Tuesday, October 28, 2014

A FEW FAVORITE THINGS...






Picture submitted by Tami McConnell


Have you ever been flocked?...

Neither have I, but...

Tami, our daughter, has...




Picture submitted by Tami McConnell


Jake came home around midnight the other night...
and woke up Tami and Tim,
 telling them to come look outside.




Picture submitted by Tami McConnell

When she opened the door
 she thought the whole pink flamingo population had exploded 
all over their front yard.

Tami is the physical education coordinator
 for Main Street Elementary School in Soquel.
  One of her young students and her girl scout troop,
 honored Tami with this surprise.

For a small fee,
 a person can call the company and they will send the birds to brighten up a special recipient's day. 
 They leave them on the property for 48 hours. 
 After that time period, Tami called me to say,
 "Mom, I've been deflocked!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~




Picture submitted by Jake McConnell

This is Jacenda.
  She is our grandson's girlfriend.
  She is such a sweetheart
 and is attending her first year at Santa Clara University.
  She has hopes of becoming a doctor.
  She donated 13 inches of her beautiful hair
 to a breast cancer patient.




Picture submitted by Jake McConnell



Jake and Jacenda
Picture submitted by Jake McConnell

We are so proud of these young people.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~





I looked out the front door the other morning and saw,
 what to me,
 looked like a perfect picture.
  A beautiful piece of nature:
 a fallen autumn leaf, which the wind had purposely set down on my front porch
 and to top it off,
Mother Nature sprinkled it with perfect shining gems of raindrops. 
 The sun was in the perfect spot
 and the little gems were glowing like polished diamonds. 
 What looked so beautiful to my naked eye,
 looked totally different to a full dressed camera lens...





How does that song go?...

"Raindrops on fall leaves
Cat hairs on carpets... ."

That doesn't sound right, does it?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


THERE IS SOMETHING YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT ME...

I am a huge fan of horror movies
 and scary stories
 and I love anything written by
  Stephen King.




American Horror Story - Freak Show
Channel FX
Wednesdays at 10:00 PM
Courtesy of Entertainment Weekly


For some time now, we have been watching American Horror Story.

The show has an interesting premise.
  Each season has a different story line
 in which most of the same actors return as new characters. 
 In the current season,
 which is it's fourth,
 "Freak Show",a group of misfits are part of a circus side-show act
 set in a time when these types of shows were on their way to becoming extinct. 
 The members of the show are being ridiculed and looked down upon 
by the citizens of the town 
just because of who they are and what they look like. 
 They are all members of a troupe
 led by a has-been performer,
 who sees herself as she was in her hey-day.
  She is brilliantly portrayed by Jessica Lange.




Elsa Mars
As portrayed by Jessica Lange
Courtesy of Entertainment Weekly


She believes that she
 and her show
 will all shine 
once again.




Bess and Dot, conjoined twins
As portrayed by Sarah Paulson
Courtesy of Entertainment Weekly


There is Bess and Dot, 
the 'head-liners'
 of the show. 
 One is demure and soft spoken and doesn't want any trouble 
and is happy with the way things are
 and the other is intent on being the only one 
and is argumentative
 and outspoken.




Jimmie Darling, the Lobster Boy
As portrayed by Evan Peters
Courtesy of Entertainment Weekly



A young man billed as Lobster Boy,
 because of his deformed hands. 
 He is full of hope that all of them can be viewed as normal people
 with the same hopes and dreams 
as anyone else.

There are numerous characters with interesting stories,
 played very convincingly by actors
 with excellent abilities.




Ethel Darling, the Bearded Lady
As portrayed by Kathy Bates
Courtesy of Entertainment Weekly



In my opinion,
 the outstanding member of the cast is
 the Bearded Lady,
 played with humility and believability,
 by Kathy Bates.


Now, to my point of telling you this story...




Twisty the Clown
Courtesy of Entertainment Weekly


While the Freak Show is going on,
 there is a presence in the community that is taking place,
 one that has the police going after the freaks
 in a "Sgt. Joe Friday"
sort of way.

Children are missing
 and being held against their will
 and citizens are being killed.
  Only known to us, the viewers,
 a very large and scary clown is responsible
 for all the mayhem that is going on
 and for the reasons the authorities
 are constantly showing up to question and harrass the freaks.

I don't know who plays Twisty the Clown but he is very convincing.
  He is larger that life 
with a mask of giant teeth,
 which we get a sneak peek of him removing,
 to reveal a gaping hole in his face
 where his mouth should be.
  He carries a sack full of juggling pins
 and other out of the ordinary items.

~~~~~


Of course, this show only takes up one night of my life each week.
  The other six nights are spent doing mundane things. 
 While in the process of doing some of these mundane things last week,
 what do you think we spotted walking down the street?...





We turned around and came face to face with...





...perhaps,
 a Grass Valley version 
of our own Freak Show!





The only thing left to fear is our own imagination!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~





Tami, a not-so-scary-but-sleepy clown
 and the Captain
 back in the day.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Have a safe and Happy Halloween
 and as we bid farewell,
 for another year,
 to the Cottage Witch 
and the month of October...





...Judy...


**All photos are my own unless otherwise stated.

***All opinions are my own. 
 I am not being compensated for anything in this writing...
well, the Captain did say he would take me out for ice cream 
if I would hurry up and finish this!





??? Watch for it.


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13 comments:

  1. I never heard of flocking but it seems like a really neat thing to do to (for) someone! So cute! You have a lovely family, Jacenda is a sweetheart for donating her beautiful hair. I grew mine super long for my daughter's wedding so I would have a lot of options for hairstyles. I wanted to donate the 7 inches I had cut off after the wedding but the organization that my nieces gave to didn't accept color treated hair. I understood.

    I don't like horror movies but I do love Stephen King and his books! I like murder mysteries. There is a great murder/mystery/funny show on Saturday nights with Debra Messing from Will & Grace, I can't remember the name but it is really fun to watch. I've never seen American Horror Story but have heard good things and I just love seeing Jessica Lange in the spotlight again.

    Scary clown. As if clowns aren't scary enough!

    Thanks for a great post, Judy. I hope you got your ice cream!

    Jane xx

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  2. The flocking sounds like fun! I sure enjoyed a glimpse of some of your favorites today, you have such a knack at telling a story. Have a happy, spooky, and frightening Halloween! Jane

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Judy,
    I have seen those flocks around town and never knew their origins, so now I do. They are pretty cute, but cuter in a California yard then a Missouri yard if you know what I mean!
    Jacenda is such a cute gal, she looks so young, I thought she was 12 or so.
    Oh wow Judy, you and I have something else in common now! I love horror movies too! The older one's not so much the newer ones though.
    Have a great rest of your week and Happy Haunting!
    Gina

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love the flocking - as I love the flamingo's. I've had to throw away mine as they were looking pretty pitiful. Will have to get more next spring.
    Loved your post - love Halloween, but not the really scary things. Happy Halloween.
    Great pictures.
    Mary

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  5. I should have known you like Stephen King!!! ME TOO! I loved IT! I just saw American Horror Story for the first time last week. It is a train wreck and I could NOT look away. You have done a great description here and I think Kathy Bates steals the show myself. Jessica Lange is very good, too.'

    What kind of camera are you using? Your pictures are phenomenal. xo Diana

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  6. Judy,
    We are kindred souls because I too LOVE scary movies, TV Shows and books. I love Stephen King and the plot of Freak Show almost reminds me of "It". Did you watch season 1 of The Strain on FX? That one had me jumping out of my seat , screaming most times. I also like Bates Motel, Walking Dead, Grimm , the new show Constantine is good.I watch Stephen King's "Under the Dome " and "Haven". I am a huge Sci Fi fan.......
    Have a Happy Halloween!!!

    Hugs,
    Deb

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  7. HI Judy, I love Stephen King too. I have watched American horror Show since it started.
    What a great surprise, flamingos.... Halloween is such a fun holiday. Jacenda is lovely and has sych a beautiful name. Happy Wednesday.

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  8. I love scary movies but Mr. King can get TOO scary sometimes.
    Love the pinks on her lawn...and Jessica and Kathy, too. Both are great actors.
    I also love Halloween...we had so much fun when I was a kid and my mama and Aunt Lillian made it so much for my cousins and I. Nothing whatsoever to worry about back in the 40's and 50's...great time for kids to grow up in.

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  9. Yes, the pink flamingos visited us a couple of years ago.....it cost $100 to be de flocked. LOL!!!
    I am terrified of scary movies....they tend to give me nightmares for many years after. Ironically enough the very first date I ever went on we went to the movies to see Nightmare on Elm Street.
    Happy Halloween!!!
    ~Des

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  10. What a fun post Judy! I loved every bit of it... ok, except for the creepy clown!

    Fall blessings coming your way! Edie Marie

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  11. OH how I loved this post - but I have to admit, I didn't read all the stuff about the tv show - sometimes I tend to have nightmares if I get too involved. Your sweet little sleeping clown was darling though. The flamingos are making their rounds in our city too - but the person who gets flocked then takes them and flocks someone else - no big business involved in this. We've seen them all over town - perhaps there is more than one group running around doing this. I suspect it will slow down now that the rains have started. Happy Halloween!!!

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  12. Hi Judy, what a fun post for Halloween. Love all your pics and your grandson and girlfriends watercolor is beautiful. Love the flamingos. We get around 200 plus kids too. The weather here is still fairly warm and being Friday night, it could be even more. Enjoy and have fun.
    Hugs for a great Halloween night and weekend.
    XOXO

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  13. Hi Judy! Fun post and what a doll your grandson's girlfriend is!
    I have watched all the previous seasons of American Horror Story, but the previews of Freak Show completly unnerved me so I didn't watch. I love Kathy Bates and Jessica Lange and would watch either one of them sit and do nothing and I'd still be mesmerized. It's that rabid looking maniac clown that scares me. Now I'll have to watch it!

    ReplyDelete

Your comments are so special to me...Judy