Happy Halloweeeeeeeen!

First, a fantastic snapshot from UCLA's Digital Collections:



Ahh, the 1940's... when it was still OK to send a little girl out trick-or-treating in blackface. Also, all the whining about how provocative Halloween costumes are this year? It's nothing new; check out these women posing in costume back in1947.

I'm still at home (sick) today, though really I am feeling much better. My problem is that I didn't sleep much last night so I need to take a nap or three today. Tonight, Kiddo will be trick or treating in the new neighbourhood -- seems like many of the neighbours are quite excited; lots of yard decorations among the piles of fallen leaves. My mother-in-law will be handing out candy while we shadow the kid. I will, of course, post photos later.

What is it with celebrities and clowns and Halloween?

WE ALL FLOAT GEORGIE
Originally uploaded by WilWheaton

Well, this is Wil Wheaton under a lot of makeup and a ratty rainbow wig. According to his blog, he wanted to go as Doctor Horrible -- this was plan B.

Doctor Horrible was, of course, played by the awesome Neil Patrick Harris who dressed as an even more psychotic clown last year.

Yay, stairs!

hello_new_stairs
Originally uploaded by triviaqueen

So last night, despite having a nasty cold, I stood by and helped Hubby tear out the old stairs (held in by two bolts, lots of drywall screws, some silicone caulking and quarter-round and maybe an eighth-level mage spell) and put in the new stairs.

There is still lots of finishing to be done -- from the walls to the handrails to, ultimately, carpeting -- but the new stairs are sturdy and do not require one to limbo to the basement. Woo!

Now we can start clearing out the construction demolition debris, setting up the basement storage areas, moving things around, and (soon!) bringing the U-Pak contents over! After that we can start emptying the self-storage locker, some of which has been in there for over a year now. Sigh.

But, to end on a high note, our new sofa should be delivered this afternoon. Yay for seating!

Zombietacular!

more_arm
Originally uploaded by triviaqueen

After working on the severed limb all week, today was the day to try it out. Kiddo captured it from a pretty good angle, showing the bone fragment bits at the base.

Kiddo went from wanting to be a zombie to not wanting to go at all to agreeing to be our official zombietographer for the day. We joined a few hundred other weird Victorians in Centennial Square and at 4:00, shuffled our way down Government street. The crowd was headed for the Legislature (an odd choice, Hubby noted, if one was searching for brains) but we ducked out early, at the Bay Centre and headed back home.

The intention was to head out again for Zombie Karaoke but Hubby is still sick and didn't want to sit around in a bar for a couple of hours feeling miserable.

Identification, please.

mushrooms_again
Originally uploaded by triviaqueen

Anyone out there know how to ID mushrooms? Actually, I need to find someone local who could poke about our backyard which, on inspection, seems to be a happy home to many varieties of fungus.

This particular variety (pictured) was found growing in the shade of one of the large Douglas Firs neighbouring our property. I think they are a Russula of some sort, though the gills are more grey than any I've seen illustrated.

I would be very excited to find out if any of the varieties are edible; I'd also be happy to hear from anyone who has successfully cultivated mushrooms at home (I believe oyster mushrooms and can be grown with some success).