All Hallow's....

Ahhh.... the smell of fal...
Well, out here, it's not so much fall as it is wet leaves. It is raining again, and the leaves (those that have fallen) are soaking already. Mmmm. Mold.
***
I ended up carving a lantern. I almost didn't, but then changed my mind last minute and managed to find a perfectly sized and shaped pumpkin, with only 1 small ground-side spot.
I decided to go the traditional route, and free-handed a face...

With Flash

Without Flash

It's a happy face, methinks, and I'm glad I ended up carving it.
***
We have had only 1 beggar of sweets. I'm not surprised, it is the buckle of the Bible-Belt after all, but the next kid that knocks on my door is getting a fistful of Hershey's, no questions asked. I don't care if that kid is 40.
Otherwise it'll just sit and sit and sit unless I do something with it. As an aside, I have found you can make a pretty damn good cup of hot choco by melting 5-9 of the mini bars o'chocolate goodness in a double boiler and mixing milk in very slowly, by small amounts.
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All of the churches that I drive by on the way to work have things like 'Join us for our Trunk or Treat!' instead of trick or treat. I have to admit I'm curious as to what 'trunking' is, but I'm still pissed they're usurping one of the longest-running widely celebrated holidays in the world. It's almost as bad as the church-sponsored haunted houses. Instead of ghouls and ghosts jumping out at you, they show you the (insert sarcasm, folks!) really scary things like the junkie in the corner and the hugely pregnant 10 year old getting a 3rd trimester abortion (last I checked, illegal in TN, except to save the life of the mom and even then that's a bit dicey to prove)... You know, the 'sin' stuff.
I say every community has unwanted pregnancies and junkies and they have all had them since time immemorial. You can't tell me Zog and Brod and Ralm sitting around the fire in the Lower Paleolithic didn't share ganja. You know they did... They depended on plants for their lives, they'd know the properties and drugs inherent in each one. I mean, c'mon... We have cannibinoid receptors in our fucking brains. You also can't tell me they didn't fuck like bunnies every chance they got. Sex is not new and this generation did not invent it, damnit! I'm also pretty sure Ms. Paleo didn't want to be pregnant all the time.
I just wish those who believe in their religions would practice tolerance of others and let us have our holidays, you know?
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I only know about the single costumed one because Sic-un told me. I was at work all evening. All evening? Hell, all day.
They have split up my days off. I now no longer get a 'weekend'. I don't, apparently, deserve a 'weekend'. But because I still get 2 days off a week (Friday and Sunday. How's that for a slap?), I really have no recourse.
Rumor says merit raises have also been suspended, indefinitely, due to the current economic crisis.
I have a shit schedule (hours are great, days off suck), and I have no hope of getting paid more as any kind of recompense. Why complain, you say. Why not do something about it, you say.
The answer is known, but I don't want to look for another job. I won't throw away 7 1/2 years with my employer just because I get a shit schedule. I've had worse. I remember 3 ten-hour days paired with 2 days of 5 hours each and separated days off. I just wish all that loyalty on my part was worth something on their part.
***
I still wanna win the lottery.

Merry Samhain, folks. I hope yours is happy. Pumpkin gets blown out and brought inside (if it is indeed still lit....yeah, it is) at midnight.