But, now, I think it's time to get our "Props & Projects That Didn't Make It", out there. Nothing's better than getting it off your torso.
Eight Mistakes of I. B. Howlin' Wolfman....
One:
Cemetary Gate:
Rick and I planned to do a few things. One is a gated entry that would stand/lean againts the door to the apartment. We just couldn't find someone to haul the materials from Home Depot, (Which is quite literally about two-blocks away,) and I have my handycap, and Rick has his. (He also has one foot amped, and I have two.) I joke with him that he's got "one foot in the grave", but he say's "I shouldn't talk, because I have TWO!
Anyway, The cemetary arches never got completed. I think we had a difference of opinion about the material to use. He wanted waffer/chip board, while I wanted the foam insulation sheeting. Actually, he would of built it, so he could've used whatever he wished.
Second:
The spider Victim.
We were going to use a well known Zombie costume for the victim, stuff it with newspaper, and cocoon it in spider webbing. This was getting down to the wire at the time we got around to making this prop. I just didn't have the time to go about it. But since Rick knows how to stuff a dummy, I thought he had this under control.
Turns out, Rick didn't want to use newspaper to stuff the dummy. He wanted to use hay. Welp, I wouldn't want a bale of hay in the apartmen, (bugs & mess and all.) Wish he pointed this out to me before 24 hours to the party. I bought a Sunday newspaper, but he just looked at it, and said "I don't know how to stuff a dummy using newspaper." So that prop died before it ever got started.
Third:
Inflateable Spider.
Inside the spider are small light bulbs. The ones that were inside/included are white. And I decided to use red this year. But, because the spider is black and orange, the red didn't really show up so hot. Didn't really "define" the spider shape, and since it was in a darker area, it was lost in the darkness. All you saw was some strange looking red glow, and the whirrrrring of the fan that keeps it inflated. Bummer.
Just as well. We didn't have a vicim for the spider, and we couldn't actually see the spider. So, another scene seemed to get flushed down the tubes. My idea here is to use white christmas/fairy lights and run them down each leg of the spider, and into the head and thorax, as this will make the spider glow a bit more. Also, red lights didn't help as much as I thought. So I decided to go back to the white lights and see if I can make improvements over this year's flops.
Four:
Skullhead Fogger
We tested it, it was a remarkable effect. But we flushed out the fogger after the test with regular tap water. So naturally, it clogged. This wasn't a dead clog, as it would still spit out a few whisps of fog, but it was nothing close to it's maden voyage it had just a month before.
Good thing I know a bit about foggers since I disected a freebee fogger sent in by my sister Connie. It to was clogged. The pump was good, and the chamber got toasty. But it was clogged. So I stripped it down, working my way from the Fog Juice Tank, down to the Back-Flow Stopper Mechanisim,which has the tiniest orafice known to man...(Living or DEAD.) So I have to check and see what I should do about that.
My first thought was to make a weak solution of Lime-Away or CLR, and disconnect the heat chamber from the Fog Juice Tube. Maybe by running something to disolve the clog, will save me from stripping the unit down and the nightmare of having to disassemble the Back-Flow Mechanisim.
Five:
Not enough Halloween Tunes.
This was entirely MY fault, as I got blindsided by the Mannheim Steamroller triple disk set and it's single disk. While it IS a very good creation, it's just not enough to use alone. Many people, including myself wanted to hear the classic Halloween fare. So I have to create a few disks to cover a party that lasts over eight hours in duration.
Six:
Too much food/Not enough booze
Yeah, I have enough leftovers for ANOTHER party. But I ran out of beer & liquor. So most everybody split when the "Well Ran Dry". But, on the otherclaw, I didn't have to contend with drunken guests.
But it would of been cool to have a bit more time with the guests that split after the booze dried up. I just have to plan this a bit more liberal for next year. After all, I don't like it when my guests are left wanting.Seven:
Air Conditioning
I semi-blocked one of the A/C vents. This was the one and only vent in the main party area. Which made the room hotter than I liked. The bedroom and bath were comfortably chilly, but not the main room. I was in the bedroom & bathroom for about 10 minutes, then walked out into the main room and it was hot! So I have to figure out what I should do about that.
The reason is that I covered the wall above the cabinets with black plastic. I cut a good number of slits IN the plastic to allow the airflow. But it must not of been enough. I also had a foam pumpkin right in front OF the vent, so I believe this contributed to the restricted airflow. I plan to look for a replacement grille for the vent, paint it black and remove the plastic from the grille. So I can replace the grille with a suitable color, and stash the original apartment grille. Then swap them out when the party is over, sometime.
Eight:
My Pumpkin SHRIVELED!
I carved it two nights before the party. (Real pumpkin,) and it shriveled up like a piece of bacon. The features that were done in thin lines just shrunk into non-discript features, dispite the fact I put it in the fridge to preserve it.
Next year, Funkins all the way. I think that the real pumpkin creations have to have a LOT of the rind to help prevent the "shriveling", so I may carve a basic design next year. But for the most part, I'm going to use Funkins for the more detailed and complex designs.
With the foam pumpkins, I'll be able to save the creations from year to year. It's just that I have to get ahold of the best tools to use for carving the foam. Well, I got all year, right? Well, 360 days, anyway.
So, what about you guys? Got anything you want to get off your chest? Let's hear it!
Well I knew I wasn't going to be able to get anywhere near to getting all my stuff out so I just ate some humble pie and said, "well Kel, do what you can, that'll be better then nothing for both the tot'ers spirits and your own, so I just did what I could" and I'm just happy to have done what I did, but if I must say something that slipped through my fingers it would be sleep & not being able to watch a single movie, I haven't watched a single movie since hubby was last home 
