Halloween

Halloween
Originally uploaded by frau cowtown

And so warm nearly 70

Autumn walk

Autumn walk
Originally uploaded by frau cowtown

With dogs and a cat! dogs not shown

south side finished

south side finished
Originally uploaded by frau cowtown

Yay, the house is finished. The began uncovering my windows late yesterday afternoon! Kurt and I love the finished look. More views of the house over at flickr... just click on the photo!

Unsettling

Unsettling
Originally uploaded by frau cowtown

Plenty of windows but nothing to see

before wash

before wash
Originally uploaded by frau cowtown

Our October house project. So we come to the inevitable conclusion that the house with it's 20 year old cedar siding needs replacing as it's become brittle, full of woodpecker holes up high and mice holes along the foundation, and in some places rotted away.

After several different quotes for different material came back to us, the Unique Home Shield came back as the most affordable and with the best 30 year warranty. So, this week the crew has been here working. This is the house before the power wash, click on it to see the progression of sparkling bright cedar after the bath, and how the paint is looking! It's quite odd to be inside with all the windows covered in opaque plastic. Shivers! The light comes through, but I cannot tell you how many umpteen times I've gazed at the windows and can see nothing outside... very unsettling to me who's used to seeing the world from any point in the house as you can tell!

The final treatment will be the cinnamon color trim over the sunstone foundation color! More photos as the project wraps up!

Lesson plan in a can

Lesson plan in a can
Originally uploaded by frau cowtown

Off to teach cardio kickboxing

The trip to Oregon, Illinois

oregon17
Originally uploaded by frau cowtown

The flickr set is over here with all 34 photos.

So Kurt had to play in a dixieland parade last Sunday afternoon and we decided Oregon, Illinois would be a fun trip for the whole family. It began as a rainy, cold morning, so I took the kids to the Stronhold Castle for an indoor tour. As we emerged from the tour, the skies had cleared up. Rather than exploring the rest of the grounds, I told the kids we'll go back to town and watch the parade. No sooner had we arrived along the main street, we heard the dixie band playing... and saw them approaching our patch of sidewalk! Perfect timing. After their truck passed along and continued down the parade route, we decided to kill some time wandering around the craft and food vendors.

When Kurt's truck reached the end of the parade route, he called us and we all went back to the Stronghold Castle for another tour! It was also Renaissance Days with plenty of fools, jesters, Ladies and Lords running around.

On our drive back home we stopped at the Machine Shed restaurant in Rockford. This place has the most outstanding, home cooked meals fit for a hardworking farmer. If you have ever been looking for heartland America cuisine... this is the place!

What foodies have you tried

As seen over at Kaydee's site! Oh, this looks like fun... I have to get out more and try more! The peeenks are the goodies I've tasted, and there sure are some things I can do without...

1. venison
2. nettle tea
3. huevos rancheros
4. steak tartare
5. crocodile
6. black pudding
7. cheese fondue
8. carp
9. borscht
10. baba ghanoush
11. calamari
12. pho
13. pb&j sandwich
14. aloo gobi
15. hot dog from a street cart
16. epoisses
17. black truffle
18. fruit wine made from something other than grapes (Gluhwein in Heidelberg '02)
19. steamed pork buns
20. pistachio ice cream
21. heirloom tomatoes
22. fresh wild berries
23. foie gras
24. rice and beans
25. brawn, or head cheese
26. raw scotch bonnet pepper
27. dulce de leche
28. oysters
29. baklava
30. bagna cauda
31. wasabi peas
32. clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. salted lassi
34. sauerkraut
35. root beer float
36. cognac with a fat cigar
37. clotted cream tea
38. vodka jelly/jell-o
39. gumbo
40. oxtail
41. curried goat
42. whole insects
43. phaal
44. goat’s milk
45. malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. fugu
47. chicken tikka masala
48. eel
49. krispy kreme original glazed doughnut
50. sea urchin
51. prickly pear
52. umeboshi
53. abalone
54. paneer
55. mcdonald’s big mac meal
56. spaetzle
57. dirty gin martini
58. beer above 8% abv
59. poutine
60. carob chips
61. s’mores
62. sweetbreads
63. kaolin
64. currywurst
65. durian
66. frogs’ legs
67. beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. haggis
69. fried plantain
70. chitterlings, or andouillette
71. gazpacho
72. caviar and blini
73. louche absinthe
74. gjetost, or brunost
75. roadkill
76. baijiu
77. hostess fruit pie
78. snail
79. lapsang souchong
80. bellini
81. tom yum
82. eggs benedict
83. pocky
84. tasting menu at a three-michelin-star restaurant.
85. kobe beef
86. hare
87. goulash
88. flowers
89. horse
90. criollo chocolate
91. spam
92. soft shell crab
93. rose harissa
94. catfish
95. mole poblano
96. bagel and lox
97. lobster thermidor
98. polenta
99. jamaican blue mountain coffee
100. snake

Friday - clean up my desk and punch out early. I have some sewingprojects and baking I'd like to do!

Friday - clean up my desk and punch out early. I have some sewing projects and baking I'd like to do!
Originally uploaded by frau cowtown

I am hereby officially tendering my resignation as an adult. I have decided I would like to accept the responsibilities of an eight-year-old again.

I want to go to McDonald's and think that it's a four-star restaurant.

I want to sail sticks across a fresh mud puddle and make a sidewalk with rocks.

I want to think M&Ms are better than money because you can eat them.

I want to run a lemonade stand with my friends on a hot summer's day.

I want to return to a time when life was simple, when all you knew were colors, multiplication tables and nursery rhymes, but that didn't bother you because you didn't know what you didn't know and you didn't care.

All you knew was to be happy, because you were blissfully unaware of all the things that should make you worried or upset.

I want to think the world is fair. That everyone is honest and good.

I want to believe that anything is possible. I want to be oblivious to the complexities of life and be overly excited by the little things again.

I want to live simply again. I don't want my day to consist of computer crashes, mountains of paperwork, depressing news, how to survive when there are more days in the month than there is money in the bank, doctor bills, gossip, illness and loss of loved ones.

I want to believe in the power of smiles, hugs, a kind word, truth, justice, peace, dreams, mankind and making angels in the snow.

I want to play with my pets and my days of imagination to last forever.

So here are my checkbook and my car keys, my credit card bills and my 401(k) statements. I am officially resigning from adulthood.

And if you want to discuss this further, you'll have to catch me first because, "Tag! You're it!"

"Happy Weekend" We're off on an adventure Sunday. Photos and story to follow

After a long walk and coffee with our friends

After a long walk and coffee with our friends
Originally uploaded by frau cowtown

Someone is tired and some puppy is not

Kurt's morning email to me

A bit depressing, but this coming off a depressingly sad YouTube video that Gabi had posted a few days ago.

Some re-assurance

This map prompted Kurt to do a search on "IQ" and "United States" here's what he found. (click it bigger)

Interesting, no?! Are we really a nation of idiots?

Thanks for the fun reading this morning, Kurt!