Thursday evening, I had dinner at my absolute FAVORITE restaurant in the area...Pancho's Southwest Grille on Massillon Rd in Green. Tex mex is my favorite style of cuisine, but these guys take it to the next level. I have yet to find another restaurant in our area where you can get New Mexico red or green hatch chile on your food - and I love green chile!!!

I have extended family that lives in Albuquerque, NM. If you've never been, it's a MUST SEE on your vacation destination list. One of my favorite things about visting, is the food! New Mexican cuisine is a mix of Spanish, Mexican, and Native American rolled into one. Even better, if you like heat...you can get red or green (or both, called Christmas style) chile on ANYTHING! Including breakfast!!!! 

That said, Pancho's in Green is the only place outside New Mexico that I have found that serves hatch chile - they ship it in directly from the Southwest :). If you have never tried it before: Red is hotter, Green is a little less hot. I'm making myself hungry once again just writing this! 

My mom volunteers as an usher at The Akron Civic Theatre (among other venues). As a thank-you to their volunteers, the staff at The Civic show a movie and provide snacks for them and their families. Being this time of year, it's usually a scary or suspenseful movie - last year was "The Birds", this year was "Rear Window".

It makes for a fun evening. We get dinner beforehand, then go down to the theatre where it's just staff and families and watch the movie with snacks. The best part...NO TRAILERS!!!!

I look forward to what they will show next year!

For many communities (including my neighborhood), trick or treat for kids is this weekend. I'm all ready to go! I went to the grocery store this past weekend and stocked up with a 125 piece variety pack. Hopefully I get at least that many kids coming by my house to get rid of inventory. I also bought a smaller bag in case, which I hope I have the will power to bring whatever is left over into work next week.

Stay tuned, because if that will power is weak, I see a membership to Weight Watchers in my future! ;) LOL

This afternoon I woke up to the extremely sad news that actor/comedian Leslie Jordan had died in a car accident. Apparently he suffered a medical emergency while driving. He was such a funny guy who could always make you laugh with his very quick wit.

He is probably best known as Karen Walker's rival Beverly Leslie on "Will & Grace" - a role he apparently only played 17 times! That shows how big his presence on screen was. Take one look at his resume though, and it reads like a novel.

From movies like "The Help" to "The Last Sharknado: It's About Time". Numerous TV guest appearances from "Murphy Brown" to "Ally McBeal". Then, he had more significant TV roles in shows like "Boston Legal", "The Cool Kids", "American Horror Story", and "Call Me Kat".  Of course you cannot forget all of his social media videos he did during the pandemic! Whether he was a guest on a talk show or a character in a TV horror show, he always found a way to make you laugh.

Leslie Jordan gone at age 67...WAY too soon.

Could we have asked for better weather for an October weekend?! Even Friday I was driving around with my windows cracked open. Then Saturday and Sunday somehow WAY surpassed it!!! I went and toured the houses in downtown Akron with my mom and my car said it was approaching 80 degrees!!! 

Can we have this all winter long (except Christmas Eve and Day)??? I'd rather have this in January and February than the feet of snow we had last year! The only complaint I have about this weekend is that trick or treat is this coming weekend. This would have been perfect to sit outside passing out candy.

Right now, my phone says partly cloudy and a high of 64 for Saturday. Hopefully that holds up...fingers crossed.

The last two houses in Downtown Akron are being torn down this coming Monday, October 24th. They were built in the 1890s and are owned by St Bernard Catholic Church (which is a BEAUTIFUL church inside if you've never been). The church is going to use the property the houses sit on for a new, yet-to-be-determined purpose.

Over the years, the houses have been used as a women's shelter, a convent, and other uses. The public will have an opportunity to tour the homes one last time this Sunday afternoon, October 23rd from 3-6pm.

I plan to stop by sometime on Sunday and take a peek at Akron history. If you are interested, the houses are located at the corner of High & State streets in downtown Akron. Don't let this opportunity pass you by!

Year 23 of Bosom Buddies is in the books! Great turnout, great artists, and a great time for everyone! As always, Sarah will have totals in the coming days. Thank you to everyone who came out for this special event. I hope you had as much fun as I did. See you next year!!!

So it ended tonight. The Guardians fell to the Yankees in Game 5 of the ALCS 5-1. As we are so used to saying as Cleveland sports fans - "There's always next year." Next up, the Cavs start their new season tomorrow night in Toronto. After that is another road game in Chicago, before the home opener Sunday night vs. Washington. 

While Baseball is my favorite sport, Basketball is a close second. I hope the Cavs will give us something to get excited about this year. I'm sure it won't be on the level of 2016, but what could be?! GO CAVS!

It is of course the season for scary movies. On Sunday, I watched "Halloween Ends". This is supposedly the final in the series that goes back 44 years to 1978. Jamie Lee Curtis once again stars in this film, trying to to FINALLY end (how many times is this now? lol) her fight against Michael Myers. I am a big fan of the "Halloween" movies, but I found this one leaving something to be desired.

For full disclosure: I have not seen the previous two films that were released. I was told that was not neccessary to still enjoy this new film - and I agree. While I thought overall the movie wasn't too bad, there was so much of the movie NOT spent on Myers, I found it difficult to remember I was watching a Strode/Myers "Halloween" movie. I still found the movie enjoyable and am glad I watched it. My main takeaway is that if this REALLY IS the last movie in the series, I feel they could have found a way to end a nearly 50 year old story and make the viewer feel more sastisfied.

Maybe it isn't truly "the end?"

While I'm not a big fan of the NFL, I do enjoy me some college football! I do not have allegiance to any one team, I just enjoy watching the game. The closest thing to a favorite team I have would be Tennessee. My family has been going on vacation to the Smoky Mountains for almost 25 years, and we now own a vacation home in the area - so East Tennessee kinda feels like a second home to me.

This weekend, the Vols hosted Alabama...WOW!! What a game! I only listened to/watched the 2nd half. By then the game was back and forth, frustrating yet exciting, and an epic game of college football. Tennessee ended up winning 52-49 in a heart-stopper. This win also pushed the Vols to #3 in the AP Poll - right behind Ohio State. It was definitely a game that is an example of why college football can be so thrilling!