RECYCLE YOUR CHRISTMAS TREE

It takes years for anything, even organic things like Christmas trees, to breakdown in a landfill. Tree recyclers turn trees into wood chips, which can be used to help prevent erosion on beaches and hiking trails.

Some municipalities handle the recycling - all you have to do is leave your tree at the curb. Below is a list of some local recycling programs or click here to find a recycling program in your area. If you can’t find information about a recycling program in your area, check with the company handles your garbage disposal and recycling.

HOW & WHERE
Mecklenburg County Foxhole Recycling Center 704-341-4962
17131 Lancaster Highway CHARLOTTE, NC 28277
Service limited to residents of MECKLENBURG COUNTY
http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/LUESA/Solid+Waste/Recycling+Drop+Off+Centers/nmeck.htm

Curb It! Curbside Recycling Program 704-336-2673
CHARLOTTE, NC 28202
Service limited to residents of CHARLOTTE
http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/Solid+Waste/CurbIt/Recycling/Home.htm

Mecklenburg County Hickory Grove Recycling Center 704-535-3781
8007 Pence Road CHARLOTTE, NC 28202
Service limited to residents of MECKLENBURG COUNTY
http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/LUESA/Solid+Waste/Recycling+Drop+Off+Centers/nmeck.htm

York County Drop-off Site 803-628-3195
Odgen Road ROCK HILL, SC 29730
SOUTH CAROLINA

City of Rock Hill Curbside Program 803-329-5539
ROCK HILL, SC 29731
Service limited to residents of ROCK HILL

YOU CAN RECYCLE ALMOST ANYTHING
So you got a new TV, computer, or cell phone for Christmas and need to get rid of the old one? Click here to find out how to recycle the old one and just about anything else!

inspired by an article on idealbite.com

PFC Lemberger, Holidays and Pottery

It's a gloomy Sunday. I'm happy for the rain (my big cypress trees really need it). I don't plan on doing anything today but watch football; it's been a busy few days and I'm ready for a rest.

We went to Parris Island for Tiffany's graduation from USMC boot camp. I'm glad we were able to go, it was great to see Tiff for the first time in months. She was so grown up in her uniform. We got to visit with Tiff and her fellow Marine, Brittany, for about 6 hours on Thursday (Family Day). Tiffany and Brittany seem like unlikely names for Marines, don't they? The night before graduation was sort of a free night for them, so Tiff bought about $20 of candy and chocolate. I guess when you've been deprived that long you want to make sure you don't run out.

Unfortunately, the graduation ceremony was held indoors due to rain so we didn't get to see the pass in review on the parade deck. It was a moving ceremony nonetheless. We're very proud of Tiffany and are impressed at her discipline, fortitude and ability to get the job done.

We had a gathering of the Smith family last night at Penny's house. It was part graduation/welcome home party for Tiffany and part holiday party. As usual, there was a constant roar of noise to accompany the low-grade chaos. It was great to see everyone, even if it was only for a short while. The kids were adorable of course.

Tiffany has worn her uniform EVERYWHERE since getting home. I guess it's true what they say, those Marines are PROUD. She got up early this morning and ran 3 miles. I told her I don't even want to drive 3 miles before 8am. Here’s a pic of PFC Lemberger at Parris Island:

My brother-in-law (from New Orleans) and his crew are coming for a short visit today. It will be good to see them and visit for a while.

I was very happy to finish my mom's home movies. It's been a huge project and has taken far too long. I've been working on it for about 2 years. YIKES. We had some computer issues which delayed things (in addition to the usual procrastination, I guess). I transferred all of her old VHS tapes to DVD. I catalogued all of the video, added menus and did some editing. Mom’s movies made 10 DVD’s, plus I gave her a movie of my Aunt Willie’s pictures. Definitely a big job. Glad it's finally done. I hope the next BIG video project we do will be our own home movies (which was the reason we got into this video thing to begin with). I made a little box to put the disc in. I cracked myself up with the box set thing. Here’s my label:

I've been a little out of sorts lately. Cranky maybe? Distracted? Not sure what to call it. Maybe it's the busy schedule, noise, chaos, driving, etc. Maybe its work related. Or maybe I'm missing pottery. I haven't thrown anything in weeks. My next class starts in about a month. I can't wait. I'll be taking Ron Philbeck's class for the first time.

I don't want the holiday to be over, but I'm anxious for Xmas to come. I'm like a little kid - I can't wait for Debi and the kids to open their gifts. Luckily, Debi has more will power than me, so when I suggested today that she open a gift or two, she was able to resist. If it were up to me, I'm sure we'd have no gifts to open on Xmas day. The most fun part OF COURSE is seeing the kids' excitement on Xmas morning. I'm sure I'll be posting pictures of that (if I have the presence of mind to take some pics).

Speaking of gifts, I've been pretty happy with our holiday projects. Most of the gifts we gave this year were handmade by us. I love the idea of handmade gifts. It's so much more personal and meaningful; I have really enjoyed the entire process. I've already started thinking about what we might do next year.

Hope you all have a wonderful holiday!

Fruitcake

Fins Win!!

Pottery Hobbyist

In the course of posting a comment on Jen's blog I referred to myself as a pottery hobbyist.

I don't really like the sound of "pottery hobbyist," is there another name for what it is that I do with pottery? Junior potter? Potter-in-training? Potter apprentice? Hack? LOL.

Expectations

I was traveling at the time; I lived in airports and hotels. I had developed that jaded outlook on traveling that many frequent travelers have – avoiding eye contact (and thus conversation) with your fellow travelers because you don’t want to get drawn into a mind-numbingly boring conversation with someone whose passion in life is collecting vintage bottle caps.

After a long day of training at hotel in Arizona I went to the hotel bar for a beer. I was happy to see that the place was deserted and that the bartender was not one of those chatty types who wanted to play twenty questions. I could enjoy my novel in peace and quiet.

To my chagrin, a vintage bottle cap collector came in and sat down next to me and started yapping endlessly. I was about to escape to my room when an older couple came into the bar.

I noticed them immediately. They looked to be in their early sixties; very fit & energetic. I was somehow drawn to them. I found myself tuning the bottle cap collector out and watching this couple. I don’t make a habit of gawking at strangers, but they exuded an energy that was magnetic.

I KNEW these were the two happiest people in the world.

It was odd… how could I be so sure of something I had no way of knowing? There was no logic behind it, just a gut feeling. I couldn’t contain my curiosity – I had to talk to them.

Exactly how does one strike up a conversation with a couple in a bar without seeming like a weirdo? I couldn’t think of a good way, so I simply walked up and said something like: “Excuse me. I know this is going to sound strange, but I noticed you the minute you walked in and I couldn’t help feeling that that you are the two happiest people I have ever seen.”

They laughed. Not the nervous laugh of two people trying to pacify a lunatic, but an “oh, we get that all the time,” laugh. We introduced ourselves; their names were Jan and Dan.

They proceeded to tell their story. They’d been married to each other for 3 years. Both were married before and widowed. They’d led reasonably happy lives before meeting each other & neither was looking to get involved in a relationship when they met.

They met on an airplane. They had both stayed out late with friends the night before and were hoping to rest on the flight home. When Dan took the seat next to Jan, she cringed. She said to the stranger, “I hope you won’t think me rude, but I’m not feeling up to having a conversation and would like to just nap during the flight.” Relieved, Dan responded “Oh thank goodness, me too.”

That was the beginning of a conversation that lasted for the duration of the flight. As they gathered their things to disembark, Dan nervously asked Jan if they could meet again sometime. Jan agreed and they exchanged phone numbers.

By this time, a couple other people had joined us at the bar. Their story and their telling of it entranced everyone, including the bartender.

After several months of enjoying each other’s company as friends they realized they were madly in love and were married. During the short time that they’d been together they had many adventures and lived every day to its fullest.

Dan talked about how they accepted each other completely. Jan talked about the openness and genuine affection they shared. My original assessment was confirmed, they really were the happiest couple I’d ever met. I thought this was some powerful kind of magic. I asked them their secret for happiness.

Jan leaned back in her chair while she pondered the question. Finally with a far-away & thoughtful look, she said, “expectations will be the ruination of the world.”

Aside from my fascination with the word “ruination,” it had an immediate impact on me. The more I thought about it, the more truth and meaning I found in that one little statement. When I reviewed my life, I found that most of my disappointments came as a result of having unfair or unrealistic expectations of those around me. Jan and Dan were right… expectations will be the ruination of the world.

I also learned that it sometimes pays to talk to strangers when traveling.

Random acts of (coffee) kindness

POMPANO BEACH, Fla. -- A customer in a South Florida drive-through paid the bill for the customer behind him on Thursday, and the chain continued throughout the day.

Drivers at a Starbucks Coffee in Pompano Beach paid for drinks for the people behind them all day long.

"Your drink has been paid for by the driver in front of you," a Starbucks barista told a customer.

The barista said she had one woman convinced that they were on the TV show "Candid Camera."

It all started with one customer's gesture of paying it forward.

"I think it's awesome," one customer said. "Spreads a lot of Christmas cheer."

The manager at the Starbucks said the idea has made his work atmosphere cheerful all day.

"Every customer that comes through the drive-through has been smiling and saying, 'You made my day.'"

However, the chain of kindness started with anger. Arthur Rosenfeld said the man behind him at the drive-through on Thursday morning was honking and yelling at him. So Rosenfeld, a Tai-Chi master, responded with a bit of Zen.

"It wasn't an idea to pay anything forward, nor was it even a random act of kindness, it was a change of consciousness (to) take this negative and change it into something positive," he said.

Here's a link to the original article: http://www.knbc.com/news/14856317/detail.html

Why we do what we do

In the course of our careers, I’m sure that all of us have wondered whether or not we are making a difference… doing something important and meaningful. The answer is YES.

Most of our customers require nothing more from us other than the product or service that they are purchasing. Occasionally though, we encounter a customer who needs a little extra attention.

One of our Spa Coordinators, Whitney, encountered such a customer on Saturday. Whitney received a phone call from a customer (we’ll call her Mrs. Bailey) who wanted to schedule a day in the spa. To an inattentive person this might have seemed like an ordinary call, but Whitney knew there was something special about this customer.

Mrs. Bailey told Whitney that she is a fourth grade teacher and has a big parent/teacher event coming up and that she wants "to feel like a princess." Whitney asked questions and explained the available services to help the customer determine her itinerary for the day.

Mrs. Bailey opened up to Whitney and told her, with great sadness, that her husband of many years had recently passed away. Whitney listened with compassion and could tell that Mrs. Bailey was still grieving.

In the year since her husband’s passing, Mrs. Bailey had let herself go. She hadn’t noticed or cared until, shortly after Halloween, she overheard one of her pupils say that she looked like a witch. She realized it was time to shake things up.

Whitney asked what kind of budget she had planned for her makeover; she replied that she was not concerned with the price because "this was a present to herself that is long overdo." Whitney filled a whole sheet of paper with notes, from medical issues to how many inches her roots had grown out. Together they planned an entire day of pampering that included a Swedish massage with targeted stone therapy, a hydrating facial, brow/lip/chin waxing, lunch, and finally a designer cut and color.

Mrs. Bailey’s story had touched Whitney’s heart. She told her co-workers and her boss, Bill, about Mrs. Bailey. Bill made everyone aware that Mrs. Bailey was to be given the VIP treatment when she arrived as well as a special gift from the Spa.

Unfortunately, Whitney was not able to be here when Mrs. Bailey came for her treatments, but Jessica and the other Spa staff members took great care of her. At the end of her day of pampering, Mrs. Bailey commented that she was completely relaxed and satisfied. She said that it was a great experience and raved about how wonderfully Whitney and the others had treated her.

She loved her thoughtful gift and bought some meditation CD’s to help her maintain this newly achieved level of serenity. Before leaving she told Jessica that this was her first wedding anniversary since her husband’s passing; they would have been married 38 years. She said that she is going to return to the Spa every year on her anniversary for a special day of relaxation and meditation.

We’re not feeding starving children or rescuing wildlife from an oil spill, but the work we do is meaningful. We can make a difference when we listen and care.

Visit with Santa

Amelia's holiday masterpiece

Isabel's holiday masterpiece

Tom Petty at the Superbowl

Tom Petty is doing the half-time show at the Superbowl this year. How cool is that?

Click here to read the Rolling Stones interview with TP.

Click here to see the Youtube videos.

Artist

Santa at Glencairn Gardens

On Saturday we went to Glencairn Gardens where Santa read a couple of books to the crowd. He treated us to a reading of Rudolph (the book is longer than the classic TV special it seems) and Frosty. It was a beautiful day for stories in a park.

Coincidentally, we met up with the Wheless family. The kids had a great time; they especially enjoyed the cookies & hot chocolate. Santa was in good spirits and looked great, but he had a bit more of a southern drawl than I recall. I guess Santa's been spending time at his summer home in the South Pole.

On searching for higher meaning...

Sure, I have doubts about the path I'm on and the choices I've made, but it is what it is. A friend sent me this quote...

"Sit down on the pillow of your own good life and be still. Stop searching, demanding, aching, casting about."

Good advice I think.

Turtle at computer

Debi was reading Amelia her bedtime book, when Amelia saw this picture she shouted "turtle on a computer!"
It's kinda like my computer at work.

Sign of the times

Are you annoyed by signs with unnecessary quotation marks? If so, you will enjoy perusing some of the ridiculous stuff on this blog: http://quotation-marks.blogspot.com/.

And I'm sure I'll go to hell for this one: http://crummychurchsigns.blogspot.com/

I'm no artist

I was drawing with the kids the other day and I drew some pots I'd like to make:
Yeah, yeah... I'm no artist. I know. But the kids thought they were artistic masterpieces.

I've never tried a pitcher, but if/when I do, this is what I'd like to make (coincidentally, it looks a lot like a pitcher that Debi and I bought in Ireland on our honeymoon). The mug I've kinda made, but haven't quite perfected; I'm not sure the form is one that really floats my boat though. The bowl is similiar to the last bowls I made (except for the surface decorantion); I really like the shape.

I also drew a wicked cool duck-dragon. The kids thought it was very funny. It wasn't supposed to be a duck-dragon and it wasn't supposed to be funny, but hey, I'll take a laugh anyway I can get it.

Why parents are sappy...

What started as a diversion has now become a family tradition. It was the first year that my wife and I were decorating the Christmas tree with our 2-year old daughter, Isabel. She was racing around the room in excitement, knocking things over and stepping on lights. We realized we needed to distract her, so I asked her to help me unpack our special ornaments. As we unwrapped each one, I told Isabel that ornament’s story. Surprisingly, she listened intently as I talked about the special memory associated with each one. She loved every ornament more than the one before. We finished decorating the tree then it was bedtime for Isabel. I gave her a hug & kiss and said goodnight and she went off to bed with Mommy. Halfway down the hall, she stopped, slipped her hand out of Debi’s and ran back to the living room. She stood on her tiptoes and gave me a kiss on the cheek and said “thank you for all my presents Daddy!”

Semper Fi

We just heard from my niece Tiffany, she is in Marine boot camp and doing quite well. She had a rough start but is definitely in the groove now. She’ll be graduating in about 3 weeks, so she will get to be home for Xmas! I’m very proud of her – boot camp is no walk in the park. It’s an experience that definitely puts you in touch with who you are (I bet a lot of people in rehab or therapy could benefit from a couple of months in boot camp).

Thanksgiving & Pickles

We had a great Thanksgiving at the Lemberger house. Val & Steve were there. Everyone contributed to the good eats and boy, were they good. It was the perfect low-key, peaceful holiday gathering. It was a good day for visiting, eating and football.

On Friday, Debi, Penny and I went to a bunch of arts/crafts sales in the area. It wasn’t exactly what I was expecting. I was thinking it was going to be more about art and less about crafts. There were at least one or two potters at each sale and enough other art to make it interesting. It was a nice enough day - chilly (the kind of chilly that makes you really enjoy a cup of hot coffee) and a little hazy. It had an almost otherworldly feel. Although it wasn’t quite what I was expecting, it was still fun and a good way to pass a day with family.

Debi and I strong-armed one little old lady into buying one of Jen’s pots at Sandy’s sale. Well, we didn’t actually force her – she really wanted it but just needed some help rationalizing the purchase. We were happy to oblige.

I bought an old magazine about the opening of Disney World (1971) for Isabel, an old needlepoint picture of a turtle for Amelia (she’s big into turtles), and a jar of homemade chow chow for my momma.

Debi bought a jar of homemade pickles that she just keeps going on about. She says they’re just like her Mimi’s homemade pickles. After she got them home and tasted them, she told me that she had a feeling about the grandma who was selling the pickles. She just KNEW they were going to be good pickles. Well, I guess they were good pickles because she ate the entire jar in less than 24 hours. WOW. Good lord, she’s got a pickle addiction. She actually got the lady’s phone # so she could get another fix. Next thing you know, she’ll be buying pickles in dirty back rooms of bingo parlors from little old ladies across the county. If she gets too bad we’ll have to do an intervention and lock her up in a cucumber-free facility. I hope it doesn’t come to that.

Clayworks Holiday Sale

Joey's Birthday

A couple of weeks ago we helped our friend Joey celebrate his 40th birthday. The big 4-0. Jen actually put 40 candles on the cake; it was ablaze. It took Joey and 4 little girls to blow it out.

jeff martin tumblers

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendID=140737955

Here are the tumblers we bought at the CPF. Este Libre (aka, I am a book) is the one I picked; Debi picked the Namaste tumbler.

Este Libre is Spanish for Be Free

Namaste is an ancient Sanskrit blessing:
I honor the place in you where Spirit lives. I honor the place in you which is of Love, of Truth, of Light, of Peace; when you are in that place in you, and I am in that place in me, then we are One.

Sanskrit is one efficient language.

Marjorie Hawthorne plate

This is the plate we bought at CPF. Maybe someday Debi will let me use it.

Carolina Pottery Festival (CPF)

Debi and I went to CPF last weekend in Shelby with friends Valerie and Mary Anna. That is one big pottery festival -- I couldn't believe how many people there were (potters and customers). I saw a bunch of pots that inspired some thoughts about things I might like to try and there was such variety in the work I saw there.

Most of my favorites that I saw there are the potters I already know: Ron Philbeck, Julie Wiggins, Adrienne Dellinger, Corine Guseman & Hal Dedmond. In my opinion, Ron's booth should have gotten the 'best in show' award - it had great feng shui and flow, unlike many of the booths I tried to squeeze into.

A new favorite potter that I found is Jeff Martin (Boone). I bought one of his tumblers (I'll try to remember to post a picture later). His work was striking (sgraffito in black & white, with a small splash of red). Jeff's tumbler is my new favorite drinking vessel. Debi and Val bought tumblers too.

Debi bought a dinner plate from Marjorie Hawthorne (Gaffney). She came close to buying at least 3 other plates before we made it to Marjorie's booth. I'm glad she waited... when she showed me Marjorie's plate, I knew it was the plate for us. I think it's a nice plate, but I don't know for sure, because Debi hasn't let me use it yet.

I got to see Rust Pottery (Gastonia, Fred & Debbie Rust) again. They have this one glaze that I fell in love with the first time I saw it. Debbie said the glaze was called pussy willow (266 on a dark clay body). It's a sort of grayish brown with a silky smooth matte finish. Unfortunately, the only piece they had left with the pussy willow glaze was a large planter, so we didn't get anything from them. We'll definitely be looking for them at the sales this weekend.

Goodall Pottery (Charlotte, Babs & Greg Goodall) had some interesting pieces. Debi and I were both very curious about their trumpet flower hose guards. I thought they were funky, upside-down candleholders at first. Hose guards - who knew?? I also really liked Babs’ cowboy plates.

Valerie liked Ray Pottery’s (Seagrove) work a lot. Their glassy red glazes were very striking & made their work stand out quite a bit. She would have bought a piece but couldn't get close enough!

Tom Seelos (Marietta, GA) had some interesting carved pieces. A lot of luminary-type pots that were very intricately carved. Looks like it would be a lot of work.

Valerie liked Skunk Hollow Pottery’s (Campobello, SC, Arthur and Debbie Chapman) incense burners.

I enjoyed Center Point Clay Studio’s (Asheville, Kathie Kline) blue/brown glaze combination. They also had some nice big mugs.

Valerie bought a fun piece from Gardner’s Dirty Dog Pottery (Morganton, NC, Betty L. Gardner) for a gift.

We bought a sort of art deco cat sculpture for Isabel from Connie’s Clay Creations (Candler, NC, Connie Bennett). We bought Amelia a turtle at the Barn Sale, so we go the cat for Isabel. Both the turtle and the cat have both been repaired a couple of times. I actually made a back-up cat and turtle for when they are busted beyond repair.

Debi loved Hog Hill Pottery’s (Vale, NC, Scottie Fox & John H. Post) semi-circlular vase. I thought they were weird looking. But then again, vases are not really my thing. They had some kaleidoscopes that were way cool. I’ve loved kaleidoscopes since I was a kid; combining them with pottery is a winning combination for me. Their Angel candlesticks caught our eye too. You knew they were angels, but they were subtle.

Val bought a bird feeder from Anne B. Thompson. Anne’s mom really loved my “Make Pots, Not War” t-shirt. We chatted a bit while Val was making her purchase and decided that George Bush’s time would be better spent taking pottery classes and that we’d take up a collection for his tuition. Wishful thinking. I liked Anne’s logo:

It seems we saw a lot of potters who had horsehair raku pieces. It’s funny how you don’t see a particular form or style for a long time and then it seems to be everywhere.

Anyway, it was a good pottery day and a fun afternoon with some friends. Thanks a million to Jen & Joey for watching the kids!

A short book by Isabel

I’ve been trying to figure out what to submit for the “I am thankful for…” feature on my company’s intranet. Of course, I am thankful for my family, my health and that George Bush can’t run for re-election, but I wanted to submit something different… maybe a multi-media representation of the things in my life that are important, maybe something poetic or artsy, maybe something that tugs at the heartstrings or possibly something funny.

Saturday night, one of my beautiful little girls wrote a book. This is not Isabel’s first book; no, she is a prolific author. But this is my favorite book to date. She wrote this book completely unprompted; she was simply entertaining herself with some crayons and paper while the adults were talking. When she read the book to us, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

When you read my little girl’s book you will know what I am thankful for.

Halloween 2007

We love our kids and we love taking pictures of our kids. Below are just a few of our Halloween adventures. Click here to view more photos of the hallowed eve.

I'm not a big Halloween lover, but I can get into the spirit (pardon the pun) of things and we did have a fine time. Amelia wore her costumes (sans red sparkly boots) to dance class and I have to say that she really has the superhero stance down pat. Isabel was a fine Little Red Riding Hood.

The kids had a great time and we had quite the crowd of trick-or-treaters at our house. Thanks to Aunt Penny and Uncle Marky for manning the candy bowl while we went trick-or-treating.

It was a good time and a relatively uneventful night except that there was some nutbag on the street scaring people with a real chain saw.

Oh, the first picture is one of Amelia playing with my costume (our next president).

Halloween Masks

Having trouble pulling together a halloween costume at the last minute? Click here for some very scary masks that you can print from Forbes.com.

Can a klutz be a potter?

I was busy with other things (trimming, glazing, etc) in pottery class last week & didn't get to throw anything, so I went in on Saturday morning to throw some bowls. My "assignment" from Julie was to throw some bowls that were uniform in size and shape. I laughed out loud and then said of course, I'll give it a shot.

So I did. My results were not great. So here are my excuses: I was working with a new clay, which seemed quite different to work with. Julie said I was ready to upgrade from the recycled clay. Oddly I felt less pressure with the good ole' recycled clay. My other excuse is that I was working in different room. The kids’ class was in the room where I usually work so I couldn't use my favorite wheel. Apparently the combination of the new clay and a different room & wheel completely threw off my mojo.

I glazed some stuff and threw two bowls in class last night. I tried a different shape. They were interesting, but still not great. Someone else was using my wheel, so I had to use a different wheel again. And that new clay was still giving me trouble.

I am not usually a person who resists change. As a rule I embrace it. Apparently that does not apply to pottery.

I wonder if it matters that I am a completely uncoordinated, confused-ambidextrous klutz? Can a klutz be a potter?

Pottery is so different from anything else I've ever done. All of my jobs have involved processes, analysis and quantifiable results with measurable timetables. I have had my creative tendencies through the years, but the analytical part of me has kept a pretty tight rein on the creative part apparently.

So I find myself getting frustrated with pottery at times. I don't know if I'm really getting it. I don't know if I'm wasting my time. If someone would just tell me, it will take XX months for you to really get the hang of it... that would be great. I know it doesn't work that way, but I want it to.

I guess I just hate being so completely new and inept at something. I suppose it's probably good to try new things as you get older - you know, keep the mind fresh and all that.

Ghost Story

A co-worker was put in charge of collecting ghost stories to post on our new intranet. Part of our building was built in 1998 and the rest in 2001. There has long been talk that the "old" part of the building was haunted. For about 5 years, my office was in the old part of the building. I never saw or heard anything and I'm not particularly fond of ghost stories. But I felt bad for the chick in charge of this project b/c she hadn't received any stories, so I zipped one off. Certainly not a literary masterpiece, but I cracked myself up at least with the sort of cheesey, retro style of the story. Anyway, here it is:

I was working in my office late one night on the second floor of the clubhouse -- the OLD part of the building, the part that dates all the way back to ’98. Back to a time when people lived by different rules. Some say the putting green was a native burial ground, some say the pond by the 18th hole was used for dunking suspected witches in the witch trials, some say it was the sight of a bloody Civil War battle where countless young men lost their lives battling their own brothers.

At first I did not believe. I was a skeptic. The fact that no one wanted that nice big, comfy office should have been a clue. But I was too arrogant to notice; I thought Lady Luck was looking out for me. Well, someone was watching me… but it wasn’t Lady Luck. I never admitted it until that night, but I always felt it. And at times I would hear things. I would hear a creak, or a scritch, or a hissing. Sometimes the sounds would get to be too much and I would call Engineering to check it out but they never found anything wrong. They told me the creak was just an old building settling; the scritch, they said, was the magnolia tree blowing in the wind against the building; and they told me the hissing was defective speaker in the a/v system.

All that awful wailing and screeching… they told me THAT was the air conditioning unit. I forced myself to buy into all of their excuses. The fact that the Engineers would never stay for more than two minutes and would ALWAYS come in pairs should have clued me in. But no, I still didn’t believe.

There were other strange things as well. The eyes on that painting. You know the one -- the painting of the young lad dressed in blue knickers. If you’ve ever seen it, especially at night -- you know what I’m talking about. Those eyes. No matter where you went, those eyes were always boring into your soul.

Don’t forget about all the things that went missing… I’m not really comfortable going into any detail, but there were things, big things that disappeared from that second floor accounting office.

But I digress… I was working late. It was dark & cold outside. It was common for me to use the stairs outside on the east side of the clubhouse when leaving, especially at night when there were no golfers. Before putting on my coat and grabbing my keys, I went to the exit door to check the iron gate at the bottom of the stairs. It was usually unlocked, but I didn’t want to chance it. I was squinting in the darkness to see, when I felt a sudden push from behind! I nearly went over the railing, but I grabbed on just in time. I was going to have a nasty bump on my forehead the next day though. I wasn’t sure what to think. I was a little creeped out but tried to convince myself I had just slipped on a piece of paper or something.

I tried the door. It was shut tight and locked from the inside. I was contemplating what to do next. I was wishing I had just brought my coat and keys with me -- I could have just gone straight to my car. All those stories I’d heard about what went on here years and years ago were stirring in my mind.

I would have to use the house phone in the clubhouse lobby and wait for FLS to come unlock my office. Why was there no light in the stairwell anyway?? I shivered in the cold and started to make my way down the stairs in the dark when I heard the metal gate clang shut a half a floor below me. I started to panic. I called out, “Hello??!!” No answer. I was practically running down the stairs when I felt that same push from behind again. I heard what sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard; I saw a flash of amber-colored light, then blackness.

I awoke some time later. Looking at my watch, I realized an hour had gone by. “Wow,” I thought, “this side of the clubhouse is really deserted in the winter after dark.” No one noticed me lying there on the ground at the foot of the stairs for over an hour. I was a still feeling a bit woozy as I pulled myself up on the handrail. I wanted to get the heck out of there. As I was making a beeline for my car, I reached into my coat pocket to make sure my car keys were there.

Uh, hold on… I didn’t have my coat and my keys when I got locked out of the building.

I have no idea what happened that night, but I can tell you that I stay out of the clubhouse at night.

The Office Re-Cut (HILARIOUS)

Halloween Decorations

I'm not big on Halloween. Never have been. Debi wanted some decorations. After my company's fall festival, there were hay & mums & such that were going to be tossed. I brought the stuff home and tossed it in the front yard & threw the kids' pumpkins on the pile. She seems to think its some sort of masterpiece. ??? Anyway, here it is:

Even Adults Can Catch On Fire

Yesterday Amelia went on a field trip to the fire station. She was recounting the trip over breakfast this morning. She told us you have to "get low and go" if there's a fire, so I asked: "why should I get low and go?" Isabel jumped in (as big sisters do) and said "because even adults can catch on fire." What more can you say about that?

Mugs

Went to pottery class last night & picked up my finished mugs. I made a variety of sizes and shapes... still looking for one that speaks to me. Anyway, I promised I would post some pictures of some of my pots so here they are; I'm including a sample of each of the glaze combinations I tried.