Ninjas, Butterflies and Frets, Oh My!

I learned a lot of stuff last night from our three trick or treaters.  First, I must apologize for not including a photo of our first visitor.  That was Willie.  He was dressed in black and orange so he earned a few mini candy bars from the basket.  Shawn, the Ninja, was our third visitor.  I learned that his older brother and sister went out with their older friends this year for Halloween.  I also learned that Shawn is a second grader this year and that he is liking his teacher, Mr. Warren.  Shawn learned that the quilt behind him was crafted by his dear great-grandma Virginia.  After he deposited treats into his bag, Shawn promised me that he would still come to the Lovestead to trick or treat when he's 18.  We high-fived that promise. 

Larisa and her mother Leslie, both related to Shawn, by the way, gave us a sense of relief when they showed up as our second visitors.  We were thinking for a while that our 35-year-old trick or treater, Willie, would be the only visitor this year.  We were happy to see Larisa, who came as a Monarch butterfly.  This is her second year to seek treats at the Lovestead.  She is now in Kindergarten, and we learned that her teacher, Mrs. Clark, may retire this year.  Larisa also won a first place at the Draft Horse Show in September.  Her prize, a bucket full of goodies, provided drinks of water for lots of Gentle Giants at the show.  Larisa feeds her Border Collie every morning before going to school.  Her parents are teaching her well.  She was anxious to get on her way to visit lots of grandparents, so we encouraged her to fill up on candy and give some to her father, Harvey.

In between trick or treaters, I was reading books and admiring my banjo.  All three items arrived yesterday.  Yesterday afternoon, I learned really, really fast that I know nothing about banjos except they sure do look neat and make great sounds when fingers other than mine are plucking and fretting them.  Since then, I've read several pages of both books in the photo---both written by instructors who assure even the dummest of banjo dummies that they can learn and enjoy playing the world's greatest instrument.  It took me almost half an hour to figure out where to hook both ends of the strap.  So, I'm figuring that in about three years, I may be able to pick and grin to "Yankee Doodle."  Stay tuned---that's what banjos are supposed to do, I've learned.  Happy Thursday.