Other Stuff I Learned
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WE ARE BEING INVADED BY EUROPEan buckthorn!
I originally heard about buckthorn at a TEDx event at my local library last year, but I honestly did not do anything afterwards. I recently saw on the Lake County Forest Preserve District calendar that there was a program at one of the nature centers close to me focused on the removal of buckthorn. I figured that I would take the opportunity to learn more. (I was the only person in attendance who really did not know what buckthorn even looked like. Everyone else there knew of their buckthorn problem and wanted to find out what to do about it.) Well, I learned a lot! Buckthorn is found extensively in…
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Chicago History Tour–I Love to Play Tourist Locally!
Disclaimer: I received complimentary tour passes in exchange for sharing my experiences on the tour. Last Saturday, I played tourist in downtown Chicago for an afternoon. There were no loud shirts, dark socks with sandals, or large cameras on straps. (It’s November for heaven’s sake–winter coats and hats were the appropriate attire!) My group included myself with my husband, teenage daughter, and my other teenage daughter (more specifically, my daughter’s BFF). (She took my son’s place since he was participating in an Operation Snowball retreat that weekend.) We started at the Hyatt Regency for a Chicago History Tour. This activity was conducted by Chicago’s Finest Tours. There we met up…
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The Elf on the Shelf–A Christmas Musical (It will soon be on the stage! Start your holiday planning!)
"The Elf on the Shelf--A Christmas Musical" is a brand new musical which is about to start touring. This may be a great addition to your holiday season!
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Trapped! (aka Broken Car Door Handle)
One recent morning, I arrived at my office for work, and when I tried to open my car door, I heard a strange noise, and the door remained shut. Lovely. The handle would move quite freely and easily, but it would not open my door. I tried to lock and unlock it from the inside but to no avail. Fortunately, I wasn’t wearing a skirt, so I “gracefully” climbed over my front passenger seat, climbed out of my car, and went around to the driver’s side. Once there, I could successfully open the door. This verified that the door as a whole wasn’t messed up, just the inside handle.…
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The Wild Roaster
One recent afternoon, I spent time with Kaye, owner of the coffee shop “The Wild Roaster” In Deerfield, IL. This little coffee shop is within the local train station (an actual coffee shop, not just a kiosk), and she roasts the beans right there in the store. When I asked if she could show and teach me a little about roasting coffee beans, she invited me to see the process in action! Relatively speaking, her roaster is a small one, but for now it is doing the job. One of the benefits of this, though, is that you know that the beans you are enjoying from The Wild Roaster were…
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Let’s Get Down and Dirty
I spent a recent Wednesday afternoon getting down and dirty! Outside! Eventually in the rain! (FYI–This is a family friendly blog.) I spent that afternoon volunteering for the Lake County Forest Preserve. My day off of work is Wednesday, so I was looking for something different to do. I learned that there are multiple programs and volunteer opportunities with the county forest preserve. Via the website calendar, I found a “Restoration Workday” listed for the particular date of interest to me. On that particular date, there was volunteer work available at the Native Seed Nursery , so I went and brought my teenage son with me. (He was given two…
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Steak 101
I am a vegetarian and have been since college. This was a choice based on simple preference, not on ethics or health. Meat just really does not appeal to me. The same cannot be said of my family members. I live in a houseful of carnivores. I did not do much cooking growing up, and by the time I started doing real cooking (not just heating, microwaving, or thawing), I was a vegetarian, so I never learned how to actually prepare any type of meat. My husband, on the other hand, makes great steak (I admit–I have tasted it, and it is good), and the kids LOVE it when he…
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The Olive Tap–An Olive Oil Tasting Emporium
My husband and I recently spent the afternoon at The Olive Tap with its owner, Rick Petrocelly. The Olive Tap is “an olive oil tasting emporium.” We learned more than we could imaging from Rick that afternoon! Let me share just a bit of what we learned that afternoon. Here goes… Let me start with some basic starting information. Virgin olive oil is made from simply pressing the olives. This is a first press oil. Nothing else is done to it. To be called extra virgin olive oil, the oil must have no taste defects and pass strict chemical tests. Oils called “pure,” “light,” or simply “olive oil” have had…
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Aspects of Passover 2019
My family always hosts at least one of the two yearly Passover seders at my home. Passover is the holiday that I have claimed for family hosting. The first year that my husband and I lived in our house, we hosted Thanksgiving. That was simply our trial run of hosting a family event. Once we acknowledged that we could handle it, we took over a religious holiday, and I am glad that we did! If you don’t have any idea what I am talking about when I use the term “Passover,” this link can provide some useful information. (FYI–the article in the link is from a previous year. The date…
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3D Printing for Us Common Folk
Taking advantage of my wonderful local library, I attended a class titled “Intro to 3D Printing.” This is how it was described on the library website: “Learn to create a small object using ready-to-print files or custom Tinkercad files and the library’s 3D printers.” (Yes, my area libraries now have 3D printers–very cool!) This was a fun introduction to 3D printing. Most of the class involved working on the website Tinkercad. This is a free and easy-to-use website for making 3D printable items. Whether or not you have access to a 3D printer, it is still something entertaining to check out. The site is www.tinkercad.com. You can create your account,…
