Well thanks lieu. You just brought on another laugh-induced coughing fit. 
Moooom, I’ll take a slice of pineapple upside down cake. Did you put a maraschino in the middle of each pineapple slice?
We went hiking Saturday at Starved Rock State Park in Illinois. It was very cool, extremely hilly, and we estimate we walked up 500 steps. There are dirt trails, some very narrow with 100 foot drop offs the side, concrete trails, wooden bridges, a waterfall, trails along the bluffs (hence the steps to get up to the bluffs), trails along the river. We walked for about 2.5 hours. The best part was finding the sign for Basswood Canyon. Someone scratched off the B so the sign read Asswood Canyon. We laughed for about 15 minutes.
Trick or treat hours in my village are 3pm-7pm. I probably won’t be home til 6 at the earliest and since I live in a condo, get very few, if any, trick or treaters. So I get to eat the bag of Nestle Crunches I bought!
Of course I do - what to you think I am - a savage??? in fact, even tho my recipe says use a half a cherry, I use a whole cherry. But I used half slices of pineapple rings, which doubled the number of cherries! Normally, I prefer to use crushed pineapple, but I didn’t have any, so rings it was. And did you know that if you use the pineapple juice in the cake instead of water, it’s mega-yum!!
OK, I’m showered, dressed, and I have a shopping list ready to go. I just need to gather the household trash, load the truck, and head to the convenience center before hitting the grocery store(s). You better behave yourselves while I’m gone. If my computer is TP’d when I get back, I will be mightily displeased! 
I’m sorry to break it to you but maraschino cherries are vile.
more for me then…
And now I’m going for real. Stop distracting me!!!
Two MMPs merged.
Ellen
Are Ellen Marachino Cherries vile? Inquiring minds want to know!
EEEEEEEeeeeeeKKKKKK! My tea kettle is posessed by an evil tea kettle spirit and it’s started screeeeaming and rattling 'cause the kettle spirit knows I’m planning to replace it. :eek: Tea kettles got internet? Yes they do (cite: my stove) and this spirit’s po’d! Just look at it over there swooping it’s spout, boiling hot steam trying to cook me like dim sum.
Gaahh! It just tried to jump at me! I can’t even reach the tongs so’s to defend myself-- it’s curtains, it’s death by a million drops of water, it’s— hey, ummm… the lid’s on a little crooked and the burner isn’t flat. Nevermind. No evil kettle spirits here; move along, move along…
Just to be certain I think I might want to re-check all of your suggestions right away. Proof of good** MMP** juju, I liked 'em all and just have to find a ouji board to help me choose.
Anybody dressing up today? I think I’ll just put a little temp red color in my hair and wear a matching dress. The horns and babydoll head necklace will have to stay at home because I think that would be the straw that blows my therapist’s head clean off.
I sincerely hope some kids come by this year. Last year there wasn’t a one and Sweet Pea was disappointed hardly anyone saw her in her imp costume.
Off to check the candy to make sure it’s all as promised on the package. Then chicken tortilla casserole, yummm, to assemble.
I am at irk, not irked but very busy! I lost access to everything last Thursday after the uni finally got round to processing my leaver’s form and deciding that I was no longer employed here. Luckily I got it all back again today when they realised I had come back via an agency so all is well again.
Sad person that I am, I did check yesterday to see if I had my access back again and thought I’d better come in early today because there was an email requesting copying and stuff for today, but the guy who sent it doesn’t tell me what sessions the info is for and since the slides and session titles don’t match, it’s hard to work out what stuff I’ve actually done!
I barely made it to the MMP last week and only had a brief chance to read so I’m sending rosie’s sig to everyone…
We brought home another dog last night. His name is Charlie. He’s a chihuahua. He’s probably 5 or so, and is quite the pudgeball.
My son and DIL-to-be couldn’t keep him. they only took him to stop him from going to a shelter.
Either you used a strange lens or that’s the biggest chihuahua in the world!!! CUUUUUUTTTTEEEE! Kinda looks like a corgi. SQUEEEEEEE!
So much for my claim on the coveted tenth spot.Ellen bumped me to #14. 
Still sick. Going to go to the Dr. today. Enough of this. I would like to be able escort my kids tonight without being a real zombie.
he’s definitely got that “puppy dog eyes” look down to a T
Mornin’ all. It is cold here. Of course, we also have the heat set to 63 to keep the power bill down.
Didn’t I tell you Nawtherners that the bears were down fattening up early this year? Trust the bears. They will tell you what the winter will be.
The black bears, anyway. I’m not sure what swamp bears are like on predicting weather. 
swamp bears think 60˚F is cold
**swampbear **can’t tell you what the weather will be next season, but he’ll tell you what the *faaaaaaaaaabulous *will be wearing next season. 
And I’m back from my morning running about. Trash has been trashed, recycling has been recycled, groceries have been, um, groced and are awaiting stowage in the pantry, and I’m having lunch. My sweetie called a few minutes ago, and I may have a job lined up after the first of the year. We shall see how that goes - it’s full-time temp, and I think he said the contract is 20 months. So yay! I hope…
Since I’m already here and all, I’ll take this opportunity to whiiiiiiiiiiiine about my refrigerator, which, appropriately, seems to have died on Halloween. It was among the walking (or running—hey, it’s a refrigerator!) dead all last week, during which time I lost three containers of cottage cheese and ricotta that were waiting to become lasagna — and nearly a whole gallon of milk and quart of buttermilk as well as various assorted leftovers. Mad face. Some items refugeed in my mom’s fridge up the street, so not all was lost.
So, to recap: zombie fridge, now dead = expensive purchase. Good news: Hey, I get a new fridge! I want one of those french-door jobbies.
contractor A was here Friday evening. I spent last night going over things that need to be done with my brother. Contractor B will be here this evening. Now I have to rent a PODS and hire folks to pack me up and stuff the container. oy.
rosie you have my sympathy. I hate moving with a fiery passion. Might be those 6 years in foster care. I’ve had enough with moving. I hope I never have to leave this house. It also taught me the benefit of not carrying on the family pack rat tradition. Doing all the moving stuff just to stay in the same house seems like a perfect punishment for hell for me.
So far today I have:
Called National Grid to report the tree on the lines. Finally actually got to talk to a person.
Called the oil company to cancel the delivery.
Called the chimney sweep to make sure they’re still coming.
Called Firestone to find out when the car will be done.
Called Terminix to find out why the bill is so damn high and to schedule a visit (thanks to the rat terrier finding meeces for us).
Paid the mortgage and all the October and November bills (except the Nov. Mortgage) and balanced the checkbook.
Cleaned out the fireplace to prepare it for cleaning (does that make sense to anyone but me?)
Got stuck in the sweeping loop and had to force myself to stop when the coughing fit caused me to nearly pass out.
Gave Sweetie a shopping list.
More laundry.
What am I forgetting?
I haven’t gotten to read yet, but I wanted to ask for good thoughts to go out to a friend. She had breast cancer and had a mastectomy previously, but today is the reconstructive surgery. So she could use some positive energy.
I’ll be back later when I have more time to read! ::zoom::