ends and odds

I wonder how people create things

     Years ago Jackie and I tried freezing corn.  Getting it off the cob was a pain in the butt.  So we stopped freezing corn and bought it.
     We like Rainwater's super sweet corn.
     So, when I saw this item on Facebook one night, I thought why not?
     Here it is:

    It's yellow ring is plastic.  The jagged edges jam into the cob, then you twist it back and forth.  It works like a charm!
    The two little wings are blades that scrape/cut the kernels off the cob.
     It is pure genius.
     I wonder what the inspiration was for this.
     By the way, I bought mine at Bed, Bath and Beyond in Sycamore.  It was $7.49, if I remember correctly.  I plan to buy a second.
     I was that impressed.
     Now, for some pictures.

Over DeKalb....not sure if this is a sun dog or something else

This guy was resting on the mulch in my yard.  Not sure what kind...polyphemous does not fit

holy cow

I have passed the 86,000 mark

     Yowzer!!  86,069 visits to my blog!
     I am always amazed that people read it.
     I know there are some who read it everyday, and some once in a while.  But 86,000 visits?  Wow, I am very humbled.
     I still have some from Russia and I think it is because tdinteh is a Russian site.  I have not gone to it, but maybe I should.  With my luck, it's a site to match up lonely Russian women with lonely Russian men.  Or it could be a site dissing Putin, but I doubt that would last long.
     It would be funny if there was some guy in Russia wondering why Americans are visiting his site, which is a blog some guy started doing as a way to accomplish something.  Maybe he sits around drinking vodka and complaining about people who dump trash on the road or don't use their turn signals.
     My mirror image, only with a thick accent and a limp.
     But I digress.
     Anyway, if I could give 86,089 thanks, I would.
     Everyone will have to settle for one big one.

Thank you!!

covfeek .

I sometimes even embarrass myself

     Had a great time at the market by Cypress House today.  Of course, I only bought food.
     And then I didn't buy food.
     Here's how the conversation went.
     "I really like your breads.  My daughter likes your breads."
     She said, "Thank you."
     "I really like the sourdough, but you don't have any left.  I guess I won't buy any."
     She said, "The sourdough sold out fast today."
     "I should get some bread for my daughter, she likes your breads.  But I don't know what flavor she likes."
     Yes, I used flavor.  I looked at the two types of breads left.  At that point I should have just shut up and moved on.
     "I don't think she likes these.  So I won't buy any bread."
     She said, "We are here every Saturday, maybe next week."
    "Sorry, but I won't buy any bread today.  Sorry, but I am not buying bread."
     At this point she understood that I was not buying any bread today.
    "So thank you, but I am not buying any bread."
     She started hiding behind her chair.  I must have sounded a little demented.
     Ran into a a friend and one of her daughters.  Promptly asked where her other daughter was, but I used the name of her niece.  She was confused about why I was asking about her niece, who is in high school.
     So now I am demented and a little pervy.
     I walked past two vendors with tomatoes, and tomatoes were on my list of things to buy.  But I did not buy tomatoes.  I bought a coffee cake and some cupcakes.  But not tomatoes.
     Later on I made a second trip into town with the idea of getting tomatoes and plastic tubing.
     But I went two other places and forgot about the tubing and the tomatoes.
     But we did get super sweet corn, which was great with the burgers on the grill.
    Fresh tomato would have been a nice touch.
    Maybe next week.

I don't get it

I get sorely confused some days

     Example:  My cruise is set.  I am going a steady speed.  A car passes me, moves in front of me, then slows down.  There are no other cars ahead of him.  I tap the brakes, then move over to the left and pass him.  Why pass someone and then slow down?
     Example:  I have no other cars behind me.  A car passes me on the left, then turns right.  Why not just go behind me and turn?
     Example:  My favorite summer beverage is no longer available.  Really?? It's not even August!
     Example:  Why when I am typing and I accidentally hit the wrong key does typing disappear?  I don't know if I am hitting the up arrow, the shift, or the return because I do type fast.  For a guy.  Not accurate, but fast.
     Example:  I set the alarm for 7.  I wake up at 6:30.  I set the alarm for 8.  I wake up at 7:30.  Why do I always wake up before the damn alarm?  The alarm is supposed to awaken me, not the anticipation!
     Example:  I show up and someone asks me, "Are you here today?"  And I think, I am standing here, what the hell do you think?
     Example:  Why do I have trouble spelling certain words ALL THE TIME!  Accidentally, calendar, and ubiquitous always come out wrong.   And why does learned always get identified as a misspelling on this blog?  Option is learn ed.  Makes no sense.
     Example:  How the hell did we elect that clown?  Enough said.  Apply it to as many people as you want, but it is aimed at the chief clown.  Or clown chief.
     Example:  Why do the Cubs suddenly seem not able to hit?  Last couple of games have made me wonder about hitting with runners in scoring position.  When will the kids stop trying to kill the ball and just make contact?
     Example:  Why do parents give kids names no one can spell?  Just sayin'.
     Example:  It is 11:55.  Parents, do you know where your children are at?  I don't think mine ever did.
     Thanks for letting me vent.
     Good night.

ahhh... the old days

I am thinking of the end of summer today

     I know, it is only July 27.  We have not even hit August yet, traditionally the dog days.
     It seems in my memory August was always Dewey Lake time in my family.   My aunt and uncle had a couple of cottages on the lake, which is near Dowagiac,  Michigan.
     We would usually go up and spend a couple of weeks, with my mom and the kids staying while my dad would go back to Chicago and work, coming up on weekends.
     Sleeping out on the porch, listening to the raccoons under the cottage, taking a bath in the lake with Ivory soap (because it floats) and reading comic books.   Sometimes a cousin would join us, sometimes a friend.  It seemed there was always family around.
     Just three cottages away was an Irish family from the south side of Chicago.   They had seven or eight girls and one boy.  Of course, three of the girls were around my age and the boy was barely one.
     Long games of Monopoly, afternoons playing in the water, sometimes a fire on the beach at night, and going fishing....although I don't think I ever caught a fish.  And I don't think we ever knocked....they would just come in our cottage, I would just go in theirs.  In a way, we too were family.
     We kids would walk down to the corner store, which was maybe a mile away.       We could play some pinball, buy candy bars, get a soda, which our parents never had in the house.
     A milkman named Stubby would stop in the morning.  If I was lucky, my mom would get an orange drink that was so amazing on a hot day....I don't think I have ever tasted anything like it since.
     My memory has us spending most of August there, but it could have been less.
     As the end approached, all of us knew that Chicago kids would be going to school the Wednesday after Labor Day, which was too fast approaching.
     To be honest, I miss those days.  If I could go back to one particular time in life, I would pick one of those halcyon stays at Dewey Lake.

strange thoughts

We have had a lot of rain lately

     So I was a little surprised to see a corn field being irrigated Tuesday.  I guess 4 inches of rain doesn't go very far these days.
     I was coming back from DeKalb Sunday, doing a little above the speed limit, when some guy came up and sat on my tail.  In Malta, with me doing 40, he passed.  I kept hoping the local Mountie was out, but no.  Karma did not strike that day.
     Picked up the Tuesday paper and wondered why my column was not in it....then realized my column runs on Sunday.
     Should have asked John and Emily how Jackie can turn off the weather warnings on her watch.  Several times, in the middle of the night, a nice, soothing voice has told me there is lightening a mile a way, or rain, or whatever.    What I would like is sleep.
     And at my age, sleep is not guaranteed.  Lots of things keep me awake at night, worries I should not have.
     Luckily I can self medicate with rosé or Rum chata.
     It's hell to drink alone.

Aug. 1, Aug. 1, Aug. 1

I changed the batteries in our smoke detectors today

     Now all I have to do is remember Aug. 1 next year so I can change them again.
     Yes, I am aware it is not Aug. 1 yet.
     But we have been in the house almost 5 years and I have never changed the batteries!  Never!!
     I was reminded of that during the Cub game today when an alarm suddenly went off and stopped.  Figured it was telling me, "Help, my battery is dead and I can't sound off."
     And yes, I could have picked a more memorable date.  Emily's birthday, man landing on the moon, Fourth of July.  But I changed them today, July 25.  Nothing memorable about that, so we are claiming Aug. 1 as the date to change them in the future.
     It was difficult getting it down from the ceiling.   After carefully working it loose, I discovered there is a little tray that slides out and holds the battery.  No need to remove it from the base or the ceiling, just open the tray, take out the old battery, put in the new.  So, the first one was difficult, the others were as easy as pie.
     Corki hated it.  Whenever I put a new battery in, I tested it.  Whenever one goes off upstairs, the one in the basement sounds too.  Weird.   We have 7 smoke detectors.  After the third one she just stood at the door to go out.
     None in the garage though.  To me that is the most logical place to put a smoke and carbon monoxide detector.  So either the electrician goofed or there is no requirement to place one in the garage, where gasoline, paint, unexploded fireworks, still hot barbecue grills and all sorts of dangers lurk.  I'm ok with that, I guess.
     And when I went into town this morning, I planned to stop to get gas for the lawn mower.  Got there are realized I did not bring the cans.
     By the way, who ever invented these new gas cans should be drawn and quartered.  It's hard to open them, pour them, handle them.  I hate them.
     I long for the good old days sometimes.
     And I long for the day they invent a battery powered riding lawn mower...that will cut down on a lot of pollution.
     And lessen the risk of  fire in my garage.

eh gads, enough!

This has been a tough day, food wise

     I am eating anything I can get my hands on!  I can't stop!  Tried tea, water, alcohol....nothing is quenching this hunger.
     I have finished off my Michigan cherries, most of my peaches, a few ginger snap cookies, some peanuts, trail mix, supper, potato chips, a piece of candy....and I am starving.
     Supper was a burger on the grill, and it was one of the better tasting ones I have cooked.  Not hockey puck texture, like my dad liked, and not raw.  A couple of slices of Swiss cheese, some Mighty Vine tomato, lettuce and a King Hawaiian bun....it was great.  But there was not enough!
     Notice, not much of that is actually healthy stuff.  I might have to try a couple of carrots.
     I don't get it.....why am I so hungry?
     I know I need to lose weight, but here I am stuffing myself like a Thanksgiving turkey.
     Self control.  Self control.  Self control.
     I think I smell some ice cream in the freezer......

   

getting itchy

I need to hit the road

     Dan brought a friend over yesterday.  She is from New York City and along with her boy friend, were visiting over the weekend.  I have met her before and really enjoy talking with her.  Her boyfriend seems like a real nice guy.  As Harry Carey would say, "He's a good looking young man."  That always caused me to ponder Harry a little more than I should.
     Anyway, I digress.
     They are New Yorkers, and I am fascinated by that.  I think New York City would be an amazing place to visit.  I have always wanted to go to Macy's Thanksgiving parade, take a carriage ride around Central Park, visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, ride the subway, eat gooey New York pizza, walk the boroughs......and see a play or two.  I could even reconnect with my second cousin Jimmy and his wife, who regretfully I have never met.
     That's more than a weekend.
     I keep thinking someday....but then realize my somedays are getting fewer and  fewer.
     At least I can talk to people from there and live vicariously through them and Facebook pages.
     I keep remembering that Dilbert quote:  If you are always want more, you can  never be happy with what you have.
    That is me...to a t.  And folks, sometimes it hurts to be that way.

an amazing show

We saw "Hamilton" last night

     This is the show that has been getting all the buzz and talk for the past couple of years.
     It opened in Chicago months ago and tickets are as hard to buy as finding hair on the back of a hog.
     So although our tickets were bought in December, they were for July.   You have to plan in advance and be prepared to wait.
     It was worth the wait.
     The music is amazing...even for a guy my age who isn't into rap....   But the performers just blew me away.  The main characters, of course, always get the attention.  But I like to focus on the dancers, the back up singers, the background people...and they were always in character and in sync.
     I have been in plays and lines are always an issue with me.  But watching these performers rap a play and not miss a word or a beat or hesitate or stumble; that was pretty impressive.
     I realize I have used amazing several times, but honestly, that is how I felt.
    The stage has a rotating circle which is used for characters walking and for changing scenes and changing focus.  It worked well.
     I would like to see it again and found I way I maybe can for a little less money.
     Every day they have a digital lottery for 44 tickets at ..... $10 each!  Now tickets for this show can run up to several hundred buckaroos,  depending on where you sit.  So scoring a couple of $10 seats would indeed be awesome.
     Who knows?  Some morning I might wake up, enter the day's drawing, and tell Jackie that I had a date with a guy named Hamilton.
     Stranger things have happened.

look around

Take a guess where we went tonight

And it was pretty darn awesome!!

desk cleanliness

The desk is clean for the first time in months

     I started yesterday and lost interest, so Jackie finished.
    There is now a surface to write, a place to stack paper, a place for bills.   It looks clean.
     A lot of paper disappeared.  It may have been recycled, or it may have been tossed.  I am not sure.
     I am concerned about the environment.  I try to reduce, reuse, and recycle.
     Paper is a problem.
     When we have a program or handout at Rotary and nobody takes the left overs, I take them home.  I then cut them in half and put a big clip on it and use it for notes at the computer.  Run extras on the printer?  Cut them in half.
     I do that with all paper.
     I have a 3 inch stack of notepaper , 8 inch by 5 1/2, of various colors.  I don't think I will use that much in a lifetime, especially now that I am 133.
     But I won't toss it.
     I got a card from a fellow student that was originally mailed in 1984.  Shades of George Orwell!   I just got it a few weeks ago.
     It was mailed to our old house on Mill Pond, but wasn't forwarded to our new house.  It was returned to the sender, forgotten, found, sent to his mother who filed it away and remembered to give it to me one day.
     And yes, Mike....What a long strange trip it has been.  I love the card!  That won't be tossed.  At least not for a while.
     What I don't love is stepping on something in my bare feet in the middle of the night and hurting the sole of my foot.
     OK, I was in my boxers on the porch at about 2 a.m. taking the hanging plants down.  I stepped on a sharp stone, and it really hurt.
     I bent down to pick it up and ...... it was a cherry pit!
     Hoisted on my own petard!!  Curses!!
     At least it wasn't a peach pit...there are some blessings.
     I guess I  better watch where I spit those pits!

that was fun

I tend to over react during storms

     The weather radio toned and I heard tornado warning for eastern Ogle County.
     So I tried to get Jackie down into the basement.  We reached the landing and she stopped there.  The bad part was after the storm passed, John and Camryn had to come over to help her up the stairs.
     I guess a stair lift is our next project.
     John and Camryn came over earlier, about the eighth inning.  Jackie and I were just settling in to each a late lunch.
     I had three slices of Genoa salami, cheese, crackers, carrots, and some chips.....the c lunch, I guess.
     Corki was sitting next to me on the couch.  I got up to get something out of the kitchen, put my plate on the coffee table, and left.   Everyone yelled, "Corki!"
     I came back to see the mutt with a mouth full of salami!  My lunch.  She didn't even get off the couch, just stretched across to the table.  Damn dog.
     I found a quote from Dilbert that seems to resonate with me:  "If you always want more, you can never  be happy with what you have."
     Maybe that's my problem.
     Or at least one of them.

mad as hell

I normally am not violent, but tonight?

    We need to track down some individuals and punish them severely.
    Pour honey over them and bury them near fire ant hills.
    Bury them neck deep in the ground and them put well ventilated fire hydrants over their heads so every dog in the world can lift their legs on them.
    Force them to fly economy and then have the people in front of them tilt their seats back for a 12 hour flight.
    Have them read all of some one's tweets, not mentioning any names.
    Who are the people I want punished?
     Those responsible for bringing in those damn little "picnic" bugs and the ever hungry Japanese beetles.
     The picnic bugs are indestructible.  You can't kill them fast enough.  I was sitting on the deck and they were in my hair!!  Deep in my hair!!  And on my face.  And worst of all, NEAR MY WINE!
     Don't get me started on the Japanese beetles.  They are devouring my garden.  I want to stay organic, but I can't squash them fast enough, or squash enough of them.  They are eating my oak tree, which they are not supposed to like, and when I mow they fly into my face.  They do bite.  Seriously!
     I am willing to put a $10 reward out for anyone who can give me the names of the people responsible.
     I have a jar of honey I would like to give them.

half my wish

I found Illinois peaches!

     I stopped at a grocery tore in DeKalb Sunday and they had Illinois peaches!  They are so juicy and so delicious.  I love when the juice drips down my chin and my hands get all sticky.  I ate two in a matter of minutes.
    Unfortunately I was supposed to buy them first.
    The ones I bought were just as good as I imagined them to be.
    I know it's a short season, but the Illinois peaches are the  best, followed by Michigan and Missouri.
    Now I need an excuse to drive back to DeKalb.
    Wisconsin and Michigan cherries will be the next crop I look forward to with mouthwatering anticipation.  I heard July 23 for cherries.  At least a store I called in Monroe said that is when they expect cherries.
     Figured we could make a day out of going to Monroe and buying cherries, eating lunch, relaxing, taking a roll around the square.
     And in the  fresh food line....Rainwater's super sweet corn in about two weeks....just down the road from the old place.
     I can't wait.

what a night

It was hard to sleep last night

     I tried to look for Northern Lights, but there were too many clouds.  And lightening.
     About 1:30  a.m it was almost a constant, pulsating bright light...but I did not hear much thunder.
     We have a weather radio that has a pretty loud warning tone.  I can hear it throughout the house.
     So when it went off at 1:30, it scared the heck out of us.
     There was a severe thunderstorm north of us, but Rochelle was not in it's path.      So I went back to bed.
     The alarm went off again about 30 minutes later.
     I went to look outside and still saw a lot of lightening to the north and lots of dark clouds but no aurora borealis.
     So I went back to bed.
By now Corki had climbed up into bed with us....I guess her feelings about storms are much like mine.
     Jackie has a watch that gives her weather alerts.
     At some point, one side of the room lit up and I heard the words, "Lightening has been detected in your area."
     No shit....I did not need a weather alert to tell me that.  All I had to do was open my eyes, something which Jackie did not do because the watch alert did not even wake her up.
     I had almost drifted off to sleep when her watch went off again, telling us "Rain has been detected in your area."  Well, telling me actually because she slept through that one also.
     I finally got to sleep and woke up at 9:45.....problem was, I was serving at the 10:30 service in DeKalb.
    "You'll never make it," the doubting sleepy head said.
     But I showered, shaved and hit the road, arriving at church at 10:26.  And I did not speed, because the car ahead of me was going 57 the entire way and every time I had a passing zone, there was traffic.
     I am hoping for a quieter night tonight.  Or at least one that is not as bright as last night.

wasted away in Margaritaville

I am missing Margaritaville tonight

     A bunch of us have been going to Buffett concerts for a couple of years.  They are a younger crowd, but keeping asking the old guy to go along.
     We have gone to Joliet, Northerly Island, and Alpine Valley.  By far, Alpine Valley was the most fun.  Last year we rented a pontoon boat on Lake Geneva and cruised around the lake.
     Then we went to Alpine Valley, cooked out, sat around and talked and watched the whole Buffett parking lot tailgating show.  It's amazing.
     But Alpine Valley closed for this summer.  And Jimmy is playing Wrigley Field tonight.
     I know it would be a good show, but there would not be tailgating, cigar smoking, gawking at the topless girls, or all the other fun stuff going on.  I wonder if they allowed beach balls in the audience.
     Anyway, the concert was live on Sirius XM, but I did not want to sit in the car for a couple of hours.  Besides, it just wouldn't be the same.
     I miss the group I went with.  They are a lot of fun and more my family than my friends.  Topping it off, I missed the party a couple of weeks ago because I was sick.  Double whammy.
     But Jimmy does play one more show I would love to go see.  It's the last show of the year.  Late September.  In Paris.  That would be a blast.
     Problem is...tickets start at about $250 each.  That's a lot of moolah!
     But it would be a great show.  Sigh........

walk 3 in the books

I was a little worried about tonight's history walk

     I did not put it in the newspaper under the community calendar or as a news article.
     So I was expecting a low turnout.
     Lo and behold, 18 people came!
    Most of them saw it on Facebook.  (Thanks to everyone who shared that yesterday...I do appreciate it.)  Some people saw it in InVironments (thanks, Renee) and a couple remembered it was the second Friday.  Two people saw it in the paper, but I did not send a notice about the walk in this week's paper.  That is the second oops this week.  (Yes, I sent a news release out to 7 papers with the wrong dates for "Bleacher Bums.")
     The walk covers about a mile and crosses one set of railroad tracks.  And we come back across the tracks.  Sidewalks are a little uneven in places and the walk is not super easy, but not real hard.
     A 93 year old woman came and did the walk with us!  93!!  She is from Steward and used to do a history talk down there at the depot.  She made the complete walk with us, never faltering or complaining.
     Before we started she asked if I walked fast.  I told her I did not, and I was sure to walk extra slow tonight.
     93.  Sometimes I wonder if I will make it to 70, let along 93.  She drove herself there and had to leave at the end of the walk because she doesn't drive after dark.
     She actually could have told more stories than I did.  At 93 she has lived a lot of history.
     Three more walks to go.....

mysteries solved?

I have clumsy fingers

   That is important to know.  Other people also have clumsy fingers.  If you type tdinten you eventually get to this site.
   But if you have clumsy fingers and type tdinteh, because the h is right above the n and clumsy fingers could hit the wrong key, you go to a website that looks like it is in......Russian.
   Which would explain why I get visits from the good people in Russian speaking countries.  They probably get to this site and think, "What the hell...I can't read that."
   So, no conspiracy.  Just coincidence.
   And speaking of coincidence, we went out for Emily's birthday tonight and sat down at a table.  Suddenly someone was rubbing my back. I looked up and it was Linda C., who we used to teach with at school.  They were sitting right behind us in the restaurant!
   Talk about coincidence.
   We had a nice visit and caught up with all the changes in our lives.  Hopefully we can get to see them again.
   So...coincidences, not conspiracies.
   Now about the Martian sex colonies.......

hacky, sacky

You may read about me in the news soon

     This month my little blog has 171 views from ...... Russia!
     More than any other country besides the US!
     My question is always, WHY?
     Are there hackers trying to take over my blog to distribute bad info about Hillary?  Are they after credit card numbers to create massive fraud?  Do they want to know all my friends so they can put us on a list?
     The walls may be listening, my friends.
     For the month, France was second and Switzerland third.  Although in the past week, Poland and Brazil readers have popped up in larger than expected numbers too.  By the way, larger than expected means more than 0.  Who would be interested in this drivel all the way down in Brazil?  I'm surprised people here read it!
     There are supposed to be ads on the page, but I don't check.  I did earn 14 cents last week, and am now up in the four figures for ad revenue.  (Two of those figures are to the right of the decimal point.)  At this rate, when I am 100 I will be able to buy a couple of coffees someplace.
     During the past month there have also been readers from Portugal, Australia and Indonesia.
     So...if you are not from the US or Switzerland, and you are reading this, I beg of you tell me why?
    I am beginning to lose sleep over where my readers come from and why they visit the page?
     Maybe I'll sleep on the whole subject until tomorrow.

I'm sorry, I forgot

I seem to be repeating myself

      I keep saying "I'm sorry," a lot.  I also say, "I forgot," a lot.
     A couple of months ago I said I would write some articles for the paper on the VCCT show.  It opens in two weeks.  I forgot.
     I was supposed to send an announcement in  to the paper for the Friday night walk...I forgot.  What if no one shows up because they forgot?  That would be terrible.
     I forgot to bring Jackie her pills after she asked me two.  Double whammy:  I'm sorry.  I forgot.
     When ever I say I'm sorry Chicago John says I don't have to apologize.  Then I say I'm sorry, I won't.
     I was playing solitaire (my quitting the game lasted for about 36 hours.  Back hooked.) when I heard Corki bark.....from outside.  Seems I let her out about 8:30 and at 9:30 she wanted to get back inside.  I'm sorry, I forgot doesn't work well with a dog, but a treat and a vigorous petting frenzy does.
     Jackie won't let me scratch her head and rub her belly, so I have to keep apologizing for forgetting stuff.  Like checking my phone for text messages about things we need at the store.  I always forget to do that.  I'm sorry.
     I almost rear ended a car on hot dog day because I was watching people cook hot dogs.  That warranted a mouthed "I'm sorry," but no I forgot because it wasn't a case of memory indifference as much as nosiness.
     Enough.  No more I'm sorry.  No more I forgot.  No more potato chips.  No more french fries.  No more daily doses of ice cream.  I forgot I am not supposed to eat all that crap and I think I will be sorry.
     I'm sorry for bringing it all up.  Just forget it.  Like me.

on the road

We have a program to give tomorrow

    Dan and I will be doing our Cuba talk for the fourth time!  We have talked to Rotary, Golden K, Creston seniors, and now the retired teachers.  But I seem to think I missed a group....should or could be our fifth talk.
    Whatever.
    Been thinking of Cuba a lot lately.  I remember it as a really neat place to visit and I wish I could go back.
    It seems I have a lot of places I would like to get back to, but I have a lot of new places I want to see and experience also.
    The giant redwoods and sequoias trees in California, the Prince Albert Hotel, Key West, San Diego Zoo,  the bears in Hudson Bay, New York City, the Cotswold's in England, Downton Abbey in England, Yellowstone Park, a park in the Dakotas where you can rent a house and watch the buffalo wander by.
    Holy cow...that is quite a list.
    One bad thing about travel is one trip is not enough.  There are far too many places to go, and not enough money to go to them all.  I used to think I had lots of time, but even that seems to be dwindling.
    But tomorrow I will be back in Cuba again, at least in my mind.
    It should be a happy time.

yummy.....

I often wonder:  What the hell was that?

   A friend posted a link to 26 recipes you could enjoy while camping.
   Years ago, and I do mean years, I earned an MS in Outdoor Education from Northern Illinois University.
   One of the classes I took was outdoor cooking.  We learned how to use a dutch oven and other tools to make recipes including stews, soups, biscuits, pies...all sorts of delicious goodies.
   One time we dug a hole, put charcoal in it, started it, put a dutch oven in it and cooked a stew.  It was very good.
   I decided to replicate that experience at home.
   The girls were at a shower, so I had all the guys over.  We had some beer, smoked some cigars, then I uncovered the stew buried in a hole in the back yard.
And we ate.
   The calls started coming the next day.  I think every guy there had the shits except me!  Some of them were sick for two days!!  I felt fine.
   We ate the same food, drank the same beverages, but I didn't get sick.
   So, 26 foods to cook over a campfire?
   Thank you Renee, but no.  I learned my lesson.  Well, actually all the guys learned it worse then me.

beau jour, qui?

It was a beautiful day today

    I spent a couple of hours down at the museum, passing out hot dogs.
    I was there yesterday when the dogs were delivered...all 150 of them.
    I asked Janine about the left overs.  "Take them home." she laughed.
    So I sort of expected us having to get rid of hot dogs.
   Boy was I wrong!
   We went through 150 by noon!  We did not start serving until 11.
   For those of you not sure what is going on, today was Hot Dog Day in Rochelle.  Various merchants and the museum gave away hot dogs.  Free.  No cost.  All you had to do was take the Hormel all beef doggie and put on your own condiments.
   One lady said we were her third stop.  And so far, ours had a great rating compared to good and terrible.
    A lot of the credit goes to our cooks, who did not burn them or cook them till they were dried up chunks of meat.
    The place across the street from us must have gone through a thousand!  I went over and they had 200 out ready to cook and two roasting pans full of dogs already done.
    When people stopped by the museum, we told them to go over to ALM because they had plenty.
    Truth...I did have two.
    Honestly, they were darn good dogs and the next time we go to buy some, I will look for Hormel.  (Any execs....feel free to pay me in hot dogs for the plug.)
    It was a fun time for everyone and everybody liked the dogs.
    Great weather, great food, great fun.

TGIF

I don't work, but I'm happy it's Friday

     Yard is fairly good looking, house is ok, duties at the museum are over for the week, Cub game Sunday, Cub win today and pizza for supper.
     Life is good.
     Did I mention rose is delicious chilled!!  Clouds my vision of reality, but hey!

tired puppies

I think I will sleep well tonight

   I was one busy old guy today.
   I finally planted the flowers I bought last week, along with some lilies rescued from Emily and John's house.  Now my back wall looks much nicer.  Just have to remember to water them for the next few days.
   I mowed.  I tried to get it done before the sun baked me, but as of now I am only half baked.
   I tried to watch the Cubs, but at 9-1 I gave up and cleaned two bathrooms.
   I also had a melt down about my inability to handle paper and "things", citing the state of the garage, the den, the kitchen nook table, the basement......   I truly believe I have a mental issue, have had it for all of my life, but today it was just overpowering, the hopelessness of it all.
    Example:  I can't find the charger for my new camera.  I did not put it away and now I can't find it.
   I started cleaning the den, but seven hours later it does not look much better.
   After supper I went for a bike ride to clear my head a little.  There is something about pedalling down an empty country road that is peaceful.
   The smell of pine trees, the bugs slapping across your face, the silence broken only by a crow cawing away in a nearby tree. ... put me in a mellow mood.
   I'll tackle the den tomorrow....and maybe I'll even find the battery charger in the process.

pardon me

I love people at the ball park

    I don't intentionally eavesdrop, but sometimes I just can't help it.
    Like Tuesday, a couple of older guys (around my age) were talking about the old days at Wrigley....when the Torco Oil Sign was there, and Budweiser was painted on the roof of a house.  Before video boards and roof top seating, even.
    The one guy had a raspy type voice and he told his friend that he was going to go grab a smoke before the game started.
    He came back a while later and said that in order to smoke, he had to leave the park.  Which meant he could not come back in unless he bought another ticket.
    I figured the guy must really need a smoke because the upper deck is no quick walk to get to.  So this guy went down, could not smoke, and then came back up.
    Eventually he found there is a smoking lounge at Wrigley...I am not sure where... and he did go for a smoke break.
    The couple in front of us, again, close to our age, had some friends sitting on the other side of the stadium.
    For some reason, they felt it necessary to stand up and wave.  And wave.  And wave.  Then she sat down but a few minutes later was up waving again.
    Now she was thin, but you could not see through her.  We said loudly, a couple of times, "Hey, excuse me.  Game going on.  Can't see. Please sit." Or at least we thought of saying it.
    Once they caught their friends' eye, the two in front of us seemed to be much more energetic, dancing between innings, waving.  It was almost like they were performing.
    Young girl in front of me had a name tattooed on her left arm.  Try as I might, I could not read the name.  For some reason that just drove me nuts and I wanted to ask her what it said, but sanity took over and I did not.
    Guy on one side of us had a Nationals shirt but seemed to be rooting for Tampa.
    And a young man in front of us, wearing a a beret and leather coat, watched the whole game with little emotion.  I could not help but wonder how hot he must be and why he was wearing a leather coat in July.  Maybe that was why he was so quiet.
    Going to the park is an amazing experience.  I love it when the people all get along and have fun.
    And sometimes I wonder what people who listen in on our conversations think about me.
    On second thought, maybe I should not wonder about that.  Some things are better left unknown.

jinxed!!

I think I am jinxed this year

     Last season we were 6-0 in games we attended.  John, Dan and I were perfect.  Even started out this season with a win.
     But the last three games....uh uh.
     Now, I did not bring my W flag to the first game, which we did win, but I brought it to the three loses.  So next game, not bringing the W.
     I still believe, but I have to admit, my belief is a little on the shaky side right now.
     Sigh.....

     Anyway, just some pictures from today.

Fireworks were in Rochelle.

Fans brought out the flag while Wayne sang.

The plaza during the game

Putting the choke sign on Tampa.....didn't work.

I wish I knew

There are a lot of things I wish I learned

     I think my life would be easier.  I never understood the for every force there is an equal reaction bit.  If I did, I probably would not have knocked over my tea this morning.
     I had a big rubber band and I snapped it, hitting the mug, which toppled over and get two books and a place mat tea soaked.
     I had the rubber band  because every time I go outside to sit and work on a crossword puzzle, the wind blows up the bottom of the page.  I thought a rubber band would hold the page down at the bottom.  (By the way, this puzzle is on a clipboard, so it is only one or two pages.)  So I was putting the rubber band in place when I got distracted and result, no tea.
     Not planting carrots so close together is another lesson I missed.  I scatter the seeds, but now I have hundreds of carrots coming up.  Problem is, if they are  too close together and they don't get big enough.  So now I have to thin them out to allow them room to grow.
     I wish I learned how to get up in the morning.  I meant to be outside by 9, working on the veggies and the flowers.  I didn't get out until 10:30 and by 12:30 I was getting too hot, so I quit for the day.  If I had gotten up early I would have had all the weeding done.
     I wish I had learned to check my zipper before I go to church and the store.  I might have accidentally given the wrong impression to some people in DeKalb.  Oops.
     And I sometimes wish I had learned just to shut up.  Like when someone asks:  do these pants make my butt look big?  I have not learned not to answer.

a seasonal complaint

I love fruit

   But I also hate it.
   Example:  I have bought cherries from three different stores.  None of them are cherry tasting.  These have all been trucked in from Washington and don't have the real cherry flavor.
   I scour local farmer's markets for Wisconsin or Michigan cherries during July but I never find them.  Maybe this year I will have to drive north to fill up a couple of bags with cherries.
   Same with peaches.  I love the Illinois peaches!  They are juicy and just wonderful to eat.  But if it wasn't for my friend Dianne and her husband who brought me some last year, I would have missed that incredible taste.
   Peaches from Georgia or South Carolina just don't taste the same.  I get it.  They get harvested, processed, shipped, stored, then carted to a store....it could be weeks from tree to me.
   But Illinois peaches......um, um, um.  From tree to me in a couple of days and the difference is notable.
   I used to get some oranges in January from a grower in Florida.  They were the best I have ever eaten.  But I have not had any for a couple of years, and that will change this year.  The ones in the store just don't have that pizazz that fresh picked has.
   So, help me out.  Where can I get some fresh cherries and fresh Illinois peaches?  I think both will be in prime season during the next month.
   Maybe I should just plan a couple of road trips.  Just don't know where.

thanks for the response

I loved reading your "wow" places

     You may remember yesterday, or if you are my age you may have lost that totally, when I asked about places that were neat.
     I got a wide variety,  from national parks to Russia to Paris.  By the way...thanks, Beth!
     Mine is the Grand Canyon.  When I saw it, I almost cried because this was a place I had dreamed of visiting and there I was, looking at an amazing natural wonder.  I was 54 and never thought I would get there.
     I had a similar feeling in Barcelona, at the Sagrada Familia, the cathedral designed by an architect/artist/visionary/genius Gaudi.   I saw a picture of it in National Geographic long before Julia went to Switzerland and I said then I would love to see it one day.   And I did.  And it was amazing.
     When you go someplace you never expected to go and it just blows you away, that is an experience.
     Speaking of experiences, I had a strange one last night.  I put my pill stash away in the pantry and I heard the garage door open.
     I thought it was strange that Emily or John would be coming over after 10, usually that is bad news.  So I opened the door into the garage to see what was up and there was no one there.
     I went back into the house and went out the front door.  I didn't see any cars on the street, my motion detectors didn't turn on, and the middle garage door was definitely up.
     So I closed it and pondered a while.  No one but me has an opener for the middle door and that opener is.......in the closet.  By my pills.  I guess I hit it as I put away my vitamins and stuff.
     Mystery solved.
     OK, it wasn't a big deal.  You are right.  I wasted your time....again.
     Since you have that attitude, good night!