Scarred for life....remember a couple of years ago when
While Ron was out tromping through cornfields, I spent a lot of time in the car heading to soybean fields to put out traps for a survey. We managed to travel 1300 miles during the first three days of the week and see both ends of the state.
Lucky for me, part of the survey is done in NW Illinois. I stayed at my parents house Monday night. Home cooking and time with the fam....lots of fun. In fact Stacy and Maddy were there Monday evening when I got to Morrison. Even though I had to share my ear of corn with Maddy, it was great to taste the first sweet corn of summer.
The rest of my week....spent driving and putting out these traps:
The rest of my time has spent dealing with this
Hard to believe this insect will cause ash trees to look like this:
If anyone wants to help, next week we'll be screening purple sticky traps for them.
Lucky for me, part of the survey is done in NW Illinois. I stayed at my parents house Monday night. Home cooking and time with the fam....lots of fun. In fact Stacy and Maddy were there Monday evening when I got to Morrison. Even though I had to share my ear of corn with Maddy, it was great to taste the first sweet corn of summer.
The rest of my week....spent driving and putting out these traps:
The rest of my time has spent dealing with this
Hard to believe this insect will cause ash trees to look like this:
If anyone wants to help, next week we'll be screening purple sticky traps for them.
After the rating are complete, statistical analysis done, and report complete, you can read all about his research here Of course, they only have several more thousand roots to dig and wash.....
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
My mom and dad, along with Stacy and Madison came to town last weekend for Stephanie and Chris's wedding. They rolled into Champaign Friday evening....let the fun begin!
We stopped at Papa Del's, picked up some pizza, and headed to the hotel for supper. We hadn't had Papa Del's in a really long time.....it was pretty darn good! After stuffing ourselves silly and catching up, Ron and I took Stacy and Maddy to Hessel Park. After a long car ride, we figured Maddy would be ready to run. Oh, how we were mistaken. Before I tell you about our little trip, let me preface it by telling you that Maddy loves to be outside and swinging is one of her favorite things. Hessel Park is a pretty popular place to take kids to play and Friday evening was no exception. I think she may have been a little intimidated. All she did was stare at all the people. We'd walk around to different areas...and she'd stare. We'd swing, and she'd just stare. Checked out the slide...she stared. All in all, it was pretty funny. I think my sister needs to get her out in public more :)
After our experience at the park, we headed across the street to the Custard Cup for some ice cream. And every little baseball fan needs her ice cream in a plastic helmet, don't you think?
We took the family out to the Apple Dumpling for breakfast. Once again, yummy! It was a great way to start the day before we headed out for a morning of shopping.
We squeezed in some stores before heading home and getting changed for the wedding. It was beautiful wedding and fun reception. I'm sure the Grussing's are having a great time in Mexico right now!
Before calling it quits for the night, we headed back to the hotel for a quick swim. Well, not everyone, just Maddy and Papa. It was her first time in a big pool.
Hard to believe the weekend was half over, but on Sunday we all had breakfast before the family headed north again. Ron and I checked out the county fair and had some greasy fair food before I played softball Sunday night.
Time flies when you're having fun!
We stopped at Papa Del's, picked up some pizza, and headed to the hotel for supper. We hadn't had Papa Del's in a really long time.....it was pretty darn good! After stuffing ourselves silly and catching up, Ron and I took Stacy and Maddy to Hessel Park. After a long car ride, we figured Maddy would be ready to run. Oh, how we were mistaken. Before I tell you about our little trip, let me preface it by telling you that Maddy loves to be outside and swinging is one of her favorite things. Hessel Park is a pretty popular place to take kids to play and Friday evening was no exception. I think she may have been a little intimidated. All she did was stare at all the people. We'd walk around to different areas...and she'd stare. We'd swing, and she'd just stare. Checked out the slide...she stared. All in all, it was pretty funny. I think my sister needs to get her out in public more :)
After our experience at the park, we headed across the street to the Custard Cup for some ice cream. And every little baseball fan needs her ice cream in a plastic helmet, don't you think?
We took the family out to the Apple Dumpling for breakfast. Once again, yummy! It was a great way to start the day before we headed out for a morning of shopping.
We squeezed in some stores before heading home and getting changed for the wedding. It was beautiful wedding and fun reception. I'm sure the Grussing's are having a great time in Mexico right now!
Before calling it quits for the night, we headed back to the hotel for a quick swim. Well, not everyone, just Maddy and Papa. It was her first time in a big pool.
Hard to believe the weekend was half over, but on Sunday we all had breakfast before the family headed north again. Ron and I checked out the county fair and had some greasy fair food before I played softball Sunday night.
Time flies when you're having fun!
Friday, July 18, 2008
A little game from Jen:
A) Four places I go to over and over: work, softball, church, grocery store
B) Four people that email me regularly: Stephanie, Sondra, Dawn, Mom
C) Four favorite places to eat: Chevy's, Red Lobster, Biaggi's, Cheddars
D) Four places I would rather be right now: at the farm in Morrison, the mountains in Tennessee, at the beach in Mexico, sleeping in :)
F) Four TV shows I watch all the time: hmmm...not a lot of tv watching at our house lately, but I like CSI, Nashville Star, Friends, and Braves baseball
Here's what you are supposed to do... and please don't spoil the fun...
Leave your answers in the comment section of my blog or on your own blog.
A) Four places I go to over and over: work, softball, church, grocery store
B) Four people that email me regularly: Stephanie, Sondra, Dawn, Mom
C) Four favorite places to eat: Chevy's, Red Lobster, Biaggi's, Cheddars
D) Four places I would rather be right now: at the farm in Morrison, the mountains in Tennessee, at the beach in Mexico, sleeping in :)
F) Four TV shows I watch all the time: hmmm...not a lot of tv watching at our house lately, but I like CSI, Nashville Star, Friends, and Braves baseball
Here's what you are supposed to do... and please don't spoil the fun...
Leave your answers in the comment section of my blog or on your own blog.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Another busy weekend here - we probably wouldn't know what to do with ourselves if we didn't have 10 different things going on at the same time!
After a rainy, stormy start to the day, Saturday morning we headed for Peoria to visit Aunt Becky and Uncle Mike. They were having a cookout and asked us and Barb to come over for the day. It was a great. The food was awesome and we got to spend time with some family. Ron's cousin Tracy was in the area from St. Louis, so she came over with her dad and her brother Tom and his wife Jennifer came over too. It was nice to catch up with everyone.
We didn't make it back into town until late, and it was up early on Sunday for church. In the afternoon Ron worked on the deck railing while I worked on sanding a small dresser I'm refinishing. Progress!
The Sunday night softball game was a little rough. Everyone had an off game - we couldn't string together hits, but finally did score some runs in the last inning. Never the less, it was a loss. There went our tie for second in the rankings.
After a rainy, stormy start to the day, Saturday morning we headed for Peoria to visit Aunt Becky and Uncle Mike. They were having a cookout and asked us and Barb to come over for the day. It was a great. The food was awesome and we got to spend time with some family. Ron's cousin Tracy was in the area from St. Louis, so she came over with her dad and her brother Tom and his wife Jennifer came over too. It was nice to catch up with everyone.
We didn't make it back into town until late, and it was up early on Sunday for church. In the afternoon Ron worked on the deck railing while I worked on sanding a small dresser I'm refinishing. Progress!
The Sunday night softball game was a little rough. Everyone had an off game - we couldn't string together hits, but finally did score some runs in the last inning. Never the less, it was a loss. There went our tie for second in the rankings.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Compliments of Dawn-
Very Blueberry Cake
1/2 cup butter or margarine softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
FILLING:
1 tablespoon flour
2 teaspoons quick-cooking tapioca
4 cups blueberries, divided
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
GLAZE:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon lemon juice
In a mixing bowl, cream butter, shortening and sugar. Beat in eggs. Add extracts. combine flour and baking powder, add to creamed mixture and mix well.
Spread two-thirds of the batter in a greased 15x10x1-inch baking pan. For filling, combine flour, cornstarch and tapioca in a large bowl. Add 1/2 cup of blueberries; mash with a fork and stir well. Add lemon peel and remaining berries; toss to coat. Pour evenly over batter in pan. Drop remaining batter by rounded tablespoonfuls over filling.
Bake at 350* for 40 minutes or until golden brown. Combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over warm cake.
Yield: 20 servings
Monday, July 7, 2008
Happy Birthday Jen! Stop by Knitting and Living to send her some birthday wishes!
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Today was the annual Independence Day potluck at church. It was also the first Sunday for our new pastor. As always, there was lots of food (those Methodists love to cook). Pastor Megan came on a great Sunday, besides lots of food, there were games and activities for the kids. Volleyball, three-legged race, tug-of-war, pinatas, and a bounce house. We left before the water balloons and limbo game came out, but check out the photos. We don't have a lot of kids at Shiloh, but the ones there today had a blast...and so did many of the adults that came outside to play with us.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Last night the group decided we'd head out to Homer Lake and do some fishing today. We all loaded up the in the truck and headed out this morning. A beautiful sunny Saturday with friends out at the park - what could be better?
Its a good thing we're not depending on our fishing skills (or luck) to provide supper tonight. Between the five of us, we caught quite a few fish, we just couldn't keep them. That's right, they were pretty small; just barely big enough to make a fish stick or two. The boys ended up catching 2 catfish and a bass that were big enough to keep, but probably wouldn't be worth the trouble to take them home and clean them.
No sign of Catfish Hunter today, thought we did see a baby turtle (so cute) and a snake (ewww). My camera was acting up, so I didn't get a lot of photos, but what a great day!
Its a good thing we're not depending on our fishing skills (or luck) to provide supper tonight. Between the five of us, we caught quite a few fish, we just couldn't keep them. That's right, they were pretty small; just barely big enough to make a fish stick or two. The boys ended up catching 2 catfish and a bass that were big enough to keep, but probably wouldn't be worth the trouble to take them home and clean them.
No sign of Catfish Hunter today, thought we did see a baby turtle (so cute) and a snake (ewww). My camera was acting up, so I didn't get a lot of photos, but what a great day!
We caught the 4th of July parade in Champaign with David, Jamie, Dawn, and Doug. It was lots of fun and we saw quite a few people we knew.
By far, the best entry was the 25 man bicycle -- it looked like a caterpillar coming down the street with 50 feet pedaling.
We weren't the only ones parading yesterday. Grandpa and Maddy took one of the tractors out for spin. Looks like she's getting the wave down. Maybe an entry for next year's parade?
Last night we headed to Mahomet and cooked out at David and Jamie's and hung out with Jon. It was a blast...literally. We headed out for the Mahomet fireworks at Lake of the Woods Park. They were great!
By far, the best entry was the 25 man bicycle -- it looked like a caterpillar coming down the street with 50 feet pedaling.
We weren't the only ones parading yesterday. Grandpa and Maddy took one of the tractors out for spin. Looks like she's getting the wave down. Maybe an entry for next year's parade?
Last night we headed to Mahomet and cooked out at David and Jamie's and hung out with Jon. It was a blast...literally. We headed out for the Mahomet fireworks at Lake of the Woods Park. They were great!
Friday, July 4, 2008
Not a lot of news to share this week. It has been pretty slow week around our house. Ron had oral surgery on Monday and spent the week recovering. It's been a long week at home and he was pretty excited to expand his eating selection beyond mashed potatoes and gravy yesterday. While we're not heading the steakhouse anytime soon, a little variety on the dinner plate is, and I quote, "freaking awesome."
With Ron recovering, he was pretty much limited on what he could do. Needless to say, after 4 days in the house, cabin fever is running high. It's funny really, a couple days at home always sound so good - time off from work to do nothing - but doing nothing gets boring pretty quickly.
While there's no BBQ in our plans today, maybe we'll catch the 4th of July parade and fireworks.
I've been working cleaning out our spare bedroom. How do we accumulate so much stuff? I've got piles to toss out, garage sale, pack away, and then there's stuff I just don't know what to do with. My goal for the day....get through that room. (We just won't count the closet, okay? We'll save that for another day).
With Ron recovering, he was pretty much limited on what he could do. Needless to say, after 4 days in the house, cabin fever is running high. It's funny really, a couple days at home always sound so good - time off from work to do nothing - but doing nothing gets boring pretty quickly.
While there's no BBQ in our plans today, maybe we'll catch the 4th of July parade and fireworks.
I've been working cleaning out our spare bedroom. How do we accumulate so much stuff? I've got piles to toss out, garage sale, pack away, and then there's stuff I just don't know what to do with. My goal for the day....get through that room. (We just won't count the closet, okay? We'll save that for another day).
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