Another to the Body Count

The other day, I had a hamster turn over. I didn't really lose it over her . . . Kitty was me least favourite. I'd tried to be nice to her, but I had to feed her while she was asleep & I couldn't take her out because she was so hostile. I had tried to get her over that handling her with gloves & giving food to her with my fingers, but whenever I reached for her, she'd bite me. And not the polite little hamster nibbles that only make the wimpy people upset, I'm talking blood flow for an hour at least. She bit me so hard once, I heard it. So her loss was one that didn't stir emotion. But I just found grandma Xena dead in her cage. Poor thing, I was waiting for her time to come because she was very very very old for a hamster. She had gotten to the point where she was walking very slowly & would not use her wheel because her joints were bothering her. She just died of old age. Now Paul is the last one standing. He's a nervous little guy. He's Xena's grandson, Kitty's son. I have cared for all my hamsters, but I wasn't deeply attached to Kitty & Xena. Nor am I that attached to Paul . . . and through all my hamsters - a dozen or so - I've only bought one. Two were gifts (in the 'here, take this' capacity) and the rest were bred here. I'm coming up on the end of my little hamster farm. But Paul has a year or two left.
But now I've got two dead hamsters tied up in bags that SMELL. So I think I'll be making a trip to a dumpster somewhere later today.

I cleaned the house - hooray for me - & we're preparing for Halloween. My favourite holiday. The whether has been a bit bipolar lately, & I'm hoping for a warm evening. It can be cold if it wants, but for the love of God, NO RAIN. My makeup is water-based & will melt right off (which I LOVE when it comes to the cleanup). So as long as the skies are clear on Wednesday, I'll be fine.

A few minor alterations this year. We're making another facial latex applique, which may or may not be used, & may or may not even be ready by Wed. but it is based on the old one, with a bit of a different attitude . . . I'm not so sure I don't like the old one better . . . but the purpose of this one was to make it on a current cast of my face, so it fits better. The other difference scares me just a little bit. Contacts. Contact lenses with spider webs in them. They look really great, but I will be covered in makeup. It will go to the edges of my eyes & I will have makeup on my fingers. So if I get something in my eye, the world ends.
Now, of course, I'll have some makeup so that I can patch my fingers after washing them & taking the contacts out if something like that should occur, but it's such a hassle. I'm always ready for something horrible to happen (like having to go to the bathroom) but I hate it when things do happen - although they rarely do. But I have Spirit gum, spirit gum remover, makeup, lipstick, & nail polish in my pockets in case something needs some touching up. Oh yes, & in case of something truly catastrophic, a little bottle of blood (for a broken spike or something - ow). God I love the big old pockets on that trench coat.
The big difference has nothing to do with the costume. The big difference is the expectation level of the people around me. At TC, I always won the costume contest & students & teachers waited for what my next marvelous showing would be. This year, there is no contest. There is no event. People come dressed up as a festive statement. No one expects anything so extravagant as an eight foot wingspan. Collectively, this costume was over $500 (Contacts included) & I wear it for one fleeting day. A few wows, a few pictures, & many a child running frightened from my porch. I love this holiday.
And as we realized we have three days before I get up at 2 in the morning to get INTO this monstrosity, we wondered if we had the grey makeup. The wonderful water-based stuff that WE CAN ONLY FIND IN PHILLY (at the closest) & prayed that we had enough grey left over from last year. I found my box & as luck would have it, the idea of having some left over from last year was a notion put in our head by the coincidence of last year, having makeup left over from the year before. But last year, we didn't have that hope. And bought new bottles of black & white (Grey never exists when you need it to). They remain unopened.
Today, we work another step of the mask, clean the yard for the big day, & go shopping. Oh, yes. This year, I'm getting better boots. And better, nicer leggings. Being 15 pounds lighter, I'm feeling quite a bit sexier than I usually do, & I'm going to try & accentuate it. This year I'll try & get boots with heels. Gargoyles should be tall anyway.

And as a side note - we anxiously await the bird's reaction. I once read that if your bird seems afraid of you or seem angry at you, you might be wearing something new . . . like a hat - or glasses . . . that throw him off. This is a world away from a hat.