Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 1:30 a.m. in "The City."

Good news ladies and gentlemen and all the ships at sea, we were able to get to the annual tour of the Hackley and Hume homes in Muskegon. We tried to make it last year, but the time got away from us. We resolved to make it this year at the earliest possible date, yesterday, and so we did.

I took numerous pictures, but like most things, you had to be there. Still, I'll include some of the pictures just to give you a flavor of what we had the pleasure of seeing. The houses are staffed by volunteer tour guides or docents who know the history of the homes and of the Hackley and Hume families who lived there. Mr. Hackley and Mr. Hume were partners in the lumber business that thrived in West Michigan @ the end of the 19th and into the early 20th centuries as demand for the white pine trees native to the area increased as the country itself expanded.

Today, there are streets named for both the Hackley & Hume families in Muskegon. However, The Hackley family seems to have been more prosperous, judging by the legacy of their largesse to the greater Muskegon and West Michigan areas. Parks, hospitals, and other evidence abound there. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that the Hackley family had only two adopted children, only one of whom lived in the house when it was completed, while the Hume family had seven children living in their home. Here are some of those aforementioned pictures.

The homes are situated on Clay St. in Muskegon, which is filled with many historical homes

Fireplaces were in every room due to the lack of central heating when the homes were built

Stained glass windows are featured in each home

It took slightly over two years to complete the Hackley home. 13 woodcarvers worked for two years to complete the ornate carvings throughout the house. This carving of a lion's head is at the top of the stairs.

While the railing is carved to show his tail downstairs. 

There is photographic evidence of the bent branch at the top of the tree that holds the ornament you see. This recreation included that feature to stay true to the original, but no one seemed to know what the significance was. 

The stove in the Hackley's kitchen. Like the one in the Hume home, it was fueled by coal.

Stained glass windows are everywhere.

This window is over the entry door.

The living room in the Hackley home with the stained glass windows in the background

In addition, there are numerous carvings of Greenmen throughout the Hackley home. One of the docents said that she enjoys discovering new ones every time she is in the home. She is not sure that she has found them all. Mary is fascinated by the Green Men and we have two in and on the PE. In addition, the carvers carved other figures from mythology such as this one of the mythological god Pan holding up a coat tree.

As I noted before, every carving in the Hackley home was done by the carvers when the house was built. There are no machine carvings. The carvings in the dining room are of various foods and animals that were part of the family's meals

As you can imagine, we didn't get too much accomplished yesterday, Mary was productive in the kitchen and made a tasty lunch of fried rice that used cauliflower instead of rice and which also used the last of our scallions from the planters on the deck. I was supposed to get the Christmas tree set up yesterday, but we chose to go to see the homes I highlighted above. I believe that it was time well spent. On the way home, we stopped and picked up some garland that will adorn our front porch when I get it installed later today either before or after setting up our tree.

Today, Mary has to get back to work after the morning safari. Since she was busy in the kitchen yesterday, I took the fur-children on individual safaris. The air was crisp and the walks invigorating. I think I got the better end of the bargain, as it was hot and humid in the kitchen.

The current temperature is 35 or 37 degrees depending on the source consulted. The NWS is forecasting a 90% chance for snow later today with a high temperature of 37°. In lieu of seeing the Jingle Bell Parade, we opted to go to JWs for dinner. The place was mostly empty when we arrived, but as the six o'clock hour approached, the people were filling all of the seats.

I mentioned my activities with the remnants of the washboard in the mudroom. It is now a blackboard.

Just a reminder to take the car keys

The sun will rise @ 8:00 a.m. and set @ 5:10 p.m. Ciao.