawk candies growing up.  Since we don't have Gertrude Hawk stores in my state, my boys usually get Hershey candies in their baskets.  I have started a tradition where they get a Hershey chocolate cross each year.  I also love my Pennsylvania potato chips.  There is a brand called Middleswarth that is sold in central and northeastern Pennsylvania that I had as a child and Dh loves Gibbles.  We can get Utz chips in the south, but their outlet store is near Gettysburg.  We visited the store in 2014.  The prices weren't any better than a good grocery store sale, but it was neat to see all the different types of Utz potato chips in one location.

 

Now if I could only find birch beer in southern Virginia.

[Love2dance]

Deleted because accidentally double posted.

Edited October 19, 2015 by Love2dance

[GeeGolly]

On the candy front, I've never been a sweets fan. I don't even like sugar in coffee or tea. If I have calories to spend, I usually opt for the salty, savory snacks. Potato chips, popcorn, Fritos/Doritos, your basic starchy, salty junk. I LOVE Bugles. However, I am normal and do eat sweet, just not often. #1 with me is probably anything with chocolate and peanut butter. Or Three Musketeers bars. Until my Mom died, there was one in my stocking every year from the time I was about 5. Oh, and I really miss Hershey's Caramels. Couldn't find them one Fall - contacted the company - apparently they no longer make them - heartbroken. I swear, one of the worst things about getting older is seeing things you've used and loved for years suddenly disappear.

Straight up caramel, squares in a clear wrapper?

[rumcake]

Like a few other posters have said, take a few hours out of the prayer closet and there is a lot to catch up with.

 

Halloween we decorate in and out with out collection of ceramic pumpkins,  old blow mold decorations, and lights.  When the kids were little, I would spend a day carving those complicated Pumpkin Masters designs.   Now one standard jack o'lantern.  Our standard hand out is full size Hershey bars.    I do keep a supply of plastic spider rings to hand out to older teens and such.   Hershey bars are for the little ones.

 

Thanksgiving menu:  Turkey, mashed potatoes, candied sweet potatoes, baby carrots, stuffing (no one likes it but me), a green vegetable, the smooth canned cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, and shoo fly pie.    

[Pixie Chicken]

Is Halloween becoming lame? All the towns near us do a two-hour window. It's 5-7 or 4-6, usually. Lots of people are still at work at those hours. We get SCORES of people who drive from a nearby city to trick-or-treat, so much so that some of our neighbors just gave up and no longer hand out anything. They were tired of hundreds of total strangers, including *adults* with their own bags. It's not unusual to see a minivan pull up and have 10+ people get out, like a clown car. (Some of the party pooper neighbors bring goodie bags to my kids, though.) We don't hand out much candy either... we're usually out with our own kids.

I remember it much differently as a kid.

[Love2dance]

. Oh, and I really miss Hershey's Caramels. Couldn't find them one Fall - contacted the company - apparently they no longer make them - heartbroken. I swear, one of the worst things about getting older is seeing things you've used and loved for years suddenly disappear.

If you live near a Trader Joes, their dark chocolate covered caramels are fabulous. Also Sees dark chocolate butterchews are super yummmmmy.

For Thanksgiving I could happily have a small slice of dark thigh meat, lots and lots of crispy skin, a slice of apple pie and a slice of my Devils food chocolate cake with dark chocolate frosting. Perfect meal.

[Wellfleet]

Straight up caramel, squares in a clear wrapper?

 

Yes. I don't even look for caramels in the Fall anymore. Brach's was around when Hershey stopped making theirs but I wanted Hershey's. I thought they were the best and so buttery. Now I'm not even sure Brach's is still around. And Fanny Farmer's has been quite a while too. There used to be multiple Fanny F stores in my hometown. I loved being taken there before Easter with my grandparents - so beautifully decorated with bright spring colors - took this 5-year old's breath away. 

[lookeyloo]

Is Halloween becoming lame? All the towns near us do a two-hour window. It's 5-7 or 4-6, usually. Lots of people are still at work at those hours. We get SCORES of people who drive from a nearby city to trick-or-treat, so much so that some of our neighbors just gave up and no longer hand out anything. They were tired of hundreds of total strangers, including *adults* with their own bags. It's not unusual to see a minivan pull up and have 10+ people get out, like a clown car. (Some of the party pooper neighbors bring goodie bags to my kids, though.) We don't hand out much candy either... we're usually out with our own kids.

I remember it much differently as a kid.

And that is why I don't buy candy and we go out on Halloween. No small neighborhood kids anymore. At least around here.

[SomePity1066]

Is Halloween becoming lame? All the towns near us do a two-hour window. It's 5-7 or 4-6, usually. Lots of people are still at work at those hours. We get SCORES of people who drive from a nearby city to trick-or-treat, so much so that some of our neighbors just gave up and no longer hand out anything. They were tired of hundreds of total strangers, including *adults* with their own bags. It's not unusual to see a minivan pull up and have 10+ people get out, like a clown car. (Some of the party pooper neighbors bring goodie bags to my kids, though.) We don't hand out much candy either... we're usually out with our own kids.

I remember it much differently as a kid.

Until I moved two years ago to my new neighborhood, I was stuck waaaay out in the 'burbs where the kids were few and far between, but I still dressed up to hand out candy, decorated the porch, etc, for the little ones who showed up - they were so cute, especially since my stepchildren had moved on as too old to trick or treat. But one year, just like you said, Pixie Chicken, a group of HUGE older teenage boys (think 18/19) showed up - no costumes, carrying blue plastic bags from a grocery store for their "haul", smirking their best smirks and looking like outtakes from "The Purge". I was scared, but more pissed than scared - I gave them each one candy bar and when they left I locked the door and shut off all the lights. I was hiding in my own home. 

 

If you're old enough to have a kid who trick or treats, you're too old to trick or treat. At least without the kid ! And if you give someone the slightest pause as to whether or not you deserve candy or if they should call 911 then you should stay home. 

 

Yeah, I remember things very differently, too. Sigh.

[Fuzzysox]

Yes. I don't even look for caramels in the Fall anymore. Brach's was around when Hershey stopped making theirs but I wanted Hershey's. I thought they were the best and so buttery. Now I'm not even sure Brach's is still around. And Fanny Farmer's has been quite a while too. There used to be multiple Fanny F stores in my hometown. I loved being taken there before Easter with my grandparents - so beautifully decorated with bright spring colors - took this 5-year old's breath away.

I think Ferrara Pan makes Brach candies now. I haven't had any in years. Used to love them back in the day. My BFF parents both worked at Brach's they would buy me anything I wanted.

[StaceyNotStacie]

The law in our town for trick or treating is 12 and under, beginning at dusk until 8 pm.  Most kids start around 6 pm and are finished by 7:30.  Most people tend to overlook the older kids.  I would rather see a teenager in full costume trick or treating than a parent pushing an infant in a stroller holding out the bag for the baby.  I love taking my son trick or treating, although he doesn't have my stamina.  He is usually finished after about 30 minutes, while I could walk around our entire neighborhood (a few hundred houses).

 

My favorites are the Twix bars and Mounds and Almond Joys.  Dh loves the peanut butter cups.  We always confiscate the peanut candies since my older son is allergic to nuts.  My older son loves Tootsie Rolls, but he got braces over the summer, so those will go to his brother.  The chocolate candies are usually the first to go and by the third or fourth day, we're stuck with a bucket of Dum Dums, Smarties, and Sweet Tarts.  After a week or two, they usually get tossed since I'm sick of looking at the candy.

[Muffyn]

It's not unusual to see a minivan pull up and have 10+ people get out, like a clown car. 

OMG.  Mechelle is pulling into your town and unloading trick-or-treaters from her clown car vagina!  (I'll let myself out).

[Guest]

I trick-or-treated WAY past the age of appropriateness, but I did it with younger children that I was babysitting. Plus, I look freakishly young for my age (baby face and only 5'1''), so no one felt uncomfortable or asked to see my birth certificate...

 

Does that make me a candy grifter, like Jill and Derick? Yikes!

Edited October 19, 2015 by Guest

[travel17]

I don't know if this is the right place, but is anyone as excited about law and order: duggar style, as I am? Haven't watched l&o in years, started to be too real. But I can't wait to see what they have do with the clan. So many possibilities politicians, porn stars, oh the possibilities. Wonder if they know?

Edited October 19, 2015 by travel17

[magpye29]

I gave out (gently-used) books the past couple of years.  The kids seemed to like them, and the parents kept taking all the Twilight books!

[HundFan]

Count me dumbfounded too re WW, SeaShell and GEML - though I did think always think something was a little "off" re GEML (but I wrote it off to my being a bitch for considering her a know-it-all bitch).

 

She supposedly had 4 kids, IIRC, yet she was constantly posting long and hard on multiple threads at all times of day and night. Who, I wondered, could be a decent mother when most of her time was spent tending to her keyboard? (My children are grown and I need a life, so that's my defense.) And for a know-it-all, she backed off surprisingly fast if she felt she had ventured into territory someone else might understand. For ex: we were all discussing something sort of legal (can't recall what or when) and she announced she knew everything re how elite NY law firms worked (a fact which wasn't even really germane to our discussion), but when I commented on the same topic, saying that, though I wasn't a lawyer, I'd been married to one for 36 years, she went instantly radio silent. Same for her claim re growing up on a cattle ranch; I noted I had too and she said no more.  In that moment, I ?'d the logic of someone having a cattle ranch in West Virginia (which she claimed as her home state), but hey, I hadn't been there, so WTH? But the biggest flag - which I saw but failed to interpret correctly: she never ever liked anyone else's post. Ever. I wrote that off to hubris. But then again no one else on our board behaves that way ....

 

That said, I am still stunned that anyone would invest so much energy doing this stuff. (Yeah, I know, money and all, but still ....) And equally stunned how gullible I was (am). Even with GEML, I never considered she might be a troll. Frankly, it would never occur to me to think anyone in our wonderful little tribe is a troll. Fortunately, I never sent anyone any money. My genuine sympathies to those of you who did and must now untangle that mess. Gobsmacked.

 

ETA: So many posters commented on WW's avatar "Maisie" looking like the Gerber baby. I guess we know why now.

Edited October 19, 2015 by HundFan

[ChiCricket]

Anybody have any fun costumes for Halloween?

Last year I won a costume contest by just knotting a big thick rope (with scraggly ends) loosely around my neck. I asked people to guess what my costume represented.

Nobody got it, and I won when I told them I was "afraid not". Most comfy costume I ever wore.

I won a highly scented Halloween candle that I promptly had to give away because strong scents trigger my asthma. I did have fun winning with such a last minute thrown together 'costume'!

Edited October 19, 2015 by ChiCricket

[Guest]

The best, most creative costume that I ever saw in person was a guy who dressed up in a Big Bird costume, then wore a doctors coat, hospital mask over his beak, and stethoscope around his neck. 

 

He was "Bird Flu." 

Edited October 19, 2015 by Guest

[kalamac]

My 21-year-old niece is going to a Halloween party as Harley Quinn this year, and she's made her own costume. It looks amazing. If I were to dress up, I'd put on the hospital scrubs I wear as pjs sometimes. They're comfy and require no effort.

[Tabbygirl521]

My 21-year-old niece is going to a Halloween party as Harley Quinn this year, and she's made her own costume. It looks amazing. If I were to dress up, I'd put on the hospital scrubs I wear as pjs sometimes. They're comfy and require no effort.

Hey, that is like my go-to costume - scrubs, a shower cap, latex gloves, and fake blood smeared all over me. Bloody Surgeon. I once won a whopping $10 prize when we had a costume contest at work. Comfy and gruesome! The blood washes out so you can reuse the scrubs.

[Wellfleet]

Is it possible they've just rebranded? Because I've been seeing ads for these.

 

Thanks, Julia - I'll try the Lancaster caramels. If it's the same recipe, they'll be great. But when I contacted the company, back when I first couldn't find them anymore, I was told Hershey was not making caramels any longer.  A year or so after that, I saw on the news that Hershey was moving its candy-making production to Mexico. But hey, it's business and things are always changing. I'll keep my fingers crossed. Thanks again.

Is this it? I comes in bars and smaller pieces in bags:

http://www.amazon.com/Hersheys-Caramels-Milk-Chocolate-Ounce/dp/B00XLIKBLQ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1445220118&sr=8-3&keywords=Hershey%27s+Caramels

 

Thanks, Almost. I'll check these out too. I know I'm nostalgic for those clear-wrapped caramels, My mother and my paternal grandmother always kept them around in the Fall and through the holidays.

[Wellfleet]

I love anything Hershey.  I grew up in Pennsylvania and went to Hershey Park a few times as a child.  Dh and I have taken our boys to Lancaster a few times and, although we have not taken them to Hershey Park, we have made a few visits to Chocolate World.  It has gotten to the point where they request a trip to Chocolate World whenever we are in Pennsylvania.  Now that they're finally old enough to ride the "grown up" rides, Hershey Park is at the top of our vacation list for next summer (this past summer was Disney).  They're still not big on roller coasters, but they love anything that goes fast or spins around.

 

Pennsylvania has some of the best junk food.  Aside from Hershey chocolate, I also love Gertrude Hawk chocolates.  I had many Easter baskets filled with Gertrude Hawk candies growing up.  Since we don't have Gertrude Hawk stores in my state, my boys usually get Hershey candies in their baskets.  I have started a tradition where they get a Hershey chocolate cross each year.  I also love my Pennsylvania potato chips.  There is a brand called Middleswarth that is sold in central and northeastern Pennsylvania that I had as a child and Dh loves Gibbles.  We can get Utz chips in the south, but their outlet store is near Gettysburg.  We visited the store in 2014.  The prices weren't any better than a good grocery store sale, but it was neat to see all the different types of Utz potato chips in one location.

 

Now if I could only find birch beer in southern Virginia.

 

Pennsylvania does have great potato chips. I order Charles Chips online now, but when I was a kid, there were delivery trucks that would come to your house. My dad was a sucker for a delicious, light, crisp, very lightly-salted chip and he declared Charles Chips the best. Even though they were pricier than the store brands, he'd splurge on them, so we had chips with our sandwiches on weekends! That was a treat! They came in a large round tin, like you can get for gourmet popcorn, and you just refilled the can from week to week, or whenever you ran out. We ran out every week - LOL. They also had pretzels and cookies then.

[HundFan]

And just for the record, I am not the sock. (My dogs have all of mine, usually somewhere in the back yard.) On a related note, if I were to become a sock, then another sock, and I orchestrated discussions between those socks in a public forum (like PTV), would that be like my id having lunch with my ego? And could I then fire my therapist? 

Edited October 19, 2015 by HundFan