It's Always Something - Part One

 

Ivy and Kib were putting the finishing touches on the Halloween decor. Not knowing whether we would have sidewalks before the Trick or Treaters started to arrive was getting on everyone's nerves.

The candles had fresh batteries, in case the electricity was suddenly cut off.

Burt just needed to hang the garland.

He had been dreaming about ice cream, so when he woke up from his nap he headed straight for the refrigerator and discovered the ice cream bars had melted!

The refrigerator had stopped!

Panic ensued. After a thorough cleaning of all the vents and fans, following all the directions for what to do when your fridge stops, it was declared a goner. Somehow we overlooked the fact that it's at least fifteen years old.

There's no way a refrigerator could be delivered through this. All the repairmen contacted have refused to even take a look at it. Apparently the equipment and parts needed to repair it are too heavy to carry from even the closest street.

So, it's the beer cooler on the patio. It won't keep anything frozen but we are just a few minutes from the best ice cream in town, so Burt will be ok. I guess it's not always a disadvantage to live up here in the frozen north. Let's just hope the raccoons are busy elsewhere until we find a better solution.

Thanks for stopping by, see you soon for Part Two

A Few Night Pictures

 

I'm always trying to take photos of the moon and sky in the evening but they rarely work out, unless there's an aurora or I bother to use a tripod. At least this one looks like a dark and stormy night. The weather associated with these clouds never turned into anything dramatic but for a while it did look they had the potential for some angry godlike thunder and lightning.

Since August, there's actually been something interesting to photograph at night, in our neck of the woods. The Nature of Light, an immersive experience, has been on display in the evenings at our local art center, which was illuminated on both the inside and out. 

The weather has been perfect for taking pictures in the dark. Sadly, the event is closing after tonight but it was fun while it lasted.

The HYBYCOZO + Lightswitch production first came to our town in 2022 and my post on that visit can be seen here. We were really happy to hear they were returning.

This year they added a special interactive piece in the main gallery and my son, Andy did the honors. 

It's amazing that the source of the pattern on the ceiling is cleverly sitting on the table.

Everyone definitely needs one of these for their dining table.

 

The gardens got an upgrade too. The colors washing the building and trees were particularly vibrant.  

On cue, the moon decided to steal the show.

Even without any color the projections looked amazing.

The garden tour ends with spotlights sweep across the sky creating patterns over the formal garden. We've been watching these lights dance on the clouds from our patio most evenings. They must be visible from nearly everywhere in town.

Our backyard lights are no comparison to The Paine's, but they're festive. As long as the evenings are warm enough to enjoy (sometimes with a coat, or hat and gloves, or all three), we can pretend the Paine's spotlights are part of our display and maybe the raccoons will be entertained, too. 

The Crew even have treats that are easy to find in the dark.

Thanks for dropping in, see you soon!

A Pinhole Photography Ghost Story

One rainy day in late October, Ivy and Burt decided to make some Rice Krispie Treats and watch a spooky movie. Little did they know how that afternoon would really turn out. Suddenly, Kib flew onto the counter, and with a trembling squawk, insisting that they were being watched.

Ivy tried to calm him down but few minutes later, she admitted she felt something unearthly, too.

Burt thought he heard shuffling in the stairway but when he looked, no one was there.

Suddenly they heard heavy breathing and a rattling noise coming from right behind them!

Slowly, a specter began to materialize right before their eyes. He was cloaked in black and carrying a large box of  . . .  cereal! Count Chocula to be exact. 

Growing less and less transparent, a being materialized before their eyes and implored Ivy to substitute Count Chocula cereal for the Rice Krispies in her recipe. Would this end up being be a sacrilege or a moment in discovery of the power of chocolate?  

A mountain of Count Chocula treats were produced in no time.

They watched in silence as the specter took the first bite. Then eagerly joined him in an orgy of sticky cereal mixed with chocolate chips.

It was a transformative experience. Who could ever go back to plain Rice Krispie Treats? They might start to crave something with less sugar and more iron next time though. 

His Madness loves building pinhole cameras and he makes one for me every so often. Since they use film  and the image is created through a hole in a cardboard box, the results can look a little ghostly. I'm always amazed that it works at all, but then the photos we take everyday with our phones seem like magic to me, too. 

Thanks for stopping by, see you soon!

Preserving Democracy

 

Last weekend, The Crew along with 7 million other people, gleefully decided to give up their Saturday to exercise their constitutionally protected rights of assembly and free speech at a No Kings event. With less than two weeks until Halloween, this was a big sacrifice for some of us but what better reason to give up our time than for the sake of preserving democracy?

Kib was very excited about going to his first protest. The one in our town was held at Rainbow Park, named to honor the soldiers of the Rainbow Division in World War I. Obviously, the homophobes haven't figured out a way to change its name yet. 

It's always important to know your rights, especially when dealing with a dictator.

So, who do we run into first on this beautiful day? A couple of Marxists, obviously.

Sorry I didn't get any photos of the frogs.

More of those violent/paid protesters Speaker Johnson was talking about. Isn't it interesting that these people are considered dangerous by the Republicans and yet the president referred to the mob of rioters who broke into the capital on January 6th as patriots, then pardoned them?

 

Another pair of treacherous protesters. Ashley, our next door neighbor, made this fabulous sign for her stepdad. She wasn't there so he was taking photos of it with as many people as were up for participating. Too bad there wasn't a frizzy hair contest, we might have won the couples division.  

The Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson also said he expected to see "the people who don't want to stand and defend the foundational truths of this republic." He seems to have overlooked the fact that according to the Preamble of the United States Constitution and the Tenth Amendment, power belongs to the people.

As for a massive show of force by the police, these two friendly officers came by on their bikes and hung out in front of the bait shop for a little while. Apparently, they were called in to calm down a guy who was threatening protesters.  

Well, that pretty much sums it up! It's sad that this protest was even necessary but we had a good time, ran into a lot of people we hadn't seen all summer and met some very nice folks, too. An act to remind the Republicans and their convicted felon leader that they work for all the people, not just the ones who give them lots of money, was long overdue.

The permit for the protest was only for two hours so there was plenty of time for lunch and shopping afterwards. It's sad that protesting has become just another one of those things we do these days, but we can also vote. There are elections coming up on November 4th all around the country that can impact the reach of this current administration. Search for your state's election calendar to find out what's on the ballot and register to vote. Judges are up for election in some states and they are crucial to upholding laws that protect voting rights and congressional district maps. We don't need any more states being gerrymandered like Texas.  

Now that we've made an effort to stand up against tyranny and stocked up on candy bars, we should probably get back to having fun decorating for Halloween. Maybe we'll put on a movie instead of watching Dump tear down the East Wing of the White House.

Thanks for stopping by, have a great weekend! 

Seasonal Senses

It's easy to forget its autumn, especially when the temperatures are over 80° F. and the sun is shining. Even if the leaves are beginning to fall, it still seems like just another hot, summer day.

 

The Skeleton Crew have been shopping for Halloween treats, mostly due to the fact that they sell out so fast but also because it keeps them from buying more Halloween decorations.

It's a start towards getting into spooky season but it will only take you so far. 

Ditto with the mums.

Even after all the flowers and treats it still doesn't feel like fall to Ivy, so she has a plan to make it smell like fall - without burning a pile of leaves or lighting a candle. Those would work too but who could resist some dessert? To celebrate the beginning of the new season, she bought herself a fancy new baking pan and plans to try out the recipe for "Pumpkin Loaf Cake with Cream Cheese Swirl". She may not be a fan of Pumpkin Spice lattes but she does love pumpkin pie. Hopefully, it will make the whole house smell like cinnamon and nutmeg.

 

The local hens are definitely in an autumnal groove, in spite of the weather. Yes, that dark brown chicken egg is real. It's just the skeleton that's fake.

The recipe that came with the pan ended up requiring two batters and meticulous supervision.

It wasn't exactly the smoothest process but eventually the two batters were inexpertly combined in the pan and placed in oven to bake for an hour. It overflowed about twenty minutes into the bake time and filled the kitchen with smoke. Exhaust fans are so handy on those days when you nearly burn down the house. So much for the aroma of fall baking.  

 In an ironic turn of events, since the weather was so nice, The Crew was still able to enjoy the cake in the much fresher air of a beautiful afternoon. The cream cheese sank more than it swirled but it tasted great. Burt doesn't mind its unconventional look, but then he never minds too much about anything at all.

Thanks for stopping by by, see you soon!

Necessary Annoyances

 

The old pipes in our neighborhood are in the process of being replaced so we won't be poisoned by lead in our drinking water, like the unfortunate citizens of Flint, Michigan. Additionally, the system that removes storm water is being upgraded to avoid local flooding and polluting the Great Lakes. I have no issues with fixing these problems, no matter how loud and inconvenient it gets, but it's hard to believe that Dump has not found out about this and canceled it so we all get sick and die.

It all began one day in early August, when a Tardis showed up under our magnolia tree. Shortly after that the street was dug up and turned into a gravel pit. The Doctor was nowhere in sight.

A week after that, they started digging in the other direction, toward the houses and inevitably got to us. In other areas of town, where excavations have been going on, evidence of prehistoric habitation and human remains have been uncovered. Whole projects were shut down while the archeologists were called in. Maybe that's why there's so many guys watching that hole being dug?

At one point someone in the crew must have realized they were digging in the wrong place because they moved over a few feet, ripped out the cement between the sidewalk and our front porch, and made the trench extra wide. Then we started to panic, but only a little. Having an ancient burial ground in the front yard wouldn't be that bad, but it looks like all they found was donuts.

What they did find was our super-duper, high-speed internet cable.

By the end of the day, the old water pipes were out, the new ones in and we were on the phone pleading with TDS to restore our internet. At least the Tardis ended up on the other side of the street.

A guy came and fixed the internet by attaching the wire to a little grey box that could only be located next to where the excavator was loading gravel into a dump truck. He said to call when they run over it again and they'll just keep replacing it until the street work is done. So far so good, but then it's not like anyone is walking their dog or even driving down our street if they don't have to.

Finally, we were issued this weird water pitcher with an extremely expensive filter that takes up a third of the space and told to use it for six months after they finish replacing all the pipes. Apparently this is way more serious than we thought.  

 

The Crew is being very patient. This will be going on for months, probably through next spring. Until then, we are in for a lot of time spent wearing noise canceling headphones, reading books, dusting and refilling that damn pitcher.

Thanks for stopping by, see you soon! 

Have a safe Labor Day weekend if you're celebrating.