Happy Halloween???

Having awakened to the smell of smoke and news of a new fire in the area, only time will tell if this is going to be a Happy Halloween.

I don't remember hearing sirens or helicopters during the night, but the Hillside fire is only 1.5 miles away (thus the smell of smoke inside) ─ over by the Dog Park, a Starbucks, the Golf Course and the school where a husband walked into the classroom and killed his wife last year/year before.

The Archeologist lives smack dab in the middle of that area.

Having just run into her at the market two days ago, I know it’s just she and the kids, as her husband is out of town on business.

Checking Facebook for her status, I learned she’d been impacted in a big way.

Hopefully her home is intact when she's allowed to return.

With the University having been closed two/three days in a row, the Archeologist evacuated, I decided to take no chances at the fire spreading and jumping this way, or power being cut so, instead of dilly dallying around this morning, I quickly got myself fed, bathed and dressed ─ in my Bat Woman outfit from the recent 5K because, if our luck holds out here at the complex ... if the day continues to be business as usual for us, directly after working out in the pain cave, I’ll be heading to the Community Room for the costume contest party.

Silly as it seems, I also made the bed and straightened up things in the unit ─ all the while asking myself why I was hurrying to do so because, if we ended up in danger, how put together this unit is will not much matter, especially if it burns.

It’s always bad around here during fire season, but this season is the worst ... crazy scary.

On another note, a less scary note, Mildred posted a clip from Witches of Eastwick, saying Jack Nicholson always gets her in that scene and asked readers to “Post a Movie Scene” that gets them.

For me, it’s a scene from The Closer, where Deputy Chief Brenda Lee Johnson has been ordered to humiliate herself by apologizing to three higher ups for having embarrassed them by being better at her job than they were at theirs.

Is it weird that I long ago recorded that scene and keep it on my cellphone? 

Cupcake Wars

Yesterday’s event was a smashing success, but it always is when the Residents Volunteer Activity Committee (RVA) is involved.

The RVA has age and experience on its side, while our younger Activity Director, though an okay girl, struggles to find ways to draw a crowd.

Activity Director was on the premises (I saw her car in the parking lot), but she had the good sense to not come into the Community Room, ask us sign in so Corporate could take credit for a successful event.

Though I wasn’t able to fit decorating into my schedule, I did stick around long enough to learn how to make graveyard dirt out of Oreo cookies and to snap a few photos of cupcake decorating in progress.

A young visitor, popping in to see her grandpa, used the Oreo dirt, gummy worms and came up with this cute graveyard cupcake.

Heading out, I managed to snap a photo of this over the top cupcake, which I thought was winning Cupcake Wars.

It’s the creation of a new resident, one who has already earned herself a reputation of being desperate ─ because she’s so aggressively coming onto the men.

This new resident upset Church Lady last week, because Church Lady has formed a bond with the old guy who moved into my quad October of last year ─ the man whom Nosey described as “Black and not walking so good”.

He’s a quiet old guy, does appear to have trouble moving but, with the aid of a walker, slowly gets around and still drives.

I’d noticed some time ago that he and Church Lady were spending a lot of time together, and made an assumption they’d made a special bond.

Sure enough, it was just last week when Church Lady pulled me aside to say Quiet Old Guy had asked her, “Will you be my friend?”

I thought, how cute. Both are younger than I, but neither is in good shape ─ he on a walker, she can't seem to straighten her spine and uses a cane. So being each other’s “friend”, in their mutual poor conditions, takes on a sweet rather than sensual meaning.

At any rate, when Church Lady was telling me about being asked to be his friend, she pointed to that new resident and said, “See that woman over there? I don’t appreciate her hanging all over ___. He asked ME to be his friend and here she comes, sitting at our table, wearing a low cut top showing all of this (indicating buxom) and hugging on him".

I was amused, but held it in, didn’t show amusement on my face, because Church Lady was serious.

So serious that she asked me to pray on the situation.

God has bigger more pressing issues to attend to than helping Church Lady hang onto a man, thought I. So, I did not agree to pray, but diverted her from the request by saying, “You have nothing to worry about. He chose you because you’re a lady. He seems a gentleman, not likely to want a hoochie mama type”.

I could have been wrong because, at the cupcake event, Church Lady cornered me and said something about, “He asked ME to be his friend, but he came in and ...” We were interrupted, so I didn’t catch the rest of what she said ─ didn't really care and am almost to the point of telling Church Lady to cut it out/grow up, but I did see the new resident (let’s call her Hoochie Mama) greet Quiet Old Guy by hugging him and kissing his cheek.

Sometimes, around here is like high school all over again, LOL.

At any rate, as I was saying, at first glance, I thought Hoochie Mama’s over the top cupcake was great. But late yesterday afternoon, while editing and posting photos taken to the residents facebook page, it gave me pause when I noticed that long piece of candy precariously dangling strategically under the skeleton.

I refuse to think it’s me, having a dirty mind, imagining this to signify what it looks to signify, but rather, considering Hoochie's repuration,  it is exactly the x-rated thing Hoochie intended it to be.

Oh well. It’s on the facebook page now.

I wasn’t able to post my creations to the facebook post. I did my decorating late that afternoon, in my unit, and couldn’t figure out how to add additional photos to the already published post.

My decorating skills fell far short of the gore I’d intended and came out rather cute as I recreated ideas I’d previously seen on Pinterest.

Bloody Claw Marks

Mummy

Smashed Witch

Next up is Thursday’s Halloween Costume Party.

The mother of the little girl who made the graveyard cupcake said she’d bring her by so we could see her costume.

I’m going to have to run to the market, pick up some treats for her trick or treat bag.

Craft Day

Today is the Cupcake Decorating event.

The winds have been howling through the complex. So loud the other night that I mistook the sound for thunder.

It confused the PokémonGo app as well.

Checking the app to see if there were any Halloween Pikachu in the area, the game showed rain outside, when there clearly was not.

The good news is we still have power. So, with nothing bad going on near enough for us to be concerned about, and with our power thus far being a go, today is business as usual.

Not so with the university down the street. Without the usual advanced notice, their power was cut for a third time ─ mid-morning yesterday, without warning, while operations were in full swing, leaving some folks trapped in elevators.

I just don’t know if the outages, and threats of outage, are really serving a purpose.

Cupcake decorating doesn’t start until 11:00, which will give me time enough, before I leave for the pain cave, to take a few pics, but may not allow time for me to do any decorating.

Having watched so much of Food Network’s Halloween shows this month, it’s in my mind to try my hand at something gory. So, if not enough time to decorate with the seniors, I’ll just take one or two cupcakes upstairs, do my decorating when I return.

Hopefully, Apache won’t come to the event wearing his Make America Great hat, beating his chest at his hero having killed an Isis leader. But, if he does, I’ve got the duct tape all ready to go. Except, I saw on one of your blogs where “Great” had been peeled back and “Russia” was revealed, turning the phrase into “Make Russia Great Again”. I thought that much better than my idea to change Apache’s hat to “Make America Suck”.

He ain’t gone like it. Lol.

What Apache will like is that I did indeed turn those images, received from 45’s reelection organization, into a gift with Apache's name on it.

Side 1

Side 2

Could not decide on which image liked best, so I made back to back different images. Encased in a sealed holder, looks  pretty darn legit. ROFLMAO!

When I first blogged about those images, Mike commented “We need a card that just says Impeachment Official.

Here you go Mike. This one’s for you :-)

And while we’re on the subject of 45, it made me sooooo happy to read he was booed, and there were chants of “Lock him up”, at the game. That guy feeds on being pandered to, so those boos and chants will torture him forever.

I love it!

As I type out this post, I’m listening to the news.

It was just said there was a hero dog involved in the overtaking of the Isis leader, and that the dog would be invited to the White House.

I hope the dog declines the invite ─ barks, “Thanks, but no thanks”.

Endorphin Less

Saturday’s 5k was not the endorphin high I usually get. Instead, I arrived back at the complex sore all over and completely drained of energy.

Not sure if it was the heat or the boredom.

Few were in attendance.

I reasoned the poor attendance on this being an inaugural event, mostly known about by friends/family of firefighters and first responders. The organizers were dependent on word getting out to “grow the event”, but it was not advertised through the regular channels (I myself learned of it last minute, and only because I happened to drive up on the electronic sign).

And, because of the fires, though there were some firefighters/first responders representing, those the organizers had depended upon to populate the 5k were out battling the flames.

So, there were few in attendance ... it was a little too hot/humid ... and then there was the course ─ six times around a circular path with nothing to see. It was boring, like watching Nascar with feet instead of cars, and I couldn't just slow down, try to stroll and enjoy the walk while  listening to music on the iPod, because us walkers were being paced around the course by a group of full geared flag carrying firefighters leading the charge.

I did feel for those in gear, no doubt using the event to condition themselves to the rigors of the job. There were a few who actually ran, with either a pack on their back or in gear.

No medals at the finish line, but we were encourage to keep the badge of the 9/11 fallen hero included in our packet and to read his story.

My badge was Eugene Whelan.

The race was on the "honor system" … not timed, not monitored; and I don’t know if it was this “honor system”, the heat, the boredom or the fact there was no medal at the end, but I saw participants up ahead opting to not finish. They left the course. At one point, I turned around and found those behind me had also dropped out, leaving me to finish last in line behind our pacers.

Oh well. The organizers described the event as “an experience”, and it was that ... a boring experience!

No disrespect to fallen heroes, but not my kind of thing.

So Far So Good

Waking up Thursday morning, fully expecting to find power shut off, I was pleasantly surprised to find everything around here was still a go.

Same thing this Friday morning.

Us seniors have so far been lucky, but we’re still not out of the woods.

With fires raging all around us, it’s unnerving to say the least.

We’re taking it a day at a time as the latest message from the utility company is that it “continues to explore options for a potential Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) in your area. No power has been shut off at this time. We are identifying circuits in that area that might be affected by dangerous high winds in high fire risk areas”.

I don’t know how they “identify circuits that might be affected by dangerous high winds”, but the college must fit the bill because their power was cut, causing the college to close down for the second time.

Stopping  into the Community Room after yesterday’s workout, I found Apache wearing his “Make America Great” hat.

That guy just LOVES controversy.

However, everyone is wise to this tactic of trying to get a rise out of someone and ignored the hat.

That is everyone except me.

Though Apache would have liked otherwise, our relationship is that of an annoying little brother/older sister (he's ten years younger). Consequently, I can say things to him that would rise to the level of a loud argument with someone else saying it, so I went with “You wearing that damn hat again? What are you gonna do with it when they impeach him?”

“He’ll be finishing up another four-year term before that happens”, Apache countered.

God forbit, but 45 is slippery, will do anything to escape consequences of his actions, with the support of his self-involved party and unillumined base, so it could happen.

Oh well.

But next time I see Apache wearing that hat, I’m going to write “suck” on duct tape and stick it over the words “great again” changing his hat to “Make America Suck”.

Apache would love what came in this morning’s mail ..... an opportunity to choose one of three styles and own your very own Impeachment Defense Badge.

Crafty girl that I am, I might type Apache’s name into one of these and turn it into a gift.

Topic in the Community Room turned to cancellation of the cupcake decorating event, and us seniors decided to fund the event ourselves.

We don’t need no stinking Corporate or Activity Director.

Baker said she’s got a couple boxes of cake mix in her unit, will make the cupcakes, and we took up a collection and gave her $20 to purchase icings and other decorating supplies.

So, Cupcake Decorating next Tuesday is a go but, I’m going to take a leaf out of Apache’s book of life and stir up some anarchy.

When Activity Director hosts an event, we are required to sign in, as proof Corporate has met its obligation to provide social services to us seniors, something for which they get a tax break.

It's technically Activity Director's event, so she will be present but, inasmuch as she is not funding it, I’m going to encourage the seniors not to sign in.

No ill towards Activity Director, but Corporate should not be getting credit/meeting its quota on this one.

It’s only fair.

Homage to Halloween

Looking at the elaborate Halloween decorations gracing the patios of our seniors, I got bit by the decorating bug, but too late to get a Frankenstin doormat I saw online in a timely manner.

Lucky me ... out and about running errands this morning, I walked up on that wreath in the craft store.

Not only was it marked down to $14 from $50, but it matched my nails.

So, a wreath on the door is my homage to Halloween.

Because of my gut issues, I burst out laughing when I saw these party plates, because it’s pretty much what my gut says to me when I even so much as THINK of putting some forbidden treat in my mouth.

No need for the plates, I restrained myself and did not impulse buy.

I also admired, but did not impulse buy, Home Depot’s animated spooky tree.

Driving away from Home Depot, I passed an electronic road sign advertising a 5K this Saturday.

Upon researching the event, once back at the complex, I learned it’s a doable 19-minute drive, “was created to honor the heroic life and death of a New York City firefighter who lost his life on September 11, 2001 after strapping on his gear and running through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to the Twin Towers” and “Honor all of those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001 and support our first responders and military who make extraordinary sacrifices in the line of duty!” ... “We will also provide every registrant with an FDNY Hero badge from 9/11 so that they all can be carried over the finish line!”

Cool, but I don’t think we get to keep the badge.

Seeing that electronic sign just hours away from the close of online registration, I took as meant for me to see, so I registered ─ even though, according to what I’m reading in the frequently asked questions, a medal at the finish line seems questionable and the event is looking to be a somber rather than fun event.

“FAQs: Will there be awards for running? Yes, we keep them very simple since our mission is to honor first responders, most of our awards are based on firefighters, police or military running in gear. This event is intended to be an experience and much more than a run.”

So, a serious event rather than a fun run, and vague as to a medal, but worst case scenario, I’ll get in some weekend exercise.