Pumpkin Pickin

It's pumpkin pickin time around these parts! 

The local pumpkin patch, Coulter's, is always a fun place to visit.
 

I don't mind browsing the store, but my favorite part is riding out to the massive pumpkin patch.

Photo props are all over that place!

Eeeee, finally time to pick some pumpkins!

The kiddos were psyched and ready for the pumpkin patch!

What did one Jack-O-Lantern say to the other?

Cut it out!!!!    Bahahahaha.   :-)

Ya'all might think finding that perfect pumpkin is easy.  It's not.  Unless you're Troy.

He found his right off the bat.  Us girls were not so lucky, we had to search through millions and millions, (ok, fourteen), of pumpkins before finding "the ONE"!

(Harp Music)--  I found it!

Oooooh, and then I seen the white one.  It was a tough decision, but I went with the classic orange pumpkin. ;-)

After awhile, I began feeling like Linus from the Peanuts.

I wasn't sure that we were ever gonna leave so I embraced the pumpkin patch life and did my Linus impersonations. 

I waited and waited in that most sincere pumpkin patch as the sun began to set.  :-)

I had the same luck as Linus-- the Great Pumpkin stood me up.  At least I didn't miss out on Trick's n Treats!  ;-)

Speaking of Trick or Treat-- Did I mention that the kids talked me into dressing up as a green witch one year, so I could collect candy with em? 

Yeah, they did, and I did, and all was going well until...

Gladys and Troy were recognized!!!  You see, no one would have guessed I wasn't a kid.  (Sometimes being short has it's advantages.)

Gladys and Troy wouldn't stay in character or keep their costumes on-- toddlers are like that!

One of the houses we trick or treated happened to be where their pediatrician lived.

Soo, I come to the door begging for candy and the Doc say's-- Hi Kristina!  I'm pretty sure I turned from a green witch, to a red one, in the matter of a few seconds! 

This year, the plan is to ditch the kids and get a better costume.  JK, I'll be the MOM.  :-)

Unless, I feel like living on the edge! ;-)
 

Cool Weather Comforts/Potato Soup

Fall is here and I have been doing some Spring Fall cleaning.  I recently parted with a bunch of items I had around the house, including a bookshelf, games, and this pillow I embroidered when Glenn and I were first married:

The little town of Westville, held there annual Pumpkin Festival recently.  The kiddos like the parade the best.

They get a bunch of candy tossed to em.

The weather has turned cooler and I thought the bluegills would be biting well; not so much.  At least not at Willow Slough.  Terry and I fished it this past Tuesday.  Terry caught one gill and some bass.  All I could catch were bass. 

Terry got his bass all on a rubber lizard.   I used my fly rod exclusively on this trip.  I lost a real nice bass on the 3wt right as I reached for the fish! 

I did manage to get a couple in the boat, as did Terry.  This little one sure was cute:

The scenery was awesome as usual.

Do Ya'all go through spells?  I mean, I find that I do when it comes to cooking. 

Sometimes, I cook often, and sometimes I don't.

For the past several months, I've just been feeding the family catfood as usual.

JK-- I cook, but often it's not anything special.  Potato Soup is rather ordinary if ya ask me, but it is really good.  And I spruce it up with some delicious toppings.  I fix it in the same pan I use to cook the bacon.  Yes, I drain the grease first!  Then I saute minced onions in the remaining bacon residue.

 Mmmm, bacon! :-)

I whisk in flour into a chicken broth base, then add in milk, sour cream, and cooked potatoes.

Here's the finished, delicious, potato soup:

Potato Soup

Ingredients

• 4 medium-sized russet potatoes, peeled then chopped
• 1lb bacon, chopped
• 1 small onion, minced
• salt and pepper
• 6 Tablespoons flour
• 4 cups milk
• 16oz freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese, divided
• 1 cup sour cream
• chopped chives or green onions for topping

Directions

1. Add potatoes to a large pot of cold water then season with 1 Tablespoon salt. Bring to a boil then cook until potatoes are very tender. Drain well then add to a large bowl and mash to your desired consistency (more chunky will mean a chunkier soup.) Can be done ahead of time. Alternatively you could use 5 cups leftover mashed potatoes.
2. Add bacon to a soup pot over medium heat, cook until crisp, then remove to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Add onions, season with salt and pepper, and then saute until very tender, 7minutes. Sprinkle in flour then whisk until smooth and cook for 1-2 minutes to remove the raw flour taste. Slowly add milk a splash at a time while whisking constantly to avoid lumps until a smooth sauce has formed, then add the rest of the milk.
3. Season generously with salt and pepper then turn heat up to medium-high and bring soup to a simmer while stirring constantly. Turn heat back down to medium then cook while stirring constantly until soup has slightly thickened, 3-4 minutes.
4. Add half the mashed potatoes then whisk until smooth, and then whisk in remaining mashed potatoes. Add 3/4 of the cheese then whisk until smooth, and then add sour cream and whisk until smooth.
5. Taste then add salt and pepper, and then remove soup from heat to sit and thicken for 10 minutes. Ladle into bowls then serve with the reserved cheese, chives or green onions, and bacon.

Popcorn & Scarecrow Festivals

Howdy!  Here in northwest Indiana, it's festival time!

The first festival this season that I got to attend was the Valparaiso Popcorn Fest.

Not only did I get to attend, but I got to volunteer at the Friends of Fishing booth.  FOF had a game set up for folk's to play and win.  It was a fun way to get the word out about our fishing club!

In other news, I'm teaching Jean how to drive a motorcycle.  She is doing great, and the Rebel is a good size to learn on.  A clutch is something rather new for Jean. 

The Scarecrow Festival in Wanatah, Indiana, is another fest I got to attend.

I used to live in this adorable little town, so it's nice to visit familiar faces.

Jean visited the ponies that she used to ride every single year since she could remember! ;-)

I enjoyed being in tourist mode and browsing.

The hay wagon rides are also a hit at the Scarecrow Fest.

The tractor makes stops at the car show, the American Legion, and the town square.

The car show had a great turn out!

When I used to live in Wanatah, my family and I would donate tae kwon do lessons to the merchant giveaway.  It was really funny, because the people with the wining tickets for the lessons was either very elderly, or had a broken leg!  True story!

The kids wanted to check out the park.

I was happy to see the ole swinging gate was still there; that's so fun to play on!!!

Tall slides with a big ole mud puddle at the end, merry-go-rounds, golden gates, and swings that can take an under-dog maneuver-- ahhh, the good ole play ground!!!   :-)

Rebel Restoration

When my Dad was alive, back in 1985, he bought a brand new Honda Rebel.  The first year they made em.  I bought the bike from Dad several years ago, and I used to ride it as often as I could.  With a bunch of kids, that wasn't all that often.

When it came time to move down to Pendleton, I put the bike in the barn for safe keeping.  It's been in that barn for the past 4+ years and I decided it was time to go for a ride! 

My buddy Todd, helped me take the carburetor off.  My poor bike was rusting away and I knew it was going to need cleaned up.

I took the carb back to my house, to rebuild it.  The trouble was, the screws were so dang rusty, that I couldn't get it open.  I tried some WD Penetrate-- nope.  I tried the ole rubber band and hammer trick--- nope.  Finally, I took it over to Joe's, my mechanic, and he loosened them for me with that special gadget he has. ;-)

I polished up the chrome!

And went to work on the carb.

I could tell right away it needed a good cleaning.  It's not supposed to have built up residue and the gaskets are not supposed to be gunky.

It's a good idea to keep an eye on all the pieces.

The smaller piston is the good one from the rebuild kit.  The kit comes with one of these and a few new gaskets; that's all there is to it!

It's important to get all the holes, and all the gunk, clean.  Otherwise, it won't run right!

The old gasket was melted on.

After CAREFULLY removing what I could of the old gasket, it got a bath.

Special carb cleaners do exist. 

This is what I had on hand, so it's what I used:

Some old stubborn gasket gunk remained on the track, so I lit a match and melted it off.

I got that baby immaculately clean!

 

After, a new battery, a new air filter, new tires and fresh gas, the bike ran great!

 

Vvvvvrooooom!  VVVVrrrrrRRRRRRRoooooom!!!!  ;-)