Monthly Archives: June 2014
Green Beans and Pretzels . . .
Officially it made it to 65° here in Elkhart today with a low of 50 expected tonight. Which would have been great, except for the rain that came with it. Which meant no walking and no coffee and muffins outside with Nick and Terry.
But it was a great morning for reading and computering, so that worked out well.
About 1pm I drove Jan down to get her hair trimmed, something I do with great dread every time. Because since she’s usually at a different place each time, with a different stylist, sometimes she’s not real happy with her cut.
And who’s the closest at hand to vent to?
That would be me.
But today was my lucky day, (and Jan’s too, I guess) because she really liked her trim. So I dodged a bullet for another few weeks.
Life is Good!
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Our great-niece Gwen graduated from 5th grade today, with a lot of awards. She got a top 5 in art, a top 2 in writing, and straight A’s in Science, Reading, and Language Arts.
Way to Go, Gwen!
But smile next time.
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A little before 5pm, Nick and Terry, and Jan and I drove over to have dinner at the nearby Applebee’s. And as has been our recent experiences, it was really good.
Jan and Terry had the Margarita Queso Grilled Chicken and Shrimp, while Nick had the Penne Pasta with Chicken. I however, had the Grilled Vidalia Onion Sirloin that they’ve been advertising on TV recently. It also came with smashed red potatoes (that’s how they describe them) and fresh steamed garlicy spinach. The 9oz. sirloin was perfectly medium rare, just slight charred on the edges, and very flavorful.
And we also had our favorite appetizer there, the Green Bean Crispers. These are lightly breaded and fried 6” long fresh green beans, served with both a BBQ Bacon Ranch dip and Zesty Horseradish dip.
Nick, not believing in vegetables, have Brew Pub Pretzel and Beer Cheese Dip appetizer.
They also have the Dessert Shooters, those little shot glass desserts, that are the perfect way to wrap things up, but everyone was too full this time.
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Don’t know if anyone else is watching the Fargo miniseries on FX Tuesday nights, but Jan and I have really enjoyed it. They’re down to the last 2 of the 10 episodes, and it will be interesting to see how it all plays out.
Done by the same people who did the Fargo movie back in 1996, the TV show has no direct connection, except the Minnesota location and a really quirky story.
If you haven’t seen it, hopefully they will rerun it at some point. It’s worth seeing from the beginning.
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Thought for the Day:
"The people I distrust most are those who want to improve our lives but have only one course of action." — Frank Herbert
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Nothing Much . . .
Since we did nothing much at all today, except make a DQ run with Nick and Terry this evening, I thought I’d do a repost of one of our favorite museums, the the Auburn – Cord – Duesenberg Museum, located in Auburn, IN.
We visited here in October, 2011, and still today, talk about the beautiful Art Deco building and the splendid automobiles. If you’re in the area, it’s well worth a visit. If not, then you can visit vicariously through the blog.
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Founded in 1874, the Eckhart Carriage Company was a successful manufacturer of horse-drawn carriages. Frank Eckhart had not only the foresight but also the engineering ability to steer the buggy company into the “Age of the Automobile.” His Auburn Automobile Company prospered, particularly after E.L. Cord was brought in to run the business. Cord was both inventive and astute, and in 1929 created his own company, which, among other things, bought out the Duesenberg Automobile Co.
Despite the enthusiastic public response, sales were disappointing. The estimated production figure of 500 cars per year was never matched and eventually only 481 Model J’s were constructed. Being extremely expensive, the Model J was popular with the rich and famous. Among the owners were many greats from the showbiz industry like Gary Cooper, Clark Gable, James Cagney and Greta Garbo. Various kings and queens were Model J owners as well. Part of the Duesenberg legend is based on the many famous owners.
Styling and engineering failed to overcome the fact that Cord’s vehicles were too expensive for the Depression-era market and that Cord’s stock manipulations would force him to give up control of his car companies. Under injunction from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to refrain from further violations, Cord sold his shares in his automobile holding company. In 1937, production of Auburns, Cords and Duesenbergs ended.
The building that now houses the Museum was the original Art Deco headquarters / showroom of the Auburn, Cord, and Duesenberg automobiles, and it’s beautiful in its own right.
And the inside is even more outstanding.
I won’t bore you with all the details. I’ll just show you pictures of these beautiful automobiles.
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Tomorrow? Maybe, Maybe not.
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Thought for the Day:
"Government is not reason. Government is not eloquence. It is force. And, like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master." – George Washington
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