Monday Morning Staff Meeting

This has been a busy place the past few days. We hosted one of the four dinner houses for our neighborhood's annual Progressive Dinner.

It is so much fun to get together, eat wonderful food and visit with our neighbors, including osme newcomers.

Here's what we served:

Blue Satin soup
Romaine salad with Becky's dressing
Lemon basil sorbet
Brandied carrots
New potatoes with horseradish mustard sauce
Beef tenderloin served with horseradish sauce or brandied cream sauce

Recipes to follow in the next few days.

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This section is called "Mandarin Gone Nuts".

Someone in China went nuts on my blogs this weekend. Yesterday I spent over half an hour deleting Mandarin spam.

You might ask yourself how I knew it was spam if it was written in Mandarin. It's easy. They sprinkle a few English naughty bit in there and those jump off the page.

I never had a problem with spam until very recently. Didn't Google acquire Blogger? Has it been since Google took over? I don't know what the trigger has been but it's getting annoying.

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On to the Bucket List ............

There's something I've wanted to do for awhile and I've officially added it to the Bucket List.

When I worked at the newspaper the photographer would be assigned to cover the History Flight of a B-17 bomber at the local airport. I could never manage to talk my way onto the assignment with him. I could sell advertising but couldn't convince the publisher why an advertising rep should be included.

The photographer, since he had credentials, would be waived the $400 plus fee. There's no way that I could justify spending that much money for a flight that lasted under an hour.

It was interesting to watch the old plane fly overhead and remember the time of prop airplanes and their low drone.



There are groups around the country that travel and offer the experience at different airports.

HISTORY FLIGHTS

If you're interested, here's the schedule for 2010.

HISTORY FLIGHT SCHEDULE

A flight on one of the bombers is $495, not something that's in my budget. They will be in Racine, Wisconsin in July, perhaps I can find a corporate sponsor before then who will foot the bill in trade for some advertising.

Just an idea.

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Have you heard about Books for Soldiers?

This group provides the opportunity for you to send books, DVD's and games to soldiers. They call them "Care Packages for the Mind".

ALL ABOUT BOOKS FOR SOLDIERS









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Have you been entering the contest for HGTV's Dream Home 2010?

Although I'm not very lucky, I'm entering every day.

HGTV DREAM HOME GIVEAWAY

It's a beautiful place in the desert. I'm not a desert kind of gal but I could probably get used to living here, at least part-time.

I believe it's worth $1.5 million and comes with a GMC vehicle and $500,000 cash.

Here's the home theater.


Photo credit: HGTV Online

In the past, winners have been forced to sell the home shortly after winning. Remember, it's not exactly a free house. You must pay taxes calculated on the value of home, vehicle and cash. The idea of the $500,000 cash seems to be that after paying taxes on the cash you would have enough left over to pay the taxes on the house and the vehicle.

The master bedroom includes a fireplace faced in mosaic work. I'm seeing alot of this in the design blogs. It must be the next new thing. What I love are the sliding doors that are based on barn doors used in farm buildings. It's a new twist on the pocket door.


Photo Credit - HGTV Online

If you go to the HGTV website and poke around the Dream Home you'll find that they include paint color and product information.

It would be nice to stay for a small vacation before putting out the for sale sign.

Or perhaps the Farmer and I could operate a bed and breakfast, after all the place includes a guest casita. Would you come to my B & B?

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Sorry, nothing for breakfast this morning except leftovers Brandied Carrots.

I now turn the meeting over to you. What's on your mind?

UFO's on the Prairie

The Farmer's alarm went off very early this morning.

It was still dark in the room when I slowly opened my eyes and became aware of a strange sight and sound. There was a low noise, very strange and irritating. The room was illuminated by an alternating bright blue/white light and yellow flashes.

Half awake and reeling from some strange dreams, I imagined a UFO outside on the front lawn where the deer cross each morning making their way to the woods to the east.

I'll admit that I'm one of those people who would love to see a UFO. A close encounter of the first kind would be just perfect for me. No need to have the greys take me on board.

Opening the blinds I spotted this:



Double blinding white lights up the street, slowly drifting and approaching our house. The noise increased as it approached.

The yellow lights were equally intensive.



What is it?



Oh darn, the snow plow!



That can only mean one thing. It snowed again last night and I'll need to fire up the snowblower. I preferred when we had the plow attachment for the tractor, but the Farmer hated attaching it each fall.

The sun began to rise behind the cloud cover. One thing I love about winter is the quality of the light. Blues, pinks and purples reign supreme.

This image is straight out of the camera. Yes, it was that blue.



Where was all this snow when we owned a snowmobile? We bought a nice sled when the kids were in high school. It promptly stopped snowing. No snow. For years. We sold the sled and now I'm wishing it was in the garage, waiting for a moonlit night to fly across the fields.

This is the kind of sledding I like to do.



Fifty miles per hour under the moonlight.

Yes, a need for speed.

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NOTE: Two of the cameras are fixed, at least temporarily. I managed to close the battery door on the small point-and-shoot and the Son took it with him to Fort Lauderdale.

I discovered that the problem with the large digital involved not one, but two bad memory cards. The wavy nature of the photos above is due to the fact that I didn't think it was a good idea to run outside in my robe with a tripod. The neighbors already think I'm a bit off.

Susan - I know you feel you're freezing in Florida but it's a good 50-60 degrees warmer than here so my son reports it feels wonderful. It's just hoody weather.

Homesteads

This morning I rose early to drive my son to the airport for his flight to Fort Lauderdale. He'll spend a week with a friend, soaking up the sun and salt water.

Can I blame him?



No.

Do I wish I was going somewhere too? Maybe here.


Belize on a bad day.

Yes.

On the drive home from the airport I spotted a scene that was similar to this.



Isn't that just lovely? It's like something out of a Christmas card.

The old farmstead included a traditional two-story farmhouse, a large dairy barn, several smaller barns, a oval corn crib similar to this;



and a chicken coop and a milking shed

All the buildings were gathered together and enclosed by a grove of old trees. It was if the family and the buildings joined together to make a stand against the elements and provide security in the vast expanses of farm land.



The scene gave me a feeling of inner peace and security. It seemed like a good, solid place to call home. There was a problem. The only reason I noticed this farmstead is because it was enclrcled by a tollroad interchange and a large housing development.

It's a lifestyle that involves a lot of hard, physical work and responsibility. But just the sight of the farmstead as you reach the top of the rise is enough for me.

Where's Waldo? the Battery?

One of the hazards of living in a northern climate is that if you leave your car for a day or two in cold termperatures, you're going to have difficulty getting it started.

Here's The Red Sled.



She wouldn't start, so I popped the hood to see about jumping the battery.



It's difficult for me to even identify some of the things under the hood.

I've jumped batteries hundreds of times before. Back in the day I'd work on my own cars. I remember unscrewing the wing nut that held on the air filter. You'd put a stick down into the carburetor to open the choke. Those days are gone.



Seriously, do you see a battery?



Looks like the engineers went mad. I checked the owners manual and it's no help. There's schematic drawing that tells me where to attach the jumper cable but that requires me to unlatch a cover and it doesn't indicate where it's located in the engine compartment.



The battery is actually enclosed somehow. You couldn't change the battery if you wanted to. This is why I am a low tech junkie. I don't even like power windows because it's just something else to break down.

Give me low tech every time. Have you ever looked at a straight-eight engine?


Photo Source: Howard33's Flickr Photostream

You'd say to yourself, "Where's the rest of it?"

Exactly. The fewer moving parts, gadgets and widgets there are, the less to breakdown.

A call to the service department of my Chevy dealer didn't elicit much help. Have you ever tried to describe an engine schematic over the phone?

The service manager sensed my frustration and came to my house after work to jump the car for me, and show me exactly where the battery was located.

That's how business is done around here.

Give me the good old days when I'd give the car a push and jump in and pop the clutch to start it. Now you know I'm an old timer.

Monday Morning Staff Meeting

It's that time again! I can't believe another week has gone by. Nothing's getting done around here. I've got to kick into gear and start making lists again.

I hope everyone had a wonderful New Year's eve.

Since I'm still operating without a camera (more about that later), I was forced to dig through the archives to find something interesting to serve at this meeting. I came up with this:



It's one of those fruit bouquets and trust me, it's wonderful. Be sure to grab one of the chocolate covered strawberries.

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First on the agenda this morning is Henry.


Henry looking innocent. (Photo Source - The Life of a Farmer's Wife)

Henry is up to his old tricks and on a new adventure, involving guns and homemade bombs.

HENRY'S NEW ADVENTURE

Be sure to click on the link that takes you to his previous adventures.

If you remember, Henry is the sock monkey that started as a package of Rockford Red Heeled Socks, a giveaway after my field trip to the Sock Monkey museum exhibit in Rockford, Illinois.

Look, I don't blame Henry for grabbing a gun, Ninja stars, or whatever else he might use to battle the peacocks.

Have you ever tried to take a nap with peacocks in the area? 'Nuff said.

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Although we live in a rural area, and we're on two acres, we are not zoned to allow livestock. The farmland was 40 miles away and The Farmer was the General Manager and CFO for a large fresh herb operation until it was sold. I sure miss the flow of fresh herbs but we've moved on.

I'm not wanting beef cattle or anything but I'd love to have some chickens and some fresh eggs. My thoughts are running to civil disobedience and perhaps a chicken or two tucked in the back of the property. Currently, the house behind us is empty and I'm sure our neighbors to the west would love some fresh eggs.

At least one of my online friends has chickens in the yard. Some communities are far more progressive in this matter.

The other day I was web surfing and came up with a site that encourages backyard chicken husbandry and actually provides some cool products for that purpose.

The site is called Omlet UK. Check out the cool stuff including the chicken tractor.

OMLET UK BACKYARD CHICKEN COOPS


Photo Source - Omlet UK Website

Hey Chocolatechic - it comes in pink!

They're pretty pricey at 583 British pounds but what a cool idea. The concept of a chicken tractor is that you can move it around the yard, providing fresh areas for the chickens to peck and find insects. The run is fox-proof and I'm guessing also coyote proof.

I know some of you keep chickens and I'm wondering how much work is really involved in the process.

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I found another cool site while surfing around the web. It's called The Lettered Cottage and it's home to Layla and Kevin Palmer who are remodeling and redecorating gurus. Like many of us they were thrust into projects by necessity born of budgetary constraints. Layla graduated with a degree in design and she's putting it to good use.

Gotta love them because they have a cute Chihuahua named Maximus, who looks like out own Cisco (and Rue's new puppy also).

Layla provides online design services. What a cool idea. You can hire her to do a virtual makeover, showing you how to make the most of your space. If you follow the link below it will take you to the page that allows you to see the makeover. Just roll your mouse over the picture and you'll see the before and after pics.

LETTERED COTTAGE ROOM MAKEOVERS

It's called Presto-Chango. How cool is that?

RIght now it appears she had a waiting list for services but her photos are inspiration to start some changes around here.

LETTERED COTTAGE DESIGN CONSULTATION PAGE

As for me, I'll simply confer with The Daughter, who has a Master's Degree in design. I spent endless hours pouring over paint color samples for the basement project. She walked in and flipped open the color deck and chose a color in under 2 minutes and it was perfect!

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This next week is going to be busy. I'm driving The Son to the airport on Wednesday and he'll fly off to Fort Lauderdale for a week before he returns to nursing school. Next Saturday night we'll be one of the host dinner houses for our neighborhood's annual Progressive Dinner. I love cooking for dinner parties but everyday "what's for dinner", not so much.

The following Monday I host Bunco. After that I get a breather!

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I'm turning the meeting over to you. What's on your mind?

The Blue Moon

We've all heard the phrase, once in a blue moon, but on New Year's Eve the Farmer and I experience a blue moon in a dramatic way.

At 9 p.m we stepped out of the warmth of our home into the crisp, cold night air. We'd made the decision to walk to the neighbor's for the Corn Drop. Technically there's only one house between our properties but because each is situated on at least two acres, it's a bit of a hike, especially on a cold night.

We stepped onto the driveway and the Farmer reached out and offered me his hand. We clung to each other as we navigated our way down the snow and ice covered drive. Our hope was that if one of us lost our footing, the other would be able to prevent a fall.

We turned left at the bottom of the drive and our eyes quickly adjusted to the light. It was a full moon, the blue moon which occurs once every two or three years. It's the second full moon to fall within a calendar month.

The snow crunched under our shoes and looking down I could see it was the sparkling diamond snow. It's said that the Eskimos have a hundred words for snow and it's easy to see why. On Christmas we received the fluffy-big-clump snow, followed by a rain of tiny-blades-of-ice snow which creates the diamond effect.

As we walked along our senses began to come alive and I was very happy that we'd decided to walk. Off in the distance coyotes called to each other, their plaintives cries carrying far distances across the frigid landscape. It was incredibly bright, the full moon was illuminating the landscape to the point where it literally glowed.

Off to the left sat an empty house. Months earlier Carla and her family moved back to Texas. The house sits empty and dark, waiting for a buyer. Someone would certainly snatch up the house if they saw it under the light of the blue moon. The evergreens that extend under the windows were covered with a thick layer of snow and this blanket of snow was literally glowing as if lit from within.

The effect was so dramatic that I looked around to see if there was another source, perhaps someone had a spotlight pointing in that direction. No, it was just the power of the blue moon.

Our footsteps crunched along the road and we marveled at the beauty of the night. Up ahead was the illuminated ear of corn, standing atop it's perch. Further on were the beautiful lights at another neighbor's home. They were also hosting a New Year's Eve party and shortly before midnight the guests would pour out of the house and join us for the Corn Drop.

Our walk back home at 1 a.m. would be no less dramatic. The moon had risen further in the heavens and covered everything in it's blue magic. As we passed our crabapple tree I noticed the light from the moon was casting dramatic shadows, deep blue/purple shapes drawn on the snow. I longed to have a camera to attempt to capture the shadows but in the next instant I was glad the camera was broken. Some things are best left to memory alone.

Briefly I thought about going online and researching the phenomenon further. Perhaps I could also determine the meaning of the coyote's plaintive calls.

Somethings are better left as a mystery. Our incessant desire for knowing the "why" of things and deconstructing every piece of our natural world dispels the wonder.

I'm simply happy to have been witness to a stunningly beautiful night, transformed by the magic of the blue moon.

Did you see it?

The Corn Drop Under the Blue Moon

New Year's Eve in rural Illinois can only mean one thing, it's time for the Corn Drop!

I aplogize that the photos are pulled from past drops, but the camera problem still have not been resolved.

It's not a UFO, it's the corn.



A giant ear of corn is perched on the top of a 20 foot poll.



Each year the display is changed in some way Once there was a disco ball and DJ station. This year there were little Christmas trees blinking on and off to the beat of the music. It's good old fashioned engineering at it's best.

There's food and party hats galore.



Neighbor Ed is my favorite bartender. He always remembers, gin and tonic with a twist of lime.



Other neighbors arrive just before midnight to join in the countdown.



We bundle up and gather outside with our glasses of champagne and wait for the countdown.

The corn begins is descent down the pole.





Happy New Year!!!

Thanks for joining in our small community effort to ring in the New Year. Celebrations don't always need to be big, spashly and slick. Sometimes the simplest celebrations can be the best.

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Join me tomorrow when I'll have lots to say about the blue moon.