Hearth

The weather is wild and stormy tonight.

But in my house it's cozy by the hearth.

We've been in this house seven years this past Halloween and it was only as this winter started approaching that we thought about getting a chimney sweep in to have a look. The chimney was clean and bare.

And so now let the coziness begin!

I spent this evening in front of the fireplace with a Terry Pratchett book and visions of a winter talking with friends in front of a lit fireplace.

Egypt?

We've been planning on going to Greece this Spring, you see, and looking at all sorts of brochures and possibilities.

Well, we're STILL going to Greece, but in our research we couldn't help but notice how tantalizingly close Egypt is.

Hey, in the world of ancient civilizations, they're practically just down the block from one another.

So here is a trip to Egypt that we're seriously considering. It's the same company we went to Africa and India with and therefore we'd get a discount. So, so tempting!

Zombies

So, it's almost a week after Halloween, but zombies are on my mind. Maybe it's all the zombie-like motions I've been going through this past week as I dealt with my "flu-like symptoms" (that's the correct media term lately I believe).

Yes, I got quite good at shambling around the house and moaning. No matter.

Last Saturday was Courtenay's first ever official Zombie Walk and I'm rather sorry that I was merely a spectator as this sort of thing obviously has great potential merit to be an Awesome Annual Cultural Event in this girl's book.

In no particular order, Things I Learned at the Zombie Walk:

* Canadian zombies may lurch menacingly down the sidewalk, but when they need to get across the street, they use the cross walk. Yay, zombies!

*For the vegetarian-inclined zombies out there, a cauliflower covered in fake blood makes a rather convincing brain. so no need to feel left out when your fellow zombies are slathering apart something more squishy.

* If you're a zombie dog-owner and you can train your doggie to play fetch with your own severed arm, that's extra points or something.

* Finally! a use for all that stuffy formal wear at the back of your closet! Zombies like to dress up when they eat out. Yeah, it may have a few stains...

* Zombies appreciate a good cheer-leader. "Give me a B! Give me an R! Give me an A! Give me an I!.." Well, you probably can figure out the rest. Zombies are a little bit single-minded.

* The sight of hordes of zombies apparently don't traumatize local children at all. One baby's mom had turned into a nasty pus-filled zombie and there he was all gurgling and happy in his carriage draped with black tulle.

* Zombies sometimes talk on cell-phones.

*Zombies seem like a fun crowd.