In honor of the holiday I thought I’d share a story that I wrote and entered in the local newspaper’s annual Scary Story Contest in 1995 (I think that was the year!).  I won 2nd place, missing 1st place by one point according to the reporter who interviewed me for the blurb in the paper that was published along with the story.  First prize was a $50 gift certificate to The Chart House restaurant and 2nd place was this lovely trophy….

Without further blah, blah, blahing, here is my near-winner….

WHAT ARE FRIENDS FOR?
© BJ Lantz

Collette smiles with satisfaction at her reflection.  Marie Antoinette, her hair swirling high in an artful arrangement, smiles back.

It’s perfect!  Collette thinks.  I’ll be the envy of this year’s Halloween Ball.

Fingering the gold braided neckline of her maroon velvet gown, Collette admires the way it sweeps down from her shoulders ending in an eye-popping display of cleavage.  Wait until the “ghouls” get a load of this.  The finishing touch will be the diamond and ruby necklace that had once belonged to Lydia.

Poor Lydia.  Pitiful Lydia is more like it.  How easy it had been, hardly even a challenge.  And Robert, why he’d been the easiest part of all.  It was only natural that he should turn to Collette for sympathy and support.  After all, she too had been mourning her best friend, Lydia.

Perching like royalty on the chair before her dressing table, Collette opens the black-lacquered jewelry box that a senator’s wife had given to Lydia as a birthday present.  The necklace is nestled in folds of black velvet, its diamonds winking like stars against a midnight sky.

It is so beautiful, Collette thinks.  She glances at the silver-framed photo of Lydia which she keeps on her dressing table.  It will look so much better on me, dear.  Just the way Robert looks better dancing with me.   

“Collette, darling, the car will be here any minute.  Are you almost ready?” Robert’s voice drifts up to her.  Collette can picture him, standing at the foot of the grand staircase, tugging at the ruffled collar of his Louis XVI costume.  She knows he feels foolish in the breeches, but what a striking royal couple they will make!

“Another minute, my love,” she sings out.

It had been a surprise to no one, least of all herself, when one year after Lydia’s tragic death, Robert had asked Collette to be his wife.  They’d become so close in their shared grief.

Snapping the jeweled catch in place behind her neck, Collette sits back to survey the effect.  Stunning.  The ruby hangs, glinting like a fresh drop of blood between her breasts.

Sliding her feet into delicate, beaded slippers, Colette’s sea-green eyes scan the room in search of her evening bag.  Spotting it on the chaise near the window, she snatches it up, stopping before her three-way mirror for a final appraisal.  She frowns at her reflection, her hand fluttering absently to the jewels at her throat.  I could have sworn this was longer.

“Oh heavens!  My lipstick!”  Collette exclaims, momentarily forgetting the necklace as she dashes to her dressing table.

Collette is bringing the little gold tube to her lips when suddenly she feels tightness, a cold, constricting hand gripping her neck, causing her to slash a line of scarlet-rose across her cheek.  Colette’s wild eyes meet her own reflected in the mirror, the stray lipstick creating a hideous lopsided grin on her face.  But no hands are about her throat, only the necklace, which has grown shorter, the jewels digging deeper still into her smooth throat.

“You!”  She croaks, knocking Lydia’s silver-framed face to the floor.  Colette’s hands, with their beautifully manicured fingernails claw at her throat, desperately trying to pry the sparkling choker from her neck.  She feels as though her head will explode, the blood pounding like thunder against her temples.

“Collette!”  Robert is calling, “The car is waiting.  We really must go.”

She tries to answer him, to cry for help, but only a strangled whisper escapes through the scarlet-rose grin.

***

Impatient and growing warm in his ridiculous costume, Robert climbs the stairs to Colette’s room.

I really shouldn’t be cross with her, he thinks.  She’s always so prompt.  She probably broke a nail at the last minute.

Gently knocking, Robert pushes the door open, “Collette, darling…”  The words die on his lips as he stands, frozen in horror.

Collette lies amid swirls of maroon velvet, her left hand resting just below the ruby, which dangles in its blood-red glory between her breasts.  A gold tube of lipstick, open, lies near her head as if a testament to the part it had played in the frightful slash of color across Colette’s face.  Her sightless eyes seem to be staring at the silver-framed photograph gripped in her left hand.

The End

While I was at Squam Art Workshops, one of the wonderful people I met was the very talented Queen of Art, Kim Mailhot, also known as The Rock Fairy. Each day she’d pull out a handful of these great painted rocks, shake them up and present them for you to choose.  I’d close my eyes and these are what I came up with on the two day I was lucky enough to be offered these gems.  They are now happily residing on my desk (piled on top of rocks I picked up on the beach in New Hampshire), a reminder of a fabulous journey and to enjoy every second!

If you want to get your own gem, checkout this shop where she & Patti Digh sell “Rock Your World” ~ a baker’s dozen of inspiring affirmation… They even custom paint to your request!

Once a month or so, we do a shared dinner with a couple friends on a Friday or Saturday night.  It’s rarely planned, and sometimes we supply the food, sometimes they do, sometimes we both bring something to the table.  But one thing remains the same ~ it is always at our house on our pleasant back porch.  And I love to set the atmosphere right along with the table ~ everything from the music to the candles.  I do something a little different each time, often utilizing things from around the house and never spending more than 30 minutes start-to-finish.

Here’s a table I set a few weeks ago using some river rocks I had collected in North Carolina about 10 years ago with the intention of doing something with them…guess that something was adorn my dinner table years later.  I sprayed them (years ago) with clear varnish to get that just-plucked-from-the-river look.

The sticks I also collected that year and a large bunch of them reside in a vase in the kitchen.  I buy fun napkins & place mats because I like to mix it up and have quite a collection. My mother picked up these cute fall napkins at a thrift store ~ perfect for a fall table.

 The other night,  bless their heart, our friends brought the entire dinner.  I was very grateful because I was whipped from work.  I tossed down some colorful rag-rug looking place mats, some green glass plates and filled a shallow wood tray with a variety of candle holders and called it done.  This has to be my favorite centerpiece yet.  It was so warm & inviting…and easy!

Here’s a blast from the past ~ my past, anyway.  The other night my former roommate came to dinner and brought this to show me.  At some point, I had given it to her, and I had since completely forgotten about it.

A billion years ago, while I was in college I worked at a mind-numbing job in a title company.  One day, the office was getting the phones rewired and the repair man had tossed a huge coil of what appeared to be thick gray wire into the trash.  I saw the colorful strands of wire sticking out and having no idea what I would do with it, just that I would do something with it, I decide to grab it.

I ended up contorting coat hangers into frames and wrapping them with the wire.  I made this guitar dude, a guy in a boat (complete with fishing rod, hat & beer can) and a ballerina, the fate of the latter two remains unknown, but if they ever show up, I’ll share!

I know, I know, it has been a few weeks since my trip and I am just now getting around to posting the rest of the photos.  Actually, I am only showing a snippit of them here on the blog but will provide links to galleries where you can view all my fun and sometimes inspiring photos from from my visit to New England.

I love this time of year in New England, being originally from the Adirondacks myself.  I have always said, I am a New England gal at heart ~ until it snows!  It has been in the 90’s here the last few weeks and I wish I could have brought some of that cool weather back with me!  My trip started at Squam Art Workshops in New Hampshire, which I have already posted about here, here & here.

I left Squam on Saturday after class ended and headed south to Concord, NH to visit with my friend Darlyne.  I can tell you, besides being so giddy to see Darlyne, after three 45° nights in a very rustic cabin, I was grateful for a warm room!

DAY 1 with Darlyne

Darlyne & I always have a great time together and these couple of days in September were no exception.  She always has great ideas and on Sunday, she took me to a farm where we picked fresh apples right off the loaded trees…

… and you could pick your own pumpkin from the field….

Darlyne needed two!!!

There was also a petting zoo, a bluegrass band, make your own scarecrow, pick your own wild flowers & a store that sold all kinds of goodness.  It was a beautiful day and we had a blast here.

We drove on to the coast of New Hampshire and then up into Maine.  We stopped for lunch and walked on couple different beaches, sat on rocks, picked up rocks and just enjoyed the gorgeous day.

Here’s Darlyne sittin’ pretty at a place we stopped for a sunset drink ~ those are horses behind her on the beach.

DAY 2 with Darlyne

Since we’d gone rather far & afield on Day 1, we decided to hang close to home on Day 2.  We took a lovely long walk around town and ended up just strolling in and out of shops downtown where I found a few of my designs here and there….

 Worn out, but very content, we ended the day with a really, really great meal at a cute little Italian place downtown.  I think it was called Angelo’s… (I really should write these things down, I know.)  Doesn’t Darlyne rock that blue???  Thank you again for such a terrific time, my friend - Love Shack, baby!

For more fun & inspiring pics from Day 1 and Day 2, visit my full photo gallery links (Darlyne Day 1 and Darlyne Day 2).

On Day 3, Darlyne & I set out for Marblehead where we had lunch with my friends Kathie & Rob who drove over from CT to join us and Carole Eldridge, my hostess for the next couple nights.

Darlyne had to head back to Concord and we headed to the harbor where  Captain Eldridge was waiting aboard the good ship Carol Ann.

He took us on a leisurely tour of the area before we headed back to lounge in their cute backyard with a cocktail before Rob & Kathie had to head home.  How did I get so lucky to have friends so nice to come see me?  I definitely owe them a visit to their neck of the woods!

Carol’s house is so cute & interesting.  You could spend hours examining all the little vignettes she has all over the house.  I took lots of pics but told her I wouldn’t blog her whole house, ha ha

Carol set an atmospheric table & made a divine swordfish for dinner.

I was quite happy to fall into bed before 10 pm for the first time in nearly a week.

Day 4 - Marblehead

Carol & I spent the morning in her studio while I helped her get up to speed on some computer things and she gave me the grand tour of all her cute new designs.  Then we hit downtown for a little lunch & shopping.  This store, Flores Mantilla, was amazing.  I loved it!  I also took a ton of pictures, so be sure to check out the gallery link at the end of this post.

In my photo galleries you’ll also find pics of planters overflowing with pretty flowers, doors that are too cute, lamp posts and picturesque streets.  Don’t you love the way these pink flowers coordinate with the paint?

Product alert again! These are my Parisian Swirl designs from Design Design Inc.

We stopped to rest our feet and enjoy the view before heading back to the house. Hey ~ isn’t this a fun peek inside an artist’s studio downtown?

Speaking of peeks in studios, here’s where I found Carol when I woke up from a brief cat nap late that day.

For my last night in New England, the Eldridges took me to dinner at the Boston Yacht Club on the harbor in Marblehead.

Isn’t that colorful wrap of Carol’s too cute?  Thanks to you both ~ Carol & The Captain ~ for such a  nice, nice visit.  I am too blessed to have so many wonderful friends.

To see all photos from Day 3 and Day 4 with Carol in Marblehead, visit the Day 3 Gallery and the Day 4 Gallery.

Hello!  It has been crazy busy here in the studio for the past few weeks.  Some (necessary) spec work, a couple of new license partners & lots of work to get out for them as well as getting close to finishing up my Spring 2010 fabric collection for Studio E.

Speaking of fabric collections, if you’re heading to Quilt Market in Houston, stop by the Studio E booth (#1815) and check out my latest collection, Road to Marrakech ~ here’s a snippit of it!