Creepin' Closer to Creepy Time!

A chill is in the morning air, sunlight retreats more quickly at day's end, and multi-colored leaves are beginning to appear along the edges of roads and sidewalks. Yes; Fall has arrived, and this brings what? Halloween!

Halloween is my favorite time of the year. Aside from the tons of candy that I can’t seem to avoid eating, I love the whole creepy/scary themes that come out to play for the second half of October. Decorations begin appearing on houses, scary shows are aired on TV, and I get to prepare for my company’s annual Halloween party/contest.

Halloween is Cognex’s official holiday each year, and the employees take things very seriously. On the day of the party, everyone dresses up in costume, vying for one of the 15 finalist slots. Prizes range from digital cameras, to computers and large, flat-screen TV’s. So the incentive is there for coming up with a great costume. I haven’t figured out what I’m gonna be just yet, but I’m tossing around a couple of ideas (a write-up will follow, once I settle on a plan and get rolling).

Our annual pumpkin carving fest is coming up in a couple of weeks, too! We all gather over at Ed & Denise’s house, pumpkins in hand, and begin the ritual massacre. Knives are chosen, stencils are selected, and the hacking and slashing begins. Mix a number of frosty libations into this concoction and you truly have an event not to be missed.

A bit of practicing was needed to hone our skills for the upcoming shindig, so we headed to the store this past weekend and picked out two unfortunate victims. Once home, the all-too-familiar scene was repeated without care or concern for the poor bastards.

And here were the finished products;

My contribution:
Add a couple of ceramic jack o’ lanterns, and here’s what the front window looked like.
The New Yorkers are getting into the mood, too; check out this picture and text I got from Mary this morning; "Happy Halloween from Eddie. AKA Batman"

Too cool!
What else, what else. Oh! We have the annual Halloween run coming up this Sunday. Those that can make it will gather once again at 640 South St, then roll over to Ronnie’s house where libations will be tossed about for a bit. From there, we’ll shoot over to register and then join in with the procession as we wind our way through a myriad of towns, finally ending up at….well, I’m not sure where we’re ending up this year. (Each year, the final destination changes, as each year, we wear out the welcome of the town we party-hearty in.) So while we don't know where we'll be at the end, we’re still looking forward to a fun-filled day.

Ahhh Halloween. I welcome your sweet embrace...

Fright Hard, Stake Chances