Here's the tree!

As I said, when we went out to get our tree, it was a warm and sunny day.  Here's DH (wearing a sweater I knitted for him ) discussing the virtues of this tree.  We decided it was too wimpy. Usually we get a Douglas  Fir because he likes them, but this year was my turn and we got a Noble fir.  I adore the way they smell, and the branches are strong enough to hold heavy ornaments.  I have collection of Margaret Furlong porcelain angels that I hang on the tree every year, and with Noble Firs, I can hang the ornaments clear out on the end of the boughs.

Usually, too, we get a tree that's about 6 feet tall, but the way we have the house set up this year, there's no room for a big tree.  Instead, we got one about four foot tall and put it on a table behind the sofa and right in front of the window.  It looks so NICE from outside, all twinkly and bright.

So this is the tree we settled on.  DH is looking further back into the acres and acres of Christmas trees saying, "Are you sure this is the one?We just got here."  Really, it doesn't take me that long to look at a Christmas tree any more.  It's not like they are all that different.  Used to be, when we went out and got a wild tree, you had to search and search, but Christmas trees are groomed and trimmed to a fare-the-well on the farm, and you just can't find any ugly ones.  DH dropped to one knee, whipped that saw into place, and five minutes later we were carrying the tree over to the shaker and baler.  The folks who owned the farm said we could just leave it and the boys would be by with the tractor and flatbed but geese, we were right there, and even I am capable of carrying half of a four foot high tree.

And here it is, set up and decorated.  Lots of the ornaments are hanging inside, sparkling out at you when the lights are on.  I decorate mostly with angels, hearts and birds, then fill in with colored balls.  This year, with the smaller tree, no fill in needed.  Though I may figure out a way to work some more in as the season progresses.  Maybe some red ribbons to add a shot of color?

The kitties are old hands at this indoor tree thing.

I remember one year, though - I was a little kid, too little to go tree-hunting with Dad and the big boys.  They brought back a huge, thick, bushy cedar tree and set it up in the playroom.  The family cat was going mad trying to sneak up into the tree.  Finally, when Mom was about half done decorating, she shrieked and jumped back. There was a small owl deep inside the tree and he had had just about enough for one day, so he snapped at her.  Dad put on heavy gloves and grabbed the little guy, took him outside and released him.  Not every family gets a Christmas owl.

As for the Create your own element game, you guys are peerless!

•  teeveescreenium-that which renders all other elements drooling and useless only to be conquered by commercialonium.

   
• At 1:53 AM ,  Rose Lefebvre said...
  Felinesium--(fe-line-EE-see-um)has the element symbol PURR.
  Felinesium is light-weight, moves through the air with a breeze, and when moistened will create a hacking sound. If it is near canines it has an unusual reaction--it makes a hissing sound. This element can be a nuisance when in abundance because it clings to just about everything--clothing, furniture, blankets, carpeting. When found in large clumps, it feels soft and silky. At the present time, there is no known use for this element.
  It is related to the element dustbunnium (dust-bun-ee-um) which shares similar features and is often seen moving across floors and under furniture in households. This element has a unique feature that its beginning or source has not been discovered, but scientists are still searching.

   
• At 5:28 AM ,  Tim Young said...
  Fartainium : A highly combustable, heavy gas with an odor similar to that of decaying bodies.

   
• At 7:34 AM ,  Dave Daniels said...
  Queertanium - A precious metal, highly prized for its lightweight and malleable qualities.
  Not to be confused with Penisium, though.

   
• At 9:15 AM ,  mplanck said...
  Fantasmin; a rare odorless, colorless gas. Once inhaled, it can launch biological entities into realms unknown to the mundane consciousness. Unsympathetic scientists call it hallucinogenic. Alice

  
  

Never too old

For the very first time in my life, I made a Black Friday shopping strike.  Joanne's had quilting fabric on sale for $1.79 a yard, and I had a doorbuster coupon that gave me an extra 25% off if I came in before noon.  The store opened at 6, and I know what the lines would be like, so I left DH asleep and was at the store just as they opened the doors.  It took me ten minutes to grab my fabrics.  It took me a further hour and five minutes to stand in line till I got the fabric cut and paid for.  Swear to Dog, some people got NO sense!  There was a woman who was buying entire bolts of fabric and making the clerks measure out 3 yard pieces and cut and fold them for her.  She is incapable of cutting her fabric at home?  She is incapable of folding the sections while she's standing and waiting?  I mean  - jeeze - there are other people in the world.  And she kept running off and grabbing more bolts of fabric while the line kept growing behind her.  But, on the plus side, as I was standing there with my several bolts of fabric, the nice young lady in front of me said, "Would you like to share my cart?"  This store has about fifteen shopping carts, and the sixteenth person in line at the door didn't get one.  I was about thirtieth.  The young lady has great good karma now.  She was kind and generous.  ANd SO shy.  I tried to talk with her, but it just made her uncomfortable, so I relented and talked with the woman behind me.  As I got up to the cutting table, I realized that I had forgotten to get batting, but I couldn't have carried it anyhow, so I shrugged and proceeded to fold as the nice clerk cut, and if it looked like I was close to the end of the bolt, I just asked for the bolt end so she wouldn't have to take the time to cut.  When does a little more fabric ever go to waste?  And fat quarters were a dollar off.  I went mad.  I felt so sorry for the clerks that I bought Lindor Balls and gave them to the lady who cut for me, and to the lady who checked me out.

Then DH and I went to breakfast.  Then we hit the grocery store, went home and unloaded, then went out in search of the wiley Christmas tree.  For the past week it has been raining fit to drown the frogs - an inch a day with wind pushing it flat sideways.  But today was clear and dry!  You couldn't have picked a nicer day if you had looked for it in the catalogue.  The folks at the tree farm were organized and just delighted to have us there.  We knew what we wanted, found it right away, cut it and carried it overt the shaker and baler, and were on our way home within 20 minutes.  It was fabulous!

So DH set up the tree while I pulled the ornaments out of the attic.  Then he stamped the Christmas cards and took them to the post office while I dressed the tree.  We had turkey hash for dinner and a glass of wine apiece.  Life is so darn good!!

Happy Thanksgiving

It's 6AM in Portland, and all over the city, Grandmas are getting that thirty pound turkey into the oven so it will be cooked in time to be eaten before the football games start.  All their wonderful sons (with their useless wives) and beautiful daughters (with their worthless husbands) and the most wonderful grandkids in the world will be arriving for the annual stuff-yourself-until-you-fall-asleep fest.  The house will be overcrowded, everyone will be overwrought, the noise level will be deafening, the air will be steamy with cooking.  Someone will decant the cranberry jelly onto the special oval plate and it will sit there quivering , still retaining the ridges from the can.  Aunt Becky will bring her special green bean casserole made with canned cream of mushroom soup, and decorated with the canned fried onions.  And everyone will eat it up.  The vegan daughter-in-law will bring a tofu and Jerusalem artichoke casserole, and take most of it home again because no one else will touch it.  In my family, we had a tradition of all the male adults getting too drunk to drive before the end of the meal, then passing out in front of the TV and missing the game.  The females kept busy in the kitchen, or riding herd on the the kids.  There was always wayyyyy too much food, and we usually left it sitting out long past the point when it should have been refrigerated, but no one ever died of botulism,so I guess we were stronger than the common toxins.  My favorite part was the skin, all crispy and greasy.  I would snitch bits of skin for hours, while helping to clear the table, do the dishes, set out the pies and coffee, clear the table after pie and do up the final dishes.  Then, and only then, would we package up leftovers ("Sherry can take a leg and thigh, and Mary, I know your kids will finish off the sweet potatoes with the marshmallow topping.") and at long last, dismember and refrigerate the carcass.  The next day we kids would pick at the carcass and leftovers for sandwiches, while the grownups nursed their hangovers.  On Saturday, the last of the meat, gravy, stuffing, potatoes and left-over vegetables would get mixed together and re-heated as hash - the best part of the holiday!  Sunday, we would wake to the smell of the turkey bones simmering with bay leaves and onions to make broth for soup.  Thanksgiving would be over, School would start the next day, and we were launched into the madness that is Christmas.

DH and I do things differently.  We go out to a nice restaurant and have a splendid dinner served to us in gracious peace and elegance. And sometime during the weekend, DH roasts a small turkey for just the two of us.  No stress, no frenzy, no regrets.  And all the turkey skin I can eat!

create your own element

DH and I have made up a game and we would like to invite you to play with us. It's, "Make up an element." You take a look at the periodic table of elements, (Oxygen, magnesium, plutonium, etc.)and then make upon of your own, and describe it.  For example, I came up with rastafarium:  It's found primarily in Jamacia, frequently in the presence of spliff, and presents long, tangled extrusions known as dreds.

DH came up with occupyrite: a recently discovered element useful for exciting other elements.  It can be found in cities worldwide.

What's your element?

Happy birthday, DH

Fifty seven years ago, my Darling Husband was born.  He doesn't like a big fuss for his birthday, so we will celebrate quietly.  A friend went wok hunting a few weeks ago, and gave us a big steak, so we will have that for dinner.  He may even have a beer on a work night! I baked a cheesecake for him, and the house is sweetly redolent.

Every day I count my blessings.  He is intelligent, funny, honorable, hard-working, and nutty about me.  He can fix anything, build anything, cook anything, and when he gets a new tool or appliance, he  - reads the directions!  He can read a map and doesn't mind doing so.  He doesn't like organized sports any more than I do.  He likes kitties!  He collects cookbooks that are put out by ladies' groups as fundraisers and are a collection of each woman's favorites. For movies, he like "creature features" from the 50s and 60s, Action/Adventure flicks, and animated features like "How to Train Your Dragon."

He will do anything for a friend.  He loves his family and gets along with mine.  Yes, he is a veritable nosegay of virtues andI could continue enumerating them till you get bored and go home.  But the thing is, I'm totally nutty about him as well.  And it is my great good fortune to be, not only his wife, but also his best friend.  When he retires, I have suggested that he teach classes on how to keep your wife happy.  He laughs, but really, he's remarkable good at it!

Illustration

My friend, Tim Young, knows why I never get lost.

my worst date.

Back when I was single and willing to give it a go, a fellow asked me if I would like to go for a walk on a trail on Larch Mountain.  Larch Mountain is a bit of wilderness a scant 40  minute drive from the city.  It is steep and brushy, and at least one hunter or hiker dies there each year, through lack of attention.  But hey -it was a date.  And he waxed lyrical about this well-marked and maintained trail, so I decided to give it a go.  First, I dressed for the weather with multiple layers, a crackly sounding rain slicker, a good wool scarf and mittens stuffed in my pockets, sturdy hiking boots, and two pairs of socks.  Second, we took my car.  I'm not going into the woods with a stranger unless I know I can get myself out.  I picked him up, and he looked quite handsome and rugged in a polo shirt, jeans, windbreaker and sneakers.  I assumed, since he had gone on about the wonderful hikes he had taken, that he had expensive high-tech layers and one of those hooded raincoats that folds into a two-inch square pouch and fits in your hip pocket.  The ride up was quite delightful, as he was witty and charming.  He directed me to a parking lot, I locked the car, and he led off,  down hill through the undergrowth on a short-cut to the path.  I stopped, took a careful look around, oriented myself, mentally reviewed what I knew of the terrain, and followed him.  He continued to be witty and charming as we bushwhacked down toward this wonderful trail that he was sure was just a little further along.  Clouds built up.  The temperature dropped.  He chattered even more charmingly.  Finally I planted my feet and declared, "We've been walking for an hour, and we haven't found that trail.  Are you sure you know where it is?"

He got very silent.  Finally he admitted, "We might be lost."

I replied, "You might be lost, but I know that if we just go back uphill, we'll hit the road."

"But that could be miles away!"

"You wanted a good hike."

"Let's just sit down and wait.  Someone will come to look for us."

Then the sleet started to fall.  He did not in fact have high-tech layers or a rain slicker.  He didn't even have a baggie of trail mix.  I was lost on a mountain that eats stupid people, with a totally useless, if charming, idiot.  I gave him my wool scarf to tie around his head (Not even a hat - the moron!) and said, "I'm going home.  You can come with me, or sit here and freeze."  Then I headed uphill.  Rather than try to retrace our wandering path through the woods, I surged in a direct line toward safety, which led through a couple of rhododendron thickets already becoming ice-encrusted with the steady sleet.  The waste of skin trailing behind me began whining that his feet were cold and wet.  It rains around here.  What did he expect?  We came up against the foot of a cliff and paused for a breather. He turned east.  He had been drifting east all along.  If you go east DOWN the hill, you need to go west back UP the hill.  I snarled at him.  He snapped back.  I turned west and a few minutes later heard him thrashing along in my wake.  Pouting, he trailed behind me for another half an hour when the ridge we were climbing met up with the top of the cliff, and we emerged into a paved parking lot.  I set off briskly to the west, knowing the car would be about half a mile down the road.  At the far east end of the parking lot  I could see a lovely graveled, well-maintained path.  "Oh look!" the dumb bunny remarked.  "That's the path I wanted.  I must have gone to the wrong parking lot! Oh, dopey me!"

Fuming in silence, I strode down the road, found the parking lot with my car, got in and set the heater on high.  He opened the passenger door, settled his wet, shivering, blue-lipped self into the seat, And chirruped brightly, "That was kind of fun, wasn't it?"

I glared at him, and in my best thunderous roar, named him an anal orifice and told him to shut the fornication up or I would kick him out of the car.  I took him home, and warned him not to ever call me again because he was clearly too stupid to breathe.  He was at least bright enough to take my warning.

What was your worst date?

a busy day

I want to wait till I have all the food on the table before I take the pictures, and I don't want to put the cold food out too soon, so I wind up remembering to snap photos just as people are arriving and I don't take time to fuss with stuff like lighting.  To the right you can see the carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and a ring of pecans.  Beneath that dare the lemon meringues.  To the left of them is the fruit salad (oranges, mangoes, kiwis and coconut.) the the three tiered stand from bottom up, the turkey/cheese roll-ups, the maple cream sandwich cookies, and the bourbon balls.

DH suggested that I serve the cake in single layers which was inspired.  Usually, people ask for half a slice of cake, and this way, it was just the top half.  Some of the ladies cut the slices in half anyway.  Then, to my very great delight, they went back for the second half.  Maybe even a third half?  And everyone asked for the recipe.  Yayyyy!!  The meringues were tough, but I think that had something to do with the lemon juice I flavored them with.  And the oven was a bit too warm. I will improve with practice.

 But needless to say, we feasted and frolicked as ever.

DH came home and declared that he was jonesing for pastrami, so we decided to try a deli we've never been to before.  On the way, we passed this bush.  The purple buds are berries.  Does anyone have any idea what this bush is?  I want one!

The deli was a delight and we stuffed ourselves.  We will need to return soon so I can try the matzoh-ball soup.  I had a tongue sandwich and OMG it was yummy!

Then we had to stop in at the LUSH bubble bath store, since it was a party day - the Gold Ticket promotion kick-off.  All the staff were wearing gold and sparkle and festive attire.

Isn't he just adorable?  And such a sweetie!  I wish I could remember his name.  Gold lame shorts, and formal black over-the knee socks.

Good Lord, am I really that stout?  Well, I'm still beautiful on the inside.  Pretty is as pretty does, and I do pretty well.

some place-settings

 I changed my mind a bit on the color scheme for the party.  The runner with the autumn tones just didn't fit. Since I will be serving juicy fruit salad, I needed little bowls.  These bowls jumped up and demanded their place, and the rest of the settings just fell into place around them.  The pink pressed glass bowls needed plates with pink and green.  And the tea cup with the fishes on it is one of my rave faves!

The yellow pressed glass bowls needed more pizazz.  A yellow plate, and a hand-painted yellow cup with nice green leaves fills the bill.

I love these delicate old hand-painted bowls with the violets on them.  The black and white Noritake plate sets them off wonderfully, and the lavender hand-painted tea cups are great accents.  And doncha love the purple napkin on the green cloth?

No two place settings are precisely alike.  I have ten settings at the table, and then I have back-up I can set in the living room, because four people told me they might make it.  It's funner if we can all sit at the same table, but the table seats only 12.

So I spent today baking carrot cake and lemon meringues and making fruit salad and cheese spread.  Tomorrow, I plate everything, make the tea, construct and slice the turkey and cheese rollups (DH suggested I sprinkle cranberries on the cheese before I lay down the turkey.  Brilliant man!) do a quick final sweep of the bathroom, and then revel in the delights of another tea party.  We can squeeze you in just fine if you want to come.

Regarding low- tech

I had a boss who dearly loved that meal where you take a flank-steak and pound it thin, then spread  a stuffing on it, roll it up and roast it.  Roulade I think it's called.  Well, the boss loved that dish, and his wife loved to make it for him, but pounding that flank steak looked, to him, like a lot of work.  So he decided he would make it easier for her.  One Saturday, she was out and he was home and there was a flank steak in the fridge.   Not understanding that the pounding was mostly to make it tender, he figured out a much easier way to make it flat.  He put it in a ziplock bag and took it into the garage.  (Cooks everywhere are becoming nervous as they read this.)  Being a man, he had a couple of boards lying around.  (I never seem to have a couple of boards handy when I need them.  Do you?)  He put one board on the garage floor, put the flank steak in its plastic ziplock bag on the board, put the second board on top of it, then drove his pickup over the boards.

Flank steak SPRAYED the entire underside of the pickup and the inside of the garage.  He spent the rest of the weekend washing steak off the walls, the lawnmower, the tool bench,, the underside of the pick-up, the wall full of storage shelves, and re-packing all the Christmas decorations into new boxes that were not covered with flecks of steer muscle.  And they had pizza for dinner.

And because he was a wonderful guy, with a great sense of humor, he came to work and told us the story on Monday.  I loved working for him.  He was serious about the job, but not about life in general.  Best job I ever had.  I, and six other people, were replaced (inadequately) by a computer.

What do you do?

I was half-way through the rum balls, and my grinder broke. So I fell back on low-tech solutions.  I dumped five boxes of vanilla wafers into a pillowcase, wound a stout rubber band around the top, and began to smack it against the counter, the floor, the walls.  I can't tell you how good it felt, swinging that pillowcase full of cookies.  SMASH!  Crunch!  Whammo!  And it was working really, really well.  I was just about ready to sieve the crumbs through colander but I wanted just one or two good whacks, just for the fun of it.   That's when a seam split and cookie crumbs sprayed all over the kitchen.  I will be finding cookie crumbs for weeks, I just know it. I swept and brushed and sponged for about forty minutes.  Thought I had it all.  Went to get some milk for my tea.  There were cookie crumbs on top of the refrigerator, that showered over my hands when I opened the door.  I wiped down the top of the fridge, and had to sweep the floor again. I reached for the cookbook with my rum ball recipe in it.  The top was covered with cookie crumbs which of course scattered widely. I wiped down all the books and the bookshelves, and swept the floor again.  I noticed this morning that there are cookie crumbs in the overhead light fixture.  Screw it.  They can stay there!

And with all this scatter, most of the crumbs stayed in the pillowcase.  I was able to get another batch of cookies finished, and there's almost enough for a final batch.  Today I am going to walk down to the liquor store and buy a half-pint of bourbon.  Then I'll step over to the grocery and buy some chopped pecans. And I will use the scant remaining crumbs to make a batch of bourbon and pecan balls, just for me.  There are about twenty pounds of rum balls that will need to ripen for a few weeks, then get packed up and shipped around the country. And after I get that done, I will by gods need a treat!

And there is additional kitchen news:  We have ants.  They are the teensy, weeny, tiny little black ones that are a bit smaller than a speck of pepper, but you know when you have one in your food because they taste angry when you bite them.  We have put out the ant traps and the infestation has waned considerably, but with the feast of cookie crumbs  sifting  into every impenetrable crevice and cranny, those ants are going to think every one of them is having a birthday party at the same time.  I think I'll pick up more ant traps at the store as well.  Can I get anything for you while I'm out?

Knitting happens this weekend.  DH found a recipe for carrot cake that uses pineapple and coconut, and requested that I make it up.  So we will have carrot cake, lemon meringues, rum balls, maple cream cookie sandwiches (I bought a box of them because I adore them, and this way, I won't eat the whole damn box all by myself); a tropical fruit salad with pineapple, oranges, and mangoes; and turkey and cheese on whole wheat tortillas, rolled and sliced decoratively.  I have a new green tablecloth, and a center runner embroidered with autumnal tones, so I'm going with a green theme for the china.  Not bright spring green, but sort of muted avocado.  I am going to try really, really hard to get some proper photos this time.  Please let me know if you are coming.

 

Have you seen this?

Awesome new toy.  $39 in the local paper, and you probably will need to buy the helium seperately, but oh, what fun!!

Http://www.wimp.com/airswimmers/

Tis the season

Things that go into rum balls.  The 'nilla wafers have to be crushed very fine.  DH got me a KitchenAid mixer that does everything but play dance music. It has a grinder attachment, so I blithely gave away my heavy duty manual meat grinder that weighed eight pounds and made my shoulder sore by the end of the day.  When I make my Christmas rum balls, need to grind at least ten boxes of wafers.  The new grinder went through fireboxes, then stripped a gear or something.  Next week, trip to the repair shop.  Bummer!  But at least I got through the cinnamon batch (Iadded a pinch of chili powder this year) , the cherry rum batch, and the peppermint batch.  Next up, plain rum, then maybe some almond. And perhaps I'll get a pint of bourbon for some bourbon balls.  What else goes good with chocolate?

I get to keep my teeth!

I went to the dentist for my bi-annual cleaning.  After spending forty minutes prodding my gums with pointy steel hooks and scrapers and scalers, then polishing the ol' fangs and thoroughly moistening my entire face with overspray, the kindly hygienist called the dentist to come and inspect.  We waited.  We chatted.  we looked at our watches.  Finally, she said, "I'd better remind him that we're waiting here."  I said, "warn him that if I have to wait too much longer, I'll start singing."  Then I began belting out, "Roll Out the Barrel."  People don't realize that when I threaten to sing, it can truly be a threat.  I can be QUITE LOUD.

The doctor materialized before I got to the second verse.

My gums are firm and pink,my teeth are strong and well seated.  I get to keep all my choppers for another six months.  Woohoo!  And the doctor probably won't forget me next time.

The doctor and hygienist both complimented me on keeping all my teeth for so long.  My parent's generation had dentures by the time they were forty.  I drink a lot of tea,and it makes my teeth yellow, but I think it helps keep them  healthy.  I did not grow up with fluoridated water.



Speaking of water, though, we get our drinking water in big jugs like this.  Not all of them have handles.  The other day, I was carrying one in from the garage, and lost my grip on it.  Do you know what happens when you drop a plastic jug full of five gallons of water straight down?  It splits right along the seam line, and pure mountain spring water splashes up about three feet, soaking you past the knees.  AND, you get to mop five gallons of water off the garage floor.  Then you still have to bring in a five gallon jug of water to replace the empty one. I much prefer the jugs with handles on them.

Knitting HAS been happening

 Here's a nice little scarf for Med Team International knit with leftover hand-dyed silk and some hand-dyed merino.  Scraps- just tiny balls of each.  Cast on  the long way and seed stitch, changing colors at the end of each row.  Soft and Oh So Warm!

On the needles now, Lorna's Laces from Angelika's Yarns in Portland.  A sweater for a handsome Russian pre-med student.  His dad works with my DH. I knitted a similar sweater for DH.  He suggested I knit a nice warm sweater for the dad who was going deer hunting in Eastern Oregon, and the dad loves it. DH, who knows how much I love to knit, suggested that I knit a sweater for the pre-med lad who will soon be out on his own and putting himself through school and no doubt living in cold and draughty  rooms.  I gotta say, this chunky silk and merino blend is a freaking joy to work with!  Wish the red color would photograph better, because it's darker, manly and subtle, and will have young ladies lining up for a chance to wash his dishes.  I'll try to get a photo of him in the sweater.






It snowed in the passes last night.  That morning, I had to scrape ice off my windshield at 8:30 am.  I think the season is upon us.  Time to cuddle by the fire and knit faster.

kitty in the dark

The kitty pumpkin shines so nice in the dark.  Several people took photos of it.

We had a total of 59 trick or treaters between 6:00and 8:30.  DH's favorite was a teen-aged couple dressed as penguins.  They were large penguins, so we asked if they were Emperor penguins.  They giggled and blushed.  I think they had lost a bet.

My favorite was a young pirate girl.  First she asked if she could pet our cats.  Then she pointed out her crown and assured me that she was a "Piwate Qween"  Then, after a happy few moments choosing her candy, she twinkled at me and said, "Sank you."  Before she got off the porch she whirled around and said, "Mahk's in da stwoller.  Twick-r-twee for Mahk?"  (I think she meant, "Mark's in the stroller.  Trick or treat for Mark?")  It took her another several minutes to decide what Mark would like.  "No MnMs cuz he could sshoke.  An no - - - Mom, kin he have shocklet?"   She eventually selected a hershey bar for Mark, got clear off the porch, then whirled again.  "Oh, sank yew fah Mahk!"  I think that young lady has the makings of a successful CEO.

Lots of pirates last night.  And LOTS of fairies. More commercial costumes than usual.  Also, kids were decked with glowsticks as crowns, bracelets, necklaces and wands.  It made them lots more visible.  Since there was neither rain nor freezing wind, so the accompanying parents were comfortable and congenial, and liberally supplied with flashlights, hand lanterns, and steaming beverages.  It was a lovely night, all things considered.  And we have 31 left-over candy bars.