Murder Mystery, Year Five: Little Italy, New York City, 2009

 This year, we were a dysfunctional, transplanted Italian family, living in 2009 New York City!

I was Mama Rosa, the matriarch of this wild crew. Matt was my Soccer Playing Son, who didn't want to take over the family business. Deb was my daughter who was a little spoiled and very wild. Scott was my husband's twin brother, who still lived in Italy. Jared was the French fiancé of Deb and estate manager of Scott. Jessica was the clairvoyant intertwined with our family. Julianna was the maid turned fiancé of Scott. Billy was the rather opinionated priest from the local church.

After following the weather since the 10-day forecast came out, I was so worried that my outdoor plans would be rained out, but once the rain passed in the morning, we had a beautiful, possibly too sunny afternoon for the party!!!

Our children ranks were greatly diminished this year, as none of the Eaton kids came, and only one each of the Stepp and Prichard kids!  Those that were in attendance had a good time though!

I found the camera that we would have really used back in 2009, and we passed it around during the evening.  We ended up with lots of fun, candid shots!

It was a pleasant evening, especially once the sun was hidden away!  

This year the murderer was: (highlight the text below to reveal the murder!)

*                                                                            Jared!*

I am always so thankful to our guests who play their roles so convincingly every year!  What a fun party!!

later days

You can read about previous murders here:

Year 4: Ancient Rome

Year 3: Hawaii

Year 2: France

Year 1: Mississippi Riverboat

And you can check out some of my pre-party projects here.

Murder Mystery Party, Year 3: Hawaii

For obvious reasons, we did not party in the summer of 2020, but thankfully did not have to skip our on our mystery party.  I had planned a 100 year house party, that would have taken the place of our mystery party anyhow.  So, really, this would have been year three even without corona!

The day before, Sarah helped me fill the swimming pools that my mom had collected earlier in the year with sand.  We used her truck to pick it up, and ended up with half of a cubic yard, which weighs over 1000lbs!

This year's murder happened on an estate in Hawaii.  Present at the party: an island chief of Polynesian descent (Jared, in a Maui costume!), a swimsuit model all the way from New York (Jessica), a local luau dancer (Me), an unlucky tourist (Billy), former surfer and coworker of the deceased (Matt) and millionaire's wife, possibly lover (Deb, who in reality was 8 months pregnant!), stumbling onto the scene of the crime was a golfer (Juliana.)

Emily wanted to make some fancy tags for all the guest cups, and Grace hand colored flowers to label all the plates.  It all came out so cute!  All of the pictures are courtesy of Deb's phone, since I hadn't had a chance to take pictures of anything!

Just the ladies in front of the tiki bar that Billy helped me build.  

During our warm spell in March or April? Emily came with me and we found a metal workbench, some boards for a bunk bed and a mirror on the side of the road.  Billy helped me put the stand and boards together, then we found a board in the shed to use as the roof.  The thatched top is actually cuttings from our ornamental grass in the front flowerbeds. It sat outside for months between making it and the party, but it looked so cute!

I painted the mirror with chalk paint, then used marker pens to make up the drink menu.  Grace and Juliet were asking me for the juices off of the menu for the entire week leading up to the party.

Grace and Emily were big helpers setting up the party, because poor Billy had a sleepless night and still had to go into work Friday morning.  So, he was trying to catch a nap before the party.  I was trying to put the finishing touches on the decor and finishes cooking the food, so it was a hectic afternoon.

The bone in pork loin (that I ended up at 3 different stores to track down) took so long to cook, but came out really really tasty!  We also had caramelized onions, pineapple & avocado salad, and bananas and berries in cream.  

Jessica and Deb took care of the kids food with pizza, pasta and so much fruit!!

The pig is kind of lost in the circle, so here it is before the party.  We had toyed with the idea of a real pig, but they only sell sucklings, and I didn't like that.  A search on the internet showed that I could also buy a dissectible pig, but same issue.  I found a life like looking magician's prop, but when I signed up for the site and went to ship it, it would have run over $30, just for a prop.  So, thrift shop for the win, sadly the only one they had was a tiny little Hamm, from Toy Story. lol 

He got to hang with us the entire time, since it was warm enough not to need the fire.

At one point, there was a cat that the kids found under our side deck, and thought that the correct course of action was to bring it inside the house.  Like I wouldn't notice when everyone is spending all evening in the girls room instead of on their computers? Or they all 'suddenly' want to sleep in the same room?  The cat was very sweet, but the kids would not leave it alone.  When our neighbors came home, they said that it was a stray, but that they were considering adopting it.  I was relieved to be rid of it, and it had only been a few hours!

It was a great time, our previous murderer was the prime suspect most of the evening.  But the cases against each suspect were fairly strong! 

It turns out that the murder was:

*Matt, as Bo-Jo*

which lead to a very entertaining conclusion for our evening. ; )  

I am so so thankful for this fun group of people, who show up in full costume and pour their energy into their characters! <3

Unsurprisingly, I'm already excited about next summer's murder!

later days

*the text here is white if you'd like to see who the guilty party turned out to be!

Our fun from last year can be found here.

The first year can be found here.

1st Week of July

120th Day of Quarantine

The expected high today was 80F.

We had a lovely lazy day.

Before lunch, Billy walked to Carl's to get the makings for chips and queso.

Grace made spaghetti and meatballs for lunch, with just a little help from me. = )

I made a little progress on the pile of masks.

Billy went to get Wendy's for a late dinner, but ended up taking my car since his car did not start. = (  Hopefully it's just a battery issue, but we won't find out until tomorrow.

We watched some Jim Gaffigan comedy and the first episode of Carnival Row.   I'm not that into it, but we might give it another chance, sometimes it takes a few episodes for things to get going.

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119th Day of Quarantine

The high today was a warm, rainy 79F.

We were up and at it early today, since we had quite a list of things to do!

For Art this week, the kids followed a tutorial to draw some funny monsters!  They each inserted their personalities into their products and I was so impressed!

Once morning activities were finished, Emily and I ran some 'consolation' packages by the Eaton's & Stepp's.

Jessica modelling some of the goodies! <3

Matt and Deb with their gear:

We then dashed home so that I could grab William and get to Hastings for an 11:50 covid test for him, in preparation for his surgery on Monday. 

There is not a good direct path, so we ended up zigzagging the backroads.  I had trouble twice, due to road names being the same.  In Vermontville, Main Street intersects with Main Street!  And in Hastings, two roads called State Rd. come in from the East.  We did make it on time, but just so.

We were there less than 5 minutes, and only that long because William fought me when it was time to take his sample.  (This was not the awful test with the swab in the throat, but an easier one that they just need to poke the swab in his nose.)

When we left, we decided to go to a few touristy spots on the trip home.  We saw a park called Fish Hatchery Park.   It was a very nice park, and there were tons of fish in the water!

I found 6 fish (or most of a fish) in this picture:

The playground was open, but there was a party going on in the pavilion, so we were trying to keep our distance from the other park goers.

We found a very cool tank in downtown Vermontville. William thought it was cool enough to get out and take another picture. = )

We stopped for gas in town, since we have such an early morning Monday.

Once we got home it was time to pick up and put things away.  Then check the mail, and get started on dinner, since we had a Zoom scheduled with the Stepps at 5!  It was nice to 'party' with them for a few minutes and catch up.

The weather today has been very rainy, so, had the party occurred as planned earlier this year, we would have all been in the carport with our swing music, root beer and liquorice.

For dinner we scarfed down Hamburger Helper (that Juliet requested.)

We finished off the day with some Kim Possible. = )

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118th Day of Quarantine

The high today was 93F.  We had some light rain blow in this afternoon dropping the temperature to not so warm by the time I took out the trash.

I spent some time today cleaning the mailbox and painting the flag back to a bright red.  It isn't perfect, but it does look better. = )

For dinner we had PF Chang's Honey Chicken and rice.  Everyone liked it.

I spent some time picking out fabric and cutting out masks to give away.  I think they will go up to the kids' (previous) school (assuming it opens.) If not, I'll find somewhere else to donate them.  I also made myself another mask using my bluebonnet fabric that I found buried deep in my fabric chest. = )

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117th Day of Quarantine

The high today was 90F.  We had some clouds roll in this afternoon, bringing rain (hopefully) and cooling things off. = (

Alice finally had her final appointment with her eye therapy doctor today.  Originally it was scheduled for April, and was bumped back today.  She exited the program with flying colors!  She will not have to do the exercises any longer.  And, as a bonus, the doctor did her yearly 'check up' so we won't need to make another eye appointment for her until next year!

After we left the doctor, we went up to Menard's to gather science supplies.  It feels good to have most of the list squared away at this point.  = )

For dinner we are having beans and hotdogs.

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116th Day of Quarantine

The high today was 94F!  We spent some time on the porch this afternoon enjoying the warm air and cool breeze.

For Alice's monster, she chose to draw the flag of Albania, inspired by one of the monsters in the book. = )

The washer repair man came today and fixed my washer (just as 5pm approached.)  It seems to be working perfectly.  Now, I just need to get caught up on my backlog of laundry!

A nurse called for William's pre-surgery chat.  She gave me bad news about his covid test.  We will have to go on Friday to a hospital almost an hour out for him to be tested.  = (  I'm not looking forward to this additional drive on top of his 7:15am ear tube procedure.  Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful for the early timeslot (since he will have to fast) but two drives just days apart for less than fun medical procedures is not really my favorite.

For dinner, I made grilled cheese served with a side of grapes.  It was simple, but everyone seemed to enjoy it. = )

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115th Day of Quarantine.  

Thought I'd take a moment to reiterate that it is currently voluntary.  We are not required to distance ourselves from society by any governing entity. I'm feeling lonely, and I know the kids are missing their friends, and Billy is missing the comradery of the office, but it is for the best.

It was bound to happen, and finally did.  Someone that I knew (in high school) is living through the corona virus.  He's posting updates each day, which might be helpful should the virus find it's way to us.  Michigan is fairly isolated from the raging cases in Texas and Florida, but as people travel, gather and party the situation can quickly change.  

The high today was a perfect summer temperature of 92F!  Billy worked out on the porch (but did commandeer the box fan from our room.)  We ran the air conditioner inside though.

Today was busy.  This morning I picked up groceries, got gas, went by the bank, dropped letters at the post office, took the medicine recycling box to FEDEX, and then dropped the mixed recycling at Sarah's.

When I came home, I decided to tackle the science list, and it is a doozy.  I have many of the items, but will need to claim a few from future recycling and make a trip to Menard's for the rest.

I've been feeling a bit introspective the last few weeks, as old memories crop up.  I recognized that one of the main influences in my skirt wearing was probably my 2nd/4th grade teacher (Mrs. Gerrick) who wore broomstick skirts much of each year.  Also, Mark Lester (of Oliver circa 1968) was the vision of how any of my boy children would be.  William does have some traits, though not the ones I would have predicted. = ) 

I also came to the conclusion today that very soon many people are going to switch to homeschooling, and it would be best if I finished purchasing the books for the later terms.  I realize this will mean that some of them will not be used (since I'm combining Forms I & II) but I don't want to not be able to get a book that we need, due to lack of supply.  So, finishing up book shopping has moved up on my todo list.

For dinner we had leftover steak & veggie PF Changs veggie egg rolls.  I though it was tasty, the kids thought I was trying to kill them.  ::eyeroll::  Billy was middle of the road, but didn't' complain.

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114th Day of Quarantine

The temperature today is expected to reach 90F.

I emptied the pool yesterday, cleaned it and started to refill it today.  Most of the kids spent their 'hour outside' in the filling pool.

The laundry is quickly piling up.  I'm ready for our repair guy to come Tuesday!

For dinner we had frozen dinners.

I'm trying my best to engross myself in another book, but am still feeling too emotionally involved in the cormoran strike series to fully engage in another series.

Our 'indoor' plants that I place outside for the nice temperatures were eaten and torn apart (probably by a chipmunk) so I moved them inside for safety.

later days

Murder Mystery, Year 2

This summer, we were able to once again find a night when all three of our families could take a break from a crazy summer schedule and go solve a mystery at Cheateu de Reims in 1937.  

From left to right: A Feisty German Business Woman, A Secretive Retired British Soldier, An Up and Coming Interior Designer, A Brilliant Eccentric Scientist, A Mourning Lady of the House, and the Promiscuous Estate Manager.

Preparation for the party actually started the night before.  I was delighted to have an opportunity to use the Demitasse cups gifted to us by my Grandma Sondra.

My Counter and Refrigerator were both full!

Billy helped me ready everything outside.  The kids table was covered by the canopy, but the lights & curtains in the tree took the longest to install.

It felt like it took forever, but the guests finally arrived, and the party began!  Jessica, Jared, Deb, and Matt brought sustenance for our 13 children!

We set up a game of croquette, but we didn't end up playing.  Our children had fun hitting the mallets on things though. ; )

Once they were fed, the tall ones took some pictures for us. = )

It was finally time to start our game.  Reading is a big part of this game.

And so much laughter.

The game took a while, with several interruptions, so we ended the game reading by candlelight.

Just before the solution came to light the batteries in the tape player started to fail, making the narrators voice sound slow, comical and distorted.

Once we made our accusations, it was revealed that    *      Billy        *   did it.  Again. 

This is another annual event that I thoroughly love.  I feel so fortunate to have found a group of people who are willing to take the time dress up, and play along!  Can't wait for our next one.

later days

*The text here is white, if you want to see who is responsible!

Click here to see last year's fun.