Ringing In The New Year With Rod

You've probably been asked this a million times in the last few days, but, what are you doing for New Years Eve?  Do you have plans with friends and/or family?  Will you be going out?  Are you hosting a party?  In keeping with a tradition we started a few years ago, we'll be staying home.  I've been looking forward to it for months.

Our festivities begins at 8:00 a.m. when our friend Rod gets here.  You know Rod, don't you?

Okay, Rod Serling doesn't really come over.  That would be impossible, as well as creepy, since he died in 1975, but the SyFy channel runs an annual Twilight Zone marathon beginning at 8:00 a.m. on New Years Eve and ending at 5:00 a.m. on January 2.   We'll be watching quite a bit of it.

It will be a pretty unstructured day/weekend around here.  In addition to watching our favorite Twilight Zone episodes there will be plenty of talking and laughing.  We may play cards or Scrabble.  There will also be plenty to eat.  A variety of finger foods will be available for impromptu snacking, and they will most likely include crackers and cheese (Dubliner Irish cheese is a new fave, Willoughby House Cheese Spread is an older fave), tortilla chips with salsa, pretzels, nuts and a few fresh fruits and vegetables.  There will also be a variety of beverages which will most certainly include wine and San Juan Tea for the adults.  For dinner, the current plan is crab legs and shrimp.

I know you're probably thinking that our plans sound pretty tame, but that's just fine by us.  Before we started our tradition with Rod, we had some pretty bad New Years Eves.  The worst would be 1999, the big Y2K that everyone was so worried about.  Our daughter was just shy of two months old and still in the NICU.  We spent all night at her bedside, terrified that, if the predictions were true, the power and computer systems at the hospital would shut down at midnight.  They didn't, but it still made for a long night.

Another year, we were invited to a get together that included both adults and children.  We were told there would be activities for the kids (there weren't).  We brought a bottle of wine (and then found that none of the other adults at the party drank alcohol).  The hostess became increasingly upset that the guests were still in her home past her children's bedtime (and was vocal about it).  It remains the only New Years Eve party we ever attended where we were home by 9:30.

There were also the miscellaneous New Years Eve parties over the years where guests drank too much and became obnoxious, belligerent or sick (like not making it to the bathroom to throw up kind of sick).  Add to that last year, when I had the swine flu or a few years before that when both of the kids and I had the stomach flu. 

So if you're in the area, stop by.  You're welcome to enjoy a tame New Years Eve with the Willoughbys.  And Rod, of course.

Have you entered my giveaway, yet?  Even if you have, you can enter once per day, so click the link and enter again!  You could win a $50 Novica shopping spree!

Willoughby

My Belated Christmas Gift To You - A Very Special Novica Giveaway

I hope you had a wonderful time enjoying the holidays with family and friends.  All of the festive activity kept me pretty busy and away from my blog, but now I'm back and I have a belated Christmas gift for you.  I'm having a giveaway and I think you're going to be as excited about it as I am.

Recently, Novica gave me the opportunity to choose a product for myself to keep, review and post on my blog, as well as a $50 gift card to award to one of my followers.  If you're not familiar with Novica, they work in association with National Geographic to bring the work of talented artists and artisans around the globe to the rest of the world via the internet.  Shopping their website is a unique experience as you can view information about each artist along with the works they create.  It gives each item a very personal feeling.

Mr. Willoughby and I spent an afternoon pouring over the website before deciding what item to choose.  I wanted to get something that we could enjoy on a regular basis.  As soon as we found a set of Margarita glasses called "Happy Hour", we knew we had to have them.  They are absolutely gorgeous and I couldn't be happier with our choice.  Hand blown in Mexico, each one is unique with tiny air bubbles in the glass (which I love).  Like all items from Novica, they arrived along with an artisan story card.  The artists, Javier and Efrén also tucked a lovely postcard from Mazatlan into the box.

"Happy Hour"

   
I was so happy with the margarita glasses that Novica so graciously gifted to me that I decided to do a little Christmas shopping.  I ordered a beautiful silver and pearl necklace for my niece called "Moonbeams" and my son ordered a pair of silver and garnet earrings called "My Heart and Yours" for his girlfriend.  Both are handmade in Indonesia by artist Nyoman Rena.  They look lovely in the pictures, but in person they are stunning.  Each arrived in a pretty fabric covered gift box, tied with a raffia ribbon and topped with a  raffia flower bow. 



"Moonbeams"




"My Heart and Yours"

I decided from the beginning that I was going to give a very truthful review of the product and customer service I received from Novica because it wouldn't be fair to do otherwise. If I felt they misrepresented anything, I was going to say so. If there were problems with ordering, shipping or anything else, I wasn't going to keep quiet about it. I'm thrilled to say that Novica far exceeded my expectations.  I'm confident that you will be as pleased with them as I am.

The Giveaway

The wonderful people at Novica have given me a $50 gift card to award to one of my followers.  You can use it toward any item(s) on their website (don't forget to consider shipping cost).  Get something wonderful for yourself or someone special.  Although I've only mentioned glassware and jewelry, there are many other categories on the website, including Corporate Gifts, Gifts for Mom, and Gifts for Him.  If you're interested in jewelry, you can search by type, such as bracelets or earrings.

Entry Rules

1. You must be a follower of This Stop Willoughby, or become one. 
2. You must click on the Novica Corporate Gifts link, browse the items in that category, and then come back and leave a comment on this post telling me about one of your favorites.
3. You may leave an additional comment (one per day) telling me about a favorite item from any category.
4. If you would like to earn a bonus entry, mention my giveaway on your blog along with a link to this post. Please be sure to leave a comment (with link) letting me know that you've done so.
5. This giveaway is not limited to the United States.  If you have followed the above rules, you're eligible as long as Novica can ship to you.

The deadline for entries is Saturday, January 1, 2011 at noon Eastern Time.  The winner will be drawn randomly and announced by 3:00 Eastern Time on 1/1/11.  One entry per day as well as one bonus entry allowed.   Please be sure to include a way for me to contact you should you be the winner of this giveaway.  If your email is not linked to your blog, please include it in the comment you leave here.  If I am unable to contact the winner, a different winner will be drawn at random.

Good Luck!!

Willoughby



Disclosure:  I was given a $50 gift card by Novica to choose an item for myself to review and post on my blog.  I chose a set of margarita glasses called "Happy Hour".  I was also given a $50 gift card to give away.  Both the "Moonbeams" necklace and the "My Heart and Yours" earrings were paid for by me.  The thoughts and opinions I have posted in this review are my own.  My disclosure policy is available for viewing here.

White, White, White

I'm not a huge fan of winter weather, but I have to admit, yesterday started out to be a very pretty day.  At noon, the temperature was 32º with very little wind.  A few inches of snow had fallen overnight and coated everything in fluffy white.

The snow was falling gently in large flakes.  It felt like being in a giant snow globe.  It was the perfect day to make our annual trip to the tree farm to pick out our Christmas tree.

We go to the same farm every year. The people are friendly, the selection is great and the price can't be beat (and it includes shaking and wrapping your tree). After you pick out your saw, they give you a map of the farm with the phone number on top. Once you've picked out your tree, you can call them from the field and they will come with a wagon to pick you and your tree up.

No matter where you looked, the view was like a Christmas card.  The trees were perfectly frosted with snow. 

It didn't take long to find our perfect tree (our son is now the designated tree cutter).  It's a lovely blue spruce that is far too tall for our living room, but, as suggested by the staff at the farm, we'll be cutting away the bottom portion to shorten it up to 7 feet. 

While the tree was being wrapped, we took some time to enjoy the fire.  We weren't cold, but it still felt good.  I took a few family pictures, too.  I'm not much on having my picture taken, but, just for my blog, I posed for this picture.

   
Yep, those are really my feet with my baggy jeans tucked into the top of my boots.

Once we got the tree tied to the car, the temperature had started to drop and the wind had picked up.  The forecasters had been predicting a winter storm, but I assumed they were wrong (they usually are).

By the time we got home, it was bone chillingly cold.  The wind was blowing so hard that I could barely push the car door open.  The gently falling snow had become a driving blizzard that burned when it hit your face.  The news was reporting hazardous driving conditions and airport delays.

I started checking news websites for school closings.  At 5:00, there were none.  By 8:00, there were about 50.  I made a final check around midnight and the number had jumped to 83, but our local schools were not on the list.

At 4:30 this morning, Mr. Willoughby turned on the news and saw that our schools had decided to stay closed for the day.  I checked online and found this:

Click on picture for a closer look.

Do you see what it says in the circle on the left?  541 schools closed!  Note the temperature at the top of the page, too.  It was 10º with a windchill of negative 11º. 



When the sun came up, it was breathtaking in more ways than one.  The snow, lit by the sun, was breathtakingly beautiful, but the temperature would literally take your breath away.  I couldn't tolerate the cold for more than a few minutes when I stepped out to snap a few pictures.


Looking down the street.



The neighbor's trees.

The weight of the snow bending a 7 foot tall arborvitae down
to the ground.

The wind even blew the door on
the gas grill open.  We probably won't be grilling
or eating outside tonight.

How's the weather where you are?  Is it beginning to look a lot like Christmas, yet?

Willoughby

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

How do I know?  Because the Willoughby house has become the midwest regional outpost of Santa's workshop. 

We've been decorating.

And filling gift basket orders.

We've been stocking our Etsy store,
The Cabbage Rose, with

Body Scrubs

Bubble Bath

Vintage Silver Keychains

Olive Oil Storage Bottles

and a few other goodies.

There are still custom orders to fill, shopping to do,

and baking to start.

So if I haven't stopped by to say hello in a while,

it's because Santa has been keeping me busy!

What have you been up to?

Willoughby

May I Take Your Order?

We don't go out to eat very often, so when we do, I want to have a good time.  I want the food to be tasty, the atmosphere to be fun and the service to be good.   A local morning show recently had listeners call in with what they consider "deal breakers", or experiences that would keep them from going back to a particular restaurant.  I didn't call in, but here are some experiences that were deal breakers for me.

Waiting Too Long To Be Seated -  There is a restaurant a few miles out of town that makes great fish and chips and killer Long Islands, so it's usually our first choice for dining out without going very far from home.  Once, when my niece was visiting my parents, we all decided to go there for dinner.  It was a Friday evening and it was pretty crowded, so we were prepared to wait for a table.  There is no real waiting area, so we stood near the door.  The owner's wife had a problem with this and told us to "quit blockin' that door!".  We asked if we could get a chair for my dad to sit in because he has back problems and can't stand for very long.  The answer was no.  We asked if he could sit at the bar and wait.  Again, no.  We asked how much longer we could expect to wait for a table.  The owner's wife said "How in the hell do you expect me to seat seven people on a Friday night?"  We left. 

Waiting Too Long For Food - We had dinner in a restaurant while on vacation in North Carolina.  We were seated almost immediately and our order was taken right away, but after that, it was a long wait.  We asked our server about it several times and the response was always the same, "Not much longer".  After nearly an hour, our meals were finally brought to the table, for the most part, cold.  The manager came by to explain the delay.  The restaurant was out of bread, and because I had ordered a club sandwich, he had to drive to the nearest store, choose a loaf of bread, stand in line, drive back and then have the kitchen make my sandwich.  He seemed rather put out by the whole ordeal.  I couldn't understand why they didn't just ask me to order something else!

Bad Food - This has happened so many times, it's hard to narrow it down to just a few experiences.  There was the place that served us chicken sandwich that were still raw in the center, the Italian Ristorante where my Alfredo sauce was rancid, the Chinese restaurant where the lobster sauce looked, smelled and tasted like low tide, the seafood joint where the drinks tasted like antibacterial cleaning fluid......I could go on and on.....

Bad Service - Another all too frequent experience.  You know how it goes, you get the wrong food or it hasn't been prepared the way you specified (rare instead of medium, fried instead of baked, Italian instead of Ranch, etc.) and the server is rude when you ask him/her about it.

Overly Friendly Service - Pleasant and conversational is great, but there is such as thing as being overly friendly.  We had dinner at a Jamaican restaurant on a slow evening.  Because she had no other tables to wait on, our server pulled up a chair and sat with us while we ate.  We heard all about her multiple ex-husbands.  It was awkward.

Disappointing Atmosphere - We had a gift certificate to an Inn in Canada.  When we checked in, we were told to dress for dinner as their bistro was very high-end.  After being seated, we noticed that Mr. Willoughby was the only man in the dining room wearing a jacket and tie and I was the only woman in the room wearing a dress.  The favored attire seemed to be sweat suits because most of the other diners were wearing them.  Still, we wanted to have a nice dinner so we asked for a bottle of local wine.  A bus boy dropped it off at our table, so we waited for a server or sommelier to come by and open it.  When neither did, we asked the bus boy if he could bring us a cork screw.  "No need, I can do it for you", he said while he unscrewed the top.

Dirty, Dirty, Dirty -  From lipstick on the cups and glasses to food encrusted utensils, dirty restaurants are a real deal breaker for me.  If my sleeve is stuck to a puddle of syrup that hasn't been cleaned from the table, how can I enjoy my food?  And how clean do they keep the kitchen?  I don't have a lot of experience with this category because if a restaurant is dirty, we don't eat there.

Assorted Objects In The Food - I should probably skip this category.  After all, you probably don't want to know about the scrap of hand written shopping list I found at the bottom of my macaroni and cheese or the fish bone Mr. Willoughby found in his pulled pork sandwich.  The hair in my sandwich is too gross to think about and........I should stop now.


How about you?  Got a good deal breaker story?  Do tell!

Willoughby

In My Free Time, I've Been Wondering.....

• Why is the cord on my mouse so long?  How far away from the computer do they expect me to sit?
• When was the first American Thanksgiving?  In history books, the illustrations always show the Pilgrims and the Indians having their feast outdoors.  It seems highly unlikely that anyone would have an outdoor dinner in late November in Massachusetts. (An internet search narrowed it down to autumn of 1621, no actual date)
• Why, when unemployment and foreclosures are skyrocketing, are local governments spending time and money deciding whether McDonalds should be able to sell Happy Meals?
• Is daylight savings time really necessary?  I have yet to find any benefit to turning on the lights at 5:00 pm.
• In countries where languages other than English are spoken, do they ever use English expressions?  Here, in the US, we say things like "Ciao" (hello in Italian), "Gracias" (thank you in Spanish), "Au Revior" (goodbye in French) and so on.  Do they do that in other countries?
• What percentage of air travelers have malicious intent?  Is it enough to justify the cost of the body scanners, the labor to install them, repair and maintenance of them, and the training for employees to use them?  Have they revealed any weapons or substances that would have gone unnoticed by previous screening methods?
• Why does my cable company advertise on cable channels?  If I can see their advertisement, doesn't that mean I'm already using their product?
• If I could look through someone else's eyes, would colors look the same?  Do we all perceive colors in the same way?  What about tastes, do we perceive the taste of food differently?  It would explain why some people love certain foods while others loathe them.
• What would the world be like if animals could speak?
• Why are advertisers in such a rush to push the holidays on us?  I've seen Christmas merchandise in the stores since August.  Today, I heard an ad for New Years party supplies on the radio.  I'm wondering if they'll start setting up the Valentine and Easter displays before November is over.

Still contemplating......

Willoughby

Your Thoughts Wanted and Scenery Worth Sharing

I'm not an idiot.  I may look like one sometimes, I may act like one sometimes, but I'm really not an idiot, so I hate to be treated like one.  Recently, I was in situation where someone was talking down to me and treating me like an idiot.  This was someone I had never met before, so the condescending attitude was unexpected.  How did I handle it?  I didn't. 

While I'm not normally confrontational, I'm most certainly not opposed to opening up a can of verbal whoop-ass when push comes to shove (metaphorically, not physically).  Now, I can't help thinking about what I could have or should have said. 

Did I keep my mouth shut because I was caught off guard?  Was I simply being polite?  Does it make me the better person?  Would I regret it now if I had been equally rude?  I just don't know, but it's bothering me.

So what are your thoughts, blog friends?  When do you speak up for yourself and when do you let it go?  I'd like to hear your thoughts.

********** 

Have you ever been to Michigan?  If not, I wonder what comes to mind when you think of our mitten shaped state.  I've known people who have relocated here from other states and were surprised to find it didn't fit with their preconceived notions.  Detroit gets so much media attention that I think that may be part of the problem.  I assure you, the rest of the state does not look like Detroit!  A large portion of Michigan is still very rural.  Northern Michigan and the upper peninsula have particularly beautiful scenery.

I subscribe to Pure Michigan on Facebook.  They post a variety of Michigan information including local events and trivia (your state probably has something similar).  Recently, they posted this gem.  It's Kid Rock's newest video, filmed entirely in the upper peninsula of Michigan.

Whether this -

- or this -

is your idea of Michigan (and even if it isn't) I hope you'll take a few minutes and watch the video.  It shows the Michigan you've probably never seen and the song is pretty great, too.


(Neither the state of Michigan nor Kid Rock paid me to endorse this video.  I wish.)

Willoughby

Hungry? How About Some War Shu Gai with Bonus Shrimp Rings?

What dish are you most likely to order if you go to a Chinese restaurant?  One of my favorites is Almond Boneless Chicken, also known as War Shu Gai.  Never heard of it?  I'm not surprised.  I recently learned that it is a local dish, created somewhere in the Detroit area to appeal to American palates.  As disappointed as I am to find out it's not authentically Chinese, I still love it and wonder why it hasn't made it's way to Chinese restaurants in other parts of the country. 

Basically, War Shu Gai is boneless chicken that has been dipped into a light batter and fried.  It is served with either white or fried rice, a sauce/gravy for dipping or pouring over the dish, and garnished with almond slices.  Since you probably can't get it at your local Chinese restaurant, I'm going to show you how to make it.  It's simple, but can be a little time consuming.  If you've got a sous chef to help, all the better.

First, you need to get your oil heating.  You'll want it at 375 degrees to cook your chicken.  Any higher and you will likely burn the outside of the pieces before they are fully cooked on the inside.  Any lower and too much oil will be absorbed and you will have greasy chicken.  We use a deep fryer, but you can use a pan of oil and a candy thermometer if you don't have one.  (Side note:  we use our deep fryer outdoors, even in the winter.  It doesn't make the house smell greasy and their is much less mess to clean up.)   

We're going to use about 2 pounds of boneless chicken.  You can pound each piece to a uniform half inch thickness, or you can do what we do and cut the chicken into strips.  Either way, prepare your chicken and set it aside.

Now we'll make the batter (scroll down to the bottom for complete ingredient list), starting with the dry ingredients.  In a large bowl, combine the flour, corn starch, baking powder, salt and sugar.  Add the vegetable shortening and cut it into the other ingredients with a fork or pastry blender until coarse crumbs start to form.

For the liquid ingredients, we need 1 cup of cold water and three egg yolks (save the whites, you can use them in your fried rice or make an omelet).  I find it easiest to use a measuring cup for this.

Next, beat the eggs and water together with a whisk until they are well blended.  Then, add them to the dry ingredients.

Mix well.  Your batter will probably be a little lumpy.  That's fine, it won't be a problem.

Now, if your oil has reached 375 degrees, you can start cooking.  Dip a piece of chicken in the batter (make sure it's well coated) and gently place it in the oil. 

Continue with several more chicken strips, being sure not to crowd the fryer.  Let the pieces cook for 5 to 7 minutes, using a wooden utensil to turn them if necessary.

Remove cooked chicken and place on a paper towel lined plate to drain.  Transfer pieces to a baking sheet and place in a 250 degree oven to keep warm while you cook the rest of your chicken.

(When we make this dish, Mr. Willoughby handles the frying while I make the gravy so that they are both done at about the same time.  If you are working alone, you can make the gravy while the chicken is keeping warm in the oven.  This is also a good time to make your rice or fried rice.)

To make the gravy:  Over medium heat, melt three tablespoons of butter in a large saucepan.  Add three tablespoons flour and cook for one or two minutes, until the mixture starts to become golden.  Add three cups chicken stock and three tablespoons soy sauce.  Increase heat to medium high and continue to cook until sauce thickens and begins to simmer.  Turn heat to low and keep warm until ready to serve.

Ready to serve?  Place a heaping scoop of rice on plate, place chicken strips on top of rice.  Drizzle sauce/gravy on top and garnish with sliced almonds.
 

I forgot to add the almonds before I took this picture!

  As you can see, we also made some fried shrimp rings.  To make them, peel and devein 2 pounds of shrimp.  Remove the tails.

To make the rings, dip two shrimp in batter and place carefully in fryer with ends touching to form a circle.  Fry for 1 to 2 minutes, turning if necessary.

This batter is also great for fish.  You can substitute 1 cup of cold beer in place of the water to make a traditional beer batter. 

War Shu Gai

Batter -

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup ice water
• 3/4 cup cornstarch
• 3 egg yolks
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon vegetable shortening
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

Gravy -

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• Sliced almonds for garnish

********************



Enjoy,


Willoughby

Hangin' On Halloween, Willoughby Style

In past years, Halloween wasn't much of a family event because I would be home by myself handing out candy while Mr. Willoughby took one or both of the kids trick or treating.  Yesterday, though, we were able to spend it together.  Of course, my son hasn't gone trick or treating in years, but this year, my daughter decided she was too old to go, too.  She said she would rather stay home and help hand out the candy.  When we weren't able to change her mind, we made the decision to decorate like crazy so we could all get involved and have fun.  We didn't exactly have a theme, but we knew we wanted to make it a little scary.

Usually, we decorate the front porch and that's where I hand out candy.  This year, we wanted to try something a little different and have the trick or treaters come to the back yard.  We live on a corner and have an arbor with a gate that opens to the sidewalk; the perfect place for handing out candy.  We lit a fire in the fire pit and cranked up some Halloween music, so it was the perfect place to hang out, too.  To keep anyone from coming to the front door, we roped off the entire front yard with "Danger" tape and hung a sign with an arrow that said "Ghosts and Ghouls and Treats Await, Around the Corner at the Haunted Gate".

  We draped the arbor with Halloween lights.

And added a greeting to the gate.

   There were some surprises in the windows that face the sidewalk. 

Ghosts and bats hung from fishing line across the yard.  The wind kept them fluttering all night long.

A strange glowing liquid sat on the patio table.

There were some scary pumpkins leading the way to the Haunted Gate.

 Karen Cooper from Night of the Living Dead.

Frankenstein

 A creepy skull.

 Jack Torrance from The Shining.

Dr. Bernardi from The Twilight Zone.

We also made a stuffed dummy and hung him from the tree next to the arbor.

 He looks pretty real, doesn't he?

We rigged him to dance to music.  See for yourself.

Sorry, I couldn't figure out how to rotate the video!

I'm sure you've guessed that it's not a dummy.  It's my son (with a nylon stocking over his face).

And yes, that's me laughing at the end.

He was hanging from a climbing harness so he was in

no danger of falling and huring himself.

He scared and amused lots of trick or treaters.

You want to know what question he was asked the most?

"How's it hanging?"

I hope you had a great Halloween, too!!



Willoughby

Wandering With The Willoughbys, Country Style

Mr. Willoughby and I had an opportunity to do some wandering on Wednesday afternoon while the kids were in school. We started out by heading to the nearby town of Romeo. There are some great stores, cafes and restaurants in the older, quaint downtown area.  There is a newer section of town with chain stores and fast food restaurants a few miles up the road, but we didn't go there.

You may not have heard of Romeo, but I'll bet you've heard of one it's more famous citizens, Bob Richie. No? Maybe you know him by his stage name, Kid Rock. I'll bet you thought he was from Detroit. Nope, he's a country boy from this charming little town.


Courtesy Google Images

We didn't see Bob, I mean Kid Rock, while we were wandering and window shopping, but I did snap some pictures of some other sights.

 The red brick of the church against the brilliant blue sky is striking, isn't it?

 I'm not sure if this is still a hardware store, but I love the old sign painted directly on the brick.

 This time capsule is buried in a small community park.  It is scheduled to be opened in 2060.

 If they had been open, we might have been tempted to stop in for some ice cream.

 I wonder if Bob eats here when he comes back home?  We didn't go in, but it sure

did smell delicious when we walked by!

 This Thai restaurant is so new that it isn't even open yet. 
The owner is a friend of Mr. Willoughby's

so I'm sure we'll be back.  

 If you're thinking of visiting, you can fly right into Romeo.  It's one of the smallest airports I've ever seen.  Remember the airport on the show Wings?  Romeo airport is even smaller.  I would have taken

a picture of the terminal, but it's a half mile down the road, past the

hangers and runways.

After we left Romeo, we took the back roads home, where there are dozens of farms.  I never get tired of looking at barns.  

 I'm not sure that this old barn would still be standing if it weren't for all the trees growing in, around and through it.  I think they are actually holding it up.

 I wonder what they grow at this farm?  They have several huge barns and lots of silos. 

As you can see, the field has already been cut down.

 I don't know what this is called, but they were filling it when we drove by.  I think that's corn 

inside it. 

This road leads back into the town we live in.  I snapped this picture because I was amazed at the

cloud formations.  It reminds me of ocean waves crashing into the shore.

If only we were having a party....



Growing up in the suburbs, I never ran across a sign for deer processing. 

Around here there seems to be one on every corner.

 

Back at home, we did a little wandering through the yard.  We were surprised to find

this cayenne pepper still growing.

When the wind blows, the leaves on this sumac look almost like flames.

Another little pop of color.  This spiderwort is still blooming among the fall leaves.

After the kids got home from school, the sky started to get dark.  We had to hurry out to get

our pumpkins for Halloween. 

We ended up at a roadside stand where pumpkins were $3.00 each.  Our daughter put

the money in the "honor box". 

Our wandering nearly complete, we came across this place.  Against the gray sky and the bare tree it looks a little like a scary, haunted house, doesn't it?  

It isn't, it's just......

Willoughby