Dmitry and I just got back from a brief visit to Kirstin's so I could
get a glimpse of my poppets in their Halloween finery, and Dmitry could
watch some actual trick-or-treating (we don't get many, if any,
here).  Kirstin and Matt were hosting a party for their friends in
the neighborhood, with en masse trick or treating afterward:

Yes, that's our little girl and her hubby. 

Bethie with her friend, Isabella, and Kirstin with Benjamin and Bryson.

P.S.  7:42 p.m.  No trick or treaters.  Looks like those Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are mine, all mine.

It's incredible how much trouble villains go to, in order to collect
one's log-in info for sites such as eBay and Paypal.  I'm
constantly receiving bogus emails, but this morning brought a new one,
ne'er before seen (at least by me):

This is the new trick, apparently....to send fake messages, ostensibly
having come via the eBay message system.  Sent it to
Spoof@ebay.com and received back not a canned reply, but an actual
message from an actual person, who assured me it was bogus.

Which I knew, naturally, as I'd checked my eBay messages and how about that.....this one wasn't there. 

Always check, folks.  Always, always check.  The villains are getting sneakier all the time. 

It's Halloween, but the forecast is frightful, containing rain and
storms.  Some of the expected storms are preparing to move in
shortly:

Wonder if it'll hold together long enough to get here?  Often the
southern tail breaks apart so we hardly get any rain, and we surely
could use it.  Hope it doesn't rain tonight, though, else there
goes trick or treating for the grandchildren. 

Being rained out didn't happen often, but it did happen a couple of
times, and I remember how disappointed we'd be.  Talk about all
dressed up with nowhere to go! 

P.S.  It held together.  Rain at last! 

Heard from Jessica.  Brianna lost to a kid in a cheesy horse outfit. 

Signs of the times, on a personal level:  This evening Dmitry went
to 5 o'clock service as he normally does, for the high school
discipleship team(s) meeting is held afterward.  Tonight was a
costume party, but he and Dan and the other boys were skipping the
costume part.

Russians don't do the costume thing, I've noticed.

Anyway, about 6:15 or so I heard Dmitry's voice outside, so went to let
him in.  Turns out the party was off-site and they weren't sure
precisely where, so elected to give it a miss. 

The person behind the wheel of the snazzy new Kia Rio parked in front of our house was none other than Dan! 
He got his license last week, as I think I mentioned a few days ago, so
he was able to give Dmitry a ride home (a matter of maybe four
residential blocks), which Dmitry obviously considered to be much cooler than being hauled around by parents.

Sorry, Bill and Laura.   
Mind, there's no doubt being driven by y'all is cooler than being
driven by Don and me, but we're all four eclipsed by the coolness of
being driven by Dan.

Dmitry solemnly assured me Dan's the best driver in the world.

He can tell a lot in the space of four blocks, apparently.  

[smirking]  With
the exception of refried beans  -  he's not there yet 
-  the indoctrination is almost complete.  Tonight for supper
we had Enchilada Verde Casserole (fancy name for a simple dish off the
label of a Campbell soup can), and Dmitry absolutely loved it:

Verde Enchilada Casserole

1 can Campbell's Creamy Chicken Verde soup

1/2 cup water

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

2 cups cubed cooked chicken

4 flour tortillas (8"), cut into strips

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a 2 quart shallow baking dish with non-stick spray

In a bowl, mix soup, water, garlic powder and chicken.

Stir in tortillas

Spread mixture into the baking dish and top with cheese.

Cover and bake for 25 minutes or until hot.

Serves 4  (I just used a dusting of garlic powder, BTW, and dumped a bit of sour cream on each serving.)

It tastes like nachos, he exclaimed as he helped himself to
seconds.  He now happily munches nachos, Mexican pizza, tacos,
fajitas, and most other types of Mexican food, including the Mexican
rice. 

This evening was the Hoot & Howl, at which Brianna's dance class performed:

There was one girl to the left (out of the photo), and two sisters
didn't show.  The ones who did appear danced to "Purple People
Eater."

Brianna's on the left, and there's Jessica applauding the girls as they come off the stage.

Brianna was chosen to be in the Best Costume contest.  (Since
we've not heard from Jessica tonight, I suppose she didn't win.) 
What with the sun going down and the wind picking up, we were
sure glad she was dressed so warmly.

Before we went home, Don and I stopped by the new SuperTarget, where
the Christmas decorations were being put out.  Tell you what has
grown to immense proportions and that's the selection of lights for
decorating:

Good heavens!  I nearly forgot! 

In the wee hours of tomorrow morning the pernicious Daylight Savings Time finally goes away. 

An extra hour of sleep! 

So, who has a hankering for the country life?

If you do, the country is calling for you;  from the most recent
Kiplinger's newsletter, courtesy of a potential customer of Don's:

Everyone knows there is no such thing
as a free lunch.  No one ever said anything about free land. 
More than a dozen Great Plains hamlets are doling out plots, from 4.650
square feet in Atwood, Kansas
(bolding for Mom's sake), to nearly an acre in Lincoln, Kansas (340 and
150 miles west of Topeka, respectively).  Homesteaders must build
a house within 12 to 24 months and promise to stay a few years. 
Some towns add extras.  Atwood families can get a free year at the
Atwood Country Club.  Minneapolis (Kansas, not Minnesota) rebates
75% of city and school taxes for five years.

That generosity is born of necessity.  Scarce jobs and an exodus
of young people have forced rural schools and businesses to close,
threatening the towns' survival.  Anita Huffhines, Ellsworth
County's economic development director, has fielded thousands of
inquiries from people across the U.S. anxious to quit city life. 
Her central-Kansas county offers one-third-acre lots gratis in four
small towns.

Two years ago, Beth and Robbie Seiler moved just 30 miles  - 
but a world away  -  from Salina, Kansas (pop. 46,000) to
Marquette (pop. 580).  They got a free lot, built a 1,300 square
foor house and haven't looked back.  They found local jobs 
-  tough to do in isolated burgs  -  and are
happy.  "It's quiet and the schools are smaller," says Beth,
31.  "We didn't need any other incentives."   ---
Catherine M. Varner

Atwood is where my father's mother hailed, and where we took family
vacations every summer until I was 13 years old.  My
greatgrandfather was the doctor in the county, whose house doubled as
the hospital.

Actually, this would spice up the Winter Games, in my opinion: 

TURIN, Italy -- A downhill skier is led off in handcuffs after crossing
the finish line for a gold medal. Paramilitary Carabinieri jump onto
the ice and take away a bruising hockey defenseman or chase down a pair
of ice dancers.

It may sound like a goofy film script, but the International
Olympic Committee is worried about just such scenes at the Winter
Olympics in Turin -- and that has led to a standoff with Italian
authorities over the country's hardline anti-doping law.

Paramilitary forces leaping onto the ice to grab ice dancers and haul 'em off to the hoosegow?

Now that's entertainment!