Survey says: Fallout Party was epic!

Ushered into a foil-lined entrance and processed into the Fallout Shelter, the guests arriving at Penguin Hall were greeted by a masked attendant and a "scientist". They were given a bag of supplies to face the hostile brave new world, and immediately began to PART-TAY! Each participant was tagged with a white Tyvek bracelet, that, when exposed to a black light, revealed which group they belonged to: Zombies, Mutants or Survivors. Periodic bursts of "radiation" occured during the party, and guests were required to purchase "antidote" (with the play money given them in their bags) or suffer radiation damage (evidenced by wrapping a limb in a glowstick)! As there were only enough survival supplies for one "team", the three teams had to decide which would be the victor and the only way to do that, as everyone who goes to the movies knows, is to have a race! Dispatched to the garage and loaded with enough cardboard, electrical equipment, hoses, glow sticks, toy guns and paraphrenalia to build a rocketship, each group proceeded to make their own Deathmobile of Doomsday. At the appointed time, the garage door came up dramatically, and the race began! The Monitor has posted a short video, also available on YouTube, of the last minutes of the race.
After the race, the happy partygoers remained to eat, talk and relive their victory for several hours more. A complete success for Masters Chris, Ian and Mistress Colleen, and the buzz of many a social network this week! Kudos all around to the Penguin Hall crew for another successful "Hall"-oween blowout!

Duck and Cover! It's almost here!

Only three more days til the Fallout party at Penguin Hall! Mark your calendars and break out the iodine tablets; it's "Hall"oween fun coming soon! Stay tuned to the Monitor for pictures and the latest reports from this event!

Time to go home

The Southern Tier was a kaleidoscope of color last weekend as the members of the Ford clan gathered together. Amidst the dancing leaves and Halloween decorations the family joined hands and hearts in their annual get-together in Waverly, NY; and the Halls raced down early Saturday morning to rally round. It was comfort food in every corner and diets were not discussed; this was not a time for abstinence, but determined and steady indulgence. Mr. and Mrs. Hall are no pikers themselves at the groaning board, but this was a hearty group of trenchermen, and Mr. H. had to work to distinguish himself.

Out of the almost twenty five visitors, a disproportionate number of them were celebrating an October birthday (or perhaps there were some cheaters trying to get in on the fun!) but whatever the reason, "Happy Birthday" was sung quite a few times, a huge sheet cake embellished with seasonal flowers was produced, and little candles lit and extinguished on practically an hourly basis.

Several small klotches broke out within the warm confines of Mrs. Kingston's home as the party goers reconnected and related the events of the past year. Photos were produced and old family lore retold; some that were new and lots that were old. As usual, it was the younger set that kept the action lively, and many "Kodak moments" occurred, one right after another. A constant swirl of cameras around the room guaranteed that the majority of them were captured for posterity. The Monitor has posted just a few of the charming vignettes that paraded in front of the Halls.

All in all, it was the event of the season, and as the Halls wound their way back home, their heads were as full as their tummies, with happy memories of the weekend. Kudos to the Kingstons for all their fine hospitality and thoughtfulness!

Carved pumpkins on front porch steps are the neighborhood Rorschach

Since it’s relatively safe here in Wonder Bread Estates, we don’t have to worry too much about smashed pumpkins in the nighttime and the inhabitants haven’t yet gotten so full of themselves that they buy fancy fake pre-carved decorator ones. So the pierced and glowing vegetables, dotting front lawn and driveway, are the real goods.
Here is a simple chart you can carry with you to help determine the host family’s innermost thoughts:

1.) (Simple traditional triangles, smiley face)
There is no hope for these poor feckless souls. You get the feeling that watching the test pattern on the TV would over-excite them.

2.) (Deliriously Joyful)
Whatever these people are on- cut the dose. No one should be this cheerful. These people are either completely doped up or remorseless homicidal maniacs. (In either case, it’s probably not a good idea to let them play with knives.)

3.) (Pumpkin facing backwards)
The “I’m actively ignoring you” pumpkin. Might lull you into thinking they’re as giddy about uninvited guests as Howard Hughes, but chances are, anyone who creates a pumpkin this cloyingly self-aware is probably head of the Welcome Wagon in your neighborhood.

4.) (Suicide pumpkin)
We did this pumpkin several years running. While we expected a petition banning us from the school or neighborhood playgrounds, what we received was, in fact, compliments on it year after year. Unfortunately, that speaks more to what it means to live in our sub-division than anything else.

5.) (The larger demonic pumpkin eating a smaller helpless one)
I happen to know that the child that carved this one has a bedroom decorated with flowers and unicorns, and saves butterflies from spider webs. There are some seriously deep waters going on here. Perhaps we should be wondering what she is doing with all those butterflies she saved.

6.) (Obsessively over-carved pumpkin)
Now this is just sad. Anyone whose sum total of self-esteem rests, at the end of the day, on what people think of their ability to carve a piece of produce, has an ego just begging to be squashed. (Bad pun.) Seriously, it’s clear time weighs heavily on these people’s hands.

7.) (Pac-man eating dots)
Awww. There’s no school like the old school. These are pumpkins carved solely to fulfill one’s obligations, when, in reality, the mind is elsewhere.