[PurpleBox]

how is every one??

[Moonshadow]

Hi Purple! Glad you dropped in on us.

I updated my reading list. I'm doing really good this year.

[Quiet Man Cometh]

Blah. Haven't been fun reading much. School reading is taking up most of it. Unless people are interested in hearing about the minutiae of library acquisitions, I don't have a whole lot new to say.

[PurpleBox]

Happy October!! lol im so lookign forward to Halloween this year !!

[Kaderin Triste]

Ugh. I have been too busy to read much. Did finally pick up a book though and am about 150 pages from the end...so that should be done soon. Yay!
May just edit my actual reading goal though to just finish the books that I wrote in to read or that are in progress on my list..

[trystan830]

i love halloween!

also, i'm almost done book #36 for the year

[Kaderin Triste]

I feel a bit like an outsider because I really don't care for any holidays that much.
But I am dressing up for halloween because I work at a craft store and I figure it's a cool idea to make a costume and maybe inspire people's next craft projects...

[trystan830]

i've always loved halloween!

what craft store do you work at Kaderin?

also, halloween is a tuesday, i'm at my desk job. the only person who will see me at work if i dress up is my boss. small office. XD

[Moonshadow]

I just finished reading We are all completely beside ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler, it was totally amazing! I am so glad I picked it up in the library.

I am now at 52 for the year which is great because last year I think I read 36.

I hate to put a damper on things but I dislike Halloween. I do however celebrate El Dia de los Muertos. I have an altar set up for my ancestors, and that night I light candles and honor my ancestors, and place flowers on the altar.

[Quiet Man Cometh]

I like the decorating part and costumes of Halloween but it's mostly an excuse for a party. I'm not as into it any more, mostly because I don't want to deal with the people at the door anymore. But, on a farm now so not much chance of that!

My step-mom grew up Catholic and she said the Catholic kids all thought it was great because they got the next day off school for All Saint's Day. Candy and a holiday!

I did have a fun year where I made my own "sorceress" costume (NOT a witch, thank you! ;)) and was greeting people at the door with my pet rat on my shoulder.

[trystan830]

yaay for reading more than you did last year, moonshadow!

and there's nothing wrong with celebrating Dia de los Muertos! =)

that sounds like a cool costume, too, Quiet Man!

[Kaderin Triste]

Trystan: I work at Joann. Just started approximately 2 months ago. It's nice, but they almost always schedule me on weekends, so I haven't had a full day off since September 2nd.

[Quiet Man Cometh]

At a craft store pre-Halloween I can imagine it's busy.

I became the master at the two minute Halloween costume when I was into dog shows. The largest show in Western Canada was Halloween weekend, so I would end up at the show and then once I got home, had to go right to my cousin's annual party. If I didn't have something done beforehand, I would make something up on the spot.

One year, I had this big read housecoat, so I stuck my hair up in the highest pig-tails I could get and went as Cindy-Loo Hoo, while my friend grabbed some costume make-up, stuck a bra bag over a couple coat hangers for wings and made a want from a drumstick and foil and went as a fairy. Another year I was a demon. I wore all black with painted nails (went to the show like this). Had a "bag" costume for the devil horns and tail that I altered to look better, and had a big black cape that I used for wings, safety-pinning the ends to my arms in a couple places. It had a hood, which I cut off and made into a smaller cape for my little dog.

One of my college roommates was Australian and found the whole fuss over Halloween to be fascinating. I guess it's no the big deal elsewhere in the world as it seems to be in North America. Apparently, it's rivaling Christmas for effort and expense.

[Kaderin Triste]

It's not actually that busy. Partly because we're primarily a fabric store, and partly because most people don't want to take the time and effort to make a costume when they can drive over to walmart or target and buy one pre-made.

[Quiet Man Cometh]

Ah. Yeah, I can see that. Fabric prices are also not always a deal in comparison. I made costumes at times but often used other pieces of other costumes to do it. A $12 dollar Dracula cape that I could alter slightly was a better deal than the fabric to make one, and less work.

I should do some research for my paper. I have a stack of lovely books on video games (I love college!) to read but sadly, I doubt I'll have the time to actually read them all the way through. Since I'm almost done Death By Video Game, I've added that to my stack of potential reference material, and I can get away with a full reading of it.

[trystan830]

Kaderin - very cool. i work at michael's on the weekends - my main job was mon-fri, but when i lost my fridays, i needed something else to fill the gap, so i've been working fri-sat-sun for a long time now (7 years, 6 at michael's)... if i want off a day, i have to request it.

and since i work on weekends, it's always busy for me... which is a good thing, since we're next door to an AC Moore and a few shopping centers away from a JoAnn's!

i million years ago, (ok, it was 1994) i worked at a fabric store near where i was living at the time (which is still only like 40 minutes from me now) called Cloth World. i've also been sewing since i was in middle school. while i was there, Cloth World was bought by this other, larger fabric store... JoAnn's! XD

i've made a lot of clothing for myself and then later my daughters... and several years ago, my daughters decided they wanted to make their own costumes for halloween and comiccon, so we did that too.

and you're right, Quiet Man, buying fabric to make something yourself isn't cost-effective anymore. maybe when i was little it was - my mom made me a lot of clothing, i don't remember what all she didn't actually make. maybe my shirts....? i only made a few dresses for my daughters when they were wearing dresses. XD

i made my senior prom gown. but taffeta and lace is also expensive, and probably more so.

but i do like making things, it's a better quality, and you know how it's made. as a result, i'm awful when i buy clothing - i'm always looking at the stitches and the construction. i've put things back and gotten a different one off the rack because i liked the finished edge or seam better than the other one.

in other news, i've finished another book this morning... need to update my list! =)