Our “Spooky” month has begun. There will be witches, ghosts, and goblins decorating yards, house porches, and store fronts for the next few weeks. I have “Gresilda” standing on our fireplace hearth with her googling eyes and purple witches hat cackling out to all who pass.
I have never been one to frighten easily but some things have happened in my lifetime that may have given me cause to startle somewhat. Things that I could not readily dismiss with the ease of my mind.
I was the secretary/treasurer of my home church for several years and would always come in early on a Monday morning to get my deposit together and finish the week’s affairs. I took over this role from a lady who had done this job for many years, and she told me once, “Beware of the church ghost.”
I thought that was an odd forewarning but just dismissed it as a jest. I surely did not believe in ghosts. However, I was in the office working one rainy cold morning before the preacher came in and I heard the church popping, almost as if it were groaning. I stopped what I was doing and sat, very still and quiet and heard the same noise but just put down the sound to the old building’s age. It had stood there in the same place, or at the least the same ground for a hundred years, so I knew the floors would creak. I walked into the sanctuary and stood still, and all was as quiet as a church mouse for a few seconds and then I heard or thought I heard the faint notes of the old organ that had not been played in years. Well, let’s just say I stood still because I was afraid to move. Then I heard the vibrations of music of Hank Jr and knew the preacher had arrived. Now I could move. I never told him about my “out of body experience” because he probably would not trust me to count church money again.
Then there was the time my friend and I were sitting on the back porch talking about the beliefs some had about wandering spirits and if we believed that they really existed when one of my rocking chairs began to rock. No wind was moving and no one there but us. Well, we still wonder about meandering spirits. (Don’t say I said that.)
There have been several instances where I have questioned bizarre happenings, but I have always tried talking myself back into sanity. So, beware of the unexplained sounds and unoccupied rocking chairs this month.
If you are like me, you hate to throw the big carved pumpkins away after Halloween and after they just set and rot. So, I decided to use the inside of the big orange fruit then when you want to make a pumpkin pie or bread you have your own and don’t have to buy the canned and it’s really better.
First you wash the pumpkin and roast it for thirty minutes on 325*. Put into a blender and puree. Freeze and use as needed in your recipes.
