Random Origami Week

 

 

Just a quick post as I have not written much this last month.   I guess I should show off some of the latest origami.   Nothing ground breaking.  Just more of the same.  But  I love pictures and before I erase them I thought I would catalog the on the blog.   Enjoy!

 

  

 

 

 

 

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Chocolate Indulgence. Beer….

  Another Ommegang flavor Cheryl and I had to try.   I’m not sure when it happened..But I now find dark beers palatable.  In fact,  I’ve even begun to appreciate the various flavors they offer and actually enjoy them.   This one has a rich malty taste that could be thought of as Chocolate.  pair it with some Brie and crackers and it ranks as high as any wine….or beer.   I still like the Abby Ale better..but that does not mean this one is not a contender. 

 

 

On a good day  when you want a dessert beverage,  This could fit the bill nicely   So….If you find yourself looking for something new to try for a romantic night with chocolate covered strawberries and some beverage that matches……Why not give this one a try.   You will enjoy the pairing. 

Beer Sampling With Cheryl and Ethan

So, in our quest to try new things,  We found several beers to sample the other night and I thought I should try to blog about them…as I seem to have been lacking material for the blog lately. 

 

First beer…..The SOUR BEER.   And boy is it sour!   Ok  First thoughts.   Hard Apple Cider with Champagne bubbles.   The sour was almost on par with drinking vinegar!  At the very least it was palatable.  It might go well with food and from what I gather..that is pretty much its purpose.   The sour notes bring out the flavors in Brie and Fruit. We will have to see…however,  With so many  other beers,  better tasting beers,  and Less expensive beers out there….I’m willing to put that off for a while.

 

Second beer.   Ommegang!   Scythe and sickle…..Think wheat beer..   The taste was a blessing after the sour ale.  Think of a dry goods store with raw dry wheat grain.   Got it?   Now  take a deep breathe and try to find the dry hint of the grain smell.   Now put that on your tongue with a hint of fermented bread dough.  It is a full body beer and scored high in its class.   You will enjoy this one. trust me!

 

  Last beer:   Wooden Nickel.   A local brew from Iowa.   This is a very cool beer in that it is brewed with German tradition and no added flavors.  Just yeast, barley sugar and hops.   And yet…This beer has a smoky maple taste.   Cheryl is now convinced we have to drink this with Pancakes or Waffles.  It went well with BLT’s this afternoon. It is the only beer we went out and purchased more of for further exploration.   The first things that went though my mind when drinking this was smoked jerky.  ( That is a compliment!)  Just a soft breezy note floating on your taste buds as you drink it.   No chewing,  No tearing, just sip after sip of that delicate smoky sweet  flavor .   I would recommend it to anyone wanting to try a interesting beer

And there you have it.   Beer night with three beers….We have a few others that are waiting in the fridge for sampling.   One beer I guess has a cult following that makes it rather rare.  We were “lucky” to get our hands on it.  I say “lucky” because either we will love it and want it again, only to never find it….Or it will be terrible and we will wonder what all the hoopla was about.   We shall see.  In the mean time   Some more Origami that I have been working on for the shop.  Enjoy!

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Oh! Origami Where Art Thou?

An entire week and my origami shop is almost empty!   I have to get folding!  But I have been languishing on a certain project for several days and am about to abandon it.   Spirals…….Oh  how I loath them.  They fascinate me.  They infuriate me.  This is why I fold animals after all.   And even then,  when all of my folding energy has been zapped by the spirals,  do I fail to fold as I wish.  

 

But somehow I managed to fold a few things.   Here are some of the finished items.

I also have been folding a few other things to fill in the vacancies of the shop   Enjoy!

The Iowa State Fair

Or is it Fare?   I guess i would call it fair for the fare, as we fared fairly well.   What is there to say about a state fair?   It was big.   Lots of people even though the weather was drizzly.  It was nice and cool and if you prepared for rain, you were fine.  Most of all I guess there was lots of food.   Not good food either.   It was the kind of food that kills you with heart disease and diabetes.  Deep fried BUTTER?   Com’on! 

 

 

 

There were antiques,   Tractors, Flowers and vegetables.

 

Lots of animals, even though I really did not know what it was that made one a blue ribbon and the one next to it  a runner up.   They all looked the same.  

 

There were rides.   Cheryl and I only rode the sky ride before the camera battery conked out.  Leaving me with only one self portrait.   Ah well.   I was going to pose with John Wayne too.   Maybe next time. 

 

At the very least, we saw the butter cow and some chainsaw carving.   Cheryl has had her mind on that butter cow ever since we moved to Iowa.  Her destiny has been realized! 

 

 

  All in all I guess it was very similar to the Allegan State Fair in Michigan.   The rides and games were the same as with the farmers showing off their stuff.  I’m happy I went and, for the most part, it was fun.  But I probably will not have to see it again.    The thing goes on for 10 days,   so there is still time to catch those rides and eat pulled pork and corndogs.  And deep fried butter…..

Hello Kitty Sewing, Origami Hippo, Bear, And Tomorrow is the BIG day!

So much to blog about to little time.   Well,  I guess the first big news is that Cheryl’s New Machine arrived on Monday.  This one is a Red version of the Hello Kitty sewing machine.  It is actually different from the green one we currently have in use.   Last year was a cautionary tale of what could happen if you only have one machine to rely on.  Each of us now have a back up in the event that something disastrous happens in the middle of stocking season.    Cheryl is totally in love! This machine has new stitches and a different layout so it might take a little breaking in time to get familiar with it.  We shall see how it works out.

 

Other than that, I finally have a model of the origami hippo I was willing to list.   I think this one turned out pretty good.  I’m sure with even more practice and perhaps better paper, I could achieve and even better version….but let’s not get too obsessive.  I also folded up an origami brown bear and I have been working on folding Koi….lots and lots of Koi lately…. 

 

And as for tomorrow.   Cheryl and I are going to the Iowa State fair!  Cheryl has an itinerary that includes a Barbershop Quartet,  Film about bats in Iowa, And Japanese traditional festival dance.  There is also the butter cow and all the fair foods that kill your heart with grease and sugar.   I’m going to try to bring the camera so I can document the Happenings as they happen.

In the mean time…enjoy the pics and I hope  everyone is having a wonderful summer so far.   Enjoy!

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