The Essential Calvin Blog

Ribfest & Fireworks

2010-07-07T23:49:00.000-05:00

Natasha and I went back to Ribfest for this year's Independence Day with Jill & Patrick. All the Rib/BBQ vendors have huge signs displaying their best attributes and also tables full of their trophies at the front of line. I had Hog Wild's pulled pork sandwich, which was very juicy, and Natasha had their riblet sandwich, which had some great BBQ sauce. We were sweltering in the sun during the afternoon until the cloud cover arrived in the evening. Tonic and Sister Hazel (pictured) played at the South stage and both were pretty good. Even though Sister Hazel's frontman's voice wasn't always keeping up, he at least kept the audience's attention between songs. Both 90's bands have faded from the lime-light, but still are producing music. Sister Hazel has headlined the Rockboat for 11 years now. The long awaited fireworks almost didn't happen because of the rain. After waiting the entire day, we ended up in a not so great viewing spot with the banner clad inflatables in front of us. We were only able to see the high ones, but those were really nice. It was a long day, but worth the wait and a great time with my wife & friends.

Birthday weekend

2010-06-27T21:41:00.000-05:00

Natasha & I wanted to go somewhere for our birthday weekend (Memorial Day weekend) again this year. That choice was easily made since her youngest sister was graduating from Ashland college in way northern WI. After the graduation, we headed up to Bayfield, WI to a bed & breakfast. That night we chose to enjoy the fancy dining at Wild Rice. They've got a 20ft wine cube in a glass case that stores all their wine and the wall that separates the kitchen from the dining area is all glass so you can see them preparing the food. For dessert, Natasha had the red velvet cake with candied flowers. Well, the candied flowers were sugar coated pansies; real pansies. They were actually quite light and refreshing! We took 3 hour evening cruise around the Apostle Islands. The northermost island, and point of WI, was Devils Island. What makes it so unique are all the sea caves that are carved into it. We finished off our trip by stopping at Paul Bunyan's on the way home in Minocqua. Natasha had been there before, but I hadn't. The line wasn't too bad and food was some great country cooking. How better to start breakfast than some fresh, sugared donuts?

Deck Cleaning

2010-05-16T21:05:00.001-05:00

This weekend, we finally decided to clean the deck so that we can eventually stain it. I don't think that this deck has ever been cared for after a previous owner had it built. I forgot to take a picture while it was dry, but here's one after we had wet the surface. It's your typical dark grey weathered look. After applying the 2-in-1 deck cleaner and manually scrubbing, the mildew just melted away. It was very exciting to see the board on the right. An application on Saturday and then another on Sunday was enough to get the deck almost perfectly clean. This picture is of the deck after it dried. It's not a perfect comparison, but you can see how new the boards look. Now we just need to stain the deck and it'll look almost new for several years.

Bolting Branches

2010-04-24T21:02:00.000-05:00

In the fall, I had noticed that a branch on the small tree in my backyard was drooping very low. It turned out that the branch had cracked at the fork, so I decided to remove it. That's the black mark at the bottom of the first picture. After I finished that, I noticed that there was a crack developing in the fork of the other 2 branches and decided that I needed to reinforce it eventually. Well, the next night, those split, but a lot! You can see how the split, in the first picture, travels about a foot down to where the other branch used to be. I couldn't cut these branches off because then there would be no tree left. So I just duck taped it for the winter. Today, I finally decided to get the supplies and bolt the branches together. They say that the tree gets its nutrients through the outer layer, so you would strangle it if you tied it. A 1/4 x 3 stainless steel bolt worked well at the top of the split. The branches seem strong enough that they're not going to buckle anywhere along the split, but I'm going to keep my eye on it. I think it turned out pretty well. Now I can continue to enjoy the colorful buds on all the branches.

Baby Crib

2010-04-24T20:44:00.007-05:00

Last week Monday, the crib arrived in the mail. Natasha was still driving home from Peoria, so I thought I'd surprise her and assemble, but she got home before I finished. I thought I'd be creative and take pics step-by-step:

MSOE hockey

2009-12-05T21:47:00.001-06:00

6 years and $31 million dollars later, I'm finally at a MSOE hockey game. I'm happy I got to go with my wife and some friends

Christmas tree

2009-12-04T21:54:00.001-06:00

Tonight, we put up the Christmas tree and put up all our other decorations around the house. We've got a small tree with all our fun ornaments.

Natasha's Baptism

2009-11-16T13:00:00.001-06:00

Yesterday Natasha got baptized at Willow creek church along with 30 other peole that service. She had only been dedicated as a baby and decided it was about time to be baptized. I'm really proud of her to take this big step.

Bar Harbor, Maine

2009-11-12T13:03:00.001-06:00

Natasha and I stopped at a restaurant for some good food and a local beer. This was the last sightseeing city on our honeymoon cruise.

Boating with Matt

2009-08-20T20:44:00.001-05:00

This past weekend was Natasha's bridal shower in MN for her side of the family and her MN friends. I didn't have to be at this shower, so I hung out with Matt for the day. We took the boat out on the river. Matt was happy because it was probably one of the last times for the summer and he hadn't been on the river in awhile. We started on the Mississippi from his friend's private launch and swung south towards the St. Croix. Here we went through the locks, which was new for me. It wasn't as fast as Open Road Tolling in IL, but it was free. We passed under 2 of these elevator bridges for the rail line. They're old, but antique. The towers are huge and say The Milwaukee Road at the top. I'd love to see one of these in action! I've seen drive-up liquor stores for cars, but never one for boats. Here's a shot I snuck in on the way back. You can't even tell this was an arm reach. We're both reflecting on life; me, about to become a husband to a wonderful woman; Matt, about to father a child with his loving wife. I had an awesome time relaxing on the boat and taking in the scenery of the river. It was a great opportunity to enjoy some time with Matt without the ladies (no offense) before the wedding. Thanks so much for the awesome afternoon Matt!

St. Petersburg

2009-04-09T21:40:00.000-05:00

After the beach, we drove down to St. Petersburg. We checked out the Dali museum. Salvidor Dali is a famous painter known for such works as the melting clocks (The Persistance of Memory). He really liked Freud, so a lot of his stuff was an expression of Freudian concepts (ie really weird). Although some of his other work is really neat. At the pier, there was the obligatory pelican on the post. Here's a novelty you'll only find in the south, a Hurricane simulator. For $2, you too can see what it's like to be in a hurricane, minus the water and devistation. When in Rome, or, in this case, FL, I got the snow crab legs since they were under $20 for a dozen. Very tasty, but it takes a long time to get at a little meat. However, it's much better than the imitation crab (aka painted, processed fish).

At the beach

2009-04-09T21:06:00.000-05:00

While down in Florida for Mike's wedding, we chose to stay Monday and go to the beach. We drove out to Honeymoon Island State Park . I guess now we know what it's like to be in the sun and in the sand on a honeymoon [island]. We wanted to drive across the causeway to the island, but ended up on the bridge. Still, it was cool to see a massive body of water on both sides; as depicted on the GPS. Soaking in the rays! These black-headed gulls were very noisy. The shore had quite a few sea shells an some people had bags full of them. The water temperature was beautiful (for a midwesterner; I'm used to ice cold Lake Michigan); cool as a swimming pool, but still very salty. We had fun standing in the water and getting hit by the waves. The best part is that I didn't get burnt. Natasha got a little red on her back though. I was really sad to go back home to the cold, rainy, sleety weather.

Florida Part 2

2009-03-31T20:37:00.000-05:00

Saturday night was the rehearsal, which was done at her brother's house. Here's the best man, groom, and bride. Her dad, on the right, is reviewing the steps with them since he's marrying them. Here is Mike and his lovely wife, Katie. The wedding turned out very well once Mike found his shirt. The live band, composed of her family, added a lot of atmosphere.

Florida Part 1

2009-03-31T20:26:00.000-05:00

This weekend was my friend Mike's wedding in his, now, wife's home city, Auberndale, FL. Natasha and I flew down Friday evening with a 4-hr layover in Philedelphia. To kill time there, we walked around the airport shops and chatted with some good wine & food at a wine tasting restaurant. First on our list Saturday were the Hollis Gardens in Lakeland. They were free, though not very big. The best part was to just enjoy the Florida weather. The next stop was the Frank Lloyd Wright architecture of the Florida Southern Univeristy campus. Natasha is very interested in him and likes seeing his work wherever she can. The buildings were built in the late 50's and could use some maintenance. The architecture is quite intricate with small, square, glass blocks in the walls (all the dark spots). The covered walkways were only 6.5 ft tall.

The ring

2009-03-08T19:10:00.000-05:00

Here's Natasha's engagement ring! She looked at different jewelers' designs and found a designer she liked at Robbins Brothers. From there, we narrowed it down to a couple and then I chose the "right one." The center stone is the diamond from my mom's engagement ring, which makes the ring very special. She is still very happy with the ring and I'm very happy as long as she doesn't lose it.

Coming back to life

2009-03-08T18:32:00.000-05:00

After these few months, I'm finally going through my pictures. Here's a quick picture of us the Sunday after I proposed to Natasha. The Asti cork is still on the stove.

Town home

2008-10-24T21:53:00.000-05:00

Well, the reason you haven't seen very many posts recently is because
I've been spending most of it finding a townhome. Good news though; I
found one! It's in Schaumburg and I close in 3 weeks.

I hope to get some of my recent activities posted before I move so
that I can post tons about my new place. It's not going to be a full
place, but I'll set up a house warming party for everyone (not
necessarily all at the same time).

P.S. Email if you'd like to see the listing pictures.

Sent from my iPhone

Everything's better on a stick!

2008-09-24T20:55:00.003-05:00

Natasha took me to the Minnesota State Fair for Labor Day weekend. Well, after I got a ride from Mike because she was in Iowa for work. There's tons of food and it's either on a stick or deep fried. Pork chops, walleye, hot dogs, cheese, chicken, and even spaghetti dinner! The deep fried pickles were awesome (though very hot). You should try them; they're way better than deep fried veggies. This place was huge! We went up on the rotating, observation tower to get a great view of the fair. There's a Colosseum, grand stand, tons of carnival rides and even more buildings! This is only about 1/4 of the fair. At the end of the day, the streets were packed! There were only about 1/4 of the people at 9A.M. compared to 3P.M.

Ren Fair - Bristol Style

2008-09-23T21:01:00.001-05:00

Maybe the text will work out better this time instead of wrapping on to the next picture. Before the end of the summer, we had to go to the Bristol Renaissance Fair in Kenosha, WI. I've gone pretty much annually with my family growing up. A group developed and resulted in Mike, CVS, Jerry, Mistie, Pauf (sp?; friend of Jerry) and me. CVS and I met up with the rest at the entrance. The rest had already drawn the attention of 2 ladies and became their entertainment. As we entered the fair, they were sad to see us leave, but said goodbye to us using names of their choosing. First on the day's list: fencing. Well, more like Chris couldn't pass it up when we got to it since this acts as his annual practice. He put up a good fight; even tearing the guys shirt sleeve, but lost by 1 point. I'm sure with a little practice during the year, you'll be able to win next year Chris! As we slowly meandered through the fair, we came upon the infamous Dirk Perfect & Guido Crescendo. I've seen these guys plenty of times since their performance somehow always falls at the right time. They've got a good show; especially since this one doesn't require volunteering (that's the afternoon show). Something new this year is their performance on DVD. I think it's a good idea even though I wouldn't buy one. Something I've not seen recently is the Royal Falconer. He's been in the jousting arena for several years, but I've not seen him there. He brought out his hawks & falcons but only uncovered the hawks because the falcons behave better in the afternoon. He made a fake rabbit by covering a water bottle with fur. He didn't do any real fancy tricks like at other places, but it wasn't necessary. It was interesting enough to watch several hawks interact with each other. They even got distracted by something behind the fence and he had to go retrieve them, which took a few minutes. When he got the hawks' attentions, it seemed as though they would actually respond to their names. On the way out, we caught Moonie's act. With the threatening rain, he cut his act a few minutes short, but it was good as always. There are a lot of good shops at the Ren Fair. If I had a house (and some extra cash), I'd invest in some of the handywork there. Next year I hope to see some other acts that I usually don't see (ie not Dirk & Guido, not Moonie, not the Mudshow).

Irish Fest

2008-09-23T20:02:00.004-05:00

It's time for an update! Natasha wanted to go to Irishfest and a few of the guys wanted to get together. So, Mike, CVS, Natasha and I drove up to Milwaukee and met up with Feryl and his wife, Erika. We were on different schedules, so we didn't hang out the entire day. Actually, we were able to meet up for lunch and didn't bump into each other for the rest of the day. No big deal. Front gate (watch out for scalpers) We watched this band while we ate. Everyone had accents as with the rest of the bands here. These 3 guys (3rd on violin) were really good though it was a relatively small crowd. Gotta have the accordion with Irish music. The violinist was dancing in his chair while he played. I'd rather see these guys in a packed Irish bar with a pint of Guinness. That would have matched the energy of their jigs much better. To top off the night: Gaelic Storm! You may know them from the movie The Titanic. Ok, maybe you don't; I do. Natasha had also seen them on BareNaked Ladies' cruise ship, Ships & Dip. The benches were packed while waiting for the band and when they came out on stage, everyone stood up on the benches! Arg! There's no benefit to stand on the benches because everyone's still going to be at the same height. Quite the variety of songs. The woman shown lead a song on her violin and then one dueling with the bagpipes (shown). Then one of the other members did a song about a personally true story: The Night I Punched Russell Crowe. Apparently he got in a fight at a bar with Russell Crowe. It was a pretty good day and I was glad to hang out with my friends. Next time I'll have to make sure to include someone I can share a beer with.

Batman - IMAX

2008-07-20T22:39:00.000-05:00

I saw Batman at the Navy Pier IMAX Saturday at 9am. It was awesome! I loved seeing Chicago on the huge screen. Heath did a great job playing the Joker. I'm so glad that Natasha went ahead and bought tickets a couple weeks in advance. More to come on the rest of the day.

Arlington Park

2008-07-20T21:29:00.001-05:00

I really enjoyed going to Arlington Park Sunday of Independence weekend. I think it's the idea of donning some nice attire for an afternoon at a somewhat classy event. Betting on the horses is fun too. I don't quite have the skill (or confidence) to walk out ahead, but at least I do win back some of my money. Natasha and I met up with my friends from High School. I haven't seen them in serveral months and it shows in their kids. Melissa did an awesome job of making sandwiches for everyone. My winning horse is in there somewhere; he didn't pull ahead until the very end. I was surprised to actually win on a bet based solely on name. Luck: either you've got it or you don't.

Ribfest

2008-07-17T19:36:00.003-05:00

For the weekend of the 4th, there were talks about going to Taste of Chicago, but we ended up going to Ribfest instead in Naperville. Gen & Shannon invited me & Natasha. I've been to festivals that had food, but nothing like this. Here's a picture showing most of the vendors. I'd say there were about a dozen Rib vendors there (some were at the beginning and there are few more around the corner from this picture). I picked up a sandwich at this place. Everyone had their banners declaring the "Best of" status. They even had a table full of 3' trophies. The food was great and the grounds even had Leinenkugel's Red in addition to the typical water supply (aka Miller Lite). There was so much smoke from the cookers, it was smoggy even in the lawn area. By the time we left, we all smelled like BBQ, which was kinda fitting for an American holiday. We all had something from the rest of the grounds. Gen, Brennan's sister, and Shannon had some self-made snow cones. Shannon's dad picked up a bag of huge cherries. Brennan had a rootbeer float. Finally, Natasha had a mint chocolate ice cream from Oberwiese. I would have gone with the vanilla, but I'm boring like that.

Camping at Blue Mound State Park

2008-07-15T21:43:00.000-05:00

I've got a little catching up to do with my posts; so this will be a little out of order. June 27-29 (Fri-Sun), my girlfriend's sorority got together in the form of a camping trip. I've met most of them from previous events plus recognizing most of them from college. It was great having some people I knew there; Toni & Jason, Fred & Vicki. Too bad Fred & Vicki couldn't stay the entire weekend. Natasha & I made our breakfast: pig in a blanket. It's just precooked sausage wrapped in breadstick dough. Natasha found a winner for simple campfire food. I'll try to remember to add cheese inside next time. The campsite had a high tree canopy. It worked to our benefit Friday night when it rained; we only felt a drizzle. However, Saturday was a downpour. So meals were organized. One group did Friday dinner (brats, hamburgers; classic camping food), one group did Saturday dinner (quesadillas; pictured here) and one group did Sunday breakfast (French toast, scrambled eggs, bacon). Natasha and I were in the last group with the rest of the people on our site. All the food was great and all of it worked out well. This is what happens when you add copper to a fire; via dollar store Christmas lights. We used to put special crystals in the fireplace at home to give the same effect so this wasn't really new to me. Still, it's cool to see a colored flame. Next time, I've got to remember to bring the tarp to put under my tent.

Independence day

2008-07-04T20:55:00.001-05:00

I'm finally having an awesome July 4th. Last year I got stuck on a
side road watching the palatine fireworks by myself (I was late
meeting up with Gen and Co). This year I get to spend the day with my
favorite person, my love, Natasha.

We made it to Itasca to watch Lifehouse and then fireworks. Since I
forgot my camera, this 2mp pic will have to do. However, none of it
matters when you're with the love of your life.