all hallows' Eva [lol...couldn't resist]

November 1
Happy All Saints' Day, everyone!
I'm covered in alpaca spit, my calf muscles hurt, I was away from home for 24 hours, I wore high heels for way too long, it was an awesome-awesome weekend!!!

Started out on Saturday morning with market. Then to the Mac store where I posted the jubilatory post below this :) Yes, I am the owner of a MacBook Pro...getting used to the new keyboard o_O

Off to swing dance rehearsal which went well. We are getting pretty good :) Lisa and Felicity managed to nail the epic flip-over-the-back step, yayz! After that it was home for a few hours, packing, chores, before heading off to Eva's.
A side note here: the home-town team [the Beavers] won their game against UCLA!!!! It was evidently a close shave but still woot-worthy. U of O [rival team] won their game too: Oregon was well represented all round :)
Eva's family has 8 kids; it was a LOT more exciting than being at home :D When I arrived [in a rather pretty dress] they were in the midst of pumpkin-carving and the excitement [and pumpkin seeds] was thick in the air. I decided t ditch the pretty [and uncomfortable] dress in favor of jeans and t-shirt, and I actually never put it back on, lol

Dinner was frantic, in the tradition of Halloweens everywhere. We were going to make grilled cheese sandwiches, but there wasn't any bread. Settled on vegetable soup and canned chili and cheese and salad and potatoes. I had a potato...another potato....several potatoes...this wouldn't happen to be an abandoned potato, would it?
Then the younger element headed off for the nocturnal escapades, and Eva and her grandmother and I settled in with cups of tea and one ear fixed on the doorbell. Eva popped off to get a movie at one point. Then [near the end of the evening] I happened to look out and see people on the back lawn o_O It was about half of the family coming back :)
After seeing a batch of trick-or-treaters in mafia attire, I decided I wanted to be sketchy. Sketchy I certainly was. Borrowed a black trench-coat and baseball cap from Eva's folks. The rhinestone necklace added a quiet touch of insanity. My high-heeled black pumps added to the image. They also added to my trials going up the front stairs. Eva and I made one foray out up the hill, to be introduced to the new neighbors.

Later we watched the movie...."Imagine That". Very lame, please don't waste your time with it :D It was a bit funny in parts. Still had a good time :) Around 10:30 the family headed to bed. Eva and I talked for a bit and then decided we needed a midnight snack. Downstairs, very hush-hush, to have a bowl of cereal. Two bowls of cereal, in my case...I luv raisin-bran...
Back upstairs where we chatted about our various writing endeavors, and I mentioned NaNoWriMo in the most enthusiastic terms :)
Got to sleep around midnight, pretty good all things considered. We were sleeping on the floor and somewhere in the wee hours of the night I adopted the ancient family tradition if sleeping with one's neck on a rolled-up t-shirt.
I was up a bit before Eva [as is usual for me at sleep-overs] and meandered downstairs around 8 new time. Had a cup of tea on the porch. Eva's house has the most lovely view out over the valley. Beautiful clear morning. I poured more water on the tea-bag and did some yoga. Breakfast was a casual affair but tasty :) I only had the one tea-bag but I believe I had about 4 cups of tea all total. Hmm....is that an abandoned potato from last night??  

Off to church where I realized that Communion wine on an empty stomach [I'd eaten early and church was late :P] was possibly not the most brilliant idea ever.  (It was Eva's church, not the one I usually attend. Lutheran, hence the wine)
Potluck afterwards and some of the family, myself included, walked home in the sunshine which made me happy.
We had not been home more than about 15 minutes [enough time for me to scrounge another cup of tea] when it developed that there was an expedition to a local organic farm in the offing. I called home and got permission to go. Eva, her mom and grandma and another lady and myself all headed off [still in Sunday best]. The farm-store was closed but we went to the alpaca-farm and shop which was in the same area. 

Very cute alpacas....nice wool-goods in the store...darling alpacas....oh dear. Eva and I both got spat at by the darling alpaca. We were falling about with laughter and trying to wipe bits of partly-digested grass off each other, meanwhile resolving not to ever raise alpacas. We related the happy incident to her dad later. He observed that the grass had probably been around for a while since alpacas are [I think] ruminants. Eva mentioned that that was disgusting. Her dad said she was the one who'd brought it up in the first place. I, ever eager to display my wit, joked that the alpaca was the one who'd 'brought it up' first. Teehee.
Anyways, after the alpacas we decided to head off to the hazlenut farm. Samples. Yum. Hazlenut ice cream, an Oregon specialty. Even more yummy. It was 4 in the afternoon by this time and I'd intended to be home around 1. Oh well. My dad and I stopped at the Co-op on our way home. He'd brought the Mac [to show my grandma] and I was tapping away in the Co-op parking lot, and logged into the Co-op's free wifi. Happy day. I didn't get home til 5. I didn't go to folk dance alas.....it was just too much and I wanted to stay home with my Mac. 

Speaking of which....there seems to be a consensus that I need to name it. I was thinking maybe Eddie [Guide stuff :) ] but do you have any thoughts? Something short and perhaps a bit cute. 

In short, my weekend was beyond awesome!