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.