Hurricanes and Hot Sauce!! Last week was Spring Break and I took a couple of very fun short trips. First, I saw Angelle off on her orchestra trip to the Bahamas on a cruise. It is the longest I think I've been away from her since she was about a year old and I have to say we all missed her! I am happy to say that she did not fall off the ship or get eaten by a shark and she is now safe and sound at home. Of course, she LOVED her trip and is now missing the Bahamas.
Then KD and I took a trip to the Wisconsin Dells with our friend, Tina, and her three daughters. Girl trips are always so much fun. We stayed at the "Wilderness" resort, which was fabulous. The girls spent a lot of time in the water, which I guess is kind of the point. I rode on a family ride, spent a little time in the wave pool, then encouraged the girls to go on a big ride called the "Hurricane" with me. I ended up riding it three times. It was a great ride with a surprise drop that feels vertical, emptying into a large funnel in which the raft slides from side to side. Quite thrilling!! The girls also did a ropes course, miniature golf, a laser maze, and I joined them all for a free for all game of laser tag. I can never pass up laser tag!! It was a fun filled trip and I would definitely do it again.
On Thursday (St. Patrick's Day), John, KD and I took a little overnight trip to Galena. We stayed at the reputedly haunted "Desoto House" hotel. We have stayed there before and love the history. Abraham Lincoln spoke from the balcony there. This time we stayed in the "James Russell Lowell" room.
We started out by doing a little shopping on Main Street in Galena. We found this great, and I mean GREAT hot sauce shop called the "Galena Canning Company". I wanted to try this hot sauce sample they had out. It was called "Blasting Sauce" and had warnings that it was very hot, so I didn't want to try it without having a drink handy. So, John bought a smart water and I tried the sauce. It was incredibly flavorful and as far as heat goes, yes, it packed a punch, but nothing I couldn't handle. Delicious! We browsed a bit more at that shop and then I tried another sauce called "Widow, No Survivors". I wasn't prepared and thought I had already tried the hottest sauce, so I put quite a bit on my pretzel. I barely survived that one. It truly burned my entire mouth and even made my ears burn. I had John try it, but he had me to caution him that a little goes a long way. He agreed that it was an intense, burning heat. I couldn't try anymore after that, so we left and headed down the street, my mouth burning all the while. I wasn't sure I was going to recover and ended up drinking the entire bottle of smart water. Yikes. Eventually I did recover, thank goodness, and was able to enjoy the rest of the day. The next day we went back and bought a bottle of both of those hot sauces. John already took it to where he works and they had a little fun with it. Angelle tried them, too, and agreed that the "Widow..." sauce makes the ears burn!
That evening, KD and I went on a late ghost tour while John checked out the St. Patrick's Day night life in town. KD and I enjoyed the ghost tour and I maybe got one cool photo with interesting things on it from the cemetery, although KD thinks perhaps the cool lines in the photo are actually my hair. KD spoke with my mom through the dowsing rods at the beautiful Ryan Mansion. She thought that was pretty cool and so did I. As for John, he said he had a great time, too, and apparently there was a really talented belly dance at the pub where he was.
To the left is the first photo I took at the cemetery. You can see the interesting lines. I used flash for this photo and took it as soon as I got off the bus. Just my hair? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.
So, now what? Even though it was cold yesterday, I was inspired to get going on my backyard garden. I've been looking at gothic gardens online and I have some black flower bulbs coming. I have already started the black hollyhocks inside (which have taken off nicely) and just yesterday started the Sooty Sweet Williams in a pot inside. Angelle and I went to Good Will where I found many nice, gothic-type pieces to use in the garden. At home, she and I started placing these things in the garden. Can't wait for the plants to grow up around them and truly accent what we've done so far. Remember, we are a bit off-beat, so don't be surprised by the painting in the tree.
Since decorating, I have put a string of battery operated lights in that hanging basket. My existing bulbs (daffodils and tulips) are already coming up and I can't wait to plant the bulbs for the darker colored flowers. Now I hear we are supposed to get a snow storm on Thursday. I must live in Iowa. I love winter, but I'm really ready for spring now. I plan to water-proof the painting in the tree, although I expect it to get quite weathered. That will actually be cool, I think. That's a flowering tree that it's in, so that will be pretty when it blooms.
What about you? Did you do anything exciting for Spring Break? Check back tomorrow for my tarot card draw and enjoy your magickal Monday!
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