...Darkling Tag-- You're IT!...

I was tagged by The Curious Professor Z which means that I fill out this little questionnaire and tag three Gothy Darklings. I will tag Jade at Daughter of a Jaded Era, App’y at App’y Talk, and Connie at Hartwood Roses.
Getting to know me! Getting to know all about me ….
 
THE DARKLING TAG!

• What is your favourite candle scent? Yankee Candle’s Home for the Holidays (It’s actually a cinnamon Christmas scent and I love cinnamon everything!)
• Do you have a favourite book? Probably Dracula by Bram Stoker
• Are you a tea or coffee person? Coffee
• What is your favourite perfume/cologne? Dior’s Hypnotic Poison. I just bought Kat Von D’s Sinner; I like it a lot but it doesn’t have much staying power on me.
• Do you have a celebrity crush? Julian Sands
• If you could change your name to a stereotypical 90s/2000s gothy name, what would it be? AuKToBR will always be my favorite goth name. That was my first love. I wrote a Zine, Strange People Anonymous by Spooky & Boo. I was Boo back in the late 80s.
• What are your top three tips for surviving hot weather while black clad? Natural fibers, a parasol with UV protection, and open-toe shoes. If my feet are hot, I’m not nice.
• What song always makes you happy (doesn’t have to be a goth band?)  “Passenger” by Siouxsie and the Banshees. I’ll stop in place to dance.
• Are you active in the arts (eg. Play an instrument, paint, write, etc)? I played flute and piccolo but that was many moons ago. I write but not so much for pleasure as much as for research so I suppose that doesn’t count.  I do make a mean shadow-box. I’m more of a craftiest than an artist.  
• What is your number one non-gothy hobby? I suppose gardening in that I delight in all plants and flowers, not just the dark ones.

Thought Provokers:

• If you could be a supernatural creature, what would it be and why? I just sent my fella a text asking if a necromancer is considered a supernatural “creature”. He’s a DM; he’ll know. Follow-up: My fella said no that they’re sorcerers so I’m going with troll because they hide under bridges and jump out to scare people. This afternoon that strikes me as very funny.
• What horror monster-bases super power would you have? Ummm, bring back the dead because that’s what necromancers do.
• Do you feel confident or comfortable interacting with other Goths or gothy people (online or irl)? Why or why not? It defends; are they nice or are they assholes?
• Is there something you wish there was more of in your subculture? I wish there were more of us like-minded peeps in the same region. We don’t have to be in the same city but it would be nice if we didn’t have to travel so far to be around one another.
• Care to share an embarrassing story related to your “darkliness”? I don’t embarrass easily so it’s
• How are you at DIY? I’m good with pretty much everything that requires serious measurements because I’m also sort of lazy and I eyeball things. I’m VERY good and eyeballing, which only makes me lazier because then I never measure.

Confessional (aka True or False):

• I love watching cheese romance films. I love Black/ African-American Romantic comedies. They’re actually funny whereas ones with predominately white actors are not… to me.  
• I ALWAYS remember to wash off my makeup at night. Absolutely!
• I sleep with plushies. Yep, I have a stuffed bat pillow named Batty that does a dance at 4:30am each morning to entertain my fella.
• I wear non-black pyjamas most nights. I usually wear t-shirts and boxers with cemetery scenes or skulls so no, I’m nearly always in black. I do have some pink bat pajamas that I love.
• I think Andrew Eldrich is overrated. I would be lying if I said Yes.
• I don’t like vampires. *laughs hysterically* If that’s asked, you don’t know me at all.
• I don’t like clubs. I miss going to clubs. We have a local one but I’m just 15 years older than everyone and my bedtime is usually when the place opens so…
• I don’t enjoy graveyards. I run a cemetery group.
• Blood makes me queasy. If it’s mine, yes.
• I’d sooner faint than pet a spider. I suppose one means large spiders. I have this vision of me attempting to pet tiny spiders and end up squishing them because they’re so tiny.
• I don’t like haunted houses. Not true.
• I’ve never read Dracula. I read it annually and teach it.
• I think “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” is a long and boring song. I love that song.

So there you have it, some fun for today!

...counting my blessings...

This month Professor Z’s homework assignment is to post about our blessings. Giving thanks, well, that’s both easy and startling, and when I really stop to think about all that I have in my life I become overwhelmed. I whisper, “thank you” to the universe often and I mean it.

I was raised in a wonderful family who loved me for me.

I have always been surrounded by the very best of friends. Friends enter and exit throughout life but then and now I’ve always felt very loved and blessed to have those who I have in my life.

I am in awe that I *got it right*, that *a third time is a charm*, that my fella likes me and I like him…still…. Even after spending an entire day together we’re both seated at the kitchen island on our computers. He’s scrolling through board game bloggers’ posts and here I am with you all (of whom I am also extremely grateful).

I’m grateful for this home that I share; I’m grateful it’s a house where I was able to pick and choose the parts that I wanted.

I’m grateful for my profession, for the university where I work, and for my job even though the semester feels rough…it’s a good, good gig. I’m thankful for my colleagues many of whom are friends.

This time of year is when I start binging on the Christmas movies. When Professor Z’s post included the phrasing “Please join me in counting your blessings”, I immediately thought of this song in White Christmas, one of my favorite holiday movies.

... October Homework Assignment: Tis the Season to be Jolly...

The homework assignment is for me to *show* what I love about this time of year. In many ways, my entire blog is about what I love about this time of year. I pulled some of my recent pictures and decided to put together a post about a hypothetical October day in the life of the ol’ Goth Gardener.

“Basic Bitch” or not (that’s a little nod to a recent Professor Z incident), it’s pumpkin spice all the way sort of. I actually prefer Cinnamon Dolce lattes but I trade up this time of year because there is pumpkin everywhere including in my cereal!And pumpkin is amazing!

 

As I head to the train, there is festive signage for the coffee shop near the commuter rail.

This time of year I get to see sunrises like this. Next month they’ll be totally different due to the time change.

Walking through town, local retailers have fall decorations and displays.

 

Some afternoons I can grab a Pumpkin Smash smoothie from Jamba Juice on my way to the train.

If I’m lucky enough to have a dinner date with a friend and stay out way past my bedtime (like 7:30pm with a 40ish minute drive home), I get to see some amazing shop windows in Fredericksburg, VA.

I get to drink water out of a bottle with a vampire face; I use Happy Halloween tissues.

When I arrive home (in reality…this was a picture taken today), I get to snap a picture of a beautiful hibiscus bloom BECAUSE what I love about this time of year in VIRGINIA is that we are in the in-between.  I have a pumpkin patch and a healthy pumpkin still growing in the back; there are still flowers blooming; I can still wear open-toe shoes comfortably; and, I can wear jackets without sweating my butt off. 

‘Tis the season to be jolly!