Green Lantern, the drink!

Halloween this year was a BLAST. First, we had Trick-or-Treat at our house, and had fun scaring the hell out of the neighborhood kids. Our very good friend George has a Grim Reaper costume (complete with scythe) that literally covers him from head to toe, including his face. When he stands still in the thing, it's hard to tell if he's just a guy in a costume, or a mannequin in a costume. We parked George, in full costume, on our front porch and had him hold still, and had him hold those good-sized bags of M&Ms in one hand.

For the little kids who came up to the house, Mr. Sea just handed them candy and toys, so they wouldn't get too scared by George the Grim Reaper. The BIG kids, though, were told they had to get THEIR candy from the Grim Reaper. It was very funny to witness the kids debating as to whether or not George was a "real guy," while trying to get up the nerve to take the candy from him:

"Dude, it's a guy in a costume! I saw him move!"
"No, man, it's just a dummy!"
"No it isn't!"
"Yes it is!"

Of course, once the kids finally took the candy from George, George moved toward them -- whereupon they jumped clear out of their skins and screamed, and then started laughing. We got to scare the shirts off of about 30 Trick-or-Treaters this year.

Mighty Mite didn't get to go Trick-or-Treating, but she did have fun watching the other kids getting their candy. We also discovered that she LOVES Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. Great. My daughter loves creepy organ music. Just great.

After Trick-or-Treat, while Mr. Sea stayed home with Mighty Mite (since he had to run a marathon early the next day), George and I went to the annual Halloween party. My costume this year was the Incredible Hulk from issue #6 (1963) -- the first time the Hulk tried to disguise himself with a trench coat, sunglasses, and hat. I couldn't get the sunglasses to work, but I thought the rest worked out pretty well. Everyone at the party kept calling me "Sam Spade Hulk."

Anyway, I MUST share the discovery of the weekend: A drink called The Green Lantern! It has some weird ingredients (like fresh parsley), but it's a very sweet-and-tasty drink that can be served either as an alcohol OR non-alcohol beverage. It looks kinda like a Mint Julep, but the coolest thing about it is that it actually seems to GLOW. Perfect for Halloween -- and I'll bet you anything that Guy Gardner probably offers this drink at Warriors!

Anyway, I got the recipe from the woman who made it, who also directed me to a Web site with more information about it. Here's the recipe, for anyone who's interested, for 6 servings:

1/2 cup lime juice
1 cup fresh (raw) parsley sprigs
1/2 teaspoon grated lime peel (zest)
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup cold water
One 10-ounce bottle of club soda

Put all of the ingredients, except the club soda, in a blender and hit "puree" for one minute. Then pour the mixture through a strainer into a large pitcher -- preferably clear glass for the full "Green Lantern" effect. Serve over ice and top off the drinks with club soda. Add a shot of vodka and/or a sprig of parsley if desired.