Star-set to star-rise

We partied Halloween-style last night with some friends and had a good time. Most of Friday and Saturday were spent in preparation for this thing, and it was nice when it all came together. I had lots of ideas for Halloween decor, and I think my house looked pretty cute come party time. We ate, carved pumpkins, played games, and chatted till around 11:00. Kaelee took my kids to play with the people partying at Chet's house, bringing Dax home for bedtime. I wish I had taken pictures of this place just before the party; today, well, it looks like the day after a party. It all got messed up.

Anyway, yesterday began pretty early for me because I was determined to get in my long run. Sunrise has gotten later and later as autumntime progresses, so when I started running just after 6:00 a.m. the stars shone brightly. Not just a little bit--it looked like the dead of night. Yuck. That's bad enough when you have a running partner, but Kaelee's knee wouldn't let her join me, so I ran up and down State Street till it got light. I'm a bit of a cautious runner, see. I won't run alone in the dark unless it's on a busy road. And in a small town, you have one option for a busy road at that time of the day. Those first six miles felt a lot like 26. I wished someone would drive by and shoot me in the foot so I could stop running. But then the horizon began to lighten, and the next eight miles were quite enjoyable. When I finished I was pretty glad I hadn't been shot in the foot.

I took some hot Ovaltine milk to Gavin's soccer game. Almost nothing can warm you after a cold morning long run, but this was the ticket (along with double layers of sweats). Fabulous.

The rest of the day was devoted to getting the house ready for the Halloween party, which was fun. People stayed until well after the stars were out again.