ripley is involved in a letter exchange with the little boy down the street. ever since we got ripley, she has been particularly entranced with this little boy, and he her. and lately they have been exchanging letters, and agreed to meet last night -- on halloween -- to show each other their costumes.



not surprisingly, rip was pretty freaked out by halloween. we had already been tormenting her with the mechanical bat (a family tradition), and the next door neighbors had a spooky soundtrack and strobe light coming from their basement. ripley was a bit overwhelmed. (hey, does our pumpkin look slightly korean to you?)



and even though rip had received a missive earlier in the week letting her know how her special friend would be dressed...





when he actually appeared -- walking stiffly and undoubtedly not smelling a bit like usual -- ripley went completely bonkers. although leashed and harnessed to our front steps, she backed out of all her restraints, and took off at top speed, across the street and towards the park.

it is an AWFUL thing to see your little brownheaded puppy disappear into the night, running in terror. ben, who had been sitting on the steps, flew after her. the treat bowl on his lap spun into the air. candy was everywhere. the robot and his sister, snow white, were pretty darned concerned, too. luckily, the drama was very short-lived. ripley is home safely and is looking forward to a visit with her friend as long as he has returned to his normal identity.

other than that, it was a perfectly good halloween! roasted pumpkin seeds are great on tilapia, by the way.