Tag, You're It

I have been tagged by Sharon, the lovely Goth Gardener, to play a game of Darkling Tag.  I'm not Goth, but I can totally can dig the lifestyle and the wardrobe.  Plus, I love making lists and answering questionnaires.  (Warning:  the photos in this post have nothing to do with the content.)

My fig trees have started producing!  It's going to be a great year.

What is your favorite candle scent?  I love Yankee Candle's 'Clean Cotton'.

Do you have a favorite book?  "The Wizard of Oz".

Are you a tea or coffee person?  Coffee!!

What is your favorite perfume/cologne?  Chanel No. 5

Do you have a celebrity crush?  Nicholas Cage.

If you could change your name to a stereotypical 90s/2000s gothy name, what would it be?  I had to look this one up to see what my choices are.  There is an interesting list on THIS web site.  I chose Luna Wren.  Now that I think of it, this would be a good cat name.

What are your top three tips for surviving hot weather while wearing black?  By hiding in the air conditioning as much as possible.  As a general rule, I do my best to stay out of hot weather.  When it's unavoidable, I try to stay in the shade.

What song makes you happy?  I thought about this one for a while, and I realize that there's not one particular song that I can think of.  I love hard rock and metal mostly, but Motown and 70's Disco is also on my list of favorites.  Pretty much anything that gets me dancing in the car makes me happy.

Are you active in the arts?  I make a LOT of stuff, does that count? 

What is your number one hobby?  Gardening, knitting, and crocheting.  (That's three.  Whatever)

There were enough figs to make a quick batch of jam!

Thought Provokers:

If you could be a supernatural creature, what would it be and why?  A fairy, because they can fly.

What horror monster-based super power would you have?  Time travel.  

Do you feel confident or uncomfortable interacting with other Goths or gothy people (online or in real life)?  People are people, no matter what group they belong to.  I get along with just about everyone.  

Is there something you wish there was more of in your subculture?  I'm not sure that I have a subculture.  I'm a history geek, rose lover, carpenter/remodeler ... so many interests and tendencies.  I follow my own instincts.  

Care to share an embarrassing story related to your "darkliness"?  I don't really get embarrassed.  I usually hear  "You don't look anything like I thought you would" when I meet people for the first time.  I like that.

How are you at DIY?  I can DIY just about anything.  Small crafty projects, or a whole-house renovation ... if I can see it, I can probably do it.  (You already knew this, tho.)

Finished!  (Recipe is HERE.)

Confessional (aka, True or False):

I love watching cheesy romance films.  False.  I don't watch many movies.  My favorite TV time is spent watching programs that teach me something.  "Modern Marvels", "Antiques Roadshow", "Barnwood Builders", etc.  I loved "This Old House" in the early years.

I ALWAYS remember to wash off my makeup at night.  False.  There are many mornings when I wake up looking like a raccoon, with mascara and eye liner smeared all over the place.

I sleep with plushies.  Nope. 

I wear non-black pajamas most nights.  True.  Colorful nightshirts.  The one I'm wearing now is pink. 

I think Andrew Eldrich is overrated.  I don't know who this is.

I don't like vampires.  False.  I love the romantic idea of vampires.  

I don't like clubs.  True.  I had a brief period in my late teens when I went to clubs.  I'd rather spend evenings with friends, with food and beer/wine and conversation.  

I don't enjoy graveyards.  FALSE!!!  A trip to a new city isn't complete for me until I have searched out and explored the cemetery.

Blood makes me queasy.  False.  I'm not squeamish.  This trait comes in really handy in emergencies, or when watching "Bones" on TV.  (My favorite show, BTW.)

I'd sooner faint than pet a spider.  False.  I like spiders.  Jumping Spiders are especially cute and interesting.

I don't like haunted houses.  False.  I live in one ... according to other people   I have never heard or experienced anything here, but others have.

I've never read Dracula.  False.  I love "Dracula".

I think "Bela Lugosi's Dead" is a long and boring song.  I don't know this song.  I'm going to have to look it up and give it a listen.
______________________________

I'm supposed to tag three people to continue the game, but I'm gonna skip that part.  If you feel inclined, copy the questions and do your own list.  Let me know if you do, because I would love to see your answers.

Woodlands Cemetery in Philadelphia

Last month, my friend Sharon, the Goth Gardener, sent me a link to an article about a program at Woodlands, a garden cemetery in West Philadelphia.  (more about this in a minute)  Later that week, I came across another mention of Woodlands as I was reading a fascinating article in the Southern Garden History Society Newsletter.  That article referenced another article about Woodlands ... this definitely appeared to be a very significant place, and in all of my research about garden cemeteries I had NEVER before come across any mention of Woodlands.

Entrance to Woodlands Cemetery

William Hamilton (1745-1813) inherited 300 acres of land near on the Schuylkill River west of Philadelphia.  The Woodlands was recognized throughout post-revolutionary America as a leading example of English taste in architecture and landscape gardening. (source)  Hamilton created a landscape full of rare plants and trees, gathered from plant explorers and through his network of significant botanical associates (Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, John Bartram, etc.)  "There was not a rare plant in Europe, Asia, Africa, from China and the islands in the South Sea, of which has had any account, which he had not procured."  His 1813 obituary noted, "The study of botany was the principal amusement of his life."  (source)

"In 1840, local investors bought the intact core of the estate to transform the grounds into a rural cemetery.  Still active today, Woodlands Cemetery retains two of Hamilton's 18th-century buildings, elaborate Victorian funerary monuments, curving green contours and majestic trees."  (source)

Last Monday, I had the opportunity to visit Woodlands for a couple of hours, while I was near Philadelphia on my way to the National Clean Plant Network-Roses annual meeting at Longwood Gardens.  (More about what I learned at this meeting in a future post.)  I went there specifically to see the results of the Grave Gardener project, where gardeners adopt, plant, and tend cradle graves in the cemetery.  (A cradle grave has a large headstone and footstone, connected by curbing to create a space that is perfect for use as a planting enclosure.  For more about cradle graves, click HERE.)

The Grave Gardener program at Woodlands is in its second year, and it has proved to be very popular.  (150 gardeners were chosen for 2017, from a pool of 250 applications.)  There is a list of approved plants that can be used, most of which have historical significance.  Grave Gardeners are encouraged to research the people in the graves that they tend, which can create a true relationship between the gardener and the "residents". 

"There's two groups of people," says the executive director of the cemetery.  "There are the ones that think this is the coolest thing ever, like when you tell them you do this, and there's the ones that think it's the weirdest thing ever."  (source)   (All of you already know which group I belong to.)

The monuments and the landscape at Woodlands are spectacular.  Located in West Philadelphia, surrounded on all sides by modern buildings, Woodlands' 54 acres is an quiet place of beauty and calm.  The cemetery founders were keenly aware that their enterprise saved this unique place from industrial and residential development in what was then a streetcar suburb.  (source)

While Woodlands has an amazing collection of trees in its landscape, fifteen of which qualify as state champion trees, it doesn't have much else.  There is grass, a lot of grass ... no shrubs or perennials to speak of ... and only one rose that I could find, located in a landscaped area near the mansion.  No telling exactly how old the rose is, but it appears to be an old once-bloomer.  (and I totally forgot to snap a photo of it.)

Every time I go to a new town and visit their cemetery, I see things that I have never seen before.  At Woodlands, I found unique monuments and at least one cast iron fence that was new to me.

I wanted to stay at Woodlands for a while longer, because there was still so much to see, but it was getting late, we were hot and thirsty, and we had to get on the road to meet friends for dinner.

I will conclude this post with my favorite images from Woodlands.  These three mausoleums were in the farthest corner of the cemetery, built into a hill, on a footpath away from the road, tucked in the shade of enormous trees.  It was an incredibly peaceful spot!

I thought of Goth Gardener when I saw this, and I know that she will agree that it is a perfect place for one's eternal rest.

If you have time to get sucked into a wonderful, enlightening Internet rabbit hole, click on the links in this post to read the articles.  I was amazed at the significance of William Hamilton, and you probably will be, too. 

Life, on a Bracelet

My friend, Goth Gardener, did a post yesterday about National Jewelry Day.  This reminded me that I had my own jewelry post in mind, to use a photo that I've had queued up in my photo file for a while.  This photo:

Modern charm bracelets are a big trend now ... mine is old-school, with charms that represent things that are important to me, collected over the years.  Let's take a minute to get to know me better, via the charms on my bracelet, starting at the top and working our way counter-clockwise.

Watering Can ... for my love of gardening.  Gardening used to be my hobby, then it became a profession, and now it is my way of life.

US Capital ... because I live near there.

Four-poster Bed ... represents the love of my life ... married to him for 37 years, come July.  

Baby Carriage ... for our three now-grown daughters.

Squirrel ... my spirit animal.  Squirrels gather things, lose them, and are awfully cute.

Leaning Tower of Pisa ... I lived near Pisa when I was in elementary school.

Camera ... self explanatory.  For as long as I can remember, I have loved to take photographs.

Heidelberg Castle and Coat of Arms.  I consider Heidelberg to be my second adopted home town.  Lived there for three years in the late 1970s.  It holds a very special place in my heart.

Perkeo ... famous Heidelberg character.

Windmill ... souvenir from a trip to the Netherlands.

Beer stein ... another Heidelberg memento.

Computer.  Computers have been a part of my life since I was a child, because my dad was a computer guy, and so is my husband.  With the introduction of public access to the Internet, and all its opportunities to connect with people all over the world, the computer has made my life so much richer.

Presenting ... Lots of Random Stuff

Blogging is a habit.  When I do it often, which hasn't happened in quite a while, it feels natural to sit down and put together a reasonable post and get on with life afterward.  When I put it off, and get out of the habit by letting other things take my blogging time, it's not so easy to get the old juices flowing.  I'm rusty, but I'm going to give this a go ... and I'm going to catch you up on all sort of stuff that has happened here in the past few weeks.  

I will start with "Roses, Wines, and Canines," our Greyhounds Rock fundraiser gathering that was held here last Sunday.  Our weather was perfect (cloudy and mild, with a light breeze) and our guests and vendors (and volunteers) had a really great time.  We raised about $1700 for GRF to donate to The Greyhound Health Initiative ... and we are already planning ways to make things even better when we do it all again next year.

We set up a big party tent ...

... and a designated fenced play space for our guests' dogs.

Anu and Myth waited patiently in their ex-pen while we set up on Friday.

My favorite part of our events, The Blessing of the Hounds.  Can you find me in the crowd?

While I'm on the subject of Greyhounds Rock ... I have been spending at least one day per week sewing collars to keep the GRF inventory up.  Sugar Skull collars continue to be the biggest seller, and it's difficult to keep a selection of them in stock.  Last week at the fabric store, I picked up two new skull fabrics.

A view of part of our collar inventory at our table at the recent Fredericksburg Pet Expo.  See Ruby in the background?

Dorothy was helping, as I laid out fabric to cut the strips that would be turned into collars.

This new fabric reminds me of the art used for The Beatles "Yellow Submarine"

Ruby is modeling the other new pattern, which I am calling "Hearts and Roses Skulls"

I am also making fleece dog toys for the GRF store.  I have a ton of fleece in my stash, and this is a way to use part of it and clear out space in my sewing room.

Fleece toy, which sells for $10.

Maggie thinks the pile of fleece is a high-rise cat bed.

It's not been 'all work and no play' for me, not hardly.  I make time to do fun stuff, too.  A few weeks ago, my husband and I skipped out for the day and went to see the NASCAR Xfinity Series race in Richmond.

It was an evening race.

Dinner is served.

Dessert, which lasted almost until the end of the race.

Post-race ceremonial burn-out by the winner.

Speaking of cars ... I have been spending some time re-learning to drive my Mustang.  Over the summer, it went to the shop and had a transmission transplant.  The car started life its life in 1966 as an automatic, and that's what it was when we bought it in 2002.  Now, thanks to the genius of my mechanic, it has a factory-correct 4-speed manual transmission and a very sporty Hurst shifter.  It has been decades since I drove a stick shift, and I was pleased to find that the muscle memory of clutch and shift is still there.  

Oooohhh ... shiny.

This new shifter is not so foreign to me anymore.

Lots of people I know go all out to decorate for Halloween.  I am not one of those people.

I got a colorful sugar skull wreath at Target for the front door ...

... and a haunted house nightlight plug in at Bath and Body Works.

Halloween and haunted houses makes me think of Poe, which brings me to my next bit of random-ness.  In May, Sharon (Goth Gardener) and I spent an evening at the monthly Unhappy Hour at the Poe Museum in downtown Richmond.  We had our picture taken in their photo booth ... and it was just posted on the museum web site earlier this week.  We were being so silly!

Photo booth photo.

Sharon took this one of me with a new friend.

September is a very busy time next door at Hartwood Winery.  My husband and I spent two Saturdays over there, harvesting grapes from the vineyard with other volunteers ... total harvest was six tons of red grapes and seven tons of white grapes ... all used to make Hartwood's wines.

Picking red Chambourcin grapes on September 13 ...

... with my husband and my sister ...

... and white Vidal grapes on September 26.

Yesterday was my birthday ... 56.  It's a number that I wear proudly.  I am what I am ... no sense in skirting the issue.  Besides, thanks to my parents and some fortunate genetics, I have never really looked my age.  That was a bit of a problem when I was younger and got carded all the time.  Now, I think of it as a blessing.

My husband's present to me was this cow that was painted by his friend Ed King.

I spent part of the day gathering and editing the photos in this post, with Dorothy chilling in my lap.

That brings us up to the present ... which is cold and rainy, as the remains of a coastal storm passes through our area.  There was concern that Hurricane Joaquin would affect us tomorrow and/or Monday, but that storm has turned eastward and should not be a factor for us at all.  My garden loves the rain that it has received (with this current storm and with a previous one last week).  Happy garden = Happy gardener.

Now it's your turn.  What have you been up to since we last 'talked'?