Sleeping until ten was very welcome this morning! But it was immediately busy as I popped into the car and took it to Carnett's for an oil change and an emission inspection. This came with a free car wash and I was afraid it was going to take hours, so I took the laptop with me and worked on a story. But they were done in a trice and now I don't have to worry about my inspection as I did last year. This will be James' first year having to be inspected again, and we'll need it done before December.

Because I was early, I had a chance to stop at Borders. Susan Conant's newest mystery, All Shots, was out in paperback, and I also got a new cross-stitch magazine. I also stopped at Hobby Lobby, which was probably a bad idea, but what I bought was on sale: some ornaments for my little woodland tree and I found a topper for the library tree (it's going to be The Gingerbread Boy). Also got a ceramic leaf-shaped plaque painted with autumn flowers.

Then it was back to work and off to Kroger.

Well, all I ate for breakfast was a Meal Bar, so when I got home at two-thirty I was ravenous and had a screaming headache. I had bought a little baguette, a little larger than the six-inch sandwich roll at a Subway, and put some of the Trader Joe's chicken salad in it. Man, I don't know how people eat 12-inch long stuffed Subway sandwiches; just this filled half as much was wayyyyyy too much.

It didn't help the headache, which probably came partially from the sun, so I had to take some aspirin and lie down for a while. Then I scrubbed out the bottom of Schuyler's cage, which was another item on my things-to-do list today. Then I had only a few minutes to walk Willow before I had to get ready for the trick or treaters.

This is fun for them but really not for me. Because of the non-time change I had a chance to watch It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown before I had to go "on duty." Then I put the candy bowl on one of the little plant tables we have from Ikea, and sat on the stairs and plugged in the laptop on the landing. Watched the For Better or For Worse Hallowe'en story, "The Good-for-Nothing," then James arrived home with my dinner (chicken from Boston Market), and I sat there alternating reading my Yahoo groups and giving out candy. Lots of cute little kids—a SpongeBob, several Spidermen, a new Batman and an old one, Superman and also Supergirl, a Snow Queen, various skeletons and ghouls, a darling toddler in a bumblebee outfit, witches, etc. The little girl next door came as Elastic Woman from The Incredibles and her mom was dressed as a witch. The one outfit that really blew me out of the water was a little African-American boy dressed as a pimp. I don't understand why his parents would want to perpetuate that negative stereotype. :-(

This daylight-frippin'-savings-time a week later really sucks. Previously I could start at six and be done by eight, latest eight-thirty. Kids didn't start coming out tonight until almost seven—I mean, who wants to trick-or-treat during daylight?—and we had the last couple after nine. However, there weren't as many kids as last year, and there wasn't a racket afterwards in the distance as there usually is.

Anyway, right now I'm making up for neglecting Miss Schuyler earlier by having her cage near me while we watch Jeopardy and What's My Line? She is sitting all fluffed up, with one foot up, contentedly grinding her beak. Mike Romanoff was just on WML. I have heard about this guy for years—he's even referred to in the original Miracle on 34th Street!—but I'd never seen what he looked like.

Labels: errands, Hallowe'en, pets, shopping, television

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. . . . . noted and logged by Linda at 9:35:00 PM

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