Oh man. I just rolled out 8 bagels for tomorrow morning and my arms ache. I forgot just how stiff bagel dough is.

I am thankful EVERY DAY that I live in a blue state surrounded by blue states and have Tivo. The only political ads I've seen are ones that have been linked on LJ or mocked by Jon Stewart.

Happy Halloween everyone! So sorry I haven't been around today. Been busy, will post pictures, um, eventually. Franny's school had a costume parade, SUPER cuteness! Isaac has been boycotting his astronaut costume today. He was Belle this morning, now he's Dorothy. I assume he's don the astronaut suit for the actual trick-or-treating.

Happy B-day Daniel and Happy Anniversary to the Reasons!

BWAHAHAHAHA!

When officials asked for the Welsh translation of a road sign, they thought the reply was what they needed.

Unfortunately, the e-mail response to Swansea council said in Welsh: "I am not in the office at the moment. Please send any work to be translated".

So that was what went up under the English version which barred lorries from a road near a supermarket.

Happy Birthday Daniel!

Happy Anniversary to the House of Reason!

Half the electricians at today's focus were dressed as pirates. If I'd known, I would've brought my hook!

I did the early voting thing today before work. On a paper ballot so as to avoid having my vote disappear into the ether if any improprieties occur.

Of the two main mayoral candidates, the Republican has been publicly kneeling in prayer for a win at fundraisers and press events, while the Democrat is pulling in money and staff from outside the state and running ads with exclusively WASPish pinched-face people telling me that he supports OUR values (the implication being not those of those other people with their unsightly melanin or dangerous not-being-married-with-kids-that-go-to-Sunday-school ways). So I probably wasted my vote by casting it for the other candidate with city council experience who didn't put me off with his campaigning.

::waves tiredly::

Trick or Treating has been accomplished with the help of a travel mug of Shiraz.

This is just simply the most painful holiday for me since it incorporates two things that leave me wanting to curl up in a teeny little ball in the corner: walking in the dark and knocking on strangers' doors. Luckily, I don't have to knock any more and I'm not such a loser parent that I've infected my kids with my phobias, so they have absolutely no reservations over the door knocking thing.

But much candy was achieved as was much cuteness. Abby was a witch and Nate was a gladiator-- in sneakers. But there was a Big Sword which was his main objective anyway.

Gladiator

Perky witch

You can't tell from the photograph, but Abby's tights looked like spiderwebs. She was quite pleased.

God your kids are great, Barb.

I'm loving the halloween pictures.

My big boss was talking about his neighborhood today. There's something like 140 kids in it. And it is a 'hood tradition that the adults all set up adult trick or treats too. So following the kids around are parents with 'lil red wagons of...beer (and non-alcoholic treats, like appetizers.) And at his house, there is always hot cider for the kids...but also rum for those adults who wish to spike their cider, and wine for those who don't want cider. They had a new neighbor move in last year, just before Halloween. Boss's house was her first stop with the kids and she proclaimed loudly "I LOVE THIS NEIGHBORHOOD!"

It sounds like a nice 'hood.

Cuties!

And eeeep! Dylan is SO fierce and adorable!

So I talked to my parents on the phone last night. My dad was like "yeah, your mom voted, but I'm going to cancel her out!"

My mom said "I early voted. Your DAD hasn't voted yet. And you know, he's not in the best of health. HE MIGHT NOT MAKE IT to vote. He could be sick!! We can keep hoping!" Heh. We are sick and twisted in my family. (Dad is voting McCain)

Apparently, having heard that lines were like, three hours long on the first day of early voting (in Indiana!), mom thought "What would [meara] do?" and brought a book to stand in line. Good thing--on Day 2 of early voting, she had to wait an hour and a half. She said she got in line, and cracked open her book, and the woman in front of her said "Oh, that's a good idea, I wish I'd brought one!" And mom said "Hah, well, I could read it to you"...jokingly...and the woman said "OK!" And mom ended up reading to her and the woman behind her for like, five chapters. I thought that was hysterical! (Apparently it was some book about a doctor who treated AIDS patients in Haiti, so it wasn't, like, a trashy romance or something, but still)

Thus ends your latest report from the front lines of voting!