Folding Magazine Bunnies

1971 Life magazine to be exact!  I received a request from someone who wanted to have something that reminded him of better times.  I think anyway.  I don’t remember much about 1971.  I guess I do remember that the ‘70’s were a drag ( John Lennon) and I was just a kid at the time, so I was in the “Prison of Childhood”  I guess there was this war,  hippies, drugs, crime, and celebrities getting into trouble.  Pretty much what is going on now, just with different clothes.

Anyway,   I folded up a few rabbits out of the pages.   Much more difficult than I had first imagined. But, he liked it and purchased them.  Enjoy the Pics!

1971 Life Magazine Bunnies VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

In other news:  Cheryl and I are busy making stockings as always.  The sales are down from last year, which is deceiving, because October was better than last year.  It probably will all even out in the end.

Date Night, Thanksgiving,  Blogging  and most of our weekends have taken a back seat to the stockings….even though we are not selling as many as we want.   We ended up sewing most of  Thanksgiving and ended up eating fried fish with onion rings.  It was good, but took too long to get there.  The fun was supposed to begin at noon, but we did not even leave the shop until 2:45 PM!  I forgot to even take pics of the food this year.  But then again, we just at around the fryer and ate the fish as it was pulled out of the oil.  Yumm!   Hot and fresh is the only way to eat fried fish.  At least it was less of a hassle compared to the pheasant of the previous year. 

So that s it  I’ll have to post more often but as the season wears on, it could become more of a challenge.  We shall see

Origami Christmas Sleigh….again.

Ok this one is a little bit different.  I little more involved then the previous ones.  I guess I just wanted to see how far I could push my origami skills…or my ambition. 

I stopped at  four deer.  I could have folded up more, but stockings are cutting into my time so I don’t have as much to fold.  And my Chi is mostly gone at the end of the day.  So  just a quick post to put on the pictures of the latest addition to the Shop.  We shall see how long it lasts in the holiday rush.  Maybe I’ll be disappointed and it won’t see very quickly.   No worries!  I’’ just keep it up t show it off to the more people….if they actually come to my shop that is.   We shall see. 

In the mean time, enjoy the pics.

Origami Santa VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Date Night Three at Kapok

These are becoming fun!  We worked as much as we had to this morning  to be free for Date Night at Kapok Asian Restaurant.  Stockings are selling fairly steady now and the effort we put in now will save our sanity later. 

We finished our walk in the morning and sewed up about 20 stockings including the ones that required names and packing. It took a little longer than expected,  but we managed to finish around 2 pm and headed out for lunch/dinner at the new targeted place.

Cheryl has been taking more and more fashion risks lately.  I think she has been either wanting to see if she can match the outfits styled in J Crew…Or  She is hunting around in the bargain clothes section and trying to see what will work with what. Anyway, I like the green silk pants!

We had the entire place to ourselves.  ( well,  almost.)  The menu had the same Japanese beer we had at the Korean Barbeque, however, I decided to try the Chinese beer.  It was good!  Clean finish and refreshing.  The kind of beer you could drink too much of on a hot day thinking it was a soda.

( That is meant to be a good thing.  I like “drinkable “ beer.)

Then came the food.  First the tempura Squid! 

It was wonderful!   Served on a bed of lettuce on a bamboo tray.  I had forgotten how tough and chewy squid could be.  The taste was divine.

 

Then the main dishes.  Cheryl ordered pineapple shrimp and I ordered the salt and pepper pork chops.  What is there to say.   VERY FILLING!   Each dinner came with rice and nothing else…but we really didn’t need it. It was literally more food than we could eat!   We should have probably shared a dinner instead of ordering our own.  But we often share what we have to see what two meals taste like. 

It gets so dark here so quickly now, that the moon was out before long.  We decided to grab a couple of things from the store and head home.

All and all, this date night was somewhere in the 6 range out of 10 possible points.  I’m not sure if we will go again. The food was good, the atmosphere was par.  The menu selection was extensive.  Maybe the food was just not “awesome” enough to get it in the upper third.  But there are many other restaurants out there to try.  And who says it always has to be about food anyway?  We shall see where our next adventure will take us. 

Snow in Iowa! First this season.

 

 

It snowed today.  No big deal, except it was the first snow and the weather only gave it a 20% chance.  Hurray weather guy!   Actually, of the three weather channels we follow, only one even called for snow. The others said it would be colder but partly cloudy.   Other than that, we have been sewing up stockings and folding up origami.  same as always.   the walks have become much colder and we are going to have to start taking that into account when we dress up.   Cheryl thinks we are going to need even heavier coats and face masks.  we shall see.  In the mean time, Enjoy the light dusting of snow from Wellman Iowa.

Date Night at the Kalona Brewery

I know what you are thinking.  Well maybe…  It depends how familiar you are with Iowa and specifically Kalona.  If you are…Then you are thinking,” Why waste a date night at the Kalona Brewery?”  The thought crossed our minds as well moments before executing the plan.   However, we decided that plans are plans for a reason. And every time we decided to change our plans at the last minute, we have usually been disappointed. 

 

 

So!  Onward to the Kalona Brewery!

 

 

 

It only just opened up.  2012 to be exact.   We managed to arrive between lunch and dinner.   which means there was no food.  I was prepared for it to be full of a bunch of Drunken Duck hunters watching sports on Big screen TV’s, But luckily it was not one of those places. 

It was more like a fine wine tasting experience.  Complete with a cheese plate and fried chicken wings dipped in teriyaki  with Blue Cheese sauce on the side. Even though I’m not a fan of Blue Cheese anything,  This stuff was pretty good. 

 

And then there was the beer!   Served in 4 four ounce sample glasses.  We chose the fall mix first to see how the seasonal beer would fair. 

Cheryl approves of all of them!  I was even impressed with the “hopped Up” beer.  I still can’t make up my mind if I liked it or not.   It was bitter..but more in line with Grapefruit.  I actually LIKE grapefruit, but not usually to drink for a refreshment. I believe the taste would temper down with the right food.  As it was,  Fried Chicken was possibly not the best fried food for that beer.   More experimentation is required before I pass my final verdict.

Overall,  I was pleasantly surprised at the outcome.  We bought two rounds of sample beers are tried them all.  We also sprung for the Cheese plate and chicken wings and it all was wonderful.   For under $35!  The only complaint I would have is that they did not give us any napkins to wipe our hands with.  Napkins are usually everywhere.  It just meant I had to lick my fingers in public.

The atmosphere was similar to one of those old refurbished buildings that they end up showing off the exposed beams instead of hiding them   A nice modern “rustic” touch.    I’m not sure what they clientele would be in the evening, but there was at least one baby there during  “late lunch”   Personally I can’t think of any reason to bring a baby into a bar.   ( Or ANYWHERE in public that is not a school) But I’m sure that is more of a reflection of Kalona and the Yuppies that still want to do “adult things” and don’t want to let a Baby put an end to that lifestyle.  ( we see them in Panera all the time!) 

Aside from the Old men gathering in the bathroom,  I thought the atmosphere was normal.  Well,  Normal for me!   Most bars are “Normally” Loud, offensive and chaotic.  This one was more on par with a coffee bar.  With Jazzy tunes and a warm dim lighting.  Think relaxing instead of sensory overload!.

Next weeks Date night will be somewhere new, but the Kalona Brewery was a place I would not mind visiting again.  We shall see when the next opportunity presents itself.

Claymore Chapter 144 is out! And November Stockings are Picking UP!

It is sad that Claymore the manga is coming to an end  I seriously love this manga!  The latest chapter can be found here http://mangafox.me/manga/claymore/

I won’t bother with any predictions.  There are plenty of forums dedicated to that.  I will say that when the epic battle ends, and the serious curtain draws to a close, I will be there.  Applauding feverously with a tear in my eye and a voice yelling “Bravo!”  Much like Gantz, it is rare for a manga to capture me in such a way.  I guess I could find another on going series, but non of the ones I’m currently following have pulled me in like Claymore. 

Ok,  In other news:  I picked up my contacts today a d am currently wearing them.  Oh!  Perhaps I did not blog about this in the past, but it has been almost 3 months since I lost my contacts and have been forced to wear my glasses all that time.  Not that I mind too much looking like a nerd.  But I do believe the contacts give me better sight, a better look, and I’m able to wear sunglasses.  Something very important here in Iowa. Other than that,  Well,  Cheryl ordered felt today, and we are both battling one of those Autumn colds.   Probably from all those walks in the freezing rain!  I got it first, now Cheryl is bearing the brunt of it.  Hopefully it is just a mild thing that will go away soon enough with a little sleep and hot chocolate.

And then there are the stockings. We are doing better this year than last.  Hurray for political elections soiling up the economic landscape.  ( inside joke for me)   I think this could be a big year for stockings, and we might have a tough time trying to keep up.  but isn't it that way every year?   ( Except last year….)  It seems there are more names piling up every day.  I’m glad I have the name thing down to a science now.  We shall see how things turn out in the end.  Fingers crossed on the season. 

Date Night, With Cheryl and Ethan…

Technically, every day is  date night for us.  However, they are not that special.  We usually do not get dressed up or go to fancy restaurants.  But Cheryl has decided that we should add a little more spice to our life by going outside our usual comfort zone.   And so begins ….DATE NIGHT!   Like fright night, but without the vampires or horror.   Actually, it is a fun time, but requires much preparation. 

First things first,  try to look your best!  We have all seen it, or been part of it.    Going to a fancy restaurant dressed like a bum.  People stare and point.   Some laugh, while others gasp and shield their eyes.   There is a simple method of avoiding this awkward situation.   And that is….Drum Roll…..DRESS UP!  At least TRY a little.   You know, simple things…..shower, shave,   wear good clothes. 

For this date night,  Cheryl wanted to wear her white skirt. I was forced to take pictures of her looking Hot!  It’s difficult to show off in Wellman Iowa,  so I chose the only two trees that have turned color this fall.

I would show you the pictures Cheryl took of me, but…I look like a bum. Complete with 5 O-Clock Shadow and Nerd Glasses, Also called BCG’s in the Army.  Still want to see it?  Ok.  Fine,  Thank Cheryl for the awesome lighting composition to capture my best image. 

Despite my awesome appearance, we decided to go anyway.   Cheryl’s hotness was  thought to be enough to balance out my shuffled look.  We went to a Korean Bar B Que.   We were thinking it was going to be more Bar than “Q” but we were wrong.  It was a nice quiet place with a wonderful atmosphere.  We both wanted to try the Japanese menu, so we first ordered the two Japanese beers available.

Cheryl decided that they were both good. 

Then the food.   Appetizers were Korean Kimchee, Spicy noodles, and American Potato Salad.  Served with a bowl of Miso Soup.  Something for everyone!

Then the main meal.  I thought about Sushi, and there were lots of options siply in this department.  But ultimately we decided on a traditional pork and Chicken deep fried in Panko.  ( Think Japanese bread Crumbs.)  All was Wonderful.                                    

We would like to go again, but part of date night is exploring someplace new once a week.  We shall see how long we can keep this up.  It was fun getting out of Wellman to actually DO something fun.  It opens up possibilities.

Oh!  And before I forget.  The Eagles are back in Iowa.  Cheryl snapped a picture of a couple that has landed in a field close to Kalona. One took off right away, and even though they were close, the camera still makes them look far away.  This is why I usually use pictures I find off the web instead of our own.  No one wants to “find the eagle in this picture”  on the blog.    Stockings are picking up and so are the sales for Origami.  My blog posts might become more short and infrequent.  We shall see