For the first year EVER I will be wearing a BOUGHT costume to a Halloween thingy. DH had persuaded me that we wouldn't costume ourselves... and I was agreeable... then he spoke to the host who said costumes were "required." (Let me know that SOME people can boss DH around, too. hee hee) He'll be wearing prison stripes. I'll be in some peculiar "Renaissance Witch" get up. which you can see here
The poorest costume choice was the year I went to a party primarily attended by a group of gay friends... They were spectacularly ghoulish... Velvet capes, painted nails... beyond belief in effort and creativity. I went as a "nun" in wimple and mini skirt. Between them not being ... um... 'into women' and being a nun, hardly anybody would talk to me.

Here's my disclaimer: My apologies to anyone from the 13-16th centuries who is offended by my poor execution of fashion, to any witch who doesn't like long dresses or glitter hats, to any Wiccan who thinks this is what I think of them, and to anybody who takes themselves too seriously.

For an old guy, I mean. I don't believe I've ever said "hottie" before.

Yessiree, I think most Germans think Bush is a nutbag. No one offended on this side. We can get Aljazeera TV, weirdly enough. I'd watch it if I could understand it. I wonder if Osama's sudden reappearance is going to swing things one way or the other?

They don't really celebrate Halloween over here, but kids can smell free candy a mile away and they know my kids DO celebrate it at home, so they were already ringing the doorbell yesterday evening AND this morning at 11:30. I tried to gently explain to them that Halloween isn't until tonight, but they insisted that it was yesterday AND today and just any old time you want. I guess they'll get the hang of it in a couple of years. There's this woman Lutheran bishop who they always interview in the paper and of course she's just incensed that Halloween has arrived. She has to put in her two cents about EVERYTHING that offends her delicate Christian sensibilities and is one of the most intolerant people I've even come across. So there. Silly woman. Get a life.

Must get going on the Halloween menu for tonight. I'll take a picture if I remember. Red jello hand and scary weenie fingers figure prominently.

I think my computer is telling me to get a life!! It just shut down, but (eventually) rebooted with no damage that I've noticed. Talk about SPOOKY!

Kiwi, what about what Edwards SAID? I have an inborn distrust of any man who's too cute... (except Tom Cruise, and I haven't had the opportunity to compare looks with reality!)

Must go try a version of Columbian Stew... (I forgot sweet potatoes at the store... will make substitutions out of pantry.... I'll get to make it again according to the "official" recipe.

Here's me in the Middle Ages Witch get up. DH actually LIKED the 60's/70/s hair... omigod!

Yes, he is. A real looker. He's got a great smile too. Both of the Democrats have really good hair.
Excellent! Sounds like great fun!

Painty, did your puter reboot by itself or did you have to do it? Betcha anything your computer had just updated something -- Windows Update, Virus Protection or something -- and it had to reboot to complete the update and you just missed the message that told you that. It's very easy to hit okay when you think you are on something else.

Edwards was excellent. He brought his parents onstage with him. They looked very normal and sweet. It wasn't that he had anything new to say, after all it was a political rally, not a debate of the issues or anything, but he made you feel good about supporting the ticket. He didn't strike me as the kind of good looking guy you couldn't trust, more like the type who would listen to you and make you feel right at home. I figured I would give DD the complete political experience, so I pulled her through the crowd and we got to shake hands with him. I wonder if he noticed the fingerless gloves she was wearing that said Punk on one and Rock on the other...

The costume looks good! Well, I can barely see it, but what I could see looked good. How come it's so small? A lot of people have been sending me tiny little pictures lately, I think there may be a thumbnail epidemic going around

Kiwi

Halloween in Dogpatch and DS and have three bags of candy just for ourselves. Halloween is of the devil and has been terminated. Or .... get this ... one of the clubs in town used to sponsor Halloween. This year, they cancelled it because it's on SUNDAY so another club decided to have a place for kids to go and the first club is ALL MAD and saying they have no right and kids won't be safe because the second club won't do it as well.

I like the Halloween pictures. Nice sox. Red.

Sock!

I will be very glad when the election is over and I can stop biting my nails. Or, as I was saying to DD this morning, when the election is over and the real fight begins

Yeah Bagz, you cradle-robber you, Edwards is too old for you. Not for me, though. I wouldn't know what to do with a 19-year-old these days (introduce him to my daughter?)

I want to vote several times tomorrow.

Kiwi

I FORGOT TO MENTION OUR RESIDENT HOTTIE ----PAINTYGIRL!!!!---------COOL OUTFIT!!!---WISH THE PIC WAS BIGGER -----NOT ONLY LOSING MY RELIGION BUT ME EYESITE TOO!!!----------------you must have had a GREAT time at your party!!!!----sooooooooooooooooooo everyone ----GET OUT AND VOTE!!!!! SOCK!!!!

I voted! Big surprise, huh? It's raining here in Maine. Tres dreary. But I am going back to the high school tonight for the walking club. Something a little twisted about spending half an hour walking around a high school, but whatever, it gets me out.

I think my dryer bit the dust. I came home after being gone at least an hour and a load was still tumbling. There's no heat at all. That's bad enough, but DH is going out of town tomorrow for a few days and he needs the underwear that is sitting soggy in the dryer as well as the shirts that are waiting behind them in the laundry queue. Laundry queue--heehee. So not only will I have to take those into the laundromat--Uhoh, I better make sure it's open tonight--but I will have to figure out how to get the damned thing fixed too. Something always breaks or goes wrong at our house when he goes out of town. One time we had 3 feet of snow when he went away and we were heating with wood and I ran out of wood!

Go Kerry Go Kerry Go Kerry Go Kerry

Sounds exactly like something that would happen to me, Kiwi! Our washing machine drains through a hose into a sink and once the drain was clogged and the water gushed all over the floor before I noticed. Luckily there were about 200 lbs of dirty clothes lying there to soak it all up. Hope the laundromat is open.

Tonight while I was shining my sink I felt something creepy inside one of my lovely yellow rubber gloves so I took it off to look and there was an EARWIG crawling around in there. Eeeeeeeeeeeeeew! Earwigs freak me out. I showed no mercy. Bad karma, I know. Oh well.

Can't wait to wake up tomorrow morning and see who won. They're making a big deal of it over here with live coverage starting at midnight. Go Kerry!!

What's this? A disgruntled clown?

Ahhhhhhh! Go vote again! It's only 8:05 a.m. here. Hopefully things are going to improve, but I'm not that optimistic. Think positive, think positive, think positive. (make brownies, not war!)

GO KERRY!!!

I'm despondent.

In four more years we have the chance to come up with a candidate who can win.

I'm going to be watching Barrack Obama. I think he's the brightest Democratic rising star. He got elected to the senate, now he just has to perform.