Lawn boys

Little boys, little toys, big boys, big toys. Heard that expression?

People here have small lawns, yet there is an abundance of riding lawnmowers in this town. I find this amusing.

Is this just a local phenomena, or do people use riding lawnmowers on small lawns in your area? I am curious.

Happy Hour

I love eating and drinking at Steak n Shake. We have three of them here in Champaign-Urbana, but I don't think Steak n Shake is all over the US, is it?

I especially love SNS now that they have their drinks for half price from 2 - 4 each weekday afternoon.

What better way to get calcium and protein than with a reduced-price chocolate malt!

I scream you scream

Sitting in my living room yesterday afternoon, I was jolted by the jingle of an ice cream truck outside my house. I can't remember the last time I saw an ice cream truck around here. But when it started playing the second movement of Dvorak's New World Symphony (Largo), I knew I was hooked; so I bought a fudgesicle. Yum.

It brought back wonderful childhood memories o waiting in line with neighbors at the Good Humor truck each night after dinner.

What memories do you have of the ice cream truck of your childhood?

Shop til you chop

One of Champaign-Urbana's treasures is the Landscape Recycling Center.A mega-outdoor 'supermarket",one can buy cut firewood, mulch, rock, and so on, but you can also get large and not-so-large chunks of firewood for FREE. Being a bit of a squirrel, I am 'stocking up' for winter. It is amazing what will fit in the trunk of a Honda Civic!

Be fruitful

How exciting to see that my three pear trees are bearing fruit gain this season.

Thank goodness for my juicing machine. Last summer I had enough extra pears to share them with good friends and neighbors.

What is your favorite thing to grow?

Get cookin'

Check out my newest article in the Dollar Stretcher about Turning your Kitchen into a Food Factory. (www.stretcher.com)

It works!

Use link below.

Grass Roots

Grass Roots Revival is a wonderful blue grass band here in CU. Tonight's outdoor concert at West Side Park with perfect calm, sunny weather made the evening spectacular.

We live a block from this park. I mentioned it in a blog in June. The band shell was recently re-built. Teddy Roosevelt stood in that very spot in 1912 in the original band shell.

Our dog Harold loved jumping in the fountain in the center of the park. Apparently, he could not read the sign that prohibited going in the water.

Sadly, wild storms a few weeks ago, knocked down a few of the big trees there. I took some pix of the damage.

Familiarity

Vacations, sabbaticals, changes of pace and scenery are essential, but I crave what's familiar.

Since I have been back in town, I have been at an outside concert, the farmer's market, and a party and it feels wonderful to be amongst people I've known for many years.

Is this just a quirk of mine, or do others crave what's familiar, also? I'd love your input on this.

Learning to become more appreciative

The best way to learn to appreciate what we have is to have it taken away for awhile. Whether it is our ability and access to communicate to family and friends that we love and cherish or freedom of speech and thought.

Welcome back to my blog. I will try to keep in interesting and current.

Sabbatical on sabbatical

Thank you for being patient with my lack of postings recently.My sabbatical is over and I am back!

More postings soon. Stay tuned.

Being a Therapist

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