Punkins, Cider, N' Bourbon

Hello all.  Well, it seems as if fall has finally hit KS.  Usually it is a bazillion degrees and then it's winter, so here's to hoping the 60's and 70's stay around!  

To welcome this lovely weather, Travis, Joy (mother-in-law) and I decided to go to the Louisburg Cider Mill and get some tasty treats.  The Cider Mill holds a nice little place in my heart because when I was younger my grandfather (who has since passed) would take us to there to pick out over priced pumpkins for Halloween.  He was a bit of a curmudgeon in his older days, but he always wanted to make this special trip in the Fall...regardless of how much he "just wanted to be left alone." 

           Aside: Very late in his life he became irritated with anyone and everyone.  My family and I went to visit him and my grandmother one Thanksgiving, and while we were all nicely conversing with my grandmother he quietly mutters, "d****t...I just want to be left alone." When my father replied  "Did you say something, dad" he proceeded to shout it. Ha, he was awesome.

So, to sum up, this was a really nice trip for me and I was sure to get some apple cider and an apple doughnut in memory of him (those pumpkins were way too expensive, so Joy and I went to the grocery store instead and purchased three for $12.00, booya).

Here are some pics of our trip:

 This is just outside the country store and we are sipping on some sarsaparilla 

 Travis carrying our goodies.

That's his irritated face. He told me I take too many pictures. I told him he would rue the day he told me to get a hobby. I win.

Oh, also...two fun things I did yesterday:

1. Turned an orange into a candle 

You just cut an orange in half.  Take out all of he insides (make sure to keep the core in tact). Fill the orange with any kitchen oil (I used canola), and light it.  There is not much of a scent, but I am going to try adding some lemon extract to the oil today. That may work...

2. Made my own apple cider (and then made a bourbon apple cider cocktail).

 To make the apple cider: you just quarter your desired number of apples, put them in a food processor or blender, and then strain the juice from the pulp.  Super easy!

The cocktail is: homemade cinnamon simple syrup (1:1 ratio water to sugar and steep a few cinnamon sticks in the mixture), apple cider, bourbon, and angostura bitters.  Put it in a cocktail shaker and go to town. Very yummy.

Cheers my little sunny delights 

Artsy Fartsy

Today's post is brought to you by this picture (note Kari Sager's lovely message):

So this last year, Trav and I traveled A LOT.  And, since we are poor, we drove everywhere.  Well, that's not actually why we drove everywhere.  As noted in my Beer! post, we travel by car so we can stop at different breweries on they way.  I highly recommend this form of travel.  At least until the invention of the interstellar teleporter is completed (I hear from my sources we are pretty close).  Anyhoo...during these many hours of travel, I thought it would be fun to consume my time by taking pictures.  So now I have all these pictures fighting for space on my phone and I'm like, "guys...it's cool, you all can have your time to shine" (please note that the following pictures are laden with shots of the sunset). Get the pun? No? Okay, let's move on then. 

So anyway, this post serves as a way for me to get rid of my #suchanartist pictures so I can take more pictures of my cat.

 Ok, I didn't personally draw this one...but how could I pass up an opportunity to display such artistic prowess? I'm telling ya, this girls gonna be something some day... 

 Those are clouds...and the end of the wing of an airplane. 

 I call this one, Brothers.

 And this one, Terrified.

 This was taken at Half Acre's event for Chicago Craft Beer Week a couple years ago.  It was one of the best parties I have ever been to.

 That's my grandfather's cabin in MN. I like it there.

 This is an actual piece of art somewhere in the middle of KS.  I think it's supposed to be a Van Gogh?

 This was taken the morning after Travis and I foolishly tried to out run winter storm Draco.  Needless to say, we had to stop in the middle of the night, get a hotel, and wait another entire day before hitting the road again. Travis and Rebekah : 0, Weather: 1 

 That's my beer. Half Acre to be exact.

 This is Travis after he graduated from law school.  I told him he looked very contemplative. He agreed. 

 I'm sorry but this one is too cute. This is my brother who is...well, let's just say he is a little rough around the edges.  But I caught this when we were on my uncles farm in Brookfield, MO. 

 And but a few moments later, it started to POUR.  This was taken from the barn we were all huddled under.

 I have no idea where this is. Iowa? 

 Or, this one.

 This one was taken on the road to KS.  We are probably in IL somewhere. 

 These are in MO.

 See, she looks like she is swimming in beer! Ah, brilliant!

 These were taken in MI when we visited Phil at his cottage.

 These couple are of Trav filleting his very first fresh fish.  They were caught hours before on Lake Michigan by us.  And they were tasty too.

 These are taken of down town Chicago at Trav's going away party from Robson and Lopez.

 This is a picture of the sky when Travis and I were leaving Chicago. There was a huge storm right on our tail and we narrowly escaped the rain.  

 That's Stella. She's awesome.

 These are taken in MO on our way to Trav's parents condo on Table Rock Lake.

 This is when it rained last weekend and I was SUPER bored.

 This one I call, Why Are You Taking A Picture Of Me In The Back Seat Of The Car At Night With That Super Bright Flash!

Cheers.