2022 Christmas Fantasy House

Friday, November 4, 2022

I had a very long eye appointment that lasted until past 11:00 a.m. and was only slightly late for lunch at Harry's Bar & Grill with Terry Harvey and Marilyn Schroeder.  We had light rain when we finished our lunches and drove to the McKinley Marina to get the shuttle that would drive us to this year's Christmas Fantasy House. (Mansion)

 https://www.jsonline.com/story/life/home-garden/2022/10/20/2022-christmas-fantasy-house-has-plenty-space-lots-designers/10499409002/

We knew we would be impressed by this year's creations, and we were not disappointed.

Each room was filled to the max with every imaginable decoration that incorporated glitter, sparkle, color, texture and lights.  With so many rooms occupying three floors, a large crew was needed.  They guided traffic in an orderly direction and told about the theme and decorator of each room.  This home would not accommodate handicapped people.  Even on the first floor there were elevations of one or two steps; also, three stories with many stairs.

The living room, as most of the other rooms, have a panoramic view or Lake Michigan.  I understand that the sculpture in the center is made of buttons. 

Who wouldn't want to be a guest at this grand dining room?

And after dinner, enjoy a game of pool.  These cue balls (ornaments) wouldn't withstand a hard crack.

This upstairs sitting room would be great to read a book, or do some knitting or have a conversation.

And what child wouldn't have sweet dreams in this cozy bedroom?

The third floor had a number of small dorm-like rooms, each uniquely decorated. 

We were quite exhausted after visiting this mansion: climbing stairs and the sheer size.  There was no way to retrace our steps, so I could not go back to buy some bakery that looked appealing.  But this was a wonderful experience to be able to be on the inside of this landmark building.

Wild Saturday

 Saturday, September17th, 2022

Jackie, Eleanor and I met at 10:00 a.m. to plan a memorial service for Helen Smorali who died August 26th.  I left at 10:30 for my hair appointment at 11:00, which usually was adequate time.  Not today!  There was a race along either Michigan or Clybourn and I could not get on the freeway; no one else could either.  With all the rerouting, the streets were impassable; everyone was in the same predicament.  I was about 25 minutes late for my appointment.

After my hair I bought some apples at Awe Orchard, also a caramel apple and some apple cider donuts.  I stopped at P&S on Drexel to pick up some groceries and check out plants for centerpieces.  The clerk said bigger P&Ss would have a larger selection, which I will try next week.  I stopped at Wild Birds for a gift card for Laura's Birthday.

We were invited for dinner at Jay an Laura's at 5:00 p.m.   We got there exactly at 5 and it didn't look like anything was cooking.  Laura said that we're not eating here.  We're having a picnic at Hubbard Park arranged by Jay.  He had everything packed and we were ready to go.  

A wedding ceremony was just finishing when we arrived at the park and the guests were filing into the lodge.  Jay checked and got the go-ahead that we could set up our picnic, which was next to the river.  We sat on lawn chairs sipping wine/beer and munching on cheese, crackers, pretzels and olives.  Jay baked pizzas in his camp oven that we had with Caprese salad with a warm raspberry/pear crisp for dessert.  We felt a couple of sprinkles, but nothing to spoil a perfect evening.  We sat long after it got dark; it was too good to let go.

Alternate Plans

Tuesday, November 1, 2022

The plan for today was for Peter to pick me up at 1:30 p.m., visit the Domes, the Warehouse Art Gallery and have something to eat and drink at Soberman's.  That started out as schedule until we got to the Domes.  It is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. The day was glorious: sunny, in the 70s, very unusual for the beginning of November.  Peter said, "Why are we doing something indoors on this beautiful day; why not do something outdoors, like a beer garden?"  We had not been to Estebrook Park this past year together so that's where we headed.  I had doubts that it would be open.  It was not only open, but there was a beer special of buy one, get one free.  We took advantage of that with two liters of Octoberfest and a brat for Peter and a hot dog for me.  We sat across from a couple and engaged in conversation; Julie is unemployed, but worked for Facebook, Jason was in some marketing business.  That generated a discussion and the falling stock prices of Facebook.  Two men occupied another table, one was taking out a notebook and seemed to be searching for a pen.  I just happened to have picked up an Educators Credit Union pen on Friday and offered it to him.  He showed me the notebook he was working on that looked like it was mechanically printed, it was so perfect.  He writes everything, and was engaged in writing almost the entire time he was sitting at the table. 

It was nearing 4:00 p.m. and a musician was setting up.  More tables were getting filled.  The saxophonist played with some background music that was quite enjoyable; we danced a waltz.  By this time we were ready for another beer, but opted for a half-liter each with a pretzel.  As the sun set, it became noticeably cooler; the jacket I left in the car would have been comfortable.  We finished our beers before we got too cold and headed to the parking lot.  

We'll save the Domes, the Warehouse Art Gallery and Soberman's for another day.

Last Sunday of October 2022

Sunday, October 30, 2022

Laura came to SRS with her camera so that I could copy photos of my 90th birthday to my computer.  Annika was the roving photographer and she took a lot of nice group photos.  Laura couldn't stay long because Trick or Treat started in her neighborhood at 1:00 p.m.

At 1:00 p.m. I was at Peter's to take a drive to see the skeleton display before going to the choral program at the Schwabenhof. We never got there a week ago when he had a flat tire on the way.

The theme this year was a casino with skeletons playing BINGO and some dancing to a band.

And what Halloween Party doesn't have bobbling for apples?

This arrangement seems to be repeated every year.

At the Schwabenhof, the combined men and women's chorus, one segment with men alone, entertained us for about an hour.  At one time the groups were separate; but as each group has diminished in numbers they formed a combined group.  Having the translation helped to appreciate what they were singing about.  There were sandwiches and desserts for purchase.  We had braunschweiger with steins of beer.  Walter and Margie Gries joined us to close out the afternoon.