Highlights of the last few weeks (A.K.A. the weekends of October)

Oh dear…I’m sensing a pattern here.  It’s been weeks since I’ve posted.  But the main thing is to not give up, right?  Just keep writing whenever you can.  This time I was prompted to write because my good friend Cherity linked to my blog again in one of her posts (she’s nice like that) and I didn’t want any potential visitors to show up and see that I haven’t written anything in 3 weeks!  That would just be embarrassing.  Like having a bunch of friends stop by when your counters and sinks are full of dirty dishes, your living room is stacked with baskets of laundry that haven’t yet been put away, your bed hasn’t been made,  and you haven’t cleaned the bathroom in a while.  Not that my house ever gets like that.  Unrelated side note:  If any of my friends want to hang out this weekend…let’s go to YOUR house.

Speaking of hanging out with friends, we celebrated the 5^th annual Voss chili cook-off on October 11^th.  I have looked forward to this event every year since Hansen and I started the tradition.  First…because I LOVE chili, and second…because we host the gathering on Settler’s Days weekend, which is our town’s annual fall festival…a very big deal if you’re a native to Marengo, IL, and not at all important to anyone else.  This year was extra special because it was Sammy’s first chili cook-off.  Granted, he wasn’t able sample any of the chili’s, but still…he was there…experiencing the excitement of it all! 

Unfortunately, earlier that week, Hansen was informed that he would have to work on that Saturday morning, which put us under an unexpected time crunch.  We usually work together on the morning of the cook-off to whip the house into shape before our guests arrive.  And this year, with a baby, our crazy new schedule, and the household neglect that comes along with them, the house was, indeed, in need of a good whipping.   But, in spite of Hansen’s absence in the morning, I was still able to get the house presentable.  Hansen helped out as soon as he got home, and most of our guests were over an hour late, so that helped, too (thanks, guys…you get me). 

There were about 20 people in attendance (pretty amazing in itself when you consider the size of our little house) and 6 chili’s in the running…all quite tasty, unique, and deserving of recognition.  And yet, the winner of this year’s competition was Bob…a first-timer to the cook-off who did not, in fact, bring chili, but did, nonetheless, receive the most votes.  So be it!  The people had spoken.  He walked away that night with a belly full of chili and a $25 Amazon gift card.  Sometimes it pays to just show up and be a nice guy.  Unfortunately, as per usual, I was much too busy that day to take photos.  I always regret it after the fact.  But…Hansen did take this one picture of my mom, AKA “Granny”, and two of her grandbabies at the party.

 The following day, Sammy attended his first of (hopefully) many Settler’s Days parades.  It was a beautiful day for a parade and my little guy loved it!  He practiced his new skill of sitting up all by himself on a blanket on the side of the road, with his cousins nearby raking in the parade candy like it was the last food on earth.  He only cried one time.  The beginning of the Settler’s Days parade is like 10 minutes of JUST fire engines and emergency vehicles from all over the area.  It’s my least favorite part of the whole thing.  I’m sure Sam will think it’s really cool sometime in the future, but this year all the sirens put a worried look on his little face.  Still…he held it together until the very last vehicle went by.  The siren on that one was pretty tame compared to some of the ones that had already passed by, but he’d just had enough.  Still, he didn’t cry for long.  A minute later he was a happy boy again.  We jammed out to marching bands (my favorite part of any parade) and enjoyed watching all of the floats, trucks, animals and pedestrians go by.

 The next weekend we had a bit of a break.  No major social gatherings at our house.  Hansen and I were able to get quite a bit accomplished around the house (none of which is still evident in the house's current state of chaos).  And on Sunday evening we got together with all my siblings at my parents’ house to celebrate October birthdays.  I also asked my sister to cut me some bangs because I was sick of my hairstyle again, but not ready to cut it short again yet.  So, now my look is sufficiently altered…enough to keep me satisfied for a few months, at least.

Behold my sister's handiwork...cute bangs!

Last weekend (we’re almost up to date, now) we took a trip down to Peoria, Illinois to attend a bonfire/housewarming party at my friend, Cherity ’s, llama ranch.  Thankfully we did not have a repeat of our Michigan road trip.  Sammy pretty much slept the whole time we were in the car (there was a small episode on our return journey, but nothing major…hardly worth mentioning).  It was also a much shorter trip, so that probably helped.  We had a great time at the ranch.  The property is beautiful.  And I think we made the trip at exactly the right time to experience the glorious fall colors in those parts.  Sammy also got to pet mini ponies, a llama, some horses, a dog, and see chickens for the first time, so he was really happy.  He’s very interested in animals, but our dog, Faith, is still not so sure that she wants him to touch her, so being able to actually get his hands on some critters was an exciting experience for him.

Sammy and Cherity on her ranch

Sammy meets the ponies

Sammy pets the ponies

A hike before leaving on Sunday afternoon

And then came Monday…back to the grindstone.  Hansen started work at 6 AM on Monday morning, which was a blessing, considering the busy weekend we had, but Tuesday was a 3 AM start time, and this morning it was 1:30 AM.  So I am back into “weekday mode”…which means I have no idea what’s going  on most of the time.  I just know I have to work, keep baby safe/warm/clean/dry/fed, and not expect to know when I will see my husband again until Friday night.

Speaking of Friday night…baby’s first Halloween!!!  I’m not usually a huge fan of Halloween in general (aside from the candy…O glorious candy!), but when it involves dressing up an adorable baby in a costume, which is pretty much guaranteed to increase baby adorability exponentially, that I can get enthusiastic about.  Right now Sammy has a little bear costume that we purchased for him at a resale shop.  If I have time (hahaha) to be a little creative that costume might end up actually turning into an Ewok costume, but I’m not making any promises just yet.  Either way…cute pictures are sure to follow.

Finally,  I'd just like to point out that although I'm no great fan of major league baseball (I enjoy it, but could hardly be called a fan), I did dress my son up in this Royals outfit.  It was one of the first gifts he ever received...from his Aunt Casey...before he was even born.  He has worn it twice.  And now the Royals are in the world series for the first time since 1985...the year I was born.  There's something there, I'm telling you.  Can't just be a coincidence! :)

Guest Post: Galena by almostfarmgirl...AKA...my friend Cherity

Well folks, you may or may not have noticed that I have, yet again, failed to post every week.  My excuse this time is that I've been busy.  Well, really that's my excuse every time, but I'm serious.  The last couple of weekends (which seem to be my only time to write) have been jam-packed with activities, chores, etc.  On one of those busy weekends, I had the pleasure of taking a trip to Galena with some friends from college.  Cherity, the talented and amusing writer of the blog www.almostfarmgirl.com, is one of those friends.  I've always enjoyed her writing...and her sense of humor.  It was as I was reading some of her blog posts that I became inspired to start my own blog.  She's very good.  She even has followers...like...people she's never actually met that consistently read what she writes.  I'm sort of in awe of that.  So, when she approached me with the idea of doing guest posts on each other's blogs about our weekend trip, I was honored and excited.  Below is Cherity's take on our trip.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and hope you do, too.  And lest you think that I've been lazy and haven't written anything lately, check out my take on the weekend by visiting Cherity's blog.  And while you're there read some more of Cherity's stuff...it's fantastic!

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I think we all have that one group of friends, or I hope we all do: the group with strong ties to your past that somehow manages to be relevant in your present.  These are the people who you can go without seeing for a year and still chat with like you saw each other yesterday. 

The girls in this photo?  They are those people for me.

Left to Right:  Kristen, Katie, Myself, Amy (Apologies to Kristen as she doesn't like this photo.  It's the only one I can find of ALL of us at the same time...)

Once upon a time, we travelled Europe together with two other girls (Joni and Karen), mutually bonding over our collective roles as outcasts in the larger group.  Turns out, being an outcast isn’t so bad if you get to be outcast together. 

During the Fall/Winter of 2005, the four (actually six) of us were together almost constantly.  And, at the end of three months, we still liked each other!  Flash forward to today, and these three girls are still among my closest friends.  We live farther apart than we would like (not as far as Joni and Karen who are probably 1000 miles away…) and only manage to see each other on occasion.  I see each of these ladies individually several times a year…and Katie pretty much literally lives in my backyard, so sometimes I see her several times a day…but, once college ended and real life commenced, we almost never all got together at the same time. 

So we decided to do something about it. 

Last year, we got together in July for our first annual “girls’ weekend” (I use quotes because it’s such a novel idea…and trademarked…we were the first ones to think of this…).  Meeting up in Galena, IL, a town just far enough away to be equally inconvenient for all of us, we began what I hope will be a tradition for a very long time. 

Last year, Amy was pregnant.  Katie and I had food poisoning.  Kristen was transitioning to a vegan diet…I’m just saying we had our challenges.  Yet, somehow, we all had a blast. 

This year, fewer challenges for everyone except Amy…but you can read about that on www.almostfarmgirl.com …  Regardless of challenges, in whatever form they might take, I always have a ton of fun when I’m with these ladies.

So, this trip…

Have you ever been to Switzerland?  If so, well, that’s actually a lot more exciting than Galena, but Galena puts me a bit in the mind of Switzerland…without the Alps…or the chocolate…there is some really good cheese though.   I know that when most of you think of Illinois, you probably think of flat farmland and Chicago (or as one merchant in Greece once said to me,  “Ah, Chicago.  Bang. Bang.  Dead”), but there’s a lot more to it than that.  Galena sits in one of the unglaciated regions of the state.  (Unglaciated is a word.  I checked. )  The landscape, rolling hills dotted with dairy farms and small towns with church steeples, looks more fitted for Europe than upstate Illinois.   

  

The town is known for its rich history.  (No joke, 85% of its buildings are registered historic buildings.)  Once upon a time, it was one of the most important cities in our state.  It was home to a lead mine that produced about 80% of the lead in the country.  (I’m not sure why lead was that important, but apparently it was a pretty big deal…)  It was also a steamboat hub between the cities of St. Paul and St. Louis.  The DeSoto House Hotel, first opened in 1855, is the oldest operating hotel in Illinois and is a prominent feature of Galena’s main thoroughfare.  (Also, just FYI, it’s also one of the only places on the main street that has a public restroom.  The lack of places to pee also remind me of Europe…)

For such a small town, Galena has a disproportionate number of things to do.  Day spas, and shopping, and wineries, some of the best restaurants you’ll find about anywhere.  There are historic homes…and I’m not just talking about “hey, look, this house is old” kind of historic.  Rather, Galena boasts the home of General (then President) Ulysses S. Grant.  During the Civil War, Galena sent not only Grant, but eight other Generals, as well as a whole host of soldiers.  The town is positively steeped in Civil War history, probably more than any other Midwestern city that I can think of.  There is also horseback riding, canoeing…  The list goes on and on and on…

With all that there is to do in Galena, I must say that we probably overdid it last year.  Activities were a bit packed in, and the trip was a lot of fun, but not terribly relaxing.  This year, we were all far more chill about it.  (I have my suspicions that it is mostly because we were all a lot poorer than last year.)

So, we all got in on Friday night.  Much to her surprise, Amy was the first to arrive.  Kristen showed up a bit later.  Katie and I drove together….and we were like two hours later than we had planned.  Absolutely no one was on time because that’s how we roll. 

(Side note, Amy said that all of us showing up later than her is why we are all friends.  I told her that I’m pretty sure Katie and I are friends because our fathers once shared a uterus.  I mean, brothers, not twins, but that still seems to bond people.)

We stay at the Farmer’s Guest House, which is probably the most perfect B&B on the planet…or at least in town. 

The innkeepers are some of the nicest people you will ever meet.  They are unbelievably helpful (and accommodating…two of us, ahem *Kristen and I* show up with the most bizarre food restrictions and they go way out of their way to make sure our breakfast is lovely and tasty regardless). 

The rooms are welcoming.  There is a wall of clocks, which appeals to Kristen’s sense of order.../OCD. 

Also, bottomless cookie jar.  And wine time every evening.  (Even without everything else, they pretty much have my heart at wine time.) 

So, with all of Galena at our feet, we stayed inside on the first night, painted our toenails, and watched “Mickey Blue Eyes” on DVD…

And we had a particularly deep and meaningful conversation about the “this little piggy” nursery rhyme after I thought way too hard about Amy’s Piggly Wiggly shopping bag:

Me: “So…guys…this little piggy went to market…Anyone else ever consider how messed up that is?  Because, if you’re a pig, going to market is a really bad thing…”
Kristen: “And what about  this little piggy went wee wee wee all the way home?  What is that even about?
Amy: “Urinary incontinence.”

(Contrary to Amy’s earlier statement, I’m pretty sure conversations like these are why all of us are friends.)

The next day, after a breakfast that was basically apple pie (which is totally ok, because vacation!), we ran to the store to purchase a picnic lunch, then headed towards one of Galena’s beautiful bike trails.  Kristen and Amy brought their own bikes.  Katie and I rented mountain bikes….

…Guys, they really weren’t mountain bikes.

…I’m not even sure they were bikes, because, I’ll have you know, it was basically like riding a thong.  I rented a wheeled thong. 

The ride was stunning.  I could have biked all day, but after an hour or so, my butt started protesting.

Also, for the record, our lunch was probably the healthiest thing I’ve ever witnessed.  I was thoroughly impressed with us. 

(Ignore the tootsie pops…they are merely an illusion.  Look!  Celery!)

And our picnic spot was idyllic.

There is nothing quite like a bike ride on an Autumn afternoon…

After returning the bikes, we spent our day exploring the downtown.  We shopped, meandered about a wine cellar, and ate.  (By the way, there wasn’t a bad meal during the entire trip.  I pretty much felt like a cow by the time I got home.)

Mostly though?  I got to spend time in amazing company.  I love every trip I take with these ladies, and I truly cannot wait for next year. 

***Check out  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galena,_Illinois for more information on Galena’s history.  I checked multiple sources, but this has the most information available on one page.***