IT CANNOT RAIN ON OUR PARADE…NO SIREE!

  Sunday it was a rainy day at the Cave.  This was not helped by the Chicago Bears looking like big drips while attempting to thwart the New Orleans Saints and Drew Brees….Obviously , the offensive line did NOT get the memo that they were suppose to PROTECT our quarterback, not try to get him killed!!  We still can’t believe Cutler didn’t get his bell rung and end up with a concussion by the end of that horrific game…

McGuyver refused to let the “ass-whooping” our Chicago Bears got get him down…He also refused to let the rain dampen his spirits…

McGuyver’s wants are simple…a campfire and a Busch Lite…

He found the biggest log we had in the garage, threw it on the fire and sat down..Notice it had quit raining…temporarily.  Shortly after that photo was taken, the rain Gods began their bucket brigade, and..what the heck.. we both were outside in the rain with our umbrella…Gene Kelly would be proud..if only we had a lamp post…..sigh.

 

 

 

 

 

But…. apparently the Cave Dwellers weren’t the only “hard core” camper wanta be’s in the neighborhood…

 

 

Our great neighbors, Deb and John, came over to join the Crazy Caves and their pursuit of a fun day, despite Mother Nature’s attempt to foil it….

We are blessed to have great and fun loving neighbors..(even though we are old enough to be their parents, they humor us….)

 

 

Please take note of my “ensemble”…Deb and John have lived next door to the Caves for almost 10 years..and they are accustomed to my fine sense of fashion…

Good neighbors are very hard to find, and we are lucky to have Deb and John.  Deb is the one who gave my my first chandelier…and John is right there to help out when McGuyver needs it…and..  IF McGuyver ASKS FOR HELP…What is with MEN and their pride??

 

 

OK, that’s all I have today…It is sunny and 70 degrees today, but the bottom is suppose to fall out of this weather tomorrow…but…WE AREN’T SCARED..WE HAVE A WAY OF DEALING WITH ADVERSE CONDITIONS…FRIENDS, FUN AND A CAMPFIRE!!!

“Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass…
it’s about learning how to dance in the rain!” –Vivian Greene

Finally Cleaned Up the Hiker..inside..

  I started my day yesterday at 7AM, getting ready for my Ya Ya’s and their hubbies to come for coffee.  McGuyver left the house early to help his friend hang some garage doors…sounds like lots of fun, no?  My coffee  group arrived about 8AM, and we had a real gab fest until about 9:30AM…

  After they all left, I decided it was time to tackle the HitchHiker and clean up the inside.  When we “landed” at home last December…and after McGuyver clocked his head and ended up in the ER, I neglected to tidy up the Hiker after we finally unloaded it.  Can I just say that UN loading it is not nearly as much fun as LOADING it!!! No sirree Bob!!  I had been carrying stuff out there for the past few weeks and just setting it inside the door to put away another day.  Well,  yesterday was that “another day”…

I cleaned and wiped out cupboards, under the bed (our storage area), dusted, vacuumed, swept, washed out the sinks, shower and bathroom.  We still had anti-freeze in the lines…and it will stay there until we leave.  We never know exactly how late in the season we will be pulling out of our drive.

Friday, I got ambitious and cleaned my chandeliers.  This usually means that I take each crystal down and wash, rinse and dry them by hand.  That involves standing up on a chair and making a gazillion trips to take down and rehang them all..NOT FUN>…This year, since my feet are still a huge issue (no, I won’t even go THERE!), I decided to try one of the spray chandelier cleaners.  You put some newspaper underneath the chandelier, and lay a garbage bag over that..then you spray from the bottom up until the thing is dripping wet…Oh, did I neglect to say…make sure the chandelier is NOT ON!!!

  I think both of them turned out pretty darn good…and it was really easy.  When we are gone for the winter, I put a garbage bag or pillow case over them and tie it up tight so they don’t get dusty.  Yes, I know..I am quite enamored with my lighting…some might say obsessed…and they are closer to right than wrong

Last night was “date night” and I wore my Brian Urlacher Chicago Bears  jersey.  His  mother died a few days ago, and her funeral was yesterday.  The coach, Lovie Smith, the GM,  the owner, and lots of players flew to New Mexico to be with Brian for his mom’s funeral….She was only 51 years old, and died unexpectedly..I am sure it was very hard on the family, but No. 54 will be donning his jersey and playing today against New Orleans…This should be a very emotional game on many levels, and you can be sure McGuyver and I will be glued to our TV….

  After our usual trip to the Moose Lodge for a cocktail last night, we had KFC and spaghetti for dinner.  I had some left over sauce, and I cooked up some noodles…Family style chicken is what we call that here in Illinois..chicken and spaghetti…YUMMO!! And I deserved some carbs, after getting the Hiker all spiffy for her Winter trip South….hopefully!!

Winter is nature's way of saying, "Up yours."  ~Robert Byrne

Fairly quiet at the Cave….

  This week has been, so far, pretty quiet.  The Cave Dwellers have recovered from the Sandwich Fair, the traffic and dust..aaaachoo!..well somewhat.  Our weather has cooled down into the lower 60’s and tonight it could get into the upper 30’s in the Western Suburbs (that would be US!)…I went out and found that I had a few more tomatoes “hanging” on, waiting for me to get my lazy behind out there and pick.

McGuyver and I took the Log Hog (log splitter) out in our backyard and split some wood for our fire pit and fireplace.

 

I let Dennis run the splitter…That thing looks like something I could really hurt myself with…no doubt.  I do the stacking of wood…and I’m sure I’m not doing that quite according to Den’s specifications…but I do work cheap.

It is beginning to look like fall around here….but someone better tell our Hybiscus…This thing is prolific as all Heck.  I swear I have had at least 50 blossoms so far on that plant…

 

 

That pink flowered plant would be our thriving Hybiscus..Notice how far away the pumpkin is staying from it…I think Mr. Pumpkinhead finds Ms. Hybiscus a bit looney, being known as a tropical plant and all.  I thought I heard that pumpkin whisper to the Mum plant..”Pay no attention to that flashy flower..just pray for an early frost”… 

 

 

 

 

Above, left, is our Tiger Eye Sumac as it looked last October…pretty bushy and full…On the right is the same Sumac just yesterday,…McGuyver gave it a real close haircut with his chain saw….It was becoming so full, it was taking over the sidewalk, and making a run for the street beyond…It should be starting to turn orange in a few weeks…LOVE IT!!

Last night, Dennis and I enjoyed a campfire on our deck….while trying to stay out of “Hummingbird WAR” range..We have 2 feeders hanging on our deck and there were about 3 Hummers vying for best dibs on the food…They were dive bombing each other like jets in a dogfight.  I could hear them zooming around my head… a little disarming.  I had visions of wearing one for a hair barrette at any moment….

These photos are NOT my best..I am still trying to figure out our new camera… I need to tap into some of Al or Judy's photography knowledge….I think I need one of those old box cameras they had in the 50’s…point and click..WALA!

 

 

 

I do know that this is a Goldfinch…but not sure if it is a female…or a fading male..(I’m hoping for the latter…It’s about time some of these brightly dressed male birds let the females show off a little!)

 

 

 

 

McGuyver is checking our weather on his phone..I’m checking my drink, making sure  it isn’t empty yet..

As you can see, things are pretty easy going around here…Dennis and I are just chilling out on our deck and loving the Fall…I have all my Halloween stuff out…Now all I need is a skull mug instead of a Xmas one, …no… REALLY!!!

I DO HAVE A SKULL CANDLE…GEE, IMAGINE THAT….

“From ghoulies and ghosties
And long-leggedy beasties
And things that go bump in the night,
Good Lord, deliver us! “
~Scottish Saying

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. “