Atlanta has lost one of its best this week.

She gave a lot more than she got in life and, as my pal Chaz said, always picked the right side in a bar fight. For that sort of life, I can only say Well done, Ria! I only wish you'd had a lot more time here to amaze, delight, inspire, and encourage us.

sad news.

Listen and pay attention. You know someone like this.

Horrific because I know how true all of this is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1yW5IsnSjo

conversations

She: I can't live without music. When I think of music, I think of you. So, how will I live without you?

Him: I'll try to leave the door cracked when I leave.

Funny, the conversations we have, even in dreams.

unwell today

Why do I feel like I've been punched in the gut today? I kept waking up with these pains all night, thinking it was an empty stomach. After a bowl of soup and snacks, I still have this pain. I have not been feeling well since last night. It's not nausea and it's not exactly cramps. My insides feel soar. 

On top of that, I'm still fatigued from the film extra work I did Friday. Tomorrow morning, I have a 6:00 a.m. call time for another extras gig. 

The High Cost Of Water

Many of my neighbors are aghast this month over high water bills and waste water tax bills. Our water bill have always been phenomenally low at el Rancho de WereMonster. Someone planted a row of holly over the meter in our yard so I am certain they have not made an accurate meter reading in years. It will be an interesting day when or if those hollies are ever removed.

Chomp and Stomp

I finally made it to the annual Chomp and Stomp today. I decided I must be there to see friends Spanky and the Love Handles playing during the festival for what might be their last show. As it turned out,  Kim and Harris were there too so we were able to hang out together. According to them, the best chili came from the Albert and the Wrecking Bar. Farm Burger was also one of the best, according to then, but they did not place in the competition.
After the festival, we went to the Krog Bar to visit Audrey at work. I'm glad Kim knew she was working tonight - I might not have tried Krog Bar if I did not know. They sampled some nice wines while I tried some very good tapas food. The brussels sprouts were quite good but the best thing we tried by far were the olive oil cakes with basil gelato on them. Delicate textures and flavors without being too sweet.

Happy Halloween

Halloween night was fun. We had the largest turnout of Trick-or-Treaters since we've been here at el Rancho de WereMonster. Lots of cute children and their parents came to our door and delighted in the Halloween decorations at the house. There were, of course, a few too many teenagers with no costumes and a couple of very odd parents who came asking for treats as well but there is always a bit of that in the mix every year in every neighborhood. The lighting in the yard is still too dark but we had a couple of extra small lights out this year. I still really want to work on the lighting rather than setting up elaborate decorations that no one sees in the darkness so I am in hopes that maybe I can have just a bit more illumination in the yard next year. I might have to go wild with Jack 'o Lantern making next year to accomplish that, a la Trick 'r Treat. I was also thrilled to see our next door neighbors were in the holiday spirit with votives lining their driveway and a spooky-scary figure with red glowing eyes appearing on the roof when people came to the house while her husband answered the door dressed as Dracula. I could hear squeals every time someone walked up there. :)

Mr. & Mrs. Bunny came here, bringing a delicious amount of BBQ and sides. We enjoyed a very generous dinner and, after trick-or-treating was over, we watched the restored blueray edition of Universal Studios "Dracula" together.