Thanksgiving 2010

Hello to all my friends out there!  I am so thankful for everyone in my life, I love you all.  I'm thankful for finally having a job, even though it is working me to death and only temporary!  I'm thankful for my health and my family (their health too).  And finally..... I'm thankful that my turkey got done and was perfect even though he cooked for a full 1 1/2 hours longer than he was suppose to!! dinner was late but everything was Delicious!

Sorry I haven't been posting lately but as I said i got a job and I am working very long hours. It's only seasonal so I have to make the most of it. Be patient I will be back!


Happy Thanksgiving to all! And remember no matter how bad it is now it could always be worse.  Keep your head up and smile, better times are to come :)

Halloween 2010

Ok, here we go... My most favorite day of the year, Halloween!  I go all out. This year I cut it short and didn't do the whole set up because I was suppose to start a new job on Halloween, but just a few days before my start date they postponed my start date. So short on time this is my Halloween......

To the right and to the left from the street......

To the right and to the left when you first start up the walk.....

Midway up the walk......

More stuff off to the right........

way off to the right under the tree, the mummy's and shrunken skulls

At the end of the walk...  I know is says which way but if you try to go left the person in the chair (not pictured) will get you !!! SO off to the right you must go.....

The Cave of Darkness! Believe it or not this is probably the scariest part of the yard after dark there is only on little black light in the cave and it is only there to cast a shadow as you walk by my creepy guy so he will go off!  I hide a couple of well dressed scary teenagers in here so as you walk by they will get you!  I get a lot of screams and tears out if this cave got to love it!

This here is the creepy guy! And he is really really creepy!  He is also the only thing that Bella was afraid of this year which is funny because she loved him last year!  He has a light sensor and when a shadow crosses him his head spins all the way around and the he has a really scary lunatic laugh!

Some spiders at the end of the cave to protect my trick or treaters for the thorny bush.

AH! The Coffin!  MY friend Kyle made this for me a few years ago! it is perfect, and really heavy almost the real thing!  This was Rachael's hangout this year!  And yes she did a good job on scaring the kiddies!

Well after the Coffin then It's time for the Witches Coven!  This is my hang out, where the kids get their candy and then it on out of the yard! I have my Tarot cards and crystal ball and even a voodoo doll (ok it's just a dollar store doll with pins in it but who cares) my bubbling cauldron and cool glasses and skull! us witches cackle and have a great time!

Kenny, The Gate Keeper. That's his role, he is crowd control. and lets the kids in,in manageable groups!

 Kenny playing with a head!

Rachael, the bride who died on her wedding day with a gun shot to  the head!  but is she really dead or is she now a zombie??? oh the fun she had in the coffin! 

Looking good dead girl!!!!

Me and Rachael!

Bella! Yes this is her costume, couldn't get her to keep her witches hat on, but she was really good and had a great time saying happy Halloween all night as we passed out the candy! The Witch's Coven was all in black lights so she glowed nicely!

Once again I didn't get any pictures of the final results.  With having Bella and having to check the fog machines all night by the time I thought of  getting pictures it was all done and the teens had removed their costumes so maybe next year.  My friend Kyle took some video so hopefully it is compatible and I can post it soon.  I may post pictures from Halloweens past when I took more and had a full set up! We will see til then I'll be thinking of what to do next year.  It's funny but I start thinking about Halloween on November 1st on how to make it better the next time.  After all it is my Favorite Holiday!

Death Becomes Her

Flexible frog

This frog is all bendy and super flexible like a good old fashion rag doll!!! It was a real pain to make a whole lot of sewing, which of course isn't one of my favorite things.  But, he is totally adorable!!

Three Girls in a Bed

Cemetery #1

I really enjoy my time in cemeteries.  This one, is one of three located on the NAU campus!  Why does NAU have three cemeteries?  Well they were there first and as the campus grew they got Incorporated with it.  This one is really old for Arizona standards, remember we became a state in 1912!  By the way it was a final jeopardy question on Jeopardy! "This college is home to 3 cemeteries" "what is NAU" Dillon got it right! I've always been attracted to cemeteries, they are so peaceful and no one ever bothers you. when I was in Wisconsin after my parent got divorced I would take my homework to one and do it there.  I've been known to spend hours just wandering around them just reading the tombstones.  I have a feeling I'll been visiting all three of these cemeteries many time while my son Dillon is at NAU.  I have another post I will be doing this week that will involve this cemetery, which will be in the Think Tank. But, this post is dedicated to my enjoyment of hallowed ground.  Here are some that for whatever reason they struck my fancy.  The oldest one I found that day was dated 1890.  I like to find the oldest tombstone in any cemetery, who was the first one in is fascinating to me.  Some I find really neat like the guitar or even funny like Mary Coffin.  Some make me think, "wow what happened here" as in the Walkup family or the Shryock's. But for whatever reason here they are...  

here kitty kitty kitty

Black cats are purrfect for Halloween!  I made this one years ago for a customer at the bar I worked at.  She absolutely loved it and had me make other things too (which of course you will see at some point).

I really wish they made black stuffing though.  The white you can see around the seams, because as I sew the fibers get caught on the yarn and bleed through.  I also learned with this project that you must use a much smaller hook, which of course make the project smaller, so you can't see through the stitches.  All in all a nice kitty indeed!

I'm definitely going to have to make another one someday and improve upon it.  The customer was happy and that's what counts but still I know I could do better!

Great Horny Toads!

So here we are again.  Back on the nature trail behind Dillon's place.  It was another beautiful warm day in Flagstaff. We have Bella on daddy's shoulders, Dillon and Amy, Rachael, and me taking pictures.  What did we discover this time?

Well.....

Horny toads!  This tiny one was our first find.

Bella Checking it out!

Horny toad number two!

This is the biggest one we caught! He was kind enough to let me to take a picture before him became ours!

The trio, horny toads are really cool and they just chill out! We caught a total of four, and took them back to Dillon's to be released under his porch.  Dillon has a bug problem, and soon if these cute lizards stay around he won't have bugs in the house anymore!

This is number two hanging out in his new home!

Numer three coming back out from under the porch, and Bella trying to get it to come to her!

Here I am introducing her to the lizard!

Awwwww! Bella petting the horny toad! This is just so cute! She really does have a great time in Flag with her big brother!

After all of this I made enchiladas while I let Dillon take the car to do laundry and shop we ate and then went to the cemetay which you get to hear about in a later post this week!  Lots of fun!