What an amazing venue. My foodie friend Jim and I are a perfect match in the kitchen, and his kitchen is a chef’s dream. But when we hatched a plan to cook a ten course rustic Italian dinner…Jim had an idea. And it turned out to be a GREAT one. Touring The Venue Jim asked […]
Cilino’s – A True Taste Of Italy In Small Town Iowa
Cilino’s. The restaurant name was the first clue. We had stumbled upon a real Italian restaurant on the main street of tiny Wellman, Iowa. IMPORTANT INFO: At the time of this posting Cilino’s in Wellman is CLOSED on Mondays and Tuesdays! Be sure to check their Facebook page for any further updates. Let Me Set […]
Aunt Carol’s Banana Nut Cake – Easy And Delish
My Aunt Carol was truly one of a kind. She always seemed flustered and she talked a mile a minute, and I swear she never finished a sentence in her entire life. Just picture the conversations of “Floyd The Barber” on the Andy Griffith Show. (I think she even looked a little bit like Floyd!) […]
Only Carry On Luggage…For A Three Week Trip!
A carry on bag and a personal item are the only pieces of luggage I’m planning to take on our three week trip out West. Yes…you read that right. Trust me when I say I usually overpack for our trips. Just look at this photo of the back seat of our car when we head […]
Goats On The Go – An Iowa City Tradition Is Born
I never thought I would say this, but every summer I look forward to the arrival of…GOATS. Several years ago I was totally disgusted when I saw an ugly fence placed around the beautiful ravine that borders the elementary school nearby. It’s the school our boys attended so many years ago. That fence looked like […]
Treasured Memories – GrandCamp 2018
All good things must eventually come to an end. And so it was with GrandCamp 2018. Once again it was a treasured time filled with lots of Family, Food and FUN. From backyard baseball games with cousins galore… To “official” games where the cousin’s cheering section was loud and proud… To ballpark foods like this […]
Two Sisters Explore Sisters Garden – Johnson County, Iowa
Sometimes those Indy sisters can’t agree on an activity. And in this case Big Sis decided to stay in the car and peruse her smartphone while her younger sisters did a little more exploring with me. And that adventure took place only a few miles from the farm where I grew up. We made a […]
Back To My Childhood Farm – GrandCamp 2018
Some GrandCamp events are important enough to repeat year after year. Like heading back to the farm where I spent my childhood. I’ve shared stories about that special place before…like THIS POST . But this year we only stopped long enough to say hello and check out the pond and the “wildlife” that still inhabit the […]
Finally! All Seven Grands Together For GrandCamp 2018
As our grands get older it’s becoming more and more difficult to get all of them together. Between baseball, soccer, softball and more mini camps than you can shake a stick at…they are busy bees all summer. We had to squeeze in “Cousin Togetherness Time” wherever and whenever we could. So one overnight was all […]
Grant Wood Country – An Unplanned Lunch In Stone City, Iowa
When we left our house for a day of baseball games I had no idea we would end up in Stone City Iowa instead! But sometimes life takes all of us in a direction we don’t anticipate. We piled our GrandCamp lovin’ Indy girls into the car and we headed for Monticello, Iowa to watch […]