broo-ha-ha

as promised, some hallowe’eny pics of kids and moi (since i decided at the last second that i just couldn’t handle being left out). also, the fam has declared that they would like to dress as these guys next year:
with, of course, agatha and edmund as jane and michael. yikes. guess i should start on that NOW.

Anyhoo, here are the photos from our great hallowe’en night–the weather was perfect, the company awesome, the neighbourhood safe and friendly. all in all, a great night. however, we gave out so much candy that there is none left over. which, i suppose, is good. but feels disappointing, nonetheless.

Question o’ the day: Is there a treat from your childhood that you really miss? is it no longer available? do you reject it for health reasons? what do you wish you could add to a treat bag, to make it perfect?

And now, for something completely inappropriate

since i am procrastinating, and it’s friday afternoon.
first, another awesome dollar store find:

just blame my crappy phone camera for the blurriness on all these photos. ( i know, i know, vanessa, if i could just get an iphone

also, since i teach one night a week at a local highschool, i occasionally am treated to that perennially popular pastime, bathroom graffiti. truth be told, i am now so old that reading the slang and textspeak took some work, and i even had help from one of my students. nonetheless, it’s good to know that the messages girls leave on bathroom walls never change, even if their grammar does. (PARENTAL ADVISORY: SOME SWEARING INVOLVED)

last, i leave you with another neighbourhood image that struck my fancy. cheese, anyone? or, perhaps more appropriately, “gold nugget of food, anyone?”

I have often walked down this street before

I’m pretty sure i’ve said this before, but it bears repeating: “I LIVE IN AN AWESOME NEIGHBOURHOOD!” Yesterday, despite feeling intimidated by its inherent coolness, i marched into Continental Coffee (2nd and Commercial. best latte in the city. handsdown.) to purchase some coffee for a tasting vanessa and i are preparing for our bookclub Sunday night (a group comprised, in the majority, of tea drinkers). the tasting is intended to be a fun way to connect with the novel we’ve just read, “The Various Flavors of Coffee” (anthony capelli?). I enjoyed the novel, which, unsurprisingly, devotes a fair amount of page space to the aromas and flavours of my favourite beverage. All of that said, it’s still takes some fortitude to face the bean seller at a local coffee place, without feeling like an untutored heel. Turns out, one of the two guys working is a big beans fan, and was super enthusiastic to help me select a coffee from each growing region, as well as a blend he personally loves, and we had a nice chat while he measured and ground all the beanage. When it came time to ring it all up, he gave me a smile and said, “And I’ll give you the ‘Longtime Customer Discount’.” this was perhaps one of the nicest things said to me all day, since mostly, being a stroller-pusher means that i am invisible to the general populace. i had no idea that he recognized me, since i’m not in Continental that often. he then went on to say something about time flying, and the kids getting so big, and we laughed about how edmund didn’t even exist when i first moved into the hood. it was delightful beyond all things, and i am truly grateful to live in a place where people actually know me, some by name, and i know them. wow.
now, if i can just resist ripping into that incredible-smelling coffee, it will all be good.

Question o’ the day: what’s the last small purchase you made that caused you to be disproportionately thrilled?

oh, and here’s edmund’s best photo of late, since he’s begun taking his own pictures:

For Miranda.

i couldn’t resist, after all.

Why I love my neighbourhood.