Why I Oughta...

I took the liberty of introducing the Babe to one of my very favorite Autumn treats:  Trader Joe's Maple Cookies.  Sure...they have them for sale (now) all year around, but let's be honest:  they taste best when the air is crisp and the leaves are turning color.  The calendar may still say August, but my mind is already on fall:  football, pumpkins, and the early on-set of Christmas Creep.  Oh...and yes.  She *is* in the cart at TJ's while she's eating this.  I think between the two of us, we pounded through an entire 'row' of these babies while we were waiting for Nat to fill the cart with the various groceries. 

We went out plum picking at Jollay's in Michigan this weekend and came across these things: They're called Donut Peaches or Saturn Peaches.  They (apparently) came from China more than 100 years ago and gained some popularity in the 1990's.  I don't remember ever hearing about them, but seeing them on the tree, they're kind of a novelty.   Seems like it would be a fun tree to grow in the yard - especially because they're described as 'frost hardy' .

A few days ago, we went back to the 'newest' pizza joint in Elmhurst: Pazzi Di Pizza.  I chronicled our first visit here .  I had this to say back in mid-June: It has been open for a few weeks and there's a bit of a buzz about the place. I've heard from others that they went or are going, so the word-of-mouth is working for them. But, while they're clearly working to get the kinks out of their operation, the place shows some promise. They'll need to improve the main event - the pizza pies - but they're not that far off.   I ordered the same pie as I ordered last time:  The Diavola.  And this time?  It was markedly better.    While there is still something weird going on with the cutting/distribution of the meat, the pie was cooked longer/deeper and the cheese applied more generously.  Most surprisingly, the crust held up and wasn't floppy - which is what I hate most with Neapolitan pies.  Critically, the upskirt also improved.  This time it had a much

On a tip from my sister Vic, we went down to check out what was doin' with the old First Cup Coffee shop.  Turns out, the (apparently!) successful Elijah's Coffee - which has a location down in South Elmhurst near Spring/Vallette (closer to York) is opening up a second shop.  I've never been inside, but I hear they serve up your Latte with a side of Jesus, so it has a, shall we say, devoted set of customers.  When "That Coffee Shop" opened across the tracks, I speculated that the downtown was too small for four shops (Starbucks, Caribou, First Cup and That), but didn't think that First Cup would be the place to fold.  Time will tell if the folks behind Elijah's can make the location work.

How incredibly frustrating!  These stinkin' mice have decimated our sweet corn crop.  They are so voracious that they eat through the green husks, eat the silk, then just hoss-down on every single kernel of corn.  At this point more than 1/2 of the crop is gone and the rest is getting over-taken by ants.  The mice have pierced enough corn to create a sweet mess - which is attracting the ants - and they're feasting too.  I've tried trapping them and even (gasp!) poisoning them, but the food supply is far too abundant for them to die off.  I'm in real trouble here because once they exhaust the corn, what's next?  Our tomatoes?  Or maybe even the pumpkins that we have growing.  I'm fearful that these little jerks will run the rest of the harvest. 

I'm *trying* to get serious about finishing our basement in the coming months but before we can do anything, we have to waterproof the space.  When it rains, we don't get water, but there's definitely seepage at the cove, so that means that before I invest a cent in the basement, I want to solve that problem.  In order to solve that seepage problem, we have to completely clear the space out.  I've started to pull out the stuff we want to keep (Christmas Decorations, Halloween stuff, etc), but there is still so much to sort through.  Much of it was pure junk.  Left over bricks and boards and old kitchen cabinets that I thought I would use during the construction/renovation but upon reflection I just don't want to deal with.  Because of that, I called the Junk Platoon.  For a few hundred bucks, they sent out two guys who cleaned out everything - and drug it through the half door on the side of our house. We filled a 10 yard truck pretty easily.   Here's some a

This handsome guy was (guess where?  Yup...Menards) on display and I had a hard time resisting the temptation to buy him.  See that flat head of his?  Inside there is a pretty deep bucket that one uses for candy.  I can see some folks using something like this outside on their front porch - if they aren't home for trick-or-treaters - but that's not what I want it for!  I want him inside our house - to greet visitors when they come over.   It isn't cheap ($79.99), so I'll have to pick my battles with Nat when it comes to Halloween decor.  Do we want this?  Or...perhaps a few spooky buildings to add to the village at Mantleburg!?!?!