Halloween | dual personalities

November 1, 2019

“Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.”*

by chuckofish

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We had a very quiet Halloween, as we usually do, but it was even more so since it was freezing cold here in flyover country. Literally freezing! There were snow flurries in the morning!

Luckily this had no impact on daughter #2 arriving on time from Maryland. 🙌🙌🙌 She arrived and then the wee babes dropped by after school to show us their Halloween costumes.

They got to wear their costumes at school.

They were the cutest little Triceratops ever. (Daughter #3 made the costumes. She has mad skills.)

Lest we forget, yesterday was also Reformation Day, when we celebrate Martin Luther’s nailing of his ninety-five theses to the church door on October 31, 1517, which provoked a debate that culminated finally in the Protestant Reformation. Screen Shot 2019-10-31 at 9.03.08 PM.png

Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.

And now I will concentrate on the simple joy of having all my children home for the weekend. Everyone will be over on Saturday night for a little party and what is better than that? (Okay, we wish DN were here, but we will toast absent friends.)

*Psalm 150:6

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December 25, 2018

Then let us all with one accord Sing praises to our heavenly Lord

by chuckofish

This was the most precious moment of my Christmas Eve…the wee laddie sitting on my lap toward the end of the Christmas Eve service, entertaining himself by paging through the Book of Common Prayer. I mean, c’mon…

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

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October 31, 2018

Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott*

by chuckofish

Screen Shot 2018-10-30 at 1.24.29 PM.png October 31, 1517 was the day Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-five Theses on the door of the All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg.

Screen Shot 2018-10-30 at 2.14.26 PM.png Did you know that Luther’s theses are engraved into the door of All Saints’ Church, Wittenberg? The Latin inscription above informs the reader that the original door was destroyed by a fire, and that in 1857, King Frederick William IV of Prussia ordered a replacement be made.

Today is also the anniversary of our pater’s death in 1992. One of his former students gave me a picture of him and I have it in my office. He watches over me with a slightly annoyed look on his face.

I forgave him for his many imperfections a long time ago and I don’t mind him hanging around in my office.

“A single gentle rain makes the grass many shades greener. So our prospects brighten on the influx of better thoughts. We should be blessed if we lived in the present always, and took advantage of every accident that befell us, like the grass which confesses the influence of the slightest dew that falls on it; and did not spend our time in atoning for the neglect of past opportunities, which we call doing our duty. We loiter in winter while it is already spring.”
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden

So join me in a toast tonight to Martin Luther and to ANC III.

And if you’re going to a Great Pumpkin party, make good choices!

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*Martin Luther

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October 25, 2018

“Lord of harvest, grant that we Wholesome grain and pure may be”*

by chuckofish

On Tuesday night, after a separate work event, I rushed over to the Candy Corn Festival being held at a big Lutheran Church half an hour away in order to meet the wee babes (in costume) and their parents.

The 6:00-6:45 p.m. time period was set aside for the toddlers from the pre-schools that were included and it was wild. The four of us could barely keep up with these two curious babes.

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Lottie says, “Neigh!”

BTW, there was another Rapunzel (in a store-bought costume) at the event, but Lottie, even sans wig, was way cuter. I did not spy another Flynn Rider, but there would have been no competition there either. I mean really.

And for some context:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mayDR-PlXo

BTW, I did not get any candy corn.

*Henry Alford

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October 19, 2018

“My, my, hey hey”*

by chuckofish

I got flowers delivered at work yesterday for my anniversary. How nice–and just the right size to be enjoyed on my desk.

Meanwhile it is finally fall here in flyover country. Screen Shot 2018-10-18 at 9.09.18 AM.png We are far from peak in the fall color scheme of things, but why rush it? Screen Shot 2018-10-18 at 10.37.57 AM.png

Screen Shot 2018-10-18 at 11.33.12 AM.png I am looking forward to a lovely fall weekend, how about you?

I plan to dig into this old chestnut…

…and reading some newer books…

Miss Lottie got tubes in her ears yesterday. Hopefully we’ll get to see our brave girl on Sunday!

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And since Halloween is approaching, it might be time for an M. Night Shyamalan movie fest–at least a few of the good ones!

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Signs (2002)

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The Sixth Sense (1999)

Have a good weekend!

*Neil Young

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October 17, 2018

“Double, double toil and trouble”*

by chuckofish

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Well, it is that time of year when we look back fondly at Halloweens of yesteryear. Here is daughter #2 striking a pose circa 1994. She is wearing the witch costume that my mother made around 1987 for daughter #1 and that was worn for years afterwards.

This year super creative daughter #3 made Rapunzel and Flynn Rider (from the Disney epic Tangled) costumes for the wee babes:

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The cuteness level will be over the top!

For me, it’s more about the candy.

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Which I will deny myself.

The OM and I are babysitting for a few hours tonight. Zut alors!

*Macbeth: IV.i 10

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April 24, 2018

The secret sauce

by chuckofish

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“One of the reasons I made the most important decision of my life, to marry George Bush, is because he made me laugh,” she said. “Find the joy in life, because as Ferris Bueller said on his day off, “Life moves pretty fast; and if you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you’re going to miss it.” (Barbara Bush, commencement address, Wellesley College, 1990)

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Goodbye, Bar. We’ll miss you.

Into paradise may the angels lead thee; and at thy coming may the martyrs receive thee, and bring thee into the holy city Jerusalem.

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As someone said to me, “It looks like God put on a suit and came to the funeral.”

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Episcopalians arriving at St. Martin’s.

*A eulogy was given by Barbara Bush’s longtime friend, Susan Baker, wife of former Secretary of State James A. Baker III, who said Mrs. Bush — the wife of the 41st president of the U.S. and mother of the 43rd — was “the secret sauce of this extraordinary family.”

[The photos are from Google search. I was there in spirit only and could not take pictures.]

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October 30, 2015

“One more murder may be one too many.”*

by chuckofish

Every year at this time I wrack my brain for a good movie recommendation for Halloween. I usually come up with something, but what is there new to suggest? As I have said many times, I am no fan of horror and I do not like gratuitous violence and bloodshed. So what does that leave?

How about some good old-fashioned Sherlock Holmes?

The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939) with Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson is hard to beat.

Holmes and Watson investigate the legend of a supernatural hound, a beast that may be stalking a young heir on the fog-shrouded moor that makes up his estate. Yes, fog-shrouded moors are a good choice for Halloween, don’t you think?

I seem to remember that The Scarlet Claw (1944) is also pretty scary.

When a gentlewoman is found dead with her throat torn out (!), the villagers blame a supernatural monster, but Sherlock Holmes, who gets drawn into the case from nearby Quebec, suspects a human murderer.

Of course, there’s always Jane Marple–and by that I mean Margaret Rutherford.

There are four of these movies, but Murder Most Foul (1964)–when Miss Marple joins a theatrical company after a blackmailer is murdered, and then several members of the troupe are also dispatched by a mysterious killer–is my favorite.

But come to think of it, Murder She Said (1961), Murder at the Gallop (1963) and Murder Ahoy (1964) are all wonderful and hilarious! One could have a wonderful night of binge-watching all four.

I have not seen it in a long time, but M (1931) with Peter Lorre, Fritz Lang’s haunting, German-language crime drama, in which the Berlin police are hunting a whistling killer of children, is a great film.

The criminal underworld is after the killer as well, since the police manhunt has put a damper on their activities. And Lorre as the creepy killer is almost sympathetic in the famous confession speech where he describes with anguish his horrible compulsion. And who does creepy better than the Germans?

Another movie I have not seen for a long time, but liked when I first saw it, is From Hell (2001). Johnny Depp stars as an opium- and absinthe-addled Scotland Yard man assigned to the Jack the Ripper case, Robbie Coltrane is his stalwart partner and Ian Holm is the creepy royal surgeon who offers his advice. I’m sure I recall gratuitous violence and bloodshed, but nothing’s perfect. And it is scary.

Well, these are just suggestions.

I may binge watch Supernatural…remember Garth from season seven?

Happy Halloween!

*Miss Marple in Murder She Said (1961)

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October 29, 2015

Running [a few] red lights on Memory Lane*

by chuckofish

It almost being Halloween, I thought I’d share a picture of the costume that epitomized the zenith of our mother’s costume-making endeavors.

In 1956 she made a Donald Duck costume for our older brother without a pattern and without all the add-ons that are readily available today. I think she even made the hat/mask. She poured all of her not negligible creative powers and seamstress-y talent into it. It was not easy to do and she was very proud of it.

I hope our brother was proud to wear it. Does he look proud? Somehow I think he would have preferred to have been armed and dangerous and Davey Crockett.

I hope our mother received lots of high-fives. Doubtful. This was mid-century California after all where I’m sure those newfangled rayon-taffeta store-bought costumes were all the rage.

A few years later she made a pretty awesome black cat costume for my brother and a clown costume for me.

But after that, she was done (except for a witch costume which we used for-ever after.)

Well, Sic transit gloria mundi…

On another note–happy birthday and a toast to Dan Castellaneta, who has voiced the character of Homer Simpson on The Simpsons for 28 seasons. Zut alors. Or should I say: