Why I Oughta...

Our trip this year really cramped our Jack-O-Lantern style this year.  We made it out to Sonny Acres just this week and had some slim pickings of the pumpkins. In year's past, I've gone crazy.   See the Owl Pumpkins here .  This year, it was all about the Babe.  She wanted to carve her pumpkin with a very specific pattern.  That's what you see here.  She had her heart set on the star eyes, so Nat was able to help make those happen. The Babe couldn't be more proud!

Last year, we put up our first Lionel layout in the basement.   You can see it here in this photo .  It was nice sized and fit into the corner of our basement.  Nat hated it.  She thought it was way, way, way too big.  The Babe, and I, however loved it. With Halloween just a day away, my attention is turning to Christmas. Putting up the train isn't so much about the actual train as it is about having a memory of my childhood with my Dad.  In looking around the web for inspiration, I came across this massive layout that was (apparently) on the back cover of the 1957 Lionel catalog.  From the looks of it, this appears to be a 2X size of our current layout, which means we're going to have to find a new home for the train.  With all the little kids at our house all the time, moving it into a different room isn't the worst idea ever.  I'm thinking that it can fit neatly into either the spare bedroom down there or perhaps even into the crawlspace underneath our family r

One of the benefits of walking straight down Randolph Street from Olgivie to Aon most mornings is that I get to see all sorts of transformations.  The planter boxes outside of City Hall are especially nice.  But, as this is my first winter doing this walk, this is the first time I've been able to see the famous windows at Marshall Field's Macy's undergo their transformation.     With Halloween going down this week, I have a feeling we'll see them come out from hiding as early as next week.

That's (apparently) what happens when you go to the very top of Cortona .

The family of four has made their annual appearance on Indiana Street.  Here's what they looked like in 2012 , 2011 , and 2010 - their first year. Last year, we added the Pumpkin Cemetery, which is also back this year, but we made a new addition - that Nat absolutely hates!  More on that soon.

I filled up 2 five gallon buckets worth of red, white, and sweet potatoes this week as I turned over the soil in the potato beds.  I planted 3 pounds of seed potatoes and after giving dozens of spuds away to my family and neighbors, I ended up with more than a full 5 gallon bucket for ourselves. This was last year's harvest . Anyone want some potatoes? Come on by.  I have them out in the garage staying cool.  Would love to share them with you!

Some of them are absolutely HUGE.  These were planted via seed tape ( post here ) and did pretty well in terms of size, but not so much on taste.  They were a bit woody tasting when eaten raw.  But...they sure do look awesome.  Next year, I'll see if I can optimize the growth to focus on taste.