Halloween at City Hall

As the Girl Thursday at City Hall each week, my husband really thinks all I do there is party. Fortunately, there is always someone having a birthday, or something special to celebrate, and here comes the cake or pizza. (The Mayor's favorite food groups.) While Mayor Kim was not in costume today, she was there in appreciation of those that were.

They don't call them planners for nothing. The City Planning Department certainly has the Halloween spirit and had a clever group costume theme. Do you recognize these Jo's: Box of Duncan Donut's Joe, Sloppy Joe, Jo-Anne Fabrics, Joe the Plumber, Joe the Bartender, Queen Josephine, and JoJo Pussycat Doll. Where's Joe Madden hiding? (he had a nerve!)

Rich, not sure who he is, but he's a hoot!

Tom, he's the top banana.............. check out those legs

Sara, she's not only creative, she always brings the best deserts!

The missing Joe: Trader Joe (second from left)

Around our table...........

Loyalty has it's rewards and Donald and I realize we are so fortunate to have such dedicated and loyal guests returning so many times. These guests hold the record number of stays so far. It will be number 10 next time they visit and we're looking forward to doing something extra special for them when they return. Thank you Randy and Nicole, Pat and Lisa. I know you really come to see Salem, like so many other people that fall in love with our city, but it's been great getting to know you and we look forward to seeing you again, again, again.

The crowds have arrived...........

I took a walk around town today to get the pulse of the activity about town. From Oktoberfest tents to vendors galore, Salem is certainly hosting record crowds and a booming economy. Our guests are all over town having the best Halloween of their adult lives. They are taking in the cultural and the spooky. Whoever would have thought the two could co-exist. I think it is refreshing that they crave the historical as well as the hysterical. These guest are savvy. The have come prepared with advance reservations to so many events, thanks to the Internet, and they are checking them off like they are on a scavenger hunt. At breakfast it is a "tell and share" communication session and new guests are being mentored by those that have been here longer on the best approach to get it all in. People are truly having a good time and Salem is doing a great job at keeping them entertained.

Now, parking and traffic, that's a whole other blog in itself.

The whole world's gone Country..............

Cameras not allowed, but as you can see that didn't stop a lot fans from clicking away. As always, lighting is poor at these events, but the enthusiasm of the crowd was infectious. As true superfans, my sister and I found that Jackson truck, but where was Alan. Probably not there. I'm sure he was jetted in at the last moment while Trace Atkins warmed up the crowd. After his "Honkeytonk Badonkadonk" the crowd was ready for the smooth and lyrical Alan.

It was a really late night for this B&B gal who had to get up and serve breakfast this morning, but certainly, I'll take sweet dreams over beauty sleep any day. Thanks to my sister for this great surprise. Tickets at floor level was a first, and while standing on my seat was frowned upon, I did it anyway to get this shot. I didn't go to behave myself!

An unexpected treat!

Alan Jackson, King of Country to the Linscott sisters........

I just got a call from my superfan sister who has somehow managed to get her hands on two tickets to the Alan Jackson concert in Worcester tomorrow night. Merry Christmas, Happy Birthday, who cares, I'm going, no questions asked. Donald has encouraged me to go but thinks I should take a nap beforehand, but who will be able to sleep. I'll be too busy dusting off the Cowgirl hat, polishing those boots, and looking for that bola tie............. Alan here we come!

Only cranberry juice being served here........

Not really, but after last nights disappointment, it's the least I can do to support our great Red Sox Team. Without a doubt, the boys of summer delivered a great season and post season, they just ran out of pixie dust one game short. Until next spring, Tropicana Pure Premium will taste somewhat bitter so I think a new brand is in order at the B&B for a while......... I think maybe Dole!

Happy Birthday Alan Jackson

If anyone knows Ada May, they know Alan Jackson is her top Country Artist. Of course, she has all his CD's and wouldn't be a super fan if she let his birthday slip by unmentioned, especially as he turns 50 today. While his stats have always been impressive, this summer, Alan celebrated career sales of 50 million albums. Meanwhile, he’s nominated four times in "The 42nd Annual CMA Awards." He’s set to perform on the Nov. 12th show, where he’s up for Male Vocalist of the Year; Album, for Good Time; and Single and Music Video, both for the CD’s title track. Although Ada will not be in Nashville on the 12th, she would never miss stopping there on her way out to Arizona. Alan, she'll be there on the 17th & 18th with Opry tickets in hand. Of course, Donald approves of this infatuation, after all, he'll be on the lookout for Leanne Rimes...............

Employee of the decade................

Although he's been threatening that "R"word (retire) for years, Donald has a lot to smile about today. He's counting down the days, exactly 1 month from today, that he gets to hang up his dish towel and make that long drive out west to relax on his patio overlooking the Catalina Mountains of Tucson, Arizona. It's been a great season and we have enjoyed so many wonderful guests, but our dangling carrot is within reach and we are looking forward to enjoying the other "R's", rest and relaxation, for a few months. Of course, we'll be back in the spring excited to celebrate our 25th season as B&B ambassadors for Salem and Donald will, as always, be back in his kitchen for sure...............

There's a lot of shopping going on here...........

The Haunted Biz Baz (formally known as "Bizarre Bazaar) seems to be a success. Sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce, over 100 vendors lined Essex Street and Hawthorne Blvd and attracted a shoulder to shoulder crowd. Of course, Donald and I ate our way through the crowd dining on fried dough, clam chowder, and kettle corn. It runs again tomorrow and the weather promises to be as spectacular as it was today.

Pure Premium at Tropicana Field

At 8:37pm tonight, all eyes, or at least mine, will be on this guy and the Red Sox as they play the first game of the ALCS series against the Tampa Bay Rays. Dice-K Matsuzaka is on the mound and we hope he has his A-game on................. Go Red Sox!!!!!!!

Oct 11th: Next day follow up: THEY WON! Now it's Josh Becketts turn tonight..........game 2.

Oct.12th: next, next day follow up: They Lost........ but they are coming back to Fenway and I'm sure Jon Lester will do it for us......game 3.

Oct. 15th: Ok, it's panic time. Lester, then Wakefield, failed to produe a win at home. Now we are down 3 games to 1. Tomorrow, after a day off, it is our last chance to stay in the games. If they don't win on Thursday, it's time to clean out the lockers and say "there's always next year"............

Oct. 16th: Can you believe it! The Red Sox comeback from a 7-0 deficit in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series to beat the Rays 8-7 tonight and cut Tampa Bay's series lead to 3-2. It was the second largest comeback in postseason history, eclipsed only by the Philadelphia A's rallying from 8-0 down to beat the Cubs in Game 4 of the 1929 World Series. But no team facing postseason elimination had ever rallied back from seven or more runs down. Talk about an October comeback......... Now they're off to Tampa Bay looking to take two more, and we better not doubt it.

Oct 18th: Game 6, They Won! And now, each team has 3 wins. The 7th game is tomorrow night and hopefully Jon Lester can take us to the World Series aganst the Philadelphia Phillies. While the Phillies have had a week to rest since they won their National League title, that didn't seem to work too well for the Colorado Rockies last year. The RedSox seem to be at their best as along as they keep playing. Good luck guys..................

Great Places. You know them when you see them — but how do they become great? All the decisions we make influence the quality of our neighborhoods, streets, and public spaces.

Congratulations Salem on it's Downtown being designated as one of the Top 10 Great Neighborhoods in America!

The American Planning Association's flagship program celebrates places of exemplary character, quality, and planning. Places are selected annually and represent the gold standard in terms of having a true sense of place, cultural and historical interest, community involvement, and a vision for tomorrow. APA Great Places offer better choices for where and how people work and live. They are enjoyable, safe, and desirable. They are places where people want to be — not only to visit, but to live and work every day. America's truly great streets, neighborhoods and public spaces are defined by many criteria, including architectural features, accessibility, functionality, and community involvement.
And, we in Salem have always known that!

Around our table.............

Breakfast Fashion Show
This morning Francine, a guest visiting from Quebec, Canada, graced the table with a showing of all the hats she purchased in Salem during her visit. A collector of hats, she has found "Sophia's" on Essex Street. A great place to shop for unique and special gifts.

Winning the ALDS. I think it's Jason Bay at the bottom of this exuberance.

I don't know why our boys of summer always have to take it to the last out, of the 9th inning, but they got it done and that's all that counts. We're all excited to have them move on to the next series and the late nights and extra innings that go with post season baseball.
Congratulations to our Red Sox. Now, they're off to Tampa Bay to play those Rays.................. They may have taken the "Devil" out of their name this year, but we're wise to them just the same.

Not so fast........ There's more Fenway franks to sell!

For those of us that endured 5 hours and 12 innings of baseball last night, we’re dragging just a bit today, disappointed, but not ready to panic. Our Red Sox just need one more night to clinch the ALDS title and take it to the next level. I’m sure our main man, John Lester, will meet the challenge and will please the hometown crowd with a win tonight. I, once again, will forgo beauty sleep and be watching this game that doesn’t start till 8:37pm. Ugh!

Did anyone say Monday Night Football? Now that I’m participating in a fantasy football league, the Salem City team, Donald thinks I have morphed into a sports nut. After making my picks, Donald has no chance with the remote all day as I switch back and forth rooting for teams I have no affiliation with. With the exception of the Patriots, who won by the way, hallelujah, my picks are the results of home team advantage, injuries, warm states playing in cold states, a few statistics from a previous year or results so far. And then there is women intuition. That is the real ace in my hand. Donald, although not officially on the team, makes his picks more scientifically. Being an engineer you would think he would study the stats. No, he decides each week differently. One week he goes inny, menny, minny, moe or whether he likes the color of the uniforms. (He will never pick the Bengal’s to win, as he really hates those helmets.) Yesterday, he just picked the opposite of what I picked. Seeing I picked 10 correct yesterday, that’s not working too well for him. In any case, one more game tonight puts all this to rest until Thursday when ESPN reminds me that we get to do it all over again for next Sunday. I need to get a life…………….

It's Soxtober

Ready or not, here comes Halloween, the baseball playoffs and the endless political commercials and robo calls. As usual, we expect October to fly by; just a blur before you can say "trick or treat". But before we fast forward, Salem will host so many visitors for a month long Haunted Happenings festival and we are all hoping (some of us praying) for perfect weather to truly make it a successful season. Today it is pouring buckets, but the weathermen say it will clear tomorrow and continue to be sunny throughout the weekend. (One weekend down, four more to go.) The Grand Parade kicks off the events tomorrow night so we'll all be lining the streets to see all the kids, big and little, young and old, strut their best costumes. The theme this year is "Never, Neverland" so we expect to see hundred's of Captain Hook's, Peter Pan's, Wendy's, Tinkerbell's, alligators, and children who never grow up.......This is the 27th year of Haunted Happenings and it "never" fails to entertain.......... I hope you're coming!