The Rabbit Hole

Having visited Andrew’s blog yesterday I had to check out the Melbourne Royal Show. The events and displays remind me of US county fairs.

Unfortunately, I became obsessed looking at what are called show bags. I have no idea what a Karate Roller is, but now I want the Ghost Drops bag. Heh…

Ghosts and Haunted Houses; yeah!

I had to make myself stop scrolling through the endless options. If only I could order these online, I might also go for the Air Force One bag.

Toy Airplanes!
(I am a child at heart)

When will someone invent a teleportation booth so I could attend the show? Then again, have you ever seen any cinematic version of “The Fly” and learned it’s dangerous to play God?


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A Frightful Encounter

The other evening, our newer cat Dandelion took the highest cat tree spot near the television. Much younger Terra and Polly decided they wanted to play (?) or perhaps just mess with their elder. Whatever the case, this altercation ended almost before I registered what happened.

I’ve tried to stay calm despite flying paws whenever witnessing these situations. This was different. We think maybe Dani went into a more offensive mode and the sisters reciprocated. Whoever struck the worst blow(s), Dandelion didn’t back down, continuing to strike out as her foot bled.

My husband acted all calm, just disappointed by our ruined movie plans while I assessed the damage. I tilted the cat tree and, bursting into tears, found some blood soaked into the carpet. Worse still, I needed my ladder to clean blood specks off the ceiling.

I went to bed soon after and essentially cried myself to sleep. Nightmares are a near constant these days. This one has a very obvious origin. I will warn you it’s graphic.

In the dream I stood admiring a showy black bird with an impressive crest. This creature and several colorful little songbirds perched on wooden beams, something like those supporting a barn roof. Without warning the large raptor snatched a songbird in one gnarly black claw, bit off its head, and crunched down the rest in a few vicious bites.

Needless to say, tears leaked when I woke and continued as Dandelion jumped up in bed to snuggle. She flipped on her back, soft white belly exposed, and let me examine her wounds. I am thankful she suffered nothing serious but it almost broke my heart finger combing tiny dots of blood from her fur.

Terra and Polly, still very much loved, didn’t receive my usual cheerful chatter that day. Here is a video to end on a lighter note.

Isn’t that dragon cool? And isn’t it a shame the price is $300 (US)?

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Technical Update – & – Tooling Around Town 2

Well, it's time to let go my stubborn hold onto Microsoft Windows 7 as the company no longer provides security updates. My husband, the dear, offered to upgrade my laptop as soon as I save off all documents, Internet bookmarks, etc.

I’m delighted to report that his machine, loaded with Windows 10, accessed my iPod Touch without delay. That convenience will be nice. (fingers crossed) I just need to do my part.

Procrastination aside, on the way home from a recent errand I decided to drive around the neighborhood. A few blocks from our street exist some of the ugliest houses I have ever seen. Pulling over to sneak a few photos made me think of Pam, especially when I saw the following mailbox. ~grin~ Sad to say, the grubby thing matches sad surrounding duplexes.

Sorry my focus is worse than I realized. The dreary weather doesn't help.

The westward valley beyond these homely dwellings is quite scenic, prettier than overgrown scrub bordering our property. It's what first drew me to that block years ago and I am a bit envious. The street lacks a view of the river, though, and our brick ranch is no Frankenstein Monster style eyesore. I'm so tempted to go back with my camera and take more images because this isn't one of the ugliest.

Yikes!

Do you suppose those rooftop dividers are rain gutters? But why must they stand so prominent?

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Splintered – a Quality Control Fail

Despite repeated advisement against inserting cotton swabs in my ears I sometimes can’t resist. Lucky for me, I didn’t suffer damage from a bizarre product flaw. An actual metal splinter with very sharp ends (!) got caught up in the cotton fibers.

Having made this discovery when checking the used swab for excessive wax, I feel extremely fortunate. How did I not injure myself? And now I check for foreign objects prior to use.

I’m horrified at thought of some oblivious parent swabbing a sick baby’s clogged nostril with that thing. ~shudders~ On that note, I should notify the manufacturer.

Would you ever expect to find such a thing?

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What Fish?

Because he likes to hear my reaction sight unseen from another room, my husband emails me the occasional shocking website link. Today’s article features a surreal looking deep sea fish. In the subject line he typed “Sweet Dreams!”

Upon seeing the handsome young angler, Oscar Lundahl, I knew how to respond. I waited until my husband approached to question me so he couldn’t misunderstand the sassy comment.

“What did you think of that fish?” he asked, grinning.

“Actually, it took me a while to see the fish.”

Confused, he looked over my shoulder at the image. Realization dawned and he burst out laughing. “Well, I’m definitely not gay.”

(He's nineteen?! Don't judge; I'm harmless)

If you are not too squeamish to view this doomed creature, an unaltered photograph is located at the bottom of this post. I also recommend this short article on The Sun website.

Have you ever gone deep sea fishing?

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By the way, I am happy to report that Tilly the cat is breathing easy right now, happy sleeping on my husband’s lap.


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Keep scrolling for the freaky faced fish...

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Chimaeras Monstrosa Linnaeus AKA Ratfish

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Going Batty

Tonight’s visit to a blog I’ve enjoyed for countless months turned up something peculiar, to say the least. This talented blogger receives interesting comments addressing her many formidable crafting talents, substitute teaching endeavors, and wry humor. You may well know who she is, but I will leave out her identity due to the odd nature of the comment wrought upon her.

Its lengthy verbiage caught my attention first and foremost. The poster identifies as ‘Lord Mark’, and may have left the strangest blog comment ever. I doubt this is anything other than some click bait scam from a foreign bot account. But wow. Just wow.

Disclaimer: the following commentary is shared here for entertainment purposes only, not validated by this or any other human to my knowledge as Darla M. Sands, and all language/grammatical errors are those of the initial author:

Are you tired of being human, having talented brain turning to a vampire in a good posture in ten minutes, Do you want to have power and influence over others, To be charming and desirable, To have wealth, health, without delaying in a good human posture and becoming an immortal? If yes, these your chance. It's a world of vampire where life get easier,We have made so many persons vampires and have turned them rich, You will assured long life and prosperity, You shall be made to be very sensitive to mental alertness, Stronger and also very fast, You will not be restricted to walking at night only even at the very middle of broad day light you will be made to walk, This is an opportunity to have the human vampire virus to perform in a good posture. If you are interested contact us on … Vampirelord7878@gmail.com.

Post Script: I have to ask you dear readers, are you tired of being human?

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A Novel Idea & One Horrific Article

This April, for a writing challenge I have continued my work-in-progress (WIP) revamped during National Novel Writing Month last November. It’s been a joy spinning the romantic yarn and exploring the plague upon poor young Arick. He and Lita, I’ve decided, are going to make a formidable team against supernatural forces of evil. For a change, my tale is spooling toward novel length.

Today I realized how and why a man from each generation of Arick’s family suffered his burden, saving innocents from accidents and murder. Their bloodline can be traced back to the evil and cruel Delphine LaLaurie from New Orleans in the early 1800s. The society woman’s heinous crimes were familiar to me thanks to “American Horror Story: Coven” several years ago. In my tale, her monstrous spirit lives on even as her descendents pay for her crimes following a Voodoo curse.

Reading some details on the Mental Floss website proved more hair-raising than fiction. Seven other atrocious tales round out the article. In case you share my morbid fascination, you can find it here.

Do you like horror movies/shows?

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