When Good Ghosts Do Bad Things...

Two members of my family were complaining bitterly the other day about teaspoons: they couldn't find one among dozens bought in the last while.

It was then that I spoke of Collin, a ghost hanging around their home. I am familiar with the ghosts of my family's home but I had not seen him before.

I told them to say, "Collin, enough is enough. Give us back our spoons!" The next day, behold, there were all the spoons in the kitchen, dozens of them.

The following day, however, my sister wondered where the cat was. She is an indoor cat and nobody thought to look for her outside. There she was, however, at the front door, scratching to get in. Nobody had opened the doors throughout the day.

Collin is being a pain. However annoying, he is harmless.

O What A Day

I had a pretty good day of readings yesterday. This means that my mother, who comes to babysit, did not drive me completely crazy. She even washed my kitchen floor.

Curiously, a woman who has pestered me for a reading for months--back and forth with rescheduling, etc.--did not show for her appointment. I might have to get tough with people who don't show: Scully suggests that, should someone call to reschedule AFTER having missed an appointment without notice, I should tell the person that the appointment will need to be prepaid.

I think he's right. At the moment, I'm booked far in advance and people wait so long for an appointment that the particular appointment slot yesterday could easily have gone to someone else.

The other appointments--repeats--went really well.

Our living room where, at the moment, I conduct my readings is starting to look normal again since the new sectional sofa arrived.

Amityville Horror (2005)

Add this to my list of movies to see.

I realize that the rumours have been swirling for many years about the authenticity of reports of the family's experiences; however, even if a hoax had occurred, it wouldn't mean that the house isn't haunted.

I found the original movie truly creepy and, trust me, it takes a lot to frighten me.

Article

I've been writing an article for this blog and your patience is much appreciated.

I don't get many opportunities to write or to read these days, but I have been trying to get some done everyday. Thank you, Caillou. Mini-Me loves Caillou and looks forward to a video at 9:00 a.m. each day. Her naps have all but disappeared.

Leaping Up or Forward

Another radio show on Sunday. I guess it went pretty well: people mostly asked about recovering lost jewellery. I was approached by another radio host to do another show on another station.

I wasn't myself. I think that when I have been away from reading and writing, my equilibrium is disturbed. I need books. I need to write.

I have been working steadily on my house, a house that, according to an acquaintance "looks like a psychic should live here". I think that was a compliment.

The house is not ancient (1920) but it is surrounded by original terraces of moss-covered stone. The enclosed porch spans the entire width of our large house and the backyard stretches for one quarter of an acre. The original carriage house at the back would have accommodated perfectly a 1920's car but it is used largely as a shed by us.

I hope that, by now, your eyes have not glazed over due to boredom and that you will permit me one further indulgence: a brief discussion of how I decorated the front porch: vintage lace and linen, old wicker and wrought iron, ferns with other lush plants. I can't help it: the messier and more rustic, the better.

I hope to read and write out there -- during Mini-Me's naps -- this spring/summer.

Ghosts / Calls Waiting

Yesterday felt like the longest day that I'd had in a while.

My father-in-law called to see if I needed any help.

"You sure do have a lot on your hands. A sick husband, a baby..."

"Don't forget a business. I have a business, too."

(He laughed sympathetically.)

"If you need any help, just give us a call."

I need a bath, I thought. And a walk.

With a baby into everything and throwing tantrums and toilet training, returning calls requesting appointments was difficult and fraught with obstacles. I did manage to book several appointments. (This is actually a daily reality.)

Sleep is restless. Ghost dreams alternate with parental-anxiety dreams. Lately, when a ghost tries to communicate this way, I feel like saying, "Just leave a message and I'll get back to you."

As For Myself, Restless

Oft have I seen a timely-parted ghost...
(Shakespeare, The Second Part of King Henry the Sixth, Act III, Scene II, line 169)

My ghost dreams last night were pretty intense.

There were hundreds, all at once, marching through the streets. I got the impression that they had all died at the same time, in the same tragedy. They were protesting something but I woke before I could discern what it was.

I told a woman, also a ghost, about those that I had seen marching. She was so preoccupied with the contents and state of her last life that she would not listen to me.

Frustrated, with a sense that I could not accomplish what I was supposed to have done, all the while being absorbed in this latter ghost's activities, I woke.

Oftentimes, the psychic don't get to rest even when they sleep...

Capturing Castles

From Miscellanea & Ephemera blog:

Jeesh, I have been away for quite some time. I have been working on some reviews that I hope to post soon. Otherwise, there's not much to tell you.

I confess to having bought some really good books lately, some vintage and others new. (Said items bought in defiance of a moratorium and said moratorium was issued by yours truly. Well, I'm changeable.)

Most recently, I bought I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith, published 1948. (Dodie Smith also authored 101 Dalmations). It's a book that I have been considering for quite some time (every Monday, actually, at the local store). What finally convinced me to take the leap was finding a movie based on the novel. Now, I'm intrigued.

Now, not only have I not read the novel, I also haven't seen the movie. I will have to come back to this. Soon.