Halloween '08

We've enjoyed perfect weather for the past few days: sunny, clear, and unseasonably warm.

Coca allowed me to dress her up for a few minutes before growing tired of the costume. I didn't buy it especially for her because I am not that odd. She wore my old bee costume that I've used many times myself, such as on State Street years ago with Erik, Jason, Allison, and Stacia...


Lots of trick-or-treaters came by, and everyone was out in the neighborhood. Maria hosted a lovely impromptu party in her front yard. We gave out candy from our two houses to the kids and had wine and cheese for the adults. Maybe next year we'll give out shots too? Verne, Callie, and Chloe (dressed as a spider) stopped by, and so did Rob and Tony.


I ran the Turkey Trot 5k on Saturday morning. My pace was quite a bit slower than in the past, but I was trying to keep my heart rate under 155 bpm. As suggested by Arrietta and Sterling, I purchased a monitor with an alarm to help me stay in the correct range.

Claire and Corday hosted their annual halloween party on Saturday night. Scott dressed as Santa Clause, and I dressed up as Sarah Palin. Erin won the best costume when she dressed as Corday, including shaving her head and giving her hair to Locks of Love. Jannea dressed as Amy Winehouse, and she really looked like her. Lisa cleverly dressed as Rosie the Riviter. Claire, Henry, and Corday dressed as Orphan Annie, the dog, and Daddy Warbucks.

(Pictures to come later from Lisa's camera.)

Scott bought the Santa costume because "it will be useful in the future" and he found the belly to be both useful and annoying. I think it also developed empathy for my growing belly... for example, Scott could not drive because it was in his way, and he found it a useful shelf for his beer bottle.

Fall visit from Scott's parents

This fall has been fairly mild so far, which has allowed the grass to get a chance to get established, though it may need to be reseeded in Spring. You can also see the final look of the steps and the porch that Dean finished. We are going to wait until spring to paint.Here's a great photo on the new stamped concrete patio. Coca couldn't sit still long enough to pose for the shot.
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Simone visits Madison!

Simone, the newest member of the Lamont family, visited Madison for a conference about translation, or, in industry parlance, "localization." As you can tell, Liana and and Simone look quite similar, especially when they are both wearing Liana's clothes!

Martinez, the wedding

Last weekend was the wedding of Eric Martin, aka Martinez. Suprisingly, there were no Latino wedding customs at all. The mini high school reunion is pictured first.The happy couple.

Yard update

After the concrete patio and driveway were poured we had to bring in topsoil and do the grading. I planted grass and hopefully it has enough time to get started, depending on how long the weather stays nice. Meanwhile our friend Dean is working on finishing up the porch steps. I also laid pavers in front of our garage/workshed.