Happy Hallowe'en

It's been a very long and busy day. But it was a good one.

When I woke up this morning, I looked outside and there in the darkness of the pre-dawn morning was the moon and a single star. The clouds were drifting over it, giving it a very creepy effect. It was perfect for a Hallowe'en morning. Almost like something straight out of a movie:

Not the clearest image, but you get the idea.

Work was pretty good. There was about 14 of us from the day shift who dressed up and only about 2 of us who stayed in our costume all day. The party went well and almost everyone participated in the games. Pretty much all the food disappeared so I guess that means that they enjoyed it. I ended up taking home some leftover hummus (homemade) so that was a pretty good deal for me.

This evening, I ordered Chinese Food from my favourite place and then watched my favourite Hallowe'en Movie: Hocus Pocus. It's not a scary one by any means, but it's cute and entertaining and has Bette Midler in it so you really can't go wrong.

I got a little inspired to write a poem tonight. Here's a very raw draft of it. I don't like the end of it so I'll have to re-visit it later when I'm not quite so sleepy:

"Treats and tricks, magic and mirth. The one night a year where the dead walk the earth.
Spirits we've lost, loved once now gone. Their ghosts dance in the shadows, their souls sway along.
Frights and thrills, for the young and the old. The full moon rises, what a sight to behold.
Pumpkins and witches, black cats and dead ends. But it's hard to be afraid, when you hold hands with friends.
Scary stories are told by the glow of a candle and may they be only as spooky as you can handle."

I hope everyone's Hallowe'en was a happy one.

Good Night!

Sarah

 

The World Is Mine

First day back at work after holidays. It was ok. The day went by rather slowly and I'm not 100% sure that I actually accomplished anything, but I certainly went through the motions. I had an upset tummy too thanks to a cappuccino I had in the morning so that didn't help things much. The pepto pills from my co-worker Boof did help me feel better, so that was a bonus :)

My evening was quiet and uneventful. I made it home before the rain started and make chicken Udon Noodle soup for dinner. It was very yummy. I also managed to put away most of my clothes from my suitcase.

Not sure if it's because I'm tired or because I'm missing my loved ones, but I was having a bit of a "woe is me" evening. Thinking of things that I didn't have and lementing about how much that sucks. Thankfully I managed to shake most of that off rather quickly and didn't give into my inner demons.

So rather than a long blog tonight, I'm going to share something with all of you that my Gram shared with me when I was a little girl. She gave me this little card that she's got at some point from a fancy resturant in town called the Knotty Pine. It had a poem written on it called "The World Is Mine". I love it from the first time I read it and it stuck with me all my life. In fact, I read it at my Gram's funeral (ok, attempted to read it...it's veyr hard to read when bawling one's eyes out). Anyhow, I thought of it again tonight when I was having my little pity party and it snapped me out of it. Here it is:

The world is mine

Today on a bus, I saw a lovely girl with silken hair
I envied her, she seemed so gay, and I wished I was so fair
When suddenly she rose to leave, I saw her hobble down the isle
O God, forgive me when I whine
I have two legs, the world is mine

And then I stopped to buy some sweets
The lad who sold them had such charm
I talked with him, he seemed so calm, and if I were late it would do no harm,
And as I left he said to me “I thank you, you have been so kind”
It’s nice to talk with folks like you. You see, I’m blind
O God forgive me when I whine
I have two eyes, the world is mine

Later walking down the street, I saw a child with eyes of blue
He stood and watched the others play; it seemed he knew not what to do
I stopped a moment, then I said, why don’t you join the others dear”
He looked ahead without a word, and then I knew he could not hear
O God forgive me when I whine
I have two ears, the world is mine

With legs to take me where I’ll go
With eyes to see the sunsets glow
With ears to ear what I would know
O God forgive me when I whine
I’m blessed, indeed, the world is mine

By: Joy Lovelet Crawford

I hope you liked it.

Good Night!

Sarah

Sharbot Lake, ON

"Something Wicked This Way Comes"

The title of tonight's blog doesn't really reflect the day I have. I picked it because it's one of my favourite lines in my second favourite Shakespeare play. It's a line from Act IV, Scene 1 in MacBeth. As it true with a lot of Shakespeare's quotes, it's only half the line. The full line is: "By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes."

I mention this because I spent the day in Stratford, Ontario with my parents. We went and saw "Much Ado About Nothing" at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. It was awesome. I don't remember Much Ado being that funny, perhaps due to the fact that I was more than a decade younger when I first encountered it. Seeing it come to life was wonderful. Beatice is one of the few female Shakespeare characters who's strong and doesn't meet a fatal end. I really love her. One of my favourite lines of her is " I'd rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man swear that he loves me". Her battle of the wits with Benefick is definitely one of Shakespeare's best examples of writing. And it's friggin hysterical.

The long and the short of it is that Beatrice refuses to settle for any man, just for the sake of marriage. She believes that love and marriage are a curse, and so does the man she ends up marrying. I think I like the character so much because I can relate to her. I like to think that I'm just as witty as she is, but I'm not quite so mean. And I'm not willing to settle either. Yes, I'm single. Yes, I've been single for a very long time. Unlike Beatrice, I do believe in love and marriage, but like her, I will not settle just for the sake of not being single anymore. I'd rather be single and happy than married and miserable. I enjoy being a strong, independent woman. I just wouldn't mind having someone to protect me from time to time when I opt to let my guard down. And cuddle with. And steal kisses from. LOL. You get my point.

I really do love Shakespeare. Whether you believe he truly existed or not, his works have stood the test of time. I'd love to be able to write something that one day that would still be relevant and enjoyed 500 years from now.

Not entirely sure what we're up to tomorrow. My dad is going golfing and my mom and I are going grocery shopping. In the afternoon, my niece and nephew are being dropped off for a few hours so that I can spend some time with them. I have to admit, I'm slowly getting used to being around kids. I'm still leery about it, but they're drawing me in!

"Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow,
That I shall say good night till it be morrow."
(bonus points if you know which play that's from...without resorting to Google!)

Sarah