That Was the Year That Was

Do you remember the TV show titled, "That Was the Week That Was"? The producers would pick a week in history and chronicle the events. I would like to propose something called "That Was the Week That Was..... Weatherwise".

It has been a very difficult year weatherwise in northern Illinois. We have very harsh winters and we count on having a break during spring and summer. Spring is generally wet and chilly and summer has temps in the 80's and low 90's.

Spring wasn't much this year. Not much rain to prime the planting season and we jumped right into horrifically hot temperatures. They were Texas temps, in the high 90's and 100's.

The corn was stunted and dried way too early. Dent corn needs heat at the END of it's growing cycle, not through the entire process. Farmer's are going to have very low numbers of bushels to the acre which means high food prices next year. The corn futures are already being affected I believe.

The incredibly hot summer affects us psychologically as well. We're cooped up in the house all winter and look forward to enjoying the outdoors and getting some outdoor chores done. That was next to impossible this year. And so we've been cooped up since the end of last October!

I had a long list of to-do's, both in the yard and in the garage. Unfortunately, when it's 99 degrees outside it's 120 in the garage. Guess what's happened now? We've jumped from extremely hot temps to frost! It was quite pleasant on Monday and I was able to paint the garage doors. My hope is for some continued mild temps so that I can re-arrange the garage for winter, positioning the snowblower in front of the garage door because guess what, meteorologists are predicting we're going to have a horrible winter. Great. We'll all have cabin fever to the max. I'll have to think of some fun party ideas to get together with the neighbors.

How about you? How has your year been weatherwise? I know some of you out west have been battling wildfires.

Thanks for stopping by and visiting with me today.

Christmas is a-comin'

I hate to the bearer of bad news but Christmas is coming again! Are you someone who shops ahead or are you a last minute scramble person?

The past few years I've tried to keep my eyes open throughout the year, picking up gifts as I see them. The problem is that I've got to keep track of what I've bought for whom and where I put the stuff!

I do love to make gifts also and I found a wonderful spot that has 25 gifts to make for under $5.

The 36th Avenue

If you check further down the page she has a "Part Two" with more gifts. Great ideas.

Also, here's a link to a company that sells glass jars used for some of these gifts, including layered cookie mixes. I've also seen aprons rolled up and put inside a Mason jar.

Specialty Jar Company

So, let's get busy and make something wonderful for Christmas!

Theme Park

The Farmer scheduled two days of golfing while we were on vacation. Neither The Mother nor I golf so I planned a couple of activities that would be pleasant and not overstimulating to her.

When we were kids, back in the day, there was no such thing as a theme park. Well, there was Kiddieland, a small parcel on North Avenue that was packed with kiddie rides. There was an article in the paper recently saying that Kiddieland had closed. How could they compete against Six Flags?

In those days we had to find creative ways to spend our leisure time. Most times that involved getting together with neighbors and friends, pooling resources and going on a picnic.

A day at the beach did not mean beautiful sand beaches on the ocean. It meant gravely beaches on murky lakes, either in northern Illinois or southern Wisconsin. Mobs of blue class workers escaped the heat of summer in Chicago to head to a fishing resort in Wisconsin every summer. Have you seen the movie, The Great Outdoors? That will give you an upscale idea of the experience.

On our trips down south each summer the major leisure time activity was porch sitting. I highly recommend this to anyone. Sit on the porch, listen to the sounds, gossip a little and snap beans. It's a terrific way to relax. Oh, and don't forget to do a little gossiping!

The Farmer grabbed a golf cart and we headed out to the beach. It's just a small beach on Lake Cortez. The water is clear and cold but The Mother and I hadn't worn our bathing suits. Instead we simply pitched our chairs and sat in the shade.

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Just before leaving on vacation The Mother lost her only surviving sibling, her younger brother Jim. Putting aside time on a shady beach allowed her to open up about getting old and loss.

There's a saying, "There's good news and there's bad news about getting older. The good news is, you're getting older. The bad news is, you're getting older."

It's a difficult challenge for people who live to be very old. The losses surmount until almost all the of their contemporaries are gone. If they live long enough even their aging children begin to die. All this loss comes at a time when their psychological and mental defenses are gone.

As I said, The Mother has lost all of her siblings. But her strength is that she's been quite social all her life so she does have friends. The Other Mother has lost all but two of her seven siblings, all six of her sisters-in-law. Unfortunately she didn't cultivate many friends and is at a loss on that sense.

These are all issues that we need to keep in mind as we age ourselves. We need to recognize the challenges and prepare.

Life is not a day at the beach but nonetheless a day at the beach can be quite pleasant.

In Remembrance - William Wren

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In 2006 I became a part of something called Project 2996. Each person who agreed to participate was given the name of someone who perished on September 11. Since that time I remember William Wren and his family on this day.



In remembrance -

William Wren - age 61
Resident Manger - OCS Security
Confirmed Dead - World Trade Center

WILLIAM WREN

William Wren, a retired New York City firefighter, worked for OCS Securiy as fire security officers in the World Trade Centers.

Raised in Gerritsen Beach in Brooklyn, Wren graduated from James Madison High School, served three years in the U.S. Army and joined the New York City Fire Department. People remember him as a quiet, reserved man who never spoke of his firefighting adventures.

The New York Port Authority contracted with OCS as part of the additional safety precautions that were put into place after the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Five employees of OCS died on September 11, including Wren's neighbor of over thirty years, Richard Fitzsimons.

Both men were at work on that morning and Wren called his wife Pat shortly after 9 a.m. to say he was OK. But sirens were wailing in the background. Ten minutes later he called back to say that Richard was also OK and that Pat should call his wife and let her know.

That was a last time either family heard from the men. It is known that they continued to perform their duties, along with the other OTC employees who were lost - Philip Hayes, Larry Boisseau and Robert Mayo. They evacuated the day care center first, and with their intimate knowledge of the building continued to evacuate and bring others to safety.

These are just the barest facts of his life and his actions on that day. To tell his whole story, the story of his life and his death, would take an entire book. There are those who can remember him as the man who saved their lives. How would you ever repay a debt of that magnitude? You could remember.... and vow to live your life with the caliber of character exhibited by this man.

Just people..... just doing their jobs....thrust into extreme circumstances. Everyday heroes.

I want William Wren's wife Pat and their children to know that they are in my thoughts and prayers and that we will never forget their loved one or their loss.

To the people of New York: Your home was violated, your lives were violated. I corresponded with someone from Brooklyn who volunteered in the weeks and months following 9-11. New Yorkers are to be commended for their support and commitment to doing what needed to be done following the attack. They worked as a community galvanized by loss. I admire you.

I also want to remember the passengers on Flight 93. After being made aware of the events that had unfolded in New York and Washington, they VOTED to storm the cockpit and do whatever it took to thwart the hijackers plans. How totally American - they voted and waited until they were over a rural area to prevent loss of life on the ground. These were not soldiers who are trained to rush into dangerous situations and fight, they were businessmen, flight attendants and others. They were just plain citizens, like you and me, who found the courage and took a stand knowing that it meant their lives. There are many stories of heroism from that day but it was these people who, in their actions, said "HELL NO" the terrorists. Their wives, mothers and friends should also be commended for telling them the truth, confirming their love and supporting their decision to do what needed to be done. They have my undying admiration.

Pinterest has a Project 2996 Board. You can repin a photo of someone lost that day.Project 2996 on Pinterest

Monday Morning Staff Meeting

Good morning everyone. I hope this day finds you well and in good spirits. It's sunny and cool here in northern Illinois. It's certainly a breather from the terrible heat and drought that took it's toll on the crops.

I'm sorry that I didn't bake this morning but I thought that we could share some of those fried green beans that I introduced you to yesterday. There's some wonderful homemade ranch dressing to dip them in. Terri asked if I thought the green beans had been precooked before they were breaded and fried. It seems to me that they were probably blanched.

Enjoy!

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As I mentioned before I stay very busy in my sewing room, replenishing my stock for the farmer's market and preparing for some upcoming holiday craft shows. My sister calls her sewing room her happy place and that works for me too. It never seems like work to me, unless I have a special order to fill. For some reason special orders hang over my head like a heavy weight. Other than that I positively love to sew/crochet and iron!

You cannot sew without pressing as you go along and for some reason I've always loved to iron. Other household tasks not so much.

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Have you heard the term flash sale? There have brick-and-mortar flash sales in the Chicago area, although I've never attended one. A group of people get together and rent a vacant storefront for a short period of time, maybe two weeks. They fill the space with their wares, advertise and create a buzz, open and sell for that limited period of time. I've heard this is quite successfull.

The property owners are happy to get at least some revenue from the rent. The local newspaper ran an article about online flash sales. It sounds interesting the the prices seem reasonable to me. I didn't check into the shipping costs though.

Joss and Main is the site I checked out but if you search the term "flash sale" you'll find others.

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We subscribe to Netflix and that allows me to watch movies on my computer while I"m working. You would not believe how many movies I've gone through in the past few months. I'm running out of things to watch.

Yesterday I clicked on the classic movie category and watched two oldies. The first was African Queen with Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn. It was filmed in 1951 and it's stands up well to the test of time.

The second movie was Charade with Carey Grant and Audrey Hepburn. It's a silly who-done-it, who-stole-it tale but it's worth the price of admission just to see Hepburn's wardrobe. Her cream colored sheath dress and her coats were fabulous!

What's your favorite classic movie?

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Thanks to an enterprising 8th grader from New Hampshire, I've added something to my bucket list. What did he do? He launched a balloon with a camera attached and it traveled to the edge of space, taking pictures as it rose.

Pictures from the edge of space."

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That's all for me this morning. I'll be having the official "Name that Sewing Machine" contest later this week. Have a great day wherever you call home.

Fried Green Beans

Yep, you read that right, fried green beans.

One of my new favorite treats in Hot Springs is fried green beans. Fried pickles also remain at the top of the list but at this restaurant the pickles were not on the menu.



I know that some people view fried food as if it's nuclear waste but these green beans were very lightly breaded and deep fried in hot oil, thus reducing the fry time.

They were served with ranch dressing and were fresh tasting and delicious. I'm going to do some research and see if I can come up with a method of coating the beans. Some kind of panko coating perhaps?

Hope to see you tomorrow at the staff meeting!

Vacation with The Mother - Guidelines

We left Tennessee and headed for Arkansas to continue our southern vacation. After eating dinner at my cousin's house and visiting for awhile we headed down to our hotel in Dickson. It's right on the interstate which allowed us to get up and get going early.

Within a couple hours we were in Memphis.We came upon a terrible accident on the highway that circles around the city. Memphis has something I've never seen before, it's some type of accident rapid response team. They must have arrived shortly after the accident and had several vehicles positioned just before the scene, effectively funneling traffic around the area. A bottleneck was minimized, EMT's were working, a tow truck was on the scene. It was an amazing scene and I felt they had this emergency totally under control. It's probably something that every large city should have.

We arrived in Hot Springs and picked the keys to our rental house, which turned out to be the nicest house we've rented in the village. We take our dogs along with us and generally the rentals that allow pets are not as nice. This was a very nice place with master bedroom suite on one side of the house and another bedroom and bath on the other side. The Mother had her own suite of rooms.

One of the very first things we do in Arkansas is to visit The Pig. It's a restaurant which is actually called Shorty Small's, but since we go there specifically to eat ribs, we call it The Pig. They have the best ribs we have ever eaten and I'm sure their pulled pork is equally delicious, we just can't order anything but ribs. The Mother likes the food too. She's a willing participant in the feast. 

Look up on the wall. What do you see? The pig!

Now that I look at this picture, it's actually pretty scary. His head moves around. It probably frightens children.

Our best friends joined in the feast. Did I mention that we always order an onion loaf? A whole mess of onion rings formed into a loaf and fried. Holy cow.... good.

A good time was had by all.

In the title I mention the word guidelines. My mom is what I consider a "super senior", someone who is 80 years or older. There are special considerations when traveling with an older person, especially someone who has mild dementia. The idea is to make the experience enjoyable and not stressful. Older people feel most comfortable at home, in their own surroundings. When you take them out of their sphere they become anxious. Routine is important to them and traveling upsets that apple cart.

We keep all activities to a minimum and try to avoid big noisy places or parties. It's difficult for them to follow conversations and lots of noise overstimulates and confuses. We really try to avoid the overload which would make her anxious. I wanted it to be a wonderful and memorable experience for her again this year. 

One thing that we both like to do is to look at houses while were in town. There are lots of open houses and we drive around and stop at any we find. 

Look at the view from this deck.

It is incredibly quiet here. You can actually hear yourself think. Can't you just imagine watching the sun rise while enjoying a cup of coffee?

We toured a new home that had this amazing shade of blue painted on the walls in the bedroom.

And the tray ceiling was painted that beautiful milk chocolate color. It was really beautiful and peaceful.

Stop back tomorrow and we'll talk about MORE southern food, and more vacation talk.