WEEKEND OF FAIR, FAMILY AND REMEMBERANCE…

First of all, we would like to welcome Debbie from New Mexico to the Cave Dwellings…I didn’t see a website, but I sure am glad you were brave enough to “jump in” and follow a couple crazy Midwesterners…I LOVE your state of New Mexico, by the way…It truly is the “land of enchantment”…thanks for hangin’ out with us…I guarantee you won’t get bored…shocked, yes…but never bored…

This weekend our Indiana Grands showed up to attend our Sandwich Fair.  This is a bitter sweet weekend every year since 9-11-2001…the day after our fair ended that year.  We all have our memories of where we were and what we were doing when our country was attacked.  I was home alone..Dennis was helping a local builder frame up a new home. I happened to be washing windows outside our kitchen when my brother-in-law, who lives 2 blocks down the street, called and told me to turn on the TV.  That was the beginning of a long, tearful day of being glued to the television…and watching the skies.   We had no such thing as a cell phone back then.  Coincidentally, our son Kelly happened to stop by and we watched together as the confusion turned to horror unfolding before our eyes..I was never so glad to  have my son by my side in those terrible moments.  I would have hated to be alone watching such devastation broadcast live in our kitchen.

  And so, as we love and look forward to our yearly Sandwich Fair, we also have cause to reflect on the events that followed it…As I said, a bitter sweet time for one and all

  It was a fun weekend for us though…Chris, John, Aiden and Maddox arrived Friday afternoon to attend the fair.  It had been 10 years since Chris had been there….This is what our house looks like when the grands are here…

 

Chris and John are going to run the Indianapolis Marathon (yes, I did say MARATHON) in November, so they are training for it…Running 16 miles around town Saturday morning..in the fog….

 

 

Here’s my theory…I wouldn’t train…I would just pay my entry fee and show up the day of the run, fall in line and walk the darn thing…carrying a sack of sandwiches and Gatorade..some Twinkies, Hershey’s Kisses and Ho Ho’s for energy..my camera (to document it), band aides…and my cell phone , set to 911…WHY TRAIN??

 

 

 

 

Saturday afternoon, Terrie and her kids showed up (her detective hubby drew extra duty and couldn’t come), and they all walked out to the fairgrounds, 1 block from our house…

..Getting across Center Street was a challenge with 5 kids and 2 stollers…been there, done that..LOTS!

 

THIS PHOTO LEFT WAS TAKEN FROM BIG FLUFFY’S DRIVEWAY (OUR BROTHER-IN-LAW WHO LIVES ACROSS FROM THE FAIRGROUNDS)….THE TRAFFIC WAS BEGINNING TO BACK UP TO OUR HOUSE JUST BEFORE THE TRACTOR PULL….

 

 

 

 

 

I love the way Maddox choses to go “Goth” in his attire..He gets his great sense of fashion from his Mimi>>>(that’s what Chris’s kids call me, and it seems to fit.)

Dennis and I watched Maddox and Aiden so John and Chris could go to the tractor pull Saturday night…Dennis watched from the deck as I did diaper duty…Madds has just been introduced to fruit as part of his diet..and you know what applesauce can to to a kid’s lower intestines!! PHEW!

 

 

 

After the “pull” was over, everyone came back to the Cave Dwellings for a campfire and some libation.  No, that is ONE thing they do NOT have at our fair…a beer tent…So McGuyver and I have our own little “beer deck” for family and friends…and only one block away.

 

 

 

I had prepared some French Bread for a breakfast of baked French Toast this morning…Here is what it looked like before I baked it, on left…Right is all that was left…

So, about 9:30AM, the Wolff mobile was being loaded up , and the Wolff family left for home…

…How did we ever raise 3 kids without all of this equipment???

As I said, a weekend of fair, family and remembrance…

The sun, setting on a tree out in back of our house…

I watched yesterday, when, in Shanksville, PA., they dedicated the Memorial of Flight 93.  President Bush was there,  as was President Clinton and VP Joe Biden…They all spoke beautifully…President Clinton spoke of those brave souls who saved many more lives by fighting the terrorists on board, and prevented a probable attack on Washington D.C . I thought he eloquently quoted Abraham Lincoln when he said this…

..”we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. “

The 124th Sandwich Fair….

  We have had a great week of cool weather, family fun, and Fall Décor….This crisp, dry weather inspired me to drag out my silk leaves, scarecrows, and yes, even my flying witches and skull candles….

This little stuffed pumpkin was made for me by my Mom …She passed away August of 1982.  She’s been gone a long time, but her little pumpkin is still smiling at me…Gotta keep those memories alive.

September 5th, Labor Day, we also celebrated our son Kelly’s 41st birthday…We ended up in an unplanned get together at Tom and Leanne’s house, (Den’s niece and hubby), with Kel (birthday boy), and Cindy, Terrie was there, Big Fluffy, Patty , (a family friend)…and Maggie Mae, the 11 year old Yellow Lab . Maggie was the only one who didn’t misbehave…

We sat around in the garage, out of the cool North wind, and proceeded to eat chips and dips and imbibe in some libation , using coolers for tables and pails as chairs…Obviously, as frequently happens at these impromptu celebrations, we were “over served” yet again.

I’m not in the photo….I took the photo. That’s the reason it isn’t a very good photo…Too much Rum and Coke. That’s Leanne, McGuyver’s niece, with him on the right photo…I think we may have been a bad influence on her???

Today is the first day of the Sandwich Fair, which happens to be 1 block from out house.  Den and I walked out to the fairgrounds about 11AM to wander around.

 
We managed to snag a couple passes and wanted to go see Max Armstrong, a Chicago Agriculture radio personality.  Max was appearing at the Ag stage at Noon and we always love seeing him…Tomorrow, Orion Samuelson will be there…Some of you may have heard of these two Agriculture Icons…They are VERY popular hear in the Midwest, and attract big crowds…

…We walked all around the fair..The weather was perfect. We even made it to see the animals…LOTS OF BEEF ON THE HOOF!!

 

In this lower, left photo are Belted Galloways…Hence the lovely white “belts” around their girth.

Left is the Woman’s Hall, middle is our daughter-in-law, Cindy. She is the EMS co-ordinator for the fair..This was taken in the First Aide building which is kept pretty busy with anything from bee stings to heart attacks…

WIPE THAT DRUEL FROM YOUR CHIN…IT’S DRIPPING ON MY SCREEN!!!

 

OK..I have now waaaaayyyyyyy overused my photo allowance, but it’s hard not to  include some of the great shots of the fair…I will leave you with one last partin fair shot….Read the sign and know that I will NOT be trying some of this “fair food”….

……BURP……

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy…They ain’t got nothin’ on the Caves!

  I am darn sure that 90% of you out there will not have a CLUE who I am talking about when I mention  Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy …They were popular comics back in the 1930’s and 40’s..One of their funniest movies was  called The Music Box, and it was a short film with a scene of them moving a large piano up a steep flight of stairs..It was made in 1932, and the link I posted to it is a 5 minute video clip of that scene…Hilarious!!!  I tell you that because Dennis  (with me only slightly helping) moved our 28 cubic ft. behemoth of a freezer up our steep and narrow (and OLD) basement steps to the deck, down the deck and into our garage…Why did we do this??? Because it is 35 years old and we haven’t used it in years.  The reason being …it is NOT energy efficient and sucks up those kilowatts like Cocaine…So….if it still runs, which it does, Com Ed will come pick it up and pay you $35 to boot…One slight problem..they won’t take off doors and haul it up steps..It’s up to YOU to do that…So, McGuvyer , being McGuyver, rigged up a  plank and “come along” system that he could do by himself…Photos, of course, were involved…..

This happened Saturday, and the temps were about 90 degrees..Notice how he has his little “sweat bandana” on in the photos above…I was told not to attempt to help..BUT, when the come along got stuck on the top step trim, I put on my Superwoman cape and jumped in to help.  McGuyver couldn’t get back down into the basement because the freezer took up the whole stairway.  So, he took off one of our basement windows and crawled in and out of the basement about 3 times to give it a shove and get the strap back on it..I was working the “come along” at the top of the steps…

…here it comes….               …closer…almost up…           ….        ..Here is the trusy “come along” I cranked .

I used that contraption to pull it up,  with Dennis pushing from the bottom..I had visions of the strap slipping off and McGuyver being pinned to the basement floor with a freezer on top of him….NOT A GOOD VISION…!

                                                                          TRA DA!!!!!!

We had a rolling platform in our garage that we managed to get underneath it, (no easy feat there, either), and it now sits in the back of our garage waiting for the Com Ed guys to pick it up on Sept. 21st..OH, yea…we had to  go online and schedule a pick up…Earliest date was Sept. 21st between 8AM and 6PM…My, they are certainly scheduled aren’t they??

Today we spent some time helping Uncle Jr. and Aunt Jeanette…They had plumbing problems again and Dennis, with Jr. helping,  managed to get the sewer pipe apart to ream it out and get their tub draining again…I know, I know..I am a lucky damn woman to have McGuyver in my life…Jack of all trades..except spelling bees..He wouldn’t stand a chance.

 

Jr. turned 88 on Aug. 25th, and Jeanette turns 96 Tuesday, Sept. 6th…

 

Sam and Donna, there was no time for a photo of the shirt and hat you sent him…He and Dennis had sewer sludge in their ears….but he sure loves it and gets compliments on it ….You’re the best!!

 

 

How was that for an exciting Labor Day weekend at the Cave’s??….and the weekend isn’t even over yet!! YIKES!!

“Well, here’s another nice mess you’ve gotten me into.”

                                                ..Oliver Hardy, to Stan Laurel

This is NOT FALL!!!

  Looks like summer wasn’t ready to be “kicked to the curb” just yet here in the Midwest.  Today and tomorrow are to be real barn burners ..My outdoor thermometer says 98 degrees on our South deck, which is in full sun and much akin to stepping out into an oven.  My Hibiscus plant, which I thought had born it’s last blossom, must have gotten “wind” of this warm spell..and it decided to celebrate and honor us with a few last huge blossoms!!

We have had a real crop of mushrooms in our backyard this year, and they seem to be growing in a semi circle.   I get a sense of being in the midst of the song “White Rabbit” by Jefferson Airplane…(Go ahead, all you young whippersnappers, figure out who that is…it’s Jefferson Starship, you youthful things!)…There was just no one, no how, who could sing a song like Grace Slick!  Coincidentally, I noticed large “rings” in the retention area down the street from us…I did some research, and found out that the mushrooms and the rings of grass are the work of the Fairies…Yep, that’s right.  There is a scientific explanation for them as well…you might know.

“The name fairy ring comes from an old folk-tale. People once believed that mushrooms growing in a circle followed the path made by fairies dancing in a ring. Fairy rings are found in open grassy places and in forests.

In grass, the best known fairy ring fungus has the scientific name Marasmius oreades. The body of this fungus, its mycelium, is underground. It grows outward in a circle. As it grows, the mycelium uses up all of the nutrients in the soil, starving the grass. This is the reason a fairy ring has dead grass over the growing edge of the mycelium. Umbrella-shaped fruiting bodies, called mushrooms, spring up from just behind the outer edge of the mycelium.

Large rings are created when the older mycelium in the center finally exhausts the soil nutrients and dies. On the death of the central mycelium, the nutrients are returned to the soil and grass can grow again.” 

I choose to believe in the fairy theory…magical paths where fairies dance naked and frolic in our yards…OK, so maybe they wear little tu tu’s….

  I am beginning to let myself get slightly excited about going South this winter.   Slightly would mean that I am jumping up and down and clawing at the camper door… McGuyver has been cleaning out the “belly of the beast”, and replenishing the gas in our Honda generator (which we have never used). 

Last week, we purchased a brand new 22” HD flat screen TV and HD receiver for our kitchen…AND…to be used in the Hiker bedroom.  This meant we had to move the little 13” TV out and move the big bath towels into that cabinet, which hinged to open UP.  Dennis changed that cabinet to open sideways…( I put the hand towels and washcloths in the top of the closet. )  McGuyver then had to change the cabinet where all of the towels had been and is bigger,  (this cabinet hinged to open sideways).  He made that our TV cabinet , and changed the hinges to open UP  for the TV. Whew!  All of this hinge talk is confusing is hinging on insanity.   Too long story made short…, he worked his  magic and we have a new TV for the Hiker, a cabinet in which to put it, and the towels are stowed in a different spot..Got that??…There may be a quiz later.

I will now digress to my Plantar’s Peanuts foot disorder which the great Wizard of Podiatry has declared healed.  Tailor’s Bunions??? Hey!. I can’t even thread a needle.  AND… I thought only “little old ladies” have bunions..oops…I guess my 63 years means that I qualify.  I managed to creat this problem by “rolling out” on the outsides of my feet when I walk….apparently caused by weak hips…God, everything is getting weak or falling apart!!

The good news, …he gave me some Prednisone for the inflammation of my bursa (definition: a sack of red angry swollen junk under outside my little toes).  Bad news..(I just KNEW  there would be some), I will very likely end up having surgery on both feet if it gets bad enough.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? HOOOOOOOO NO!  I’LL JUST GET ME SOME OF THOSE BIG FLUFFY CHICAGO BEAR SLIPPERS AND WEAR THEM FOREVER… (or until the Bears win the Super Bowl, which ever comes first).  I gotta tell ya, these “seamstress” bunions can be pretty painful, but I refuse to spend this winter in the sub-zero temps of Northern Illinois.  Now, …that’s enough about my paws.

The weather peeps are promising that our weather will cool off this weekend and our high predicted for Labor Day is 69 degrees..PERFECTO MUNDO!  I re-arranged our deck, taking down the umbrella table and fountain, and bringing up the fire pit, charcoal grill and little table…

 

 

GET OUT THE MARSHMALLOWS, BRING ON THE SWEATSHIRTS, JEANS AND RED WINE…

LET THE AUTUMN CAMPFIRES COMMENCE!..PULLLLLEASE!