Long Forgotten, a blog that should be on your reading list...

When I stumbled across Long Forgotten, I thought it was curious that the author: 

By day a Doctor of Biblical Studies and specialist in The Book of Enoch; by night a tireless investigator of Disney's Haunted Mansion.

Go figure.  Hey, I'm not one to throw stones, I collect skulls and worship Martha Stewart. 


Please don't judge me.


Anyhow, he has made the most definitive blog on Disney's Haunted Mansion since Chef Mayhem's Doombuggies.com (which, if you're not familiar with Doombuggies, stop what you're doing, open another window and go to the link).  What you'll find from Long Forgotten is a plethora of goodies including a rich history, scholarly speculation and  oh-so many wonderful pictures of this beloved place.  


Now, for your viewing pleasure, courtesy of Martins Videos, the absolute BEST and most beautiful HD video of the entire Haunted Mansion ride that has been created so far.  Even better than anything that Disney has produced.  Fair warning, it's about an hour long, but well worth it.  No backstage spoilers but everything as a guest would see if they boarded the ride.


Enjoy!



The Haunted Mansion WDW 2009 HD from Martins Videos on Vimeo.

From the Garden of the Unusual and Temporarily Ruining Your Life

Sorry that I've been rather scarce lately, I have been undergoing one of worst things that a you can go through, something that can and will test your resolve, sanity, marriage and temper...

A kitchen remodel.

But first, a bit of garden fun....
I have a bit of a soft spot for unusual plants...

Red Passion Flower (although a bit out of focus).  This was taken with my iPhone about 8 feet up. This one is the first to bloom, I have 3 other varieties that are all intertwined together.  These are truly more drag queens of the plant world, big, showy, beautiful and over the top!

Corsican Mint...I don't know if it's edible or not but you can pet it and your hand will have a wonderful minty smell.

Anise hyssop, otherwise known as licorice.  Yes, I didn't know it looked so bright, green and cheerful either! Where they got the color black associated with it I'll never know.  It's wonderful in tea, makes you feel a little closer to Hallowe'en.

Patchouli, it has a deeply mysterious, sensual smell that is supposed to make you frisky.  It's a pretty bushy plant that is fun to smell, although I can't attest personally to the frisky part.

Coconut geranium...my favorite.  The leaves don't really smell all that much like coconut but they do remind you of some unusual tropical flower.  Not really all that showy, this plant is a trailer and the leaves are HEAVILY scented and will linger long on your skin if you rub one on you.  I love this plant!  Hint: buy the trailing variety and not the upright one, it smells WAY better and stronger.  

The Flying Dragon citrus or the I will %$#@ you up bush as I call it.  This weird plant is covered with sharp spines on its twisted branches.  It makes an orange fruit (unripe in the picture) that I have heard is inedible and I have heard it is just so sour you can't stand it but not poisonous.   It's really hardy and a fun plant, something that Morticia Addams would prize.  Just don't get near it, the plant WILL win!

I'll spare you the gory details but we went from this....

To this...

Then this...

To this...

I watched my absolute favorite movie today...Julie & Julia.  I caught myself smiling several times throughout the movie and afterwards grabbed Mrs. Macabre's Ipad and ordered Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child.  Yes, I know, I got caught up in the movie (love me some Meryl Streep and Amy Adams!) but even though I ordered the book, don't expect me to make aspic (look it up, it's like meat Jello! BLARG!!!)! 

Bored you enough? Want some Hallowe'eny stuff?  Stick around, I'm going back into the shed tomorrow and start working (had the Hallowe'en dream again last night, I think it's a warning to get my rear in gear).  This kitchen remodel has consumed my life lately, and the horrible stifling heat and humidity we've had.

See y'all real soon!

10 Most Unusual Cemeteries

Don't know if they're all THE most unusual but I'd LOVE to see at least some of these.  Can anyone verify is Stull Cemetery is indeed a portal to Hell?  I thought my bathroom was by the smell but that was before I took a hammer and chisel and Clorox napalm bomb and cleaned the toilet.

Or was that too much information?

Via TopTenz.net

The Dream

I had that stupid dream again.  Not the one where I suddenly find myself naked in the middle of Kmart either (not joking, it's a reoccurring dream of mine), but the one where it's Hallowe'en and I have forgotten to put everything out.  Except this time it has a twist, I put a couple of pitiful props on the front porch and think 'that will do' and then just leave.  These dreams are even more disturbing than the I-can't-find-my-classes-to-take-the-test-but-know-that-I've-already-graduated-years-ago-so-why-am-I-stressing dream!

I do like flying dreams though, although mine are more of a jump and float kind of flying.  I guess when you sleep in a room with over 50 skulls (my skull collection), one should expect some rather peculiar dreams from time to time.

Still haven't figured out the naked in Kmart thing though.