There are few people more despicable than those who prey on grieving people.

Fred, I think you can remind yourself that this guy is not your friend, and you don't need to let him down easy. You just need to say no.

There were lots of fireworks going off nearby. Is that a normal Halloween thing? Apparently it is here.

Hilariously, I was just making fun of the celebrity Q&A in Parade magazine yesterday because the first question was: How did Ryan Reynolds celebrate Halloween, growing up in Canada? And the answer was "with fireworks." So there you go.

We've told Counselor that it isn't going to happen now because we're financially strapped from 3-1/2 years of constant vet bills. (Which we are, somewhat, though we've exaggerated the degree to Counselor.)

Saying "we can't afford it" or "maybe later on" or anything like that makes it sound like you are interesed. You need to clearly say that you aren't. I suppose you can point out that you might move later, but that is giving him an excuse to keep talking about it, and you're not obliged to give any reasons. Smile, thank him for his diligence, and tell him that you've decided that the mausoleum idea just isn't right for you, so he shouldn't spend any more time on it. Period.

I'm more aghast about the TWO eat in chef's kitchens.

It looks like at one point the basement was configured as a rental unit.

Oh, I see. Well, I suppose you could live there ;)

Would sending a cease-and-desist letter be overkill? That way you're on record if he does something bizarre later.

It occurs to me that I grew up in a family where it was an article of faith that anyone in a funeral home (etc.) was trying to sell you stuff you don't need, and we just want to put in a pine box, etc., which probably gives me a slightly different perspective. So, when my grandfather died, my mother and grandmother went to the funeral home, and did their thing of saying no (if not HELL NO) to all of the lovely options they were trying to sell them. When they got back in the car, they turned to one another and said, "You know, that guy probably thinks we didn't like him very much!" And they cracked up. Until they cried more. Sniff.

Anyway. I would go into any situation like that like the people in the appliance (?) TV ad who are practicing in the car ahead of time.

The Rent Is Too Damn High, the album.

We got no trick or treaters at our tent. Heh. I`m assuming we also got none at our house. It was 30 degrees. So since we went to bed so early and coyotes were on the howl at 3:30, we woke up around 4:30, rolled out of bed and got breakfast at about 5:30. Now I`ve got all the gear spread out in the living room because it was covered in ice! this morning. Now to take out the garbage and shower and go pick up the SO from opening the store so we can actually go to work, whoot! But it was really fun and the lake was beautiful this morning, and the Biscuit did super great on his first ever camping trip.

Seriously?? That's nuts.

Hubs has a touch of paranoia from time to time.

What is the process to remove the cats you already have there? If you plan to move them after you retire, why not just move them now?

The employee we used to work with said that it can be done for a fee (though we could probably get a refund on the mausoleum space we're currently using, which would cover it). We're not comfortable moving the cats now because we don't know where we'll be after retirement. I'm leaning toward Philadelphia to do vet nursing at U-Penn's vet hospital, but going to points north wouldn't be good for our SAD. Hubs loves San Diego, but we worry that it'd be too expensive to live there permanently. There's also the Triangle area of North Carolina, though I've drifted out of touch with everyone I knew there.