4th Annual Chili Bowl

We attended the 4th annual Chili Bowl (cook-off) today which was an event where restaurants from the area put their chili up against all the others. There were 60 different varieties of chili to choose from and only one vote per person. This was a tough competition. The thing is there was so much variety, from seafood chilis in a white base, to brat & beer chilis, to the traditional kinds. My vegetarian daughter and her husband attend every year and they love it. There are plenty of veggie offerings for her to try.

This is a new event for us and it was held at the Harley-Davidson Museum. H-D offered a motorcycle to be raffled off with all the proceeds going to the Hunger Task Force, a worthwhile cause. A $13 ticket got you six chili samples and you could get two more if you donated two canned goods. I did not bring any canned good (the cupboards are pretty bare) but many others brought plenty. The food donation barrels were pretty full. We really didn't need the extra tickets anyway, even though it was fun to try the many varieties, when you multiply a 3-4 ounce sample times six, you're up to three whole cups of chili!

I started at Durango Bar and Grill where I tried a chili that had chuck roast, bacon, and a variety of spices that gave it a tasty, smoky flavored chili. There were good sized chunks of beef that made it really good. I headed to The Red Accordion and had their spicy chili that turned out to be not too spicy to me. We stopped at the bar for something to wash the chili down. That turned out to be really necessary when I got to my next stop, Trysting Place where I had some chili called "Oh My God". I couldn't resist adding some jalapenos to it, just to show up the Harley dudes who were ordering a milder version of their chili. All I can say is, "Oh My God!" It was hot, very hot. Glad I had a drink in my hand to pour some ice down my throat. There's nothing better than a sinus clearing, belly burning chili. Wow, it was good! My next stop was the Soup House. I stopped there out of loyalty since I frequent their restaurant a few times each month. It's the kind of place where you know it's going to be good, but even so, I had better on this day.

I was pretty full after that and I was only four down with two to go. I checked out the Iron Horse's entry. It was a little weird, it had blueberries in it. Hinterland also had an offering with some wild meat in it. It all looked good but I was pretty much done. My friend Carol, loved the Brat House's entry that had (of course) brats and beer in it. She really liked that she could taste the beer. Brocach gave you a shot of whiskey with their chili.

My husband, Jeff is not that fond of chili, so he tried all the seafood entries. He tried Sake-Tumi's that had mahi-mahi and shrimp in it. He tried Solly's traditional chili and a few others but his favorite was Rip Tide's white seafood chili. It was thick and peppered with chili seasonings and that was the winner as far as he was concerned.

After we voted, we left feeling warm and full. This was partly because the crowd was growing larger by the hour and the room was getting a little claustrophobic. It was a good time, although there weren't enough places to sit and enjoy the chili. And because of the crowd, it was difficult to stand and try to juggle chili and a drink while everyone is bumping into you. We managed but that would be my only correction to a really fun event.

Motorcycle season, already?

In the heart of winter, with my Packer hopes dashed, there's nothing better than planning an 8-day summer motorcycle trip - to Sturgis. It's always good to have something to look forward to even if it doesn't occur until August. It keeps my mind off the dirty snow and the lack of sunshine on my face. So the first order of business in this new vacation year was to put in my request for the week off. With that accomplished, we start the search for a place to stay. It's the 70th anniversary of the motorcycle rally so it's important to book a room very early. Luckily our extremely excited friend, Ken takes the lead and makes it happen. Ken and his friends have been talking about going to Sturgis for a few years now and he knew he would have to take charge to coordinate this for everyone. Jeff and I are pretty new to the group but we enjoy their company and they treat us like we've been part of their group forever. We had 12 people who committed to going , so he booked 3 double rooms with 4 in each room. That's when the rubber hits the road and lofty dreams become reality - one person dropped out. I bet that spot gets filled by August so there's no worries about that right now.

With the major part of the planning confirmed, Ellen takes over and books a room in Mitchell which is a little further than the halfway point from Milwaukee for the ride out and another room at the halfway point for the ride back. The cheaper rooms are non-refundable, so we chose to pay $9 extra to book a room in Mitchell that was refundable. It's been my experience that plans can be dashed if it rains all day. The safer, slower speed in the rain can mean cutting the distance some. And safety will always come first, so we tend to play it by ear. Hopefully it won't rain and that won't be a problem but you just never know.

Now it's time for the fun to start...the touristy planning of the things to do and see while we're there. I ordered lots of tourist information from South Dakota tourism centers and started my travel checklist. I talked to my friend Cindy who goes to Sturgis every year and she confirmed that we got a good deal on the rooms in a decent part of the Sturgis area. She offered to look into the condo next to the one she stays in, but that would have cost more than the deal that we got. So Ken did well. And the hotel we're staying in allows for bike parking right outside of the rooms which have their own separate doors so that's a good thing. The inn also has a shuttle into Sturgis so you don't always have to get into the fray of hundreds of thousands of bikes if you don't want to - another good thing. On the negative side, the hotel does not include a restaurant but there is a diner close by (I like my coffee first thing in the morning). And there is no pool/hot tub, which would be nice for after a long day of riding.
With the hard part of the planning over, we can move on to other things, like the International Motorcycle Show in Chicago. Jeff and I make it an overnight stay in Rosemont. He books us a nice suite at Embassy Suites across from the convention center and since the IMS is the week after Valentine's Day, we plan a romantic dinner in the evening. This year we will go to Morton's Steak House right down the street. The cool thing about the motorcycle show at the Rosemont (Donald E. Stephens Convention Center), is there is a walkway from the hotel to the convention center so you don't have to go outside if you don't want. Since the car is parked at the hotel there are no worries about driving through Chicago when you can walk.

The motorcycle show has vendors from all over the world. Last time we attended we bought a travel bag made specifically for our touring bike from a German company. It has served us well. This year there's nothing we really need, so it will be more like a fun adventure than a search for a specific product. After spending a day at the convention center we will head back to the hotel for the free happy hour drinks before dressing for dinner. In the morning, we get up to a nice breakfast in the hotel then head over to IKEA for some shopping before heading back to Milwaukee.

Maybe winter won't be so bad after all.

Ten on Tuesday

10 Best Movies I've Seen Lately:

1. Mamma Mia! The Movie
2. The Bucket List
3. Juno
4. Slumdog Millionaire
5. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
6. The Hangover
7. Milk
8. Waitress
9. Sex and the City
10. Inglourious Basterds

I had to go way back, I don't go to many movies and there have been many bad ones to get through to get to these ten.

http://www.yanowhatimean.com/tuesday/

Ten on Tuesday

10 Things I'm Looking Forward to in 2010:

1. A new baby granddaughter.
2. Paid off bills.
3. Marathon training.
4. Selling my crafts on Etsy and at Craft Fairs.
5. Going to Sturgis.
6. A redecorated guest room.
7. Visiting my son out West.
8. Getting my ASQ audit certification.
9. Making new quilts.
10. Taking a photography class.

http://www.yanowhatimean.com/tuesday/

Some thoughts on rebuilt engines

I read this story in the Compassionate Friends newsletter and felt the need to keep it on my blog (with acknowledgement of the author, of course - so I hope she doesn't mind). It is a reminder of where I have been since the loss of my grandson and hope for where I wish I could be. I am certainly not there yet, and maybe someday I will be, but for now this brings comfort on bad days and brings me hope in the new year.

Those of us who receive the Compassionate Friends newsletter have experienced something in common — the shattering of our human machinery upon impact with a son or daughter’s death. Whatever helped us keep moving before, nothing works for us now. Our lives ground to a halt.

In the stillness of grief’s long night, I felt despair over trying to repair something that would always lack a vital part. How could I ever rebuild the machinery of my life without that precious part? Any repair work would require my permission and participation. Looking at the tangled, damaged parts of myself, I questioned how to salvage any thing workable from the wreckage.

Eventually, blessedly, the desire to move again, to get back into life’s traffic, got me doing something. At first it was tinkering, experimenting with the broken parts, imagining them whole again. Then I tried to learn by watching others who were rebuilding. It helped to read repair manuals, painfully written by people like me. The process was tedious and exhausting; there were setbacks, hidden costs, and false starts.

One surprising day my engine actually turned over — I moved a little. Before long, the motor sounded stronger. It almost seemed to hum, as I remembered it could. With persistence, I worked up to a decent speed, regained my sense of direction, and even began appreciating some sights along the way. I discovered that a rebuilt engine could carry me, despite the missing part. Occasionally it sputters, misfires, or floods, being sensitive to road hazards other drivers don’t see. Some hills always seem too steep; certain roads have too many memories. Sometimes the fog is too thick to drive through. When necessary, I slow down, make adjustments, or pull off the road temporarily.

I wanted to write about my experience out of gratitude. Each of us has our own long night of grief and our own reawakening from it. The mystery of healing defies simple explanation. Do invisible hands help us in the healing process? I don’t have an answer, just astonishment at the process which moved me from the tangled wreckage of myself to a sturdy rebuilt that appears whole, even though it isn’t.

In closing, I lovingly acknowledge my daughter, Beth, who believed deeply in the possibility of rebuilding her own life. Joan Page — TCF, Miami