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Post by stepper on Oct 30, 2010 16:35:45 GMT -6
I was Charlie Brown. T-Shirt is the body and your head replaces his. Nope - no candy for me. Until Halloween night. The leftovers are mine! And of course, my sincere congratulations on the new job!  |
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Post by Mini Mia on Oct 30, 2010 17:37:05 GMT -6
Congratulations, Siren. I'm glad it's working out for you. 
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Post by Phalon on Oct 30, 2010 20:39:03 GMT -6
Siren!!!! Come 'ere just a second. A great big hug and sloppy, wet forehead kiss to you. Congratulations! The job sounds as if it's just what you've been waiting for! Best wishes to you.
No candy for me either! Pfft! But, really, it doesn't matter I had to give up my stash of Twix (I always set a couple aside). Tonight was our town's trick-or-treating; I hate when they change the date. It was sooo much fun, though, and we had a ton of kids - so many that I panicked that I was going to run out of candy, and ended up raiding the cupboards for BP's fruit snacks (those chewy candy-like things). LX drew the line at the granola bars, saying we'd be shunned for life by all future trick-or-treaters. BP to the rescue again; her and Hubs stopped for a break in their rounds, and I raided her candy bag (dang, she scored big this year!), for the stuff she doesn't like. And since she doesn't like nuts, carmel, coconut, peanut butter, malted milk balls, or nougat, there was plenty to raid.
The decorations were a smashing hit this year. Because I had to work today, I skipped the whole graveyard scene, and went with a Halloween banquet instead, which was much quicker to set up. I set the table last night, so all Hubs and I had to do was carry it out to the front yard. Ghouls, skeletons, and ghosts gathered 'round the table in chairs, next to a cauldron of bone soup. Oh, and of course there was an empty chair for the next victim....uhm...I mean guest.
Along with the soup, a served was a typical ghastly menu of Bloody Mary's, Hot Apple Spider, finger sandwiches, leg of man, fillet of soul, and spaghetti and eyeballs. Dessert? Whoever happened to drop in. The table was spread, and the printed menu was held by my witch mannequin.
I was the chef, complete with chef's hat, bloody apron, and cleaver (not cleavage...I seemed to have misplaced that). I had a blast asking people if they'd like to 'stay for dinner', or telling them they were 'just in time for dessert'. I posed for a few pictures, one with five kids gathered around the table, another boy in the empty chair, and me posing over his shoulder with the cleaver against his throat. I wonder how the parents are going to explain who the weird lady with the cleaver is on their family Christmas cards.
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Post by stepper on Oct 31, 2010 11:45:09 GMT -6
Dang! Poor girl! I agree on the coconut, but what's the point of going Trick-or-Treating if you don't like most of the night's haul and mom's gonna steal it??!!  Sounds like you had a lot of fun. Was it cold? T-o-T here is tonight,  but I suspect with it being Sunday and school on Monday that we won't have all that many kids out and about. I should have bought more Three Musketeers - if you're going to have left-overs you might as well have GOOD left overs!  I know part of the excuse for extending Day Light Savings was so that T-o-T'ers would have more daylight making it safer, but I think most people wish it ended before Halloween because it was more fun. Anyway - next Sunday we "fall back" an hour. (We don't seem to have a clock emote/icon - just picture an alarm clock here.  ) |
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Post by stepper on Oct 31, 2010 21:30:09 GMT -6
And can we name the other 6 Nations that start with a "C"?
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Post by stepper on Oct 31, 2010 21:36:52 GMT -6
Well, we've got left overs. This may be the slowest Halloween since we moved here. I was giving out candy to adults who were escorting the kids and still we had only about 140 come by. When we first moved here literally hundreds of kids came by - certainly more than were in our immediate area - but this year was very quiet. I guess that's just how it goes some times.
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Post by Phalon on Nov 1, 2010 21:43:24 GMT -6
We can try. I'm not sure if there's a difference in tribes and nations, but I'll go with...
Cree, Cherokee, Chippawa, Crow....uhm...Comanche, and er..ah...Choctaw? (I think I may be making that last one up.)
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Post by stepper on Nov 1, 2010 21:53:48 GMT -6
Very good Phalon! How'd you know that? Most people miss Cree, Crow, or Choctaw.
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Post by Phalon on Nov 1, 2010 21:57:14 GMT -6
Cree and Crow I remembered easily enough, but Choctaw is right?! It sounded right, but I was kinda just guessing with that one.
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Post by Phalon on Nov 1, 2010 22:00:33 GMT -6
Oh, and I never would have got "Chickasaw", the nation for which Siren's going to be radio production coordinator. I don't remember hearing about them prior to this.
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Post by stepper on Nov 1, 2010 22:28:21 GMT -6
I only know because a friend in Turkey was full blood indian and she used to say that was one of the first things they taught in school on the reservation. She said it just often enough that I remember it.
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Post by Siren on Nov 2, 2010 19:25:33 GMT -6
Thank you for the good wishes, guys. I really appreciate them. I'm down to my last week at work, and the moving boxes are piling up. Geez, how do I packrat so much stuff? And a better question is, WHY? My mom says we should all be forced to move, at least once every 5 years, just so we'd be forced to get rid of some stuff. I wholeheartedly agree. If you don't know about the Chickasaws, Gams, you may hear more in the near future. As much as they are an Indian nation, the Nation is also a very successful business, with interests as varied as casinos, quick stops, banks, and chocolate. Bill Anoatubby, the Governor of the Nation, is a savvy businessman, and has built this lucrative business. As I said, I feel fortunate to have gotten my foot in the door there. You can learn more about them here: www.chickasaw.net/index.htmSounds like most of you found some Halloween fun. I spent the holiday at my sister's house for our annual get-together. Since my sis lives way out in the country, we didn't have trick-or-treaters. But we big kids pigged-out on hot wings, Lil Smokeys, Rice Crispy treats, no-bake cookies, cupcakes, and cider, as we watched one of our favorite scary flicks, the 1963 version of "The Haunting". That sucker scares me every time, even when I know what's coming! Good times. Step, I see that Woodstock has his cool-weather feathers. Looking good! |
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Post by stepper on Nov 2, 2010 21:49:50 GMT -6
Thanks Siren. I have this as my background at work - it just has the right feel somehow.
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Post by Phalon on Nov 5, 2010 21:31:33 GMT -6
Thanks for the Choctoaw information and the link, Siren. Chocolate, huh? I'll have to keep my eye out.
Reminds me...I have to send the Imp packing for another year. Wonder if Turkey Gams is waiting in the wings somewhere. Joxie? You know how I leave things laying around, and never pick up after myself. Do you know where Turkey Gams might have run off to?
Glad this week is over - it's been a long one. The nursery closed for the season last Sunday. What's remaining of the landscape crew who haven't yet been laid off were off grounds all week, getting clients' gardens cleaned up, and doing installations. My boss was out of town the entire week, which left me on the property by myself, tending to both clean up and the last trickle of customers who didn't know that we are closed 'til spring. Alone on 40 acres makes for some long days.
We got our first snow today; it came down off and on pretty hard throughout the day. I was sopping wet by noon, and had been through three pairs of gloves trying to keep my hands from turning pruned and numb. Man boss came by a couple of hours later. The crew had finished the job they were working on, and he called it a day for all of us.
Today was supposed to be my last day, but I'll be in next week to finish putting the nursery to bed. Nice thing about working after we are officially closed - I get to feel normal by having the entire weekend off! Whoo-hoo!
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Post by Mini Mia on Nov 5, 2010 21:52:40 GMT -6
Turkey leg in down a few from the imp. 
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Post by Phalon on Nov 6, 2010 7:22:59 GMT -6
Thanks, Joxie. I was wondering if I still had a leg to stand on.
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Post by Siren on Nov 6, 2010 7:32:27 GMT -6
Like Halloween, I miss Imp now that she's gone. That is a really, really cool image. Where is it from? Ah, yes, the Turkey Gam. With that crispy, brown skin, I'm guessing it's roasted? Deep fried? Or perhaps just too much tanning?  The packing continues here. What a pain in the *ss! Makes me long to be a hobo, with my belongings on my back....and a big barn somewhere, full of my books, movies, and music. |
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Post by Mini Mia on Nov 6, 2010 18:17:09 GMT -6
Siren, I don't know where it came from. I couldn't find it with searches for: Fqueen; Fairy Queen; Fairy Queen Imp; Evil Imp Fairy Queen ... and I can't think of a term that might bring it up. 
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Post by Phalon on Nov 7, 2010 7:38:09 GMT -6
I miss the Imp when she's not around too, but I can't remember where the she came from either....or why I started calling her an imp. Joxie's right - the picture is titled Faerie Queen, and I started using her as my Halloween season background long before she made her appearance as my avatar. The detail of the drawing is amazing, much more so than shows up on the small box here; her hair is made up of all kinds of ghoulish characters, for example.
Turkey Gams is so brown and crispy, I'm guessing, from continually jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire!
I can only imagine what a pain in the @ss the moving is, Siren. We moved around a lot before settling here, and it was a pain then. But since we've been in this house, the accumulated stuff has grown to mountainous proportions. After cleaning out Mom's house of all the things she'd kept, one of the things I vowed to do this winter is pare down all the the stuff I've been saving for years! We'll see if it actually happens...I often get waylaid on my most best intentions.
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Post by Mini Mia on Nov 7, 2010 18:39:59 GMT -6
Oh Oh Oh, Siren. I used Phalon's spelling of Fairy, and found an image that seemed like it might have come from the same artist, and discovered a name: Brian Froud ... and here ya go:
Brian Froud
WikiPedia: Brian Froud
Do an image search for: Brian Froud Queen of Bad Faeries
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Post by Phalon on Nov 7, 2010 22:21:06 GMT -6
Oooo, good detective work, Fairly Bored Mom...and aren't you glad you're not looking like that Faerie Queen. Here she is, the Imp aka Queen of the Bad Faeries, in all her gory detail: www.stainlesssteeldroppings.com/froud |
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Post by Phalon on Nov 8, 2010 7:21:56 GMT -6
Thud! I...can...barely....move.
In what seems like a race against the weather, I busted @ss trying to get the yard and gardens cleaned up before winter, yesterday. It was a beautiful day to be outside; bright and sunny, and unseasonably warm at about 60 degrees. My roses are still blooming, even after our snow and hard frost last week! I have to remember to cut a big bunch before they're gone.
I'd say I got about 3/4 of the gardens put to bed, but there's still a ton to do. Off to do the same at work....hopefully not in slow motion, because that's how I feel I'm moving now.
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Post by Mini Mia on Nov 8, 2010 18:08:22 GMT -6
I'm certainly glad I don't have all those creatures in my hair. 
So, Phalon, have you plugged in your vaporizers yet? I started itching, so I have a few of them going now. I read somewhere you could add a tablespoon of white vinegar to the water, so I'm trying that. I'm hoping it'll keep the little hole from getting clogged with black gunk.  I hope it works, I get tired of trying to get all those chunks of black char to come out the little holes. It's why I quit messing with them last year before winter was over.
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Post by Phalon on Nov 9, 2010 5:34:59 GMT -6
It was kind of funny last night. I was at a gardening program, and one of the women came in, and someone else starting plucking things from the woman's head. She'd been working in her garden, and had leaves, twigs, and whatever else tangled in her hair. Pretty acceptable when you're at a gardening meeting. Not so acceptable at the grocery store, your child's school, or the dentist's office. Can't say how many times I've run an errand or had some type of appointment after work, only to arrive, and find I've got stuff tangled in my hair; little reminders that I work at a nursery. Thankfully, nothing I've pulled out of there, ever screamed (to my knowledge).
Good reminder about the vaporizer, Joxie. Thanks! I haven't thought about the humidifers yet, although we should have had them running for about a month. I'll probably have to buy a couple of new ones - last year, we couldn't find new filters for the ones we had anywhere, and by the end of the season, the filters were quite tattered from washing them out so many times.
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Post by Phalon on Nov 10, 2010 5:13:03 GMT -6
Did anyone see the moon last night? I don't think I've ever seen one quite like it; jaw-dropping gorgeous, it was. I walked out of the grocery store a little after eight, and did a little double-take. "Oooooo", I said to the food-carter-outer guy, "lookit the moon!" "I know", replied, "I stop and stare at it everytime I come outside." We stopped and stared at it.
It was a very thin, thin sliver of a cresent moon, turned almost on its side, so that if one had the means to do so - and I would have, if I could have - one could sit in its cradle with feet dangling over the earth. And it was HUGE! And it was GLOWING orange! Simply spectacular.
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Post by Siren on Nov 10, 2010 23:05:13 GMT -6
Awwww, I hate that I missed that pretty moon, Gams. I am quite the moon-worshipper.
But those images y'all linked to BLEW ME AWAY! That artist is amazing! What a find. Thanks, Jox, you Nancy Drew of the cyber world, for finding that page.
I am very relieved to say that this was my last day at work at the police station. Those folks were wonderful to me, and sent me off with a tear in my eye. But I'm glad to be moving on. Tomorrow, there's one last radio show to record for my current station, and I'll be done. The next few days mean lots of packing before I start moving the boxes to my new digs in my old town, a house I lived in in college. I will be betwixt and between houses for awhile after that, so my posts may be spotty. But I'll be thinking of y'all. Orientation for the new job starts Monday, and I'll hit the new station Wednesday afternoon. *deep, tired sigh (but a good kind of tired)*
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Post by Mini Mia on Nov 11, 2010 17:24:16 GMT -6
You're very welcome. That find was well worth the time it took to discover it.
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Post by Phalon on Nov 12, 2010 5:21:44 GMT -6
It all sounds very exciting, Siren...and a little bit scary maybe, starting things anew. At least, I would be a bit nervous. But being in familar territory must be a big help; it's kinda cool you're staying in the same house that you lived in while in college. I'll be thinking about you next week, wishing you luck.
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Post by Scrappy Amazon on Nov 12, 2010 20:45:38 GMT -6
Good luck Siren!
And as a side note........we ACTUALLY had to turn on the heater this last weekend! OMG!
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Post by Siren on Nov 13, 2010 8:50:39 GMT -6
Thank you for the good wishes, guys. I am a bit nervous, but very excited, too. I posted about my move on facebook recently, and got so many sweet notes from friends back home, and friends I'm leaving here. Made me feel very good, but wistful, too.
I had to do some paperwork and a drug test at the new job HQ yesterday, and stopped by the new studio. Looks like I'll be hitting the ground running. It's a really small staff, so everyone does a lot. But it's a good thing. I feel like I'll be making a difference there.
Looks like the big move is next weekend. I should have everything packed by then, thank goodness.
A neat feature I had forgotten about the house I'm moving into: a kitty door! Wonder how I'll teach Bud to use that.
What leaves we have left on the trees here are gorgeous - at full color. But the wind and cool temperatures are really causing them to fall quickly. So beautiful. This time of year is just too short.
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