Mushrooms

I love mushrooms. I mean really love them. So, my curiosity could not be quelled when a tremendous variety popped up in our back yard this fall. There were at least five different ones sprouting, generally near the woodlines.

I took photos and brought them inside to do some computer research. Bringing actual specimens in seemed like a bad idea, as my luck would be that touching certain ones would be deadly.

I quickly learned there is no such thing as easy mushroom identification. I took the one most promising and researched the heck out of it. The other I assumed was a puffball, and was right.

The Puffball

There are lots of tiny ones that went bad in the yard. For puffballs, if you don't get them at just the right time, they turn to spore dust inside and aren't edible. The one I had last night was baseball sized and perfect. Tasted a lot like a morel. They are solid white all the way through. Like slicing into a sturdy marshmallow. For big ones, you can grill slices and make them like personal pizzas. Mine was not that big.

Chanterelles

This was tough.

There are chanterelles,

false chanterelles (not poisionous, but not tasty nor particularly agreeable to some), and

jack-o-lanterns (poisonous, but not deadly) that all look similar.

The color did NOT look like a jack o lantern (more orange), but the "gills" did. The big problem is that chanterelles have "general" looks and growing behaviors, but there is a HUGE variety in looks and the growing behaviors are more "guidelines."

Once I was pretty sure it wasn't a jack-o-lantern, I decided to eat three and see what happened. No real issues. They could be false chanterelles, but they were really tasty. I don't think Chris was convinced.

Last night I went out and pick more, and quickly realized our woods are FULL of them. I tried six and no issues last night or today.

So, tomorrow night I'm picking more shrooms!

Less than two weeks to go

I had to buy a watch. I don't wear a watch, and hate the cheapo one that's gotten me through previous vacations. The face is hard to read. So, I took a leap on another cheap watch online that has a better face. As much as an atomic watch would've been cool for travel, the ones I looked at in my price range were quite ugly.

I also bought a sleep mask for the plane. Not sure it was a worthy investment, but at less than $10, I'm not sweating it. I have a scarf that will nicely convert to a blanket (bought for 1.98 on clearance last winter), a pillow and earplugs to help me sleep, so I should be set.

I have a Jodi Piccoult book and Caucasia to read on the trip. Figured a page turner like Piccoult would help pass the time.

We arrive in Amsterdam very early in the morning, so I plan to get off the plane and freshen up. Fro suggested accessibly packing my toothbrush and brush to clean up. I'm also packing some face wash wipes. I figure washing my face and putting on some basic makeup will make me feel better after the long flight.

The anxiety of traveling to Europe for the first time is starting to sink in.

ETA: Packed my toiletries and my plane bag last night. Realized I need handi wipes, a mini spray lysol (in case there is room odor) and sleep drugs. We are taking two backpacks as our carry-ons. With a stop in Detroit and Amsterdam before getting to Rome, we need things that are easy to carry, even though we'll be a fashion faux pas. One will be a laptop backpack, so at least it doesn't look like I'm a college student wandering Europe.

Trip to Italy

I wanted to start a travelogue of sorts for my October Italy trip. I'm starting with a map of where we'll be. Each marker contains a link to where we are staying. Three of the locations are countryside "agriturismos," each located on a working "farm." The farm may be a vinyard, olive grove, produce their own cheeses, grow fruits, etc.

We go from the airport in Rome (Fuimicino) in the following order:

Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, Pink (not the most direct route, but we are vacationing before conference stops in Prato and Rome).


View Italy in October in a larger map

Looking forward to the weekend

Chris and I spent our anniversary in downtown Madison. We love downtown, it's just a pain to go there (wrong direction from home), park, etc. So, we decided to get a hotel room so we could walk and not worry about drinking and driving. Spent the cool (temperature) evening doing a little bar hopping and trying a new (to us...though I'd tried their food cart offerings) restaurant (costa rican food). Yummy! It's one of those tiny places in an old building, tucked away amongst a largely residential area. Only about 20 seats in the place-tiny. I think late Thursday was a good time to go!

This morning my boss said "stay out and enjoy breakfast-I don't want to see you before 10 a.m." Um, ok. We went to my favorite cupcake shop, which also serves fabulous food. It's in a location that is a real PITA to get to (are you sensing a pattern?), so after 8 am on a weekday was a great time to go. I have a leftover goat cheese and roasted veggie omelet, potatoes and fruit for lunch!

This weekend, we have only a few plans (and hell or high water, it will remain that way). Next weekend is our annual rib cookoff, so we'll be busy prepping the homestead. Lots of yard work and garage cleaning!

We are also picking up our Cannon Run winnings this weekend-yay! I have a feeling we should buy the bar a round when we pick it up. Probably kind of an expected thing to celebrate our good fortune.

My sobfest and more boring stuff

We had a really, really busy weekend. I carefully planned it so we'd have Monday at home to do some projects. I had a lot of fall planting to do (order from a seed catalog came in), canning, and some general cleaning (you may remember I was dedicated to getting those darn cabinet tops cleaned).

Well, BIL called Chris that morning and asked if we wanted to come over for dinner. The call came in right as I was prepping my OTCC entry for this week. I volunteered for OTCC this week because I knew I'd have time Monday night to take my time with dinner.

*cue record scratch and music stop*

Chris said "ok!" to the invitation. They live 45 minutes away, so this would be a significant time suck, and we'd been on the road all weekend. I broke down in tears and sobbed on and off for about an hour. I was angry and sad. Sometimes little things will be the straw.

So, my OTCC recipe became a rushed lunch, which means it isn't my finest work and there are few photos.

In other news, we got a really weird gift bag from MIL for our 10 year anniversary (which is tomorrow). Contents:

• Two used "sauce dishes" still marked with the .50 price tag.
  
• A 1991 published "Home Swapping" vacation book
  
• Speed Racer children's party napkins


• A "Special Olympics Torch Run sponsored by Carquest" hat for Chris


• A homemade vest for me. *blink blink*
  

I brought the vest to work so my coworkers could laugh. Thanks to a webcam, so can you: