Moveable furniture

This young lady shows off a car seat.

Anyone want to play Hot Wheels?

This exhibit brought back memories of my brother and me as kids. We used to prop those bendy orange Hot Wheels tracks on teetery towers of chairs and boxes so the cars would get a good, long drop onto a track stretched out down the hallway.

Heavy metal?

This robotic Ford pitchman was a mix of metal and plastic. He didn't talk; his messages were relayed in the LED bar at his feet.

J is for ...

My apologies to BillZ for being a blog-lifter

Just a day or so after Bill's post about handprints on a car, I came across this little fund-raising beauty at the auto show.

Sorry...couldn't resist!

Dream a little dream for me

This black Jaguar convertible is, hands-down, my dream car! Anyone have a spare $104,000 US they'd be willing to loan gift me?

Urban utility vehicle

Nope...didn't make up that title. This is a photo of a the CURB concept car, presented by Hyundai at the 2011 Chicago Auto Show. Pretty groovy doors!

They don't make 'em like they used to

Having a fancy hood ornament on your car is a thing of the past.

A golden moment

One surprise at the auto show was the presence of Olympic gold and silver medalist (Nordic skiing) Billy Demong. He had his medals on display and was very gracious about letting us photograph, and hold them. (They are heavy!!)

Four

The four wheels of this 4Runner make short work of the four corners of this obstacle course.

The Letter Z is for . . .

... zoom zoom...

I'm REALLY thankful I didn't have to photograph a snake!

I've seen lots of blog-snakes for the theme of coiled. Me? I'll just settle for a picture of the inner workings of a Subaru suspension system.

Wowzer!

At the car show, vendors do all kinds of amazing things to capture your attention.

Field trip!!

Follow the repeating patterns of columns to our first stop...

Happy Valentine's Day

These two are clearly in a relationship.

Self portrait

Hello, everyone!

(Topaz Clean: Cartooned)

And now for a little dessert

I feel like this has morphed into a food blog! If the weather ever warms up, I can switch subjects. :-D

Does this get your mouth watering?

I was going to use this shot for the theme of vegetables, seeing as how there are two kinds on the plate (oh-so-virtuous); however, the veggies were not the focus of the shot, either literally or photographically. Instead, I'll focus on how mouth-watering this pork-chop dinner was!

There really is a driveway under there

While shoveling out from our 14" storm last week, I paused to put some perspective to the chore of clearing the driveway. The mailbox marks the street. It took 2 of us about 2 hours to clear the drive. Predictably, the plow came by just as we hit the street and gave us another dose to dig out.

If you are a dentist, look away...

My DBF Jon periodically bags candy for his theater kids to sell as fundraisers. He and I get the fun of going to Sam's Club and loading up on all varieties of chocolate goodness.

Comfort food

On a blustery winter evening, is there anything better than a hearty, homemade soup? A little toasted garlic/cheese bread, some nice wine, and we were more than happy to let the winds howl and the snows blow....

What's in it?

1 lb lean sirloin, browned and drained
1 14.5 oz can of fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 14.5 oz can of light red kidney beans
1 16-oz bag frozen mixed veggies (peas, green beans, corn, carrots)
1 11.5 oz can of tomato juice
(1 1-2 cups) of dry small shell pasta, cooked al dente in a 32 oz box of beef stock, then added cooked, to the pot
Worcestershire sauce, garlic salt and black pepper to taste

As the beef browns, boil the beef broth in a separate pot. In the broth, cook the noodles to package directions. Do not drain.

Drain the beef, add the tomatoes and beans (undrained), the frozen veggies, and the tomato juice. Mix in the cooked pasta and all the beef broth. Stir. Season to taste with Worcestershire sauce, garlic salt and black pepper. Serve with a sprinkle of grated cheese and some crusty bread.

Northern Illinois Winter scene

Leading lines

Wow - it's tough to process white on white...had a little Topaz help to pop these tracks heading off across the lake.

Hanging

I saw a YouTube video

...about making edible centerpieces. Thought I'd give it a try. Folks at a recent football party snapped them right up! (P. S. Recognize a few melon balls?)

Processed with a touch of Topaz Clean.

Having a ball...

I had to purchase a new kitchen utensil for a little project (more on that tomorrow).

Happy Groundhog's Day!

In the US and Canada, February 2nd is Groundhog's Day, when Punxsutawney Phil makes his annual appearance. If he sees his shadow, it means 6 more weeks of winter. This is not a groundhog (it's a marmot...a sort of cousin), and it wasn't taken in 2011, but I thought I'd post it anyway to commemorate this funny little holiday.

Letters in Nature

This entry was the winning high school sculpture. Its title was "No Texting and Driving". Well said!