Well, this is an inappropriately late start to November.

I promise it won't happen again.

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But I put an inordinate amount of time into Halloween.
and so does the street I live on.

 My love for design.theater.and sculpture is to blame.
around the holidays...I have no control.


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I live in a

TimBurtonHauntedAppleOrchardYellowOrangeLeafPilePumpkinCoveredFallVegas Wonderland.

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I think the above picture could be an entire post. Sit and stare at it with a coffee in the AM and

Life. Is. Good.

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I just scrolled up and looked at it again. and my heart exploded. Those colors are for real.


There is a city tradition
 that a few blocks of one street downtown go ALL OUT for Halloween.


This street attracts a billion kids from all over the city.


I almost think that a billion is a fairly accurate educated guess.

Do not let this little guy fool you. 

He is the cute before the storm.

And. Storm

literally. too.

in an ideal world. I would carry around awards at all times. ones that meant something big. 

and this family would get one. 

And

This sweetie wanted to hold my sister's parasol. She handed it over immediately. of course.

It is very appropriate that I landed in the pile of leaves that is - This Street.


I mean, the day after Halloween. I was exhausted.
I think I still am.



And



I walked outside to this.

That. Looks. Terrible.



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But is so hilariously on point.


And don't underestimate the exercise of clutching a bowl of candy for 3 hours. in the freezing rain.

plus thousands of candy dropping reps.

No lie. My arms were destroyed.

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I walked to get some coffee in the morning. over a confetti covered ground.

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Right?

These neighborhood people are on. my. page.

Speaking of my page...






This year for Halloween 2011.
 the Circus Came to Town. 


Ladies and Gentlemen, Dream Come True.

The Ringmaster.

Costume Preface: Homemade.

And in my current starving artist state I spent $8.00 total.
umm. that was just for the gold fringe I felt I NEEDED. it seemed really important at the time.



Everything else was already mine. and was edited with my sewing machine.
built out of cardboard.
or covered in glitter.
per usual.



Man it helps that my wardrobe could occasionally be confused for a costume trunk.
Would not be happy any other way. 


Started with my dad's old gray vest.
but
I altered it and. of course. circus-ed it up.



<--- psssst there is the $8.00 fringe.

And here is a teeny cardboard top hat I built.

That held up against 392031831 hits. and a downpour.

I kept forgetting I was wearing it. and was only reminded when it would smash into something.

 And we suited up two nights. so. 

it was pretty indestructible. twice.

Step 2- should always read- Add Glitter.


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And I have people that will go the same distance. when it is important to do so.



CIRCUS FREAKS. 


______________



The Clown.





_________________________



The Tight Rope Walker.

The Circus Prep

Started with a spill.

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And I present- the beauty of a neighborhood that goes to the max.

stop the madness. this cracks me up.

this castle went up in a day. and back down the next.
poof.

I never get tired of this idea. I just don't.

 someone talk to the ghost who leaned in the shot.

well.

 I think the general rule of thumb is... 
when in costume, go to a diner.

 KE$HA likes pancakes too.

again. if I had awards. brilliant people like this lady. would probably get more than one.

And. I see everything right with this picture.

 But seriously. Halloween sets me back a minute. Because I can't go half way.

So. I will climb out of this real life drawing and get back to work.

This counts as work though, right?

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Good morning goblins

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

My nephew is loving on Halloween.
He is a little Hamlet. 

He's talking to a skull. his latest treasure he likes to sleep with. 

He gives me every reason to think of him as a brilliant little creature.
Always making smart decisions.

He is 2. He is edible.

Alas poor Yorick...

(pronounced by little Hamlet as "work it") 

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I tell myself every year that I am going to invest a little less in Halloween.


I'm going to take it easy.

I may as well realize that will never be the case.


However- Mad Props to my self control. I spent $8.00 on my costume.
This is good news for your local starving artist.


It may or may not help that I own most every accessory in the world. I'm talking pompoms. glitter. feathers. string.


and cardboard. Which is the universal art tool that can make anything.
I stand by that.


I even pulled some of my costume off my mantle. Is that weird?

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So while we went out this weekend as Circus Freaks ( I use that term affectionately)



We get to do it all over again tonight.


I am thrilled.

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I want to give a giant shout out to the places of work that are all dressed up today.

I always cracked up at the morning activity -
 "ahahahah look at you!"  and "ooooh thats a good costume."



Followed abruptly by the normal work day activity.




Im sorry. am I the ONLY ONE who sees a unicorn on a conference call?!



And I also love-


When a waitress takes your order and genuinely wants to know what you would like as a side. But you cannot even think about that as you watch the fake blood dripping from her ear.



My mind goes straight to the logistics of de-costuming- Ugh that shower is not gonna be easy.



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This weekend we went on a run. turned a corner. and literally faced about a hundred zombies coming from the other direction.


Speechless.

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and tonight.



Our street is about to explode in Halloween Crazy.


So I took it easy this year.

And I may or may not have climbed a tree to get a better decoration effect.



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Thats just me.

Im not really into the holidays.

                                                                                                                                                                                      sneak peek

I just enjoy watching others go too far.



__________________________________________________




I will be back to reality tomorrow.


*

*

*

I kid.


But I will be less tied up.
(said the mummy)


Someone stop me.
ok.
I will stop myself.

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...and then the rabbit sat.

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Crowncrest Drive<--My side project.

I don't broadcast all of my art projects on this blog 

because when I work with other companies there are timelines I have to respect. 

and copyrights. and also sometimes projects fizzle out when you work with other people. so I wait until things are done to scream about them. 

I can tell you that I recently did some illustration work for a company and when that book is available I will throw it at you. In a very non violent way. Probably a light toss. 

Probably just hold out my arms and show it to you. 

________________

You know MANY times I start talking to people who have ideas about collaborative work. 

and then, just like at a crowded wine and cheese party, 

I turn around and they're on their way out the door with a hunk of brie. 

__________________

But always. Always. 

I have side projects of my own. and big dreams for these side projects.

Metaphorically... all my little side projects are belted into my motorbike's sidecar. They take turns peeking out wearing sports goggles.

(I wish that sentence wasn't metaphorical)

And because they are mine. I can tell you about them. 

So here is one. 

It's called Crowncrest Drive.

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Like I have said before. 

And continue to think:

These 'little me' drawings show up often...and say what's what. 

She tells it like it is. 

I think that if I mashed these cartoons together. and made them into a sandwich. (no mayo) I would call that sandwich / collection of drawings:

CROWNCREST DRIVE.

____________________________________________

Because 8 is when your brain is at its best. and success can be measured by your ability to maintain that 8 yr old brain. 

_______________________

I'm fairly certain on that. 

Scratch that. very certain.

Here is a Monday snack. 

A piece of Crowncrest Drive.

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HAPPY FRIDAY- giveaway winner. and fall appreciation day (aka everyday)

Excuse the workers. (Site Maintenance)

I had a giveaway a few posts ago.  HERE.

I asked,

What is your big love/ big dream?

And

Who do you want to encourage in their big love/ big dream?

Because I had two cards to give away.

One to you. and one to the person you want to encourage.

The responses were beautiful. 

Thank you.

I am very much amazed at the thought you put into the comments.

In my expectations, I sort of saw one-word answers. 

Maybe a tiny bit of elaborating. Maybe two people would comment... 

But these responses.

I heard you. 

I gasped a little at some of them.

I took the liberty of pulling pieces together here...

_____________

Your dreams. are fantastic.Your guts to voice them. more fantastic.

...I'm gonna tell you what my big dream is even though I'm too chicken to tell anyone else.

...My dream is to be a hospice nurse someday and to hold people's hands who are dying with such a tangible hope in God's redemption that they can believe then, even if they never did before.

...Someday I'll get the courage to work on it, not only for me but for my 2 little girls.

...I love museums. It’s kinda crazy, I know...I run after museums because I know I can help museums make a difference in the life of someone who needs it. Maybe I can help a community become a greater part of the information the museum presents about them.

 ...I LOVE my girls. I never thought that I would be in this sort of place in life. Everything else seems to take second place

...I would love to encourage children to find their passions

...my 1 dream that I've been working towards for a while now is to find a way for my French skills and physical therapy knowledge to come together to serve medically for a week or 2 annually as a PT in Africa. 

...My big dream is to figure out my dreams... does that make sense?

...My big love right now is a hefty combination of a multitude of small ones. 

...for my daughters to foster an obsessive sisterly love for each other. Make them laugh, look carefully at small flower buds, feel bark, and try to make condo-life a magical mysterious cacophony of life...

And then my sweet husband, whose patient love endures my failings, exhaustion, lame dinners, and frizzy hair...to notice, appreciate, and love him fearlessly.

...writing my own recipes and someday maybe having a little pie cookbook. I love the idea of people enjoying and sharing something I helped them to be able to do. 

And the people you want to encourage? I do too.

...I strive to be the mom she is!

...there is one guy I know who is desperately unhappy because his life isn't matching him right now, he is drinking too much, but he is at breaking point and I know he will choose life. He is the one I would encourage.

...My dream for (my children) is that they would be passionate people with dreams of their own and believe they can achieve those dreams.

...she has the perfect personality, patience and passion to teach them and make a huge difference in their lives. I know that everyone lucky enough to have her as a teacher will also be taught a love of music.

...this girl Lives her life to the fullest, she is so comfortable in her own skin and she rocks the world in the most beautiful way!

...My sister, whose tireless love for her family works harder than I can imagine. I am proud to share the name momma with her.

...the more I think and pray about it, I want to tell him to go for it, make a step that I might be too afraid to make but that he is ready to trust God in. He's awesome, and he will change the world.

...My Dad: I wish he lived closer to us so he can learn that its ok to tell your kids that you love them.

To pick a winner I numbered pieces of paper to match the comment entries. And, I went old school here and put all of the entries in a bowl.

*

*

*

*

And drew number 5. (My sister was the witness. She liked this role.)

So

!!!CONGRATS!!!

COMMENT 5: JEB

email abernathy.parade@gmail.com with the address you would like the cards mailed to! and your cards will be on the way. one for you. one blank for someone else. 

Whew. Thank you everyone.

Regarding October. Which is running away as we speak!
(Cell phone documentation is necessary.)

You can find me in the leaves this weekend. I sort of stay there.

I would enter this in the "most beautiful walk to coffee contest"

And because she jumped in my face. Here is a shout out to the best street graffiti.

Have a fantastic weekend. 

Disclaimer:
Today blogger will not let me choose any spacing on my own. After I publish the post edits... it enters 9308432 spaces between lines that I want to be single spaced. After trying to edit the entire post a thousand and four times... I am letting it be. Which is hard. And I am resisting the urge to try again. Just know. I did not hit enter 42 times between each phrase. 

"Text me when you leave the office. I'll start hauling puppets outside"- me.

_________________________________

Excuse the blur of this shot. 

It is from a cell phone. and the little image traveled all the way across the United States.

And, in her defense,  my friend had no idea I was going to post this when she sent it to me.

(I have her permission though :) )

But I think it is of mad importance. For a few reasons.

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1. the purse on her right arm. 

2. her smile. we aren't laughing at her. she's the one who aced it. and she knows.

3. PEOPLE DO NOTHING BUT SUPPORT ME! 

this text was like a giant high five/ hug from this baby girl's momma.

___________________

I want to say- I am very aware of the support I get on a daily basis. 

such as the above picture.

the small emails. the tiny notes. 

the mention of.- oh, I read your blog. or- hey, what are you working on?

when someone asks my opinion regarding design in general. 

when someone sees something neat and thinks of me.

when my dear supporters spread the word about my work.

or buy me candy corn.

I am aware of it all. and how lucky I am.

that people get me.

_________________________________________________

So if you get me. 

you will get the scene below. 

and realize. you are supporting a crazy person. 

I mean.  

Someone obviously cool. 

I occasionally break out in a sweat when I carry my work around publicly. 

1- because it is heavy or awkward to carry. 

2- because when you make work you love... then watch people see it. you may as well be naked.

Especially when my work is out of context. 

Like- puppets on the street. 

        ( good name for a show.)

My talented photography friend Becca Hankins

 snapped images of me with some of my creatures the other afternoon.

these guys didn't make the cut.

I present- My life.

What you don't see. 

are the cars and people walking through the alley the entire time.

No Wait. Yes you do.

Seriously. 

_______________________

Excuse me, sir. 

Look. at. Dodgson. the rabbit. being awesome.

____________________

And. if I could rewrite my high school paper. It would go something like this...

When I grow up I want to be:

____________________________________________

____________________________________________

HEY!, PSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSST: 

THE GIVEAWAY IN THE PREVIOUS POST ENDS ON FRIDAY!!

Any commenter on the previous post will be entered to win the 2 handmade cards!

so---> COMMENT!!! 

I will randomly select the winner.

it seriously overjoys me. and adds so much to the blog. so thank you for any comment. 

Ever.

xo.

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