Paw Paws

So here's a question for you... do you know what a Paw Paw is?

I found out what a Paw Paw is last night, when Eric and I had dinner out at a local restaurant. It was a noshing kind of dinner with a couple of small plates, and then for dessert, we got homemade blueberry waffles with fresh Paw Paw. We ordered it, with no idea what Paw Paw was, and didn't even think twice about it until after we ordered it. Then we looked at each other and wondered, what is Fresh Paw Paw? Is it like a compote? Some sort of fruit hash?

Google to the rescue! Turns out, a Paw Paw is a fruit all on its own! Ever hear of it? It actually a native TROPICAL fruit of North America. Go figure! And it's not native to the tropic region, like you'd expect, but actually native to the eastern US, even up into Michigan! It has a very short fruit bearing season (like, NOW for only about 3-4 weeks), but the fruit it produces is quite tasty! I don't want to just write what everyone else writes about it... but it's hard not to describe it the same way. It's sweet, smooth taste similar to a mango and banana mixed together. Unique, yet familiar.

So anyway... I will likely stalk the stores and farmers markets for Paw Paws over the next couple of weeks. And I told Eric, in all seriousness, I want to get these in our backyard. We'd have to get two trees for pollination, but they're not huge trees. We'll probably have to wait until after the garage is built, though... don't want to shock them with construction! But if we could grow these in our backyard and just have them whenever we want in those few weeks, that would rock!

Arrival of Autumn

Autumn finally arrives today... and I'm not quite sure how I feel about that.

I say that because, quite frankly, after fall comes winter and I KNOW I'm not ready for that. I could skip winter all together this year. Don't need 'the season' and don't want the cold.

Besides that, we didn't have much of a summer! It was so mild until August, and even then, we only had about a week of a real summer!

So what will this Fall really bring? A lot of the trees started dropping leaves because we had such a long dry spell, so I'm guessing the colors won't be that great this year. I, personally, don't tie fall to football, other than dates - I don't feel a need to 'bundle up' to watch a football game. And the drop in temperatures? Well, we never really had a hot summer, so that gets negated.

I guess I do like wearing my sweaters and boots. But my office is so cold in the summer, that I've been wearing some of my lighter sweaters for awhile now. And wearing my boots means I put my sandals away, and that actually kid of bums me out.

So I'm just having a hard time about getting excited about the change of seasons this year. I just see nothing positive ahead... maybe Christmas. But I'd much rather just keep my warm temperatures around a little longer. Must be the FL girl in me just trying to get out.

Football - Yay?

Last year was an absolutely horrible football season for me, both in college and pro. So bad, in fact, that I stopped watching both in October. Sad, I know. Makes me seem like a very unloyal fan. That wasn't the case in my heart - I still loved both teams dearly... but watching two teams just play so horribly was killing me. I had nothing to look forward to.

This year, as football season approached, I've been cautiously optimistic. On the college side, Auburn was coming in with a new coach, and therefore, a whole new look. Not too many people were talking about Auburn, which was making us an all around underdog. And I was okay with that. On the pro side, however, I wasn't ready to even be cautiously optimistic with my outlook on the Jaguars. Rather, I was ready to brace for another miserable season that was, dare I say, going to be even worse than last year? Was that possible?? Not much had changed and they still refused to admit that they needed a NEW quarterback. They could change around all the other positions as much as they wanted, but at the end of the day, if you don't have a guy that can't get the ball down the field, then it doesn't go anywhere.

So here we are, a few weeks in on both teams. I'm thrilled to say, Auburn is 3-0 and even have their first SEC win after yesterday's win over Mississippi State! We are already off to a much better start than last year, as we only has 3 wins all year, and had NO wins in the SEC! I don't see championship material on the field yet, but I don't feel like I need to hide my Auburn Pride, either. Unfortunately, my Jags are already 0-2, just as I feared would happen. Are they just trying to get the first pick for next year - are there some good quarterbacks going into the draft this year? I have to say, I'm almost glad that I don't get the Jag's games on TV up here, unless they're playing the Colts. But really... just give me a couple of wins... GOOD wins, not just lucky wins.

*sigh*

At least I have Saturdays.

Colts Game

Strangely enough, I think Eric's new job in the non-profit world is bringing us more opportunities for 'meet and greets' than he ever had in the development world. A lot of it might just because people want an opportunity to meet him, and with as busy as calendar get these days, sporting events, or the like, are the best way. I'm not one to argue... so long as I get to go, too. Kidding.

So today we got to go to the Miami and Colts game. In the suites. It was kind of cool. Well, more than kind of, I guess. I have to admit, it's nice to not have to go far for food and drink... and get it for free. Yes... I know someone paid for it. But it wasn't me. Now I'm just sounding like a D-Bag... or at a minimum, spoiled.

Anyway, it was a perfect day, weather wise. So perfect, that they even opened the roof! They paid so much for that damn thing, yet they rarely open it for games. Other team battle it out in an open stadium in the dead of winter, no problem. But if it's not a perfect 72 degrees in Indy, it stays closed. So sad. But it was open today, so we got to enjoy not only a football game, but the weather, too!

My goal was to enjoy and make the most of this game. It might be my only Colts game this year. We normally go to the Jags game here, but for some reason, they switched it up this year and played the first of the two division game down in Jacksonville instead of Indy, like it has been for as long as I can remember. So the jaguars don't come to Indy until the weekend after Christmas. And I may not even be in town then. Bummer for me. So I definitely wanted this to be a fun time. At least it was still a FL team!

So the game itself was actually quite good! Where did this Dolphin team come from?? They made some great off-season decisions, apparently. Either that, or the Colts severely underestimated their talent this year! I have to say, I was kind of cheering for the Dolphins - they just looked better today! Of course, I didn't cheer out loud. It was just kind of nice to see the Colts nation humbled. Which, yes, means they lost. It was a close game, though... and I'm sure there were some lessons taken away from this game. But there will be no perfect season for the Colts this year.

Facebook Rant

Every so often, I just get absolutely frustrated with FaceBook. I just don't think it's functioning the way it was originally meant to be used.

I get that things evolve and become what people supposedly want... but do people really was to have other political agendas forced on them? Do people really want to know what someone else is having for dinner? Do people really want to know what what Bobby Jr. is doing every minute of every day... especially if it's not a kid of a close friend or family member?

I really think the answer is 'no' to all this... and more. What even more sad is how much advertising is done through FaceBook now. Not just what you see as an actual ad, but all the companies that only allow contest entries through Facebook, or sample requests, or coupons. Even worse? All the other websites that let you (or force you to) register and logon using your FaceBook account. All they're doing is tracking you and you're interests. Yet, even though I think a lot of people get that, they still use the function. Because it's easy. I really don't think it's a good idea to tie everything you do back to one single account.

More and more often, I find myself considering leaving FaceBook. But then I realize that I almost can't, because of all the other things that require you to have a FaceBook account. Complete BS. But I'm so sick of seeing people post all this crap I don't care about on Facebook. Or just stuff I don't want to see. So instead, I'm finding myself on the site less and less. I use it for what what it is now... and engine to run other things.

FaceBook... you used to be fun. Now you're just farce.

A Little Construction Project

So, this pictures depicts my front yard for the next two months.

Okay, so it was actually a little worse last week... this would've been all semis instead of cars in gridlock last week. They've since directed the semis to 'the shortest route' through, which doesn't include Fletcher Ave. in front of my house. But last week it sounded like I lived at a truck stop!! There were trucks going through 24/7!

So what the hell am I talking about? The I-65/I-70 connector through downtown is CLOSED for reconstruction of a few areas. Specifically, it's through the south split, where trucks kept hitting bridges (they somehow were only about 13' in clearance). So INDOT, in all their wise glory, thought all this semis would follow the detour around on I-465, because all truckers follow signage like that, especially when their in a time crunch. Yeah, right. Because who completely closes an interstate, right?

So how did this happen - why were trucks 'suddenly' hitting these bridges so often? Yes, it is more than one, though there's one in particular that appear to have been hit far more than others... Well, I don't think it was 'all of the sudden' that this was happening. INDOT just happened to put a camera on one of the bridges after one of the big hits that closed a good portion of north bound lands to repair the bridge. Then they saw how many trucks hit it that DIDN'T cause closure. Lots of sparks and debris was flying, though! Check out this video...



Anyway... they closed down the interstate last week. They're going to lower the road through this section where there were problems. And last week was actually quite a bit worst than this week in my front yard. But now, at least, it's mostly cars. Not that I'm happy with that additional traffic, either, but most of them are, at least, locals. I actually saw one trucker lean out his window and ask for directions from the car stopped next to him last week. Not what I want to see.

Back to these low bridges... it is completely my opinion (though I think some other agree) that INDOT actually f'ed up when they did the FULL connector reconstruction about 8 years ago... I'm talking full depth reconstruction - it was closed for like 90 days or something. I didn't work or live downtown yet, so it really didn't affect me AT ALL. But I don't think they paid enough attention to clearances, as they were more concerned with drainage and the pavement themselves. So while it may not have started immediately, trucks have probably been hitting some of these bridges for years! But that's just my opinion.

So this lovely construction zone just blocks from my home will be around for the next two months, including the detour through my front yard. I can only hope the weather holds out and they get done early, because quite frankly, it sucks!

An Evening with Penrod

One of the biggest and best art fairs in the area (and I think the nation) is called Penrod, and it's always the weekend after Labor Day. At least is has been since I've known about it. It's held on the grounds of the Indianapolis Museum of Art, so I think it even still grows a little bit each year.

This year they 'expanded' by have an event the night before, called 'An Evening with Penrod' to give a 'preview' of Penrod for the next day. I guess they were calling it a preview since only 150 of the artist were set up. But they were set up to sell! The event, itself, was a 21 and up event with food being served (small plate style) by a lot of the real nice area restaurants (one place was serving up oysters) and free beer and wine. They had a band playing and it was, in general, just a nice evening out (though it started a little muggy). Part of the ticked price included admission to the fair the next day (today).

So Eric and I used the evening as our 'date night' for the week. We showed up fashionably late (after the crowds had entered and there was no wait) and came right into the food area. We grabbed a few different small plates, which were some amazing little samplers these restaurants had worked up. Finally, after grabbing a couple of drinks for ourselves, we wandered through the artists' tents. As always, there were some cool pieces. I'm always drawn into the various photography, which so many artists now print on canvas. There's always a few painters that draw me it, too... depends on the subject or method, though, on how well it keeps my interests. The jewelry is always fun the look at and you always have those few unique artists that just draw a crowd because of the unique aspect of their art.

it was quite a fun evening and, yes, we did buy something. I think we've bought something every time we've gone to Penrod together, even if it's something small. Not because we feel obligated... but just because we always find something. Since we did out art buying last night, we gave our tickets to Eric's parents to use today. They were wanting to go, so it worked out well. We'll probably do the preview night again next year... there's not as much of a crowd and the atmosphere is just more relaxed. Makes a good date night, too.

Just a Peach

So the rest of Labor Day Weekend... I did promise you more, and I will not disappoint.

Eric and I hope on a plan on Sunday morning to head to Georgia. The intent was to see Darian playing in a soccer tournament, the Publix Atlanta Cup, near my old stomping grounds, interestingly enough. I was kind of excited to see the old homestead, actually... it's been since 2001! Unfortunately, her team was out of the tournament by the time we landed. But that just meant more time for us to do things we wanted instead of hanging out at a soccer field. So to start, Eric and I made a side trip on the way to the north side with a stop to Ikea. Eric wanted to look at a few things for his office, and we were both kind of hungry. I swear, Ikea's Swedish meatballs are addicting. Atlanta has, by far, the most urban Ikea I've seen, right in Midtown. And Midtown has changed quite a bit since I lived in Atlanta... yay for them!

After Ikea, we finally got on 400, just in time for a massive downpour. I'm talking a all lanes of traffic stop type of downpour! I was driving at this point, which I'm kind of glad. I may not have live there for awhile, but I was comfortable dealing with Atlantan drivers in the rain. But the rain was just downtown, and as we drove north to Roswell, it was dry. The hotel we were staying at (the same as where the Pitts were) was just across 400 from my old office (before they moved us to Midtown). Somehow, though, I forgot how much topography was in this area. I guess Atlanta is the third highest (in elevation) large city in the US... duh! Eric and I checked in, and then found the Pitts' room. They were all being lazy at this point, not that I could blame them with the early morning they had. So after some motivation, I convinced them to go for a hike in one of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Areas nearby.

Well, it ended up being two of the CRA's nearby - the first one didn't give me the experience I wanted. The second one did, though... should've went there, first, and done more of the trails. Regardless, it was a good time. The Canadian Geese have taken over the Atlanta waterways much the same way they're all over Indy. (Why can't we hunt/kill these things again?) But we also saw some herons out in the Hooch. It was a nice time.

After working up a hunger, we went back to the hotel to freshen up and then go get some food. I stumbled across a local pizza place through one of my apps that was in 'downtown' historic Roswell, called Diesel Pizza. We really didn't know what to expect, but found the area t have quite a few restaurants and was slammed, as far as parking goes. So we finally found a place to park and walked to the restaurant. It's wasn't slammed, but we did have to wait a few minutes to get table big enough for us. It was really good! Eric and I both walked away talking about it. Definitely a good 'go to' if you're in the area!

That pretty much wrapped up the day for all of us. Since even Eric and I were up early for our flight, the long day was hitting us all. So we just planned on meeting for breakfast in the morning (at the hotel) before heading our separate ways.

We tried to make the next morning as early as we could, without killing ourselves to get us and moving. After we had a nice breakfast, we said our goodbyes, and went back to the room to finish packing up. It didn't take long, and then we headed out. Eric and I planned on detouring through the GA mountains rather than jumping on the interstate - kind of the main reason for us driving home instead of flying... might as well make a memory than hang out at the airport! So after a quick stop at Publix to grab some snacks (including some fresh GA peaches), we headed north on 400 until it was just 19 and you felt as if you were truly in the foothills. I had done a little research on a good place to do a little hike, and navigated us to the edge of the Chattahoochee National Forest and the beginning of the Appalachian Trail, just north of Dawsonville. While it was raining on us for the first part of the trip, we came out of it as we headed north, which it was I was hoping so we could hike.

After about an hour or so of driving, we reached our destination... Amicalola Falls State Park. I saw some good comments on it and it looked like it had short enough trails that we could easily enjoy the falls without putting us way behind schedule. And while this isn't the true trailhead for the Appalachian Trail, you could start at the falls and follow the marked trail to the true beginning of the AT. I've done enough hikes in the Appalachians that I've been on parts of the trail as it weaves through the mountains, but Eric hasn't. But now he kind of has.

But back to the falls. These were, by far, some of the most beautiful falls I've seen, at least in this area. And they've set up trails and boardwalks so you can really see and enjoy them. Sure... it takes a bit away from the pureness, but I think they did a good job keeping that intact as much as they could. The falls are quite tall, if you look all the way from top to bottom - the main viewing platform is a little higher than the bottom of the falls. It kind of made me wish we could stay a little longer and hike some more of the trail along the lower portion. but it got Eric and I talking about maybe doing more driving for our trips and making detours like this, so we'll see.

We jumped back in the car and got back on the road. Kind of. On our way in, we saw Burt's Pumpkin Farm, already full of huge pumpkins for the fall! You couldn't help but see the sea of bright orange as you drove by. And judging by the size of the parking lot, this place probably gets slammed in the fall by Atlantans! It looked like it would be cool to see up close, maybe snap a few pictures. Some of these pumpkins were huge! But even more cool was all the varieties he had. He even had the Blue Moon pumpkins, which I just recently learned about... they're actually a light blue! Had to buy a small one of those. Grabbed a butternut squash, too... why not? They were $2! But now we really had to get on the road.

We stayed on backroads all the way into Tennessee, bypassing Chattanooga. Not long after we got on I-75, we kind of realized that the snacks weren't going to cut it, as far as food goes. So we found a place to stop, went to Home Depot (yes... even in TN, Eric thinks about home improvement), gassed up, and had some chicken fingers at Zaxby's. But then it was back on the road, for real. We planned on staying on I-75 to Cincinnati, and then a straight shot to Indy on I-74. Which meant driving through mostly mountains in Tennessee and Kentucky. And we were making great time until the middle of KY, when we hit quite a back-up coming out of the mountains from an accident... after crawling for about 5 miles, it broke loose - the accident was already cleared up. But that was it. It was quite an easy drive for the rest of the trip! We made it home just in time to return the rental car, and just like that, the Labor Day weekend was over. Now to plan the next trip!