I’ve talked recently about a desire to do a “Hug a Blogger” book and go around to meet ya’all on a crazy road trip, get a hug and spend a day doing something with you. Well, I thought to myself, “what kind of things would I want to do with which bloggers?” Mind you, this is based on knowing these folks for a time and getting a sense of what I’d want to do with them. So, here’s a kind of “best of” blog.
I’d most like to hunt Bigfoot with Gummerfan of Gummerfan’s Monsterhunter HQ. I know he’s too wise to put one over on and he’d keep me well protected. I suspect I’d learn things I never imagined about the habits of the BF, and darnit, I’m sure I’d laugh my head off—he has a wicked sense of the absurd. I wouldn’t mind fighting some giant underground worms with him either! ("Tremors")
I’d most like to cook beside “Jaz” at Octoberfarm. That’s a hard one because I’d also love to go to flea markets with her too, but her cooking and recipes are so amazing. She lives a kind of Pagan Martha Stewart charming life with such grace and beauty. I would sit beside her fluffy pup, Teddy, and await a great-smelling meal served in the lower garden.
I’d most like to construct Halloween with John at Season of Shadows. He lives it year-round. I thought I had a serious “can’t put Halloween away” mentality, but he is my hero in that department. He not only makes amazing displays, but does videos to show us fools how to do it right. I've learned a good deal from just the videos alone, but he also finds nostalgic Halloween items to share and does one of my favorite passtimes, explores old ghost towns and cemeteries. Talk about finding my tribe!
I’d most like to go check out a local weird place where strange things have happened with Julie at Above the Norm. She knows AZ and she loves the unusual and unheard of places. I’m sure we could get into lots of mischief. In fact, because we hunt together, I suspect we will find lots of strange in the coming years to share on our blogs!
I’d most like to spend a day pampering Libby at Thoughts… Usually With Attitude. This woman inspires me so much. She just takes life’s bumps and bends and goes with it, always perky, always forward-thinking. I’d love to just go and give her a hands on healing and cook her up a yummy meal and shoot the breeze all day long so I can get my inspiration from her attitude.
I’d most like to sit on a Saturday night with a couple of beers and MST 3000 a movie with Scott at Anything Horror Central. He seriously knows his horror movies, gives reviews that jive completely, and has wit and humor and doesn’t take it all so seriously which means he’d be a perfect companion to "MST" with. He's "real folk" and speaks with a "real voice" and that is one of the highest honors I can bestow upon a person.
I’d most like to travel to haunted places with Gregg at Gregory Branson-Trent’s Ghost Hunter’s Blog. He’s written an impressive amount of books on paranormal subjects, is a self-professed nerd in paranormal studies and would know all the interesting places to hit and all the insider info.
I’d most like to travel around Alabama and learn about the haunts from Jessica at Ghost Stories and Haunted Places. She knows all the places in her state and I suspect we’d be soaking our swollen feet at the end of the day, having experienced some hair-raising experiences in some less frequented haunts. I get the sense that, like me, she can sit still in a haunted place and just soak up the feel of it.
I’d most like to go to do a ghost study at Waverly with Courtney of Haunt Jaunts. She’s so bubbly and fun and I suspect that I could get her over any nervousness about being in such a haunted place. In fact, by the end of the hunt, she’d probably be insisting on sitting alone for a while in one of the most haunted rooms because she pretty much meets all her goals and exceeds them, she’s very tenacious.
I’d most like to explore a haunted battlefield with Jeff at Histories, Mysteries and Strangeness. He is serious about history and haunts. I think he’d be informative and probably level-headed when I get terribly spastic. He’d be a calming influence on my doing-10-things-at-one-time attitude. As well, I’d love to give him a really truly haunted experience to make him shake his head in wonder.
I’d most like to spend a day in an art gallery discussing the finds, style, art, and having a nice lunch in the city with James from Atomic Annihilation. He’s classy and has a sharp wit and tongue-in-cheek attitude about the Cold War and all things atomic. I’m always amazed by the stylish posters and war propaganda he finds. I would love to spend some time in his head for a while and see the world through his eyes.
I’d most like to have a drink at happy hour with Juz at JuzTick on Planet Capri. I suspect, however, that Justin would probably down more than one! Hopefully, I might end up a character in his amazing comics.
I’d most like to take pictures of abandoned places and crack some blue crabs with Chesapeake Bay Woman at Life in Mathews. She graciously drove by my old summer home and got updated pictures of it for me. What a sweet lady! She takes the most amazing photos of the quiet inlet of the Chesapeake and imparts local wisdom that is timeless. I've nagged her many times to make a coffee table book--I would anxious buy the local wisdom and the photos of the marshes and the waterways, lighthouses and abandoned buildings.
I’d most like to go explore the woods with Becca at Magikal Seasons. She’s so perky and fun and loves nature. I think we’d be a couple of child-like explorers chasing fairies. I'd hopefully come back with an armload of mushrooms and pine cones.
I’d most like to hunt ghosts in my home state with Rowan MacLeod of Appalachian Paranormal and Cryptozoological Research. We could spend a day talking about our Scottish heritage and Bigfoot. Oh heck, I’d like to stay in the haunted cabin I mentioned to her that’s near a graveyard in the woods where I think a Bigfoot was trekking me. Yeah, that’d be the ultimate. What a couple of mischief-makers we would make, especially if I got my hands on some nightvision goggles!
I’d most like to learn how to make jewelry with Sandra at Marbella Jewelry Designs. She is so wonderful and her work is ridiculously beautiful. The woman understands women's tastes. If I could learn one thing with my clunky fingers around her, I’d be thrilled! If she has the patience for me, she'd be a saint too!
I’d most like to go to the movies with Mikey at Mikey at the Movies. He and I pretty much usually always agree on movies. I would love to hear his opinion on some ridiculous movie that he would never want to see, just to hear him word his commentary. I actually plan to meet Mike hopefully in the near future, as he is one of Julie at Above the Norm's buds. (I am slowly but surely meeting the bloggers)
I’d most like to give a big hug to and a plate of my dirty chocolate chip cookies (recipe below, yeah, I know, I had to make my chocolate chip cookies dirty—I’m so bawdy!) to Devin at My Favorite Monsters. Oh wait, I’ll be doing that in a couple weeks! Determined to meet bloggers whenever I can, I’m finally meeting my dear friend who lives across town. I don’t know why I’ve waited so long, but I wanted to bring along Julie from Above the Norm so that three of us bloggers are in the same room together.
I’d most like to wander a creepy old cemetery with Brian from Photographing the Dead. I think he has an equal reverence and thrill at finding old cemeteries that are long forgotten. He’d also take beautiful photos, no doubt. Brian, how about you take a shot of me as a statue at a grave draped in white fabric and weeping?
I’d most like to sit in Jo at Cart Before the Horse’s studio and see how the most amazing artistic projects imaginable are created. Her style is so unique and gorgeous that I just know she is a fantastically dynamic and interesting person. I’d love to just watch her work (she doesn’t want me helping, I’m all thumbs with delicate things).
I’d most like to travel Europe with Duta at Places With Character. Her body of travel experience and knowledge of history would make it not only eye-opening but spiritually awakening.
I’d most want to go a high school reunion and dance disco with the anonymous blogger at Plaidstallions. I know that he’d wear an appropriately dorky outfit and I’d be sure to slip back into my Gloria Vanderbilts. We’d make a mess of The Hustle and look like the Brady Bunch in modern days. BTW, be sure to wear your Oscar Goldman jacket you Plaid Stallion!
I’d most like to sit down with an type the life story of @eloh at elohssanatahw. She’s had a colorful life and a more colorful attitude. I most admire “real” people who have no pretentiousness and make no apologies for just being human. I respect the hell out of her and I'd love to transcribe her life story.
I’d most like to learn a craft from Linda at Gourdqueen. I think she is one of the finest crafters ever and has a much appreciated dark twist. I am in total awe of everything she makes. If I’m lucky a bit of her charm and point of view would rub off on me.
I’d most like to spend a day just having a paranormal think tank discussion with Lon at Phantoms and Monsters. A sort of a theory tossing session. A serious seeker of the truth, if he doesn’t have it on his blog, it doesn’t exist in the human consciousness. I’m intrigued by his constant search for the fact in the sea of fiction.
I’d most love to give a day off to Atrueoriginall from Alien, UFO Casebook Fringe actually has several blogs and is on top of all the latest news of anything paranormal online. I can’t imagine a more exhausting and sometimes unrewarding job because she makes it possible to just go to her site and find the news without searching.
Oh yeah, there’s loads of other ones who impress me and should be given their note, but for now these are the top ones I’d love to do things with in real life. Their blogs have inspired me that much!
Autumnforest’s Dirty Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 c. margarine (I use Smart Balance—no cholesterol) *1 T. vanilla extract
1 c. brown sugar ¾ c. white sugar 2 eggs 4 oz semisweet chocolate shaved or grated
(beat these ingredients well)
2 ½ c. flour 1 tsp baking powder 1-1/4 tsp baking soda ¾ tsp salt
1 bag milk chocolate chips
(mix these in until just mixed)
Scoop 2 T. worth into a ball and put on cookie sheet—keep them far apart. Cook 350 x 10:45 to 11:00 minutes, but check and pull them out a bit early so they’re undercooked a bit. I usually like them to be golden only along the edges. Let them sit on a sheet on the counter for a minute or two before removing. As they cool, they firm up more, but will stay soft. You can store these with a slice of bread in a container and that will keep them super soft. Change the bread daily as it dries out.
*I make my own vanilla extract by cutting open 4 vanilla beans and sliding them into a bottle of bourbon. (Mind, you this can cost about $30, but for this amount of vanilla extract, you would pay easily almost 100 times more and it wouldn't taste anywhere as good.) I shake it up nice and good and store it in the refrigerator. Every now and then, I shake it again. After a month it's great, after 4 months it's amazing!