Guess What?!

I’m back!

  Didya miss me sweet friends?

I know I missed all of you – each and everyone.  All of your emails, phone calls, cards – that meant so much to us here at the Hotel Thompson – thank you so much from the bottom of our hearts! ❤

It’s been a little psycho crazy here at the crib.  We had a sickness here in the family and mom got pulled into different directions.  She needed to be a triplett to get everything done in the days it needed.  With being pulled into different directions and trying to take care of the Hotel Thompson and working, mom got sick.  Her rheumatoid arthritis flared really bad where it got hard for her to move.  Then my friends something else happened to mom.  She got the big D.  Dad explained the big D to us anipals.  It was frightening.

The big D takes everything from you.  It makes you lonely.  Afraid.  It makes you cry.  And there’s nothing anyone can say to make all the hurt go away.  It’s debilitating.  There were days that all us anipals and dad could do was just sit close to mom and hold her.  Those days seemed to work.  Mom knew what was going on so she didn’t wait.  She reached out to her doctor and got some help.  We applaud mom for that.  Always know when to reach out and ask for help.

You ask what the big D was?  Depression.  Depression sucks.  But we all get it from time to time.  Some of us know how to handle it better than others while others just keep bottling things up until that bottle just explodes and tears start flowing.  Mom is much, MUCH better now.  Thank goodness for that!

So we are back.  And we have some news to bring in about two weeks.  You will absolutely LOVE it.  And of course, I had to be back for the start of my Spooktober – right?  So again, we love you my friends ❤

 

#depressionsucks

 

Boo! Winchester House

Today, I’m focusing on the Winchester Mystery House.  Have you heard about this mansion that is located in San Jose, California?  Have you been there?  It’s claimed that some people are there and they have never left.  The Winchester Mystery House is just that – a mystery.  It was the residence of Sarah Winchester.

In 1862, she  married William Winchester – who came from the family that created the famous Winchester guns.  Everything seemed like it was grand and wonderful …for a while.

In 1866, the Winchester’s infant daughter, Annie, passed away from a childhood disease called marasmus.  (Marasmus is a form of severe malnutrition and causes a child to look emaciated.)  Losing her child caused Mrs. Winchester to fall into a deep depression.

In 1881, Mrs. Winchester’s husband, William, passed away from tuberculosis.  Can you imagine watching two of your very close loved ones pass away so early in life?  Mrs. Winchester was beside herself and sought help from a spiritualist.  Through consulting with the spiritualist, Mrs. Winchester believed her family and her fortune were haunted by the ghosts of the people who had fallen victim to the family Winchester rifles.  She was advised that the only way she could appease the ghosts was to move west and build them a house.  Not just a house but to continuous build them a house.

In 1884, Mrs. Winchester moved west to San Jose, California and bought an unfinished farmhouse .  Work began immediately.  Mrs. Winchester  would hold nightly seances to speak with the spirits to help guide her in how the house would be worked on the following date.  In the morning, she would meet with her construction workers and give them the plans.  Did the plans make sense?  You decide.

• There are roughly 160 rooms, including 40 bedrooms;
• 2 ballrooms (one completed and one unfinished);
• 47 fireplaces;
• Over 10,000 panes of glass;
• 17 chimneys (with evidence of two others);
• 2 basements with three elevators.
• It has gold and silver chandeliers and hand-inlaid parquet floors and trim;
• There are doors and stairways that lead nowhere and a vast array of colors and materials.
• The home’s conveniences were rare at the time of its construction. These included steam and forced-air heating, modern indoor toilets and plumbing, push-button gas lights and Mrs. Winchester’s personal (and only) hot shower from indoor plumbing.
• The number 13 is repeated frequently in the home – whether in stairs, candles, wall hooks, stained glass windows or even 13 holes in the drain covers.  Also every Friday the 13th, the large bell on the property is rung 13 times at 1300 hours in tribute to Winchester.   Mrs. Winchester even signed her will 13 times leaving everything to a niece and personal secretary.

Construction continued every day around the clock until Mrs. Winchester died on September 5, 1922.  Upon her death, all hammering ceased.  When they looked in Mrs. Winchester’s safe they found the things that meant the most to her.  Not money.  Not diamonds.  Not riches.  It was two pieces of hair – one from her husband and one from her daughter.

And until this day, it is said that you can still hear the construction work taking place, that you can see the workers inside and outside of the home.  And, people still say that Mrs. Winchester herself is still in the home.

 

Inner Peace Award

Squeal! Happy piggy dance – shake it to the left – shake it to the right – I’m so excited!! Angel Whisper gave me this award last week on 05/20/2014.  Isn’t it awesome?!  So unique and lovely!!  Thank you so much my kind sweet friends!

The only ‘rule’ for this award is to write a short piece on why you are accepting it.  That’s easy enough so here I go.

Life is too short.  Life is too short to be stressed…to be worried… to be depressed.  There’s one way to overcome all of that.  Laugh.  Laughter brings inner peace and smile to your face.  If I make one person smile… or pee in their pants a little with laughter… then my job is well done.

For those that do not have this award, please accept it.  I’m giving this award to ALL of my friends here on my blog.  You deserve a little inner peace today 🙂  Much love to all of you – XOXO – Bacon