Halloween decorations brighten, frighten

With every seasonal change around the Ballard household, it appears we are flat out moving! We may as well be, because all of our regular accessories have to be removed from their present locations and put away to allow room for whatever the current season brings. It is definitely a time-consuming process — one that gets harder and harder for us to do as each year passes!

Last week I was a busy bee buzzing around our house like a mad man decorating for Halloween. Everywhere you looked, there were piles and piles of Halloween decorations that had been temporarily dropped off into somewhat of a holding zone. There, they patiently waited until they would find their spot to shine.

Witches appeared to be escaping from the cardboard boxes as black cats sat beside them glaring with their green eyes. Jack-o-lanterns peered from underneath wadded up tissue paper as it they were smothering and anxious to be set free. Trails of purple, orange and black glitter left indications of where I had been all throughout the house. Things were definitely changing around the Ballards!

As I reached into a box filled with metal spiders and garlands of fake candy corn, I almost screamed when a ghoulish laugh followed by a deep moan broke the silence. Catching my breath to recover, I carefully rummaged through the box until I found the culprit. Apparently we had forgotten to remove the batteries from a noisemaking skeleton that had been waiting patiently all year to scare someone.

It didn’t take long until our entire house looked as if the moving trucks would arrive at any minute. First of all, I am supposed to remove the regular things that sit around our house so I can make the switch. I start forming stations to park the regular accessories while I unpack the seasonal things. I always try to keep this process somewhat organized, but somewhere along the way, I lose control.

I get excited all over again with everything I unpack as if it were brand new again. Apparently my memory can no longer hold on to everything I have accumulated, so I have to get reacquainted with some of my decorations. Like bumping into an old friend you haven’t seen in forever at the grocery store, they take you by surprise and then you have to catch up.

One reacquaintance leads to another and, before I realize it, I am sitting in the floor surrounded by all sorts of ghouls and goblins. The problem is there is hardly a place left to walk throughout the house without stepping on a witch’s arm or stumbling over a piece of porcelain. “I must remember to carefully pack up my good accessories before I unpack the Halloween characters,” I mumble to myself. This part of the process makes me a nervous wreck. But not as much as it does my dog.

Georgie, our infamous Chihuahua, hates it when the seasonal decorations visit HIS house. Taking patrols throughout the rooms of our house almost hourly allows him to feel important. After all, he wants the house we share to be safe and protected not only for our benefit, but certainly for his.

The minute I bring in the first box, he is undone! His eyes first look at the box and then dart up to me as if to say, “What do you think you are bringing in here this time?” Definitely a noisy creature of habit, Georgie’s nails click against our hardwood floors trailing directly behind me all the way to where I sit the box down. As if it were a bomb, he circles around it several times, sniffing it and its contents completely. Back and forth he goes; busily trying to make sure nothing harmful enters our abode. Believe me, he is worn out but doesn’t miss a thing!

Halloween decorations especially cause Georgie grief. I really think they scare him! He will tiptoe up to a witch or cat and then jump back before getting the needed courage to actually approach it. After his sniff process is complete, he will come and find me to lead me back to the scary creature. His eyes look into mine pleading with me to remove this unknown thing. I always laugh as I pick up whatever it is and formally introduce it to him.

Just this morning, long after we had completely finished decorating for Halloween, I was watching Georgie on one of his hourly house checks. With determination written all across his face, he strutted regally throughout the house. I watched carefully as he was about to approach a large black cat that stands on the floor. Apparently his memory also failed him because he did a double take, circled back around and barked loudly at the cat.

I feel sort of sorry for Georgie because his days will be even busier during the next couple of weeks. He now has all these extra Halloween creatures to keep a check on. He loves to come to me and tattle about what the witches, cats, ghosts and Jack-o-lanterns are up too. In his mind, they are definitely up to no good!

The revolving seasonal changes in and around our home keep not only Georgie but everyone on their toes. Nothing is ever up long enough for us to grow tired of it and moving things around always keeps things interesting! Whether decorating, buying clothes or cooking dinner, we should always strive to change the things around us every now and again. There is some truth in the old saying, “Variety is the spice of life!” Well, that is unless you are a slightly neurotic, very protective Chihuahua.

More with Mark

— See Mark at Junior League of Macon’s Market Place. Oct. 22 -24, Macon Coliseum. Mark will introduce his brand new Santa plate and T-shirts called “All Spruced Up!” He will conduct seminars on Oct. 22 and 23 from noon-1:30 p.m. and on Sunday, from noon-1 p.m.

— Check out Mark’s website at www.markballard.com, for current projects, recipes and lots of other fun stuff and Mark’s T-shirts, prints, cards and his collectible porcelain plates. Click on the link to his YouTube channel and see new excerpts from “Mark Being Mark!”

— Mark is on www.macon.com 24 hours a day. Videos, columns and articles are featured.

Mark Ballard’s column runs each week in The Telegraph. Send your questions or comments to P.O. Box 4232, Macon, GA 31208; fax them to (478) 474-4930; call (478) 757-6877; e-mail to markballard@cox.net; or become part of Mark’s fan page on Facebook.

This story was originally published October 14, 2010 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Halloween decorations brighten, frighten."