Happy Halloween

I'm going as lead character from, 'My Name is Earl.'

Celts/Heat

Catching up on the Celts/Heat game on DVR due to playing real bball downtown tonight.  I just started the 3rd quarter and it is very close, despite the Heat having more "Showtime" moments than the Celtics.  The game has really gotten a lot smaller in terms of the size of the folks out there.  I don't hate Ray Allen and I think he has played very well, so far.  We will see how the rest of this game goes.  I need a snack.

One last thing - tonight would have been the Bruins playing up in Buffalo against the Sabres, which would have been entertaining.  The 2 teams hate each other and they are a division rival.  Would have made for a good evening for Boston sports.

3 More Blogs

Sometimes I feel that readers of this blog are like Never Nudes. . . there are DOZENS of you.  But then I realize I am overshooting and a single dozen would be a good start.

A few of my friends have more successful blogs where they display their wit and talent.  Here are the links:

1)  My cousin Molly is an extremely talented wedding photographer.  I am so proud of her for launching her own successful small business.  Her photographs are gorgeous and fun to look through.  You can find them on the Molly Anne Photography Blog.

2) My friend Aerin was a neighbor, pal, and adopted family member when we were growing up.  She lived across the street and I spent a whole lot of time at her house and in her swimming pool over the years.  She recently moved from Maine to Connecticut and chronicles her adventures on her blog, Leaving Lobster.

3) I met my friend Lynne through Molly.  I'd heard for years how she was super funny and outrageous.  When I finally started spending time with her this summer, she exceeded all expectations.  You can sample her humor on her blog, Bold, Blunt, Blonde!

NHL Lockout

The lockout is really putting a damper on my Fall plans.  So far due to the lockout, I've missed 2 Bruins games that I had tickets to and would have enjoyed.  Today the NHL will most likely announce another round of cancellations, probably into the Thanksgiving time frame.  The Owners are selfish and I'm definitely on the side of The Players in this dispute. 

Update as of 4:30pm on 10/26/12:  The league has canceled all games through November 30th, 2012.  With today's cancellations, the league now has erased 326 regular games, or 26.2 percent, from the 1,230-game regular-season schedule. If play were to resume at the start of December, the existing schedule would have the Bruins begin the season Dec 1 at TD Garden at 7 p.m., against the Sabres.

Tasha Tudor

My grandmother gave me Tasha Tudor's A Time to Keep as a Christmas present when I was around 11 years old.  I had never heard of Tudor, but as soon as I opened the book I was absolutely captivated by her beautiful illustrations.  One of my favorite things about her work is the lovely and intricate borders that she often created, such as the one on the cover of A Time to Keep.  I also loved that her work depicted an earlier time in America.  Although she was born in 1915, Tudor chose to live her life as if she lived nearly a century earlier.  I went through a serious Little House on the Prairie obsession in my youth, so Tasha Tudor's illustrations of an 1800s lifestyle were appealing to me.  Several of her books focus on old-fashioned holiday traditions, which I found fascinating.  I also appreciated her interest in dolls and dogs (Corgis).  I absolutely treasured my childhood dolls and have them safely put away in my great-grandmother's hope chest.  And many years after I became a Tasha Tudor fan my family got their first dog, a Corgi mix.

Tasha Tudor circa 1991-- right when I was discovering her work.  I would have died to be the little girl in the photo with her, especially when I was in elementary school and wanted to be Laura Ingalls.

After receiving A Time to Keep, I decided that I wanted to collect books by Tasha Tudor.  This idea predated Amazon.com, or even the internet.  So whenever I saved up enough money, my mum would bring me to a local bookstore, the Children's Book Cellar, which was (obviously) located below street-level and was stacked floor to ceiling with books.  It was heavenly.  Since Tasha Tudor books were somewhat tough to find in stock, I ordered books based solely on the titles and then a few weeks later I would get the call to come pick up my newest addition(s) to the collection.  Since the books were brand spanking new, they smelled fantastic and the spines creaked when I opened them.  Clearly I did not have any clue about what excited the average junior high school student.  An old-timey children's book!  Score!

Since it is nearly Halloween, I have been thinking about the book Pumpkin Moonshine.  Below are covers from a few of my favorite Tasha Tudor books.  She passed away in 2008, but her work is timeless.  I am grateful to my Nana for sparking my interest in her books and to my mum for making the pilgrimages to Children's Book Cellar with me.

Every 4 years

There is a Presidential Election and The Dude walks into a plate rack corner thing sticking out of the wall.  Did it in 2008 before going on a trip to Canada and just did it tonight, with 9 days until my buddy's wedding and wedding pics.  Under my right eye there is now a swollen cut that will become a small bruise.  Awesome.

We're all going to die

Sandy is going to dominate us in a few days.  Need to stock up on groceries, batteries flashlights and candles this weekend.