The 2009 California State Fair - with the bear!

We took Jack to the state fair this morning... The theme of the fair this year is Weird, Wild & Wacky - though this special flag puts wonderful in the mix as well.

One of the feature performers at this year's fair is MC Hammer. Sadly for MC - more folks seemed to be turning up looking to name the baby mule than to hear him perform.



Our highlights included the animal exhibits including the petting zoo which featured a Kangaroo! (or at least a marsupial of sorts). Jack also had got into an arguement with a llama!


And here's a snap of his new kangaroo friend.

The food at the fair is probably worthy of a whole different blog post but the summary would go something like this: expensive and fried. We had one of the famous cinnamon rolls and a big pickle!

All in all it was a fun morning at the fair with the bear...

Hurry up Fall!

We've had our typical hot stretches this summer though all in all it hasn't been horrible. I happened to have the camera in the car and snapped a couple of snaps on a scorcher. I'm posting the 107 (may need to click to see). The 109 degree picture taken the same afternoon didn't come out quite as well. Happy that Fall is nearly upon us!

Rocket Fizz

A new soda shop opened up in our neighborhood called Rocket Fizz. They carry almost 500 kinds of bottled sodas and more than 50 kinds of root beer.

I had a nice discussion with the owner about the important differences between ginger ale, ginger beer, and ginger brew.

I walked away with three interesting sodas to try. Filbert's Banana Soda, Leninade, described as a surprisingly satisfying simple Soviet style soda, and Judge Wapner Root Beer.

The tag line on the Judge Wapner's Root Beer is, "I sentence you to drink my root beer." The Leninade bottle has a number of interesting slogans, including: "Get hammered & sickled!", "A taste worth standing in line for!", "Drink Comrade! Drink! It's this or the gulag!", "Beware the repressed Communist party animal who is really a proletarian in denial masquerading as a bourgeois cold war monger!", "A party in every bottle!", "Misha, chill down this bottle & chill out!", and "Our 5-year plan: Drink a bottle a day for five years and become a Hero of Socialist Flavor."

Three Ts and a Lolly

Jack with Uncle Bill and Dad on Bill and Erin's recent trip.



He also enjoyed his first lollipop ever the same evening and seemed to enjoy it.

When a Dollar is Worth More Than a Dollar

Jack and I had a pretty cool thing happen to us this morning. We took one of our monthly trips to Home Depot and as we were holding hands walking towards the entrance we saw a big truck in the loading area. Jack was somewhat excited about the truck. An older man in the driver's seat of the truck was clearly amused with Jack and as we approached he mentioned several times how cute Jack looked.

He then asked if he could give Jack a golden dollar for his savings. I was a bit confused at first as he jumped out of the truck, dug out a presidential dollar and presented it to Jack.

Jack carried the dollar around all morning and seemed to be quite proud of it. We'll put it in his piggy bank tomorrow.

Pretty neat experience all around.

Good Taste in Tractors

On a recent trip to Home Depot Jack wanted to sit on the "green" tractor. He could do much worse!

The White Rocking Chair

When I was in Oxford, Mississippi a few months back, I noticed a large number of white rocking chairs sitting out on porches. I guess it's an Old South thing. Or should I say Ole South? Anyway, seeing these chairs confirmed something I already knew. That a white rocking chair would look great on our porch! Problem was, I didn't want to spend the hundred dollars most stores were asking for the chairs. But, my rocking chair dream became real when I noticed the rocker you see below at a garage sale and picked it up dirt cheap.

Of course, my dream was a white rocking chair, and this one was brown, so I gave it a good rough sanding and then lathered on the primer.

Then I added two coats of cloud white exterior house paint, and waited for it to dry.

The white rocking chair on my porch dream has finally come true!

Jack's Whale of the Week Board

As we mentioned Jack was the Whale of the Week recently. His board was so popular he became the Whale of the Month. He's now moved on to the Barnyard room with 2-2 & 1/2 year olds. Here's his Whale bulletin board though...

Goat Rodeo!

I went on a bike ride a few days ago and was surprised to ride by an enclosed watershed in our neighborhood that was filled with goats...I'm not talking two or three goats but dozens! It was a full on goat rodeo!


I brought Steph and Jack back later that day to observe the goats and we learned they are profession weeders and the goat company was doing the city a favor. Note there were also several dogs living with the goats to serve as protection.

Metal Fun!

In so many shapes and sizes like these, you’ll never run out of ways to have fun with Metal Fun. Shavings, shards, bars, strips, ball-bearing-shape, chunk, and Extra Large are some of the many Metal Fun options. Available in iron, aluminum, mercury, cobalt, lead, and others. Straight from the Yu Wan Mei manufacturing center in Deyang to your home or office.

Football Attire is In!

The new gear for the upcoming season is in. After sporting Michigan duds last year Jack will be donning Georgia Tech this year. Arkansas State may have their best team in a long time though it may be hard to tell with their record at the end of the season. We'll be catching the Nebraska - Arkansas State game in only one month!



As you might recall from a previous post two years back - this is the year Nebraska plays in two conferences. Obviously the Big 12 - but they are likely to be able to claim the Sun Belt title regardless of their Big 12 season as they play 3 home games against Sun Belt opponents!!!

New Huskers Shirt

Football season is right around the corner. I was milling around the Nebraska Bookstore today when I came across the shirt I'll be wearing to the Husker games this year...at least to the games where I'm cheering for the Huskers. It's a vintage style shirt. It's a great reminder of how much better the old Herbie Husker is than the new lousy version of the mascot they're trying to pass off these days.

Knee Defenders

My Knee Defenders arrived in the mail today! Prompted by multiple uncomfortable flights out to Sacramento recently, I finally decided to order these little beauties for $14.95. You slip them onto the metal supports that hold your airline tray table, and they prevent the person in front of you from leaning his seat back and stealing what little space the airlines allot to us poor suckers who fly coach.


According to the website kneedefenders.com, the devices do not violate any FAA rules. The site also provides you with the following easily printable Knee Defender courtesy card:


I can't wait to try these out the next time I fly!

Summer of the Margarita Continues!

Here are Erin, Steph, Bill and I continuing to celebrate the Summer of the Margarita!

These are the "super premium" versions featuring Corzo Silver tequila

and Cointreau liquor. Good...but strong. One is plenty!

Scenes from Iowa

Little Brown Church in the Vale

Welcome center with false horse.

Pella, Iowa. The prettiest town in America?

Clockworks in Spillville: The Bily Brothers

My Favorite Foods Catering

We flew out to Sacramento for little Jack's 2nd birthday party. The event was a grand success thanks in large part to the food. It was catered by My Favorite Foods Catering and the food was delicious!

Of course, the kid favorite had to be these homemade corn dog bites. By the end of the party these were long gone.

The most interesting thing on the menu was what I have dubbed "The Elvis". It's tortilla wrap featuring peanut butter, banana, honey, and cinnamon. The King would have loved them, and so did most of the kids at the party!

If you've got an event you need catered and you live in the Sacramento area, this blog whole-heartedly recommends My Favorite Food Catering.

Poking Beagle