Trick or Treat

                              

A Night With Edgar Allan Poe

                     Last night was a spooky night here at Centerbrooke.

Edgar Allan Poe came to visit. The room was dark lit only by flickering candlelight. A few ravens sat around here and there. 

Mr. Poe spoke of his upbringing and how he loved his young wife, how she influenced him to write 'Annabelle Lee'. 

                    He told of how people thought he was MAD. 

                    He read The Raven and a couple others. 

                      He ended with 'The Tell-Tale Heart'.

             It was a delightful hour spent with 'Mr. Poe'.

With my 'pet raven' on my shoulder, I had my picture made with E. A. P. 

I have not followed Poe's writings. Remembered the poem, 'The Raven' but little else. Now, I have to read some of his work. 

You Just Never Know!

 I was talking with my daughter Susan this morning. We would love to do things together but distance keeps us from achieving that ambition. We tried having a book club. Read our book... and never could figure out a time to do a zoom chat so that fell by the wayside.

We'd love to try new recipes and I suggested we try the same one and then compare notes. Maybe even video the cooking at the same time (facetime or zoom). 

And then this conversation happened.

Me: Oh, I've been streaming this neat program about cooking healthy on Discovery +.

Susan: Who is it?

Me: I can't remember her name. She's been on the Food Network and the Cooking Channel. She's a nutritionist.

Susan: What's she look like?

Me: Got short black hair  (and I can't continue because Susan broke in......)

Susan: Ellie Krieger! I used to model with her and she'd come to our apartment and cook stuff for us girls to eat.

Ellie Krieger, the nutritionist. 

This world is just so small and is getting smaller. 

Susan modeled for the Wilhelmia Modeling Agency when she was younger. She made some awesome friends back then that have gone into other careers (including Ellie). Susan's 'Career' has been the caregiver for her autistic son which, believe me, is a full time job. 

Ellie stopped modeling and attended Princeton and Columbia to get her degree in nutrition. And, here I am watching her on my Kindle on Discovery+.

You just never know how things will turn out, do you?

Susan in two modeling shoots. 

Fall Festival

 Last Saturday was sunny but cold. It was the day of our annual Fall Festival here at Centerbrooke. I should have known better, having just come off a bout with bronchitis but sometimes you do things you shouldn't without thinking out the whys and why-nots.

I set up a tray table, just big enough to hold what books I had stored here in the apartment, so perhaps I could get rid of some. Fall pollen was what caused my bronchitis. Like I say, I should have known better. But, regardless, I had a nice time, sold some books, met some new residents and that's a good thing. 

Of course, Sunday morning, my throat was acting up again and I feel rather crummy. 

I didn't take many pictures but here are a few. 

A small section of the venue... people beginning to set up their wares for sale.

Here I am with my little bitty table. But, it was big enough.

Two residents chatting. I took this picture because the woman on the left reminds me of Iris Apfel... you know, the big jewelry, the oversized glasses, the high heels. She said she was 90 years old! You'll not catch me prancing around in heels! Nope, not me. How she did it, I do not know. There weren't any backs in her shoes. How did she keep them on?

We had several people having yard sale tables, too. I give stuff away all the time... trying to downsize... but I could not resist this cute pansy cup and saucer and the basket vase. 

Winter Is Coming

 Man, it got cold last night. It seems to have jumped from summer right into winter! We do still have beautiful leaves, pumpkins in the patch, warm cocoa in the mornings. But, too soon it will snow, the wind will howl... 

One of the things I love about cold weather is fires in the fireplace but heck, they won't let us build fires in this apartment building. Guess they think we'll burn the place down!

I love to snuggle in bed with a handmade quilt pulled up under my chin. I was a quilter in my earlier days... when the hands didn't give out on me and my eyesight was better. I enjoyed piecing the tops but my favorite thing to do was do the hand quilting. I prefer a quilt any day over blankets. 

I love steaming hot tea. I prefer the orange spicey ones with sugar, no cream. And, don't forget hot chocolate. The doc put me on a lactose free diet but I suppose I could make my own cocoa mix and use almond milk. 

Yes, the cold winter days will be here before we know it... brrrr.

Tech Guy To The Rescue

 I am so proud of myself. It, evidently, is never too late to teach an old dog new tricks.

Anyone who has had computer troubles knows what I am talking about. I had to buy a new computer recently which had Windows 11. And, my genealogy program Family Tree Maker was not compatible!!!!

I have spent the last 35 years gathering documents to build our family trees. I had tons of personal family stories, too. And, all of a sudden I couldn't even access my program. I did download the files as they told me to but no personal notes were there, most of the females were missing. I had so little left of what I had gathered over the years. I was devastated. 

But... ta da... last Friday I spent 4 1/2 hours on the phone with a Family Tree Maker tech guy and I now have almost everything restored. I'll make a call tomorrow to see if we can retrieve the rest of it. First time ever to use an online tech! 

It was so fascinating watching him control the actions on my computer. The cursor running around here and there, clicking on this and that and I just sat there watching. 

So thankful I now have all my years of hard work back again. I love technology.. and the people who know how to help you use it.

Found Fall Wreath

 Two blog posts ago I was lamenting that I had lost my Fall wreath.

It was NOT in my apartment so I called Shirley who lives not far from me and asked her if she had stored it for me. They have lots of storage! 

                         No, she said. 

But, the next morning she called, 'Hey, Mom, last year when you were taking down your Fall decorations you handed me that wreath and said, 'You can have it, it's too big for me to fool with'. 

        So, I sort of found my wreath. I gave it away! 

                          Mystery solved. 

                At least it went to a good home. 

Amazing Butterflies

I am doing something different this morning. This post is a copy from interestingfacts.com. I found it so interesting that I just had to share it. The photos of the Monarch butterflies in this post, however are mine. Took 'em myself!  

No animal on Earth travels quite like the eastern monarch butterfly. Its journey begins in the early days of spring on a few mountains in central Mexico. Millions of the monarchs fill the branches of oyamel firs, and as the temperature warms up, they soak in the sun and begin their epic journey northward — a 3,000-mile trip that looks more like a bird’s migration than an insect’s. 

But it’s not only the miles that make the butterfly’s journey so remarkable — it’s also the means. A typical monarch butterfly lives for only about four weeks, not nearly long enough to complete the journey to the northern U.S. and Canada. So the migration becomes a multi-generational one. In a typical year, it will take four generations for monarch butterflies to finish the seasonal quest their great-grandparents started. 

Wow

These photos were all taken in 2018 when I was visiting in Alabama. 

Fall Apples mean Fried Apples

         

                               Apples make me think of Fall. 

             How many of you go to Cracker Barrel to eat? I know, it's not located EVERYWHERE but if you've eaten there once, you'll go back. 

                        One of their treats is the fried apples. 

I can't get to Cracker Barrel just now but I can certainly make me some fried apples!

My Wreath is Missing!

                           There's a mystery going on around this apartment. 

                                      I know I had a Fall wreath for the door! 

Here it is from last year!

But, I have looked everywhere (and this apartment isn't big enough to hide much).

      I even got down on my knees to look under the bed.

                                   Nothing! NaDa! Zilch! 

                                Where did it walk off to?

Veggie Soup on a Rainy, Chilly Day

 Hurricane Ian went west of me... but I still got plenty of rain and wind. 

I'm still feeling poorly so I have made me a big pot of veggie soup. It smells so good. Can't wait for the cornbread to cook so I can have some. What do you eat with your soup? Crackers, toast, cornbread, cheese toast with tomato soup, what?

I'm southern enough to love my cornbread! Piping hot right out of the oven and smeared with a hunk of butter! Nothing better.