H.A. Larson's Blog, page 19

Elk City Cemetery: A Return

A little over three years ago, I did an investigation of local Elk City Cemetery. As is the case with cemeteries I have investigated in the past, my M.O. is to spend about half an hour gathering and documenting information. If I find anything, then I plan on doing a longer, more thorough investigation. This is exactly what I did in early October of this year. On a Saturday night with my friend Jayne and our daughters, we spent some time making videos and taking pictures.



There was a nearly full moon out making for some really cool photos. We didn't even need to use flashlights like we do during any other paranormal investigation.



I assumed this was a caretaker's shed, but in looking at the crescent moon at the top, this looks more like an old outhouse. Either way, it was donated at some point in time according to the plaque on the side.



If you'll remember from my last investigation here, just down the gravel road - about a 1/4 mile I would say - is a church and a town hall. On this night, there seemed to be a wedding or other major event going on there as there were a handful of RVs and a bunch of people making noise.



On top of that, a drunk gentleman was walking up and down the gravel road between there and the cemetery while talking loudly on his phone. Combine that with an unusual amount of cars driving on this normally quiet road, and it made for a lot of noise pollution.



This Virgin Mary statue was ethereal-looking in the moonlight.



My trusty EVP recorder died awhile back so I had to use my phone to merely take videos. This, in conjunction with the aforementioned noise pollution, and I didn't capture (at least that I could detect) any evidence. This was a disappointment, for sure, as I had gotten so much EVP evidence in a short amount of time the last time I was here. 
I'm not giving up, though, because I know what this place has: ghosts. I'm going to invest in a new EVP recorder and come back out here again when there's not so much activity going on around the cemetery.


Here's to hoping your weekend is great! And congrats to Felicity for winning my Ipsy giveaway! I popped that in the mail and it's on its way.

Fall Hiking has Returned!

In my opinion, there's no better season to hike than in the Fall. It's with happiness and excitement, then, to see the foliage starting to change lately on my hiking outings. Maybe it's because of this that I've been honing my amateur photography skills, or maybe in spite of it, but either way, it's been cool seeing those skills develop.



The changing of the seasons is on full display here and it's gorgeous.









I love early Fall mornings where Summer's presence is still visible, but the leaves are falling, the air is cooler, and the sun peeks through the thinning tree line.






I've really begun to put effort into figuring out perspective. How you shoot the scene, and from where makes a huge difference. I love how this one turned out.



Half of the wildflowers are dying off while the other half still have some life left.






This is not only my favorite shot from this day but one of my favorite shots period. Not only is the perspective perfect and the colors radiant, but I captured this insect as it was flying towards the flower. I'm guessing it's a dragonfly, but I can't tell for sure. Be sure to comment if you know!


It's wonderful to be outside at any time, but even more so during my favorite season. I'll be soaking in as much as I can before Winter comes. How about you?


Make sure to check back here on Saturday, it's Shocktober! after all.  





 

The Mysterious Case of Seven

Back in October of 2016, I investigated Edinburgh Manor in Scotch Grove, Iowa. It was one of the coolest experiences of my life and I still think about it from time to time. Something that has always stood out to me about that investigation was my encounters with "Seven". 
Seven was the name the spirit who resides in the basement of Edinburgh Manor refers to themselves as. From my first EVP session down there to a short clip near the padded cell, from a yell from the recesses of its basement-dwelling when were investigating the second floor all the way to our EVP session at the end, Seven let me know they were there.
But, just who is Seven? It's not a name that people give their children nor one that I wouldn't suspect most people nickname themselves, so why Seven? It was definitely a man's voice, but are they referring to themselves collectively? I don't know.
I've done plenty of internet research since that time, trying to find information. I've even reached out to my local paranormal group's founder to see if he could shed some light on it. All the answers I can find or have been given are just vague or symbolic religious references to the number itself and it's meaning within that religion. While interesting, it doesn't answer the question about how or why this spirit refers to itself thusly.
Besides all the religious meanings, the number seven does have other interesting connotations to it. For instance, seven is the typical amount of numbers that people can generally remember at one time; there are seven continents, seas, and days of the week; and seven has always been perceived as a lucky number - as evidenced by slot machines around the world.
So, in an attempt to find more specific information about my friend Seven, I did a general search for people named Seven. During this search, I found an article where the author "Whatever the reason for the name, Seven has made a home for themselves in the recesses of my mind. I often wonder about this spirit. Who were they? Why do they stay in the dark corners of the basement of Edinburgh Manor? Who knows?
At any rate, I've decided that I will return to Edinburgh Manor one day and ask the source. Until then, I will ponder on the Mysterious Case of Seven.


It's Shocktober! y'all! I'll be posting fun, spooky, and/or Fall content all month. I also just released the third installment of my latest short story series "Into the Shadows" via my newsletter so make sure to sign up for that if you want to read the next one. If you sign up this month, I'll even send you all the back issues so you can catch up with the series. 
Have a great weekend!

An Ipsy Surprise and a Giveaway!

 

I've been putting in some real effort lately to get rid of things and work towards a minimalist lifestyle. While it sounds easy enough, it's actually been more work than I thought - and a few tears have been shed as I part with certain items, but I digress. I had an Ipsy subscription for a good four or five years before I finally canceled it in September of 2019. If you've been following my blog since it's inception, or anytime in the past three years, you'll remember how I made a monthly post showing off my latest bag and it's contents - the last one I posted was in December 2018. 
All these years, I've kept the bags - as well as many of the contents, unused - although last year I gave away a good sixteen of them to a nice lady who was making feminine supply bags out of them for homeless women. I've also given away a few with some goodies in them as gifts to friends and family. Even with all my gifting of the bags, I still have several of them. A couple of them I use and the rest have been just sitting in my beauty supplies dresser. I came up with this great idea, then, that I should give them out as gifts to my girlfriends for Christmas, and fill them with a lot of the little things I've been keeping for no apparent reason. They're so cute that I'll make a post about them after the holiday season.
So, I was pulling out all my Ipsy bags from the drawer for the gift project when lo and behold, what do I find? Two, still filled with goodies, new Ipsy bags! I couldn't believe it. I had never opened up August 2019 or September 2019, my last two bags. It was a little like Christmas for myself as I opened them up to see what was inside. For old time's sake then, shall we check them out?



I'm a space nerd, something you already know about me, so I absolutely love this bag! It's going to be one of about six that I've elected to keep. At least for now. I'm also going to keep that Obsidian liquid eyeliner because I've probably made the makeup industry a fortune in that commodity over the years!



While I used to talk about each item in my old Ipsy posts, I have to admit that I'm not that nostalgic for doing that again. Ha! Instead, I'd like to give this bag, plus some of these items, and some other Ipsy items that are new, to one lucky person. If you want this bag filled with makeup goodies, and live in the U.S., please comment below with what you're looking forward to most about Fall. I'll pick my favorite comment and announce the winner on my Instagram next week.

Good luck!


**Shocktober starts on Saturday!**

My FIRE Journey: Progress

 

A lot has changed in my life over the past couple of months, particularly since I decided to pursue FIRE. The most obvious change is how FIRE has given me a focus and a sense of purpose that has been lacking in my life for a while now. Instead of half-wandering and trying to determine what my future looks like, I walk through life knowing exactly what I'm doing and where I'm going.

Another big change I've made is to pick up a second, part-time, job. I work three shifts a week making extra money that I'm using to pay off debts. I figure in a little over three years, I'll be debt-free. To that end, I paid off my car loan this past week and almost completely paid off another debt. I'm tackling my smaller debts first on my way to the bigger ones - student loans, then, will be last.

I've also begun selling off or giving away personal items that are just taking up space. This includes nostalgia and tears as I've said goodbye to things like my 40-year old dollhouse* that I loved and cared for all these years. I got a good price for it, as it's a collectible, and will put that in my fund to buy housing upon my early retirement. So, my little house will help me buy my big house one day.

I quit my automatic savings plan, opting instead for an automatic investment plan. This means that instead of having money automatically drawn from my account on payday and into a savings account, I have money automatically drawn from my account on payday and into my investment account. I've rebalanced my investment accounts as well*.

I've gone full-throttle into credit card churning*. I use a couple of strategic credit cards to pay my bills and buy my groceries in order to gain the points/rewards that these cards will give me. I will use these points/rewards on future travel plans.

 While I still have a lot to learn, I'm well on my way to achieving my FIRE goal. The other day, my daughter and I were eating dinner at the dining room table, and she took my hand and said, "Mom, I'm proud of you." It brought a tear to my eye and reminded me of how far I've come over the past couple of years. More than that, it made me realize that I'm finally on the right path. 

*These topics will all have their own posts in the months to come.

Shocktober is right around the corner, as well as my monthly newsletter. Make sure you subscribe if you haven't already!

Turning the Corner

 

It's a relaxing and peaceful morning here in my home as I write this. It's my day off and the slight breeze is crisp and cool as it floats in through my windows. Not only am I the only person here right now, but it's also eerily quiet outside as well. No one is stirring in the neighborhood and I hear nary a car coming down my street...a rarity to be sure!
It's the perfect time to sit and reflect upon my life - to think about the past, ruminate on the present, and plan for my future. If you've been keeping up with my blog over the past year or two, then you know the personal changes and struggles that I have faced. I've been pretty open about them in an attempt to bring my broken pieces back together into a whole. It's refreshing to sit here, then, and tell you that I am in an amazing place right now. 
The reasons for this are mainly due to me taking back the reigns of my life and righting my course. I've had to push myself to do things I had been slacking on while other things finally came to fruition after being able to do nothing but merely wait. Just as importantly, I finally came up with a future goal that finally realizes my dreams. Sure, getting to those goals will take a decade of hard work, but I'm more than ready for the challenge.
See, for many years, I was just stuck in my life. A life that wasn't happy, rewarding, or positive. Sure, I tried my best to make the most of it - and to that end I succeeded quite well - but inside I was miserable. And when you're miserable inside, eventually it comes out, manifesting itself in your everyday life. It's an awful state to be in and an even worse one to deal with. It means that you have to face hard truths, understand the full scope of what has transpired, and then make plans to deal with it all. It's a daunting set of tasks, to be sure, and it can leave you with the sense that you're drowning. I was the lone passenger on my sinking ship called "Overwhelmed". I was trapped and felt stuck.
But, I persevered and did what I needed to do to get unstuck and reclaim my life. For the first time in a very long time, I feel free, focused, and, calm; and I have goals that set me on fire everyday. It's a wonderful head space to be in. When I think about my life a year ago, it's like staring in the window of a stranger's house. I barely recognize the person I was. But, I can empathize with that person because I know how incredibly difficult life was and how hard it was just to get out of bed everyday. I can remember all of the unhealthy coping mechanisms I used just to deal with my pain and trauma. 
That person is gone now, replaced by a woman with confidence. A woman who knows what she wants and isn't afraid of the hard work it's going to take to get there. I've turned the corner, finally, and it feels great.



I've been hard at work writing up special posts for October, the best month of the year! I can't wait to start sharing those with you...it's going to be a fun ride. Until then, have a great rest of your weekend, and a fabulous week ahead.
-H.A.

My FIRE Journey: Why I Stopped Saving Money

All right, so I know you're thinking, "H.A. stopped saving money?! But, isn't she always talking about the importance of saving?" Yes! So, don't get me wrong, saving is important, but yes, I stopped "saving" money. Okay, okay, I'll come clean. What I've actually done is stop putting my money in savings accounts. Why is that? Well...
Savings accounts are a terrible way to grow your money. Sure, if you're just looking to purely save money, then savings accounts are the right choice - and I still highly recommend that you save money on a regular basis. But, if you're looking to grow your money, you have to look elsewhere. This is where I am at. Let's look at how I got here.
I have been saving diligently for many years, and for most of those years, it was a mere $5.00 a paycheck. When I had built up a few thousand dollars, I decided to invest my savings into some old investment accounts I had gotten through a former employer. At the time, I knew nothing about retirement accounts or investing, but I wanted to pad the dismal amount of money I had in retirement accounts. So, I simply added my savings into the accounts I already had in existence - half in my Fidelity account and half in my Vanguard account. Then, I just went right back to saving money faithfully each week in my savings accounts.
Fast forward to a handful of months before I decided to pursue FIRE. I was doing some research on saving more and spending less. This led me down a path of learning about investing which, once again, introduced me to the concept of FIRE. This time instead of dismissing it, I paid attention and realized that this was something I could do to achieve the ultimate dreams I had given up on. Once I was on board with pursuing FIRE, I began implementing the basic foundation of how the concept works. One of those concepts is making your money work for you. 
In an effort, then, to make my money work for me, I've stopped saving money and instead invest my money. I stopped my automatic savings plan and turned that into an automatic investing plan. Instead of having money automatically saved in my online savings account, I now have that money automatically transferred to my Vanguard account where it's deposited/invested in my favorite index fund. Instead of the paltry savings rate of interest I was making, I'm now making compound interest* on a higher rate of interest. You can't beat that!



*Compound interest gives you interest on your interest. How? Well, say you have $1000 that you gain interest on. Say you gain $5 in interest one month, well, the next month you will make interest on $1005. Your money works harder for you this way.

The Return of September

Well, well, well....would you look at that? September is back! Every year, when September rolls around I get excited. The excitement stems from the fact that Fall is nearly here! I absolutely adore Fall and everything about it. If I had to choose one season to live in permanently, it would be Fall.
I can't wait for the turning leaves, cool hikes in the forest, pumpkin patches, cozy sweaters, temperate climate, hayrack rides, warm tea under a blanket, and Halloween. I'm even looking forward to having a pumpkin beer although spiked apple cider is preferable - and I do make a delicious spiked apple cider.
I think I am looking forward to Fall even more than I have in the past. It's been such a wild and crazy ride this year, that I feel like my favorite season will usher in better times. A new age if you will. I sure hope so! Either way, I'm going to make the absolute most of my favorite season this year, and in honor of that, I'm going to be making special posts centered on it. Expect a bunch of fun content in October because I am chock full of ideas and plans that I cannot wait to share.
I'm going to revisit some of my favorite ghost hunts as well as embark on a few more. I'll be doing my yearly Shocktober! as well as share the pumpkin patch trip I didn't take last year. If that wasn't enough, I have some other fun stuff planned, so make sure you stick around for all of it.
Until then, enjoy your weekend!

Grand Marais Harbor and Lighthouse

Every day that we were on vacation in Minnesota, we took a short walk down to the Lake Superior shoreline. We stayed in an old Northwoods motel in Grand Marais that was one block from the coast, so it was an easy and beautiful way to end each day. One of the features of Grand Marais is a small lighthouse. While pretty to look at in gorgeously framed photos, lighthouses serve an important purpose - to prevent boats from crashing into the shore when it's dark and/or stormy.


The famed Grand Marais Lighthouse.
As you can see from this picture, there is another, smaller, lighthouse but we only went to the main, easily accessible one. A narrow concrete pier allows you to walk to the lighthouse.



A look back the opposite direction on the pier.


My kids found natural rock seats on these boulders.
Before you hop onto the pier, you can instead walk amongst the rocks and boulders on the other side of the pier. This rocky coastline seems to be a hallmark of the shores here in Northern Minnesota.


Everywhere you look is like looking at a new place.
I was repeatedly struck with the notion that it felt like we were on the shore of an ocean rather than a lake. It looked, sounded, and smelled liked the ocean, and with the massive size of Lake Superior, it's easy to feel this.


My dad and my kids look for perfect skipping rocks.
Whenever we had a chance to get right down to the Superior coastline, we skipped rocks. Off to the right, you can see the pine trees that remind me that we're in Minnesota and not Massachusetts. While I've been to Northern Minnesota many times, I had never been to any of the Great Lakes. To say it was a magical place is an understatement because it truly felt magical. No pictures can quite do the place justice, but they are lovely anyway. I hope you enjoyed them.

It was nice to take some time away from the hustle and bustle of life, especially during the pandemic. It's hard to believe that it was nearly two months ago now that we went on vacation. It was also the second joint vacation I took with my dad and that was special within itself. My folks aren't getting any younger, and neither am I. Time is fleeting so you have to make the most of it and spend time with the people you care about before it's too late.
Have a great week and I'll be back with another post this weekend. My monthly newsletter will go out before Friday, so sign up for that now if you haven't already!

I've Started my FIRE Journey

If you've been following my blog for a while, then you know about my Basic Financial Fitness (or BFF for short) series. In it, I've strived to give common-sense financial advice to people who don't make a lot of money, who already don't buy lattes, and who don't go out to eat for lunch. I've given advice on things like how to create a bill-paying system and how to save money consistently on a very small income. Along the way, my own financial journey has evolved as I've become more knowledgeable and literate about money.
Not long ago, I talked about my dive into the FIRE movement. Now, if you don't know what FIRE is, it means f inancial i ndependence r etire e arly. I was first exposed to the concept a few years ago but quickly dismissed it as I thought I was too old and didn't make enough money to do it myself. I was doing research recently about investing for retirement and came across the concept of FIRE again. This time, I watched carefully, paid close attention, and realized that my earlier assessment of FIRE - as it applied to me - was wrong. I absolutely can pursue FIRE to reach my goals.

What are those goals? Simply put, I want to:

* be financially independent
* be free of debt
* be able to retire early to a location of my choosing
* be able to live well below my means

That's the simple four-step plan, but FIRE is much more involved than that. It will take some creative planning, some sacrifice, and some changes, but I am more than confident that I can achieve FIRE in ten years or less. So, about the time when I get my daughter out on her own, I'll be ready to retire to Ireland.

I hope you'll follow along on my new journey as I move towards my new goals. Until then, check out some of the other posts here on my blog.