Tuesday, July 31, 2012

A Way to Spend a Saturday

Here's Chef Ken-in the midst of making salsa.
Garden tomatoes, peppers
and cilantro.
Some garden onions.
The chef is roasting the maters
on the grill plate. The peppers
will get the same treatment.
All mixed, mashed and sampled.
I think you can tell by the chef's
reaction that it is HOT! Just the
way he likes it.
Ready for the fridge.
Update--salsa has been
paired with chips a couple
of times and the Chef proclaims
it "Just right!"
~Keep on Dreaming~

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Befores and Afters

I picked this little book rack up at a "garage sale" that a store by our house was having. It was a dingy black and as one of the bloggers I was reading yesterday said "it needed a new dress." So I spray painted it an Antique White. As soon as I find my sewing room I will show you where I put it. It will hold my craft and pattern books. Looking good! This is a blue shelf I have had for a couple of years. I'm slow what can I say. Anyway--when I bought it at a church sale, it had a glass front door at the bottom but it was filled with beans and macaroni. Got rid of that and let it set for two years. Today I painted it the same Antique White and Mr. Ken is going to help me hang it on the wall above the bed in our guest room. Yea! Woo Hoo! ~Keep on Dreaming~

Friday, July 27, 2012

Today's the Day!!!

It is finally here! The XXX Olympiad begins this evening with The Opening Ceremony! July 27-August 12th. That is seventeen days of spectacular events featuring more than 200 nations participating in 32 events. That means there are A LOT of young people running around London. We have several athletes from KC competing in the events. YEA!
For more info on the Olympics
for a your television viewing
schedule.
Both of these sites have really
cool info regarding what's going
on in London.
Do you plan to watch the opening
ceremonies? What are your
fave events? I'm partial to
Gymnastics, Swimming and
some Track and Field.
Don't forget--that after the XXX
Olympics finish it will be time for
those in the Paralympics to shine!
Those games are Aug. 29-Sept. 9th.
For info on these games go to:
Enjoy!
~Keep on Dreaming~

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Hitting the Road

Today we are stepping back to the first week of July when Mr. Ken was on vacation. Mr. Ken fancies himself as a Harley dude so we went to the Harley Davidson Plant here in Kansas City. The facility is a 358,000 feet showroom, giftshop and factory. Visitors to the plant can go through the showroom and take a FREE tour. We will start with the showroom.
Here is my Harley dude-yes you
are allowed to sit on the bikes in
the showroom. Look at that smile
on his face!!!
This is their latest model. The
VRSC V-ROD--the powertrain
is liquid cooled.
Above and the next two pictures show
several of the areas that visitors will
see on the tour. Painting and laser
cutting are a couple of them. There
is also frame bending and welding
too.
Now we are off to our scheduled tour.
We get to see a movie first! No not
cartoons. We also get a headset and
fancy goggles to wear. They are returned
and cleaned at the end of the tour.
Sorry no cameras allowed on the plant
floor. Hope you enjoyed your visit!
~Keep on Dreaming~

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Lady Aviator

Today would have been "Lady Lindy's (as some called her) 115th birthday! Most of us know her as Amelia Earhart, author and aviator. She was born in July 24, 1897 in Atchison, KS. Miss Earhart was the 1st woman to receive the US Distinguished Flying Cross. It was given to her for her solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean in 1928.
"Lady Lindy" disappeared near
Howland Island while trying to
be the 1st female aviator to fly
over the Pacific in 1937. This
island is located just North of
the equator in the central Pacific
Ocean. This is 17,00 nautical miles
SW from Honolulu.
There has been and continues to
be lots of speculation regarding
her diappearance. Artifacts have
been found begging the question
"What happened?" Some of the
items found were clothing and
tools. Most recently freckle cream
was found. Ms. Earhart was legally
declared dead in 1939.
Such a mystery and a sad story.
~Keep on Dreaming~
**Images and most info from Google

Thursday, July 19, 2012

A Summer Dessert

Today we have a simple dessert.
Peach Summer Skillet
************************
Topping
*********
1 bun
1 T flour
1/2 Tsp cinnamon
1/3 C raw almonds
Place all ingredients in a
food processor until every-
thing is med/finely ground.
Set aside for use later. I put
mine in a baggie.
Dessert
********
3 peaches-sliced
1 T butter
1/2 tsp sugar/Splenda
In a skillet, melt butter.
Add peaches and your
sweetener choice. Saute
all ingredients until
peaches are soft.
Sprinkle some of the
topping onto the peaches
and set aside. This will
melt and "set" the dessert.
Before serving sprinkle more
topping onto the peaches.
This can be served warm or
"room temp."
ENJOY!
*Serves 2 but can be doubled.
Most ingredients are approximate.
~Keep on Dreaming~

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Yooooo Hooooo !!!

Guess what? It's time to CELEBRATE!
Cue the fireworks!
Grab some bubbly! Country Dreaming
is celebrating 3 years in Blogland!
Thank you to my 102 Followers and
all of the rest of you who stop by for
making this fun.
I started blogging as a distraction from
Ken being laid off 3 years ago and it
has turned into one of the best ways to
make and meet new friends! I enjoy
hearing from each and every one of YOU! I look forward to meeting
and making more new friends as
time goes on.
Thanks for your great comments on
my KC-ABC'S posts, they were a lot
of fun. Stay tuned to this channel for
more fun and adventures here at
Country Dreaming!!!!
~Keep on Dreaming~
**images: Google

Friday, July 13, 2012

Going to Kansas City

U-- Today we have our final stops! What better place to finish at Union Station. Built in 1914, there is 84,000 square feet to the station. In it's heyday it brought 10's of thousands of people to town as a working train station. The Grand Hall is the "meeting place" at the station. When you were going to meet someone, you always said "meet me under the clock". The clock has always been the best "landmark" at the station. Closed in the 80's and on the block for demolition, a bistate tax was passed in 1992 to fund the rennovation of the station. These were complete in 1999. Today the station hosts a variety of special exhibits-ie: The Titanic. There are various reastaurants, theatres and shoppes to visit. Also for viewing are permanent colleations and archives of the station. AND you can always hop on the train-AMTRAK that is. www.unionstation.org V-- Moving on down the road to 18th and VINE. Here you will find all things JAZZ. KC is known for it's love of Jazz. The American Jazz Museum makes it home here. If you are a fan THIS is THE place to be! Check their web for special events if you are in town. www.americanjazzmuseum.com
W--
We are going to have fun now!
This is one of my favorite places.
Webster House. Built in 1885
as the Daniel Webster School.
The school closed in 1932. In
1992 the former schoolhouse
opened as a beautifully restored
store and restaurant. The rooms
on the first floor house the store
with many antiques, home decor
and gifts. The second floor houses
the restaurant. This was where we
celebrated our five year anniversary
(several years ago). The meals served
are soooooooooooo good, it would
be so hard to describe! Heaven!!!
Visitors can enjoy Happy Hour,
Dinner, Late Night and Brunch on
Sundays. What is nice for Webster
is that the Kauffman Center is just
North of them. A win-win for both.
Don't be surprised like I was when the
school bell rings!
On to World's of Fun! Opened in
1973 and offers 235 acres (which
I have walked MANY a time) of
rides and attractions. The park's
theme comes from Jules Verne's
book "Around the World in 80
Days."
World's of Fun offers visitor's
15 thrill rides- 7 of which are
roller coasters , 14 family rides,
Planet Snoopy for the little ones
and 7 venues of live entertainment.
If you are BRAVE, check out the
FUN if you are in town.
Now moving on. The face
and mouse above are quite
recognizable. Yes, Walt Disney
has a KC connection. I'll be
honest--there is so much about
his time in KC that I couldn't
decide what to write about so
I hope you will take some time
to Google Walt Disney or go to
Very intersting stuff here!
Well, folks we have reached
our last destination on our
tour. The Kansas City ZOO.
It was founded in 1909 and
covers 202 acres. I'm sure I
have walked them also. The
zoo shares it's parking lot
with Starlight Theatre
(yesterday's post). Lots to do
here. Sea lions Tigers and Polar
Bears OH MY!! These are some of the animals visitor's get to
see on a visit and there are
over 1,300 animals that make
their home here. You can
explore Africa, Austrailia and
a Farm while you are here too.
Stop in an check out what is
playing on the IMAX screen.
As I have said before, this has
been fun and eye opening for me.
I have lived in two KC suburbs
during my lifetime but like everyone
else vacation elsewhere. Why?
Cause home is there all the time.
Going out of town isn't always a
choice we get to make. Explore
YOUR town, find out things that
you didn't know about the place
you live. I guarantee it will be FUN!
If you missed any of these posts
just go to my sidebar under LABELS
and click on KC-ABC'S.
~Keep on Dreaming~

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Going to Kansas City

S-- Today we are off to explore a new venue here in KC. Sea Life Aquarium. It is also located in the Crown Center complex. Visitors will see a wild under water world with sharks, starfish, seahorses and stingrays. There is also an underwater tunnel, more than 5,000 sea creatures and a touch pool. There are talks and feeding shows to go to while there. Booking tickets online is highly suggested. Prices are better. :) www.visitsealife.com Our next stop is Starlight Theatre. The theatre opened in June 1951. The 7,947 seat outdoor theatre hosts a variety of Broadway shows and concerts. Shows like Grease, Annie, Mary Poppins and The Adams Family are some of the shows that have come to KC. Starlight is one of three remaining self producing outdoor theatres in the US. Spending an evening at Starlight is one of the bests ways to spend a summer evening. www.kcstarlight.com T-- The next stop on our tour is The Toy and Miniature Museum. Founded by Barbara Marshall. Almost two years ago Ken took me to the museum for my birthday. It is great place to visit! I wanted to see the Barbie exhibit and did I have fun going down memory lane. In this 38 room house located on the UMKC campus visitors will get to see a variety of toys , doll houses LARGE and small, dolls, miniatures, marbles and neat special exhibits. This is a great place for the young and those who feel young to enjoy their child hood again! Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. www.toyandminiaturemuseum.org
Our last stop today is the 33rd
President's home. Welcome
to The Harry S Truman Home,
located in Independence, Missouri.
This is also my home town and state!
Mr. Truman's family moved to town
in 1890. He met his sweethart Bess
down the street from his house and
next door to his cousin's house. They
went to Sunday school and school
together. Harry and Bess were
married in June 1919 and their
daughter was born in 1924. Both are
buried in the courtyard at the Harry S
Truman Library which is also located
in Independence.
Visitor's to the home will take a guided
tour, on the tour they will see artifacts
from the family and get a glimpse into
their personal lives were like.
Tickets may be purchased at the
Visitor's Center located on the historic
Indep. square. They are available first
come first served.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Going to Kansas City

O-- Good afternoon--today we are off to Oceans of Fun. One of Kansas City's water parks. Oceans opened in May of 1982 with a tropic theme. At the time of opening, it was the world's largest water park. There are 60 acres to explore here. Visitor's can choose from 33 slides, a wave pool, the lazy river and a monsoon to name a few. www.visitmo.com/oceansoffun P-- Some of you know this place from previous posts. For those of you new to this--Welcome to the Plaza! One of the oldest downtown shopping/business districts in Kansas City. It is surrounded by many quaint older neighborhoods. The shopping district was established in 1922 and designed after buildings in Seville, Spain. This was an attraction for those shoppers coming to the city by car. On the Plaza, visitors will find many restaurants, cafes, stores and shoppes. During the summer, holidays and weekends their is a variety of cultural and entertainment activities for all. One of the funnest activities is The Plaza Lighting Ceremony. It began in 1925 with a single strand of lights places over a door. The first lighting ceremony was in 1930. Today there are more than 80 miles of lights strung on the buildings all over the Plaza. Turning on the lights kickoffs the holiday season and is held on Thanksgiving evening each year. If you happen to be in town over Thanksgiving come on down, it is a beautiful sight!! R-- Royals--our Major League Baseball team. The Royals were established in 1969 after the KC A's left town. Kauffam Stadium hads been home to the Royals since 1973. In 1985 we won the World Series! Come to a game if you are in town. Hope you are enjoying the tour of our city and I hope that you are continuing to find out things you didn't know about the big KC. For me, I have learned a lot while researching some of the places featured, that has been fun for me. We have a few more places and then we will be finished. Come back tomorrow-cause you never know where we will go! ~Keep on Dreaming~

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