Valentine's Day - Florida Haunters Style!!

What a day!!!! Our Florida Haunters group planned our first Make and Take of the year for Valentine's Day. I have to say, it was probably the best M&T I've had the pleasure of attending so far. It was a good day for a M&T too, especially since it enabled Andy to attend a RC Fly-In in Deland while I was with my haunters. His friends couldn't believe he was allowed out on Valentine's DAy... and asked, why would they schedule a gathering on that day?? Well, why would a bunch of RC guys schedule a fly-in on V-Day?

I had to work Friday night and didn't get home until 8 AM that morning, so I was already running late. Several issues slowed me down (rain, not being able to find things, etc.), so I didn't get to leave until 10 AM. My son spent the night with his dad, so that left me with my 2 daughters, Taylor and Emily. We loaded up the Suburban, forgetting several things of course, and started our trip to Edgewater in the rain. By the time we hit the Palatka exits, the clouds parted and the sun shone and the day was looking brighter. We ended up with a beautiful sunny day, in the high 70s and sunburns!

We pulled into Edgewater just after noon and were greeted by a winged Blucky creature on the front lawn and one of my favorite haunters - Coda! We made our way into the back yard of our super hosts, CylonFrogQueen (CFQ) and Hamm, and there were our Florida Haunters, building away! My friends, IshWitch, Maureen, Spyder and Hamm... and I finally got to meet my new friends CFQ and Hamm. What a great couple they are - so gracious!! They had everything set up very well for the M&T - plenty of room for the build and for show-and-tell props. You can really tell that they are the consummate hosts! We laughed and had so much fun, Coda really kept his trademark one-liners coming and Spyder with his very unassuming self would pitch in and leave me with the giggles. Maureen is an amazing and skilled prop-builder and was really quick in getting her shiatsu prop going. I would LOVE to have her for a next door neighbor. Her daughter Stephanie is always a treat to be around, such a pleasant and fun demeanor, just a really great kid. IshWitch ended up with a good movement on her prop - and man she has some GREAT stories from work to tell us! Her specimen jars were a trip and her Valentine's Day cards were great. I always enjoy being around both of these women, great personalities and talent!

Spyder is such a shy man, but he is so smart and talented... and FUNNY! He tends to be quiet most of the time, but every once in a while he comes out with a line that just cracks me up. His props are amazing and I'm glad he brought some of them for show and tell. He even let me take one of them home! My girls REALLY liked his hacked RC car ground-breaker prop, and he offered it up to me, so I took it gladly. I'd like to make some more of these using his method... they're really cool. His spider jumper was fantastic and I could definitely see one of those gracing my haunt. I really am glad he loves so close to me, I need to get his help when I really get into pneumatics.

Coda- well, what to say about Coda... He is a TRIP! Oh man, he just NEVER stops, his mind is always sharp as a tack. He is so funny and so quick with his wit. I love being around him, absolutely LOVE it! He's also so helpful and generous. He brings his "garage on wheels" with him to our M&Ts and has everything you could possibly need to make a prop with him. I can't even begin to tell y'all what a gifted man he is (gifted in the good way, not the "short bus" way...lol). His props are amazing... every single one of them. I especially loved his "Brutus", which is just fantastic. He's another that is really talented at everything he does. His deviled eggs were yummy! I could go on and on, but that'd make his head swell up!

Brushe - what a wonderful man! He's another really talented haunter - his props were outstanding! I love his pneumatic works, and I'm kinda partial to the gator. :) I can't believe they packed all those props in their motorhome. They had several of them, and these aren't small props! They brought their dogs too, Kong and Dixie, and the kids LOVED them. Beautiful animals.. I am so glad that he and his wonderful wife Becky made the trip all the way from North Carolina. Such nice people!! They are our "Honorary Florida Haunters". I truly wish they lived in Florida. I hope to see them in the future and consider them part of our Florida Haunter family. Becky made a terrific Kahlua gelatin "body part" mold, which was DELICIOUS! I wish I could have had more of it, but having to drive kept me from doing more than tasting it. (I very well could have devoured the entire thing!!) The sweet potato biscuits were to die for as well... and that bread pudding? OMG - SO good, I had TWO helpings! I wish I could have stayed longer to hear Brushe sing and hang out with them both more. Maybe one day I'll get that opportunity. I'm very thankful for the Fairy art that Brushe gave to me... I absolutely LOVE it. I thought he did a wonderful job on the ones he did (Versions of VoodooWilly's originals on HalloweenForum) and was blown away when he said this one is mine.



CFQ and Hamm- Sharron is a really genuinely GREAT person. With all she had going on with sickness in her family, she still managed to pull off being such a gracious hostess. I can't believe how creative and kind she was - even making up some parting gifts for all of us. She went to Home Depot and charmed some of the essentials that we haunters use out of them and made up some really cool gifts for us to take home. My personal favorite is the FloridaHaunters tool belt pouch. She even made up certificates for everyone! The food was great, everything was great... and this was her and hamm's first personal encounter with our group. They outdid themselves. Hamm's butt (a forum joke) was so tender and delicious!!!! Everything was delicious for that matter. And Hamm is such a funny and kind person. They are a great couple and great haunters. I wanted to stay and hang out some, but that long drive and no sleep was such a party pooper. Thanks to Hamilton, I was able to actually leave. Apparently, someone (probably kids) hit the interior light button, so with the back door open all day on the Suburban, my battery was dead. Thanks to Hamm and Coda, it was back up and running in no time - and now Coda can say he had the opportunity to "jump" me! :-D

We left after 6 and got home just after 8. Taylor kept me awake by playing the "Worst Case Scenario" questions game with me and we made the stupid incorrect answers into a story line. When I got home, Andy was waiting for us. I read my Valentine's Day card from him and opened up that box of chocolates I knew was waiting for me, and we settled in for the season opener of Survivor on On-Demand. After that and a nice hot shower, I was SO ready for bed. Once my head hit that pillow, I was gone into oblivion and slept for 12 straight hours.

I just can't thank everyone enough for the day we had yesterday. Even though my day started off kinda on the wrong foot, I forgot half my supplies, I ran really late and didn't even get to make my prop, I STILL had one of the best M&T days ever. Thank you, to my friends, my haunter family... you guys and gals ROCK!!!

Our Florida Haunters, left to right:
Back row: Maureen, Becky, Coda, Brushe, Hamm and Spyder
Front row: Ghostess, IshWitch and CylonFrogQueen

Photo courtesy CylonFrogQueen

How far I've come over the years

I was just going through some old photos, and I found it amazing how much progress I've made in my display over the past 9 years. I didn't really get into doing anything outside the house until 1999 other than an ape dummy and JoL's. I had a LOT of inside knick knacks and decorations all over the inside house though. Anyway, here's the before and after shots of the differences in 1999 and 2007.

The outdoor part, 1999:

And 2007:

First foam tombstones, 1999:



Much improved 2007:

First props that stood up - scraps of 8-foot long quarter-round and tree limbs hammered into the ground, masks, stuffed clothes and gloves, 1999:
And 2007's handmade heads and hands with PVC frames and duct tape double bodies:


My 1999 party decor in the nook:

And 2007's version of the nook:

Which leads me to my ultra-boring version of my dining room in 2000:

2007's less "bright" version:

The extent of my 1999 decor (aside from orange flowers and other crap) in what's now the office:
And how the office is done in 2007:


A look through the kitchen in 1999:

And what a difference a few years makes in 2007:


Imagine if you will, a lot of white wall... and no spooky ambiance above these two clowns in 1999:



Now the same wall in the family room in 2007:

Everything about my display and party has changed, and thankfully for the better. This just goes to show, for those of you who are still intimidated by doing your own thing, that you CAN do it. It only takes patience, lots of trial and error and being able to follow instructions. A tiny bit of artistic talent is a plus, but it's really not all that necessary to pull off a decent look. It's taken me a long time to get to where I'm at with the whole haunting thing and I've been working on it diligently for the past 10 years now -- and I STILL have a lot to learn!

And so it begins...

This past Saturday, my son and I started to unload some of my Halloween boxes and things from the attic. Yes, it's only July, but you can never start too early in my opinion. I considered for a brief few minutes seeing how fast I can completely decorate the inside of the house this week. Then I thought, do I really want to live with the full-on Halloween look for over 3 months? Well, sorta, but I don't think the rest of the family would want to. It makes cleaning more difficult too. So I decided to just go with the original reason for going through the boxes: to decorate the formal dining room. I'm hosting a make and take for the Florida Haunters here at my house, and in addition to being a make and take, it's also a celebration for our one year anniversary for the website and forum. So, in honor of the event, I want to have the dining room decked out in full Halloween glory for our celebratory buffet. Of course, I had to pull all these boxes down, even though there's nothing in them that I'm using in the dining room because I couldn't get to the boxes I needed without moving stuff out. This is only half of the boxes, and no where near half of my stuff. That's 3 rows deep of stuff.



Bird Girl is in need of some cosmetic surgery again this year. My son's friends like to use her as target practice for air soft, much to my annoyance. I have yet to catch them in the act, they all insist it is "friendly fire" accidents. She has many pockmarks now and a large chunk torn out of her hair on the other side of her head. She's also lost one of her bowls again. The lizards love to sun themselves on her. I've seen birds out there perched on her head as well. I'll need to find a new home for her for the off-season since I planted a mimosa tree there in that bed. They sell statues similar to her now at Home Depot in a larger almost 4 foot tall size. I'm seriously considering buying one for myself, and one for my mom.


Deanna