Final Halloween Summary

Maybe it was indeed the tendrils of melancholia slithering in to take hold. Could have been the slap of an unwanted email from an old friend, specially timed to ruin my favorite day. Or maybe I just was overly-ambitious with my planning. 

The cooking started ok... the olive tapenade -- a favorite of mine -- was perfection. The new green "swamp bog" dip was strange, but full of healthy green vegetables. The fingers (what some would call "breadsticks") got tough and chewy. Maybe I cooked them too far in advance. Still, they were edible. They weren't ruined.

No, the trouble started with the empanadas. Could be my cookie cutter was too small, or the prepared pie crust too thick. Maybe I should I have made dough from scratch, like Emeril said. One must be wary of shortcuts. They ended up overstuffed, with too many ingredients left over. I tried to make a larger one, but it too bubbled, crusted, and popped.

While taking them out of the oven, I burned myself. Not severely, though it is somewhat of a Halloween tradition to sustain some sort of heat-related injury. Not nearly as severely as the year I dripped hot glue onto my wrist, turning the skin below a sleek white, and leaving a gnarled scar. No, this was just a tiny burn. Still, it hurt like a mo-fo, so I dashed to the sink to run some cold water over it.

The handle to the faucet came off in my hand.

Of course, the water was still running. I did cool the burn for a second. Then I set off in search of pliers... if I could just reach the nub of broken screw, I could avoid flooding our kitchen and draining our reservoir. I managed it. Called the property manager and explained. 

"Yeah, everyone's gone home. We'll come Monday." 

Which part of "I don't have any water don't you understand?" 

"Ok, we'll send someone tomorrow."

I washed a few things in the bathtub, and filled a big bowl with water to use in the kitchen. There are dishes EVERYWHERE (I am an untidy cook).

This is when I started to droop. Flour-stained, sweating, and covered in tiny burns, I began to question all this planning. Our friend in Ocala was having some crazy blowout kegger. Suddenly the solace of instant alcohol-fueled camaraderie sounded great! But it was far too late. I'd committed to this, and spent $100 on food. Had to suck it up and make it work. 

At least the pumpkin patch pudding was edible.

So, it was a bust. But I survived, and will take with me this valuable lesson. Halloweens that fall on even numbered years SUCK. Want proof?

2004: I visit the emergency room after having a mind-shattering headache for a solid week

2006: Ajax pisses all over everything

2008: The year of the sink

Last year was awesome. '05 was fun! Huge party! Next year's an odd number, so I'm crossing my fingers.

3:55pm

Guess it's time to start cooking. I watched The Craft for a little while, and painted my nails. Could be sort of like relaxing. There will be time to do that again soon. 

1:49pm

Back from the gym. Wore the used "vintage" t-shirt my mother sent, figuring it would serve a purpose. I was wrong about the cat hair. 

Ate lunch of butternut squash and eggplant over brown rice. See, when the two vegetables are cooked, they become lovely shades of orange and black. The perfect Halloween meal... assuming eggplant doesn't make your tongue swell up.

Going to get dressed and go out now, to run a few errands. It's that melancholy time of day -- it's when most people want to nap -- and it's not helped by the grey clouds rolling in. Still, it will make a holiday honoring the dead feel that much more mournful. 

Or maybe it's not melancholy at all; maybe it's just a sugar crash. To repair it, I ate a cupcake. See, I made two dozen cupcakes yesterday -- my favorite cupcakes, the cupcakes of legend -- for Cabana Boy to take to his office. I ate just one, because it got all misshapen, and besides, I had to make sure they tasted okay. But that was it. I drew the line at one. After I packed them up, I had one left over, one lonely cupcake that couldn't fit in with the others. So I packed him up special, all by himself, and promised that I'd save him for today. 

When I took him out of the refrigerator, he was moist and chewy, but still rich and dense. The cream cheese filling had stayed cool and fresh, and the chocolate chips inside began to melt the moment they hit my tongue. He was the perfect cupcake.

Ok, off the world now. Oh! We just got canvassed! At least it was by the right team.

12:16pm

Finished working. The Buffy definitely helped it to go faster (and, full disclosure, I'm also playing the musical episode, because I'm a sucker for musicals and it's on the same disc as Season 6's Halloween episode).

There actually is a recipe in the Pillsbury Halloween book that might be a nice addition to tonight's table. If there's time, I'll try to make it.

Going to the treadmill now. I figure I'd better, since tonight we're having such a huge treat. No, not candy. Silly. Cheese!

9:05am

Care package arrives from my mother. She'd mentioned a few weeks ago that something was coming. I, being the kicked puppy that I am, went to the mailbox every day to see if it had arrived. I still wanted to believe. When yesterday came, and I'd gotten just the card from my father, I started to doubt. Was she disappointing me again? Lucky for her, there is FedEx.

Contents: Lindt chocolate truffles dressed up as jack o'lanterns; a purple flickering... ghost?... I can't tell for sure; spider lights; a Halloween t-shirt that looks like it will cause my right boob to light up every time I move; a Halloween t-shirt that I KNOW had been hers which was marked with a post-it that said "part of your inheritance" and is fortunately NOT covered in cat hair; a Pillsbury Halloween recipe book; a printed-out chocotini recipe. 

It's the thought that counts.

8:41am

I feel the sugar coursing through my system, not unlike the sensation of taking a muscle relaxant or a powerful painkiller. My heart is pumping it into every vein and capillary. I am scared to drink the rest of my coffee, as then I might have too many stimulants and will be facing a big crash. Still, it will keep me away from the trick-or-treat candy, which I've now opened and poured into the big plastic pumpkin.

Actually, Count Chocula has less sugar per serving than our fancy organic granola. Who knew?

I've pulled the Buffy Halloween episodes and will watch them while I do some work. It's safe and comforting to work to Buffy, since I've seen all of these episodes dozens of times. In fact, it's probably more soothing than the classical music on our public radio station. 

Speaking of, NPR has gotten into the spirit this morning by telling us stories about a cop who dresses up as Batman to get drivers to slowdown and a haunted local theater (where I have spent many hours), and featured an interview with Goosebumps writer R.L. Stine. Mentions of John McCain, Sarah Palin, and that ridiculous congresswoman from Minnesota were extremely scary, but seem to be purely coincidental.

8:09am

I eat my festive Halloween breakfast of Count Chocula. I've never actually had it before, so today marks a pretty big deal. I started the week off with Boo-Berry, which was not as good. Plus, it does, uh, colorful things to your digestion.

It should be noted that I'm still in my pajamas: a "witches brew" t-shirt my mother brought me from Salem, Massachusetts and pj bottoms featuring dancing skeletons. It's long been a dream of mine to visit Salem. Not necessarily on Halloween (cuz that gets a little touristy) but just in general. Plus, how I can I truly rebuke Arthur Miller without seeing The Crucible's setting firsthand?

7:00am

Gave Cabana Boy his Halloween present. (Just because it's not a high-pressure gift-giving holiday, doesn't mean it doesn't warrant gifts.) Plus, I wanted him to have something spooky to wear later today. 

Packed his cargo for him to distribute at his office: chocolate cupcakes, mallocreme pumpkins, and festive goodie bags (sealed with a glittery pumpkin sticker). Each goodie bag contains Dove dark chocolate and 2 spider rings... because girls like jewelry.

Wished my friends a Happy Halloween on Facebook... it involved cartoon farm animals in spooky costumes... love it!

Drank coffee. That's not actually unique to the day... but imagine how scary I'd be without it!

Live Blogging Halloween!

Halloween is my favorite holiday. It's a celebration of spectacle and mystery, really the perfect holiday for theater folk. It happens in autumn, my favorite season. Plus, it's full of candy and doesn't require insane gift-giving pressure or visits with family. It's pretty near perfect!

In years past, I've gone big. Picked pumpkins and thrown parties. Marched in the Village Halloween Parade and watched my favorite Procession of Ghouls. I've made elaborate costumes for myself and my loved ones, and gone wild decorating and cooking. 

I've decided that I would keep track of all of the fun things I do today. I figure it will be a nice record to look back on... plus, it will give me something to beat next year!