birfday

So there it is. Or was. My birthday.

It came and went, but this year was a bit better than most.


On Thursday, Jon and I drove to The Grand Canyon. Uh, not the real one, the Pennsylvania one. We stayed at Falling Stars Farm, a bed and breakfast I would highly highly recommend to anyone looking for some relaxation. It turns out that the b&b is owned by a former co-worker of my mother. They built the 3 guest-room home as a b&b about 5 years ago. It is a log cabin and wood everywhere the eye can see. It is beautiful. The second floor is surrounded by a wide covered porch with chairs and swings. The only thing they needed but did not have was a hammock. The view overlooked the hilly fields and bluebird nesting boxes, as well as their fledgling Christmas tree farm. I suppose that is where the "farm" part comes in.

Unfortunately (though not entirely unexpectedly) we got off to a late start, so we did not get there until around 4:30 or 5, so we did not get to enjoy the home or the property (I think they said they had 43 acres?!) as much as I would have liked. We relaxed, had some tea and delicious chocolate chip and ranger cookies, and read on the porch for awhile. Around 7:30, we decided that cookies did not constitute dinner and headed into the town of Wellsboro to find a meal. On our way out, we met a random horse chewing some grass in a field. It had a rein, but there was no fence or anything holding it back. I tried to pet it, but it freaked out and went back to eating grass. Shrug.

We ended up at Wellsboro's historic hotel, complete with an 8 x 11 ft flag made of glass. Turns out the flag was commissioned to commemorate a war, and the only request was the it represented the company that painstakingly crafted it. Unfortunately, that glass factory made christmas ornaments. So the whole thing was made of Christmas balls, each about 3 inches in diameter. (gag) Fortunately though, it was entirely out of place with the rest of the hotel, which had an old-world get dressed up in your full length fur and take in a "picture" at the local theatre type feel. Dinner was good. Jon had some sort of steak... I had apple stuffing stuffed pork tenderloin smothered in apple butter. Uh, YUM. We also had really yummy soup there. We kept asking ourselves why we did not bring the camera because the town was so... Main Street. So cute. We could, actually, live there... if there were jobs to be had, I suppose.

We came home and more or less flopped into bed. Neither of us slept that well because HOLY COW do wooden houses hold their heat! We got up in the middle of the night and turned the fan on super high. It was better after that.

The next day, Kate and Ken, the owners, made us breakfast to order. I had a delicious smoothie, blueberry pancakes, and bacon. Jon had fried eggs, toast on homemade honey oat bread, homefries... and he even choked down some smoothie, which had banana in it, much to his horror. We sat and talked with the owners for a solid 2 hours over breakfast. It was suprisingly pleasant, given that I am TOTALLY not into polite conversation. But it just felt really relaxing and laid back and not pressured at all, like polite conversation can sometimes be.

We managed to leave the place around 12, I think, and we headed over to the Western Rim of the Canyon. There was actually not all that much to see on that side except bugs bugs and more bugs. You would think they would be down by the water, but no, they felt much more at home at 1700 ft elevation. Apparently. We walked around there for awhile, but then decided to get moving and get to camp.

We drove down to Pettecote Junction, which was about 45 minutes South. The drive was lovely. Lots of summer cabins along the way, most particularly, one named "Breaking Wind". Really, what were they thinking? The camp was... campy. They had permanent campers there, some you could rent, some spaces for traveling campers, and tenting spots. We got there maybe around 4 or 4:30 and proceeded to put up the Gilham's giant tent. We knew people would be getting in late, so we wanted to get it up before dark. It took us maybe a half hour, since we had no idea what we were doing. We then put up our tent in like 15 minutes. After that, we made a fire, and settled in to wait.

Les and Ben and the puppies showed up first. We got the dogs settled on lines, then put up two MORE tents. The people at the campground were amused by our shantytown. Nick and Josh showed up next, though it was dark by then. Kris, Krista, and Tyler finally made it around 9:30 or 10 and we spent most of the evening sitting around the fire, relaxing.

It is strange for me about camping... I sleep GREAT. Give me a hard ground and cold weather and I am out like a freaking rock. I love all the nature sounds. I love being warm and snuggly in a sleeping bag. Its just great. And for my birthday, Jon got me my own sleeping bag. My previous sleeping bag was purple nylon on the outside, polyester filling, and some kind of synthetic lining with pink, purple, and white tie-dye bursts on the inside. I have had it since I was.... old enough to go to sleepovers. In the past few years, it got sucked into the vortex that is my brother, and it has not been seen or heard of since. Needless to say, I needed a sleeping bag, and the one Jon got is AWESOME because it has height. Usually sleeping bags are just two pieces of fabric sewn at the edges. Mine has an additional strip at the edge, giving it some height, which means I can move my legs around. I sleep as spread eagle as I can get, so this bag is great for me, and it held up against the cold quite well.

The next day, we got up and Les and Ben made bacon and eggs for breakfast. I am pretty sure we more or less ruined their dutch oven... and I am sure we ruined our million dollar cephalon green ceramic coated griddle we got for our wedding... but it was worth it. At least now we have an official camping griddle. :/ After that, we headed back up through Wellsboro to hit the Eastern Rim of the Canyon. The thing is - not a lot of websites tell you exactly where the grandcanyon is. I thought it was all down Pine Creek. It isnt. So if you are planning a trip there, you want to be specific as to where you go, so that you are not 45 minutes away like we were. It worked out though, because the only grocery store within an hour was in Wellsboro.

At Josh's request, we did the Turkey trail, 9 switchbacks (partially planked with stairs) that took us from the top of the Canyon all the way down to the bottom. The trail was only a mile, but I think we covered several hundred feet in elevation. Going down was the easy part, despite me almost wiping out on the mud. There were lots of rivulets forming down the side of the Canyon, so some places were rather slippery and treacherous. No one died though, so we did well. Going up... not quite as much fun. Les and Ben took off first with the anxious dogs. Josh and I followed about a switchback and a half away. The right hand did not tell the left hand what it was doing, and as a result, the other half of our party had no idea where we went. Oops. :/ We all met back up at the top, sweaty, tired, but happy. We went into Wellsboro and ate at the memorial park in the center of their town and got attacked by caterpillars. It started to look like it would rain, so we packed up and went back to camp.

When we got there, our tent city had shifted. A handful of amused neighbors told us that one of our tents (which had sleeping bags, the 20 lb skillet, and a bunch of other things in it, had blown over in some strong winds, so they lashed it down for us. I am sure they were thinking "stupid city slickers". All of our other tents were pegged and lashed, but this one seemed like it would do okay on its own. Never assume!

A few of us took naps, a few played games, and a few went off to attempt to fish. I had the most lovely hot shower of my life. Everyone was more or less successful. :) That night, we had spaghetti for dinner and apple crisp for dessert, as well as smores and popcorn. Lots of yummy food. If nothing else, we know how to cook on a campfire.

Because it kept raining on and off, Les and Ben took the giant party tent (the one that blew over) and slept in there with the dogs. Josh slept with me and Jon. Snoring abounded and I wanted to kill everyone when I woke up at 7:30. The problem with camping is that you have to pack up and clean up your site... annoying. Josh made pancakes (whee!) and someone had the more or less brilliant idea of smores pancakes... sprinkle graham cracker in the batter, toast a marshmellow, wrap it and a piece of chocolate up in a pancake, kind of like a taco, and EAT. I think we ended up leaving the campsite around 11:30 or 12. The ride home was eh. Jon was a bit cranky (he usually is on the way home from anywhere because he just wants to BE home, so I can't blame him). We got home around 3:30 or 4... unpacked, ate dinner by 5:30, and spent a relaxing Sunday evening at home. It was quite nice.

On Monday (remember, the point of all this is to tell you about my birthday), I came in to my cubicle fabulously decorated, with gifts on my desk, each labeled with the day I was to open them. Yassara outdid herself, as usual. Each day was better than the rest. The first day included some blacksmithed items. :) Tuesday was a very lovely gift - nice words sent by all of you! I nearly cried, some were so nice. Thanks for thinking kindly of me, I am sure I do not deserve it. Wednesday was two handmade pens (awesome). That was my actual birthday, so other friends at work brought me some gifts including some great books, a beautiful fan, and cards. The day was hard because I was quite busy at work and we had aikido at night... and I was hotter than I have ever been in my life, hotflashes included. Thursday was... nothing. But that was balanced out because I had dinner with my family that night. Chris got me the new Super Mario Bros game. My parents (aka mom) had gotten me a longaberger table 2 months ago that counted towards this. But she did give me gifts from Jamaica. A very cool vase that smells like beef jerky, a cute dress, and a magnet. She got Jon a (ugh) sleeveless shirt... but he likes it. Anyway, the family dinner was very nice. On Friday, I was taken out to lunch and got my final birthday week present from Yassara. She had done a beautiful crossstitched piece - orchids - in colors that absolutely suit my palate. I already know where I am putting it... it fits perfectly in the guest room and I am going to put it on the wall you see when the door is open.

She really went out of her way to make it special, which I suppose is the benefit of having a) a very very thoughtful work spouse and b) having your own birthday fall after hers so that she feels like she has to match whatever effort you put forth. Honestly, what I did for her hardly matches up to what she did for me. Its funny because every time gift-giving rolls around, I think shes going to go crazy and spend a ton of money... but she never does. She could, but chooses not to. Instead, she gives of her talent, her arts and craftsiness, which is so much more valuable. I really appreciate it.

Historically, I get a little depressed around my birthday... not because I am all woe is me that I am getting older - I hardly even recognize that - but more than birthdays are usually kind of mundane days for me. And I guess deep in side of me I still hold to the idea that they should be special. The stupid thing is that I do not really go out of my way to make birthdays special for a lot of people. For some, yes, definitely. But for most, not really. And so part of my resolve this birthday is to try to make people's birthdays just a little special. Because, really, I DO think that the birth of my friends and my family is something to celebrate and rejoice in.

There is one rule that I hold to about birthdays - the birthday person should not have to make any decisions whatsoever regarding how the birthday is celebrated. They should be free from responsibility that day and just ride the tide of other's decisions. It is relaxing and freeing and a good way to spend a birthday. Much like your first birthday. Though you probably cried a lot more, and it was not relaxing.... it certainly was, uh, freeing. Hopefully the birthday person has people around them who know them well enough to make the decisions for them. :)

Anyway, thank you all who participated in my birthday, whether it was camping or putting in kind words or sending cards or presents. It was really good this year, and I feel good about it.


29 years old. Older yes. Wiser, probably not. ;)

on the hunt

I had the rather interesting experience of going on a ghost hunt last weekend. I arranged with a philly company for a private tour in honor of my friend's birthday. We ended up as a group of 7 and we met our guide, Robin, at Signer's Garden near Independence Hall around dusk.

It was actually a really fun (and educational) time. We walked around the historic buildings of the area while she informed us of the uses of the buildings and the ghost stories associated with them. We paired off and each of us had EMF detectors. I am not really sure of the rationale behind it, but I guess ghosts are supposed to give off electromagnetic fields. The instrument itself was pretty simple. It had 3 lights on it: green for safe, yellow for caution, and red for DANGER! That made me laugh. I guess these devices are supposed to be used in legitimate ways to see whether current is still running through wires. But the thought of a red DANGER! light lighting up in the presence of a ghost seems comical to me.

In the end, we found.... nothing. We took lots of pictures, but most of the "orbs" in the shots were merely light artifacts that could easily be traced to streetlamps and passing cars. No faces, no apparitions, no tingly feeling on the backs of our necks. Zip.

That being said, its amazing how many bodies are all over the place in Philly and how most of the buildings in old city were built right on top of them. A body is a body, of course, but it does still seem a bit rude. One of the more interesting facts was that the second floor of Independence Hall used to be used as a hospital during the Revolutionary War. The paved esplanade in front of the building used to be a body pit, basically, as the soldiers died.

Overall, it was a fun, kinda of campy experience. I was not expecting much, and I was not disappointed. It would have been scarier if we had been allowed inside of the buildings.


Part 2 was the scary part.


But before we get to that, I think I should talk a bit about ghosts. Whenever you go on something like this, it begs the question "Do YOU believe?" Do I? I don't quite know. I guess the way I feel about it is this: I have never personally seen proof of spirits or ghosts, nor known anyone whom I trust who has had a definitive experience. That being said... just because I have not seen proof does not disprove it either. Overall, I try to maintain an open mind. The Bible speaks of spirits, and there is the Holy Spirit of course, which I totally believe in. It talks about possessions by spirits and the like. Missionaries that would talk to us in college would talk of such things as well. Just the same, I am not totally convinced that ghosts are out there either. Have I gotten the creepy feeling that someone is watching me? Sure. But I am a paranoid sort of person as well.

But then I also have to consider "the voices". I may have written about this before, I may not have, so bear with me. I hear voices. In my head. Maybe. They aren't the schizophrenic type of "kill kill kill" that people usually think of when someone says they hear voices. If hear them at all, it is usually at night, when everything is quiet and calm. The best way to describe it is that it sounds like a tv or radio has been left on in a distant room. You hear the noise, you know they are voices, but you cannot make out what they are saying. I liken what I hear to more of a radio sort of thing... like listening to KYW news radio. Except I cannot make out the words.

I know this sounds so utterly strange and probably a bit demented, but its been happening for a long time. I cannot remember when it started, but I know its been at least since Jr High. I am not sure if its neurons firing from an overworked day (kinda like a nap jerk) or whether it is something else. I still hear them if I have earplugs in, so I know its not something normally audible.

The first time I realized that it was NOT audible was in jr high. I had gone to bed, but my dad was still downstairs watching tv. I did not sleep very well at that age, and usually I laid in bed from 10 til 1 in the morning, listening to Love Line, trying to fall asleep. Anyway, I did not have the radio on (the snooze went off) and I heard my dad come up to bed. Once he settled down and the house was quiet, I started noticing the voices. I laid there for awhile, pretty darn annoyed, because they were loud. Of course, not loud enough to understand, just beyond the brink of comprehensible words. I tossed and turned for awhile, completely bothered, and figured that my dad must have left the tv on. I finally crawled out of bed and went down the stairs and leaned over the railing. Everything was off and dark. THAT creeped me out. So I raced back to bed, dove under the covers, and ignored it til I fell asleep.

Since that time, sometimes its louder, sometimes its not there at all. I just sort of accept it as background noise when I am laying in bed if it is there. I try not to pay attention to it too much... though once or twice it has caused me to ask Jon if he left the tv on (no).

But what the heck is it? I am more inclined to think its just left over information swarming around my brain from the day. I don't think I have any special gift to "hear voices from the beyond" or whatever. But some people (including ones I took ghost hunting) seem to think that is what it is and that I should work harder at hearing whatever it is they (its a guy and a girl, always a guy, sometimes the girl) are saying. For all I know, they are recounting sports stats. It do not get the impression that it is directed towards me. It just sounds like I am overhearing a newscast. Shrug.


So Part 2...

After touring Philly, Jon helped arrange for us to go to Pennhurst Asylum in Spring City, PA. The place used to be amazing and you can tell it was gorgeous. It got shut down in 1987 though due to health and human rights violations. It was incredibly overpopulated and understaffed. When it was closed down, everything was left as-is and nature was allowed to take its course. The result in the past 23 years is dense forest and brush. The buildings themselves are all broken windows and have quite a bit of graffiti on the inside. A shame, because they used to be beautiful.

Jon's coworker does security during the nights - out on the prowl for kids who like to consider themselves "urban explorers" and others who like the occult aspect of the place.

I had a RAGING headache while I was there (so if there were voices to be heard, I could not hear them), but what I did notice was how utterly silent it was. It was starting to rain, and it was a bit cool.... but I did not hear any birds or crickets or frogs. Even the frog we found was not making a sound. It was the perfect example of a "hushed" place.

We did bust 3 kids who were exploring. As a result of their criminal breaking and entering, we got the chance to go into the administration building and look into the tunnels. Extremely long concrete tunnels connect every building on the 800 acres of Pennhurst. Talk. About. CREEPY. The echo given off was like a whole separate person, it was that delayed. Eep. I was not too thrilled with going inside. Being outside, in the open, where I can fight or run, is totally different from being in the basement of an old abandoned building where children were essentially in pain. There was much not to like.

Just the same, we did not find any ghosties or spirits or anything out of sorts there aside from the kids who were not supposed to be there. Still, I was scared and I would not want to be left alone in that darkened quiet. No way. My friends are a bit more adventurous than I am, being believers, wanting proof.....

But for me, if proof shows up of something, good I guess. If not, that is fine too. I do not really see the benefit to having proof. I already am confident in the human soul and its ability to outlast the human body. It is heartbreaking to consider the possibility of spirits who are stuck where they should not be, reliving ancient tortures, not being able to move on. I do not really want proof of that.

Overall, it was a fun evening and I would LOVE to go back during the day and get pictures of the decay. Talk about a fun photo assignment... It was a good time with friends and I know the birthday girl really appreciated it, and that was the most important part.