What else is there to do on a cloudy, windy, cold day in February? When everyone else is thinking about hearts and valentines, my thoughts turn to touring local cemeteries. The older the better, and Houston has some really old ones. Fortunately for me, I am not the only one who enjoys a visit with the dearly departed. My WiVLA sister (That’s the Women in the Visual and Literary Arts for those of you not in the know) and friend, Sabina Gartler is also interested in perambulating amongst the tombstones. This particular picture of Sabina was taken at Founders Memorial Park in downtown Houston. Neither one of us could figure out what was going on with this tree. It was as if it was being eaten from the inside out. Or maybe this is where the local ghosts go inside when it is cold outside. Who’s to say? I don’t judge.
While visiting the Founders Memorial Park, you will find some famous names of those persons who founded this great city. However, I had never heard of the Hogans. Apparently they have some relatives, who are keeping up appearances for their loved ones. I especially like graves with photographs. It appears as if James was a Sheriff at one time. That’s him and his wife in the round photo. After visiting this grave, I almost feel as if I know this family now. I might have to return on major holidays to leave flowers or something. If you want to see what the entire Hogan clan looks like look below:
Another interesting cemetery in Houston is St. Vincent de Paul on Navigation. Here I found St. Michael guarding the grounds.
But enough of the traditional old cemeteries. The rest of the day was spent 
walking around the grounds of the Elder Street Lofts. It used to be an old city cemetery, but all that is left are these two plots . The building itself, which used to be Jefferson Davis Hospital, is now home to artists and creatives. From the front this building looks like any historic building, but when you walk around the back, that is where the artistic flair begins to really show itself.
For instance, there is this nice blue building painted with skulls and surrounded by pink flamingos. I do not know the purpose of the building, but it looks really neat considering it is across the fence from the City of Houston Fire Department Maintenance Depot. There are random pieces of art scattered about in between different small gardens.
Of course. everyone has heard that the Elder Street Lofts is haunted from all of the graves that are buried under the buildings, depots, and streets. I guess that is why there is this circle of tree stumps. This gives the ghosts a nice place to gather at night and catch up on the day’s news. When the City Cemetery first began way back when, it was located on the outskirts of the city. Now it is just to one side of downtown. I hope the ethereal residents have enjoyed watching all the activity.
Sabina and I are planning for further cemetery and art crawls in the future. Haven’t decided where yet.
Until next time.….
It is that time of year again. Think of hearts and loved ones. And skeletons. I don’t know how you celebrate Valentines Day in your household, but in my home all of the skeletons get together to dress up for the occasion. While the original plan included letting them sit on the balcony and enjoy all of the love vibes in the air, the temperatures have dropped below the chilly range.
In the meantime there is peace and harmony in my household. All skeletons remained decorated in their “love” costumes and are warm by cuddling up in the recliner. Hannah, the cat, would get upset about one of her spots being taken over, but she is too comfy sitting on the nice blanket covering the ottoman. I think that means I get to spread out on the couch.
Happy New Year all you dear readers! With Covid still at the top of all news cycles, I actually do have some good news to begin with for my first blog of 2022. You may remember that at the beginning of the pandemic in March of 2020, I had a piece of collage art work that was accepted for exhibition at Rice University. I was thrilled. I was delighted. When everything shut down, I was devastated, disappointed, and forlorn. There was a virtual reception of the art, but there was no public showing.
What’s the rush you ask? This premature display of hearts and flowers is all ready beginning to crop up. It’s just as if Cupid was hiding behind Santa’s sleigh holding on to his bow and arrow just waiting to jump out and start working his love magic. Good grief. By the time Valentine’s Day actually gets here, I am going to be quite sick of all the red and pink decorations. At least I haven’t seen any goofy decorations popping up in my neighborhood.
Contemplating this conundrum and planning my future meeting, I went to the Arboretum to receive some solace from nature; including trees, squirrels, and turtles. I found that solace, but also found a path where apparently the armadillos had enjoyed a dance party the night before. Obviously they hide out during the day to rest up after all of their raucous partying.
Just in case you ever wondered if I have any skeletons in my closet, you now have proof. Here is Skellington hanging out in the back of my closet (and he’s not the only one). Actually he has decided to hang out back there until all the commotion is over. Yes, normally he takes part in all of the commotion that goes on in my life, but he is going to sit this one out for the next couple of weeks.
Now, don’t worry, I am having professionals install the carpeting. They will move large furniture, but all items must be emptied out by yours truly. That means that the carpet layers will move the bookshelves, but I have to remove all of the books in the bookshelves. As you can guess, I have more than one book case.
public library. That’s right. I donated 300 books and I still have plenty to fill the shelves back up when this is all over. Do not judge me. Some people buy crack. I buy books. The kind you can hold in your hands and feel the paper. None of that wimpy eBook nonsense.
Yes, I am very excited about this holiday tradition and have been writing and rewriting what I hope will be a fun story to share. My muse has been busy assisting me on this project. You may recognize this particular character. He was also my Halloween muse and will probably continue in this helpful position as New Year’s muse and Spring muse. As I am sure you know, skeletons aren’t just for Halloween anymore. If I’m really nice to my muse, he has promised that I can wear his hat for the Spooky Christmas zoom.
my favorite hair dresser, Carol Cooley. Ever since the beginning of the pandemic, she has arranges Porch Cuts, which in this case is actually a garage cut. Wherever is fine with me. I’m just glad she is able to work out this arrangement with her clients, because she has quite the dedicated following. For anyone who hasn’t seen me since the pandemic changed everyone’s life, I no longer have bangs. And my hair is going “gorgeously grey” as they say. I feel like I am coming more into my own as my hair gets long and grey. I let it blow in the wind and don’t even try to pretend it’s under control. Such freedom and fun. You can decide for yourself if it’s a good look and tell me your opinions after Spooky Christmas. I promise I won’t change a thing, but will enjoy reading your opinions.
You might think from the looks of this picture, that I went out into nature for a bit of camping. Well, you’d be wrong. Anyone who knows me, knows that I haven’t been camping for decades. At the end of the day I am either at home in my own bed or snuggling down in a hotel room. Preferably a hotel with room service and the little bottles of shampoo and conditioner. Yet, this is a picture taken on a day I spent outside at the Edith Moore Nature Sanctuary. Located way out on the west side of Houston, this was my first visit there. So far out west we were around the area of Memorial Drive and Dairy Ashford. It was decided to go there after a brief trip to the Blue Willow Book Shop. Yes, of course, I bought a few books.
Anyway, after all of my visits at the Houston Arboretum, it was nice to explore some new territory. While strolling through part of the 17 acres, I saw several pumpkins that had been placed on the ground as a snack for any animals who were hungry. I had heard there was supposed to be a shortage of pumpkins this year, but I did not see any proof of it. The orange gourds may have been more expensive, but they were definitely plentiful. And there seem to be plenty left in the stores for Thanksgiving pies.
This past week has been busy and hectic. To add to my hectic nervousness, I must admit I have had some definite mixed messages. Take this first picture for instance. I saw this seemingly contradictory display on one of my neighborhood walks the other day. Are we saying Yes to peace and No to dogs? Is the dog objecting to being told No to what he wanted to do on that particular lawn? Is life more peaceful if one is constipated? Or are we saying No to peace? Maybe No to peaceful skeletons? I usually take walks to relax and feel healthy. After seeing this sight I am just a bit confused. If this makes any sense to you, please share your wisdom with me.
Then I went for another walk, but chose a different neighborhood hoping to avoid any additional confusion. The good news is I wasn’t confused. No, I wasn’t confused at all. However, I was upset. My panties were suddenly tied up in knots. I was discombobulated, disconcerted, frustrated and upset to say the least. This second picture was taken on October 8th. Please let me repeat that, because it is important enough to bear repeating. I took the second picture on October 8th. Apparently someone doesn’t know how to look at a calendar and realize that Christmas comes long after Halloween. Now, I am not a complete scrooge (maybe). I have heard that there are shipping and supply problems this year. Gifts may not arrive in our local stores in time. Rush out now to make sure your Holiday Gift List is complete. All forms of media are strongly suggesting that folks begin their Holiday shopping early, but does that mean the decorations have to come with this?
I was sitting around with some of my friends discussing the state of things. In particular we talked about how we were enjoying our second Halloween in the middle of a global pandemic. Since I now work from home and so many of my friends are skeletons, I am happy to report that we are faring very well during these difficult and quick-changing times.
While walking around the streets of Houston, I notice that I am not the only one focusing on skeletons this year. As a matter of fact, in my neighborhood alone we have quite a gathering of the skeletal critters. I am assuming that they are all being very protective and guarding the neighborhood against and gremlins that would engage in some routine Halloween mischief. I am guessing that while most humans are in bed asleep at night, these friends are gathering together for local neighborhood watch meetings. Also, I am guessing they gossip about the mortals that live in the houses and apartments around here.
