After the party....

... and what a party it was--- no one wanted to leave, and we played Charades for the longest time ever (the ladies won, by just a few points).

But.... the party.... the costumes were amazing this year:

Best Costume (man) ribbon and prize went to LS-- he was dressed as a priest, but underneath his long black robe (which was slit up past his knees), he was wearing white boxer shorts with red hearts on them, and black cowboy boots. You couldn't help but laugh every time you looked at him.

Best Costume (woman) was LK-- she was the Queen of Hearts--- her costume was literally a large Queen of Hearts card, and underneath that she had on black tights and bright red shoes, plus a crown, and her necklace and earrings were Queen of Hearts playing cards-- and she carried a bright red pinwheel as her wand. Very colorful, and very different.

Most Original Costume went to a couple, R and C-- they were all decked out in their Renaissance costumes.... beautiful velvet and fur, with all kinds of magical-looking beads and ruffles and flounces and trimmings... they looked like they were on their way to King Arthur's Round Table.

Funniest Costume went to JT-- she fashioned a black hefty bag over her clothes, tied red ribbons at the ends of the bag so it fit over her shoulders, then she made a cute red sign that said "Bag Lady"-- which was made from a tiny red paper bag.

Cutest Costume went to DS-- she was a "Black Eyed Pea." She wore black slacks and a white sweater... the sweater had a big black felt letter P on it, and she used dark eye makeup to give herself a black eye. Too cute for words. --- All of the above got ribbons and prizes for their efforts.

Other costumes....CS came as a brain surgeon, L & J came as a doctor and nurse, VS was an Elvis fan, S and V were Rockets fans, KS was a lady vampire, and her boyfriend F was a pirate, SK came dressed as a fortune teller, D's friend A wore a long red Renaissance gown. Everyone else was either in black or orange, with bits of Halloween jewelry here and there.

The guessing game this time was a plastic treat bag filled with Hershey's kisses (136 of them)... VH was the closest, and for her prize, I gave her a feather-trimmed black velvet witch hat-- similar to mine, but with orange feathers instead of purple. V was ooohing and aaahing over my hat as soon as she walked in the door, so I was hoping she'd win one of the games tonight so I could give her the prize bag with that hat in it. V was so happy that she wore the hat all night long and kept looking at herself in the mirror every time she went into the dining room. --I had bought two of those hats (with orange feathers) for prizes-- I gave the other one to CS, who always, always, always makes such a special effort with the foods she brings to our parties. Tonight, she brought the bat-wings (chicken wings), and little meat patties with green olives in them so they looked like eyes, and one other dish that I can't even remember now.

The dining room table was so chock-full of food that we had to move the desserts to the breakfast bar in the kitchen. There were chicken casseroles, bat-wings (chicken wings), two kinds of meatballs, two potato casseroles, three pasta casseroles, a sausage and bean casserole, crab dip, chicken legs, two cornbread recipes, and I know I'm leaving out a bunch of things here, but it's nearly 2:00 in the morning and I'm getting tired. The pineapple/grapefruit punch was a hit-- I filled up the punch bowl twice...... and the hot apple cider is always popular for both the Halloween and the Christmas party. For desserts...... we had BC's chocolate cake, SK's pumpkin brownies, DS's peach pie, R&C's spider-web cookies--- and I'm sure I'm leaving something else out there as well.

Everyone went home with their party bundles-- a black porcelain candy dish in the shape of a spider web, filled with chocolate candy and Halloween cookies, and Halloween jewelry for the ladies.

I swear, we have never laughed so hard and for so long as we did tonight. We usually play Charades long enough to get approximately 30 - 35 points..... we played till we got to 80 points tonight. Amazingly long-- we just kept on going, even after a few couples left early because they live on the other side of town. The new people who were here tonight were totally amazed by our Charades group. One newcomer wrote in the guest book: "What a wonderful bunch of coconuts!"

And this coconut is fading fast.... time to wash off my purple eyeshadow (which matched the purple feathers on my hat) and get myself to bed. My husband, Blackbeard the Pirate, is already sound asleep. And, true to his word, as he always is--- he was shaving off his week-long pirate beard as soon as the last guest walked out of our front door.

"What Was I Thinking?"

This is usually about the time that I ask myself that question --- What was I thinking?! Tonight is our Halloween Party, and I've been working all week to transform our living room into a party room. No matter how early I start with the decorations (and I did that at the beginning of October), there always seems to be last-minute touches that just make all the difference. It's all in the details.

As a result, the living room, breakfast room, and dining room resemble a restaurant -- a nice restaurant. Wherever you look, there are Halloween-ish surprises, like black beads hanging from crystal-prism lamps, orange beads and bats, and a huge black spider-- hanging from the chandeliers.

The cats have all been out on the screen porch since this transformation began, and they've been watching me through the windows between the breakfast room and the porch. Needless to say, they're not happy to be banished from inside the house, but I've made them as cozy-comfy as possible on the porch. Each of them has a large wicker chair covered in a warm blanket to snuggle up in, and they've established ownership on their favorite chairs.

My husband hasn't shaved all week, in preparation for his pirate costume tonight. He tried the fake beards in the costume shop, but they all looked fake, so he decided the best thing to do was just not shave. His scratchy stubble is now soft and furry-looking, but he still swears that he will shave his face tonight right after the last guest leaves. He's been trying on his pirate hat every night this week, and the real-looking long hair attached to the hat makes his scruffy beard look even more pirate-y. Between the pirate shirt, sword, and the pirate jewelry (right down to the large gold hoop earring), he'll be one fine pirate.

As for me, my black witch hat trimmed with purple feathers is just the start of my elegant witch costume. With a long black skirt, black top sprinkled with a few rhinestones, my black rhinestone-studded eyeglasses, black shoes decorated with rhinestones.... and I even have a rhinestone tiara that can be attached to the witch hat--- a royal witch. I wish I had thought to buy a purple feather boa-- that would have been a great accessory, but would probably get in the way while I'm serving food. I bought dark purple eyeshadow, so my eyes will match the feathers on my hat-- Rule #14 in the Witch Book of Wisdom.

We've been having gorgeous weather.... hot days (but not broiling) and cool night (but not too cold for the cats on the porch). It's always nicer when it won't be raining on a party night. It will be fun to see all the costumes and outfits tonight, but right now, it's just my few minutes to say What was I thinking? Giving a party is a lot of work! But the fun that we all have makes it all worthwhile.

Connecticut Yankees

It's been quite a while since we've had visitors from "way up north." My husband's sister and her husband have been here for the past couple of days. My sister-in-law last visited here in 1993, when we were living in the little house in League City. Her husband hasn't ever been here, so this is his first visit to Texas.

And it's been a busy few days. We had lunch here at home after my husband picked them up from the airport on Friday morning, then we all drove out to Alvin (home of baseball's Nolan Ryan) for a barbequed rib dinner at Joe's BBQ late on Friday night-- the only place for barbequed ribs, as far as we're concerned. As a rule, I don't eat meat, but whenever we go to Joe's, I always take a bite or two, just to taste..... and the ribs have been consistently tender and delicious for all the years we've been going there. It's about an hour's ride from here to Alvin, but definitely worth the time. One of these days, we may even be lucky enough to see Nolan Ryan there, because he still lives in Alvin and eats at Joe's from time to time. (So we've heard.)

Yesterday morning, my husband took his sister and her husband downtown to the Astros' baseball field (Minute Maid Park -- I still think that's a ridiculous name for a ballpark.) They went on a behind-the-scenes tour of the stadium, which lasted an hour and a half. I decided not to go, since I had been to the stadium a few times before, and I wanted to get everything ready for dinner here last night. We ate at home, then drove an hour away to Stafford for a Steven Wright comedy performance last night. I think my husband's sister was overwhelmed by the front-row seats that we had. We try and get the best seats for any performance that we see-- we don't like to be "lost" in the back of the crowd.

Inbetween the morning baseball stadium tour and an early dinner, my husband and his brother-in-law went to a nearby driving range to hit a few golf balls, and my sister-in-law and I went to a local gift shop to look at all the Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations. So many pretty things in that store, and I could've gone overboard buying holiday items, but I didn't. I already have everything that I need for Thanksgiving, and I have more than enough for Christmas. But the looking was fun..... and there's always good ideas for table-dressing in that shop--- they have such pretty arrangements on their display tables, which are easy to copy.

Today is their last full day here, before they leave tomorrow morning. We'll drive to the Kemah waterfront for brunch...... sit and watch the boats go by, then walk through the shops there. We were thinking of driving out to Galveston, but between the drive downtown to the ballpark yesterday morning, then the drive to Stafford last night, I think my husband is all driven out.

Speaking of Stafford........ Steven Wright's performance was very funny. My husband had heard a lot of his jokes before, but we hadn't ever seen him in person. All of the comedy material was new to me..... and the show lasted more than two hours, without a break. The opening act was awful.... a girl with a guitar and a tambourine, neither one of which helped her sing better. When she sang the last of her four songs, I couldn't even bring myself to give a few courtesy-claps. I just sat there with my arms folded, happy that she was finally leaving the stage. Before she came out, and announcer said "Here she is, straight from New York City....."-- I've forgotten her name. But halfway through her first song, I was thinking that someone should announce to the audience that this girl was far from the best that NYC has to offer.

Walking around our house here must have been like a trip down Memory Lane for my husband's sister...... a lot of my mother-in-law's furniture and decorative items are around our home-- so I'm sure it was nice for my sister-in-law to see her mom's treasures in every room.

This was also the first time that our dog Gracie has met my husband's family... she was on her best behavior, as she always is..... she is so well-behaved that people who don't have dogs talk about getting a dog. (These people need to know that good dogs don't just happen... it takes a lot of training, for both the dog and their owners.) The cats were less overwhelmed by our out-of-town visitors......... AngelBoy scrunched up his face when his nap was disturbed -- he opened his eyes into the narrowest of slits, then shut them tight again to resume his nap. Mickey Kitty let my sister-in-law pick him up, but she clearly didn't know how to pick up a cat. Mickey was gracious, though, and let himself go limp while she tried to get her arms in a good position. And ShadowBaby was his usual accommodating self..... letting everyone scratch his ears and pet under his chin, while they told him what a big cat he is.

Our company isn't sleeping at our house here, however....... we got them a room at a local hotel for the nights they're here, being that we don't have a guest room set up in this house. And it worked out well that they're not sleeping here, because they would have been barked awake by Gracie at five o'clock in the morning, for the past two mornings. The raccoons have come back.... from our neighbor's yard to our yard, then they go into the yard on the other side of us to climb into M & R's attic. They've had a "Critter Control" truck parked outside their house for days now.... they've caught one raccoon up in their attic, but there are still more. The Critter guy told them that the male raccoons always travel alone, while the females wander around with other females and/or their babies. As soon as the raccoons pass into our yard, Gracie wakes up from a sound sleep and barks up a storm. As a result, my husband and I woke up at 6:00 yesterday morning, and at 5:00 this morning. Talk about getting an early start on the day. My husband searched the Internet for getting-raccoons-out-of-your-yard suggestions, so before dawn this morning, he was sprinkling the lawn and the flowerbeds with cayenne pepper. While he was doing this, the raccoons were up in the huge Live Oak tree in the corner of our yard. I wonder if all that cayenne pepper will make the birds start sneezing.

"What a Tweet Club"

-- And that is the name of a group of women who belong to a Precious Moments Collectors Club. One of their members is the girl who makes the flip-flop slippers for my Pajama Program Chapter here in Houston. The club meets once a month, and L asked the ladies if they'd like to donate pajamas to the Pajama Program.

Well, the "What a Tweet Club" members donated 70 pajama sets........ each one as cute as can be, in every size for every age boy and girl...... I was absolutely overwhelmed with their generosity. 70 pajamas and 8 books...... all will be distributed to kids in and around this area.

That latest donation brings our numbers up to 1,782 pajamas, 700 books, and 114 slippers. (Our flip-flop slipper girl still brings me a huge bin filled with slippers each month.... each one cute and colorful and you just have to smile when you see them all!)

Another nice surprise for the Pajama Program...... a volunteer who lives in the northwest part of the city has offered to start up a separate Chapter for the downtown area there. I was thrilled to hear that, and the lady who volunteered to head that Chapter sounds so sweet and enthusiastic..... she can't wait to get started. Hopefully, she'll be up and running in a couple of weeks or so.

All of that means that my Chapter will be re-named "Houston Southeast," and the second Chapter will be "Houston Northwest." This city is certainly big enough to carry two chapters. It was getting very hard for me to keep all of the shelters and agencies supplied with pajamas and books. There are just so many children in crisis centers, and now we'll have two chapters instead of just the one. (Did I say all of the shelters and agencies? -- Unfortunately, there are too many shelters/agencies to count. My Chapter supplies only a handful with pajamas. In a perfect world, we wouldn't need "crisis centers" for families.)

A wonderful surprise from an volunteer angel, when I least expected it.

Pumpkins in the garden...

"Autumn" is officially here...... I drove to one of the local churches to buy a bunch of pumpkins for the flowerbeds in the front of the house. The church where I get them every year sets up a huge straw-covered pumpkin patch on the church grounds....... hundreds of pumpkins in all sizes, at very reasonable prices, and all the money goes to church, which is nice.

So even though our Autumn temperature is still in the high 80s, there are now six pumpkins sitting in the flowerbeds. We probably won't carve them for Halloween..... it's too hot here, and the pumpkin faces quickly turn ugly, which isn't a bad thing, considering it's Halloween, but they get soft and mushy and filled with ants-- which isn't a good thing. So the pumpkins will be face-less once again this year. I thought of making pumpkin people--- three pumpkins, with the largest one on the bottom, a medium one in the middle, and a small one for the head... like a snowman... but I couldn't figure out how to attach the three pumpkins together. I thought the pumpkin people would look cute..... although I'm sure the neighbors would think I've lost my mind.

Speaking of neighbors...... just about everyone has called to RSVP for the Halloween party.... we're just waiting for a few of our friends, the same ones who are usually the last to call. I'll wait till the end of the week before I start calling them, to see if they'll be here. 23 people so far, not counting my husband and myself.... and I'm betting that just about everyone will be here in costume.

We've also got a jump-start on Thanksgiving...... I mailed out dinner invitations and our friends have already called to tell us they'll be here. I've already made the place cards and filled up the gift-bags for Thanksgiving...... pretty leaf-shaped soaps and guest towels with a leaf design that I had bought after last year's holiday.

I haven't bought anything new for Halloween, and I won't be buying any Thanksgiving decorations either. Same for Christmas...... we surely have more than we need for Christmas, and I will probably go through all the Christmas decorations and donate some of those things as well. In my holiday storage closet, I have everything I need for our Valentine's party next year, as well as our St. Patty's Day lunch, and even Easter. There's even stuff in there for an Ice Cream Sundae party, which we were supposed to have this past summer but we just never got around to it.

Downtown Greek Festival

This weekend is the annual Greek festival in the downtown area of Houston. I think this is nearly the 40th year that the Annunciation Church has held this four-day festival on the church grounds. Wonderful food..... we went there yesterday afternoon for lunch, and came home with to-go boxes that should last till the middle of next week. The auditorium of the school was filled with vendors selling everything from Greek cookbooks to gold jewelry from Greece. We looked around for a while and then I told my husband we needed to stop looking before I forgot my promise to myself not to buy any more jewelry.

I'm glad we decided to go yesterday because today is rainy and dreary.... pouring rain, actually. Once again, the backyard has turned into a soggy green carpet of grass. No matter how thick the grass gets here, a good soaking rain turns it into a huge wet lawn-sponge.

Our Halloween party is coming up and the RSVPs have been coming in. And my husband's sister and brother-in-law are coming for a weekend visit the week before the party. She hasn't been here since 1993, and her husband hasn't ever been here. They will be sleeping at a nearby hotel, because we no longer have a guest room in this house..... we did away with the guest room in 1998, when we realized that no one we knew up north was wanting to see Texas.