Pumpkin Patch

As you can see from the photos, we had quite a day at Chester's Party Barn/Pumpkin Patch Saturday. We headed out in the morning with Matt, Robin, the boys and Julia. It's a pretty neat little set up. Pony rides, petting zoo, pumpkin bowling, pumpkin "chunkin", a giant maze in corn stalks, food, and fun! Perfect to get ready for fall and Hawloween. John got pretty serious about pumpkin bowling and roping a hay bale!

After the Pumpkin Patch, we were only about 10 miles from Okarchee, and you know what that means! Fried chicken at Eischen's!! So, we headed out there, met Arni and Nina, my mom and Bill and ate to our heart's content.

It was a beautiful day and perfect for being outside, though I got sunburned (figures)! But I think everyone had fun, especially all the good food.

I also spent a good portion of my weekend kitten shopping. No, Crazies, not for me so calm down! Robin and Matt have been thinking of getting a kitten for a while, and being the crazy cat lady that I am, I went with Robin to look. So Robin and I visited a few shelters and a few Petsmart Adoption centers to find just the right cat. We found her yesterday at Pets and People in Yukon. She's 9 weeks old, and she's all black with bright green eyes. Her name is "Elphie" (after Elphaba from the book/musical 'Wicked').

Anyway, it was a busy weekend, but a lot of fun. Friday night I spent the evening with my book club. We'd just finished up "Wicked" (ok--they finished it and I got close!). I always have fun at our monthly meetings--food and girlfriends! Our new book for next month is "The Girl's Guide to Hunting anf Fishing", although I hear it's not about hunting and fishing. Guess we'll see!

I'm in Chicago for a few days for a conference. I'm glad to have the opportunity, but I sure hate to travel by myself. O'Hare International Airport in Chicago is NUTS. Good thing I've had plenty of time to make my way around. Now I'm ready for hours and hours of lectures and panels on food quality and agriculture. You're all jealous, I can feel it....