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Heading back to my home state of California super soon, and the ‘little Aly’ still inside me is just looking for an excuse to spend a whole afternoon riding Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion repeatedly.
Found this particular passage interesting in my reading today for the new episode: “...it is well worth emphasising that the zenith of English medicinal cannibalism in fact appears to have occurred in the later 17th century, during what has often been seen as the birth of modern science. Whereas, in 1623, James I refused the powdered skull offered by Mayerne, his grandson, Charles II, had no such qualms, and busily distilled such powder himself.”
nyctophilia (n.) - An attraction to darkness or night; finding relaxation or comfort in the darkness.
Once Valentine’s is over, that means it’s nearly March, and March means maple harvest season in New England. And that makes me very happy. Especially when I visit sugar houses and maple barns in season. My favorite? That would be ordering deep fried French toast and maple coffee at Parker’s Maple Barn in Mason, New Hampshire. And I still kick myself for not buying this sweatshirt in Vermont. I mean, nobody can make those slightly naughty maple farming jokes like a New Englander.
Those daily walks around the grounds of Culross Palace felt like a fairy tale, as I lost myself in thought and all sense of time seemed to vanish.
Going to park my caboose in this big, comfy chair, and work on the new podcast episode all weekend.
The gravestones of Culross Abbey poke out like the crooked teeth in the yawning maw of some creature of death.
Coziest room in the house, which is great, but between that overstuffed sofa and roaring stove it basically acts as a giant sleeping pill for me. Maybe change the name from library to napping room? Or go full-on historical and call it the fainting room, where I hide from gentile society during my bouts of female hysteria, of course....(yep, gotta love history’s take on hysteria and women!🤦🏻‍♀️)
This is me this weekend. Laying flat on my ass. And most of the laying around time was used to read, research, and start putting together a new podcast ep. (A bit of that time was used to just be super lazy and eat Doritos, but shhhhhh....we don’t speak of that) And the subject matter of this new episode has captivated me!
The rest of New England may be getting all excited for the Super Bowl tonight, as for me though, I’m currently lighting candles and getting all excited about reading and doing podcast research instead. (P.S. I’ve named that antique dude in the back ‘Phineas’, as it just seems to fit and I don’t know his actual name. I mean, would be rude not to greet him each morning with a formal greeting, right?)
An antique funeral card (also called mourning or memorial cards) and daguerreotype sit under a bell jar in my home’s library. These cards, made of heavy duty card stock, became popular in the 19th century and were meant to be kept in an album or framed on a wall forevermore.
Capturing the moment in which Gomez internally screamed “hell no” to going out in this cold..
Gomez making his presence known whilst I attempt to work..
Late nights, watching spooky tv is kind of the best.
Today marks 190 years since William Burke (of Burke and Hare fame) was put to death in Edinburgh, Scotland, for his murderous crimes, which included the selling of his victims’ bodies to the medical school. As the death sentence was passed against him, Burke was told: “Your body should be publicly dissected and anatomized. And I trust, that if it is ever customary to preserve skeletons, yours will be preserved, in order that prosperity may keep in remembrance your atrocious crimes.” And, of course, his skeleton is still on display to this day, as well as his death mask and a book that is said to be bound in his skin in Edinburgh. So, today might be a good day to listen to episode 10: ‘Grave Matters in Edinburgh’ of the podcast, in which I delve into the Burke and Hare murders as well as the mystery of the tiny coffins found on Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh in 1836. (This is from when I visited those tiny coffins at the National Museum of Scotland last year.)
This little bad ass making the rounds at my house today..

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