Category Archives: Art

The Windy City: Day 4 & 5 Phone Pictures

I never actually cracked out the “real” camera on Day 4 of my work trip to Chicago. It was the first day of the Big Convention and it was a 13 hour work day. It was also by far the busiest day in the Computer Mine Booth, so I didn’t even take many cell phone pictures. The ones I did aren’t great, but I thought I would share them in case somebody was interested to know what the Big Convention looks like:


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The Convention Floor.

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More convention floor.

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You get the idea.

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The area at the top of the picture is the Exhibitor Lounge. It is wear you go to get a break and absolutely terrible iced tea.

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This area is the International Lounge.

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Privacy, but no roof.

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These guys are super annoying. Super. Annoying.

Because there aren’t many, I’m also going to share the cell phone pictures from Day 5 and then combine all the “real” camera pictures from Day 5 and Day 6 and the cell phone pictures from Day 6 into one post. There aren’t many of them. There wasn’t much free time when the Big Convention starts.

Day 5 pictures:


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Setting up the booth.

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Kim making friends.

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Maybe “friends”.

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I believe they are pen pals now.

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After the Big Convention concluded for the day, Kim and I went back to Garrett’s so she could bring back popcorn for some people.

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The lady working the popcorn stand told us that the popcorn wouldn’t be any good the next day, which made me panic a little bit. I had bought Elizabeth and Scottie D.’s popcorn 2 days before this and it would be 2 more days before I would be able to deliver it at a minimum. But frankly I think she was full of it. Elizabeth didn’t complain about her popcorn. Scottie D. didn’t complain about his.

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After the Korean Barbecue place that Kim “loved”.

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Kim was cold and had to wait inside.

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After getting back dinner I took a short walk around the area to admire the street art.

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Chicago, Illinois

One last post about my work trip to Chicago! Then we can move on to other trips I’ve been on lately!

Boone Art Center Gallery One

Today is Jay’s birthday, so I need to wish him a happy birthday. Happy birthday Jay!


2006 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon - Portrait of Self Portrait

I hope your birthday is as magical as this photo that was done completely in camera. What am I saying? I know your birthday was magical! You spent a good chunk of the day with me! Which most people will tell you, spending large chunks of time with me is pretty magical.

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Many people asked me when I completed THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT, “so what is your next project?” But usually they said it in a tone that was less supportive and more accusatory. Like “Whatcha gonna do now ya one trick pony?”

While I might be a one trick pony, I did have more than a few ideas up my sleeves. In fact, I had one main idea I wanted to pursue, but that project I haven’t pursued at all. Not even a little bit. Not at all.

However, I have pursued a completely different project that wasn’t on my radar at all. It just sort of came to me, like an epiphany one might say. Kind of the way most of my ideas come to me. Either while I’m sleeping or while I’m driving and every once in awhile, while I’m sleeping while I’m driving. Which I don’t recommend, but I’m a busy guy. Sometimes I need to get places and take a nap at the same time. It’s called multi-tasking and chicks dig it.

This other project is based on the fact that there is a dearth of public art in Boone. While there are numerous talented artists in Boone. “In fact, at least 2 live on my block alone” he said while counting himself as one without a hint of irony. About the public art in Boone is a train mural, a statue of Teddy Roosevelt, and the Freedom Rock. Well turn it up man. Sorry, not that kind of Freedom Rock. But I wish it was that kind of Freedom Rock.

There is also at least one local graffiti artist. At least there is one out there trying real hard. But the best and largest collection of public art in Boone comes rolling in on the Union Pacific railroad line. Choo Choo art lovers! Graffiti from all over the country comes rolling in like a mobile art gallery with extremely limited engagements.

While much of the graffiti isn’t great, there are many that blow the mind. I decided to start capturing “found art” I find in or near the confines of Boone. I’m calling it THE BOONE ART CENTER PROJECT. When I get to about 25 pieces of art or pictures of pieces of art that I like, I will release a collection.

This is the first of those collections:


Boone Art Center

Boone Art Center

Boone Art Center

Boone Art Center

Boone Art Center

Boone Art Center

Boone Art Center

Boone Art Center

Boone Art Center

Boone Art Center

Boone Art Center

Boone Art Center

Boone Art Center

Boone Art Center

Boone Art Center

Boone Art Center

Boone Art Center

Boone Art Center

Boone Art Center

Boone Art Center

Boone Art Center

Boone Art Center

Boone Art Center

Boone Art Center

Boone Art Center

All of these pictures were taken east of Boone from the shoulder of Old-30, but that doesn’t mean all these “found” art pieces will be taken east of town or even they will all be on the side of railroad cars for that matter. But almost all of them have been up until now.

Not sure when the next collection will be released, but it can’t be too far in the future.

The Windy City: Day 3C

I have a confession to make here. When I decided to combine cell phone pictures with the “real” camera pictures into the same posts, I would have made my life a lot easier if I had realized that I hadn’t changed the clock settings on my camera after Daylight Savings ended or began or whatever it does in the spring. For that reason, putting the pictures in chronological order is something that fails me at times.

Anyways, we will begin where we left off last Friday. Lowell and I had walked to Buckingham Fountain, just to see that it wasn’t turned on. After the disappointment we began walking to some restaurant where the sales team hosts everybody for apps and brews at a restaurant as a “thanks” for working the Big Convention.


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View from near Buckingham Fountain.

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Chicago Rules? This should be a universal rule.

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I wish I knew what this sticker said, but I do know that generational wealth is one of the great evils of our time.

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I really don’t know what this is.

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The Bean again. But this time you had to go through a security checkpoint to see it.

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The Bean from farther away.

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I had never heard of Garrett Popcorn, but apparently it is where it’s at in the popcorn world.

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I was tasked with bringing back popcorn for Elizabeth and for Scottie. D. Elizabeth’s order was more complicated.

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I left the “party” to go get the popcorn. But I decided to head back.

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On my way back I saw the signs of the houseless situation in Chicago.

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Walking back to the hotel with Jodi, Michelle, Michelle, Lowell, and not pictured Cathie.

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Remember when I said Lowell’s room had a much better view? I wasn’t foolin’.

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That mural is way better than the nachos at the Taco Pub.

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Have I mentioned that I love street art?

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This mural was on one of the walls of the hotel.

That concludes Day 3 of the work trip to Chicago. Day 4 was like a 13 hour work day. My only pictures are of the Big Convention. So I might combine Day 4 and Day 5. We’ll see where it itches when we get there.

Lee & Van Buren County Aux. – Vol. 4

Time to share another collection of images from my road trip to Lee County & Van Buren County to harvest their town signs. All of these pictures are taken in Van Buren County. In the villages of Bonaparte and Bentonsport.


Van Buren County - Bonaparte
Bonaparte

Van Buren County - Bonaparte

Van Buren County - Bonaparte

Van Buren County - Bonaparte

Van Buren County - Bonaparte

Van Buren County - Bonaparte

Van Buren County - Bonaparte

Van Buren County - Bonaparte

Van Buren County - Bonaparte

Van Buren County - Bonaparte

Van Buren County - Bonaparte

Van Buren County - Bonaparte

Van Buren County - Bonaparte

Van Buren County - Bonaparte

Van Buren County - Bentonsport
Bentonsport

Van Buren County - Bentonsport

Van Buren County - Bentonsport

Van Buren County - Bentonsport

Van Buren County - Bentonsport

Van Buren County - Bentonsport

Van Buren County - Bentonsport

Van Buren County - Bentonsport

Van Buren County - Bentonsport

Van Buren County - Bentonsport

Van Buren County - Bentonsport

Van Buren County - Bentonsport

Van Buren County - Bentonsport

Van Buren County - Bentonsport

Van Buren County - Bentonsport

Van Buren County - Bentonsport

Van Buren County - Bentonsport

Van Buren County - Bentonsport

Van Buren County - Bentonsport

Van Buren County - Bentonsport

Van Buren County - Bentonsport

So let’s talk a moment about The Mason House Inn. It has had an absolutely fascinating history. From their website (masonhouseinn.com):

The Mason House Inn was built in 1846, originally called the Ashland House, and was owned by William Robinson. It was built as a hotel to serve the steamboat travelers going from St. Louis to Fort Des Moines and Fort Dodge on the Des Moines River. It was built by Mormon craftsmen from Nauvoo, Illinois, who stayed in Bentonsport for several years, working and gathering supplies before making their trek westward to Salt Lake City, Utah. (Several of the brick buildings still in use here in Bentonsport were built by these craftsmen.) In 1857, the Ashland House was purchased by Lewis Mason and his wife, Nancy. They changed the name to the Phoenix Hotel, but the townspeople called the place the “Mason’s House”, and the name stayed. It was Nancy who started the tradition of “a cookie jar in every room”.

Over the years, the Mason House has withstood 6 major floods: 1851, 1903, 1905, 1947 and, most recently, 1993 and 2008. Through it all, this magnificent building remains a stalwart landmark. During the Civil War, the Mason House was used as a “holding hospital” for the wounded soldiers who were waiting for the train or boats to take them to the hospital in Keokuk. It was also a station on the Underground Railroad. For a short time in 1913 the building was used as a tuberculosis sanitarium. But the building was too small for their needs and they moved to Des Moines. From 1920 to 1950, Lewis’ grand-daughter, Fannie Mason Kurtz, ran the hotel as a boarding house for the town doctor and his wife and also the local school teachers. When Fannie died in 1951, the place was rented as a house for the Downing family until 1956.

Here is a little more. Remember last Wednesday when we talked about the Mormons being ran out of Nauvoo, Illinois? They settled in Van Buren County for a time and some built the Mason Inn.

The Mason Inn is considered haunted and for this reason, they ban guns inside of the Inn:

DO NOT BRING ANY GUNS OR FIREARMS OF ANY KIND INTO THE INN! I don’t care if you have a conceal carry permit or not. This is our house. Our rules. Its not that we are anti-gun (we actually have a rifle at our farm) but the ghosts don’t like guns and 2 of the ghosts know how to pull the trigger. One guest brought a hand gun without us knowing. He placed it on the night stand next to his bed. In the morning he found the gun on the dresser, pointed at his head. The clip was out of the gun and on a different dresser across the room. There was still a bullet in the chamber. If the ghosts could do that, they could have just as easily pulled the trigger. This is a true story.

I would love to stay there sometime. Maybe I’ll put it on my list for next year.

There is still one more collection of images to share from this road trip!

But I Don’t Think That’s True

Another chance to clean up the backlog. These pictures were taken in October of last year but never really fit into any “An Artist’s Notebook” entries. Some were alternate images for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. Some, I just took when I was out and about.


But I Don't Think That's True

But I Don't Think That's True

But I Don't Think That's True

But I Don't Think That's True

But I Don't Think That's True

But I Don't Think That's True

But I Don't Think That's True

But I Don't Think That's True

But I Don't Think That's True

But I Don't Think That's True

But I Don't Think That's True

But I Don't Think That's True

But I Don't Think That's True

But I Don't Think That's True

But I Don't Think That's True

But I Don't Think That's True

But I Don't Think That's True

But I Don't Think That's True

But I Don't Think That's True

But I Don't Think That's True

But I Don't Think That's True

But I Don't Think That's True

But I Don't Think That's True

But I Don't Think That's True

But I Don't Think That's True

But I Don't Think That's True

But I Don't Think That's True

But I Don't Think That's True

But I Don't Think That's True

Always feels good to get a bit of backlog out of the system.

THE WINDY CITY: DAY 3B

Time for the second collection of images from Day 3 of my work trip to Chicago. The final day of any real photography… for the most part. The rest of the days were filled with work… boring work.

When we left off, Lowell was feeding birds in a park street corn from a food truck:


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They loved the street corn so very much!

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Buckingham Fountain – I should have known it wasn’t running, but we walked like a mile to it…

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To get a heavy dose of disappointment…

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Still cool looking though…

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And just begging you to go wading in it…

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Old Michigan steams like a young man’s dreams…

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It’s Herbie Hancock…

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Would’ve been pretty cool if it had been on.

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My Grandpa Paris had lion sculptures flanking his driveway. I don’t know why everybody doesn’t.

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One more collection of images from Day 3 of my trip to Chicago to share.

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NOTE: WHILE NEXT MONDAY ISN’T A HOLIDAY IT IS THE DAY BEFORE A HOLIDAY, I MIGHT BE BUSY ON THAT DAY AND YOU MIGHT BE BUSY THAT DAY, SO MAKE PLANS FOR SUBMITTING ACCORDINGLY.

This is your reminder that this week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is RETAIL:


WEEK 407 - RETAIL
RETAIL

RETAIL! What a great theme for Year 10 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

An astute observer that has a physical Photography 139 Calendar may notice that this week says MUSIC and not RETAIL. That was a typo that wasn’t caught by my proofreader. Mostly because I didn’t have my proofreader look over the calendar. So don’t take a music picture, unless it is at a music store. This theme was suggested by Elizabeth.

While this is the first time that RETAIL has been a theme for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE, it isn’t the first time that a similar theme has been used. Check out these submissions from the past for inspiration for this week:


WEEK 18 - STORE - SARAH KARBER
Week 18 – Sarah Karber

WEEK 141 - STORE - MICKY AUGUSTIN
Week 141 – Micky Augustin

WEEK 141 - STORE - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Week 141 – Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 390 - STORE - SARAH TOOT
Week 390 – Sarah Toot

WEEK 390 - STORE - ELIZABETH NORDEEN
Week 390 – Elizabeth Nordeen

This is the last of the Friday Reminders. Nobody made a case for keeping them going, so apparently they won’t be missed.

Happy photo harvesting!

Lee & Van Buren County Aux. – Vol. 3

Time for another collection of images I took while harvesting the town signs of Lee County and Van Buren County. This collection begins in Lee County and then ends in Van Buren County.


Lee County  - Montrolse
This reminds me, who wants to hit up Stanhope Watermelon Day with me? July 15!

Lee County  - Keokuk
Keokuk

Lee County  - Keokuk

Lee County  - Keokuk

Lee County  - Keokuk

Lee County  - Keokuk

Lee County  - Keokuk
I need to go back and get a way better picture of the Keokuk Plant.

Lee County  - Keokuk

Lee County  - Keokuk

Lee County  - Keokuk

Lee County  - Keokuk

Lee County  - Keokuk

Lee County  - Keokuk

Lee County  - Keokuk

Lee County  - Keokuk

Lee County  - Keokuk

Lee County  - Keokuk

Lee County  - Keokuk
Donnellson

Lee County  - Keokuk

Lee County

Lee County

Van Buren County - Farmington
Farmington

Van Buren County - Farmington

Van Buren County - Farmington

Van Buren County - Farmington

Van Buren County - Farmington

Van Buren County - Farmington
I wish I would have went inside Hel-Mart.

Van Buren County - Farmington

Van Buren County - Farmington

Van Buren County - Bonaparte
Bonaparte

Van Buren County - Bonaparte

Van Buren County - Bonaparte

Van Buren County - Bonaparte

Van Buren County - Bonaparte

I definitely want to go back and spend more time in Keokuk and photograph it better. Also Bonaparte. Actually most of the villages of Van Buren. I wonder if there is an inn in Van Buren County that is haunted with gun hating ghosts…

Flapjackin’: Orange City Field Work

Back in mid-May I loaded Jesse and Nader up and hit the road for my annual birthday road trip. This time, the main thing I wanted to see was the Orange City Tulip Festival. I’ve been to the Pella Tulip Festival a few times, so I wanted to see how Orange City’s Tulip Festival compared.

My main reason was I wanted to do a little flowertography, but I also just wanted to enjoy the sights and sounds and of course the food!


Orange City Tulip Festival
These 2 old guys and their bad backs…

Orange City Tulip Festival
The craft market.

Orange City Tulip Festival
Windmill!

Orange City Tulip Festival

Orange City Tulip Festival
Tulips!

Orange City Tulip Festival
Canal!

Orange City Tulip Festival
Tour of Orange City!

Orange City Tulip Festival

Orange City Tulip Festival
We didn’t eat here, but I love the name!

After the tour we hit the first snack of the day. Poffertjes!

Poffertjes (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈpɔfərcəs] are a traditional Dutch batter treat. Resembling small, fluffy pancakes, they are made with yeast and buckwheat flour. Typically, poffertjes are a sweet treat, served with powdered sugar and butter, and sometimes syrup or advocaat. However, there is also a savoury variant with gouda cheese.

I’ve had poffertjes before in Pella at Krestmarket. They are delicious!


Orange City Tulip Festival
The poffertjes magicians.

Orange City Tulip Festival

Orange City Tulip Festival

Orange City Tulip Festival

I could have eaten 5 or 6 of these baskets and not even given it a second thought. If you have a chance to knock down some poffertjes, do it. You will not regret it.

After the first snack, we headed to the Dutch Market to find more delicousness.


Orange City Tulip Festival

Orange City Tulip Festival
Fried Almond Patty

Orange City Tulip Festival
The fancier poffertjes.

I should have taken more pictures of the Fried Almond Patty. I should have taken more pictures of the booth that made it. It was a church booth that had three “buildings”. The first one is where you ordered. The second one is where they made your food. Then at the third one, your food was delivered by conveyor belt. Finished off and handed to you.

Don’t get me wrong. The poffertjes were fantastic. But the fried almond patty was a revelation. I sometimes lay await at night thinking about it. Then when I finally go to sleep, I dream about it. I should have bought more, but I was saving room, because after we left Orange City, more food adventures were on the way!

On our way out of town we stopped at a local meat market and store:


Orange City Tulip Festival

Orange City Tulip Festival

Orange City Tulip Festival

Orange City Tulip Festival

Orange City Tulip Festival

Orange City Tulip Festival

Orange City Tulip Festival

Orange City Tulip Festival

Orange City Tulip Festival

Orange City Tulip Festival

Orange City Tulip Festival

Orange City Tulip Festival

Orange City Tulip Festival
The line for poffertjes wrapped around this corner, down that walkway, then around another corner, then in the back of the building, and then all the way through the building.

Orange City Tulip Festival
Windmill.

Orange City Tulip Festival
On our way to the call we ran into a Dutch chorus.

Orange City Tulip Festival
A sweet float.

Orange City Tulip Festival

Orange City Tulip Festival

When I was rooming with Tony in Chicago I told him that I was hitting up the Orange City Tulip Festival. Tony was from this area and he asked me if I was in the area, could I go up to Sioux Center to Casey’s Bakery and grab some Almond Patties for him.

Sioux Center was sorta on the way to wear we were going to lunch, so we hit Casey’s Bakery:


Orange City Tulip Festival
Turned out they were out of almond patties, so I had to buy him a frozen case so he could bake them himself.

Orange City Tulip Festival

Orange City Tulip Festival

Orange City Tulip Festival

Orange City Tulip Festival
Kolaches have become a part of my life lately and these resemble kolaches, so I considered buying these to bring back for my kolache people, but they aren’t kolaches. So I passed. But I thought about it.

Next Sunday’s food adventure will actually be a continuation of this road trip. There was quite a bit of food adventuring that happened this day. Spoiler: It was all good! Actually all great!

Bottled Bliss

Maybe you haven’t heard, but there is a new bar in Boone called Bottled Bliss. It is a wine and crafter beer bar. It was started by a friend of mine (really Nate’s friend, but I’ve borrowed her as my friend) named Kelli.

I’m sure many of you are wondering why I’m writing about a bar when I don’t drink. “Sure… sure…” you are thinking, “I’ll listen to you when you endorse a company like Honey Hollow cause you look like somebody that has eaten your fair share of honey in your day. Probably more than your fair share of honey. I’ll even listen to you when you endorse a company like Little White Lye Soap because you come off clean and are clearly one of the best smelling employees at the Computer Mine. Top 5. Maybe even Top 2. Some days, #1. I’ll even give you the benefit of the doubt when you endorse Salon 908, when you clearly don’t have a great head of hair perched atop your Gulliver. But why should I listen to you… a notorious teetotaler about a place to go get a drink?”

Don’t worry. There is an answer to your question. It all started back on May 5. Cinco de Mayo. I had heard a rumor that my favorite The Colorado Grill employee was hanging it up. Calling it a day at The Colorado Grill. So Jesse, Willy, and I saddled up and took Friday Night Supper Club out to The Colorado Grill for Kelli’s last night.

Once we got out there, Kelli told us that she was leaving the Grill to start her own wine bar. (Incidentally, I haven’t been back to The Colorado Grill since.) I was heartbroken because Kelli is a master of customer service and she always keeps my raspberry ice tea topped off AND she always serves it to me in a giant mug. Not like the glass that the paupers get.

To commemorate Kelli’s last day and what I thought would be last raspberry tea I would ever receive from her we took this picture:


Kelli's Last Day

As fate would have it, it wasn’t the last raspberry tea with Kelli in our future. She told me that she would stock raspberry tea for me AND we struck a deal to put some of my photography on the walls of her new business.

Here is where you come in. You should 100% get your friends together and go down to a night of wine tasting or craft beer tasting at Bottled Bliss. My understanding is that Kelli really knows her wine and craft beers. She spent years honing her knowledge by stocking the craft beers at The Colorado Grill and running a monthly wine club. Also, she pours a mean raspberry tea… which is no easy job.

I’ve already heard a couple of “Yes!”es and a few “Sounds really good. I’ll have to do that”s.

But if I haven’t sold you yet, here is some information from her website (bottledbliss.net):

Monthly Cork Membership:
$35.00 Monthly
1 Glass of wine each weak.
$10.000 off Wine Club admission
20% Off bottles of wine.

There are 2 Wine Clubs.

4th Tuesday of the Month

Think of this wine club as a Wine 101. Become the expert wine lover you’ve always wanted to be. Explore new wines and expand your pallet. There’s no shame in enjoying a fantastic glass of moscato BUT there is more to wine than just one varietal. Enjoy new exciting wine in a welcoming and learning environment with great company and small bites.

This wine club will be hosted by wine distributors and Iowa Wineries.

2nd Tuesday of the Month

This wine club is designed for a mature pallet. Experience wines from around the world, build knowledge about unique wine regions surrounded by fellow wine lovers. Deep reds, dry whites, and full bodied wine can be expected at this wine club. Small bites will be offered to help compliment your wine experience.

This wine club will be hosted by wine distributors to help enhance your wine journey.

Wine Club events are $25 per event.

But I want to know more about Kelli other than she pours a mean raspberry tea. Also from the website:

My name is Kelli Casper and I was born and raised in Boone. My husband and I are raising our two beautiful daughters in Ogden surrounded by all the things that I loved growing up. Most people will recognize me from The Colorado Grill. I was just a month shy of celebrating my 19 years with the Gano’s at The Grill. In 2013, I launched a wine club there to learn more about wine. We dedicated one Tuesday every month trying different distributors and wineries all over the world; it was successful every month for 7 years and then Covid hit. Covid ruined so many good things. I’ve always enjoyed exploring wine and craft beer and The Grill was the perfect place to build my knowledge. My interest became a hobby and then a passion. I love talking “shop” with anyone who wants to listen. A wine bar was always my dream and then one day I decided I was tired of dreaming. And BOOM. Enter Bottled Bliss! We have around thirty chairs to offer anyone wanting place to land. A great craft beer selection and wines from around the country and globe. We offer bottle and glass service and we have prosecco ON TAP! For now, our main focus is beverage services but we are looking forward to building a small kitchen where we can offer small bites in the near future.

We will have a monthly wine club (just like old times) and also a Cork membership (think gym membership) with weekly rewards for your monthly members. I am looking forward to partnering with other businesses in Boone to make downtown great and something to be proud of.

See you soon!
Kelli Casper

If you ever want to get together and you have a wine and I’ll have a raspberry tea, let’s go!

Bottled Bliss is located at:

706 Keeler Street
Boone, Iowa 50036

Current Hours:

Mon Closed
Tues wine club
Wed 5 PM – 9 PM
Thu 5 PM – 9 PM
Fri 5 PM – 10 PM
Sat 2 PM – 10 PM
Sun 2 PM – 6 PM

But… you are probably wondering about the deal I struck with Kelli to display my photography.

Currently there are 5 of my photos displayed there. I went a little crazy on the size, so they are 40×30. They are acrylic prints.

After conferring with Kelli, here are the 5 prints that are up (Click on the link below the images to see more information on each image):



More Info


More Info

Drone Photography
More Info


More Info


More Info

Kelli wanted pictures of local interest that people would recognize. Her favorite is the picture of the Teddy Roosevelt Statue. She claims she knows who has the thumb in their possession, but is sworn to secrecy. You can talk to her about it when you go in for a drink.

There are going to be about 6 more smaller pictures going up and then maybe they will rotate in and out now and again. But This does remind me that I need to swap out pictures at pictures at Salon 908 at some point.

The Windy City: Day 3A

Day 3 of my work trip to Chicago was the last day I really got to take any pictures of consequence. Every day after this was mostly filled with boring work stuff. Including Day 4 which was like a 13 hour or so work day. So after we get through the pictures of Day 3, the rest of the days will just fly by. Probably.

I started Day 3 wandering around the streets around the hotel taking a little photography before the Computer Mine training session that lasted from like 8 AM to like 12 PM. Or at least it did for a few of us.


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I love street art so much!

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You didn’t think I wouldn’t post some flowertography, did you?

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Well, did you punk?

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I didn’t know Chicago also had a Harlem until this moment.

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Almost… almost enough bird poop for me.

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Would you believe that Kim has never ridden on a train? Not even a subway?

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Almost enough dirt, rust, and grime for me.

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More tulips in this flower bed than all of Orange City.

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I didn’t bring any of my normal flowertography lenses, but that is okay.

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This guy invited Tony to a party after inviting him to a party. Tony did not attend cause he is a fun hater.

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And maybe this conversation was the impetus for Tony to think about quitting smoking.

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4 hours of my life that… well you know. But Steve V. was pumped.

Chicago, Illinois
In Miami we spent most of Day 2 trying to get machines working. In Chicago we only had to spend a couple hours tinkering with machines. Kim was pleased.

Chicago, Illinois
It took a long time for Lowell and I to find lunch, but eventually we stumbled across these food trucks.

Chicago, Illinois
Like 6 of 8 were taco trucks.

Chicago, Illinois

Chicago, Illinois
I love the mascot so much!

Chicago, Illinois

Chicago, Illinois

Chicago, Illinois

Chicago, Illinois
Lowell fed these guys some of his street corn.

Chicago, Illinois
And they couldn’t get enough!

Chicago, Illinois

Chicago, Illinois

Chicago, Illinois

After eating, Lowell and I headed for Buckingham Fountain, but that is a tale for another day.

+++++++

This is your reminder that this week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is ‘SCAPE:


WEEK 406 - 'SCAPE
‘SCAPE

‘SCAPE! What a great theme for Year 10 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what is a ‘SCAPE picture? The “‘” in the theme name allows you to substitute in a few words. Your submission could be a LANDSCAPE or a WATERSCAPE or a CITYSCAPE.

Well for one thing, it is a great theme for me to remind you that you can include the town your picture was taken in or the county and I will include that with your submission.

Did you know that the first photograph ever taken was of a landscape?

“View from the Window at Le Gras” was captured by Nicéphore Niépce, in 1827. It features a very abstract view from Niépce’s window.

It would be another 12 years before somebody would think to take a “photograph” of a stupid human. I assume the 2nd picture ever taken was of a dog.

With this theme, you are literally touching the absolute deepest root of photography. Wow! That is powerful to think about. But maybe you are still confused about what LANDSCAPE photography is. Here is a definition from the Wiki:

Landscape photography commonly involves daylight photography of natural features of land, sky and waters, at a distance—though some landscapes may involve subjects in a scenic setting nearby, even close-up, and sometimes at night.

Photography of artificial scenery, such as farm fields, orchards, gardens and architecture, may be considered “landscape” photography as well. Even the presence of man-made structures (buildings, roads and bridges, etc.) or art (such as sculpture) may be considered “landscape” if presented in artistic settings or appearing (or photographed) in artistic style.

Further, landscape photography is typically of relatively stationary subjects—arguably a form of “still life.” This tends to simplify the task, as opposed to photography of kinetic or live subjects. However, landscape photography often overlaps the activity of wildlife photography and the two terms are used somewhat interchangeably; both wildlife and landscapes may be elements of the same picture or body of work.

This isn’t the first time that ‘SCAPE or something similar was a theme for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. Here is a look back at a few submissions from years past to inspire you:


WEEK 60 - LANDSCAPE - CARLA STENSLAND 3
Carla Stensland – Week 60

WEEK 111 - LANDSCAPE - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett – Week 111

WEEK 111 - LANDSCAPE - SARAH KARBER
Sarah Karber – Week 111

WEEK 165 - LANDSCAPE - JESSE HOWARD
Jesse Howard – Week 165

WEEK 223 - LANDSCAPE - MICKY AUGUSTIN
Micky Augustin – Week 223

Nobody objected to me killing off the Friday reminder. So next Friday will be the last Friday reminder. Then it will go the way of the dodo bird.

Happy photo harvesting!