Werewolf Bar Mitzvah
Halloween Jukebox [via yewknee]
Mashuptown Massacre

Yewknee's Halloween mix [+ two bonus Halloween mixes from THE PAST]
Team Treehouse: An Experiment in TERROR, Part Two
Monster Mash-Up and Son of Monster Mash-Up
The Bride of Monster Mash-Up

Tiki Chris: 31 Days of Halloween Madness 2007
DIY Halloween
Halloween Photo Tips
Mr. Toast for Halloween

Photo © Gwen Harlow

That man is absolutely terrified of rollercoasters. I can't even tell you how much and I almost always get a bit or more pissed off whenever we go to the amusement park because HELLO, YOU ARE NOT EIGHT and I really, really, really love rollercoasters and in all those daydreams I had about me and Shaun Cassidy? We were holding each other and shrieking with laughter as we rode the rollercoaster at Magic Mountain over and over, and now I have a real-life boyfriend who's a million times better than those dumb little pre-teen fantasies except he won't go on the MF-ing rollercoaster with me.

The charm about Chad is that once in awhile he'll agree to go, just once, let's be really clear that it's just this one ride and don't expect that next time we're at the boardwalk he's going to do it again, let alone tonight, but he'll go, and we walk up to the ticket booth and spend $9 on a pair of one-ride tickets and stand in line and climb into the car and he turns to me, white-knuckled and all the blood drained from his face, a moment before we careen down the track, and asks where it is they take the picture because he doesn't want to look so scared this time because it's a little embarrassing and god, I love that man sometimes, you don't even know.

Photo © Gwen Harlow

There were about 80 warnings when we did our online reservations about the bears. The two ladies running the camp warned us about the bears several times. The folks in town told us that bears have been parading about like they own the place all summer and hoped we'd be careful. They terrified us with their bear tales and we were stored everything -- even our lip balms! -- in the bear locker and then we saw NO BEARS AT ALL and it was a bit disappointing.

» More photos from our summer vacation 2007

Photo © D'arby

[Photo stolen from my child, who took this most awesome self-portrait.]

D'arby and her bandmate on the Typhoon, which is the two giant hammers that swing back and forth in opposite directions and you're sitting in the hammerhead and eventually you make it all the way around and at that moment it is better than the Giant Dipper and all the drop rides put together, being upside down and barely held inside this aluminum-barred car by a fraying old 1960s-style seatbelt and you hear change jingling out of pockets and bouncing on the ground a million miles below your head.

You *wish* you were 16 again.

Photo © bezitted

the craftsmanship and design of this makes me weep. the banana seat. the gearshift. the sissy bar. reminds me of when i was pre-teen trouble, riding around my suburban denver planned community, one-half willie ames, the other half one of my bad girl babysitters with a dog-eared copy of petals on the wind in her giant purse featuring a polaroid bookmark of her naked save for rollerskates, to be sent to the peter frampton fan club. who wouldn't want to ride off into the sunset on this work of bike art?

Photo © Gwen Harlow

Today's Photobooth Friday!

The summer Chad arrived, a little more than a month after he showed up on my doorstep. D'arby was at her dad's, we wanted to go somewhere but didn't have a car so we took Greyhound to Santa Cruz, his first visit to one of my favorite places. The arcade on the boardwalk has several photobooths. We had dinner at Positively 8th Street? 6th Street? A little diner that was written up in the weekly and had a train running around the room near the ceiling, we were never able to find it again, I think it closed. Walked along the promenade, down the pier. It was our first trip together.

Photo © Gwen Harlow

Have you checked out Cade? I know I told you to, but maybe you forgot. He does the hilarious blue doll story sets, Barbie's Love Dilemma and Barbie in the Big House -- be sure to read the captions, they're almost as good as the photos.

Also fabulous: his Self Portraits, especially The Twelfth of Never. And the bathtub one. Dead sexy and hanging on my bulletin board. I never get tired of looking at that photo.

None of this is particularly safe for work. Like that ever stopped you.

Photo © Gwen Harlow

The annual Oakland Museum of California White Elephant Sale was this weekend. I went once, a really long time ago, and barely remember it. I probably blocked it out because it is jam-packed with everything under the son and there's this Byzantine 18-step method for purchasing anything [which you must go through for each department] and omg there is so much stuff. The books section totally freaked me out.

Haul:
small wooden pelican for Chad: $18.50
rusty old edger for the yard: $2 [it works!]
a couple cards of vintage buttons: $2.30
folio of old photographs of Mexico: 25¢

I love succulents. There's a house down the street where the whole front is dozens and dozens of pots of all manner of succulents, and I'd love to have at least a section like that here. The Christmas cactus I tried to start off with last month didn't make it through a deluge and a bunch of cold, so here are attempts #2 and #3, though I just read that that lovely flower means my cute little desert lotus is going to die. I guess that's my lesson for today, don't count your hens & chicks.

The lava rock planter came with the house and has been sitting out in the yard gathering moss all winter.

Bunches more after the jump...

Photo © Gwen Harlow

A bit late but it's good through March.
Download printable PDF of January-March 2007
Original photo

Photo © Gwen Harlow

When you go to the dentist and it turns out you have an abcess and need a root canal first thing Monday but in the meantime get a something-otomy to relieve the pressure on the nerve and it requires eight shots of novacaine because damn, that is one messed-up tooth:

Do not run right out and eat a sandwich, even if you've been in so much pain that you haven't been able to eat in days, because you will gnaw half your lip away without feeling a thing and not realize it til hours later when someone points out that OMG WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR LIP, and you will go look in the mirror, and you will be very, very sorry.

Anyone coming to the flickrmeet at the base tomorrow who tries to get a shot of my face will get the end of my boot instead.

Photo © Gwen Harlow

Am taking suggestions for a name for my bonsai.
A bunch of fresh garden photos after the cut.

Photo © Gwen Harlow

2006 was the absolute worst year ever. 2007 better do a 180 or someone's going down.

On the base next to the ships, watching the SF fireworks, L-Rish: me, Chad, Tim passive-aggressively covering up Gary, Maria, D'arby, Victoria, Lily.

Photo © Gwen Harlow

It's mid-December and fall's finally here!

Photo © Gwen Harlow