was scrapbooking Stanley pics today and really thought I'd captured a shadow figure in our room!

went back through pics on computer and enlarged....and while it looks like head and shoulders...it is that way in several pics. and a pic of dresser shows Kevin's water bottle. so....but that IS where I heard the creaking floor footstep sounds....it's my ghost adventure. I interpret it as I will.

today I realized I needed a mini Big Wheel for The Stanley display. found one on amazon.

while out and about Halloween Window Browsing during Rip's groom realized I needed a desk bell (found one on eBay) and a small topiary animal. (amazon.) Colorado pics arrived today. 1/2" rain. cloudy. much cooler. I love Tractor Supply stuff, but man. pretty high brow for my motley Creepy Corner DIY corner.

I love it when shit just falls into place...

on our trip to The Stanley, I bought a tiny Stanley ghost and a 217 sign at gift shop. still had Mom's old door. perfect. painted a pic frame to display a pic or 2 I took at Stanley. remembered The Twins I made during Covid. and my Stephen King Funko Pop. AND that cool Stephen King print I bought in Las Vegas at Oddities and Curiousities. I made 4 haunted room keys. found an old piece of lace. ordered a REDRUM sticker. finished The Shining novel and placed it. then made several trips up and down steps putting Stephen King books inside the cabinet I placed inside door. (using top to display). put the rub on eyes on that teeny tiny jar Melissa gave me. I'm lovin' it!

picked up carnival prizes, spent $50 on raffle tickets, won $40 cash

I watched the Amy Bradley is Missing series while walking inside. used prime credits to rent The Shining. worked on picture frames. spray painted that brontosaurus in yard whose been through the mower a few times. (added red to the hole in his side and his chewed up leg). black chalk paint on baby zebra. just noticed the horse I'm using has wings...so I guess Baby Winged Zebra.

Kevin bought a yard sweeper, he taught me how to use it. (will I remember???? remains to be seen.) we journeyed to Humeston after lawnmower fuel. I could've watched Iz tomorrow while Ann's at dentist, but I'll be running errands in Trenton while Rip is being groomed. crock pot steak for supper. easier for me to eat. not Kevin's favorite, but he puts up with me. his sides are steak fries and baked beans. mine is steamed broccoli. store bought, since we're feeding the local deer herd with our broccoli patch. still hot. and that's been our day.

meatloaf and scalloped potatoes for supper.

have steaks in crockpot for supper tomorrow, and another steak thawed out to grill Wednesday. (meat we didn't use on family weekend.) both yards mowed. Rip picked up from boarding. Izzy called so I could tell her Happy Birthday!

I'm a mid west farm girl.

but on vacation I am kinda a lake girl or a swamp girl or a mountain girl or a spooky girl. not 100% bonded. not 100% committed. yeah, I love these places. I will hang out there. I will watch y'all climb peaks and drive air boats and jump off a boat in the middle of the lake for fun. but I'll stay in the boat. cause I was raised on a farm and ponds were dangerous and my folks were busy doing farm stuff 27 hours a day. they didn't have time to play with their kids, let alone fish their lifeless bloated corpses outta ponds and call the funeral home. they were on constant overtime and massive coffee intake. best not drown or fall out of a tree and break every bone in your body. I have so many built in limitations. I am a chicken shit. yeah, I'll sit on that boat until I slow roast, but I'm not jumping in. I'll take videos of y'all. have fun!

do I miss sitting in my oversized chair half asleep watching tv and nursing a huge ever present sweet tea? eating whatever I wanted whenever I wanted? unlimited cold Pepsi?

sigh. yes, I do. but....I've only lost 15ish pounds, but something has changed. I feel lighter. sometimes I even feel (dare I say it it?????!!!!!)cute. yeah, I sweat and bitch and whine. sometimes the steps are endless and the Walk fit routines are too hard. and I still drink my one Pepsi a day and eat (smaller) amounts of things I shouldn't. I still click on those miracle just take this pill weight loss methods. but I know deep down inside that I need to change. for myself. I don't look different on the outside, but I feel different on the inside....I've even caught myself buying 2x clothes. because they look like they'll fit. and it's ok to wear a t-shirt that doesn't hang to my mid thighs and blow over my head in a breeze. yeah, I'm still fat. but I don't always see The Circus Fat Lady When I look in the mirror anymore. maybe I'm giving myself grace. accepting who I am. growing into my own skin. still trying to keep it on the down low, not setting myself up for failure if it doesn't all work out. just a continuous journey. cause I've lost weight before. but. I. have. never. ever. ever. maintained. weight. loss. I've probably lost over my current weight in pounds over my lifetime. I am firmly convinced that fat people think differently. and Fat Deb will always be in my mind somewhere. let's just hope she's kind.

had a wonderful weekend at Milford Lake with KatIe & Brayden & Koren & fam!

Katie is much better at picking out vacation housing than I am! we had lake time and s'mores and star gazing and hanging out in the house. and we got to eat breakfast with Millie on her 5th birthday! the guys even got a bonding beer run.

today I was inspired.....

I polished up Mom's old door, drug it to basement, and put the 217 on it. will lean against wall when glue dries, hang the Stanley ghost, maybe frame some of my Stanley pics and place on door? used an old canvas to display my Nick Groff Tour Bobby Mackey's shirt. dismantled an antique frame from Melissa to frame the Odd's Voodoo print. and Walk Fit is tracking my steps. is this a good use of my time? (giggle). (snort). (guffaw).I also did some laundry. so, productive day. have to take Rip to boarding, pack for our weekend trip, shop at HyVee, meet girls at carnival uptown tonight. and still haven't done my Walk Fit workout or ate anything....

today I had 2 fasting tests at Corydon Hospital. scheduled another one for August 8.

finished the sample blocks I'd cut out for baby quilt. Kevin lit up his cigar after work.

The. Stanley. Hotel.

saw it from the highway driving back and forth through town. it was majestic enough. Enchantingly beautiful. but when we drove up to it Thursday night for The Shining Tour...breathtaking. I was literally walking on air. saw 2 little ground squirrels by parking area. (and saw them again when we were checking out Saturday morning!) I couldn't go up the grand staircase as a tour guest....we stayed in the basement and lobby. the tour got us into some 'off limit areas.' The McGregor Room. (The Stanley Hotel's McGregor Room is one of the reportedly haunted locations visited by the Ghost Hunters team. According to the team's investigation, a cook heard a party going on while the room was empty, and two employees saw a figure appear between them as they talked. The room is also associated with residual hauntings, which are often linked to areas containing a lot of quartz, as the hotel is built on deposits of limestone and quartz.) The Caretakers Cottage. The house where male employees once dwelled. Kevin did the Shining Door picture. I posed in the bathtub. and in one of the twin cutouts. and by the baby faced guy. went to The Gift Shop. bought a 217 door plaque and a tiny Stanley ghost, who is now Gustavos bestest friend.

as a Stanley Guest I could walk up and down that Grand Staircase all I wanted. and. I. did. and made Kevin take pictures of me on it. (several steps up, of course!) also took many trips in the beautiful golden doored elevator. We had an excellent supper at The Post...and Kevin tipped so well that his credit card sent an email to make sure it was correct! we ate on the patio under an umbrella with a fabulous mountain view. we got some big cold raindrops walking back to truck for sweatshirts. but Colorado squalls (in our limited experience) blow over quickly. walked every hall. every staircase. found every haunted door. I took pictures. upon pictures upon pictures. I sat in our hallway on the fancy old-fashioned sofas. on the front porch. in the lobby. I walked the hedge maze. I walked around in the dark and in the light. re-enacted our honeymoon. (was I possessed???) Kevin walked with me the first go-round, then I prowled alone. there were 2 girls clothed in black on our floor-the haunted 4th floor- investigating. the floors and stairs and doors were delightfully creaky. Super quiet upstairs. loud and full of life downstairs. the tours. the bar. the wine bar. special events. I overheard part of a ghost tour while I was porch sitting in the dark. our ceiling fan made a comforting thump thump all night. the brisk mountain air. they had an inventive little unit that had a pipe in window bringing in fresh air. the lobby and basement had doors and windows open for the air. (no a.c. not needed in the mountains.) also saw open windows upstairs. I thought I heard creaking like footsteps in the corner by closet but didn't see anything. dreamed I had to breed sows & bake pizzas in an old nursing home using chairs as a barrier between boars and sows instead of gates. THe pizza boxes were well worn-various sizes with old travel stickers like travel trunks on them. And a girl who was wiping her hand over her hoohah and wiping bloody handprints on the wall. no Stephen-King-my-son-riding-a-trike-in-the-hall-and-being-attacked-by-a-firehose-turned-into-a-snake ....but disturbing, nonetheless. woke up 6:24 a.m. to sun streaming in our double windows. we left the curtains open. I could see HUGE pines and birds flitting everywhere. on our way out I stopped at The Colorado Cherry Company bakery and got a white chocolate cherry scone for breakfast. It was worth every penny of the $6 something. I felt like the luckiest girl in the world getting to not only take a Stanley tour, but be a paying guest. wow.

while walking around Estes Park, we found a bookstore, and upon inquiry, I was led directly to the shelf with Stephen King's The Shining. I started reading it at our 3 night hotel, read it at The Stanley, and am still reading it at home. of course I have read this book in the past. I am pretty sure I had a copy, but couldn't find it. and the one I ordered from amazon was lost in transit. but The Shining and I were destined to be together.

today I used amazon prime credits to rent Stephen King's The Shining mini series, which was filmed in The Stanley Hotel. The Shining (original) is also for rent on prime, plan on watching that again. before our quickly planned trip, I watched a couple of GrimmLifeAdventures episodes on YouTube, they had filmed at 2 locations that The Overlook Hotel was based on. my kinda people!

was The Shining Tour worth 2 $30 tickets? absofuckinglutely. and was our room worth $499.72? I think so. I still can't believe we had this adventure!!!! it was on my bucket list for-practically-ever!

Kevin back to work.

I picked up Rip, finished up laundry, vaccumed. called and made dr. appts. for tests. did a bit of work on Creepy Corner 2.0. we went out to farm to look at corral, picked up farm trailer, and made 2 trips taking lawnmowers out and putting in barn so we can mow tomorrow nite. his brother borrowed the good trailer for homecoming. ordered snapfish pics of trip.

had a wonderful week in Colorado. loved the breeze, the fresh air, the cool nights.

we took 2 mountain tours....one in an open jeep, one in a glass topped bus. we rode a mountain coaster. we walked and walked and walked. we shopped and shopped and shopped. we ate some excellent food. we met interesting people. we did a lot of staring at mountains. we bought GOOD binoculars. we did The Shining Tour at The Stanley Hotel and spent a magical night there. I thought I heard footsteps in the corner of our room! but didn't see anything. we hot tubbed. we were rained on. we got lost. on the way home we spent a night with Katie. Kevin mowed the yard while I put stuff away and started laundry. and found the decaying mouse in trap in basement. I weedeated. tomorrow will pick up Rip from boarding, call clinic to schedule a flurry of tests, and sort through all the mail the post office held for us this week. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

mowed at farm. cleaned out truck. trying to decide what to pack.

tomorrow is THE day! spent money on the pink salt trick. when I get home, will round up ingredients and give it a go. I've wasted $$$$ on diet stuff that doesn't work before....and the Bioma is working. slowly. steadily. but I'm a sucker for a miracle no diet or exercise needed spiel. Sasquatch help me.

spent most of the day cleaning up around new corral fence.

I got overheated and puked and was dizzy and seeing spots. that's how helpful I am. you can always count on deb. binoculars did not arrive, so asked for refund. we'll buy some on the way. I didn't get my The Shining book either, but surely I can find one in Colorado, right? maybe at The Stanley? here's hoping. I will re-read this book this year.

changed sheets. mowed yard. battled the weed eater string.

Kevin gave up on all his dad's weed eater string collection in his garage and bought some that would work. I am grateful. supper Pizza Hut after his chiropractor appt. thunderstorm. the binoculars I ordered for vacation are lost in transit somewhere. fence didn't get finished today. and I apparently don't have a copy of The Shining which I would dearly love to re-read in Colorado. went to town to put a hold on our mail and get some vacay cash at bank.

Z didn't get much sleep "cause Rip snores too loud."

she walked at park with me, we made french toast and bacon for breakfast. we picked up Daddy & Izzy and they went swimming with us. then we drove on out of town to say hi to the dinosaurs. and the turtle. stopped by Mel's. she gave me some stuff from the stuff they'd stored in our basement. she's sorting through it all. got some cool old picture frames. so did a bit of work on the new Creepy Corner Addition wall.

hit 15,000 steps today!

Zerelda spent the night at gramma's house.

she didn't like what I made for supper, so she had french fries and grapes. Kevin took an early out, sold a load of scrap, took barb wire to farm for the new fence we'll be building, checked on guys building pipe fence.

today was the dreaded dr. appt. I didn't cry or cuss, so there's that.

and I did have a 10 lb weight loss, proving my 1983 scale still works. more tests ordered. go back in 3 months. nutritionist wants to be my asset. she doesn't know me very well. but I will look for a walking pad and resistance bands and start strength training. I don't see me weighing my portions and recording them anytime soon, however....or going back every month to watch another thrilling power point and be told how most people like artificial sweetner and really can't tell the difference...

today was Violets surgery day. she called to tell me how it went. no pool for 5 days and her tummy hurts a little. she's a trooper. surgery is scary a.f. as an adult. she's just a little girl. Kevin walked with me at park, there was some commotion, the sheriff had been called on a nekked woman at the city park. so had some conversation with Mercerites before we started our 90 degree evening walk. Kevin took his shirt off while we were walking, kind of ironic since the law had just been called out....but guys can get away with that shit. then went uptown to eat because today wiped me out. didn't get in 10,000 steps like the last week, but I did more than my goal of 7500, so whoop, there it is. I also had a bagel for breakfast, a pepsi for lunch, and a small chef salad and crackers for supper, so it all weighs out, I guess.

mowed at farm.

dave and mel came and got their stuff out of our basement! I scootched stuff over and now there's an empty spot! think I'll just hang my last piece of creepy cloth on the blank wall and continue displaying stuff ...

the combo of ivy dry shower scrub and benadryl is knocking the itch down. tomorrow is the big Dr. appt. day and I'm not very excited. getting told how fat I am and how I can not be fat gets old. every fat person is different. I just hope I don't start bawling. which is my go to when I am PISSED. it's gonna be a long fucking day.

Goodguys car show in the rain.

completed the 5 days of 10,000 steps in July.

I just called on the phone and talked to an actual desk clerk at The. Stanley. Hotel.

I reserved a queen room (saved some $) on the very haunted 4th floor. The Cowboy Suite (Room428) was available....but like $700. with this room, I can hopefully prowl about the hallways and take pics of haunted doors...217. 401. 407. 428. I can't believe that Deb Dailey of Mercer, MO will be in The freakin' Stanley Hotel! as a guest! and also for a tour the night before. I hope Kevin was serious when he texted me to call them. cause whoops, there it is!

today is the first time I sat on the bench during my WalkFit walk at park. not once. TWICE.

I've been watching the reels. The TikToks. I am trying to give myself grace. to accept myself as I am. to know that pushing myself too hard trying to get quicker results makes it harder. that I might not have enough lifetime left to 'fix' all my unhealthy habits and choices. to take it one day at a time. to sit down before I have a massive coronary. at the park. on the asphalt trail. with the ants and roly polys crawling over me. kids ramping their bikes over me. other walkers stepping around me. someone calling Kevin at work. I don't know if I will ever love myself. I want to. I just don't know how. I don't know if I can even continue the Axsom motto of "it is what it is." so I sat down. twice. the world didn't stop. no one saw me do it. I wouldn't judge another walker taking a break. but I'll condemn myself for it.

where oh where has my friend shaped like me gone? oh where, oh where can she be? she's been missing from my WalkFit workout 2 days now, where oh where could she be? she's still on the dance workout. thank sasquatch.

visited Izzy for a while. then home for graham crackers and peanut butter for lunch. cause it sounded good and I'm an adult. got the urge to try a leap. and I kinda did a couple. and these shorts were snug when I got them. now they're comfortable. I've also had the urge to do short jogs up and down the hallway. huh.

Squirrel Cage Jail

Council Bluffs, IA

visited June 26 2025. bucket list ✔️

dark and gloomy outside. chatty docent. $10 admission. bought book, t-shirt, postcard. fascinating place. prisoners wore their own clothes. you showered in your clothes. no laundry facilities in early days. mainly men. but also women, juveniles, children. cells tiny. some of jail still being set up. top floor is an apartment with beautiful windows. Lots of prisoner injuries from sticking body parts thru bars when cage turned. short term prisoners bottom floor. booking and kitchen bottom floor. longer term prisoners second floor. longest on third floor. 849 steps.

Voodoo's Odd Shop

Omaha NE

visited June 28, 2025. this was on my bucket list. ✔️ The owner was very friendly. so. much. stuff. lifelong collector of the unusual. ask him - maybe it's for sale. majority has no prices. medical devises. prosthetic leg. prosthetic arm. bones. human skulls. fetuses in jars. medical specimens. had trouble finding rental space for business. landlords superstitious. religious. too many rules. so he found this fabulous old house that was once a mortuary. He lives upstairs with his family, big dog, cats, birds. appears to be still setting up downstairs. knows a lot about John Wayne Gacy art. has opinions about the Museum of Shadows. working on it one day being a museum. I like this guy. He's a kindred spirit. I bought an antique matted photo of someones casket covered in flowers. For $30. he made change right outta his pocket. is it haunted? time will tell. it was 198 steps from front door back out to truck. yes. I'm a WalkFit girl now.

he said most of his animal oddities were from local Nebraska farmers. as a former hog barn gal, I saw some defects. cleft palates. organs outside body. wiggly jiggly sack pigs. extra legs. extra noses. one giant eye. no back legs. no front legs. they all went in dead bags. I didn't have formaldehyde. or big enough specimen jars. and I'm a bit of a chicken shit. that's probably be viewed as stealing from the company. coulda made a killing selling at Oddities and Curiosities...just sayin.