Do What Makes You Happy

    It is that time of year when normally the Little Bayou House is bedecked with all things spooky whether it is for the actual holiday or for the Clue Hunt on the Bayou.  This year...neither.  Nothing is adorned with pumpkins, owls, bats, skeletons, spiders....none of...well, except for those that are deemed as everyday decor.  There is nary a clue hunt prop in existence, either.  The whole month of October has been a bust as far as I am concerned.  Both the holiday and clue hunt did not happen purely because I did not feel the "whim".

  That does not mean the Little Bayou House has slid into the "cookie cutter" mold of what everybody else's house looks like.  Nope!  There are no clean, white walls, tidy shelves and clear tabletops.  That....will never happen.  That...is not me.  Sorry...not sorry.  I have to be me and "me" is a bit cluttered with wild and whimsical things.  That is what makes me happy and drives others mad.  (Perhaps I am already there!)  A few years back, one sweet niece made the comment that I am the most "bohemian" person she ever met.  Good!  Another person labeled me "The Keeper of Weird and Wonderful Things".  Again...good!  I am happy with both.

  That said...do what you feel is you and never give in to the whole "norm" thing.  While the clutter-free, stark and barren look is grand for some, the quaint and quirky works for others.  To each his own.  Me?  I shall keep my antique jewelry hanging on the light fixture, burnt umber walls and high Victorian furniture along with about two dozen pendulum clocks adding their cacophony of chimes to the mix.  Stay weird, folks....you do not have to conform to others' expectations.  Happy Halloween!

Channeling Our Inner Weirdness

  Whenever you get two creative people together things are bound to happen.  Get two creative people that have a quirky streak in them and weird things are bound to happen.  Darling Daughter and I fit the bill on both ideas.  While we love to create, we have a bit of inner weirdness that comes blaring out in our creations.  This is not bad since we are doing what we like.  Others might not see it as such but who cares? Not me.  I have decided to embrace that inner weirdness and let it come to the surface in flying colors!  This inner weirdness has served me well in the past with the Clue Hunts On the Bayou.  I sort of like the unexpected eccentricity that adorns the Little Bayou House during those times so I figure that I should just keep it as such at all times.  I know there will be those that question my sanity but, once again, who cares?  Not me.

  The upcoming clue hunt's theme centers around an old time alchemy lab and all of the weird and wonderful things found there.  Of course, any respectable alchemy lab is full of fanciful bottles so Elizabeth and I set to work to fill shelves with bottles.  Not just any bottles but decorated bottles.  Since my clue hunt budget does not allow for me to just run down to the local shops and buy such props, we make them. The fancy shops shan't get our business!  As we were transforming the bottles, I could not see sticking them away in some cabinet for the next few months.  Instead, these repurposed bottles now adorn the mantelpiece in the living room.  Yep, there will be those folks who question my sanity AND my decorating tastes (or lack thereof) but, once again, who cares?  I surely do not.  

  Every bottle that we have used, found, begged, borrowed or fished out of the trash is being transformed into a thing of weirdness or maybe it is beauty!  Yes, beauty!  Actually, I think they are pretty.  We have added cords, bits of broken jewelry, spoons (yes, spoons), furniture knobs, corks and even stones to our bottles.  What good alchemy lab would be without such?  Pictured are just several of the  many we have completed but an interesting lab needs hundreds so we will be busy for a while.

  While these are being made specifically for October's clue hunt, my inner weirdness says do not keep stowing away the props.  Hey, I might as well leave them year round and enjoy the results of all of our hard work!  So, from this point on, even more weird and wonderful things will be on display in the Little Bayou House.  Personally, I like it that way!