Where Have I Been?


This should be the new name for my blog!


I do have excuses....


As you all have read over and over again about my cataract problems and it's woes...


Add a CRASH OF MY COMPUTER!!!!! June 14th to my already mountain of woes!


My Hard Drive CRASHED!!!!!!


UNRECOVERABLE are words you never want to have to hear...


ESPECIALLY if your livelihood DEPENDS on it!


ESPECIALLY if you haven't backed-up your work since Feb.23!


Happily my Ex and I still talk to each other cause he came to my rescue and got me back up running again the very next day.


Only he couldn't restore ALL OF THAT LOST WORK!


Because this IDIOT kept putting off doing the back-up needed to ensure not losing it!


Remember me telling you all of the tire-kicking estimating that I had been doing and wasn't getting paid for it cause it was JUST estimates....

Well the majority of the "Just estimates" were lost, they were NEEDED not long after the crash...


Go Figure!


Which meant they all had to be redrawn all over again!


Not great news for someone with failing eyesight!


All of that wouldn't have been too bad if it wasn't for them all having a time limit!


Most was for the town's 100th birthday July 23. The town's Rec Director had made a push for getting advertising for the arena which would hold the ceremonies. Perfect for advertising which I was getting in on too.

Let me tell you....all of the signs did get done in time! Thanks to a hard working PoD and LONG hours!


Only they NEVER did get put up in time for the big event!


The lazy Rec Director never got around to it and from what reports I have heard he had PLENTY of time to do it?


Thankfully that wasn't my fault but my customer's are slow in paying for those signs BECAUSE of that fact of NOT getting their advertising that was promised! Guess it's Always MY fault!


During my work frenzy I missed updating my blog with useless info that's only important to me but have come to learn that it's an important memory tool for me too!


A lot of the lost info and important dates were recoverable because of my trivia drivel on my blog. I have used past stories to revive the info not filled in scrapbooks that haven't been updated either!


I'm very anal about recording stuff!


Only have to learn to get anal about UPDATING IT!


My Blog is kind of like a diary for me and really isn't meant to be there to entertain others in the world, which I really don't have to worry about seeing as only a few ever comment...;{


Things I did miss while the work frenzy was going on was attending Wilma's 40th birthday bash held in a hall not far from my house. It happened soon after my crash and I wasn't in any party mood...nor was PoD.

Happy Birthday Wilma....better late than never, I say!

Did have a gift for her that ended up in the dump! It has a weird story...

Seems I always find time for Garage Sales!

During the town-wide one I came across this gorgeous oldish looking mirror with neat ornate edgings...kind of gave me an idea about a mirror for her bar in their basement. The mirror was in excellent shape and even the backing looked kind of new like? The owner even said that she never hung it cause it never fit anywhere. My intent was to embellish it with a funny quote in vinyl somewhere on the surface area.
When I got the mirror home I stood it up facing my cutting machine and computer. It stood there for two days before a work day.
Right from the start we had problems with the machines. The computer didn't want to start? The cutter moved when it wasn't even turned on and both PoD and I witnessed it! From the moment I had brought the mirror into my place I had a dislike for it? It felt strange? Jokingly I said to PoD that it must be the mirror spooking the machinery and felt the urge to remove it from the place. So I put it outside in my storage vehicle with my Halloween decorations and forgot about it.
When I came back in, PoD said all was back to normal with the machines after I had left with the mirror...? Coincidence?
A few days later I went to retrieve the mirror to put the wording I had prepared for it, on it, when I found that the frame had broken away on the bottom. The frame was still stapled to the cardboard backing and that was still attached to the rest of it? The mirror had not been broken...just the frame and there was no way to pull it apart the way that it was without breaking the mirror. It had been a bit warm outside and was possible that the mirror could have expanded enough to force the frame to split...but why only one end?
I got a cold chill up my spine when I saw that and thought it through enough to cause me to question whether I wanted to give something with an odd aura about it to a friend not to mention ever wanting to have it around...so to the dump it went with a cleansing performed over it to make sure that the weirdness didn't hang around after it left!

The decal is still here for her if she wants it...:)

Anyways...

Other important info needed to be recorded was the fact that I have lived in this place now for 4 years...my the time has flown!


The grand kids left for their 3 week visit with their Alberta relatives on June 28 and that left exactly 3 days to work on getting Grad together. This meant rounding up lights and wrapping poles. I had shown in an earlier post the diamond theme this year and had big plans on making lots of cardboard ones....that never happened due to our rush.

The end result was because of a dream of someone else who had the courage to go it alone on the planning of majority of the decorating...

The entrance way table was her idea but the archway was mine. This was the last area to be decorated and was hastily put together. By the time we got to this spot all were tired [except for me] of decorating and it showed. But by then all didn't care either...except for me

The theme did not match the decoration theme? But how would one do that by that dumb saying anyways? I'm glad this was off to the side and not too noticeable.


This what the stage looked like. The bags on the floor in front of the head table all had the kids name on them and wasn't my idea either...:) This to hold all of their goodies?

The big diamond that sits in the center is a posing stool and is for their photo op after the ceremonies. The kids came out from the curtained area to the right and paraded around the stage then down the steps to their seat. The little shoes that you see in the foreground were done by me

The above photos shows the hall layout and their table centerpieces. The most awesome thing to me were the blue origami folded napkins that each held a peppermint patty in the center. This woman made over 200 of them...happily with no help from me!

Surprise of all surprises I have NO Orbs to point out to you all lurking on here...


This all my eyes can stand for now...I still have July to catch up on and that will include photos of the town's 100th, our HUGE parade, our float and even a Paranormal Investigation on the 29-30...this kills my eyes and gives me a headache so it may be slow

And maybe an update on the Darkside Zodiac for Cancer then one for Leo...


So stay tuned...:)

YOUR FLAKE OR MINE...

Was PoD's [daughter] venture into community theater's 22nd. stage production this year...all alone as Stage Manager/Set Designer/Set Decor/Hall Decor...etc!

She did a FANTASTIC job as far as I am concerned, granted I might be a bit biased...;)

I, from first hand experience, know how hard Stage Managing is!
More apt title would be "Cat Herder"...if there is such a word!

The addition of other jobs just makes it even harder! Like me, she has to add extra work for added challenge by designing the set, plus help put it up and then decorate it...all according to someone Else's thoughts [author and the director]. This is not easy!

I had decided [along with her urging...;)]to continue to stay out of these productions as the burnt-out feeling that I had about participating in it, still lingers!

But... I am still available to them for any help that might be needed.

In the beginning, PoD started out with great strength and enthusiasm but by curtain time, she was feeling like I usually did...which sadly I was sort of happy about, as she was making me feel like I was a whiner with all of her energy and such.

Most will find that the task is harder than you think, as she did and had to swallow her pride by asking for some help with the set decor...

What was needed was to be more messy and she has a hard time with that as it really isn't in her nature. My advice to her was to have her think of her brother's room or maybe her kid's...

Sorry BillyRoo, AJ & JD...but it's true...;{

No problem after that!

Do you know it's been MANY moons since I have made paper airplanes!

Was fun but mine didn't fly very well!

This was just a tiny bit of help on my part!



Talking about decorating...

I wonder if we had some company watching us that day...

This is a shot that I took for PoD's scrapbook and of all of the photos that I took that day, this is the only oddity that showed up?

I know most of you out there reading this have just rolled your eyes like an annoying teenager! Like what happened to me [during the night that I attended] when I mentioned it to someone. His first comment was the usual one that I get..."QoH, there aren't ghost everywhere that you go!"

How can anyone state that?

My usual response is..."How do YOU know that for SURE?"

I can at least provide proof or at least raise some doubt on the subject, with the photos/voice recorders and videos that we have gotten with our paranormal researches!

My time in this hall, all alone some nights, as I did my sets, made me feel other wise! I have also gotten some odd stuff in the shots that are just too hard to explain away! Plus we have gossip about a lady been seen entering the stage when there was supposedly no one else in the hall? When checking there was no lady! The report was not MY sighting!

I have an odd photo of what some might call the "Orange Angel" in front of a shop on main street even! So I think I can safely say that I can create some doubt in many skeptics on the paranormal being almost everywhere. Most think that it has to be the building that's haunted but they can be wrong...it might just be the LAND that it sits on that's haunted! There are different types of hauntings and most who will visit the courthouse after PoD and I add the paranormal info to the museum, will have to admit to some truth of this matter!

That said...here's more

Poor PoD was totally exhausted and could hardly keep her eyes open in this shot. She had volunteered to put hall decorating back into the production again with decor from previous events [made by me, except for the beach people...Ducky is mine] and I was there to assist in the put up and repair. The Hollywood sign is her master piece! It's very difficult to make HUGE letters and even harder when they are made out of table paper. They have no body and had to be taped to the rails...took some time and lots of bending. One thing about theater time is the great physical work out one gets by climbing the stairs numerous times to get stuff from the groups storage room [next to the H in the photo

The photo board was done by Wilma who did a great job in directing the cats that PoD had to herd...;)

Well done Director Wilma!

As mentioned, I attended Saturday`s performance and had a great meal with the company of some equally great people. Thanks PoD!

I sat next to one of the most wonderful ladies I have ever met and we had a great time catching up on past stories of previous productions. Her and her husband have never missed a single one!

I can`t say much for the horrible idiot sitting right behind me during the play, except that `your a _hole! His name is Annoying Person...see photo below. He kept making loud comments to the characters and thought he was offering up support as an audience member, when all it did was throw them off! I hate those ones and that fact that he was drunk and or stoned didn`t help!

Our seats were closer than I`d liked but as one gets older it might be just something I have to get used to...;(

The odd outlining around the stage masks are reflective and not something paranormal...;)

The one thing I did like about these productions was the food table for the cast and crew! There was never any time to eat the meal provided or even the urge to eat a big meal while nerves ate at you so we would bring something for the snack table.

In the pic below it looks like there was an extra guest...

I hate to think there was dust around the food...;(

As for the Orb...it probably could have used the food for energy....I little ghost humor...

And for actor`s humor... there is the awarding of the `Ham Award` which amazingly PoD did! That was one thing I didn`t do! I assisted in a few on stage but never announced...not my thing! The actor that I voted for didn`t win...;(

But I must admit my second choice did!

Again there was an added watcher...

As for being a dust mote...not bad for a hall being full of people with LOTS of movement...

It should have been snowing dust motes in the picture!

In all of my shots these are the only oddities that are unexplainable to me.

As for the single orb in most of the shots looks like the one that I get in a lot of my shots. There is one paranormal guy out there that feels that these ones have a tendency to follow a person...

Is this one mine or Pod`s....


As for comments on the production...it was very funny and well done by all!

CONGRATULATIONS.....fellow thespians and crew!


And all you ghosts...;)

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

FROM

THUMBER

AND ME

Just another peek at my crazy world...
Happy Valentine's Day to my Family and Friends!

notice the melted snow...it's been spring like with water running on top of the ice...I'll have to chisel the hearts out of the snow to take them down....;}

AND NOW.......

A HAUNTING WE WILL GO....#8 Is happening Saturday, Feb 19 [day after my birthday], in our haunted Court House.

A paranormal group called "Shadow Hunters Paranormal" contacted the town and requested an investigation. The town contacted us and wanted to know if PoD and I would be interested in continuing our "Paranormal Babysitting" for them [no pay of course]. As this is our passion no pay is necessary...just to be a part of this research is payment enough...;)

So of course we said YES!

This is a new group to us. They are out of Saskatoon and list themselves as "Debunkers" with lots of technical equipment. Their group consists of six people listed as investigator's and investigator's-in-training. They said they don't normally travel with Psychics or Mediums but this time they have asked a well known "Celebrity Psychic Medium - Barb Powell" to join them for this one.

This one should be quite interesting. To bad the town doesn't invest in a live cam situation...maybe one day? They still won't let us log into their internet to try for ourselves...something about sercurities?

Anyways....


The next weekend, Feb. 25 & 26th, we will be hosting "Calling Lakes Paranormal Investigators" from Fort QueApple. This will be their 5th time here.


Shoud be really interesting....haven't had a good scare in a long time...:)

FINALLY DONE!!!!

Xmas decorating outside and in!




Here's the final take on the outside...the penguins won!

This was last year's sign and is being used again for this year. I loved the penguins that I had found on some clip art on the net and modified them to suit my shop's need...........which is more workers  ;)

Although the last fat dude doesn't look like he's much help...

he's probably the one booking in sick...;}

Here's where I stuck them...

And this is what they look like all together in their blurriness....

Before you enter here's what my Xmas Village looks like from the outside...

I have more houses but can't line them up on the other side due to the fact that it's my cat's window and she hates me mucking up where she looks out on the world...;) and that I have the shelves for sign pick-up there too...


Anyways....here's my entrance way [porch] before you enter the actual shop...

You can take maybe three steps inside this area and that's all! One has to keep in mind the space that I have to work with to house all of my collectibles and displaying them tends to make it all look cluttered. I know I don't have to show everything that I have but if I can't enjoy all of it, all of the time then why bother having them at all? Besides if I had a bigger place I would need more stuff....hmmmmm


So here goes...

This is what it looks like in the morning light

I just love the soft glow through the window as I work on the computer...

My kids have given me most of the house sets through the years and I loved displaying them on my window ledges...

With only one ledge, I display the rest on my glass topped display case. Which, if you noticed, has a big piece missing out of it. That was a heavy item hitting it and broke it off...kind of scary at the time. I blunted the edge by filing it and have covered the edge with clear hockey tape for my cat's safety. She loves rubbing her face on the edge. Haven't seen any blood so it must be working.


Along with my houses I picked up this beautiful [no chips/cracks,etc] 30" tall winter scene pillar, which lights up....at a garage sale in 2009 for 5.00!

It has penguins, polar bears and Santa on it...I love it, I think it goes perfect with my village

Another thing I like and always wanted but never got because it was a "boy's" toy....is a train set! I begged this toy from my son-in-law and it is a MacDonald's collectible from 1998...the train from the movie "Anastasia"...

My other fav is the M & M characters...

Stockings seems to have snuck in also...when one picks up xmas stuff in garage sales, one usual gets more if it's in a box of stuff, which most are....:)

And for a warning to any kids...;}

[just kidding]

So it's time to enter the main work shop...

One of my new purchases...6 beaded white owls which represents my son, daughter, son-in-law, 2 grand kids and me...:) Also the wrapping paper & purple garland are new. The bear ornament represents my sister "Eener" and me as the Xmas tree holding her up [awwwwww] ;)






And as usual you will have to wait for the shop pics...

DECK THE HALLS...

Not with boughs of holly...

I used the faux pine wire ones...;)


Fa,la,la...yada, yada




Well I'm finally getting around [business is slowing down AGAIN] to posting my pictures of all of my outside Xmas decor...taken in the daylight. You already got to see the blurry night ones...;}


I love the sparkle of the Xmas lights at night but like to see a display in the day light.

Most who have the inflatable displays don't run them during the day...who can blame them! I saw dollar signs coming off of my Halloween one and decided then, not to donate more money to the power company and buy any more! Bad enough I need their power to run my lights now...candle power is just not the same...;} The wire animal/tree ones are okay but if you have a lot of snow like we normally get, they kind of blend in during the day time...;(


I'm not one for over-doing the lights either...don't care much for the blinding mini light displays!

So I opted for more of a visual day time one with a night enhancement of a combination of the soft glow of a yellowish white mini lights for the snowy FX of winter and the blue-white of the bigger LED bulbs intertwined with smaller LED red ones.


My dream when moving into this place was to do the "Gingerbread House" for Halloween...I think I mentioned this once or twice [three] before. So when I decorate for Halloween I can put up the candy canes without the pine boughs. I will be making big candies during the summer months...see planning already :)




Anyways....here's this year's Winter Workshop somewhere near the north pole...

Still not quite finished yet...undecided whether I want penguins or gingerbread men or just leave it alone? There is 14 days left til Xmas....


I don't like the space between the door and garage door...needs something inspirational?

Notice the front slope...

I cured my problem of the slippery hill! The steps [on the left] I put in this summer, helps when I have to unload my groceries. I still have to shovel the hill for any wheelchair access...:}?

The mound of snow in the middle is to cover the hidden danger of how the two meet...it would be dangerous otherwise...too uneven...okay in the summer

Plus I have to give the dog next door somewhere to mark his territory so he won't be doing it on my decorations...Grrr


Here's another great blurry close-up...

[you know... I NEVER have to worry about anyone stealing my pics...they're to blurry...;) ]

Clear as mud right...looks pretty busy inside to me and yes, it is!

Painting the door red was a good move for this setting...:)

Notice the first bit of Halloween peeking out [bottom left]...you will see bits of it left out. I truly can't be without that weird part of me peeking out somewhere in my domain. This drove the Ex nuts...:)

So, are you ready to see the rest of this busy nightmare....

Enter

Due to more interuptions by the stupid me computer....will have to wait AGAIN for the next post

XMAS PROJECTS...

All you fans out there know that I love Halloween! Xmas runs a close second in my heart.

Well I try hard to combine the two together because I just hate leaving Halloween out anywhere!...:)

Come to think of it...it stays with me in my decor throughout the other seasons too..hmmm


Anyways...




This building's exterior is really old [80-90ish] and has a different look that kind of appeals to me...;)

I have dreamt of it as a creepy kind of gingerbread style of house that the old witch lives in...bwaaaa...:}


Gotta keep up appearances...;}




Anyways...


I am not getting any younger and decided this was the year to do it....so I started with my first project in November...the candy cane tubes for my "Gingerbread House"!


These tubes come from my vinyl rolls and I have been over-run with them! They aren't the nicest things to store...yada, yada...


So have lots of vinyl scraps hanging around too [can't throw nothing away] I covered them in red and added white and green reflective stripes. The reflective didn't work to good for me as they are above the headlights and didn't shine like I wanted them to. Oh, well...deep sigh...;(


But they do shine when you don't want them to...

Cameras like reflective stuff! They focus only on that object and blurs out the rest...at least that's what I have discovered when taking shots with it in them. Like my Halloween photos!


I had jigsawed some of the tubes in half [lengthwise] and cut out 1" section for the corner canes. I fastened them to the windows and doorways with two screws.


I made LOTS of these. This was my "sit-in-front-of-the-TV-while-doing-this-at-night" project for almost a whole week!


If that wasn't enough I added these...

You know those pesky wrapping paper rolls [can't throw away either]...they got wrapped in red vinyl and got a white stripe too!


I've started to add something extra to my outside decor...a warning to my vandals

"Cursed if Stolen" with a pentagram symbol beside it.


Most call me a witch to my back...so why not utilize it?


It should give them a laugh but deep down inside the damage is done when they read it...a mental blow, so to speak...;)...bwaaaaa


Yes, I have already been vandalized once already....grrrrrrrrr 


The sweet little darlings swiped a 18" long flower arrangement that I paid 50 cents for at a garage sale last year. I had placed it too close to the roadway and it was a case of a hit-and-run-grab. They tried to take the candy candy lit fence, only I had secured it to the tree trying to growing near the sidewalk...;) They had pulled it out into the street but couldn't go any farther! They did take one cane that wasn't lit and bent the wires holding the others up. All was fixable!

My camera was dead at that time so no photo.


And NO I hadn't cursed that object...but I do now!!!....;}


And with those cane sticks I added "Snow Jewels"...

I scarfed this idea from a post that I don't recall right now [bad me] and decided it would look good with my canes. The ones that she made were pretty big and I only wanted small ones. Besides it takes one day to freeze the little ones...so it is a long project. Longer if you only use the outside cold to do it! It's pretty cold here lately but not that bad. I would use a freezer instead but  mine was too small. Each container took 5-8 drops of food coloring. I used a different shape to make them look like jewels?


They do have a down side...they melt when the sun shines on them...;(

I also secured these guys too! I had visions of red and green missals being chucked at passing vehicles [not by me]...so I froze them in with water. They also get frosty/snowy and spraying them enhances their color. Plus more ice! I'll have to chip them way before they leak their color after Xmas.


I do like how they look and they are all still where I put them...

Notice I just HAD to get into the picture...;}

Keeping the decor company is my poor sad cat ornament...

Had to put a big bow on him cause some Ahole put a hole in his chest!...Grrrrr




My other project was to deal with my garage door which I had painted this summer. The sunrise horizon stuck out pretty good and didn't suit my theme. How does one hide or deal with that...

Yup...add a whole bunch of presents!


Most of these were already wrapped from last year...cause I don't throw nothin' away


And all of these will house my decor later, when put away... partially wrapped boxes that is! Some that are kept permanently are fully wrapped.

The taller snow jewels are lined up front and I am not quite finished yet.


The "Present Tree" was put together in three sections and I barely got them out of my work room through the doorway...;}


I secured this tower together with wire, added the lit canes and the pine garland as sort of a fence, corralling them in. I wanted to add some dolls and such, to the gifts, but couldn't find any...my grand kids are too old for toys? Will look at garage sales this coming year...;) I did add two metal trains tho.


Again the other gifts that I will put loosely around the place outside [this weekend] will not blow away, because these are wrapped presents for the garbage man [after Xmas is over]...soiled cat litter!




And if that wasn't enough to do...I had to pick up a 14" tall unpainted ceramic Santa at a garage sale this year for 2.00 and I am trying to paint it...

I do mean trying!


My inner sancutary color this year is the red & purple associated with the "Red Lady" theme. This is in celebration of the older woman in her 50/60's and such. So my Santa will reflect that cause in it's colors. His coat/hat/pants might look dark blue to you but it is not. It is a rich purple with a pearlized look. Red will go on the mitts/boots and lips.


I've already been kicked off this computer once today trying to do this blog so you will have to wait for the outside pic for the next blog...