Category Archives: Self-Portrait

Alexis, Andy, Angie, Becky, Bill, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Elizabeth, Jesse, Joe Duff, Kim, Kio, Linda, Logan, Micky, Mindi, Naima, Nathanial, Sabas, Sarah Toot, Scottie D., Self-Portrait, Shannon, Street Photography, Suzie, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, Willy, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 411 – LIQUID

July 31, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

LIQUID. You are mostly LIQUID. I’m mostly LIQUID. But did LIQUID get the creative juices of a bunch of people flowing this week? You’ll have to keep scrolling to find out!

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, July 24, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore the numbers in parentheses):

1-Jen Ensley-Gorshe – 1 week
2-Evie Gorshe – 1 week
3-Sara Lockner- 1 week
4-Becky Parmelee – 1 week
5-Willy McAlpine – 2 weeks
6-Scott Degeneffe – 3 weeks
7-Mike Vest – 3 weeks
8-Mary Green – 3 weeks
9-Suzie Brannen – 4 weeks
10-Sabas Hernandez – 4 weeks
11-Sheri Fakhouri – 6 weeks (3)
12-Monica Jennings – 7 weeks
13-Logan Kahler – 7 weeks (2)
14-Nathanial Brown – 8 weeks (2)
15-Jesse Howard – 8 weeks
16-Tamara Peterson – 11 weeks
17-Alexis Stensland – 16 weeks (2)
18-Mindi Terrell – 23 weeks (2)
19-Brandon Kahler – 48 weeks
20-Linda Bennett – 52 weeks
21-Sarah Toot – 53 weeks (3)
22-Angie DeWaard – 57 weeks
23-Dawn Krause – 61 weeks
24-Kim Barker – 67 weeks
25-Joe Duff – 68 weeks
26-Teresa Kahler – 79 weeks (2)
27-Carla Stensland – 79 weeks
28-Micky Augustin – 81 weeks
29-Andy Sharp – 82 weeks
30-Bill Wentworth – 83 weeks
31-Cathie Morton – 87 weeks
32-Elizabeth Nordeen – 88 weeks
33-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 90 weeks
34-Kio Dettman – 92 weeks (2)

But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates or streaks. You came to see the submissions and what streaks continued and what streaks flamed out:

Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa) – 93 weeks

Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa)

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Des Moines, Iowa) – 91 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 89 weeks

Cathie Morton (Norwalk, Iowa) – 88 weeks

Bill Wentworth (Omaha, Nebraska) – 84 weeks

Andy Sharp (Boone, Iowa) – 83 weeks

Micky Augustin (Moscow, Iowa) – 82 weeks

Carla Stensland (Eureka Springs, Arkansas) – 80 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Iowa) – 80 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Iowa)

Joe Duff (League City, Texas) – 69 weeks

Kim Barker (Dallas Center, Iowa) – 68 weeks

Dawn Krause (Boone, Iowa) – 62 weeks

Angie DeWaard (Between Cambridge and Huxley, Iowa) – 58 weeks

Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 53 weeks

Linda Bennett (Kansas)

Sarah Toot (Sedgefield Country Club Golf Course – Greensboro, North Carolina) – 54 weeks

Sarah Toot (Sedgefield Country Club Golf Course – Greensboro, North Carolina)

Brandon Kahler (Story City, Iowa) – 49 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Urbandale, Iowa) – 24 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Urbandale, Iowa)

Alexis Stensland (Ogden, Iowa) – 17 weeks

Alexis Stensland (east Des Moines, Iowa)

Alexis Stensland (Swaledale, Iowa)

Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 12 weeks

Nathanial Brown (Guthrie Center, Iowa) – 9 weeks

Jesse Howard (Ames, Iowa) – 9 weeks

Logan Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 8 weeks

Monica Jennings (Des Moines, Iowa) – 8 weeks

Sheri Fakhouri (Ankeny, Iowa) – 7 weeks

Sheri Fakhouri (Ankeny, Iowa)

Sabas Hernandez (Ankeny, Iowa) – 5 weeks

Suzie Brannen (Iowa) – 5 weeks

Scott Degeneffe (Near Boone, Iowa) – 4 weeks

Mike Vest (Madrid, Iowa) – 4 weeks

Willy McAlpine (Ledges State Park – Iowa) – 3 weeks

Becky Parmelee (Arkansas) – 2 weeks

Christopher D. Bennett (Madrid, Iowa)

31 participants! That is a pretty significant dip from recent weeks and the 35 of last week, but still a pretty great week of participation! Getting near that 30 participant average!

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Arkansas
+ Kansas
+ Iowa
+ Nebraska
+ North Carolina
+ Texas

Here is the current calendar year list for states:

+ Arizona
+ Arkansas
+ California
+ Colorado
+ Florida
+ Georgia
+ Illinois
+ Iowa
+ Kansas
+ Louisiana
+ Maryland
+ Michigan
+ Minnesota
+ Missouri
+ Montana
+ Nebraska
+ New Jersey
+ New York
+ Nevada
+ North Carolina
+ North Dakota
+ Ohio
+ Oklahoma
+ Oregon
+ Pennsylvania
+ South Dakota
+ Tennessee
+ Texas
+ Utah
+ Washington
+ Washington D.C.
+ Wisconsin
+ Wyoming

32 states and 1 district! That is pretty impressive! Over 60% of the way there!

The Outside of the United States map is currently:

+ British Virgin Islands
+ Mexico (General)
+ Isla Mujeres, Mexico
+ Riviera Maya, Mexico
+ Nassau Bahamas
+ Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

I took my picture about 15 miles from my front door. I continue not to help expand the map.

There were no huge milestones reached this week. But on the other hand there were a ton of streaks snapped. Oh, that is a bad thing. Jen, Evie, and Sara all turned out to be one and done. Mary had 3 week steak go belly up. Oh, the humanity!

But enough dwelling on the past. Time to look to the future. We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives. And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future! This week’s theme:

SELF-PORTRAIT

SELF-PORTRAIT! What a great theme for Year 10 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

I know what a few of you are thinking. You hate SELF-PORTRAITS or the cellular phone derivative the selfie. This is either because you don’t know you are a total smoke show and don’t like having your picture taken or you know that you are a total smoke show and don’t like sharing your smoke-showness with the rest of the world. Keep that smoke-showitude to yourself. Or you are in the witness relocation program and are worried that if your smoke-showness gets out in the world the mafia hitmen or whomever will come and extinguish your smoke show forever.

These are the only 3 possible reasons. However, if you are one of these people, I have good news for you! A SELF-PORTAIT doesn’t just have to be the standard selfie, where you are standing next to your friend, dog, or significant other. Where you hold your phone out in front of you and take a snap. That certainly works and I wouldn’t poo poo that one bit.

However, a SELF-PORTRAIT might not include your face at all. It might be a picture of your hands or your ear or whatever body part. It might not even include you at all. You could take a picture of another person taking a SELF-PORTRAIT. Just please don’t take a picture of you in your bathroom mirror with your dirty toilet in the background. Or do, I won’t judge. I might mail you some toilet cleaner, but I won’t judge.

You’ll figure it out.

While considering possible ways to do your SELF-PORTRAIT, meditate on this following quote and I have no doubt you will come up with an interesting image:

POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD

It is literally impossible to be a woman. You are so beautiful, and so smart, and it kills me that you don’t think you’re good enough. Like, we have to always be extraordinary, but somehow we’re always doing it wrong.

You have to be thin, but not too thin. And you can never say you want to be thin. You have to say you want to be healthy, but also you have to be thin. You have to have money, but you can’t ask for money because that’s crass. You have to be a boss, but you can’t be mean. You have to lead, but you can’t squash other people’s ideas. You’re supposed to love being a mother, but don’t talk about your kids all the damn time. You have to be a career woman but also always be looking out for other people. You have to answer for men’s bad behavior, which is insane, but if you point that out, you’re accused of complaining. You’re supposed to stay pretty for men, but not so pretty that you tempt them too much or that you threaten other women because you’re supposed to be a part of the sisterhood.

But always stand out and always be grateful. But never forget that the system is rigged. So find a way to acknowledge that but also always be grateful. You have to never get old, never be rude, never show off, never be selfish, never fall down, never fail, never show fear, never get out of line.

It’s too hard! It’s too contradictory and nobody gives you a medal or says thank you! And it turns out in fact that not only are you doing everything wrong, but also everything is your fault.

I’m just so tired of watching myself and every single other woman tie herself into knots so that people will like us.

Now I know that sorta singles women out, but I think parts of it Ken speak a bit to men who sometimes wonder if they are Kenough. I’m here to tell you brother, you are Kenough.

And for the record, if there are any women out there that have seen the BARBIE movie and need some of the intricacies of it (like the 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY parody opening) mansplained to you, I’ve got your back. I’ve been told I’m pretty good at mansplaining. I think that was a compliment. Don’t tell me if it is not.

Sorry, were you talking? I was just thinking about Matchbox 20 and how they are my jam.

And I’m a little bit angry, well. This ain’t over, no, not here. Not while I still need you around. You don’t owe me, we might change, yeah. Yeah, we just might feel good I wanna push you around. Well, I will, well, I will. I wanna push you down. Well, I will, well, I will. I wanna take you for granted.

I look forward to seeing your interpretation!

RULES

The picture has to be taken between 12:01 PM today and 11 AM next Monday. This isn’t a curate your photos project. This is a get your butt off the couch (unless you are taking your picture from the couch) and take pictures challenge. There is a limit of 3 submissions per participant. To be considered the photographer, you have to be the one that takes the picture. Don’t be stealing the work of other artists. You can submit pictures for other photographers that took pictures with your camera or phone, but give credit where credit is due.

You can send your images to either bennett@photography139.com OR you may text them to my Pixel 5.

That is it. Thems the rules!

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing your idea of SELF-PORTAIT in this place that is a millions of lines of code to make one giant selfie next Monday.

Kim, Lowell, Night, Self-Portrait, Street Photography, Travel, Work

The Windy City: Day 6

July 28, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

Time for the final collection of pictures from my work trip to Chicago for the Computer Mine. Day 6 was the last day of The Big Convention. It is the slowest day and ends with everybody leaving except for me, Lowell, Kim, and Tony. We sit around for anywhere between an hour to 4 hours waiting for the crates for our equipment to be brought so we can pack up and hit the road. In Miami it was close to 4 hours. In Chicago it was about an hour.

Here is that collection:

What was left in the snack closet.

A Computer Mine competitor.

People in Chicago don’t even care about the White Sox.

Another Computer Mine competitor.

Next year the Big Convention is in New Orleans.

Best part of the Big Convention.

Being torn down.

Tony sent this picture to his mom. She didn’t enjoy it.

All in all it was a good trip. But it is time to start sharing pictures of different trips that I have taken. Still haven’t shared pictures from the Christmas Lighted Parade in Oskaloosa…

Andy, Birthdays, Naima, Self-Portrait, Still Life, Tenderloining, Teresa

I Scream: Polk City Field Work

July 9, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

Today is Naima’s birthday! But you already know that because it is on the physical Photography 139 Calendar and because I have no doubt that many of you have shown up today to shower her with gifts.

Happy birthday Naima!

I hope it was a great birthday! I hope we went for a car ride or to the park or you got some alley time or you got to poop in the neighbor’s yard or that Stan gave you treats or maybe even I even took you to church or out to lunch or we went to Dairy Queen for a pup cup or that I got you a new pig or a new hedge hog or a new area rug. I hope we did some or all of these things. But I know for sure you got more than your fair share of treats.

Happy birthday Naima!

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A few Sundays back Teresa, Andy, and I went out for lunch after church. After lunch, which we ate at Jester Park, Teresa and I went looking for ice cream.

I saw this sign hanging in a Jester Park bathroom:

But when we showed up at the Jester Park Outdoor Recreation & Wellness center, they didn’t have any ice cream. They had sold out the previous day. However, since we were near Polk City, we busted over there to try The Creamery.

Located on the Polk City Town Square, it is easy to find.

The day we were there, there was a long line that extended out the door. But the staff was efficient and we got through quickly.

If I remember correctly, I went with Ultimate Brownie. What I do remember for sure is that it was delicious! I believe they serve Ashby ice cream, which always hits the spot.

Of course, you know I subscribe to the Ted Lasso philosophy on ice cream:

Ice cream is the best. It’s kinda like seeing Billy Joel perform live. Never disappoints.

I would definitely hit up The Creamery if I was near Polk City again. But I would get something different than my standard cone. I saw this kid get some kind of bubble gum ice cream thing and it looked amazing. I don’t know what it was, but I want one.

You can find The Creamery at:

221 West Broadway
Polk City, Iowa

It is open during the summer from 12 PM to 9 PM seven days a week.

For next Sunday’s food adventure, I didn’t even leave my house.

Birthdays, Jen, Jesse, Michelle, Nader, Road Trip, Self-Portrait, Still Life, Tenderloining

Tenderloin Trail 2.0 – Graettinger Field Work

July 2, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

A pox upon me for a clumsy lout. Yesterday I forgot to wish Jen a happy birthday in this forum. (Don’t worry I still wished her a happy birthday in another forum. It is called text messaging. Kids, ask your parents what that is.)

So happy birthday Jen!

Happy birthday!

I know you were on the road for a good chunk of the day, but I hope it was still a day full of joy and wonder.

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After we left the bakery in Sioux Center, we drove east to Graettinger for lunch. In Graettinger there is a restaurant I’ve long wanted to eat at. It is on Tenderloin Trail 2.0, it was once the runner up for best tenderloin in the state of Iowa (meaning the world), and it was one of the 10 finalists for best burger in the state of Iowa this year.

There is no way to hide it. This was one of the best tenderloins I’ve ever had and one of the best burgers I’ve ever had. I ordered a tenderloin and Jesse ordered a burger and then we cut them both in half and swapped. Like an old married couple. Or like is somewhat expected when you go on a food adventure with me. Unless you have a notoriously unrefined palette.

I would say, not only was the burger great and the tenderloin great, so were the fries, the cheesy fries, the cheese curds and the brownie. Also, equally awesome was the owner/manager/chef Barry. We must have talked with Barry about food for close to an hour.

Here are the pictures:

Birdies, Burgers, & Brews - Graettinger, Iowa

That is an inexpensive tenderloin. 9 bucks and a side????

I wanted Jesse to go for the Peanut Butter Burger, but he pussed out and got the The Hole in One Burger. But I can’t say he made a mistake.

So many starters I want to try here.

Cheese balls.

Hillcrest fries. So delicious.

That is homemade beer cheese sauce.

Homemade ranch dressing.

You don’t let any of that cheese sauce go to waste.

Those are sweet potato fries and they were the only miss. But easily forgivable.

The Hole in One Burger.

Their Award Winning Fries.

Nader got the Wisconsin Rancher.

1st bite of the tenderloin.

Jesse first bite of the burger.

Jesse’s first tenderloin bite.

Last bite of the tenderloin.

My first bite of the burger.

View from our table.

The brownie. More on that later.

PrairieMoon on Main in Prairieburg won in 2020, I haven’t had it, but I will someday soon.

Hometowns of people that have eaten there from Iowa.

From the United States.

From the world.

They also have a hot wings challenge that only requires you to eat one wing.

While this might cost me a little bit of street cred on the tenderloin circuit, but I confess that I liked the burger better than the tenderloin. But I would knock down either one in a second.

Birdie’s, Burgers, & Brews ranks the highest on my restaurant scale, it gets the rating of:

I would pursue eating at this restaurant!

I would gladly eat there again. It is over 2 hours from my house and I would gladly drive it to eat there again.

A note, I bought the brownie, but I did not eat it there because I was full and I had plans for ice cream on the trip home.

After Graettinger we stopped in West Bend because Jesse and Nader had never seen The Grotto of the Redemption. I thought there was an ice cream place in West Bend, and there is, (Homestead Country Store) but it was closed. Which means I will have to get back to West Bend to eat there at some point.

Instead, we stopped in Fort Dodge and ate at The Dariette. The Dariette isn’t a new experience for me. I’ve eaten there a few times and it is a favorite of longtime Photography 139 supporter Michelle.

Here are a few pictures:

Blue raspberry.

Delicious blue raspberry.

The crew.

You know I have the Ted Lasso policy on ice cream:

Ice cream is the best. It’s kinda like seeing Billy Joel perform live. Never disappoints.

The Dariette’s specializes in soft serve ice cream. The flavors change weekly. Michelle recommends their peach, but I’ve never had it. I’ve never had anything that disappoints…

You can find The Dariette at:

17 S. 12th Street
Fort Dodge, Iowa

It is a little tricky to find and get to, so if you miss the turn a few times. Don’t feel shame. If you do, the ice cream will wipe that away once you figure out how to get to it.

But back to the brownie…

I might have left Birdies, Burgers & Brews without the brownie, but it comes with a great story. Well, I think it is cool. Barry (the owner/manager/chef) uses a lot of recipes from the 1920s that he learned when he was a cook in a hospital in Kansas. I know there is a stigma with hospital food, but maybe not from the 1920s. Or at least there shouldn’t be.

The brownie recipe isn’t from the hospital though. It is his great, great grandmother’s recipe:

His great, great grandmother could cook, cause this brownie slaps, as they say. I even ate it when it was at least a day old and it still slaps!

I can’t say enough good things about Birdies, Burgers, & Brews!

You can find it at:

701 South Cedar Avenue
Graettinger, Iowa

It is located on the grounds of the Hillcrest Golf & Country Club. I confess, I’ve been surprised on my food adventures that so many golf course serve an excellent tenderloin. I’m blue collar as it gets and I come from a blue collar background. The tenderloin is a blue collar sandwich. Ain’t nothing blue collar about golf. But if golf courses keep turning out food like this, I might change my tune on golf courses.

But right now I’m still in the George Carlin camp on golf.

Next Sunday’s food adventure will involve ice cream.

Art, Flowers, Jesse, Nader, Road Trip, Self-Portrait, Still Life, Street Photography, Tenderloining

Flapjackin’: Orange City Field Work

June 25, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett 4 Comments

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!

These 2 old guys and their bad backs…

The craft market.

Windmill!

Tulips!

Canal!

Tour of Orange City!

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!

The poffertjes magicians.

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.

Fried Almond Patty

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:

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.

Windmill.

On our way to the call we ran into a Dutch chorus.

A sweet float.

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:

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

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!

Art, Black & White, Commercial, Drone, FNSC, Jesse, Railroad, Ruins, Self-Portrait, Willy

Bottled Bliss

June 24, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

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:

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

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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.

Bethany, Birthdays, Elizabeth, Jesse, Kim, Nora, Self-Portrait, Still Life, Tenderloining

Food Truckin’: Ames Food Truck Showdown Field Work

June 18, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

Today is Bethany’s birthday, so happy birthday Bethany!

I hope your birthday has all the happiness you can handle!

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About a month back, Kim and I met Elizabeth in downtown Ames for a “Food Truck Showdown” after a hard day of swinging the pick at the Computer Mine. Then after Jesse laid down his pick for the day, he joined us too. The event consisted of about a dozen food trucks that were competing to win some kind of prize. It was WAY busier than I expected. I had hoped to try multiple food trucks, but the place was packed and the lines were crazy long. In fact, I don’t think Elizabeth even got to try any food before she had to take off to do some adulting.

After making a loop around the place I decided on a place called Hotsy Totsy*. A food truck, that in addition to having an amazing name serves a wide variety of loaded tots. They serve other stuff, but when going to a food truck called Hotsy Totsy, you get the tots and you like it!

And I did! In fact I more than liked the tots. I loved them. I ordered the Buffalo Chicken Tots. Kim got the Gyro Tots. Jesse didn’t get anything. Can’t take him anywhere.

Here are some pictures:

A picture of Elizabeth bailing that I didn’t realize I had taken.

How can so much goodness exist in such a little container?

I may have licked the paper. It is hard to say.

Kim couldn’t finish off her gyro tots, so she twisted my arm and I finished those off as well. I did love the Buffalo Chicken Tots, but I think I like the Gyro Tots even more. It’s a real Sophie’s Tots Choice.

After letting the tots settle we ambled down the street to get some ice cream being made by a John Deere, I don’t really know exactly what it is, thing. It doesn’t matter what it is. If it is John Deere, I’m onboard.

I stand by the old Ted Lasso quote:

Ice cream is the best. It’s kinda like seeing Billy Joel perform live. Never disappoints.

It wasn’t the best ice cream I’ve ever had, but it was still ice cream.

I’m not sure how much my tots cost because Kim bought them for my birthday. The ice cream was $5.00.

I can’t tell you much about Hotsy Totsy because their website isn’t the best, but it is definitely a food truck I would pursue if they were in my area!

The ice cream… there are better options around.

The next food adventure I’m going to share involves a bunch of Dutch nonsense. Delicious Dutch nonsense.

*Hotsy Totsy was heavily endorsed by Clevenger. This is historically a strike against it. I’ve never met anybody with such bad taste in food as Clevenger, but with Hotsy Totsy I think we may have turned a corner and found some common ground.

Self-Portrait, Still Life, Tenderloining

Food Truckin’: North Grand Mall Field Work

June 11, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

A couple Fridays back I actually got to leave work early on a Friday. Due to our staffing levels, that has been a pretty rare phenomenon. Frequently if I take off early when working from home, I will celebrate by driving over to Jefferson and hitting A&W. I enjoy the simple things in life. Don’t judge. Or do. I’ll sleep the same either way.

Since I’ve been working exclusively from the Computer Mine the last several weeks, Jefferson felt a touch too far. Instead, I decided to celebrate getting set free early by hitting a food truck. As luck would have it, the food truck On the Hook was selling their whares in the North Grand Mall parking lot.

As the whistle blew, setting me free from my wage slave shackles for a few days, I bid a fond adieu to my fellow miners and headed up north.

On the Hook is a food truck that specializes in fish and chips. From their website (onthehookfishanchips.com):

On the Hook specializes in line-caught wild Alaskan cod fish and chips. We begin with the highest quality cod sourced from the cold clean waters of Alaska. This, however, is not just any Alaskan cod. Our cod is caught using hook and line, brought aboard individually, and immediately headed, gutted, and flash-frozen. This ensures a perfectly preserved fresh-caught quality and tenderness. We hand-coat our cod with our home-made beer batter, created by our founders over months of experimenting. To top it off, our founders also created signature dipping sauces for each meal to create the perfect dish.

It isn’t a local food truck (so Logan would be proud of me). It is a franchise of some sort. They have food trucks in about 15 states. They do come to Boone every once in awhile, so it isn’t exactly a new food adventure. However, it had been a minute since I’ve eaten there, so it felt worthy of documenting.

To cut to the chase, they sell a pretty good fish and chips.

Here are some pictures:

You could be next fish in the Ada Haydn pond!

$15.00 feels pretty steep for fish and chips, but I can’t deny that this meal did fill me up.

It was a tasty meal, although it did taste like they were a touch past the time where they should have changed out their oil.

I would definitely get food from On the Hook again, but if I was in Ames and was feeling the need for fish and chips, I would go to the Mucky Duck.

Next food adventure will also involve a food truck.

Alexis, Andy, Angie, Becky, Bill, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Contests, Dawn, Elizabeth, Flowers, Jesse, Joe Duff, Kim, Kio, Linda, Logan, Mary, Micky, Mindi, Monica, Nader, Naima, Nathanial, Pufferbilly Days, Sabas, Sara, Sarah Toot, Scottie D., Self-Portrait, Shannon, Steph, Suzie, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 401 – HAPPY

May 22, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

I mailed out a postcard to the entrants of last years Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest last week. I hear they still haven’t arrived in people’s mailboxes. Thought I would share the postcard here, since many of you entered last year or have kids or grandkids that entered. Or hopefully many of you are thinking of entering this year for the first time. Monica designed the postcard. Have a look:

There are 6 Photo Classes this year:
+ Animals
+ Black & White
+ People
+ Places
+ Plants
+ Trains, Planes, & Automobiles

There are 3 Age Divisions:
+ Youth (7-12)
+ Teen (13-17)
+ Adult (18+)

Hopefully many of you enter again and many more of you are inspired to enter this year. Or inspired to have your kids or grandkids enter.

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REMINDER THAT NEXT MONDAY IS MEMORIAL DAY. WHILE YOUR BANK AND THE GOVERNMENT AND A BUNCH OF OTHER BUSINESSES TAKE THE DAY OFF, THERE IS NO REST FOR PHOTOGRAPHY 139. RISE AND GRIND EVERY SINGLE DAY. I DON’T KNOW WHAT MY PLANS ARE FOR MEMORIAL DAY (OTHER THAN MAYBE SLEEPING LATE AFTER WHAT I HOPE IS AN EPIC MOVIE NIGHT ON SUNDAY) BUT IT MIGHT INCLUDE A ROAD TRIP OR A BARBECUE OR A FEW OTHER OPTIONS THAT MIGHT KEEP ME BUSY. LIKEWISE YOU MIGHT BE ENGAGED IN A SIMILAR ACTIVITY ON MONDAY MORNING. YOU MIGHT NOT GET A REMINDER AND YOU MIGHT NOT BE IN A POSITION TO SUBMIT. PLAN ACCORDINGLY.

HAPPY! Many people claim to like to be HAPPY, but did many people actually get a picture of somebody that is HAPPY or of something that makes them HAPPY? You’ll have to keep scrolling to find out!

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, May 15, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore the numbers in parentheses):

1-Nathanial Brown – 1 week
2-Tamara Peterson – 1 week
3-Sabas Hernandez – 3 weeks
4-Mike Vest – 3 weeks
5-Alexis Baugher – 6 weeks (3)
6-Jesse Howard – 6 weeks
7-Mindi Terrell – 13 weeks (2)
8-Monica Jennings – 18 weeks (2)
9-Brandon Kahler – 38 weeks (2)
10-Linda Bennett – 42 weeks
11-Sarah Toot – 43 weeks
12-Angie DeWaard – 47 weeks
13-Dawn Krause – 51 weeks (2)
14-Kim Barker – 57 weeks
15-Joe Duff – 58 weeks
16-Logan Kahler – 60 weeks
17-Teresa Kahler – 69 weeks (2)
18-Carla Stensland – 69 weeks (2)
19-Micky Augustin – 71 weeks
20-Andy Sharp – 72 weeks (3)
21-Bill Wentworth – 73 weeks
22-Cathie Morton – 77 weeks
23-Elizabeth Nordeen – 78 weeks
24-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 80 weeks
25-Kio Dettman – 82 weeks (2)

But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates or streaks. You came to see the submissions and what streaks continued and what streaks flamed out:

Kim Barker (Iowa) – 58 weeks

Nader Parasei (Orange City, Iowa) – 1 week

Micky Augustin (Iowa) – 72 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 79 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa)

Scott Degeneffe (Rural Boone County, Iowa) – 1 week

Melissa Degeneffe (Ankeny, Iowa) – 1 week

Melissa Degeneffe (Erb Pond – Boone County, Iowa)

Alexis Baugher (Iowa) – 7 weeks

Alexis Baugher (Iowa)

Bill Wentworth (Nebraska) – 74 weeks

Carla Stensland (Iowa) – 70 weeks

Kio Dettman (Iowa) – 83 weeks

Kio Dettman (Iowa)

Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 43 weeks

Mary Green (Iowa) – 1 week

Mary Green (Iowa)

Sarah Toot (Pennsylvania) – 44 weeks

Sarah Toot (Pennsylvania)

Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 2 weeks

Angie DeWaard (Living History Farms – Urbandale, Iowa) – 48 weeks

Christopher D. Bennett (Orange City, Iowa)

Joe Duff (Texas) – 59 weeks

Joe Duff (Texas)

Andy Sharp (Iowa) – 73 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Iowa) – 70 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Iowa)

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Iowa) – 81 weeks

Sabas Hernandez (Iowa) – 4 weeks

Nathanial Brown (Iowa) – 2 weeks

Nathanial Brown (Iowa)

Sara Lockner (Iowa) – 1 week

Sara Lockner (Iowa)

Suzie Brannen (Ottumwa, Iowa) – 1 week

Suzie Brannen (Ottumwa, Iowa)

Mindi Terrell (Iowa) – 14 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa)

Logan Kahler (Iowa) – 61 weeks

Jesse Howard (West Bend, Iowa) – 7 weeks

Jesse Howard (Iowa)

Dawn Krause (Iowa) – 52 weeks

Dawn Krause (Iowa)

Brandon Kahler (Iowa) – 39 weeks

Cathie Morton (Norwalk, Iowa) – 78 weeks

Becky Parmelee (Arkansas) – 1 week

Monica Jennings (Roland, Iowa) – 19 weeks

Stephanie Kim (Brooklyn, New York) – 1 week

Mike Vest (Iowa) – 4 weeks

34 participants! That is an amazing week! I know for sure it is the high for this calendar year and it might be the highest of all-time. I’ll have to check my records and get back to you.

Particularly exciting was first ever submissions from Nader and Melissa. I don’t expect Nader to be a regular contributor, but you never know. But with Melissa, there is some hope!

Also, Stephanie had her first submission this year. I don’t know if this will lead to regular or even irregular submissions or not. We will just wait and see.

There were no new states added to the map this week and at this point, I’m betting new states added will be an increasingly rare thing. Time will tell.

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Iowa
+ Kansas
+ Nebraska
+ New York
+ Pennsylvania
+ Texas

Here is the current calendar year list for states:

+ Arizona
+ Arkansas
+ California
+ Colorado
+ Florida
+ Georgia
+ Illinois
+ Iowa
+ Kansas
+ Nebraska
+ New Jersey
+ New York
+ Nevada
+ Michigan
+ Minnesota
+ Missouri
+ North Dakota
+ Ohio
+ Oklahoma
+ Pennsylvania
+ South Dakota
+ Texas
+ Utah
+ Washington D.C.
+ Wisconsin
+ Wyoming

25 states and 1 district! That is pretty impressive! Over halfway there!

The Outside of the United States map is currently:

+ British Virgin Islands
+ Mexico
+ Nassau Bahamas
+ Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

I took my picture about 175 miles from my front door, so I continue to not contribute.

There was one major milestone this week! Dawn joined the 52 Week Club! One straight year of weekly submissions. Congratulations Dawn!

There were no streaks snapped!

PARK

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

But what in the John Culbertson is a PARK image? Simply put, it is a picture taken in a PARK. And there are all sorts of PARKs. There are city, state, national, baseball, softball, playgrounds, nature preserves, urban, pocket, sculpture gardens, cultural… just to name a few. Of course, there is more than one definition of PARK.

While considering a possible subject for your PARK submission, meditate on the following quote and I have no doubt you will come up with an inspiring image.

The fundamental idea behind the parks is native. It is, in brief, that the country belongs to the people, that it is in process of making for the enrichment of the lives of all of us. The parks stand as the outward symbol of the great human principle.
Franklin D. Roosevelt

I look forward to seeing your interpretation.

RULES

You can send your images to either bennett@photography139.com OR you may text them to my Pixel 5.

That is it. Thems the rules!

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing your idea of PARK in this place that I believe brings a bit of respite for some next Monday.

Animals, Logan, Self-Portrait, Still Life, Tenderloining

Burgertime: Grimes Field Work

May 21, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

A couple Saturdays back after Logan and I did some photography for Sleeping Angels, we need to get a meal. We were going to eat burgers and dogs with the motorcyclists (if time permitted) but the map mishap cost us that chance. So after we concluded taking pictures by the Mile Long Bridge, we searched out sustenance. (You might see the word sustenance being used more on this bat channel because I am no longer allowed to use it at the Computer Mine.)

We stumbled across a road sign for a place called “Destination Grille” in Grimes. I had never heard of it and thought it might be some small town greasy spoon, this guy’s favorite type of restaurant, but it was not. It is in a giant building. I don’t know anything about it, but I can tell you that beaucoup dinero went into getting this place up and going. This was a fancy pants restaurant. Perfect for two dudes that were just tromping around in a bunch of mud under a bridge. One of us taking pictures of what I will describe as a painting of hairy strawberries with a weird stem that has wings coming off of it. A picture that would become a topic of conversation at his dinner that night, but that is a story I, I mean “he” will keep to himself and that text chat group.

We were both pretty famished by then, so we grabbed a seat and looked over their menu.

We started with the Mexican Street Corn Dip ($15.00). It was described on the menu as “Spicy, cheesy corn dip with cauliflower pita chips”.

I’m just going to cut to the chase. This is one of the best appetizers I’ve had in my life. I’d put this on the list of my favorite appetizers. A list that consists of Black and Tan Onion Rings from Dublin Bay, Irish Nachos from Dublin Bay, Fried Mushrooms from Wallaby’s, Reuben Eggrolls from Whiskey River, this weird fried cheese wheel I once had in Pittsburgh, and the Chicken Nacho’s at Skip’s. I am sure there are more, but those are the ones that come to mind off the top of my head.

I had the Candied Bacon Cheeseburger ($16.00) which the menu describes as “1/2 pound patty, candied bacon, 5-cheese blend, toasted brioche bun”. For my side I had the artichokes. The sides don’t appear on their online menu, so I can’t give you a better description of that.

Candied Bacon Cheeseburger

Logan had the Pastrami Reuben ($15.00) which the menu describes as “House-made sliced pastrami, sauerkraut, Swiss Cheese, thousand islands, marble rye”. He had fries for his side.

Pastrami Reuben

The big picture is that my burger wasn’t all that great. I would not get it again. However, I did love my artichoke side. Logan also loved his Reuben and his fries.

“The 5 Cheese Blend” was a disappointment.

The bacon wasn’t that great either actually.

But I still ate it all. I might have licked the dish the artichokes came in.

$28.36. Before tip. But in retrospect, I should have bought Logan’s meal too.

This combination hand dryer/water faucet was the truth though. Worth the price of admission.

How could anybody eat such an adorable creature?

The bottom line is that I would eat there again. I don’t know I would pursue it, if I wasn’t already in the area. But if I did, it would be for that Mexican Street Corn Dip.

Destination Grille is located at:

3941 East 1st
Grimes, Iowa