Happy Halloween

In honor of this fun holiday,

the Foodie Daughter and I put together a

Halloween buffetscape a la Sandra Lee.

Then the Foodie Daughter decided to do

a Sandy-esque table setting complete with

a fingertip towel as a napkin and useless bowls

on the table setting.





She finally decided on a different Halloween decoration

for each place setting.





Have a safe and happy Halloween!

Indiana Football and Tailgating

We have had lovely weather

for the last couple of home games.

Saturday, October 16,

was Homecoming.

Despite, or perhaps due to the nice weather
the crowd was a bit smaller this day.




I did run into this lovely lady who was sporting
this rather humorous top.


What's that?

You wanted to know about the game?

IU hung on to beat Arkansas State University.

ASU played a good game.




Now, fast forward to Halloween weekend.

Our tailgate was across the street from the student party.

Those wild and wacky students.





Dressed as an exterminator,
this student was spraying shots of vodka at cars
and other people.

If you watch carefully,

you will see a dancing tree.

An American Sycamore to be exact.

I don't know why the tree is dancing.

And I certainly wasn't brave enough

to venture over to try to find out.

A B-17 Bomber flew over the stadium

at the start of the game.








The WWII Flying Fortress was in town for the weekend.


More on that later.






Look what $7 will get you - a water and a Coke®.

The Northwestern band gets ready to take the field

at halftime.

And they're off.

This band was constantly on the move,

fluidly changing formations while performing their

music.

The Wild Cats is the team name for

Northwestern University.

So, "GO CATS" is a fitting message.

Not only that, but it's much easier to spell than

"NORTHWESTERN."

Then it was time for the Marching Hundred to perform.

The announcer invites the crowd to spell along.

The Bands face off on the sideline.

The flag carriers had a bit of difficulty on this windy day.

As a bonus, we we treated to a lovely sunset that evening.

At least I was able to view this one from my back deck.

Hearing a low-rumbling noise outside on Sunday morning,

I went outside and saw the B-17 flying overhead.

The Flying Fortress made several more turns over

the neighborhood during the morning.

The cost of these tours over our neighborhood?

Only $399 in advance or $425 at the door.

Of course, one could take a ground tour of the aircraft

for $5 (free for veterans).

Impressive.

This plane is known as the Aluminum Overcast.

We're Still Here

On Tuesday a powerful storm system

came through the midsection of the country.

Meteorologists say that the pressure dropped

to 959 millibars.

To put that in perspective,

that is comparable to a

category three hurricane.

With the news that 20 foot waves

were expected on Lake Superior and Lake Michigan,

many peoples' thoughts turned to a famous

shipwreck from nearly 35 years ago -

The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

(Please note that the video

will play automatically.)

In fact, the Edmund Fitzgerald

was number three

on Internet searches on Tuesday.

The launching of The Big Fitz was filled

with ill omens.

It took Mrs. Fitzgerald three tries to

break the champagne bottle over the bow,

the ship was damaged when it hit the dock

as it was being launched

and one of the spectators suffered a heart attack

during the ceremony.

Bad omens all.

The Edmund Fitzgerald sank

in a storm on November 10, 1975,

taking all 29 crew members down with her.

By nightfall,

the rain had moved through our area.

A wind gust of 70 mph was recorded in

our county.

A communications tower

fell on a nearby elementary school.

Fortunately,

no children were injured

and it is believed that damage to the school

is minimal.

We were fortunate.

Our only damage came in the form of blown-over pots.

My husband and I had taken the swing canopy

down the night before,

thus preventing it from acting like a sail

and launching the swing over the railing.

More high winds blew through today,


so I had left the plants were they fell.





No sense in picking them up


just so they could blow over again.



Fall's fury indeed.

And Now for the Real Reason

We Traveled to Philadelphia

My dear husband had been nominated for

a 33rd degree in Free Masonry.

Now, for you in the know, this is a very big thing.

This an honor among honors.

The members of the class of 2010 meet for lunch at

Supreme Council.

A serviceable Caesar salad starts out our meal.

My husband received his entree of roasted chicken breast

with green beans (the ubiquitous Masonic vegetable)

and red bell pepper.





I had to opt for the vegetarian dish.



Thus, I had ravioli with tomato sauce.



Do you like how they still managed to work

in the green beans?



That, my friends, is dedication to the craft.






The dessert dish was straight from Sam's Club.



Chudleigh’s™ Apple Blossoms to be exact.



They might have even been better if they were warm.



Hey, I call 'em like I see them.







Later that evening,

after rushing back from our Philadelphia tour but before seeing the Liberty Bell,

we arrived in time at the Academy of Music for Vespers.








This is a lovely place.

This is old time elegance.

This man has a wonderful voice.

I'm sorry you can't hear it.

Even the lobby is elegant.

Another night, and more pictures.

I also had help from a special friend.

Thanks, JK.

A special shadow.

This night we were treated to the sounds of the

famed Philadelphia Boys Choir.

Check off yet another Bucket List item.

Midway through the performance

the ladies of the 33rd degree candidates received

a red rose.

Lovely,

but now I have to figure out how to get this back to Indiana

on a bus.

Later another lady mentioned leaving the rose for

the cleaning lady.

*Smacks head.*

Now, why didn't I think of that?

Finally the big night arrived and the ladies are

anxiously waiting for their men to arrive.

The Indiana banquet was held at the

Pennsylvania Grand Lodge Masonic Temple.

The salad was Mixed greens with tomatoes and cucumbers.

The entree was an herb crusted flat iron steak

served with Rosemary mushroom jus and Madeira sauce

with basil pesto Israeli couscous,

sauteed broccoli, mushrooms and red peppers.

Oh, yeah, for those who aren't allergic to chicken

- lucky you - this dish also includes this luscious fowl.

I cry foul.

Dessert was a triple chocolate layered cake

with whole strawberries.