Happy Halloween, you ghouls! It’s Host Molly.

Like Matthew, whenever it’s my turn to write the newsletter, I look back at past newsletters to remind myself of what to do. Looking at July’s, I noticed that Matthew mentioned being shocked that we hadn’t yet done a spaghetti episode. That might have led you to believe we’d be announcing a spaghetti episode in the near future. Not so! Despite what you’ve always been told, this is the “trick” in trick or treat. Tell your kids: you can either have candy, or you can have a Spilled Milk spaghetti episode we’ll never actually make, wa ha haaaa. Or will we? Stay tuned for an update in February’s newsletter.

In other and newer news, last week I took my daughter June to Champion Party Supply, which bills itself as “Seattle’s premier balloon and party destination!” She’d been begging for weeks to improve our household’s Halloween decorations, which have long consisted of one skeleton’s worth of loose plastic bones (mysteriously sans humeri, tibiae, fibulae, and pelvis). So after school last Wednesday, off to Champion we went. 

I should have turned around and left as soon as we walked in, when, from an alcove beside the door, a nine-foot-tall Grim Reaper let out an electronic whoop and began to cackle ominously at my child. June stopped dead (get it?) and stared at it, cowering a little.

“This place is weird,” she said and grabbed my arm. 

“Mm hmm!” I replied with possibly too much cheer. I mean, Champion Party Supply is weird. It’s fine! I aimed us at the Halloween-decor aisles. 

As one would expect, there were styrofoam tombstones, life-size skeletons for $85.99(?!!) (maybe because all the bones were accounted for?!!), and signs that read “MORGUE →.” I don’t know what I was expecting, actually. In retrospect, I hadn’t thought much about what we’d find. It’s been more than a decade since I attended a Halloween event that was not for children; I think I forgot what Halloween means? I had not considered that there would be a rack of severed body parts, or a large display of old-timey dolls with empty eye sockets riding a carousel swing thing while tinny synth-wind played from an unseen speaker. June held up a plastic foot speared on a meat hook and gave a small moan.

If you doubt my parenting instincts, wait until I tell you that we didn’t leave then, either. When she wasn’t cowering or moaning, June seemed to be having a good time? She kept picking up horrifying things to show me, and we laughed a lot. We selected a skeleton-arm lawn stake that’s giving a thumbs-up and a second that’s offering a peace sign, and we picked out a pack of six very cute ghosts that you’re meant to hang from a tree. We paid, and we left, and I thought we’d done pretty well until we were out the door and on the sidewalk and June burst into sobs of relief. Now that I’ve typed this all out, I, well, what was I saying? Happy Halloween! (Please don’t worry: June is alright.)

Have you and your colleagues ever wasted a workday swapping results from Buzzfeed quizzes? We have, too! For this month’s bonus episode, Matthew and I took a bunch of food-related Buzzfeed quizzes together and learned, among other things, that Virgos like chocolate pudding. Which universally hated ingredient are YOU?

As usual, you can get this and all other bonus episodes at magnumbonus.com (password: magnumbonum) or subscribe to the RSS feed at https://www.magnumbonus.com/feed/podcast/.

Have you listened to Falafel with Yumna Jawad (episode 605)? How about Gumbo with soul singer Durand Jones (607)? Durand’s new album Wait Til I Get Over is out now, available everywhere you get music, and his voice – OMG OMG OMG. And don’t miss last week’s Tamales episode with Marcela Valladolid (617). Marcela’s latest book Familia came out on October 3.

For episode 614, we talked about Condiments on Tables, a topic that took me pretty much the entire episode to actually understand. I hear it’s funny anyway – or so says Listener Erin, whom I happened to meet while buying stamps earlier this month and who had just been listening to that very episode on her headphones. Thanks, Listener Erin! 

In episode 615, Powdered Sugar, Matthew used the phrase “anti-caking agent,” which was pretty cool. And in episode 616, Senbei, we do more on-mic crunching than ever before. Think that’s not possible? You’re probably right.

Abby: “I’ve been into Say More with Dr?Shelia starring Amy Poehler, a parody/improv relationship therapy podcast. I binged all 2 seasons of Girls5Eva in one weekend (the lyrics are clever and hysterical), and I think Renée Elise Goldsberry should be in everything. Also, of course, I am very excited for The Eras Tour Concert Movie once I get back home from traveling around Vietnam with my mom.” 

Molly: I’ve been knitting another sweater (the Sunday Sweater from PetiteKnit – highly recommend), wearing Wrangler jeans, and listening to Sleater-Kinney’s The Hot Rock, which always feels like fall to me.

Matthew: I’ve been listening Metric’s Formentera II nonstop, and watching Reservation Dogs, Season 3. Also Suits on Netflix!

As always, thank you so much for being a subscriber. Look for our next newsletter and bonus episode on February 14, and in the meantime, remember: never take my kid to Champion Party Supply again.

Love,
Host Molly