Halloween 2011

Not many "blog worthy" events have been happening lately, so I apologize for being a bit neglectful in my writing. We are settled into our winter quarters in southern California, one day enjoying a 75-degree sunny day, and the next waking to a 50-degree one with cold rain. But in the middle of all this changeable weather came my favorite holiday: Halloween.

Jojoba Hills had a party, of course. People were encouraged to come in costume, especially with the theme of "cross dressing." Sure, why not? After all, John is an experienced cross-dresser, having come very close to winning the coveted "Cactus Queen" contest at one of the Gypsy Journal Rallies.

So here we are, all cross-dressed. I think she looks cute (especially with her "peace" earrings and corset purse), but her date is a bit of a bumpkin. His pin reads, "Don't Panic!," a leftover relic from his early days as a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Infocommie:

I used some "drugstore" Halloween makeup for my five o'clock shadow. It came in a case with white, black, red, and purple makeup colors, and was marketed as a Count (Dracula) Face Painting kit.

Here is the back, with the instructions:

Here is a closeup of the back, showing the warning NOT to use the red or purple in the eye area, or the purple in the mouth area:

And, finally, here is the front of the package, clearing showing that the warning does not apply to the "Count" model. Or maybe I'm confused in thinking that the "eye area" is near the eye, and the "mouth area" is near the mouth:

So who won the best costume contest? It wasn't us, although I thought John's diamond-studded fake eyelashes should have made it a slam dunk. It was Ellen, and here is her costume:

Thanks for daring to bare it, Ellen! You were a hoot!