Isn't McKinley adorable? Mary says she'll add a pink bow or something to the costume so it is clear she's a little girl. Wish I could be there to see the kids all dressed up for Halloween. I had as much fun on Halloween as my kids as back then I dressed as a witch (green face and all) and had a cauldron and turned out the lights and read or told scary stories in the elementary school library. Sure can't do that anymore! Now it is a harvest festival and no Halloween type decorations. Need to find the lighted jack-o-lantern for the front porch. I am buying Halloween candy I can't eat or else I will!

I played flamingo (my bad left leg up with my foot on my other ankle) while holding onto the counter tops as I made chili for dinner. I was in the mood to cook and that is very unusual for me so I ignored not being allowed to stand for any length of time on my left leg as I was going to cook. I am paying for it now as my knee is hurting like Hades but I am not taking anything stronger than Advil as I have to keep myself awake until 12:30 a.m. and set an alarm for 6:30 a.m. so I get a max of 6 hours of "bed time" for the next 5 nights. I am seeing a cognitive/pain doc to help deal with the fibromyalgia insomnia and pain. He assures me that if I am willing to give this the 5 days of 6 hours and then add a 1/2 hour until I am past the number of hours I need I will not need to take sleep meds. and I'll get more "refreshing" sleep. He swears that they have a 97% success rate with this technique and biofeedback with fibro patients. Since I am more than tired of hurting 24/7 I am willing to try most anything. Acupuncture only worked for a few weeks as the fibro pain got smart and just moved from the area he was working on.

So, I stopped at Barnes and Noble and picked up Dan Brown's Lost Symbol http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Lost-Symbol/Dan-Brown/e/9780385504225/?itm=1 I had read both previous books about Langdon long before the movies so I was really disappointed to have Tom Hanks play him as Hanks just doesn't live up to the good looking young guy I had in my mind! I am interested to see if I now see Tom Hanks in my mind as I read this. Hopefully I can stay awake until after midnight by reading this.

I also picked up a copy of the graphic novel of The Gunslinger Born http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Dark-Tower/Peter-David/e/9781615531318/?itm=1&usri=1 which was on sale for less than $7 so I didn't think I could go wrong as I loved Stephen King's The Dark Tower series. Again, I read it when it first came out so I've forgotten much of it but it will be interesting to see if the illustrations work for me. This graphic novel series is a gotta have for HS level graphic novel collections and at $7 it is a bargain! I'll write more about it when I finish reading/viewing it.

We all know that Stephen King writes really creepy horror that gets into your head and does not want to leave. Another author, who is incredibly gifted in creating dialog and narrative that makes the reader look behind him/her to see if the creepy character is Neil Gaiman. Lots of discussion about The Graveyard Book http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Graveyard-Book/Neil-Gaiman/e/9780060530921/?itm=1&usri=1 which to me is very much a MS level book and isn't one I'd hand to an elementary school student. But, that Newbery designation causes many librarians and teachers to misjudge this book as a children's book. It is pure creepy tween reading. Perfect to create an October book display around. He has also taken on the Norse mythology I grew up with in his Odd and the Frost Giants http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Odd-and-the-Frost-Giants/Neil-Gaiman/e/9780061671739/?itm=1&usri=1 Don't let the short length trick you into believing it isn't a sophisticated story even though it seems quite simple and easy to read. Odd is a young boy lamed in an accident while trying to use his deceased father's cross-saw. Odd states things as he sees them - simple yet confusing! It is his blunt look at the world and his simple logic that saves him from forever being lost in the world of the Norse gods. Although the reviews suggest ages 8-12, this is one I would suggest MS teachers read aloud when studying mythology as it is an absolute delight.

Since I started out talking about Halloween, I need to end on that note with the boootifully delightful Never Say Boo! by Robin Pulver and illustrated by Deb Lucke http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Never-Say-Boo/Robin-Pulver/e/9780823421107/?itm=1&usri=1 Poor Gordon - his ghostly parents have moved in the abandoned house across the street from the elementary school and have insisted he attend. But, his fellow classmates are more than a little scared of him. "Bummer!" as Gordon will say more than once. He has a blood curdling "BOO!" but knows better than to open his mouth, even when the teacher, Ms. Boodle, starts asking questions for which the answers all start with boo, including boomerang and booster. His haunted lunchbox is not a big hit, but Gordon saves the day when there is a fire in the school. Well, let's just say he wasn't booed for his "BOO!" that cleared the school. :-) Lucke's illustrations are as funny as the text as poor Gordon's teeth keep falling out of his mouth and he has a scar on his head similar to Frankenstein's monster. I know, I know - no Halloween books during story time in the school library, but at least this is a gotta have for the picture book collection. And, what a fun way to introduce words that start with boo.

That's it for tonight. Wish me luck for staying awake until after midnight. And, I am not supposed to be reading or watching TV in bed, before sleep. Well, I'll go with that, but I can't go with not reading for a bit in the a.m. I am too stiff to move much until the fibro meds kick in! Sorry this is all run together - I have spaces between the paragrahs but they aren't taking effect so I trid indenting and that doesn't work either. GROWL!!