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BikingLady
11-9-17, 6:05am
Vacationing is not something we do. Husband travels for business. I tried joining him a couple times in the 35 years and it was unpleasant for me, he works dah. SO last month I said I want to go to a silly little city with nothing there. I wanted to do NOTHING for two days. Read, rest, use the Gym machines. That was it and if you get back in time go to dinner. I had a really nice personal time. How weird is that? I ended up going back twice to Cloverdale (ha now our joke Cloverdale, who vacations there? After all the places and countries he has been too that I could have went). Went to outside of Indianapolis and had the best!! Indian Bistro meal ever, wow worth the trip in itself. Third time I did not go as I had enough down time.

Funny how my mind had a set idea of Vacation of doing and seeing exciting places and in the end nothing was great. Are your vacations filled?

Zoe Girl
11-9-17, 7:26am
There were times when i was a kid and we didn't leave town, just went to a hotel so we could use the pool and watch cool tv. I took my son once to do this for his birthday at a very cool hotel.

I am taking a week off and not goi g anywhere. I need the week but there is a choir concert at my school that i don't want to miss and then i teach hand sewing on Friday. So i will hang out, do a lot of crafty things, and actually be rested at the end of my week

catherine
11-9-17, 7:32am
I like getting away, even though I travel for business. In fact, I think it's a real perk of my job that I have to travel. If I hadn't I never would have been to Paris, Rome, Munich, Berlin, Hamburg, Madrid, Lisbon, Amsterdam, Sao Paulo, Mexico City. I may not even now have ever seen a cactus in the Southwest, or meandered through Napa Valley, or been to the Martin Luther King Center in Atlanta, or had a jolt of pure serenity in the Portland Japanese Garden or walked the Magnificent Mile in Chicago a gazillion times or experienced the wide open spaces of Texas.

I tend to like the meander, the unplanned, the running into the unexpected. I have two favorite "happenings"-- finding myself in a field of heather on the Yorkshire moors in the starry black of night, and my DD and I crashing a wedding at a winery when we strolled outside and into the vineyard well before the wedding started and sat and talked for hours between the grapevines and then when we emerged--empty glass of wine in hand--we found ourselves face-to-face with a bride and groom saying their vows!! Those are the memories I like, and I don't get enough of them sitting in my house 24/7.

We used to rent vacation houses every year when my kids were growing up, and we always took my mother-in-law and brother-in-law. My MIL used to say that one of her Scottish friends would do the same, but she was never that enthusiastic about it. When people would ask her how her vacation was, she'd say, "Acch, it was a change o' sinks." In other words, she was still doing chores like washing dishes and catering to the family, so it wasn't much of a vacation. We used to laugh at that. We have had a couple of vacations that were just a change of sinks.

goldensmom
11-9-17, 8:12am
We don’t vacation as in going away for a period of time. We used to but as restful as it was for my husband it was not for me as I did all the planning, packing, taking care of things at home while we are away, etc.. Now we just take ‘vacation’ days which is getting away from the normal routine for a day and do something different. No real planning other than, where shall we go or what shall we do, simply get in the car and go for the day. I've tried staying home and take a vacation day, a do nothing day, but duty beckons and there go my good intentions to do nothing for a day. I destination traveled a lot in my single years and really have no desire to do so now.

catherine
11-9-17, 8:25am
Another point I want to make is that I've found personally, and it's been backed by research, that a short vacation (i.e., 4-day long weekend) can be just as memorable and restful as a full week or two. I have definitely found that to be the case. It's also less expensive, and takes less planning.

iris lilies
11-9-17, 8:40am
We are planning a trip in over Thanksgiving week to New Mexico. I wont plan much at all, just have to plan around our dog’s needs since we are taking him.

This is the first vacation we have taken since we retired that has flexible start day and ending day. We are planning the start day around something entirely unrelated to us, but when that event happens, we can leave.

We have other shorter travel destinations planned for subsequent trips for times when we find our calendar clear for 3-4 days. Paducah, KY (quilting capital of the world!) and Galena, IL and Springfield, IL and Indianapolis and Columbus, OH will be short hop trips.

ApatheticNoMore
11-9-17, 10:07am
oh I don't take vacations though I have at times, I pretty much just take days off and sometimes I use them to do chores (yes well how else to have time to go to the dentist, have a repair person come etc.? or else the dentist doesn't happen and I feel bad about not even maintaining the basics of life). Sometimes I just do more what I want with the day off and not so much chores though for sure. I actually need days off just to psychologically survive almost, I haven't the great discipline to save them for vacation, I'd prefer to take a day off a month, and well that's almost the total of my paid time off. So yes though sometimes I use them for chores, many times I have a do nothing vacation (or 3 day weekend etc.).

frugal-one
11-9-17, 10:32am
Guess I am different that some here. I research all kinds of things we can do while on vacation. I find that things don't always take as long to see or do as you think so it is nice to have alternatives. Nothing is set in stone but we have lots of options then. I want to see things! My feeling is I can stay home to read a book or watch tv. Currently, I am planning a trip to Borneo and Komodo. Next week we are planning a short excursion to Galena, IL too. I have made lists of places we want to go (short and long trips) and listed things we can do there, best time to go, etc. That way, if we find cheap airfare, we can go without hesitation. This year we plan on leaving for an extended time in the south .... to get away from the cold winter. This trip will be more seat of the pants since we don't know how long we will be in each place. But I still researched some of the cities to see what we want to do there. We are open to change.

SteveinMN
11-9-17, 11:37am
Funny how my mind had a set idea of Vacation of doing and seeing exciting places and in the end nothing was great. Are your vacations filled?
Some are; some are not.

We still like to get out and see the world. Then I will do lots of research on what to see and do. Not that we have to (or will) do all of it; we've always avoided the "if it's Tuesday, this must be Belgium" mode of travel and on Day 3 of the "gotta-see-it-all" vacation bodies just hurt too much to make it enjoyable. We simply like knowing so we don't return home and kick ourselves for being quite close to someplace we really would have enjoyed visiting -- had we known about it. And we'll push a little to see more. Very little TV-watching when we're in a hotel room in Paris. :)

Increasingly, though, vacations are more free-form. I recently took a day-long road trip with my second-best friend in the world. No rule other than we had to be back that evening. We headed to a part of Wisconsin neither of us had ever visited. We stopped along the way wherever it looked interesting. We decided on the fly where to eat lunch (okay, there was only one place open in that town but we could have driven on). We had a fabulous no-stress time, even if we didn't see anything that would show up toward the top of TripAdvisor's list.

Several months ago, DW and I drove down to Austin, Minnesota, for overnight. We just wanted to get away from work, the dishes, and the dog. Really nice hotel rooms (ours had a hot tub) are cheap there. Austin has a couple of attractions but not so many that you feel obligated to see them all. We ate at the hotel restaurant for dinner (probably could have found better food, but research and driving around? not this time). We visited the SPAM Museum (really) and some antique and book stores on their main street, and drove home leisurely. It was just the break we needed and a lot cheaper than flying to Chicago or Kansas City.

Lately we haven't been on the big trips. That's been OK -- the trips we take still are restorative.

ApatheticNoMore
11-9-17, 12:12pm
although part of it might be my boyfriend can never seem to arrange a day off when I can. Ok I'll take maybe a day off a month so I have some relief valve etc.. usually on a Friday or Monday, even if it's not the ideal saving up vacation time (yea maybe I'd do that if I got much more than two weeks but I don't really). Whereas my boyfriend we be all mentally "I can't take time off, I can't time off", until he'll get to the point of stress and exhaustion he can't even psychologically function and calls in sick even though he is trying not to take time off. Yea the preventive maintenance and allocating some time off is really more sane IMO.

iris lilies
11-9-17, 1:20pm
Some are; some are not.

We still like to get out and see the world. Then I will do lots of research on what to see and do. Not that we have to (or will) do all of it; we've always avoided the "if it's Tuesday, this must be Belgium" mode of travel and on Day 3 of the "gotta-see-it-all" vacation bodies just hurt too much to make it enjoyable. We simply like knowing so we don't return home and kick ourselves for being quite close to someplace we really would have enjoyed visiting -- had we known about it. And we'll push a little to see more. Very little TV-watching when we're in a hotel room in Paris. :)

Increasingly, though, vacations are more free-form. I recently took a day-long road trip with my second-best friend in the world. No rule other than we had to be back that evening. We headed to a part of Wisconsin neither of us had ever visited. We stopped along the way wherever it looked interesting. We decided on the fly where to eat lunch (okay, there was only one place open in that town but we could have driven on). We had a fabulous no-stress time, even if we didn't see anything that would show up toward the top of TripAdvisor's list.

Several months ago, DW and I drove down to Austin, Minnesota, for overnight. We just wanted to get away from work, the dishes, and the dog. Really nice hotel rooms (ours had a hot tub) are cheap there. Austin has a couple of attractions but not so many that you feel obligated to see them all. We ate at the hotel restaurant for dinner (probably could have found better food, but research and driving around? not this time). We visited the SPAM Museum (really) and some antique and book stores on their main street, and drove home leisurely. It was just the break we needed and a lot cheaper than flying to Chicago or Kansas City.

Lately we haven't been on the big trips. That's been OK -- the trips we take still are restorative.
of course you visited the SPAM Museum! Thats what you do in Austin.I dont remember where we stayed that night but I remember a prefectly awful Chinese restaurant in the downtown area.

What kind of SPAM did you buy? We bought several for gifts for friends? We dont many gifts but I thought these fancy SPAM varieties woukd be funny.


SPAM put DH through college. His father worked at Hormel.

Float On
11-9-17, 1:25pm
I like spreading out my vacation days usually taking a Fri-Tues off. I'll plan one or two activities but a lot of free time to just see what happens. We kind of like returning to places we've been. Seems a little more relaxing.

My dad was a planner but the vacation that stands out the most was when he took a wrong turn out in KS somewhere so we did the plan backwards. My grandparents always packed a bag and left the drive way with grandma giving a direction when he'd say "left or right?"
DH's dad was a planner but they had to include Howard Johnson hotels so he could let the gov't dept he worked for be able to get a hold of him in an emergency.

frugal-one
11-9-17, 1:41pm
Yeah, we have had those kinds of trips too. Pack a bag and just go..... Was fun but we usually only went for an overnight.

Teacher Terry
11-9-17, 2:22pm
When I was working f.t. we either went on a real vacation or I would go home to see my Mom. Some years I had to use the time to take care of her for a few weeks as she had a few bouts of cancer in her later years. Now we are semi-retired and my Mom is gone. If we take a driving trip we take the RV and 3 dogs. WE take 2-10 vacations a year besides the driving trips. Sometimes to Europe and sometimes a cruise. When my husband got trips for work I would go and then while he was in training I often would use the time to just swim in the pool, take walks and relax. Once he got off training we would explore. The down time felt good as I was still working f.t. With the job I have now I teach online so I can do it anywhere in the world that I have internet access. WE are limited to 10 days when we leave because my son watches the dogs. I am fine with that as I miss them if gone much longer then that. I do all the planning and research.

Yppej
11-9-17, 6:26pm
One week I went to a different state park or forest within an hour's radius of my home each day. At the time they were all free admission. No packing or unpacking as I was home every night. My son was little and we swam in the lakes or hiked. I have such good memories of that time.

rosarugosa
11-9-17, 8:28pm
Yppej: That sounds like a perfect vacation!
We like to go out to North Adams in the Berkshires, usually one week in late summer if we can. There are some great museums and parks and restaurants, and nice scenic drives. Plenty to do or not do, and we know and love the area so it is pretty relaxing. The last time we were out there, we explored a cool old cemetery, hunted down the Hoosac tunnel, learned a lot about train and tunnel history, and were thoroughly delighted to see a huge freight train come out of the Hoosac! We love to go to the historical society, where the history buffs are so exited by our interest and pull out all their best stories for us. This would clearly not be everyone's idea of a good time, but it totally works for us. There is another place we like to stay on the lake in Lee (has recently gotten pretty pricey, but used to be quite affordable). We enjoy watching the bats fly over the lake at night, and they have a really good Indian restaurant where we first tried goat. One night when we were out watching the bats, I told DH how lucky we were to have found each other, because I could imagine running the personal ad looking for someone who would enjoy eating goat and watching bats for a VERY long time without any response. :)

Yppej
11-9-17, 8:35pm
I have eaten at that restaurant RR and it is excellent. Never been to the Hoosac Tunnel though. I would want to walk through it and I think that is not allowed?

Gardnr
11-9-17, 9:32pm
We've taken staycations.

We've staycationed at the mountain cabin.

We did our first (and last) cruise this summer for my sister's 65th birthday celebration.

Right now we're in Phoenix for a NASCAR 3 day event.

We've done "brown sign" trips. Day trips from home where we head down a road and stop at every brown sign we see for 6 hours and then turn around and go back home. These have been alot of fun! All those things we never did because we were on our way to somewhere. This makes those places the somewhere;)

We've done 2 weeks in summer on the Colorado summit and rented a car and condo with another couple. Great fun. Lots to see on day trips and also some days vegging at home.

Other than the cruise, I haven't met a vacation day I didn't enjoy and appreciate. Interesting the most expensive of my life, was my one dislike!

Tradd
11-9-17, 10:41pm
I go diving now - short weekend trips.

iris lilies
11-10-17, 12:02am
The brown sign trips, what a wonderful idea!

Gardnr
11-10-17, 9:52am
The brown sign trips, what a wonderful idea!

It's been great fun. None of those places would have been a destination without the intent. :cool: Now the rest is far enough away in our state, we'll need to overnight. And we WILL be doing some of those with 3d weekends in the future. Idaho is HUGE. We've got brown sign trips that will start 8-12 hours away from home. Car is mandatory. Hope to live long enough to see it all! Our bucket list is to see a part of every state (we like to locate and take it all in rather than drive by everything and enjoy nothing). Our bucket list includes seeing ALL of our home-state!

BikingLady
11-10-17, 10:23am
Love everyones ideas and trips!

happystuff
11-11-17, 8:16am
I just did this two weekends ago a condo on a lake... a gift from a friend who couldn't use it and didn't want it to go to waste. I spent my time walking the lake trails, reading, crocheting, watching tv and basically enjoying the simplicity of my surroundings. Came home with a renewed determination to make my home into the same type of retreat. (Still working on that part - LOL)

Gardnr
11-11-17, 9:13am
I just did this two weekends ago a condo on a lake... a gift from a friend who couldn't use it and didn't want it to go to waste. I spent my time walking the lake trails, reading, crocheting, watching tv and basically enjoying the simplicity of my surroundings. Came home with a renewed determination to make my home into the same type of retreat. (Still working on that part - LOL)


PURE BLISS:cool:

SteveinMN
11-11-17, 10:02am
of course you visited the SPAM Museum! Thats what you do in Austin.I dont remember where we stayed that night but I remember a prefectly awful Chinese restaurant in the downtown area.
Some of the worst Asian restaurants I've ever been in were in towns like Austin. It's places like those that made me learn how to do it myself. OTOH, there are some surprisingly good Mexican restaurants because there are so many migratory farm workers in the area.


What kind of SPAM did you buy? We bought several for gifts for friends? We dont many gifts but I thought these fancy SPAM varieties woukd be funny.
Heh. We bought the Mezclita (think "Underwood-Deviled-Ham-but-SPAM") and the tocino SPAM (nice catch on the capitalization, BTW). "It's only available here and in the Phillippines!" Later we found out the tocino version is readily available at my favorite Asian supermarket here in town. We tried the Mezclita because new and different; the tocino has the sweet-salty flavor combination going for it. Haven't bought more of either since; it's not hard to find even the more unusual varieties around The Cities. I think DW bought some as gag gifts, too, though I don't recall anyone's reaction to it.

nswef
11-11-17, 11:49am
We had an unexpected stay vacation as we planned to go to the beach, but it is very cold...so we stayed home and I have loved having NOTHING planned, no one to meet, no place we need to be. Wed. through Monday!!!! It's been wonderful.

The Storyteller
11-13-17, 6:10pm
OTOH, there are some surprisingly good Mexican restaurants because there are so many migratory farm workers in the area.

"Surprisingly good"? In Austin? Really? Texas used to be Mexico. There are lots of folks whose Mexican roots predate statehood by generations in Austin and SW Texas area. Tex-Mex is a real thing for a reason. :)

In fairness to you, though, my first puppet tour of ND, MN, SD, WI, Nebraska was a real eye opener for me, so I shouldn't talk. My naivete probably would have cracked you up. ;)

On the general topic of do-nothing vacation, I'm trying that out next week for reals. Going to stay home and try on the whole retired life thing, to see how I like it before jumping in full time around the first of the year. Going to try the whole day-to-day nonworking living routine. I've even written up a week long sample schedule to make sure I don't just sit around the house and vegetate during retirement. I've worked basically since I was 13 so I expect it is going to be quite a shock.

iris lilies
11-13-17, 6:28pm
"Surprisingly good"? In Austin? Really? Texas used to be Mexico. There are lots of folks whose Mexican roots predate statehood by generations in Austin and SW Texas area. Tex-Mex is a real thing for a reason. :)

In fairness to you, though, my first puppet tour of ND, MN, SD, WI, Nebraska was a real eye opener for me, so I shouldn't talk. My naivete probably would have cracked you up. ;)

On the general topic of do-nothing vacation, I'm trying that out next week for reals. Going to stay home and try on the whole retired life thing, to see how I like it before jumping in full time around the first of the year. Going to try the whole day-to-day nonworking living routine. I've even written up a week long sample schedule to make sure I don't just sit around the house and vegetate during retirement. I've worked basically since I was 13 so I expect it is going to be quite a shock.
We are talking about White bread land Austin, Minnesota. It is the home of SPAM, try to keep up. :)

But as Steve says, there are many persons of hispanic descent around there. Probably many work at the Hormel plant, meat packing has many immigrant workers.

The Storyteller
11-13-17, 7:02pm
We are talking about White bread land Austin, Minnesota. It is the home of SPAM, try to keep up. :)

Ooops! Guess I should read the whole thread before I open my mouth. :)

Sorry, Steve! Did two long tours there and STILL don't know nothin bout Minnesota! Like it's a whole 'nother country.

SteveinMN
11-14-17, 9:54am
Sorry, Steve! Did two long tours there and STILL don't know nothin bout Minnesota! Like it's a whole 'nother country.
That's OK, ST! "Whole 'nother country" is pretty much the way I feel about Texas (except maybe for Austin). lol Been there twice for short vacations but what I see and read indicates most Texans definitely see life a different way than most Minnesotans do.

BikingLady
11-20-17, 4:15pm
Over the Holiday break from work I am excited about the staycation I am planning for us. We have complied a list and still growing before we zero in on the list, of ethnic restaurants and different meals then we have tried before. All with in an hour or two. Ethiopian looks fun and neither of us have tried this. I am vegetarian so reviewing menus is really helpful first! I am setting aside a dollar amount and this is far less than a holiday, plus hubby will be home each day for the beloved naps! Korean did not look good at all to me, maybe I am missing something?

SteveinMN
11-22-17, 8:21am
Ethiopian looks fun and neither of us have tried this. I am vegetarian so reviewing menus is really helpful first! I am setting aside a dollar amount and this is far less than a holiday, plus hubby will be home each day for the beloved naps! Korean did not look good at all to me, maybe I am missing something?
I like pretty much all cuisines.

Korean food is delicious. But my take is that the Korean preference for peppery heat and the sourness of fermented food is something many Westerners do not expect. There are dishes without the heat and "funk", of course, but one of those flavor notes is present in most dishes and both present in many. I liken Korean food to listening to musical soloists playing together rather than a well-practiced orchestra. It's excellent food; just ... different.

I love Ethiopian food. Some of it can be spicy, but you can manage that when you order. It's fun to eat with your hands the way Ethiopians do and I can fit the injera bread into a low-carb eating plan. I hope you really enjoy it!

JaneV2.0
11-22-17, 11:11am
Ethiopian food is one of my favorites; I always get the vegetarian combination, even though I'm a meat-eater. Injera is carboriffic and will put me in a semi-coma, but once or twice a year I risk it.

BikingLady
11-22-17, 12:08pm
So excited to try Ethiopian! Thanks for the tips. Love spicy foods too.

frugal-one
11-22-17, 2:39pm
I enjoyed my Ethiopian restaurant experience but will NEVER go again. The mush was put in a trough in the middle of the table for everyone to dip there "bread" into. It was not very tasty or appealing. I enjoyed the experience though.

iris lilies
11-22-17, 3:55pm
I enjoyed my Ethiopian restaurant experience but will NEVER go again. The mush was put in a trough in the middle of the table for everyone to dip there "bread" into. It was not very tasty or appealing. I enjoyed the experience though.
I love Ethopian food and that sour bread is divine. I also like the communal experience. And the “mush.”
Really, if I wasnt going out of town now I would go out tonight for
ethiopian food, inspired by this thread.

SteveinMN
11-23-17, 8:16am
Injera is carboriffic and will put me in a semi-coma, but once or twice a year I risk it.
Because it is so prevalent here, I've discovered that there are (at least) two kinds of injera. One is made of teff and a leavener. The other variety has teff and wheat and barley and maybe some other grain. The teff-only injera has 10 grams of carbs per big round. I would imagine the teff-and variety has far more because of the other flours. Even I, who manages on 25-35 grams of carbs a day, can manage a good-sized half-round of injera. So what's in the injera they serve you? Or is it just going through 2-3 pieces in the course of eating the meail?

JaneV2.0
11-23-17, 9:40am
Because it is so prevalent here, I've discovered that there are (at least) two kinds of injera. One is made of teff and a leavener. The other variety has teff and wheat and barley and maybe some other grain. The teff-only injera has 10 grams of carbs per big round. I would imagine the teff-and variety has far more because of the other flours. Even I, who manages on 25-35 grams of carbs a day, can manage a good-sized half-round of injera. So what's in the injera they serve you? Or is it just going through 2-3 pieces in the course of eating the meail?

I'm pretty sure it's normally the mixed-grain variety, but you can get teff-only if you order ahead. I actually bought some, thinking I would try fermenting it and making injera. Some day, maybe.

HappyHiker
8-11-18, 7:23pm
I know what you're saying..sometimes vacations to tourist hotspots (especially if language/currency are different than yours) can be exhausting, rather than restful.

One of our favorite vacations was to go visit Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water house in PA. and then to tour around to various small towns in the area and stay in quirky places (one was a rental in a place that used to be a morgue, then a tool company)...others were log cabins in State Parks and in a yurt, too.

We did some cycling on the Great Alleghany Passage bike trail, got caught in a big thunderstorm and torrential downpour miles from anywhere and had such a fun time laughing our heads off 'cause it was just so ridiculous how wet we were...and yet we kept pedaling as we had to...never felt so alive or goofy.

Anyhow, that was just a great vacation and involved no flying and no fancy hotels or gourmet...just small town America as its very best...

Yppej
8-11-18, 7:42pm
HH I have thought of visiting Fallingwater but thought an hour hour tour might be too long. How interesting was the tour guide?

HappyHiker
8-11-18, 7:51pm
HH I have thought of visiting Fallingwater but thought an hour hour tour might be too long. How interesting was the tour guide?

Our tour guide was terrific...and seeing the inside and outside of the house was fascinating. We're huge FLW fans, though so YMMV.

There's another nearby Wright-designed home for touring, too--not as dramatic as Falling Water but the owner has a pretty incredible sculpture garden on his acreage that was pretty impressive...

The country around that area is lovely...and Ohiopyle State Park is beautiful...

Yppej
8-11-18, 8:03pm
I would be interested in the architecture, my millenial son maybe not so much. It is sort of on the way to relatives'. But I am not a FLW fan though. He was an egotistical jerk.

Ultralight
8-11-18, 8:29pm
My coworker did a "do-nothing" staycation. And he LOOOOOOOVED it!

He played video games, watched movies, went to the bar with his buddies, lived on snack foods, and ate some giant burrito that a nearby restaurant serves as a gimmick. haha

Teacher Terry
8-11-18, 9:31pm
I love FLW homes and buildings.

HappyHiker
8-13-18, 10:43am
I love FLW homes and buildings.

He was an innovator for sure! But I've read most of his roofs leak. And in his personal life, he surely was a cad! But so many artists are/were...but still, his designs just capture my imagination both inside and outside...and his styles remain cutting-edge after these many years...what I like best is how his designs nestle into their settings and are made of local materials. No boxes plopped down on the lot...

Gardnr
8-13-18, 1:26pm
I love FLW homes and buildings.

Too me! We've toured Taliesan West in Scottsdale. I've toured 1 his designs in Chicago. There is 1 in Idaho but I've never found a method to go tour it. Me thinks the homeowners want to keep it a secret. It's at a beautiful location above the Snake River. I've had a peak from the road and it appears 1 wall is all glass overlooking the river. other than that, not a peak nor have I found that one in print w/description and/or photos......

iris lilies
8-13-18, 5:05pm
He was an innovator for sure! But I've read most of his roofs leak. And in his personal life, he surely was a cad! But so many artists are/were...but still, his designs just capture my imagination both inside and outside...and his styles remain cutting-edge after these many years...what I like best is how his designs nestle into their settings and are made of local materials. No boxes plopped down on the lot...
I was just talking about the Dana Thomas house today with someone. It is in Springfield, IL and is an early FL Wright work. It is freakin’ massive. It sits in a neighborhood of Traditional homes, and
I am sure those homeowners all thought it was a creatire from another planet when it was builr.

Teacher Terry
8-13-18, 11:46pm
He built plenty of homes in Wisconsin and Illinois. If I remember correctly he designed Johnson Wax in Racine Wisconsin and I have been there.

JaneV2.0
8-15-18, 1:44pm
So excited to try Ethiopian! Thanks for the tips. Love spicy foods too.

No Passport Required (PBS) last night featured Ethiopian food and culture. Well worth watching; had me salivating.

sweetana3
8-15-18, 3:14pm
Marcus Samuelsson is the chef and he has a great book about his history. Born Ethiopian, raised in Sweden, moved to the US. One of my favorite TV chefs.

SteveinMN
8-15-18, 4:40pm
Marcus Samuelsson is the chef and he has a great book about his history. Born Ethiopian, raised in Sweden, moved to the US. One of my favorite TV chefs.
I've watched the entire series and am sorry to see it over. I enjoyed the look at different cuisines (Ethiopian is found readily in the Twin Cities, but Cuban, Haitian, etc., not so much) and it was good to hear the stories of people who wanted to come to the U.S. for a better life and worked damned hard to achieve it. I realize not everyone landed as softly as some of these people did, but the initiative and work ethic exhibited by these real people is in such contrast to the bogeymen fabricated by a scared voting public.

JaneV2.0
8-15-18, 8:35pm
I've watched the entire series and am sorry to see it over. I enjoyed the look at different cuisines (Ethiopian is found readily in the Twin Cities, but Cuban, Haitian, etc., not so much) and it was good to hear the stories of people who wanted to come to the U.S. for a better life and worked damned hard to achieve it. I realize not everyone landed as softly as some of these people did, but the initiative and work ethic exhibited by these real people is in such contrast to the bogeymen fabricated by a scared voting public.

We'd be a much poorer country without these hard-working immigrants--who make up not only legions of restaurateurs (I remember when the only "ethnic" food you could find in this area was watered down Italian and Chinese), but large numbers of the doctors, scientists, and entrepreneurs who advance the country in countless ways. As you've probably noticed, this is a real hot button for me. "Scared voting public" is a kinder descriptor than I would use.

Teacher Terry
8-15-18, 8:51pm
Totally agree Jane. We are a nation of immigrants.