Hester

Love your gargoyles, Lily! (Personally, I'd leave them up all year long. ) More than a decade ago, I moved into this Victorian house, and the previous owners were known for extensive decoration at Hallowe'en. Neighbours encouraged us to keep up the tradition (although our efforts are not nearly quite as elaborate.) We've gradually evolved from a general "haunted" look to a Pirate theme. Here are pics from 2 years ago: https://pyracy.com/forums/index.php?showtop...pic=9720&st=169 Last year, we had to be out of town for a family event during the week of Hallowe'en. I was very thankful to return home and find all of my windows intact, and not broken by disappointed Trick-or-Treaters who found the house dark and deserted. I shall be heavy-handed with the candy this year in appreciation for their restraint. [Of course, the annual driveway concert & street party hosted by the semi-professional Elvis impersonator on the next block probably kept any would-be vandals too entertained to notice our lapse.] This year, I'm unfortunately rather pre-occupied with some major family issues, and I don't really have the energy or enthusiasm to concentrate on decorating for Hallowe'en. Happily, I've saved all the decorations from previous years, and my cheap tissue paper and bristol board window displays can easily be put up in a single day. And I've got a new pair of black & white striped stocking for my pirate costume. Woo-hoo! Bring on the hot-buttered rum!

Lazy lads lathered in lotion. (High SPF, of course.)

Trying to work my way through a case of Corona leftover from a summer party, before it goes skunky (-er?). I managed to polish off two last night... but it's a slow process. Especially because I'm simultaneously trying to "slim" my way into a ballgown in less than three weeks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gi46pd7iHWo (Sorry ... couldn't resist, even though it's out of turn.) So... back to the game... Snow White

Secret Agent Decoder Ring

James

I love port! And it makes a bloody good marinade for your steak too, if you can bear to spare some, Patrick. Right now, I'm drinking nothing. Which is probably a good thing, since it's 2 a.m. on a Wednesday ... hmm, make that Thursday... morning. But, I spent most of the summer sitting on my keister drinking Corona (with extra lime) and a wide variety of rum cocktails.

brocade

Alexander McQueen: http://www.alexandermcqueen.com/flash.html

Glad your kitty came home, Patrick! Your experience reminded me of the song "Kitty" by the band Presidents of the United States of America: "Little bag of bones been out all night... meow!"

henna

{bump} A jolly jackanapes jettisoning jetsam.

Hester, dear, you always know how to make me laugh.... Thanks. As for me I am listening to Jay Jay the Jet Plane.....let me bang my head on the desk now. Speaking of head-banging, Briar Rose, "Idiot with a Leaf Blower" might make a good name for a heavy metal band ...

Land ho!

Idiot with a leaf blower.

Johnny Depp

"Space Manatee" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwY-BwGMkIY

Sushi, aussi... Black nail polish M.C. via Facebook Nick Lowe ... whom I'm going to see in concert tonight http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbRyfr8iEJc

Neither am I, but I recently bought A Star is Born on DVD, purely for the shirtless Kristofferson factor. No guess, btw. Sorry Duchess, you've got me stumped. Oh wait, I'll guess anyway -- Snatch? I haven't seen it, but I've been intending to.

I did go for my 40 minute walk today, but my routine has been really disrupted by summer holidays. Indeed, my diet was rather rich during some of my travels and I feel a tad pudgier since I got home. I'm hoping to shed 10-20 pounds in the next month to fit into a ballgown. Ha! And during that same time, I also need to finish up a case of Corona that I bought at the beginning of summer before it goes skunky.

Waiting for the thunderstorm to hit or blow past.

[Okay, I know there used to be a thread about this, but I can't find it, even with the Search function. So, if a mod knows where the old thread went to and wants to merge them, that would be terrific.] Yesterday, in Chapters, I picked up a hard-cover copy of Jimmy Buffet's recent novel, A Salty Piece of Land, on sale for $7. (I love the remainders table!) ... and then I had to run out to the liquor store and get a 6-pack of Corona to go with it.

Fat Cat Avocados

^ Indian Summer: temps around 25 degrees C., sunshine and balmy breezes. The smell of over-ripe fruit so heady in the air, you could get drunk on it like wine. < Today was like that, but it's blowing up into a thunderstorm now, as a cold front comes in to presage autumn. V Could you live in the 'endless summer' of a tropical paradise, or do you need the cyclical change of the seasons?

Dark chocolate with macadamia nuts and cranberries. A large pile of raccoon poo on my back deck. (The critter had obviously been eating the neighbours' wild grapes.) Barb and Glenna from my Scottish Country Dance group. Ivy, to whom I did finally post a letter.