Do any of you guys still check this? Or are we all just on Marco Polo now?

Over Thanksgiving weekend I thought about something I used to do frequently in the winter - make a roast in the crock pot & use it for several meals - stew, shepherds pie, and just straight up roast & potatoes. I felt inspired to do it again because it's just SO good and so easy. It was a perfect opportunity to spend the day in the kitchen with the way the weather changed on Sunday. I am fairly sure the rain was horizontal and when it turned into Snow it was just Gross.  I made a Butternut Squash soup for weekday lunches too, but that was nothing to write home about. The Beef on the other hand, well the results this time around were Just AMAZING, and I wanted to write it down so I didn't forget it. I want to repeat this every week for all of winter. Most of this was inspired from previous experience and glimpses of recipes for reminders on basics so I didn't really measure ingredients except for the Biscuits.
I just want to keep eating this and eating this! and the biscuits *drool* It's especially comforting with all this nasty weather we've been having so I hope you enjoy!

Slow Cooker Pot Roast 
1 Roast - 2-3 lbs (we got 3 lbs)
10 cloves of garlic (or more or less depending on your inclination for garlic)
1/2 onion
1 small can crushed tomatoes
favorite dried herbs (rosemary, thyme, oregano)
1 pint cherry tomatoes (because mine were going to go bad if I didn't use them - so Optional)
Sea Salt (I had a grey Irish salt on hand)
3-5 Whole Black Peppercorns (these are Key as they add a nice level of spice to the resulting broth)

I browned the roast on the stove before putting it in the crock pot.
You can cut slits into the roast & stuff it with Garlic (I did this time) or just add the garlic straight to the pot. I Add it whole, but you could mince it if you prefer.
rough chop the onion
add everything to the crock-pot + fill the crushed tomato can with water & add that to the cock-pot.

I cooked the roast on high for 5 hours (could be on low for 8-9) because it was 3lbs. If it's smaller you won't need as much time.

after the roast was done I shredded it & strained the veggies out of the broth. I ended up with about 4 cups of broth (you'll need this for the Stew)
Or, instead of straining the broth you could puree it with an immersion blender. It will quite a bit thicker. Just make sure to pull out any Herb Stems before pureeing.

Beef Stew & Cheddar Biscuits
1(ish) LB of Shredded roast (depends on how meaty you want your stew)
2-3 Carrots (Finely chopped)
1/2 Onion (finely chopped)
2-3 Stalks Celery (finely chopped)
2 Small/Medium Potatoes (Peeled & cut into bite sized pieces)
2 Medium Turnips (Peeled & cut into bite sized pieces)
(I also like to add Parsnips if I had them on hand - which I totally forgot until Just now that I have some in the freezer - or larger chunks of Carrots)
4 Cups Broth
(chicken can sub for the broth from the cock pot, or you can use a Beef Bouillon+water. 4 Cups resulted in a chunky stew with little broth, if you're looking for a brothy-er stew add another cup of liquid)
Bay Leaf
a Few sprigs of Thyme (dried or fresh)
a Splash of Red Wine (or two) You could also sub a Stout (like Guinness) or leave it out the alcohol altogether
2 Tsp Worcestershire Sauce
a Few ounces of Tomato paste (I used the crushed cherry tomatoes from the crock pot to add depth as I didn't want to open a whole can of tomato past for the stew)
1-2 tbsp Olive Oil (I had some leftover bacon fat in the fridge that I save for occasions such as these)
Biscuit Receipt 

In a large pot heat the Oil (I did a mix of Olive oil & Bacon Fat as I didn't want a Strong bacon flavor), add the chopped Onion, Carrot & celery. sauté, stirring until fragrant - (a few minutes),
Add wine & Worcestershire Sauce (it will almost immediately start simmering).
Add the Tomato Paste & Broth - I think the big difference for this batch of stew was using all the broth from the crock pot & using the whole peppercorns in the seasoning. The broth had a wonderful depth and spice that I hadn't been able to achieve before. I also believe browning the roast was necessary here. I did end up adding a bit of Bouillon to the broth as well, but less than 1tbsp as it was all I had in the fridge)
Allow the broth to come to a simmer & add the Herbs, Potatoes & Turnips.
Let this simmer for about 30 minutes or until the vegetables are soft - (remove Bay Leef/herb stems) add the shredded beef to the pot when there's about 5 minutes left on the veggies so that it can re-heat. et voilà!
Some Recipes call to thicken the broth with flour, I opted not to do this as I really didn't want to deal with it & I like it just the same thin or thick.


While the stew is simmering you can make the biscuits - Just remember to Preheat the Oven!

I've made this stew before with Dumplings instead of Biscuits and I was not a fan of the resulting dumplings. I crave that crispiness that you can only get from a Biscuit. So I found a recipe that didn't call for shortening - because let's be honest, the amount required in baked goods like biscuits and pie crusts can be somewhat gross when you think about what you're eating, and I had basically eaten a whole Pie over Thanksgiving weekend. Gotta say, these were delicious & I will be making them again!

Biscuit Receipt  -I only had parsley and some dried rosemary for my herbs, but it worked out just fine. the Cayenne gives them a nice kick!

BTW - total throwback to a Similarly timed post last year (LINK) But I know (deep in my heart) that this version was WAY better than whatever I made last year. After all, I'm always striving to improve

Many of us use Goodreads. It's a great app, if you don't already know, that lets people know you're a boss at reading, keeps people up to date with your most recent literary conquests, and acts as a rather ambitious reading list. I have my suspicions that it came into being after Facebook created that bookshelf add-on (that I honestly liked better) and took over completely when that died. In addition to all those things, Goodreads tends to act as a platform for people to air their opinions about a given book. This aspect of it is fine, but it's the aspect I have the most trouble with. Let me explain.

I tend to avoid the "reviews" section on Goodreads, mostly because what I generally find there aren't reviews, but synopses. I'm not afraid of finding opinions I don't like. On the contrary, just tell me why you don't think Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, or J.R.R. Tolkien is a good author, I dare you. If I had the nerve, I'd tell you all the reasons you're wrong. Since I don't, I'll settle for ranting to my cat. You're free not to like their work or style; that's fine. You're wrong, but that's fine. But in all seriousness, the review section of Goodreads is for reviews. If I wanted a summary of the book, I'd look elsewhere, where people are paid to write me a book report. Chances are, I've already looked up the book and seen an adequate synopsis. Goodreads also typically has a section for this on the main book page.

Now, I know we live in a world where everyone's opinion is given unasked, and everyone's an expert. The problem with that is that it's also wrong. Don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying anyone asked for my opinion or that I'm an expert either, but the mere fact that I've written this is proof that some part of my brain believes both of those things. However, this is a review, an opinion. You're more than welcome to disagree. Goodreads, Facebook, and all the other social media platforms have sold us this idea that everyone wants to know what we think. Really, that's just what we want.

Let me get to my main point. When I want to read a book review, I'm looking for an opinion about the contents in the book. I have seen reviews like this, and they're usually unsatisfactory. They liked it, they didn't, it wasn't as good as the last one, it was better, etc. These are all good starting places, but I want you to tell me more. Perhaps I was spoiled by the critical thinking and literature classes I took in high school and college; perhaps I'm asking too much. But when I look for a good book review, I want - no, need - more than that. Why didn't you like it? How was it better? These should be easy questions to answer! If I'm about to invest my time in a new book, and you honestly don't think it's worth my time, tell me why. I'll take your opinion into consideration (or won't) at my own discretion.

This may not be the experience of everyone who's ever used Goodreads. Some people might actually do this well, but in my experience, they have been few and far between. Usually the reviews I'm looking for, reviews by people whose opinion about books I trust, are absent (not naming names). I don't review books either, usually because I can't think of what to say the moment I record that I've finished a book and then I tell myself later that no one cares anyway. While this may or may not be true, I don't tend to review books. The reviews I've seen don't make me feel inclined to any time soon.

If you're one of these inadequate (or wrong!) reviewers, don't take the criticism personally. Use this as an opportunity to reflect on how to be a better reviewer. Use critical thinking and apply yourself to something worth being proud of. I'll work on it too, and maybe we can all get better at being opinionated together.

I grew up around cats. In our house, we always had at least one animal – cats, a dog, hamsters, fish... But what I have learned over the last month of owning a cat in a one-bedroom apartment is that growing up around animals and owning one for yourself are two very different things. First among them is that personal space is at a premium. Second is that, even though I grew up with animals, and occasionally took care of them, I was not totally prepared for what it would be like to be a cat mom.

About two months ago, I moved to a one-bedroom apartment, after living with a  roommate and having plenty of space after said roommate moved on. I don’t regret my choice; on the contrary, it was definitely time for me to move, even if other people think I made a mistake. This was the right choice, for me. I moved to this place with the express intention of adopting a cat when I got back from my vacation. So, about a month ago, I took a trip to the anti-cruelty society downtown and adopted a ten-year-old cat who I have since named Julius.

His picture is somewhere around here.

Julius took to his new surroundings with an alacrity that can only be attributed to a cat who is used to being in charge. He might have been worried about food and water for a few hours, since I wasn’t 100% prepared to bring a cat home when I adopted him; but after about a day, we got ourselves sorted out. Like I said, it was very clear who was in charge. He basically decided he was king before he even got out of the carrier.

Previous to adopting Julius, I have only personally owned a fish, so I was pretty nervous about adopting a cat. It's a big step, for sure, and I didn't know if I was ready for that kind of commitment. This fish, Odysseus (yes, I like ancient poetic heroes, why do you ask?), was a point of interest to Julius, but not for a few days. When he finally noticed the fish, he would sit on the coffee table and watch him. I was worried that he would try to eat Odysseus, but it turns out I did not need to worry about that. Julius was really only interested in the water in the fishbowl…as far as I know.

Moved the fish next to the cactus; problem solved.

Prior to living on my own, our family owned at least six cats (at least when I was around – and never more than three at one time), too many hamsters, and a few other animals that don’t need to be mentioned here. What I didn’t really realize prior to Julius was that growing up around pets and owning my own pet were two very different things. It is one thing for a family to own a couple cats in a large, five-bedroom house. If I wanted, I could close my door and keep the cats out. I didn’t have to take care of it all the time, respond to it all the time, or generally have to be around it all the time. My parents generally took care of the worst parts (litter boxes and things) while feeding was a pretty simple task. I realized that I didn't know what kinds of brands to buy, how big the litter box needed to be, and other things that I had simply taken for granted.

I don’t mind cleaning up after Julius – in fact, I mentally prepared myself for it – but I understand why some people don’t like to own pets for that reason. We always kept those things out of the way or in places where people don't generally find themselves when they're visiting. In a small place like this, I struggled for a few days trying to find the right places to put things so that we both had enough personal space.

One thing I didn’t really take into account was the effect the amount of space I had would have on just how much cat hair I would have to deal with. It really is simple – cats only shed so much. In a smaller space, it is bound to be more concentrated. But I grew up in a large, air-conditioned house. Yes, there was cat hair everywhere, but it wasn’t like this. In a one-bedroom with only a single AC unit, the cat hair problem just feels worse. It sticks to everything; little tufts suddenly appear when I turn on the AC; even touching the cat is a hazard, leaving cat hair on practically every surface. He’s a long-haired cat – I knew what I thought I was getting myself into – but the hair is so fine, I find it everywhere.

Space is an issue in other ways as well. I don’t have room to run around if I want to play with him (even though the laser pointer is cool, he prefers string of some kind…). I can’t just run around in circles like no one lives in my building. He loves to play, but the space is definitely a deterrent. I also didn’t take into account the kind of care he would require. From more expensive food, to potentially having to get his teeth cleaned (I mean, I don't even go the dentist as often as they say you should).I am perfectly willing to put up with a hot or cold apartment to save money. But having an animal that can’t do anything to control his body temperature has made it hard to justify saving money over our comfort. He loves it when I open the fridge because it’s probably the coldest air he’ll feel until December. It makes me feel bad that I don’t have better AC.

All of this could be misconstrued, however, as complaining. While some of it is, it’s really a reflection on the things that I have learned. I love my cat. I love having a cat. I like being interrupted by something other than Facebook when I’m working from home. He makes me take time out of my day to appreciate simple things. He’s obnoxious, sure. He talks more than I did when I was a kid (and if you ask anyone who knew me, they liked to say I was a chatterbox back then). He’s worse than an alarm clock some mornings. He can be gross. But he is sweet – he always wants to be where I am and loves being scratched under his chin. Sometimes he tries to sharpen his claws on my rug and I catch myself using words my parents used when they reprimanded our cats when I was growing up. It always makes me smile, even if I'm mad at him for knocking over my flowers.

Even though pets are like children who never grow up, who never learn, we still love them. There’s just something about them that we can’t resist (Well, some of us).

I am really glad, after all of that, that I decided to adopt a Julius.

After expanding my garden this wummer (my new way of referring to the fact that we skipped straight from winter to summer), I thought I'd share how things are doing.  Here's a pic:

Here's the breakdown, starting from the far left.
1. Marigolds: I plant these in the cinder blocks to create a border and repel rodents.  They seem to do especially well on the left side, which has very little shade, as opposed to the far right, which has more shade in the morning.  This year, rather than alternating colors, I did color blocks of yellow, orange, and red/orange.  Just as a side note, they do not deter rodents despite their fragrant aroma.

2.  Immediately to the right of the marigolds, I have lavender, oregano, cilantro, dill, and sage.  These have done very well (particularly the dill).  We make A LOT of pickles in the summer, so I'm excited to have my own fresh dill as opposed to making dried dill sachets, as I've done in the past.   Currently still waiting to sprout are the Milkweed seeds I planted a couple weeks ago.  I bought them, not realized they needed to be planted in cold weather so they could have six to eight weeks of cold.  So instead popped them in damp soil in baggies, then put them in the fridge for a month or so.  So we'll see.  They are a perennial, so even if I can just get a few of them to come up a little, they'll be back next summer.

3.  The tall flowering plants are hollyhocks.  For some reason, they are all pink, even though the packet was supposed to be a variety.  Oh well.  In front of those and to the right of the dill are three rows of beets.  I LOVE BEETS.  Learned from last summer to thin them out, so hopefully I won't get so many tiny squished-looking ones this year.

4.  The big bushy plant is a lumina pumpkin plant.  They are supposed to grow smooth, white pumpkins that are ideal for decorating and/or painting.  They are also tasty, although I've never used fresh pumpkin in any baking.

5. Immediately the right of pumpkin are two tomato plants: an Early Girl plant that already has between 10-20 little green tomatoes on it, and in the back, a roma plant that is also already growing fruit.  I think the extreme heat of June has contributed to their fruitfulness.

6.  Then next to the tomatoes are strawberries and rhubarb; we harvested close to 2 cups of strawberries this year (only 4 last year!), but they came in all straggled over the course of two or three weeks, so we really just ate four or five at a go and then ate four or five a couple days later.  Put 2 bags of rhubarb in the freezer, plus enough to make 1 strawberry-rhubarb pie.

7.  Along the fence in the new section are my cucumbers; my neighbor very casually offered me two giant cages to use for a trellis instead of the fence (guess he doesn't like his fence covered by cucumber vines...too bad.)  Starting to get itty bitty cucumbers growing, but it will be a bit before they're ready for harvest.

8.  Continuing along the fence, I have zinnias and (I think!) carnations.  Unfortunately, I tossed the packets after planting because of course I was going to remember them.  Nope.  Then a mock-orange bush that has finished flowering in front of the electric boxes.  In front of those, up near the front of the lawn timbers, I've planted snapdragons, phlox, daisies, and pink dianthus.  They are a little shrouded in overgrown grass because I didn't till up the ground, and I didn't kill of the grass--just planted straight into the yard and then layered cut grass and hay over it.  Maybe not the best way to go about it, but I didn't feel like renting a tiller.

9.  To the right of the electric box, I have a french-style pumpkin plant that is supposed to grown wide, flatter pumpkins (think old-school cinderella style).  It is not as vigorous as the lumina pumpkin, which I've already had to trim in order to keep it from taking over the tomatoes.  I'm beginning to think I should have planted them in opposite locations.

10.  On the far right, I have three peony plants--this is their third summer, and the first time I got blooms (2!!)

There you have it.  Now you can feel totally updated and up to speed.

Here are some pics of the fairy garden mural I painted in the girls' room a few weeks ago.  I loved doing it, but my wrists were annoyed with me for using them so much.  Oh well.  A few days of tingling and occasional numbness is a fair trade, IMO.  Hit me up with any process-related questions if you have them!

A semi-blurry panorama to give you a general idea of the layout.

Little bit closer view of the tree 

(the little glowy dots are the fairies--I don't paint people)

Painting these little mushrooms were my favorite.  

The snow-drops turned out much better than I expected.  

The kids did the mushroom on the right, and I added the details.

Some of the picture holders we put up.  

Looking at the pics always makes me get sentimental.

Quick preface - sorry this took so long to get posted guys. The last couple months have been crazy!

9.

Penny blinked a few times, trying to clear the glaring sun out of her waking eyes. It was mid-afternoon; she could hear the sounds of insects buzzing and the distant tinny warble of old-sounding music. There was a low buzz of conversation somewhere nearby and, as she sat up, she cast about for the nearest people. Sure enough, not ten feet away, a small group of oddly dressed people from a wide range of ages sat placidly around a patio table, chatting idly about nothing distinguishable. On the other end of the Garden was a tall swing set, one of its swings occupied by a young girl Penny could swear she had seen before. The girl was humming to herself and hadn’t noticed Penny looking at her yet.

As she tried to get her bearings, she noticed there was a large tomcat sunning himself nearby, a set of croquet mallets, and an odd series of differently sized rings. It was then that she realized what she was actually looking for: off in a secluded corner of the yard, Eric sat hugging his knees, his shoulders scrunched up as though he was trying to hide from someone. Penny jumped up and ran to him.

“Eric! Eric, what happened?” she tried to shake him but he ignored her completely.

“You should leave him alone for now,” said a voice behind her. Penny whirled around to face the speaker. It was the young girl from the swing set. She smiled at Penny and she realized it was the girl she had seen in the House – and in her TV. A chill went down her spine, but she mustered her courage.

“What’s wrong with him?” Penny demanded.

The girl gave Eric a pitying look, “It is something we all must go through, even you.” She looked up at Penny and smiled sunnily again. “Don’t worry, it doesn’t last long.” The girl turned and skipped away, joining the others at the table.

Frustrated, Penny marched after her. “What doesn’t last long?”

The little girl turned a cold look toward her. “The pain.” She turned away again, pointedly ignoring her as she sat at the Garden table.

Letting out a growl of frustration, Penny gave up and decided to go sit on the swings, since there didn’t seem to be any room at the table. Not that she wanted to sit there anyway. When she got to the swings, she realized that the girl she had been speaking to was not the one who had been swinging. This girl, identical to the first, smiled at Penny as she sat on the swing next to hers.

“You’ll have to excuse my sister. She can be a little impolite. You wanted to know what is wrong with your friend?” the girl said, rather than asked. Penny nodded. The girl sighed, “He is having a moment. It is something we all must face. Made of our fear and pain, it is a window into the room where we have locked our sorrow. Each of us visits that window once a day.” The girl sighed. “You will understand.”

She tried to put the girl’s comment as far from her mind as possible. “He’s having a moment” like he was simply having some sort of middle-school tantrum. Forget that he looked like he was dying inside.

“What is this place?” Penny asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

“Don’t you recognize it?” the girl asked. “This is the Garden, and that is the House.”

Penny looked toward the House. There was something familiar about it…Was that really the O’Hallaran House? It looked…different. New. She took a step toward it, but the girl stopped her. “Be careful,” she cautioned. “There are things in that House you may not wish to find.”

Penny frowned, but the girl tugged her away from the House and toward the patio table where the others sat. There was a teenage girl who looked like she had stepped out of Andy Griffith, an elderly woman that looked like all elderly women Penny had ever seen, two middle-aged men who looked vaguely related, and the twin girls. They all sat around the table drinking tea and picking at little sandwiches. It reminded Penny of the scene from Alice in Wonderland when Alice had tea with the Mad Hatter and his friends. She smiled at the thought.

However, this was far from the same. First of all, no one was singing. She was okay with that. Second of all, no one even remotely resembled the Mad Hatter. That was another thing to be grateful for. But it still had that dreamlike quality she felt when she had read the book and even when she had watched the movie. Somehow, it seemed that if she was to pick up a teacup, it would simply disappear in her hand. One of the twins handed her a teacup and pointed to a chair, so Penny decided that everything was probably real and sat. None of the others looked at her, which was slightly disconcerting. They all seemed lost in their own little worlds.

Turning to look at Eric, she saw he had not changed. He was still huddled in the corner, shaking and muttering. Whatever was wrong with him, she hoped it didn’t last long. They might not be friends, but at least she knew him. The rest of these people… Penny looked, really looked at each of them in turn. She recognized the girls, that was for sure, but the rest? She supposed the older men must be Archie and Randolph. Who was the old lady? Or the girl?

“Who are these people?” she whispered to the girl who had given her the teacup.

“Travelers, like you,” she answered. Her voice was sad, as though she regretted the fact.

Penny nearly growled in frustration but kept it to herself. “Travelers? What does that even mean?”

Before the girl could respond, another of those sitting at the table addressed her. “If you wait too long, Penny, that tea will be cold.” It was the teenage girl who had spoken. She gave Penny an expectant stare that looked somewhat familiar, though she couldn’t place it. Penny took another sip of the tea. This seemed to satisfy her and she turned away again.

A few minutes later,  Penny realized she was staring. She was looking at the House; frowning to herself, she turned away and tried to focus on the group around the table. Somehow, she just couldn’t. Finally, she turned to the girl sitting beside her. “What is your name?”

The little girl turned mournful eyes to her. “Violet O’Hallaran.”

“So that’s your House,” Penny said. The girl nodded. “And your sister Rose is over there?” Again, the girl nodded. “How did I get here?” Violet cocked her head to one side as though Penny had asked what color the sky was.

“You came through the House, of course.”

Penny stood, putting the teacup down on the table. She couldn’t stand the feeling that she was only being told half of the story. There was something she was missing. Violet tried to pull her back, but her curiosity overcame her; pulling herself free from the girl, she stepped into the House.

The first door she entered, coincidentally, the same door she and Eric had entered when they first arrived there. When she went inside, everything seemed to have a sheen to it, as though it wasn’t really there. The counters and old-fashioned appliances looked new, the paper on the walls wasn’t peeling, even the floor looked newly-varnished. It was as though they had only seen the House at night and it was now day. If Penny hadn’t known better, she wouldn’t have known it was the same House.

First, she found the first door. She tried the handle, but it was locked. There was nothing on the handle, however. It was just a regular, brass knob. When she made her way to the stairs, she felt different than she had before. She wasn’t looking for anything in particular – she wouldn’t have known where to start – but she wanted to see what she stumbled on.  Slowly, she started up the stairs. How had this been different before? It seemed to her now that this was the way the House had always been.

When she reached the top landing, she looked at the door that stood there. It was closed and – when she tried it – locked. That was when she remembered the key she had in her pocket. Curious, she pulled it out. It had started to glow in an ethereal sort of way.

“I wouldn’t do that,” a voice said from down the hall.

Penny turned and saw an elderly gentleman staring down at her from the darkness of the hall beyond. “Why not?”

“You may not like what you find.”

“So I’ve been told,” she muttered. Making a snap decision, Penny jammed the key into the lock and opened the door.

Immediately, she was sucked into a whirlpool of light. That is, at least, how it seemed. She hadn’t moved from the doorway, but beyond was nothing but a strange, spiraling pattern of what she almost thought were stars. In fact, the longer she watched, the more she became certain that was exactly what they were. They seemed to be moving at millions of miles per hour, colliding, exploding, imploding. Penny did not understand anything she was looking at, but it was mesmerizing. Soon, she was falling through space toward the center of the chaos before her.

Suddenly, a force slammed into her, knocking her backward out of the door and back into the hallway, only saved from tumbling down the steps by the presence of that old man behind her. The door slammed shut. Penny felt very cold all of a sudden. What had just happened.

“I told you.”

“I…” Penny found she couldn’t really express just what she felt. He helped her up and turned her toward the stairs.

“Perhaps you would like to play a game of croquet.”

“Croquet – what? No, I don’t.” Penny pulled away from the kindly gentleman and strode confidently past him. “I need to know.”

The man sighed and started down the steps. “You won’t find what you’re looking for.”

Penny bristled. What did this man know about what she wanted. “I’d like to see that for myself.”

He nodded. “I could have guess as much. Good luck.” He turned and descended. She watched until he was gone and, taking a deep breath and squaring her shoulders, she started off down the passage.

Penny did not pause to consider how to leave the House; she didn’t want to. She also didn’t think about how she got where she was. That was boring. What wasn’t boring were the doors. There must be thousands of doors in a House this size. There had to be something interesting behind most of them. She put the first on out of her mind, not wanting to think about what she had seen.

All of the unlocked doors were boring: bedrooms, closets, et cetera. One was so full of stuffed animals and dolls that there wasn’t even room to sit. It was a weird collection. She didn’t care about that either. She would have said she wasn’t looking for anything in particular, but that was because she didn’t really know what she was looking for in the first place. Surely, if she saw it, she would know.

She was in a room near the back of the second story when she heard her name being called from the Garden.

“Penny! Are you around here somewhere?”

Eric – he must have snapped out of whatever was wrong with him. She had forgotten the weird loneliness she had felt earlier, too interested in her fruitless search to think about it. Now, she rushed back out to the Garden, eager to tell him what she had found so far in her search of the House. As soon as she stepped into the backyard, however, her head split with the worst headache she could ever remember having. Wincing, she closed her eyes and tried to rub her temples. But, when she closed her eyes, darkness was not waiting for her. It was a scene all too familiar to her, one she had replayed a thousand times in the last few months.

She was sitting in the back of her parents’ car as it sped down the road to their deaths.

I happily dedicate hours and days of my summer to the upkeep and harvest of my garden. This year is no different. I started early this year, last fall actually, when I planted out a mix of winter buckwheat and winter barley AKA a Cover Crop.
There are tons of benefits to planting a cover crop, but for me, I wanted the additional nutrients these crops provide. More on the benefits of a cover crop HERE . I planted a cover crop in Fall 2016 as well and had beautiful soil for the 2017 growing season.
In addition to the cover crop I planted out some Garlic & some Flower Bulbs. I went a little crazy with the bulbs considering the size of my plot (6-7' x ~5') I love planting flowers, but considering the size of my plot and the crops I like to grow I have difficulty justifying the use of Space. So, this year, I planted the bulbs in a raised portion of my plot with the expectation that I'll plant a later season veggie in that space. Last year I had carrots in the raised garden. I bought three varieties of Tulip - an Early Blooming variety called Secret Perfume , a Mid-blooming variety called Green River , and a Late Blooming Variety called Dordogne. I got these from Burpee, but also ended up making a trip to Home Depot where they had some Hyacinth Bulbs & Crocuses. So, those went into the plot in late October/Early November.
I got into my plot to turn over the cover crop & plant out some carrots/beets & noticed there were already crocuses coming up. I had also forgotten that I planted out some garlic & nearly ruined that when I was turning over the cover crop.
I started planning out the space in January - during those slow, dreary, cold days at the beginning of the year. I had a list of the plants I love & have had success with, the plants I want to try this year, and the plants I've tried in the past & didn't have success with. I also noted the best & worst companion plants. It looks like I added 3 extra feet to the width of the garden so f & g aren't actually there. I updated the plot layout farther below. I'll need to figure out where/whether I want to plant parsnips this year. They are a nice addition to Stews in the winter, but they have such a long growing season... 105 Days until harvest

This particularly plot has done very well with the Square Foot gardening method, so I plan on keeping that up this year. The original plan for the plot is below, but I've already had to change it.
I plan on putting in a Watermelon in the blank space (Where the tulips are currently). I got this smaller variety from Brew & Grow that I'm starting from seed. I had heard of other gardeners' watermelons being stolen in the past, so this variety is a bit sneaky. It doesn't quite look like a watermelon - it's a variety called Golden Midget 

I also need to make a decent trellis this year. My plot is right up against a 6ft fence, so the late sun shelters that part of the garden. it can be good & bad. Some of the cooler weather crops like it, but sometimes the soil doesn't dry out. Before, when the raised bed was along the fence instead of to the left, anything I planted in the bead would rot/not sprout because it was too wet. I hope to grow a Cucumber vine up the trellis this year & stave off some of the problems I had last year.

For the record, this is what I did in the garden a few weeks ago:
1. Turned over the cover crop
2. moved the Garlic to one Sq. Ft. space - 4a
3. Planted:
- onion sets and shallot sets in 4c, 4e,
- Mini Carrots in 4b, Normal carrots in 4d
- beets in 3a & mini beets in 3f
4. Pruned the Lavender back

I've also started some seeds inside this year. I've rarely done plants from seed unless they're beets & carrots. They just never grow well in the plot. This year I have some grow lights & a heat mat in the laundry room under a tray with 18 starters.  I've started a Determinate Tomato variety called Silvery Fir Tree & that's already sprouted in about 5 days - I started 6 of those. I also ended up getting some Mini Red Bell Peppers & a Mustard Habanero Pepper I'll probably have to keep these on my Deck - again, garden thieves... no one wants Carrots or Beets, but fun things like Tomatoes & Peppers go missing before they're ripe. I have a few other things started in my laundry-room, but we'll see how those turn out.

My next steps are:
Plant the 2nd rounds of Carrots & beets
Check on the tulips - I want to use them as cut flowers
Build a Trellis

In your own words, retell the myth of Daedalus and Icarus; 

in a separate paragraph, explain the main point of the myth.

Penny had probably read the question at least four times before she actually started to write. She normally sailed through Lit tests, but her thoughts were elsewhere today. After school, she and Eric were taking the key back to the house. They had each packed their backpacks with extra food, water, flashlights, and a couple small kitchen knives. Just in case, Eric had said, although Penny doubted that knives would do much against whatever was in the house. Or elsewhere. The thought made her shiver. Mrs. Scholtz’s suggestion that all the lost people were still living or existing somewhere other made her heart leap into her throat.

She scribbled a few more lines about Dedalus and his wax wings, then glanced at the clock in the back of the room. She still had a full page of short essay questions and only ten minutes left in class. She hunched over the desk and wrote furiously, determined to not let thoughts of haunted houses, keys, and lost souls keep her from getting at least a B. She might be a total failure as a daughter and as a friend, she might be poor and chubby, but she sure as heck wasn’t going to get bad grades. That was probably going to be her only path out of this stupid town someday.

That is, if she didn’t get sucked into some otherworldly vortex of misery and torment.

The tip of her pencil snapped, and she realized she was very close to growling out loud. Not a good way to improve her social standing. She raised her hand for a new pencil, then managed to finish the last of the questions without growling, breaking her pencil lead, or improperly placing a comma. She sighed as she packed up her bag, then set the finished test on the podium. Only five more periods to go. And lunch. Her favorite.

Penny managed to survive history, computers and was most of the way through her pasta with red sauce and mystery meat when Madelynne, Sophie, Lisa and Tyler--all part of Eric’s posse--passed her on their way to empty their trays in the trash. She avoided eye contact and hoped they would just pass her by, but then she felt something narrowly miss her head. A piece of garlic bread was spinning on the table a few inches from her tray.

“Whoa, sorry,” Tyler gasped in mock horror. “I was totally aiming for the trash. I’ll try to do better next time.” Just wait for it, Penny thought to herself, sighing. A carrot stick--still sticky with dressing--landed right in the middle of her pasta. She attempted to tune out the bubbly laughter from the girls.

“Yes!” Tyler pumped his fists. “Made it!’

“Dude, just-- It’s just not funny.” Another voice cut into the girls’ giggles and Tyler’s self-congratulations, this one dry and bored. Penny’s head snapped up in surprise. Eric didn’t look at her, but stared at Tyler, clearly annoyed. Penny felt like she must have heard him wrong. Tyler clearly did too. Madelynne, Sophie and Lisa just looked confused.

“Uh, Eric, it’s hilarious. I said I was throwing it in the trash, and I threw it at her plate. Cuz, you know, she’s trash?” Tyler didn’t seem to understand that explaining a joke never made it funnier. Eric rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, Ty, I get it.” The bored expression was back. “But it’s stupid. Find some new material or just give up. I don’t care.”

Tyler started to turn red. “What’s your deal, Martinez? You suddenly into fat girls now?” Penny felt her face heat up and her throat tighten, and she gritted her teeth against the fury that seemed to well up inside her.

“Yeah, I’m totally into her,” Eric said sarcastically. “Seriously, Ty. I don’t have to be into someone to see that you’re being an idiot.”

“What the--” Tyler spluttered. He glanced at the girls, who had stopped looking confused, and were now whispering to each other and gazing adoringly at Eric. “Fine.” He spun on his heel, and shot a dark look at Penny before slamming his tray onto the table and stalking off in the direction of the lockers.

Eric glanced briefly at Penny, something unreadable flickering in his eyes, before directing his attention to the girls who were still whispering and giggling. “Aren’t you all in Miss Callahan’s class with me?” he asked casually. The girls giggled again, and they all turned and walked out of the lunch room, Madelynne gushing about how sweet it was for Eric to stick up for social outcasts. He must think we’re going to die tonight, Penny thought incredulously. There was no other reason for him to intervene. Although. She glanced at Eric, surrounded by pretty girls who seemed to fawn over his every move--maybe it hadn’t been such a big risk after all.

Penny spent the rest of the afternoon trying not to count the minutes until the last bell . She managed to avoid interacting with Tyler and the rest of the guys in Earth Science, although Mrs. Scholtz kept looking at her with a slightly tragic expression on her face, which only added to Penny’s growing sense of nervousness. Then Pre-Algebra, PE, and band. Although it had seemed to drag on interminably, the school day was finally done. Her stomach seemed to be full of fluttering wings, and her heart was racing. She grabbed her backpack from her locker, and then raced out the door before Tina could find her and tag along.

The Other Place. Penny tried to imagine what it would be like, if they were actually able to get past the guardians and use the key. Would it mirror this world? Or be a darker shadow of it? Would time pass the same way? Would they be able to find the way out? She plunged her hand into her pocket and felt around for the brass key Mrs. Scholtz had entrusted to her. She gripped it tightly in her palm, feeling the teeth biting into her skin. She tried to remember the instructions Mrs. Scholtz had given to them before thrusting the key at Penny.

“The man you saw--” Mrs. Scholtz had begun.

“You mean the zombie,” Eric interrupted.

“No,” Penny countered. “He was more like a mummy, all dried out and nasty.”

Mrs. Scholtz shrugged. “It doesn’t really matter what you call him. His name is Randolph.”
Penny shuddered at that. Not “was.” “Is.”

Mrs. Scholtz eased herself into the reclining chair behind her desk. “He was the first one the house took. Well, not really the house,” she corrected herself. “The house is inhabited by...something. As far as I’ve been able to learn, the workers uncovered some old human remains when the house was being built originally, and I think that they must have disturbed it then, but we’ll never know for sure. The bones are long since gone.”

“Anyway, Archie and Randolph were brothers--they’d built the house together after making their money in coal. They had a sister, Agatha--she was the mother of the twins--who died in a automobile accident back in upstate New York. The girls were shipped to Archie and lived with him till, well, you know.”

“But what about Randolph?” Penny pressed. “You said he was the first, but I saw him in that picture online.”

“Well, I know the picture you mean. And that was taken not long before he just up and disappeared one day, probably about ten years before Agatha died. Folks never saw him again. Archie always said he’d moved out to Washington or California or some such nonsense.” She snorted. “Poor Archie. He was never a very good liar.” Her sharp eyes fixed on Penny’s. “That’s why the people around here knew he could’ve never murdered those girls. The shock of finding them almost did him in, and police could never find any evidence linking him to the murders.”

“Anyway, all that to say that Randolph was the first. And so he’s a guardian now. As are the girls. The house apparently didn’t need any more after them, so the rest of the people it takes get sent...somewhere else. I almost saw where, the time I was in there, But it spat me out and left me with this key. I couldn’t ever get in again, and I never saw the guardians again either, no matter how many times I tried.” Her voiced grew soft. “Since then, It’s only ever been an empty house to me.”

“So what does the key open?” Eric pressed.

“I’m not sure,” Mrs. Scholtz admitted. “I think there must be a fourth door. The guardians--you’ve got to get past them--and then maybe it will be revealed or something similar. I saw lights shining, heard my sister’s voice.” She trailed off for a moment, and Penny knew she was playing the sound over again in her head. Penny understood what that was like. Mrs. Scholtz pressed her lips together and then continued. “I know there’s something beyond, and I think that key must be the ticket in."

“But once we get in,” Penny tried to keep her voice even, “how do we get out?”

“Beats me. No one has ever gone in by choice--always taken. My guess is that whatever it is will let you know what it wants, and you’ll have to either stay or do what it asks.” Mrs. Scholtz grimaced. “You sure you still want this key?” Penny took a deep breath and glanced at Eric. His face was set.

“Yeah. I’m sure.” The key had felt cold and heavy in her hand, and it was as if something had settled in Penny, a chain that linked her to Eric, to Mrs. Scholtz, and the house itself.

Penny snapped out of her reverie and found herself standing on the sidewalk two blocks north of the O’Hallaran House, her hand still wrapped tightly around the key. She spotted Eric a block behind her and decided to wait for him.

“Well, if it isn’t my knight in shining armor,” she said snarkily, as he drew nearer. “Thanks for rescuing me at lunch today.”

“No problem,” Eric said breezily. “You looked like you needed it.”

“Seriously? That’s all you’re going to say?” Penny threw her hands up. “You are impossible.”

“Look,” Eric’s voice became serious. “I--I felt bad. After what you said yesterday.” Penny could hardly believe her ears. “I told you I would say something. And I did.”

She rolled her eyes. “I just can’t believe you told off Tyler, and you still walked away with Madelynne and the rest of them looking at you like some movie star.” Penny shook her head and snorted. “Only you. It’s not fair.”

Eric grinned widely. “I can’t help if the girls love me.”

“Not this girl,” Penny muttered, trying to ignore the fact that Eric Martinez was smiling at her. Not just smiling, but acting like her friend. Forget the O’Hallaran House. She was already in the Twilight Zone.

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Eric said dismissively. “But--” and he broke off awkwardly and cleared his throat. “Uh, just know that I don’t--er--think you’re fat or that weird or--”

Penny put a hand up. “Just stop. You’re freaking me out. And we’re about to head into a house that eats people, so--”

Eric laughed. “Good point.” He hefted his backpack higher on his shoulder. “You ready to do this?” The house stood just ahead of them, and Penny felt the little hairs on her arms lift as she stared at the empty windows.

“No, but if we don’t do it now, it will probably take someone else.” As soon as she said
she knew it was true. The house would take another kid, and Penny couldn’t live with any more accidents on her hands. She squared her shoulders, glanced up at Eric, and pulled out the key.

“Let’s go.”

Over President's Day Weekend, I took a long weekend trip to New York City. It was my first time in NYC, and I have to say: I'm a fan.

Do I like it more than Chicago? Nononono. Chicago is still my city :)

But I did happen to buy a new camera just a few weeks before my trip. A mirrorless Sony A6000.

Here are a few of my shots:

 Flatiron Building

Empire State Building

Oculus

9/11 Memorial

One World Trade Center

The City at Dusk

Overall I had a really great time visiting with my friend from law school. She took me to some of her favorite places and made sure I got some of the tourist experience. We only explored Manhattan as I was only there for a couple days and that's where my friend lives. The most unique experience was Times Square. We only walked through it but I've never experienced anything quite like it in any of my other trips. A lot of our time was spent experiencing my friend's favorite restaurants and bars and I thoroughly enjoyed that. I'll definitely be back!

A couple recommendations that were favorites of mine:

•      Edwards in Tribeca for breakfast, lunch or dinner
•      Arturo's in NoHo (maybe 3 blocks south of Washington Square Park) for pizza and a chill evening atmosphere 

About a year and a half ago, I stumbled on the Young Turks on Youtube (not hard to do, since they're kind of all over the place) talking about the XL pipeline, which was something I hadn't really heard about anywhere else.  And I was shocked at what they were showing (the police and the protesters), and I got hooked. Because I mostly agree with them.  I like how passionate Cenk gets about everything, and I find myself agreeing with him most of the time.  We're equally cynical.
Well, anyway, watching that show makes me pay attention a little more closely to what's happening - also really impossible these days with Trump doing his thing and the chaos that has erupted all over the country. And I was like, "Paul Ryan is so frustrating.  Why is he so powerful? Who elected him anyway?"  Oh, guess what, my district in Wisconsin is RESPONSIBLE for that.
Randy Bryce is a JUSTICE DEMOCRAT running against him, and I'm all in. I know there are really complicated political issues that most of us can't agree on, but there is so much more going on right now that fundamentally challenges our system of government that I can't help but get involved.  I'm beyond caring if I make people angry (not family, but just...you know, people).  I'm supporting him because of the people that live around here, who don't realize that they're giving their rights away. 
Anyway, that's the soapbox.  I like the t-shirt. It's funny.
I also got this one:

Oh, in Illinois, there's a Justice Democrat running for governor - Daniel Biss.  Really like him.  He's cool.  And there are Justice Democrats running all over the country. Their big thing is Medicare For All, gun control, and NO CORPORATE FINANCING IN ELECTIONS. Woot.

                Penny was fighting with her locker, about ready to break something out of frustration, when Eric appeared around the corner, hands shoved coolly into his pockets and a vacant expression on his face.  Penny tried slamming the locker door one more time before she began slamming it over and over.  Eric, expression quickly melting, reached over with a quiet, “Hey, hey, chill.”

                Penny froze and glanced around, wondering if anyone had seen.  Luckily she and Eric weren’t the primary focus of the school that day, but she still took several steps away.  He had also looked around, realizing his mistake.

                “You have to jiggle it…” he said a little lamely, wiggling the handle in such a way that the door finally swung open smoothly. Like it had never been stuck stubbornly at all.  She resentfully grabbed her books and began shoving them into her backpack, unwilling to look at him.

                “You said you found something,” she said through gritted teeth as she jammed her math textbook between two notebooks.

                “Yeah, but I’ll wait ‘til you’re done.”  She sighed and zipped up her bag, slamming her locker door and crossing her arms.

                “Done,” She said, her tone a little snarkier than she meant for it to be.  Eric threw up his hands in mock surrender.

                “Geez, why are you so cranky?” he asked.  She gritted her teeth again and muttered, “You should know.”  When he only looked confused, she almost screamed in frustration.  During their simultaneous lunch periods, Penny, who had been minding her own business and eating the disgusting school lunch had become the primary topic of conversation at his lunch table, with one of the girls eventually calling her “a little fat” and ending with a critique of her clothing as “white trash rags”.  It wouldn’t have hurt so much if Penny hadn’t already started feeling that thing her aunt called “normal girl stuff” about her weight.  And her clothes were bad, she knew, but there wasn’t anything she could do about it.  She tried to take consolation in that fact, but it hadn’t worked.

                “Your stupid friends were calling me fat and poor. Again,” she hissed at him, crossing her arms more tightly.  Tears she had been suppressing all day sprang into her eyes and she hurriedly blinked them away, focusing on how angry she was instead.

                “Really? My friends did?” he asked, but she knew he had remembered by the slightly guilty expression on his face.  She rolled her eyes.  He sighed and lowered his voice.

                “What do you want me to do about it?  If I say anything they’ll…”

                “They’ll what? Think we’re friends? Think we’re ‘going out’? They wouldn’t make fun of you. Come on, Eric. Seriously,” she burst.  She laughed bitterly and turned to go.  Eric sighed loudly and said, “Wait.  Okay, I’m sorry. I…I’ll say something to them. Tomorrow. I promise.”  She doubted it, and if she was honest, she didn’t actually think it would help, but it was enough to keep her around to hear whatever he had found, the purpose of their discreet afterschool meet up.

                “What did you find, Eric?”  He watched her for a long time before he said, “Follow me.”

                She slung her backpack over one arm and followed him, exhausted from the variety of emotions that had raged through her in only a few minutes.  He led her down a hallway, up a flight of stairs and through another hallway before stopping in front of a classroom door.  The door was closed, but he glanced through the window and quickly ducked out of sight.

                “She’s in there. I was hoping she hadn’t left yet.” Before Penny could ask who he meant, he swung the door open and ducked into the classroom. She followed and slowed to a stop when she saw who was sitting at the desk.

                They had arrived at Mrs. Scholtz’s classroom, and the moment they walked in the door, Mrs. Scholtz looked up and smiled. “I wondered when you two would show up.”

                Penny glanced at Eric curiously, cheeks blushing a little for some reason she couldn’t explain.

                “Sorry,” Eric said, “I just wanted to make sure you were alone.  I didn’t want to ask you about this between classes.”

                “That’s fine.  You should probably sit, though,” she said.  Penny glanced between Eric and Mrs. Scholtz again, a little lost, but she stayed silent and followed Eric to the two front desks.

                “I probably should have told you as soon as I knew you had gone to the house,” Mrs. Scholtz said, staring out the window, “but I wanted you to figure it out for yourselves.  That means you’re truly…seekers, I guess.”

                “What are you talking about?” Penny asked finally, staring at Eric who was leaning forward in anticipation.

                “Well, I’m assuming you made the connection between me and my unfortunate sister, Ann,” she began, and Penny nodded.

                “She never stopped looking for her,” Eric said, glancing at Penny.  Mrs. Scholtz nodded.

                “My brother…he blamed himself.  God knows why.  He went off and died in Vietnam a few years later.  I was alone.  So, no, I never stopped looking.”  Mrs. Scholtz walked to the window and stared out at the school yard emptying of students, afternoon sun oddly cheerful despite the dark nature of the conversation.  Penny could almost feel Mrs. Scholtz’s loneliness across the room.

                “I studied the paranormal, the occult; I studied religions, met with religious leaders.  No one could give me answers,” She continued, her voice tired, “So, I finally decided to go to the house myself.  I had been too afraid that whatever had happened to Ann would also happen to me if I went there, so I had avoided it for years, but I had no other options.”  Eric was so excited he was bouncing in his seat as she spoke, which was in direct contrast to Mrs. Scholtz resigned gait across the room.

                “Did you see the doors?” Penny asked.  Mrs. Scholtz looked at her for a long moment, the sun reflecting off her glasses so that Penny couldn’t actually see her eyes.

                “I not only saw them, I understood them.”  She sighed and reached to pull a chain from around her neck.

                “And they also gave something to me,” she said.  She pulled the chain out from her dress, and held it up for them to see.  An old golden key swung from the chain, the handle shaped into the symbol Penny had seen on the last door.

                “Whoa,” Eric murmured, and he leaned so close to her that he almost tipped over his desk.  Penny felt oddly terrified as she stared at the key, and a chill ran through her as she glanced at Mrs. Scholtz’s face and saw her own terror mirrored on her face.

                “Why haven’t you used it?” Penny asked.

                “I tried.  It won’t work for me,” Mrs. Scholtz said, tucking the key back into her dress.  Eric leaned back and sighed.

                “Really?  But…but why?” Penny asked, feeling almost instantly relieved as the key disappeared from sight.

                “I have a theory about that,” Eric said quietly, and they both looked at him.

                “Well, I mean, it’s really just a theory, but…what if the house sort of…calls to certain people?  I mean, like me and Penny.  Tina didn’t see or hear any of the things we experienced.  And maybe that’s because she was outside, but she doesn’t really care about this stuff like we do, right?  I mean, I’ve been dreaming about the house…thinking about it all the time. I even…” He didn’t go on, but Penny knew he was right.  She had seen the garden on her TV. She had felt the house calling to her.  Something wanted her to enter the house.  Something had drawn her in.

                “But why us and not Mrs. Scholtz or Tina?” Penny asked exasperated.

                “I don’t know. I haven’t figured that out,” he said, shrugging.  Mrs. Scholtz sat down on the edge of her desk and studied them.

                “What he says is true,” she said quietly, “the house chooses some and not others.  I don’t know if it’s a blessing or a curse, but I do believe that all those people that have vanished…they are somewhere.  And I’ve been waiting a long time to give this key to someone.”

                Penny felt the bottom of her stomach drop out.  They would have to go back to the house, use the key.  And who knew what kind of doors that key would open.  She looked at Eric, and when their eyes met, he grinned broadly and squared his shoulders.

                “What do you think, Penny? You in?”  Penny looked from one to the other, then stared down at her hands for a long moment.  What did she have to lose anymore, she wondered.  Then, setting her jaw, she looked up at Mrs. Scholtz and said, “I’m in.”

I've been MIA.
Working hard, going to school, doing homework on the weekends.

Today I woke up with a Migraine, so this evening I've just been chilling at home. Catching up on some wedding planning stuff.

It also meant I got to make dinner. I almost forgot that I had purchased a couple Red Peppers with the intention of turning them into Soup with some Tomatoes. Good thing I remembered since they were just about Shot. Soup was Onion, Garlic, celery, Canned Diced Tomatoes (2x - one happened to have roasted Garlic), Tomato paste, Roasted Red Peppers and Roasted Garlic + Rosemary, Oregano, Thyme. nothing really measured. Simmered everything but the Roasted Red Peppers & Roasted Garlic for a while. Threw in the Roasted bits & whirled it up with an immersion blender. Added some feta I had in the fridge and WHAM! Excellent Soup. I could have cut down on the onions I think. I just used a chunk that was left in the fridge. I've made a couple other interesting things in the past few weeks as well. Some Greek Lemon Chicken with Roasted Tomatoes and Feta Dip from HERE I've made THESE muffins for quick grab breakfasts. I need to make another batch for this week. Really, that's what I've been doing to keep myself busy when I'm not Busy.

The first thing that came up when Penny searched for “O’Hallaran House” were the stories of mysterious disappearances. Not the murders of the twin girls, not their murderer found in the basement, but a string of disappearances going all the way back to the ‘20’s. They hadn’t all happened in the house, but to people connected to it in obscure ways. The first was the real estate agent who had tried to sell the house after Jimmy O’Hallaran, the father of the girls, had died. One man was a contractor who had attempted to renovate in the ‘70’s. Last was a teenager who had gone into the house on a dare about twenty years ago. It was the last story that made Penny grow cold.

The seventeen-year-old girl had gone into the house when her brother dared her. When she came out of the house half an hour later, she was scared out of her mind. She told her brother all sorts of stories about ghosts, doors, and pockets of the house being in different times. Her brother had believed it to be a prank, but she claimed it was all true. When no one would believe her, she stopped talking about it. Eventually, life moved on and they forgot about the incident. Then, one day about a year after she had gone inside, the girl disappeared on her way home from school. The last person to see her – her best friend from school – had seen her go back into the O’Hallaran house.

“What is she doing here?” Eric demanded from the computer next to hers, breaking Penny out of her reverie.

Penny glanced at Tina who, not noticing Eric’s arrival, was staring intently at her phone.

“I couldn’t convince her to go home,” Penny muttered back.

Tina, hearing their whispered conversation, looked up. “Oh! What are you doing here?” she asked Eric.

Eric shrugged. “I have some homework to finish up. My computer’s broken.”

“What are you looking at?” Tina asked, suddenly drawn to the images on Penny’s computer screen. “You aren’t seriously looking up stuff about that house, are you?” She shivered.

“I was curious to see if the story you told was true,” Penny told her. “So far, I haven’t seen anything about it.”

“That’s because you’re not looking in the right places,” Eric told her, turning to his computer and scrolling through the results. “See, it’s this one.”

The page he chose – called  “Haunted Houses and Paranormal Places” – pulled up an old black-white-photo of the twin girls standing on the porch of the O’Hallaran house. According to the article, when the house was built, it was the biggest one on the block. Very little about the house had changed in the last century besides its decrepitude. Penny recognized the girls immediately. Violet and Rose, were the only daughters of Mr. and Mrs. James O’Hallaran. The parents had died in 1908 from a tragic train accident and the two girls had been sent to live with their aged uncle. It had definitely been the girls she had seen in the house. Standing behind the girls was an older gentleman. The article outlined the basic story – it was a lot like the one Tina’s brother had told her – but it also talked about the man that had supposedly killed the twin girls.

WM. Archibald O’Hallaran, the uncle of Violet and Rose O’Hallaran, was a wealthy businessman. He grew up on a farm, but early in his life, he made money working for the railroad. When he got tired of that, he invested in cattle and made most of his money by running one of the largest cattle ranches in the state.  After a time, he moved back to where his father had once farmed and built the biggest house the Irving had seen. Still, he hadn’t been satisfied, it seemed. He was constantly looking for new ways to make more money. When the twins had been forced into his custody after their parents’ deaths, it seemed he wasn’t thrilled, but he took it on as he did any other job. He had been found wandering in the basement looking for something after the twin girls had been found dead upstairs. He was confused about what was going on when they arrested him. He tried to plead his innocence, but  no one would believe that he hadn’t done it and he couldn’t explain how he had come to be in such a state. He died less than a year later before the trial was over. The town paper had even published a short obituary for him.

MR. WM. Archibald O’Hallaran, prominent businessman and entrepreneur, passed away in his house last night. The causes of Mr. O’Hallaran’s illness is unknown, though he was always known to be in good health. Recently implicated in the murder of Violet and Rose O’Hallaran, Mr. O’Hallaran spent the majority of his days in his home.

Known to his friends as Archie, Mr. O’Hallaran enjoyed passing his time by playing Croquet in his garden or reading the paper in the local diner. Despite the recent tragedy, Mr. O’Hallaran is widely remembered as a good, gentle soul and will be missed in the community.

There was more, but Penny did not read it. It seemed odd to her that a man accused of killing his twin nieces would be so well thought of in the small Irving community, but perhaps people knew more than they were telling.

The O’Hallaran estate, having no heirs, fell to some distant relative after the murder of the twins and the house went up for auction. Archie had died somewhere in his house, supposedly. After that, no one who entered the house lived very long or disappeared completely.

“I told you, it’s creepy!” Tina complained. “Can we look at something else?”

“Wait,” Penny told Eric as he scrolled through the page. She had seen a picture of the man who attacked her in the house. He was a lot younger, but she could almost swear it was him. “Who is that?”

Eric squinted at the page, “It says  here he’s the last known owner of the house.”

“What’s his name?”

“Randolph O’Hallaran.”

“Is that all it says?” she asked. Eric kept scrolling but there was nothing else about him. There were more detailed stories of disappearances on this website than Penny had found previously. There seemed to be one every ten or fifteen years until the last girl had gone missing in 1999. One took place around 1968 involving a Betty, Jimmy, and Ann Sholtz. Jimmy had accidentally driven his car, his two sisters in the backseat, into the fence. They all got out to move the car, but Ann had gone up to the door of the house to see if they could get any help. Two days later Ann went missing after she had left home to go to a friend’s house.

“Betty Sholtz,” Eric read aloud, “Isn’t she the science teacher?”

“Maybe that’s why…” Penny began, but she couldn’t finish the thought.

Suddenly, Tina’s phone rang. Startled, she looked down at it as if she didn’t know what to do with it. When she answered it, it was her mom. They had lost track of time and it was now close to four-thirty. “I have to go, guys,” she said when she hung up. She gave Penny a questioning look. Penny was all for staying and looking at the stories, but she noticed Eric was also packing up his things.

“I have to be home soon or my dad will be mad,” he explained, sounding almost apologetic. Almost.

With an inward sigh, Penny logged off, packed her bag, and followed Tina out of the library, Eric not far behind her.

At home alone, Penny idly flicked through the few TV channels that her aunt had available. There wasn’t much on – news, nature, reruns – but it was better than sitting around doing homework. She couldn’t stop thinking about the information they had found that afternoon. The website looked like maybe it had been put together by some kind of fanatic, but it was interesting. Definitely more interesting than anything else this dull town had to offer.

What if Ms. Sholtz knew more about the house that she was willing to share? Had they gone inside? Penny felt more and more questions popping into her head and all she wanted to do now was find out more. Who was Randolph O’Hallaran?  Her mind raced, coming to strange conclusions and even more questions.

Maybe it was best to just let it go, she thought. Everyone else seemed to want to. Everyone except Eric. What had made him so interested in it? In her mind’s eye, she saw the glowing door and its chilling inscription. Something very weird was going on here.

The doorbell rang, startling Penny. Her aunt was out somewhere in the town, but she had left her a few bucks for a pizza and Coke. Cash in hand, she went to the door. When she came back to the couch, pizza and Coke in her hands, the TV had…changed.

The picture – some prime time channel she had landed on – had disappeared, replaced by a weird flickering. There was a familiar noise, like the sound of leaves in the wind. The screen sprang to life. It was like watching a really old home video, but with the quality of a Charlie Chaplin clip. Dad had loved the old comedies… Penny shook herself and focused on the TV. It was a video of people wandering around in a lush garden, walking back and forth as though parading for the camera. They talked and laughed among themselves.

“Penny…”

Penny froze, nearly dropping the pizza on the floor as a shiver ran down her spine. She recognized that voice.

“Come on, Penny!”

Some of the people in the garden looked familiar, like they had belonged to another part of her life, one she could only just remember. The camera zoomed in on a girl, holding the hand of a woman that Penny recognized. She smiled at the camera.

“Come on!” the voice said.

Penny gasped and the TV abruptly shut off. She grabbed the remote and turned it back on, but it was just some show about a group of penguins. She changed the channel and it was some old man sitting behind a desk looking serious and talking about a war somewhere. Again. No matter how many times she changed the channel, the video of the garden never came back. Sullenly, she ate her pizza and waited, but she didn’t see it again.

Maybe she had imagined it…

With a sigh, she pulled out the homework she had yet to finish. Tomorrow was Friday. One more day in this long week and she would finally have time to properly look into this mystery.

Her phone buzzed and, swallowing her bite of pizza, she answered it.

“Hey, it’s me,” Eric’s voice came through.

Penny fought the urge to roll her eyes. “What is it this time?”

“I think we should go back to the house,” he said resolutely, as though he had only just made up his mind about it. “I’ve been doing a little more research, and…well, I just think we need to go back.”

Penny was not surprised. She had been feeling the same way. “Well, maybe it should wait until Saturday…” Penny answered.

“We can talk about it tomorrow,” Eric replied quickly. “Just wait until you see what I found.”

“Alright,” she answered. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow then.”

After they hung up, a vague sense of unease settled over Penny. Would Eric believe her if she told him about what she had seen? She dismissed the thought; she didn’t need to tell him about that. Tina wouldn’t believe her, of that she was sure. Eric was right, though, if they wanted answers, they would probably find them at the house.

Making herself more comfortable on the old couch, Penny started on her homework, hopping to distract herself. For the most part, it worked; by the time her aunt came home around eleven to say a quick hello and goodnight, Penny had all but put the house out of her mind.