It's Almost Halloween

Ahhhh, a weekend off, nice weather, a Red Sox win, and shopping... what could be better. I gathered the rest of the goodies for my swap today, it was fun. Just have to wrap them and mail the box-o-goodness.

I was at the Classic Elite factory store today and I brought a treat to my niece on the way. Yummy gingerbread muffin, she was very excited. She's NOT spoiled! We're trying to teach her to say "trick or treat" there's not much time left before Halloween. Her costume is all finished just have to finish the dog's, she's going trick-or-treating with her. They're so cute together.

I got my huge box of stuff from King Arthur Flour Thursday. I made my first loaf of pumpernickel bread. It came out great and it's almost gone already. Everyone wanted sandwiches for lunch and supper. I'm going to try to make a sourdough version tomorrow. My new starter is bubbling away happily. It's had three feedings since I got it so it should be good to go. It was so satisfying to toss a ton of old pans. Anything not going to AZ with the parents when they move is now fair game. A little at a time it should be manageable. I don't want to end up renting a dumpster when we buy the house because they've gone and left behind 40 years of junk even they don't want anymore. I come from a clan of packrats.

Tomorrow is for sewing and baking, at least until the baseball game. Then it's snacking and relaxing. I can only hope that if they win they don't tear the city apart. People up here get a little nutty with the Sox. OK, they get a little nutty and a LOT DRUNK. Hubby has to drive into Boston Monday morning for work and I don't want him to have to sit in traffic and take 8 detours because the city's turned into a cage-free zoo of drunken primates. There's been some bad incidents over the years, it's like the Darwin awards.

Boston is weird. New Englanders are weird. I noticed something tonight that outlines the weirdness. All popular songs about Boston are about how Boston sucks. Who celebrates suckage?? We do! Two glaring examples are 'Dirty Water' and 'Charlie on the MTA'. Every Red Sox game they play 'Dirty Water' and everyone sings. No one notices they're singing about how famously nasty and polluted the Charles River was, still kinda is, but it's better. Yay everyone sing a song about swimming in a sewer!! Gross and ... well weird.

'Charlie on the MTA' is about how some poor working stiff has to stay on the train forever because the rates went up after he boarded and he can't afford the exit fee. Seriously, they're celebrating that it's painfully expensive to live around here. Think that's weird?? Try this. They finally went from tokens to swipe card passes for the trains and trolleys and they call them CHARLIE CARDS! Right on the front is a drawing of good ole Charlie who's been on the freakin' T for about 60 years now. Weird.

Combine this mentality with Boston being the only city where you'll get directions that include the words "take the illegal left turn..." and you get a taste of what it's like to grow up here... and why people so passionately LOVE growing up here. We're weird. it's fun!