4 States in One Day

Capitol Reef National Park 2 Responses »
Aug 272012
 

Back on August 12th, I set out on a journey to Capitol Reef National Park.  This was a Cleveland Museum of Natural History trip, and the main purpose was to see the Perseid Meteor Shower.  I took a 9AM direct flight out of Cleveland and landed in Las Vegas around 11AM.  I was on the first 737-800 that Southwest flew out of Cleveland.  The plane was only 2 months old.  Once I landed, I grabbed some lunch in the concourse.  I collected my luggage and after a bit, figured out that some of the people just hanging out in baggage claim were also on the trip.  It was fun to go up to someone and ask them if they were from Cleveland and if they were from the museum trip.  While we were waiting for everyone to gather, I put $5 in the slot machine.  I cashed out at $7.  That was short and fun!

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Once we had our crew, we loaded up the vans and headed on our way.  Turns out, Capitol Reef National Park is in Utah, about 7 hours from Las Vegas.  You also have a brief stint in Arizona on the way.  The ride was fun and hot and beautiful.  During the trip I saw clouds, rain, a rainbow and Great White Pelican.

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We made a few stops along the way.  We arrived at the visitor center and met up with the last of our group and headed deep into the park to the field station.  It was dark by the time we arrived around 8:30PM or later, we found our rooms and got settled.

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Nathan cooked us dinner.  It was a simple, but fabulous pasta with salad and bread.  We also had a brief introduction from Jane, the field station manager.

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After dinner, we saw lots of clouds.  I took a nap for a few hours and got up for sky viewing around 2AM.  Unfortunately, the stars were enjoying their time behind the clouds.  I managed to see a couple meteors, but the highlight was seeing Jupiter through the telescope with 3 of its moons.  Even without great sky viewing, we were in a great national park and the next couple of days were going to be great!  Exhausted, I slept well when I retired the second time.

 Posted by at 6:37 PM

Summer Bash

Adventures with Nick and Sally No Responses »
Aug 262012
 

Most summers, my friend Sherry and her husband host a summer party.  This year’s bash was yesterday.  Since Stephen was working on a project, I headed down to her house with the kids after nap time.  I wasn’t sure how long I’d last with the kids.  It’s hard to take two kids to a party solo.

But, everything changed once we arrived.  Sherry took the kids and I down to the bounce house and introduced us to two older girls.  She let us know that they were hired to help with kids and everyone should have fun.  I was so excited.  Not having to stand by the bounce house most of the evening was an awesome thought.

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I enjoyed plenty of adult time on the deck, keeping an eye on the kids every once in a while.  Nick made up his own rules for corn hole.

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Sally tried her hand at a hula hoop.

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She was having a blast.  Nick’s in the background at the craft table.  There was plenty for the kids to do including art projects, sidewalk chalk, and of course the bounce house.

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Later the kids played some games like Duck, Duck, Goose.

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The party was complete with tents, tables, food and great company.  I was able to enjoy myself to the fullest, and chat with friends that I haven’t see in quite a while.

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It was the perfect night for an end of summer party.  Thanks Sherry!

Willoughby Hills Touch A Truck 2012

Adventures with Nick and Sally No Responses »
Aug 252012
 

Today was Willoughby’s annual Touch a Truck event.  Stephen was busy today, so I took the kids solo.  They were super excited.  The event was held from 10-2 at the Willoughby Hills City Hall and Fire Department near 91 and route 6.

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First up was the bounce house.  We arrived just before 10AM, so there wasn’t any lines.

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After a visit in a ambulance, we headed to the ladder truck.

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Sally loved the trucks.  The first one is in the ladder truck, the second one is in a construction truck.

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I don’t think she’s big enough to operate a mower yet.

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Nick loved that the wheels turned for wheel if we worked hard enough on the steering wheel.

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He made sure to buckle his seat belt in this one.

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Both kids loved spraying the fire house.

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The highlight of the event is when the Life Flight helicopter lands in the field.

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Soon, we had seen all of the trucks and it was time to head home.

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Thanks to Willoughby Hills for another great event!

Fresh Fork Market 2012 Summer CSA–week 12

CSA 1 Response »
Aug 242012
 

We stopped by Mayfield to pick up our bag today.  It worked well in our schedule this week.  I love the flexibility of the different pick up locations.

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It’s still tough to get a large in one photo.  This one is missing the cherry tomatoes, but they wouldn’t have fit anyway.

Here’s what we were expecting to receive this week:

  • 1 bag of oats, 1.5 lbs.
  • 1 bunch red Russian kale
  • Either 1 bag (approx. 1 lb.) mixed sweet and hot baby peppers or 2 ct. zucchini/squash
  • 1 lb. beans
  • 1 bunch French Breakfast radishes
  • 1 pint blackberries or 1 cantaloupe
  • 1-2 Candy onions, depending on size
  • 2 green peppers
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes
  • 1 package (1.25 lbs.) green onion bratwursts, made from Berkshire pork
  • 1 piece grass-fed Swiss cheese from Heritage Grass Farms (12 oz.)
  • 2.5 lbs. San Marzano Roma tomatoes
  • 1 bunch carrots with tops
  • 1-2 cucumbers depending on size

I’m probably going to make some sort of kale sausage ragout from the newsletter with the leek, brats, zucchini, garlic, kale and tomatoes.  Some of these ingredients we just picked up and others I have left in my fridge.  I have some beans ready to go in the freezer and will pull them out tonight.

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Carrots and beans will make good side dishes to go with our brats.  I’ll probably pickle the radishes.

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I’m going to chop and freeze some peppers and dehydrate some of the others.  The plums were a nice surprise, I’m sure they’ll disappear quickly.

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The cherry tomatoes will be weekend snacking for Stephen and Nick.

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I will probably use the cheese with a quiche.  I have some eggs to use soon.  We eat oats everyday for breakfast, so these will disappear quickly.

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I’ll probably make a few more pickles with the cucumbers since we are short on lettuce.

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The photo doesn’t do the cantaloupe justice.  It’s the size of a watermelon!

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All in all, it’s another great week with Fresh Fork.  We love not going to the grocery store much.  Our list for our last trip to Heinen’s was yellow bananas, buns for brats and a cookie treat for the kids.  I can’t wait to see what’s in the bag next week!

Cleveland Zoo with Friends

Adventures with Nick and Sally 1 Response »
Aug 232012
 

We’re members of the Cleveland Zoo, but we just don’t make it there very often.  Yesterday, we decided to meet up with some friends.  Nick and Sally love riding on the Tram.

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Check out Axton.  Could he possibly be any cuter?  It’s hard to believe that he’s standing and I just met him yesterday.

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After we saw the elephants and the mole rats, we took the Tram up the hill to the primates and playground.  After some play time and lunch, we waited for the Tram to go back down.  We could have easily walked down, but the kids love the Tram and they were ready for naps.

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The Tram took a while, so Alaina got our her IPad to help entertain Nick and Sally.

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Soon enough, we were back to the starting point.  Sally spotted this elephant and Nick joined in for the photo.

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It was such a nice day to catch up with a good friend.  I used to work with Alaina and she’s one of the sweetest people you could want to know.

After we got back home, the kids both took good naps and that was the perfect end to a perfect outing.

Derby Downs

Adventures with Nick and Sally No Responses »
Aug 222012
 

Back on July 13th, the kids and I picked up my mom and headed to Akron’s Derby Downs to watch local teams like Goodyear compete in a derby competition as a United Way fundraiser.

I was excited to go since Nick and Sally had never seen derby cars.  It was a beautiful day and my friend was in charge of selling cookies.

We picked up dinner and made our way to Derby Downs.  It’s near the Akron municipal airport.

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In typical Goodyear fashion, the blimp was out to draw attention to the event.  The kids were thrilled.

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Soon, we were enjoying our spot in the bleachers.  Nick and Sally were enjoying climbing up to the top.  Boy, were they making me nervous.  Luckily, we didn’t have any trips or falls.

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After 45 minutes or so, we starting seeing some of the heats.  I’m not sure the names of the other teams racing, but Goodyear ended up not winning.

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Sally entertained us with some dancing in between heats.  Both her and Nick enjoyed their grandma time.

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I was happy to attend the event and spend a minute catching up with my good friend.  It was a fun way for Nick and Sally to check out the derby cars.

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We’ve been friends for 20+ years and don’t get together often, but it’s always great when we do.

 Posted by at 10:47 AM

Geauga Family Farms CSA–summer week 12

CSA No Responses »
Aug 212012
 

Is local melon season really over already?  The share seemed so light this week without a tasty watermelon.  Maybe we’ll get lucky and see one more next week.  The week’s share is full of tasty looking items.

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Peppers, green beans

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Zucchini, onions

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Cherry tomatoes, slicing tomatoes

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Sweet corn, green pepper

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Lettuce

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I took a dehydrating class last night.  I’m hoping to try out my new skills with the peppers and slicing tomatoes.  We’ll have the corn and beans for dinner.  This lettuce will go into salads for Stephen.  It’s not my favorite variety (leathery romaine), but it won’t go to waste.  I’ll pair it with some feta and cherry tomatoes an add a bit of basil balsamic vinaigrette.  I currently have a mound of onions that need chopped and froze so these will get added to that project.  I was hoping for zucchini since I found a recipe for cornbread that uses it.  I think I’ll be making it this week.

I’m glad I get a small share early in the week.  It tends to pair well with my large share that I get on Fridays.  It’s hard to believe that summer is almost over.

Community Greenhouse Partners

Adventures with Nick and Sally, Farmer's Market No Responses »
Aug 192012
 

Today, the NEO Foodies group enjoyed an event at Community Greenhouse Partners.  My kids and I go to farms all of the time, but we had never visited an urban farm.  A tour, kids pizza class, gazpacho demo and potluck were on the schedule.

The site is over 2 acres and occupies the grounds of a former church in the middle of the city.

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This is definitely a place where nothing is wasted.  The boxes on the left were built out of wood that was salvaged from a nearby construction site.

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Tim Smith welcomed us and introduced us to the ground, concept and history.  We began our tour by checking out the chicken tractor that is under construction.  They hope to be keeping chickens soon.

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We moved to the front of the property where Tim talked about mixing up the crops and the benefits.  On the right, a YELLOW cucumber grows.

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These garden socks are full of compost.  We spied watermelon and other deliciousness growing.

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One of the local tree trimming companies brings the mulch by.  It’s a win win for everyone.  The company doesn’t have to haul it away, The CGP can use it for mulching and fuel.  The kids have a mountain to climb when they come visit.  On the other side of the church, 3 more hoop houses.

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Kathryn helped Nick and Sally pick some tomatoes for their pizza and showed them around the garden.

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Back at the home base, Chef Robin of Cooking with Care gave us a gazpacho demonstration.

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Outside, the kids were making pizzas.  Nick loves his topped with fresh peppers, tomatoes and cheese.

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Everyone pitched in to help with the pizzas.  Some of the adults made them too.

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Judi was ultra prepared and great with the kids.

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We enjoyed the potluck dinner and then said our goodbyes.  Nick asked if we could go back tomorrow.  We stopped at our community garden to harvest tomatoes and water.  Sally fell asleep before we pulled in the drive.

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We had a great time and can’t wait for the next “kid friendly” NEO Foodies event.

Shaving Cream Fun!

Adventures with Nick and Sally, Turning off the TV No Responses »
Aug 182012
 

I’ve read about using shaving cream and paint together several times.  Several weeks ago, I bought some shaving cream and we never got around to using it.  Well, this week after my trip, we spent some extra time at home, so I got it out.

Originally, I thought the kids would make rainbows or something.  I added some paint to shaving cream and loaded up a muffin tin.  They each received a baking sheet to use as their canvas.

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Using cotton balls, toothpicks, spoons and their hands, they had a blast.

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I think they were surprised that they could do whatever they wanted.

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When they were done, I tossed the “brushes” and washed the dishes.  Clean up was a breeze.  I’m sure we’ll be doing this activity again.

Fresh Fork Market 2012 Summer CSA–week 11

CSA No Responses »
Aug 172012
 

This marks week 11 of our Fresh Fork Market CSA.  It’s hard to believe that we are 1/2 way through the season.

Since I was in Utah earlier in the week, I opted to take a vacation week this week.  Occasionally, I take a vacation week when we are having busy week or if I feel behind on veggies even if I am actually in town on pick up day..  Then, I usually hold my breath and hope that Trevor doesn’t send out the “best bag of the season” list two days later since vacation requests are due on Saturday and the list usually comes out on Monday.

Here’s what folks received in their bags this week:

  • 3# bag red Norland potatoes
  • 1/2 dozen sweet corn
  • 1 bunch leeks (may be 1 leek depending on size)
  • 1 bulb fennel
  • Approx. 1.5 lbs. heirloom tomatoes
  • 2 oz basil
  • Approx. 2 lbs. slicing tomatoes
  • 1 lb. grass-fed ground beef
  • Approx. 2 lbs. peaches
  • 1-2 eggplant, depending on size
  • 2 zucchini or squash
  • 1-2 onions
  • 2-3 “Italian frier” peppers (red sweet stuffing peppers)
  • 1 melon – choice of cantaloupe or watermelon
  • 1/2 lb. Swiss chard
  • 1 bulb garlic
  • 1 piece Havarti cheese

I’ve been hearing from other people who do CSAs that they have too much food or are too busy to get it all used.  I can’t say that we are perfect in our house, but we are pretty good at blanching, chopping and freezing items to make sure we don’t waste food when we are particular busy or have an over abundance.

Almost all of the above items could be froze with little effort.  I love pulling items out of the freezer in the middle of winter and getting a taste of fresh local food.

I think every bag is outstanding, but this is a bag that has lots of items that we get on a fairly regular basis.  I am happy with my decision to be on vacation.  With a little luck, I’ll get a photo of a large share tomorrow and add a photo to my post.

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