Hallowe'en parties; in bed for five days; in-laws' visit

So as you can see, Hallowe'en came a little early for our two little ones. Because of the week-long vacation that begins Monday October 29th, the school celebrated Hallowe'en last week, on the 19th.

Needless to say we were caught a little flat-footed by this rearrangement of our autumn schedule. Costumes were hastily brought to order; by some fluke, Malcolm's recent bow-and-arrow fascination (triggered by his winning one at the Fete de Glons a couple of weekends ago) was encouraged by the unearthing of a native N. American Indian costume from the depths of the cave. He was just fine in this getup!

Duncan on the other hand wanted to be Batman, and since his habitual (two years running) batman costume was half a world away in a box in Toronto, Dad had to do some creative thinking. Some cardboard from a box, elastic from an old pair of fruit-of-the-looms and a sharpie served to make a serviceable cowl/mask, although after he wore it enthusiastically for 30 minutes, Duncan began to hate it, declaring that it hurt his eyes. So much for dad's triumph of engineering!

We went to the party at the school that evening, and the meal was quite good; potage au legumes that the kids had made, plus barbequed chicken, many salads, and wonderful desserts, not to mention the choice of beers served out of the gymnasium cafeteria, each with their appropriate glass. Still, I think the boys were expecting some traditionally Hallowe'en-y type activies, and we went home empty-handed. I know Malcolm was disgusted: as we trudged back down the hill, he muttered, "Dad, these people don't know anything about Hallowe'en."

It was a reminder that for our kids, anything short of a costumed neighborhood-wide romp in search of maximum candy is not the real deal. Hallowe'en is a fairly new celebration here in Belgium, so perhaps we need to give it a little time.

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I'm celebrating being up an about again, after spending all week (since last Sunday) in bed with a terrible influenza... fever, shakes, hot sweats, weakness, dizziness, muscle aches, digestive problems, you name it, I had it, and it laid me low pretty much until yesterday afternoon. Today I actually went out to an open-air market with Maggie, her parents, and the boys, but it was my first time out of the house since last Sunday, and I really haven't had the energy even to write anything as a blog entry. Thank goodness it seems to be clearing up now; I need to get back in good form for Thursday, when I leave for Toronto. I'm singing two concerts there over the next couple of weeks and need to be in shape for those.

Maggie's parents have been here for a week and a half; they have made various side trips to Antwerp, Brugge, and Paris. It's great to see them and for the kids to spend time with their grandparents. This being school vacation I expect I'll have more to write about our experiences with Hugh and Sheila and the kids in a day or two.

More later!