Costume Creativity.......NOT

The advent of Halloween reminds me of how absolutely totally uncreative I was when it came to making Halloween costumes for my poor kids. I was a Halloween enthusiast's worst nightmare. In the hierarchy of Halloween costume making I was at the bottom of the pile. I was not that mother who would make an "oooh ahhh" dragon costume from pieces of foam pulled out of someone's trash pile on garbage pick-up day. I would give my kids an even bette treat and tell them we would go to Star's (local store that had EVERYTHING...cheap) and they could pick out ANY costume they wanted in the WHOLE ENTIRE store. It was a while before they caught on to the fact that I wasn't doing this because I was generous, but because I wanted the easy way out.

Kara was the creative one. She really could produce a costume from bits and pieces of whatever was lying around the house in a few short hours. She could cut out and sew a flapper costume without a pattern. Brett was an agreeable little kid who would put on anything that Kara wound around him, as long as he was able to get a good stash of trick or treat candy. Damon.......Damon was my uncreative soul-mate. When he was about 8 he simply put on his jacket and tie and went out as a "business executive". Another year he put on Paul's old Air Force flight jacket and was Dwight Eisenhower.

I do not remember any costume at all that I ever wore on Halloween except for the witch costume my father made for me when I was 4 and one costume that I made for myself in college. That college costume was the result of the one brief creative moment that I have been allotted in life. I was going to a fraternity Halloween party and was told by my date, Moose (who was quite tall) that I would need to think of a "his and her" costume for us to wear. Panic. I hate to hear anything that implies I must think of something to create. Eeeeewwwww. Stress. Why me? But think I did and for once I had success. My bright idea (and tell me if you have ever seen this combination)........Moose would go as a dog and I, I would go as a fire hydrant!! What a perfect combination. I made a great fire hydrant. Kind of short and chunky. The only problem was that I couldn't sit down in my costume. We drove to the party and I had to stand up in the car. It was fortunate that we went to the party in a convertible because they put the top down and I could stand up. We were the butt of many jokes that night. (no pun intended)

Tonight Kara and Sean are spending their first Halloween in their new house. Kara's having a great time. The neighborhood is flooded with children. She has been sitting on her steps handing out lots of candy and meeting neighbors. Eamon is dressed as Buzz Lightyear and Elizabeth is a sweet princess. Brett and Megan are quietly incubating the twins, Daryl and Daryl. Damon is driving to his new home in Seattle. He has been calling us with road reports all day. The last we heard he was just entering Washington and thought he had about 3 more hours of driving to go. Tomorrow is the first day of his job. I wonder if he will dress as a business executive tomorrow?

Do you have a Halloween costume that was a favorite?



This is the Halloween costume that Brett hated the MOST. He wanted to dress as ET. We bought an ET boxed costume at Stars. Great buy. Do you remember when ET disguised himself as a girl and put on a scarf and carried a pocketbook? I thought it would be really cute for Brett to do that so I wrapped his head in a scarf, put a shawl and little dress on him and hung a pocketbook on his arm. He HATED it. He wore it for a Halloween party in the afternoon but refused to go out at night unless I took off the girl stuff. So much for creativity.

Trot trot to Boston.............

We left at 7:30 this morning to take a trip to see Kara and her family in their new Arlington, Ma home. Their new home is really nice, so nice that it makes Kara a little sad that it is only a rental and not for sale. Since the movers only arrived yesterday, the house was filled with boxes which Kara and Sean were madly trying to unpack. Sean was in the basement making the house throb with the sound of his rock music while he got all his guy basement type of things unpacked. Kara unpacked the bedrooms and the kitchen. There is so much to do but they made quite a bit of headway today. I read to sweet Elizabeth until she fell asleep and then I put her down for a nice long nap. While she was sleeping we shared the first meal in the new dining room with Sean and Kara. It was nothing more than ham sandwiches and tea, but the company made it so much more. We talked with Sean about his new job. It is nice to see him so happy with his new work.

When Elizabeth woke up in a sweet mood from her wonderfully long nap we all went out for a long and windy walk. Eamon found a wonderful pile of leaves on the sidewalk to play in. Isn't that the greatest thing to do in the fall? Time to leave came much too soon, but it's nice to know that the little Madden family is only a little more than a two hour drive away. On the way home we met Brett and Megan to dine out on pizza. Preggie Meggie looks very healthy, happy and pregnant! What a treat that we could see two of our chldren in the same day. We arrived home about 7:30. There was a message from Damon that he was driving through Ohio on his westward trek to his new home in Seattle. It was a long and tiring day, but very satisfying.

Good things.............

I enjoyed one of my favorite kind of days, weather-wise, today. It was rainy and windy. In spite of it being October, it was an unusually warm rain with temperatures in the 60's. It felt more like spring than fall.

Paul started laying the pine boards for our sun-porch floor this afternoon. Oh my dear sweet Lord, it is going to look so nice. It just keeps getting better and better. I was relaxing in my Belly-Acres room about 5 o'clock this afternoon and I noticed that I have two wonderfully nostalgic views from my windows. If I look out the window to the left I see our little dirt driveway winding up through the trees. It reminds me so much of the driveway at Belly Acres. And to the front the view looks like a miniature of what we would see when we sat on the front lawn at the farm......a wide open meadow in front of a lovely forested hill. With a little imagination I feel like I am back on the farm. Did I ever say that I love this room???!!

Kara and family moved into their new house today. The news at MSNBC said that the worst weather in the nation today was in Boston! I don't think that they really cared. It felt quite good to be back in a house after spending all week in a hotel. Kara loves the house, although she said it is a little bittersweet.........she likes it so much that she wishes they were buying it and not renting it.

Tomorrow Paul and I will drive up and deliver the cats who have been staying with us for the week. On the way home we are meeting Brett and Megan in Sturbridge for dinner. I can hardly believe my good fortune...I can actually visit with two of my children in one day.

DON'T FORGET TO TURN YOUR CLOCKS BACK TONIGHT......................

At Last.................

Welcome to the new Madden home! After several very stressful days of riding around looking for a home to rent and ending up with false leads and dashed hopes, Sean and Kara finally found the perfect home to rent until they can find one to buy. Kara was beginning to think that they would have to stay at the Extended Stay Hotel for a while longer and put all their furniture in storage. With their furniture arriving on Saturday they were playing a game with the clock.

It's a very comfortable and spacious house built in the '30's. The living room is really roomy with nice built-in bookshelves for all those books they own. It has a great window seat in the living room where Eamon and Elizabeth can sit and watch for Santa on Christmas Eve! The bedrooms are big. It has a fairly new kitchen. The house is loaded with sun......on a sunny day of course. The location is great. There is a playground nearby for the kids, the MinuteMan Bicycle Trail is nearby for Sean and there is nice shopping nearby for Kara. What more could you want?

I think they are going to enjoy their new temporary home. I know they are all glad that they are going to have a place to put their furniture when it arrives on Saturday. Paul and I will be driving up on Sunday to deliver the cats to their new home. I can't believe that we are close enough to be able to drive back and forth in one day. Life is good.

The Belly Acres Room???

I like to name the rooms in my house. Especially after I have redecorated them. My guest room is now known as the Blueberry Room because of the blueberry stencils I added to the walls. So I have been thinking of what to call my new porch. For a while I have been thinking that The Belly Acres Room sounds just perfect. Belly Acres was the summer home my grandparents bought in Sharon when my father was very young. It wasn't much of a place. In fact it was VERY basic.


But it was in the country and surrounded by all that is natural. Nothing could have been more perfect for my grandfather. He was truly a man of the earth, as was my father. It was given the name Belly Acres because in the beginning it had no heat, electricity, running water or telephone which made everyone (especially Grammie) "belly ache' about the primitive conditions.

There were lots of improvements made to the little house over the years so that there was less belly-aching. Eventually it had a new glory.

Improvements were made. Central heat, electricity and running water were added. A telephone was put in place. It became the place where the extended family gathered every year for our annual reunion and to share Grammie's spaghetti and Banta's wine.

My grandparents went back to New York City every winter but my father still liked to unlock the door of the cold house and sit in it's quiet isolation. When I was in high school I went to a baby shower just down the road from Belly Acres. I remember my father driving me to the shower in his old Willy's Jeep. He picked me up two hours later. For many years I always thought that he had gone home for those two hours and then come back to pick me up. It wasn't until after he passed away that I found some old letters he had written to his mother. In one of them he mentioned that he had dropped "Mary-Margaret" off at a party and then had continued on up to Belly Acres, let himself in, lit a kerosene lamp and had read by the light of the lamp until it was time to pick me up.

My father inherited several acres of the land when his parents died and we children inherited it from him when he died. The decision was made to sell it. This was very difficult for me because I love to hold onto land, especially that which has been in a family for so long. The one thing I knew I was going to do with the money was to use it for a screened in porch on my house. If I couldn't have Belly Acres anymore I wanted to bring the feeling of Belly Acres to my house. I want the feeling of being close to nature and of sitting quietly by the light of a lantern and reading. I want it to be a quiet place for reading or thinking or enjoying the outside world. No tv's allowed! I want it to be a place where the extended famly can gather and enjoy each other. I want it to be a place where I can remember the good times and the laughter of Grammie and Banta and Uncle Mike and Aunt Toni and Daddy and Mom and Aunt Barbara and Uncle Carl and all the cousins. I want Belly Acres to always be in my heart and in my home.

Apples and pumpkins

My house is clean and tidy tonight. It is calm and quiet. But I wish it weren't. My favorite little people have gone. Kara was thinking of spending the next week here but decided to go back to Boston with Sean. It was a wise decision. They really need to be there to look for a house. And Kara and the wee ones should be there for Sean when he comes home from his first day at his new job. Right now the little homeless family is staying at one of those extended-stay hotel places. Not ideal but at least she will be close to where they want to buy a home so she can continue scouting for the right place.

This morning we all went to Ellsworth Farms in Sharon to do some pumpkin picking. The kids were pretty excited to be going to the pumpkin patch. It was nice weather for it with a little bit of an invigorating nip to the air and a little bit of color still left on the trees. Eamon very enthusiastically pulled one wagon. Elizabeth started to pull the other but decided it was more fun to ride and have Mommy pull. Who says girls aren't smarter?? We all found some nice pumpkins and then went into the delicious smelling store. We bought some fresh fresh fresh off-the-tree apples (honey crisp...if you haven't tried them you must), some homemade apple cider donuts and some fresh apple cider. It must be apple season. I don't know who enjoyed this more, me or the kids!

We all piled back into the car and drove down Tichnor Road to see wonderful Belly Acres. The smell of the cider donuts was intoxicating so we all decided to open the bag and start munching. I was a little slow getting Eamon's out of the bag and over the seat to him. He tried to be patient but pretty soon I heard his little voice pipe up saying, "Someone's not doing a very good job with those donuts". Tell it like it is, Eamon!

We paused for a moment by Belly Acres to show Eamon where his grandpa used to live. The seemingly fruitless search for a home for the Maddens must have been on his mind because we heard Eamon's wistful little voice from the far back say, "I would like to live in that house." He must think that looking for a house means that you simply drive around the country side and if you find one you like.......it's yours.

When we came home Kara packed all their stuff in the car so fast that I told her it felt like we were sneaking them out of Germany during World War II. Some quick kisses goodbye and they were on their way to their new adventure in Boston. They will have a very busy time during the next few weeks. I told Kara that it is all just fodder for that best selling book that she is going to write someday! She said it will give her something interesting to talk about years from now........"remember when?"

I took some pictures of our pumpkin patch journey today but left the camera in Kara's car, so I will have to wait to post them. Paul told her not to mail it, that we could drive up there next weekend and get it. Wow. Does it feel good to say that!

A GRAND baby-sitting day

Kara and Sean left for the Boston area at 7 am and left us in charge of two sweet little grandchildren. What a nice day. They were both so good. I had to go have my flu shot this morning. I asked Eamon if he would like to go and keep me company. I should never have told him what for. As soon as I mentioned that I was going to have my flu shot his eyes got big and round and he said, "I do not want to go". I tried to convince him that this was only for Grammie and they would NOT give him a shot, but he just wasn't buying it.

We didn't do anything big today but we had a lot of fun. We went outside and played on the swings twice. We played inside lots. We played Candyland, of course. We read books. Elizabeth took a nice 2 and a half hour nap. Eamon didn't really sleep, of course, but he was quiet in his room and reading for 2 hours. I think that is doing pretty well for a little 3 year old. I won't complain. Even if he didn't sleep, the quiet of his room rested him and he came downstairs in a sweet mood.

In the afternoon I moved lots of toys to the new porch and we played out there. It was nice and warm with the sun coming in. The kids had a great time with all that space. I DO love that room.

Kara and Sean got back around 7. They didn't find the "perfect" house. That's pretty rare. They did find a really neat Victorian that Kara almost lost her heart over. Really well taken care of with lovely details that you wouldn't find in a new home. But they are not sure if it is the right neighborhood for them. So many decisions.

They're here!!!!!!

The little Madden family has arrived at Bradley Airport, three hours late. They had a flight delay. And what was even worse, the airline hadn't ticketed them. Which means they did not have confirmed seats for them. What a nightmare for them. Kara did her little dramatic pathetic crying scene that she does so well......."We're so tired and we have two little children and two cats and we really need to get on a plane now and we have a separate seat for Elizabeth but we really don't need it and she can sit on my lap and can't you just please squeeze us in somewhere." Thank goodness the lady felt sorry for her and found them seats. But they didn't know whether or not they would have one for three hours. What a long three hours that must be. Kara says "NEVER FLY UNITED". I think Damon said the same thing once. Kara said when they finally landed she and Sean both had the same thought....thank goodness we never have to make this long flight again. Amen!

Changing homes

Tomorrow Kara and her family will be flying from Albuquerque to Connecticut for the very last time......yay! They are renting a car at the airport so we don't even have to pick them up. From now on that is how they will always arrive at our house........putt-putting up the driveway in their car. It will be so nice to have them near.

On Saturday Sean and Kara will go to the Boston area to scout out a home to rent while we baby-sit (yay) or if they are really lucky, a home to buy. By the end of the day they will have one or the other. Sean will stay up there to go to work and Kara and the sweeties will stay with us until their furniture arrives from Albuquerque. Then it will be off to their new home. And this time we can go help unpack, or even better, play with the grandkiddies!

I know they will miss their wonderful Albuquerque home. We will too! But the Boston area has so much to offer. They have so many exciting adventures to look forward to and Sean has a job that it looks like he will really enjoy. And it is going to seem SO nice not to have to make that loooooong trek out to Black Widow country all the time.

Changing seasons

Yesterday was sunny and warm. So warm that it made sitting in my sunroom so pleasant. When I woke up this morning it was cloudy and gray. By the time I had to go out for bus duty this afternoon it was blowing up a real gale and very rainy. And it's cold. If it got any colder I think it would have started to snow. Tomorrow is scheduled to be sunny and 75. Then back to cold and rainy on Friday and sunny and mild Saturday and Sunday. What a changable weather pattern.

The kind of weather we had today, cold and raw and windy and rainy, I LOVE. I love the way it pulls the leaves off the trees so I can watch them dancing and twirling on their way to the ground. I love to listen to the rain on the roof and the wind at the windows. I love to watch the looks on the faces of people as they come rushing in from the blowing rain. I love the sound of them shaking out their umbrellas. I love the way everyone moves a bit faster. I love having a hot meal in front of the fire. I love curling up on my little corner of the sofa with a hot cup of tea. I love taking a hot shower and snuggling in bed while listening to the wind and rain.......which is what I'm going to do right now!

Changing times.

Yesterday I was reading a letter that I had sent to Paul when I was a sophmore at Wesleyan. It was exactly 41 years ago in October of 1965. I mentioned that Jill and I were flying to visit Jill's home in Northeast, Pa for a weekend. I had just bought my tickets and mentioned that it just about broke the bank. The cost of the tickets? $22.00 round trip! It is hard to believe that any plane tickets were EVER that cheap. It's even harder to believe that spending that much money on an airline ticket was a real financial burden! But that was 1965 and things were much different then. Including these....................


Busted!! That's me in 1965. I went to the library to study nursing with my good friend Mary but got caught reading the newspaper instead!

Here's my room-mate, Jill, in 1965 working hard on editing the school newspaper...........

............and here's Lauri, my "slightly" younger sister, in her freshman year at Wesleyan, 1965.

Oh yes, things certainly have changed. Sometimes you don't realize how much until you reach back into the past and re-wind your life.

Rah Rah Rudy!!

Today was the last day on the Cortesi job for the porch crew of Rudy.........................

........his son Mark.................

........and their co-worker. They packed up the saws and ladders and tools and left us with a work of art. They were stupendous. So precise. So neat. So reliable. Our porch feels like a fine piece of furniture. There is still plenty of finishig work left for us to do, but I can tell already that this is the best thing we have ever done to this house.

This is probably one of Rudy's last jobs as he will be retiring soon. I'm glad we found him in time. There are no words to describe how much my heart smiles everytime I walk onto my porch. The feeling of being so close to the outside everywhere I look is as close to heaven as I can be. I am hoping for at least one snow day this year so I can stay home, turn on the fire and settle down on my porch and watch the snow blow around me.

Getting ready to nest in my tree house.

My tree house is coming along so fine. Rudy and his crew are truly wonderful. Such perfectionists. They are true craftsmen. The best decision we ever made was to hire them.

The beadboard is done on the ceiling and most of the walls. Tomorrow they will put the trim around the windows and doors and finish the beams. And that will be it. The rest is up to us. We will do the floor and the painting. I am so impatient to use it. Of course, we don't have any furniture for it yet! That may take a while. But we have our trusty lawn chairs.

Tonight we had some heavy rain. Paul and I went out to the porch and listened. What a sound. You can hear the rain on the roof. A few candles, a fire in the gas stove, a glass of wine and I will be in porch-heaven.

Birthday Girl

Happy Birthday to my mom. I won't say how old she is today because she is ageless. She has always been young to me.

Born an only child, she always knew she wanted a large family. As the mother of five children, her wish was granted! She was a natural at the mothering business and has always acted like she loved every minute of it. Whether it be scraped knees, sickness or bad dreams, everything was more endurable with my mother there. I didn't have a security blanket when I was a little munchkin. I didn't need one. My mother was my comfort and my secuity.

She taught me the important things in life, like "be kind to everyone" and "handsome is as handsome does" and "whatsoever you do unto the least of these my brethren, you do unto me". She taught me the importance of always being a lady. And she always made me say "Thank you, I had a nice time" to my friends after spending a day at their house. We didn't have much money growing up but she taught me that that was not important. Family was always at the top of the list.

She's a very special lady. Happy Birthday, special one.

Was everyone's weekend weather this perfect?

This weekend was probably the MOST PERFECT weather we have EVER had for Columbus Day weekend........EVER. It was warmer than sweater-weather. It was dry. The sky was October Bright Blue. The leaves were starting to turn.You couldn't have asked for anything more perfect. I marveled at it all weekend long.

It was a very busy weekend for us. Yesterday we took off for Boston.


What a beautiful ride.

We drove up to see two houses that Kara and Sean were thinking of buying. Kara had not seen them yet and wanted us to look at them. If we REALLY liked one of them she wanted to put a bid in on it. It was fun looking at them but I didn't feel strongly enough about either one to tell Kara to go ahead and place a bid sight unseen. The worst thing would have been for them to buy it and then have Kara look at it for the first time and hate it..........and consequently hate me! What an awful feeling that would have been. I also didn't like the realtor. She said very little. She rushed us through. We saw two houses in less than 45 minutes. I really wanted to take more time but she kept moving towards the door.........hint hint.

But it was nice to know that we can easily drive up and back to Boston in one day. Better than logging all those flight hours we have been doing to Albuquerque.

Rudy and his boys came today and began installing the beadboard on our porch ceiling. By the end of the week our trim should be finished. I love how it looks so far. I feel just like I am in a tree house! It's just the feeling I wanted for my porch.

Birthday Time

Today we all gathered at Liz's to celebrate Mama's birthday. It was so nice to have so many of us there. We gathered around the table for Lauri's simply delicious lasagna.

Birthday cake for sweet Mama.

Sam, Anna, Leta and Elissa partying on.

Ellen showed us, for the first time, the quilt that she is making with all our names and handprints. What a great job, Ellie.

After lunch we all read to mother a small part of a favorite story that she had read to us when we were little. My selection?

"Little Orphan Annie's come to our house to stay. An" wash the cups an' saucers up an' brush the crumbs away etc. ....................................And the gobeluns'll get ya ef ya don't watch out!"

I used to love how she said that last part. She always had a flare for the dramatic. Scared the heck out of me.

Just before I left I caught sight of this cool little dollhouse that Chloe and Elissa have put together on their own using blocks and lego sets and a wonderful assortment of interesting stuff. Oh, to be a little kid again and lose yourself in this minature world.

It was just so cool. I love it when kids use their imagination to create something that is so much fun. This is so much better than those annoying toys with batteries and whistles and lights. Really keeps those little brain cells humming.

Emily and Chloe posed for a picture in front of the "mansion" just before I said good-bye. Do you ever stop smiling, Chloe?? We had a wonderful party. Happy Birthday, sweet Mama!