Lexington Comic & Toy Convention

Make plans now for the weekend of March 11-13, 2016, to attend the 5th annual Lexington Comic & Toy Convention, to be held at the Lexington Civic Center located in downtown Lexington, Kentucky.  The convention, owned by Jared and Jamie Greer, is fast becoming the place to be in our area.  The very first Lexington ComicCon, held in 2012, was a 1 day event, and was an extremely huge success.  In 2013 the convention was expanded to 2 days, and was host to such stars as Margot Kidder (Lois Lane), Billy Dee Williams (Star Wars), and Doug Jones (Hellboy).  William Shatner, Nichele Nichols, and George Takei (the original Star Trek) were among the main guests at the 2014 ComicCon.  Eric Roberts and Verne Troyer were 2 of the stars we got to meet in 2015.

Each year the Lexington ComicCon grows bigger and better.  Some of this year's guests include several stars from the Dr. Who television series.  For more information on this year's guests, ticket prices, and hotel reservations, you can go to lexingtoncomiccon.com.  Hope to see you there.

It's been awhile...

I realize it's been several months since my last post, and for that I do apologize.  There's really no excuse for not posting, but I hope to be able to do a better job from now on.

ScareFest 8 has come and gone, and the 2016 Lexington ComicCon is coming up next month; March 11-13 to be exact.  My "sidekick" and I will again be covering the ComicCon for our website, SharrysPlace.com.  If you're into comic book and toy conventions, why not head out to the Civic Center in Lexington, Kentucky, and have a great time.  Check out their website for more information.

In other convention news, ScareFest will be held the weekend of September 30-October 2, also at the Lexington Civic Center.  The theme for this year will be Camp ScareFest.  As the name suggests, you will feel like you are at summer camp, with pajama parties, campfire stories, and other camp activities.  Though no guests have been announced yet, it won't be long until they do.

I am still working on my embroidery and ceramic painting.  I'm trying to figure out the best way to make some sales, but am at a standstill on that.  Oh well...that's okay.  One of these days, I'll figure something out.

Until next time, I hope life treats you right...

It's That Time Of Year Again...

The weekend of September 11-13 will be busy an exciting one for my household.  This is the weekend my son and I will make our annual trek to Lexington, Kentucky, to attend the 8th annual ScareFest Horror and Paranormal Convention.  This will be my 5th ScareFest convention and my son's 6th.  Though not as large a convention as some of the other pop culture conventions, it is very popular and draws a great crowd every year.

Patti Starr

The owner, Patti Starr,  and her staph (that's the way they spell it) go out of their way to make ScareFest as fan-friendly and affordable as they possibly can. Also included this year is a sign-language interpreter for the hearing-impaired.  On the Friday night of the convention members of the military, police, and firefighter community will be given free admission (with valid id) as a way of saying "thank you" for their service.  On Sunday a new event will be included...ScareFest Kids' Day.  This will be from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm and will include facepainting, haunted house crafts, cornhole games, stiltwalkers, and Star Wars '"Blast-A-Trooper" feathuring the 501st Legion.

"Critter"

After a 2-year hiatus, "Critter" will be back this year.  He is considered the convention mascot, and I'm looking forward to"meeting" him again.  There will be several seminars covering a variety of subjects as well as Q&As with several of the stars.  On Saturday night a costume ball will be held at the Prefunction Area with judging on the best costumes.  Judging will be done by some of the stars.  Some of the stars include cast members of the movies/shows Phantasm and American Horror Story, Tennessee Wraith Chasers from Ghost Asylum (Destination American channel), the daughters of horror icons Boris Karloff and Vincent Price, "Eddie Munster" and "Marilyn Munster" from tv's "The Munsters."  Check out ScareFest's website for a more detailed list of the stars and other events.  

Until next time...

My, how time flies by...

I was going to write something about some of my latest happenings, and didn't realize until just now how long it had been since the last time I posted on here.  I've been meaning to post more often...however, not only does life tend to get in the way, but I'm not that good at writing and have difficulty putting my thoughts into visible words.  I've got several ideas of what I'd like to "discuss" and just need to make myself sit down to write.  

UPDATES

At the present time I'm looking forward to my annual weekend at the ScareFest Horror and Paranormal Convention in Lexington, Kentucky.  It is next weekend, Sept. 11-13.  Just some of the stars who will be there:

• Cast members of Phantasm
• Cast members of American Horror Story
• The Dead Files - Amy Allen & Steve Dischiavi
• Tennessee Wraith Chases - Ghost Asylum
• George Romero - writer, director 
• Josh Gates - Expedition Unknown, Destination Truth
• Sid Haig, Robert Mukes - House of 1000 Corpses

Learning how to paint ceramics is an ongoing process.  Seems I'm having more oops than I am success, but that's all part of the learning curve.  The need to do more research on tips and techniques is great.  :-)  I will keep it up though, and hope one day to feel comfortable with my work. 

Until next time...

Embroidery, sewing, & more...

After lots of encouragement from the hubby and daughter, I'm getting back into trying my hand with embroidery.  I've had a Brother PE500 for about 2 years now, and just this week added a Brother PE770.  The PE500 has a maximum embroidery field of 4"x4", whereas the PE770 has a maximum field of 5"x7".  As much as I would love to have a multi-needle embroidery machine, the price of those are quite out of my league at the present time.  Though you can do so much more on a multi-needle machine, quite a bit can be done with a single needle machine.  

The picture to your left is a embossed font I did on a hand towel for my daughter.  Though it seems like it takes a lot of thread, the end result is very nice.  The font I used is one of several I bought and downloaded from Designs by JuJu.  I have also come across several other websites that offer great fonts and embroidery/applique designs.  Some of these sites can be rather addicting and fun to explore.

As a result of getting back into embroidery, the desire to sew has crept back up.  I see so many cute things on FaceBook from other crafters that I would love to try my hand at, such as bibs, burp cloths, blankets.  Pinterest and Etsy are also great places to look for patterns, tutorials, and other great ideas and supplies for sewing and embroidery.

On another note,  I take my first ceramics class on March 21st.  I am really looking forward to this.  The studio I'll take the classes at is offering 6 classes, with each class specializing in something different.  This is not a hand thrown or wheel thrown class.  We will be learning about putting patterns on bisque and painting them.  I doubt my arthritis would let me handle the clay making process.  :-)

As time goes on, I hope to keep you posted on my process in both the embroidery and ceramic fields.  Links will be provided as I go along for those of you readers who might be interested.  If you don't have a hobby or are looking for a new one, I highly recommend both embroidery and ceramics.  I am not gifted with crafts, but I do enjoy learning...so don't let your insecurities stop you from learning something new.

No new year resolutions for me...

I have decided this year not to make any resolutions for the new year.  Why?  Because I feel that it's silly to say one is going to do something and then quit after an X amount of time.  Seriously...think about it.  How many times have you said you were going to do something, such as quit smoking, only to "fall off the wagon" within a month or so.  

This year I'm going to set goals for myself, and hopefully by the year's end I will be happy with what I've accomplished.  I only have 3 main goals I want to work on in 2015.

1.  Pray more.  I firmly believe in prayer, but haven't done as much of it as I should.  I am trying to get into the habit of starting my day off with a prayer thanking the Lord for allowing me to wake up to enjoy another day He has created.  I also want to try to pray again before I go to sleep thanking Him for the blessings I've had that day, as well as for forgiveness for any mistakes I have made.

2.  Read my Bible more.  Though I've never read the Bible straight through, I have read various books of the Bible and have underlined my favorite scriptures.  I want to read more and look for more scriptures that "talk" to my soul and will help me lead a more Christ-like life.

3.  Continue on my weight loss journey.  Though I have an ultimate goal I'm working toward, I won't be disappointed if I don't achieve it in 2015; as long as I loose as much as I can to get there I will be happy.  I'll get to my ultimate goal one of these days.

Maybe I can get into more crafts this year...I've got a couple of ideas in mind.  Will have to see how things play out.  :-) 

I hope 2015 will be a good year for you.  May the Lord bless you and keep you.

'Tis The Season...

This time of year everywhere you look people are rushing around trying to either find that perfect gift for everyone on their list or pick up that last minute gift.  Stores slash their prices ridiculously low with hopes those shoppers will come in.  

This time of year also seems to bring out the worst in people...how many stories have you heard or read talking about adults fighting in stores during events like Black Friday over a stupid gift or someone cutting in line while waiting in line for the store to open its doors.  Then when the doors do open, there is such a mad rush to get in, people don't seem to care if they knock others down trying to get them out of their way, which leads to some people getting trampled on and seriously injured or killed. 

Then you've got that customer who takes his or her frustrations out on the store employees because they are unhappy the store sold out of whatever it was they wanted before they could get to it or the store didn't have enough registers open and God forbid they have to wait in line.  Customers don't seem to realize that the employees don't have anything to do with how many employees are assigned to work each day or how many lanes are open.  Stores such as WalMart get their schedules from their corporate headquarters.  

What is suppose to be a joyous time of year can really be a stressful time of year.  We worry over spending too much money, will that person like the gift we give them, bills coming in right and left, etc.

We tend to forget about those who are less fortunate than we are.  So many people are without jobs, homeless, hungry, cold, alone, in hospitals, or for whatever reason won't be able to spend Christmas with their families.  

In so many cases, the real reason we have the opportunity to celebrate this time of year is either forgotten or pushed to the side.

JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON

The fact He may not have actually been born on December 25 is not important, as far as I'm concerned.  What IS important is we celebrate the greatest gift this world has ever received...Jesus Christ!!  This time of year should not be about what we give or get for Christmas, but sharing the joy of the season.  Read the Bible and you will find over and over again about how Jesus tried to teach us about how we can obtain true joy. 

NOTE:  I realize that there are people and religions who do not believe He is the Son of God, and I respect your beliefs.  I ask that you respect mine.