Teddy Holding Halloween Envelope Card From CJ - Photograph

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I received a wonderful surprise in the mail today. CJ, who does beautiful calligraphy work, sent me a stunning Halloween envelope and card. We both like cats, old cemeteries, Medieval topics, all things Halloween, etc. :-)

I should have realized something special was arriving in today's mail, because Teddy, who normally doesn't move when the mailman stops, knocked me over and ran outside to get the mail before I could. ;-)

Teddy is always thrilled when anyone mentions him, and says he loves CJ because she always does. ;-)

Earlier this year, I had started a Teddy Tales weekly blog post, but my creativity has not been what it was in the past. Receiving this Halloween treat brightened my day. Thank you again, CJ! And if anyone is unfamiliar with CJ's fantastic calligraphy and artwork, I encourage you to visit her blog.

Teddy Tales Thursday - The Hound of the Baskervilles

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Teddy Tales Thursday - The Hound of the Baskervilles

The other night, Teddy and I awoke around midnight.

Shortly thereafter, we heard a long, plaintive howling. Teddy ran to the back window, and said the sounds were nearby, behind the house.

This is where Teddy and I have two different versions of what happened next.

Teddy claimed he saw a large canine in the shadows, with glowing red eyes, moving near a tree. Teddy said the beast snarled at him, then paced back and forth, looking for a way inside. Teddy said it was the same ghostly hound of the Baskervilles that we had heard during the daytime in the Hound of the Baskerville Woods, as Teddy calls it. I say we didn’t see anything behind the house, and that it was a lone Coyote howling nearby.

The Hound of the Baskervilles: Truth or Teddy Tale? You decide. ;-)


The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle, which takes place mostly in Dartmoor, which is an "area of moorland in Devon, England".


Note: Due to my computer crashing / dying, my online activity will be minimal until I can regroup and figure out how to move forward.

I have an upcoming SPA guest host theme, and will try to leave comments, etc.

Teddy Tales Thursday - The Wheel Barrow Cadaver

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Teddy Tales Thursday - The Wheel Barrow Cadaver

Early one morning this past week, before dawn, Teddy said he heard a squeaky wheel barrow outside. Teddy said the sounds were identical to a Midsomer Murders episode, where a dead body was moved using one, so he peeked out of the living room window.

Teddy said that, despite the darkness, he saw a cloaked figure pushing a wheel barrow uphill, with a bloody corpse in it. Teddy said the ghoulish individual dug a hole in the garden, placed the body in it, and then shoveled the dirt over the shallow grave. Teddy said when he saw the fiend turn in his direction, and start walking back toward the house, he told Team T to run and hide!

I told Teddy he knows that was me, it was after dawn, I wasn’t wearing a cloak, and it was a bag of mulch, not a body, that I was moving.

The Wheel Barrow Cadaver: Truth or Teddy Tale? You decide. ;-)

Teddy Tales Thursday - “The Cat” Mauled HT

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Teddy Tales Thursday - “The Cat” Mauled HT

Anytime “the cat” (as Teddy calls him) walks past Team T’s perch in their rolling cart, Teddy’s histrionics begin. Teddy cries and carries on that “the cat” is eyeing them with the intent of attacking them. I tell Teddy “the cat” doesn’t even notice them, where they are.

 A few weeks ago, Teddy and HT were on the bed, waiting for me to take them somewhere, anywhere, they didn’t care where, as long as they got to go out for a ride in the car.

When I wasn’t looking, “the cat” jumped onto the bed, and started pawing at HT. This is where Teddy and I have two different versions of what happened next.

Teddy claims “the cat” ripped HT’s arm out of the socket, and Teddy had to perform emergency surgery, to reattach it. I say that HT was unscathed, and I removed him and Teddy from further danger.

“The Cat” Mauled HT: Truth or Teddy Tale? You decide. ;-)

Teddy Tales Thursday - The Wendigo in the Shadows

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Teddy Tales Thursday - The Wendigo in the Shadows

The other night, Teddy and I awoke around 2 am, and decided to watch television, until we felt tired enough to fall back to sleep again.

Shortly thereafter, Teddy told me heard something outside, so I opened the living room curtain to look. We both saw shapes moving to and fro, casting eerie shadows in the outdoor ground solar lights.

This is where Teddy and I have two different versions of what happened next.

Teddy claimed he saw several Wendigo, with glowing red eyes, moving back and forth, near the pine tree. Teddy said they glared menacingly at him, after they saw me move the curtain aside. I say that several deer were walking through the yard.

The Wendigo in the Shadows: Truth or Teddy Tale? You decide. ;-)

The Wendigo by Algernon Blackwood

Teddy Tales Thursday - Leper Zombie Ghosts in the Fog

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I’ve decided to try a “series” for Thursday blog posts. (But I’m not a good writer, so I might abandon this idea.)

For those who are unfamiliar with Teddy, he is my irrepressible and incorrigible “companion” when I go places to take photographs. He always offered to serve double duty as my main image plus as my "T-Day ticket" for my T-Day posts over at Bleubeard and Elizabeth's T Stands For Tuesday Tea challenge.

Frequently, Teddy had exaggerated tales to tell afterwards, about what happened, wherever we went.

Later in time, Teddy’s cousin HT (Halloween Teddy) and his nephew Minnie T joined him, to form Team T, who Teddy always refers to as his witnesses to anything he claims happened.

And now begins this week’s Teddy Tale…

Teddy Tales Thursday - Leper Zombie Ghosts in the Fog

Last week, Teddy, HT, and I were out and about, and happened to go to Southport Beach in Fairfield, Connecticut (CT). As we approached, everything looked strange. It took me several seconds to realize there was a thick fog. The weather had been clear everywhere else.

I parked so that I could take some photographs, because I love fog. As I did, Teddy’s histrionics began. Teddy said he saw leper zombie ghosts in the foggy water, and claimed they were whispering, “Teddy. Teddy!”

Teddy told me not to exit the vehicle, because his life was in danger. If you’re already familiar with Teddy, then you will understand why I ignored him.

The fog dissipated while I was taking photos.

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When we returned home, Teddy told Minnie T what happened at the beach, with the fog. Teddy said he saw his life flash before his eyes, as he heard the sound of a metal hook hand scraping along the windows of the car.

Needless to say, Minnie T started crying from Teddy’s horror story. I told Teddy to stop telling Teddy Tales, because he was scaring Minnie T. Teddy said it was true, and that the 1980 movie The Fog was non fiction disguised as fiction! Teddy said those same leper zombie ghosts appear whenever and wherever there is fog at any beach!

Leper Zombie Ghosts in the Fog: Truth or Teddy Tale? You decide. ;-)

Teddy / Team T Wearing Sunglasses - Photograph

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It's been almost a year since I last made a blog post featuring Teddy and Team T.

"T stands for Teddy and Team T Celebrating 10 Years of Tea Tuesday" - Photograph

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Congratulations on 10 years of Tea Tuesday, Bleubeard & Elizabeth!

I am joining Bleubeard and Elizabeth for this week's T Stands For challenge found here.

Teddy will be serving double duty as my main image plus as my "T-Day ticket" for my T-Day posts.

Teddy and Team T heard Bleubeard & Elizabeth were celebrating 10 years of Tea Tuesday, so they wanted to show their support.

I made this postcard for them to hold, but it didn’t print well on my printer. (The woman is sitting on a champagne glass, which counts as my "T-Day ticket" for this T-Day post. The number 10 is in the floating bubbles.)

HT (Halloween Teddy) told me to remind everyone that there will be a Blue Moon in August. (Blue Moon Calendar 2023 to 2053)

"Teddy Bear" - Postcard

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This week's Our Midweek Muse theme was "Teddy Bear".

I created this using GIMP 2.10.34

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

"T Stands For Teddy, Tea, and Spooky Trails Book" – Photograph

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I am joining Bleubeard and Elizabeth for this week's T Stands For challenge found here.

This is my summation of the past week:

Teddy will be serving double duty as my main image plus as my "T-Day ticket" for my T-Day posts.

As many of you might know, ghosts, haunted locations, etc. are a favorite subject of mine. I have never experienced anything supernatural, but I enjoy searching for it during my Haunted Explorations of (allegedly) Haunted Places.

I received the non-fiction book Spooky Trails and Tall Tales Connecticut: Hiking the State's Legends, Hauntings, and History by Stephen Gencarella, as a Christmas gift this year. (He also has a similar book for Massachusetts).

He combines historical facts and tales with the actual locations where one can go hiking. He presents the information in a fun way, and made me chuckle a few times as I read this book. Many of the haunted stories seemed to be created (or revived) to boost tourism in the state in those places, in the early decades of the 1900s, which was interesting to learn.

I'm hoping to get to some of the places he mentioned as hiking outings with Team T, this Spring. Although Connecticut is one of the smallest states in the US, some of the locations are somewhat far from where I am, so they would have to be planned as day trips. Teddy is already saying the ghosts are real in all of these places, and we need to go find them! I told Teddy he should write his own book, titled Teddy Tall Tales. ;-)

"T Stands For Teddy, Cocoa, and The Hound Of The Baskervilles" – Photograph

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I am joining Bleubeard and Elizabeth for this week's T Stands For challenge found here.

This is my summation of the past week:

Teddy will be serving double duty as my main image plus as my "T-Day ticket" for my T-Day posts.

This past week, I finally took Teddy and his "cousin", Halloween Teddy, on the long awaited and promised outing to the Hound of the Baskerville Woods, as Teddy calls it. This time, we didn't hear the disembodied howl of the ghost hound that we had heard the first time we walked there. (We left "Minnie T" home, because Teddy said it would be too scary for him. ;-)

The Hound of the Baskervilles is one of my favorite Sherlock Holmes stories (the text can be read at Project Gutenberg here), and the book was a Christmas gift this year, as was the tin of peppermint cocoa. Teddy said another one of his cousins was the model for the bear on the tin. ;-)

"T Stands For Teddy And Team T Tea" – Photograph

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I am joining Bleubeard and Elizabeth for this week's T Stands For challenge found here.

This is my summation of the past week:

Teddy will be serving double duty as my main image plus as my "T-Day ticket" for my T-Day posts.

Soooo... it's been a little over a year since the last time I joined the Tea Gang. Very few positive things have been going on in my life, so I’ll regale you with Teddy Tales:

At the beginning of 2022, "Minnie T" joined our household. (He’s the small bear in the photo, surrounded by Christmas holiday flavors teas.) However, Teddy and I disagree on what happened, when Minnie T first joined us: Teddy said, "This house isn’t big enough for two bears! He is unwelcome here!" But after a few days, Teddy realized he could "mold" Minnie T in "his image", so he said Minnie T could stay, and that’s also when he got his name (Minnie Teddy).

Teddy claims that is NOT what happened: Teddy said I am the one who said Minnie T was unwelcome, and that Teddy had to beg me to allow him to remain here.

Shortly before Halloween, Teddy informed me that his "cousin", Halloween Teddy, was coming to spend the holiday with us. Teddy told his cousin, "HT", that I had promised I would take them on an outing to the Hound of the Baskerville Woods, as Teddy calls it, before Halloween, to look for the ghost hound that we had heard howling there the first time we walked there.

That outing still hasn’t happened, but we did go to a cemetery that was hidden in the woods. And Teddy was thrilled to receive surprise Halloween art and candy in the mail, from the very thoughtful CJ.

HT’s original departure date was first extended to Thanksgiving, then he said he wanted to be here for Christmas and New Year’s Eve, and last I heard, he wants to stay to see the August 2023 Blue Moon here. ;-)

Teddy refers to his bear gang as Team T, which is an abbreviation for Team Teddy Bears. A few times, I’ve caught Teddy whispering to them about "the cat" and "majority rules" and "voting him off the island", but when I’ve asked Teddy about it, he denied that they were discussing "the cat".

This year has flown by. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year!

Teddy and his Halloween Mail (and candy) - Photograph

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I took those photographs of the unexpected, fantastic Halloween mail art (and candy) that arrived in the mail for Teddy (and me) this past week, from CJ, who does beautiful calligraphy and artwork.

For those who remember Teddy, it will be no surprise that on one particular day, for no apparent reason, after hearing the sound of the mail truck, Teddy knocked me over, ran outside, and got the mail before I could. When he came back in, he threw all of the mail at me, except for one brown envelope, which he clutched in his paws as he scurried over to his cousin.

Later that day, Teddy deigned to allow me to photograph his letter. When I asked him how he knew it was arriving on this particular day, he said his cousin who works at the NSA told him. ;-) When I pointed out it was addressed to the both of us, he muttered something and walked away with the candy.

It was an unexpected, thoughtful, and wonderful surprise to receive this in the mail from CJ. She knows Halloween is one of our favorite Holidays. And it was a welcome positive in my life right now.

Teddy and his Halloween Cousin - Photograph

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I took those photographs at the Audubon Larsen Wildlife Sanctuary in Fairfield, CT this past week. The second photo is the view from that bench.

For those who remember Teddy, his "Halloween" Cousin came for a visit ahead of the upcoming holiday. We still need to make an outing to the Hound of the Baskerville Woods, as Teddy calls it. Teddy assured his cousin the ghost hound is real and prowling around in there. I also have a feeling his cousin will be staying permanently. ;-)

"T Stands For Teddy And Pumpkin Tea" - Photograph

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I am joining Bleubeard and Elizabeth for this week's T Stands For challenge found here.

This is my summation of the past week:

Teddy will be serving double duty as my main image plus as my "T-Day ticket" for my T-Day posts.

Soooo... last week, in local news, after I had posted that Teddy wanted a dash cam, an unusual incident occurred on I95 (Interstate 95 highway) southbound in New Haven, Connecticut, US during the evening rush hour on Tuesday, October 12, 2021. With traffic moving at a slow, bumper to bumper pace, a man allegedly high on drugs allegedly "car jacked" a tractor trailer. The tractor trailer then plowed into the cars ahead at a high rate of speed. Fortunately no one was killed. Another vehicle, equipped with a dash cam, video recorded the unfolding scene. The news story and video can be seen here, however, it contains disturbing footage, and is not recommended for all viewers.

Teddy is now insistent that "I" need to get a dash cam for my car. Teddy said it's purely coincidental that he has been hounding me to get one, along with several other electronic devices, for months now. When I asked Teddy about him previously saying he needed an iPhone Pro 13 (Hollywood in your pocket), a camera drone, and a dash cam, to become the next Cecil B. DeMille of film makers, he muttered something and walked away.

"T Stands For Teddy And Autumn Tea" - Photograph

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I am joining Bleubeard and Elizabeth for this week's T Stands For challenge found here.

This is my summation of the past week:

Teddy will be serving double duty as my main image plus as my "T-Day ticket" for my T-Day posts.

A true story... "Panic on the highway" (sung to the tune of "Dancing In The Street")

Shortly after nightfall, as we headed southbound on Route 8 (RT8), approaching exit 12, ahead were the red brake lights of cars, indicating a traffic slow down / traffic jam. Hours earlier, the journey northbound included bumper to bumper traffic, so yet another stop and go trip was no surprise, as it is part of the normal "joys" of driving on any highway in Connecticut (CT), US.

Then the extraordinary began, as we passed that highway exit ramp. First, it was one or two vehicles, backing down the emergency lane of the highway, toward the on ramp. (Note: that is against the law to do in CT, and probably in most / all states.) As we inched along in traffic, suddenly more vehicles were moving into the emergency lane and proceeding to back up at dangerous rates of speed (almost like bats out of Hell). One vehicle, in its haste to start backing up, nearly side swiped a vehicle that was in its correct lane on the highway.

As more and more vehicles started doing that, this thought occurred to me: "What do they know, that we don’t know? What lies ahead? A rolling wall of flames that is incinerating all of the vehicles (and occupants) as it races northward? Godzilla? Aliens with ray guns? What in the world is going on?!"

The surreal scene of all of those panicking drivers, backing down the highway to get off of it (escape), truly looked like something out of a Hollywood Apocalyptic Event movie. And it was clearly, "Every man for himself!" so if there is ever a real, wide scale emergency situation going on, the last place you want to be is Connecticut, because you’ll be run over / trampled in the stampede to flee the area.

And what was actually going on, up ahead on the highway? The highway was closed due to an accident. Which is another standard occurrence on CT highways: any type of accident, no matter how minor: close all lanes of the highway. Yet never before have I witnessed that type of hysterical reaction by drivers. It was disconcerting to see at the time, but when I finally got home, the humorous take on it got me laughing.


Teddy said if we had a dash cam, we could’ve shared the video with everyone. (Teddy has been pestering me to get one for a few months now. He’s using this event as an example of how they can come in handy, for documentary purposes.)

"T Stands For Teddy And Get Happy Halloween Tea" - Photograph

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I am joining Bleubeard and Elizabeth for this week's T Stands For challenge found here.

This is my summation of the past week:

Teddy will be serving double duty as my main image plus as my "T-Day ticket" for my T-Day posts.

Some people wondered how I've been able to make artwork over the past months, with my hand injury. I'm right handed, and my left hand has the injury. My artwork is digital (using a mouse), although even if I painted (with a brush), the same would be true: I only use my right hand to create artwork. But many day to day tasks require both hands, which I didn't realize until my problem started. Even something as "simple" as taking photographs was impacted.

This week, I have the honor of guest hosting Sunday Postcard Art (SPA), and I chose the challenge theme "Pumpkins." October is Halloween month at SPA!

I also put up my indoor Halloween decorations, but I haven't taken any photos of them yet.

Seeing Nicole's (DVArtist) fantastic "Strange Art" last week inspired me to revisit the theme "Dada", but my endeavors with it more closely resemble an anatomy theme.

Meanwhile, Teddy has told me that if the brewing cargo ship / supply chain crisis impacts his supply of honey, "things" will get ugly around here, but he didn't elaborate further.

"T Stands For Teddy And Sip Sip Hooray Tea" - Photograph

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I am joining Bleubeard and Elizabeth for this week's T Stands For challenge found here.

This is my summation of the past week months:

Teddy will be serving double duty as my main image plus as my "T-Day ticket" for my T-Day posts.

At the beginning of the year, Teddy and I took a break from most of our usual blogger site visits and activity. In the first week of May, I was planning on rejoining Tea Tuesday, because we missed the T-Gang (as I affectionately like to call the group). 

Unfortunately, that is when I suffered a thumb / hand / wrist strain type injury that sidelined me from a lot of things. Many two handed tasks became difficult or impossible to do. And I'm not complaining, because there are many who have much worse health problems than I do.

Typing on a keyboard was mostly reduced to a slow one finger hunt and peck style. The injury recovery has been slow, also, but it has been steadily improving over the weeks that turned into months. When I was initially able to type again, my wrist would quickly start to ache and feel strained, limiting how much typing I could do before needing to stop. I think I am finally able to type well enough for long enough that I'll be able to leave comments for everyone (as opposed to a copy/paste same message for everyone, which I don't like doing). I'm still not 100% recovered, with some motions still causing pain, but I am almost back to normal.

For those who may remember Teddy's frequent use of hybearbole, he claims he has been doing "all" of the work around the house for the past several months, including, but not limited to: cooking, cleaning, laundry, mowing, etc. Teddy said the conditions here have been unbearable, and that "the cat" gets to sleep all day, while Teddy does all of the work. ;-)

"T Stands For Teddy On Bench In Woods" - Photograph

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I had taken a break from most of my blogging at the end of 2020. Then, 11 weeks ago, right when I wanted to rejoin Bleubeard and Elizabeth for their weekly T Stands For challenge, a thumb / tendons injury side lined me. It is also why I have not been able to visit blogs as frequently as I used to.

I'm not complaining, because there are many people with much worse health problems than I have, and I'm hoping I will be able to make a full recovery from this injury.

Last week, for the first time in quite awhile, Teddy and I went to the Audubon Larsen Wildlife Sanctuary in Fairfield, CT. We had a nice walk there, and I took some photos, which I still haven't posted yet.

"T Stands For Teddy And Trader Joes Flyer Cup Of Coffee" - Photograph

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I am joining Bleubeard and Elizabeth for this week's T Stands For challenge found here.

This is my summation of the past week:

Teddy will be serving double duty as my main image plus as my "T-Day ticket" for my T-Day posts.

For the past few months, Teddy and I took a break from most of our usual blogger site visits. We might continue to be absent from the blogger world scene going forward, also.

It has been very snowy and cold here in Connecticut US for most of February. But this past week, I did get out to take some photographs. Teddy normally accompanies me on those outings, but this time, he didn't. However, his and my accounts of why he did not differ greatly:

Teddy claims he begged and cried for me to take him with me, but that I refused to do so, and left without him.

I reminded Teddy that when I asked him to come with me, he said he refused to go out in the cold, and that if I took him, he would call PETA and report me for bear abuse. Later, while I was at the beach, I received a tearful text message from Teddy, saying he didn't realize it was relatively mild out, and that he wanted me to pick him up. When I returned home and asked Teddy how he knew exactly where I was and what the temperature was there, he mumbled something about he has a friend at the NSA who sent him the information, using my cell phone as a tracking device.

Beach scenes:

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