Alucard

Over the weekend, I celebrated both Halloween and Thanksgiving.  October concluded with gluttony, ghoulery, turkey, taffy, a broken computer, and illness.  I was genuinely scared at only one point during the weekend [thought I was having a heart attack], but at many points during the weekend I was genuinely thankful.  I watched It's a Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown for the first time and was duped by a Wizard, also for the first time.  I ate cranberry sauce, can style, just like I used to as a kid and had the best Halloween costume of my life, without even knowing:

Two guys walking down Valencia: Hey
Joanna + me: Hey
... a few seconds pass ...
Two guys walking down Valencia: Are you her for Halloween?
All: hysterical laughter

Our almost matching navy blue/purple t-shirts transformed an already similar likeness into perfect duplication. Do we really look alike? On Halloween we do. And, we have successfully pulled off the "we are sisters" scenario before with no effort at all. Next time I think we should execute the "we are twins" scheme.

Although Thanksgiving proper is nearly a month away, there are always reasons for thanksgiving. I remember sitting in the living room as a kid, spilling the contents of my Trick-or-Treat bag, assessing my loot, examining the piles collected by my brothers, and negotiating trades. Steve was a Snickers boy; I was a Milky Way girl.  We both liked Kit Kats. And Matt, well, you were too young and we stole your candy. Thank you.   

When my friends gathered around the long table for Saturday's feast,  several people suggested saying grace or "thanks." I stopped paying attention and wandered off into space.  My thoughts rattled like an old projector, flashing back to scenes from the past and forward to scenes from the next. That night, we never said grace, we never went around the room and said what we were thankful for.  I never got to say what I am thankful for.  Maybe next time. The list is neatly rolled up and covered in fairy dust, a homing beacon of obnoxious glitter.  I can't lose it, even if I tried [I tried].

South Island, NZ

I would definitely tell you where this was if I could remember.

Milford Sound, NZ

South Island, NZ

golden landscapes

 

South Island, Pacific Ocean, NZ

the flats

Oh, deer.  I never knew.

CREEPIEST moment of the entire trip. This is a small clip of a large deer pasture, thousands of pairs of eyes and ears following my every movement.