Scary stuff happens
Coveting: Boxes of Fun
Listening: monte disco’s aint nothing going on but the rent
Reading: the 2010 Jokes calendar, as in:
What did the peanut say to the walnut?
Pecan someone your own size!
Went to the Día de los Muertos festival in Oakland yesterday, wore the Frida headdress I’d made for my daughter the day before. Had a couple tacos and a new pair o’ novios, then went over to Sarah’s late for the juiciest BBQd pork ever and some serious girl company [which was good, I don't remember the last time I sat around with a bunch of ladies].
Halloween was a reception at Autobody Art Gallery, which is always fantastic and this month even more so, then barhopping on Park Street.
I’m getting my work done, but it’s kind of hard, some people are going nuts studying for the GRE and the leaf blowers are running non-stop [awhile back, I heard about a measure to eradicate these beasts here on The Island, whatever happened to that?]. And of course the helicopters hover day and night around here, what with the closed bridge [yes, still] and then the ensuing but allegedly unrelated oil spill [yes, again]. And the time changed, so it’s almost sunset already. Crazy stuff.
Woof.
There’s a pretty awesome little doggy parade here in Alameda every year — Howl-O-Ween! — and a photo of mine from back in 2006 is featured on Boing Boing today.
The first comment cracks me up:
And people wonder why dogs suddenly turn on their owners…
Of interest on Chad’s birthday
1. Michael Jackson’s This Is It is rated PG for some suggestive choreography and scary images.
2. Three things I have made recently:
Date day at the pumpkin patch
I finished sorting through the photos from our date day at the pumpkin farm. Here are some of my favorites:
I love the handmade signs along Highway 1 advertising this farm or that.
Arata’s Farm has been in the pumpkin business since 1932. They have a really big hay labyrinth and you can wander around the grounds admiring all the corn and pumpkins. It’s very picturesque.
I don’t know what these pumpkins are called. They make me think of Cinderella’s carriage, and the color changes from grey to blue to green as you move around. The owner told us they are the best for making pumpkin pie — they’re orange inside. I picked one out to bring home but haven’t cut it open yet.
This is mine. Is it not the best pumpkin ever?
Pumpkins come in all sizes!
Do people still call this Indian corn? Is there a more PC name for it? Native American corn? The colors are amazing. We bought some tiny ones to bring home for the mantle.
I came very close to bringing this one home, too. But I only need so many pumpkins.
Chad of the Corn!
This made me think of me and Chad. That’s me on the left.
» More photos from Date Day: Half Moon Bay / Arata’s Pumpkin Farm
Date day: Pumpkins!
We went on our quasi-weekly date yesterday. It was supposed to be very cold [mid-60s!] but ended up warmer, we went to Half Moon Bay, which is across the bay and over the hills of the San Francisco Peninsula.
Half Moon Bay is the local pumpkin capital, this weekend is the annual Pumpkin Festival. I haven’t actually been to that one, it’s enough of a nightmare driving down that one little road that goes over there on a normal weekend without adding in tens of thousands of families who want to see record-breakingly large pumpkins.
It is perfectly fine going over there on a Thursday in early October. There are enough people doing the same that the numerous pumpkin patches and all the corn mazes are open but you are not spending an hour in traffic to go three miles.
Once in Half Moon Bay, we stopped at my favorite bakery for a carrot cake mini-bundt then headed further south to Arata’s Pumpkin Farm where we wandered around the corn fields and admired pumpkins and took photos. I picked out a Cinderella-style flattish green-blueish pumpkin and Chad got some mini-gourds and Indian corn. The owner told us we can put it in a bag when we’re done and stick it in the microwave and it’ll pop.
Next stop was Pescadero for the Arcangeli market’s amazing artichoke garlic bread [note to self for next time: buy a couple of the par-baked loaves to bring home because HOLY CHEESE, THAT IS SOME GOOD BREAD] and a little salami, then we popped over to Harley Farms to gorge ourselves on samples and buy some goat cheese to go with the bread. It was the end of the day for them and we were the only ones there, the owner and another woman were happily chatting in the back the whole time we were snacking then popped out exactly when we were ready to go.
I wanted to go sit in the cemetery but Chad has a thing about that so instead we continued driving down that little road that goes the other way from the highway, thinking we’d find a little place to sit down, but it quickly turned into shoulderless hillside and we drove all the way over to San Gregorio and the beach was right there, so that’s where we ate.
Then we sat admiring the ocean, which was that perfect silvery-blue with the sunlight reflecting a huge swath of gold down the middle, until Chad had to head back for his tennis class.
Halloween is coming.
You’re looking forward to it, I can tell.
I found a brown skirt I’d forgotten I got that will go perfectly with my peach jacket and I dug out all my flower brooches and my brown knit cap and the green scarf I MADE MYSELF so I’m good to go. Need more tights.
Upcoming today and on, so you can stalk me:
Th Full Moon Buy Night @ JLS – crafts & stuff
Th Craft night at Julie’s. Come with? it’s at 6 or 7. Chad’ll probably drop me off over there around 5:30 before his tennis class.
Th Porkchop Express at Starry Plough. $6 and they’re awesome and Kevin the bassist is dreamy.
F Yelp Non-Prom Boat Cruise thing 5:30.
F-Su Hardly Strictly Bluegress, which is this amazing free music festival some guy with too much money puts on every year.
Sa Chad taking practice GRE 9 a.m.
Su Sundays in the Redwoods [Ledisi's next week]
Su Hot Tub/Castro St. Fair
Next Su/11 Space Shuttle sightings return to Alameda [you can look up your local]
17/18 HMB Pumpkin Fest 2009
Through 18 Quasi-RenFaire








































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