hauntedliving

cookout-and-orbs-105.jpgThe other night I was reading the local news paper at the dining room table.  From where I was sitting I could see the entire living room area and part of the hall.  Our dog, Coca, was on the sofa chewing on a toy.  There was no one else in the dining room or the living room other than Coca and me.

As I read the paper Coca let out a deep low growl.  I did not think anything of it to start with.  Usually when she growls like that she has seen something out the living room window.  When she continued to growl I got up intending to go to the window and try to see what she was upset about.  I stopped in my tracks when I saw she was looking down the hall.  The hair stood up on my neck when I looked down the hall.  The only light in the hall was a night light so the hall was dimly lit and getting spookier by the minute.   I backed up a few feet and watched Coca as her head turned as if she was watching something walk across the room.  When she was facing the front door she stopped growling and went back to chewing her toy.  I guess what she was watching went out the door.  I get a little scared when things like this happen then go back to living my life in a some what normal way.  As normal a life as possible when living in a haunted house on haunted land.

When I was about 13 years old my Grandparents moved into a farm house in the country.  It was a really nice house with three bedrooms and a very large kitchen.  The only problem with the house was there was no indoor bathroom. When we needed to go to the bathroom we would have to use an outhouse.  For some odd reason the outhouse had been placed about forty feet inside a fenced pasture.  The outhouse was guarded by a large mean bull and some cows.  The pasture was on one side of the house and on the other side was a chicken house.  Grandma and Grandpa took care of the chickens in exchange for free rent of the house. 

The first time I had to use the outhouse I took my brother, Barry, with me to the edge of the pasture so he could distract the bull long enough for me to make it to the outhouse.  I had the idea that Barry would bang on the post and yell at the bull thereby drawing the bull’s attention away from me.  I would then be able to go to the outhouse and back without a problem.  My brother and I both had experience with bulls and knew how mean they could be so I was not taking any chances.

I went to the gate while Barry walked along the fence hitting the rails with a rock and yelling at the bull.  When I saw the bull was giving Barry his full attention I opened the gate and slipped into the pasture.  At first I walked slowly and quietly so the bull would not notice me until I was more than half way to the outhouse.  That’s when the bull became bored with what Barry was doing and turned his head in my direction.  I froze in place for a few seconds then started running for my life.  That bull was faster than lightening because he got between me and the door in seconds.  I ran around the outhouse with him right on my heels.  Around and around I ran, doing circles around the outhouse until I got so dizzy I fell down to the ground.  I curled up into a ball and waited for the painful death I knew was coming.  The bull came within inches of me and stopped.  He snorted and pawed the ground but stayed where he was.  As I lay there confused and scared I heard a voice say “ok Bart, let her up now, she’s tired”.  Grandpa was leaning against the fence railing and with a big grin on his face he told me that the bull was not mean but he did love to play chase.  I went to the outhouse more than I had to after that just to have fun with the bull.  

We were living in a two bedroom mobile home in a mobile home park.  With two girls and two boys still at home we needed a three bedroom mobile home.  We had moved into the two bedroom mobile home to escape from the haunted house on Robertson Road.  My husband and I were both so traumatized from what we had been through in the house we did not want to take a chance on a house at that time.  We both felt safer in a mobile home plus the owners of the park were our friends.  Since there were only a few three bedrooms there was a waiting list for them.  We asked to be put on the list and waited.  About a month later a three bedroom home became empty.  We were surprised when we were told we could move into the home in a week.  There must have been several families ahead of us on the list.  We decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

We moved into the house the next week.  The girls had their own bedroom and the boys had theirs.  My husband and I had the large master bedroom.  We were also happy to have two bathrooms instead of one.

Almost as soon as we moved in I got that old familiar feeling of being watched.  It was particularly intense in the hall near the back door.  I didn’t want to say anything to my husband yet.  I tried to stay out of the hall after dark when it was the spookiest and wait it out.  I also insisted on keeping the hall light on at night for the kids.

One night my husband went to bed early but got back up after only about an hour.  He looked like he was sick.  He was shaking and jumpy.  When I asked him if he was alright he told me no.  He refused to tell me anything at first but eventually said that someone had got into the bed with him.  He had felt someone pull back the covers and lay down in the bed.  He thought it was me at first until he turned over and no one was there. I then told him I was feeling like we were being watched. We realized we had a problem we did not want to deal with; we were living in yet another haunted place. Why would a new mobile home be haunted? The answer came to us the next week from a neighbor.

A woman who was convinced the former tenant was cheating with her husband put graveyard dirt in a baggy and placed it under the steps of the home.  There was also some kind of ritual said over the bag.  I went outside and looked for the bag of dirt.  I found it under the back steps at the back door.  That explained why the feeling of being watched was so strong at the back door.  I pulled out the bag of dirt and walked down the road about a half mile until I came to a small creek.  I tossed the bag of dirt into the creek and went back home.  That night I told my husband about the dirt and what I did with it.  We were both hopeful that now we could live in peace but it was not to be.

If you have not bought your special someone a Christmas gift yet then I have some suggestions.  I have broken it down between male and female gifts.  I have also listed some items you never want to buy.

MALES;

Males love; tools, any type of tool will make most men happy.  Wrenches, hammers, drills, power saws, screw drivers, powerful flashlights, etc…  If he is a guy who loves to work on things then these gifts will please him.  They especially love sets of tools.  Even if he has one of these if you buy him a bigger, faster one or one with special attachments he will be pleased.  Cordless tools are the best choice.  If you have no idea how to buy a tool or what kind he may want you can buy him a gift card at Home Depot or Lowe’s.

Men also love leather jackets, electric shavers and trimmers, cologne is great gift too but make sure you buy him a mid priced scent.  Polo for example is around $65.00 and most men like the scent.

The majority of men love MP3 players, CD’s, stereos, TV’s, surround sound systems, game systems and games, work out equipment, and gift cards to clothing stores.  Just use care when buying gift cards.  Some of them charge to use to use the card and some expire.

FEMALES:

Women love jewelry; rings, watches, bracelets, necklaces, and anklets.  Some women like pins but I only know one.  Nail polish sets, and bath sets are nice gifts too. Add a few scented candles to those two gifts for best results.  Women also like jewelry boxes, perfume, and jackets.  Men, you have to be careful you do not buy a jacket in a size that is too big.  It is better to buy her a jacket that is too small so she is flattered and can return it for a larger size.

Men should never buy a woman a dress, slip, jeans, shirt, or underwear unless you know exactly what size she wears and then you are still walking a tight rope.  If it is too big this says to her that she is fat but if it is too small she will feel you don’t really know her.  On the other hand like I said about the jackets some women will be flattered.  Never buy a woman anything for the house unless she has asked you to.  A gift for the house is just that; a gift for the house and not a gift for her.  She will also see this as your way of telling her to cook or clean more than she already does. 

I never knew women were so hard to buy for until I started writing this blog.  You guys have it hard.  Good luck on your gift buying this year.   

Macrovision has sold the print magazine TV Guide to OpenGate Capitol for one dollar.  The TV Guide Channel is also for sale.  It is an odd and unheard of price for an entire magazine but considering they lost 20 millions dollars last year it is understandable.  OpenGate plans to invest money in the company and believes they can make it profitable in the long run.  It is my opinion they should improve the magazine if they are going to stay in production.  Many channels are not listed in the magazine.  For instance they only list one HBO channel.  Anyway that was what they were listing the last time I bought a TV Guide, which was quite a while ago.  If you buy a TV Guide while at the grocery store you will pay $2.99.  Most people who have cable or satellite have a free channel guide on the TV.  Next month all the broadcast are going to sent out digital. Could even more people will have a guide on the TV?

Rumor has it that the magazine is dropping the CW network from its listing.  Some other channels may be dropped also.  Myspace is buzzing with comments from angry Supernatural fans who feel this will hurt their favorite show. 

As I said it has been a while since I bought a TV Guide.  I did not like the larger size.  It was much easier to hold the smaller size magazine.  They took out the daytime listings.  They put all the listings into grids and they focus too much of the magazine on boring celebrities.  To buy one was a waste of money to me.  If fact if they were giving them away for free, I would pass. 

In my opinion OpenGate has made a bad decision to buy the magazine.  I feel the magazine will become a giant sucking hole taking money while not making a profit.  I wonder how much they will invest before they go bankrupt.  You have to give them credit for being brave at least.  Good luck to OpenGate.  They are going to need it.

It is not safe to be a Christmas caroler in Columbus, Georgia.  Columbus Police arrested a man who is accused of trying to rob a small group of Christmas carolers at gunpoint.  This is so anti-Christmas to start with but what makes it so much more horrible was the fact the carolers were children.  This man points a gun at five children from the ages of seven to eleven and demands their belongings.  What could children that young have to steal?   They may have had a few dollars or a cell phone.  Fortunately the children were not hurt and ran away from the man. He was arrested about an hour after the attempted robbery.

Gone are the days of carolers going door to door singing Christmas carols with peace and love.  Gone are the days when children were considered precious even by criminals.  Those innocent young children will forever associate Christmas with fear.  Instead of gumdrops, Santa, toys, and stockings full of treats it will be nightmares of looking down the barrel of a gun.  Even by today’s standards of criminals that is just lowdown.

We have also had some sad events happen in LaGrange, Georgia.  During our local Christmas parade a child riding on one of the floats fell off the float and was ran over by another float.  She is in the Hospital in Atlanta.  It will be a sad Christmas for that family
but it could have been much worse.

I stopped going to the parades a few years ago when someone pushed my son at the parade in LaGrange.  We got to the parade early that year so we could get a good view in the front right by the street.  We stood on the side walk for over an hour before the parade started for this view. While the parade was going a man pushed his way through in his attempt to reach the sidewalk. He shoved my son in his effort to reach the front making my son almost fall into the street.  I grabbed my son’s arm just before he fell.  I gave the man a candy cane and told him I hoped it would make him a nicer person.

I wish everyone a safe and happy Christmas.

Last week my husband asked me what I want for Christmas.  I started to shake with fear just thinking of some of the gifts he has given me in the past.  I stalled for time until I could think of a safe gift he could buy.  I have learned to never let him buy me anything I will wear ever since he bought me a robe in a size 3x.  The robe is so large I can fit another woman in there with me.  I am not skinny but I am a bit smaller than that.  I have tons of sexy night gowns and a shelf of turtle neck sweaters.  Turtle neck sweaters choke me and I can not stand a lacy, scratchy, see through gown.  I sleep in shorts and a tee.  No night gowns for me at all.

My husband just tries too hard when he buys a gift.  One year I asked for a simple set of dumb bells and he got me a whole weight lifting set.  Another year I asked for a slow cooker and he got me a complete cook ware set plus the slow cooker.  I had a blast attempting to find cabinet space for all the pots and pans I did not need.  Don’t get me wrong for I love the fact he wants to give me more than what I ask for.  Some would ask why I am complaining.  The answer is: I don’t want him over spending on me.  Besides that I am just a simple person who likes to live simple.  No clutter allowed if I can help it.  I think he goes over board because of our first Christmas as husband and wife.  He bought his ex-wife a nice perfume set at Belk’s while I got a cheap bottle of perfume.  My perfume was meant for a child and came with a tiny teddy bear. I tried to give him hints about the perfume I wanted but it didn’t work. I thought he would notice the near empty Wind Song bottle on the bathroom sink but somehow he missed it.  This year I decided to do something different.

On Monday I took my husband to Walmart and pointed out a beautiful jewelry box.  I told him this is the one I want.  The price tag on the jewelry box was $19.88.  I pointed out to him that the jewelry box was large enough for all my jewelry but not so large to cause a problem. I made him promise not to buy one of the large jewelry boxes that stand on legs.  He admitted he was thinking of buying the large free standing one.  Those are the size of a chair and cost over a hundred dollars.  Luckily for me he bought the one I wanted and hid it in the closet.  I know because I found it this morning.  I am going to be so happy this Christmas.  I am getting the gift I want and I have the greatest hubby in the world.

The first time I encountered the word blog I was stumped as to what it was.  I would see the word here and there but I had no idea what a blog actually was until I joined Myspace.  It seemed as if everyone in my large extended family had a Myspace profile as well as most of my friends.  After I listened to endless reasons for having a Myspace profile I took the plunge.  I set up the profile, chose music, and uploaded tons of photos.  About two weeks after setting up my profile my daughter urged me to write a blog.  Not wanting to appear dumb I searched the internet for the definition for a blog.  What I found led me to believe a blog was where you wrote your feelings or thoughts and that was pretty much it.

I have since discovered there is much more to writing a blog.  The most important part of a good blog is it has to be interesting.  No one wants to read about your plumbing problems or that your dog has diarrhea.  However if you write a blog on plumbing repair or a blog on pet disease you will have readers.  I wrote my third blog on the controversial subject of owning pit bulls.  I got the readers on that one along with some angry comments.  For a while after that I stuck to the cutesy, warm hearted, positive blogs.  Those kinds of feel good blogs are fine but I do not like staying inside the box.  Controversy can be a good thing when it causes someone to open their mind to the other side of the argument.  In other words a blog can cause someone to think, to at least consider the other opinion.  A blog can teach and encourage us to learn.  A blog can send us on a journey and create a thirst for more knowledge.  A blog can take us to a foreign land or open a door to an unknown mystery world.  A blog can also improve someone’s reading and spelling skills.

I am not an expert on blogs by a long shot. I know that I have a lot to learn yet but I am a most willing pupil.  I read all the tips on great blog writing as well as visiting other blogs.  Some of the writers on Today send me into blog envy when I read their blogs.  One day I too will be a master but for now I am the student.

Since Christmas has been celebrated mistletoe has been part of the decorations. Who has not been kissed under the mistletoe?  Traditionally hung over a doorway so those you passed under the door were moved to kiss. But not everyone knows how mistletoe came to be a part of the Christmas tradition.

In mythology Loki the god of destruction killed Baldur, the god of peace with an arrow made from mistletoe. The other gods were angry at Baldur’s death and restored his life. The Goddess Frigga who was the mother of Baldur then hung mistletoe as a show of gratitude for having her son’s life restored. Frigga kissed all who passed beneath the mistletoe.  This is where the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe began.

Mistletoe was also used by the Celts during Yule season. The Yule festival and its customs of the Yule log are still part of Christmas to this day. 

Druid priest thought the mistletoe plant to be scared and cut it five days after the new moon past the winter solstice.  It could only be cut with a golden sickle and the plant could never touch the ground.  Pieces were then passed out to the villagers who believed the plant would protect them from lightening, thunder, witches, and evil spirits.  The druids also believed that mistletoe was a doorway to other worlds.

Mistletoe grows in the upper most parts of hardwood trees.  It is a parasite that is not really a plant or an herb.  It takes nutrition from the host tree and depends on birds to scatter the plants seeds.

Mistletoe is said to bring good luck when hung in the home.  Keep in mind that mistletoe berries are very poisonous and should always be kept away from children and animals.

My husband and I went outside last night to see the full moon.  It was extremely bright and large.  My husband said the moon was the closest it ever gets to the earth last night.  It was a beautiful sight to see up there ruling over the night sky.  A few sparkling stars and one planet were sharing the heavens with the moon.  As we stood on the driveway in the near dark we could hear the howls of a coyote in the distance.  We were like two children as we stared with awe at the awesome shimmering light.  We both felt so small and insignificant compared to the wonder of the large bright moon overhead.  As we headed back to the house we were happy to see our son had turned the Christmas lights on while we were outside.  The colored lights welcomed us back.  Inside the house was warmth as well as hot chocolate.  The dogs smothered us with kisses as if we were gone for hours instead of minutes.  We sat down to hot chocolate and cookies while we looked at the Christmas tree.  Shiny wrapped gifts sit under its limbs like baby chicks under a Mother Hen.  Nearby the electric fireplace throws heat into the room while giving us the illusion of a fire.  Scented candles send a tantalizing aroma of cinnamon into the room while casting a soft glow on the wall. I gave silent thanks for the loved one surrounding me and the roof over our heads.  Dorothy was right when she said there is no place like home.