Monday, June 08, 2009
Tiny Road Trip Weekend (And the Kitchen)
I had Friday off work, sort of. My sister Lauren and I had planned a quick trip up to IKEA and the Renegade Handmade store in Chicago.
Friday morning I get a call that I need to stop by a farm in St. Charles, Missouri (on my way to Ikea) and take some photos of a farm and its farmer. I was pretty excited about this prospect because I'm always moaning about the quality of photos I'm given to put in a layout--so this time I could take them myself.
I was a little worried, however, about being a hypocrite. I always tell our writers to stop taking photos in the middle of the day when the light is horrible. On Friday I didn't have much of a choice if I wanted to continue on to Chicago before 2am.
I had a great time shooting out in farm country (only a mile from an engineered community with little boxes all the same). There were beans and corn and planters going over bridges galore. Goldmine! Unfortunately, I was a little pressed for time. And now I can appreciate what our writers go through when taking photos. It's a little distracting to try to talk to the farmer while thinking about if you should have brought a ladder, and how this photo is going to look in layout.
These grain bins show a watermark from the flood of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers last Spring and Summer. Farming is a hard life. I said that to the farmer, and he said, "No. It's a good life. It's treated me really well." He was a really sweet man. Been married for 60 years.
I picked up Larny and we headed up I-55 to stay with my college roommate for the night before all of our adventures the next day. I got a happy meal, and Albert Einstein was in the bottom of the bag! I always forget that you get a toy in those things.
See? It really IS the happiest place on Earth! I think I broke Lauren at Ikea. Then the next day I was exhausted and sickly feeling. I had an Ikea hangover.
Here's the kitchen and a portion of our haul. I'm sick to death of stud finders and allen wrenches, let me tell you. But I was even more weary of the grape-vine buffet thing (heaviest thing in the world, no wonder the previous owner didn't want to move it.). Now it's on the covered deck where it will serve as a drink/food serving station when we have people over. Like next year sometime. Jason says we can't have people over till all the boxes are unpacked, and frankly I just don't see that happening anytime soon. We're getting closer, though!
Hey Jenny--I got that stainless steel table thing in the AS-IS room!! Everything was an additional 20% off in there. I thought of you!
Labels: house and home, kitchen, weekend
Read or Post a Comment
There's an AS IS room at IKEA????!!!! I soooo want to do that next time!
And, I LOVED Night at the Museum 2---- Einstein's great. :-)
Beth, I think your farm pictures are beautiful. Speaking with farmers is usually a pleasant experience. I used to be part of a milk co-op where we got farm fresh milk and I really enjoyed chatting with the farmers and their wives. Happy folk!
Farmers, Ikea...and a good deal.
Man! You must be living right!!
Actually, I was going to buy a piece of furniture @ Ikea, found one in the AS-IS room + thought, what a piece of crap! Good for some things, way too revealing for others.
Holy Cow! the water line is scary!
Not as scary as the thought of you eating a Happy Meal. FOR SHAME! F-O-R S-H-A-M-E!!!!!
Stud Finder (hehehehe)
So I have to wait until NEXT YEAR to see you? It will have been 2 years + I'll either have forgotten you or I'll have to go through some sort of rehab program (maybe Jen + Aaron + I can go in an a 3-fer deal).
Lovely shots even in midday. From West Texas I learned that beauty IS where you find it even if you have to find it after hours of searching.
However, it doesn't take long to find it in IKEA.