I Went to Amish Country and All I Got Was this Shopping Cart

This is my Kyd. We head to Illinois Amish Country full of simple goodness and cultural heritage and what does SHE chose as a bit of remembrance. A shopping cart of course. Who wouldn't?

We started with a lunch in germanish restaurant. We won't have to do that again. So much for friendly, small town customer service. When the Kyd ordered pancakes at 10:45 with a breakfast menu available until 11, the waitress had to run and ask if it was still "OK" to order pancakes. Her return answer, "She (the cook) says she guesses it's OK to still do them if you really want them." At that point I resisted the urge to encourage everyone in the place (all 6 of us) to order pancakes upon pancakes upon pancakes.

We toured the gift/antique stores and had more than a few head shakes at the imports mixed with what we're told are the real antiques. While I can appreciate the need for a business to STAY in business, it's still disappointing to see the Amish dolls with a "Made in China" sticker on their butts. Times like this I really need a phone with a camera so I'm not so conspicuous with my big camera. Although, I managed to fight my embarrassment AND fear to whip out the camera and get a few shots of a an entire cubicle book case full of brightly colored sock monkeys. WHY, I ask, WHY?

My favorite little antique store in the town didn't disappoint this time either. There were a few things I would have liked to have left with, including an old bathroom door with frosted glass and a "Ladies" stencil, we resisted the urge (eeesh) and gave in to the call of the shopping cart. Not a great big cart and not a small preschool-run-over-your-ankles- cart, but a medium sized, old cart.

After loading it into the truck, the goal was to get it home and up the stairs before Dad came home and noticed there was a shopping cart in the house. Almost succeeded. That Dad has the eyes of an eagle. First trip up the stairs to the "office" brought about a "What's with the SHOPPING CART?" inquiry down the steps.

We pretended we didn't hear.

It Has a Tendency to Linger

I'm going to guess that I shouldn't be touching that other plant. OOPS!


I think it makes perfectly good sense that there should be an anomaly of nature lovingly referred to as a "Corpse Flower" within driving distance of our every day life. This flower and all of it's Walt Whitmanesque parts is rather large and a bit slow. This is only the second time in 8 years that it has flowered. The first time was in 2008 after 6 1/2 years of waiting and now on June 9, 2010.

Eastern Illinois University's greenhouse has loved and nurtured a "Titan Arum" (there's even a more technical name than that, but it borders on inappropriateness). This is also known as the Corpse Flower, not because of it's shape and look (as the longer, "real" name does) but because of it's smell. In order to attract flies to pollinate in it's wild, natural habitat of Sumatra, it smells like rotting flesh. While I didn't think the smell was all THAT bad, it does kind of stick with you. Hours later I think I have Corpse Flower essence in my sinuses. It will forever change the way I think when I pass ripe road kill or an overflowing dumpster on a warm, muggy day.

Part of the "adventure" of seeing this in person was in the online Adventure. An URL with a live view of the bloom and a chat room! Woo-hooo LOL. While Kyd slept off her St. Louis adventures, I watched TV, avoided cleaning the kitchen, napped and watched an embarrassingly large and stinky flower sloooooooooooowly bloom online. Ahhhh what a life.

Finally, we decided we needed to see this thing in person and about 9:30 pm headed out to Charleston. The Dad of the house was STILL at work, so he met us there and we went as a family. Awwwwwwwwwwwwww.

Overall, this is much more impressive in real life. The colors are so much more rich and vibrant than the web cam shows.

It took 6 1/2 years of nurture and patience for this flower to bloom the first time and 2 years later, we're here to see it for the second time.

Everyone has asked about the odor. I posted this to the pictures on my facebook page:

The greenhouse .. guru.. said it was nowhere near as stinky as it was when it bloomed the first time in 2008. Keeping in mind that I have smelled an apartment that's actually had a rotting corpse in it for a week, this was nowhere near as bad as that. It was like hot roadkill a few days later; or an over flowing dumpster on a warm, muggy day. Like throwing meat in the can the day after the trash is picked up and then sniffing it again right before the next pick-up. In July.

It's the morning "After" and it's sticking with us. Every once in a while one of us will say, "Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Corpse Flower".

We Need a Bigger Swatter

Friday, June Something

Being in a small town, we have to find fun where ever we can. Sometimes it involves bugs. Lots and lots of Bugs. A local company sponsors several VW and Corvette events throughout the year. This weekend was one for VWs. As part of the festivities, participants can take a little road cruise through the countryside. While Kyd was inside (the library watching a movie) hubby and I went out to find the swarm amid the fields. Not far from the house we found a hundred or so bugs of several makes, models, and "splices." Wow, everyone looked like they were having a good time. We caught up with them on a corner and every one offered a honk and a wave.

Afterwards, the little parade wound up downtown at the courthouse square. We retrieved the kids from the library and walked around a bit checking out the cars. Lots of Vintage! We LOVE that.

With a couple of willing kids and a downtown area that also promotes sculpture .. well .. PLENTY of photo ops here. I think this may have to be a day excursion: photos around the square. I'm surethe Kyd and her friends will be MORE THAN THRILLED to participate.

June 1st, 2010

N

Day One June 1

June First. June Day? Probably not. While not overly eventful, the day was full: swim team; Dollar Tree; scrapbook store. And, now, typing this while I wait for every one of my daughter’s civil and privacy rights to be violated. In other words: School Sports’ Physicals. For $15 and a mere 2 ½ hours of our time (that would be 5 hours collectively) my child will be declared physically fit to participate in sports in our school district. This “service” is offered as a courtesy from the town’s doctor’s clinic.

Starting at 4:30 (or earlier if you happen to know someone and are on a team with a game starting soon) girls 6th- 12^th grade are invited to bring their completed paperwork and be slowly herded through “the process”. I think my favorite part of this is that the scale is on the clinic’s porch and is manned by the junior high secretary. Not that I think the secretary isn’t capable of using a scale, the question is – should she? Last year I was told by a rather impertinent worker (once we got inside the building) that *I* have a problem with this because I’m from .. The Big City. Yeah .. I’m sure that nothing unbecoming ever happens in this small town.

Of course, once inside, the eye chart is in the waiting room and the blood pressure screening is in the hallway. No. No .. really, *I* have a problem with this because for $15.00 and two hours of my time I’m consenting to everyone freely disregarding all those HIPPA forms I’ve signed in triplicate each and every time I’ve walked through a doctor’s door. I have a problem with this because it goes against every mom instinct I’ve developed in The Big City and in some way, part of my soul dies every time I give in. OK. OK. Perhaps not my SOUL exactly .. just my sense of “Where in the heck do we live again?” Then again, it’s another chance for the Kyd to hang with friends while mom does .. what .. sit in the car. Not always are things all THAT different than in The Big City.

Kyd

Nothing REALLY exciting happened today, we went up to the scrap-book store, where I helped model for various pictures that are to be put on the web-site. We then picked up one of my friend's and headed over to my Sport's Physical which took FOREVER! Every kid got a number and mine was 50! Like I said FOREVER! Well, that's all that happened today!

My People

All the reality TV shows always start with a cheery voice over of the family involved. They introduce themselves, talk about their fascinating lives and wind up with a wistful ending.. "Welcome to Our Life".. "... but it's OUR life" (ok WAS for that one). Well, these are MY people, behaving just exactly as my people do.

We were out for a drive looking for the mysterious "beach" at the local lake. We found it alright. Just about the size of our living room. Officially it was "CLOSED" and well .. we were hungry. Instead of making our way to the beach, we took goofy pictures where the magnificent waterslide USED to be. Figures.