Just got the news that my grandma died last night.

Lillie Rohnert Kolb.
She was 92.


I love this picture of her- she reminds me so much of my own girls...





This is another favorite...I think she looks like a 1930's movie star.
Here is one I keep in my dining room. You can spot her, right? The glamorous one...
She taught me how to cook, sew, crochet, make quilts and, most importantly, how to get up and do exactly what needs doing, even if you don't really want to....

This is definitely one of those time when it really sucks to live on a continent far from family....

Yesterday the USA celebrated ( is that really the word I want there?) "National Unfriend Day" for the first time ever, thanks to the efforts of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel. Not that is was actually much of an effort. He went on tv and said "Today is National Unfriend Day" and that was it. But it had to be done.

In fact, it's a brilliant idea and should be celebrated more than once a year, IMHO.

In fact, several times every month seems preferable....or is that just me being crabby about all that Mafia Wars crap cluttering up my wall? And no, Farmville Psychos, I don't want to buy you a cow or send you mangelwurzels.

One thing that slightly amelliorates my crabby is this- the semi-official song of the Facebook clean-up movement:

The kitchen update will have to wait. (I hope nobody was holding his or her breath waiting for that particular bit of news on my blog, btw. If so, sorry for your anoxia and probable brain damage. My bad.)

So, kitchen news has been suspended today in honor of our annual Halloween party here chez nous in the French Alps. It is probably one of the best. (It is also probably just about the only one, so I feel safe making that claim.)

The kids did a bang-up job with the decorating. They did it all themselves and damn they made me proud! I was all "The torch has been passed. My work here is done." and etc...



This was our new cats' first Halloween with us. Dexter found it a bit daunting, but Daisy took it in stride. She even decided to take part and here we see her playing the role of the witch's familiar...

Here Sev sporting his Mafia look..

And Tya's Goth look fits right in at halloween, of course. She didn't even need a costume...

Alexa was the world's most adorable cat. Actually, she reminded me of a recent ad campaign for a perfume that she likes:

Doesn't she look like a grown-up Alexa?Somehow, I didn't manage to get a picture of Mallory. I guess between the treasure hunt and all the other fun, she was running around too much. But she was a super-cute witch....

The party went on until midnight. Pizza was eaten, poker was played and then a bunch of kids slept over. (I had 10 people to feed at breakfast!)
In short, a good time was had by all.