lemonade8

I needed to get that other post off of my front page, and I love the amazing leaves falling everywhere.  The weather here is perfect, like I wish summer would be, and the trees are beautiful and colorful.

Am getting ready for my best holiday, Halloween.  Christmas is beautiful but full of pressure and craziness and freezing weather if you're not lucky.  Thanksgiving for women tends to be a lot of work before, during, and after-then shopping and traffic for fun (?).  Halloween hits just before the holiday madness and is (for me, since I'm not Wiccan or Pagan) just for fun.  You get to dress up outrageously, offer candy (and beer or hot chocolate or bloody marys for the adults at my house) and see a parade of funny kids.  One of my favorites was a kid who dressed up as and said everything in a high pitched Michael Jackson voice.  I could hear him debating with his friends down the street on whether to travel side to side or do zig zag.  Also his "Trick or treeHEET."  My son still says "zig zag, ZIG ZAG" like that to this day.  Also the boy who dressed up like jailbird Martha Stewart.  

Watching Tim Burton movies is always more fun in the autumn, too.    So I'm getting out the decorations and the fog machine, planning on the goody menu for friends and neighbors and am trying to figure out what I'm going to dress up as this year.

My father died last week.  I don't think I've ever been through such an emotional/physical drain in my whole life.  It was three days of holding his hand in hospice, knowing there was nothing anyone could do to help him when he was physically able to go on if only his blood could coagulate.  He should still be here, which is the terrible part.  But my family was wonderful and my brothers and I stuck together.  We all know we are loved, so there is that.  I still wish Dad was here.  I tried to call him two days ago, then it hit me again.  We won't bury him for another month, so there will be no closure for a while.  I will never stop missing him.

Horrible news... Anna XLA has passed away.  She was an amazingly kind, sincerely lovely person.  My world is better for having known her even in the limited capacity of the internet.  I'll miss her renders, her stories, her pictures of her chickens.

This has to be the busiest week of the year for me.  I don't even think I have time to celebrate my birthday.  I have requested a delay from my loved ones.  

So for all the busy people out there, hope you have a great week coming up.

First of all, thank you for all the llamas.  But... um... what are they?  Seriously, I have no idea.  My 'llama status' is 'upgraded' and I have no idea what it is all about and what I should do in return for those who have llama'd me.

I guess I could look it up, but I'm needed elsewhere right now, I shouldn't be on here as it is.  So if anyone can give me the Reader's Digest abridged version, I would be eternally grateful.