Happy Halloween

Dressed up as a flapper for work. No client meetings so half the day it was just me and the other guy who didn't dress up. Advisors arrived also not dressed. One had a dark suit saying he was Elwood of the Blues Brothers. Took home my decorations and once home I realized I forgot my Mickey Mouse jack o' lantern. Hopefully the cleaning staff don't steal it. Will grab it on Monday.

Roommates were ready to eat the whole bowl of candy before Trick or Treating began. I scolded them explaining they can wait 2 hours to eat candy. Had 15 Trick or Teaters tonight. Kids were excited over spider rings and glow sticks. Enjoying leftover candy. Had to tell roommates to save some for me. Happy Halloween.

Ready for Halloween

Got pumpkins for carving, candy, and toys for Teal Pumpkin Project (non-food items for kids with allergies). Ready for Halloween. This year my city did away with Beggar's Night the day before Halloween and decided to have Trick or Treating on Halloween Night.

Kitten Wrestling

Animals are so funny. Kittens are wrestling on my bed. Rufus interrupted by sniffing them so larger kitten Rosie pounced him which made Rufus run away. Larger kitten Rosy is ready to play with dogs, but they aren't so sure.

Brought Halloween Decorations to Work

Since we have no Halloween decorations at work, I brought some in from home. One Advisor called them unprofessional and hid them by my desk in a corner. They were birds dressed in costumes from Target. Sorry my decorations failed to meet your standards. Most places I worked at buy Dollar Store decorations. Oh well, she liked my Mickey Mouse plastic jack o' lantern treat bucket my former coworker gave me from Disneyworld and a wood decorations with ghost and jack o' lantern painted on from Hy-Vee grocery store. I also have stuffed Winnie the Pooh dressed as a bee from the Disney Store and Hello Kitty dressed as a jack o' lantern from Target. Happy Halloween.

1st Pet Store Halloween Event

Took dogs to 1st Pet Halloween event at a pet store. Never had dogs before to attend one before. Talk about disappointing. Event is pet in costume trick or treating with several stations around the store to receive treats. Yep, ran 10 AM-6PM. Arrived following brunch at 1:30 and all but 2 dog treat bags were gone. Going by the sign at the front, we were expected to spend money. Costume contest was online and must be a pet store member and follow their Threads page to enter the contest via Instagram hashtags. Good thing I took photos when trying the costumes on. Anna's costume was too small from needing a costume size that would be equal to what a German Shepherd would need. I need to remind someone to stop feeding her treats and human food. Rufus is so picky he will go all day without food to finally eat something at bedtime after playing "Which food is acceptable?". I figured out he does not like lamb and prefers human food. He loves canned chicken but that's cost more than canned dog food. Sigh.

Niece Homecoming Party

Had lunch with my family celebrating the return of my niece from South Korea. She's been away 4 years teaching kids English. She's home, figuring out her next move. Discussed Thanksgiving and Christmas plan. Viewed my niece's sovenirs from South Korea and had Korean candy. Never viewed my sister's house before. Got the grand tour. Played Polly Pocket and Slapjack with my great-nieces. On my way home I stopped at a McDonald's my family likes to stop at cause it's in my Mom's hometown.

Halloween Costumes

Here are Anna as Glinda and Rufus as Skeleton all ready for Halloween.

AI Videos

Found AI Video Maker to make 5 seconds videos to promote my Ebook. Really bad at prompts. Put in "kids playing hopscotch" and it showed a couple kids walking in place and then one body spun around with head facing forward like a horror movie. Had to buy a subscription cause only 5 videos were free. Took 9 tries to get an acceptable video. Then added traffic and people sounds, but can only play the sound on the website only so this doesn't have sound.

Tried another AI Video Maker and got a better video complete with sound to share on social media to advertise my Ebook. X fingers people buy my book. I set it at $1.25.

Well, hello there

Funny. Schedule says an advisor is out of town today. 11 AM they walked in door. Oh, hello. They put that in the Schedule so I would not put in appointments when they are leaving later today.

Learn new thing today

Learn something new at work. If clients don't communicate with the advisor for 2 years, it goes to unclaimed property automatically. Of course, I had to check Iowa unclaimed property to see if there was old 401k I forgot about. Nothing for me. Found 149 claims under my last name. Mostly refunds and a few inherited accounts. If you have financial advisor, make sure you speak to them and not ignore them cause you like the status quo.

Sweet kitten

Sweet, Goldberry rubbed her side and tail against Anna. Anna gave her a sniff.

Played with Kitten

Sweet. Rosy went up to Rufus while he was eating his kibble and licked his ears. Then she played with his tail. He was busy so I played with her. She wasn't sure she liked my sweatshirt covered in dog hair.

Broken Key

0Great. Took dogs for their grooming appointment Come home to have my garage door refusing to go up and my key breaks. Is this punishment for something?

PS. My roommate got the key piece out of the keyhole, glued it together, and tried 2 stores to make a new key. Neither store could do it, so he got a new garage door lock and installed it before I got home.

Weird voice heard

Weird. Opened bedroom door after changing my clothes. Heard a mechanical doll voice say "Hello". I looked at floor to see if a pet stepped on a toy to create that sound. Nope.

Discovered my latest self-published eBook was approved for distribution. Hooray!! Found it it in a dozen bookstores.

Kitten Wants to Play

Awh, so sweet. Rosy came up to Rufus to lick him by his ear. She tried to pounce him to play, but he just looked at me to move away for her. She ended up attacking my arm.

Weird Dream

I am the master of weird dreams. Dreamed today during a nap after work that I was hugged by a spirit and explained all I want is to make the world a better place. They answered that wasn't my purpose. My purpose is to inspire others to make the world a better place. Sigh. How do I do that?

Bus Stop

Witnessed 2 cars go around a stopped school bus today with a group of kids coming out of the doors. Busses have cameras now so hope they enjoy their ticket in the mail. Wonder what the fine is.

Looked it up online. Fine is $100.

RIP Spaceman

RIP Ace Frehley, founding member of the rock group Kiss. My favorite song of their's is "Rock and Roll All Nite". That song was released the year I was born.

Walls Bowing

Roommate is so funny. Threw a huge fit about my basement walls bowing and my house is going to collapse. Then tells me he can replace my foundation for the bargain price of $1000 when professionals cost more. I said no. He is outraged cause he can buy a car with that money and angry I don't trust him. OK, texted my brother who is a retired electrical engineer and volunteered many years at Habitat for Humanity, plus helped my Dad working on my parents' house. His opinion is that you are supposed to put in anchors for bowing foundations not replace the whole wall like roommate wants to do. He told me to get a level that is 4-6 foot tall to see if wall is really bowing. I trust my brother more than roommate.

Roommate once changed a door knob that had a piece break off. After 4 hours, I had to pick up the directions from the package and set them next to him in the garage, explaining these might help. Took him another 2 hours to finish installing the new door knob.

My brother has changed a belt on my dryer, changed a garage door lock, and changed a glass door. I learned to stand out of his way and hand him the tools. He knows what's his doing.

Once roommate said he would build a deck for me. Brother said my kitchen door was too low, which is why I have a patio. When I mentioned a building permit was required to build a deck, roommate replied, Fuck the city and their permits. No, we are not screwing the city when they can tear down any structure on my property that he builds for not having a permit.

I should mention my brother did not install his house anchors into his bowing walls, he paid for that. I Googled and foundation repair required a building permit and recommended a structural engineer. Roommate girlfriend's dad was a plumber and can tell them how to fix my bowing wall. How is a plumber qualified to fix a bowing wall? Never mentioned anchors.

My Dad was an avid DIY who built only half our house and patio to do his own remodleing for the rest. He said he had an electrician friend in town put in the wiring to the house. He built a kitchen addition and went to city hall with his plans for the permit. This was in my hometown. Once he put in the pipes and foundation in, he had to wait for building inspector before he could start on the walls. I viewed his plans while he was working on them and amazed at the details on the tiny square graph paper.

Update: I did what my brother suggested and got a 4 foot level to see the wall is bowing the width of my pinkie. Googled and 2 inches bowing can cause collapse of the house. I cna wait until spring to get a foundation repair professional who knows what their doing to put anchors in the wall.

Interesting Call

Interesting. Coworker received a call on his cell asking what he wanted since the person was driving when they called. My coworker hadn't called anyone recently. He explained he can ask around to check if someone else called. Caller asked if this was a business. Yes, this a financial service office. They demanded to be taken off the call list and hung up. We have no idea who that was. Apparently my coworker's number is being spoofed cause that call did not come to the main office phone line.

Dogs and kittens playing

Sweet. I was playing with the kittens swinging a feather on a pole. Rosy jumped up to catch it with an airborne cartwheel. Next Anna and Rufus were jumping up on their hind legs to catch it too. They can jump up on the bed and couch, but can't reach a table like Rosy can.

Awwh. Rufus licked Rosy's cheeks and later Rosy pounced on Rufus's tail. They are adjusting to each other.

Made 1st Christmas Card

Put up my 1st Christmas Card on my online shop. Used Ai to create the pictures. Tried another print on demand website but if you use their clip art, you can't sell the item. Oh well. I tried to expand. Had to enlarge my picture twice to cover the front of the card. Got the job done. Applying for the vendor fair in hometown Christmas Event. X fingers. Last time I did it, I made more in that 1 day than the whole season at the farmer's market. Hope people like my stuff. I will do the beaded stuff, make some macrame ornaments, and cards. Should I do some wrapping paper too? How about gift bags?

RIP Diane Keaton

RIP Diane Keaton. I loved her in "Father of the Bride", "1st Wives Club", "Something's Gotta Give", "Baby Boom", and Family Stone". I saw "The Godfather" once and didn't even recognize her.

Coworker Questions my Relationship with my Dad

Funny how people question my relationship with my Dad because I don't talk about him. Did I know my Dad? Did I have a relationship with him? Did my parents get divorced when I was kid? Why don't I talk about him?

Um, I don't talk about him because he is gone so I don't have much to say about him to people I just met. If anyone wants to know about him, I will gladly tell them what he was like. And Mom is buried next to him so yes, they had a good relationship.

Business Trip

Back from my business trip. Forgot my phone on the bed so no photos or daily updates. I've never been on a business trip before. Series of presentations and training on new software. Very nice hotel and excellent food. In restaurant, we were served unknown appetizers. I bravely tried one. It was delicious. Later someone asked what was the mushy inside wrapped in bacon. They were peaches wrapped in bacon. Chocolate cake with ice cream and whipped cream was heavenly. No pool or gym so that disappointing. The pool was outside and covered for the season. Came home and pets were happy to see me. Had a good night sleep with help from a White Claw and Strawberry Margarita. Others stayed up late drinking, I went to bed. Room was nice and spacious. 1 king bed. Of course I used the toiletries and put them in my bag. No, I didn't take the towels. White towels stain easily.

Forced Volunteering

Great. Announcement spoken that office does group volunteer work. I love forced volunteering as contributing to the community during my off work hours. Was asked for ideas. OK. I said Christmas Caroling at nursing homes or Adopt a Family. Have to suggest something I wouldn't mind doing. Coworker suggested soup kitchen.

RIP Patricia Rutledge

RIP Hyacinth Bouquet from "Keeping Up Appearances". I loved that show on PBS.

Sweet Rufus

Petted the kittens today and Rufus came up to start licking the cheeks of Goldberry. Sweet. Goldberry likes to rub her head on my forehead to purr loudly. Happy kitten. The two kittens have started playing with each other in the kitchen.