Wishing Happy Halloween To All....

Hope everyone is having a spooky Halloween!

We're expecting hundreds of Trick Or Treaters.

Otherwise, we're going to be stuck with a truckload of candy.

Shots Through A Dirty Windshield.... San Antonio Revisited

Knowing that it will be a downhill roll to Christmas from here on (8 Saturdays left until Christmas), I made a quickie trip to see my San Antonio friends. I needed to take her the things I bought for her at her mother's estate sale and I knew that I'd have to wait until January or later, if I didn't do it now. After 58 years, I've finally figured out things like this. 

It was perfect weather for driving so I seized the opportunity to take a few pictures of the scenery. It's pretty dull leaving here, but it does get better as you go along. Lots of plateaus and mesas, with plenty of desert at ground level. By the time you pass Kerrville, the scenery gets much lovelier.

As always, I stayed in *my bedroom*, sleeping in my most favorite bed ever. My friends cooked a lovely dinner on Friday night so I prepared dinner on Saturday night. It was a great, relaxing time. We went to Central Market on Saturday, for dinner and a sundry of other things (intended for here at home). Central Market always makes me buy more than I intend to but I love them in spite of their marketing ploys. Needless to say, I came home bearing gifts. My biggest coup was finding Bufala (Buffalo/Bison) Mozzarella at CM as well as some new wines they were offering with free sample tastings. I know. It was dangerous for me but I came home with some great buys, including 2 bottles of Vampire wine, one white and one red.

After shopping, we drove by the University of the Incarnate Word (it's basically across the street), which has a beautiful campus. I just had to stop for a few indiscreet shots... 

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to go to Groomer's Seafood because they're closed on the weekends (thank gawd!). I could have done some serious damage there. 

As usual, I missed my turn on the way home, but the scenery was great, so I didn't mind too terribly much. It was only a 45 minute detour and I rather enjoyed it. When you screw up, it's always nice to enjoy it, right? I was still home in time to get the decorations and candy ready for the Trick or Treaters. As always, I traumatized the neighborhood children with my witch hat that has attached scraggly hair. We had a ton of kids and the candy was all gone by 9:00 PM (I even raided my golf-candy-stash for the last group), so I turned out the lights and called it a success....

Once Upon A Midnight Dreary.... It Turned Into Halloween!

I found this hilarious list online about what to say to Trick-or-Treaters to confuse them. Of course I've never done any of these things (okay maybe the last one but only after 10:00 PM when the kids get to be too big), but they made me laugh:

20 Ways To Confuse Trick-Or-Treaters

1. Give away something other than candy. (Toothpicks, golf balls, bags of sand, etc.)
2. Wait behind the door until some people come. When they get near the door, jump out, wearing a costume, and holding a bag, and yell, "Trick or Treat!" Look at them, scratch your head, and act confused.
3. Fill a briefcase with marbles and crackers. Write on it, "Top Secret" in big letters. When trick-or-treaters come, look around suspiciously, say, "It's about time you got here," give them the briefcase, and quickly shut the door.
4. Get about 30 people to wait in your living room. When trick-or-treaters come to the door, say, "Come in." When they do, have everyone yell, "Surprise!!!" Act like it's a surprise party.
5. Get everyone who comes to the door to come in and see if they can figure out what's wrong with your dishwasher. Insist that it makes an unnatural "whirring" sound.
6. After you give them candy, hand the trick-or-treaters a bill.
7. Open the door dressed as a giant fish. Immediately collapse, and don't move or say anything until the trick-or-treaters go away.
8. When you answer the door, hold up one candybar, throw it out into the street, and yell, "Crawl for it!"
9. When you answer the door, look at the trick-or-treaters, act shocked and scared, and start screaming your head off. Slam the door and run around the house, screaming until they go away.
10. Insist that the trick-or-treaters each do ten push-ups before you give them any candy.
11. Hand out menus to the trick-or-treaters and let them order their candy. Keep asking if anyone wants to see the wine list.
12. Get a catapult. Sit on your porch and catapult pumpkins at anyone who comes within 50 yards of your house.
13. When people come to the door, jump out a nearby window, crashing through the glass, and run as far away from your house as you can.
14. Answer the door dressed as a pilgrim. Stare at the trick-or-treaters for a moment, pretend to be confused, and start flipping through a calendar.
15. Instead of candy, give away colored eggs. If anyone protests, explain that the eggs are the only thing you had left over from Easter.
16. Answer the door dressed as a dentist. Angrily give the trick-or-treaters a two-hour lecture on tooth decay.
17. Answer the door with a mouthful of M&M's and several half-eaten candy bars in your hands. Act surprised, and close the door. Open it again in a few seconds, and insist that you don't have any candy.
18. Hand out cigarettes and bottles of asprin.
19. Put a crown on a pumpkin and put the pumpkin on a throne on your porch. Insist that all of the trick-or-treaters bow before the pumpkin.
20. Dress up like a bunny rabbit. Yell and curse from the moment you open the door, and angrily throw the candy at the trick-or-treaters. Slam the door when you're finished.

Happy Halloween!

Memories of Halloween... In Pictures

These are some pictures of the Halloween party we went to with all of our golfing buddies. Some of the usual suspects were missing, but it was still pretty wild and lots of fun...



The Host and Hostess (never to be outdone) were dressed as either Caesar and Cleopatra or Anthony and Cleopatra. It doesn't matter, really. They played their roles to the hilt and they looked marvelous:







I went as ... Who Else? MOMMY DEAREST (Joan Crawford) with wire hanger in hand, while Mr. Snooty went cleverly disguised as the man Joan Crawford married, who owned Pepsi or something. Be sure to click the pictures for better details.








Here's another picture of Mr. Snooty. I thought he looked kinda Bad Boy Hot.











The damned Zorro beat me to the punch on pictures:











Next, we were paid a surprise visit from June Carter and Johnny Cash. I figure he had a grand old time, being dead and all:




No, this isn't a scene from "Brokeback Mountain". Just some tipsy (okay drunk) friends having... ummmmm... Fun!?

We left at a reasonable hour. Like 9:00 PM. Go Figure... Still, it was a great party, making this a Great Halloween.