Halloween Aloha!

Happy Halloween, everyone!

We're not spending Halloween in Edmonton this year. No, today we're at the big annual Halloween street festival in the town of Lahaina on the island of Maui!

That's a long way to go for a party, isn't it? So to justify the airfare, we're going to stay in Hawaii for a few more weeks before heading home.

Editorial Note from Debra She Who Seeks --
I'll be back to regular blogging at the beginning of December, but I have it on good authority that my blog will host a Guest Post right before American Thanksgiving in November. A free book giveaway is also rumoured to be involved! So keep your eyes peeled for that!

Editorial Note from Her Royal Highness the Cat --
NO, the Guest Post is NOT going to be written by ME. My shiftless human is NOT going to SUCK ME IN AGAIN to do her WORK for her while she's LAZING ABOUT on holiday! Believe it or not, she's found some OTHER poor sap to fall for that old con this time *shakes head sadly.* People! Will they NEVER learn?

Halloween Odds 'n Sods

Well, today I'm clearing out my stash of leftover Halloween memes so here's an eclectic mix of all sorts of stuff! I hope you find something you like!

And let's end with a few costume-related LOLs! After all, what is Halloween without dressing up?

Never trust Pikachu, no matter how cute he is. You'll be sorry!

And finally, here's a couple of fierce little superhero girls in costume, ready to kick ass and take names!

Start Your Holiday Shopping Now!

As far as I'm concerned, it's never too early to beat the rush when it comes to holiday shopping! Of course, by "holiday" I mean Halloween, Samhain, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Festivus, Christmas, Yule, Kwanzaa, whatever it is you've got left to celebrate in 2018!

And if you can find that perfect holiday gift on the internet, then so much the better!

In that spirit, here's some info about a couple of new books published this year and some new merchandise available online from some of my favourite bloggers! This isn't a sponsored advertisement or anything -- it's just stuff I like!

THE TRUMPETER'S NEW CLOTHES

by Robyn Alana Engels

Robyn Alana Engel's new book is a fun political satire for kids of all ages! The Trumpeter's New Clothes is a poetical fun-fest of laughs with knock-out illustrations that will delight you! But be forewarned that, as Robyn says, it's "not for those who lean Orange!" Ha ha! (You'll love his hairpiece -- I know I do!) Available on Amazon (USA) and (Canada).

CLOWDERS by Vanessa Morgan

No one writes about cats so well as Vanessa Morgan! Her latest book, Clowders, is a spooky tale set in Luxembourg involving cats and supernatural vengeance. Frightened town inhabitants do everything they can to worship, adore and protect their cats. But then one night, an American newcomer accidentally runs over a cat with her car . . . .

This book is particularly recommended by Her Royal Highness.

Available on Amazon (USA), (Canada) and (UK).

Magic Love Crow Merchandise

In addition to an Etsy shop where you can buy her art and leggings, Stacy of Magic Love Crow now has a Redbubble site as well, where you can buy all kinds of quality merchandise featuring some of her most iconic images! I bought one of her "Happy Baby Crow" t-shirts and just love it! From personal experience, I also know that her tote bags and notebooks are great too!

HRH's Halloween Post

Hello, everyone. Her Royal Highness the cat here.

I know SOME of you thought I had a paw in producing last week's post

about witches and their cats but no, that was entirely

my human's LAME EXCUSE for a cat-related post.

Poor dear, she DOES try, so we must all

ENCOURAGE her but really, she is

SUCH a non-creative dim bulb compared to MOI.

My fellow felines, let's all don our SPOOKIEST costumes this year, shall we?

GHOST kitties are MY favourite costume,

but let's all put a LITTLE effort into it, okay?

We don't want our costume to end up looking like

some half-assed NUN'S OUTFIT, now do we?

Of course, we could go the HORROR route . . . .

When designing your WALKING DEAD costume,

just remember -- keep things MESSY!

Here's the MOST HORRIFYING scenario I can think of  (*shudder*) --

FOOLISHLY, humans always UNDERESTIMATE

both our intentions and our powers --

And speaking of internal organs, I hope you all get
some WONDERFUL NEW CAT TOYS for Halloween!

HUGS n PURRZ until next time, dahlings!

Who Doesn't Love Bologna?

No, not the city in Italy -- the sandwich meat!

Gawd, I ate a river of baloney (as we pronounced it) when I was a kid in Manitoba because, of course, baloney was at that time a cheap meat source for the poor. It's been a long time now since I've had to subsist on baloney, but I still get a craving for it maybe once a year. Once I've had some, though, I'm good to go without it again for at least another twelve months, LOL!

Baloney also occupies a special place in the traditional diet of folks from Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada's 10th province. Newfoundlanders are known for loving their baloney and this has become part of their stereotypical image.

Lots of Newfoundlanders work in Alberta's oilfields. Many fly in and out, but some do permanently settle here. They are part of our cultural fabric in Alberta now. By way of example, My Rare One and I went out to breakfast last week here in Edmonton and right there on the menu was a listing for "eggs, hashbrowns, NEWFIE STEAK and toast."

So, of course, I had to order some. Behold my breakfast plate --

A big ol' slab of baloney cut right off the CHUB! That's pretty ritzy, man. WE only ever got a fried SLICE of it from the package. And while this baloney was warm, it was not fried to a delectable crisp like my Mom would have made it (with a little slit cut in the side so it wouldn't curl up in the pan).

Still, it's got to be said --

"So He's a Ghost Story"

Well, Captain America DID call the Winter Soldier a "ghost story" the first time he heard about him, but these days Steve Rogers is carrying the analogy too far for Bucky's liking.

 stuckytakethewheel

Bucky “quit telling everyone I’m dead” Barnes (x)

 stuckytakethewheel

Who brought this back

 mytasterpeculiar

He he he…

And now, after Infinity War, things have only gotten worse.