Gypsies & Graveyards & Vikings....Oh My!

A day of history, friends and frivolity of the most imaginative kind!

10-13-12 started out at my friend Fox's event "Harvest Folklore and Cemetery Storytelling" at Clay Park.

I have my daughter Shawna home from her residence this weekend and we had lots of silly fun!
We saw Fox and her special goat friend, Darla!

This is the goat blanket that Fox made from fabric scraps from friends all over the world!
There is even some special fabric from me in it. :)

Darla is so pretty! :)

Then we made Corn Dollies together with these Gypsy girls who helped us....

Then it was off on a bus ride with friends and family to go to Morgan Road Cemetery to visit this old graveyard and have a Storytelling by Fox!

I toasted my wee friend Miss Lily Rose on my lap. We are good buds :)

I have not been to a cemetery for YEARS. I am just too sensitive and "pick up messages". How'ere, this cemetery was very quiet and peaceful. My dear friend Anne Dougherty who I have a Tarot booth with, told me to "put out your CLOSED sign" when I go there. I did. I was very happy and I felt fine this time!

Fox and I are truly Gypsies! Friends for a Looooong Time.
Old Souls are We.

Shawna's daddy, Dave even met us to wander the cemetery. He reminded me of all the fun he and I used to have in a cemetery a loooong time ago when he and I were naughty hippy teenagers.
Notice the twinkle in his eyes?

Then it was off to a Viking Party with the Vogdis Clan! We are all great friends and such fun we had on a chilly October evening! Of course, the food, friendship and drinking kept us warm. Just like the furs that we wore!

Shawna makes a good Viking. For tonight her name was Brighetta :)

The fire bathed us all in a warm glow....

it was savage HOT.

Most of the revelers tried on a Viking hat or wore some fur....and the rest of us just had fun and drank! There was SOOO much food and drink!
I told everyone that I was bringing a traditional Viking dish to pass.
"Sheep Testicles in Clotted Cream."

They were kinda wary....

but then they realized Merlyn's word power and gobbled up the "Sveedish Meatballs" in my crockpot!

I'm a Saxon, I'm a Saxon, so are you! So are you!
Let's go kill a Norman, let's go kill a Norman....
Biff bam boo....biff bam boo....

Here is Viking Ilsa (Merlyn :)

Shawna had a beer...

And she wanted to try one shot of delicious meade so silly supped from "The Sword of Drunkeness" with friends Lori and Craig.

and den like Good Viking, she snuggled up by the fire.
Craig wrapped her up in a toasty blanket....

 All in all a VERY full day ....

Full of Gypsies, walking, fun, Vikings and good times.

Night Shawna! :)

Remodeling....gaining some foothold.

Another couple of days....

more progress.....

inch by inch anything's a cinch.

It's been fun trying to cook around all this let me tell you....a lot of things from the rooms we have been working on have been disrupted.
They migrated to the kitchen table.

But Harry has been very good.....and we are making it happen.

Starting to settle into the front room...

We are now "officially in Halloween Season!"

Remodeling....is like... peeling an onion

Layers.

Onion Layers.

So we are being busy as bees over here at Squirrel Haven. Dave Wolff, is helping us as a contractor over here. And thank the Gods we took on this project when we did! Not a moment too soon my lovies!

Today they started doing the roof. While up there they found a very spongey part of the roof under where the pine trees are. Yah, spongey isn't even a good word.

We just dodged a MAJOR bullet. EVIDENTLY, the previous owners just roofed over the last roof and it wasn't in any shape to do so. As a matter of fact...maybe even more than once. In one spot the guys found 5 different layers of roofing tiles.

Anyways, the roof under the shingles ...in this one spot would NOT have made it through another winters' weight. WHO KNEW?

Just check out these pics!

Nice WOOD, huh?  Yah....it's NOT mulch....well...now it is.

It's a big job, but one we are GLAD we are doing now, before it fell in on us! It looked fine on the outside...but definately was NOT fine under the shingles! Dave is doing a great job! And so are his helpers Harry and Joe Tratt.

Thank the Gods we are following our instincts here!

While the guys have been working hard on the outside....and yah, we're gonna have one huge fecking mess to take care of...

I have been continuing the work on our front room.
Got the paint on....and I put up the wallpaper border up today!

It's coming along....

I still have to clean the rug, and get a piece of furniture for the room....the room isn't settled, but we are still living in it while redoing it. It's what ye gotta do.
But hey! "Inch by inch, anything's a cinch."

We are tired... but happy with our efforts over here :)

And Monty's been a big help. :)

Remodeling....Plugging along....

Hey Ho me dearie darlings!

Well, it's life in the topsy turvy ripped up world for us these days.

Got a lot of stuff out of the office....

and I'm very proud of my man, Harry!
I love him  SO much for getting it together enough to do this....I know it's hard for him, but he's really shining lately!

Have a wiring problem,

 but Harry can't even begin to look at it until after Screamer's Hollow Haunted Village and Hay Rides are up and running....
He's been a bit crazy running around with 50 things going on and it all being tore up here at the Squirrel Haven too!

Tonight is opening night for Screamer's! They have a beautiful evening for it tonight! So hopefully, he'll calm down a bit soon, and come back and help me here!

In the meantime...
I have been busy....

I spackled, taped off, washed down walls  (pay no attention to the old wallpaper border...I have new that is all picked out!)

and started the process....

Couldn't WAIT to see what the new color would look like on the walls! It's been 23 YEARS that these walls have been cream color!

SO....
I opened up the paint can and got busy! Painted the front room "Balsam", today....
 and I LOVE it so much! It makes the color of the furniture pop right out!

By the way...Do you see the darker green color that is on the stair risers here above?
It's been on those stairs since I painted it when I first moved in back in 1989.
I painted that color with a can of green from my mom and dad's house.
It is from my childhood home. :)
Mom and Pop are gone....and their house belongs to strangers now...
but I still have some of my childhood home with ME :)

OH!
And I just noticed....
In this pic above...that I just took today...there is an "orb" on the stairs just under the first set of books.
See it?
How fecking kewl is that?!
See? I told you it was special!

Will be putting on another coat this weekend....

Monty's been a good helper :)

So just as soon as Harry's schedule can calm down....and in between our music gigs...
he will fix the wiring issues...
and then we get the sheet rock fixed in the office...
Then I'll be opening the next color of paint and I'll be painting that room next!

I'm very tired and sore, but I'm seeing some great progress.

I HATE living with the mess though....can't find my kitchen table under all the clutter that is now residing there....everything is willy nilly even though we tried to be "organized and logical" for the moving of stuff...am walking on drop cloths and cardboard instead of carpeting...

Oh well. You have to make a mess to get things done.

Here's mud...I mean...spackle in your eye.

Slainte'!