by Jen | Oct 31, 2013 | House Tours
Happy Spoooooky Halloween Everyone! Isn’t this exciting?!
My parents were visiting us a few weeks ago and we took them to the City of Boiling Springs. It’s a cute little town on a seven-acre lake that is fed from 30 natural springs. The water bubbles like it is “boiling” thus the name. It has an amazing history but that is not what this post is about. It is about this house.
Iron Masters Mansion, Boiling Springs, PA
On the east shore, remaining from the pre-revolutionary iron forge complex, are the original forge and the iron master’s mansion with the remnants of its terraced gardens. This 1795 Georgian structure is the most outstanding example of architecture in the Boiling Springs Historic District and of major historical significance as the home of the Ege family. The mansion is presently in a deteriorating condition and is uninhabited. (from Wikipedia)
Or is it?
I did a little exploring. It was becoming stormy and dark. I creeped up to the front door and then… Here with my own eyes is what I saw. Sort of. Ok, maybe.
Peering inside
A “Hidden” Door
Beware…
Maniacal laugh. Maniacal laugh.
Jen
by Jen | Oct 29, 2013 | Uncategorized
My House.
I think we are ready for Halloween. I’m not sure about candy quantity though. I heard we get so many trick or treaters that the sidewalks are packed and EVERYONE is out. I also heard that people drive to our neighborhood to trick or treat. How much candy does this mean I need?? And Holy Cow when did bags of candy get so expensive? I remember not so long ago when it was $4.50 for the really big bags…now I’m seeing $10+…eek. Speaking of candy, I’m showing the most amazing amount of restraint. I. have. had. no. candy…yet. I’m in the midst of this most boringest BORING no gluten, no dairy, no sugar of any kind BORING doctor ordered elimination diet. I’m on like Week 5 of Week 5,346. At least I have my coffee back. I’ll be trick or treating with a mug.
Did you know that half of all kids prefer chocolate candy for Halloween?
Did you know that I love dark chocolate and I. will. not. be. eating. any. of. it?
Did you know that Trick-or-Treating evolved from the ancient Celtic tradition of putting out treats and food to placate spirits who roamed the streets at Samhain. Samhain means “summer’s end” and marks the beginning of winter. Samhain is also thought to celebrate the beginning of the Celtic year. The Celts believed that Samhain was a time when the dead could walk among the living.
Did you know that almost 2/3 of those surveyed will hand out candy? And 1 out of 10 will dress up their pet?
Did you know that every Starburst candy is like the equivalent of one sugar cube?
Did you know that 1 teaspoon of sugar is about the equivalent to 4 grams of sugar? And that M&M’s, Skittles, Hershey’s Milk Chocolate, Milky Way, 3 Musketeer’s, and Snickers all have about 9 to 10 teaspoons of sugar? You see what I am trying to do? If I can’t have any then darn it no one should be able to enjoy theirs. I’m mature like that.
facts.randomhistory.com wiki.answers cnn.com
by Jen | Oct 28, 2013 | House Tours, Popular
The Munsters
You know I am hard pressed to figure out which house I could live in comfortably.
On one hand…
…the Addams family is quite wealthy. They have amenities, like Lurch, the butler. They have a large house–space to spread out. Morticia had a nice green house.
On the other hand, the Munsters seem to be a bit more “normal” than the Addams family, so less to worry about in the middle of the night? And Marilyn, she seemed nice…we could be friends. Although, there was Grandpa. He was a vampire–that kind of freaks me out. But back to their house…it seemed a bit cozier. No bed of nails. Just a dragon, that lived under the stairs…
Then again, on the OTHER hand…the Addams family seemed quite cultured. Lurch was always playing the organ. Morticia spoke french. I believe they liked Broadway and Hollywood…they had a show created after them and a movie.
I don’t know. What do you think?
Here are the outside of their houses:
The Addams Family House
The Munsters House
Master bedrooms:
The Addams Family Bedroom
The Addams Family Bedroom
The Munsters Bedroom
Living Rooms:
The Addams Family Living Room courtesy of Hooked on Houses
The Addams Family Living Room courtesy of Hooked on Houses
The Munsters Living Room
Pets:
The Addams Family Stairs courtesy of Hooked on Houses
The Munster’s Stairs
The Munster’s Living Room
Then I found this candid shot of them behind the scenes…totally going with the Munster family. Looks like so much fun!
Where would you choose?
by Jen | Oct 27, 2013 | Organizing
Sometimes you must say “when”.
I’ve purged, sorted, purged, labelled, organized, and purged again my kid’s “stuff”. Birthday parties, goody bags, the school lunchtime “store”, gum ball machines, arcade prizes, and the occasional grandparent have all undermined my attempts. It is imperative that my children have these treasures–rubber skelton, 1 inch skateboard, stuffed snake, zombie ninja playing the flute. Fine. I will not label, purge, sort, cajole, sort, move or rearrange. I will buy baskets and dump.
I give up.
Have you fought a good fight? If and ONLY IF you have tried to purge it and organize it and have epically failed then, and only then, can you retreat, withdrawal, surrender. You are not a coward. You have picked your battle wisely my friend. I give you my blessing.
Like things together be damned.
by Jen | Oct 26, 2013 | Happiness at Home, Life Reflections
Cue Hallelujah choir.
I have a diabetic geriatric cat. A few years ago she started this lovely habit of walking into her litter box, backing up and peeing…over the side of the box. So NOT going to discuss all the ways I tried to “overcome” this. (Although an amusing story of me pushing her back while she was peeing does come to mind.) I have to lay down a garbage bag to protect the floor and then lay an absorbent terry cloth towel over this. EVERY DAY I have to pick up the towel, go outside to shake it out, spray everything down, lay a new towel down and wash the smelly one. FOR TWO YEARS. People, don’t judge me. I know what great lengths y’all have gone through for your pets.
Next. My feet. (I figured I would combine cat urine and my feet all in one post.) One day I had to borrow a pair of my friend’s socks. I grabbed a pair that just happened to be custom knitted for her specific arch height and foot length/width. We have similar size feet and high arches. WHO KNEW that custom knitted socks would feel so much better?
Back to cat pee. I splurged. I bought puppy pee pads yesterday. I found a pack of 50 for $12.95 at TJMaxx. It felt lazy and kind of wasteful when I bought them but TWO YEARS people! TWO YEARS.
Yesterday I could not believe how easy the cleaning of the litter box ordeal went…do you hear angels trumpeting and gleeful harps?? Because I did. I was GIDDY. Giddy I tell you, GIDD-DEEEE.
Last night. Went on a ghost walk, sort of. It was cold out. Did I mention that Nancy, KNITTER EXTRAORDINAIRE, gifted me along with her lovely daughter, Steph, TWO PAIRS OF CUSTOM KNITTED SOCKS? It was like walking on air all night. Seriously, I love these socks. Love the way they look. Love how they feel. I love that my feet are the perfect temperature no matter what while wearing these socks. Did I mention I camped with cub scouts last weekend in freezing temperatures (with a latrine for a bathroom) and I wore my new custom socks and my feet were the ONLY thing that were happy?
In fact, I can’t decide which I love more. My puppy pee pads that can absorb 5 cups of water or my custom knitted Nancy socks?
I am happy. Joyful. I’m telling you it’s the little things that bring joy.
