Why I Oughta...

Out on an early morning walk yesterday, I came across this plaque in front of a house on York Street.  Turns out, the parents of Carl Sandburg's wife lived here after it was used as first a Rectory then a private school. Here's the house below.  I've driven by it countless times and never gave it much thought, but now I have a new-found respect for the pretty blue house at 145 S. York Street in Elmhurst.

For the better part of the past year in our house, we've been having a discussion about how Abed Nadir, played by Danny Pudi, is the star of the show 'Community'.  In this week's Sci-Fi-themed New Yorker, author Emily Nussbaum agrees with me - as you can see above.  She points out how Abed has "drifted closer to the show's center, replacing its ostensible hero, the smart-ass Jeff..." I think we have the definitive answer now, don't we?  If we can't trust the New Yorker, who can we trust, eh Nat?

Each of these sprouts should create a pound or two of potatoes in a few months.  Now that these green shoots have sprung up, I'll cover them with mulch to keep the potatoes cool and moist.  The potatoes aren't ready to be harvested until all the greens have died back. Here's how I prepared the seed potatoes .

I planted a few of these cucumber plants under a trellis and in a pretty short time, we've gotten a few flowers to spring to life.  At some point, I hope these will spring up and grab a hold of the trellis and grow vertically.

Just a few months ago, I posted about 151 N. York Street and what a terrific opportunity existed for a retail spot right in the heart of downtown Elmhurst.  Just last week, I was walking by and saw that some signage had sprung up for a new place called "Cocomero" which looks to be selling frozen yogurt and bubble tea.  It looks like this is the second location for Cocomer o as they have a spot right on the corner of Wright and Green Streets in Champaign, right across the street from the Alma Mater statue in the heart of the University of Illinois. But, they won't be alone in the froyo business for long as it appears that we're also getting a Yogen Fruz right up York Street in the old Caribou Coffee location.   Is Elmhurst big enough for two of these places?  And a Coldstone and Brain Freeze?  I'm not so sure.

Nat scored us a set of 3 of these from one of her friends in town here.  They work perfectly on our deck.  Off to the Home Depot to pick up some annuals we go!

We hosted more than 800 businesses who walked away with a free website over the past 48 hours.   Mayor Rahm Emanuel even stopped by for a quick visit.

Nice story in Auto News featuring a Texas-based auto dealer who's betting big on the web and specifically with Google AdWords.

Good Bye Elmhurst Chop Suey.  Hello Pagoda Bistro Elmhurst!  Rising from the carnage of what seemed like a constantly vacant Chop Suey house is this new place that has a nice size dining room and a great location.  Right in Downtown Elmhurst in the City Centre and just a few doors down from the toy store on the east side of York, this *new* place seems that they're aiming for the fast casual dining dollar.  I have no idea if the menu has improved, but the curb appeal - with the new awning - certainly has helped appearances.

This year, Nat (and the Babe) picked out these two annual sets for our front yard near the boxwoods.  The Lantanas are in the spot where she usually has her Dahlias and the Peachy Keens are under the Cleveland Pear.  I'll try to get outside to grab a photo of them in place in a week or two after they get over the initial shock phase that comes with replanting.