Growing up in Ottawa, you would never quite know what time of weather you could have; raining, snowing, windy and cold, or warm. One year , because of the rain, the kids in the neighbourhood went out in their costumes + ponchos. I was a pirate in a poncho. But no matter the weather, the plastic masks would always make it difficult to breathe.

Getting home after a tour of the neighbourhood, I would be greeted by Dad announcing. " So, what kind of haul did you bring in this year?" as I entered the door.

Mom would ask that we dump the candy on the table, and the sorting of the goods would begin. Typically, there was a ranking of the candy -- here were my favorites:

1. Chips

2. Toffee candy in the Orange Pumpkin wrappers

3. Rockets

4. Chicklets

5. Chocolates bars (any type)

6. Lifesavers

7. Suckers

8. Peanuts

9. Raisins

10 Candy Apples (by far the worst treat of all).

Now, I'm giving out the candy. And I think I may have bought too much - so far only 12 kids have come by, and we still have 20 lbs of candy to hand out. Surprisingly, no UNICEF orange boxes collecting change so far tonight. The night on this 2009 Halloween is warm and windy, and the costumes are very entertaining. Did you have a good Halloween?

... Just 54 shopping days left before Christmas.