Archive for Halloween

The final count is…

210. That’s TWO HUNDRED AND TEN trick-or-treaters to come to our door last night. Beginning promptly at 5:30 pm and ending just after 9:30 pm. The most popular costume, with an astonishing seventeen representatives, was the ninja. In the traditional category, there were many fairies and princesses and a few fairy princesses, eight witches, three brides of Frankenstein (with only one appearance by Frankie himself), four devils, four goblins, six cats, six zombies, one skeleton, two vampires, five pirates, one wizard, two “dark warlocks”, one bride, two cheerleaders, four clowns, one alien, two nuns, one rabbi. In the commercial category, we had one Bart Simpson, one Thomas the Tank Engine, two Dora the Explorers, one Scooby Doo, one Captain Hook, one Fantastic Four (which one, he didn’t know), two Captains America, one Barbie cheerleader, one Darth Vader, three Power Rangers, two of the Scream guy, one Jason (complete with chainsaw), ten Spidermen, five Venoms (Black Spiderman), two Mickey Mice, one pirate Mickey Mouse, one Neo. In the animal category (these were mostly kids under the age of two, and were truly adorable) there were three ladybugs (including a pair of twins), one zebra, three monkeys, one lizard, one turtle, one horse, two chickens, one shark, two bunnies. Then there were the standouts, like the two girls with hugely stuffed derrieres, who claimed to be “Church Ladies,” and the kid who was dressed not as Zorro, but as Pancho Villa. There were, of course, kids who simply put on their team uniforms and came as basketball players (two teams’ worth), kids who put on a ton of makeup and their sleaziest outfits and went as “Rock Stars,” and the kids who came dressed as nothing at all, but came anyway, bags in hand, a “Trick or Treat” ringing from their lips. I gave them all candy, each and every one. How did the candy hold out? Late Tuesday night we made a run to BJ’s for some odds and ends and some “just in case” candy. I’m glad we did. Here’s the before picture (we usually use this galvanized tub to hold beer at parties):

Candy stash, before the onslaught

Here’s what we have left:

What’s left

We’re choosing a few pieces to save and then I’m bringing the rest to work tomorrow. Or at least, that’s the plan.

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On this day: Jackhammering, Well, I feel better than I did before

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I think we’re gonna need more candy

Sources have warned us to expect in the neighborhood of 150 - 200 kids come Halloween night. I’ve made two separate candy-shopping excursions so far, mixing it in with my regular trips to the stupidmarket so as not to scare myself. Here’s what sits in bags on the dining room floor right now:

1 bag of Snyder’s pretzels (36 pouches. G says we’re gonna get egged for trying to give away pretzels. I think not.)

3 bags of Butterfinger (51 pieces; I ate three)

1 bag Butterfinger Crisp (18 pieces)

4 bags Kit Kat (84 pieces)

1 bag Brach’s Honey Candy Corn (75 pouches)

1 bag Jolly Rancher Assortment (100 pieces of fruit-flavored chewy candy, hard candy sticks, and lollipops)

1 bag Junior Mints (16 pieces; they were not on sale like the rest were)

1 bag Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup (15 pieces)

1 bag Reese’s Crispy Crunchy Candy (20 pieces)

2 bags Snickers (36 pieces)

2 bags Milky Way (36 pieces)

4 bags Nestlé Crunch (96 pieces)

2 bags 3 Musketeers (42 pieces)

1 bag Tattoos For Trick-Or-Treaters: A Safe And Healthy Alternative (20 boxes, because there should be some tricks after Halloween is officially over)

That comes out upwards of SIX HUNDRED FUN-SIZE CANDY BARS. But at two hundred kids, that’s a measly three apiece. Or is that the going rate? The last time I had trick-or-treaters I was so excited I just told them to take handsful. Or am I going to be bringing in a boatload of leftovers to work November 1st? Weigh in, people!

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The Hallowig Is Done

Hallowig, finished 09/22/07And here it is, in all its pinkness! Once I “got” how to add the bangs, it was a snap. Cake and pie…easy as cake, simple as pie. (must stop with the dessert references, I have my nutritionist tomorrow and I believe she’s not going to be very delighted with me. Mall food will do that…but I digress…) I knit for too long on the body before I started the bangs, it’s not the short pageboy-type thing it’s supposed to be, but I really didn’t want it to be that short. I look weird enough in it as it is. No makeup on that face, either. WTG. Still have no idea what I’m going to be for my favorite holiday. I know! Tarina Tarantino’s Pink Head! Yesss!

I’ve been talking rather limitedly with my therapist about death anxiety. It’s really pretty paralyzing at times, the loss of control issue. It appears that I’m a bit of a control freak. Not you! you say, not you! Last night it took two expired Ativan and hand-holding and talking to get me to be able to relax enough to get to sleep. But in the end, I did sleep, and had a better day today.

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Ravelry RAWKS!

Hallowig, 09/15/07Or at least, the people on Ravelry do. I posted a plea for help with the Hallowig on the Think Pink group’s message board, and also sent a message to PassionKNITly, who posted that she’d recently cast on for the same project. I got nearly the same, helpful response from both very quickly, and was then able to frog the five rows that I’d done with decreases in order to cast on 32 more stitches with the backward loop cast on for the bangs, then join (being careful not to twist). Now the diagrams and instructions make sense! If I could only find the little bag with all my stitch markers in it…but I do have the three from my No Sheep For You! Secret Pal Swap, the only swap she sent me (there were supposed to be two). Oh well, I don’t think it’ll put me off doing swaps, even though my downstream swap partner never sent me any acknowledgment that she’d received either of my packages, I had to email her several times to make sure she’d gotten them (she’s in Alaska). Whatever.

I made an appointment with Bill Murdock from Collins Brothers Moving after many problems contacting anyone there. He’s going to come look at the storage units at UHaul to give me an estimate for moving the contents to the house (I KNOW, FINALLY). It’s going to save us over five hundred dollars a month, money better spent on therapy, yarn, Shun knives, anything but storing all the inventory from long-defunct My Favorite Things. With it all at the house, G will be able to photograph it and I’ll be able to eBay it. I apologized in advance when I told him that most of it would be going into the attic. On the third floor. And what wouldn’t make it into the attic would go into the basement. I have no freaking idea where I’m going to put the flat files. But I Will. Not. Get. Rid of them. Might help to empty them out before moving them. They’re really freaking heavy even empty. And what to do with my beautiful front counter? I’m going to call United House Wrecking and see if they’ll buy it back from me. I no longer feel that I need to keep it, but it was très cher, and I’m not dumping it. Then there’s still the storage compartment at Westy’s to think about. I have no idea where the key is though. Might pose a small problem. I’m sure they’ve got a fix for that. I’m sure I’m not the first one.

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Happiness is pretty fabric (among other things)

2-D Zoo from Repro DepotEspecially the fabric pictured at left. I bought two yards of it at Repro Depot, along with a yard of this circa 1964 authentic Marimekko pattern, and this paisley thrown in for good measure (Apparently, that fabric is no longer available on the site. My apologies, and when I frame it, I’ll snap a photo. It isn’t nearly as terrif as the other two IRL)). My intention is to frame a piece of each of these for the walls of my office, which I plan on painting Sherwin-Williams’ Desire Pink. The trim is going to be Mélange Green, with accents of Knockout Orange, and Faraway Blue (think really, really pale) for the ceiling. If you go to the Sherwin-Williams website and launch the Color Visualizer, it lets you design your room with paint, looking at all different setups. It’s really cool!

I went to my Stitch and Bitch Wednesday night, the first time in months, and only my third time ever. It’s a rowdy, raucous group, a lot of fun. The only help I got for the Hallowig, however, was the thought that the bangs might be done using short rows. Definitely not worked in the round like the pattern says. I’ll keep checking Ravelry, and I may end up emailing the designer, Megan Reardon, in the end. As it is, I’ve begun decreases at the front of the wig. It isn’t going to be very pretty, I’m afraid. I’m already thinking about tinking back all the progress I made. Le sigh.

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Book Seven (no spoilers)

has been finished. I cried my silly eyes out at the end, and I’m still teary just thinking about it, but I’m happy. Happy to have the conclusion, happy knowing that it is a series that I will definitely read over and over again. And for those of you who’ve also finished reading Deathly Hallows, happy for all the reasons you, erm, know about. What drama!

Today was register training day at work. Although slim, the training was sufficient to get me through the first few sales and returns without fear of catastrophe. Working retail for twenty plus years has given me a great appreciation for the ways of the cash register, with all its individual tweaks and oddments (”Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!”), and the register at C&B is no different. Well, very different, but in essence, exactly the same. You ring things up, you collect money, you give a receipt and the merchandise. There’s a great parting of the ways between the culture at TCS and at C&B, and for that I am truly grateful. C&B stands behind her employees much more firmly, with little to no exception being made in the running of things. I won’t go into the gruesome details, but there is a much stricter adherence to policy; there are definite rules in black and white, where at TCS, every single thing was a shade of grey, open to discussion. I thrive on that adherence, it seems, I need people to play by the rules. I spent a good portion of my therapy in learning how to stop trying to get everyone to play by the rules, learning that it was not my responsibility to be the policing faction, to just “go with the flow” (something I still rail against mightily) and let people get away with, if not murder, then some semblance of unfairness. I don’t believe that the squeaky wheel should get the grease. Straighten up and fly right, and stop asking for what isn’t rightfully yours. Stop trying to get over on everyone. No one owes you anything special, just because you think they do and you happen to have a big mouth. End of rant.

Tomorrow’s another day off (my new, regular day off, besides Saturday). I’ve got errands planned (bank, stupidmarket, nail salon) and perhaps I’ll get in some spinning. I’ve got questions about the pattern for the Hallowig, but no one to turn to in real life; I bought the yarn at WalMart and can’t very well go to a reputable yarn shop and beg assistance. Maybe I can email some of the Ravelry members who’ve knit it and ask for help. It’s worth a shot.

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Whew…

Ready for the first day of workThe first day of my new job is officially over. I feel like I look like a freaking Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon in that picture. At least I was relatively comfortable. Even the new shoes didn’t kill me like they did the last time I bought them. I spent the day with J in the stockroom, pricing all sort of neat gadgets. Like this. And this. Not to mention this. So it was kind of boring, but everyone was really nice. Tomorrow I spend the morning with S, the assistant manager, and then the afternoon with V, the stockroom manager. Thursday I close, Friday and Saturday I have off (so we can attend Mlle Léa’s second birthday party!), and Sunday I only work from 9:30 until 2 pm, and I’ll be getting register trained! I don’t know what the exact deal is with the discount, J seemed to think that “after six months, it’s 30%, after two or three years, it’s 40%.” I don’t think he has much occasion to shop at C&B, or he’d know for sure. I think I’ll ask E, one of the department managers, or I can ask S when I train with him tomorrow.

All my panicking about not getting to work on time, not finding the right entrance to the parking garage, my new coworkers hating me (”Are you nuts? Everybody loves you.” Thanks, G), all was for naught. I officially clocked in at 9:15 am, finding the right parking garage entrance (by Neiman Marcus) on the first try, and everyone was very friendly, with more than one person welcoming me to “the team.” I do need to leave for work an hour before I’m due especially in the morning, there was traffic on both 9 and 287, but other than that little panic attack, everything was fine. Found the bathroom after being shown once where it was (nice and clean, and I won’t be cleaning it either), had my 45-minute lunch in the Food Court (won’t be doing that again, not for $7.50 for Ranch 1, I don’t care how good the fries are), knitted one row on the Hallowig, then went to call G, and got interrupted on my way to calling him by a nasty little reminder that I hadn’t paid my cell phone bill. Oops. Paid the minimum, then got to talk to G for about a minute and a half, long enough to tell him that my day was fun, well, not fun, but interesting, well, not interesting, okay, I was in the stockroom all day, but I was enjoying myself. He laughed, and so did I.

I finished for the day at 4:30, talked to my manager for a bit, hammering out my schedule for the rest of the week, and then on home, where I sit now, sated from a delicious meal of slow-cooked pork fried rice (which was devoured too quickly to photograph, I apologize). I just picked up a pint each of Fossil Fuel and Dublin Mudslide Ben & Jerry’s, we’re going to watch Earthsea and then pass out.

All in all, a pretty good first day.

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Simple pleasures

Monkey see, monkey doWe went to Bed Bath and Beyond yesterday and spent a ridiculous amount of money on pale blue linen curtains (what was I thinking? I’ll have to iron them all!) to put up in the dining room, and some green and yellow striped viscose (I think) ones for the living room. So that our nosy neighbors will stop watching our tv. We also bought some accessories for the master bathroom. Every time I look at them, it makes me smile. I may turn the mat around so that it’s facing the loo.

I returned all of my company tshirts back to TCS for my former coworkers to enjoy. Also dropped off a pair of baby socks for MNK’s as yet unborn baby. Found out from my sister that the other pair that I’d knitted for Zeke will be too small for him by the time it’s sock-wearing season, so I’ll drop them off for TH, who’s due in February. I found out today that BMM’s expecting, too. I was never that friendly with her though, and her political views are about the opposite of mine, so perhaps I’ll leave off investing any time for her. I spent some time dishing with my friends, and the more I hear, the happier I am to be shot of that place. I start C&B on Tuesday at 9:30 am. Squee! Gary said he’d take me to Woodbury Common Outlets tomorrow to clothes-shop; I’m in dire need of acceptable clothing. One pair of khakis to my name, and Dockers at that! Not that there’s anything wrong with thatI’ll have to try Daffy’s and Dress Barn Woman and Lane Bryant too, I think The Gap is going to be too expensive.

Hallowig, 08/29/07I’m working on Knitty’s Hallowig out of some horrible hot pink Caron Simply Soft Brites (No Dye Lot!). I’m suffering along using a pair of Clover Takumi bamboo circs, because I needed to start knitting this thing and Flying Fingers is temporarily closed while they bring in their fall yarns, and Cornwall Yarn Shop is just a little too far away to justify the gas for one pair of needles (I also can’t trust myself to only buy the Addis I need once I’m there, and not to fall into a bushel of OnLine Supersocke). The stickiness of the acrylic yarn coupled with the grabbiness of the bamboo is making for some very painstaking knitting. I’m assured, however, that the end result is going to be completely awesome. (I’ve decided that I really need to stop saying “awesome” ever since watching an episode of Eureka where most of the geniuses turned dumb and to illustrate this point, they had one of them use the word in a surfer tone of voice. Must. Stop. Saying. It.) The better part is that it’s moving quickly. And they were only eight dollars.

I’m on page 119 of Deathly Hallows, most of which was accomplished waiting for G at the dentist’s office. It’s really good.

Saw Dr. W today and we’re reducing my dose of Wellbutrin down to 75 mg BID from 100 mg BID. We both agree that it isn’t doing me any good any more, and there is always the risk of it producing mania. He gave me another boatload of samples of Geodon. That’s another $500+ saved, thank you. I hate insurance companies.

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