Prior to retirement, I lived and worked in Beijing China for fourteen years (Middle School Principal/Deputy Director at The Western Academy of Beijing). Leaving international life behind, my husband and I retired to Vancouver Island in June 2015. To document both this transition and our new adventures, ‘Retirement Reflections’ was born. I hope that you enjoy reading these reflections, and will be willing to share your own.
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55 thoughts on “What’s On Your Plate: Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun!”
Hi, Robbie – I love how Hallowe’en and other celebrations are different all over the world. I was surprised (and delighted) that this Hallowe’en in Parksville BC, looked quite similar to it had in my childhood in Windsor, Ontario, and to my son’s childhood on the outskirts of Toronto. ❤
Nice to see you keeping to the theme and having a laugh while you’re at it. I’m not a fan of Halloween – but you did make me smile with your food presentation 😀
Hi, Leanne – I am so glad that I made you smile. When I wrote this post, we were in the midst of watching the horrors of the US election. So, I thought I would focus on a bit of fun mock horror. ❤
Hi, Joanne – I love that Hallowe’en is so different for everyone. Despite the 60 ghouls and goblins at our door, I got a surprising amount of reading done that night…and I wrote this blog post then as well! ❤
There are now so many community events for kids on Hallowe’en that I think that has greatly reduced the amount of door-to-door trick-or-treaters. Our house is on a corner lot so we received children going down both streets. Our neighbours on the main street received 30 kids total, our other neighbours on the side street received 30 kids total…and we received 60! ❤
Thanks, Bernadette – The meal was fun and very ad lib (because that’s what we had in the freezer). Last year, I made stuffed orange peppers – which I, of course, carved like pumpkins. That was fun too!
Freaky! We didn’t have the best Halloween, with a stressed Maya and a sleepless night. But that was due to being parked under trees (because of the heat) during the day with many scary tree items falling on the roof and noisy vehicles passing by at night.
Hi Donna – love the outfit … and the idea of liquorice fingers … and the Halloween meal … I thought you were going to say Hollowe’en for the Ghoul’s favourite evening?! There were celebrations here … but I steered clear – easier being peaceful! Cheers Hilary
Hi, Hilary – Thank you for your kind words. A peaceful evening is a good one. I am usually the sole person to give candy out at the door. But this year Richard joined in with his costume, upping the level of fun! ❤
Hi, Bernie – Yes, pierogi (plural) is one of those words with so many different spellings and variations it makes my head spin.. Pierogies, perogies, pirogi, pirohy, pyrogy, peroge and even varenky. I’m glad that you had an evening out with your youngest grandson.
Thanks, Darlene – I’ve had the ghost candy dish for over 30 years. And I have absolutely no idea where I got Richard’s costume from. We found it in our Hallowe’en Box and happily ran with it! ❤
Fun. Pyrogies were on the menu last night. Only one trick-or-treater graced the doorstep, the neighbor little dressed up as a princess. That’s why I buy the candies I like! What did I eat on Hallowe’en night? Maybe peanut noodles, a welcome diversion from the turkey variations. I cooked a small turkey a week or so prior that made the following: a turkey dinner; turkey noodle soup; turkey/cranberry/cheese paninis; turkey tetrazzini; turkey sandwiches; turkey stew on biscuits. Okay; enough turkey! I tend not to complain about what the cook serves up. No Dracula here to do the cooking.
Hi, Mona – Buying the hallowe’en candy that you like makes great sense to me. I bought large bags of mixed candies to make the gloves. I made 60 candy gloves and had exactly 60 trick-o-treaters. But I do have some candy suckers left. They will sit here until the grandchildren come! Your menu from last week sounds delcious! ❤
Hi, Suzanne – Thank you for stopping by. I love that Halloween reminds us of who is in our neighbourhood. I had no idea that we ha so many children. It was refreshing to see.
The candy-filled gloves are the best! I have a couple of bags of candy to give my nephews since we didn’t see them on Halloween. They would really get a kick out of the gloves if I can find some around here!
Thanks, Lisa! We had a box of 60 clear, disposable gloves which happened to be perfect because we had exactly 60 Trick-or-Treaters. The kids all seemed to love them!
Oh how fun is this post, Donna! You and Richard are so creative. High 5 on those hands! Quite handy (sorry, couldn’t resist). The ghoulish food could have gone great with a ghoul-ash -wink-
Hi, Barb – Thank you for stopping by. I greatly appreciate it. I love having lots of trick-or-treaters. The more the merrier….and I am always happy to send Richard out for more candy! ❤
Halloween gets a lot of play here. Unfortunately, our little neighborhood of Silver Foxes gets no Trick or Treaters. When we lived in the neighborhood where we raised our boys, we would run out of treats and raided our boys “stash” to hand out to the late arrivals. Fun times!
Hi, Joe – I thought that we lived in a neighbourhood of people retired, or near retirement. But this Hallowe’en proved differently. Perhaps many of them were grandchildren! ❤
Donna, a very scary ghoul indeed – but I fear one that will go hungry with the mask still on! I like the look of the very topical meal and unique candy bags! We used to celebrate when my son was younger – now he is a home-owner himself and opening the door for all the visitors! Annika
Retirement Reflections 
Handy Candy
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So true and very clever! I’ll definitely be remembering that phrase next year! ❤
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Thanks very much, Donna X
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This is so much fun, Donna. We don’t have Halloween here.
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Hi, Robbie – I love how Hallowe’en and other celebrations are different all over the world. I was surprised (and delighted) that this Hallowe’en in Parksville BC, looked quite similar to it had in my childhood in Windsor, Ontario, and to my son’s childhood on the outskirts of Toronto. ❤
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Nice to see you keeping to the theme and having a laugh while you’re at it. I’m not a fan of Halloween – but you did make me smile with your food presentation 😀
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Hi, Leanne – I am so glad that I made you smile. When I wrote this post, we were in the midst of watching the horrors of the US election. So, I thought I would focus on a bit of fun mock horror. ❤
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That is fabulous! We actually spent our Halloween like any other night of the year… watching TV and eating dinner.
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Hi, Joanne – I love that Hallowe’en is so different for everyone. Despite the 60 ghouls and goblins at our door, I got a surprising amount of reading done that night…and I wrote this blog post then as well! ❤
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Very Halloween!
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Thanks, Kate – I hope you and the cats had a peaceful Hallowe’en!
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Lots of kids used to trick or treat in my area. No more. This year only nine kids knocked on our door.
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There are now so many community events for kids on Hallowe’en that I think that has greatly reduced the amount of door-to-door trick-or-treaters. Our house is on a corner lot so we received children going down both streets. Our neighbours on the main street received 30 kids total, our other neighbours on the side street received 30 kids total…and we received 60! ❤
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Donna, you are so clever. The pierogi’s are a hoot! Saving this post for next year.
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Thanks, Bernadette – The meal was fun and very ad lib (because that’s what we had in the freezer). Last year, I made stuffed orange peppers – which I, of course, carved like pumpkins. That was fun too!
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I lve the ghoulish hands! How creative 🙂
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Thanks! They were quick and easy to make and the kids seemed to love them!
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Freaky! We didn’t have the best Halloween, with a stressed Maya and a sleepless night. But that was due to being parked under trees (because of the heat) during the day with many scary tree items falling on the roof and noisy vehicles passing by at night.
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Hi, Liesbet – I am so sorry that Maya had a stressed night. Wishing you allhappy and peaceful nights ahead!
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Hi Donna – love the outfit … and the idea of liquorice fingers … and the Halloween meal … I thought you were going to say Hollowe’en for the Ghoul’s favourite evening?! There were celebrations here … but I steered clear – easier being peaceful! Cheers Hilary
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Hi, Hilary – Thank you for your kind words. A peaceful evening is a good one. I am usually the sole person to give candy out at the door. But this year Richard joined in with his costume, upping the level of fun! ❤
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So creative!! Hm…pyroghies. I love them! We went to the city and did Halloween with our youngest grandson.
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Hi, Bernie – Yes, pierogi (plural) is one of those words with so many different spellings and variations it makes my head spin.. Pierogies, perogies, pirogi, pirohy, pyrogy, peroge and even varenky. I’m glad that you had an evening out with your youngest grandson.
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No matter how you spell them they always taste good!
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I totally agree!
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That is amazing. The dinner looks yummy!
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THakns for you kind words, Jacqui. It was a fun evening!
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Cool Halloween food. I love your Ghoul too.
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Thanks, Darlene – I’ve had the ghost candy dish for over 30 years. And I have absolutely no idea where I got Richard’s costume from. We found it in our Hallowe’en Box and happily ran with it! ❤
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We have a Halloween box too. Some cool treasures in there. xo
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Hallowe’en boxes can be so much fun — and contain some unique treasures! ❤
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No wonder your house gets so many kids! 😁 Such a cute post, my friend! Thanks for sharing 💕
Deb
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We love having so many kids at our door. They were all so polite — and absolutely gorgeous!
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Too too cute!
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Thanks, Jo – It was tons of fun!
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Ohmy!! The hands! Ha~~ great idea
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Thanks, Lydia – They were easy to make and fun to give out.
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Fun. Pyrogies were on the menu last night. Only one trick-or-treater graced the doorstep, the neighbor little dressed up as a princess. That’s why I buy the candies I like! What did I eat on Hallowe’en night? Maybe peanut noodles, a welcome diversion from the turkey variations. I cooked a small turkey a week or so prior that made the following: a turkey dinner; turkey noodle soup; turkey/cranberry/cheese paninis; turkey tetrazzini; turkey sandwiches; turkey stew on biscuits. Okay; enough turkey! I tend not to complain about what the cook serves up. No Dracula here to do the cooking.
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Hi, Mona – Buying the hallowe’en candy that you like makes great sense to me. I bought large bags of mixed candies to make the gloves. I made 60 candy gloves and had exactly 60 trick-o-treaters. But I do have some candy suckers left. They will sit here until the grandchildren come! Your menu from last week sounds delcious! ❤
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Clever, I’m sure the children enjoyed it. We didn’t have anyone stop by this year. I think the neighborhood kids are growing up.
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Hi, Suzanne – Thank you for stopping by. I love that Halloween reminds us of who is in our neighbourhood. I had no idea that we ha so many children. It was refreshing to see.
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The candy-filled gloves are the best! I have a couple of bags of candy to give my nephews since we didn’t see them on Halloween. They would really get a kick out of the gloves if I can find some around here!
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Thanks, Lisa! We had a box of 60 clear, disposable gloves which happened to be perfect because we had exactly 60 Trick-or-Treaters. The kids all seemed to love them!
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Oh how fun is this post, Donna! You and Richard are so creative. High 5 on those hands! Quite handy (sorry, couldn’t resist). The ghoulish food could have gone great with a ghoul-ash -wink-
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Ghoulash would have been a fabulous dinner for Hallowe’en, Terri. I will need to remember that for next year! 😀
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That’s so clever, Donna! You guys have a lot of fun 🙂 We had A LOT of trick or treaters this year!
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Hi, Barb – Thank you for stopping by. I greatly appreciate it. I love having lots of trick-or-treaters. The more the merrier….and I am always happy to send Richard out for more candy! ❤
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I love seeing those little faces in costumes!
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Hi, Donna,
Halloween gets a lot of play here. Unfortunately, our little neighborhood of Silver Foxes gets no Trick or Treaters. When we lived in the neighborhood where we raised our boys, we would run out of treats and raided our boys “stash” to hand out to the late arrivals. Fun times!
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Hi, Joe – I thought that we lived in a neighbourhood of people retired, or near retirement. But this Hallowe’en proved differently. Perhaps many of them were grandchildren! ❤
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What a cute post! I had never heard the song, but its cute. 🙂 xxxxx
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Thanks, Marsha – It was a very fun Hallowe’en! ❤
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Your post radiated the fun you had!
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Donna, a very scary ghoul indeed – but I fear one that will go hungry with the mask still on! I like the look of the very topical meal and unique candy bags! We used to celebrate when my son was younger – now he is a home-owner himself and opening the door for all the visitors! Annika
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Hi, Annika – Thank you so much for reading and commenting. The ghoul definitely did not go hungry! 🙂
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