Grave Thoughts

Foggy Morning

The Widow — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 14:05:11 +0000

We began the set-up for Halloween 2009 yesterday. The halloween gods must be pleased, I awoke to a foggy grave yard this morning!

Foggy Morning

I am also working on a new door wreath:

Jewel’s Heirlooms

The Widow — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:35:53 +0000

I am pleased to announce a new sister site to The Haunt on Widow’s Bluff. Jewel’s Heirlooms was established to recommend tips and products for the typical family genealogist. Jewel’s Heirlooms is also committed to saving orphaned heirlooms found in local antique stores. Photos, yearbooks, funeral cards and other items are offered at a price which ensures legitimate family members can reclaim a piece of their family history. When not researching names found on the Familytomb I like to frequent antique stores. I always look through the old photos hopping I will find a family member; I have not found any Familytomb family members, but have found many photos which are clearly labeled with names, dates and places of the subjects in the photos.

Jewel’s Heirlooms, saving orphaned heirlooms one photo at a time.

Halloween 2008

The Widow — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 19:46:05 +0000

Well it has been forever since the last post. Halloween 2008 was plagued by high winds and storms. It seems as if I spent more time repairing than setting up. The mausoleum was a complete mess by the end of the season, it is toast. If I want to use it next year, it will have to be completely rebuilt. The weather for the big night was great, considering what we battled the two weeks leading up to Halloween. The Haunt on Widowsbluff had over 800 visitors and everyone seem to enjoy the display.

The 2008-2009 school year was one of the busiest and most exhaustive I have had in my fifteen years teaching. The lack of activity on this site was due in large part because of my complete lack of energy at the end of the school day. I also spent a majority of the winter working on genealogy and getting my genealogy site looking and running how I wanted.

The heat has really set in now where I am and it is time to stay inside, put on a Midnight Syndicate CD, light a few candle and begin thinking and designing the display for 2009. I can’t promise excessive posting in the next few months but there will be more to come!

Until then enjoy the few pics we did snap of the 2008 Haunt on Widowsbluff.

[[Show as slideshow]]

I am still here

The Widow — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 12:32:18 +0000

Well I underestimated the crazy train this year’s back to school would bring. As you can tell I have not posted since school started back up. I just wanted to let you know I am still here and now things have settled down a bit I hope to work on the creature this weekend and then sit down and plan the out the set-up schedule for the haunt. Stay tuned more to come later.

School Daze!

The Widow — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 00:34:53 +0000

Just wanted to let everyone know I have been busy the last two weeks getting my classroom ready. School started today. I hope by the week-end I will be back in Halloween mode. I need to finish the Creature and finish the mausoleum before October!

Later

It is HOT

The Widow — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 22:08:51 +0000

It’s been a hot one this week and looks to get even hotter the next two days. Working outside on props with a heat warning advising folks to stay inside seems a bit crazy but props need to get done. The covers for the flood lights are now finished, these look much better than the makeshift ones we have used the last two years. These were built primary for aesthetic purposes.

The front of the mausoleum has been redone and the back reinforced. Two of the side panels have also been reinforced but still need to be painted. The pool for the swamp is painted and we tested it with the mister last night. My thinking is the pool sides are too high and need to be cut down, a second mister may also be in order.

The mask and hands for the creature came today, I generally don’t spend over twenty dollars on props but I knew I could never do “The Creature” hands and face justice so I did purchase them, and they are very nice.

The Widow

Automatic notifications

The Widow — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 00:06:50 +0000

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Scraps

The Widow — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 14:46:10 +0000

With gas prices at $4.00 a gallon and food prices equally high my focus this year in building new props was to use up many left over scraps and materials. When I finished cutting out the Borden family stones I had several good size pieces of foam left over, enough to build the obelisk. When the obelisk was complete I glued together several small scraps of blue foam and created two more plain stones. The smaller pieces were a variety of sizes. I used the larger sections of foam for the front and back of the stones and placed the smaller ones on the inside. Glued them all together, carved a shape and filled in the seams. The top of the obelisk was a discounted (80%) home decor piece from Hobby Lobby. The flower pot holder was liberated from the trash at the cemetery. The side crosses were on the back porch, I had purchased these a few years ago from the sale bin at Hobby Lobby. The fairy was a gift from my secrete pal at work, I painted her white and placed her on scraps of foam. The pots were a new purchase, about $3.00. I have in the past without much success tried to keep incense burning in the haunt. The incense sticks always burn to fast and never get replaced. I am going to place large incense cone in the pots. The cones will burn for at least an hour and will be protected from the wind.

Borden Family Plot

The Widow — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:36:30 +0000

We went to an old cemetery the other day and there were many family plots enclosed with wrought iron fencing. I was inspired to create a family plot. Five of the eight new stones this year are for the Borden Family plot. I added a cheapo plastic fence, flowers and wreath stand (liberated from the trash at the cemetery), instant family plot. Between the heat and the rain I thought I would never get the scene done! Now comes the sad part, putting them in storage until October.

New Costume

The Widow — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 12:27:28 +0000

I have had the same costume for the last few years and decided it is time for something new. This year I am making a cape. The fabric is black with a subtle black stripe. I will be able to wear the cape over the existing “Widow’s” dress or something more light weight. Yesterday I cut out the fabric (all eight yards), hope to get it sewn together this weekend.

Here’s what I have:

Pattern for new cape: