We Now Return to our Regular Schedule

Winds have died down

The Archeologist was allowed back into her home around 6:00 last night.

Also allowed back was the Baker’s daughter — married to a firefighter, who’d also been evacuated.

I was still smelling smoke as late as 10:00 p.m., but the hot spots must have been cleared otherwise evacuees would not have been allowed to return.

Hopefully, that’s the last of the Santa Annas as today we return to our regularly scheduled programming, with me fiddling away the morning, rather than rushing around performing just in case preparations.

Yesterday’s costume party was a hoot.

Residents showed up in groves.

Even the Seer and Shadow, though not wearing costumes, came out of seclusion to join the festivities.

Having not seen Shadow for many months, I was shocked to see how his physique had deteriorated. Too much sitting, not doing anything other than back and forth from his unit to the Seer’s, has him now with a protruding belly that reminded me of how I looked 9 months pregnant with twins.

Inactivity is a slow death around here.

Church Lady was of course in attendance, looking cute in an angel outfit.

Surprisingly, her “friend” (Quiet Old Guy), who is always always always in the Community Room, did not come out to play. Neither did Hoochie Mama, who also is now always in the Community Room.

Were the two of them off somewhere together? Maybe when Quiet Old Guy asked Church Lady to be his "friend" he meant exactly that, i.e., I'm not interested so let's just be friends. Time will tell.

Though the number of residents in costumes was disproportionate to the many in the room, with twelve entering the contest, it was an improvement on the usual three or four. With so little competition in the past, I always came in first place.

Not this time. My winning streak was broken by a Wicked Witch outfit, complete with apple in hand.

So sweet she was. Surprised and happy to have taken first place, she cried.

I didn’t mind my streak being broken. I’d actually done nothing special by way of costume this year. Because I was coming to the party directly from working out, I’d repurposed the leggings and top I’d worn to the Batman 5K as everyday workout gear but, for this event, called it a costume.

It fit the bill and garnered lots of compliments from the seniors. Especially from Handsome Guy, who rarely participates in group gatherings, but was in attendance and paid a little too much attention to yours truly.

At one point, he asked me to pose for a photo to his phone.

I obliged, but not sure how I feel about that — his having a pic of me on his phone.

From past experiences of guys lying to boost their street creds, “You’d better not go around telling your friends this is my girlfriend”, cautioned I. And just in case he didn’t get the message, I worked into a conversation we were later having about people in the room that, at 75, soon to be 76, I was older than a great majority of folks in the room.

Handsome Guy was surprised, but continued to follow me around.

With not much in the way of eye candy around here, I do enjoy seeing Handsome Guy flashing his pearly whites (That's not a protruding belly on him. It's the way the top falls), but flirting with me is a waste of time. I’m too busy and content to be bothered.

Apache, in his Big Bad Werewolf outfit, was pretty much in character.

He tried to rile the room by bringing a friend ….

Like I said in previous posts, residents have learned to ignore his nonsense. No one paid the 45-Jack-O-Lantern any mind.

Apache tells me there's a new manager in the office, and that he’s already told the guy, “I’m going to be your worst nightmare”.

The new guy has barely put his foot in the door and Apache is already planning an attack.

That's not right and, just like his buddy No. 45, Apache is going to find himself one day impeached.

Church Lady's Angel outfit, took 2nd place in the costume contest.

Third place was a cute little resident dressed as a brown cow.