Do You Believe in Ghosts?

Do you believe in ghosts?
I am not sure if I do or not.
But I like to tell ghost stories anyway.
One of the best places to tell them are at Girl's Camp.
Which I do.
We had a hay ride at night where we would go past an old abandoned shack.
Which held the remnants of many years of neglect.
Old shoes, old newspapers, rusty tin cans, debris of all sorts.
I told the ladies that I worked with that it was haunted.
and that we should use it in our spooky hay ride stories.
I took them to check it out and happened to bring my camera.
Now I take pictures ALL of the time....
(just ask my children)
and I have had some interesting shadows and light refractions on the photos but this one
I still cannot explain.
I show you a series of pictures.
The first one was taken right before the shack
the next two
at the haunted shack
the last one right after when we went inside.
For you skeptics...no it was not due to changes in temperature or condensation on the lens.
There was no change in temperature. It was always hot at girls camp.
I did not change any settings.
I did not alter the photos in anyway when they were loaded on my computer.
This is just what was captured or whom was captured with the click of the button.
Believe it or not.
Happy Halloween!

Epitaphs; Words to Remember

One of my favorite part about cemeteries beside the beautiful headstones are the words written on them.
I feel compelled to read each one of them.
And isn't that what the families of the dearly beloved intended.
A way for people to know
That someone special is buried there
Someone who was cherished and loved.
I like to make sure that I honor their desires.
Here are a few examples:

This one makes me curious for two reasons.
1. Why did a boy named Glen Urquhart Scotland die as Robert MacDonald. I have heard of changing your first name but this seems extreme.
2. The Hume family sponsored this headstone. That's what I am going to need. Mr. T. asked me what I would want and after describing my desires he shook his head and said, "That would be expensive" Anyone from the Hume family reading this....call me.




This one is a little too forlorn and sad for my liking.

How much to carve a 3-D face? That's gotta be expensive. But nobody will forget what you looked like

I like the bottom sentiment on this one: who wouldn't want to be called a "model mother" Hmm this one has promise

This one is simple but says it like it is. Very profound
I think I want mine to be a little humorous.
Maybe something like this;

Here lies Mrs. Winn
She lived a good life
Tried hard not to sin.
She liked spooky things
So you better not linger
Or else she might rise up
And poke you with her dead finger.

OK OK it needs a LOT of work but hopefully there is plenty of time to polish off the rough edges. As long as it made you smile today....I am happy.
Happy Halloween

Headstone Do's and Don'ts..ok, Just Don'ts

Remember folks... know when to stop. Sometimes less is more.

A matter of personal style or just no time to finish?

A little understated for my tastes.

No nudity please, even she looks embarrassed.

My sister left me a comment wondering what I would do for Halloween.
How could I top my grave posts as of late.
Never you fear precious dear.....
I am saving the best for last.
No graveyard...well not technically..... but
A ghost story of sorts
A true ghost story.
Muah ha ha ha ha ha ha.

Drum roll puleeze............

TA DA!!!!
Here they are!
We had a blast.
We invited our Elders from the ward.
(Might I add that they did an amazing job. One of their pumpkins was so prisitine inside it almost made me weep.)
And Carter, Elder Nerents BFF as a stand in for Jack.
On second thought he never is a stand in, he is just so much dang fun. (This was his second year, no rookie here!)
Peanut who likes to assume a supervisory role while she doubles as the photographer.
And of course we kept open two empty honorary chairs for Raar and Ninja
(I hope...no I expect to see the photos of their pumpkin event on their own blog)
All in All it was everything I had looked forward to.
Only 364 days until the next one.....
(And there will be someone very special at that one!!!! Can't wait)
Now go carve a pumpkin...
Seriously.
P.S. Did I forget to mention.....
THIS IS MY 100TH POST!!!  Yay for blogging!

Good Eats...Spooky Style

This is my mom's annual Halloween family dinnershe hosts the Sunday before Halloween.
Isn't it magnificent?
Everything she does for it is downright spookily beautiful; from the tablecloth to the serving pieces to the witches cauldron ice bucket.
She is the hostess with the mostess And we are fortunate to be the beneficiaries.
Now see the picture of me?
See the sly smile on my face?
Why you ask?
Tonight was pumpkin carving night. My favorite tradition of the year.
But I will post about it tomorrow because it will be my
100th post!!!!
I am so excited that it turned out to be the pumpkins.
Isn't it great when life works out that way?

A Brief Intermission

No this is not a Halloween decoration.
Yes it is a nativity.
No I haven't lost my mind....yet.
This is just a brief intermission from my Halloween countdown
for my missionary mom network friends.
And they ARE my friends.
Although I wouldn't recognize them if I passed them on the streets,
We are friends in spirit.
Comrades in arms as it were..
Since we are the support system...the base station
For one of the greatest armies on the earth today.
Our stripling warrior sons.
Serving in Central America.
They wanted to see my nativity from Guatemala
And so here it is.
This one is colorful and makes me happy everytime I pass it and YES I have kept it up all year with my son's drumline picture behind it.
Just a little corner of my living room that reminds me about the piece of my heart that was carried to a beautiful and foreign land.
This particular set was hand painted each figure in a different regional outfit representing a different area of Guatemala.
Enjoy....
but it is back to the countdown for Halloween....
BOO!

Yummy Graveyard

So how cute is this??
My Mom found this in a magazine and had an itch to try her hand at it.
I guess the graveyard thing runs in the family.
She made the sheet cake and frosting
And I helped her with the decorations on top.
Not that she needed any help....
(We call her Martha Stewart Junior)
But all of the guys and Peanut went to the football game and it was just us two.
We had a fun evening talking, laughing and decorating.
I even showed her how to Skype.
And we produced this beauty of a cake.
What a great evening.
Who says I can't have my tombstone cake and eat it too.

Here lies......Mrs. Blaimeyer

My mother used to tell me a story about when she was a little girl. One of the things that they would do for entertainment was go to the local cemetery and try to scare up a ghost or two. They found the fanciest and largest head stone who just happened to be Mrs. Blaimeyer.
They would hold hands and circle the headstone and chant.

"Mrs. Blaimeyer....

Mrs. Blaimeyer.......

Come out Mrs. Blaimeyer."

(Remember that there was not TV or computers or video games.)
That story intrigued me as you can imagine and I never forgot it. When I went to that same graveyard to pay my respects to my Grandma, I made sure to look for Mrs. Blaimeyers headstone.
It did not disappoint.

My own grandparents grave did however. It was one that was just level with the ground. A small modest one with her name and birth and death date. I think that it was not even a choice for the family as they were buried in a section where it was more important to be able to run a mower over it. This did not seem right. My grandmother was one of my favorite people of all time. I would have liked to have seen something a little more grand. Something that would represent the spitfire pistol of a woman that she was. I would have like to have chosen something that let you know a little bit about the woman who was buried there. How much fun she was. How much she took a bite out of life when she was here. Maybe even a clever epitaph that would make someone smile...just like she used to make me smile.

I have instructed my family to not spend much on my casket. I really don't care how I am buried...but oh how I would like a nice headstone. Something unique or grand. Something that makes them want to circle and say my name out loud. It doesn't have to be a glowing tribute and I really do not want it to be sad. In fact if it made someone stop and look and read and smile....
now that would show Mrs. Blaimeyer.

P.S. Tomorrow some epitaphs and the "rich section" of Glenwood where the famous heart surgeon Denton Cooley will be buried. Not kidding he already has a very nice spot and the monument is already in place.

Howard Hughes...As Promised

I know you have been waiting for this all night.
Drum roll please............
Howard Hughes grave. I know what you are thinking...
As rich as he was....... this is it? Yup.
Obviously he was going for the understated.
But just so I don't disappoint
There are others in the cemetery who don't buy into the policy that less is more.
Stay tuned for a monument to die for.
Seriously.
(oh and some great ghost story photos)
P.S. The famous Howard is the one at the top of the photo. The one at the bottom is his father Howard Senior. I couldn't get closer since there was an iron fence blocking my access. His family plot is messy but in the Hughes defense we had just experienced Hurricane Ike so cut the family some slack. 

 

A Grave Appreciation

Here is a October-like confession,
I love to visit graveyards.
TMI?
Well it's true.
It has always been true.
I was a fearful fearful little child,
Always imagining that there was something under my bed,
Just waiting for me to set my feet down
or get too close to the edge....where it could
Grab my ankles and pull me under.
((Loud Shriek))
(How do you spell a yell?)
And yet,
And here is the weird part.
I wasn't afraid of cemeteries.
I can never remember being afraid of them.
On the contrary I would look for them
On long boring car rides.
We always drove way too fast by them for my liking.
So hence,
(don't you think we should bring back the word, "hence". I like the sound of it)
When I became the driver or at very least the copilot,
I would slow down or better yet, stop.
I have seen many cemeteries across the United States. Mostly with my patient kids in tow
So in the spirit of the season,
And with the greatest respect,
For the next few days,
I would like to share my thoughts, and cool photos
And maybe throw in a ghost story or two.
This is Glenwood Cemetery in downtown Houston.
It is where some famous Texans are buried,
Howard Hughes for one.
Admit it....
You want to see what his grave looks like?.....
Tune in tomorrow for those pics......