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Halloween
Pleasure usually takes the form of me and now; joy is us and always.
-- Marvin J. Ashton
Sunday, October 31, 1999
One year ago: Trolloween
Two years ago: Trolloween
I spent Saturday morning working on graphics for next month's journal design. I'm attempting a few things that I haven't done recently (or ever, perhaps!) so it's taking me a bit longer than normal.
Jack called me to tell me that he felt too sick (a bad cold) to come down to see me the next day. I was really disappointed! So I threw myself into doing work around the house. I know that he's made real efforts to see me since he's lived in Bellingham, which I was concerned about before he moved there. But it's still frustrating when circumstances get in the way of what I want!
In the early evening I went over to Vonda and Jane's house, where we were scheduled for a collating work session for Potlatch. We need to get the Progress Report folded, stamped, and mailed. It was dinner time, and even though we'd probably be ordering in pizza, I couldn't wait! So I brought along some of that Athenos feta cheese spread I like so much, with the mini Stoned Wheat crackers, and shared that around as folks arrived.
Ian, our chairperson, was the last to arrive. He was totally bummed! The print shop had changed its hours, closing at six o'clock instead of seven, so he'd been unable to get our PR! No work would be accomplished that evening. We decided that whoever could make it would turn up the next day and do the mailing then.
After a good long session of discussion on possible places to go eat, we finally resolved on the Chinese restaurant a block and a half away. I've eaten takeaway food from there before, but had never gone inside. This is an odd place, built into a house rather than a normal commercial building, and it's the only business around! The kitchen was practically in the dining room.
There was only one person working, a man who did double or triple duty as host, waiter, and chef. He did a fine job, too, except for very limited English that made it a bit difficult to communicate the vegetarian desires of one of our group. "Is there egg batter on the egg rolls, or are they really spring rolls?" "Egg?? You want more egg roll?"
Because of the small staff, the dishes we ordered came one at a time, rather than all at once in the way I'm used to at Chinese restaurants around here. This worked well, I think! Suzle said it was like the Chinese restaurants (of the humble Cantonese type) that she and Jerry used to frequent in New York.
I know that several times I came out with some bon mot that made everyone laugh -- of course, I can't remember now what I said! But getting the crowd reaction like that is one of my favorite things.
I was in a better mood by the time I came home. I'd had thoughts about going to see a movie, but dinner didn't finish up until too late. So I put on a laser disc of Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro, the Peter Sellars production. Mozart is always enjoyable and uplifting. I felt this time (this hadn't struck me before) that James Maddelena, as the count, was really too violent -- it turned the relationship between him and the countess totally disfunctional, with him actually throwing her to the floor numerous times.
* * * * * * * *
Did you remember to turn your clocks back? I did so as I went to bed Saturday night.
This morning I worked for quite a while on next month's design again. At one point I thought I'd screwed something up, so I closed without saving to try and get it back. D'oh! I'd been working without saving for longer than I'd thought, so a lot of what I'd done was poof! gone for good. I swore heartily for a few minutes, then started again to recreate what I'd done.
In the afternoon, we reconvened at Jane and Vonda's house to do folding and stapling. It was a gorgeous afternoon! The maple trees on Stone Way, the main drag near their street, were at the peak of crimson and gold.
We finished the folding in about an hour and a half, chatting merrily the while. Vonda put a topic to us that she's been wondering about: if most staple foods in the eastern hemisphere (Europe, Africa, Asia) are microbially based (bread, beer, cheese, kraut), why isn't that so in the Western hemisphere? We speculated on that, but came to the conclusion that a lot of small factors probably gave that result, not one big reason: different weather, no large draft animals, no wheat, and so on. Brewing is known in the Americas, but it was for ceremonial reasons, not a staple of everyday life.
After the work party broke up, I walked with Vonda to the commercial part of Wallingford, since she had some errands to run and it was such a nice day. I was very pleased to find some of that Sage Derby green cheese I like! I always buy it whenever I find it, to try and lobby in favor of the grocery store carrying it.
On the way back to Vonda's house, we met some new neighbors of hers, just getting their new house ready to move into. I didn't know that Vonda is the block-watch captain. She explained the intricacies of the local recycling system (which varies depending on which company picks up the trash in your neighborhood) and welcomed them to the area.
Even though it was still light during this walk, parents were already bringing their tiny kids to get candy at the various stores. I don't think this is a good Halloween developement, though I can see why they do it. Masking and teasing your neighbors is the real trick-or-treat (though I don't think we did any tricking when we were growing up).
On my way home, I stopped at the Broadway Market Fred Meyer store. I like to buy their store brand for one of the personal care products I use. It's an expensive item, and the savings from buying the store brand are substantial! And this is a case where I'm convinced that the results are exactly the same. I also bought a historical romance novel (middle ages variety), some peppermint patties that aren't peppermint (called "Pearson's Butter Cremes") and some other candy for my bowl at work.
Jack had called while I was out, so I called him back. He's feeling much better today, which is a good thing. I told him I'd decided to stay home tonight, rather than go to Trolloween. I hadn't made sure (by doing any recruiting) that there would be other folks there that I know, and I didn't feel like going by myself, though I have done that in the past. Jack felt bad that I didn't go, but I don't blame him for it; it was my decision. I hope he's able to come down sometime next weekend, but family stuff might keep him away. I want to go to Vanguard, and there's a dance workshop Saturday and Sunday morning that I want to do, and more Potlatch stuff also! The weekend after that is Orycon, so I'll be in Portland. (Jack plans to attend with me, but...) Thanksgiving is two weeks after that, but I've no idea what we'll be doing.
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