Back to work, you

Your business at the Los Angeles Convention Center is done.

Meet the aspiring Spooksmodels...

Some of them, anyway. From left to right: Corrie Winter, Viva La Muerte, Nora O'Sullivan, Jennifer Page and Christine Craig. Danni Doll, another sweetie, didn't quite squeeze in close enough on the left. What a sweet bunch of girls! I dropped Nora off at the sign in and these girls were already there; a few more arrived just after I took this picture. Then they all disappeared into the depths of the convention center, preparing lord only knows what kind of spooky stuff for the weekend. Seriously, what a really friendly and vivacious bunch. These con-goers are lucky to get to see talent like this , I'll tell you that.



I have set up a temporary blogging command center in the lobby of the fabulous Wilshire Grand Hotel just up the street from the con. At least until my room is ready. And get a load of this: I found out there's a tiki bar just off the lobby. So far I have resisted it's sweet siren song.

See you later, alligators.

Thank you! It's show time...

Here we are in sunny, fabulous Los Angeles. Who woulda thought?

Nora says thanks. She feels like she's been carried along on all of your shoulders these past couple of weeks, and she's truly grateful. All of you who've been gracious enough to feature Nora on your blogs, Facebook pages and Twitter streams have been truly wonderful. And everyone who voted, or asked other to people to vote, thank you! If there's anyone I forgot to link to, I apologize. You've all been wonderful, and it's been a great experience.

L.A. is pretty charming, actually, and we've been having a great time. Nora was briefly menaced by a giant prehistoric sloth, but she eventually charmed him into a hug. We got to spend time with my friend Bawb the Revelator and ate dinner at Jitlada on Sunset Boulevard, the best Thai food I've ever eaten.

Weekend of Horrors starts at 2 pm today. Nora has to be there by noon to get her spooky marching orders. Nothing to do now but sit back and enjoy the show !

Time to go

It's funny how things happen.

Nora and I are packing and getting ready to leave early tomorrow morning. Like dawn patrol early. She has her talent bit worked out (it's a pip) and is putting together multiple wardrobes. The girl is jittery beyond belief, and stunned that this whole escapade has gone this far. Right now she's still in first place with a lead of 129 votes. Words fail me in my attempt to express my gratitude to all of you for being such a swell bunch of cheerleaders for our little gorehound. I'd especially like to give a shout out to Dr. Zaius for providing us with the most recent pictures you see displayed on the right.

Tomorrow is the birthday of our youngest daughter Hannah. She's a beautiful and complex girl with an old soul. I offered to bring her with, but she couldn't allow herself the time away from school. That's her cake you see. My mom came over and we had an early birthday celebration tonight.

Yesterday Amanda got word from her cousin that her grandmother was not doing well, and was getting rapidly weaker. Amanda spent the better part of today getting ready for a quick drive to Iowa to see her grandmother. Tonight, as I was dropping my mom off after dinner, Amanda got the call that her grandmother had died in her sleep. She was 98 years old, and died surrounded by her three sons and a bunch of extended family. Now, while we're in Los Angeles, she'll be waiting to find out what arrangements are being made for a memorial service.

Amanda (MizBubs') grandparents were cool people. If I recall correctly, they were Republicans and switched to the Democratic party somewhere between civil rights and Vietnam. They counseled conscientious objectors at Drake University in Des Moines during the war. Gladys stayed active with her church and was a voracious reader, and I didn't really see her slow down until a couple years ago. Frank, who died in 1991, was a lifelong newspaper man, and author of "The Country Parson" one panel cartoons that were featured in more than 200 newspapers. I feel lucky that I was able to know them.

So. Life goes on, doesn't it? It's impressive to consider the amount of change, loss and upheaval that we, all of us, are able to absorb, adapt to and overcome in the course of our daily lives.

And now it's time to finish packing, get to bed and prepare for the next adventure.