The Aftermath

Now that the election is over I am finding it hard not to worry about how all of us will be adversely affected by the policies of the new administration. Just trying to imagine what all those people who the president-elect has said he would ban or deport must be feeling right now makes me want to weep. How did a person completely lacking in empathy for his fellow human beings become our president? What will happen to all those people who will lose their health insurance when he repeals the Affordable Care Act? How will the Republican policies affect the environment or our friends and allies around the world? I'm horrified by the increase of hate crimes against minorities and the LGBT community by a part of the electorate who believes they have been given a mandate to act on their prejudices. Then there are his minions who rush to chastise anyone criticizing his hateful rhetoric by insisting that it is unfair to judge him before he has had a chance to govern. Seriously?

So now what do we do? Being silent is not an option. Getting together with friends and discussing what to do next seems like the best idea. The president-elect and the members of Republican establishment will have to be held accountable for their actions and it's up to all of us to make sure that happens. Donating time and money to organizations that promote progressive causes can help those at risk. In two years there will be another election and we can work to replace those legislators who support right wing policies. The cultural anthropologist, Margaret Mead said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." We can keep her words in mind as we weather the next few years and hope for the best!    

It's Election Day!

Technically, Ivy and Burt can't vote but that hasn't stopped them from getting involved in the election process. They obviously have a favorite candidate, preferring to support the reasonable, sane one as opposed to siding with a buffoon who indulges in fear mongering by attacking minorities and women.

Just in case you might have forgotten a few of the finer points of this election, like the opportunity to vote for a highly qualified candidate with years of experience in government and foreign relations or  a xenophobe. I think Samantha Bee summed it up best in her monologue that can be found here.

All elections are important, don't give away your power by staying home.

Go here to find out more information on how to cast your vote!

Halloween 2016

So, just how did Halloween 2016 measure up to previous years?

It was a beautiful night for distributing candy bars. Yet in spite of the lack of our usual weather (rain or snow with freezing temperatures), attendance was DOWN! Eeek! We usual have a little over a hundred Trick or Treaters but tonight I'm guessing we had only about seventy. Now that was weird.

After the Trick or Treat hours were over, we went for a walk to check out the decorations.

There were quite a few cemeteries although this year no one included sound effects, which I sort of missed. Was this possibly due to complaints or some kill-joy city ordinance? Hmmm.

Large inflatables were also very popular. Burt and Ivy liked this group the best.

Skeletons and politics were also favorite themes, along with Trump bashing, yay!

I do believe Uncle Sam is one of Burt's relatives.

I was happy to see Hillary was out campaigning! I need one of those yard signs.

This giant extravaganza had to be the scariest of all! 

  After our walk, Burt and Ivy spent the rest of the evening quietly decorating cupcakes.

Ivy added the frosting while Burt did the decorating  . . .

and taste testing.

Then they snuck out the backdoor to scare the bejesus out of the residents of the hood!

Bwah ha ha ha ha!!!

Thanks for stopping by, hope everyone had a great Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

Burt and Ivy have been running a little behind all season.

 So they've been frantically scrambling to get everything ready for the night of Trick or Treats!

Kibitz made sure there were plenty of candy bars to pass out.

Now he just has to keep from eating all the Kit Kats.

The pumpkins have been carved and are ready to go out on the front porch.

Which is a huge relief to His Madness and me because we were quite late returning from a very big event on Saturday! I'll have more pictures of the happy day and a Halloween recap soon.

Thanks for stopping by and have a safe and Happy Halloween!

Haunted Humpday VII - All Lit Up Again!

Here we are at the last Haunted Humpday for this year and although we're a bit sad the party is over, the skeleton crew is still looking forward to celebrating on All Hallows Eve. We've had a great time joining Marfi at Incipient Wings for loads of pre-halloween fun! This week they have gone to work lighting up the front door so we don't end up with left over candy! How horrible would that be?

Like most neighborhoods, we observe the universal symbol of "at home with candy" by leaving on the lights on either side of our front door. I take great comfort in the fact that when I'm too old to string up lights and carve pumpkins, with just a few (or a couple dozen) bags of candy I'll still be in business! Naturally, Burt & Ivy will always be there to help out.

We don't do a huge outdoor display (at the moment) but it's not exactly a bare bones approach either. Over the years quite a number of people around town have developed some pretty scary front yards, so these days, during October we are treated to an array of screams and howls accompanied by flashing lights. This year our outside decorations are pretty modest but included new garland and Burt has kindly volunteered to model our it so we can see which lights will look the best.

There's always the problem of where to hide those pesky batteries!

In the end they decided to go with our old, traditional orange pumpkin lights.

They go so well with the turquoise door and pink geraniums, good thing it will be dark!

Of course the bug eyes lights are always popular!

Doesn't Burt make a great praying mantis?

His Madness looks a little sleepy,

. . . but Ivy's definitely wide awake!

In the end it's up to His Madness to get the bug lights set up, with the proper supervision of course. He should really quit making faces and get busy, Halloween is only five days away!

There's really no need to add more decorations to our collection but I found these two little guys at the garden center (along with half of dozen pumpkins for carving into jack o'lanterns) and couldn't pass them up. They don't light up and can't go outside but they do sparkle quite a lot.

Thanks so much to Marfi for dreaming up this wonderful event.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope everyone has a very Happy Haunted Humpday!

Haunted Humpday VI - It's Pick Your Poison Day!

Here we are at Haunted Humpday VI! Burt and Ivy are joining Marfi at Incipient Wings for some fun leading up to Halloween. The skeleton crew has been having an interesting time.

We had a happy surprise on Monday afternoon, a visit from a Monarch butterfly. When it landed on this plant I have to admit, I got a little worried. It's botanical name is Aconitum napellus (I added that because I originally intended this blog to be about gardening and sometimes I feel the need to throw in some horticultural lingo) but it's also known as Wolf's Bane and Monk's Hood. It's usually the very last of the perennials to bloom in my garden and I'm glad it was around to help out this late butterfly.

My main reason for planting it was because it flowers in late autumn when all the other plants are done for the season and I like to have something to look forward to besides raking up leaves. Having all those awesome names was another plus. This was all before I discovered that not only was knowing it's many names mandatory for Snape's Potions Class but that it's notoriously poisonous. 

Not that the skeletal inhabitants of the backyard have anything to be concerned about, but those of us who are still breathing are wondering why the garden center would sell them in the first place if they were really that toxic. After all, the bees and butterflies manage to survive drinking the nectar.

Apparently, it's only poisonous if you eat a lot of it, particularly the root. It's supposed to taste bitter and most of the documented poisonings have been intentional, not accidental. I can verify that it can produce an itchy rash. According to the Healthline web site it's associated with witchcraft and magic and was said to send witches soaring on their broomsticks. Or maybe they just thought they did!

Hold onto your hat because it looks like Ivy took quite a hefty sniff!

Meanwhile, Burt and Kibitz were indulging in one of their favorite treats. They wait all year for the Bag of Bones Cheetos to return to the grocery shelves. It's really doesn't count as a poison, it's just not very healthy and that's really not something those two are ever going to care about. 

Ivy survived her trip and made it back in time to sweep up after the Cheetos frenzy.

Burt just can't get enough of that white cheddar cheese flavoring!

Much later, it was time to light up the pumpkins for the evening and get into the spirit of  Halloween.

Burt's found something to light up also. Tonight's poison of choice is a bit more conventional than Ivy's. It usually doesn't make you itch all over and the flying part is only a hallucination.

Although, like all good poisons, it can make you a little silly!

A special thanks to Marfi for hosting and all the inspiration from her great gifts!

Thanks for dropping by, I hope you're having a very Happy Haunted Humpday!

Haunted Humpday V - Decorating Skeletons

Wow, it's Haunted Humpday V! Burt and Ivy are joining Marfi at Incipient Wings for some fun leading up to Halloween. The skeleton crew and friends finally got down to business this week!

Kibitz was very upset because he couldn't get Burt and Ivy interested in decorating for Halloween. They kept ignoring his pleas, and with the holiday less that three weeks away he was beginning to get very worried. In fact he was in a panic about what to try next to convince them to get to work. In a desperate attempt to move things along he decided to confide in Spenser and ask for his help.

It really wasn't a big problem. Burt was simply up to his old tricks, surprising Ivy and making her laugh. They were just having too much fun to bother with unpacking all the decorations.

Eventually, with a little encouragement they finally managed to get to work and in no time had arranged the haunted houses in the curio. It looked spooky enough but they were quick to point out that there was a sorry lack of skeletons among the village accessories, in fact there was only one!

By coincidence, Kibitz and Spenser came across a box of skeletons at the exact same time!

They moved on to the piano and decked it out in black candles, tarnished silver and glittery gourds. Burt and Ivy couldn't keep their noses to the grindstone for very long however, especially since neither of them actually have much of a nose, so they decided to take a little break.

There's nothing like some spooky Boogie Woogie to gets your toes tapping and bones rattling!

Unfortunately Spenser was becoming more and more indignant. He had been trying his best to think of ways to incorporate this newly discovered cache of tiny skeletons into the decor but between Kibitz's constant pestering and Burt's silly antics he just couldn't concentrate.   

Next, the skeleton crew focused their attentions on the mantle where the centerpiece is this wedding photograph of two of Burt's long lost relatives. This cherished piece was a gift from Marfi and has become a favorite among all the Halloween decorations. 

The only other thing it needed was a couple of ravens, for a touch of black. 

Spenser decided all this creative thinking was way too much for his brain to handle. He put off deciding on how to use the little skeletons but now it looks like he has another issue to deal with! Poor kitty, maybe he should just stick to eating, sleeping and looking out of the window.

Burt and Ivy put the finishing touch on the Halloween decorations by hanging up the haunted mansion mural, yet another gift from the generous Marfi. She is definitely the Queen of Halloween!     

Then they got busy working on their costumes! Who said they aren't into the holiday spirit?

Here's wishing you all a scary Happy Haunted Humpday!