From Donna: Halloween Night Out

This year Halloween really sucked. Not really, I just decided to be a vampire. Jolin and I, in our last-minute shopping spree, both selected to be vamps. Our friend from work and school, Jamie, chose to let the little devil out for the night. Glen, who was suppose to accompany us as death, selected to stay in for the evening. Ladies night out began at Gatsby's. Most everyone there participated in the Halloween costume ritual. Among the crowd were many cats, witches, hippies, sexy police officers, nurses, doctors, clowns, pirates, celebrities, a walking beer, Beetlejuice and the Fanta Girls. We danced, introduced Jamie to the Cosmopolitan, and watched two blondes fight. After Gatsby's we decided to make a little detour. Not to get candy. Yes to play a trick. 3:00 am - Two vampires and a devil enter Ingles and purchase 200 feet of saran wrap. 3:10 am - The three culprits arrive at an unsuspecting co-worker's home. 3:20 am - The co-worker's truck is preserved safely inside the 200 feet of saran wrap, protected from the damp, cold night air. 3:30 am - Safe and home.

From Glen: Ndinombethe

"Ndinombethe"
[African proverb] (pronounced "in-day-nom-bay-tay")
Translation: "As I go, I am wearing you." Referring to the indelible handprint we leave on the lives of others as we cross paths, whether intended or accidental.

I found this on a site earlier today and it has stuck with me. We do each leave an imprint on those who come into our lives - positive or negative. I wanted to let you guys know that you each have left an imprint on my life that will never really fade. You are my friends and I appreciate each of you for who you are. Thank you for letting me wear you as I go through this wide, wide world.

Gute Freunde, ein bisschen Glück, ein bisschen Geld, was braucht man mehr auf dieser Welt?

From Donna: Pumpkin Carving

(Video link!)

Happy Halloween!! Pumpkin carving has always been one of my favorite holiday traditions, even better than carving the turkey at Thanksgiving. This year Glen and I were fortunate enough to share the festivity with Melanie and Annie. As you can see, it was a little messy and a lot of fun. There was only one casualty - my poor, poor pumpkin... but I perservered and did a little Martha Stewart-like innovation.

The grim reaper pumpkin head is Glenny's, he's proud of the fact that it has more than one tooth - definitely not a Carter County pumpkin. Melanie created the cat in honor of the fabulous Phoebe, her and Jeremy's only child (kitten). And Ms. Annie honored us with a Buffett tribute in fine Key West tradition. You can tell she misses the beach. As for my pumpkin, after the tragic decapitation of my hanging bat, I hung a smaller version from inside using a carving tool, wire, scotch tape, and some spit in true MacGyver fashion.

Hope you enjoy the pictures and don't forget the video!!

From Glen: It's hockey time in Tennessee!!

(New!!! Video link!)

This past Friday night was the season opener for the Knoxville Ice Bears. Donna, Jolin, Eric, Annie, Jarrett, and I went down to Knoxville to catch the game. The weather outside was typical fall weather here in East Tennessee - warm & muggy with rain storms and tornados. The Knoxville skyline was pretty silhoutted against the gathering storm clouds.

Stefan brought up one of our normal hockey traditions in an earlier post. I thought I'd try my hand at the chuck-a-puck again, hoping for better results. As you can tell from the picture, though, it didn't turn out all that well...

From Glen: DBT Last Night in Chattanooga

I've been in Atlanta this week working one of the CFPN training events for IWF, selling to the Christians again. Last night, though, I got to be a heathen. Donna and I met in Chattanooga to catch the Drive-By Truckers (sample) at Rhythm and Blues. Absolutely fantastic show. The venue was small, maybe a hundred or so people, and we were about three feet from the stage.

DBT ran through a good set, including Bulldozers & Dirt - a rarity. Patterson's normal banter was less than usual, probably a sign of them being on the road for the last nine months. Coolie actually forgot the words to one of his songs - more than a little bit entertaining. Even with the hiccups it was a good show though. DBT has an energy when you see them live that's contagious. The final encore was 'Let There Be Rock' and Jason Isbell came out into the crowd, jamming as he mingled. Donna was right next to him - I told her after the show she should have grabbed his butt.

From Glen: Trip to Maine, Part 2

We drove up the coast after I got off work on Friday. We stayed at a little bed & breakfast in Newcastle called The Flying Cloud. The beds were great, the hosts were very nice, and the other guests were...interesting. The only downside to the bed & breakfast was the breakfast - for some reason the hostess was all about 'gourmet' breakfasts. I think I ate the bread and the jam and that was about it - there is something unnatural about french toast made out of sourdough bread stuffed with apples and cream cheese. Kiddies, please - don't try to make this at home. (Share a little secret with you, the best recipe for french toast in the world is so, so easy: 1 egg & 1/3 cup milk and a pinch of nutmeg and of cinnamon for each 2 slices of bread; mix the milk, eggs, and spices in a bowl, dip bread in the mixture, and cook in a frying pan with a little bit of oil or butter over medium high heat.)

Speaking of food - there was a local seafood joint called Shaw's Fish & Lobster Wharf that had some of the best seafood that I think I've ever had. It was right on the water in New Harbor. We had the chance to have lunch there before our seal watching tour. The place was completely crowded with locals and with tourists. It was outstanding.

Ahhh - the seal watching tour. I actually managed to talk Donna into going out on a boat for half of the day. We took the tour offered by Hardy Boats and went out in the afternoon. Seeing the Maine coast from the boat just in itself was worth the trip. But even better, when we got out a little bit there was this rocky shelf that had dozens of seals laying out in the sun or swimming in the waters around the boat. The seals were harbor seals, which were once almost hunted to extinction in the area. Now there's apparently a pretty good size population off of the New England coast.

We also had time to go to the Pemaquid Point Light. The setting for this lighthouse was stunning. The rocks in the foreground extend out into the bay with waves crashing against them. Just off the rocks there were dozens and dozens of lobster traps - or at least the markers for the traps. The connection between lobster and Maine in the popular consciousness makes complete sense. It really is everywhere in Maine. We had the chance to go eat at at new Asian restaurant in Portland with the whole IWF crew and, I swear, half of the dishes had lobster in them.

Besides Portland Head and Pemaquid we also went to the lighthouse at Owl's Head and the one at Cape Neddick. The picture here is of Owl's Head. It is the shortest lighthouse I have ever seen. It was a whopping 30 feet tall, around 9 meters for the Europeans. It's located at the top of a bluff that is probably 150 feet high though so it can be seen for miles. The only way to describe the lighthouse itself though is "cute".

Well, that's our first trip to Maine in a nutshell. I'm supposed to go back up sometime later this month or in early November. Hopefully the glaciers won't have moved south yet and inundated the streets in ice and snow like they were on my first trip up in March. There was one snowdrift that was as tall as a house - I am not making this up...

The End

From Glen: Trip to Maine, Part 1

One of the nice things that has came out of my new job with IWF is that I have had the chance to travel alot over the past six months or so. I've been somewhere out of Tennessee at least once a month since March. I'm not quite sure how Donna feels about my being gone - probably quite happy to have the apartment to herself for a little bit.

In July of this year, Donna got to go with me up to Maine. IWF is headquartered in Portland, ME and I had to go up for a meeting with the boss and to make sure everybody else remembered what I looked like. Donna took time off of work to go with me. While I was busy being a worker bee, she was playing tourist and wandering the town. She saw more of Portland during the couple of days we spent there than I have in my two visits.

Besides work, though, we got to be tourists for the weekend. You guys already know that Donna and I are lighthouse hounds. If we're near a light of note, we have to go see it. And Maine.... Maine is full of lighthouses.

The first lighthouse that we went to see was the Portland Head Light. This is one of the most photographed lighthouses in America. I have to say that it is very picturesque, with a setting that is the quintessential Maine image - right on the coast, near craggy rocks, overlooking Casco Bay.

When Donna and I were there, the sky was blue and the sun was shining over the land but out on the water there was low fog. From Portland Head you can look out over the bay and see the Ram Island Ledge Light which is completely surrounded by water at high tide. As you can tell from the picture, it was sort of a haunting scene with this lone lighthouse emerging from the fog. After the fog lifted, it became less Hitchcockesque, but beautiful nonetheless.

From Glen: Some Bush Bashing

Daily Presidential Briefing:

Donald Rumsfeld is giving the president his daily briefing. He concludes by saying: "Yesterday, 3 Brazilian soldiers were killed."

"OH NO!" the President exclaims. "That's terrible!" His staff sits stunned at this display of emotion, nervously watching as the President sits, head in hands.

Finally, the President looks up and asks, "How many is a brazillion?"

Warning from the Center for Disease Control

THE CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL has issued a no-nonsense warning about a new, highly virulent strain of sexually transmitted disease.

This disease is contracted through dangerous and high risk behavior. The disease is called Gonorrhea Lectim (pronounced "gonna re-elect him"). Many victims have contracted it after having been screwed for the past 4 years, in spite of having taken measures to protect themselves from this especially troublesome disease.

Cognitive sequellae of individuals infected with Gonorrhea Lectim include, but are not limited to, anti-social personality disorder traits; delusions of grandeur with a distinct messianic flavor; chronic mangling of the English language; extreme cognitive dissonance; inability to incorporate new information; pronounced xenophobia and homophobia; inability to accept responsibility for actions; exceptional cowardice masked by acts of misplaced bravado; uncontrolled facial smirking; total ignorance of geography and history; tendencies toward creating evangelical theocracies; and a strong propensity for categorical, all-or-nothing behavior. The disease is sweeping Washington. Naturalists and epidemiologists are amazed and baffled that this malignant disease originated only a few years ago in a Texas bush.

Click here for Bush at His Best