Merry Christmas!
From my home to yours, Merry Christmas.
Holiday Ramblings
How I Brought Poor Old Herb to Life
Wouldn't this make for the most killer tattoo?
Hey kids! Welcome to the second installment in the Poor Old Herb Chronicles. This week I’d planned to write about Herb’s evolution and how he became Poor Old Herb but I honestly cannot remember how I one day looked at a coat rack and saw my own personal Halloween monster. So instead I’ll describe how I put Poor Old Herb together and then next week we’ll move on to how I am building the new Poor Old Herb.
I racked my brains all week and looked through hundreds of photos trying to remember what inspired me to create my own personal Halloween monster and how the coat rack on my parents’ front porch became Poor Old Herb. I honestly don’t remember when he was first born or even how he was first conceived, all I know is I have an overactive imagination and I’ve always loved Halloween. I suppose you can say Poor Old Herb is a cross between the pet I always wanted and a Halloween version of Frosty the Snowman.
I was hoping to find more photos of Poor Old Herb taken during earlier stages of his evolution but it seems these are the only photos in existence. So the evolution of Poor Old Herb has been lost to the ages, which is sort of fitting when we’re talking about Halloween legends.
It’s probably important to note here that when fully built Poor Old Herb was actually taller than I am and that this was the first, last, and only time he stood outside. Poor old Herb’s home was on the front porch; there he stood looking out the front door until we closed up for the night. When he wasn’t watching the world go by from the front door he stood off to the side where the coat rack lived those other 11 months of the year.
I may not remember the why of Poor Old Herb’s creation but I certainly remember the how of his creation. Starting from the top and working our way down
His head was made of a plastic Halloween pumpkin with a hole in the bottom, which fit over top of the top of the coat rack.
His face was a cheap Halloween mask. In later years his eyes were battery-operated blinking eyeballs that I fit into the mask’s eye holes. (pictured here)
His body was my childhood snowsuit zipped around the coats on the coat rack. The red pants you see are actually part of a full snowsuit. I camouflaged his neck with a scarf and in this photo he’s wearing my winter coat.
His hands and arms were a plastic pirate’s hook and one of those arms people used to buy to hang out of the trunks of their cars. (The hook is not in this photo)
For a few years his feet were my father’s olive green galoshes.
Stop back next week to learn more about the creation of the new Poor Old Herb.
Meet Poor Old Herb
Poor Old Herb during his glory days
Hey everybody! I’d like to introduce you to my own personal Halloween monster, Poor Old Herb. In the coming days and weeks I’ll put together a tutorial on how you too can build your very own Halloween Monster.
But for now I’ll leave you with a little history. Herb came to life sometime in the 1980s and came to visit every Halloween until 1997. We were planning my wedding that year and mom thought poor old Herb didn’t quite fit the pre-wedding décor. In hindsight I should have bought him a top hat and let him occupy the front door anyway.
He’s been resting in pieces since Halloween 1996. I think it might be time to resurrect Poor Old Herb. What do you think?
Stop back next week for the evolution of Poor Old Herb and his humble beginnings as a coat rack.
365 Days of Carol Anne
Day 359
I had a beautiful Christmas; surrounded by family I was back among those celebrating at my brother’s house this year. I couldn’t be at Christmas last year. I was fresh out of surgery and my immune system was compromised. This year I am again fresh from surgery but am healing nicely, a bit more slowly than I’d like but healing all the same. It’s been a long 14+ months and it meant the world to me to be cancer free and around the table again this year.
I could not have made it through this journey without the love and support of my family. It was nice to be able to share in this good times this holiday season. To all of you who’ve followed along and offered support and love, thank you. I love you all.
Love,
~ Carol Anne
Photos from the Ghost Hunt (orbs or sensor dust?)
After much planning and one freak October snowstorm we finally made it to our Ghost Hunt tour with the Ghost Tour of Philadelphia people. I was really looking forward to this ghost hunt and was brokenhearted when the weather turned cold, snowy and windy for Saturday. I’m due for surgery soon and the last thing I wanted to do was chance getting sick. When they did not cancel Saturday’s tour I thought we’d end up losing our money but the good folks at Ghost Tour of Philadelphia let us exchange our Saturday tickets for Sunday.
Sunday dawned bright and beautiful albeit a lil chilly but bright and beautiful just the same so off we went to hunt Philly’s oldest ghosts. One of the reasons that I love Philadelphia so much and in particular Old City Philadelphia is because you can feel the souls of the people who came before you walking with you on those cobblestone streets. We met the tour and my brother and sister-in-law in the Signer’s Garden at 5th and Chestnut Street and made our way through the streets of Old City Philadelphia led by our tour guide, Loretta.
We stopped at locations such as Library Hall and the Bishop White House. Ben Franklin’s ghost has been spotted at Library Hall. Well actually Ben’s been sighted lots of places. This is just one of the locations Ben’s ghost has been known to appear. Loretta told us about yellow fever while we stood outside of the Bishop White House. Two more locations included Washington Square Park and The Powell House, where we were actually able to go inside and listen as Loretta told us stories of Benedict Arnold, Major Andre and Peggy Shippen. It was at these two locations where my camera captured something. I believe in ghosts and I’ll share my ghost story with you tomorrow, but I’m not knowledgeable about ghost sightings and orbs and all things paranormal. So I present to you the next four photos and ask for your opinion.
Eternal Flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Washington Square Park, Philadelphia
Note the red orb above the monument on the right and the fainter white orb above the monument on the left
Note the small white orb at the bottom left between the bench and the statue
Washington Square Park is one of the five public parks included in William Penn’s blueprint for Philadelphia. It became a potter’s field and is the last resting place of unknown Revolutionary War soldiers, poor people, and victims of Yellow Fever. There now stands a monument to all the unknown soldiers who died and are buried there. It reads, Freedom is a light for which many men have died in darkness. The square once again serves as a public park and was one of our stops on Sunday night’s Ghost Hunt. We were given 5 minutes to walk through the park and use our EMF meters to scan for ghosts. Our meter did not light up while we were there but when I got home and downloaded my photos onto the laptop I found these two. I don’t know much about orbs or ghosts so I’m not sure if what you’re looking at is sensor dust or orbs. I believe in ghosts so I’m inclined to believe they’re orbs. What do you think? If you actually have some knowledge or ghosts and paranormal I’d love to hear your opinion. Leave me a comment and I’ll e-mail you if you don’t want to go in to detail in the comments.
Staircase at The Powell House, Philadelphia
Please not the yellow-greenish oval-shaped orb, which appears to be moving/vibrating at almost the top of the stairs
The tour guide told us that the staircase and doorways were hubs of activity in this particular house so I waited for everyone to make their way back downstairs when the tour was finished. As everyone else listened to the tour’s conclusion in the foyer I turned around and took a few photos of the staircase. I was amazed when I got home and downloaded both of these photos. I’ve never seen anything like this before. One of the people I showed these two photos to said the orb appeared to be vibrating.
The ghosts of the Marquis de Lafayette and Peggy Shippen (wife of Benedict Arnold) and those of Continental soldiers have been said to have been spotted here. I don’t know much about orbs or ghosts so I’m not sure if what you’re looking at is sensor dust or orbs. I believe in ghosts so I’m inclined to believe they’re orbs. What do you think? If you actually have some knowledge or ghosts and paranormal I’d love to hear your opinion. Leave me a comment and I’ll e-mail you if you don’t want to go in to detail in the comments. I’m particularly interested in what people think of the staircase orbs.