It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Those icy blustery winds must have blown more than dried leaves away.

Where a witch had perched now snuggled two gingerbread cookies.


And the happy ghosts welcoming committee has graciously made way for Santa and his puffy Christmas tree, which leaned sideways like the Tower of Pisa.


In a blink of an eye it seemed, someone had peeled off the orange and black trappings of Halloween and brushed swaths of Christmas greens, reds, silver, and whites on store windows. Talk about turbo charging the start of the shopping season!


And if those seasonal colours fail to get your engine warmed up, there are signs aplenty to nudge you in the right direction.


What are you waiting for? The call to shop will only get more intense. Get the old credit card out and charge out the door, because it’s that time of year again…

Sweet offerings

Has it been a week already?

Just last Saturday, I saw this scarecrow poised to welcome young visitors at somebody’s front door:


As I continued on my Saturday walk, I was struck by the strength of the local merchants’ Halloween community spirit.

One store's facade was dressed up with great exuberance:

A sweetshop owner popped a friendly witch in the window:


A Japanese restaurant posted a welcoming committee at the door:


While a Greek counterpart graced its exterior bench with an expertly carved honest-to-goodness pumpkin:


Another merchant stuffed three orange plastic bags and painted happy faces on them, but the result was no less striking, don’t you agree?


And last but not least, a craft store sported a giant spider on its front wall to suggest the darker, more sinister side of this celebration:


Happy Halloween, everyone!