Many things, all at once

It's been years since I dressed up for Halloween, but today I did. For work. You can't really come up with a lamer reason to wear a costume than that, but I had fun anyway, and for those you that know me you won't be a bit surprised to hear that I dressed up as Batman, complete with a mask that was obviously intended for a more child-sized head than mine. As I'm the receptionist, this made for several double-takes as patients walked into the office. That was half the fun.

The other half was everybody else's costumes. My boss, the dentist, wore an enormous poufy wig; his wife wore a red feathered halo and wings; the hygienist, a witch's hat. It was great fun. I really wanted to take a picture for you, but while I remembered to bring my mask, Erin's birthday card and my glittery spider hair-clip to work today, I forgot the camera.

In other news, poof! The weather has officially changed. With Daylight Savings Time, the has temperature dropped twenty degrees and I've gone into hibernation mode--this involves lost of tea and mittens and big Russian novels in my case, while Mitch tends toward the flannel PJ pants and stocking caps. We even turned the heat on the first time this year today, as the thermometer at Horizon Bank read 27-degrees this morning. Twenty-seven! Seriously. That's -3c, and two shirts, blue jeans, wool socks, sneakers, wristwarmers and mittens, a knit cap, a fleece scarf, hooded sweatshirt and wool coat--plus heavy cotton tights underneath the jeans and socks.

I wore all of that today. At the same time. Layers upon layers, my friends, that's how we dress for the weather 'round here.

Also, the leaves are falling off the trees in big chilly gusts. Til now, they've been everything from stubbornly green to crimson, but they've still held fast to their branches--today, however, the wind took it upon himself to knock those silly leaves right off the trees. I love this part of the year, I really do.

And on that cozy note, I leave you. I'm off to curl up with Dostoevsky's The Idiot and a sleepy cat. Til next time!

Halloween Observed

After a liesurely afternoon spent at the Temple Bar, Morgan and I moseyed on over to my place to get her all gussied up for a night at the circus--the "Freakaphonic Circus," that is, which seems to be the Wild Buffalo's answer to a Halloween costume party (I did not go, but opted instead to curl up in bed with Howards End, the cats and a studious Mitch). Morgan went as a zombie prom queen; I was enlisted to do her zombie make-up.

So, while Morgan put on dress, gloves, shoes and tiara, I dug through both our make-up bags on a quest for unflattering shades of eyeshadow and brutally red lipstick, trying the colors out on the insides of my wrists before finally sitting her down and beginning the uglifying process. I had far too much fun with this, however disturbing it may be to make one's best friend flat-out hideous--by the time we finished I had white face paint and fake blood smeared on my jeans and forearms, plus some alarming fake bruises where I'd tested black-violet eyeshadow on myself before applying it to her eyes, cheeks and collarbones.

The whole process was an awful lot like getting ready for a real prom, but with one crucial difference--when we finished, Morgan looked terrible, and that was the whole point. I couldn't look at her directly for very long without cringing, while she was morbidly drawn back to the mirror again and again, exclaiming, "Oh my god! I look horrid!"

Here is the finished product.

And what are you gonna be?

Yes, I definately just saw a big pink bunny tear up Ellis St. on a crotch rocket.

I love Halloween.

Happy Thanksgiving, eh?

Ha! Thanksgiving has arrived! Before you start panicking, though, keep in mind that the Michaelis family functions on a whole other timeline--Thanksgiving comes before Halloween. It's just easier that way.

So, dinner's tonight, and I'm making dessert. My house smells like pumpkin.

In other news, we (Mitch, Lyle and I) are going to a Black Eyes & Neckties show after dinner--never seen 'em play before, and I know something like half the band from the days of yore. Haven't seen 'em in ages. It'll be great.