good morning!

I've never been someone who puts stickers on my car, but I sure do enjoy looking at the stickers other people put on theirs. They give me plenty of fodder for blog posts! 😊

The only time I put stickers on my car was when my kids went off to college. During those years, there were just two: two kids went to Miami University (of Ohio), and two went to Ohio University.

Sunday night after dinner, Todd's sweet tooth kicked in, and he wanted to go out for ice cream. We headed to the good ole Dairy Queen that's been in the same spot for years and years and years. My parents took my siblings and me there, Todd and I took our kids there, and with Andrew and Owen coming to visit this weekend, we'll take Owen there for his first Dairy Queen.

Sunday was also the day before the first full week of school, so there was a long, long line of parents and their offspring waiting to order and get their DQ treats. We didn't want to wait, so we headed off to another ice cream parlor.

And that's when I noticed the car parked in front of us. It had this sticker:

"I HOPE SOMETHING GOOD HAPPENS TO YOU TODAY."

What a nice message to stumble upon, a sweet way to end a Sunday evening. 

And "I hope something good happens to you today."

wednesday's words and wanderings and wonderings

Last week was a quiet one. We had been on vacation with our kids and grandkids, had an absolute blast, and when we got home, we were tired! We took things slow and steady, doing a little bit at a time as we eased back into the swing of things.

Between raindrops, we took quite a few walks. With all the moisture, mushrooms - BIG mushrooms - had popped up in quite a few yards. They seemed to appear overnight!

The Danvers carrots I planted as a nod to my mom’s little hometown in Illinois are growing, and their leaves are such a beautiful, fresh green. Curiosity got the best of me with this one. I knew the carrots weren’t big enough to pick, but I just had to pull one. My first carrot! I’m so excited!

Out at the farm, puddles are all around the parking lot. As I was walking back from the gate, I noticed the reflection of the flowers and the farm stand’s roof in one of them. So pretty. Puddles can be such a fun medium for photography, turning an ordinary bit of water into a reflection of the world around it.

Monday, Todd and I met my brother and sister at a family-run Mexican restaurant that has been in business for 22 years. Sadly, the restaurant is closing its doors at the end of the month. COVID was tough on them, and what makes it even more frustrating is that the government wouldn’t provide them with PPP (Paycheck Protection Program) funding to help them stay open because the entire family was employed there. That just isn’t right. So many people scammed the government to get PPP money, while these honest, hardworking people couldn’t get any type of financial assistance. Also, the shopping center where the restaurant is located has a new owner and the rent has been raised. A double whammy right there.

After dinner, we stopped by Lincoln Park Commons to stroll around on a lovely evening. Once the leaves start dropping, the fountains will be turned off, and preparations for the Christmas season will begin. It’s hard to believe we’re already heading in that direction!

And finally, with all the rain and clouds, there haven’t been many sunsets lately. I caught this one, though, and it was just beautiful!

weed-zilla!

Todd was out doing some early morning weeding on this sunny, low humidity, 64° day and look what he found tucked behind the burning bush hedge...Weed-Zilla! 

The leaves looked like it could be a thistle but the roots did not. The PlantNet app identified it as American Burnweed and actually it's a good weed. It's a favorite for pollinators with its flowers providing nectar for many insects. With its wide, sturdy burnweed offers a safe haven for insects to lay their eggs. This weedy species is not recommended for home gardens. It is considered a weed in lawns but is considered a beneficial part of the ecosystem elsewhere.

monday's mulling: david vs. goliath

Ohio’s first Buc-ee’s opened April 6th in Huber Heights, Ohio.

The travel center is gargantuan…about 74,000 square feet, has more than 100 fueling positions, is open 24 hours a day, and has all the Buc-ee’s staples — brisket, jerky, Beaver Nuggets, and those famously clean bathrooms. The opening? It was absolutely massive. City officials said it brought in more than a million dollars in sales on opening day, with traffic backing up for miles and miles and miles and area hotels sold out.

But here’s where things get REALLY interesting.

Buc-ee's is suing a long ago established neighborhood establishment, Beaver’s Mini Mart, a convenience store in Beavercreek (12 miles away from its Huber Heights location) for having a cartoon beaver as its logo.  Needless to say, it's not gone over well.

Why is Bucc-ee’s doing this?

The beaver.

Buc-ee’s states Beaver’s Mini Mart’s cartoon beaver logo, including its eyes, smile and red coloring, could create confusion with the Buc-ee’s brand.

What do you think? Is this enough for trademark infringement?

Beaver’s Mini Mart has been around for decades, and its owner says the business was here before Buc-ee’s ever came to Ohio.

Buc-ee’s brings a beaver mascot to the Dayton area and then finds out there’s a Beavercreek whose mascot is a beaver ever since it was incorporated and wants to sue about the logo. Apparently, there’s room for 100 gas pumps but only one famous beaver? My money's on the little guy.

attitude of gratitude

Vacation was wonderful. It gave me a much-needed break from the stress of thinking about my car and having to buy a new one. But then we came home, and processing everything that happened put me right back into a tizzy.

Whatever the bigger plan was for my car to get rear-ended, it doesn’t make much sense. But it happened, and now it’s time to deal with it. I have to remind myself that it’s all about perspective. The pity party needs to end, and I need to turn this negative reaction into something positive or, at least, constructive.

 

neil armstrong's boyhood home is for sale

A piece of American history is for sale.

The childhood home of Neil Armstrong, the astronaut who commanded NASA’s Apollo 11 mission on his way to becoming the first man to walk on the moon, is for sale in Wapakoneta, Ohio. (Wapakoneta is about 60 miles north of Dayton on I-75).

Photo by WOW Video Tours, Lima, Ohio/Provided by Beverly Rex-Cook

Armstrong built planes out of balsa wood and glue in the dining room and constructed a basement wind tunnel to test his models. At the top of a creaky stairway is his bedroom where he launched model airplanes out of the window to measure how far they’d fly. Armstrong’s old bedroom is now decorated with photos and paintings of the moon landing. Hanging from the ceiling is a model of the Wright brothers’ first production airplane, the aviation pioneers who were from Dayton and an inspiration for Armstrong. 

Armstrong pedaled his bike from home to take flying lessons at an airstrip. At age 16, he made his first solo flight, got his pilot’s license, and 20 years later he rocketed into space for the first time.

An official historical marker was placed in the front yard in 2018, designating it as the boyhood home of the first person to walk on the moon.

A history teacher owned this house for 40 years and preserved the character and timeliness of the past, keeping it much like when the Armstrong family lived there. I  hope somehow the Armstrong Air and Space Museum will be able to purchase this property to keep its historical charm.

the friday feed: zucchini!

It's that time of year.

Zucchini...it's full-force producing! 

Last weekend, August 8, was Sneak Some Zucchini onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Day, a playful, unofficial holiday inspired by gardeners with an overabundance of summer squash. The idea is simple: covertly leave some of your extra zucchini on a neighbor’s doorstep and let them figure out what to do with it.

My neighbor has shared quite a bit of zucchini from her garden, and so far, I have managed to use every one she has gifted. We were traveling home from Ocean City on August 8, and she was kind enough not to leave any zucchini on our doorstep. But there was a plot twist waiting in my own garden. A small zucchini on my plant had grown into a huge squash during the week we were away.

Zucchini-zilla.

I put that enormous squash to good use, making three different dishes and freezing some for future meals. It was a delicious reminder of just how versatile zucchini can be.

Zucchini fritters: First, I salted the shredded zucchini and squeezed out as much moisture as possible. To help keep the fritters crispy and add a little extra flavor, I mixed in Parmesan cheese. They turned out really tasty.

Stir-fried vegetables: Next, I used some of the zucchini in a stir-fried vegetable medley seasoned with sun-dried tomato oil and a little salt. Stir-fries are quick, easy, and so flexible. Use whatever vegetables you have on hand, toss them into a pan, add a favorite sauce or flavored oil, and voilà!

Zucchini soup: The final dish was zucchini soup, and thanks to spinach and cilantro, it was very green. This was a hot soup, which I was actually glad about. Because of the cyclosporiasis outbreak, I wanted to make sure the spinach and cilantro were cooked to at least 160°F, so I used my candy thermometer to check the broth temperature. The soup was delicious, especially topped with shredded Parmesan and roasted cherry tomatoes.

From crispy fritters to a quick stir-fry to a bowl of very green soup, zucchini can take on an impressive number of roles in the kitchen. It can be shredded, sautéed, simmered, frozen, or added to countless other dishes. So if zucchini arrives anonymously on your porch or grows into a garden giant while you’re away, there are plenty of ways to put it to good use. Zucchini-zilla was enormous and its culinary possibilities were even bigger!