Happy Halloween!

This is the costume for this year. The only thing I made was the skirt but I'm still pretty proud of it.

The economy is in the toilet, the dirty, germ infested, paraphernalia scattered, gas station toilet. Now, I'm not saying this is a good thing, but maybe there are some good lessons to be learned. Since our grandparents generation this country has never been much for earning and saving. We grew up in an era of instant gratification with credit cards, fast food and prepackaged meals. My generation has no idea how to go without or cook from scratch. We don't know how to darn a sock, patch holes in jeans or fix a leaky sink. I have a feeling that these are lessons that are about to be learned and very quickly.

Pop is with my brother and his family now and will soon be on his way back to the desert. I miss him tremendously. If you hadn't guessed, he means the world to me.
This week is dedicated to readying for Halloween. I have costumes to make & finish, decorations to dig out and put up, pumpkins to pick and carve and candy to stay out of, that's the most difficult thing.

As if you didn't already know, my Dad rocks.

I have been searching high and low for a crucial piece for my Halloween costume. I'm going as a WWII pinup girl. I've got the jacket and shoes. I need to make the skirt. I bought a wig, broke my heart a little too. I used to wear my hair in Victory Rolls before I got it whacked and always got rave reviews on it, but I like my new do too. Anyway, I needed a Garrison cap to be the crowing glory but alas, our military surplus store closed. I hit the costume shops to no avail. I asked Dad to visit the surplus store by his house, but they didn't have any.
So how does my Dad rock, you ask? Because the Garrison cap I will be wearing with pride will be the one he wore when he was in the army. Thanks Dad, not just for the cap, but for your service to the country.

No rest for the wicked

I'm ready for the rest and relaxation of toddler chasing. I spent Saturday helping Beqi paint her living room the most gorgeous shade of coral. Its a perfect match for the mid-century kitsch of her house. I'm jealous. I got home around 6, ate a quick fajita that Mike was so wonderful to make and started in on scouring the kitchen and digging out the craft room. Weird, but working hard only makes me want to keep working until I drop.
Yesterday I finished off the craft room. Our neighbors, Paul & Sara (aka, Gryffin's girlfriend) gave us a really nice futon that I put in there. It is now MY room. A TV and DVD player, sewing machines, crafty crap, my knitting supplies, a lamp and a comfy place to curl up and relax. I spent the day cleaning and organizing, making everything pretty.
Yesterday I also picked up a nice metal rolling cart for a $1 at a yard sale. It has a drawer and door with two shelves inside and a towel rack. It looks vintage and I'm suspecting that it's pretty old because they don't make stuff that heavy anymore. Today I have to scrub it down and prepare it for a quick coat of paint. Mike agreed to let me buy it since I knew exactly where it would go. I'm putting it in the kitchen to hold my heavy duty mixer and mixing bowls.
Mike and I made an agreement a long time ago that we can't bring anything new in without knowing exactly where it will go and what it will be used for. This cut down our level of clutter dramatically.

T minus 6 days

Every morning Gryffin asks me if today is the day we see PaPa. I think he may be a little excited. Let's face it, we all are! There is so much to be done before his arrival. I need to clear out the craft room and make room for a futon that our neighbors are giving us. I need to get the master suite scrubbed and organized. I need to clean the oven and wash the windows. Not that my Dad would notice or care, but I would. All of these things have been needing to be taken care of for a while, he's just the best reason to get me off my duff.
Besides, the holidays are coming. Better to get a jump start on all the cleaning and organizing now instead of putting it off until the last minute, like I always do. I also need to get a jump on making presents, but that has to wait until after Halloween, which around here is just as important as Christmas.

Yesterday I was able to get some things accomplished. I ran an errand,made dinner,started digging out the craft room, made a new post to the food blog and finished knitting a new dishcloth. Today, more of the same. I'm still sniffling and coughing but I'm vertical. My voice has, sort of, come back and my headache is almost gone. So is my first cup of coffee, better remedy that.

So many things I could talk about: Strange Folk, the economy, the elections, the wonderful weather, etc. But I just don't have the energy. I'm sick. It seems that after running on empty for two months getting ready for SF, I have acquired a cold/sinus thing. For the past week I've shuffled around sniffling and snorting, coughing and hacking, dressed in pajamas and fuzzy socks.
I'm hell bent on getting over this TODAY. I'm going to guzzle tea with honey in hopes of my voice coming back. I'm going to set an alarm to take my medicine every four hours and I'm going to rest as much as Gryffin will allow.
I've got important stuff to do. Catching up on blogging and picture posting both here and at: http://frozensustenance.blogspot.com. I've got to get the craft room unburied and the laundry caught up. I also need to make a Superman costume for Gryffin for Halloween, not to mention make my own costume. Then there is the most important thing of all, Dad's visit in a week and a half!