Frog on the Pumpkin

By about 9:30 each Monday through Friday this is what I am thinking..... see more crazy cat pics It may be a different person, but the stupid part is sadly consistant. :)

even better than work being closed, was.... after I spent the morning getting our closure out to all the news channels and on our website, I laid on the couch with a comfy blanket to watch the morning news ( truly a happening for me) to make sure our closure was listed...I fell asleep and woke up to find my little gray kitty sound asleep on my shoulder . Since I didn't have to go to work, I didn't wake her. I petted her little head and we both took a long winter's nap. :) That will go down as one of my favorite days.

are some of the tombstones I set out on Saturday. Be careful what you wish for. :) ....I still think Beloved would have looked fantastic in the snow...no, I am not bitter, I don't harbor grudges.....husband is just going to have to sleep on the couch.

I am sure you are dying to know how is my pumpkin holding up in all the snow. :)

is now up in the backyard. It is supposed to snow all weekend. I want some picture of the tombstones in snow. Husband officially thinks I am crazy - again. Not happy. He would not help me haul out the angel or beloved....they would have looked awesome, but I cannot move them by myself. :( Pictures to come.

My cell phone rings. It plays the theme to Halloween (of course.) Someone says "Isn't that a little out of season?" . ...huuuuummmmmm..... You were not expecting my phone to play " Jingle Bel ls" were you?

for her Earl Gray tea.

for now :) Here is my beloved Green Man fountain in the snow. I have always been drawn to the symbolism of the Green Man . I have a small collection of them. I try not to tell that to too many people, because, yeah, because of what happened with the......the many, many..... frogs . One insane collection is enough for the red head girl. Traveling in the UK I have taken several Green Man pictures from different churches. They are commonly found outside of churches, a bit of a bridge from the pagan to Christian. One of the first things I do when we visit a church is look for the Green Man. Most of my pictures are too fuzzy or very hard to make out, so I won't bore you with them. Of course, the famous Green Man from Roslin Chapel (thanks Mr. Brown, quite little chapel now has a gift shop larger than the chapel :) I believe husband took this one...that is why it is not a blurry blob. One of my favorites is the Green Man from the d econsecrated church outside of Darsie Castle. (...

Theme happening here as you can see. We decorated the hats that we wear with our Halloween costume/uniform for an umbrella parade in our fair/small town. Since I really don't do bright and festive, the only way I was going is if I could take my skull hat. Some people gasped, some chuckled....I overheard a lot of people say "it is the graveyard people" - (big smile) Got to wear them that same night to a good friends 50 th birthday party. We were quite popular. Anyway, we decided to put them out when it was snowing and get a picture for our Christmas card. Aren't they lovely? Happy Holidays from the Frog Queen.

...just snow on the pumpkin :)

A Chris Folly that was only half completed by October, so it has been shelved, until next year. Or in this case, leaned up against the garden arbor, until next year. Cause he is going in my garden when he is finished. The head is made from burlap and fiberglass, we used an over sized Anatomical Chart skeleton head for a mold. But that is about as far as I got. Here is my unfinished scarecrow covered in snow...

I am not a expert at reading tea leaves, but this reading seems pretty obvious to me.

the neighbors of my friends not only had blow up decorations for Halloween. But they have even more for Christmas. I guess we should have seen that coming. Since this traumatic event, they have decided that you should always go house shopping in December, so you can see the how bad it is going to be. Or it should be disclosed somewhere in the listing. One of you works in real estate, can't you get that going? I know it is too late for you, but think of all the suffering you will save others. Wait, I know you, and "stopping the suffering of others" is no more motivation for you than it would be for me. Again, I guess that is why we are friends.

But I am not sure anymore. :( In my head I have been singing I Would Not Stop for Death by Emily Dickinson poem to tune of The Yellow Rose of Texas for DAYS! I wasn't even singing, I was holding the camera and I am still tainted! And I thought I was crazy before. Thanks guys. I promise to return the favor :)

ghost tours. They are one of my favorite things to do. Odd, because I am a big skeptic and don't actually believe in ghosts. (I know, gasp!) But they are entertaining. Especially the UK tours where you also get a history lesson. And I do enjoy historical lessons that involve graveyards and ghost stories. In London we have visited many haunted places, one of the most famous being the Tower of London . You can hear this story on the regular Tower tour, not officially a ghost tour, but with so many beheadings and murders inside those walls, might as well be. All nicely in contrast around some very big diamonds (this is also where the Royal Jewels are kept - the sparkly ones...I believe the Queen and Camilla have Charles'.) Ghosts of people executed in the tower walls include: Thomas Moore Anne Boleyn Jane Boleyn (sister) Lady Jane Gray Ghosts of people murdered in the tower walls: Henry VI (stabbed to death while he was praying, that is low) The sons of King Edward IV went "...

the City of the Dead , ghost tour in Scotland. My favorite ghost tour in Edinburgh. That is saying something, because there are a LOT of them. Oh, I have been on ALL of them, at least twice, per visit. :) Over all the trips, it is embarrassing to admit how many tours I have taken :) I would go to one every night I was in town if husband would go. Some nights he wants to see plays or other things :) The trip before my last one I went on the City of the Dead Graveyard Tour 4 nights in a row, I traded off with different people in the group to go with me different nights, that took care of three of them. The forth one I pulled the "it's my birthday" card for that one and made everyone go with me, and buy me drinks! So for my birthday we ate dinner at in the Secret Garden at The Witchery (reportedly haunted) and then a ghost tour - that was my second best birthday. (Best birthday - I will save that for another blog entry, it involves ghosts too!) The City of the Dead gravey...

This is from the graveyard that was the Cathedral at St. Andrews. The church is very long gone, so the inside of the ruins are a graveyard. Although this is not one of the older tombstones in the graveyard, it is based on older designs ans it is a family plot tombstone. Something that I have not done in my yard yet. But I am going to this year.

Saw a play on Friday with our good friends Jason and Becky, that was written by a couple of friends of ours called Holidazed . Very funny, entertaining and touching. We had a great time, as we knew we would. It takes place between Halloween and Christmas. So I was in heaven sitting in a theater with a set full of Halloween decorations listening to Halloween songs......I would have sat down earlier if I had known. : ) I wish I would have taken pictures!!!! Trust me it was cool! Heart warming to hear a play sticking up for my pagan holidays - but if you are from my work and you are reading this blog (which I hope you are not - for many reasons :) - I didn't meant that "my"pagan thing :) Anyway, Had a great time. If you are in the Portland area. Go see it.

according to Pantone that is. Is this information important to anyone? Seriously, sometimes they amaze me and I do this for a living. " Pantone , which provides color standards to design industries, specifically cites mimosa, a vibrant shade illustrated by the flowers of the mimosa tree as well as the brunch-favorite cocktail, as its top shade of the new year, but the company, in general, believes the public will embrace many tones of optimistic yellow." Now you know everything. So the purpose of Pantone besides costing me (and every other designer) about $125 a for a new set of color swatches each year they have to find ways to put market "color" There are about 20+ (last time I checked) different Pantone guides, I use three on a regular basis, formula, uncoated and coated. Why do I need them? My boss asks me that each time I have to approve a new set in my budget. Without the books in front of you, it is hard to show, but you would be surprised how differ...

than 3 dentist appointments in three days? AND getting your annual review at work? The chance of a fourth dentist appointment tomorrow (four in four days) for a root canal. On top of getting called for Jury duty. Yeah, it may be sunny outside (odd for the Northwest in December) but there is a cloud following me around. I am going to go dig through my graveyard pictures for new posts, that should cheer me up :) BTW - when the dentist told me to think of of happy thoughts to keep my blood pressure down (I don't do well with doctors) - I was thinking about ghosts walks in Edinburgh. :)

This one had to be posted :) see more crazy cat pics

I got these as part of a birthday present from a friend. Someone I have know for years. I kid you not. Me, the frog queen, the sarcastic, Halloween obsessed person, got these. Shudder!