The Home Depot Halloween Style Challenge - Stolloween killed it again!!

 Guys and ghouls, if you haven't already seen it, get on over to Home Depot's blog and check out Scott Stoll's submission for this year's event.  It's fantastic as always!

https://blog.homedepot.com/haunted-mine-dragon-lair-scene/

More updates to the site finally!

 This beautiful Saturday morning, I am sitting by the window in my breakfast nook, enjoying the sunshine and a cup of coffee, while working on updates for the website.  I have 2018's Halloween pictures up and ready for viewing for those who aren't Facebook friends.  I'm currently working on updating the Invitations page to include the next couple of sets of invitations that aren't  yet on there, plus and update here or there on the Projects pages.  I may not be having a party this year, and ToT may or may not be happening (though I'm leaning toward it not being cancelled), but I am definitely in the Halloween spirit.  

Oh yeah, we also now have 2 more additions to our fur-family.  Tom came home from work and heard a kitten in the hedge in the front yard, so we caught the little fella and decided to keep him.  Tom named him Ash before this decision was even made lol.  Then I decided that Ash was so sad and lonely, seeing as how the dogs are too big and rough, and the other 4 cats are assholes and don't want anything to do with the baby, so I found a sister for him.  I named her Mazikeen.  (Lucifer fans will know.)  She is feisty!  Ash is mellow.  They are polar opposites, and perfect together.  Are we crazy for taking on not one, but TWO new kittens?  Yeah, for sure.  But we love them, so .... 

Updated:  I've added a few new pages on the years past, plus invitation and project pages and updates!

What to do when you're offered VTO at work due to slow warehouse work? Website updates!!!!!

 I have been seriously derelict in my duties of webmistress for the Dead End the past few years.  A lot of the issue is software related, new computers, Windows 10 being a huge pain in the ass, my old versions of the software I'm used to and know how to work easily, etc...  Today I decided to sit down and make it happen.  Found my key to Dreamweaver buried in a text file on my old laptop after much sifting, so that's working now!  Photoshop is not movable from the old laptop to the new, and my good haunter friend and PS source passed away a few years ago, so I am stuck either using GIMP, which doesn't work with my old templates that I made myself for my staples, or going back and trying to use my old laptop and dealing with the incredible time-killing lag.  But hey!  I am back in business, and rolling along with what I do have working.  

(I'm very resistant to moving all my stuff over to social media, even though it's much easier and free... I still just can't let go of my website, that I created all on my own and have had for so long now.)'

Anyway, I have finally moved the photos from Halloween 2017 to this laptop and uploaded them and created 2 new pages for the decor and the party.  The yard and house aren't anything new or exciting, just the usual stuff, minus a few things.  The party pics are fun, though dark, but at least my photographer took photos this time.  Link to the 2017 pages is on the left navigation pane on my website.  

On to 2018!

Gee, THAAAAANKS 2020.

 So, this year was supposed to be the BIG year for The Dead End.  The big 20th party blowout.  I was so excited, had so many ideas, so STOKED for it that I sent out virtual invitations back at the end of January!  Then March rolled around, and the Covid pandemic hit here in the US, and now it's in full swing, which means a lot of people are paranoid about attending parties.  I get it, I understand.  People are scared.  Some people are vulnerable to the virus.  I myself am not worried about it.  Disease and death is part of life, and I won't hide in fear because of it.  I was going to have my party anyway.  If you're that worried, then just don't attend, right?  

On top of that issue, we have the Presidential election the Tuesday before my party would have been.  Now, we all know what politics does to family ties and friendships, and this election is probably the most heated and nasty topic around today, even moreso than the Covid issue, which also is also political if you ask some people.  I decided I don't want to deal with the conversations about politics at my party.  I just can't deal with that after seeing and hearing it EVERYWHERE, nonstop.  The hatred is just sickening to me, and I don't want to have any of it here at my house.  I keep my political and pandemic opinions to myself mostly, because I would rather keep my family and friends on good terms.  

So, with all that in mind, I chose to cancel my party.  It was a very hard decision for me.  But I factored in things like the fact that I just started a new job and am still in the 90 days probation period, so I won't have the PTO to take a week off, which would make it impossible to get all the work done that can't be done well in advance that week prior.  We have a ton of remodeling in the works inside our house that I'm doing myself, and I can't work and get it all done at the same time.  I have a crapload of props that need refurbishing, that can't get done before Halloween even, so the yard setup won't be on point.  Plus a host of other things that are working against me this year.  My dumb ass would try to do it all anyway if this year wasn't the year of the plague, in more ways than one, but the stress would get to me and I don't want to put my family through that, especially my husband, who is always incredibly supportive and always take most of the frustration from me.

Next year, I WILL have my party.  I WILL make it the biggest, best party to date, and it will be amazing.  I just have a lot of extra time now to get ready for it.  Silver lining and all.....

The [first] Great Garage Cleanup of 2020

My garage is now clean!!  Cabinets are organized, old useless stuff thrown out, everything is in its place and I can even fit a car in  there again!  (No cars allowed, though, this is my workspace!)  I am excited to start on projects.  First, I need to continue the revamp of my office space so that I have my inside workspace organized and cleaned, and then I will be completely project-ready.  Very exciting time for me, and I'm happy with myself for once, for finally making some headway in my goals for this year.

Now, I just need to win the lottery, or have an angel investor notice my dream of owning a campground with community ties, programs,  and small sub-business ideas within it, and I can put my ideas into motion to have ALL of my passions included into one hardworking, fulfilling, and fun business venture.  Hey, a 49-year-old girl can dream, right?

I can't remember where or when exactly the inspiration hit, but it did.  I've already decided on a costume for both myself and Tom, and the invitations are the inspiration for that.  Can't wait to get started on it all!  We may even change up the decor for the party to follow the invitation theme, who knows...  in any case, the party is a go and I am excited.

I started a new job back at the very end of September, and as a result, there was virtually no Halloween at my house this year.  Depression set in for a bit due to that, but I am back to just my usual anxiety and low energy days.  I love my job, the company and my coworkers are great and i get 3 or 4 days off a week, which is nice, especially for project frenzies.

I also started a new online store called "Baubles and Bibelots", which is currently in the construction phase again.  My Etsy store is still going, and anything on the baublesandbibelots.com site can be bought there for the time being.  I'm planning on adding more product variety to both sites in the next few months before I get too bogged down with Halloween prep.

This year, I turn 50.  I started a vlog on a new channel on my YouTube account called "Five Months to FIFTY" to chronicle the next 5 months of my life until I hit the big day.  It's mostly for me, but if ya wanna take a gander, feel free.  Warning- it is very boring!  Starting with video 1:
 https://youtu.be/MvAps20nKMI

Lots of good things to come here at the Dead End.... can't wait to get to it!!

Who dat?

Oh lord, she's back!

Hey everyone! I've missed you!  I've been on hiatus for quite a while thanks to my work schedule.  Now I don't have a work schedule for a bit, so I can catch up on things I've been neglecting and work on some new things that I have in mind.  I'm really excited about being able to concentrate on something other than my day job for at least a couple of weeks, it's been a mentally and physically draining year and a half, and I need a break before I jump back into another soul-sucking job.

I still need to get the website up to date with the last few years' parties, and I have about 2387587520 half-finished projects to get back to.  I'm also trying to flesh out my Etsy store (FunneryandSpookery), or possibly work it into this site via shopify or something.  (Any tips would be appreciated!) 


Also, I got an email from a fellow Halloween-lover, Claire, who asked me to post a link on my links page on behalf of one of the volutneers she works with, Kensie, which I will do forthwith, but in the meantime, take a gander:  https://blog.candywarehouse.com/fun-halloween-games-and-crafts/

As always, Happy Haunting!