Halloween

I was talking to my almost-3-year-old niece the other day about Halloween, and it seems she's totally got the right idea.  When I asked her what her plans were for the holiday (which she pronounces "haah -aah-ween", I think just to manipulate us - and it works, gah, how cute is that?), she just said "candy".  Well, actually, she repeated the word "candy" over and over.  And man, she is so right.  I've been craving a Reese's peanut butter cup (without question, the holy grail of trick-or-treating for me) for the last couple of weeks, so I went ahead and made some, because they're super easy.

This took me back to working at Harrison St. Coffee Shop, where we'd have to make dozens of pb cups every day. they were vegan, and loaded with crisco, and people loved them.  These ones do not have crisco in them (I used a little bit of peanut butter in the chocolate instead).

Fingerprint on top because we couldn't wait for them to set completely.

Leah's mouth is blurry because it's moving. Also, she is so good-looking.

Speaking of Leah, I am the author of most of these posts because she is studying all of the time - like, really, seriously, all of the time. How amazing looking are her notes?

And this weekend I finally got myself to a "hash" - there's a running club on the island (I think it may be an international thing, though) called the St. Kitts Hash House Harriers, and every three weeks, they organize a run/walk somewhere on the island, usually up into the mountains. What's unique about the runs is that the runners don't know where they're going - it's like mystery dinner theater for athletes. The leaders of the run, called "hares", mark the trail with sawdust - a pile of sawdust means you're on the right track (and fellow hashers will yell, "On, On!" to let the rest of the pack know to continue); an "X" in sawdust means you've gotten yourself on the wrong trail and you have to turn around ("On back!").  People love these runs - you get to see parts of the country that you never would, it's a really fun crowd, and a great opportunity to meet cool locals. The St. Kitts chapter of the Hash Harriers has a reputation for being really inclusive too - so it's a fun thing for families (and dogs! A lot of cute dogs, wheezing up the mountain) and people of all fitness levels. Also, when you've finished the run, there's a barbecue and they make you chug beers. It's awesome. (Thanks to Sam and Diedre for remembering their cameras!)

rainbow at the end of the trail

After the race, down on one knee, waiting with the other first-time hashers to be "blessed"

this "blessing" turned out to be getting beer poured on one's head.

And one more thing about running - sorry, this isn't very exciting, I know - I completed my first ever double-digit jog: I ran 10 miles! In a row!  I couldn't have done it without these shoes, which my mother-in-law (almost) just sent me:

I almost didn't want to wear them because they are the most perfect things I've ever seen.

Really cool/gross consequence of that ten-miler - my toenail fell off! I've got it covered with a band-aid right now and I'm just going to avoid dealing with it for as long as possible.