"Well my dear Lori-- you and I collected at least 10 pounds of candy each at Halloween when we were little by RUNNING in a sugar induced frenzy from house to house...and then counting it and fondling it and rolling in it for hours afterwards....:-) Ah, the good old days.........:-)"

The email was a product of me emailing her to inform her that the terrorism event slated to occur at malls on Halloween is a hoax. Then I said the ONLY people who would have to worry about this threat is the people who take their kids to the malls for "trick or treating" because, really, no normal human being would be hanging out in a mall on Halloween.

I also sadly relayed the story about how I had seen with my own two eyes the pathetic downturn of the wonderful tradition of Halloween trick-or-treating in a mall one unfortunate Halloween when I lived behind the Orange Curtain. I made a quick pit stop at a mall on my way to dinner to buy some facial cleanser at The Body Shop and saw this tragedy: kids in southern California no longer go house to house; they "beg" for candy from the mall shops! No "trick-or treat!" or anything! Hell, not even a "thank you!" I was mortified.

I have such fond memories of trick-or-treating on Halloween night. My brother, my cousin, and I used to visit over 150 houses in our neighborhood, including the house with the coffin in the garage (you were required to approach the coffin and say "trick or treat" in order to get treats from the man in the coffin � this was scary).

Then I said, "What happened to the good old days? I refuse to let them die!"... which prompted her email. She�s right: we were so proud of our hard-earned candy! I relished mine and was able to stretch it out for a couple of months. All the neighborhood kids envied me because I still had Halloween candy in December.

Go to Vancouver ASAP! I knew when I was there that the exchange rate was incredible, but my credit card bill confirmed it to an even larger degree. Unfortunately, M and I only spent one day and one night there and wished we�d planned to stay longer. Because the exchange rate was so good, we shopped (which we typically don�t do on vacation). Here�s the scoop: I bought two pairs of shoes for $40 (!) from Aldo! If you are familiar with Aldo, you know that they�re a fairly expensive Italian shoe store. I knew I had gotten a good deal at the time because they were having a 2 for 1 sale and that the exchange rate was like getting an extra 30% off but, even still, I had no idea the exchange rate was going to turn out that good!

If you need a new wardrobe or a cheap vacation, go to Canada. Now I wish I would have bought that sweater and handbag that I was eyeing in Eton�s. Dammit! Maybe a return trip is in order.

I also forgot to reference last weekend�s trip. The weather was incredible and unusually warm for the coast. Our bed and breakfast turned out to be really nice, too. We had a cute rustic room and had delicious food both mornings: eggs Florentine one morning and blueberry whole-wheat pancakes the next.

Like I had hoped, we did get to do some mountain biking on Bodega Head. At the overlook, we spotted a whale! While standing still watching the whale, a mean bug bit me on the back of my arm! It stung like crazy. I looked at the back of my arm and saw that a little divet of flesh had been removed from my arm and that the raw �hole� was purple. M said to me, �You�re so yummy even the bugs can�t keep their hands off you� and I thought that was too funny.

Soon after, the area got all white, raised, and welt-y. I decided I needed something quick, so we headed to a store and purchased Neosporin... and that seemed to help. Now, several days later, the area is again flat, although red. What I want to know is, �what kind of bug would do such a thing?�

We also spent some time browsing the shops in the little town of Bodega and walked around the church where The Birds was filmed. On our way home, we visited the Point Reyes lighthouse and had the most delicious burgers at Pine Cone Caf� in Point Reyes Station. It was a perfect weekend.

Now, to finalize the celebration, I still need to bake M a cake. Hopefully I�ll get to do it sometime next week, as we are both expecting out of town guests this weekend.

That�s all for now.