Monday, November 2, 2009

"Nevermore"


"And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,
And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted - nevermore!" - Edger Allen Poe

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(Click the photos for higher resolution)


Halloween in Oz.

We took Mitch trick-or-treating on Halloween. It's not like the US. It is a holiday they are just starting to get - at least the younger generations. Here, you've got to find houses that are celebrating. There may be a balloon hanging from a mailbox, or a paper pumpkin hanging from a porch, or even something as simple as a small streamer dangling from a tree. The house in the photo above was over the top by Australian standards. The owners were having a full blown party and I'm guessing a lot of the decor was flown in just for the occasion. It looked really cool and they had real pumpkins! Being spring, they aren't in season and they cost anywhere from $25.00 - $35.00 each. I like pumpkins and all, but I can't justify forking out that much for one.


To give you an idea, take a look at the photo below - would you see two 11-13 year old boys dressed as Teletubbies in the US? I think not - and the costumes don't even fit. Oh the horror...


Mitch was dressed as Obi-Wan-Kanobe. He's really into Star Wars right now so Ana made his outfit.... It turned out great and he seemed to enjoy it. Considering the number of houses he hit, he got a pretty good haul. He was even happier that our suger-sprite, which lives under our house, would have enough food to make it through the summer. The house below was not typical in decor either - It was decked out pretty well. The owners were from Canada... that explained it.

While walking through some of the neighborhoods, I couldn't help but take more photos of the flowers.
Some houses just placed candy in a bag and hung them out on a fence. Here is one - note that nothing is wrapped! Who knows what has been groping around in there? Or what? They still haven't gotten the idea about wrapped candy... and just to take it one step further, guess what Mitch got in his bag? A carrot stick... no lie.