My First Garden

This is our first year gardening, and I think things are going pretty well. Here's some of our "crop"...

Cherry Tomatoes

Butternut Squash

Sweet Peppers

Nasturtium (Edible Flowers)

I'll show more as we "harvest". Can't wait!!!

Des Plaines River Trip--Section 1

Yesterday, Hubby and I took a little day trip down the Des Plaines River. We put in our canoe at Russel Road, canoed through Van Patten Woods, under the bridge at 173 and south, taking out directly after Wadsworth Rd. in Wadsworth, Illinois. According to the map the entire trip was 6.25 river miles, and it took us 3 hours and 45 minutes. The first half of the trip had quite a few shallow spots, some parts were so shallow we had to get out and push, but there was only one portage for a beaver dam. The second half of the trip was plenty deep, and well shaded by trees. While the first part of the trip was absolutely beautiful, I have to say I liked the second half of the trip better as it was more relaxing..

Here's the things I really liked about this portion of the river: 
-Very clean. I saw very little garbage in or around the river, which is great. Good job everybody for doing their part!
-Lots of wildlife. We saw a few different types of cranes, and several other species of birds, a beaver, a muskrat, and a few fish that just wanted to jump into our boat.
-Canoe Launches. The canoe launches were easy to find and well maintained.

Here's a few things I didn't care for as much: 
-Mud. The Des Plaines has a sandy, muddy bottom, if I can be picky, I prefer a pebble or rock bottom...that way you don't sink and get stuck when you have to get out of the boat and push.
-Traffic. This part of the river is absolutely beautiful. We went nearly the whole trip without seeing a person, car or house. BUT, we heard the traffic on Rt 41 nearly the whole way. Now, I cannot be too negative about this because this is the trade off when you are on a easily accessible river in the middle of a heavily populated county.

maiden voyage

Our canoe made her maiden voyage this afternoon at Sterling Lake at Van Patten Woods. Not a very long canoe trip but very enjoyable. The birds were chirping, families were picnicking and fishing, and the water lilies were blooming. A very lovely way to spend a few hours on this June Sunday.

Movie Switch: Raising Helen

KW's Pick: Raising Helen. Not much to say, enjoyable enough, I guess.

My Pick: About a Boy. My husband will disagree, but I think movie is great. Similar to Raising Helen in that a child helps the main character grow up, but more melancholy. Plus I actually found the kid in About a Boy to be interesting and funny and sad, but the kids in Raising Helen, are just background to the over-rated Kate Hudson. If you haven't seen About a Boy, I highly suggested it.

Movie Switch: Gone in 60 Seconds

KW's Pick: Gone in 60 Seconds...More Nicholas Cage. And some cars, and car chases. Spoiler Alert: Everything turns out fine. And Angelina Jolie, don't even get me started.

My pick: Oceans Eleven. On all accounts a pretty similar movie--assemble cast, heist movie, etc--but I liked it so much better. When I saw Oceans Eleven for the first time, I wanted to be a con man, I wanted to plan a heist and steal from a casino. The movie is cool and sexy, and everytime it is on TV, I have to stop and watch at least part of it. (All bets are off for the sequels though, they look really bad!)

Movie Switch: Freedom Writers

KW's pick: Freedom Writers. I hate to admit it but I was set on not to like this movie. But I did. It was cliche and very similar to other teacher movies like Dangerous Minds and Mr. Holland's Opus, even Sister Act 2. But it was inspirational and charming. All around a nice feel good movie.

My pick: Million Dollar Baby. Hilary Swank really throws herself into her roles and is a great actress. Plus, Clint Eastwood is just such an icon. I only saw this movie once, but I felt like it had it all: it was an underdog, sports movie, and teacher/student movie, it was real and dramatic. Actually, writing about it makes me want to watch it again!

Movie Switch: City of Angels

KW's movie pick: City of Angels. Here's the real problem with this movie: Nicholas Cage. I don't buy this guy as a love interest, as an action hero, as a leading man, in general. The soundtrack is good though. I used to have the CD and listen to it all the time, it's now on my IPod, but after listening to the music a lot, this was the first time watching the movie. And I may have even enjoyed it, minus Mr. Cage.

My Pick: Raising Arizona. A movie I actually liked Nicholas Cage in. I think he should stick to being weird, cause he is. Plus, I heart the Cohen brothers!