Lunch at Biaggi's

I'm in Salt Lake City, Utah at a convention this week. I have free time this afternoon after my morning meeting. What a lovely surprise to discover there is a Biaggi's just 4 blocks from my hotel! The original Biaggi's is in Bloomington, IL and was my favorite restaurant when I lived there. The Chopped Chicken Salad was as good as I remembered.

http://www.biaggis.com/index.html

Sunday Brunch

We traveled to Tucson this morning for brunch with friends who are usually in Illinois, but in Arizona for vacation. What great food. So good in fact we ate in courses that lasted over 5 hours! Thanks guys!! The ride home was pleasant listening to the 2nd half of the Cardinals/Dallas game. We were home in time to actually watch the Cardinals win in OT.Jenell, Doug, Sue, Tim

Cabin Makeover Almost Complete

We chose New England Fieldstone for the fireplace, but it actually comes from Pennsylvania! It reminds me of Mom & Dad's fireplace stone. The view from the driveway.
The view from the couch. We're ready for cooler weather now!

There are still 2 projects to complete before winter sets in, however. We have replacement windows on order so it will be less drafty and we need to finish some water/erosion management in the driveway and add some gravel. More shots to come over the next few weeks.

Summer Cabin Makeover

This summer was the beginning of some much needed maintenance at the cabin that will help it last another 50 years. We had it cob blasted, re-stained and then resealed. The corn cob dust is an environmentally friendly way to clean off all the old stain, sealers and years of build up. The contractor also did the deck and stained it all to match.

From there it was on to to the fireplace. When we acquired the cabin last fall, there was a spot in the living room that just screamed 'fireplace!'. We found out talking to a neighbor that there was one there at one time, but the previous owners took it out because it was too drafty. No wonder it wanted one back! There was subway type tile both inside and outside that Kendall stripped off.
Here Kendall is on the other side of the plastic prepping the footing for the fireplace.
We anticipated a big fireplace, so gave it a solid footprint.
After the pad was poured, we had to wait for the mason to get the fireplace going, so there was plastic and plywood to protect the inside.
Anxiously waiting.
Awaiting the arrival of Timberline Restoration to blast off the past 50 years of dirt and buildup.
The view from the driveway after the cob blasting and before the stain & sealing.
After the stain and sealing were completed. Note the firewood to the left that Kendall harvested with his Forest Service permit and we split with a wood splitter rented from Home Depot.
Finally the work begins! Here they are cutting out the roof where the chimney will go.
It begins to take shape.
Kendall patching the roof to ensure no leaks! The masonry is up. A few weeks later they come back and finish the field stone (Friday).

Birthday Bunko

Last night my friend Michelle and I had the honor of hosting a Birthday Buko for 3 women: Kathy, her mother Mary (86) and Judy. We all had a blast. Kathy insists that she is 'just here to be a blessing!'

Mary, Kathy and Judy

Kathy, Jennifer, Irene and Janne

Deb, Michelle, Susan, Carol and Judy

Dorothy, Amy, Kathy, Dawn and Mary

Weekend Activities

The weekend started Friday night with a Nursing recognition dinner. My boss was a finalist so we were there to cheer her on. She didn't win, but we had a great time! We clean up now and again.

Saturday morning we headed north to the cabin to pick up a new stove. The 35+ year old one gave up the ghost last weekend when we were there, so we ordered a new one and it was ready for pick up Saturday morning at 9:00.

In the picture above we captured the beginning of the flights of 5 hot air balloons.

As we got into town we had breakfast at a cute local diner and overheard conversation about the farmers market. We headed there on the way to the Maytag Store since we had time and like fresh produce!

Decorative gourds.

The new stove. It fits nicely beside the mini dishwasher. Kendall did a fine job of taking out the old counter where the previous stove lived as a drop in model. this one is a full blown guy and does chocolate chip cookies beautifully!

Baby Basket

This past weekend a baby basket made its way from Kansas to our home. It was used by Kendall's mom and Kendall when they were babies.Gracie has claimed it as her very own! We find her curled up in it all the time! She says 'thanks Grandma!'

Happy Birthday Urbane!

OK, I don't usually do birthdays, but since Mom's computer is under the weather and NOBODY has Blogged a happy birthday to the first born son of our clan -- I'll do the duty. Happy Birthday brother!

5 Years!

Yesterday was our Fifth Year Anniversary. How time flies! We went to a lovely restaurant in a converted house and had a secluded table for 2. Great food!

Weather

We've had some interesting weather this week with rain, sun, clouds, rainbows...

If you look closely you can see the rainbow above the stadium. I snapped it with my Blackberry on my way home from work Tuesday.

Home Alone

This weekend Kendall headed to Nevada for a truck race where he pitted for his friend Mike (who lives in Texas). The kids and I were alone from Friday morning until Kendall got home after 1 am this morning. The house is oh so quiet without him around!

Cracker Pudding Goes to a Picnic

We were fortunate enough to go north for the long weekend. Saturday evening the home owner's association hosted a picnic at the association's small park that is three picnic tables and stumps by the creek. Burgers and hot dogs were provided and we each brought a side dish. Cracker Pudding just seemed the right thing to take. I think we know our part time neighbors better there than here in the valley.
The flowers change every time we're there.
I spied these this morning on my walk and was glad to have the camera with me.
This one is on the hill behind the cabin.
This one came from a bag of flower seeds I planted this spring. It may be the only one that decided to bloom, and it attracted quite a lovely butterfly.
We also did a little work. Thanks to Kendall using the National Forest permit he got earlier in the year, we have enough wood to last us through several winters.

Big Storm

We have no damage as far as I know

Scene from downtown

Hurricane-force winds, heavy rain hit Valley
Aug. 29, 2008 06:00 AM

Republic staff, wire reports

A series of fast-moving thunderstorms packing hurricane-force winds plowed through the Phoenix area late Thursday night, uprooting trees, knocking down power poles, ripping off roofs and leaving some 100,000 homes and businesses without power. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

Arizona Public Service Company said it still had 50,000 customers without electricity early Friday, while Salt River Project estimated 11,000 of its customers were without power.

The storm, which dumped up to a 1.5 inches of rain and three-quarter-inch hail in some areas, shut down Sky Harbor International Airport for about an hour during the height of the storm. Flight delays continued early Friday as crews worked to remove debris blown onto the runways.
National Weather Service meteorologist Leslie Wanek said Sky Harbor recorded peak winds of 75 mph , but radar indicated that winds of up to 100 mph in parts of the metro area as the severe storms moved from east to west during about a 3-hour period.
Flash-flood warnings were issued for the central and East Valley, and residents in Phoenix reported flooding and severe winds that bent palm trees.

The storm damage included Arizona State University's $8.4 million indoor practice facility, said Mark Brand, ASU's assistant athletic director for communications. The 103,500-square-foot facility was just completed this month. It's a bubble of fabric supported by air pressure, the ASU official said.

"If this isn't the biggest event in the monsoon season, it's right up there," said Ken Waters, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service.

On Thursday, the ingredients for a powerful storm had been hovering over the Valley, but it takes special conditions to break the weather cap, he said. On many days, the weather system passes with few fireworks, Waters said. On other times, like Thursday night, something powerful happens. "When you get enough heat and certain conditions are just right, it's like breaking though a roof," Waters said. Hail was reported in Tempe, Mesa and Maricopa, he said.

In Phoenix, a power transformer exploded on Seventh Street near McDowell Road, in the same area where downed poles and trees surrounded stranded vehicles. Power poles and lines were down on 40th Street in Phoenix at Shea Boulevard and Cactus Road, forcing drivers heading west to the Arizona 51 to travel to Thunderbird or Greenway.

Hundreds of lightning strikes were seen throughout the late evening in the central Scottsdale area; downed trees littered the Shea Boulevard corridor.

Residents of the Monte Vista Apartments stood next to a 40-foot pine tree that was ripped from the ground. The residents talked about the night's storm as the tree's roots shot into the sky.
"It's the worse storm I've ever seen and I've lived here my entire life," said Alec Perkins, 23. "The tree wasn't split in half, it was completely uprooted."

Republic reporters Jahna Berry and Scott Wong contributed to this story.

Happy Birthday Kendall!

A few of your favorite things

Baseball

Last night we headed to the ballpark with our friends Kathy (my boss) and Dan, to watch our winning team lose a game. While the loss was a disappointment, we had a good time eating dogs and popcorn.

Fort Collins

I'm in Fort Collins, CO for a business trip. I'm an early riser, but 3:00 am is extreme even for me! The weather is sunny and cool, beautiful!

Little Limes

We planted a lime tree a few years ago when our peach tree gave up the ghost. This is the first year that the limes have held on long enough to even begin to resemble a lime. Not a bad flavor for the little guy There are a few more on the tree that we'll keep our eyes on.

Pot Roast

Sunday Dinner. What a great concept! Unfortunately it doesn't happen as often as it should and with all the 'company' we grew up with. After a conversation with Mom last week and how good Lucy's pot roast smelled when they walked in their house after church, I decided I needed to do some cooking myself. So on Sunday when we walked in the house after church we had the wonderful aroma of Sunday Dinner emanating from the crock pot.I added some fresh, hot biscuits with homemade peach jam to the table and we were set. We weren't disappointed in the results!