Of Happy New Year for 2016!!! ~~~~

Hello My Darklings,

I have not been posting so often of late, well I'm still getting better, right now I tend to fall asleep a lot,  the Doctor says it's the cough medicine that I'm taking,  because it has codine in it.   And because of that I'm to stay away from wine and such.   Such a bore but then health is always important.

Christmas was wonderful with family and friends, but our new years tonight will be on the quiet side,  it will be a combination of pot luck and Chinese take out.   No I'm not doing a New Year's party this year, the family has insisted I focus on resting but I do intent to stay up with them to welcome the New Year.

I'll be seeing my Doctor next week, although he did do a house visit this week, and feels that I will no longer need the visiting nurse, but next week he will finally determine that.

Because I've been coughing so much my chest and ribs have been hurting but that has lessen considerably, and I hope to get back to my old self.  

The other evening we all went to the Oakland Zoo and saw the zoo lights and rode the Zoo train as well,  and for the first time in years I wore thermal underwear!!!  Including Thermal Socks!   Not exactly elegant, but necessary in the low 40 and in some cases upper 30 degree weather at night.

The frost has been harsh, my gardener has protected most of the plants but I fear I will lose a few of them,  Spring will tell us how bad.

Sis insisted that I hire Betty as a regular housekeeper and have her come in 2 or 3 days a week with Merry Maids to do any major cleaning for the holidays and lighter cleaning for regular.   I've talked to Betty about this and she is very agreeable to it.   She loves the house and has said to me that I can't do it all by myself and to put my pride to one side. 

We've agreed on what I can do,  and what she will do and it works out.    I did grumble about feeling old but Betty said to me that I'm not old, I just need pampering.   The dog's love her and she likes them as well. 

There has been a bit of a sad thing that has happened in our neighborhood, our elderly neighbor that use to baby sit the dogs from time to time has had a stroke and her children are seeing to her care.   The good thing is that her daughter was with her when it happened and was able to get emergency services for her quickly and that lessened any damage,  but the daughter has now moved in with her so she won't be alone, which is good.

Crazy Son across the street has been very quiet, well with his sister and her husband having moved in with the parents Crazy Son can't pull any stunts, which is good.

New folks have moved into the neighborhood and have refurbished this old Victorian home that was very run down.  The previous owners were elderly and didn't have enough money to do all that needed to be done, but fortunately these new owners love the place and are restoring it.  That makes me very happy.

The family is doing fine, Sis's business is keeping her, well, busy.  Doyle has been kept busy as well but to keep my mind occupied he is having me transcribe his notes (I can read his hand writing).   My brother and sister in law are happy and so are the children although they are moaning the fact that next week they will be back in school.

The following weekend we will have a little "take down the Christmas decorations" party and carefully pack them away.    I will be sad to see that but they will be up next year and the year after that.

I hope in 2016 to be more active on my blog and find more interesting Gothic type things to post about,  strange and bizarre things, and finds,  but now a hot cup of Peppermint tea is wafting under my nose and it's time for Lunch.

I want to wish all of you a very Happy, Healthy and Prosperous  New Year!   May all your problems be little one's and the big problems be easily solved and taken care of.

Happy 2016 My Darklings!

Well I'm not that Evil, not really.   Well maybe a little bit.  Oh what the heck, for those of you this can be an excellent thing to work with.

Of Rain for Christmas~~~~

Hello My Darklings,

Yes I have not been posting, well everyone wants me to get well and strong and all kinds of good stuff is the best way to describe it.

My Sister and Sister in law and I have been shopping for goodies for the Christmas dinner my fantastic Stove is going to be put to heavy duty work, but with everyone tackling everything it will be done in fantastic time. 

A few things need to be purchased at least no sooner than tomorrow but things that can be kept frozen like pies are no problem, but I am having a hard time keeping olives in the pantry, it seems that when ever the children are over the black olives seem to disappear, and re-appear on the ends of their fingers.   Doyle is going to hide the next batch in his office since he keeps it locked from prying eyes.

Thanks to everyone the house is wonderfully decorated and with scented Vanilla and Cinnamon candles it smells like things are baking all the time. 

And peace rides high in our neighborhood ever since the restraining order was put on "Crazy Son",  but what is making him even more angry is his sister has moved in and is staying with the parents, lovely lady, very nice.

And rain, rain, RAIN!!!  Lovely, cold, blustery, chilly, wet RAIN!  

Of course the house is nice a warm and snug for a large Victorian but just lovely.

I am getting much better, the Doctor said I can go to Midnight Mass Christmas Eve, I never miss Midnight Mass, it is one of the most magical nights of the year and are you ready for this My Darklings,  We are going to have a Full Moon on Christmas Day night, if it's not overcast.   The last time this happen was in 1977. 

But Christmas Eve it will be raining here so I do hope Santa has his Rain Gear (sorry for the very bad pun).

There has been a lot of traffic accidents and trees falling down and power outages,  Doyle surprised me with buying oil for the old-fashioned lamps that I have as decoration and trimming the wicks and filling them up.   "Just to be prepared" he says,  well as a little girl and as a teenager there was more than one time we put together a puzzle or played board games by oil lamp.

And as a gift to the house he bought one of those crank up radios so we'll have news and/or music, just in case. 

Well this old house has seen in its time living by lamp light and candle light, with crank up phonograph, and books and board games of its day.  So it would be nothing new. 

This weekend my brother and Doyle went into the attic to check for any leaks, not that there is any, the roof is only 10 years old, but with the drought things can get dry, so far things are fine, but Chris and Coralline went up there as well and as the men looked for leaks the children found a treasure trove of Stereoscopic pictures and the devices used to view pictures in 3 D.   I had not realized there were so many, 3 large boxes worth,  and two viewers, I said that I didn't have a place to put them but young people are resourceful.

Going back into the attic with their father they came back down with a vintage light weight bamboo table with three shelves, with a careful dusting and use of lemon polish it was brought back to its original luster  and now the pictures and the viewers sit proudly on them in the formal parlor.   My brother offered to take it back up to the attic but I said no, leave them there, something told me they belonged there. 

The nurse only comes by twice a week now, she'll be by the Morning of Christmas Eve but she thinks by next month I may not need her but that will be decided by the Doctor,   Betty plans to come by every day during the week except for Christmas Eve and Day,  on the weekends my sister or sister in law keep an eye on me, but I'm feeling pretty good.  I still take medicine for the cough but that has improved, and I have an asthma inhaler as well and have to do breathing exercises.   The nurse said that in time the Doctor will say I'm fine and won't need to do that,  I suspect it won't be until Spring.  Am I being cranky?

I'm still sleeping down stairs but I've been encourage to do stair exercises so I go up 6 steps and come down 6 steps several times and I do it several times a day but only when someone is in the house.   But I feel I'm be able to tackle the full first complete set after New Years.

Things are looking good and I'm feeling very positive,  I had fun telling the children about Hern the Hunter and the wild Hunt and how if you go to Church on Christmas Eve you must take a piece of steel and several slices of bread, for that is the time when Hern is on the Wild Hunt looking for evil people who would harm the Christ Child with his Hell Hounds, should you meet the hounds first throw them the bread but should you meet Hern toss the piece of steel before you, then they will know you are a good person.  Otherwise----beware!

It's a good story to tell in front of the fireplace.  Even the twins were quiet.  Their Dad told me they had seen "Krampus" and my brother told them that Krampus is very, Very real.   Of course they asked me if that was so and I said I'm not going to deny it.

Christmas is the time for Ghost Stories or Stories of Wonder, at this time the dark is at it's longest time, but within a few weeks we will begin to see it getting lighter and lighter.   But there is something so delicious between Halloween and New Years, a perfect time for Ghost Stories.

Charles Dickens had it right I think, I feel we have to thank him, Prince Albert, and Clement Moore for giving us the concept of the season, minus the materialist aspect.

And now I need to go, I still have a few New Year's cards to write out thanks to friends I had not heard from in Ages,  and now I have their new addresses, for some reason this year has been a year of reconnecting with people from the past, a reunion of sorts.   Which makes me very happy.

Later Darklings

This is not photo shopped it is a photo of the northern lights forming a wolf shape.

Of slowly improving for Christmas~~~

Hello My Darklings,

Yes I know it's been days since I last posted but I have a confession to make, I really was a lot more ill than I let on, I had been in the hospital, it was pneumonia and I had the shot too!   But sometimes it can hit pretty hard.

The doctor told me that if I didn't have the short I would still be in the hospital possibly with complications.  so I should be thankful for the vaccine.

I was having the visiting nurse coming by everyday for a short while but with my improvement its down to two times a week and I have Betty to help me every day.  I have to confess I don't like to be babied, so she told me to think of it as being pampered.   O.K.  I'll accept that.

And I am getting stronger everyday.

I think it was really hard on the children, they can understand sniffles and colds and the flu but this I think frightened them.  And they are keeping a sharp eye on me,  Sis says she can understand that, its like having a unit that use to work flawlessly start having problems and when that happens everything else breaks down until the unit can be "fixed".   Or understand that they have to go on without that unit.  (that was my addition).  

I'm completely retried now from my job, I may be called in for consultation or as a independent contractor if needed.  But frankly I'm enjoying the freedom of retirement.  But I'm keeping up with all the new developments.

We did have some fun, Thanksgiving was at my brother's and sister in law's house, and it was wonderful, the food, the conversation, the games, the silliness.   The next day we went to the Dickens Christmas Fair and Coralline and her brother Chris went in their Victorian Semi-steam punk outfits, Sis and Monica and my brother came along we all were dressed in Victorian clothing except my brother, he really didn't have the right outfit, but with a brown sweater, a knitted scarf and a wool newsboy hat he did look close to it,  but when we were at the men's emporium well we did have to get him suited up and we came pretty close,  I think we'll have to go to Old Town Sacramento and get a few more things, because when we returned to my home we still carried on in the Victorian manner.

My brother finally gets the idea!

We did go back on more time and I think the Children would have loved to have gone every weekend, but well that can't be,  the twins don't quiet understand, but as they get a little older and a bit more settled maybe they will.  I'm going to have to pass on taking in the Oakland Zoo Lights as I have to stay out of the damp night air for a while.

But we are going to Dunsmuir House this weekend.   Saturday I'm having the family over for Pot Luck to decorate the two Christmas Trees,  Doyle purchased them and both he and my brother will put them up tomorrow so they'll be easy to decorate,  Betty and Sis brought out the  Christmas decorations so they are all ready to go.

I feel bad for being so sick at this time of year, usually I'm reveling in the Holidays, but this has laid me low.

Which makes me wonder if its a wise idea to see the latest   Christmas horror movie "Krampus" but knowing my dark side how can I possibly refuse going to see it,  I did manage to take in "Spectre" and relax and enjoy it---so much so that I reviewed my earlier James Bond films.

I just wish I felt up to putting up my black Christmas tree this year in the entrance hall, but 'easy-does it' as Betty would say.   But it would be nice and gothic to top it with a Krampus tree topper and have my all red Christmas lights on it, yes a bit bizarre but then Darklings I never said I was completely normal either,  well it's something to plan on for next year. 

I wish my Sis could put Christmas Decorations on her house or at least inside but she says she wants her house to be as calm and normal as possible with out anything to remind them of holiday depression, because for some of her clients something tragic may have happened around a holiday, and she wants to avoid any "triggers".   I can understand that.  I think that is why she is so often here at my house for the holidays. 

And now Betty is leaving she wants to get home before it gets too dark, I can understand that,  and before any rain hits.  Although the rains have been filling my water cisterns up very nicely.

Well I'm going to take a later afternoon nap with the dynamic doggie duo while dinner cooks in the slow cooker.

Later Darkings

Of Getting Better and after Thanksgiving~~~

Hello Darklings,

Just a little note,  I'm getting much better, as a matter of fact the Doctor said that next week I can go and do shopping,  but I'm to not go alone,  fortunately my cousin Louise and my sister in law can help alternate days to be with me when I foray out into the cold cruel world.  And I do mean Cold!

I mean it's pretty cold when I had to use Weiner Dog and Belladonna as hand mittens and they had their little sweaters on. 

But Thanksgiving at my brother's was so much fun and so very uplifting.

But I'll have to write about it another time.

My "Merry Maids" are here to dust and fluff.

Later Darklings 

Of Happy Thanksgiving~~~

Hello My Darklings,

I'm up, I could no longer sleep, it was 39 degrees out in my back yard, and yet birds are flying looking for food, although I'm not suppose to venture out until later, the coffee was still perking and not yet done, so I found a nice flat pan and filled it with bird seed,  raided the pantry for walnuts that we use in baking and put that out as well.

Stepping back into my kitchen and being warm I had the pleasure of seeing the birds and squirrels come out and enjoy the feast. 

Earlier this week Doyle took 3 turkeys to a local soup kitchen to help feed the hungry,  we give year around but during the holidays we give more.  When ever I go to the grocery store I make sure to have some paper money to put into the Salvation Army bucket,  in a strange way I consider that good luck.  Mom and Dad always did that, even when Dad was for a time out of work, we gave~~~

Matthew 25: 35-40  For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
  

During this Holiday Season and all year round  help those who need help.   And in a more fun way to think of  Thanksgiving I give you these very Happy but Gothic images.

Happy Thanksgiving Darklings!

Of comming down with a nasty cold~~~~

Hello Darklings,

I know I have not posted of late, but I came down with a horrible cold and in went into my chest, given my age and everything (and I refused to be called "Old")  I had to rest, and take medication, stay warm, hardly do anything.   It was so frustrating.

But Sis called my previous care giver to see if she could take care of me, with Doyle being busy with several cases and Sis's work load being heavy.   She couldn't but her daughter Betsy could, the easiest thing was to move me to the downstairs spare bedroom by doing that it avoided a lot of stair climbing and made it easier on Betsy to keep an eye on me, and the dogs and anything that was being done.

I was flattened, as one gets older it is harder to bounce back from something as simple as a cold and I had my pneumonia shot as well, but Betsy who has nurses training said the shot is a good thing in that it prevents things from getting worse.

Worse??!!  I felt like I had been hit with all 18 wheels of a 18 wheel Peterbuilt.   But Betsy and my Doctor said it could have been worse, like hospitalization.   Oh no, not over the holidays.

This is the first time I've been up in days.

But my brother and sister in law are going to have Thanksgiving at their house, and for Sis and I to relax,  they will have it all under control. 

So yes, I think the preparations for Halloween, the court restraining order, taking down the decorations and putting them away may have lowered my immune system.

But we are having Christmas Dinner at my home, but everyone is going to chip in, a sort of pot luck but we'll all know what to bring and I can plan around that.    Betsy being the cautious type told me that I'll have to wait a bit before I get too frisky.  So I'll be good.

So all of you have a Happy and Wonderful Thanksgiving.

Later Darklings

Of taking down the halloween decorations~~~

Well Darklings,

In between the rain and such we slowly took down the outdoor decorations, mostly we first moved the ones that were in the front to the back area where we could dismantle them or let them dry out from the rain and we are not done, it's going to take all week.

But I do have Brian to help me and sometimes Doyle, mostly I put things into the plastic bins, and relabel the bins and they move them into the basement into the Holiday area.  

Inside the house I've taken down the spiders and spider webs, but I haven't really tackled much inside except when it was raining, the focus has been outdoors.

A dear friend of mine came by today with 400 tea lights, in huge bags, it seems she had plans to use them for an event but that didn't happen and asked if I had any use, I thought they would be perfect to use in the fireplaces on the no burn days, so I took them and have them in the cool pantry for now.

I'm by myself right now, Doyle is in the City working on a case, Brian is busy with his job and Sis has a late afternoon client who couldn't come any earlier. 

Belladonna and Wiener Dog are snoozing on the blanket that I have covering the couch here with me.   The house is so silent that I can hear the tick-tock of the old fireplace mantle clock and it just gonged the half hour. 

I have stew cooking in the crock pot and doing rice won't take long.  Sour dough french bread and butter, a simple salad, followed by individual hot peach cobblers for dessert.  Sis is going out to dinner with a colleague of hers tonight and Brian has a date. 

It's moments like this when I'm alone with my thoughts and memories that I feel that I could almost fold into the very walls of this wonderful old house,  one of my painter friends has offered to a portrait of me for the family parlor in the same style as the one of my Great-Aunt, I think it would be appropriate for this house, the picture hanging in the place where it would go is a landscape which I can put into the entrance hall there is a wall just right for it.

She studied with a number of artists, and do a number of styles so it would be with a proviso that she could exhibit it for a period of time as an example of her portrait work, I've been thinking why not.

But now my mind is too tired to go beyond thinking about it.   Doyle will be home soon and I still need to chop lettuce.

Later Darklings