Moth (205/365)

TIME: 8:26 PM
PLACE: Kitchen
SUBJECT: Moth

Stella found this guy in the grass.

Not sure what happened to him.

He can’t fly, he was just fluttering on the ground, turning over and over on his back

I’m pretty sure he is not long for this world.

Simpsons In Real Life (204/365)

TIME: 2:25 PM
PLACE: Work cafe
SUBJECT: Want Ad

Of course, when I saw this in the paper today, the first thing I thought of was the Simpsons….

"Bart's Inner Child" Season 5, Episode 7

Homer reads the "FOR FREE" section of the paper,

Marge asks Homer why he bothers reading that section of the paper. "They never have anything good." But as she finishes, Homer gasps at an ad he has just spied: "FREE TRAMPOLINE, 534 Center St."

Homer: Oh my God!
Lisa: What is it?
Homer: Tramapoline! Trampopoline! [runs out]
Bart: He said what now?
Marge: Please, don't bring home any more old crutches!

Happy Doggos (203/365)

TIME: 11:24 AM
PLACE: In the car
SUBJECT: Oreo and Mulder

Took these pups to the vet this morning for a nail trim.

They weren’t too happy while there, but they cheered up and enjoyed the ride on the way home.

McPike Mansion (202/365)

TIME: 6:23 PM to  9:29 PM
PLACE: Alton, Illinois
SUBJECT: Mid Summer Night of Fright tour @ the McPike Mansion 

The McPike Mansion in Alton, Illinois has been known to have paranormal occurrences.  They have been featured on an episode of “Ghost Hunters”
If you google “McPike Mansion” you will find lots of links to paranormal sites and photos as well as the official home page.

They conduct monthly tours to raise money for the restoration of the house.  My sister, her oldest son David, Stella and I took the tour this evening.  We learned the history and saw vintage photos of the past residents as well as some photos with some unexplained objects.

 
Photo of a gentleman dressed as Henry McPike

We then toured the grounds. 

Back of the house

Crypt on the grounds – no one knows who was buried there.
It’s had to see, but there is a spider on the side of the crypt.

Shadows on the house.

Then we entered the cellar and they turned out all the lights. 

It was very dark. 

Like “can’t see your hand in front of your face” dark. 

The Medium, Sandy Little Lizard, let us know when the spirits arrived.

Some of the folks claimed they felt them there.

I couldn’t tell if I saw spirits or if I was just seeing the floaters in my eyes.


My sister took this photo – those are my knees in the front – do you see the round orb?

Maybe they were closer to me than I realized.

Night At The Muny (201/365)

TIME: 8:11 PM
PLACE: Forest Park
SUBJECT: Gazebo

I had dinner with some high school friends and then we all went to the Muny in Forest Park to see “Annie”

We all had participated at our high school’s production of this musical back in the day.  I didn’t act – I worked backstage on make up.

I still knew every word to every song.


The front of the Muny.

Seen on “Walks with Mulder” (200/365)

TIME: 7:53 PM
PLACE: St. Mary School
SUBJECT: Door

This entrance is no longer utilized. 

I remember picking up my niece from this door in the mid 1990’s when they had a pre-school here.

Backboard on Brick (199/365)

TIME: 8:17 PM
PLACE: St. Mary’s School
SUBJECT: Backboard

The theme this week is “Things I See at St. Mary’s School”

Tonight – a basketball backboard on the school wall.

Fallout Shelter (198/365)

TIME: 7:56 PM
PLACE: St. Mary’s School
SUBJECT: Fallout Shelter sign

A public service message from tonight’s walk with Mulder…

There is a Fallout Shelter nearby in case of emergency.

Back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Dog Tired (197/365)

TIME: 10:03 PM
PLACE: Kitchen
SUBJECT: Mulder & Oreo

After walks and Frosty Paws ice cream, they are worn out.

Poor puppies.

Sunday Sights (196/365)

TIME: 2:06 PM
PLACE: Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery
SUBJECT: Graves

For today’s trip, Stella and I visited the Missouri Civil War Museum at Jefferson Barracks.

After, we entered the National Cemetery and stopped by a friend’s gravesite.

Stella had never been here before and was amazed at the number of graves and the precision of the placing of the markers.

As we were making our way out, we spied a deer among the stones.

I noticed movement in my rear view mirror and then saw two fawns running toward her from behind us.

 

They rushed up to her to nurse and almost knocked her off her feet. 

After a bit, they wandered off through the graves, going wherever deer go.

Banana Pillow (195/365)

TIME: 9:33 PM
PLACE: Kitchen
SUBJECT: Jack

Apparently, bananas make a good pillow.

Who knew?

What Stella Wants Next (194/365)

TIME: 6:54 PM
PLACE: Tye-Dyed Iguana
SUBJECT: Ball Python

Another Friday evening excursion with my Stella!

She wanted to stop at the Tye-Dyed Iguana to look at ball pythons – she said she’s been wanting another reptile for a little while now.  (Her gecko, Blade, passed away in October of 2016).

I’m not so sure about a snake, but he is pretty cute and very chill.

I’m thinking about it – I’ll probably cave.

While there, we also checked out the gecko tree….

The bevy of bearded dragons….

And Aphrodite, an albino Burmese Python – who was just finishing up shedding her skin.

I Meant to Do That (193/365)

TIME: 8:09 PM
PLACE: Side of the house
SUBJECT: The tip of my shoe

I was trying to take pictures of the zinnas on the side of the house.

Most were slightly out of focus.

Except for this one – it was really out of focus on the flower.

The tip of my shoe?

Excellent!

Mid-Morning Snack (192/365)

TIME: 10:28 AM
PLACE: Work
SUBJECT: Cherries

I’ve been on a diet since June 18th.

Today is the last day.

I’ve always said that a diet is the word “die” followed by a “t”…it’s been a challenging 24 days most certainly.

I’ve lost about 9 pounds though…I hope my eating habits have changed enough to keep it off.

*fingers crossed*

I’m Almost Artistic (191/365)

TIME: 9:00
PLACE: Home
SUBJECT: Paint by Number

i bought this vintage (1980) paint-by-number kit off eBay about 2 years ago.

The paints were all dried up, so I matched the colors the best I could at Hobby Lobby with acrylics.

It’s taken me longer than I thought to do – I’ve found it hard to find time to devote to it.

Getting close on this one though….Then it’s off to the second picture in the kit.

Maybe I’ll be done by 2020?

All Drains Lead to the River (190/365)

TIME: 8:02 PM
PLACE: S 17th St.
SUBJECT: Drain

Taken on the evening walk with Mulder.

Cahokia Mounds (189/365)

TIME: 11:56 AM
PLACE: Cahokia Mounds, Collinsville, IL
SUBJECT: Monks Mound

Stella and I visited Cahokia Mounds historic site this morning.  We checked out the museum and then hiked the trail.

We ended up at Monk’s Mound around 11:30am and climbed to the top. 

Apparently it’s the summer of climbing tall mounds of earth and rocks (see June 10th)

After we walked back down, I realized I had dropped my trail guide while up there. 

So I walked back up to retrieve it – can’t be littering!

I got my exercise in.

Tessa No Like (188/365)

TIME: 12:20 PM
PLACE: Basement
SUBJECT: Tessa in a dinosaur hat

I went down to the dungeon (the basement) to begin to clear a path and  make room for items which need to be removed from the rental house.

While in the midst of getting  a load of stuff together for the HH to take to the thrift store, I found a Halloween costume/cat hat and put it on Tessa.

She was not amused. 

I was.

Church Door (187/365)

TIME: 8:54 PM
PLACE: Front of St. Mary’s Church
SUBJECT: Door & shadows

It was very hot today, so we needed to wait until it cooled a bit before tonight’s walk with Mulder.  So it commenced a little later than usual.

It worked out well.

The lights in front of the church made great shadows on the front door.

Throwback Thursday (186/365)

TIME: 1:36 PM – 5 July 2006
PLACE: St. Louis Zoo, Children’s Zoo
SUBJECT: James, Stella & Claudia

12 years ago, we went to the zoo with Grandpa and all the cousins. 

Soon after this was taken, the zoo had to close because of some electrical issues.

I don’t think it was our fault.

~*~*~*~

The next day we went to Six Flags
TIME: 5:30 PM – 6 July 2006
PLACE: Six Flags, St. Louis
SUBJECT: James, Stella & Claudia

These are my kids on the kiddie coaster.

Let’s look a bit closer, shall we?

Good times.

Good times.

Sparkler (185/365)

TIME: 8:24 PM
PLACE: Front porch
SUBJECT: Sparkler & StellaDella

This is as wild as we get.

The neighbors down the street?

I think they spent their whole paycheck on illegal fireworks.

Water Tower (184/365)

TIME: 8:18 PM
PLACE: Millstadt, IL
SUBJECT: Water tower

This tower is considered to be one of the symbols of the village.

There is a web page devoted to raising funds to help preserve it.

It doesn’t seem too active as the last blog post is from November of 2017 – but then I’m a bit behind on posting as well.

Stairs & Bricks (183/365)

TIME: 7:58 PM
PLACE: St. Mary’s Church
SUBJECT: Fire escape

The walk with Mulder tonight ended up going by St. Mary’s Church so Stella could play Pokémon Go – there is a Gym there and she wanted to battle there.

I took pictures.

A Triangle of Flowers (182/365)

TIME: 8:23 PM
PLACE: St. Louis – outside Fire Station 21
SUBJECT: Flowers.

The husband and I revisited Ikea this evening – this time to purchase a vanity and more window shades.

Fire Station 21 is right across the street from the evil place.

Nice flowers guys!