Back to School

Not having children, "Back to School" is a bit of a challenge for me.

However, earlier this year, during a trip to Charleston, I found these framed vintage flashcards at a consignment shop (where I also found February's Goodwill Hunting!)...

Each one has the definition a different part of a sentence, along with examples and a pretty drawing.

Did you know participles are derived from verbs?  I didn't, but I do now!

I love to read and these will be hung in the library/office (as soon as I figure out where that will be).

Hopefully Lemons & Chambray (who does have kids!) found some good back to school deals!

Next month:  Happy Halloween!

Labor Day 2013

Two outta three ain't good either.

The three day weekend started out ok...

On Saturday, we wandered.

We started in Dyersville, home of the Field of Dreams movie site.

Then we checked out Elkader, a super cute little town that gave me lots of ideas for Bellevue.

I loved this store!

Just outside of Elkader is the little town of Gunder.

VERY little

Gunder is known for the Gunderburger at The Irish Shanti.

A Gunderburger is one pound (!) of locally raised beef served on a locally baked bun.  (I love that everything's local!)

I did not have the Gunderburger, but the smaller version from the kid's menu was delicious!

After Gunder, we wandered over to the flea market in Marquette (it was very hot and everything was very expensive).

Across the river is Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin where we stopped at a couple of garage sales.  I found a large, white enamel bowl with red trim for $3.

not the one I bought, but mine is just like this

After Prairie, we drove through the orchards in Gays Mills (orchard after orchard after orchard after...), to Richland Center where I saw this shelving unit on the side of the road with a sign that said 500.

I had seen this...

at Addicted to Decorating, and wanted to do something similar for this girl...

so cute!

Luckily, in this case 500 meant $5!

Now we'll see if I ever do anything with it.  It's real wood (not particle board) and I almost hate to "ruin" it!

Sunday, we went to the pork roast ("Iowa's Largest"?) at the church behind my house.  We ate pork sandwiches, listened to music (some good, some...), and "visited" (small town Iowa's version of "hung out".

On Monday, we broke up.

(my idea)

On the bright side, when the going gets tough, I get super productive.

First on the list was ripping up the carpet in the living room.

after

I also made this Rotel Chicken Mexican Casserole.

The actual recipe is...

Ingredients

3 split fryer breasts cooked and cubed

1 bag of tortilla chips crushed

1 can of Rotel

1 can Cream of Chicken soup

1 small can of chopped green chiles

1 lb of Velvetta or American Cheese

Directions

Cook and dice your chicken 

Mix together your Rotel, Soup, Green Chiles, and cubed Cheese

Heat this mixture in a microwave till melted and then add your chicken 

In a casserole dish, layer 1/2 your chips and 1/2 your cheese mixture

Repeat these layers and top with a few crushed chips

Bake at 350 until hot and bubbly

But I threw everything (except the tortilla chips!) into the crock pot on low for about 8 hours, shredded the chicken, then layered it into the baking dish and threw it into the oven.

It was SO good!  If you like that cheesy Rotel dip (who doesn't???) you'll love this.

Burlington

Last week, I attended the first ever Preserve Iowa Summit, held in Burlington, Iowa, to learn more about historic preservation and downtown revitalization.

This summit brought together architects, historic preservationists, tourism professionals (me!) and others interested in preserving historic buildings for historic or economic development (me again!) purposes.

Burlington was a natural choice for this meeting, as much of it's downtown has undergone significant preservation, such as...

the McConnell Lofts, Capitol Theater (photos),

and First United Methodist Church, which was almost entirely destroyed by fire, along with the First Presbyterian Church next door.

after

after

The summit was awesome!  I met some very interesting people - artists, architects, and people involved with economic development for the state of Iowa - right up some of my many alleys.

I didn't love Burlington (sorry Burlington), other than...

Luckily, the Burlington Farmer's Market was held one of the nights I was in town.

I could totally do this

Maybe this too

Not the original, but made me feel "at home"

Snake Alley in Burlington is actually the Crookedest Street in the world (not Lombard Street in San Francisco).

cute front porch with a great view of Snake Alley

I usually shun mosquitos but this little park is named for it's size, not its inhabitants.

So cute, with a great view!

Huffington Post was also in Burlington recently, looking for Iowa Style.  I'm not sure they captured it, but it's a cute story.

This week, I'm really enjoying the 3-day weekend, as opposed to the 1-day weekends I've had the last two weeks.  Hope you are too!!

Beauty & the Beach...

Boys.

My new car has a 6-disc CD changer, but my "vintage" (only 7 years old!) computer no longer burns CDs.

So, I checked Goodwill.

And...

for about $2 each (less than the price of 2 songs on iTunes (not that I could listen to them anyway)), I have the whole CD.

Other "new" CDs include... Jason Mraz Waiting for My Rocket to Come (I love You & I Both!),  Elton John - Greatest Hits, and Elvis Presley The Number One Hits.

Two more and I'll be set!

I also found this cute sundress from JCrew for $7 (kind of expensive for Goodwill)...

I don't really go to the beach, but this dress is perfect for these last few (really super hot) days of summer.

I can't wait to see what Winavie found this month at Lemons & Chambray!

Next month - Back to School!

Fishtival 2013

This weekend was the 3rd annual Fishtival Arts Festival in Bellevue.

I was free Friday night, though, so had time to do this...

Kitty Caps

Hazel's still too young to be declawed (counting down!), and her claws are SHARP!

By Saturday morning, I was downtown for some art,

metal sculpture

community painting

music,

4 on the Floor

and...

It was a very good weekend!

This week I'm attending the Preserve Iowa conference in Burlington.  Topics include Historic Preservation and Downtown Revitalization.

Fun!

(Really!)

Catching Up

It's been an eventful couple of weeks...

Two weeks ago, I was invited to a Titanic-themed dinner at Mont Rest Inn, a local bed & breakfast that was once a private home.

Everyone dressed in period costumes (provided!) and ate an incredible dinner based on the meal served to the First Class passengers that final night on the Titanic.

Mont Rest

a boarding pass from London to Bellevue

start from the outside & work your way in

The next night I went to a movie.

At a drive in!

I'm lucky enough to live only 30 minutes away from 61 Drive-In, one of only four drive-in movie theaters in Iowa.

Turbo SUCKED

it's very popular, even when it rains

That Wednesday, replicas of the Nina & Pinta came through town  (The Santa Maria is too big), and I was invited by the Lockmaster at Lock & Dam 12 to get a closer view...

opening the gates

I wouldn't go out on the ocean in that

and a tour...

eek

not reassuring

Later that day, though, I got a call from my brother.  My dad was here...

He had passed out at home and couldn't get back up.  

After a series of tests, the doctors couldn't find anything wrong with him, which is a relief on the one hand (no heart problems, etc...), but also frustrating because they also can't do anything to prevent it from happening again.

I was less concerned about that (people pass out for all kinds of reasons), than I was about how unsteady he was.  He could barely stand!

Since there was nothing medically wrong with him, he was moved into a nursing home (ugh!) temporarily for physical and occupational therapy to try to regain his strength.

He's doing MUCH better now (went from a wheelchair to a walker to a cane) and should be going home sometime this week.

Then what?  I don't know.  It's scary to think about him being alone.

With my dad getting officially getting better, I could focus on work. 

We're having an art festival this coming weekend and are serving beer from nearby Potosi Brewing Company, so of course I had to check them out.   (Again, I have a rough job.)

The food was incredible!

(The beer was good too!)

In the midst of all this, I found this recipe for Cracker Barrel Hashbrowns.  They were SO good, and so easy.

Ingredients:
2 lbs frozen hash browns
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 (10 1/4 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
1 pint sour cream
1/2 cup onion, peeled and chopped
2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F
Spray an 11 x 14 baking dish with cooking spray
Mix the above ingredients together and place in prepared pan
Bake for 45 minutes or until brown on top

I hear the Cracker Barrel lima beans are good too.  Maybe next time!