”I fear my enthusiasm flags when real work is demanded of me.” ~
H. P. Lovecraft
Hump Day Deep Thought
”I fear my enthusiasm flags when real work is demanded of me.” ~
One Year Older Part 3: All Things Come To An End
Aside from grave and bar crawling we did some other touristy things around the area. The weather waxed between overcast and rainy which did seem to add to the lovely gloom of cemetery touring but also added a little atmosphere for a nice walk in the rain around the docks.
Few people were out in the rain which made it a nice quiet walk to balance all of the social things that I can only take so much of at one time. The dense mist and fog were beautiful over the water and it was surprising to see just how much the fog had covered when we went back over the weekend after it had cleared up.
After hitting a few shops and restaurants in Portsmouth we decided to catch at least one other place of interest. I thought it would be fun to see The USS Albacore. I don’t think I’d ever been on a submarine before but I Holy Hel, I couldn’t imagine spending any significant time on one with such close quarters and no way to get out of it. It was fascinating to hear the audio logs of some of the men that crewed The Albacore throughout the sub. The kids on the tour were having a blast as the whole sub was hands on.
One of the final things I wanted to check out in Portsmouth was the possibility of migrating there. While the city was very pretty and clean and safe and…nice, it didn’t make me feel like home. 
It made me feel like I was visiting a very old, distant relative who had very nice things that I couldn’t touch even if I wanted to. I’m sure there is a seedier side to the city that I’d only meet if I spent time with a local who was in the know. The rich, whitewashed outer skin of Portsmouth, while….nice, was just, well, nice and not the soul I’m looking for in a place to live.
It was a good time though, and any chance I get to spend with the Evil Queen is a good thing. I’m still looking to move farther north in the next couple of years so we’ll see what place draws me.
One Year Older Part 2: We See Dead People
It was fascinating to travel the old burial sites of New England searching for the headstones of The Evil Queens first ancestors to settle here in The States. Our first stop was in Haverhill MA on Thursday as we made our way up to Portsmouth. 
We were looking for Haverhill City Cemetery which at the time we weren’t sure if we actually found. Looking at maps now, we did indeed find it but were unable to find the headstones we were looking for.
What we did find tho was a wonderfully overgrown site in a state of heavy disrepair with the oldest legible stones being from Civil War veterans and families born in the late 1700′s. It did look as though the weather took it’s toll on the place some time ago and only now has someone decided to try and get the site in better shape. There is a good chance that some of the old stones were washed away in a mudslide if they were way in the back. The site still had a serine beauty to it, like that misty calm before the dead rise to eat the brains of the living.
Later that day we made our way up to Newburyport to see a few more grave sites, not least of which was The First Burying Ground Of The Settlers. It sat recessed from the road a bit with a tiny sign that luckily we didn’t miss. Behind some brush opened up a little trail that lead to a small but immaculately kept graveyard. Much more well kept than the house it was next to that pretty much looked like it should be condemned if it wasn’t already.
In this very well preserved and well groomed cemetery was a recreated stone of the first settler from her line to come to the States, in fact he was the captain of the ship that brought them over and he seemed to be something of a bigshot colonial. 
In fact the more we traveled around Ole New England the Woodman name came up everywhere, even The Higgin’s Armory Museum was founded by John Woodman Higgins.
Also, I made her a pendant based on the Death’s Head that’s so common on these ancient headstones. You know, because it’s my birthday so I gave her a present.
One Year Older Part 1: One Foot In The Grave
Well, I’m yet another year older. To commemorate my day of birth the Evil Queen came up for a visit to console my in my decrepit decay. It was good to see a bunch of people at the BBC here in town on Wednesday night after she arrived. It was a good plan to walk there and back so neither of us had to worry about driving. Speaking of driving, we rented a wicked nice black Avenger (which I guess we forgot to take a picture of) just to add a little luxury (and worryfree) to the trip.
The purpose of the trip was threefold, 1) See and drink with a bunch of folks all over New England 2) Scope out life in Portsmouth and 3) Take the Evil Queen to the graves of her earliest ancestors that settled here in the northeast.
1 and 3 were highly successful. As I said before we met up with a bunch of Massholes on Wednesday, then we visited the Mainers from The Compound on Friday and on Saturday we spanned the spectrum from snobby to sleaze in New Hampshire all the while eating and drinking with little care for anything else.
I was very happy to hit Novare Res during a Bavarian Beerfest and could nom endlessly on the sweet potato tots at Gritty’s. the only thing that kind of bummed me out about Portland Maine was the last call at 12:30, but it would seem that the night was drawing to a close anyway…
To be continued…
Hump Day Deep Thought
Love begins with an image; lust with a sensation. – Mason Cooley
Random Found
Assuming you still have the internet after the dead have begun to walk the earth, you’ll want to avoid wasting time by searching for hospitals, gas stations, and gun stores one by one. Fortunately, Map of the Dead has got your back — it’s a Google Maps overlay that highlights population-dense “hot zones,” cemeteries and other places to avoid, and the best locations to scavenge supplies.
I’m concerned, Franklin looks a little bleak.
Made Stuff
Just got a couple more pieces made. If you remember THIS POST I had this design made in steel and I lost a lot of detail. I went ahead and tweaked it a bit then made it in silver with much, MUCH better results. All of the detail made it into the final piece with really no loss at all. All of the really tight knotwork and minute detail in the eyes came through clearly and cleanly. I don’t think I could be happier with it.
I also made another piece in silver that I had made in steel before from THIS POST. While I was completely happy with how it came out in steel I wanted to see it in silver with more defined detail (also the original one in steel went to someone as it was a commissioned piece and I wanted one for myself).
Hump Day Deep Thought
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups: alcohol, caffiene, sugar and fat. – Alex Levine
