Garden Wars: Kickin' It In The Corn

Garden Wars Update

Bo's Update:
Knee high by the 4th of July. . .
that's how you measure whether your summer sweet corn is on track for fall harvest.  This year Bo's corn is reaching new record heights!



I also brought in my first garden harvest:
cherry tomatoes, zucchini, peas, and lots of jalapenos!

I also learned that I am severely allergic to the leaves of the zucchini plants.   This really stinks because I planted 2 rows of them and I really love zucchini. My grandma has volunteered to harvest the ready zucchini's because of my allergic reaction. . .I broke out in hives all over and my right eye swelled shut.  Seriously. 

However this has not deterred me, in fact it's made me even more determined to win this garden war!  I've had many compliments on my tomato bushes and the height of the corn.  Looks like the ways of old are winning.  What do you say about that Chicken?

Chicken's Update:
Well Bo, I think if you mess with The Chicken you're going to get the feathers. 

I've been hard at work in my garden over the past few weeks. 
The things that have been the hardest to work through have been the severe heat- we're talking 112 degrees and the rainstorms. 
The last storm really beat up my tomato plants.

I harvested some banana peppers, jalapenos, and Anaheim peppers, tomatoes, and peas.

While chopping up the jalapenos so I could freeze them and save them for later, some of the juices ran down my arm and I broke out in hives.  I've eaten them before and haven't had a problem, but I guess now I'm allergic to jalapeno juice.


             This Garden War is far from over! 

Stay tuned for more Garden War updates by becoming a blog follower. 

Do you have any gardening tips? 

Leave them in the comments section below.



Midnight Movie Magic: Harry Potter 7 Part 2

FLASH BACK!  

Shenanigans from July 2011!

Thursday morning we awoke knowing today would be the most momentous of days.  Preparing for the midnight showing of Harry Potter 7 Part 2 we did the following:

           reread the final book (including The Tales of Beedle the Bard)

                                     played Lego Harry Potter

                         watched the first part of the year 7 movie

                                    tested out our magic skills

                                          and took a nap.

This was all before noon so it was a long wait until the movie.

10:30 pm  Thursday July 14

Downtown 

Great Escape Theater

We're definitely not the most clever witches of our age- because we thought by arriving at 10:30 we would be guaranteed a good spot in line.  But upon arriving we found ourselves surrounded by the world of Hogwarts. 

Then we picked up our pre-ordered tickets (we had to order them a week in advance) and came to the ticket taker.  

Once there we were divided into one of 4 theaters.  

We were sorted into theater 5. . .we thought all was well as we took a seat in the second row from the front with the few SANE people in the theater. 

Chicken: It's not like we had a choice.  At 10:30 the theater was already full- at least the front three rows were pretty much empty.

Bo: I think we had the best seats in the house. . . the Hufflepuff wizard sitting next to us had the Sword of Gryffindor.

Once we had gotten settled with our popcorn and . . .oh sh*t! 
Darth Vader & Luke Skywalker are having a light saber fight
in front of the screen!

Oh, wait, Harry Potter just broke up the fight. 
Thank goodness.

(And no, we're not kidding.)

Chicken:  Man, I need to start carrying my light saber with me.
Bo: I brought my wand.  Accio Cherry Coke!

10:45
Then there was a lovely shadow puppet show featuring mostly rabbits and walking fingers provided by the crazies sitting the the back of the theater.

10:52
The shadow puppet people were stopped by the theater staff from continuing the show.

After the light saber battle and shadow puppet show, we decided we were sorted into the "most Slytherin house" of the movie theater.

Chicken: Yeah, cause we were surrounded by dumb a**es.

Bo: Which really stinks because I'm a Ravenclaw.

Chicken: And I'm a Gryffindor or a Ravenclaw.  I'm not the sorting hat so I'm not going to pick sides without a proper sorting.

Sitting and waiting for the movie to start was like riding on the train to Hogwarts: stuffy, crowded, food littering the floor, and full of crazy witches & wizards.

It is now 11:10 and Chicken is close to loosing it. 

We just discovered Draco sitting behind us and we are now concerned for the mudbloods and muggles in the audience.

Bo: I'm totally feeling out of the technological-loop because we are surrounded by people who are texting and tweeting. . .and all I can do is talk and type.

11:13
Costume Contest!

The winner was a gal who had the PERFECT Madame Trelawney outfit- complete with carpet bag and cup to read tea leaves.  She announced to the audience after reading her tea leaves, "I see a man with a mustache which means. . .DEATH FOR EVERYONE!"

Bo isn't concerned.
Bo: I brought my wand.

Chicken. . . well
Chicken: I could only hope that prediction comes true.


11:29
Enter the trolley candy lady.
Chicken questions whether or not she can magically swipe her credit card with her wand.

11:31
The following is the ACTUAL conversation
of the teens sitting directly behind us. . .SERIOUSLY.

"What are the main points in the past 7 movies?"
"Wait. What?"
"You know, what are these movies about."
"Well, I guess it's mostly about trying to kill Voldemort."
"Okay.  Hey did you get my tweet?"
"Is your name all lower case or are there some numbers in there?"
"No, it's all lower case- no numbers."
"In the name of all that is holy- did you see what (girl's name) has been wearing to gym?"
"I know, right."
"I wonder where this stuff all happened."
"What stuff?"
"The Harry Potter stuff.  You know that no one just comes up with all of this stuff.  It has to really happen in real life.  There's no way she just came up with all of the stuff to write all these books.  She saw it happen somewhere."

11:40
Chicken was hit by the Sword of Gryffindor-
she survived and there was much celebration and applause.

11:43
Three girls returned after getting popcorn and candy. . .there was much celebration and applause by the male muggles in the back of the theater.

 

11:44
Bo checked her phone for the um-teen-th time to see how much longer until the movie starts. . . 16 minutes and counting.

11:45
Chicken starts REALLY loosing it.  She begins wondering if there will ever be a Harry Potter 7 Part 2.
She also starts plotting to steal the Sword of Gryffindor.

11:46
The Hufflepuff wizard with The Sword shows off his Elder wand.  Chicken chickens out of stealing The Sword - Bo offers to lend her wand to Chicken.  Chicken declines wand and states she will take things into her own hands.

11:47
Bo learns "Accio Sword of Gryffindor" doesn't work if you're a Ravenclaw- drat.
We also learn that there are only 13 minutes until the aforementioned Hufflepuff wizard's childhood ends.

11:48
Audience members start randomly clapping.

11:49
Our Hufflepuff neighbor tests out his sword skills. . . not bad.

11:50
10 minutes until the end of the the Hufflepuff wizard's childhood.

Chicken: Okay, I think the professor's prediction (from the costume contest) will come true.

11:53
7 minutes until the end of the the Hufflepuff wizard's childhood.

Chicken: 7 minutes until I end the life of the Hufflepuff wizard and take the Sword of Gryffindor. 

11:55
Bo offers Chicken a hanky.

Chicken: Thanks I'll need this to clean up the blood.

Bo: What?

                                     (Lights Out!)
                                      APPLAUSE!
                                    . . .and action!

             We were in suspense throughout the entire movie
                 (even though we have both read all the books). 

                                            We laughed. 

                                             Bo cried. 

                                      It was tremendous! 
                                  A definite MUST SEE MOVIE!

As we left the theater the night sky was clear and the full moon lit the way to our car.  It was then Bo noticed. .

Bo: Where did you get that sword?
Chicken: What sword?

Bo: The one you're holding? Chicken, did you take it from Hufflepuff guy?!?

Chicken: Me?  No!  Never!
Bo: Chicken. . .

Chicken: I swear I didn't do it by the Sword of Gryffindor!

Bo: Ahem.
Chicken: Darn it!

Fine Dining Without Class: Barley Island

Fine Dining Without Class: Barley Island

Guest Food Critic Ashes

When Bo and Chicken asked me to be a guest writer for their blog

my first response was “Holy Ass Crackers!”

My second response was a little more refined.

After all The Hubs and I decided that tonight

we were dining without class…

  

The Hubs and I purchased our first home this year and as such we have been the proud homeowner’s of mountains of junk mail from the previous owner as well as receiving all sorts of coupons and such from companies as a “Welcome to the Neighborhood” promotion. We just so happened to receive such a coupon from a local eating establishment located in the heart of downtown Noblesville. It’s a small building nestled between a “modern” looking strip mall and the chamber of commerce building. That’s right folks, I’m talkin’ bout Barley Island .

We had never been but decided to give it a shot. I mean a coupon for buy one get one free entrees and locally made beer? Uh, sounds like a win-win sitch-e-ation to me!

First things first, parking is almost non-existent at Barley Island . There is a small alley like space between their building and the chamber of commerce which holds about 7-8 parking spots. If you can’t get in there you are forced to street park around the square downtown. Luckily we (The Hubs) managed to parallel park my car for me in a rather tight spot and we were on our way.

Like any good drinking establishment this place was dark.

Absolutely no natural light due to the lack of windows and very little artificial lighting on the inside. Barley Island offers “family dining” but we wanted the full experience and sat in the bar area. We sat on bar stools at small table near the jukebox which was a mistake since the jukebox was being used by the regulars to play craptastic country music.

We were quickly helped by the local brew master and bartender Mike.

He was really nice.

Since Barley Island is known for making their own brew

the hubs decided to try one.

He wanted something as close to Blue Moon as possible.

Mike produced a lovely glass of “Sheet Metal Blonde”.

The Hubs took in the aroma and promptly took a taste.

It

Was

Delicious!

I on the other hand was driving

and had a coke,

but it was still delicious.

We scanned the menu and saw all kinds of yummy meals. Bars, taverns and pubs are known for usually have huge portions and generally yummy cuisine in my book. So I was excited to see a club sandwich on the menu. I also saw that they had waffle fries….yummy!!!

I ordered the “Pub Club” and the hubs ordered the “Black and Blue Burger”. We both ordered waffle fries (which was a little extra since the sandwiches usually come with chips) with our meals and waited excitedly for our food to arrive.

While waiting for our food we took in the environment.

There was no smoking and no dive feeling from the bar area

(which was really small for a place that makes their beer).

There were 2 flat screen TVs with the same sports station on placed on either end of the bar.

This building use to be an old livery so a lot of the old charm was still present in the building.

We noticed a cooler behind the bar with six-packs and growlers of the beer that is made there.

On top of said cooler was a moose head. . .

              with empty beer bottles adorning each antler.

                                  Talk about classy!

When our food arrived it looked amazing!!

A huge pile of waffle fries and my club was dividing into four parts and each part was a triple decker!! The hubs burger was huge and looked super tasty! It was at this point the hubs was wanting something else to drink having finished his Sheet Metal Blonde. He asked for something darker and the bar tender suggested the “Dirty Helen” which in 2009 had won a gold medal at the country’s largest beer festival. The hubs agreed to try it and said he knows why it won a gold medal since it was so full of flavor.

We took our time and finished all of our food. We were way too full for desserts but it looked like they had some listed on the menu. Since we had a buy one get one coupon the meal came to a little under $30 (with gratuity).

Although the ambiance left something more to be desired The Hubs and I agreed that the drinks and food were so good that we would be making Barley Island a part of list of places to get a good meal.

As we left the building The Hubs gave me a dollar to let me play a song on the jukebox.

I was gonna put all those country lover’s to shame

and blasted “Hotel California” as we left.

Red, White, and Blog

Happy 4th of July!

Yes, it's that time of year again! 

A time of cook-outs, family get-togethers, fireworks, and smores. 

A time for togetherness. 

A time for fun. 

A time for severe burns and trips to the emergency room.

As we get ready for this 4th of July,

Chicken and I would like to share with you some

very important Do's and Don'ts for your holiday. 

You live and you learn-

and we've learned quite a lot about how to stay safe

when fireworks are involved.

DON'T stick sparklers in gravel

or anything that conducts heat,  

dance around them bare-footed,

and grab the hot sparklers 

with an ungloved hand.

Chicken ended up doing this and had severe burns on her hands. 

Bo tried to help by applying (what she thought was) burn cream on them. 

Ends up it was actually anti-itch cream. 

P.S. Itch cream only succeeds in making burns hurt more.

DO buy enough chocolate to make smores.

 Smores are a 4th of July staple. 

Always make sure you have enough chocolate for ample smore making.

DON'T sit in the "Danger Zone"

when immature males are shooting off fireworks.

*It is important to know, the "Danger Zone" is anywhere

within a mile radius around the males. *

If you do sit in the "Danger Zone",

 there is a good chance you will get hit with a lit firework

that will burn a hole in your shirt or the chair in which you are sitting.

 DO bring a cooler full of ice.

A cooler is a great place to keep your sodas, hot dogs, condiments. 

However, do NOT eat the ice, because no matter how hard you try-

there always ends up being grass and other randomness in the bottom of it.

*Ice can also be handy if someone burns their hands on a sparkler. *

DON'T hold a cat

when fireworks are going off.

Chicken was holding her cat when the neighbors started setting off fireworks.

 The cat nearly shredded her shirt and did shred her face.

DO bring outdoor game supplies.

Corn hole, touch football, soccer, frisbee, and softball

are just a few outdoor games that are both fun and easy to gather supplies for. 

Who needs bases when you have trees and a thorny rosebush? 

DON'T set a bonfire

near a woods

during a Burn-Ban.

Yeah, I think the photo pretty much says it all.

DO have easy access to a bathroom.

After 3 sodas, sports, and lots of laughter-

you don't want to be too far from a bathroom.

DO have lots of working bug repellent.

What could be worse than a mosquito bite?  How about 20 mosquito bites?

Make sure you have plenty of high-quality-working bug repellent. 

When you wish upon a firework this holiday,

we hope it's from a safe distance with lots friends and family. 

Stay Safe! 

Have Fun! 

Best wishes to you and yours this 4th of July holiday,

Bo & Chicken