So, how was 2002?

I had made up 60 treat bags in advance with a few toys, some candy, and glow sticks. By 5:30 I was frantically making more up because they were already half gone. By 6:30, all 100 were gone, and I started just shoveling out the candy. All told, I'm guessing about 180 TOTs. They ran me ragged from 5:00 until 8:30, and then slowed down to a few spurts after that.

I got lots of "tight", a few "this is the best house", and my favorite, "This gets better every year. My kids only wanted to come out to see your house"

Pretty good considering how much *I* feel like I failed. Darn good thing those people can't see into my head to see what I MEANT to have out.

Some things that didn't get done:

Axworthy Flying Ghost - This year I had it all strung up, with no place to go. I couldn't get a motor to run the right speed to save my life.

Flying Crank Ghost - I was going to remake my skull FCG with the traditional wig head with sound activated LEDs from Tom at www.screaminthedark.com

Didn't happen.

Lots of miscellaneous details got left by the wayside as well.

NOTHING animated. Last year I had a handful, but this year... spent too much time on the AFG I guess. Must get the pneumatics going for next year.

What I did accomplish:

Rebuilt my fence with 2 pc skulls at each fence section, and wired up red blinking lights for them. Looked great.

Ran my fogger through my burn victim skeleton, him sitting in a coffin with a flame pot in his lap.

Built a hot glue gun webber, and that worked fantastic as well.

Old Man

 The body is the duct tape dummy from last year's Ghost of Prime Ribs Past.  He has two poles that run from the neck line down to about a foot beyond his cuffs underneath the duct tape.  I stapled the duct tape to the pole in a number of places, and then just pounded him into the ground.

The addition of some eyes I got from VanDykes Taxidermy really added to the effect.. one of my neighbors said that when she came home late at night, he spooked the hell out of her.

Skull-Man

(Da na na, na na na, he's a skull man)

Another duct tape dummy with a nasty looking latex skull.

Land of the Lost

Well, more like one lost little guy riding his brontosaurus... I tend to exaggerate.

Mistress Evil and I had walked the 5 blocks or so to a festival downtown, and stopped in at Goodwill.  We saw this HUGE bronto stuffed animal for only $7, so of course, we had to get it.  There we are, walking back from the festival with a 4 foot brontosaurus on my shoulder.  Man, I thought I got weird looks from people when I am out working on the yard for Halloween.  :>  Mr. Thrifty there is sporting the latest in caveman chic with a spotted unitard I put together in about 45 seconds with a stapler.  The bone he is carrying is a Bucky humerus.  I heated his hand with some hot water, formed it around the bone, and let it cool.  Then I hot-glued the heck out of it.  He's supported by a few fishing lines thrown over the tree limb above his head.  

Just a bit more cutesy than we usually get.

Wait... did I say the caveman was cutesy???  Actually, this little guy was just so obnoxious, we couldn't resist.  That and Mistress Evil loves purple.  :>

Decapitated Lawn Jockey

This dapper fellow was a gift from my lovely wife... looks like the poor guy tried to go under the jump rather than over is. 

 Tsk-tsk.  That'll teach him to duck.

Gypsy Fortune Teller

Oh-oh... judging by her crystal ball, your fortune is pretty grim.  

Look at that... yet another person copying the easy parts from Rick's AMAZING video... except mine don't do anything but hang around.  :>

And look!  A whole lot of other pictures that I'm much too lazy to make up blurbs for