Happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving

It's a long weekend!  Hurray!  Even better, Toronto is enjoying warm and sunny weather at a time of year when it can't be taken for granted.

Ken and I are celebrating our liberation from work and illness (we shared a cold for more than a week) by joyfully puttering around the city with no schedule and no goals.  We have been wandering inside, outside, and to meetings with friends, singing in the car along the way.  (Current car-aoke favourites are Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl" and Joe Jackson's "Steppin Out", which I love for many reasons, not least of which is the glockenspiel solo [starts at 3:07 in the linked video, if you're interested].)

We went to the Bazaar of the Bizarre, an artsy-craftsy show with a Halloween theme.  There were a lot of zombie-themed wares, such as miniature blood-spattered cleaver earrings.  There was even a gentleman there selling hand-crafted BDSM leather gear.

When Ken and I stopped at the leather table to verify that yes, those things that looked like ball gag harnesses were, in fact, ball gag harnesses, the salesman was quick to jump in with his pitch.  All ball gags are not created equal, FYI, and his are made of special silicone that can withstand heating to blah blah blah degrees whatever.  We aren't in the market for any of this stuff, but we're always game to learn some new fun facts, so we stayed and listened.

I allowed the salesman to demonstrate the sturdiness of his leather wrist cuffs (sold in pairs, complete with hardware so that, with a couple of sturdy o-rings screwed into a door frame, one can be securely dangled like a drying ham).  However, I drew the line when he offered to let me try on the "scold's bridle".  (His didn't look exactly like this, but this is close enough.)

Wikipedia  states that this is an instrument of punishment used primarily on women.  It locks onto the head so that the tongue depressor bit makes speaking impossible.  Often the "curb-plate" (tongue depressor) was studded with spikes.  (The model available for sale today had interchangeable plates, so you could go for spikes or no spikes, depending on your whim.)

Ugh.  No thank you to devices designed for torture and public humiliation.  Moving right along...

Not everything at the sale was a total horror show.  There was a lady there who makes handmade dolls.  She did have one zombie doll, but the rest were normal, and adorable.  Since my 99-year-old grandmother gave me some birthday money with her usual instructions ("Get yourself something you don't need!"), I decided to treat myself.  

Here is my new friend.

Isn't she sweet?  Yes, that is a bunny on her dress.  She is 6" tall, and when I got her home I realized that she matches my bedspread with uncanny accuracy.

I have not named her.  If you want to make any suggestions, the comments section awaits.