This is Halloween!

Happy Halloween, all you ghosties, ghouls and goblins!

I bring you a photo post...

Boo at the Zoo!



A visit to the pumpkin patch:




I finally got around to carving one of those pumpkins last night:



Stitch n Witch 2008:

Thing 1 and the Fish

A Viking family ready to pillage the Farmer's Market

Spider Granny!

Gnome-mar Garciaparra

Look! It's Bai Ling!

This little cowgirl is ready for some treats now.

Happy Halloween!

Ruth Wright Johnston

My grandmother was never an easy person to love. She had an extremely critical eye, especially for members of her family. She was never comfortable giving compliments to her family. She would talk about how great my aunt was, but only to my mom, never directly to my aunt. She seemed to go out of her way to be difficult, as if she was testing the limits or boundaries of your love. She would say horrible, offensive things on purpose, it seemed, as if she wanted to prove to herself that we didn't really love her.

In the last five years or so, she seemed to mellow. She started to appreciate the people around her, and even learned how to apologize. She wasn't perfect, and she could always be counted on to tell you how fat you looked, but I always assumed that said more about her own issues with weight than it did about my body. My grandmother was:

• a child of divorce (my great-grandmother ran away from her husband in 1929, and even changed her and my grandma's last name so he couldn't find them)
• a swim suit model (she had a front cover of Harper's Bazaar and a back cover of Vogue in the 1940s)
• a mother of three
• a divorced woman in the 1950s
• a working woman
• a mother whose child died (my uncle committed suicide in 1975)
• a widow (her second husband, my Grandpa Paul, died when I was in high school)
• a proud, strong, ornery woman

Goodbye, Grandma.

Ruth Wright Johnston
4/29/25 - 10/15/08

Me, Grandma and my mom, with Vivian

Don't Vote. Seriously.

Who gives a s***? Who cares? If you do, register to vote. NOW.

Taking Stock

taken from Dad Gone Mad:

1. There’s something you’ve always dreamed of doing, but you haven’t done it because you think you lack the time, money, or support to do so. What is that something? And what are the REAL roadblocks keeping you from it?

Hmm. I have a lot of dreams, so it's hard to narrow down which one to write. I guess the most salient one is my dream to own a house. The real roadblocks to that one are: the current economy/tightening of loan standards, lack of a down payment, and the expense of the LA housing market (even with the downturn). We're hoping to make some progress on this front in the next year or so, but for right now, it's on hold.

2. Name something you would eat more of if health, cost, allergy, and caloric intake were of no concern.

Steak. Rare steak. Ooh, and blue cheese. And red wine.

3. What is the one singer/band, book/author, painting/painter or author artist/work of art that “speaks to you” most? Why?

"Persuasion," by Jane Austen. I think it speaks to me because it touches on not only the importance of knowing your own mind, but also the value of listening to others, and not making rash decisions. It explores themes of responsibility and maturity, which I appreciate more as I get older.

4. If your country’s government handed you a check for $10 billion and empowered you use that money to support a single program, cause, or organization, where would you send it?

Comprehensive sex education for middle school children. Giving young women (and men) the opportunity to make educated choices about their sexual and reproductive lives allows them to get higher education, get better jobs, be happier and more productive, which strengthens the economy and provides growth and stability for the country.

5. What really, genuinely pisses you off?

Closed-minded people who believe that their way is the only way. The only way to God, the only way to happiness, the only way to fulfillment, the only way to prosperity.

6. Describe your current level of happiness and contentment in your life. Are you living the life you imagined for yourself when you were younger?

On a scale of 1-10, I'm probably about an 8 1/2. I finally have a good job that I enjoy where I feel valued and challenged. I have a loving family and am financially secure enough to enjoy some of life's pleasures. I don't have a house yet, but it will come eventually. No, I'm not living the exact life I thought I would (in junior high, I thought I would go into politics!), but it's a life that I think my younger self would appreciate.

Feel free to answer all or just few of these questions in the comments. Or, if you prefer, contemplate your answers privately.