Black Cat Day

Today is National Black Cat Day. Not to be confused with Black Cat Appreciation Day (August 17), but  I'm glad to see black cats get some national days. And this coming Tuesday is National Cat Day (post to come then). 

This Weekend

I've been out late for the last two nights and have been too tired to post. There was a bar celebration on Friday night I chose to attend. And last night I went to our local theater group's production of High School Musical, held in the high school auditorium. It was a fun one. No pictures were allowed.

Deciding on a costume took  a while for me  this year. After looking up different decades, I saw this idea: pin up girls from the 1940s. After much searching, this is what I came up with:

Not surprising that no one knew what it was. Someone thought I was Minnie Mouse. I don't know why, without mouse ears. Someone else joked because of the white gloves, that I was a health inspector! That cracked me up.

A contest was held that night and the winners were a couple from Yellowstone (this is the second year in a row I've seen a this couples' costume), Chuckie and his bride, and Lord Farquaad from Shrek. 

Beth from Yellowstone (her partner is
not pictured)

Lord Farquaad.

Chuckie and his bride.

Others I saw that night:

Anabelle
(Sorry for the blurry photo).

Female Chuckie

Sheet ghost

Evil Clown

And karaoke was back. The permit had ended during the COVID shutdown and they just got it back again. 

We will be having a party at work on Wednesday.

13 Songs for Halloween

Colleen at The Thursday 13 holds a weekly blogging prompt where bloggers make a list of 13 things on Thursdays. The topic is for you to choose. The blog host doesn't have any official graphics to display on the Thursday 13 posts, so I decided to whip one up myself. 🙂  

Here are some songs I like to play this time of year. These are in no particular order and the links are to Youtube videos. I didn't feel like embedding the videos!

As with any list, just choosing 13 was a little hard. And I almost couldn't come up with 13 to begin with. 

What are some you like to play for the season? Feel free to share your favorites.

1. Spooky--Atlanta Rhythm Section. Originally done by the Classics IV, several of whose members went on to ARS. It appears to be one of the very few (if not the only one) songs to be hit for two groups with the same members.
2. Monster Mash--Bobby "Boris" Pickett. The definitive Halloween song. Can't imagine the season without it.
3. Witchy Woman--The Eagles. Just seems right for the season. What else is there to say?
4. I Put a Spell on You--Creedence Clearwater Revival. The version I've heard most of this song. 
5. The Witch Queen of New Orleans--Redbone. "Come and Get Your Love" may get more play these days, but this was Redbone's first hit single. It needs to be heard more. And now is a good time.
6. The Devil Went Down to Georgia--Charlie Daniels. It's got the devil. 
7. Ghostbusters--Ray Parker Jr. The title says it all.
8. Frankenstein--Edgar Winter. Of course this one is perfect for the season. Once again, the name says it all.
9. Somebody's Watching Me--Rockwell. Seems strange to listen to the lyrics of this song and remember that it was pre-Internet and pre-social media. Gives a spooky vibe.
10. Monster Mashup--Holderness Family. A series of parodies by this family on the lack of official Halloween songs and the family's attempt to create one. Something original.
11. Strange Brew--Cream. Another where the title says it all.
12. Hocus Pocus--Focus. This was years before the hit movie, and doesn't seems to have much of a Halloween vibe. But the title makes me want to listen to it at this time of year.
13. Devil in Her Heart--The Beatles. I chose to play this song one year for Halloween while going through my CD collection (most of which I still have). It has "devil" in the title, so why not? Even if there isn't much of a spooky vibe. 

 

Still More...

It just keeps coming! How many more will come before the holiday is over? Who can tell?

2025 Reading Challenge @Beyond the Bookends

It's getting to be that time! One of my favorites is now up for 2025. 

I now have to decide when I will post the ones I host for next year. I've already worked on my graphics to display on the posts.

January – Read a Book Being Adapted to the Screen:
February – Read a Second Chance Story:
March – Read a Middle Grade Fantasy:
April – Read a Book Set in Hollywood:
May – Read a Young Adult Book:
June – Read a Nonlinear Narrative:
July- Read a Book with a Food in the Title:
August – Read an Epistolary Novel:
September – Read a High School Novel:
October – Read a Mythology Story:
November – Read a Book with a Neurodivergent Character:
December – Read a Cozy Mystery:

 

Even More Humor

Yes, there seems to be never-ending supply, thanks to Facebook and Lennon Cartoons. 

Book Discussion: Paranormal Romance

 

No big surprise that the prompt on this challenge for October is Paranormal Romance. This one also had paranormal romance as a prompt, and I immediately decided to wait to till October for that one (the ones on this one can be done anytime). As I said in this post, one of the books I chose for this month is Crave, the first book in the series of the same name. It was all right, and it remains to be seen when I will read the next books, if I do at all. For previous paranormal romance series I'd read, I in most instances, read each book immediately after the next. But the length of this book makes me unsure about jumping into the rest of the Crave series right away. 

The cover of this book is oddly reminiscent of that of the second book in the iconic Twilight series:

That was one of the first, if not the first, paranormal romance series I've read.  Others I have read include the following (not listed in any particular order):

Sookie Stackhouse by Charlaine Harris

The Immortals by Alyson Noel

Shadow Falls by C.C. Hunter

The Vampire Diaries by L.J. Smith and other series by that author including Night World (I did not know that there is tenth book in this one, though!) I read the three omnibuses, since these were at the library. I'd completely forgotten about these books until now! And this series by Smith as well. And this one. It's all coming back to me! At one point, I thought these books would make great movies. 

These are the ones I can recall off-hand that I have read at some point. No one series I can say is my favorite or I though was better than another. I tend to think that way :)

I got curious about the Crave series when I saw the first book at Target some years ago. I'd been meaning to read at least the first book for some time now, but did not get around to it until this month. I seem to recall trying to check it out one year, but finding it not turned in yet. I gave up then, but knew I could always try again someday. And that was what I did.

On a side note, I don't just read paranormal romances in October. I can recall reading the other series mentioned in other months.

Do you read paranormal romance? What are some series you have read?