November 19, 2011

Craft show & antique store finds....

I went shopping with Mom & the sisters today.  Every year we go to 2 certain holiday craft shows without fail.  The first was last weekend and the second was today.  Besides finding a Christmas gift for the Mother-In-Law, I found these really cool sun-catchers.


Of course they'd look better actually in the sunshine, but it's night-time.  So the flash will have to do! 
I couldn't decide which one I liked better, so I got them both!  The ladies at the booth really liked that way of thinking!

I also found this really nice plush hand towel. 

 I stopped at an antique store after work on Friday and picked up this small Waterford Crystal (so they say) decanter.  I was surprised to see it since I looked at it when I was there a few months ago.  I snagged it when I saw it as marked down to.....ready for this??   $1  !!!!!

 I thought this spritzer thingy was neat, too. 

I'm a sucker for neat old bottles. 
Glad I still don't have the apothecary put away yet!

Speaking of which.  I have the next 2 bottles on layaway there.  These were a bit more expensive than I usually like, but when I priced similar ones on ebay - I think I'm getting a decent deal.  I got the pics off Google, since I don't have them in my paws yet!  They're so cool!!!

This is called a Codd Bottle.  The neck is pinched and there is a marble inside it.  According to this article it used the effervescence from the soda or mineral water to keep the marble pressed against the inside of the bottle, sealing it.  It was a big thing in England in the late 1800's- not so much in the US.

This one used the idea that the beverage would stay in contact with the cork, keeping the cork from shrinking.  And one would also be forced to finish the entire drink, since it can't sit on end!


I can't resist.  Every year at this particular craft show, there is an old man who makes these fantastic ornaments from exotic woods.  He turns them on a lathe himself & then polishes them with beeswax.  No two are ever the same and each one is more beautiful than the next.  This is the third year I've bought from him.  I told him that when I was looking at his display and he said I looked familiar!!  I make sure to buy from this man, since he strongly resembles a guy who's pretty popular this time of year, with his full white beard.  Except this guy wears plaid shirts & suspenders.  But I'm not taking any chances!!

November 17, 2011

RIP Skeeter, my decorating buddy




Totally not anything related to the content of this blog, but I'm sad.  And wouldn't you know that when I was catching up on 2 days worth of blog reading, I saw like 5 cat posts????



Today was a really sad day.  I got the worst call ever from the vet.  Skeeter didn't make it through the night.

~sniff~

Let me back up.  Tuesday evening, he was acting a bit off.  Like he was concerned about something.  He was normally fairly talkative, but he was making loud, odd-sounding howls.  I didn't know what to think, so I spent more time with him and he seemed OK.

Wednesday, he was very lethargic and zombie-ish.  He acted like his tummy hurt.  I checked all my houseplants and none of them looked freshly chewed - heck even if they were - I'd suspect Chester, not Skeet!  I checked the ribbons on the balloon Angel still has floating around her room, since he has been known to chew on those.  Nope.  Still neatly cut.   He came when I called him (slowly) and I lifted him up on the couch next to me to watch the Wings game.  He literally didn't move.  Not even the end of his tail.  I just sat & petted him until I went to bed.  I left him on the couch since he seemed comfortable.

Thursday he seemed a bit perkier, but I still called the vet and got him an early appointment.  She wanted to keep him for x-rays and to take some blood for tests.  OK.  She called me later in the afternoon and said he wasn't happy with them (he never was!) and they could only get a tiny blood sample and the x-rays showed a blockage in his urinary tract.  Poor guy couldn't pee!  No wonder he hurt!  So she catheterized him and flushed his bladder with saline and then was going to put him on fluids and something to reduce the inflammation in that area.  She also said she was going to give him a little something to calm him down so he could rest and relax and that she'd call me in the morning.

So when she called me this morning, she told me that they ran the most important tests on the small blood sample they got & the levels of these certain chemicals (I forget the 3 she rattled off ) were so high, they were off the scale.  And that's when she dropped the news on me.

She said cats tends to hide when they are in pain, so he may have been hurting for a while and it just got to be too much, so that's when he started talking more.  Apparently the sedative was enough to help him go peacefully.

Randy was supposed to leave for Arkansas today.  So he was still home when I called him.  He went to the vet to get Skeeter, since I sure didn't want him cremated. I was still at work and for once, the office grapevine worked in my benefit.  Geri apparently heard me say "Oh No" and saw me grab a box of Kleenex and run out onto the dock.  She in turn told my boss, who was waiting inside the door when I went back inside.  I told her what happened & she told me to go home if I needed to.  So I did.

Randy had him in the garage when I got home.  He was still in the crate, wrapped up in a blue cloth that had a piece of tape with his name and hearts drawn on it.  We chose a nice spot in the back yard for his final resting spot.  He's under some pine trees and nothing will grow there, so I plan to find a nice statue or stone to put his name on.   We got the area dug out, then waited for Angel to get home from school.  She had a half day today, so we didn't have to wait long.

I admit to be mildly creeped out.  So was Randy.  He brought him out of the garage and handed him to me to wrap in one of my old shirts before putting him in his grave.  I really wasn't expecting him to still be warm!  I was expecting cold & stiff, not warm and soft.  Randy said he swore he felt him purr.

I'm really gonna miss my baby boy.  He just turned 11 in July.  I was expecting to have a few more years with him.  Randy was really tore up, too.  Even the vet sounded rough when she called.   When we came in after the burial and all 3 of us were sitting on the bed, Chester & Maggie both got on the bed with us.  I think Chester is wondering where he is, too.




It's sad, but I know he's probably up in Heaven, laying on my dad's lap already.  He's hopefully comfortable and safe and I really need to get some tissue!!!

Isn't it funny how a person can decorate with zombies & mummies & graveyards & skeletons at Halloween and it not bother them in the slightest?  When when it comes to death in real life, the same person falls to pieces??   And even sadder yet....I have cried more today than I did when Dad passed away - and I was a total Daddy's girl! 

November 13, 2011

So sad.



 If I'd left them sitting out any longer, I would have had to use a shovel to get them in the yard waste container! That is some seriously nasty red mold in there!



I'm finishing putting away the last of the indoor Halloween decor (supervised by Skeeter).  You know there is always that one thing that gets left out - I wonder how long it'll take to find it!  Of course, there is stuff that is intentionally going to stay out.  The gargoyle on top of the Grandfather clock.  The Cupid skeleton candle-holder.  The skeleton in the glass dome.  yeah.



Every year I go to 2 specific craft shows with Mom & the sisters.  Of course most of the stuff for sale is for that ~other~ holiday, but you do occasionally find Halloween items.  Excuse the blurry pic, but I was trying to be sneaky taking this...it's a sock mummy!  However...I wasn't about to pay $40 for this, so I will be making my own.  It should be fairly easy.  Take a sock monkey and wrap it in gauze strips.  Big lime green buttons for the eyes and they have a little spider on its chest. 

  I will so be making this!!!

 But other than that......the second of the 2 craft shows is next weekend & also the hubby will be leaving for Arkansas on Thursday for Thanksgiving. I'm hoping I can get some stuff done around here!!

Totally off topic here, but I find this funny.  I was looking at the stats for this HALLOWEEN blog and 2 of the sites that have referred people to me are "bestbabymonitors.info" and "lethalcommision.tk".  WTF???

November 11, 2011

Thank You Veterans!






Oh yeah...and you're welcome!

I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.
 (US Navy Oath of Enlistment)

 
 Dad, me, Lee (my adopted sister), my Lieutenant cousin, Mom.
At my bootcamp graduation, May 1992

 Me, Laura & Ginnie.
USS Canopus AS-34 (1992 - 1994)

The USS Abraham Lincoln CVN-72 post office crew
(1994 - 1997)

 Mom, me & F-14 on USS Lincoln's flight deck
October 1995

Halloween in the Naval Station Everett, WA mail room.

It was truly an honor & a privilege to have served 8 years in the Navy.
I'd do it again in a heartbeat!


November 09, 2011

Merry Creepmas!!!

This is so cool!  I am so getting in on this cause!  Basically it is a good-natured payback at how Christmas stuff seems to appear before Halloween is over each year.   Here's a great link to find out more...

All about Creepmas

and one from Chad whose brilliant idea this was!

I have ideas for topics already......Muahahahaha!

November 08, 2011

SQUEEE! I got an award!!

My very first one!

Actually, I got it last Friday, but life happens and I haven't had time to adequately express my excitement & appreciation until now.


A big THANK YOU to Ked from Something wicKED this way comes....  you totally have to stop by and check out his awesome blog and also get a chuckle out of his adorable Halloween cat, Lilly. 

Alrighty.  I hope I don't screw this up.  There are some conditions I have to follow now that I belong to a Loyal Order of the Zombie Rabbit.  By the way....it bears a striking resemblance to the emblem on the trucks at my work.  Coincidence???


So anyway....I need to....

A.  Give this award to up to 10 who you like, but also give a couple to the "Next Blog" Slider on the top so random bloggers can feel the love of a stranger.

LOL - I was curious and looked to see just who the "next blog" may belong to.... The Johnson family - 2 seminary teachers and their large brood of kids....(I'm sure I'd get struck down if I paid this forward to them!!)  and I didn't go any farther because I was laughing too hard.  Sorry.  No random awarding from me!

B.  Post those you gave the award to, so fans of your site can see the places you like and that you Paid it Forward, too.

Gonna be a tough one!!!!  There are so many blogs that I enjoy and so many are deserving of such an award. 


Alrighty - I should continue to stash my indoor decor, but I hear a Red Wings game calling me!!

November 01, 2011

Welcome to Maple Grove Manor

Also known as the Love Shaque in the off-season!

This is a series of vignettes throughout the inside of my house.

 The hall bathroom

 I loved the idea of broken glass gel clings, but had no idea how to place them!

 Top of the cabinet ni the hall bath.

 Living room.

 Living room. 

 My year-round tree & Boney Bunch guys from Yankee Candle.

 MR & Mrs. Bones & wax warmer thingy from Partylite. 
The mummies from Bordine's nursery.

 This skelly's also from Bordine's Nursery.  
Gargoyle & silver skull from Home Goods.


 The beaded ghost glows in the dark.

 Last year's cheer pic matches my maple leaves!

 The framed drawing is from my secret reaper last year.  

 This guy is special.  He gets to lounge in bed all season.

 Kitchen plant table with little skeleton infestation. 

 Part of the apothecary.

More apothecary.


 The spice rack.

 Waiting for ToTers with our Candy Inspector. 

 I didn't have a witch hat to go with my green & black striped socks & black dress, so I rocked the feathers!

 Little Red Awesome Hood.  
There still is no lack of EGO in my house. 

Apparently Little Red Awesome Hood can moonlight as Helga the barmaid!