THE PANORAMIC VIEW

Burnished Pots

2010-10-20T10:22:00.000-07:00

Just got some GREAT burnished pots out of the kiln. Burnishing is an old method of finishing a pot, and is a soothing way to 'get in touch' with the clay.

Burnished pots are not glazed. The clay is rubbed to a gloss with an object (such as a smooth stone, or a spoon) and fired to a low cone that keeps the gloss brilliant.

Burnished pots FEEL wonderful...smooth and warm.

Scruffy the Chickadee

2010-09-06T12:19:00.000-07:00

Scruffy came into our world about a week ago. Although we have a bevy of chickadees that feed on our many feeders and 'hang out' in the tall trees that surround our big 'upper deck', Scruffy was 'different'.

He wasn't afraid of us at all.

At first, we thought Scruffy was injured, and we watched him closely. But he flew, he perched, he ate and he drank.

He jsut refused to be leery of us. We could not touch him, but we could be inches away, and Scruffy would be calmly working on seeds, confident we would not harm him.

We think he is young, because of all the downy feathers he still sports, and we wonder if he is from a second hatch in this bountiful year for birds. Brave little dude! In a week we have become quite attached to him.

Early this morning, about two am, the winds began to howl, and storms blew in. The wind did .

not abate, plants were whipping on the deck, leaves were flying off the hickory trees. Today, while I cleaned the deck, I looked for Scruffy. I haven't seen him all day and I am quite concerned that the powereful winds have taken our little guy away somewhere.

Old Barns

2010-06-02T10:00:00.000-07:00

Maybe this should be country song: "I love falling down old barns...." but there is something that tugs at my heart strings when viewing old barns in the country. Neglected, decaying...they were once vital parts of agricultural endeavor.

Let's Get Back To: FOOD!

2010-05-27T17:21:00.000-07:00

Now...what is more important than FOOD! I have been posting on Facebook a lot, and sharing my creative dinner photos there, and I noticed that there is a distinct LACK of food postings on Blogger. Hmmm.

Tonight, I want to share a photo of our dinner: we had a big salad (no photo, sigh) made with our organic greens! Then came our main course: grilled tuna! Our sides were: grilled falafel balls and broccoli (home grown, but still from our freezer), pickled beets (ours also...from the freezer),whole grain bread served with homemade hummus.

Dessert was a homemade strawberry/rhubarb pie (yes, our berries and rhubarb!) Eat well, my friends! And think: SUSTAINABLE!

Who IS this woman????

2010-04-27T18:51:00.000-07:00

At a recent 50th High School Reunion, this woman was spotted doing the TWIST with the other women after dinner. The men were ... not there. They were??? Sitting??

Grandma & Grandpa do Sunday Dinner

2010-03-29T18:31:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday, we were tickled pink (a lovely expression...) to host a SUNDAY DINNER for our family at our house! Oh...what to cook, what to cook??? With our family focus on local food and cooking green, and eating more veggies, less protein, we delved into our freezers and found:

turnips (from our last year's garden), broccoli (ditto), carrots (ditto), boneless skinless chicken breast and strawberry frozen yogurt. In the fridge we found: farm eggs, fresh greens, mushrooms, sweet peppers, scallions, and one avocado. On the counter we found: organic sweet potatoes, fresh garlic, lemons and a butternut squash. In the pantry: a large can of garbanzos, tahini paste, and brown sugar. We bought some fresh strawberries (okay...broke the locavore rule, but...hey!). The menu fell together:

Appetizer: homemade garlic hummus. Served with pretzel crisps and bagel crisps.

Salad: Baby spinach salad with balsamic dressing.

Crunchy bread with garlic olive oil.

Sides: FRESH AIOLI served over broccoli. Sliced, baked sweet potato...seasoned with salt, pepper and red pepper. Balsamic glazed butternut squash cubes (super YUM!). Mashed turnip and carrot, seasoned with salt, pepper, butter and herbs. Grilled mushrooms drizzled with fresh aioli.

Protein: chicken breasts marinated in kefir (overnight); grilled. rubbed with crushed pecans and spices.

Dessert: Strawberry frozen yogurt with fresh strawberries and ... Cool Whip.

We are so happy that everything was fresh and good, and that we all had such a wonderful afternoon together!

SPRING!

2010-03-23T13:42:00.001-07:00

I know, you thought this would be about our vacation. Well, that's going to come a bit later. I just had to post these flower pictures...the gardens are coming alive!

Vacation: Day Three

2010-03-08T18:48:00.000-08:00

A perfect weather day! We left Macon, GA after breakfast at the Holiday Inn Express and headed off East to Savannah to see this famous Eastern Georgia city that Sherman did not burn.

Savannah is all you have heard. We want to go back and spend some time here among buildings that date back to the early 1700s, and to walk the stone streets and be part of history.

After a GREAT bus tour of Savannah, we took off Southwest to the Okeefenokee Swamp...an area we always wanted to see, but never got to before.

At the Okeefenokee Wildlife area, we were lucky to get the last train ride tour around part of the vast swamp area that was populated by Cherokee and other tribes. The train driver, Bill, is 80 years young, and a wizard at the flora and fauna of Okeefenokee.

The train ride took us past many of the beauties of the area. We saw soapweed, blue flag, blueberry, and many medicinal plants that flourish here.

We heard what we thought was a Great Horned Owl, but Bill assured us, when we aked what species it was, that it was a 'Hootie Owl'. Okay.

And there were gators: We saw a 'mamma gater' who had just hatched 30 little babies. We saw adult gators and younger gators. They are relaxed and in control here.

We also saw the homesteads of the original white settlers. Why anyone would want to settle in a swamp, with the insect life, the gators, the bears and the snakes is a mystery, but settle they did.

Huge dough trenchers, iron pots and pans, primitive bedding and hand-hewn furniture were proudly displayed in the reconstructed cabins, worksheds, and outbuildings.

DAY TWO OF THE SENIORS TRIP TO FLORIDA

2010-03-07T17:48:00.000-08:00

Our cheerful couple popped (well...you should have HEARD the sounds!) out of bed this morning, and tripped down to the Breakfast Room at their Holiday Inn Express. A wonderful breakfast awaited. And coffee. Coffee!!!
We met the Holiday Inn Express Breakfast Greeter/Concierge and learned all about her goat that produces wonderful goat milk. It was an educational morning.

On the road again, we passed through Kentucky to Tennessee, all the while trying to recall our History and incidents from a recently read life of Daniel Boone. Who hunted. A lot. Wherever he could. We approached Chattanooga, after a GREAT drive through the mountains. Beautiful, and we had perfect weather.
As lunch approached, we decided to stop at the first local park we saw a sign for.
That's how we found: Old Stone Fort State Park!
A lovely site at the confluence of the Duck and Little Duck rivers, the Old Stone Fort was actually an Indian Mound that surrounded the confluence of the rivers for safety. We had our 'from Illinois' food: chicken breast, salad, and fixings. A picnic in 65 degree weather was so very, very welcome! Now, before we settled in for lunch, we had an 'incident': our 10 year old road refrigerator tanked. This 18 volt plug in the car fridge is a lifesaver and a BIG money saver.We bring all our own bottled water, juice, bread, cheese, sandwich meat, salads. It saves a bundle on the road! We had to stop at a truckstop to get a new one. Sigh. And, while we were there, we were hit on by a very plausible panhandler to whom we gave $5.00 for a hamburger.

They ALL talk to us!

After lunch, there was a PUSH to get down to Macon, GA for the night, since we were losing an hour.

Atlanta has the very worst traffic in the US that we have discovered yet. We say this EVERY time we go through Atlanta!

We settled in to our Holiday Inn Express in Macon by about 6 pm. After the most amazingly good sushi dinner at a restaurant called Shogun, here I am blogging and getting ready to get a decent night's sleep before hitting the road again.

More tomorrow.

Florida Vacation: Day One

2010-03-06T18:08:00.000-08:00

Up at the crack of dawn (okay, 7 am) our sleepy seniors packed their trusty new van with: POTTERY! Before the vacation could begin, we had to run off to Ottawa, IL to put our newest pots in the Ottawa Art League Gallery, and to pick up last months unsold selections.

On the way to Ottawa, we stopped at the local Subway/BP Amoco to treat ourselves to Flatbread omelettes and a BIG Ronocco coffee! Woo Hoo! (Hey, this is exciting stuff to us!)

After doing the pottery exchange, we were finally able to leave Seneca and head off to Florida.

Except, we had a slight deviation in plans on the way.

Our first stop was in the Rend Lake Area, to visit the Illinois Artisan Gallery. Did you know that the Illinois Museum (Springfield, IL) sponsors several galleries in Illinois for artists? They can exhibit and sell their works from these locations. We knew that our friend Juanda Sims had some of her wonderful pottery at the Rend Lake location, and we had to stop and view. It was a worthwhile visit. There were many artists of all disciplines exhibiting: potters, painters, stained glass artists, fabric artists, wood carvers, glass blowers and more. Check out Illinois Artisans on the web.

A short and scenic ride down 57 brought us to Paducah, KY where we chose to spend the night.

The local Holiday Inn Express became our home for the night, and Applebee's our dinner restaurant. I recommend the Weight Watchers Lime Tilapia!

Tomorrow, we head to: Savannah, GA! Why not! We will get to Florida eventually.

See you all tomorrow!

It's FRIDAY night!

2010-02-26T17:36:00.000-08:00

Dinner at our place on Friday night: pan-roasted baby carrots from our garden; cous-cous (made with beefstock, garlic, scallions, sweet peppers, and mushrooms); sirloin steak (organic, farm-raised) grilled (marinated in our dry rub and mushroom soy). Dessert was a fresh fruit salad.

Find A Hawk

2010-02-26T17:34:00.001-08:00

Our resident Cooper's Hawk, perched anonymously in the crabapple tree by the bird feeder. Discreet as he is, there were NO birds in the feeder after he silently landed!

Thursday Night Salmon

2010-02-25T17:50:00.000-08:00

A wonderful dinner on a cold Thursday night. Pan-seared salmon filet (marinated in lemon/ginger) and topped with a white wine/dill/pan sauce reduction. Blue fingerling potatoes, sliced and pan-seared with garlic and shallots. Home grown broccoli and cauliflower, steamed with salt, pepper and cilantro. All served on our favorite Blue Fish Platter. Note the side of fresh baked bread and olive oil for dipping. Mmmmm.

A Poem to Share

2010-02-23T17:43:00.000-08:00

The Farmer’s Pavane

Old beige skeletal

unharvested corn stands defiant,

braced against December snows

Green harvest machines

have rooted, unmoving, silent

where they were left last week.

Wondering hopeful horses

look out of their barn

waiting release to paddocks.

Cows lowing patient

huddle for the warmth

with sisters in the barn.

Village residents flock

to the barnlike church

and huddle with their brethren.

The soul

of the farm

mourns.

A Few More Pots

2010-02-21T14:00:00.001-08:00

On the left is a set of really cool porcelain cereal/snack bowls. All wheel thrown, with happy colors to brighten the day.

On the right is "Homage Mecanic" ... now with a cheerful, whimsical flower.

More from the Kiln

2010-02-21T13:57:00.000-08:00

THE WESTERN JUG!

Proudly standing at about 22" tall, this coil and throw stoneware jug, built by Phyllis, is a totally functional whimsy.

New Pots! New Pots!

2010-02-21T13:54:00.001-08:00

New from our kiln yesterday: the HOLEY BOWLY!

Rich created this awesome bowl using slabbed stoneware, hand-punched holes and a lot of patience. This piece is approximately 12" across. The glazes are food safe.

Holey Bowly!

Drama In The Snow

2010-02-18T18:09:00.001-08:00

Seen in our front yard today:

Weekday Dinners

2010-02-18T17:57:00.001-08:00

We are having a GOOD FOOD WEEK! We wanted to share our dinners with you all.

Tuesday, I selected the protein:Tuna steak. I pan seared a mushroom soy marinated tuna steak in my grill pan. The tuna was served over arugula, drizzled with a ginger sauce. Our sides were home-grown (from our freezer) broccoli and organic polenta with sun-dried tomato spread.

ON TO THURSDAY:

Tonight, Dad chose the protein: Boneless, skinless chicken breast. He marinated the breasts in our own juiced lime juice and garlic. My turn came next, and I lightly dusted the chicken breasts in a panko/wheat flour seasoned mixture, and pan seared them, using white wine to prevent stickage (is that a culinary term?) The marinade was added to the pan after the chicken was removed, and we deglazed with white wine and chicken stock, and reduced the liquid. The chicken was served over mixed Spring greens, again using the the ginger dressing.

Winter Friend

2010-02-14T14:15:00.000-08:00

Meet my moose. This is my favorite Winter bookmark. Everyone deserves a bookmark that they love, don't you think?

Enterprising Senior Chefs

2010-02-10T09:15:00.000-08:00

Last night, we had salmon on the menu. Yawn, you say? No! Not when 1/2 of the team, whose initials are Richard, maintained for the last 20 years or so that he "DOES NOT LIKE SALMON!".

Willing to try this incredible fish once again, I, his wife and the resident fish chef, was looking for a way to prepare a dish that would have a 'wow' factor. Then, an idea flashed in my brain: smoked salmon, like on a grill, but done on the stove! Like they do on the Food Channel.

I grabbed my trusty Wok ($10, 15 years ago at Cost Plus World Market...they don't make 'em like this anymore). I lined the wok with Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil (does this need to be capitalized?), added a goodly handful of soaked hickory chips, a cake rack for the fish, and a lid from another pan that fit exactly. I turned up the heat, waited for 'smokeage' , and then tossed in some dried sprigs of rosemary. On went the fish, that had been marinating in citrus and pepper. In less than 20 minutes, we had an AWESOME entree of smoked salmon! And...Rich LIKED it!

NOTE: I did occasionally sprinkle water onto the chips. There was not a bit of smoke in the kitchen, either. I had been concerned that 'Shriek', our smoke alarm, would object to this cooking method, but he never noticed. The wok is fine. I am going to use this method again...maybe also for veggies! Happy cooking!

Stealthshroom

2010-02-07T10:08:00.000-08:00

Our wonderful mushroom farm had finished producing, but there was the empty box. The box full of wonderful, earthy-smelling, composty stuff. Stuff BEGGING to be used. So, I did! I took scoops of the good, friable, crumbly mixture and treated my Christmas cactus to layers of delight. The cactus showed gratitude, by sending out a second set of buds (I should mention that my Christmas cactus is really a Halloween/Thanksgiving cactus...it's unclear on the concept).

Today, I checked the buds and found: The STEALTHSHROOM!

We plan on harvesting this shroom for our Super Bowl Dinner. Why not?

Tuesday Night Tilapia

2010-01-26T17:37:00.000-08:00

Is it any wonder that the best meals are sometimes the ones you don't plan. I had NO idea of what to cook tonight. I rushed into the kitchen at 5:30 with a plan to cook some frozen tilapia filets (fast and good).

I made the usual BIG salad, and then everything went morphing along as I checked the contents of the frig and crispers and pantry.

We dined elegantly on: Ginger Citrus Tilapia over brown rice (Schwan's frozen...awesome and fast). I created a coconut milk/citrus/curry sauce for the fish and rice..using a touch of cayenne pepper and turmeric. Our vegetable side was steamed green beans with dill and cilantro. This was such a good supper, and dessert was our homemade fruit salad!

We had to take pictures of the food tonight. Yum! Happy eating!

On The Way to the Kiln

2010-01-22T17:25:00.001-08:00

The following pots will soon be bisque fired and will be coming soon to a gallery near you. If they stay in one piece...it's clay, ya know??

Check back soon for further developments!

Tracking In The Snow

2010-01-13T14:16:00.000-08:00

Oh, what a beautiful Winter day! The temperature shot up to about 33, and the brilliant sun just demanded that we take a walk.

As usual, we found evidence that we were NOT alone! Here's a quick series of animal tracks that you are (probably) familiar with:

This multitude of tracks was found in our backyard. Clue: the little black dots are Thistle seed. Hmmmm...... This track was made by my Daughter-in-law's favorite furry rodent. Hmmm.......

And this is the track of my daughter's favorite lagomorph. Hmmmmm.....

These tracks run all over our area, next to the houses, and ... in some instances...right UP TO the houses! Hint: in Winter, they eat just about

anything. Hmmmm....

But THIS track is the MOST PUZZLING one of all! Do you think...can it be??....BIGFOOT?????

(We had a LOT of fun with this...)

January with the Seniors

2010-01-07T13:17:00.000-08:00

The snow has fallen, and the sun came out in all its brilliant January glory. Who could resist a walk in the woods?

Bundled up and ready, we started out down the Canal Path in Seneca, heading West toward Marseilles. The weather was, indeed, perfect. Snowmobiles had blazed the trail for us, and walking through the fluffy snow was easy.

We checked out the tracks on the path as we

always do. It's fun to see which animals are out and about in Winter, and how many we can identify. One of the first we spotted today was this one.

Do you know

what critter this is?*

Living rural, we are up to date on the farm scene. A lot of corn is still in the fields, and because of this, the blackbird population did not leave the area this Winter.

We spotted many a tree full of blackbirds (usually a mix of grackles, cowbirds and the occasional Red-winged Blackbird), and many a cornfield with the

stalks supporting a huge cast of the birds. In our backyard

at home, the tree behind one of our feeders is ideal perching for the gang.

Along this section of the path, with the old canal (or what is left of it to the North), we have spotted signs of what it must have looked like earlier. Some of the trees still retain hooks for barbed wire fencing in

their thick bark. In fact, some of the old cottonwoods have embedded barbed wire under new bark growth. And there are the abandoned farm buildings. What a story they could tell if they could speak.

With 2010 upon us, and the wonderful January air

filling our lungs, it seemed only natural to make

the first snow angel of the year here on our very

own Canal Path.

After quite a trek, we

called it a day, and headed home, But we had to snap one more photo

by the I&M Canal Path sign for Seneca's historic site: The Hogan

Grain Elevator, which was THE hot spot during the heydey of the

Canal, with barges of grain headed to Seneca for storage.

So don't be a couch potato in Winter. Put on the long underwear and

GET OUT THERE! It will put the roses in your cheeks.

*The print is a Wild Turkey. We saw him, too, running down the path

ahead of us. He obviously chose the path over the deep snow...Wild Turkeys

are not dummies!

January Pots

2010-01-07T08:59:00.000-08:00

On such a snowy day, it's a real picker-upper to unload the kiln and have the time to take photos of the latest pots to make their appearance.

Dually's Gone, and Ruby Comes Home to Roost

2009-12-31T13:57:00.000-08:00

After two months of discussion, we ended this year -- and this DECADE -- by trading in our favorite truck: Dually. Dually served us loyally for ten full years, taking us from Alaska, to Maine, to North and South Dakota; to Arizona, Texas, Florida and many points in between. Dually hauled clay to our studio, hauled mulch to our gardens, and hauled firebricks for our new kiln. And, Dually was still in top shape...but we have grown older, and have less need of such a workhorse of a vehicle. So Dually was put up for adoption at Car Max in Tinley Park today.

We were saddened to leave Dually with strangers, even the kind strangers at Car Max. Rich brooded all last night, and I reminisced about all the good times we had together. But the time came at last to say our goodbyes.

At first, we were unsure if our 'new' vehicle could ever replace a good, solid, working truck like Dually.

We had chosen a Chrysler Town & Country Van, and after looking at various T & C vans since the beginning of November, we felt we had found the one for us at this Car Max in Tinley Park. It was burgunday red. We wanted red. The interior was tan leather/suede. Just what we wanted. It had low miles, and all the bells and whistles that would keep us happy on the road or driving locally. When we saw it, we decided: This is the one. But the transition from an old love to a new flame is not without its bittersweet moments. We comforted ourselves with the knowledge that we were giving this orphaned auto a really good, caring home.

About 5 miles into our ride home in the Chrysler van, Rich's face was creased with a HUGE grin. I was having a geek's holiday with all the electronics. The seats were heavenly, and the van handled inpeccably.

"Let's name her Ruby", I said, as I played with the built-in GPS.

"Ruby Thursday!", added Rich, an impish grin on his face.

And Ruby Thursday she is. Ruby proudly took her place in our garage next to Maxine, our 2001 Ford Taurus, also adopted from Car Max.

December Walks

2009-12-13T11:31:00.000-08:00

I took my daily walk outside again today. Friday was rainy, and I had used the treadmill. Satuday we exhibited at an Art Show, and, although we walked the little city of Ottawa, taking in the Ice Sculpture Show, it was an 'urban' walk. Today, I was back to MY walk, which always takes me down to the Illinois River.

What is it about walking outside that soothes and cleanses me so much? Is it the always magical seasonal changes in flower beds and trees? The look of tree bark after a rain? The changing cloudscape of the sky? A mushroom bursting out of the ground?Or is it the contrasts of sunny days and gray days...both of which have their own beauty?

And the Illinois River puts on a different persona every day. Some days, it's color is blue, with a gentle current driftin waterfowl along as fish jump flashing silver. And there are cold days, when it is almost black, and the little whitecaps indicate the biting wind that drives fish deep. The river is so opaque where it is the deepest, and, after a drenching rain, it's edges are tinged with roiled mud, outlining it in brown.And, on rare, perfect days, the river is a shimmering mirror reflecting the sunshine.

Today, the river is peaceful. It is Winter, so there is no pleasure boat traffic, and no barges go by today. All I find is a mallard watching me from beyond a washed up log.

Egrets, and Turkeys and Squirrels...OH, MY!

2009-12-09T17:28:00.000-08:00

Today, Wednesday, dawned wild and wooly and wintry. The winds howled, the snowflakes began to swirl, and our local wildlife came to our yard for solace. The turkey in the photo is eating all the corn that the ravenous (but messy) squirrel drops!

Here's the SURPRISE of the day: this is an EGRET! Although egrets migrate up here for the summer months, they are usually LONG GONE by winter. Actually, they are one of the first migratories to leave for the warmth of the South. Due to our warm Autumn, however, we believe this bird dallied, and the strong winds today blew him severely off course.

Snowy Tuesday

2009-12-08T12:18:00.000-08:00

I am supposed to be throwing pots in the studio, but...it's too tempting to check outside in the pretty snow.

I found that the Illinois River looks really neat today...ducks and geese were paddling away.

And...I found our first TURKEY in our backyard! Right now, it's only one, and it is very, very wary. I remember that last year, we had 13 or 14, including Testosterone Tom!

Maybe they will ALL be back. We are putting out extra corn!

IDOT CLEANUP #2

2009-12-05T17:05:00.001-08:00

THE DECEMBER IDOT CLEANUP...MORRIS AREA GARDEN CLUB IS ON THE JOB!

The Morris Area Garden Club (www.morrisareagardenclub.org) was on the job again today ...December 5, 2009. With 6 intrepid volunteers, our 2 mile area on Route 47 in Morris was thoroughly cleaned up! We hope we have made a difference in the world with this effort!

IDOT CLEANUP #2

2009-12-05T17:05:00.000-08:00

Mushrooms

2009-12-05T17:03:00.001-08:00

We have harvested our very first HOME GROWN MUSHROOMS! Just look at them...perfect examples of fungus delight.

They went along perfectly with our salad and steak tonight. Yum.

Baby Mushrooms

2009-11-29T16:41:00.000-08:00

Hooray! We have itty, bitty baby button mushrooms from our 'mushroom kit'. More to come...we are going to monitor their growth...the dinkum darlins.

The Morning After

2009-11-27T14:41:00.000-08:00

What do you suppose our intrepid Seniors were doing the morning after they feasted on the best Thanksgiving EVER at their son & daughter in law's? (Phew...awkward sentence!). Well, they tested their new RAKU KILN!

And they are REALLY HAPPY with the results!*

*Note: No seniors were harmed during the execution of this process.

Cleaning the Pond for Winter

2009-11-18T09:52:00.000-08:00

Two ... no three...of the Goldfish.

Jesus

Jesus with Rich's hand to show size.

Lazarus

It's time. The pond needs to get ready for Winter. It really needs a thorough cleaning. So...what to do with the fish (Jesus, Lazarus and the Goldfish...)?

We put them in our spare 55 gallon tank in the garage as the pond gets clean! Are they confused? You betcha!

A Quick Visit to Dublin, Ireland

2009-10-17T11:44:00.001-07:00

We made it to Dublin! After our GREAT stay with our cousins in Norway, we took a short flight on SAS from Oslo to Dublin. We stayed at Clontarf Castle hotel(where they served Guinness) on the North Side of the ciy. We walked all over our area. Everyone walks in Europe...did I mention that! We were near a park and the Bay of Dublin, so we did a lot of walking there, too. And we got one more item checked off the Bucket List: Golf in Ireland. We played 18 wonderful holes with some of the all time oldest rental clubs in our experience. Deer Park Golf

Course, in Howth, was where we had the pleasure of testing our skills against an Irish course. It was great fun, as was the Guinness in the Clubhouse after the round.

Dublin is a GREAT little city, with so much rich history. We almost didn't know where to start, but we began with public transportation into the City Center, and we walked and walked and walked. Except when we had lunch in Fitzgerald's Pub, with Guinness.

We felt so lucky to have seen Trinity College, The Book of Kells, Oscar Wilde's birthplace, the Bank of Ireland, the Temple Bar area, the River Liffy, O'Connell Street, Dublin Bay...just to name a few of the things we experienced. And we ate new foods, too: Black Pudding, White Pudding, Brown bread, lamb stew.

Did I mention: we drank Guinness?

It was an awesome trip. We want to go back.

The Seniors Do Norway

2009-10-01T08:10:00.000-07:00

WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY, FRIDAY & SATURDAY IN NORWAY.

Driving through Oslo with my cousin Sue at the wheel, leaving the airport gratefully behind, we were at once struck by two facts: 1: Norwegians all drive small, fuel efficient cars. 2. All signs were in Norwegian.

We were impressed with the squeaky cleanliness of Norway, the length of the tunnels we drove through on the way North to our cousins' house, and the totally uncountable number of sailboats in every harbor on the way! Also impressive, and scary, are the innumberable 'turn-a-rounds in Oslo. Not a lot of traffic lights, just traffic circles. Our cousins had no trouble negotiating these at lightning speed. We were glad they were driving.

The rest of our afternoon was spent getting acquainted with our new surroundings and with our cousins. The views from the deck of our cousins' home were breathtaking. We were on a rocky hill, overlooking Oslo fjord. It was magnificent. After a great dinner of (what else?) Swedish meatballs (!), some wine and some GREAT conversation, it was time for the weary travellers to crash out. And we did.

Dawn on the deck of our cousin's house was amazing.

After a walk down to the beach, where my cousin Sue ACTUALLY WENT SWIMMING IN THE ICE COLD WATERS OF THE FJORD, we logged many wonderful, memorable experiences.

Here are just a few:

Walking in Norway: There is NO flat land. Up and down hills. Does wonders for the body tone. No wonder Norwegians are thin! Pick and eat wild lingonberries, blueberries, rose hips.

Sights to See: Kon Tiki Museum, Downtown Oslo, Gadeland Glassverk, Oslo Harbor.

Things to Do: Sail the Norway Fjord in the Cousins' Sailboat, fish the fjord. Watch Glass Blowing at Hadeland Glassverk.

Try New Foods: Whale Beef, Dried Cod, Norwegian chocolate (wow!); Norwegian Coffee (wow!)

Have a Rural Experience: Farm stands, barns, Norwegian corn on the cob

Watch the birds: Magpies everywhere! Variety of gulls. Wild swans.

Watch the people: bicycles and walkers everywhere!

That's all for today. We'll write more and post more pictures soon.

The Seniors Europeon Vacation 2009

2009-09-28T07:48:00.000-07:00

DAY ONE: GETTING TO OSLO, NORWAY.

It was upon a lovely Tuesday that we were scheduled to leave our little farm village and fly to Oslo, Norway to visit our cousin and her family. Oh, the excitement! We were packed: one backpack apiece, one 'purse' apiece, and thin 'fannypacks' for our passports and cards. No checking luggage for US! We travel light and are very low maintenance.

And...the Benefiber tablets were in my backpack. We don't leave home without it.

A final check on the house, and we were out the door ... ridiculously early, but, after all, it's a long drive to O'Hare Airport. A drive made a bit longer when I discovered I had left my cell phone at home.

After backtracking and restarting...a 45 minute delay...we made our way to our big Chicago Airport with no further incidents.

Remote Parking just does not do justice to how far away from ANYTHING you have to leave your vehicle. We took copious notes, hoping we would be able to find the car when we returned; we slung on our backpacks (made heavier by all the M & M's we were carrying for my cousin...a treat apparently lacking in Norwegian stores) and trudged to the train that would take us to: The International Terminal!

With a few hours to spare, we verified that our flight was on the boards, and we zipped through Security with no problems. We found our Gate, found a seat, and ... waited. But we were happycampers...better early than late, we always say!

Promptly at 7:15 pm, after a really efficient boarding, our British Airways flight to Heathrow lifted off. Oh, my, what a great feeling! On our way. I didn't really even mind that I was in the middle seat on a very full flight with a skinny, nervous, sweating, fidgeting twenty-something in dirty jeans and bad breath sitting to my right. Almost didn't mind. Almost.

BA knows how to treat overseas passengers! Even in the 'cheap seats' we had movies, audio or whatever with individual screens and headsets. Pillows, blankets, socks ...all at no charge. Best of all...FREE WINE! And a dinner that was actually edible! We wondered: what was going on in Business Class, eh?

Through the night's 9 hour flight, after watching a movie, we managed to doze on and off (despite my fidgety,oderous seat companion), and we were delightfully surprised when the Cabin Crew brought us: BREAKFAST! Also quite edible! And, almost before we knew it, we had landed at Heathrow, Terminal 5.

There is no way to describe the sheer magnitude of Heathrow .... especially Terminal 5. In case you think you are missing a session of cardio, try walking from the plane to the gates in this terminal. This task was made a bit trickier by the fact that we had to land at an outlying terminal (God knows where!) and deplane on the old stairways that rolled up to the doors, then wait on the tarmac before taking a bus to Terminal 5.

By the time we found the 'common seating area' for BA, and found our flight on the Board, we were well acquainted with the Terminal. There is shopping EVERYWHERE, and this one terminal is, I believe, bigger than all of O'Hare. We had a Starbucks each (5 British pounds for two coffees...sheesh!) as we watched the Departure Board. You are not allowed to run to the Departure Gates until your Gate shows up on the Departure Board. Then, you have 30 minutes to hoof it or train it to your Gate. This makes for interesting flows of humanity through the Terminal.

Once again, after boarding, our BA flight took off on time, and we reached Oslo in 50 minutes flying time. By now, we were into Wednesday afternoon in Europe, and learning about jet lag, but we were too excited to care.

Landing in Oslo, we cleared Customs, and got our very first stamp on our new passports! And Cousin Sue was waiting for us, waving and smiling, as we left Customs.

Part 2: Oslo and Norway, coming soon.

The Cleanup Crew from Morris

2009-09-03T14:08:00.000-07:00

KEEPING THE HIGHWAYS OF MORRIS CLEAN

Today, Thursday, heralded our newest adventure! Our Garden Club, Morris Area Garden Club (MAGC) has officially adopted a section of busy Highway 47 through IDOT. We volunteered, as a Club, to get out there 4x per year to keep our section beautiful.

Today was our first day! Our IDOT signs were up, and we had a proud moment eyeballing them. 'This section of road maintained by Morris Area Garden Club.' Our six intrepid volunteers, now decked out in full IDOT cleanup gear, met at Morris Municipal Airport, ready to take on roadside trash. It was 9:30 am. We were sure we would finish by 10:30. It's just a mile or two of rural highway, after all.

Three of us covered the North side of 47, and three the South. Before beginning, we folded down the orange "CAUTION: ROAD CREW" signs that IDOT places on the posts under our 'adoption' signs. These signs, as you know, direct drivers to slow down and be careful!

Hubby took the area right along the road. I took the next section down, where the drainage ditch runs through, and our conciencious MAGC past president took the area closest to the corn fields'

Bit by ugly bit, we speared detritus and placed it into the bags.

We all had worn heavy gloves, long sleeves and caps to protect us from any and every thing we could think of. Except the temperature. It kept getting warmer and warmer. We began to sweat, and being aware of the nasty, evil condition of some of the garbage we were spearing, we were unable to use our gloved hands to wipe off the perspiration. Wetter and wetter, hotter and hotter, we trudged on.

And hubby, being by the road, had dust that covered the sweat. We were an ugly bunch. An ugly, sweating, smelly bunch.

By 11:30 am, and only halfway done, we stopped to rest by a bridge. A general agreement was reached that we would come back one more time to finish the second half. We had filled at least 12 bags with trash, and the two members who walked the road shoulder proper were nearly shell-shocked from roaring semis blowing by them and the backdrafts almost knocking them off their feet. Those of us working the ditch were the smelliest. The muddy ditchwater was truly evil. Six pooped volunteers called it a day.

Here are some bullet points we would like to share:

Caution Signs: NOBODY EVERY SLOWS DOWN. EVER! EVEN SEMIS

Top 'Throw Aways': Plastic bottles, and metal Cans. Especially BEER CANS

Unusual Finds: One LARGE pillow
Two FULL beer bottles

Part of a CAMO jacket

A LARGE blown apart truck tire (okay, not unusual, but BIG!)

Various unidentifiable car parts (also, not unusual, but interesting)

We'll be back out there soon to finish our second half. After all, there must be a stray bag of money laying around the side of the road, right?

Tuesday Dinner

2009-09-03T14:05:00.000-07:00

It was an ordinary Tuesday, so we decided to 'jazz it up' with a fun dinner. Dessert was homemade peach pie (not in photo). A dinner for two, with yummy leftovers!

Our Deck...More Visitors

2009-08-24T13:38:00.000-07:00

Still Monday! After the 'Bat Incident', it was time to get out the vinegar and wash tables and windows. The day was perfect for cleaning up those water-spotted jalousies!

Windows done, I turned my attention to the little table in the corner by our grill. It sure needed some cleaning, too! And while I was at it, I decided to open the table umbrella.

Plop! Something popped off the table umbrella!

Slowly, a surprised katydid began its infinitel deliberate and graceful progress across the table, wondering how the heck it took such a drop in gravity off that umbrella! Within 10 minutes, it had moved about 2 feet to the railing of the deck. Silent as the grave this morning, I could not coax a 'katie-did' out of it. Perhaps, it was as resentful as the bat. I would not be surprised.

I am rather reluctant to open ANYTHING on the deck for the rest of the day.

Our Deck: Full of Surprises

2009-08-24T13:25:00.000-07:00

Monday: a great day to tidy up our big, upper level deck. The weather was perfect this morning, and I couldn't wait to get going. I checked all the planters, pulled some weeds (how can you get weeds in planters that are 10' above the ground?), and began getting ready to cover our big grill (a bad chef left off the cover last night).

I picked up the grill cover, shook it out, and began easing it over the grill, when something BIG dropped out of the cover onto the deck.

A VERY confused bat was spread-eagled on the deck boards. Now, everyone who knows me knows how much I like all things natural, and you all know that I am really not afraid of 'critters' of any kind. Well...startled is startled. I screeched. Yup.

Hubby came out quickly. I said: "It's a BAT!" (Intelligent, right?)

We both looked at the bat, who was twitching in the sunlight. Then we took photos, being careful not to touch it. I was sure that it was okay, just confused and be-thumped.

We went back into our Great Room. I looked out about 10 minutes later, and the bat had flown off, recovered.

Recovered, but - I am sure of this - resentful! After all, if you were curled up inside a safe, cozy cover, sound asleep, and someone DUMPED you onto the ground, you would not be happy!

I hope the bat forgives me.

Peppers by the Peck

2009-08-20T17:42:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, we served up a side dish of sweet peppers stuffed with a polenta/cheese mixture and grilled outside. Yum!

In fact, that was such a success, that tonight, we experimented with our larger peppers, stuffing them with a mixture of organic ground beef, onion, garlic, herbs, homemade salsa and homemade tomato sauce. Topped with mozzarella. And...we grilled them outside, again. YUM! (they are served with their 'tops' on, but we took the tops off for the photo)

We have enough peppers to go on like this for a while.

Peppers rule!

Gentlemen: Cover Those Knees!

2009-08-16T18:31:00.001-07:00

Last Friday, my husband was entered in the annual Father/Son tournament with our son in law. The tournament is sponsored by our SIL's church, and the two men have been playing this outing together for a few years now. Both enjoy the outing, and SIL's church always makes sure that everyone is well taken care of.

Hubby and I set off early in the morning to be sure to arrive in plenty of time. In fact, we were a little early. This turned out to be a very good thing.

Our SIL, despite all his wonderful qualities (and they are many!), occasionally forgets to communicate little details.

Like the fact that all participants in the Tournament were required to wear long pants this year.

And Hubby was in his favorite Golf shorts.

The extra time was used to get a suitable pair of long pants for hubby to wear.

The field was spared the sight of these potentially offensive knees.

And we found the situation very amusing!

The Boats That Sailed to The New World

2009-08-16T18:19:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, my daughter and I took a tour that made history come home to us. We went to Michigan City, IN to see the exact replicas of the Nina and the Pinta: two of the boats that sailed to the New World under Columbus' command.

These replicas, built to the exact standards of the 1400's, and faithful to the original plans, were crafted with the tools and made from the woods that were used then. They are works of art.

But - they are SMALL! It is difficult to imagine, by today's standards, how 24 young men (average age was between 14 and 19) could exist on a boat that was less than 75' long, with no sanitation, sleeping on deck because the hold was full of provisions. What a tale!

To walk these replicas is to realize how utterly difficult that voyage must have been (again, by today's standards, which are all we really know and understand).

Here are some photos to share with you all.

JAVA JARS

2009-08-03T08:13:00.000-07:00

After a talk with the owner of the LaSalle Street Coffee Company, I found out that keeping my coffee beans in the freezer or refrigerator was not the great idea I had always thought it to be. Sean encouraged me to put my coffee beans in a tight-lidded container on the counter at room temperature. Since all Sean does is coffee, I figured he knew his beans!

Being an amateur potter, I threw four Java Bean containers. I am now using one of my own home made containers, and I love it.

Raku Session

2009-07-30T14:06:00.000-07:00

In Joliet, at our friend and mentor's studio (Talent Zone) we gathered for another Raku pottery session a couple of weeks ago.

All the pieces came out really good. As you can see from the photo, our setup is in the alley behind Juanda's gallery. We did our best to set the ivy on the gallery outside wall on fire, but were not successful. This is a good thing.

In the photo of finished pieces, you will see raku by Juanda, Rich, and Linda. A great time was had by all, and we look forward to the next session.

Meet Wilt

2009-07-17T08:47:00.000-07:00

As a gardener, I notice other people's gardens. In July, I can't help but notice: hydrangeas. Other people have Snowball Hydrangeas. We have a 'Noball Hydrangea'. We call him: Wilt. For obvious reasons. I'm sure y'all get it.

Wilt has been here for four years. He's an Endless Summer Hydrangea. Ha!

Every spring, I put on the 'goop' so Wilt will produce the beautiful, bountiful, blue blossoms I envisioned when I bought him.

Every July, Wilt grows big and strong and flowerless.

BUT WAIT! This year, Wilt produced ONE BLOOM, which he neatly laid on the ground so we had to hunt to find it.

So...I took photos to record the event. And here they are. End of story.

The Seniors Harvest Some Veggies

2009-07-16T16:59:00.000-07:00

Hi! Today was spent outdoors in perfect July summer weather. First, we weeded and harvested goodies from the veggie garden. Oh, my! What a haul! Two kinds of turnips, tomatoes, dill, broccoli, onions, and beets. Yum!

Cleaning the root veggies was not as much fun as picking them, however!

The afternoon was spent weeding the perennial garden, and transplanting the Moon Flowers that have reseeded themselves in rather odd places (in the cracks of the brick walk, for instance).

Dinner was nothing short of LUSH: we had slow cooked a pork shoulder (in the crock pot) with smoked chipoltle peppers in adobo sauce, and had put our special rub on it, too. We had pulled pork tacos (corn tortillas) with all the fixings, tomatoes from our garden, onion from our garden, and mashed turnips from our garden. YUM!

Now...it is time to relax. Tomorrow or so, I will be doing pickled beets and freezing broccoli.

It's 10 pm. Do you know where your Seniors are?

2009-07-12T11:42:00.000-07:00

After the last Cruise Night of the weekend ended at 9 pm on Saturday, our weary but happy senior couple climbed into their 1960 Cadillac convertible for the slow drive home down winding, narrow, deserted Old Stage Road. Old Stage is one of our favorite roads. It's patched blacktop parallels the Illinois River for about 12 miles. Traffic and houses are sparse. Old Stage Road has no street lights, no center lines, and no curbs; it's just one narrow, dark ribbon cutting through woods and farm fields on the north and woods and the river on the south. Did I mention: no lights? Well, it is full of fireflies, owls, and frogs on a July evening. Because it is deserted and dark and surrounded by the woods. Deer are plentiful, also. And squirrels, possum and raccoons with an occasional groundhog or turtle trying to edge across the road. It sure takes us back to when roads were ROADS!

Cruisin' along in our Caddie, discussing the events of the past week (should be another Blog, by golly!), we were within - oh - maybe four miles of Seneca when a thought struck the driver of the car.

"Maybe I should have gotten gas again in Morris. We only put in $10.00 worth two days ago."

Now, $10.00 does not buy a LOT of gas. Especially when our Caddy only uses Premium. Do the math. It's about a squirt and a half.

We rolled on down the dark, deserted road for - oh, maybe 100 feet or so before the engine began to make starved, complaining noises.

"This isn't good". The driver stated the obvious.

"We need to pull over". (No...really?).

The engine coughed its last. The Caddy was silent. Coasting it's last few feet down the dark, deserted road.

"There's a driveway!" We spotted it together, and it looked reachable with the last of our coastability (is that a word?).

A typical Old Stage Road driveway peeked at us on the north side of the road. Two tire tracks of weed bedecked gravel wound through the trees. At the end of the long drive, a pair of cabins butted against even denser woods. There were no lights on. And that was okay by us. Seniors though we are, we could look a mite suspicious with lights and engine off, coasting into a driveway at almost 10 pm at night, and coming to a stop under the big, old trees.

"I don't hear anyone, or any dogs."

"Good thing, I think."

I volunteered to make a phone call to our friendly, local mechanic and 24 hour towing service. The driver was a mite embarassed to call.

As I took the phone out of my bag, I reflected on how beautiful and peaceful it was there in the woods on Old Stage Road. Stars twinkled in the perfectly dark blue sky; fireflies lit up the night around us as tree frogs sang to one another. Ah, summer.

Then the mosquitoes found us. The glow of my reverie diminished considerably as hordes of hungry insects, deprived of human flesh in the slim pickings along Old Stage Road, zeroed in for a good meal.

"I have organic insect repellent!" The compleat driver announced triumphantly.

"Let's use it!"

I do not know what is in the organic insect repellent that we used that night. I suppose I may make an effort to read the label some time. I do know that I have never smelled anything quite so evil. But it worked. I don't know if mosquitoes have a sense of smell, but I assume they must. They seemed to fly the scene en masse when encounted with the wall of stink we presented to the night.

I called our friendly mechanic's number.

"Hi!" I said cheerfully and respectfully when the phone was answered. Since it was so late in the evening, I was sure one of the employees would be on tow duty, so I explained our situation, our location, and our need for a tow, and ended by mentioning that we were good customers, too.

"Yeah, I know you are!"(laughter). Our mechanic himself was 'on duty'.

"So you really ran out of gas? Oh, man!" (more hysterical laughter). "So, where are you, anyway?"

After giving our location (we were only about 3 miles from his shop), I hung up the phone.

"That was Scott, himself. I think we aren't going to live this down for a while".

"Yeah", said my man. Yup, definitely embarassed.

It was less than ten minutes when we saw Scott drive up, and produce a lovely, full can of gas for the Caddy. He was still laughing. Through smiles and giggles the Caddy was given a good drink, and we were treated to the delightful roar of a happy engine.

"Home, James", I said. And that's just where we went. Finally.

Meet Eddy

2009-07-08T18:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was adoption day. We could hardly wait. All our lives, it seems, we have talked about getting one. But we never acted.

Then, two weeks ago, we were offered one FREE...an old family retainer, no less, that had been neglected of late and needed a home that would make him feel wanted and useful again. All we had to do was take a drive up to Sturgeon Bay to pick up 'Eddy' and bring him home in the truck. We had to do it! 'Eddy' had been owned and loved by Rich's late uncle and aunt (Ed and Sophie), and was being cared for at this time by Rich's dear Aunt Irene.

We made the long round trip to Sturgeon Bay on one day (6 hours each way). Aunt Irene, all 93 wonderful years of her, had lunch waiting for us: chili and homemade cherry pie. And, as Rich and I put Eddy into the back of our truck, we felt the promise of all that Eddy could offer us.

Now that Eddy is safely housed in our garage, we plan to run out and get some new fixings for him: oars, padded seats, a new motor, and lifevests.

Hope you enjoy meeting Eddy!

The Seniors Do Father's Day - Saturday & Sunday

2009-06-23T11:24:00.001-07:00

SATURDAY:We survived Friday. Saturday morning, as we S L O W L Y got up, we rejoiced that we had nothing whatever to do in the morning. So, after a good weekend breakfast, we did ---nothing.

Until we couldn't sit idle anymore. Curse that inner drive! We made our way down the stairs from the Great Room, intent on cleaning golf clubs for the day tomorrow.

And we found the package in the garage! Our thoughtful, considerate daughter and son-in-law had sent hubby a BIG box of Bing Cherries for Father's Day! Yum!

Noon found us, full of cherries, down in the studio, creating pots and tiles. Then, wifey had a go at finishing the editing on a book that had to be done for a friend. And she did it! A flurry of activity kept us engaged until dinnertime.

The energy flurry ended right after the food, and TV took up the rest of the evening...until a very early bedtime - 9 pm - for the wife. She assumes the hubby got to bed at a reasonable time, and that she didn't snore too much...

SUNDAY: Father's Day, and we were out the door by 6:30 am, grabbing our Subway Breakfast Sandwiches on the way to the Club to play in the Father's Day Scramble! Yee Ha! We met up with our golf buddies Bob and Brenda, and the Scramble went off at 8:30 am., finishing by 1 pm. It was a good day on the course: we came in 3 under par. Never mind that the Scramble leaders were, like, 15 under par. And Hubby bought a shirt. He does not have enough golf shirts. Like Imelda didn't have enough shoes.

No time, however, to linger over a beer at the bar: we had a CAR SHOW to go to in Oakbrook. Not for our car. These are the totally classy 'Concours' cars that make one's mouth water. Into Roxy, the IROC Z Convertible, and we were off and running. A quick stop at Jimmy John's for a sandwich, and soon we were parking at Oakbrook. Noting the parking spot. Really. Just in case.

We walked all around the car show, with Hubby taking pictures, and me enjoying the cars and the crowds. There sure are some classy looking people at the Oakbrook Mall. Not like my local Wal Mart. Wow. And they smell good, too!

Sometime during the show, we got a text invitation from our thoughtful, wonderful son and daughter in law to come over to their house for cake after we were done at the show. It was an invitation we just had to accept!

What fun to have that GREAT home made Dark Chocolate Cake, Ice Cream! The grandsons were both there, too. Great conversation, and good times. And...Hubby was appropriately gifter with a very classy, very useful 'day pack' which he will fill with many wonderful, intriguing things.

With a full tummy, we set off for Seneca. Well, one of us had a full tummy, but Father's Day Boy was hungry again, and wifey didn't feel like cooking or eating, so we stopped by the Katie Hooper tugboat/restaurant on the Illinois River for one drink and a pork chop sandwich for the Dad. As we sat at the deckrail overlooking the river, we felt so blessed. Tired, stinky, and blessed.

So home it was for a shower and a relaxing time before willingly falling into bed to be ready for: Monday!

The Seniors Do Father's Day Weekend: Friday

2009-06-23T07:42:00.000-07:00

Today, Tuesday the 23rd, is recovery day here at the Seneca Senior Home. The air is on, the shades are closed, and we are lounging around, revelling in the total absence of committments today.

The weekend was 'killer': fun, but killer. It all began Friday.....(dissolve, fade to flashback).

Early Friday morning, we had an Estate Sale on our little list of 'fun things to do in life'. We headed out in the big truck (always optimistic!), and found the location of the sale. Touted as a 'Farm Sale', we found it curious that our 'farmhouse' destination was a small, brick ranch home on a major roadway, not far from large, newly built homes.

At least 40 vehicles lined the roadway, and many people were millling around in front of the house. We wondered why. We asked. We found out. The small house would accomodate only a few folk at a time; there was a 'waiting list'. A waiting list with a LOT of names before ours. In fact, at least half and hour's worth of names before ours!

After walking around the one outbuilding and looking at the rusted, nearly unsalvagable bicycles, milk cans, and general 'junk' that was offered there, we opted out of waiting and hopped in the truck to go to: Blain's Farm and Fleet! Yee Ha!

After a pleasant hour at Blain's (we cannot 'do' a Farm Store in less time!), we popped my purchases in the truck (3 new outfits!) and headed for the home front.

A quick lunch, and it was off to the other property to weed the veggie garden, pick strawberries, and work on the Caddie for the car show that night. And cut the grass at that property, too.

With just enough time for a shower (badly needed. Stinky seniors), we headed off in the Caddie for a double feature evening:

1. The LaSalle County Cruisers Car Show

2. The Ottawa Art League Gallery Opening

Both were on the main drag in Ottawa, and it promised to be an adventurous evening. Just how adventurous we were about to find out.

Dinner with a friend, and --bingo--we were all set up for the Gallery opening in the outdoor patio area at Jeremiah Joe's Coffee. It sort of looked like rain, but we were protected with a roof over our heads, and the gallery was totally inside. Cars began arriving for the Car Show; the main street was blocked off, the DJ began broadcasting, and we were happily greeting people and watching cars.

Then the thunder began.

To say we had a storm is like saying poison ivy is a little bit itchy. It rained sheets of rain. It boomed and it blew. People huddled under the coffee shop roof, looking out at the sudden night created by the black of the storm. Some of the show cars left, but the sensible ones waited it out. And it did finally end.

As commerce resumed, and people began to stroll, we were rewarded for persistance with a trophy for our Caddie! It's always a tickle to get recognized!

As we sat in front of Thor (our Caddie...so named because he sounds like thunder when revving up), we learned from a friend that our town, Seneca, was out of power from the storm. We headed home.

Yup, Seneca was black!

We stabled Thor in his garage at the 'other house', manually opening the overhead door...the power outage meant, of course, that the garage door openers would not work. We headed home through darkened streets with citizens milling about in the quiet, steamy night air. The silence was only broken by the hum of ajn occasional generator.

Oh, heck! Did we have keys for OUR house? We NEVER used them, relying on the garage door opener...which wasn't gonna work! Augggh!

I found that I had a key for the lock on the front door, but I didn't have a key for the deadbolt on that door. I had no luck with the other doors at all, and the windows were all shut tight and locked ... of course. Just when things were looking dismal, another key, hidden in hubby's pack, fitted itself neatly into the deadbolt! We were IN!.

The power had been out for 2 hourse by then, and we actually started our generator. Exhausted, we watched TV, hoping to hear the welcome hum of power coming on. Finally, hubby went to turn off the generator, unwilling to let it run while we slept. And, with amazing coordination, the power came back on.

We fell into bed, grateful to Com Ed, and thankful for working keys.

Seniors Surfing through Sturgeon Bay

2009-06-16T17:07:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning: rising with the Sun (or an hour or so thereafter), we climbed into our truck (name: Dually...all our vehicles have names. Don't yours? Why not?) for our trip up to Sturgeon Bay, WI. Relatives were awaiting us: Hubby's fabulous Aunt who is 93 years young and still keeping house by herself in a really cool cottage on Lake Michigan; Cousin J, who, in his later 50's , is getting married again! He's visiting his Mom in Sturgeon Bay from far away Massachusetts;and Cousin K, who is the artistic member of Auntie's family. We were looking forward to a couple of great days of family. Longer than that with family is probably too much, unless a lot of alcohol is consumed.

Before hitting the Highway, first things first. Stopping at Subway for a breakfast croissant and coffee would make the trip go MUCH better. Yum. And Yum again. Seniors like their food. Especially breakfast.

After becoming mired in Fond du Lac-which we blamed on Garmina (our Garmin. She has a name. Doesn't yours?) and her inability to foresee ROAD CONSTRUCTION and DETOURS- we rediscovered our route and made our way unerringly to Sturgeon Bay, WI.

As we pulled into the long, well-remembered driveway to Hubby's Aunt I's year-round cottage, a sense of peace settled over us like a cherished blanket. Okay...enough.

The nice thing about visiting relatives older than you is that they make you feel young again. They remember you when you were just a kid. Your cousins remember the 'growing up' days when they hated you. Now, of course, you all only remember the fun you all had. Ah...memories.

Sunday night was spent eating and talking. More eating. More talking. Computer slide shows of houses far away. More eating. More talking. Goodbyes to Cousin K., who had to be home to go to work (not old enough to be retired like us!).And, finally, sleep on the pull out sleeper sofa. Well, one of us slept. The other kept hogging the bed and the blanket. And Cousin J, in the adjacent bedroom, snored. Not softly. Nope. It was a long night.

Morning brought breakfast. Cousin J made banana bread. His ALWAYS is moist. Mine has a crust like lava. It was delicious. Hubby made coffee. Aunt I was regaled with good food and good coffees. Nice.

After a long walk down the nearly deserted road, I came back to the cottage to find that Cousin J had planned an outing on Lake Michigan. He had a kayak. I had a rowboat. Hubby had a camera. We were ready to ROCK! After testing my ability to row a boat, I headed back to shore and Hubby creaked into the boat. Cousin J launched his kayak, and the three cousins cruised along the Lake Michigan shore with the sun shining, the gulls diving and calling, and the light waves lapping at our respective crafts. It was an afternoon of delights.

Late afternoon was spent searching the stores of Sturgeon Bay for a sturgeon (this is not to be found IN ANY STORE IN STURGEON BAY) and looking for photographic barns ; we worked up a powerful hunger, so we all headed back to Aunt I's for a GREAT supper of homemade chili and homemade cherry pie. May we just say: Yum!

Tuesday was departure day for all. Cousin J: we dropped him off at the Green Bay airport. His fiancee was meeting him at the other end in Massachusetts. And he sure was antsy to get back there! After Green Bay, we just tooled on back to the Illinois River Valley, grateful for another family weekend with relatives.

The Seniors Do a Garage Sale

2009-06-09T09:17:00.000-07:00

Saturday am, we popped out of bed (hmmm...those were REAL popping noises!), and hustled to get to our 'rehab' house to present our wonderful, gently used 'stuff' for sale at the VILLAGE WIDE GARAGE SALES.

Stumbling through table set up, pop-up set up, and correctly juxtaposing things to display their most eye-catching features (how many glass vases did we have, anyway!), we finally got to the part where we could finish our coffees. That helped.

We even put out a table of our pottery! After all, as starving artists (please don't mention that we don't look starved if you wish an inheritance...), one must begin to get one's reputation in the hometown, right?

The male member of our dynamic duo had to 'cut out' early in order to show his beloved car at the all Cadillac Show in Lombard, IL. This left his frail, elderly wife to deal with the hordes of customers who descended on the site like vultures to a feast. Aw, shucks...that ain't the way it was, folks, but that was a good fiction sentence!

Joined mid-morning by their intrepid cousin from the Northern Sububs, who brought some of her stained glass artwork to sell, the two girls succeeded in selling out nearly all of the garage sale items, and even some of the pottery. A great time was had by both, as the customers proved to be friendly, happy and chatty.

A mid-day drizzle hastened the closing of the Garage Sale, and another Annual Village Garage Sale was over.

The Seniors Discover Estate Sales

2009-06-05T11:11:00.000-07:00

It had been quite a week at the Seneca Retirement Home. Monday, the lost day, was spent by yours truly undergoing a 'surgical procedure', and then sleeping off the anesthesia. Tuesday am, more house cleaning (the threat of company ALWAYS produces results!), then off to an 18 hole Match Play Golf Tournament. Wednesday, final house cleaning for our Wednesday night gathering of the Ottawa Art League here for our Annual Art League Picnic. 40 some artists gathered, filling the street and each bringing specialty dishes to pass. A GREAT time was had by all. We hung out until 11 pm, well past our bedtimes! Thursday was back to the veggie garden (after party cleanup) to weed and harvest strawberries. (You know how the strawberry harvest goes: 1 for me, 2 for the basket, 1 for me....)

So today, we woke up ready to PLAY! Thanks to our thoughtful DIL, we had hooked onto a website for Estate Sales that notifies you of local homes 'selling out'. There was a sale in Ottawa, and the preview on the web looked good. We were off to our very first Estate Sale on Friday morning, taking the truck, just in case.

We are in the market for some furniture for the downstairs living area and for our Great Room upstairs. After looking at the prices for NEW furniture....yeeks! Hence the jump to Estate Sales.

We found the Estate Sale house easily enough, thanks to our Garmin and the 20 or so signs along the way. The neighborhood looked really promising. (After all, one does want NICE used stuff! )What fun it was walking through the house (with about 30 other bargain hunters), looking at everything (did not find that mislabled Renoir). And...a chair bonded to us begging to be taken back to our home. We could not resist: it was so needy and cute. We bought it! For $15.00.

Can't wait for the next sale. Why didn't we make time for this ages ago! Woo hoo!

Have truck, will shop!

Yews Is Gone

2009-06-01T12:31:00.000-07:00

Oh, boy! Finally, the three yews that have been blocking my gardening ambitions are gone. They are now patiently awaiting their return to the earth as ash. They are drying out by the burning pile. Happy day!

On my list of garden jobs for TWO YEARS, the removal of the yews began a few weeks ago with a burst of energy on my part. One of those "I'm gonna 'get 'er done' days. It took me all afternoon, but I reduced the yews to stubs, and carted away all the branches and needles to the burning pile.

Then, last week, hubby and I decided 'Now is the time!'. With shovels in hands, we made our way over to the 'stumps', and DUG THEM OUT! What blesses relief. It opens up a whole new area, and soon new hosta will fill it. I have visions of really cool varieties, many of which have been promised to me by fellow gardeners.

We added some cool flagstones, too, to further open up this area.

I promise, this is the ONLY new garden I will dig up this year. I promise...really...no more...really.

THE SENIORS SURVIVE SATURDAY

2009-05-31T08:37:00.000-07:00

Seven am on Saturday found us up and (this is a joke) at 'em. We had to move it (another attempt at humor) earlier than usual, because one of us (whose initials are PAN) had cheerfully committed us to golfing with our buddies, the Wildas, at 8:40 am.

Now, 8:40 isn't really early, but...this was a Saturday, so another one of the team (whose initials are RLN) likes to partake of a weekend breakfast feast on Saturday and Sunday, and the other team member has to cook it. That would be me.

Breakfast before Golf: Farm-fresh eggs and farm bacon (from our CSA) turned into bagel sandwiches! Hash browns, coffee and juice, and...Benefiber. We were good to go.

And we went...in the IROC convertible. It was 50 degrees out. We had the top down. We were cold. We put the heat on and bundled in our sweatshirts.

18 holes later, done at a blistering pace (the Wildas are just young folk compared to us), we had warmed up considerably, but our bodies, having been exercised for 3 hours, wanted us to go home. We did, grateful that the sun made the convertible ride much, much more pleasant.

Lunch. Benefiber. Nap.

Up at 3 pm, we impulsively decided to take the IROC out again and head out to Goose Lake Prairie for a short hike through the prairie grasses. Got turned around a bit, but finally found Goose Lake Prairie again. Wish they would quit moving it. Hiked for about 1/2 hour, checked out the boat rentals (for future fun excursions), and then cruised Morris, stopping by the Lindy Gertie's car show for a bit.

We cruised back to Seneca, getting home about 7 pm. After a quick watering of the newest garden transplants, grilling our dinner sounded like the order of the night. We had some GREAT country style ribs just begging to be marinated and grilled with BarBQ sauce. Yum! Lit my big gas grill and began the session.

Made iced tea, watered the deck planters, and watched the country ribs. Basted and basted. When the meat thermometer indicated almost perfection, I ducked inside to ready the side dishes, keeping one eye on the grill. That's when I saw the smoke billowing out from under the cover of our grill.

"The grill is on fire!" I mentioned cheerfully, as I pulled the ribs off as quickly as possible (first things first...save the food!).

"Hoo Boy! A grease fire!"

"I'll get the flour!"

The handfuls of flour that I was tossing onto the flames (flames that were eagerly feeding off the drippings from the ribs and that were licking out of the grill, and that could just reach the rail of our wooden deck...) did nothing.

"I'm going for the fire extinquisher!" It was the ONLY thing to do. So we did. And...it worked!

When the flames were out, we wearily went inside to eat our slightly char-broiled ribs (they were really tasty, by the way), keeping an eye on the deck for any resurgence of flame. It was a night for dessert..and benefiber.

A glass of wine later, and some TV, and it was time for bed. We had looked at the grill, with thoughts of cleaning, but ....there is always tomorrow.

The grill is sitting on the deck, today, Sunday, waiting for us to clean it out. It's covered in a green substance that looks like...flour. Or green Benefiber.

More Garden Goodies

2009-05-26T17:28:00.000-07:00

What a weekend! Hopefully, all the wonderful food we ate (and ate, and ate) was offset by the amount of exercise we did!

The veggie garden was weeded on Memorial by yours truly: it took 2 1/2 hours of hoe-hoe-hoeing (and some just plain hand-pulling) but the plants are no longer threated by invaders. For now.

I was so happily surprised to find: baby tomatoes! And...the first red strawberry! Here's the photos to show y'all.

And back at our house, the poppy 'Patty's Plum' has burst into full bloom. It took 3 years for this perennnial poppy to reach this stage, but it's been worth the wait.

Happy gardening!

It's Finally, Really Spring

2009-05-21T08:19:00.000-07:00

Finally, it has stopped raining long enough for us to enjoy the outdoors fully again. All of our plants have been introduced to their outdoor homes, and are grateful for dry, warm weather and sunshine.

The hummingbirds are back, and we even spotted a Western Wood Pee Wee!

With Memorial Day weekend upon us, we are looking forward to more wonderful rounds of golf, seeing friends and family (one member of the family is turning 21!), and enjoying the sights and smells of the Great Outdoors.

The Veggie Garden is ALL PLANTED

2009-05-13T08:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, before the rains came (again), we finished planting the 2009 Veggie Garden!

This is a view of the South end of the garden. The strawberry bed, abloom with wonderful, white flowers, is on the right. Tomato cages are running up the left side of the strawberries, and the dark patch on the left is where we JUST finished planting carrots, turnips and beets.

Our scarecrow is in (minus his pants, which have mysteriously disappeared), the waving butterflies are on the bunny fencing, and the owl has been placed to safeguard the garden.

The bunnies are getting in, of course. Sigh. Hopefully, reinforcing the fencing will solve the problem.

Happy gardening!

Mother's Day Reprise

2009-05-13T08:02:00.000-07:00

This past Mother's Day was nostalgic, warm, special, and oh-so-memorable! It was nostalgic because it was the first Mother's Day without an entire generation of 'moms'. Gone on were Rich's mom, Victoria, Phyl's mom, Lorraine, and Mercedes' mom, Mercedes. Our family gathered at Ric & Mercedes' house to celebrate the day.

It was a warm day because all the moms were with us in spirit, and we were with each other.
We had our wonderful memories.

It was a special day because: we were all together!

And it was memorable for the excellent conversation, great food, and wonderful family time.

Thanks from a VERY happy Mom.

The Plant Babies Leave the Greenhouse!

2009-05-05T17:05:00.000-07:00

Big day today for the tomato babies and others: we placed them with loving care into our vegetable garden! Into neat little rows went: broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, and Waaay too many tomato plants. Also, onion sets of red onions were given their chance to prove what they can do.

Still waiting are the seeds for turnips and carrots. The strawberry plants are all in bloom, and the asparagus just keeps on coming! Glorious! The apple tree looks good, but the peach tree had only about 8 flowers this Spring, so we will have our every-other-year peach crop again.

Meanwhile, back on Daisy Court and up on the deck: the spinach, lettuce, trout romaine, cilantro, parsley and basil are doing just fine! Salad soon!

Hungrily waiting....

A New Piece of Pottery

2009-04-30T11:18:00.000-07:00

A little birdie told me to make these, so I threw two as a prototype. They aren't glazed yet, but I think they turned out well.

What are they?

Why...sponge holders, of course!

The Seniors Do Leftovers

2009-04-28T17:15:00.000-07:00

What to have for dinner after you have spent four hours enriching and rototilling the vegetable garden? Well, we had some leftover round steak. We searched Kitchen Stadium and took it from there. We created:

Huevos Rancheros Pizza

With a wheat Boboli crust, we spread just a bit of organic tomato paste, then topped that with Newman's Own Black Bean Salsa (Medium Hot). We chopped the leftover roundstead by hand into a fine chop, and spread it on the pizza. We sauteed chopped onion, mushroom, tomato and spices, and when the onion was transparent, we added four organic farm eggs and cooked that mixture until 'almost done'. The veggie and egg mixture was spread onto the pizza next, and topped with four different cheeses. We cooked the pizza for about 12". What a way to do leftover round steak!

Life and food are fun! Use your imagination!

The Seniors Rototill the Garden

2009-04-28T17:07:00.000-07:00

Oh, Boy! What a day! We actually got the vegetable garden rototilled this afternoon. First, we dumped a load of sand and spread that around. Then, we dumped about 280# of Composted Manure on the garden and the sand, and spread that around. THEN, we opened four huge bags of Peat Moss, and spread that atop everything else, and started the rototiller to work all the 'goodies' into the ground. We are done, and we will be planting as the weather permits. Can't wait for all the GREAT veggies to come.

The asparagus continues in super fashion, the strawberries are in bloom, and...check out the photo...we have harvested our FIRST stalks of rhubarb!

2009-04-27T17:32:00.000-07:00

Today, my DIL (at her house) and I (at mine) both battled Dandelions.

It's not an easy battle. I have actually set aside a 'sanctuary' where they can grow (birds like to pick at them and their seeds). The sanctuary is in my 'wild garden'. But they do NOT stay there. I do the usual: Weed N Feed, Scott's Step 1, 2, 3, 4...but they creep over from other areas. So today, I went out, trowel in hand, and waged a battle.

Years ago, I wrote the following poem to Dandelions. Hope you enjoy it:

Dandelion

Call me common.
Curse me, step on me, poison me,
label me a weed unwanted!
I’ll return.
I am your yellow reality.

© Phyllis A. Natanek
Bartlett, May 2002

published Moon Journal, Spring/Summer 2003, pg. 10

Spring Frenzy

2009-04-27T09:26:00.000-07:00

It's Spring in full swing, and we are trying to 'get 'er done' in between the raindrops. The hawthorn trees are in full bloom, and so is our beautiful, delicate serviceberry. In the woods garden, the Virginia bluebells are making a BIG statement in this, their third year.

All the cabbage babies have been transplanted to containers on our upper deck, as has the cilantro. Everyone did great! The tomato and basil babies are growing like weeds in the greenhouse, but they will have to wait just a bit before going outside.

More pictures will be posted this week.

The Seniors Do Friday

2009-04-25T07:42:00.000-07:00

Friday, April 24th, 2009

7 am. Up a bit early. No Pooping Raccoon last night. Life is good. Usual breakfast...yada, yada and Benefiber.

It's SUCH a great day! We had a lot of thunderstorms last night, but today the sun is shining and it is WARM. We have our tee time for 10 am, and we are resting in the Great Room when the phone rings at 8:15. It's our Golf Club! We can't golf today because the course is too wet! R promptly makes another tee time for Saturday at 10:40, and we take five to dream up a Plan B for this morning. Weather happens.

P cleans up the house a bit while thinking. Then we both go down to the Studio to glaze some pots, before P heads up to the deck, and plants the cabbages and cilantro. Those babies are ready to be outside now. The tomato and basil babies need to be in the greenhouse a bit longer.
(Factoid: when to plant tomatoes outdoors. Old farmer mom used to sit on the ground. If her derriere stayed warm and dry, it was time...).

The decision comes to us like a bolt of lightening: it's time to go to Ganz's Greenhouse in nearby Marseilles! A quick call to our friend Kathie (we promised to call her if we were going there this week) and we're off. Almost. First we stop at the other place to check the asparagus bed. The first shoots are READY! P gleefully harvests just enough for the weekend, and we both look forward to an orgy of asparagus this Spring.

A few minutes later, we get to Ganz's Greenhouse, and Kathie is there to meet us. We are all three Morris Garden Club members, and this trip is like a Spring Rite of Passage. Ganz's has been in business since heaven knows when. It's a set of greenhouses on Route 6 where they have been spending all Winter planting and starting their own veggies and flowers! They are only open from April to June. And...if you don't get there early, the best goes fast! The three gardeners saunter through the many aisles, and we all come up with a plethora of plants for our gardens.

We have: broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, big tomatoes, sweet peppers, and annuals. Kathie has overdosed on basil, tomatoes, and annuals. We all leave, happy.

Once home, we place our new plants in the garage until tomorrow. Many of them will go into the greenhouse until they can safely go outside. And right now...we have to go to work selling our pots at Starved Rock.

Off to Starved Rock State Park! We are participating in the IVAR fundraiser (Illinois Valley Animal Rescue), and we hope to sell some pottery as part of the Arts exhibit. 6 other artists, all fellow members of Ottawa Art League, have chosen to participate in the event, too. And there are booths of dog and cat specific all around the Starved Rock Room. It's a nice show, and the dinner is good. IVAR makes some money toward their new building, and we are breaking down the booth at 9 pm...right on schedule.

Home by 10. The totes are placed in the garage, and we head upstairs to the Great Room to have a glass of red wine, relax, and ... then to bed.

That was Friday!

2009-04-25T07:38:00.000-07:00

Oh....look! It's the first asparagus of 2009! Yum!

Don't the stalks look perfect?

And, you know why? This asparagus was given to us by our dear DIL (and son, but we know she's the one who thought of it!) four years ago, and you should see the harvest coming up this year.

We hope we have some left to share with them, but ... well ... we have been known to be asparagus piggies before!

2009-04-24T07:47:00.000-07:00

Introducing: The 'Plant Babies' in the greenhouse!

Soon, these little wonders will be going to live in the big, garden world

Meanwhile, they have been coming indoors at night and going out into the greenhouse in the morning.

Today, they will get new friends as we go to the nursery to buy some other varieties of plants.

The Seniors Do Thursday

2009-04-23T18:37:00.001-07:00

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Wake up at 5 am. R is out on the deck with a flashlight. It can only mean one thing: THE POOPING RACOON IS BACK! Yes. The Pooping Raccoon was indeed visiting for the third time (that could be a play on words, but I will ignore the possibilities for now). We understand animals, but we do NOT understand this one. Can ANYONE explain why a perfectly healthy looking male raccoon climbs up onto a second story deck, backs his derriere up to one of my oblong flower boxes, and poops into the flower box?? How many people have tried and failed at training a domestic cat to use a litterbox, at training an intelligent dog to go outside, at training a 2 year old?? But we have this Pooping Raccoon who can skillfully plop one into a long, narrow flower box! Gentle readers, I have not photographed the result for you...suffice it to say that the raccoon in question is LARGE, and is no longer constipated, if indeed he ever was.

So, R came back to bed. We went back to sleep, but had to rise at 6:30 to eat early so we could be in ‘fasting mode’ for tests later.

Breakfast...yada, yada, yada. And Benefiber.

Cleaned the kitchen and hall floors, vacuumed and did some other household chores. P dislikes being the maid and does this stuff as seldom as possible.

Home office to check Facebook, email, etc.

At 10:30, I began walking over to the hairdresser for our 11 am appt. R came at 11 with the truck for our day of multi-tasking. Hair done. We DO look good...for today.

Off to Morris for LifeLine Screening. Hence the fasting. We will have our tests for blocked arteries, abdominal aortic aneurisms, and other artery screening. We are there for 1 hr. and 10 minutes. R has not eaten since 7:30 am and is quite peckish.

Off to Jimmy Johns for a healthy, late lunch at 1:30. Great, healthy sandwiches like at Subway. Good spot to stop. And...they are CHEAP!

Then its to the Nursery for a huge scoop of sand into the bed of our faithful truck (Dooley). We need the sand for our Veggie Garden this year, and we will rototill it in next week, along with peat moss and manure.

On the way home, stopped in at Snowdance...our mechanic’s place...to let his wife know how much the sand cost ‘cause they need some.

Home, and R goes off to our other place to empty the sand out of the truck and into the Veggie Garden. P gets down to work on the remaining piles on the desk, and actually makes more progress.

Dinner is a healthy affair: Large salad, citrus/mango chicken (pan-seared, with a mango reduction), polenta with parmesan, and steamed broccoli. We finished the fruit salad tonight, too. And Benefiber.....

Right after dinner, P packed the totes for the show tomorrow night, and R packed the car for golf in the morning.

After this is posted, P is going to go upstairs to commisserate on the Cubs loss, and watch a little TV and have a glass of red wine and go to BED and listen with one ear for the POOPING RACCOON!

The Seniors Do Wednesday

2009-04-22T18:50:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Wake up at 7. Take meds.Yawn.R leaves to get the paper in town. Hear him come back at 7:45. Yawn. Get up. R has put together Senior Breakfast ... yada, yada, yada

Go rest on couch in Great Room. Read funnies in paper. Read rest of paper. DONE WITH CURRENT BOOK! WOO HOO! Remind self that Book Club IS TONIGHT!

Get up off couch at 9:30. Tidy the kitchen. Make the bed. Clean the coffee pot. R showers and is off to a dental appointment.

Check on the Veggie Babies. Nice day, so put them in the Greenhouse, and wish them a wonderful time outdoors.

Downstairs to the Office. Tackling the pile of work that needs to be sorted. Get done about Noon. R comes home. 2 cavities. Bad boy! P freshens up and is out the door to meet with a girlfriend for lunch and writing discussion.

Meet at friend’s house. Stopped at Subway to pick up healthy lunch sandwiches: P has a Veggie on 8 grain, no cheese, and a V8 juice to drink. Very pleasurable time at the girlfriend’s discussing art, writing and whatever else comes to mind. Planning to start a Writer’s Group. Leave about 3.

Home, and into Home Office. R has left for Golf with the Buddies. P works on more ‘stuff’ that is waiting to be done.

Garden. Take the flower stalks off the three rhubarb plants. Pull about 6 dandelions from the North Perennial Bed.

Quick Dinner snack. Wednesday is a no cook ‘girly night’. Peanut Butter, Yogurt and a big Iced Tea. With Benefiber. Of course.

Book Club at 6:30. Remarkably, P is not stoned for scheduling a book of 840 pages, and almost everyone read it and enjoyed it! Wow! New member of Book Club shows up, too. Nice evening. Next book is: Loving Frank by Nancy Horan. Everyone seems relieved that it is only 356 pages. Home by 7:45.

Walk around neighborhood. Quick walk to enjoy the nice night and get some exercise. Bring in the happy Veggie Babies. Heirloom tomatoes, Cabbages, Cilantro & Basil. Notice that our lettuce is up!

Back to the Office. Work on Cow Picture for friend at Farm. Check email once more time.

9 pm. Upstairs to comfy couch. Glass of red wine. R the golfer home. Watch a bit of TV, and call it a night!

The Seniors Do Tuesday

2009-04-22T14:14:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, April 21st.

Wake up at 7. Take meds. Yawn. R leaves to get the paper in town. Hear him come back at 7:45. Yawn. Do some bone-clicking stretches in bed. Get up. R has put together Senior Breakfast ... yada, yada, yada

Go rest on couch in Great Room after breakfast. Read funnies in paper. Read rest of paper. Read current book. Remind self that Book Club is Wednesday night. Have about 300 pages to go.

Get up off couch at 9:30. Tidy the kitchen. Make the bed. Clean the coffee pot, yada, yada, yada.

Head Down to Home Studio. Trim two bowl forms. Admire both forms!

Stop in office to check email and pile of work taking up entire desk. P will think about all this work after she FINISHES THE FDR BOOK!

Shower.

We attend the Senior Luncheon and Movie at Seneca Public Library. ‘Marley and Me’. Subway sandwiches for all. Good company and movie is great. Best of all, it’s all FREE!

Back home. Try to finish Book Club Book Selection for discussion tomorrow night. As moderator, vow never, never again to choose an 800 page biography, no matter HOW good it is!

4:30 pm. Begin healthy dinner. Big salad! Pan-seared Tilapia with chef’s special rub; rice pilaf from last night; steamed broccoli; fruit salad. Benefiber.

6:30: Leave for meeting of Morris Area Garden Club, making sure to use a LOT of mouthwash to deter the garlic that seems to be the chef’s specialty.

Garden Club runs until almost 9 pm, due to incredibly enthusiastic, in depth speaker who waxes non-stop eloquent on the subject of growing orchids. R only has time for two cupcakes after the meeting, because P wants to get home to FINISH THE #&*!! BOOK!

Home at nearly ten.

10 pm. Finally sit on couch. Catch the end of the Cubs game. One glass of Pinot Grigio. Stay up for the news, then sit up until God Knows When finishing the 800 page bio of FDR! Having re-lived the Great Depression as well as WWII, P stumbles to the bathroom to brush her teeth. Flop into bed.

2009-04-22T10:14:00.000-07:00

I know you are all waiting to find out how to best live the retired life. Wait no more! Upcoming is Senior Week in Review.

Monday: Wake up at 7. Take meds. R leaves to get the paper in town. Hear him come back at 7:45. Yawn. Get up. R has put together Senior Breakfast of High Fiber cereals (we mix about 5 flavors), served with Light Soy Milk, Pomegranate Juice, coffee, vitamins and Benefiber in the cereal. Eat and enjoy.

Go rest on couch in Great Room. Read funnies in paper. Read rest of paper. Read current book. Remind self that Book Club is Wednesday night. Have about 350 pages to go.

Get up off couch at 9:30. Tidy the kitchen. Make the bed. Clean the coffee pot. Put away four loads of laundry washed yesterday.

Grocery Shopping in Morris, IL. Get to Jewel about 10:30. Check coupons. Check grocery list. Get everything on list, especially coupon items. Check out the ‘Bargain Carts’. Find three marinades marked down to about $1. Buy ‘em all.

Home for Lunch. Put away the groceries. Lunch of sliced leftover Chicken breast on High Fiber bread, on a bed of romaine, tomato slices, dill pickle and mustard. Water with Benefiber.

Go rest on couch in Great Room for 30 minutes.

Pottery Time: Empty the Kiln. Marvel at our talent!

Run out to Farm in Ottawa where we pick up our monthly CSA share of meat. Have engaging conversation with farm wife while standing amid 50 odd chickens running around.

Back home to put away the Meat Share. Ooh and aah over the selection.

Begin cooking healthy dinner. Salad of 7 different greens, scallions, garbanzo beans, avocado, carrots, finely chopped broccoli, napa cabbage,tomato, and a touch of gorgonzola cheese. Low fat dressing. Main course: Ground Beef Quesadillas (our grass fed, organic farm beef) with smokey chipotles, onions, tomatoes, finely choppped celery and garlic, and low fat shredded cheeses on whole wheat Tortillas. A side of Rice Pilaf, home made with our own veggie stock, scallions, garlic, and turmeric. And benefiber.

After dinner, get out huge pot and begin making veggie stock for upcoming week from saved, frozed veggie scraps.

Down to the Studio to trim newest pots, and add handles to leather hard. coffee mugs.

Back up to great room. Turn off stock. Set aside until morning. Shower.

9 pm: Finally sit on couch. Watch Hawks game. Drink one glass of red wine. Go to bed at 10:30

2009-04-18T09:28:00.000-07:00

It's happened. We've been gradually overtaken by the critters who live around our little house. From our Upper Deck, where we keep bird feeders, to the hickory trees, where we station squirrel feeders, to the woods, where we keep a mineral block for the deer, our 'critters' are getting closer and closer to moving in with us.

Check out the SLIDE SHOW for some views of our furry and feathered friends!

The Story of Orca and Blue

2009-04-13T15:33:00.000-07:00

Ah, Spring! The jonquils are blooming, the Siberian Iris are celebrating, tulips and rhubarb and just everything is coming back to life. That includes our little pond.

Over Winter, the inhabitants of our pond hibernate. In Spring, as the water temperature warms, they realize: we haven't eaten in MONTHS! Ravenous mouths greet us in the morning. Like Hoovers, the Koi skim the surface looking for morsels, and like back up vacuums, the goldfish cruise, waiting for goodies to come their way.

We've had these scaly pets for 5 years now. The koi (who were formerly called Jesus and Lazarus...more on that later) are now named Orca and Blue, because they strongly resemble large whales in the pond. The herd of goldfish are called: The Herd of Goldfish. Orca and Blue are VERY large now. Very, very large. Actually, so are the goldfish. We estimate Orca and Blue, purchased as babies of 3" or so, to be 20" long. If they were bass, they'd be 'keepers'. The goldfish, purchased for $.10 each when they were about 1" long are pushing 10". These are our original purchases. Not one fish croaked. Miraculously.

Orca and Blue have always had tenacity. When the 'pond gang' was new to us, and much smaller, we decided to net them out in Autumn and bring them inside to their Winter quarters: a child's wading pool that we kept in our basement. The wading pool was heated and filtered, and the growing fishies were blissfully happy throughout the Winter. We did the same for the second Winter, even though our two Koi, who were nameless at this point, were quite a bit larger. Larger fish can leap, and that's just what the two koi did during their Winter vacation: they left the safety of their pool to test the land. \

The first time this happened, we were right there, and were able to scoop up our would-be amphibians and put them back in the water. The second time, the koi were not quite so lucky. An unknown amount of time passed before we discovered both koi on the basement floor, dry to the touch and seemingly quite dead. Sadly, we placed them into the pool, barely hoping. We wiggled them back and forth to get their gills moving and ---VOILA! They began to swim, slowly and weakly, but they were alive. That is when they became Jesus and Lazarus.

That same day, we placed netting above the swimming pool to keep our adventurous koi in the water.

The following Winter, we tested their ability to survive as koi are supposed to over Winter. They did swimmingly, and they grew SO big, that their names have been changed to: Orca and Blue.

Spring Break for Seniors

2009-03-31T12:09:00.000-07:00

Driving 4,500 miles across from Illinois to the West, we shared windshield time, driving duties, map perusals, GPS setting, and other things that are unmentionable. We are still married. Seniors are resilient.

From Illinois, through Missouri. From Tucumcari, NM to Tucson, AZ to Williams, AZ and the Grand Canyon, and on to Winslow (and THE CORNER); to Roswell, NM, and Longview TX, and home through Little Rock, AR, we hiked and golfed and toured our way around those GREAT areas. We are still married.

We met great people, laughed, talked, learned about every area we went to. We shopped, frugally, and we ate. Frugally. Rachel Ray, we decided, has nothing on us! Forty dollars a day is, like, extravagant! Seniors know how to squeeze value out of dining out during a trip!

Rich and Phyl's Handy Travel Eating Tips (for road trips):

Tip #1: Take it with you, for heaven's sake! Pack a cooler, and bring along those water bottles, juices, pop cans, purchased at your local grocery store (preferably with coupons!). Bring enough for the trip, and buy a variety of flavors. Look at what those drinks cost at a gas station stop!

Bring non-perishables, too, like crackers, peanut butter, nuts, trail mix, and energy bars. You know...the ones you bought on sale in your grocery store (preferably with coupons!).

If you start to run low, stop a local grocery store to re-stock. And enjoy wandering the local grocery store...some of them are really very interesting!

Tip #2: Stay at moderately priced motels with FREE BREAKFAST! (Be sure your motel chain of choice offers 'perqs' to you for a certain number of stays, or points for other good 'stuff'. (That's as good as coupons!).

Eat a good breakfast! It's good FOR you! And, you can survive nicely through lunch on the goodies you packed at home. Or take a bagel from the Breakfast Bar. With Cream Cheese. But not too often. Don't be a piggy.

Tip #3: Eating dinners out within a budget is really quite easy. If there is no famous restaurant in the area, choose an interesting restaurant. Skip the chains. Be adventurous! If the motel recommends a place, try it! The Diner down the street with the cow on the roof could be a great place for local, fresh food. You are out to have a vacation, don't be a stick in the mud!

Don't order a cocktail. Alcohol drives up the price of the dinner. If you are over 55, ask for a Senior Discount. There is no point in being shy if it saves you money! And there's no point in trying to fool the waitstaff about how young you are; they are all 16 and think you are a dinosaur anyway. So fess up!

Chances are, one of you is probably overweight anyway, so order an appetizer as the main course, especially if the menu is a pricey one! Salad and an appetizer is a good evening meal. You can dine at the plushest of restaurants this way, and spend next to nothing (we had dinner for two in some great places for about $10.00 each). And take your leftovers! You can use them for lunch on the road tomorrow!

Happy travelling!

Vacation is OVAH!

2009-03-20T12:34:00.000-07:00

We are back, safe and relatively sound, from our three week, 4,500 mile trip to AZ, NM, TX, AR...with quick runs through OK, MO. The photos and blogs will be coming. I just caught up with all the great blogs from To Mock a Killifish and It Be Fascinatin'. I am out the door right now to catch up on the burning pile and do some more Spring Cleaning in the yard.

Trip Trolls

2009-03-03T16:26:00.000-08:00

Just the simple voicing of a scheduled vacation, however softly spoken, can be heard by the Trip Trolls. Surely, you all know about these scheming creatures of the natural order. Every household in the world has one...and the very wealthy have two or more, we have heard. We aren't the only ones subjected to their perverted sense of humor. We aren't...aren't we?

Trip Trolls are activated, as I mentioned, by almost the thought of you planning a getaway. They leap into gear with the first choice of your dates, and plan outrageous ways to keep you at home. Landscape trucks falling into y0ur septic tank; yellow jacket wasps in the garden; the furnace that quits for good the night before you leave a frigid clime for the warm states. The more sensational their roadblock to your much deserved and desired vacation, the more elevated the status of your particular Trip Troll. Our Trip Troll, we estimate, has achieved High Con Troll.

A quick review of my personal Troll's most memorable effort.

1962: The Hawaiian Vacation

It was a family dream vacation: my mother, me, my grandparents. All off to Hawaii, with a stop-over first in San Francisco, then two weeks in Honolulu, then a stop in Los Angeles on the way back. We were going with a Travel Group called 'Happiness Tours'. In the days before jets, this was a BIG DEAL for an ordinary family, and we were beyond excited. My grandparents and I had never even been on an airplane before!

At Midway Airport, the Trip Troll struck for the first time. Our little band of merry travellers had boarded our plane, climbing the stairs out on the tarmac, and our Tour Guide cheerfully greeted each and every one of us. We took our seats, listened diligently to the Stewardess explain about the seat belts and floatation devices, and watched my grandmother dig into her cache of jelly beans to calm her nerves. The plane taxied off onto the runway. The plane stopped on the runway. The plane turned around on the runway. The plane taxied back to the boarding area. Our intrepid tour guide announced to us all that due to some mechanical problems with the plane, we would be housed, FREE OF CHARGE, in a motel near the Airport while the plane was repaired overnight. We would take off in the morning for San Francisco.

Did I mention that this was before jet travel was common? Did I mention that our aircraft was a big prop?

At least four people left the Happiness Tour Group that night. We stayed, and, with the rest of Happiness Tours boarded the repaired plane the next morning. Our aircraft actually took off! To celebrate, my mother had a few cocktails, and grandma had a LOT of jellybeans. I think grandpa was just stoic. Or terrified. Not sure.

San Francisco was great fun. Our short stay over, the dapper Tour Guide for Happiness Tours assembled us all at the hotel, and we were shuttled to the Airport for the flight to Hawaii. Over water. In our big, propeller driven silver tube. And the Troll was ready!

Once again, the plane taxied out onto the runway. Once again, the plane stopped; the pilot turned the plane around and taxied back to the boarding area. Once again, our guide, looking just a wee bit less dapper, informed us , with stout-hearded rhetoric, that we would be put up FREE OF CHARGE back in the hotel while the plane was repaired overnight. We would be taking off the next day for Honolulu...over the ocean. Lots of water.In a prop. Sharks. Amelia.

Well, we lost about 10 people that night from Happiness Tours. Our guide was now referring to our group as Agony Tours. My Mom had a few more cocktails before bed. Grandma bought more jellybeans, and grandpa hit the beer.

We were assembled in the morning, a more subdued version of the jolly group that had met at Midway Airport.

Miraculously, the plane arrived, was boarded, and actually took off. The Tour Guide had champagne. In fact, there was free champagne for EVERYBODY! Even for me and the new girl from Jersey that I had struck up a friendship with. Did I mention that I was 16? After a few champagne drinks, someone in the group christened our plane 'The Flying Titanic'. We all thought that was hilarious!

Our giggly group landed in Honolulu without further incident, and most of the adult Happiness Tour members were very happy indeed; at the reception that was held for us, where they got happier on the rum drinks that were served. My girlfriend and I were, however, served cokes. Sigh.

Our Hawaiian stay of two weeks flew by. On the appointed departure day, we all assembled in the lobby of our lovely hotel to shuttle to the airport. The Troll was among us. Our Tour Guide looked us over quietly, as we stood with tanned faces and hastily packed suitcases. He said in a monotone that spoke volumes:

"They seem to have lost our aircraft temporarily."

He went on to say that - guess what? - we would be put up FREE OF CHARGE in the hotel until our aircraft, or another suitable plane, was found to take us to Los Angeles. Oh, heck...another week in Paradise? FREE! That was SO difficult to accept!

Now, I think the Travel Troll make a BIG mistake here. Leaving us in Paradise for seven more days was NOT a serious inconvenience. Those with jobs had some finagling to do with their workplaces, but this was 1962! Undertandings were reached.

The rest of the tour was uneventlful, and I am sure it was because the Troll tripped up on his last glitch. We all enjoyed Los Angeles, and the flight home to Chicago on the Flying Titanic was totally smooth all the way. No one even lost luggage, an angle the Troll did not play on this vacation (later, however....but that's another story).

Now, we are all packed and getting ready to head out in the morning for Arizona. Hmmmm.......

Second Story Man

2009-02-28T09:19:00.000-08:00

I'm married to the lovely and talented Richard, aka: Mr. Fixit, Chef Ricci, Sparky and now...Second Story Man.

Here's his photo on the side. You can see how handsome and amiable this man is! The amiable trait is is necessary part of our relationship, because no matter how diligently I try to upset his apple cart, he keeps right on course. Amazing!

My latest attempt to derange my beloved occurred this past Wednesday night. Since I was fasting for a medical procedure, my guy had thoughtfully gone out to Subway to eat a dinner sandwich. I hurriedly got myself together to run off to our local library, where I am the designated Moderator for our Book Club. We were due to discuss the lively and entertaining 'The Great Depression: America, 1929-1941' by Robert S. McElvain. (If I keep selecting such scintillating books, they may just elect a new moderator). I gathered my notes, packed the book and my notes into my purse, and left via the inside door to our garage, zipping happily into town.

Did I mention that, as seniors, we are religious about locking our doors that lead outside? One can never be too careful, you know. Before hopping into 'Maxine', my trusty old Ford Taurus SES, I checked the outside garage door, and locked it. I am nothing if not reliable!

The book of choice was the catalyst for over and hour's worth of in depth conversations about the economy, political parties, FDR, Eleanor Roosevelt, JFK, Obama, war, taxes, insurance, Social Security, and more that I needn't write about here, because this post is not about our Book Club! Did I mention that seniors can sometimes be unfocused?

Returning home, I easily let myself in via the garage door opener, double-checked to see that the outside garage door was indeed still locked (it's a senior thing, okay?), entered through the garage/laundry room door, and locked that one for the night, too. I saw that my honey's truck was back, so I knew he was home, too.

Cheerfully, I called out to Rich that I was back. He was comfortably stretched out on the sofa in the Great Room, watching TV. His first words were "Were you mad at me?".

Now, I have been married long enough to know when not to answer a question directly. Hedging, I said, cleverly, "No! Why?" (Seniors have fascinating conversations).

During the next few minutes, I learned the following facts: Subway had a good sandwich; diesel gas prices were up a bit; I had left the inside garage door locked, along with every other ground level door in the house locked up tighter that Fort Knox.

"How did you get in?"

"I climbed up to the upper deck and got in through the sliding door into our bedroom. You had the only key to the house and I didn't want to bother you at Book Club."

I looked at Rich with admiration shining in my eyes! If he had told me this 30 years ago, I wouldn't have thought twice about it, but -- at 66 -- for him to shinny up a deck support, toss himself over the upper deck rail, and be none the worse for wear was absolutely amazing! Colossal! Stupendous!

I, of course, had not locked him out deliberately, but must have pressed the lock button inadvertently when I left the house. I think he believes me.

Now, if we remember, we are going to get some more keys made. My Second Story Man does not really need to try that again for a while.

From Trees to Pottery

2009-02-26T13:25:00.000-08:00

It's a really challenging day outside: foggy and rainy, although the temperature is mild and whispers of Spring. I'm about to go down to our basement studio, but as I looked out the office window, I saw our trees standing in the mist and fog. I began to think about how my mind views trees. Why do my 'faux bois' pottery pieces often depict 'tree people'?

As a child (yes, it WAS a long time ago, but only I can say that!), I remember spending a lot of time outdoors. I loved being outside, and some of my favorite times were when my Mom would take me to the local Forest Preserve. We would walk the paths, and check out the trees. She knew the species of the trees. That fascinated me. She must have been the first to tell me how the Native Americans acknowledged the 'soul' of trees, and the idea fired my young imagination.

And, somewhere in the childhood time frame, I read, re-read, and re-re-read 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow'. In fact, now that I think on this, there were the often frightening fairy tales of the brothers Grimm. The notion that trees at night in the mass are scary beings intrigued me no end.

When I was older, I would be bumming around the old Chicago Public Library (in those days, I was allowed to travel to Downtown Chicago alone, using public transportation, at the age of 13. Imagine!). I was taking out books on Native American beliefs. It was said in our family that my Father's Grandmother was a full-blooded Cherokee Indian, which I though was extremely cool. I wanted to embrace that culture.

Then, with the advent of husband, children, work...life became wonderfully busy. Yet, I still remember with much love the HUGE maple tree in front of our house in Maywood where all the neighborhood children would gather, and many would climb into its sturdy branches. I remember how, in Bartlett, I fought the removal of the old Black Walnut trees along the easement in front of our home there...and won. And it was in Bartlett, through our walks through Pratt Wayne Woods, that the love of trees rebloomed. Rich, my husband, took many photos of some of the great trees in those woods, and I wrote many a poem about them, also.

Then came Seneca, and our pottery classes. The trees sprang easily from thrown stoneware cylinders, and soon, the ideas for tree spirits and tree people were popping into my head. The tree people transitioned easily from my head to the clay. And now you know...that's why she does it!

Have a great day and enjoy the new photos!

Garden Dreams

2009-02-25T09:32:00.000-08:00

It's almost March, and a Gardener's thoughts turn to dreams of the riot of colors and shapes that are sleeping under the mulch. So poetic!

But first, it's time to put on the 'Sloggers' and get out there in that muddy mulch to do some needed chores.

Yesterday, I stretched and groaned while lopping the too-tall tops off the Winged Euonymous (Burning Bush) hedge on the North side of the Garage (the side that Testosterone Tom likes to visit). But...wait...did she say that a sun-loving shrub like Burning Bush is on the NORTH side of her house? Let me say this...I DID NOT PLANT THEM THERE! I am WAY smarter than that! But they were happily rooted and over 7foot tall when we moved here 5 years ago, so they are staying. They make a valiant effort to turn sort of red in the Autumn, but without full sun, they just can't get it right. However, they are HUGE, and every February, I trim them down below the garage roof level. It's great upper body exercise.

I created quite a pile of cuttings, and neatly raked it to the side. It's waiting for me today. The plan is to move it to the 'to be burned later' pile by the woods. Also in the plans is a determined effort to remove the Winter's deposit of branches and twigs that are carpeting our little yard.

So, with dreams of the seasons to come, I will put on the muck boots and set off into the still barren wasteland of my gardens. But...I will leave you with photos of past glories: an early blooming Anemone Flower, and the glories of the Perennial Bed last year.

Sweet Flower Dreams!

A Turkey Reprise

2009-02-24T11:58:00.000-08:00

My first blog, and I am already issuing a correction.

Telling the boys from the girls with turkeys can sometimes be difficult. That said in my defense, let me get to the point: Corrigan is a BOY.

NEWS FLASH: TESTOSTERONE TOM AND CORRIGAN ARE ONE AND THE SAME TURKEY!

As I went through the digital shots of the turkeys that we took yesterday and today, it became apparent that the lovesick turkey who was romancing our window was obviously male. Look at him! Wattles, spread tail, beard. This is a handsome and seasonally inspired young male who is also dumb as a post when it comes to finding a 'live one'.

Isn't it obvious why the flock left him behind this morning. It all makes more sense. Those girls were sneaking out of the yard for a darn good reason.

Hope you enjoy the new photos!

The PANoramic View: Wild Turkeys

2009-02-24T09:02:00.000-08:00

For all of you who know how we live among the birds and beasts here in the Illinois River Valley, it will come as no great surprise that we have been adopted during this dismal Illinois Winter by a flock of Wild Turkeys. Yup...15 strong, big, hungry turkeys. Mostly hens and adolescents. More on the 'boys' later.

Drawn to our avian friendly yard by leavings under the squirrel feeders (more on the squirrels at another time), the flock has proven surprisingly adept at getting at the corn they obviously crave. Wild turkeys can fly. They can sit in the squirrel feeding platforms to feast on the corn. They intimidate the squirrels, who, in turn, climb up to our upper deck and intimidate the birds so THEY can eat.

Wild turkeys rest in the trees, where they look very, very large. The hawk leaves the area when they're here.

But...wild turkeys are, well, turkeys.

TESTOSTERONE TOM:

A great commotion among our flock of wild turkeys signalled the advent of the bird we now call Testosterone Tom. Yup...one of the boys. Tom arrived with attitude one morning, seeking to impress the hens in our yard with his virility and availability. The girls were, well, underwhelmed. Tom's efforts were laudable: he puffed, he strutted, he shook his great fan of tail feathers, and he talked sweet turkey talk to the objects of his attention. The girls kept on eating.

Tom began to get a mite 'pushy', first cutting one likely female off from the group, and, failing conquest, going after another, perhaps less fussy, girl.

The last we saw of Tom, he was chasing a 'dream date' into the woods West of our house. The girls have all been back. Tom has not.

CORRIGAN:

Usually, we wake up to the sound of birds and the 'plop' of the squirrels landing on our deck to steal bird food. Yesterday, our wake up call was an incredibly loud garble that reminded us of a cross between a gobble and the call of a wounded chihuahua.

Outside one of the full length windows in our garage, a hen turkey was furiously pecking, preening and talking to the turkey reflection she saw in our window. This lovelorn behavior went on for at least 30 minutes.

She was back this morning, and just as unlucky in winning the affections of the glorious potential mate in the window. While she was throwing herself at the object of her desire, the flock, perhaps embarassed at this indecorous display, moved away in great silence. Corrigan found herself alone, and panicked. Her forlorn cries penetrated our closed windows. She set off in search of her sisters...in totally the wrong direction. We hope they take pity on her and let her know where to find them!