Category: This & That

‘Nuff said.

I read on another author’s blog last week that she has an intense dislike for Halloween. Say what? All that candy? Haunted houses? Fireworks? What’s not to like?

I guess it depends. My Liege and I used to host big Halloween parties—adults only, no kidlets. We started doing this before we had kids and we continued for a few years afterward. Then the kids started getting too old to foist off on a grandmother while we partied the night away. Plus, the wood floor in my living room was damaged from too much dancing in high heels (not just me). After I had it refinished, I couldn’t bear to put it through the torture again. And did I mention the work of hosting these parties?

But they were fun. They also created an extremely busy month. Especially after we had the kids and I needed to create not only costumes for My Liege and me, but for the boys. I had it in my head that I needed to create homemade costumes, which I did for several years. Every once in a while, I bought a costume. One year, My Liege wore a cow costume. Youngest Son dug it out for this year’s Halloween. He went to work as a Holy Cow by wearing his cross and a priest collar over the cow costume. I thought that was ingenious! (Which begs the question, why didn’t I think of it?). You could also do this as a couple costume by having one person dress up as the cow and the other as a nun or a priest.

Now that the kids are grown, Halloween isn’t anywhere near as hectic for me as it used to be. I don’t carve pumpkins. I have glow-in-the-dark pumpkins that (to me) work just as well. One runs on batteries and the other plugs in. And I don’t have to worry about anyone smashing them and creating a mess in my driveway.

We live on a large corner lot on a not-very-busy street, so sometimes I need to bribe trick-or-treaters. How do I do this? Candy! At one point Halloween night, I was giving away 6 pieces of candy per kid. I made sure to tell them how many were going into their bags, too. I mean, I bought 300 pieces. I couldn’t be expected to eat them all myself! And I expect those 6-pieces-per to bring me plenty of repeat trick-or-treaters next year.

It was a warm Halloween this year. Trick-or-treating winds down pretty early in my next of the woods, because our local volunteer fire department puts on a fireworks show on the beach that rivals the Canada Day fireworks around town. My Liege and I used to take the kids down there every year. Now we go ourselves. The first year without the kids felt a little sad. One year we stayed home and watched the fireworks from the deck. It’s not the same! Another year we watched them from a viewpoint on the road. Not the same again! Nothing beats standing on the beach with other members of your community while hot chocolate gets handed out (if you stand in line) and a bonfire is blazing, and gorgeous fireworks are filling the night sky.

Any Halloween traditions you want to share? How do you celebrate where you live? Do you like/abhor Halloween?

My last two or three weekends have been so busy, it’s almost felt like I haven’t had weekends at all. Know what I mean? Being sick throughout one of those weekends didn’t help—all the work I’d intended to accomplish then was postponed. The good news is I think (hope?) I’m finally caught up.

Last Thursday and Friday I glommed researching universities for Youngest Son for next year. I always get waaaaaaaaayyyy too caught up in research, whether it’s for writing or another purpose. But it had to be done. Then, a lot of bookkeeping (5 months’ worth…I’ve been procrastinating) for myself, plus helping someone else set up books for a new business (not that I’m much help, but I had to be there). By the time Sunday rolled around, I was sooooo ready for pizza with pepperoni, feta cheese and black olives (yum!), hot wings, and hours of TV. Now that I’ve overdosed on Desperate Housewives, Brothers & Sisters, The Amazing Race, Dexter, and the finale for So You Think You Can Dance Canada, I’m feeling refreshed! Can’t beat the idiot box for releasing stress.

A girl named Tara-Jean won SYTYCD. I was rooting for her—and also the runner-up, Vincent (say it with a French Canadian accent), a very talented 20-year-old. Also, Saturday night, My Liege and I watched a couple of movies on the DVR. I fell asleep during “his” movie, then both of us enjoyed Renee Zellwegger and Harry Connick Jr. in NEW IN TOWN. Classic romantic comedy. When it was done, My Liege said, “Now I know why you like these kinds of movies. They make you feel good.” Yep. Well stated, My Liege.

How was your weekend? Do you ever feel like you can never accomplish enough on the weekends? Or are you one of that special breed of people who actually uses weekends to relax?

I have great plans to relax next weekend—and not because illness is forcing me to. Nope, I have nothing more stressful on my calendar than handing out Halloween candy and watching fireworks over a glittering lake while I stand on the beach with my husband and a steaming mug of hot chocolate.

I had the strangest fever all weekend. Now I know why I went to bed at 8:30 p.m. Thursday night.

I woke up Friday feeling fine. So I thought. The dog had to go in to the vet’s for the day, so we didn’t have time for a walk (she wasn’t allowed to eat anything, and she always grabs something off the ground on our walks). Then I had errands to run downtown. Returned home, picked up the dog after some writing, and realized I was feeling a tad warm. I didn’t think anything of it. Nope, I didn’t walk the dog in the afternoon because she had to recover from her teeth-cleaning, not because there was anything wrong with me, you understand. Then the afternoon wore on, and I realized I only had enough energy to lie in front of the TV and vegetate—something I only do during the day when I’m sick. But I wasn’t sick! I was just too lazy to walk the dog (another very rare occurrence that should have clued me in).

Friday night, my Liege and I went out to an impromptu dinner. By this point, I was very emotional (watching Sicko before meeting him made me cry), and I went to bed early again.

Saturday morning, I awoke bright and early. My Liege offered to walk the dog alone, something that rarely happens. I hopped onto the computer, eager to get a ton of business-of-writing stuff accomplished. Then it hit me. I was either having the world’s biggest hot flash or I had a fever. I spent most of the day sleeping. When a friend mentioned that hot flashes usually don’t last 12+ hours, I finally admitted I might be sick.

I spent all of Saturday and Sunday in my pajamas. Sunday was a little better. No long naps (I only sleep during the day if I’m utterly exhausted or ill), but I couldn’t walk the dog again in the morning and I spent all day lying in front of the TV. Between Saturday and Sunday, I managed to scratch two items off my massive biz-of-writing To-Do list. And I considered that an accomplishment.

This was a very weird illness, because my only symptom seemed to be the fever. And tiredness. And thirst. I drank tons of water, rested for eons, and, okay, did the laundry, managed one afternoon walk with the dog, and pretended I was going to make dinner. Instead, I ate cashews and chocolate ice cream and caught up on my movie watching.

Goya’s Ghosts: Excellent. Watch it. Natalie Portman did an excellent job. As did Javier Bardem and Stellan Skarsgard (I’m starting to wonder if there’s any role Bardem doesn’t do well). Barely recognized Randy Quaid!

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day: I endured about 20 minutes before deleting it from the digital recorder. I enjoy Frances McDermond and Amy Adams, but after Goya’s Ghosts I just…didn’t care.

Last Chance Harvey: Enjoyable enough for a Sunday afternoon. If you like Dustin Hoffman, you’ll like this movie.

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past: My Liege rented this for me Saturday evening. I enjoyed it, but Matthew McConaughey is starting to wear on me. I know, sacrilege! It seems that all the characters he plays lately are the same—charming slimeballs. I’ve met a charming slimeball or two in my lifetime, and I’m really not a fan of the type. I’d really like to see McConaughey play some meatier roles. On the other hand, I thought Michael Douglas was a hoot as McConaughey’s uncle.

Oh, and Sicko: Enjoyed it, even though it made me cry. This movie about the American medical system made me VERY glad I live in Canada, although now I’m seriously considering moving to France.