Visiting Katie

Katie choosing antique postcards. She found some really good ones. 

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Visiting Katie

The antiques store we visited. I almost got lost in the place several times it was so much like a labyrinth. 

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Visiting Katie

The Portland diner where we all had breakfast. It was so cool!

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My completed Squishmallow blanket

It took 450 knots which was time well spent. Now I have a beautiful cozy blanket just the right size for night time reading. 

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My Orono Public Library summer reading challenge reading prize

Isn't it awesome? It's garden themed. 

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Holly Horror (chiller)

     I remember Holly Hobbie merch being unfortunately ubiquitous when my kids were little. I never found it endearing--rather saccherine at best, slightly creepy at worst. So when I heard of a YA chiller that was Holly Hobbie inspired I sent right off for it by inter library loan. 

     When the book arrived at Orono Public Library and I was able to examine it I thought immediately of my author daughter Amber. Most definitely not the cover picture. Amber is much more beautiful. It was the mood created by that visual and the gist of the first page. It had all that would entice Amber to read or listen to a novel: a long abandoned house a family moves into, dark rumors still making the rounds among and believed by the townsfolk, mysterious, ominous signs, a malevolent unseen being. It belongs on her TBR list. 

     If you're a real chiller affecianado it belongs on yours too.

     Hobbie House in rural Massachusetts is where teenage Holly Hobbie vanished without a trace four decades ago. It's been vacant nearly that long. It's certainly not a place Evie Hobbie ever expected to call home. But after her parents divorced and her mother realized she couldn't earn enough to stay in New York with her children (Evie and her little brother, Ben) the family property became their only option. 

     Evie's reaction to the drama is to keep a low profile. All that mess happened decades ago. Surely people have moved on...

     ...except they haven't. In her new high school and the town itself the house being occupied is big news. (And it doesn't help that Evie attracts the attention of a very mean girl's ex boyfriend.)

"Playmate, come out and play with me 

And bring your dollies three. 

Climb up my apple tree. 

Look down my rain barrel.

Slide down my cellar door. 

And we'll be jolly friends evermore."

     And the house shows signs that the past might be leaking into the present. In the attic there's a doll that  sings a bizarre children's song. There are weird songs at night. Holly's diary appears in Evie's bedroom. Sludge comes out of a faucet. Evie begins having nightmares. And her psychic aunt won't set foot in the building. 

     Is it possible that Holly has never left the house? Or could a more malevolent entity have taken up residence?

     Fans of Goosebumps and Fear Street (like Amber and me) will find Holly Horror to be an eminently Stine worthy page turner. 

On a purrrsonal note, Monday I had quite the adventure. My tattoo artist had moved his place of business from Orono to Brewer. Earlier this summer I got Bailey to drive me there. But I knew I'd eventually have to take the Brewer North bus 🚌 for the first time. My spatial location ability has greatly improved since the stroke but is still far from state of the art. So it took a very motivating location to offset my fear of getting totally lost. (It didn't help that just before I boarded the bus I realized that I'd left my phone at home meaning I could get lost in an unfamiliar city with no way of calling for help.) Much to my surprise I used the map successfully to get off at the right place and catch the bus going back. Rob did an excellent job coloring in three of my older tattoos. I'm already getting lots of compliments. Those cats look gorgeous!!! (I promise pictures.)

My navigational success means I can keep getting my tattoos. I have an appointment the 21st to get a very special birthday tattoo. If turning 75 doesn't warrant a tattoo I can't imagine what would. It also inspires me to make more navigational progress. I can find out how to get to the Brewer Goodwill and Public Library. I can explore the Hampden line to check out their library. And I can venture beyond the greater Bangor area. Portland and Boston are just down interstate 95 on the Trailways Bus Line. Both have public transportation. And I have an invitation to visit Catherine in New York. This week, Brewer; someday, Ghana!!!

A great big shout out goes out to Rob Lucchesi, proprietor of Black Cats Tattoo. He's an artist par excellence and a really nice human being. I especially recommend him to people who are desirous of skin art but understandably nervous. Like me last year.

Jules Hathaway 

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Orono Festival Day

Face painting brought my inner feline out. I thought it was a very good look. People agreed. 

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