Frog on the Pumpkin

I have the best friends

2012-01-31T01:40:00.000-08:00

Our good friends Linda & David brought us this cool pin from the Hard Rock Cafe in San Francisco during Halloween.....since they know that we are tethered to the house and cannot go collect this cool stuff on our own.

I know, we have the coolest friends!!

Anyone know if any of the other Hard Rocks did any cool pins for Halloween?

If you noticed

2012-01-31T01:37:00.000-08:00

the internet was running kinda slow......that was because it had run out of batteries.

But not to worry, husband replaced them today and everything seems back to normal......now I must return it to Big Ben, where it gets the best reception :D

Anyone wanna hop a ride with me to London?

I apologize to anyone that has NOT seen the "IT Crowd"....you don't know what you are missing.....go right now, I will wait and stream it on Netflix.....you can thank me later :D

Zombie best friends

2012-01-29T19:54:00.000-08:00

Want!

The battle of the Tuxes

2012-01-23T02:50:00.000-08:00

The Davis Graveyard household is comprised of more cats than humans.

Two Tuxes - Hal and Mason.....and one gray and white cat called Dor (Dorie) - who for the record, normally the lead trouble maker in the house....but tonight it appears her brother was tired of her hogging the limelight.

Mason and Dor are brother and sister....although you would never know it.....she is really small and he is a really, really large cat....twice her size and about 1/3 bigger than Hal (Halloween).

He is basically a small, domesticated panther cleverly disguised in a tuxedo.

The Davis Graveyard cat politics are endlessly amusing to husband and I.....after we have had a bottle of wine......

....without "medication" it is just a lot of yelling at what ever feline is causing the trouble.....which, as I mentioned, is usually Dor....

Where was I......Oh, yeah,...

I was getting my pumpkins in order.

Now, being the Halloween person that I am you would be safe to assume that I meant that in the same reference as getting your "ducks in order". Which would be clever if that was the case.

It was not.

I was going to try to get my collection of ShellHawk pumpkins in a row and tarted up for a photo for my friend....the famous ShellHawk....but I forgot something.

The household is mostly comprised of cats, evil, trouble causing cats....they outnumber the humans, so how could I forget.

I would say it is because they sleep at lot.

But they do not sleep all the time......no. It just seems like it.

My cats....like most house cats in the universe are bored and always looking to amuse themselves....mostly, I mean always, at my expense.

Tonight was no exception.

For the record, I told Shell....her ceramic pumpkins are trouble makers on their own right....that is why I keep them in separate rooms.....they fight constantly if they are left next to each other.

So why would I risk this?

She posted on her blog that someone took of their collection.....all four of them together, smiling and behaving - I was inspired - she in turn, asked for others to send their pictures, which meant me getting all mine in the same room - which for the record....I knew was going to be a bad idea.

Anyway....

I collected mine from their various prison sentences (I mean display perches) from around the house and got them all together on the coffee table. They were being surprisingly good all sitting there ......wow....I was impressed....I should have known they were only quiet because, unlike me, they were aware of the "cat politics" going on the sofa just a few feet away.

They must have been scared.....and I should have too.

But I was stupid and let my guard down and thought....."you all sit here (cats included) while I run and get the tripod for the camera that is in my office."

Simple request.....I mean my office is just less then ten steps away.

I learned that chaos.....was only about seven steps in fact.

That is when I heard it.

It went from a growl to a cry to the sound of crashing in less than five steps.......which was enough steps to put me back in the living room to see Mason and Hal mid-fight jump from the sofa to the table......sending everything crashing.

TV remotes....books.....and pumpkins.

....(sob)....I can barely bring myself to remember the details.....

....after renaming both cats to more appropriate (for that moment in time) names that surprisingly both begin with the letter "F" - I went to access the damage.

...as I got closer I was relived to not see, lots of orange pieces on the floor.....the pumpkins were intact.

Woohoo!!! I guess there will not be dead cats in the house after all......

I collect everything and realize that I am missing something.....

......the littlest pumpkin.... :(

Using my (truth denying) imagination I think......well, he must be hiding under the table - I mean that is where I want to be when the tuxes start fighting......

...nope......then I hear it.....a rolling type noise from under the couch.

Kinda the sound that a small ceramic pumpkin would make if it was rolling around.

....then, in my imagination I think.....

What if the small pumpkin was really full of Halloween magic and animated itself in a last ditch effort to escape and it is rolling to safety in a corner.

Yeah, I have a really weird imagination.

But in reality, I know that the "rolling" sound is the result of a newly hyphened-named cat that forgot he should be hiding from a very angry frog queen.....instead could not resist because "something moved so I must bat it with my paw" even though I will give up my hiding place......

I look under the couch to find (~~F**king)~~-Mason, that is in fact going to be his name for a while, looking at me like a deer in the headlights with a pumpkin in his mouth.

He looks at me as if to say "What?"

Now, anyone that has ever met my ~~(F**king)-~~Mason cat will tell you he ALWAYS looks like that - if he was human, let's just say that he would be the good looking football playing frat boy crushing beer cans on his head.....you can imagine how proud I am.

As a "fur" mom, let me just say....I could not be prouder of my "kids"......and it just reminds me how grateful the universe should be that I did not have actually children. :D

Anyway he can tell that I am mad....so he tries to jump from under the sofa and onto the back of a small end table...with the pumpkin......

...NOOOOOOOOOOO........

....he is agile and makes the leap.....but like one of those moments in a heartbreaking football game as the star quarterback drops the ball....I hear the pumpkin crash to my floor....which is unfortunately not made of grass or AstroTurf.....but not-bouncy-unyielding hard wood...which is pretty.....but as I am to learn, not safe for small ceramic pumpkins. (If I write a letter as a concerned parent (of a ceramic pumpkin) do you think I get them to put a warning label on the flooring packages? "Danger. May cause damage to ceramic pumpkins"? - No, me either.)

So to get what I imagine will be a pile of pumpkin rubble, I move the couch and see a helpless and scared pumpkin laying face down on the floor......

.....but all in one piece!

Woohoo! (~~F**king)~~ Mason, may just go back to Mason after all!!!!

I pick him up, put him on the table and get ready to take the picture.

...I mean I have gone to this much work.....it would be a shame to give up the adventure at this point, so the picture is back in the plan.

I frame the pumpkins in the shot and click and say.....what the.....???

I appears that the small pumpkin did not make it out without lifelong scaring.........

.......as the picture can tell you...."Mason" gets to keep his new hyphenated name for a while.

....on further reflection......I should for the record let you know that in the back of head I am thinking....those other two pumpkins grim an awful lot....it is likely this is not Masons fault and the other two larger pumpkins devised this whole plan with Mason to kill the small rival pumpkin......at least this is what the small pumpkin says (in-between sobs).....the two large ones are denying everything, saying "he hit his head, he does not know what he is saying....." Yeah, I think I used that story on my mom a few times ......if I recall correctly....never worked on her either.

Yes, I a such a sucker for a Bruce

2012-01-21T01:21:00.001-08:00

Campbell reference.

I have to get this sign for the bathroom in the shop. :)

Been looking for socks

2012-01-21T01:19:00.000-08:00

because I have an old house and it is freezing upstairs where the bedroom is.....I joke it is like camping......and you all know how I feel about camping :(

So I found these.....yes, this will do the trick Zombie socks!!....I mean they will do the trick for you.....they have brains on them.....which are pink and I feel the same way about pink as I do about camping. :)

The search continues.....

I need a new neighbor

2012-01-18T15:48:00.000-08:00

one of my favorite neighbors has to move in with her kids, so she is selling her house. She has been one of the most tolerant of all the madness and late nights that we have here at the Graveyard - we have been very lucky.

So I am hoping to get an equally good neighbor, or better yet.....a fellow Halloween crazy.

If you live next door imagine all the fun we can have???

Trust me, you can walk right through your new yard into mine....my cats do it all the time.....and it will be a lot easier for me to just call you when Mason gets out and you can tell me if he is in your yard rather than me crawling through the laurel (usually infested with spiders - shudder, shows how much I love my cats!)

Here is a picture and a link to the listing.

For you garden people she has an immaculate yard both in back and front, she has been featured on our garden tour in the past.

This house, like ours, has an outdoor fireplace in the back, great for fall parties......it is the house for you.

And because it is not really popular in the NW, they are not highlighing it here in the pictures.....but she has a swimming pool. Think of the parties we could have the whole four days a year it gets over 90 degrees :D

So I am looking for a new neighbor.....anyone have $249,000 lying around?

I promise to help you unpack........and bring over a really good bottle of wine or two to celebrate!!!

Anyone???

Typical Sunday night at the Davis Graveyard

2012-01-17T18:35:00.000-08:00

We spent Sunday afternoon and evening filming video for a promotion video for West Coast Haunters Convention (you are all coming right?) at the hotel where the convention will be held this year! (Yes, we finally extracted it from the school gym!!!)

Here are some great pictures courtesy of the attendees

Looking forward to seeing the final video....husband is down in his lab as we speak working on the edits!

www.westcoasthauntersconvention.com

Do you think I can convince

2012-01-17T17:39:00.000-08:00

husband to let me carve the Davis Graveyard logo into one of the blinds in my office :D

That would be so cool.....

....but I do have destructive cats.....

,,,,,but I can buy a replacement and cut another one......

,,,,but that would cost money......

....I bet if I buy them in bulk, I could get a great discount......

That my friends was a small looking into the insane logic in the Frog Queen's head....sorry for that :)

If it does not snow and shut the whole thing down

2012-01-14T21:06:00.000-08:00

we will be filming the promo video for West Coast Haunters Convention tomorrow night at the hotel.

Of course that is unless the weather people are correct and we are going to get snow - which is pretty rare in Portland.

Does anyone know a anti-snow dance :D

We are going to start filming at the Double Tree Hotel in Portland tomorrow around 8pm (probably film the first group shot around 9pm). If you are in the area and want to be an extra, we are looking for people that can dress up in costume and show up at the hotel....kinda a flash mob thing :)

We want to get the group shots done by 9:00-9:30 - so it should only take an hour or so.

If you plan on coming for the filming, follow frogonpumpkin on twitter and will post update on how the schedule is going....if we have to cancel - I will let you know as soon as I can.

Don't be expecting anything as fancy as the HAuNTcon promo.....we are doing a different take since we do not have any footage from last year - we have to create something from nothing.

We are haunters, we are good at that.

We hope to have the video up on YouTube by the end of the month. I will take pictures tomorrow and try to put updates here on the blog and Facebook and Twitter.

As always, I have to say thanks to all the many, many people that are helping Ed Roberts make this convention this year.

At least they will be used to seeing

2012-01-14T20:25:00.000-08:00

people dressed up as zombies!

It is official the tickets for HAuNTcon 2012 are now on sale. Woohoo!

This year it is in Monroeville PA - the same town and near the same mall where Dawn of the Dead was filmed. Check out this cool link the the Monroeville Zombie Museum....I guarantee you we will be visiting while we are there!!

Since the location is in the same town I am sure that there have been many "zombie" groups visiting....we are going to feel right at home.

Any, I also believe that we have the whole hotel reserved for the convention....no more complaints from the other guest about the ghouls and monsters wandering the hallways at all hours of the night :)

Here is the latest promo video that was made by the talented people at Haunt Ventures that did all the fantastic filming at HAuNTcon last year.

You might notice a few Davis Graveyard props featured. (from about 2:31 on) Most of this was filmed during our Monday class - which looks like fun but absolutely insane to make happen. A lot of work for only four attendees....I think we broke even by the time we paid for materials :( But like many experiences in life....we learned a lot.

LP asked us to do it again (or something like it).....but I am not sure we can make it happen. We are still discussing it. Anybody interested in spending the day with the Davis Graveyard crew?

Here is the link to purchase the tickets. There is a presale discount so get yours early, we do. Like ever HAuNTcon I look forward to meeting a blogger friend or two. Let us know if you will be attending and we will be looking for you.

Here is to HAuNTcon 2012!!!!

So I thought I was being so brave

2012-01-12T02:27:00.000-08:00

after.....I don't know, about 10 or more spiders crawling on me through take down ......

I thought I was making progress on my phobia.

I had managed to pick up countless items and put them away, only to find that were spiders on them after the fact.....and you should be proud of me....many I spotted in the process and soldiered along.

I was moving along at a pace where I truly was planning on giving myself a full commendation .......I was on the road to recover.

Then......the spider of doom entered my life.

As with all spiders it seems smaller and much less scary from a distance..

Let me explain.....our panels for most props are a wood frame with foam glued on that we texture to look like what ever foam surface we choose......not only do the 1x2 work to make the frames.....when completed with foam attached offer good hand holds to grab so that you do not damage the foam.

Pretty close to perfect.

Yep.......

Except if you are me.

Most of the crew humors my spider "problem". Much nicer than I would if the roles were reverse. :D

So, after a very stressful situation where I put a panel from the abbey up in the shop with the help of a few fantastic minions......I notice something..........

Where I had my hand placed to carry the panel up for placement appears to be the home for one of largest spiders in the universe.

To be fair, my cry's of help where answered by one my crew......who after rescue attempts....for the spiders......not me.......said WTF!!!

WTF!! So many times that I was interested........

.....mind you not enough to actually go look at what they were talking about.

The first spider I complained about.......and for me if I complained.....there were at least 10 others that I said nothing about......trying to grow my cowardly self into something resembling less of a psycho.

But I failed......

Failure........on any level, for me, really depends on contact.

If the spider crawls on me at any time..........failure is certain.

Spider walking on the Frog Queen will always end in screaming.......and at lease a bottle of wine or few rum drinks........otherwise I fall into the void of madness.......

More then I already have......

This is where you learn your friends.....are enemies.

Dawn bravely (extremely) catches both the frist spider and then on to the other spider....the one I could not speak of.....in a paper cup......

I guess while both spiders are in the paper cup together trying to fight their way to freedom......the comments from the crew (who I hear LOVES me - at least that is what they say!) turns toxic

Dawn and Lisa......who I thought were my friends..........both tell me that the spider that they caught that was closed to my had was past at category 4 spider.....

Phill Jupius has taught me well..............Category 4 is bad.........

I think that Lisa said that was the largest spider she had ever seen.......{{{swwoon}}}}

They both go on on explain how it barely fit in the cup and when they showed it to husband it really freaked him out.

And he is not afraid of spiders...............

I pause for a second, and take a look at these "friends" that want to help me but realize that my life just changed.

I then, understood for the first time in my life the true danger I was in......and I understood that I need friends that are better liars.

"Oh FQ, we are going to take this tinsy-winsy spider outside"....is what they should have said.

These are moments when the world falls apart on you my friends, and no amount of therepy of super glue is ever going to make this right again.......

Does anyone want a mausoleum? Really, not kidding, we are selling it........to be honest we came to that decision before the spider.....but the spider did help me not thing twice. :)

I think I might need to take up knitting for a hobby.....I am guessing there are less spiders involved!!

Been catching up on my

2012-01-10T02:35:00.000-08:00

Qi episodes.....they did a Halloween special....not the best episode they ever filmed.....I could just be saying that because there is a big spider behind Stephen's head :D

One can never have too many ghosts

2012-01-10T02:16:00.001-08:00

This just made me smile!

Very, very cool pen......

What happened to the Frog Queen?

2012-01-10T02:13:00.000-08:00

for someone who blogged a LOT.

Sorry - I had friends that commented that they could not keep up with me.

Well....that is not the case as of late.

Life changed for husband and I in mid-December - we both found ourselves unemployed.

Not to worry....yet, we planned for a rainy day or months....and it looks like something is brewing for husband, so from here it looks like we will be okay.....for now. At least I am not panicking yet!

With all this free time, you would think I would blog more....but actually, I have been away from the computer a lot, working on projects outside and around the house.

And to be honest.....although I have a lot of Halloween related stuff going on, I have just not been in the mood to blog.

But I do miss all of you and reading your blogs.....so I think the tide is changing.

Now that we have a location for West Coast Haunters Convention, things on that front are moving ahead....but with this convention unlike HAuNTcon, we are more involved at the ground level and having to deal with all the legal and accounting side of setting up a business, that is in this case a nonprofit. Lots of conversations over lunch and paperwork.

Then there is the Haunter Video Awards.......hopefully there will be a revamped site up soon.......I have lots of people offering to help, just need to get off my butt and get that moving.

Speaking of that....we need videos - even if you just took pictures.... slide shows are just as entertaining.

Well, I should wrap this apology up....before I go into too much detail. All these events and projects deserve separate blog post.....which I should get working on.

I have funny stories to tell, like the spiders in my yard that considered to give me a heart attach during take down....starting with a HUGE spider trying to eat my hand off - it was horrible, but I think it has been long enough now.....I believe I can talk about it without nightmares.....I think.

See you all soon.

Cheers and Happy New Year!

This about sums up my life

2012-01-07T17:23:00.000-08:00

Husband and I were cycling through videos and pictures of the yard to get our 2011 video done. While we were shifting through what seemed like a thousand pictures....I saw this one. By the looks of it it was probably right after HAuNTcon as we were getting ready to ship last years video awards out.

I know this should really be a folly post.....but I had to share.

It was all about the abbey, the awards, planning the yard (you see that binder.....it goes everywhere with us....it stores all the secrets and crazy ideas) and of course.....there has to be cat in the photo. :)

Back to the many projects I have been working on.......

A little light reading

2012-01-04T20:57:00.000-08:00

very cool book I got at a christmas party.......who knew that zombies could write so well :D

But this is my favorite place

2012-01-04T20:54:00.000-08:00

Dorie trying to convince me not to take down the Christmas tree..........

I am scared....she looks angry and she is sharp on five sides!!!

I think it is time

2012-01-04T02:30:00.000-08:00

to put the Christmas decorations away.....the glitter skull award seems a bit chilly and pretty happy with his Santa hat....maybe I should listen to the cats and turn the heat up in the house :D

Shinny

2012-01-04T02:27:00.000-08:00

I put a necklace of Christmas lights around the hand of my small skeleton monk.....he seems to be very distracted by the shinny :D

Husband told me I had need to sell all my Frog Queen Follies (and I did, thanks to all of you that bought them!!) ......but I kept this one.....I might make more....maybe.....if you ask real nice. But this guy is staying with me.....

I know it is way after Christmas......I am very behind.....I am running, try to keep up!

There are zombies mentioned

2011-12-26T01:24:00.000-08:00

that is my tie in for this post to Halloween.

If you have been around my blog any amount of time I am sure I have bored you with my love of Tim Minchin. Well, it seems he was on the new Johnathan Ross show on ITV and he was asked to write a Christams song.

First of all....you are asking Tim Minchin to write a Christmas song.....no one should be suprised that it might be a bit....of shall we say, unconventional :D

Shame on them for removing this from the broadcast.

Although, I have to say this would NEVER be shown on any US network, cause, at times, some of us, do not have a sense of humor and take ourselves and our beliefs way toooooooo seriously.

When he mentions that "...geeks would try to smack him with a shovel" ....I spit wine all over the living room!

This is not White Wine in the Sun.....but it did make me ROFL!

As usual Tim writes quite clever lyrics.

If any of you reading this are deeply religious and/or have no sense of humor (which includes most of my family) do NOT click on this link. If you do and you leave a negative comment, I will delete it. Yeah, I am in that kind of a mood. Hee Hee!!!

:D

And if for some reason you have not heard one of my favorites of his, which is a Christams song - please check out the video below, it is the Frog Queen's favorite Christmas song.

Hope everyone had a good holiday!!

All decked out for the holidays

2011-12-25T01:40:00.000-08:00

and, by holiday I do mean Christmas.....although this picture looks a lot more like Halloween.

But that is how we roll at the Davis Graveyard house.

Merry Christmas everyone!

The hat makes the man

2011-12-25T01:36:00.000-08:00

or in this case the skull.

Anyone that has visited the Davis Graveyard for an event or a party knows that we have top hats for the crew. Traditionally they have skull on them, but the crew has gone a bit steam punk lately....which I totaly approve of.

Since I did have the time to make steam punk goggles for the hat for the skull at the top of the tree.....I went with the traditional skull.

Better than any angel or star as far as I am concerned.

Merry Christmas from the Davis Graveyard.

Before he got the official hat

2011-12-25T01:02:00.000-08:00

Davis Graveyard Christmas tree - almost complete.

I learned that casting skulls and painting them in a shop that is less than 50 degrees is very difficult. Had to move production into the house.....thanks husband for being so understanding.

What do your decorate your tree with?

2011-12-22T14:59:00.001-08:00

Mine is decorated with a cat. I guess it is Dor's cat toy.

Funny, it says "christmas tree" on the tag :D

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So, what do you do for Christmas?

2011-12-22T14:52:00.001-08:00

That is one of the most common questions we get a Halloween. So here is the answer. Merry Christmas everyone!

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A very long time ago

2011-12-22T14:48:00.001-08:00

I used to have this stuffed frog in the passanger seat of my little red convertable :) I came across her while cleaning the basement and just had to put my crown on her and put her in the car. She seems to be very happy to be out and about again

...a crown, you say? Of course I have a crown - I take my title very seriously! (Thanks to my friend Karen for making the crown.)

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The colors of christmas

2011-12-09T13:34:00.001-08:00

Are black and orange at my house. Just got the new ornamnts for my new black Christmas tree!

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I was going to say I hate him

2011-12-01T01:18:00.001-08:00

but when that happens, it is usually just jealously......I was watching Qi and listening to Stephen Fry talk about meeting not only Peter Cushing......but talking to Christopher Lee on the phone (behest of Peter) and then on to his experience with working with Vincet Price.

I totally Hammer/Horror movie nerded out on this bit......

.......if I had been in the same room when Peter Cushing called Christopher Lee......I would have acted the same way......

I know that I am dreafully

2011-11-30T01:55:00.001-08:00

late to the party on this one and many of you might have seen this.....but husband and I have been on a huge Stephen Fry kick (watching Qi and Kingdom and Stephen Fry in America) - we adore him.

There are very few famous people I would love to meet.....he is one of them....not that I would have anything that interesting to say.....except, how are you always so f**king brilliant and nice to everyone? :D

anyway....back to my latest discovery on the season three disk of Qi - sorry, this show is only available in the UK - so it is PAL format....get a universal code DVD player.....we love our Pioneer unit, you can watch the Terry Pratchett movies.....months before the US versions. That alone is worth the $40

So on the extras of the latest and looks like last version of Qi to be availabe on disk I found this.....I ROFL....a lot!!!

Why am I sharing.....Peter Cushing reference of course!!!

Bless you.....

2011-11-30T01:41:00.001-08:00

or what ever....I think I need these for the new office.

Finally

2011-11-29T13:04:00.001-08:00

My new home office is done!

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It is a fact

2011-11-27T01:36:00.001-08:00

this is the best wedding cake....ever!

see more Wedinator

As you all know

2011-11-22T00:49:00.001-08:00

Hal owns the place

I just love the pictures of "Halloween Cat" that other people take.

It is almost like looking at Hal from a mythological sense....they come into the yard looking for the leader....and seem to capture him in all his glory. This is a picture from our friend Bryan Dorr.

Trust me, .....the yard is his......if you do not do things the way he wants.....he is outta here!! There are other worthy houses in the neighborhood....make no mistake! :D

Margarita anyone?

2011-11-21T11:09:00.001-08:00

Thanks to my sister for this cool gift. She is thoughtful. She got me the one with spider webs for eyes :)

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I think the guys just wanted

2011-11-21T00:40:00.001-08:00

an excuse to rent a scissor lift.....that is how I got the abbey built.

That said.....the next prop I come up with must involved a back hoe and I am sure to get what I want! Every time we drive by the place and the backhoe is out front.....husband has to mention how he has always wanted one - he is just a kid at heart - that is why I adore him!

Here are some pictures from set up day......which typical for the NW - it rained.....and rained.....thanks to our friend and helper Bryan Dorr for the great photos!

Big thanks to Johnson Creek Rentals (literally two blocks from the house) for giving us a great rate on the rental....once they found out who we were, they were happy to discount the cost of the rental!

I still like ours better

2011-11-19T04:31:00.001-08:00

a couple of years ago...husband and I talked about TOT's (trick or treaters) for the yard....since we are both big Charlie Brown fans.

So we created this last year

and his sister this year

although this is cool, and easier to mass produce and ship......and is that not a fantastic railing in the background!!!

I do so love my TOTs and look forward to completing the collection,,,,,this is defiantly a Frog Queen folly....thanks to everyone for playing along! :D

I made a new rule

2011-11-19T03:07:00.001-08:00

no design decisions for decorating my house/graveyard after 2 am.

Point being that while I was dry brushing gold paint on the walls of my office (late one night/early one morning) I thought......

......blood splatters would be cooler.

Yeah, just get a paint brush and splatter red paint on my gray and black walls........

Then I thought......that would not match the gold color in my new chandelier.......but if I got blood on the chandelier........then that would....

.....I could hear my husband (who is sane and was in bed at that time) screaming in my head

"What the he....."

He would be saying that because he would hope that he was just dreaming and that chalk outline on the floor was just me being clever and not there because I actually.......or he ......

:D

So I resisted the urge to head out to the shop and grab the red paint.

Red....yes, to the crew I know that is a huge surprise......yes......

...in the Davis Graveyard shop there is more than

black

light gray (misty)

and.....

dark gray (stormy) paint in inventory!

I hear the collective WTF? from the crew!!!!!

:D Before you lynch me, I can explain......

I did a very through job of relabeling all the paint in the shop so no one would know......because I am evil.....

....which is not a surprise to anyone - I know.

Yes, crew.....there is red paint in the shop, all those cans marked "poison" are actually "not shades of black or gray" paint.....there might even be yellow out there, yep....now you know......

There is a ghost

2011-11-18T22:44:00.001-08:00

in my chandeler!

This lovely ghost has a brother and a sister....courtesy of the immensely talented William Bezek! If you have not seen his work...head there now....you can thank me later.

I am remodeling my home office.....I am almost done and should be back soon!

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Not sure if anyone actually used it

2011-11-10T09:58:00.001-08:00

but I did put a QR code on my Halloween flyer this year (need to go check my stats)

Just something new to play with

It's official

2011-11-10T09:57:00.001-08:00

I now have my web address permanently attached to my back window....a little crooked....going to have to get another one made...but this will do for now.

I think the crates

2011-11-05T00:33:00.000-07:00

were almost as cool as the tombstones.

We joked that we should have charged extra....cause I know LP used these in the haunt somewhere :D

We even "signed"/stamped the tombstones....so if they want more they know who to call!

Special thanks to Matt Rinker for carving out the logo stencil for the crates by hand!!

Davis Graveyard at the Mansion

2011-11-04T03:48:00.000-07:00

yes, "the Mansion" - the Playboy Mansion. (no...not the "Haunted Mansion" if that would have happened, I would have mentioned that a lot sooner!!)

Yep, at the very last minute....and I do mean way past the last minute......my friend LP called me saying something about heading over to decorate for the PB Mansion and asked if we could do the tombstones.

For years we have looked at the videos and said.....~~really, those suck I mean~~ we could do better.

We got our bluff called, time to put our money where our mouth was.

So about a week before Halloween me and a group ~~of crazy I mean~~ best friends helped me pull off the impossible.....in 7 days we made 36 tombstones and crated them and shipped them to California......

for very, very little money......but hey, it is all for charity right!?

Very special thanks to:

Matt Rinker
Lisa Rinker
Dawn Reid
Elyssa Thelin
Roman Moreno

....and most importantly...husband, who designed, built, packed and shipped the crates.

What did this get us? A few hundred dollars toward the party fund.....and bragging rights.

Yep, there are Davis Graveyard tombstones at the Playboy Mansion.....not just "at the party" the were featured on the walk way up to the mansion!

Woohoo!!!!!

Thanks to Leonard and Jeanne Pickel, our favorite Halloween friends who got "our foot in the door" on this project.....yes, "thanks" ....yeah, that is what I am feeling :D

Happy Anniversary

2011-11-02T16:57:00.000-07:00

husband....here is to 28 more fun and creepy Halloween filled years together! :)

Love you more than the Halloween decorations :D

Holy crap hand me my credit card!!

2011-11-01T00:54:00.000-07:00

I have this thing about rings that stick up off my fingers.

This makes husband really happy as that there is no impressing me with fancy multi-carat diamond rings or anything like that....flat band only rings for me all the way.

I was sure of that....until I saw this!

WANT!

Even if it just stays in the box forever :D

Etsy is going to be the death of me!!!

We are celebrating with pictures!

2011-10-31T12:51:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween everyone!!!

I am glad someone is paying attention

2011-10-31T02:45:00.000-07:00

thanks to my friend Bryan for posting our street closure on Halloween.

I knew I forgot to do something......again.

So, in case you did not know....and you live in the neighborhood. The street will be closed tonight, be safe out there - Happy Halloween everyone!

Cheers!

If I could be someone else

2011-10-31T01:28:00.000-07:00

right now - I would be one of my favorite blog buddies

If you have never visited his blog....well, I am giddy with happiness to share the fantasticness that is "The Skull & Pumpkin Public House" blog with you.

Do yourself a favor and read his Halloween post......I was going to write something clever and witty tonight, but I am humbled at the magnificence of his post.....I cannot, dare not, attempt to match his perfectness.

This is why I blog my friends, you people are a constant inspiration.....thank you, all of you!

Happy Halloween!

My all time favorite

2011-10-30T23:26:00.000-07:00

LOLcat

Yep, I am going to post this every frickin' year :D

BTW - FQ has a thing for gingers....even kitties :)

Scariest thing I have seen this year

2011-10-30T23:22:00.001-07:00

I could be just me

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but this might be the best jack o' lantern ever!

Poor doggie

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...zombie poodle anyone?

:)

Dead Guy Ale

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Official beer of the Davis Graveyard Halloween party. It is good to live in the Pacific Northwest. We have great beer!

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Really?

2011-10-27T12:54:00.001-07:00

Check out some of the most dreadful...or just plain confusing costumes....there are several WTF? in here...yes, there are, you have been warned. Click at your own risk!

Click here if you dare!!

This is pretty cool

2011-10-27T11:55:00.000-07:00

one of the crew posted a stitched together picture of the graveyard on our Google Street map view.

How awesome is that!

Go to Google maps - type in (or just copy and paste)

8703 SE 43rd Ave, Milwaukie, OR, 97222

Go to "Street View"

and then at the top right you will see a button that says "photo"
click on that and you will see a picture of the same property in October

......if only Google would let me put this up as my picture all the time!!

Thanks Dan, that is pretty cool!!!

Now the rest of you haunters get out there and do the same!! Send me the link and I will post a list of them here on the blog!

I know, I know....you are all completely done with your haunt and have lots of free time to do this! :D

I could not find a way to

2011-10-26T22:48:00.000-07:00

if I could take a picture without it sounding weird (ah, lady, can I take a picture of your kid? Who am I? Just some crazy lady who has no kids.....no, could not make that work).....or I would have the cutest picture for this story.

So today I am running around shopping for our party and I pull into the parking lot where the Spirit Store is and as I am turning into the parking spot there is this boy holding a full size skeleton in a bag as close to his chest as he can while walking to the car....like a teddy bear.

No other props....just that skeleton.

He had the biggest smile on his face.

Yep, I saw that and knew that there was a future haunter in the making......there is hope for the world yet my haunt friends!

Boomstick Beer

2011-10-26T22:38:00.000-07:00

if it only existed outside of this shirt......

Get yours here!

My mom loves chocolate covered cherries

2011-10-26T22:36:00.000-07:00

I should get these for her :D

Not a huge fan of carmel apples

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but those zombies behind them look mighty tasty!!

Pumpkins and zombies

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just like heaven!!

This just might be the best pumpkin EVER!

Very cool carving indeed....check here for more info!

I actually like Darth Vader

2011-10-26T22:27:00.000-07:00

but I guess if I found him scary.....this would be a good sound track for a Halloween display!

It seems the Star Wars blog is offering some scary sounds for you to download this holiday season. I mean THE holiday season....Halloween.....not Christmas, really people! :D

Click here to download

I do not want one for the display

2011-10-26T22:24:00.000-07:00

I want one of these to take to the park the summer and scare the every loving crap out of people!!!!

I need to go to the hobby store and get husband the parts so he can get started on this!!

Off to Fed Ex we go

2011-10-24T10:42:00.001-07:00

Taking the order for the Playboy mansion to be delivered!

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Just when we thought we were safe

2011-10-19T02:59:00.000-07:00

and no new projects would be coming our way at the very last minute.....

....I had to answer the phone today, even when I saw that it was LP calling.....and I knew what it was and what would happen if I answered!

Why do I do this to myself....and the crew!!!

Holy sh*t - we are in over our heads again!!!!

We have taken on a new project two weeks before Halloween....cause I am insane - wait, you all knew that!

If you watch this video and notice the ~~really lame~~ I mean cool tombstones in the shot (at about 1:11- yeah, those are ~~awesome~~!! I mean scary in the "not good" way).....we have been tapped to make that look ~~even better~~ not so lame, oops, I mean more awesome!

Yes, we are working on a ~~sh*t ton~~....I mean over 30 tombstones for this event......anyone want to drive them to Los Angeles and crash the party for us? :D

If you want to attend legitimately :D Click here for details.

In case anyone thinks we are making big bucks on this.....it is a charity party.....with a charity budget.....if we get out alive....we are going to call it good :D And anything to help out a friend.....

What exactly are bragging right worth.....I mean in actual dollars :D Can I trade them in for lost sleep hours? Please!!?!?!

Back to prop building everyone!!

Things still look better in the dark

2011-10-18T21:13:00.000-07:00

Visitors at the Graveyard

Our singing bust video effect.....and if you look closely you can see how we turn the street light off when the display is up.

I can almost reach the moon....

Back abbey window....and a ghost in the mausoleum

A very late thank you

2011-10-18T11:33:00.000-07:00

One of the coolest Halloween blogs and one of the nicest bloggers out there is Season of the Shadows blog. He makes great props and is kind enough to share them with the rest of us.

And he had a really cool giveaway on his blog a long while ago that I won....and I have been a very bad blogger and did not post anything here my blog.....bad frog queen.

But I am finally getting my act together and giving him a prop thank you :) For sending me these:

Very cool custom water bottles that came perfectly wrapped and with all kinds of goodies! The frog queen in very humbled by your generous gift!!

I have been avoiding doing a giveaway in October because I have a track record of not sending them out right away.....but I think I might try it anyway.....let me see what I can find for you guys!

Back to prop building!

He asked if he could have

2011-10-16T11:50:00.000-07:00

a little sister.

So we made him one.

Here is a picture of TOT (trick or treater) with his new sister TOT2....we really got to work on naming these better.

She is made the same as her brother with a body form with a monster mudded sheet over the top. Her witch mask is made of friendly plastic - painted bright green with black eyebrows and red lips.

She has a witches hat and carrying a black cat candy basket. (cause every witch needs a black cat! :D)

Both of these are inspired by the Peanuts characters....give us a few more years and we will have the whole gang!

The abbey by moonlight

2011-10-16T11:46:00.001-07:00

Everything looks better in the dark

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we say that all the time here at the Graveyard.

It also helps when our resident photography wizard Marci Brandt shows up and works her magic.

This is the way I see the display in my mind....how in the world does she do that!

Anyway, thanks again Marci!

When you are in the mood

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for a little poetry.....

Remeber I mentioned we are a bunch of geeks

2011-10-13T23:12:00.000-07:00

here at the graveyard....so yeah, we have a subscription to Nuts & Volts - yes, we take our geekiness the extra mile.

And a couple of our friends write for it from time to time. Gotta support your peeps!

So for those of you who are not that geekie but have geek tendencies, here is the information on their annual Halloween contest.

Check out their contest Facebook page to enter to check the videos of the current entries....always good an interesting - warning, this site may cause drowsiness in less techie people.....be sure to stock up on your caffeinated beverage of choice before entering :)

Here are a few entries from this year

Very creative haunters out there!!!

Cosplay is really not my thing

2011-10-13T22:53:00.000-07:00

....mostly because I have a hobby that takes up most of my free time.

Oh, who am I kidding, it takes up all of my free time.

But if I did.....I wish I could make something this cool

A Steampunk Plague Doctor (or as this (that took the pictures) blogger mentioned - Land Striders from Dark Crystal - LOVE that movie!)

Yes, you heard me right.

I know, frickin' awesome, right? Wait till you see this.....

I am okay with the orange and black

2011-10-13T22:46:00.000-07:00

but not really sure I want to eat the purple bits in the cake.

Not to say that if someone made this for me, I would not bust out a bottle of piont noir (the good stuff from the wine cellar, not the cheap stuff in the kitchen wine rack) and forks......

Cause I am pretty sure I would have to be partly drunk to eat that :D

One of the many reasons I love

2011-10-13T22:43:00.000-07:00

MAKE magazine.....it is not just techy stuff.....you can learn to make these.

They are Halloween Skull Truffles.

You had me at Halloween.....anyway.

This person made his own mold from a company called Make Your Own Molds that sells food grade silicon rubber. Holy crap! Really?

Why in all my times of mold making did I not think to ...... my concrete and foam skull day might have to take a back seat to.....chocolate!!!

I love how he thought to use walnuts for brains!!!

Check out the full article.

...I believe there are chocolate skulls in the frog queens future!!!

I want to work for a company

2011-10-13T02:12:00.000-07:00

that will let me do this. Really, I think I just found my dream job!!

One Midwest Ace hardware store has created a Zombie Preparedness Center aimed at those who want to keep their brains from becoming dinner for the undead. However, being a business, the store has also reached out to the zombie community, offering sealants and tapes that will help keep zombies from being hampered by decay… Kind of defeats the purpose, doesn’t it?

I suggest we shop at ACE Hardware from now on!! :D

Daylight in the graveyard

2011-10-12T19:06:00.000-07:00

Husband (and I) and our friend Nick took pictures in the yard this weekend. There was not much rain so we got time to walk around and snap some pics with the webbing the Daniel did.

Enjoy!

Nighttime pictures coming soon!!!

One can never have enough

2011-10-12T10:48:00.000-07:00

zombies. Check out this cool decanter that they are offering over at Think Geek!

Pour us an undead one?

We've always been perplexed by the expression, "Pour me a stiff one." Sure, the word stiff can mean potent or strong, which certainly describes hard liquor, but to us, stiff connotes things like death or at least the middle school sleepover game, Light As a Feather, Stiff As A Board. (Did you know that game has been played by kiddos since the 17th century? We found an account in the diary of our peep, Samuel Pepys!)

Since we're not fans of death, but rather undeath, why don't you use this Zombie Decanter to pour us an undead one? After all, in slightly-more-than-moderate amounts, alcohol serves to dull our senses, slur our speech, and makes us stumble around, much like our zombie friends. This vessel closes with a cork stopper and will hold approximately 27 ounces of your favorite stupefying liquid. Just remember, you'll never survive the apocalypse if you're drunk, so drink responsibly, will ya? We need you on our survival team.

Product Specifications

Glass decanter in the shape of a zombie head
Features sagging skin, exposed brains, and bad teeth
Closes with a cork stopper (included)
Fill it with 27 ounces of your favorite beverage
Drink responsibly - we need you on our zombie survival team

Click here to order!

Something smells lovely

2011-10-12T10:00:00.000-07:00

If I have not mentioned it before....I will say it now. I am a huge fan of Lush bath products. Have been forever, back when I used to have to bring back a suitcase of them from London, long before they had stores in the US.

Love them.

They always feature cool holiday favorites and this year is no exception:

I am a big fan of the bath bars and bombs.

COBWEBhis limited edition LUSH bomb shares the same fragrance as our long lost love, Black Pearl Bath Bomb. Lavender, chamomile and a touch of blackcurrant soothe and calm you down after a night (or day) full of frights. Shaped like a cobweb and dusted with sparkle, this small but mighty bomb is a major stress reliever (as long as you're not scared of spiders).

An herbal delight to soothe weary minds and send you off to dreamland.Snap these limited edition Cobweb Bombs up while they're still around.Lavender oil is used to help calm the mind and aid in restful sleep.

CALAVERA Calaveras (skulls, in Spanish) are an iconic image for Day of the Dead, a Mexican celebration that honors and respects the dead. We were so inspired last season by the idea that this time of year could be filled with love instead of scary creatures, we invented a line of Day of the Dead products. Sadly, there isn't any tequila in this brightly coloured bomb but we were sure to fill it up with marigold petals and zesty lime oil to make your bath time festive!

Celebrate the Day of the Dead with our neon, lime-scented party for your bath! It's only around for a short time, so get yours to celebrate with before Day of the Dead! Lime oil has a fresh, sharp, zesty scent. It's uplifting and invigorating- the perfect way to recover from Halloween frights

I absolutely must have this soap!

PUMPKINCarve some time out of your Halloween festivities to wash up with our spicy hand and body soap. Clove, cardamom, spearmint and fresh pumpkin will warm up you up after a long night of trick-or-treating. If you've loved LUSH for a long time, you may recognize the sweet wild orange, lime and spicy cinnamon scent from our Almond Buttercream soap. If you don't remember, that's okay, we trust you can imagine. Warm your hands and your heart with the sweet and spicy scent of pumpkin pie.

Just like real Jack-o-Lanterns, this limited-edition pumpkin is only available for a short time. Cinnamon leaf oil warms you up and helps you fight fatigue as the days get colder and shorter.

Demon in the Dark Trade in the age old tradition of bobbing for apples and wash with them instead. This spearmint and apple soap will get even the most mischievous demons clean.

And I also adore their body wash......

GHOSTIt first made an apparition in 2007 and now it's back to haunt us. Ghost is a translucent, white shower gel, made with rose and dove orchid infusions and scented with a beautifully calming floral perfume. Pure, white, lovely and only around for a moment, take a photograph of your Ghost or no-one will believe it really existed. All that will be left is soft skin and the fragrance of lilies.

Ghost is limited edition and will only be lingering here at LUSH for a short time. Soothes goosebumps and calms hair that stands on end.

They have more cool products for Halloween! (I love that many of their products are vegan!!) Check it out.

And believe it or not, my favorite body wash is called Snow Fairy.....and it is pink and glittery....yeah, I know, I just lost a whole bunch of Halloween credit on that

Sunday night

2011-10-09T19:34:00.001-07:00

on the Davis Graveyard patio!

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Put a skull on it

2011-10-07T11:01:00.000-07:00

what better way to finish a tombstone or Halloween prop than to put a skull on it! We started casting skulls years ago because we went through so many here at the graveyard it was just more cost effective.

That and we all love working with making molds, playing with rubber is cool.....oops, that did not come out the way I wanted it to.

Anyway - just letting you know that I have some more accents and epitaphs in the Davis Graveyard Etsy store for you last minute tombstone or Halloween projects.

The quantities all list one in stock, but if you need more than one, just let me know and I can pour more.

I have a few full skulls left and will be pouring more this weekend, so they should be back in the shop next week.

If you loved the cardboard decor post

2011-10-07T00:30:00.000-07:00

here is some more information on that process from Make Magazine (we are all a bunch of geeks at the Graveyard). Check it out for more details.

We will trade decorations for wine

2011-10-07T00:21:00.000-07:00

We have decorated our favorite "haunt" Wine:30 in downtown Milwaukie. We love supporting our local business and help to make Milwaukie a kind of "Halloween Town".

Join us for a glass of wine and some great atmosphere!

Thanks again to Dan for webbing the place....looks nice and creepy, just the way we like it!

Just in case I was not crystal clear

2011-10-06T01:02:00.000-07:00

in my previous post.

This is in fact "Hal's" Graveyard.....no matter what that cat says....I am not changing the logo!!

It may look like he is posing for a picture....but I know that stare....that is directed at the neighbors dog (who is actually quite a nice dog, but don't tell Hal I said that :D) I like my blood inside my body thank you very much!

It looks like this years donations might be going to Hal's so anger management therapy, extra band aids, or the neighbors vet bill.

I am lucky enough

2011-10-06T00:56:00.000-07:00

to live close to one of the best chocolate companies around....Moonstruck. (Lucky for all of you....they will ship!!!) They always do a great version of their candies for Halloween......I cannot resist. Even at the rather step prices.....but they are tasty and so worth it....the TOTs are getting none of these!!

Yum.....truffles!

I am obviously craving sweets

2011-10-06T00:50:00.000-07:00

or it could just be that it is Halloween time....but these are the cutest cookies

not so cute that I would not eat them.......hand me one of those and a mug of pumpkin spice tea and we are good to go!!

Not to dis these cookies at all....but what is up with the cookies on a stick?!?!?

I can pick up a cookie with my fingers just fine.....trust me, I have been doing it for ages....I have the figure to prove it! :D

Now that the yard is up

2011-10-06T00:48:00.000-07:00

I gotta start looking a candy for Halloween, cause after pumpkins....nothing says Halloween like a big bowl full of candy.....some of it may even make it to the trick or treaters!

I got a heads up on a cool candy for Halloween from the nice people at Blair Candy.

They have a full line of Halloween candy for the TOTS....

Ohhhhh, Gumball eyes!! I want these!!!

Oh wait...I want these too, since I am weird and do not like caramel apples...but love the combination (I am weird....I know) ...these are perfect!

Before I was vegetarian I loved marshmallow candy.....especially these. I could have eaten the whole box!

But as you all may know, the Frog Queens favorite would have to be these.....

Spider rings.....yes, those scare the ever loving crap out of me.....that is what makes them so very, very cool....I would so have respect for the house that handed these out....I might never go back again in fear.....but impressed I would be none the less.

These although cool....are pretty safe....I mean who does not like skulls!!!!!

But if you really want to rock my world....you would get these

These beat out full sized candy bars in my book! I so want a black cat pez!!!

Where do you get all this cool stuff? I found it on a site called Blair Candy!! Any store with the name "candy" in it has to be a good thing.

Back to making Halloween.

This is why Hal does not answer the door

2011-10-05T02:33:00.000-07:00

when the trick or treaters show up at the house.....

I would just enjoy the sound of crying children too much :D

JK......no, I am not kidding :D

I am really a bad person....there is a good reason I did not have any children, I could not afford the therapy :D

First news coverage of the season

2011-10-05T00:15:00.000-07:00

I just got my hair ready to go out to dinner with friends.....husband was nice enough to stand out in the rain to represent the graveyard.......thanks baby....once again, I owe you!!

Look what I got my humans to build

2011-10-04T18:41:00.000-07:00

What did yours make for you?

a cat bed? a scratching posts? Oh, they buy you fancy cat food?

B*tch please! I have mine trained to build me a free standing abbey display! That is the ultimate scratching post!!!

That said.....

.......I believe Hal wins the trained humans award :)

Just so you know.....Hal (aka Halloween Cat) approves of the new abbey, although we could hear him saying under his breath, as he turned around to give it one final look.......could be better, but that will do humans, that will do :D

...just know I have a long list of improvements for next year.....let's start with one of those monks holding a silver platter with caviar....yeah....let's start there :D

This is just super creative

2011-10-04T12:28:00.000-07:00

makes the abbey look kinda plain.

This was done with cardboard boxes.......wow! Just wow!

Details from the clever creator here!

You would think that now

2011-10-03T21:48:00.000-07:00

after it is all up I would have more time.....I have a few more days of madness and then I should be back to blogging my usually excessive self....until then.Here are a few more pics husband took today.Thank goodness Marci is headed over on Thursday....we will actually get proper pictures!!! ;)

It is up

2011-10-02T10:51:00.001-07:00

the Davis Graveyard is up! Happy Halloween everyone!

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Making props days before setup

2011-09-29T18:36:00.001-07:00

is something we do not normally do. That is "prop hospital" time. But I am so behind that this is the first time we had to finish the new tombstones for this year

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Maybe if we look at it

2011-09-29T15:59:00.001-07:00

from this angle.......yeah looks cool still. This is the view from the side driveway

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If gold was not so expesive

2011-09-26T23:45:00.001-07:00

I would so get this in gold.......

see more The Daily What

Who does not like pizza?

2011-09-26T23:41:00.001-07:00

Especially this pizza......pass me a glass of wine....we got dinner covered!!!

I forgot to take pictures today

2011-09-26T23:32:00.000-07:00

so here are more of the black and white ones that I took originally.

We are almost there...as soon as the rain stops we will get out there and finish the last of the painting.....then we set up this Saturday.

Happy Halloween everyone!!

We could have just marked that

2011-09-26T12:00:00.001-07:00

as "broken" and call it good. But the graveyard crew is a creative lot. Thanks Dan for making me smile and reminding me we have the best crew ever :D

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Husband asks me

2011-09-25T23:25:00.000-07:00

Did you mean the set the camera to black and white?

Really? You know me.....I take terrible pictures.....do you think I even know how to set the camera that way?

So all the pictures I took of the abbey set up are in black and white....here are a few of them.

More to follow and I promise to have someone reset the camera and head out tomorrow to take more pictures.....in color this time :D

Hal hates

2011-09-25T00:24:00.000-07:00

dogs. He is not particular.....he hates them all.

Why?

He came that way....he was a stray before ~~we adpoted him~~ he adopted us so we are not really sure what his life was like before the gushy food and the warm bed to sleep on became the norm.

But if I had to bet......I would say there is an unpleasant dog experience in his history.

We know this because what happens when a dog enters the yard.

He turns into Hal the Dog Killer. (At least I am pretty sure that is what he is thinking in his mind.)

He looks at the dog like he is going to eat them for breakfast.

I don't care how nice your dog is or how well he/she gets along with cats.

Hal will have none of it.

It has been a source of amusement and fun stories about him defending the graveyard for years. One of the many reasons we keep him....he is entertaining.

And the other day he got even more so.

I have always seen him stand up to one dog.....proud and sure of himself. King of his domain, no one is going to mess with him......unless

....there are two dogs.

That was funny.......and suprising.

Got to see Hal climb a tree I have not seen him climb in years. If you asked me before that day if he could get up that tree anymore, I would have said no. Living on canned cat food has made him soft.....and a little, lets say....larger.

I have seen him try to climb the tree.....and in all those previous cases, gravity won. As gravity does.

But the other day the two dogs were chasing each other through the yard, I don't even think they were aware that Hal was there....but he saw them.

He did his best "Halloween Cat" (arched back) impression and headed for the tree.....which I was sure would...well, I believe he believed he wanted to be up that tree......but I was not sure he was going to make it. I was worried that this was going to involve an expensive vet visit.

I was wrong......the will to live kicked in and he was up that tree, straight up that tree - I believe it is about 8 feet to the first branch and the second is a foot or two higher.

He stayed there and tried his best kitty Jedi mind trick to will the dogs out of existence.....or to explode. It is hard to tell by this look........but I am sure he would have been satisfied with either of those solutions.

I think this second one is directed at Dan who took the picture.....Dan, I would be worried. I know that look well.....that is "How dare you photograph me in this compromising situation.....I will kill you later, petty human" face.

Dan, I will try to talk him out of it......but just just to be safe....I would bring cat treats for him next time you visit :D