The end of summer for me is rapid-fire, everything all at once, non-stop
schedule, squeeze in time to do laundry, go-go gadget time!
It's been busy here at Screaming Pines.
Watching the pumpkin jungle patch grow and grow.
I was told that one could harvest some of the pumpkin blossoms and eat them.
So, with an abundance of flowers at my convenience, I decided to test the idea.
Trimmed off a few male flowers (if you take all the female flowers, you
won't get any pumpkins), and cut out the stamen.
I didn't have rice flour, so I used this graham flour I've had in the
freezer for a long time.
Washed, dredged in flour, and into the frying pan.
Drained and taste test.
Not bad.
Mushroom texture, zucchini flavour.
I clipped a few more blossoms over the next couple weeks and
fried up some tasty snacks.
Bix7 #15 for me and the Momster.
Here is Meb Keflezighi signing race bibs and posters at the
packet pick up expo.
I have his autograph on a previous race bib.
Along with several other notable runners who take part in our
little home-town race.
This is the shirt from the first year we ran it.
I don't have mine anymore.
Zombie Run coming down the road!
Ready for the race!
Back down Brady Street hill for the finish!
Took in some local theatre.
I always enjoy the plays from Genesius Guild.
It's a wasp! From one of last year's plays, The Wasps!
The jungle at the beginning of its sprawling era.
In just a few weeks it will double this size. Whoa!
Doing some cooking.
Have been given lots of veggies to work with, so have
been putting my limited cooking skills to the test.
Here is a baked ziti with zucchini and mushrooms and tomatoes.
With the leftover cheese I made another batch of veggie ziti
with more veggies I was given.
A few blocks from the house.
A truck had run into this old building.
It was decided to pull it down (which was probably a
wise decision) and within a week, this pile of rubble is now
a vacant lot.
Jazzin it up in Geneseo, IL
Trying a new diet.
I'm already pretty healthy, but I think I can
tweak a few things and make myself feel better.
These are great for snacking or for your lunch box.
Satisfy the crunchy, salty craving but have a bit
more fiber than potato chips.
Giggin with the rock band in Prophetstown, Illinois.
This was a pretty good gig.
We're not perfect yet, but the machine is starting to oil up.
Wore my new pair of Goodr sunglasses I picked up at the Bix7 expo.
Snazzy!
Pack in the park.
Walking in the woods.
Outstanding in my field.
Jazz service for Bix Jazz Fest weekend.
Cooling off at home, after a long weekend.
HyDraTe!!
The sprawl begins.
Aww, they're starting to turn orange!
Lots of little ones have sprouted too.
The T-shirt project.
Systematically going through my T-shirt collection, by wearing
each one, then washing it and setting it aside.
When I am through the entire set, I can put them all away in the drawers.
Managed to see the new Twisters movie at the
Indie theater downtown just before it left theaters.
It's pretty good. I think the story took some good turns,
and I think I found all the Easter eggs from the first film.
Back at Geneseo for another round of big band jazz.
Met Slimer!
A classic car show. I parked here before the other cars showed up,
so the ol' Whale crashed the show for a little bit before I left.
Sat in with a different rock band at this cute little dive bar on the Rock River.
Wore my new Cariuma sneakers for the show.
They're comfy and cute! Perfect for a sort of chilly outdoor gig
in August.
The next day it was off towards West Point, Iowa for the Sweet Corn Festival!
Sup, Daddio!
Got our corn. Yum! 😋
You will bow down to the corn.
You will serve only the corn.
The corn loves you and wants only the best for you.
Friend and I won bananas at the fishing game.
Banana is not tall enough to ride the Ferris wheel.
We came, we saw, we corn-quered!
Was sent home with sweet corn, but also with an obscene amount of
cucumbers and green beans.
The cucumbers were dealt with first.
Chopped and mixed with red onion and rice vinegar for a
refreshing salad.
She creeps ever nearer...
I'm not a Ben Folds fan, but I was a bit familiar with some of his songs,
and heard that he gave really good shows. So I grabbed a cheap seat and
went back to the Capitol Theatre on a Tuesday night.
It was the Paper Airplane Tour, so audience members are encouraged
to write song titles on paper airplanes and throw them onto the stage.
The first half of the show, Ben Folds plays a set of songs he chooses,
then after a short intermission, the paper airplanes are chosen at
random and he plays what gets thrown his way.
That really big paper airplane to the left was chosen.
Good way to get attention.
The opening act, Lindsey Kraft came out to help with one of the song selections.
She was good. Funny and had some good songs in her opening act.
Digging into some of the green beans, I had enough ingredients to make
a green bean casserole that was super tasty. Fresh beans make a
huge difference, versus the canned beans. A snappier texture, and the
taste is super fresh.
An afternoon of cooking up some of the beans, zucchini and a bunch of
tomatoes into another ziti bake, produced a lot of ready-made lunches for me!
Hooray for meal-prep!
A resulting lunch. Fresh veggies cooked into a tasty meal.
I loved Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude, so am now
in the right mood to read his other novel, Love in the Time of Cholera.
I'm enjoying it so far!
Getting into the mood for my vacation.
Finally I will see Canada.
A pumpkin farmer.
Sporting her VLA t-shirt that finally arrived in the mail.
Luvs it!
Here, I am my own scarecrow.
A cloudy day for my third paddle down the Mighty Mississippi
for the annual Floatzilla!
Our rented tandem.
Rented from the fine folks at River Basin Canoes & Kayak in Burlington, IA.
Ready to go!
Paddle, paddle, paddle.
In the dam lock.
We went down about ten feet!
The clouds followed me to Wilton, Iowa, where I
was playing with the rock band later that night.
PROTECT THE HORNS!
Glad I had my umbrella.
The rain didn't last long and it wasn't super heavy, so after a delay,
we went back on and gave a shortened version of our planned set list.
It was a battle, but we got through the gig.
That's showbiz.
Had today (Sunday) to myself, so I caught up on some sleep, did some laundry, cleaned up the yard,
and spent a couple of hours dealing with the green beans to get them ready
for the freezer.
After washing them, snipping off the ends, and boiling them, giving
a sample to Zuri to taste test, I bagged the rest to store in the freezer for later.
Four bags of cleaned, blanched green beans, ready for the freezer.
I couldn't possibly eat all of these now.
Also cooked up the last couple ears of sweet corn and let Zuri
take a nibble. The bird eats good when I eat good!
The plan for this week is to clean up the house, get myself
packed up and ready for some camping in the Canada Rockies.
Passport, activate!
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