giving thanks

Our Thanksgiving:

Made epic by this minor mishap caught on film:

Still funny after the billionth time.  A Thanksgiving always to remember. 

We are grateful for:

Our families. Central Park in Ashland with its pretty lights.  James' dog Coca.  Evaroni's pizza.  The new Muppet movie.  Long conversations.  The technology that allows us to communicate with those far from us.  Delicious food.  Family traditions.  Broccoli casserole.  Old and new friends.  Christmas music.  Favorite movies.  Laughter.  Marriage.  Life.

We had a lovely time away.

and now to unleash all of this Christmas spirit!

beirut

Sure, they're lousy iphone pictures.  But I'll have you know that this was probably one of the best concerts I've been to.  It was marvelous.  We were only seven rows from the front.  An easy distance from the band.  Plus it was a really casual/welcoming concert because of Kelly Pratt, a Lexington native (who was amazing by the way.)  All of his family were there and we all said happy birthday to his mom.

It was one of those concerts that encompassed every bit of me.  Ukulele, drums, trumpets, horns, harpsichord, piano, voice and accordion.  Not your typical combination of sound.  And what a combination it was.  It was one of those experiences I'll always remember, I think.  A -unifying, exciting, overwhelming, suck in the moment and dance without thinking -kind of experience.

Vagabond is my current favorite from the new album if you care to have a listen.

and I invite you all to fall in love with Beirut as I have.  All thanks goes to Ian who put Elephant Gun on the first mix he ever made me, only two months into knowing me.  I had a thought while riding home on the back of Ian's scooter that night, all shaken up and ears buzzing from the experience, that I would never have had that magic evening without having met him.  That and a million other things.  But the thought made me pause and smile.

lovemylife.

keeneland

        On the second to the last day of the horse races in Lexington, Brianna, James and I delightedly went to Keeneland.  It was not as heavily attended because of the cold/wet weather, which was fine by us.  We went right to the front for the best view of the horses.  Though it wasn't typical hat weather-- Bree and I couldn't resist.  I'd never been to the races before.  I'm sure we'll go again when spring rolls around.

happy halloween

We went back to Ashland for Halloween.  And thank goodness for it.

You see, the thriller parade was on Sunday night, unexpectedly.  And we were kind of basing our whole day around going to the parade.  So when it happened the night before, our little idea of carving pumpkins, dressing up, going to the parade then coming home for creepy movies and food didn't work quite as well.  Not having something to dress up for, I mean. 

We probably could have worked it out-- but the last straw was when Ian said he had to drive to Ashland to pick up a few things.  The party was then condensed to Brianna and I partying by ourselves, plus I was the only one with a decided costume.  Well we threw out all plans and went to Ashland with Ian.  Which turned out to be a mighty fine choice.

First we took Brianna to central park.  Perfect weather for the occasion.

 

Then we had to figure out how to spend the rest of our Halloween.  We had very weak plans in mind upon arriving.  Just three small pumpkins to carve and a spooky movie provided by Brianna.  (El Orfanato  Creepy, sad and beautiful.)  That was about it.  Then my mama in law informed us of a costume box in the basement.  Which led way to...

Brianna the french taunter:

credit

Who spoke in the appropriate accent all evening.  "Now, go ehwey before I taunt you a second time-uh!"

Sash the homely pirate:

Complete with moon boots beneath attached boots to pants.  I look like my dad.

Ian the everyday batman:

Who delightedly used phrases like "Swear to me!," "I'm not wearing hockey pads,"  and "trick or treat" in his lowest batman voice possible to all kids who came by for candy.

and at last... Holly the German scientist with hippo poodle

      

         

And even though you can only see her in the left corner of the picture... we cannot forget to acknowledge Diana the ninja turtle belly.  What a champ.

Some other gems from the evening

 

 

Our small punkins.  Took about five seconds to carve.

It was probably the most laid back Halloween of all time.  Really last minute.  Spur of the moment.  And incredibly enjoyable.  As long as mustaches were attached, no real conversation could be held without bursting with laughter.  Such fun.  We watched Little Shop of Horrors while eating hamburgers.  Then when we had got good and ready, full of candy in our bellies, we watched El Orfanato like a bunch of chickens.

All in all... a great celebration.

thriller parade

As part of our Halloween celebrations this year, we joined the city of Lexington for the thriller parade.  I had heard a little bit about it, but couldn't wait to see what the reality of it was.

I was not disappointed.

As we approached main street we started to notice something a little different.  Namely... a bunch of zombies, still and quiet, laying all over the place.  They lined the streets, plagued the sidewalks and crowded the square. Without so much as a glance or sound.  Except for one scuba diver zombie... who would not look, but would grab your leg as you walked past as if her arms were the only thing living.

Spooky, eh?

 

We shoved our way through the huge crowd of people lining the street and waited for the parade to start.  As soon as the thriller music started--Michael Jackson came out of the Kentucky theater, just like in his music video, and he and his girl did their little song and dance.  Then after Vincent Price spoke... all our zombies came alive and made their way to the street.

 Shoving their way through the throng of people.

There must have been a couple hundred of these zombies.  And as soon as the beat started (you know the one)  they began the dance.  All couple hundred of them between the ages of 7 to 50, obviously rehearsed, doing the thriller dance.  It was really somethin' to behold.

And the crowd went wild.

Side note:  Brianna took the majority of these pictures... and I thought it was funny that the red eye glare made almost everyone look spooky.  Like the picture of this crowd below for example....  'specially the kid on the end right, second row up.  See what I mean?  They look like jawa's.

Then of course the rest of the parade followed.  It was a blast, really.  Very amateur floats and spectacles, but honest and in the spirit of fun.  It made me feel like a kid at halloween again.  And the more I watched, the more brilliant I decided this parade was.  Which I know Lexington has figured out, this being their 10th year and all. It's at night-- so you don't have to worry about the sun blazing on you.  It's halloween themed so there is no end to the ideas you can come up with to make it interesting each year.  You can dress up for it.  You can participate by being a zombie and learning the dance (I am sorely tempted for next year, folks.)  It was just fun.

Papier-mâché Michael 

 Día de los Muertos Float from our Latin community. 

 The skeleton was made out of PVC pipe which was clever I thought.

Jaba and the gang

Ghostbusters and Mr. Stay Puff

And of course, our headless horseman to finish it off.

We neglected to picture the phantom of the opera playing the organ in the back of a truck playing Toccata and Fugue in D minor, Pee Wee Hermin riding his bike, the zombie marching band as well a pipe band with their traditional kilts but also some painted faces and silly costumes on top.  All quite enjoyable.

We were quite pleased with the whole thing, as I am sure you can imagine.  More fun than scary, I promise.  Hope to go again next year!  Maybe even join along...