Genius?

Lol Moe cat

The Offishul Lolcat Builder of I Can Has Cheezburger?

Buy Nothing Day

I'll be celebrating the day after Thanksgiving (Black Friday) by avoiding shopping. What will you do?

Bad backyard getting better

The new fence went in today. It's lovely, don't you think? Makes me happy just to look at it.

Check out the before and after backyard pictures.

A winning day

I spent yesterday at Churchill Downs with Becky (I did not take this picture) where we cashed tickets on EVERY SINGLE RACE.

Becky knows how to read a racing form and came prepared. Me? I just went down to the paddock and picked any horse that 1) was tall, 2) looked me in the eye, or 3) had a name I liked.

I don't bet a lot of money because I don't have a lot of money. But yesterday I was prepared to bet $8 on every race. My patterns was to make one bet "across the board" for $6 and $2 to win, place or show on a second horse. I don't bet "exotics" like daily doubles or exactas, but Becky does.

I cashed a ticket on every race. Every single one. I came home with about $30 more than I started with, even after paying for admission, a program and a bloody mary.

Best bet of the day: Creative Design paid $38 on my $6 across the board bet.

Fresh sap ... rising

"Suddenly you find at the age of fifty that a whole new life has opened before you as if a fresh sap of ideas and thoughts was rising in you." (Agatha Christie 1891-1976)

Happy birthday to me (yesterday).

Vote!

Tomorrow is election day. Those of us in Kentucky are electing a governor and in Louisville we're approving a new tax to support our libraries. At least I HOPE we are approving the library tax -- I can't imagine why anyone would vote against it.

So you should vote. Yes, you. It'll be good practice for next year's presidential election.

Birthday season has begun

I usually don't celebrate a birthDAY, for me it is a birthday SEASON.

This year the season began with Babycakes bringing home a case of wine (okay, so that's more of a present for all of YOU who will be expected to visit during the season).

Then Kelly gave me this wonderful jewelry she made.

Today we had brunch at Wild Eggs then headed over to Whole Foods to order our free-range turkey for Thanksgiving. I found a lovely scarf (and Babycakes bought it for me).

This afternoon I'm shopping for new socks and underwear. Any activity is instantly festive and birthday season-y if you try hard enough.

And the Martini Slut party will be on Nov. 10. Y'all come!

Halloween recap

We "served" about 500 trick-or-treaters this Halloween although the count is never accurate because Babycakes always gives out more than one piece of candy per child. I am much more stingy.

By the end of the night I was offering two pieces to anyone who would sing. The best performance was by three eight-year-olds who sang a very loud version of "Happy Birthday." Adorable.

"Princess" seems to be the most popular costume, but only for girls. Some princesses had wings, so they became "Angel Princess" and the older girls favored "Dead Princess."

"Pirate" was a very popular choice for boys and girls and for all ages. Some of the homemade pirate costumes were quite good. I give full credit to Johnny Depp for making piracy cool again.

There were plenty of superheros (mostly boys) wearing store-bought costumes with built-in muscles. It's odd to see a three-year-old muscular Spiderman. Lots of store-bought ghoul costumes and masks too, but I also counted a number of kids with very, very well-done makeup.

Most embarrassing moment: When we told someone he looked a little old to be trick-or-treating and the child with him said "He's autistic." Ouch.