The End of November

In theory, here at Chez Madness, Thanksgiving is celebrated with a special meal after which life goes back to normal. In reality, it's actually a long weekend of non-stop eating and online shopping. We turned into one of those FaceTime/texting families during holidays a long time ago. It's okay, I dread to think of the how the dinner conversation would've gone this year. Although I do love a good food fight, they're not worth the messy clean up afterwards.

Our celebration is obviously a very pared down version of the traditional Thanksgiving dinner. No marshmallows on yams or green beans with onion ring topping. It's just the basics. One year we tried to skip it altogether but found it was too disorienting not to have leftovers to heat up when we got home from Christmas shopping .

Pumpkin pie is never optional.

While looking for spices to add to the stuffing, I noticed this on the back of a spice packet. As horrible as the election turned out to be, it's nice to know that Penzey's agrees with us.

It's tough to say goodbye to the Halloween decor but Ivy cheered up the empty spots on the mantle with an assortment of odd stuff that came up in the garden. She thinks it looks gourd-ulous.

I've noticed that lately, without frequent family get-togethers, things like dusting, tend to get overlooked. It doesn't help that the living room only gets used a couple time a year either. So, how long have invisible spiders been creating this perfect roof of webbing on the lampshade? It's so impressive I can't bring myself to destroy all their hard work. (A bad decision that will undoubtedly become an embarrassment.)

While Ivy worked on the mantle Burt was comfortably settled by the fire with his book, believing he was enjoying the aroma of the pumpkin pie being baked. Although the fragrance was very pleasant, the pie had been prepared the day before. Luckily, the source of all his enjoyment was relocated to a cooler spot in the kitchen before it turned into mush.

Wouldn't it have been wonderful to raise a glass to toast our first woman president this Thanksgiving? Like everyone I know, I'm trying not to lose my faith in humanity over the results of the election, but hopefully some day the 52% of white women who voted for a convicted felon and sex offender, will realize they really screwed themselves and all women over could have made a better choice.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope everyone is having a great weekend.

See you soon!

Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate.

Halloween Was Fun but Now It's Time to Vote!

Before we get to the recap of Halloween and other spooky stuff, Burt and Ivy have an important public service message. It's Election Day and we have the opportunity to elect an intelligent woman who is more than capable of being the next President of the United States. If you live in Wisconsin, Tammy Baldwin needs your support too. Thanks for your time, now please vote!

It's been a hot and dry autumn in these parts, although the leaves were really colorful it just hasn't seemed like fall. Where have all those cold, dark and gloomy days gone?

The Crew harvested four pumpkins from the garden but they were a little too small for their standards, so they went shopping for a few extras.

After this spooky season became so hectic, Burt and Ivy decided to start planning for next year right away. They do not want to miss out on being the stars of their daily blog again!

  

Earlier in the week it was sunny and 80 degrees so naturally around Trick or Treat time it dropped to half that with the wind gusting up to 45 mph. Finally, some appropriate weather!  

Following a brief discussion about using duct tape to hold down the plastic jack-'o-lanterns to the porch floor, the conclusion was to just go with the four real ones.   

Which was a good choice since large, inflated costumes were very popular.

Especially, the ones with the long tails.

After a couple hours of trying not to be blown away while answering the door and, with only thirteen candy bars left, Burt and Ivy went back to planning for next year's Halloween and trying not to worry about the election.  

Just one last reminder.

I hope everyone had a very Happy Halloween!

 Thanks for stopping by, see you soon.

Four Pumpkins and a Squirrel

The Skeleton Crew is still putting the finishing touches on their spooky season decorating. Meanwhile, our weather remains firmly in summertime mode, which is completely ruining the whole vibe.

Still, there have been a few hints that fall is on the way.

Like our new visitor, who has been very busy emptying all the bird feeders in the neighborhood.

Then burying whatever he doesn't eat in our flower pots and window boxes. To be fair, the little guy is just preparing for winter and the plants aren't going to last that much longer anyway.

However, we suspect this is the same critter who's been chewing holes in all the pumpkins.

In spite of all the gnawed up bits, Burt and Ivy are harvesting their best pumpkin crop ever!

They are thrilled to have grown four, sort of large-ish pumpkins. 

Now, if they could only remember what they did differently this year.

What was behind this unusual outcome? Could it be due to the abundant rainfall, an ultra rich layer of compost, some overhyped organic fertilizer or maybe it was just dumb luck? 

Will we ever discover the secret or will it remain a mystery forever?

Meanwhile, the squirrel remains vigilant, plotting his next move.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Thanks for stopping by, see you soon.

Catching Up

The aurora was pretty spectacular here . . . if you looked at it through your phone, took a picture, increased the contrast and maxed out the saturation. Isn't technology great?

Otherwise, it looked mostly like this, which still wasn't too shabby.

At first I thought the white spots were dust on my laptop screen and then I realized they're stars!

I took these photos a little after nine o'clock last night near the rugby field in the Winnebago County Park. If you missed the aurora this time around don't fret, the sun is still active and there might be another chance to see it soon.

Earlier in the day, Ivy got finally got around to decorating for Halloween. This is not an endorsement for Target but they did just bring back some of the creepy John Derian Halloween designs from a couple years ago. Last time they sold out immediately so there was no hesitation from The Crew this time around. Definitely not everything returned, but a lot of the same stuff. Looks like someone may have ordered a few more items than necessary.

Apparently, the plan is to scatter the pillows all around the house, in different rooms. That way, maybe no one will notice that there are too many of them.

So, what's in that big box?

Who else? Well, isn't being scary a big part of Halloween?

Along with creepy pillows, of course.

Then, it was time to get the decorations up.

Ivy decided on a traditional orange and black color scheme for the patio this year with lots of plastic jack-'o-lanterns. She just got the misting one working and discovered it will also water the plants and everything else at the same time. How convenient. Good thing it's an outdoor decoration.

Then Burt decided to add some lights because why not mix electricity and water, what could go wrong?

Thanks for stopping by, see you soon!

An Afternoon By the Sea

His Madness and I recently got back from visiting our son Andy and his wife Kristin. Unfortunately, I picked up a very nasty bug (probably covid, since it lasted so long) on the way home and haven't been able to keep up the daily antics of The Skeleton Crew this October. Hopefully, they will be back soon before spooky season is over. Until then, here are some photos of an afternoon spent by some foolish mortals at The Breakers in Newport, Rhode Island. 

Since they live in the Boston area, we drove to Newport, Rhode Island to visit The Breakers one afternoon. It is the largest and most grand of the summer "cottages" where HBO's "The Gilded Age" was filmed. I haven't actually seen the series but now I'm curious. Here's HM and Andy, stoically facing the prospect of having  to look at many fancy rooms covered with lots of marble. Kristin is a teacher, so she was at school.  

 

The guide book states that it is an Italian Renaissance-style palazzo built as a symbol of the Vanderbilt family's social and financial preeminence in turn of the century America. I think they made their point. This is the Great Hall, it's the largest of the seventy rooms and essentially a fifty-foot square, marble-clad cube. This one room alone, is twenty-five percent larger than the average family home in Rhode Island.

Obviously, these people weren't into minimalism.

To describe this place as opulent seems like an understatement.

Looking directly across the Great Hall, into the loggia, from the second floor. It appeared to be a very popular spot. 

Until we showed up and then somehow the whole place was empty, ha!

What a view, though.

Lots of sparkling chandeliers. Wonder how long it takes to clean them?

 

The dining room, with a table that opens up to seat thirty-four guests.

I wonder if the Vanderbilt's considered it rude if their guests spent more time staring at the ceiling instead of engaging in polite dinner conversation?

Unfortunately, the giant fireplaces were all roped off so I couldn't get a photo of HM and Andy standing inside them. You can take a virtual tour of the whole residence here.

"Below Stairs" (aka. the basement), there was an equally large kitchen which was necessary to feed all those dinner guests who weren't staring at the ceiling. It's in a separate wing of the mansion, a precaution that was not unusual at the time, since the original Breakers was destroyed in a fire. 

I suppose all these kinds of mansions have really bougie Butler's Pantries and they're just not open to the public, but this was the first one I've ever seen with a mezzanine. It was accessible from the kitchen on the lower level and the upper area opened onto the floor near the dining room.

Exiting through the Gift Shop was an opulent experience, too. It shouldn't have come as a surprise that it would occupy several rooms and they would have entire sets of china for sale.

Gertrude Whitney was the fourth child of the seven Vanderbilt children. She became a noted sculptor and the founder of the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. Two of her bronze relief sculptures, "Blinded" and "America at War" were recently installed in the area near the exit of the tour. In 1914 she established a hospital for wounded soldiers outside Paris which made her one of only a few American sculptors to experienced of the horrors of World War I firsthand. 

  

The gardens surrounding the mansions are nice but the view of the ocean is the star of the show. Somehow we always miss out on the fall foliage in New England but there were a few colorful trees here and there.

The Cliff Walk National Recreation Trail runs along the shoreline in front of The Breakers from Easton's Beach to Bailey's Beach for three and a half miles. Unlike the mansion, it is free.

It was a beautiful day so we explored about half a mile of the trail. There are parts that are wheelchair friendly and some that are closed for repairs but we were on a less accessible part of the path and even that was an easy walk. It was a fun and entertaining little day trip.

Thanks for stopping by, The Skeleton Crew will be back soon for some silly spookiness.

We are keeping our friends, family and all of those affected by Helene and Milton in our thoughts.

Hope everyone made it through the storms safely.