Bedtime at the Hotel Thompson

Bedtime.  Doesn’t that one word make you smile?  Bedtime means a lot of things to a lot of different peeps and anipals.  Some love the thought of sleep and bedtime.  While others can’t stand the thoughts knowing they will have another restless bout of insomnia.  Mom and sleep are like frenemies.  She loves to sleep however sleep doesn’t love her.  Now with the exercise she has been doing lately, sleep comes easier these days than what it once did.  And thank goodness mom doesn’t sleep walk anymore – that’s entirely different posting than today’s – trust me on that – snorts with piggy laughter.

Today I want to talk about bedtime.  You know that one moment at night when bedtime is called and everyone rushes around trying to ‘get ready’ for bed.  Now, let me start by asking this question to you.  At the Hotel Thompson, when it comes time for bed who is the last in bed every night?  Is it moi, Houdini, Hemi, mom or dad?  Go ahead, guess and right that name down.  I’ll wait.  Taps hooves – insert Jeopardy music while waiting.

Finished?  Okay let’s proceed.  Now, mom is usually the one that calls bedtime.  She works and is on a strict sleep schedule with the same routine every night.  That helps her with her insomnia and sleep walking.  Pretty much when she goes to bed, we all go to bed.

Mom tells me to get ready for bed and I’m a good boy.  I will waddle out, do my business and get in my toddler bed in my bedroom waiting for mom to tuck me in for the night.  Usually she brings me a small treat.  So yeah I’m going to be a good boy for mom.  Wouldn’t you?  And I’m not a dumb pig.  Sometimes mom will rub my back until I fall off to sleep.

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That brings us to Houdini.  That word bedtime is almost like snack time to that kid.  He will rush down the hall and beat mom to the bedroom.  He jumps on the bed and snuggles down in his blanket and is usually counting dog bones before anyone else

That Houdini is almost part cat I do believe.  He takes a gazillion naps a day and still sleeps throughout the night.  Mom says its because he plays so hard when he is awake and with all of that energy – he zonks out better than any of us.

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Hemi.  Well Hemi is a lot of things but when you call bedtime he is there.  He will get him a drink of water, go potty and then tap-tap down the hallway to mom/dad’s bedroom taking his place with royalty at the top of the bed on his pillow.  He lets nothing get in his way during his night time ritual.  And if anyone is in his spot, he will push them away.  I mean heck, he let’s us all know that he is king here at the Hotel Thompson.

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Alright then let’s check on things.  Who thought it was one of us anipals who was the slowest in getting to bed at night?  Go ahead, raise your hand.  You can lower them now.  You would be wrong.  It is *not* one of us anipals – shocker huh?  And we all know it can’t be mom.  I mean heck with her sleep problems, she has to be spot on in getting to bed the same time every night…. unless it’s the weekend or a special outing.  Other than that, she has brushed her teeth, put all of us anipals to bed, taken her medicine and is in bed with her head on her pillow counting sheep.

Dad is the culprit.  So who guessed dad?  You would be correct!!  Mom said that telling dad that it’s bedtime is like telling a 2 years to get ready for bed.  And trust me friends, I have watched and can confirm this.  Even us anipals look at daddy like really?  Now we know dad is a grown man and can go to bed anytime he wants.  But if mom let him, he would stay up all night watching old movies on television which is fine on the weekends but during the week we all have schedules to maintain.  So don’t take this too serious folks – we area all snortable anipals and peeps here at the Hotel Thompson – by all means you do know our sense of humor.  With that being said though, this is how it usually goes here at night during the week:

9:00PM – Okay kids, let’s start getting ready for bedtime.  That’s usually when all of anipals get up and do our business while mom bushes her teeth and takes her medicine.

9:05PM – Dad hasn’t moved from the sofa that he’s sleeping on.  Mom touches dad shoulder, wakes him and tells him to get ready for bed.  He grumbles ok and stirs slightly.

9:15PM – Mom has finished up, puts us all to bed, gives us kisses and goes back to wake dad again.  She then goes to wash her face.

9:20PM – Dad starts to move.  Slowly goes to put on pajamas.

9:25PM – Mom is finished and goes to the bedroom to put on her jammies.

9:30PM – Dad decides he needs a drink and goes to the kitchen.  Then he decides he needs to take his medicine so he goes back to the bedroom to get it and back to the kitchen for another drink.

9:45PM – Dad *finally* comes back to the bedroom and then has to get the night time medicines ready for him and mom for the next night.  (There’s only four pills – two for the each of them – but dad takes a lifetime to do it as we all hear mom tell him).  Laughter can be heard from mom/dad.

10:00PM – Dad decides he then has to go to the bathroom to brush his teeth and go potty.  In the meantime, mom is in the bedroom setting dad’s side of the bed (they have a Select Comfort and he likes it 100 – talk about sleeping on concrete – WOW).  Then mom pulls the sheets down and climbs into bed all the while fussing at daddy to hurry up and that molasses are faster than him.

10:15PM – FINALLY daddy comes back to the bedroom chuckling and saying that he is not slow and that mom is just fast.  Rolls piggy eyes – that starts more laughter.  Then daddy finally gets into bed and him and mom find hands to hold.  Why?  Because once upon a time a very long time ago mom/dad read about how otters sleep holding their mates hands so they don’t drift apart.  Every since then, mom/dad hold hands while they sleep so they don’t drift apart.  Cute huh?   They talk about each other being their otter and how much they love each other.  More giggles and a kiss goodnight.

 

31 Days of Spook – Martha Washington Boarding School

Hello friends.  Are you spooked yet?  Well today I continue with my guest submission by Angie Deptula.  Wasn’t her submission earlier today just chilling?  Well, your in for a extra treat with her final submission.  Happy reading my spooks.

There once was a boarding school for delinquent girls, named Martha Washington Institute or Martha Washington School for Girls. It was located at Brighton Beach on Lake Washington in Seattle. It functioned from 1900-1971, and at one point became known as “Martha Washington School for the Insane Girls.” Prior to this, Judge Smith had owned the house. Smith built the home with a nursery and a boathouse, with a hollow stairway to a madrone tree on the property, a location that plays a role in today’s hauntings. Rumors of violence, murder and suicide are associated with the school while it was opened.  It is thought that a janitor of the school had raped and killed a girl by hanging her on the tree. Whether this hanging was done on the madrone tree or not, I’m not aware of that.

In 1971, after the school closed, a satanic group utilized the building for rituals and sacrificed animals on the property. Because this is within a residential location, the general community became uneasy with the building so the city council decided to have the building demolished and turned into a park. Today, without knowing the history of the location, one would think nothing of it.

The park is a popular spot for people to walk their dogs at, or relax and picnic on a nice sunny day. However when nighttime comes, the empty park has an ominous atmosphere. Paranormal activities occur frequently. The old madrone tree is still present and is thought to have ghostly energies attached to it. And the area where the stairway Judge Smith once built is still there and is thought to be a portal. Visitors often feel a presence or become uneasy in that area like they’re being watched. Disembodied footsteps and screaming have also been reported in the park. Teenagers who visit in odd numbers have had a spirit follow them home. A mom who was once visiting the park one evening took a picture of her son and noticed behind him an apparition of a girl looking right at her. Sightings of a girl have been reported multiple times by different sources as well.

One in particular is from a good friend of mine, Pam. One day Pam and her two friends visited the park early in the morning. The girls walked around the empty park. Pam was walking with one of her friend, while the other was off somewhere else. Pam caught movement from her peripheral and turned, noticing a female apparition of a girl in a white nightgown walking, coming up side-by- side to her and her friend. She choked up, froze, the blood rushed out of her face as she realized this girl was translucent. Pam’s friend quickly realized why: Her friend acknowledged the ghostly girl too. They ran and called for their other friend, hurrying to the car. Inside the car, the new car would not start. The girls panicked, feeling ice cold, squealing and squirming in their seats. After a few minutes, the car finally started and they sped away. Pam and the girls have never returned since.

I have been to the park too, with friends, but have never experienced anything like that. I never explored the park long enough, probably because I was too chicken from all the spooky stories I’ve heard of. However, I did feel uneasy, overcome with chills as I felt like invisible eyes were on me the whole time. It’s indescribable, but the place really does feel ominous at night. I wonder if this girl in the white dress or nightgown is the same girl who was killed or murdered at the school, and if she’s the same apparition seen over and over by others? I can imagine there being other spirits on site as well if the place was once used as a satanic gathering. The mysteries of this place are left unknown, but the uneasiness it provokes onto visitors still remains.

 

Bedtime Rituals

Do you have a bedtime ritual?  Something that you do every night before Mr. Sandman visits you?  Me being a piggy – Ireally demand a schedule.  When my schedule is off, so is my cute little personality – snorts!.  For instance, every night mom starts putting me to bed around 8:30pm.  I say start because I have a routine here at the Hotel Thompson.

At 8:30pm, mom tells me it’s time for bed.  We go into the kitchen to get my bedtime snack and a drink of water.

At 8:45pm, I’ll start wobbling down the hall to my bedroom.  I’ll take care of my ‘business’ and get into my toddler bed.

At 9:00pm, mom comes into my bedroom to tuck me into bed and kiss me good night.  Sometimes she tells me a story.  Sometimes she sings to me and pets my back until I fall asleep.  Other times, she sets the timer on my television so I can watch one of my favorite shows for a while before I fall asleep.

At 9:15pm, mom puts Houdini to bed.  He’s not one for bedtime stories – he thinks he’s too big for that.  Can you believe it?  So, she rocks him and puts his onsie jammies on and tucks him in for the night.  Rotten little guy – rolls piggy eyes and snorts with laughter.

At 9:30pm, mom and dad go to bed.  Mouse Girl and Hemi follow them cause they sleep in their room on the big bed.  Hemi snuggles right between mom/dad and has to touch both of them.  Mouse Girl sleeps at the bottom of the bed and stretches as far as she can between mom/dad’s feet.

So, do you have a bedtime ritual?

 

 

️Houdini the Beast

Snorts!  With the uproar going on here at the Hotel Thompson, some of our schedules have been a little out of order.  Take for instance little Houdini.  Usually mom puts him to bed around 8:30-9:00PM.  The other night, her and dad were busy cleaning something out.  The little man went to his bedroom and proceeded to bring his bedroom bed – little lobster – to the front room.

He pulled and pushed little lobster out of his room and down the hallway.  I was on the sofa and heard the little guy grunting and groaning.

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I grabbed mom’s iPhone and started clicking pictures as soon as I saw him turn the corner.  Look at him go!

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He was persistent and would flip the little lobster over and then drag it some more.  And then he would push it some more.  He was a machine!

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He was like “Don’t mind me – little doggy coming through here.”

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He went around all obstacles in his way including daddy’s tray and leg.  Nothing was slowing him down.  Yeah – I could have helped the pup out but I wanted to see how far he was going with little lobster in his travels.

He passed the table, grunted and groaned.  Looked around and did what I have to say is the cutest thing for a puppy.  He was like if mom/dad aren’t going to put me to bed and go to bed themselves guess what?  I’m going to do it myself and be in the middle of everything because you know something might happen that I need to know about.

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 And there you go.  He curled up in little lobster, said his nightly prayers and passed out.  I have to admit that the little guy does sleep like an angel.  He didn’t even put on his pajamas.  What a trooper huh?

When mom came back in the room she was look WOW – he’s so smart.  He put his ownself to bed.  Then she shook her head and looked at his huge Kong bed that stays in the front room.  Asleep on the Kong bed was Mouse Girl.  The little guy didn’t want to wake up Mouse Girl so he got his own bed.

aaww – you gotta love the little guy, right?