Of Vampires and Grave Robbers~~~~

Dear Darklings,

I have a picture I want to show you ~~~~~

Now the person who posted this "claims" that this "cage" was to prevent the dead from rising as either a vampire or a zombie.

Well the concept of zombies really didn't take a more public view until the 1920's when Seabrooks book was published.   So one would think this would be more related to the idea of vampires, and considering the bars are made from cold iron one would think so, but the reason behind the cage is far more sinister than that.

Oh yes it is to prevent the dead from rising-----with the help of the feared "Resurrectionists"!

We know them by the more mundane label as "Body Snatchers".

According to Wikipedia~~~
Resurrectionists were commonly employed by anatomists in the United Kingdom during the 18th and 19th centuries to exhume the bodies of the recently dead. Between 1506 and 1752 only a very few cadavers were available each year for anatomical research.

The supply was increased when, in an attempt to intensify the deterrent effect of the death penalty, Parliament passed the Murder Act 1752.

By allowing judges to substitute the public display of executed criminals with dissection (a fate generally viewed with horror), the new law significantly increased the number of bodies anatomists could legally access. This proved insufficient to meet the needs of the hospitals and teaching centres that opened during the 18th century.

Corpses and their component parts became a commodity, but although the practice of disinterment was hated by the general public, bodies were not legally anyone's property. The resurrectionists therefore operated in a legal grey area.

Because of the Murder Act, when anatomists would come to collect the body there would be riots, but to make it worse because a dead body was considered not anyone's property the Resurrectionists could operate in gangs and dig up anyone newly dead, but if caught in the act those persons would be dealt with being violently beaten.

People were hired to be body guards in graveyards and cemeteries, the more wealthy would bury their dead using  secure coffins, and physical barriers such as mortsafes and heavy stone slabs made extraction of corpses more difficult.

The poor resorted to having to guard the bodies of their relations at night for a week or two thus making the body too far decayed for any anatomical use.

Until Burke and Hare started their scheme of provided extremely fresh bodies for dissection yes they were very fresh having been recently murdered by Burke and Hare, which resulted in the Anatomy Act  of  1832 in which bodies of the poor in workhouses were used for dissection.

Despite the passage of the Anatomy Act for a time there still wasn't enough bodies to meet demand so the Resurrectionists still plied their trade for some years until about 1844 when the act of digging up the dead finally ended.

Although there still is in modern times some people who for reasons of their own will desecrate a grave.  

But isn't that a horrible thought to think that your dead body after death is not anyone's property, not even your own?   Makes me shiver just to think of it.

Here is another picture of other caged graves ~~~~

Technically these are called Mortsafes,   and these are in a graveyard in England.

And now I Must return to my Dark Shadows marathon binge.  Coraline and Christopher have joined me to discover why Jonathan Frid's vampire became such a hit back in the late 1960's.

Later Darklings 

Of Silly wedding Ideas and vampire burials~~~~

Dear Darklings,

I am going down a very crazy path, but it just seems to happen that way.

Today I was helping Brian get party favors at Party City.  His ex-wife (he's still good friends with her) needed help, his oldest daughter's birthday is tomorrow and his daughter is doing a sleep over at her friends house.

Which is perfect, his ex asked if he could pick up party favors and gave him a list of things, and colors, he asked me to come with him, and not having anything special planned I thought "why not?" so away we went.

We had no problem getting the items only if he wasn't sure he'd call his ex and use his cell phone to send  pix's to see if that was what she wanted---I'd have to say there are some positive uses for cellphones.   All in all it worked out fine.  He was going over to his ex's house that evening to help decorate for the party and he'd pick up the cake tomorrow while his ex finishes with the food.

I told him that it was nice of him to help out and he said that he and his ex get along better divorced than they did married he said to me "We have to work harder at it because we don't want the kids to be in the middle of any disputes so we try to work things out."

He told me his ex was planning to get re-married to someone else, he's met the fellow and he seems fine.  I asked "Well is your ex freaking out on wedding plans?"  and he said no not really, that it was going to be a simple affair, with a slight twist, his ex-wife's father had passed away and she wanted Brian to walk her down the aisle.   I asked "Isn't that a bit bizarre?"  he didn't think so, he vetted the guy without his ex knowing and the guy is on the up and up so he said "When I hand her over to him I'll tell him ' if you do her wrong you're going to be seeing a lot of me'." 

Hmmm I thought nothing like a nice little threat to keep a marriage in line.

As we happen to go down the aisle that had wedding decorations I asked "Does your ex have a theme for the reception?"  and he said that she hadn't had a chance to think on that.  

It was then that I spotted them---two cowboy hats, a white one that said "Bride" and a black one that said "Groom" both in rhinestones  and then I spotted a wedding cake topper that had the bride dragging the groom to the altar.

That did it---I was off and running with idea's I said to Brian "Why not suggest a rhinestone cowboy wedding," and I showed him the hats and the wedding topper "the bride could come down the aisle to the tune of "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly", The best man could have a shot gun just in case anyone disputes the marriage when the minister asks if there is anyone who objects to the marriage.

 They could have an old fashion bar-b-que with paper plates, baby back ribs, bar-b-que chicken, beer, sarsaparilla soda,  chilly  and beans, sourdough bread, and serve not only wedding cake but also hot apple pie, the music could be country western, every one dress up like cowboys and cowgirls, they can all dance to "Achy-breakey Heart", and nobody has to worry about getting their clothes dirty"

Brian's eyes lit up and he told me that the guy his ex is marrying is into Cowboy re-enacting and is also a member of a Civil War re-enactment group---he'd be helping out with the birthday party but he was committed to this memorial weekend event, on Sunday Brian's ex and the kids were going to see it.  So he's going to suggest this idea to her.  "She might go for it, something easy and fun!"

So we loaded up the trunk and back seat of Brian's car with all the party favors, including some Mylar balloons, which made driving a little difficult but we managed and dropped everything off, he then dropped me off and went back to his ex's house to help out and maybe run the idea pass her.

Then after checking the crock pot to see how dinner was coming along I went and checked my e-mail and once again one of my co-workers sent me this interesting vampire tid-bit, which I'll print out in full here.

~~~~~~~~

‘Vampire’ skeleton discovered in Poland

  Archaeologists working in northwestern Poland have unearthed the remains of man who was buried with a rock jammed into his jaw and a stake driven into his leg. They believe that the individual was considered to be a vampire and given a deviant burial by the local population.

The discovery was made in a cemetery outside a church in Kamien Pomorski, a town close to the German border. They believe the skeleton dates back to the 16th century – it was found facing east instead of west (the typical orientation of a burial) and with a wound in the leg. At first the lead archaeologist Slawomir Gorka thought the injury was caused by a gunshot, but later tests revealed it was a puncture wound caused by a wooden stake that was meant to prevent the corpse from getting up.

The archaeologists also found that a rock was placed into the man’s mouth so hard that it knocked out his top-front teeth. It was a common method to have stones placed in the mouth of a person suspected of being a vampire.

The fact that he was buried in a church cemetery initially puzzled the archaeologists, but Gorka told the Polish website kamienskie.info that “We have to realize that the cemetery existed from the thirteenth to the eighteenth century, but not in every buried. It was during a period when it was not in use that he was buried, somewhere along the side of the initial cemetery.”

There have been several reports of so-called ‘vampire burials’ from medieval and early modern Europe. Archaeologists have come across another similar deviant burial last year in Poland, as well as in Bulgaria and near the Italian city of Venice.

~~~~
My co-worker also found attached two titles in regards to strange burials and vampire and thought I'd be interested in adding them in the future to my personal library.

I include these titles for your information, they are:

How to kill a vampire: fangs in folklore, film and fiction by Liisa Ladouceur

Deviant Burial in the Archaeological Record by Eileen M. Murphy

I thought how perfect, because after Brian and I had completed our purchases we went to Rasputin's next door to check out the DVD's and CD's, I found a cd of Gregorian chants that I didn't have as well as seasons 2 and 3 of "Supernatural" and a Bela Lugosi film "Return of the Vampire" (1943)  I had not seen that one in ages and considered it a find.  Then we grabbed coffee at Starbuck's and took the long route home to avoid the freeway traffic.  It may take longer but it's less insane.

Doyle is in the other smaller room finishing his work I can hear the click-snap of his stapler, the thumping of the papers to line them up and put them into their proper file folders and in a minute or two he'll go into the family parlor to put on some mellow big band music CD's, and with that he will then select a bottle of wine for us to relax with and enjoy with our dinner.

I can hear Belladonna's and Weiner dog's nails clacking into the other room to see what exciting thing Doyle will do, they know he's a sucker for giving them some doggie treats if they put on really sad faces.  So now I will sign off, get up stretch a bit and put out the dinner ware, the salad is ready and chilling in the fridge, dinner still has 45 minutes to go, so we will relax and chat and see what to do for the weekend.

Later Darklings

Of Vampire Blood and Nail polish~~~~

Hello My Darklings,

I have been so bad not posting anything new, bizarre, glamour's or even interesting of late.

But it was seeming like things were just boring, boring, boring.  Except that Sis and I did have a fun Sunday shopping to celebrate Audrey Hepburn's birthday, and we also sent off checks to charities that she supported as well, we are not selfish. 

We are fortunate and blessed, so it behooves us to help out as best as we can.  I think of all of my nieces and nephews and think upon how lucky they are and hope that they realize it.

But we did go to Tiffany's and looked around, and I did splurge, I found a sterling silver chain link bracelet with a heart shaped pendant on it like a charm and I remembered an aunt of mine had something like that so I bought it and asked to have it engraved with my initials and my birthday, I also asked if it's something they usually have and was informed that it does come in from time to time so I'm going to buy one for Coralline have it engraved the same way and give it to her for her next birthday. 

I don't usually buy things at Tiffany's very much but this is something special.

And we went to Saks and Nordstrom and Macy's.  I bought a bottle of Chanel No. 5 perfume as well as Coco.   And had fun looking at lipsticks and nail polish but I just could not find a color that would get me excited.

As a matter of fact I just could not get excited by any of the clothing or styles of things they had at the stores, it all seemed so blah and sameness, I asked Sis if I was getting too old and she remarked that it appears that the styles are not marketed to us but to the 20 something's with knobby knees and boney shoulders,  the style just didn't have any style.

At least I can be on the watch for the Vintage Fashion Faire next month I should be able to find something exciting there, I usually do.

As a matter of fact we had a number of women come up to us asking where did we buy our clothing and were surprised that it was either vintage or retro designs, and the fact that we wore hats,  and these ladies had the same complaint.  

But all was not lost I bought a bottle of J'adore cologne as well.  And found 2 bottles of Revlon's Devine nail polish---I had used up my last bottle. And I love the color, if I can every find a bottle of their limited edition of Devil's Lure I'll buy that as well.

I've discovered that I'm now preferring the Matt lipsticks, and the Besame colors seem to suit me very well.  Anything glossy on my lips just doesn't seem to work well or look well on my, perhaps that's the  curse of being an older woman, who is a bit retro.

Sis managed to find in her size a simple little black dress in linen and it fit her beautifully and no knobby knees. 

Then off we went to dinner at the Claremont Hotel, I just had to indulge in a "Pink Lady", I had not had one of them in ages.  Sis suggested that if Doyle and his Storm Troopers were going to have each year a "May the Forth" party we should have our "Breakfast at Tiffany's" Party as well.  I think its a splendid idea.

Ahhh but how does Vampire Blood come into all of this---Well Darklings, my co-workers know I have an interest in things morbid, gothic etc. etc. well one of them found an on line article from the UK from The Telegraph science news section titled " 'Vampire therapy'  could reverse ageing, scientists find"     It seems that old Countess Elizabeth Bathory had the right idea but went about it the wrong way.

It seems that a transfusion of youthful blood may halt and possibly reverse the ageing process, it seems that the chemical make-up of younger blood has surprise health benefits.

It seems that young blood actually 'recharges' the brain, forms new blood vessels and improves memory and learning.  The article claims that a protein known as  GDF11 is present in the blood stream in large quantities when we are young but peters out as we age.

The article goes on in more depth but you might be able to find it under  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/10807478/Vampire-therapy-could-reverse...

I hope I have the right link but if you go to the Telegraph website you should be able to find it.

I found the article fascinating as a few years ago I had problems standing and walking, and I would get exhausted and could not focus.   I became concerned and made an appointment with my Doctor and took a taxi since I felt I could not drive, he had me tested and immediately had me admitted into the hospital, I was severely anemic and needed several units of blood as well as being dehydrated.  I knew I was looking very pale, but I didn't know it was from that. 

It turned out that for some reason my bone marrow was not making enough red blood cells, so I had to start taking Iron pills every day a heavy dose.  I still do but only 3 times a week now.  But with the fresh new blood I felt energized, even plumped up, my cognitive skills were heightened and sharpened, almost supernormal. 

When I talked to my Sister about it I laughed and said "I've become a vampire" but even she said that I looked younger than I had in years.  Now reading this article, and also with taking vitamins and Iron as well as being careful with my skin, it seems that something like this is not so far fetched, but in its own way a bit frightening when you think about it.

There is even a news article about what is called a "vampire facelift"  at this point in time I really don't want to go there.

And now Doyle has shown up with dinner as he pleaded with me for me to rest a bit and not cook.  And it's from our favorite Chinese take out.

Later Darklings

Of rain and vampires~~~~

Hello Darklings,

Well I'm taking a break and having my 3rd cup of coffee,  I must live on coffee I think.   I have one at home, one on the ferry and then one on my break.  

At lunch I drink bottled water, I prefer Dasani, and then in the afternoon 1 cup of tea and more water.  Riding home on the ferry I drink more water.   And at dinner I have water followed by later either a small glass of wine or a cup of chamomile tea.   It is strange but I've never thought of that ritual of what I drink before, habit I guess.

I had hope to leave the office on my lunch hour but it rained and I forgot my umbrella, not that it mattered when I went home but it was heavier on the lunch hour,  for some reason although the rain was cool it wasn't freezing, and it felt refreshing,  if I hadn't just recovered from a cold I'd have danced in it.  It just felt right to dance in it.   Strange in a way.

And this morning, even with everything damp from the rain the air felt fresher, cleaner, I enjoyed taking deep breathes of it. 

A little rain is a good thing, but too much can be very depressing.

I set up my radio to record Coast to Coast, the AM radio program that has people on to talk about strange things or conspiracies or off beat historical discoveries.  Last night it was about vampires, the speaker did both historical, medical and forensic research on the vampire legends how it came about,  much had to do with disease and superstition, possibly pre-mature burial but also with several medical conditions,  I found it fascinating as I listened to my recording on it and I will go to the Coast to Coast web site to get the speaker's web site for more information. 

And considering the conditions last night and to day it just seemed a perfect subject to listen to.  For those of you who are into the strange and bizarre I will post the Coast to Coast web site on my links section as soon as possible. 

My co-worker is again temping me with another cup of coffee,  sweet young man.   I wonder if he has a crush on me or is just playing up to me for a special request?  Hmmm I'll have to find out.

Later Darklings---break time is over.

Do you talk to the Dead?? and Smithsonian Vampires~~~

Hello again Darklings,




I’m finally catching up on things, so much at work to clear away, but finally done.



Doyle and I had so much fun this last weekend, not only were they offering a “Ghost Walk” but there was also a Harvest Fair Festival going on as well, with a unique way of “kicking it off” by dropping pumpkins from the top of the Ghost Towns’ Tallest Building.



The “Ghost Walk” was a perfect precursor to the next event in two weeks, a Paranormal Ghost Hunting convention at Columbia State Park, just perfect timing and Doyle has already made arrangements for us to attend---I am so looking forward to it.



The “Ghost Walk’ was very entertaining, the “actor’s” put a lot of thought into the various stories of the different residents in the Cemetery, but it helps to have good walking shoes and to dress warmly, although the day was mild, the nights do get very coolish.



The Harvest Festival was complete fun, food, and frolic, there were several items I simply could not resist, as well as a painting that I though would be perfect for the entrance Hall in my home. And if you are Elder Goth “lite” it is a perfect event to attend to find all those little things that can “tweak” your little gothic castle.



What I liked is for a period of time you felt that you are taken back in time, I felt that I would have been very comfortable wearing Victorian clothing---although tight corseting would have not been on my list of things to wear, but there was something about the atmosphere of the area that felt so relaxing. I’m going to have to plan to come here from time to time just to get away from the business of the City, sort of a mental retreat, although it is about 2 ½ hours from the Bay Area, but still such a wonderful cool Fall feeling.



Doyle said we should plan to come here again next year, I hope so, other wise I’ll come by myself. It seems that starting in September kicks off all these wonderful Harvest/Halloween/Holiday treats, and I certain enjoy them with relish. I am reminded of some things that I use to do with my family, which I’ll talk about at a later time.



There are places to stay both in Columbia and within a short walking distance from the State Park as well as lovely places to stay in Jamestown and Sonora especially along Highway 108 the gateway to Yosemite; I’ve saved the listings for the next event for future reference. Not all take pets, so that will be a serious consideration.



I enjoy going to cemeteries and columbarium’s, the older the better, they have so much to “say”, yes Darklings, “to say.”



When Doyle and I were on our Ghost Walk at Columbia State Park, we enjoyed all the stories and “thrills” that were delivered by those hard working docents dressed up as the spirits of those deceased persons.



But the next day that we were going to leave, we stopped again at the Cemetery in Columbia and walked in the daylight among the graves to see them a little better.



There was one that arrested me, it gave the name and date of a man who died, at a relatively young age, but the cause of his death was simple and blunt, his epitaph read “Fell Down A Mine Shaft”, this caused us to stop and surmise and “talk” to the dead.



How and why, Dear Sir, did it come to be that you fell down a mine shaft?



An accident? Foolishness? Being unaware? Unsafe conditions? Did someone push you?



It seems that in our “talking” to him we attracted 2 other couples and they joined in on the “conversation” and for nearly an hour we spent time with this unfortunate person in “discussing” the predicament that led to his untimely end.



Granted the person in question was not with us in real time, his bones were interred 6 feet under us, but for some reason we felt that his spirit enjoyed our visit with him.



Which led our conversation as to what we would want on our tombstones, usually it was something benign “beloved something or other” or in the case of one of the gentlemen who said “Gone Fishing”.



Doyle asked me what I wanted on mine and I said “I’ll-Be-Back” Doyle thought this over for a few seconds and replied “Darling, you are one sick puppy.” I smiled in reply.



Indeed there are tombstones with unusual comments; two of the most famous is “I told ya I was sick” which does indeed exist and this other one “Here lies Lester Moore, 4 shots from a 44, no less, no more” Lester Moore was a Wells Fargo agent who was killed during a robbery, and some wag decided to emblaze how Mr. Moore died.



Doyle thought that perhaps as part of our travels we should take in historical cemeteries, which I could only agree, the Columbarium in San Francisco is one that I’d like to visit again and in Oakland the Chapel of the Chimes, Mountain View Cemetery, and St. Mary’s, they go back to when the city was founded, which should make for interesting “reading”.



So Darklings, when you go to a cemetery go “armed” with information as to all the meanings behind the symbols on those monuments, even the littlest engraved thing can speak a volume of meanings, sometimes if the grave has a metal fencing around it the designs on the fencing also has meaning.



There is a gravesite society called The Graveyard Rabbit www.thegraveyardrabbit.com

If you are interested in the symbolism on Gravestones these are a few web sites to check out:



www.pinterest.com/ctdebrajoy/taphophile/

www.thecemeteryclub.com/#1

www.graveaddiction.com/symbol.html



Of course if you either Google or Bing in the word Taphophile you will come across a number of websites that will give you information on grave symbols.



Now most symbols apply mostly to American or English Grave sites, but one can find much of the same thing for any European Cemetery, although there will be variances for each local culture, which if you become a Cemetery/Graveyard enthusiast you can add to your personal encyclopedia of gravesite symbols, who knows it may make you a Taphophile.



Frankly I think being a Taphophile is a wonderful hobby for an Elder/Elderly Goth or even just perfect for the Darkly inclined.



From there comes understanding burial customs, funerals styles, how to mourn, the history and symbolism of mourning which is a little different from Cemetery symbols.



If you go back on my blog to “My First funeral” Mar. 31, 2010 you will come across how a funeral was held in the 1950’s.



But there were things done that I didn’t mention in that post. Which I will do in another post.



Now about Smithsonian Vampires~~~



Darklings if you can get a copy of the October 2012 issue of Smithsonian magazine, they have a whole article about American vampires---yes Darklings, American vampires---it all started in 1990 in Griswold, Connecticut when some children playing near a hillside gravel mine found some graves and the story takes off from there.



I’m not going to spoil the information in the story so I suggest Darklings that you buy this copy of Smithsonian and add it to your collection of dark things, I know I am.



In the mean time I’m going to ask Doyle why he was trying to pulverize with a hammer, a couple of very old broken red bricks that he got from a demolition site the other evening. As a matter of fact he has about a half dozen of these old bricks pieces that were not salvaged for re-use and were tossed aside and is keeping them in an old bucket; knowing Doyle he has a perfectly good reason that is not readily apparent. But I’ll give him time, eventually he’ll tell me, no matter how strange his reasoning is.



Later Darklings

Vampires, Vampires, Vampires~~~

Vampires, vampires.




Yes Darklings I’m back on vampires again.



Why?



Well I read a very interesting news story from a few Sundays ago in my newspaper. It seems that the drummer for Metalica is a Horror film buff. He collects many interesting things from the horror films.



In one of the pictures taken of him with a portion of his collection, I was ‘startled’ to see that he had an oil portrait of Bela Lugosi painted around 1932 or 1933 after he filmed “Dracula”. I know that portrait to be genuine, because in an edition of Architural Digest some years ago, they showed the interiors of a number of film stars including Lugosi and it was in a room that had that portrait.



I discovered that in 2004 or 05 that it sold at auction for $80,000 dollars, I knew then it had to be the Metalica dummer that purchased it.



But why was it sold at auction unless many years before to settle the Lugosi estate it had to be sold and eventually that owner re-sold it.



Even Lugosi had several capes, of which one of them sold at auction, but it was many fans understanding that he was buried in his Dracula cape, unless it was the one from on of his revivals that he did.



Because the original Dracula cape was given to his son Bela G. Lugosi (aka Bela junior), and it was that one which sold at auction, however Lugosi was buried in the tux that he wore in the film.



At Lugosi’s funeral Vincent Price said that Peter Lorre suggested that they put a steak in Lugosi chest to make sure he was dead, so pervasive was the vampire character associated with the man.



In 2011 in April or May Lugosi’s mansion that he lived in, in the 1940’s, called “La Paloma” went up for sale, in decent shape although it needed some fixing up but from the photos in decent shape with fantastic views. It sold for $2. 25 million.



If Lugosi had lived just a few more years he would have hit a revival but fate was not quiet so kind. But his son as a lawyer found his niche in dealing with image copyright.



For some reason I find that very interesting and so appropriate.



And briefly touching on gardening again I also discovered a Day Lily to add to my garden called “Bela Lugosi” a deep purple with a yellow center, just perfect for the Goth decorations I’ve found ---more on that later.



Later Darklings

Vampire Wine and other dark things~~~~

Darklings~~~




I’ve been having fun searching on the internet for Gothic indulgences and if you really want to go all vampy then check out Vampire Wine at www.vampire.com, not only Vampire Wine, but vampire coffee and vampire chocolate, well chocolate is considered the “food of the gods”.



And I never thought one could find a gothic/vampire web site to cover these “little” things like dishes, glass wear and such but sometimes it’s nice to be surprised and the web site for items from books to plates to furniture is www.vampirerave.com, when you get there go to the “database” for those subcategories for food, drink, furniture and such.



You can have tons of fun checking things out, however there are some “dead” links but on the whole I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.



And now to go off topic----I’m back to cosmetics and fashion again Darklings, it seems that the dark cranberry and burgundy colors for lipstick seems to be a bit of a rage, and Chanel has come out with a new perfume “Coco Noir”. I have not smelled it yet, when I come across it I will let you know.



In the latest In Style makeover magazine it seems that these 4 colors are in for Fall and frankly perfectly wonderful for Goth beauty---Burgundy, Gold, Emerald and White, yes White Darklings is the new “black”, of course Gold looks wonderful with black, wine, creamy white or emerald.



As I said Burgundy is the new lip and nail color but avoid the browner tones of it. Nars lip gloss in “Rouge Tribal” and Maybelline’s nail lacquer in “Dressed to Kill” are very wicked looking, for gold look to Yves Saint Laurent nail color in “No. 29” and Guelain’s “Radiance” with 24kt gold as a perfume, a bit expensive but Darklings you are worth it in all your Dark, Dark Glory.



Estee Lauder’ nail color in “Viper”, a wonderful snaky green shimmer has me thrilled and will look smashing with my emerald green velvet dress and matching cape with purple velvet lining (yes a bit much but perfect for going out). If you are going for the whites either creamy or dead winter white go with Dior’s nail polish in “No. 115” but be careful to not make yourself look like a corpse, just ethereal, this is where you have to be careful with your facial makeup Darklings.



I have to admit I fell in love with the emerald green embossed leather bag with the resin tortoise shell top accents by Tory Burch, you can find it at Bloomingdale’s, but be sure you plan to keep it for a long time, frankly with it’s classic styling it will never become dated and I know for sure it will become a mainstay in my purse collection. (yes, I managed to buy it)



I had grabbed my August 19, 2012 New York Times magazine the “In Style” section from the Sunday New York Times to read and “devour” during my vacation and I was pleased to see, as in the September Vogue magazine, more corporate Goth styles, so my wardrobe will never be out of style. Frankly it never is, but those filmy Edwardian styles from Victorian Trading Company I just adore, including the Black Velvet Opera Coat which I ordered, perfect for a chilly winter evening.



But there is one other catalogue worth ordering or even going on line and that is the Pyramid collection at www.pyramidcollection.com I was so excited to get it and I have to be very, Very careful Darklings or I’ll max out my credit cards. So much to choose from ***sigh*** So I will add these three web sites to my links page and you can have the fun of being pulled in this direction or that direction of decisions, decisions.



I have to admit I managed to plan to return from the first half of my vacation right when our local community had a Vintage Fashion Fair, and I found some lovely little things just right for an Elder/Elderly Goth, like a box of black handkerchiefs with white flower edging, just perfect for a funeral. And beautifully embroidered black gloves that go up half way toward the elbow, perfect for my ¾ sleeve leopard print coat (faux fur Darklings, faux fur), and another darling hat in gray with a darker gray trim. I am still looking for the perfect hat to go with my 1950’s faux fur leopard print coat.



But now Darklings my little Belladonna is demanding my attention, Mommy has been away too, too long, two times too many, and I have to admit I missed her too, so the next time I plan on a vacation I will look for pet friendly places, as it is only right, perhaps I can look into those “pet companion” vests, then she can never be denied her right to be with me.



Leaving you will all my ideas and links, remember when you plan for a vacation be sure to save, save, save, that way you will not break your budget, even though I have a good income with these difficult times, I am careful with my spending. And although it sounded like I spent a lot of money I had saved up for it for nearly two years to be able to have this indulgent time. And it was worth it.



Just as it was wonderful to return home although being on vacation for over 3 weeks was very, very special. Sometimes one really needs just to get away from things. I think I don’t need to mention what I’m referring to.



I have no need to talk about politics or the ways of the world my Darklings, having seen it all I am not a bit surprised. So if my trip seemed hedonistic, selfish, and self serving it is because in my work I have seen a lot of unhappiness and dealing with stresses.



I have discovered that I can only control what I can immediately control, I cannot control the world, but with what I can control I will do my best to make my part of the world a little better. I rescued Belladonna from a horrible starving death. I will make my voice heard at the voting booth. I will donate to those charities that help others, and on Halloween I will give out candy and make my front yard suitably frightening to children especially to those for whom that is the only free entertainment they can get. I check on my elderly neighbor and help her out, even if she did think my Great Aunt was odd and that I am just as odd, but we do get along.



But in doing that and more, one needs to decompress, and for that I saved up my money to do it. Do I feel guilty? Except for having to leave Belladonna with her sitter, otherwise---NO, I deserved it. And for an Elder/Elderly Goth that is quiet alright.



So remember, save you money for those fantastic memories, Darklings. I wish you to Have Fun.



Later Darklings.

Jonathan Frid---"Barnabas Collins"---Rest in Peace

Dear Darklings, I am devestated----one of the most reconizable and vunerable vampires to grace the T.V. screen has passed away. Jonathan Frid the original "Barnabas Collins" passed away on Friday, April 13. His interpretation of the vampire took it into a new direction which I feel Ann Rice and others have built upon. I must go a build an altar memorial for him, and hang black creap and black roses. My world with his death has shifted.