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Post by 3piggles on Oct 5, 2019 13:42:55 GMT
Sad when your posse loses their sense of fun. Kind of sucks the fun out of everything 😢 We are appreciative audience, so feel free to post your pics 🤗
Temp is up to 54F in the house. Temps fell into the low 20s last night, and the heat didn't come on, because a fuse was blown. I had my windows open a couple of inches, which didn't help. Hubby is out trying to find a replacement fuse. No luck so far. At least I got some breakfast in him, so he's not running on empty.
Autumn has definitely arrived, as we've now had a killing frost in much of southern New England. Killington ski resort in Vermont is making snow, and should be open for the season soon. The US Women's Ski Team practices there in the winter.
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Post by 3piggles on Oct 5, 2019 19:43:09 GMT
So far, the bugs haven't been bad, so hopefully the spray hubby used on the plants will keep the bugs away I love plants, and just can't let them die in the cold, so in the come
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Post by bazookagoof on Oct 7, 2019 23:19:34 GMT
Sad when your posse loses their sense of fun. Kind of sucks the fun out of everything 😢 We are appreciative audience, so feel free to post your pics 🤗 I keep asking my daughter what her plans are for Halloween, and she still hasn't made any decision. Seems she's depending on her friends to make some sort of group costume. (Last year a whole bunch of them went as The Incredibles, and it was a success.)
If I had my choice, I'd like her to go as Rey, the new heroine of the Star Wars movies. But I let her do whatever she wants when it comes to creativity.
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Post by Bean on Oct 8, 2019 7:11:51 GMT
I like the fact the Halloween parties are such a social thing there, with people dressing up together. That's more the exception than the rule over here, aside from for little kids.
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Post by 3piggles on Oct 8, 2019 16:19:02 GMT
It's my understanding, correct me if I'm wrong, that fancy dress balls used to be all the rage in Europe and the UK. A Halloween party is basically the same thing, even to some people wearing masks as part of their costumes. I also believe fancy dress balls are still the rage in New Orleans, during Mardi Gras, often with masks. Sometimes whole areas of the city turn into a huge fancy dress ball. It's a great chance to party, wear costumes, and for some people just step a bit out of character Some people just have Halloween parties without costume, and decorate with Halloween decorations, serve Halloween themed foods and drinks, etc. It is fun at what can be a somewhat bleak time of the year. All the leaves of off the trees by then, so the skeletal trees add to the spooky effect of the season. Originally, it was all ghosts, goblins, ghouls, witches, etc., but I guess that got old for the costume makers, so it's become pretty much anything goes for a costume. I also think candy makers have put their spin on Halloween, just to earn big money. Why not? Sun is out, and blue skies, at least for now. We're getting our last good lawn watering before everything dies off for the winter, which means rain or a chance of rain pretty much every day. It will be interesting to see what Vicki and her friends do for costumes. It's actually nice that they do something together. Greater versatility in costume choices.
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Post by amber89 on Oct 8, 2019 19:14:12 GMT
I am not sure what you mean with "fancy ball dresses". Vienna (and Austria in general) still have balls, with strict dress codes (women long dresses, men at least a black suit with bow tie) and those are not masked. The masked balls are something different and there is only one in Vienna. Ball season is to start in about a month here (11th of November at 11:11 AM) and is to last until the Easter fasting starts. The period is called "Fasching". Only at the end of this period is a masked parade.
I think that all cultures have some sort of masks, which are meant to scare and keep away evil spirits. Romania also has it, just that we have a different style and we have a different date for using the masks.
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Post by bazookagoof on Oct 8, 2019 22:17:30 GMT
I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but whenever I do Halloween I never wear masks or do any facial makeup. I tend to stay in costume the whole night, so that requires something comfortable to wear for hours on end.
I attend many parties where people make grand entrances in some elaborate getup, and then 30 minutes later they've doffed most of their outfit, especially if they're wearing masks. I dislike this practice personally, although I understand why they do it. For me, you're gonna see my costume the entire night. (I suppose, given the money I shell out for these things, I want to get the most out of them anyway.)
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Post by 3piggles on Oct 9, 2019 0:13:03 GMT
Amber, I may mean masked balls. We don't have them around here, except at Halloween. The balls in New Orleans can be long gowns and tuxedos, but don't have to be, just masks and sometimes costumes. We did it as kids, at school and other places where parties were held so we could dress up in our costumes. Costumes are expensive, so parents like to get their money's worth out of it. I'm not one for masks, either. I think you do a great job without a mask. We took the long way to the apple orchard and did a bit of leaf peeping (Amber, that means driving around looking at the leaves changing colors). Fun trip. I got this picture of a quintessential old New England house.
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Post by Bean on Oct 9, 2019 8:56:52 GMT
Nice picture, I must make sure I visit a park or two while the leaves are turning.
Masquerade balls were, and still are, really just for the upper classes here - it's not something I've ever seen going on outside those circles (and when I say seen, I mean from the outside of course haha!).
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Post by 3piggles on Oct 9, 2019 16:04:07 GMT
New Orleans seems to have Mardi Gras balls for every group imaginable, so they're not just for the upper class, but the upper class obviously does much more lavish balls than everyone else. Sometimes the balls are held in pubs, and are really just costume parties. Those used to happen around here, but with all the violence, I've noticed a lot more announcements that no masks or masking make up of any kind will be allowed. Sad, but that's what the US is coming to under the Trumphole
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Post by amber89 on Oct 9, 2019 19:50:42 GMT
As a child I had at school the "Fasching" dress-up...it's just like Halloween, but in spring. I went to a German school, so we had the German celebrations. I know that mom spent days back then to improvise and sew together my costumes. They were very low-budget.
Vienna has balls for everything, from firemen, to doctors, bakers, florists and so on. In addition, every university has it's own ball. In total there are over 300 balls in Vienna alone. Since the balls are part of Austrian culture, they are generally affordable even for middle class people. The super-expensive balls, for the rich and famous are very few (the Life Ball and the Opera Ball). Each ball is a bit different (some are with fancy long dresses, some accept knee-length cocktail dresses, some are in the traditional austrian clothing), but all of them have an opening committee and a midnight quadrille.
And the extreme-right also has their own ball. It is always surrounded by protests and in order to keep people under control, there are road blocks and so on...
The masquerade is still on my list to do. I insist to also have that experience. For now the price is over our budget, but once we are working both of us full-time it shouldn't be a problem anymore. Even if we will move away from Austria, i have told my husband that i want to return every year for a few balls.
Just so that you get an idea about how the balls are. The first video is from the University of Life Sciences, the second one is the Science Ball.
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Post by amber89 on Oct 9, 2019 20:01:05 GMT
Indeed, very nice picture.
I like the house, that deep red and the yellow-reddish tree next to it. It's really a very autumn-like picture
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Post by Bean on Oct 10, 2019 7:16:50 GMT
The music looks great and the dancing looks like fun! I'm not really one for dressing up or formal occasions with random rules though. I'd be happier at the pub! It's interesting everyone seems to get divided up into similar groups for them.
There were annual balls at my university, usually at beautiful places like the botanical gardens, but I always passed on attending! They always seemed to book some random (and usually tacky) celebrity from yesteryear to provide some entertainment later in the night - it was an odd mix of styles! My friends who went enjoyed them anyway.
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Post by 3piggles on Oct 10, 2019 19:10:10 GMT
Most of the US is not particularly European, but New Orleans is. I wonder if that's why they have balls, and the rest of us don't? I like the idea of a reason to dress up. There seem to be so few of them, now. Most events like those are based on donations, such as Friends of the Theater, or Friends of the Museum. My sister is a Friend of the Symphony, meaning she donates enough money to be a major sponsor, so she attends those events. I don't know if her husband does, or not. My mother used to love attending with my sister. Made her feel important being with all those wealthy people.
New Orleans seems to be about the only place that has balls of any kind, for every level and group of society. They also have a military base there, and the military seems to do more balls than the rest of US society does. Again, it's a chance for people to show off all their medals, and make sure everyone knows their status.
Thanks about the picture. That type of house is pretty much quintessential New England. I've always loved the old houses, though I'd no longer want to have to maintain one!
We put the orange light bulb in our front yard light, so that goes with the whole Halloween theme. We'll take it out once Halloween passes.
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Post by Bean on Oct 11, 2019 18:50:26 GMT
Sometimes, I have an initial skim read of a post before reading it properly. So when I registered this bit first, I did think 'Crikey, didn't 3piggles do biology at school?!' for a second! I wonder if that's why they have balls, and the rest of us don't? I picked up a bargain on a couple of strings of solar powered LED fairy lights last year, but haven't put them out yet. I need to find them a home in the shrubbery - maybe one in the front for the neighbours, and one out back for us!
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Post by 3piggles on Oct 12, 2019 0:36:44 GMT
Ooh, are you having a bit of spirit for that holiday we shall not mention until December Hubby will get our lights out before it snows, but not until after Halloween and probably Thanksgiving (3rd Thursday in November). Then we have until New Year's day for the fairy lights, before we take them down, put away the tree, etc. We use those wool balls in the dryer in place of fabric softener, and have had some great conversations about hubby losing them when they come out in the clothes, lol
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Post by Bean on Oct 12, 2019 7:00:26 GMT
Tut tut, I was thinking of putting them out now, just as a general light feature, not waiting for 2 months to put them up for Christmas!
When people talk about putting their fat balls out for the birds, it gets me every time!
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Post by 3piggles on Oct 12, 2019 13:09:59 GMT
We have solar powered fairy lights on a tree in the back yard, year round. It's just something nice to look at in the dark. We also have them on the stays for the awning over the gas grill, and again, it's ambience, not holiday.
We have some special decorations for different holidays. Garlands of fake leaves or holly that go around the front door, things like that. Hubby has talked about putting up lights on the gutters, so they do the outline of the house. I'm not sure he really wants to do all that, but if he does, he needs to get to it sooner than later.
We're having a Nor'easter, but it's pretty much missing us. We've just gotten overcast skies. Today looks very rainy, but it's not raining. It's been pelting Cape Cod, Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, all the small islands, and the coastal areas. Luckily, no astronomical high tide to make it even worse, but it's a reminder that these storms don't stop just because we're past hurricane season.
A Nor'easter is called that because the winds blow from the northeast, but it's essentially a cold-driven hurricane instead of a warmth-driven one. The famous Blizzard of 1978 was probably our most damaging Nor'easter. Still not as bad as the Hurricane of 1938. Our two most destructive storms.
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Post by Bean on Oct 14, 2019 8:17:39 GMT
I manage to stick up a few banners and balloons for birthdays, and have lots of decorations for Christmas, but other than that I don't really manage anything else decorative. I can imagine it's nice to look at if you are organised enough though!
With help from my daughter, we started sorting the kitchen cupboards. A good start, but there's still loads to do. I have a big bag for the charity shop (mainly stuff other people have bought us to be honest, I've always kept it out of guilt but am over it now and want the space back!) and another pile which I'm going to store in a plastic box in the shed - it's stuff we very rarely use so it doesn't need to be at my fingertips all year round. As long as I remember exactly where those boxes are, all should be well! The ones we've done are so much easier to access stuff in anyway, so that should egg me onto finish!
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Post by 3piggles on Oct 14, 2019 20:49:16 GMT
I have a big Amazon box to use to clean out the cleaning stuff in the cupboards under the two sinks. I really need to get that done, as I know there's stuff in there I haven't ever used, or haven't used in years, and it's time to get rid of it.
We, also, got a lot of things from other people, like my mother. I felt a need to hold onto it, but no longer do. Other than not wanting to rush out and buy new furniture, I'd like a dining room table I really want, and side tables in the living room that actually match my lifestyle(lower than the ones we have). There's a pretty good consignment store not far from us, and perhaps they'll take the items I want to replace.
Americans are big on holiday and seasonal decorations. Maybe we need a lot of uplifting in our lives, or something. No idea. I Just like having the decorations up, and seeing what others have put up, when we're driving by.
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