October 2011

The Best Laid Plans, And All That Jazz

October 31, 2011

Do you make elaborate plans for trips? You can bet that I do. For the last two weeks I have been meticulously making lists, sub-lists, and sub-sub-lists of all the things I had to pack (and do) before my business trip to San Antonio. I carefully packed my car, using those lists as my guide. [...]

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Papá, The Antique Lady, And La Chusa. A Ghost Tale.

October 30, 2011

Quite often, when I tell ghost stories, an audience member wants to share their own ghost tale with me. Usually in schools I don’t have time to stop and listen because the next class is already on the way in the door. One day, however, I had free time between classes. When I felt a [...]

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The Nest … A True Ghost Story

October 29, 2011

Years ago a librarian in San Antonio shared a story about her own grandmother’s ghost in Dime Box, Texas. I took the information she gave me and wrote a story. When she read it, she gave me permission to tell the tale, but asked that I change the names, so as not to upset her [...]

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A Scots-Irish Lass With A Hispanic Soul

October 26, 2011

It’s true that the only word I can remember from my High School Spanish class is “albondigas.” That means “meatballs” … I think. At least I hope it’s not a dirty word. I just can’t understand why I didn’t learn an important word that was useful. Like “bacon.” Why didn’t I learn that? And, what [...]

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Coming Soon To An Animal Shelter Near You

October 25, 2011

Don’t worry, I’m not going to make you listen to Sarah McLachlan sing “In The Arms of an Angel” while you read (although you can if you feel so moved). I don’t want you to cry … I want you to think about the animals that are abandoned in shelters. Don’t feel guilty and think [...]

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Denton’s Day of the Dead Festival

October 24, 2011

Día de los Muertos is a ritual holiday (November 2nd) that was observed in Mexico by the indigenous people for over 3,000 years before the Spanish Conquistadors came to the land. It is a celebration of the memory of those who have died. In San Antonio, where I will be on that date, the altars [...]

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Denton Haunts Tour Offers Mystery AND History

October 23, 2011

I had no clue that the courthouse in my hometown had a resident ghost (or two, or three). I just thought that Denton had one of the most lovely courthouses in Texas. I didn’t know it had a ghost story! Sure, I knew there was a tiny cemetery-for-one on the lawn of the building. I [...]

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Be The Change

October 22, 2011

When my neighbor walks her annoying, yappy little dog through the neighborhood each day, she wears work gloves and carries an enormous garbage bag. It’s not that her dog will make that big of a mess when he does his “business.” While she walks, she carries that bag because she picks up the trash that [...]

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Faux Flagstone

October 20, 2011

Someone I know has way too much time on her hands. “She” looked down at the ugly industrial carpet in her office … the carpet she cannot afford to replace … and decided to paint it to look like flagstone. She is discovering that it is fun, but it’s a lot of work. OK, the [...]

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Denton Ghost Tales. Be There Or Be Square.

October 18, 2011

It’s true that I celebrate ghost stories all year long, but Halloween seems to be the preferred season for them. In Denton, Texas over the next two weeks you can get a ghost story fix just nearly anytime you want it. If you are there, you are on the Square. I’ll tell you about three [...]

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More Dress Up at Rose Costume

October 17, 2011

I told you that we went to Rose Costumes in Denton to play dress up. If you need a Halloween costume, this is the place to rent it, because it has everything. My thrill in going there is not just about the costumes (which are amazing enough), but the entire atmosphere of the place. It [...]

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An Adventure in Wonderland at Rose Costumes

October 10, 2011

Do you have your Halloween costume yet? No, not the children’s costume … yours! Oh, c’mon. Surely you are going to play dress-up, aren’t you? Halloween is the one time of year when it’s acceptable for grownups to indulge their imaginations. You have to take advantage of it! There isn’t a better place to do [...]

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Foxy Lady

October 9, 2011

I quietly observed her as she dined. With each delicate bite she took, she tilted her head back and closed her eyes in ecstasy as she chewed. I was close enough to the gray fox in my back field to see that it was a “lady” fox, but not close enough to see what meal [...]

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Scrub This Idea

October 7, 2011

Recently, I had a “flashback” to the 1970s (when I was the Queen of DIY). If you gave me a hot glue gun and some beer cans back then, I would create a coffee table. Yes, I’m afraid I did. Scary, isn’t it? Even more frightening is how little time it took to assemble enough [...]

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Look For It, Baby

October 6, 2011

Some people do not believe in ghosts. I am not one of them. I don’t believe in aliens, but then I’ve never seen one of them. Show me one, and I might change my mind. Ghosts I have seen, and heard, and felt. On the occasion that I’m sharing with you, I heard one … [...]

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The Collection That Rocks Me

October 5, 2011

It is one of those collections that make me wonder, “Why in Thunder do I have this?” I am betting that you have a collection like that, too. It doesn’t have much monetary value. I have no way to properly display it, and it isn’t even visually spectacular. But, I keep it. You keep yours, [...]

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