FOTO FRIDAY: SUNSETS

Since I caught a magnificent sunset this week I thought what a great time to encourage my readers to submit a favorite sunrise/ sunset of yours.
Mother Nature certainly has been working her magic lately.

After a concert and picnic in Riverside Park our stroll along the Mississippi allowed us to witness a spectacular sunset.

Let's see one of your favorites...
Jennifer adds a sunrise I bet from one of her early morning walks.

La Crosse WI

Sue snaps this pic from her La Crosse southside home.

Colleen's statement that photos are are never as good as the real thing is true but her pic of Perrot Park is pretty magnificent.



Cheryl not wanting to be outdone submitted 2 of the same sunset from Minnesota wanting extra credit for walking out through weeds and grasses in her clogs to snap this. 

Pam' sunrise over the Sea of Galilee was one of her more memorable sunrises and very awe inspiring.

Judi's foggy morning

And some days are just foggier than others. Whether you are greeting a new day/ saying goodbye to one.

Have you seen the last 2 FOTO FRIDAYS?

FOTO FRIDAY:INGENUITY

FOTO FRIDAY:PARKTIME

The Silent Treatment...

Since I was less than keen to drive into downtown Chicago on a Friday a.m., we boarded a commuter train from a northern suburb southbound to Union Station. Upon my insistence to not get on where all the passengers were waiting to board on the platform, we entered a different car. 

We were travelling with backpacks and a cooler, appearing to be headed to a concert rather than a weekend downtown so we would need some extra space to stash our things rather than trying to sit with all the luggage under our legs. 

We moved a couple of times seeking out the most space in the car. Debated whether to go upstairs, nixed. Finally, Natureman sat down in a senior seat as there was some space next to his seat and I sat across from him. When it was apparent that noone needed the seat next to me, he joined me and we exchanged some comments about the journey. 

At the very first stop the lady in front of us turned around and in a rather nice, hushed voice said, " I don't know if you are aware but there are 2 quiet cars during rush hours and you are in one of them." "Sorry, we had no idea," I responded. She added, " Well, you are not bothering me, but you may be bothering someone else." Natureman and I exchanged glances, me with a questioning look as to whether he could be quiet the duration of the trip. It was a very quiet hour... We finally found a little sign at one end of the car that designated the car as "quiet."

I had to laugh to myself because this was the first time I had ever been with Natureman in 12 years that he didn't utter a word. There was some throat clearing but not one single word. I guess there is a first time for everything... Hey, we all got the silent treatment.

Apparently after a trial period on Rock Island Rail, Chicago's Metra adopted the quiet cars during rush hours on June 6th 2011 to provide passengers who need to work/sleep to do so without distractions. It is always the second car from the front and the end of the train. Just our luck I chose the Quiet car.  

Do you think we should try this at home? 

Nah, big city people need their quiet.  Some thing I don't take for granted in the End of the Rainbow Valley...

Flightless Birds?

I have a feeling there are a lot of chickens running around without wings as I made 3 different recipes with 9 dozen chicken wings this past week for the birthday party.  Asian, Bar-B-Que and Lemon Pepper wings.  

Although all were complimented, the latter, the Lemon Pepper got the most recipe requests so since I didn't write down who wanted it, you all will have the opportunity to try this recipe. It is tasty.

Here's what you'll need for

LEMON PEPPER CHICKEN WINGS

Ingredients:

Wings

Canola oil, for frying

36 chicken drumettes

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Seasoning salt

2 T chopped fresh parsley leaves

2 c yellow mustard

3 c all-purpose flour

2 lemons, juiced

Lemon-pepper seasoning

Lemon Aioli Dipping Sauce:

1 (30-ounce) jar mayonnaise

1 lemon, zested and juiced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Fill a large, heavy-bottomed pot halfway with oil and preheat the oil to 350 degrees F.

Wings: Season the chicken with salt, pepper and seasoning salt, to taste. Sprinkle with fresh parsley and coat the chicken completely with yellow mustard. Toss the chicken in the flour until completely covered. Add the drumettes to the oil, in *2 batches, and fry until cooked through and they start to float, about 10 minutes.

Add the lemon juice to a large bowl. Carefully remove the chicken pieces from the oil and toss in the lemon juice,( I put the lemon juice in a small spray bottle and spritzed the cooked wings) then sprinkled them with lemon pepper seasoning. Transfer drumettes to a serving dish and serve with the dipping sauce.

Dipping sauce: Mix the mayonnaise, lemon juice and lemon zest in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Refrigerate until ready to use. (This makes a lot of sauce.)

*Personally I don't fry that much any more and wanted the drummies crispier so I turned up the oven to 400 and baked the second set of drummies until they were a darker crispier coating.)

Solar UP!

WTC (Western Technical College) here in La Crosse served as one of the hosts/overnight stops for the American Solar Challenge for the 23 university solar car racing teams competing in the race which ended in Minneapolis, Minnesota yesterday. 


The cars departed yesterday morning from La Crosse.









This circuit race of the Americas included 9 stops besides days of scrutineering, qualifying and the race.

Teams arrive to be scrutineered after months of designing and building their solar cars.

For three days these cars are inspected to see if they comply mechanically, electrically and dynamically with the rules and safety requirements. Then the drivers and teams are also randomly assessed. Can they get out of their cars unassisted in 10 seconds? Besides braking, turning and stability, the drivers's experience  plays an equally important qualification.

Afterwards, another three days qualify teams after a lap endurance race like the Grand Prix. There's a minimum number of required laps for each driver.  Both the car's stability and driver's ability are judged before the car is allowed to go on the cross country race.

Next is the race where the cars will travel 7 states in 8 days. 23 teams participated this year from around the world.

Some interesting facts:

*Solar cars are very similar to electric cars but instead of using a   battery charger utilize energy from the sun.

*Their unusual appearance is to prevent aerodynamic drag.

*Although some cars clocked in at 100mph, local speed limits must observed and the average is 60 mph.

* There is ventilation for the drivers but no comforts such as AC, power locks/windows as these would consume energy and the car's performance. 

*Solar cars do carry batteries that can be used to store solar energy for cloudy days.

*Most cars have a small electric motor instead of a internal combustion model. Peak power rating's at less than 10 hp and motor efficiency is over 10%.

* These solar cars are not for sale but for demonstration and racing

The race days all have the same schedule.

7 am : Batteries released after being impounded the previous evening. Solar charging begins.

9 am  Green flad. Cars depart in one minute intervals.

Next 9 hours: Drive. Stopping in sunny spots to recharge/switch drivers/ fix issues and resume driving. Support vehicles refuel, observers swapped, route updates given, public viewing after staying allotted time. They're off.

6pm: Race ends. Solar charing begins. (45 min time allowance to find a safe place to stop.)

8pm  Batteries impounded with the observer not to be touched until the next day.

Until morning work can be done on the car, lodging and hopefully sleep...

I found the entire program fascinating and encouraging for the future alternative energy possibilities especially regarding our transportation.

Congrats to all the participants and good luck in your future endeavors as our planet depends on you...  even if we in the End of the Rainbow Valley won't get to use a solar powered car who'd ever thought there would be electric, hybrid and alternative vehicles on the market today?  

* All info and pics from the American Solar Challenge brochure.

Too Much Theatrical Exposure...

We just returned from a Birthday Weekend in the Windy City.  Chicago besides being a city with amazing architecture and a lot to see and do, great entertainment, wonderful  theater, etc...  







Chicago also has a lot of people, both residents and visitors especially in their downtown area. Today's entry deals about a young Canadian couple.



Those on the14th floor of our hotel if they didn't sleep through it, were witness to this couple's domestic disturbance.  I was awakened early Saturday am by raised voices of a man and woman, there was crying, some pleading, more yelling... and cross my heart, it sounded like the couple was in my room. It was that loud and intense. I lay listening to the words to determine if this argument was way too volatile, debating as to what should I do when finally the male voice became quieter and more reasoning and calmed the female.  Then silence. I mentioned the disturbance the next day to my kids and it also had awakened my son down the hall.  Natureman, who I had thought was sleeping, said he heard it too but once it calmed down, he knew it wasn't in the danger zone.

The next night it happened again. I guess some people have a 3 am pee wake up time but these two come home from the bars at that time and their arguments ensue. Once again, the same argument about flirting and cheating rants on, only this time not only do the voices continue flinging the f* bombs back and forth but the intensity has changed and I am ready to call the desk when one of them, slams the door and storms out down the hallway. Good, go cool off. Quiet. I check the clock and am just dozing off as I was so rattled when not even a half an hour later, whoever had left, returns, obviously too soon as the screaming begins again and the argument is escalating and besides a fist banging on a table, there are loud bumps and things being thrown against the walls and pleading to stop. Now this ending is not going to be good and I turn on the light and call the desk. The recording puts me on hold... On hold? there might not be time... hurry up. Finally, a way too cheery voice answers and I explain there is an out of control argument next door and it is worse than the night before. She assures me security will be sent. It seems like an eternity, no guard, and there is quiet next door. But it is short lived and once again the yelling starts up, followed by a loud knocking interrupting the two. 

I hear the entire conversation as our doors butt up next to each other. The security guard states that there have been numerous disturbance calls regarding the yelling coming from the room, is everything ok? " Oh I am sure you have," says the heated male voice.  "This is what she f*ing does, she starts screaming and crying and runs off... she's probably going to walk the streets barefoot now if I don't go find her." His voice is becoming less angry now. "Officer she's my wife, we got married in October. We are from Toronto. Well, we had been drinking but this hasn't ever happened before. ( Yeah I'm thinking, what about last night?) "We just drank too much." The security guard suggests getting another room. The door closes, opens, shuts, there's a phone call explaining the predicament. Closet noises, hangers, door opens, closes. Quiet.

I lay awake trembling. That was way too close for comfort. This definitely wasn't on my bucket list as there are some experiences I would rather not have. These two definitely need serious counselling. This is one kind of drama that shouldn't ever be experienced even in the theatre district... Way too much drama.

All I have to say is say is boy am I glad to be back to the peace and quiet right here in the End of the Rainbow Valley...

FOTO FRIDAY: INGENUITY

FOTO FRIDAY this week is all about ingenuity. What do you have around the house/you've seen that you thought why didn't I think of that? Share some ingenuity from your life...

The bucket on the left was laden with cherry tomatoes

An overnight visit to college friend Adrienne's suburban Chicago home we   experienced our first homegrown tomatoes of the season and they were beauts. Growing upside down by her patio wall, not only do they look good but were delish in our dinner salads. They obviously love where they are growing.  
Drill holes in the container's bottom, insert plants from outside the bottom in, add soil, water from above and 
         VOILA, your very own container garden! 

Natureman took some gathered rocks and created his very own stone sculpture. 

Can someone remind me what these are called?

Colleen truly up'cycled'  bicycle parts for her new garden sculptures. Aren't these the greatest? Some people are so talented!

Last week's FOTO FRIDAY was about parks. If you didn't get to see Judi's addition about a proposed park, take a gander:FOTO FRIDAY:PARKS  

Skunked, Again?

Anticipating cooler temps during the evening hours Natureman cranked open the windows. I requested the ceiling fans as there's some pyschological advantage to even warm air circulating in my mind. I also think it confuses/ blows gnats/ mosquitoes off course. 
Just my theory and I'm sticking to it.

Anyhow as I was plopping down to grab my ZZZ's, all of a sudden there's an odor. And I'm not talking a pleasant one. I look over at Natureman and said in a disgusted tone, "That's really awful." "What?" he oh so innocently replies.  I retort, "Seriously that smells just like a skunk."  Wounded, he asks if I think he could smell that bad and adds, "Maybe that is because it is a skunk."  Oh no! It dawns on me the dog had just had a serious barking session not long before.  You've never seen me move so fast as I jumped out of bed cranking the windows shut. 

I can't believe one of the things to do on my agenda when I get up in the am is to bathe a shedding stinky dog. You'd think Romeo would have figured out by now that slow moving black and white looking cat is really a skunk.  

-See I told you it's not always so peaceful right here in the 
                End of the Rainbow Valley...