So — that cocktail party? Terrific fun and I’m so glad we went. It was great to reconnect with old friends and make some new ones, too. We haven’t changed a bit in 20+ years, either. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Other things that happened this weekend?

I went to the gym. Twice. Yay me.

I managed to spend a ridiculous amount of money at Target. Seriously, I go in there for 2 things and I come out with a wagon full of stuff and $200 less in my bank account. Hullo, my name is Carole and I have a Target problem.

I blocked the Cactus Flower shawl. Pictures soon!

After the party Saturday night we hit up our favorite beach before we rode back over the bridge. Yes, it was dark and yes, it was very cold but I still took off my shoes and socks and stuck my feet in the water. I’m a beach lover, through and through.

I made a fantastic dinner Friday night. Filet mignon with bernaise sauce, sauteed mushrooms, oven roasted asparagus and loaded baked potatoes. We love our Friday nights at home and this night, like so many others we share, included lots of music and some dancing, too.

Sunday wound up being a lazy at-home spontaneous pajama day. Dale was nursing a cold and I was perfectly content to hang out, read, knit, play some games and just enjoy being together. Cocktails with homemade pita chips & roasted tomatoes with goat cheese by the fire was the perfect end to a November afternoon.

How was your weekend?

This year was our 5th straight year of having a Halloween Party and I really wanted to change things up with the theme and decorations. We’d done the haunted house type thing, we’d done the zombie thing and the creepy crawly thing and so, one night about a month ago, Dale and I were sitting on the deck having a cocktail and perusing Pinterest and there was a picture of a scary clown.

It was our Halloween Party version 5.0 light bulb moment. We could be scary clowns! And Hannah hates clowns so the thought of teasing her throughout the process was something neither of us could resist. Things did evolve, though, as they so often do in these situations. While we originally thought we would both be scary clowns, we couldn’t find costume pieces for Dale that we liked. And then we remembered a red blazer we had seen at the 2nd hand store and decided that Dale could be the ring master and I would be a clown and we would set up the decorations like a creepy circus. I’ve always said coming up with a theme is the hardest thing about any event and it’s true because once we’d decided on this the rest just fell into place. I pinned stuff on Pinterest and showed pictures to Dale and he took my ideas and turned them into reality.

Enough talk – you want to see, right?

We had a ticket booth complete with lights and Michael Myers to greet our guests at the back door.

We also had this awesome clown in an antique car that belongs to Dale’s dad. Because every circus needs a clown car, right?

We had balloons and other clown figures.

And a tight rope walker. This is the part where I tell you that my husband’s imagination, while fantastic, sometimes freaks me out a little.

Of course, you have to have a man, errrr, a Ken doll, being shot out of a canon.

Finally, outside we also had a high dive jumper. See what I mean about Dale’s imagination?

Inside we decorated with tulle and tried to make the dining room look like a circus tent.

We had circus peanuts and Cracker Jack and poison candy apples. I made those apples, by the way, and they were a PITA and not worth the effort. But they looked cool.

And lots of wine, beer and Harvest Margaritas. I also made eleventy-million corn dogs from scratch and they were a huge hit. Huge. Along with macaroni & cheese muffins and pumpkin cake and gourmet cheeses and snacks that our guests brought as well. No one went hungry or thirsty, I can tell you that.

We put party hats and red noses on skulls.

We had a sword swallow-er in one corner of the living room.

And a really big zombie-type clown with blinking red eyes. He scares the crap out of me.

He doesn’t scare me as much as the clown doll holding a cleaver, though. Yikes, that’s creepy.

As I said on Monday, I was terrible about taking pictures of our guests but, luckily, Anne captured quite a few and is letting me share them with you here.

Jo-Ann and Shawn came as Jack & Jill after they fell down the hill. That there is Shawn. It might be after the beer as much as after the hill. You understand.

Doreen and Mark came as a lobster in a pot and the Swedish Chef. They looked terrific.

Tom and Anne came as day of the dead sugar skull people and their make up was awesome. Anne is a really talented facepainter and I have to say that Dale and I wouldn’t have looked nearly as creepy if it weren’t for her mad makeup skillz.

We also had witches and ninjas and cats and cancer patients (that was Bob, he hasn’t lost his sense of humor at all)

and the king and queen of duct tape dynasty.

We had Dr. Seuss characters and The Princess Death Star Prison League Bowling Team (my wonderful and extremely creative neighbors!)

My cousin Len and his wife Peg came as the Wicked Witch of the West and one of her palace guards. They won first prize, and I actually took a photo of them. Yay me.

All in all it was a truly terrific night. I think it ended around 2am when the die hards were on the deck singing The Gambler at their top of the lungs. Dale has a video of that but I’ll spare you the gory details – that was probably the scariest thing of the whole party!

I have no idea how we’re going to top this next year.

If we’re going to take things in chronological order, and what with me being a librarian and all you just know that’s the way we’re going to take things, then the first thing I’m going to tell you about is last Thursday when Dale and I went to see Kathy Mattea in Rockport. I got him the tickets for his birthday back in June and part of the deal was that a) he had to take me and b) we had to go to Woodman’s for fried clams.

Here is the obligatory picture of my fried clams. They may not look all that pretty but they are so delicious. And expensive at $28.95/plate. Good thing we don’t indulge in this particular treat very often as it’s hard on the wallet and the arteries.

Woodman’s is worth it, though, and the staff there is friendly and the service is fast. It’s all counter pick up, whether you’re getting food, as pictured above.

Or beer, as pictured here as Dale waits patiently to order a draft.

It’s a short and pretty drive from Woodman’s to the Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport. And it was a beautiful early summer evening so we took the opportunity to walk down to the water and take a few photos. The building you see with all of the windows is the performance center. I’m sure the view from inside is amazing but the curtains were closed so that all that glass didn’t detract from the musical performance.

And here’s my handsome husband with Rockport harbor in the background. I may have even handed the camera to him for a shot or two of me but you’re going to have to be patient and wait for those.

We had a cocktail on the 3rd floor of the theater and then headed down to take our seats in the 4th row. Woot! Dale was very happy about that, I can tell you. Close enough for a few good pictures of Kathy Mattea and her band, close enough to see their expressions and really feel part of a small circle of friends.

Not as close as this, though! It’s a confident wife who gladly takes a photo of her husband with one of his major crushes, you know.

If all of this sounds familiar, you aren’t having deja vu. We did this same thing back in Jan of 2013.

Clearly, we need to start liking new foods and new performers or this here blog is going to get repetitive.