Thanks to Pat waaaaaay over on Bainbridge Island (near Seattle) for this grinning entry.
And just to prove that we here at PP Headquarters are indeed open minded, below is an entry from our eggplant friends currently residing at The Measuring Cup (the one-stop pie shop responsible for my widening girth). It came with the following message:
Hi,
This is Pepe & Margarita. Being part of the Perky Potholders Club, we feel that we should be allowed to participate in the pumpkin contest even though we are not pumpkins. We are vegetables too you know!!!
Truly Yours, Pepe & Margarita
Also, it doesn't hurt that they sucked up to the judges by including a Perky Potholder in their Halloween still life.
My department at work decided to go Goth this year for Halloween. Unfortunately, the party committee at work scheduled Halloween for today instead of Friday, which is kind of dumb and also makes for an interesting trip to and from work. I think my favorite accessory is the tattoo sleeves. In fact, I may just wear them all the time now. I got the dress at the new Dundee thrift store and restyled it (with scissors). The boots were donated by Lenore. Amazingly, this is an extremely comfy outfit. The fishnets are cotton and very stretchy, and the dress is like pajamas. I may be on to something. I'm including the full group shot because I think the variety is amusing. My boss had a meeting to go to, so she adopted a "soccer mom goth" look. Molly and Jesse are "grudgingly goth," Hua is...I don't know what. Her concession was wearing the choker over her turtle neck and, after much cajoling, allowing us to put black lipstick on her "just for photo!" We had scheduled a photo shoot yesterday for some new faculty members, but then they cancelled, so we put the studio to good use.
I have to include this one too, because it cracks me up. Someone said, "OK, strike a pose," so Donna pretended she was on the phone (?!). It's "how may I help you goth"! As an aside, Donna made a festive Halloween punch in which she floated frozen hands (made from cranberry juice frozen in vinyl exam gloves). I highly recommend this for your next party.
When we were walking back from lunch, a passing co worker said, "Oh, how cute!" and I was all, "We are NOT cute, we are DISENFRANCHISED!" I think it may have frightened some students, but I can't be sure.
OK, not really, I don't know these people at all, but I liked their Barack O'Lanterns. You can see more Obama pumpkins here. Some of them are pretty creative -- thanks to Molly for sending the link. There were no winners for the Perky Pumpkin contest, and that's just sad. Here's the prize (made on the airplane on the way to SC) that would have been. Beach not included.
It's time for the annual Perky Pumpkin Carving Contest! (This is Austin's entry from last year.)
Send me a photo of your Halloween jack-o-lantern and you could win a valuable prize. I just got a whole bunch of new potholder loops for my birthday, people, and these are not run-of-the-mill loops either. We're talking thick, flame retardant wool for those of you (I won't name names) who like to use your perky potholder for handling molten lava and the like.
Rules:
It has to be your own pumpkin that you carved yourself. Multiple submissions welcome. Deadline is Oct. 29, 5 p.m. central standard time.
Send a photo of your entry to plauer at mchenry dot edu. Even if you don't win, your pumpkin will be imortalized in cycberspace FOREVER. That's worth a lot right there.
Speaking of pumpkins, if you're in the area, why not enter the annual Great Pumpkin contest at the Dundee Township Visitor's Center? Our contest organizer collects about $1,000 in prizes, plus you get a free pop just for entering. There are prizes for best carved/decorated and largest by weight.
Sometimes you just have to post things that have nothing to do with anything. Behold Nora, the piano playing cat. I wonder if I could get Hoops to do this. Except my piano is so out of tune, it might cause permanent damage. Nora's owner appears to be a piano teacher; apparently Nora has picked up a few techniques herself. Click here to see it via youtube (sometimes it's super slow when viewed through blogger).
So dad was finally sprung from the hospital with a new heart appliance implanted -- I think the jury is still out as to how much it's helping. We'll see...
While dad was inconveniently languishing, my birthday came and went. Lenore and I had Thai food and then went to see Forever Tango, which was excellent, and she also agreed to go kayaking with me on Sunday, which was also splendid. Sunday evening we had a dadless party with mom, Roland and Amy; it was an impressive haul by any standard. PLUS, there was pie! Homemade pumpkin from mom, wild blueberry from The Measuring Cup, and a bonus mini apple strudel pie from TMC for my birthday. Here are a few random pics...
My new system is to load all the kayak stuff into my bike trailer and ride to the end of the street, unload it (hiding it in the weeds if I'm by myself), ride the bike back and then walk back. It's only a block and actually easier than trying to carry everything on my head, even though the little old lady across the street says she likes watching me struggle with my boat, paddles, etc. as I weave my way to the river with the boat on my head and everything draped over my arms and back. She'll just have to find some other way to entertain herself!
Lenore took a coffee break along the way. Only Lenore brings coffee in a kayak.
Saturday Lenore bought some more Halloween decorations at the Farmer's Market (shown here having breakfast at the pie shop).
We had them adorning my yard sign initially, but they're actually VERY bright and kind of lit up the whole street (!), so now one's at her house and one's at my house. What should we name them?
And speaking of pantyhose...
A few weeks ago, I had some minor flooding, though nothing like the sewage flood from hell of past. This was just rainwater that had leaked, I think, from my chimney into the basement during one of the many torrential downpours we had recently.
Unfortunately, the water ran into the middle of the room instead of into the sump pit, so Lenore and I created some sand snakes out of pantyhose to divert the flow. I think this is a much better use for pantyhose than actually wearing them. Hoops was a little freaked out initially, but now she's accepted the snakes as part of the decor.
And ordering the t-shirt. I watched debate #2 last night with my dad in his hospital room as we were waiting to hear whether or not the insurance company would pay for his pacemaker. 'Nuf said.
We (and by we I mean he) is among the lucky ones, so fingers crossed that he gets to come home tomorrow with his new hardware installed.
Actually, it's pretty amazing how quickly that unfortunate utterance has taken off in the way of Obama swag. Only in America? Maybe this (or this) will be the bailout the economy needs. Irony rules.
My new field rep, Lenore, has taken on the Indianapolis territory, hawking cookbooks and potholders wherever she goes. Actually, I think she's giving them away, but I won't know 'til I find an accountant. This is Clare modeling her Perky Potholder, cookbook and resulting Fresh Apple Cake, which reports say turned out swimmingly. This post is a fine reminder that
A. We at PP Headquarters are always happy to sample dishes made from the Pseudo Gourmet (especially desserts). B. There are only 79 shopping days 'til Christmas, and the new and improved edition of the Pseudo Gourmet makes a lovely gift. Operators are standing by! Click here for additional shameless plugs and ordering information.
In fashion news, I did get my new glasses (frame #2 for those who were keeping track), and I hate them a lot. Well, I still like the frame, but this bifocal nonsense is for the birds. You'll recall these were high tech German engineered lenses. Well, I'm not impressed. There's way too much head movement involved in focusing, so I look like a bobble head doll -- a drunk one at that. There's really no spot in the lens that allows me to actually see clearly. Hold two glasses of water up to your face and peer through them. That's about how well I see. I'm told I will "adjust" and it will get better, but I'm not holding my breath. What sucks the most is that I can't read with them, which to me, is the whole point. I'm trying not to think of all the things I could have bought with $540.
On the medical front, my dad is STILL in the hospital waiting for...we're not sure what. After being grossly over medicated for 9 months, the doctors have finally listened and are now trying to adjust the drugs so he can function without falling asleep at the dinner table. Medicine is indeed a practice. There's talk of putting in a pacemaker/defibrillator doohickey, but dad's not thrilled with the idea. It might mean less drugs though, so it's a consideration.
Lastly, in keeping with this blog's reputation as a valuable resource, here are some links to the genius work of Tina Fey and friends.
