Halloween Blizzard of 1991

Halloween 2023 - Pumpkin Pie & Sylvester

Wednesday, November 1, 2023

Dale went to Lunds after the gym and decided to pick up some pumpkin pie. It was our first pumpkin pie of the season and it was fabulous. 

Halloween 2023

Tuesday, October 31, 2023

Uneventful Halloween but that's just fine with me. Having Halloween on a school day as a teacher is never easy so just making it through the day is a big deal. 

We got about 2-3 inches of snow overnight which makes this the 2nd snowiest Halloween after the Halloween Blizzard of 1991. For that storm I believe we got about 8 inches of snow on Halloween Day itself although there ended up being about 20 inches total by the time the storm ended a couple days later. The above photo was taken this afternoon during my walk home and as you can see much of the snow was melted.

Our backyard is a rather shady now that the sunn isn't getting as high in the sky so a bit more snow was on the ground there. 

Sylvester was quite a bit more anxious about being fed tonight than usual. Here he's caught in a brief moment of patience. 

The sun setting. 

Dale and I watched a little bit of The Wolfman with Lon Chaney Jr. on TCM.

After he ate Sylvester was much more calm. 

After The Wolfman Dale and I watched Sorry Wrong Number with Barbra Stanwyck. It was very good although I had a hard time staying awake at the end of the movie due to my exhaustion. 

Had an Old Fashioned tonight. 

We did not receive trick or treaters tonight (image from the_boozy_doodler@instagram). Ah well, maybe next year...

Halloween Approacheth 2023 - Movies and Cigars

 Sunday, October 29, 2023

Yesterday we went to Julie and Regina's place for dinner. Julie picked out a movie called The Menu. It was a comedy/horror film and, boy, what a combo hat makes. The humor is quite dark but it's what keeps it all from being more disturbing than it already is. 

Cigar time this afternoon. Sat outside and smoked a smaller cigar. It was in the 30s, humid, and really quite raw so I don't think I would have lasted as long with a bigger stogie. I've been spoiled by the nice weather we've been having.  

Halloween Approacheth 2023 - Sunday of MEA Weekend: Cigar Time

 Sunday, October 22, 2023

Dale and I went to The Howe for brunch today. We then took a drive along the Mississippi to take in the fall colors. They were beautiful and I can't believe the changes just in the past week. 

                        

Cigar this afternoon. Perfect day for it. Dale joined me outside for a bit. 

MEA weekend went fast. It always does. 

Halloween Approacheth 2023 - Saturday of MEA Weekend: The Monkey's Paw

 Saturday, October 21, 2023

Re-read The Monkey's Paw today. This is one of my favorite horror short stories. Written by W. W. Jacobs it appeared in Harper's Monthly back in 1902. It's a classic 3-wishes tale in which the wishes go horribly awry and bring much pain and suffering. 

I first read this tale about 20 years ago. It was part of a book I bought titled The Little Big Book of Chills and Thrills which contains a number of other well written horror and ghost stories. 

Halloween Approacheth 2023 - Friday of MEA Weekend: Robot Monster

Friday, October 20, 2023

A few years ago at the Blue Moon Dine In Theater at the Minnesota State Fair Dale and I caught the end of a movie titled Robot Monster. My memory about it was jogged when a posting of the film turned up on Instagram. I looked it up online and discovered it's been billed as the 2nd worst movie in the world next to Plan 9 from Outer Space. 

Ro-Man

Dale and I watched it tonight for the hell of it and I really don't see how Plan 9 could be any worse (never seen it). Despite the low-budget quality the film was financially successful. 

The plot involves a race of space beings called Ro-Men who wipe out the human race, or so they think. There were a few survivors so the job needs to be finished. 

The male lead was played by George Nader who was a close friend and confidant of Rock Hudson.

Ealier today Dale and I went to The Howe for lunch. Dale got the tuna poke bowl and a beer. I started with a maple Old Fashioned. For food I got the wild rice pot pie which was savory and delicious. Very fall-like. 

Halloween Approacheth 2023 - Thursday of MEA Weekend: Cigars & More

 Thursday, October 19, 2023

Short school week but a grueling one none-the-less. It's starting to feel much more fall-like as compared to the beginning of the month which was pretty summery. 

Rained this morning but it was done by early afternoon. I just wiped down a lawn chair and lit up. 

 

Made a Canadian Old Fashioned out of Jack Daniels. It paired nicely with the Oliva I smoked. 

Went to the next door neighbor's house when I finished. They're out of town for the weekend so I fed the fish and tried to visit with the cat but he was no where to be found. There are signs they're getting ready for Halloween.

I'm sure the kids are getting excited. 

Halloween Approacheth 2023 - Thursday of MEA Weekend: Treats & More

Thursday, October 19, 2023

Conferences at school yesterday. A colleague brought donuts and I tried a pumpkin one. It was yummy. 

Ms. Kellie, my teaching partner, brought me what she callled a moon pie. Didn't look like the moon pies I've seen before but it sure was delicious; dense and cake-like and slightly pumpkiny tasting. 

Fall colors have become more noticeable even in the last few days. Many trees still haven't started to turn yet, however. 

Found this picture on Instagram recently. I remember a neighbor used to have one just like it in their yard and my beloved dog Sophie got freaked out by it.

October 2023 - The Phantom of the Opera and More

Sunday, October 15, 2023

Been feeling poorly lately so I'm pretty much on the couch to recuperate this weekend.  Saw a picture recently on Instagram that showed Lon Chaney with the frightening and iconic makeup job that was done for the 1925 silent film of The Phantom of the Opera. I found the movie on Prime and decided to watch it. It was 90 minutes long and I don't think I've ever sat through a full length silent movie before. I've seen clips of them and maybe a few shorts. The exaggerated facial expressions and body movements of the actors make more sense in a full length format. They look more silly in isolation especially when compared to what we're used to seeing on the screen now. 

I sat outside for a bit on this beautiful fall day.  

Dale and I decided that the leaves are probably about two weeks behind in terms of turning and falling. We're just beginning to notice some fall colors. 

Earlier in the season we founnd a pumpkin vine growing in one of our overgrown gardens. I pulled it up today and found a cute little pumpkin at the end of it. The orange bowl (above) next to the pumpkin was left outside after having been used as a cigar ashtray a few days ago. The water in it shows how much rain we got at the end of this past week. Much needed. 

Also, found a Halloween song by Kate Pierson of the B-52s which was released this past Friday (the 13th). Added it to my Halloween Playlist Vol. 2. 

October 2023 - Change In the Weather

Sunday, October 8, 2023

Quite a bit cooler this weekend compared to last so it's actually starting to feel like October. Smoked a cigar yesterday, an Oliva and paired it with a pre-made Old Fashioned cocktail. High was in the 50s so it was perfect leather jacket weather. 

Every year for the past 8 years or so Seth has illustrated about 3 classic ghost stories and releases them before the Christmas holiday season. 

I pick up and read all of them every year but there was one I didn't get to last season titled The Corner Shop by Lady Asquith.

I began but didn't finish it today. It's quite good. 

Finished my cigar and Dale called me in for dinner. We had a shrimp and pasta dish.

Finished the ghost story today. It was very good. The teaser on the back of the book says, "Peter Wood enters a charming antiques shop owned by two young women one stormy evening. But after he returrns a second time to a strange old man and a far gloomier atmosphere, and leaves with an unusual jade frog, Peter soon discovers that his purchase is worth more than he paid."

Chicken pot pie for dinner. It was delicious.

Pumpkin cake roll with cream cheese frosting from Lunds for dessert.

That was delicious too. It's beginning to feel like fall.