The Allenbrite Theme Song.

I thought about titling this post "Cheryl's Theme song".   But we are a team... even though I consider myself the "dumb one".   Well,   "Different kind of smart"  is the line from the song I like.  I think that describes me perfectly.

   We just finished 25 stockings and Cheryl continues to work packing things up and answering questions.   As for me,   I'm the court secretary...taking down all the notes and cataloging the activities of the day.   A Big responsibility?    I doubt it.   But what else am I going to do?

Other than stockings,  not much else going on.   The sun has set already and answering questions can take several hours... 

It was warmer this morning,   so Cheryl was able to run in shorts.   She was happy about that,  although she did have to cut the run a little shorter since we had the mountain of stockings.

Not sure what else to say about the season so far.  I'm not sure if I should be happy for sales or terrified.   As Always, I'm sure I will have a better look  after the season is over and we can look in the bank account.     Thanks for stopping in and enjoy the song.

A Day of The Rare and Unusual.

Stockings Galore!

What an awesome last two days!   So many things to blog about and so little space...   Unless I write a longer blog posting today... so let's begin!

Even MORE stockings

Yesterday we were swamped with more stockings and decided to skip the morning run and run in the evening instead.   We sewed up the stockings and headed to Iowa city around 3 P.M.   After several errands, Cheryl made a command decision to run the hills instead of the flats.   Mostly because of the time constraints.

An Afternoon Run in the Hills

At the TOP of a BIG hill

But as we neared the finish,  I suggested we attempt that huge hill right before the parking lot... And Cheryl went for it!

Pretty col view.

If I look winded, its because I AM!

  It was a little tough.  I had to change to my lowest gear and was totally out of breath by the time we crested the top.   But the Rewards were worth it!   Quite the view of the land that we have never seen before.

Time to Head back down

Watch out for cars and steep grades!

Cheryl liked it so much she suggested we might have to make that a "thing" whenever we run that part of the trail.   At least until the snow and ice make it impossible.   Coming down was the scary part for me.   And that road is rather narrow if another car wants to join you.

MORE STOCKINGS!

We came home to even MORE stockings and, feeling ever so ambitious, we tackled them as well;  clearing our schedule for today.   I guess the stockings are going to become and issue soon enough.

Running This Morning

 Luckily JoAnn fabrics had a new stash of buttons and we were able to fill some of the ranks that were thinning.  If sales continue,  we may have a chance to order directly from the Button Manufacturer.   That will save us time and money in the long run.

A Hidden Easter Egg Prize!

So much larger than this picture shows.

This morning, I stumbled upon a truly wonderful find!  A Giant Puffball the size of which I have never seen before!   It was HUGE!  About the size of a large pumpkin.   My hand does not show it off very well. ( as I knew would be the case.)   Cheryl continued to run away, so I decided to pick it and try to ride with it on my bike.  You can probably guess the outcome of that.

Imagine I looked like this... only with TWO!

The larger one is pumpkin sized!

I was doing so well too!   I had slowly rode about a quarter mile;  looking like a farmer with a bucket of milk on his lap as he tried to peddle. But gravity always wins.  And as I dropped it,  it split into several dozen pieces. 

The tragic pieces wrapped in my jacket.

There is no victory in quitting!   So I gathered up the largest pieces and tied them up in my jacket.  ( I should have done that in the BEGINNING!   ARRGGG!)   Well, Failure (if you survive) makes you wiser.  At least that is what the Byzantines say.  So I managed to get the broken scraps back to the car and show off my broken prize to my wife.    She was mostly impressed!   (At least she pretended to be enough for me to believe her.)

Make sure they are white inside.

These mushrooms bring back memories from my teenage days.  We used to go squirrel hunting and Eric ( my brother) found several large ( but not HUGE, like these two) ones.

Fry them up,  With or without batter.

  Mom cooked them up with the squirrels, rabbits, and grouse that we managed to get that weekend.   It was always a wild game Feast when  we had enough game to actually have a Saturday Afternoon meal.   Mom was not the best cook... except when it came to cooking up wild animals.   I don't know why, but probably because of her Caveman upbringing. (That is almost a joke,  If my brother is reading this, he knows the truth....and is still probably laughing)

Similar to fried creme cheese!  Yumm!

It has been possibly 30 years since I last ate a Puffball mushroom.  I wanted to sample it to refresh my memory.   I sliced it up and simply fried it in olive and sesame seed oil.    It is similar to cream cheese in texture and flavor.   Awesome! 

The largest one is beginning to turn.   Maybe I can plant it for next year.

I still have the small one,  but the larger one is beginning to turn already, as shown by the yellowish part in the middle.   I could cut around the bad part, but I really doubt I will be able to eat that much of it anyway!   Cheryl sampled a bit, but I know I will most likely be the only one eating it.   Add in that we are going to Michigan this weekend and chances are it will not be eaten at all!

Wouldn't this be cool in our yard!

But that is OK.   I read up on how to cultivate it and it is possible to get it to root here in our own yard.  The chances are probably slim,  but so is everything else I plant here.  I never know what will take root and what will never mature.   We shall see how it goes next fall.

Albino Ghost Deer Spotted Near Iowa City!

And one last side note.   An Albino Deer was spotted  last night near Iowa City!   Nicknamed " The Ghost Deer" by the locals,   people are not revealing its true location because another deer was poached in 2013 in the same area. At least the 2013 deer passed on the allele to the next generation before the tragedy;  so it looks like those Albino Genes are in the area at least.

The 2013 deer did not last long.

  I read that Iowa made it illegal to kill an albino deer during hunting season after that.   I think that is Awesome.   Just because you see a rare genome in your area,  you should not have to kill it!   ( I say this as a former hunter.)  Some things are simply too pretty or rare to just kill.  Better to cultivate it and maybe see more of it in later years.  But that does not stop people.   "Tragedy of the Commons" I guess.

Maybe the 2017 deer will be better protected from poachers.

I hope that the deer lives a long and fruitful life.   And perhaps it will pass those genes on to the next generation,  allowing folks like me to see a rare sight here in the middle of no where.

Running, Sewing, Folding, And Growing.

Feeling better

Dressed for the chill

Cheryl has been feeling better lately, and as a result... we have been increasing the mileage.  Today we ran 6 miles.   The Des Moines  Marathon was yesterday, and someone we know was supposed to run it.  If we got her name right,  she must have had a pretty good day.   We can't wait to see her when she returns to HyVee to ask her about it.

Time to stretch... 

And show off those legs.

In the mean time, Cheryl has her mind set on next years races and is training accordingly.  The weather has been nice...for running.   Cold mornings and cool days.   I hear that the temps are going to rise a bit later this week.

Cold enough for long sleeves.

And gloves!

Other than that,  Stockings have been picking up.   Yesterday we sewed up thirteen.   And have a couple more on the docket for tomorrow.  The stockings took slightly longer to sew up than we had anticipated.

Stockings!

Drives Cheryl crazy.

 I guess it has been a while since we did that many stockings at one time.  Even Cheryl got a little "giddy" after we had finished.  This is a moment I wanted to mention:   I believe they build sewing machines to discriminate against men! Oh sure, we can fix them.   But using them is challenging with meaty paws.

Made by men FOR men....

  Luckily,  someone invented a means to get that thread through the needle using a small gizmo.   It helps me quite a bit because one:  I can't see the tiny needle hole.   And two:   Even if I could see it,  I have to contort my hand in such a way to push the thread through. My wrists ache if I have to do that three times in a row.

It's a Machine!  Hooray!

 

Still,  I like sewing on the buttons...   And using the Embroidery Machine.  I guess the mechanical gene still drives us somehow.

Pelican

Luna Moths.

And then there is the Origami.   I fill in the time that Cheryl spends answering questions, scoring papers, ordering materials, and creating stockings... with making and folding paper.   The challenge is finding things to fold that interest me.  Sometimes the complexity does not matter.

My tomato Experiment.

And lastly,  with all this rain I have been harvesting the seeds off of the creeping Cardinal vine.  And I have been excited to see the tomato seeds sprout in my experimental nursery.  ( The rain destroyed my little greenhouse, but  I did manage to get some sprouts to grow before then.)

Our Tomato color palette for next year. 

I can hardly wait for next years planting.  (I say that....Now.  I'm sure things will change later.)   My goal is to get the heirloom tomatoes to grow in the various flavors and colors.  I'm not sure if I will bring any to the farmers market, but we shall see how many I can actually get to grow.   I'm not really known for my green thumb.    Still,  It will be a fun process.

Rain, Clouds, Stockings and Runs.

Clouds?  Rain?   The mean NOTHING!

The last couple of days have been rather dreary.  Rain and clouds darken the skies and the cold temps of fall have finally arrived.   Undaunted, Cheryl continues to insist that we run.   Even in the rain!

 No biggy for her, but I have to dress up for the occasion.   Riding a bike does not generate the same amount of heat as running.

Cheryl the Conquerer!  (Or Terrible...)

   And with the cold, slow pace, and lack of pain pushing her;   She plans to make up for it all by running longer.  Today she increased the millage to 4 miles. She probably plans on getting up to 7 miles by the end of the week.  We shall see.

Cheryl sewing up the custom orders

In the mean time,  Stockings are slowly trickling in.  Last year, apparently,  I did not blog about the steady stream of 3-4 stockings at this time.    So this year, I want to make a bit more of an effort to catalog things. 

The Motley Crew of Fur-bearers.

The Finished Stocking representations.

We started the day with "no sales" but that quickly changed by mid afternoon.   During this time of year, that is how it is.   Start off thinking you have an easy day and BOOM!  5 sales with three on the back burner for tomorrow.  Cheryl had an especially fun time making the cats.

Armadillo.

Bulldog

Standing Crane.  First time go! 

Bulldog reads the blog. 

As for me,  now and then I get called in for my button sewing skills.   Otherwise I keep my self occupied by playing with the cat, digging in the mud, and folding origami with my latest paper creations

 Korean Paper.  Similar to cloth. 

I finally figured out how to make that Korean paper (Hanji) work. ( Hint:  LOTS of methyl cellulose. Without it, it folds like a fragile cloth.)   The stuff I'm currently using we purchased from Amazon.   Apparently, it is the "industrial strength" kind.  I'm still trying to figure out how to portion it up so it does not solidify in my container.

Sounds dangerous.  But not really. 

There are so many uses for this stuff.  Mostly for Slime, blood, and other gooey special effects for movies and Halloween .   Also it can be used as wallpaper paste, paper binder, book glue, and food emulsifier. (Makes gravy thicker) I doubt it will ever explode...  about as flammable as flour and an open flame.  It took me a while to figure that out, because each producer markets it as ONE of the intended purposes.  Causing much confusion.  In the end, it is all the same stuff...  as long as you don't eat the "non-food quality" stuff.  ( not that I would want to anyway.)

Hope everyone else is staying dry and warm on this chilly October day.    In the mean time,  Enjoy some Rod Stewart.   (Small note:  Remember when Rod Stewart was "too sexy and raw for the youth of America?   Funny how time mellows us all.)  Thanks for stopping in and enjoy.