HALLOWEEN DISAPPOINTMENT

This year Halloween was a disappointment for me!


If it wasn't for me putting my display up early it wouldn't have got done and I would have been like the rest of the unimaginative ones in this town!


If it wasn't for them having to rake their leaves and have to put them into something their decor would be nil!


I guess that's better than nothing?

I guess one has to advertise a money prize for anyone to get into the spirit of yard decorating! Xmas decorating is a big thing here and the big spenders have to out do each other...maybe thats why they can't afford to do both?


The swine flu made sure I didn't get to enjoy this season!


I hated turning on my lights to show my Halloween spirit because I couldn't hand out candies [I did send some up to PoD for them to hand out for me]...why advertise if you can't hand out! But Halloween is MY TIME so I lit up anyways! Sadly NO kids came down this far for hand outs?


Before my illness hit, I had already given out candies to those who just had to see whether I decorate inside or not. Two women and 4 kids came all of the way from Kindersley to see my place but they were disappointed that it wasn't a haunted house layout. Somehow they had heard that it was? Happily they were the only ones who had heard that!


I do decorate inside as well as outside. Inside decor is for my enjoyment only! It's a business so customers get to see it as well and it's my hobby so I get to see most of my collection [not enough room to show all] and yes, I do play with them!


This is what greeted them...

This is the entrance to the main area which is a small foyer and I would have normally hung bats from the ceiling...

The entrance to the shop in the garage...

The left of the entrance...

The exit from this nightmare...

Inside office area...This is a small area and looks cramped to most but to us, it works better than a big space...which I used to have.

The coffin [its under all of my toys & has the word STOP written on it] is a permanent fixture year round and those who ask...its a customer waiting for his order...;)

All might wonder if that's all of my Halloween collection and I will have to admit...NO.

I remind all that I have enough stuff to decorate 3 floors of the courthouse! I even lent decorations to the group hosting the Halloween dance [had to miss] and they had more than enough to cover their hall. When it comes to Halloween I throw nothing away. My latest dream is to throw a haunted Halloween party for my grand kids someday. The thought of scaring the crap out of teenagers really appeals to me...;)

Normally the monsters make their appearance a couple days prior to the day...I was too sick to care. All stayed cutesy...

Here's what the place looked like outside on the first snow storm [it was beautiful out this year for Halloween]...

I remember saying that I was sure I was going to get vandelized...I was right!


I awoke Nov. 1 to minor destruction...

The tower of pumpkins next to the bench had broken off at the second pumpkin...it's fixable


All of the gravestones were GONE...except for the one at the door that said..." WILL BE BACK"...which I thought was kind of funny. I'm not sure they saw that one...it was the only one that wasn't staked or screwed down...easier to take yet they didn't?


I believe it was a quick grab-and-run sort of thing as they tried to take the large lit skulls. I found them laying close by yet still attached to the house...too many stakes held them in place...ha,ha,ha!


They did steal one of the smaller skull heads...I still have 3 left. I was too lazy to secure them properly...no real loss there. It did look like they tried to take these but like I said...they were all staked excessively.


They even took my flag pole/vinyl flag attached? This wasn't fastened anywhere...who would of thought they'd want a flag pole?


All of my lights, Creepy Hollow and blow-up cat survived!




So in all I lost 6 grave stones, one small skull/stake and flag pole!


The nice thing was NO DESTRUCTION! No egging or TPing...:)


I would have taken pictures but camera was still dead from the courthouse and somehow the battery charger is missing?


As of today all of the decor is down and waiting for me to put it away properly...



Next is Xmas...



I will start with LOTS of RED...



Last year was red & gold...this year will add lots of white...



HOPEFULLY IT'S NOT SNOW!



...until Xmas day that is!

This is the best that I can do feeling the way that I do right now.

The swine flu has robbed me of that too!

Hope everyone else has fun...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

The First Storm of the Year

This is what my place looked like when our first snow storm hit Oct 8.


I had planned on putting my inflateable cat up on the roof of my garage, so it could look down on anyone walking, by but the fantastic winds that were happening that week made me change my mind. He now sits in a less windy area and so I can keep an eye on him. The first time that I inflated him out front, the material got caught on the mechanism inside that moves the head from side to side. I was even happier that it happen while on the ground so I could remove it before it got torn.


The grave stones that stand in the open area managed to stay put in that fantastic wind and as of now I still haven't had any vandalism done to my place...yet!


I had hoped to get my tree "Creepy Hollow" into the Court House before winter landed but the museum board has put the Halloween/Paranormal room on hold? The supernatural has a hard time in Dodge as it has lots of religious people who don't believe in it or of Halloween and I guess the committee doesn't feel that it has a part of history in this town. How about their "Holy Ghost"?


Someday I vow that I will see that change!



As for our first snow storm, it started out quite nice. The snow fell lightly to the ground as I walked up to the hospital for some blood testing. It was so pretty as the snow drifted lightly to the ground. It hardly covered the ground when I entered the hospital but by the time I got out it had put a blanket of it everywhere and my shoes weren't the kind for walking in it.



The town has been busy filling all of the craters left from our flooding rainstorm and most of the puddles were gone. Somehow I managed to find one little left and it was just like a skating rink so down I went!


Right on my right knee! I sliced it open and it made quite a mess...even tore a hole my pants!


I was already part of the way home so I limped the rest of the way cursing how clumsy and wondering how I managed last year not to fall once!


So now I am afraid to walk again!


So much for getting that exercise...


I did go out and buy some decent winter walking boots...

Maybe that will help?

RECOVERY....at last!


Yesterday was the first day that I went for a three block [long] walk, without any complaints from any parts of my body...including my face!


The air was so cool and fresh!


The early morning mist finally settled the harvest dust down enough for this poor allergy sufferer to like the outdoors again!


This is one of my favorite times of the year...


The sun isn't as hot and the bugs are gone!


I sometimes wonder if I am part night dweller [blood drinking not on my diet] as the sun irritates my skin and the heat makes me nauseous? But, I know this is the results from the meds that I have to take.


So, when Spring & Fall arrive I am sooooooo happy!



I even had enough gumption [slight headache still] to put up some more of my Halloween decor outside.


Sadly, the blow-up cat hasn't landed on the garage roof...this one is afraid of heights!


Son went back to work & Trebor is doing his "honey-to-do-list" work.



This year was a sad year for yard work.
The grass was lucky to even get cut and as for watering...it had to rely on mother nature



I did have the garden tilled with the idea of using the dirt for the garden boxes but needed to have help with building the boxes bigger to hold the dirt... it never happened


Each plot went to weed... told myself that was my "wild flower" beds in honor of mother nature...;)


But now they are great looking, as the flowers/weeds have died and add to my graveyardy look.I used the first stones [1991] that I ever made and they won't mean as much if they get wrecked, only their sentimental value.


I've decided to live dangerously by putting my decor outside this year!


Most people don't have to worry about their decor outside as they live with decent people around them...

I live between two party houses!


Past post on "neighbors" subjects will up date why I say this.


The rumor has it that the house across the street has a new cop moving in but I have also heard that there wasn't...so I eagerly await their arrival. My hope is, they have young toddler type [too young to roam ;)] and are very protective...let them call the cops and get in trouble with the type that likes to get even when you do complain...


I have screwed, wired, staked and covered all easy access to the decorations and they will have to destroy the decor before they will get it free like they did my decorated Xmas tree last year! All extension cords have my name written all over them so they will have to jiffy mark the whole cord before they get own them!

The down side is when they have to be removed...;(


I've taken photos so I have a record of what I've done so far [more to come depending on destruction] and hopefully will be proven wrong...for a change!


As for walking...


I'm starting again this morning, right after this post and hopefully will do so again this evening.


This is a promise I am making to myself, as I feel the "stop walking" that I did, ended me up in this unhealthy mess that my body is in right now! I vow to try to keep it up even when it gets miserable.


I must give a BIG THANK YOU to my daughter PoD who helped me through this whiney mess while sick herself and helping me keep my livelyhood going.










thank you for all of your well wishes too....

HAPPY OCT 1

29 days until Halloween...:)

24 days til Sask Ghost Hunters [www.saskghost-hunterssociety.ca] come to do a "Halloween Special Investigation" involving a contest looking for someone who'd be interested in being a paranormal investigator for the night in our haunted courthouse.


There is another really special reason why I'm excited about that night, besides getting to do another investigation, is a real BIG SECRET...for now



Health:

I just had to share my illness with both my kids and now we are all suffering.


Happily the puking at both ends have stopped!


What still remains...sucks!



I don't remember the bleary eyes and hard to focus, being part of the flu symptoms? Right now I feel some what better for awhile, then a dizzy spell hits me causing nausea but no up-chucking, which is a happier improvement. Driving is strictly a NO right now.


I can now look on the bright side of this illness...saved money, haven't had to buy much in the grocery line [not hungry], sugar levels have been the best ever [sometimes a little on the low side] and tight clothes are now loose again...:)


I've using a nasal spray as I'm sure there is a sinus infection [did go to the doctor but he didn't check that part ?] and the tight head band from the sinus areas is easing up and I have less running of the face...:)


I don't believe I am infectious right now, but have placed a sign on the door warning of the health situation in here and thus they could make their own choice whether they wanted to do business in person or by phone/email.


Work has been rough on the brain as customers want their estimate/design done ASAP. I keep having to remind myself that there has to be an up side to being my own boss/owner and shouldn't have to have my life dictated to, whether I am open to the public or not!




I'm learning that life is TOO short to worry about it!



Other crap:

Today is another WINDY and cold day...makes one want to huddle into a warm blanket and sleep the day away!



Halloween decor has been up for awhile and it's too windy to put my new blow-up cat [with rotating head] on top of my garage today as planned.



One will find that I'm never too sick to decorate for the one occasion I'm crazy about!



Our town is even planning a costume dance this year and I just might do something for that...we'll see




NOW:

The world is spinning and it's time to go...