Pennsylvania: Not Just The Zombie Capital Anymore....

There is a great group on FB called "What Makes Your State Great" who is responding to the DC-40's 50 Days of Prayer:

"In response to the DC-40’s 50 Days of Prayer to change our Secular Nation into a Christian One, we have chosen to ask the residents of each of the 50 states of the SECULAR United States of America to post an answer to the question: “What Makes Your State Great?” Each of these dates precedes the DC-40’s Day of Prayer, and will give those of us who wish to think positive thoughts, say our own form of prayers and good wishes over that state the next day, the opportunity to prepare."

Here is my contribution to the great state of Pennsylvania! They say write about what you know, and what I know is horror!

Firstly, we all know that Pittsburgh is the official zombie capital of the world! Mostly credited to the fact the George Romero used Western Pa as a back-drop for the infamous 1968 classic "Night of the Living Dead"

In 2008, World Zombie Day was created and coordinated by the "It's Alive Show" in Pittsburgh, PA. With calls for Zombie Walks all across the globe, close to 32 cities worldwide reported over 7,500 zombies as participating in World Zombie Day on October 26th. The ittsburgh Zombie Walk brought in more than one ton of food to benefit the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. (See you can be undead and still have feelings of compassion)
Me and my gals look forward to the annual trip to the city in our finest zombie apparel. It's a bloody good time!









Another classic in the horror genre, and possibly my all-time favorite movie "The Silence of the Lambs" was also filmed here in the 'Burgh. Actually a scene in the film was filmed right here in our little hometown. I can remember friends and family going to the open casting call for extras and each and every day I kick myself for being too "busy" to attend.



Next we are off to the setting of "The Mothman Prophecies"
which was filmed here primarily because of the awesome bridge we have in Kittanning, Pa. I remember fondly when they were taping and I buckled my oldest (who was just a wee one then) into her stroller and off we went. Yes, I was, not so kindly, asked to remove myself from where I was standing on the street. I'm not even a big Richard Gere fan, but it was pretty neat to have him in our little town. Everyone was abuzz with sightings and information.
And....if the bridge ever looked familiar again it was probably because they used our town once more in filming "My Bloody Valentine 3-D". For this filming I did see my fair share of filming equipment, crews, and down town action! It was quite exciting to see our little town featured on the big screen once again. (Now you need to go rent those 2 flicks and compare the bridge scenes!)



So that's why I love living here in Western Pennsylvaina! Well, that's one of the reasons why! I would be kicked out of the yinzers club if I didn't mention a few other attractions (that are not horror related) such as the 6X Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers! (hell yeah), the infamous Primanti Bros Sandwich Shops, the amazing health care facilities at UPMC, the breath taking landscapes along the various rolling hills and the opportunity to see all 4 seasons as they come and go. It has been joked about, but honestly, I have had my furnace running in the morning and had to have my central air kicked on by afternoon. (Which brings us to another horror story, UTILITY BILLS!)

Thank you for taking the time to see Pennsylvania from my point of view!

American Gothic Makeover

And on with the Halloween decor...
Sometimes I don't want to take down everything on the walls to give a room a Halloween tingle, so I shift the theme of what I already have up.
One of the new projects this year was some plates that I have in the hallway, which is usually done in a shoe decor.




I made a template the size of the center of the plates and then cut orange scrap booking paper to be a background for each.




Then I Googled "American Gothic" and found some really cool interpretations of the creeped out farm couple.



Using the template, cut each image to size, then laminate the photos with the orange paper behind. I like the laminating because they can be used for more than one year, but that isn't necessary.



Cut out the images and tape to the center of each plate and there ya go...instant decor!!

A Beautiful Day At The Cemetery....

One of my favorite ways to spend a day is strolling through an old cemetery and admiring the ancient stones. There is a certain kind of respect and admiration when looking at objects that have weathered time and continue to stand to represent.

Here are some photos from a recent "grave yarding" day that Zombie Dad and I had.

Bead Damned

One thing I love almost as much as zombies is beading. For some odd reason stringing together tiny bits of plastic into intricate patterns inspires me. A little bit of skulls, a little bit of blood red beads and "BAM" you got yourself a piece of wearable art!

Backwoods And All....

Most of the time it's good to "bloom where you are planted", but occasionally you look around and wonder "what the fuck am I doing here?" This was the case today when I was going through some old pictures from last year. Hubby and I went out with some friends to a local "beer garden" and I decided to capture some moments, and they are just too good to keep to myself.

First, let us note the electrical tape holding together the ancient rotary phone (which seems to be missing numbers and the all important dial) and then let's swing our attention to the amplifier sitting in the corner with the cassette tapes scattered across the top! I believe this is all tied together with the vivid "Native American" decor on the shelving. No wonder they charged us a $3 cover charge, somebody has to pay for this luxury!






Now this is no lie, this is actually the sign that hangs in the ladies room (the word "ladies" being used very loosely here). As you are admiring the lovely decor that the air freshener brings to the room, be sure to note the unique spelling on the classy signage...



But I guess it was alright, because we both were pretty drunk!



After reviewing the photos, I understand why we do not frequent the local establishments very often and prefer to stay in our little zombie cave....

Almost Time...

Tax season is almost over and that means I can get back to blogging! YEAH!!! See ya then!

Pittsburgh Zombie Fest 2010

Have I mentioned lately how much I love living in Western Pennsylvania. The 2010 Zombie Fest, sponsored by "The It's Alive Show" was held in downtown Pittsburgh, Market Square, this year. One word sums up this day...zombielicious! My daughters had a blast as a zombie banana and a zombie dark fairy. As for me, my story was that I was turned while doing my Olivia Newton John work-out.







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Zombies Can Have As Much Dessert As They Want!

While I'm digging through pictures for more spooky Halloween fun I thought I'd share one of my favorite dessert recipes ever!! The scariest thing about this one is that sometimes you just cannot stop eating it!

Cream Puff

In saucepan combine 1 cup water and 1/2 cup of margarine cut up into little pieces. Bring to a boil.



Transfer to your Kitchen-Aid mixer or large mixing bowl. Add 1 cup of flour and beat until a caramel looking texture.


Begin adding 4 eggs, 1 @ a time and beating well after each.


Transfer to a 13" x 9" greased dish and bake at 400 degrees for 24-25 minutes. It will look puffed and golden brown.


This must cool completely before adding the filling or it will make the center runny.
So, while you wait you can beat 8 oz of softened cream cheese, 2 1/2 cups of milk, 2 large pks of vanilla instant pudding (or chocolate or any other flavor you like) until it is smooth.

When the crust is completely cooled add the filling and put it in the fridge for around 30 min to set it. The top it off with 1 container of thawed whipped topping. For the one pictured I also melted a handful of chocolate chips in a zip lock bag, snipped off the bottom and criss crossed the top and then pulled the knife through to give it a "marbled" look. You can serve immediately or chill, covered, until ready to serve.

A Passion For It All

Okay, I've said it before, and I'll say it again...it's a lot of work being a zombie wife. There are two things that I have an erupting passion for...the first is all things horror and the second is taking care of my zombie husband and two zombie children. If it were up to them it would be brains for breakfast, brains for lunch and brains for dinner, but I like to spice things up a bit and keep their zombie nutrition within the food pyramid.

I am a born hostess. Although you cannot stand to be around me for weeks before one of my little soirees, as I am a perfectionist when it comes to party planning. This is a rare personality trait in a zombie, but so be it.

Now like a lot of zombie moms I go a little over-board around Halloween (hey, I'm Pagan...that's what we do.) Actually I usually start pulling out the decorations around the end of July in order to have them all up in time for the annual Halloween Tea. Each year I try and go with a theme or such to keep all my zombie friends coming back. I thought I'd start the blog off with some photos from last years gathering...it really was quite enchanted.



It all began with some adorable little skeleton wrapped utensils. I got the skeletons on a garland at the dollar store for like 5 for $1, cut them off the garland and wrapped them with the utensil in a brightly colored Halloween napkin. Tied them all up with a spooky ribbon and place in an orange basket!



This is a view of the plate/utensil area...I put them on a tiled breakfast bar, not a lot of room, but a perfect little nook.




Being a beader at heart, what better way to dress up little pumpkins and gourds than by beading them with shiny sparkly things! I'll admit that the little seed beads to a great deal of patience and time, but you could easily change the pattern and roll them in the beads rather than adding them one by one.



One of my favorite things this year was my chip skeleton! He also came from the $1 store. A good wash with soap and water, lay him on top of a nice Halloween tea-towel in a basket and waaaa-laaaa add your chips to make him part of the party. I'm thinking next year I will be making a cardboard coffin. Beside him I put some salsa in a glass bowl and sat it down into a straw pumpkin....cute!



This was one of the most simple things I did, and one of my guests favorite! Simple to put the olives on a Halloween themed plate, but throw in a couple of skulls and you are rockin'! Again, these were from the $1 store and got a good washing before they touched any food.

Alright, don't want to overwhelm with my very first post, but I have lots more Halloween time fun to share so I'll break the post in two!