Boy am I glad November 1st is a holiday!!! I couldn't possibly go teach in this zombie state today! And thankfully I've got tomorrow to recover as well (although some tourism will be involved)! YAY for 4-day weekends!!! :o)
I hope everyone had a good Halloween weekend!
I wanted to write up some kind of "Happy Halloween" post for yesterday... but I've got friends over and saying we've been busy would be a massive understatement! :p
Halloween isn't a typical holiday this side of the Atlantic (except in those islands just off the coast of here which I am 50% originaly from, if you go back a good century, lol!), but I guess we can thank globalisation (and TV, and movies, and a love of many people for dressing up in goofy or bloody disguises and having a grand ol' time!) for its increasing presence here (in Europe)! As far as I can tell not so much in Spain yet, but I have seen many more signs of it here in Belgium, with a distinct increase during the years I've lived here!
Here are a few examples:
- Some neighbours a few houses down on my street got their place all decked up a good week in advance... and they were out with their kids (and some others) trick-or-treating Friday night!
- I thought it might be an isolated incident, but when I went out on a short semi-urban hike on Saturday we ran into a few more cases:
I think carving a Jack'O'Lantern is my favourite part of this crazy holiday... even though I haven't done since my two crazy Belgian Halloween parties in 2005 and 2006 which I told you about last year.
No Halloween party this year either. Why not? you ask. If November 1st is a holiday then it's perfect! Ahhhhh... but one of my best friends was born on an October 31st... and yesterday was her 30th! So MASSIVE party planned!!! We had a fabulous morrocan-home-cuisine dinner before in a special guest-house and she was shocked/astonished/fabulously surprised by several surprise guests (from out of the country!) that I asked to come over and share in the fun!
So surprising she couldn't guess who they were when we gave her clues! Of course, looking like this it's hard to guess:
Too much delicious food...
and birthday excitement...
... followed by very late night of dancing and an alarm clock (to get up for brunch) that I forgot to switch the time on yesterday when I changed the rest of the clocks means I only slept 3h last night... So now I'm going to stick a movie in the computer and vegetate in bed for a couple of hours! ;o)
Wow - I'm jealous you have today as a holiday. We don't have more holidays now until Christmas. Glad you had another Happy Halloween weekend. Have fun recovering - LOL!
ReplyDeleteLove the Belgium hiking pics. When I learn to fly, I will go along... I don't do so well with steep hills!
ReplyDeleteSo what holiday is it? (I'm ignorant. Sorry.)
I've missed reading your blog. Now that winter is just around the corner, perhaps I'll be finding more time to catch up.
Is it All Saints Day that is the holiday? Anyway, it's lovely to have it off. And you should definitely stick a movie into the computer than will help put you to sleep! Of course, you're younger than I am and can manage with less sleep. What a great friend to have planned such a party!
ReplyDeleteYup, DJan got it right! All Saints Day... as in "All Hallows Day" (as in All Hallows' Eve? ;o) )
ReplyDeleteI can manage with less sleep, but my brain can't quite function on just 3h! And can't take all the credit, I was just one of the 2 organisers for the dinner (the party was separate, she organised it with a couple other friends also turning 30) and I worked on getting the "out of towners" here. :p
Lily, it's great to see you back here! I hear you on not having time... I think I get a chance to read 2-3 posts a day now at most. Argh! Work keeps getting in the way of blogging... but that is what I'm here for! ;o)
Dive Girl, we've got tomorrow off as well!!! Well, at least us University folks do (and in Mexico it's Day of the Dead and a holiday). So 4-day weekend... and then next week the 11th of November is a holiday (Armistice Day, WW1) and since it's a Thursday... Friday's off as well!!! (as replacement for May 1st which was a Sunday this year). I'll be in London with my sis for 4 days! :o)