Yoo 244 - To Do In A Hick Town, Pt 1

Ready for a tour of the Kyoo hometown?? Well good, you've come to the best. I'll show you all the hot spots!

Our first stop is at the school.

There's a playground there. One of the best in town. (of two). Lots of spinning to do here folks.

You can cling to a metal globe and spin...

...or even plant your butt in a tulip and go round and round and round.

But of course you must pay homage to muh school doors while you're there. Ran thru those portals exactly 10 seconds before the bell rang every morning for six years I did. (down to a science).

Say hi to the kiddie hand prints, too.

And just admire the aged edifice of my scholastic rearing. (7th-12th grade for me). (though it is k-12).

Time for stop number two...on your mark, get set, GO!

It's my high school track! Take a lap and just soak up the essence of that kitty-litter trail. Can you feel it?? The sweat? The tears? The footprints? The miles and miles? Can you hear Coach Studnicka reminding us that the only way to run faster is to run faster?

I still can.

Super 600s were my favorite workout. NOT!

I'm getting thirsty just thinking about it. Let's stop at the Country Store for a pop. (we're in Nebraska, I can call it that!).

The Country Store used to be the cool place to run and buy candy and pop after school lunch. I never bought much myself, but I usually made the trek with a group of friends and browsed around wishing I had money. Buy a gummy hamburger for me, will ya?

In fact, I'll take you to the post office right now so you can send it!

The best part about our little post office is that my mom works there.

Hi Kyoo mom!

Take a moment to admire the town scenery...

...as you take a short jaunt to the library.

Oh the library. Don't doubt it, this is the hoppin' spot in town. Movies to rent. Video games to play. Computers to peruse with. A playhouse in the basement. Dress-up clothes. And shelves and shelves of books and magazines. Hours and hours of entertainment here! And summer reading programs! This place has gots it all.

Come on, you know you want to get a library card.

Guess what else is cool about my homey town?

Uh, maybe that we're the county seat?? Yeah, that's cool. So we're gonna check out the court house.

Lots of antiques and old hallways to explore.

And the courtroom's probably open, so go ahead and try out that chair!

Also, if you look close enough, you'll find our mark on the county 4-H quilt. Represent!

As you leave the courthouse, on the west side, you'll see remnants of school spirit past.

Which is bittersweet. I graduated a Wildcat. Morgie graduated a Wildcat. But the Smil on down will graduate a Cougar. Our little school just got too little and had to merge with the schools of surrounding area towns.

Sad day!

Did you know I graduated in a class of 17? Surely did. Four in that band of classmates were foreign exchange students too. How's that for small! The merger was bound to happen sometime.

What's that? You're feeling all cramped in the city?

Well lets remedy that!

Plenty of wide-open country roads to explore here.

Ahhh, the expansive miles. Golden with the plowed fields in fall and winter. Green with corn and beans to boot in the spring and summer. Just ripe with postcard potential.

Don't forget to turn around and admire the town skyline! Most noticeable are the water tower and grain bins/elevators. Cool, huh?

Even cooler is that you can still hear the siren! YouTube for the win. It sounds a couple times a day. Noon and six, I think? You get used to it after a while and don't notice. I'm fairly certain it's been ringing its announcement for decades and decades, but most originally to let the workers at a now-closed industrial plant know when they could eat and go home. Not sure why it's still going today, but it's an integral part of my town!

They use it to round up the volunteer fire corps during emergencies and warn of tornadoes too. Matter-of-fact.

Oh my, the day is almost spent! You're getting tired, aren't you? Too bad because there's plenty more I could show you! Like the fairgrounds where Old Trusty Days is held every September. And the swimming pool where I spent 3 summers on my butt in those purple lifeguard chairs employed as a glorified baby-sitter. Painted it too. Have you ever painted a swimming pool? Yes, opportunities abound here. No doubt about that!

Well, why don't you just pull up a chair and enjoy the sunset, ok? Sure glad you came along today!

Don't forget to come back later for part 2! We'll explore a few unique places in surrounding towns. Yippee-ai-ay it'll be a hootin' ol' time!

Have a great day :-)

Yoo 243 - Christmas Recap

I'm back from Nebraska (still not in love with that 14-hour drive, if you were wondering) and reveling in the memories of my holiday rendezvous just past.

Christmas was a part-y this year!

Part hours of driving with the boy and dining on fine road food.


(Triscuit sandwiches!).  (we forgot the bread).  (my fault).

(and did you know the landscape doesn't change at all on the thoroughfare that is I-35?).  (well it doesn't). (phooey).

Part eating waaay too many of the Kyoo mom's rolls.  (mmmmmm).

Part traditional holiday meals.

(you bet funeral potatoes are staple for our Christmas dinner).  (it'd be a shame to reserve those only for funerals).

Part nontraditional holiday meals.

(the Morgie wanted to try a Passover meal for Christmas Eve).  (except it was pretty unorthodox after she had to make some substitutions so we would actually eat it).  (but she explained the symbolism behind each dish and brought attention to the fact that it was Jesus Christ's Last Supper before fulfilling His earthly mission).  (which is the reason for His birth so it was a nice segue into Christmas).  (along with the traditional reading of St Luke chapter 2, of course).

(PS - I just realized I've always spelled segue wrong).  (definitely thought it was segway).  (dork stamp).

Part Christmas tree and presents.

 (the spee-i-der view).

(annnnnd proof i was on the nice list this year).  (love having young siblings).  (Santa still makes a stop).

Part games, games, and more games with the family.

(bingo!).  (naturally played while stuffing our faces with even more food).

(the Gregamer thinks he's quite clever in the adjective to noun matching world).  (eye roll).

(Jordie made the pinata).  (it was awesome).  (and filled with fruit snacks).  (win).

Part long walks in the country with the Shadow puppy.

(there were calories to burn).

(and I just love my big, black dog).  (and my Nebraska country).

Part Smil making me breakfast.

(she is a willing cook, and a darn good one at that).  (and I'm a willing eater, and a darn good one at that).

(and I gave her that hat).  (which she loved).

(buttermilk hotcakes).  (homemade syrup).  (sensing a food theme?).  (there was a lot of eating).

Part church basketball game with friends.

(we're so fast).

(I made a basket).  (more than once).  (believe it).

(Jordie stacked cups?).

And so many parts just spending heaps of quality time with these cool cats.

(the Kyoo dad was off on a bicycling adventure and missed family pictures, take 1).  (see where I get it??).

And this dog.

So glad I made it up to Nebraska to spend the Christmas party with them!   Cliche as ever, but it was the best present of the season.  (Gregcharmer don't you worry, yours was a very close second).

Have a great day :-)

Yoo 242 - Have You Ever? Chestnut Edition

Have you ever...roasted chestnuts?

Christmas isn't Christmas without "chestnuts roasting on an open fire" and "Jack Frost nipping on your nose", right?

Wrong.

It had never occurred to me, after years of that song playing thru Christmas pasts, that I'd never actually tried roasting chestnuts. And then, suddenly, this year, during a band rehearsal of "The Christmas Song", it hit me. "I've never roasted chestnuts!".

And then this bag caught my eye a few weeks later at HEB.

And I had to try it.

I enlisted the family for help on this one.  Or rather, my 11-year-old sister.  Because you have to cut an 'X' into the top of the chestnuts before roasting them, and who better to hand a sharp knife to?

In hind sight, probably not my brightest idea.  But she handled it well.  There weren't any knife casualties but the whole process was kind of a pain and took ages.  Though we were using fairly dull steak knives...

This is my cooking show picture of the week: 

We settled for the oven roasting instructions because, well, there just wasn't a fire handy.  And I'm pretty sure the Kyoo mom would have forbid the creation of a fire handy.  Though I didn't ask her...

So the chestnuts roasted in a conventional oven and fifteen minutes later...

...we were staring at the inspiration of Christmas music lore.

A few tugs at the shell and we were in.

They look like brains.

And the taste verdict?

We weren't impressed.  Most of them were moldy?  And the ones that weren't moldy didn't taste all that amazing.  Definitely not worth the effort!  (in my awesome opinion).

Though maybe they taste better after roasting on an open fire.  Smokey, perhaps?  Either way, they probably won't be a tradition in these parts any time soon.

But still a fun kitchen adventure!

Have a great day :-)

Yoo 241 - Just Dance

Just Dance is not favorite.

I mean, that wii controller just can't capture these moves.

Ok, maybe it's just us.

Have a great day :-)