Patterns

My stepfather doesn't have much to do during the day. He shuffles from one end of the house to the other, puffing on his cigarette.

Shuffle, shuffle, shuffle. Puff. Puff.
Shuffle, shuffle, shuffle. Puff. Puff.
Shuffle, shuffle, shuffle. Puff. Puff.

I remember it well from the days when I lived at my parents' home. My sister still lives there; she also doesn't have much to do during the day.

"It drives me nuts!" she yelled down the phone to me this morning. "Shuffle, shuffle, shuffle. Puff. Puff. Shuffle, shuffle, shuffle. Puff. Puff. Oh my gawd, I'm going insane!"

"You know, he's going to do that when he's a ghost, too.".

Peals of laughter. It broke up my sister's mood. I actually meant it seriously.

Fear and Ambivalence

This morning, my sister informed me that she had stayed up last night and was feeling sick from sleep deprivation.

"Why the hell did you stay up?" I ask with my normal sisterly concern.

"I kept listening to the fridge door opening, to the sound of juice being poured into a glass and to the fridge door closing."

"Oh, don't be silly!" I scold her. "That was just Grandma!"

"I know. Still, it really freaked me out. Everyone else was asleep."

You might have detected just a hint of impatience in that conversation. My family is no stranger to ghosts or to paranormal phenomena and my sister knows that she needn't be afraid. Besides, I was still sleepy.

Ah, forgive me. It has been a long time since my last confession...er, I meant post.

Things have been at once pretty busy and quiet.

My reading schedule is heavy but manageable (I hope) and I'm now booking into March. I can't forget about my 'writing vacation' that take place throughout the month of January. Everyone needs a break, right? I'm overdue for one which is probably the reason behind my slow-to-post-here behaviour.

Interestingly, I've discovered that I have referrals from a local police department. This shocks me and, yet, it doesn't.

More About Ollie

While getting changed today, Gigi knocked on the bathroom wall.

"Knock, knock." she said. "Ollie!"

I asked her why she was knocking on the wall. "Ollie," she replied.

"Is Ollie in the wall?"

She spoke into the little space created by the edge of mirror and the wall: "Hello!!"

"Gigi, where does Ollie live?"

"In Gigi's house. In my house."

Speech Developments

Now that she can speak more fluently, our two-year-old daughter talks about the normally-unseen occupants of the house. I overheard her (and Scully) the other day:

"Daddy..."
"Yes, honey?"
"Ah 'cared."
"You're scared? What is scary?"
"Shadow."

This past Thursday, I took her out to the backyard for some fresh air. It's a very large yard and, at its end, there is a locked shed that's connected to our detached garage. We climbed the old, stone steps and it was cold.

Mini-me turned around and started knocking on the door:

"Ollie!" she yelled. "Ollie!"

"Um, who's Ollie?" I asked her but she didn't want to talk about it.

I have seen the ghost of a young boy around the house but I didn't know his name.

All's Well That Ends Well

The documentary went really well. Thank you to everyone who asked about it.

Basically, I answered questions about myself and my work for about one hour and I did a walk-through of a home while giving my impressions. I hope it was interesting.

I'm a little shocked that some friends didn't congratulate me or even mention it to me. Oh, well.


Our Jack-O-Lantern

Scully carved the pumpkin in the front yard on Hallowe'en. We think he did a great job.

We took Gigi out for Hallowe'en for the first time. It was amazing. I taught her the day before what to expect. Only 27 months old, she said, "Trick or Treat", "Thank you" and "Happy Hallowe'en" at every home. She also surprised us by being able to walk up and down 1.5 streets before she got tired. I also explained, that evening, that we could look through her treats and maybe have one or two before going to bed. She had never had a Coffee Crisp before -- and, thankfully, she only took a bite -- but it was exciting for her.

Several times throughout the week, she watched her favourite episode of the Backyardigans called, It's Great To Be A Ghost.

My readings went well and I look forward to those scheduled today as I wait for my babysitter . . .