This is Just My Week. Meh.

There has been a long string of one thing after another for the past several weeks. Car problems, overwork, behind in schoolwork, etc. And now this. Please don't read on if you're grossed out by real dead things.


O.K. so remember that Hauntcast episode where I told you to pull out your props a month early so you had time to do repairs? Yeah. That just didn't happen for me. I was way too busy making stuff to sell, teaching and going to school. I really screwed myself on the whole repair thing this year! Bad ShellHawk!

"Beloved" became a rat condo since last winter, apparently. The smell was awful, but seeing the extent of the damage that had been done just made my heart sink. Oh, and then there's the disgusting part:

Why yes that is a dead rat stuck to the side of the tombstone. I'm used to gross things, but that, combined with the smell of living and dead rats was almost too much for me to bear. Did I not tell you this was just not my week?

Because I'm stubborn and stupid, I decided to try to repair her in time for our Saturday party. I have my doubts she'll be completed, but maybe some clever lighting will take care of that... So it was off to Goodwill to drop off a bunch of Mr. ShellHawk's old clothes that no longer fit because he's a svelte supermodel of a guy right now. I took a minute to see if they had a cheapie wedding gown to destroy. They did. Friend Stacy models, below. 

We cut the skirt off and hot-glued and duct-taped it to the existing body, then went to town with the monster mud. By the way, not one but two drill batteries were dead, and the drill I borrowed at first wouldn't take my mixing squirrel. Thankfully, the last one worked! I can't vouch for how long the repair will last, but I'm sure it will at least take us through Hallowe'en.

Two tone was not a good look for this, so on with the mud!

She was still wet in patches today, so I dragged her out into the sun to dry. Perhaps tomorrow I'll be able to Dryloc her. 


*sigh* Back to other work!