Category Archives: Still Life

Becca, Bethany, Billy, Birthdays, Colleen, Dory, J.T., Jonah, Nate, Nora, Still Life, Tenderloining

Salad Shooting: Ames Field Work

May 28, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

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

I hope it is as magical as you want it to be!

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On the health spectrum, this post is about a food item that couldn’t be more on the opposite end of the “healthy eating” spectrum than a tenderloin if it tried. Not that a tenderloin is the most unhealthy thing you can eat. That is probably cheesy fries. But it is no secret that any fried food is unhealthy. Delicious, but unhealthy.

Now a salad? They are usually pretty healthy. Unless you add unhealthy elements to it, like fried chicken. And then coat it with ranch or Caesar dressing. Or any salad dressing with the word “creamy” in it. However, I think we can all agree that ranch dressing does not belong on salad. It only belongs as a dipping sauce for things like onion rings and fried mushrooms and fried cheese and buffalo wings. Caesar salad doesn’t belong anywhere.

Ames recently had a new salad restaurant open. It is extremely unique. It is drive-thru only. Why? Because they grow all the greens inside the building.

This is what their website (https://www.claytonfarms.com/salads) says:

Welcome to Clayton Farms Salads, a drive-thru restaurant that is all about fresh, healthy, and smart eating. Our greens are grown onsite, ensuring that our salads and smoothies are the freshest in the world. Whether you’re on the go or simply looking for a quick and nutritious meal, we’ve got you covered with our delicious menu options. From bright and colorful salads, to refreshing and energizing smoothies, we’ve got everything you need, to fuel your day the healthiest way. So why wait? Swing through our drive-thru to taste the difference yourself, or to order delivery!

I think it is a brilliant idea! If you can keep up with demand. Despite that, I have a couple friends who loaded up their haterade with extra hate just to make sure they had enough hate for this restaurant. They are actively rooting against Clayton Farms Salads being successful. One has gone so far as to proclaim:

October of 2024, gentlemen. Mark me. “Salad Dreams” or whatever its called will have shuttered by then.

I have marked it on the calendar Jay.

They started with 4 salads and recently added a 5th salad:
+ Garden Salad
+ Caesar Salad
+ Crunch Asian Salad
+ Southwest Salad
+ Mediterranean Salad

To cut to the chase, it is the best salad(s) I’ve ever had in my life. The freshness of the greens is incredible and it makes a huge difference in the taste. I put the experience like this… it must be what it would be like to not be from Iowa, visit Iowa and then stop at a Peaches and Cream corn stand. Pick up some corn and go home and cook it. For them, it would be like eating corn for the first time in their life.

I’m not trying too hard to rely on Plato’s ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE for this example.

So let me put it another way. It is like the difference between cooking with produce you purchased at a big chain grocery store vs with ingredients you bought at a farmer’s market. If you know anybody that works in a grocery store warehouse, ask them about the room they use to ripen bananas. It will blow your mind.

Or one last example…

It was like the first time I got a watermelon in Muscatine County in the height of watermelon season.

That is what my first salad at Clayton Farms Salads was like. It was like I had never had a salad before. (By looking at me, it is possible you think that I’ve never had a salad in my life, but I love vegetables. I also love a good order of cheesy fries too.)

Here are some pictures of my Clayton Farms Salads experiences:

“Our greens are BETTER” is an understatement.

This guy is a member.

Southwest Salad

All the salads come with Salad Girl Dressing which is an organic line of dressings.

Even their forks are compostable.

Caesar Salad

Garden Salad

Farmer’s Punch – also delicious.

Crunchy Asian Salad

Mediterranean Salad

I’d rank the salads like this:

1. Garden Salad – romaine, sunflower microgreens, red onions, green onions, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, pistachios. and lemony herb dressing.
2. Crunch Asian Salad – romaine, pea microgreens, purple cabbage, edanmae, carrots, green onions, red bell peppers, mandarin oranges, sliced almonds, crunchy chow mein noodles, toasted sesame ginger vinaigrette.
3. Mediterranean Salad – butterhead/arugula, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, feta cheese, garbanzo beans, red bell peppers, red onions, sliced almonds, lemony herb dressing.
4. Caesar Salad – romaine, broccoli microgreens, cucumber, parmesan cheese, croutons, lemony Caesar dressing.
5. Southwest Salad – butterhead, radish microgreens, orange & yellow bell pepper, black beans, red onion, sweet corn, cherry tomatoes, butternut squash, avocado, pepitas, cilantro, chili limon dressing.

I’m not going to lie, when you add protein to the salad, it isn’t cheap. Each salad runs almost or over $15 after you add chicken. A dollar more if you add steak. At this point, I consider a meal that is under $15 as affordable. If I get a meal for less than $10, I alert the media.

The ultimate verdict is, would I pursue this meal? Yes I would. In fact, since I’m currently working in Ames 5 days a week, I pretty much eat here once a week.

You can find Clayton Farms Salads here:

2435 Grand Avenue
Ames, Iowa

They are open Monday through Saturday from 10 AM to 8 PM.

The next food adventure will be a road trip double dip.

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

Burgertime: Grimes Field Work

May 21, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

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

Alexis, Anders, Andree, Angie, Art, Baier, Bill, Black & White, Carla, Elizabeth, Jason, Jay, Kelly, Kim, Lowell, Michelle, Micky, Nader, Nathanial, Night, Sara, Sarah Toot, Shannon, Shawn Lockner, Steph, Still Life, Street Photography, Teresa, Travel, WPC - Reminder

The Windy City: Day 1B

May 19, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

I need to start out by thanking everyone that wished me a happy birthday. I believe this is a comprehensive list of everybody that wished me a happy birthday.

+ Kim and also thank you for buying me birthday Buffalo Chicken tots and the card.
+ Ron, Clevenger, Jordan, and Aaron. Although I may have bought those birthday wishes with donuts.
+ Elizabeth and also thanks for buying me candy bars I know you don’t like but the real thanks goes for looking for my favorite candy bars the Whatchamacallit and the Take 5! You are the real hero! Also, glad you are digging SHRINKING! Such a great show!
+ Steph. My birthday buddy, I hope FAST X was everything you wanted to be and I’m trying not to lose just a smidge of respect that you went to it.
+ Jesse – Sorry I was so aggressive in accusing you of eating all the mystery cheese.
+ Nader – Thanks for the frog statue!
+ Shannon- half credit for including a picture of a gross cat with your birthday wishes.
+ Michelle – good job taking a three day weekend to celebrate my birth.
+ Jay – doesn’t look like you got any rhubarb. It isn’t going to pick itself.
+ Kelly – thanks for the kind words. Not necessary, but thanks.
+ Angie – hope the postcard arrives soon.
+ Monica – thanks for sending me the picture of me in my Hulkster phase.
+ Suzie – thanks for knowing the proper animal to include in a happy birthday wish!
+ Jason – glad you are feeling better!
+ Bill – thanks for replying “no problem” when I said “thanks”. Don’t know why, but that amused me.
+ Sara Lockner – thanks for almost using enough exclamation marks in your birthday wishes!
+ Shawn – I’m sorry your wife used up all the world’s supply of punctuation in her birthday wishes and there wasn’t any punctuation left for yours.
+ Faust – thanks for pretending that banking sounds fun.
+ Teresa – thanks but I have my doubts you know who Dwight Schrute is.
+ Anders – I don’t know if it was a great one, but I’m sure May Movie Night will be.
+ Sarah Toot – Thanks for thinking I have the slightest clue what emoticons mean. Don’t feel pressure to do better next year.
+ Alexis – thanks for letting me think today was my day.
+ Baier and Dre – We didn’t have much interaction, but thanks for thinking of me.
+ Micky – thanks for multiple birthday wishes. It isn’t a contest, but if it was I think Elizabeth won. At least I think that is what she yelled at me as I walked out the door. But your message was the closest I came to having cake today. So that is something.
+ Lori – thanks, no need to apologize for transferring me my favorite kind of call, even if I really shouldn’t have been first in queue. Hope things went well today.
+ Mark – thanks. I suppose I should learn when your birthday is. Also stop using your desk for storage. Nah!
+ Lowell – thanks for the gift card. I like to think you would get me one even if the company didn’t require it.
+ Carla – thanks for getting your birthday wishes in right before the buzzer.
+ Nathanial – thanks for the final birthday wishes of my day.

I think that is the list. I think that is everybody that wished me a happy birthday! Thanks everyone!

If you are wondering what I did for my birthday, it was nothing super spectacular. It was mostly an average day.

I woke up about 5:54 AM. A little late for me. I was up late last night watching the NBA Playoffs. Then trying to watch the season finale of THE CURSE OF OAK ISLAND. Dang it! This wasn’t the season they actually found treasure. And I was so sure! I also ate fried food the night before. I’m trying to eat healthier, so it is fairly rare I eat fried food these days, he said hoping that there were people that believed him. Point is I slept in. It was my birthday. Cut me some slack!

I’m not sure what I did when I first got out of bed. I think I moved to the couch and watched the news for a little bit. Then I went outside and watered the flowers. I also took apart the trunk in the Camry. I had a slight gas spill in the trunk the night before and it was creating a pretty strong smell in the rest of the car. Then I took a shower. Brushed my teeth. Got dressed. But on cologne option #2. Said goodbye to Naima. Got in the Camry. Headed out.

There is an old birthday tradition at the Computer Mine where on your birthday you bring in food for the other employees. On a good day, there are about 10 employees in the building. (On a great day there is less.) On this day, half those people were gone for various reasons. On my way to work I stopped at the Dutch Oven Bakery and picked up a dozen donuts for my co-workers.

This is a small detail of what transpired on my birthday, but perhaps one of my favorite things that happened.

I left the donuts in the breakroom and then sent an email out to the people I knew would be in the building. Here is the backstory.

About 2 weeks, Elizabeth brought in a dozen donuts from a bakery in Nevada. (For the record, and I might get rode out of Boone on a rail for saying this, these donuts buried the ones from Dutch Oven.) She cut all the donuts in half. Now I feel like I shouldn’t have to explain why, but I will. She cut them in half so that people could try multiple donuts and multiple people could try the same donut.

Back to my birthday. Based on my current work schedule, Ron gets to the building about 30 minutes before I do. Elizabeth gets to the office about 15-30 minutes after me. She is in Special Forces so she can come and go as she pleases. I guess that is really more backstory, for what I’m promising you isn’t much payoff.

So back to that email. I explained in the email that there were donuts in the breakroom for my birthday. I didn’t cut them in half (cause I’m lazy – I didn’t write that, but it was in the subtext) but maybe when Elizabeth got here she would cut the donuts in half. I added that this wasn’t sexist on my part, just she is very passionate about the donut cutting thing.

Here is the “payoff”. I’m telling you that the ink wasn’t dry on that email before Ron was standing next to my cubicle. He wished me a happy birthday and then said that he was going to go get a donut quick before Elizabeth got here and cut them in half.

I said it wasn’t much of a payoff, but I thought it was hilarious.

I think it was somewhere in here I went to take a Snap of the donuts to keep my Streaks going with Logan (501), Brandon (257), Nathanial (89), Fran (37), and Alexis (23).

Somewhere after this, Elizabeth did come in. She did not cut all the donuts in half, but she did cut the donuts she tried in half. Take that Ron! She also brought me candy! So the day was off to a great start.

After that I put in a good solid 8 hours for The Man. I was a problem solving machine. Well to be honest, in the morning I mostly did a lot of rando stuff. I think the highlight of my morning (besides the other stuff I’ve highlighted) was being on hold with a customer for about 30 minutes as they repeatedly rebooted their computer before announcing, I’ll have to call you back.

Then came my lunchbreak. I did point out that I am trying to eat healthier. That means (amongst other things) that I only drink pop once a week. I’m pretty much completely off fast food. I rarely eat fried foods. This means that one of my favorite haunts, B-Bop’s has been off the table. But I figured it was my birthday, I could treat myself to B-Bop’s.

I drove halfway across Ames and got the #2 with Cheese with a Large Pepsi.

Sidebar: A great birthday present would have been the B-Bops across the street from the Computer Mine opening back up so I don’t have to drive completely across tarnation to get B-Bops goodness. They have been remodeling for months now! How long does it take to remodel a restaurant that doesn’t have a dining room?!?!?

It was just as good as I remembered. Although, I could feel the salad place next door judging me a little bit. But I literally ate there the day before. Asian Crunch Salad, no protein. So I think we’re square. Stop looking at me lettuce!

After I got back to the work I was a machine. Updating Server Managers. Modifying hosts files. Attaching SQL databases. All a beauty of motion, while sitting in a desk chair staring at 3 monitors. Barely taking a break to try to solve the mystery of what happened to the missing (I failed).

I called it a day, leaving many a satisfied customer in my wake. (Which means next time I work I won’t be able to solve anybody’s problems.) I drove home. I like to take a route home (sometimes called Old 30) where I drive by a bunch of railroad cars just parked along the highway to see if there is any interesting graffiti to photograph. There wasn’t anything transcendent like a painting of a dog or a clown or characters from The Simpsons, but there was one I found photo worthy. I pulled over and snapped a photo. I’m collecting these images and when I hit about 20 or so I will share them. This is what passes for an art scene in Boone.

Got home. Said hello to Naima. Then mowed my back yard. Which needed to be done before it became a 3 man job… again. I was supposed to have a meeting with my friend Kelli. She is opening a wine bar and wants to use my photography on her walls. I was supposed to look at the space and kind of figure out what we wanted to put there, but that meeting got postponed cause, from what I’m gathering, one of her kids did something dumb. Like go to Grand Junction.

The cancellation opened up a hole in my schedule and I was able to take Naima to Dickcissel for a walk and some wading for her. It was also a good time for me to take the theme reveal image for next week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme.

There was a decent rain coming down on us when we completed the loop. Which meant Naima was soaked all over. I consider this to be a positive though, because the smell of wet dog masked the smell of gas. Not much of a trade up, but small victories.

I decided to go to Dairy Queen for ice cream on our way home since I’m eating healthier. Unfortunately, the line in the DQ drive-thru was crazy long, so instead I drove across town to Big Kahuna’s. This is a considerable upgrade in the quality of the ice cream for me, but it meant Naima didn’t get a pup cup. Sorry, Naima. Don’t feel too bad for her. She did get a full pork chop for supper. Me? I had a cherry amaretto ice cream waffle cone for supper. The supper of champions!

I came home and started watching the Lakers-Nuggets game to finish off my night. While sitting there I got a snap from Nathanial asking for my opinion on his options for the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon. He is the second person to ask for my opinion. Meanwhile, humble narrator, hasn’t even given any consideration to what he will enter. Usually at this point I at least know at least 2 of the pictures I will enter. This year I have absolutely no clue. I mean that could be a weekend project, but I don’t know I’ll have much time this weekend either. I guess we’ll see what happens.

After the Nuggets won, I watched a little bit of “90s Nation” on MTV Classic and called it a night. Nodding off into a golden slumber listening to the “Morbid” podcast on H.H. Holmes. Part 4. All in all, a pretty good birthday.

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We begin where we left off last Friday. Lowell, Tony, and I were walking around Chicago waiting for Kim to get done getting good union employees fired for smoking a joint while putting up our booth. Kim has no chill. We were going to checkout a place called Zombie Taco as a potential place for supper. Kim had told us that we were to pick the place for supper. Tacos are always a good choice. That is free advice that I’m giving you, that I wish I had listened to on Day 3 of this trip. Unfortunately when we found Zombie Taco it seemed to be only a walk-up window and on top of that, it seemed to be closed.

But back to the walkabout.

A play on “This American Life”. My favorite radio show. But I’m not sure what it means.

I think this place was abandoned.

Never let anybody tell you, wearing Skechers is not cool. I wear them. Snoop wears them. Tony wears them. Elizabeth’s Grandma used to wear them.

My greatest regret from the trip to Chicago is not taking a river cruise.

I wonder if this was the boat that the Dave Matthews Band dumped their poop on. As awful as that must have been, still better than listening to their music.

Chicago has a fair collection of interesting bridges.

More street art.

Down to the River Walk.

Another interesting bridge.

It was around here I met a lady that was walking a golden retriever. Such a good dog. Also, more street art.

I’m guessing this is to protect you from Dave Matthews dumping his poop on your head. Now if they could devise a way to protect you from his awful music.

I assume Dave Matthews put that there.

I’d tell you what I think of Salesforce, but enough work talk.

There is also a Dick’s Last Resort on the San Antonio River Walk. This parking garage is an excellent example of why I would never want to live in a city.

But it is pretty to look at.

My #1 goal of the Chicago Trip was to see The Bean. Crossed it off the list Day 1.

After telling us to pick the restaurant, Kim picked the restaurant. Which fortunately, was 1 block from The Bean.

The WPC theme this week was FRIENDS. Nathanial told me I could take a picture of my reflection and I could be my own FRIEND(S). I have FRIENDS Nathanial. Still a cool shot.

The sculptor (Anish Kapoor) of The Bean at first hated that people called it that. It’s official name is Cloud Gate.

It is made out of 168 stainless steel plates welded together.

It’s highly polished exterior has no visible seams.

It measures 33 x 66 x 42 feet.

The design was inspired by liquid mercury.

I still have one more collection of images to share from Day 1 of the trip to Chicago.

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This is your reminder that this week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is HAPPY!

HAPPY

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

But what in the Dave Rauker is a HAPPY photo? Simply put, it is a picture of somebody that is HAPPY or a picture of something that makes you HAPPY. HAPPY is, well it is a feeling of pleasure or contentment. In case you aren’t sure you know what it means to be HAPPY.

HAPPY has been a theme one other time. Here are a few of the submissions from that time to provide you with some inspiration:

Suzie Brannen – Week 71

Kim Barker – Week 71

Stephanie Kim – Week 71

Angie DeWaard – Week 71

Christopher D. Bennett – Week 71

In fact, that was pretty much every submission I received for HAPPY. I bet there will be more submissions this time.

Happy photo harvesting!

Art, Road Trip, Still Life, Street Photography, Teresa

Henry & Jefferson County Aux. – Vol. 1

May 17, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

Way back in August, Teresa joined me on a road trip to harvest the town signs of Henry County and Jefferson County. It was a good trip where met up with Doug and Jodie for lunch. We also saw the campus of the now closed Iowa Wesleyan. However, the first stop on the trip was to one of my favorite places to visit in Iowa, Kalona. When I’m in that part of the state I have to get some cheese curds and some buttermilk cookies. Just thinking about those cookies is making my mouth water.

Here is the first collection of images:

Kalona

Swedesburg

Winfield

Still plenty more pictures from this road trip left to go.

Alexis, Andy, Angie, Bill, Black & White, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Elizabeth, Jesse, Joe Duff, Kim, Kio, Linda, Logan, Micky, Mindi, Monica, Nathanial, Ruins, Sabas, Sarah Toot, Shannon, Still Life, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 400 – RUINS

May 15, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

RUINS! One of my favorite themes and one of my favorite things to photograph. But was it a popular theme or did it leave many streaks in RUINS? This is the 400th THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE post since rebooting THE RANDOM WEEKLY PHOTO EXPERIMENT. (504th all-time) I hope it was popular. But you will have to keep scrolling to find out.

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, May 8, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore the numbers in parentheses):
1-Suzie Brannen – 1 week
2-Becky Parmelee – 1 week
3-Jen Ensley-Gorshe – 2 weeks
4-Sabas Hernandez – 2 weeks
5-Sara Lockner – 2 weeks
6-Mike Vest – 2 weeks
7-Alexis Baugher – 5 weeks (2)
8-Jesse Howard – 5 weeks
9-Mindi Terrell – 12 weeks (3)
10-Monica Jennings – 17 weeks
11-Brandon Kahler – 37 weeks
12-Linda Bennett – 41 weeks
13-Sarah Toot – 42 weeks
14-Angie DeWaard – 46 weeks
15-Dawn Krause – 50 weeks
16-Kim Barker – 56 weeks
17-Joe Duff – 57 weeks
18-Logan Kahler – 59 weeks (2)
19-Teresa Kahler – 68 weeks (2)
20-Carla Stensland – 68 weeks (2)
21-Micky Augustin – 70 weeks
22-Andy Sharp – 71 weeks
23-Bill Wentworth – 72 weeks
24-Cathie Morton – 76 weeks
25-Elizabeth Nordeen – 77 weeks (2)
26-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 79 weeks
27-Kio Dettman – 81 weeks (2)

Heading into today, this is what the Submission Map looks like:

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:

Teresa Kahler (Iowa) – 69 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Iowa)

Andy Sharp (Iowa) – 72 weeks

Andy Sharp (Iowa)

Alexis Baugher (Nevada,Iowa) – 6 weeks

Alexis Baugher (Nevada, Iowa)

Alexis Baugher (Swaledale, Iowa)

Bill Wentworth (Nebraska) – 73 weeks

Angie DeWaard (Iowa) – 47 weeks

Carla Stensland (Iowa) – 69 weeks

Carla Stensland (Iowa)

Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 1 week

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 78 weeks

Christopher D. Bennett (Ames, Iowa)

Nathanial Brown (Bagley, Iowa) – 1 week

Micky Augustin (Iowa_ – 71 weeks

Sarah Toot (Las Vegas, Nevada) – 43 weeks

Kio Dettman (Iowa) – 82 weeks

Kio Dettman (Iowa)

Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 42 weeks

Dawn Krause (Iowa) – 52 weeks

Dawn Krause (Iowa)

Kim Barker (Iowa) – 57 weeks

Logan Kahler (Iowa) – 60 weeks

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Iowa) – 80 weeks

Joe Duff (Texas) – 58 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa) – 13 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa)

Sabas Hernandez (Cleveland, Ohio) – 3 weeks

Cathie Morton (Norwalk, Iowa) – 77 weeks

Brandon Kahler (Iowa) – 38 weeks

Brandon Kahler (Iowa)

Monica Jennings (Iowa) – 18 weeks

Monica Jennings (Iowa)

Mike Vest (Iowa) – 3 weeks

Jesse Howard (Iowa) – 6 weeks

26 participants. Not a very popular theme. But not bad either. Hopefully one of the upcoming things gets the creative juices flowing for more people.

There were no new states added this week, but if you noticed, if you let me know where your picture was taken I will add that to your submission. The town. I’ll add the town. Not, “my Aunt Hildea’s place”. But I will add the town of Aunt Hildeas’s place exists in. I think that makes it a little more interesting. Than 20 submissions from Iowa. I will NOT assume towns though, like I assume states. I mean I’m pretty sure I know where most of these pictures were taken, but I won’t assume Kio’s pictures were taken in Boone.

Also, if you aren’t in a town, a county would do. For example, I assume Shannon’s picture is taken in rural Warren County. But she also might argue it is taken in Summerset, Iowa. Though.

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Iowa
+ Kansas
+ Nebraska
+ Nevada
+ Ohio
+ 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 15 miles from my front door, so I continue to not contribute.

There were no major milestones reached this week, but many streaks lie in ruins now. Suzie and Becky couldn’t build on their submissions last week. Jen and Sara’s streaks ended at 2.

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:

HAPPY

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

But what in the Dave Rauker is a HAPPY photo? Simply put, it is a picture of somebody that is HAPPY or a picture of something that makes you HAPPY. HAPPY is, well it is a feeling for pleasure or contentment. In case you aren’t sure you know what it means to be HAPPY.

While considering possible subjects for your HAPPY image, mediated on the following quote and I have no doubt you will create a fascinating image:

Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go.
-Oscar Wilde

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 HAPPY in this place that I hope spreads a bit of happiness in this world next Monday.

Cathie, Kim, Lowell, Michelle, Still Life, Street Photography, Tenderloining, Travel

Chicago Food Adventures

May 14, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

I’ve decided to lump all of my Chicago food adventures into one massive post. I was in Chicago for parts of 7 days and ate meals there on 6 of those days. Some of them great. Some of the good. Some of them bad. All of them photographed.

I started the trip with $481 in the Per Diem Fund.

Meal #1 – Day 1 Lunch – Capriotti’s

My goal whenever I travel is to eat in a place that isn’t near me. I actually failed twice on this trip. First, was Capriotti’s. I didn’t know it at the time, but there is actually a Capriotti’s in Clive. I don’t regret it though because this was one of my favorite meals on the trip.

Cost: $22.74
Per Diem Balance: $458.26

Meal #2 – Day 1 Supper – Giordano’s

Giordano’s is the second restaurant I ate at that I could have eaten at in Iowa. I’m not a big fan of Chicago Style Pizza. New York Style Pizza is also trash, if you think I’m taking a side. While the appetizers were good at Geordano’s the pizza was definitely not all that great.

Cost: $30.02
Per Diem Balance: $428.24

Meal #3 – Day 2 Breakfast – Wow Bao

Also one of my favorite meals. Wow Bao was actually in the hotel and if I wasn’t trying to spread the wealth, I might have eaten there more than once. It was also dirt cheap. I don’t drink coffee because I don’t actively hate the environment, also it tastes like ass, so they gave me milk for free. Which was a bonus!

Cost: $5.91
Per Diem Balance: $422.33

Meal #4 – Day 2 Supper – Wrigley Field Concession Stand

I really thought I would eat more at Wrigley than I did. Especially considering I didn’t have time to eat lunch. I have to say that the concession stands at Wrigley were a real disappointment. I thought there would be better food options at a Major League Baseball stadium. Especially one as historic as Wrigley Field. But my “Bison Hot Dog” was just okay.

Cost: $17.70
Per Diem Balance: 404.63

Meal #5 – Day 3 Lunch – Taco Truck

The area where we stayed at was very nice, but it is lousy with corporate restaurants. Lowell and I probably walked close to a mile to get to some food trucks that were near The Bean. It was worth it. This was one of my favorite meals on the trip. There were 8 food trucks there. 6 of them served tacos. They mostly all seemed to serve the same menu. I’m not even hating. 6 taco trucks isn’t enough if you ask this guy. My only regret is also not getting an order of Mexican Street Corn.

Price: $13.50
Per Diem Balance: $391.13

Meal #6 – Day 3 Supper – Broken English Taco Pub

Between the Street Tacos and the Taco Pub there was a Computer Mine “Party” hosted by our Sales Team (or whatever they have been branded as this week) that included free appetizers. There are no pictures of that and it was free. I made a pretty huge mistake by not going for tacos at a place called Taco Pub. I zigged when I definitely should have stayed the course. These were amongst the worst nachos I’ve ever had in my life. The nachos at The Other Place hold the distinction for the “Worst Nachos Ever” for me. At least it was free. For reasons I don’t understand, Cathie paid for everyone’s meal at the table. It was about the last time I saw Cathie socially on this trip. She lost her voice the next day and I don’t know she ever left the hotel besides to go to the convention. I need to find a way to pay her back at some point. Like maybe she could make me monkey bread and I could eat it. I think that would make us square. I should have bought her meal at Zeno’s. Dang it!

As for the group photo… It is the only one from this trip. The THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE for most of my time in Chicago was FRIENDS. I briefly toyed with the idea of having servers from various restaurants take very poorly lit group photos of all my meals and then submit them to THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE under the name “Our Server at Place X”. But I didn’t do it. Maybe if I ever go on a work trip again.

Cost: FREE! Thanks Cathie!
Per Diem Balance: $391.13

Meal #7 – Day 4 Lunch – McCormick Place Food Court

I should have been like Tony and done a walkabout of the Convention Center and scouted out all of the food locations. I only knew about the balcony food court. There was a long line for the “burger” place up there. So I just grabbed a wrapped Caprese sandwich. I was trying to eat a healthy option and I do like a good caprese sandwich. This wasn’t it. I don’t want to give a way the ending of this blog… so I won’t.

Price: $15.00
Per Diem Balance: $376.13

Meal #8 – Day 4 Supper – McCormick & Schmick’s

This was supposed to be the most expensive meal of the trip for me. But, once again it was free. Gina paid for my meal and Lowell’s meal. I got the New York Strip which I think was in the $40-50 range. I added an extra side of grilled asparagus, which was around $11. Then I got their “Classic Crème Brûlée “, which was around $10. I wasn’t trying to stick it to Gina. I ordered all that stuff anticipating paying for my own meal. Then she picked up the check for Lowell and I. I should have anticipated that happening though. It is her move.

But there are two incidents at the restaurant I need to bring up. As Micky can tell you, I like a good bantering with the server. I had an intense discussion with the server about the dessert menu. As you can see from the pictures above, for the dessert I had crème brûlée . I have no complaints about it. It was excellent. It wasn’t what I wanted though. On the dessert menu they had something called “Chocolate Bag”. The menu described “Chocolate Bag” as “White Chocolate Mousse and Fresh Berries Topped with Whipped Cream”. What the menu doesn’t tell you is all of that is put in a bag. A bag made of chocolate. Yes please!

Only the answer came back, “No!” McCormick & Schneebley’s or whatever this dump was called, was out of chocolate bag. I had to settle for crème brûlée like a commoner.

The other dessert menu moment was the reason I love banter. On the dessert menu was “seasonal” cheesecake. When I inquired about what the current “seasonal” cheesecake was and what the cheesecake was for the other seasons is, the banter escalated to the point where the server said, “Yeah, for the spring cheesecake we should serve it with a dead bird on top of it!” Bingpot!

Cost: FREE! Thanks Gina!
Per Diem Balance: $376.13

Meal #9 – Day 5 Lunch – Connie’s Pizza

Another lunch on the convention center floor. Connie’s Pizza wasn’t great, but a considerable upgrade over the sandwich I choked down the day before. I was thankful to Tony for pointing it out to me.

Cost: $12.00
Per Diem Balance: $364.13

Meal #10 – Day 5 Supper – Soju BBQ

Kim’s Meal Before

Kim’s Meal After

I might give Kim a hard time for having a Midwest white woman’s palette, but she was a trooper for giving Korean BBQ a chance. Even if she ate next to none of her food. She at least gave it a shot. So snaps for Kim for challenging herself.

I on the other hand loved this meal. Everything was fantastic! The “Kimchi Dumplings” that Tony ordered was possibly my favorite food item I had on the entire trip. Also snaps to Tony for going out to eat with a group larger than 4 people. Which is some kind of arbitrary rule he established for himself.

I haven’t had Korean barbecue since DaeHee’s mom made some for me. I made sure to send him plenty of pictures of it, cause I’m a swell guy. He was slightly jealous. By slightly, I mean extremely.

Cost: $37.00
Per Diem Balance: $327.13

Meal #11 – Day 6 Lunch – Robinson’s No. 1 Ribs

The final day of the convention. This is basically a polish sausage with barbecue sauce thrown on top of it and grilled onions on top of it. It was by far the best thing I ate on the convention floor. If I had found it first, I might have just had it three days in a row. A guy I’ll assume was Robinson said, he would “hook me up”. And I think he did. I have no complaints about it.

Cost: $16.25
Per Diem Balance: $310.88

Meal #12 – Day 6 Supper – Lou Manalti’s

Way back on Day 1 I stated I don’t really like Chicago Style Pizza. Give me a good Quad Cities Style Pizza and we are talking. But Chicago Style Pizza doesn’t do much for me. However, this pizza might have changed my mind. This was one tasty pizza! I would have this pizza again in a second! It was a perfect way to cap the trip!

Cost: $33.75
Final Per Diem Balance: $277.13

Day 7 didn’t involve any eating. At least not eating I would consider that came out of my per diem. We got up early. Didn’t eat breakfast. Flew back to the Cyclone State.

Those of you with a keen memory might recall that I did go through the drive-thru at Ted’s Coney Island on my way back to my house, but I don’t count that towards the per diem.

If you are wondering I’m doing with the extra $277.13 I just pocketed… I guess I spent some of it to send some of you postcards that I think maybe 2 of you cared about. I also bought a Chicago magnet for my fridge. But truthfully, the full $481 went into savings. A couple of weeks ago I outlined some goals I have. One of those goals is to switch banks. I took this coming Friday off as a birthday present to myself. My big plan is to start the process of moving banks. At the very least I will open a couple new accounts in a new bank. Actually a credit union. I don’t know how long it will take me to phase out of Bank of the Bear, but at least the process will finally be started.

The last bit of business for this blog is that I want to rank my Chicago meals from worst to best.

Chicago Food Adventure Power Ranking

12. Caprese Sandwich – Convention Center Food Court
11. Nacho Mama-s Nachos – Broken English Taco Pub
10. Sausage Pizza – Connie’s Pizza (Convention Center)
9. Bison Hot Dog – Clark Street Grill (Wrigley Field)
8. The Special – Giordano’s
7. Super Polish Sausage – Robinson’s No. 1 Ribs (Convention Center)
6. Breakfast Bowl – Wow Bao
5. New York Strip Steak – McCormick and Schmick’s
4. BBQ Chicken Cheese Steak – Capriotti’s
3. Street Tacos – Sabor Taco Truck
2. Malnati Chicago Classic – Lou Malnati’s
1. Korean Brisket – Soju BBQ

If I still make the cut for next year’s convention team, it is New Orleans. That could also make for a fascinating food adventure. We’ll have to see what happens.

Art, Bill, Carla, Dawn, Jen, Kim, Lowell, Railroad, Ruins, Still Life, Street Photography, Travel, Work, WPC - Reminder

The Windy City: Day 1A

May 12, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

I’m going to cover my recent work trip to Chicago in a different format than I covered my work trip to Las Vegas. I’m going to mix the camera images with the cell phone pictures. I’m also going to try to tell the story mostly through the pictures. Rather than telling the story and then sharing the pictures. I’m also not going to include the food pictures. I’m going to put all my Chicago food pictures together in one big Sunday food adventure entry.

Here are the first collection of images from my Day 1 of my work trip to Chicago:

I was dreading parking in the Gray Lot, but I got stuck there again. But now I’ve been there a couple of times I’m starting to dig it. Especially when I get paid by the hour.

Even though I parked approximately 15 miles from the terminal, I got to my gate in plenty of time.

I’m roughly 6 foot 4. Tony is pushing 6 foot 8. Putting us next to each other in one of the world’s smallest planes is the height of cruelty. The type of thing you would see in a museum dedicated to torture.

The hotel.

This time we didn’t have to wait 3 hours to get into our room. We dropped off our stuff and looked for food, but that meal will be covered later.

The hotel was straight across the street from the river and a half block from the Chicago Theater. A good location.

I never ate here, but reminded me that my favorite restaurant on my trip to NYC was Empanada Mamas.

A dispensary. I’m not into marijuana cause I have elements of a control freak, but seeing one reminded me how backwards thinking Iowa has become.

True words.

At Naima’s age, she might benefit, but she is such a dang picky eater, I’m not spending that much money for her not to eat it.

Wake and bake.

I do love the names of marijuana products.

Day 1 was the day before International Pot Smokers Holiday.

That is over 50% off!

Just looking up and trying not to run into somebody on the street. Full disclosure, I don’t care if run into somebody on the street.

I love street art so much!

Art in the hotel. The hotel was much nicer than the one we stayed at in Miami Beach, but less interesting. So a wash.

Taxi up close.

“Staytion”. Lame.

I don’t know if Kim hates me but I always get a “view” of a parking garage. Lowell’s view was so much better.

Wasn’t as loud as expected.

For people who don’t know how elevators work. Much better elevators than in Las Vegas though.

While waiting for Kim to get done, so we could go get supper, Lowell, Tony, and I went for a walkabout. That is a lot of commas, probably not used properly.

I miss this guy.

Two more collections of images from just Day 1 of this trip are in the hopper. I hope you like Chicago!

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

RUINS

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

But what in the Ron Harris is a RUINS image? Simply put, it is a picture of something that is in the state of physical destruction or disintegration. Something that is in bad shape.

RUINS has been a theme a few times before. Take a look back at some previous submissions for inspiration:

Bill Wentworth – Week 30

Dawn Krause – Week 103

Carla Stensland – Week 121

Jen Ensley Gorshe – Week 211

Christopher D. Bennett – Week 362

Happy photo harvesting!

Art, Becca, Birthdays, Christianity, Michelle, Road Trip, Still Life

Muscatine County Aux. – Vol. 5

May 10, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

Since my trip to Chicago I know I have missed celebrating a few birthdays on this website, but the bleeding stops today.

Happy birthday to my awesome sister-in-law and fellow Brandi Carlile fan Becca!

I hope you have a birthday that is as tremendous as you are! Lots of Brandi Carlile music and lots of adventures for you and Jonah!

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Also, happy birthday to my favorite Editor Michelle!

I hope you don’t slave away at the Computer Mine too hard today!

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Today I am sharing the final collection of auxiliary images I took on my trip to Muscatine County to harvest their town signs. Including. Finally. The picture of the dragon that sold me the best watermelon I’ve ever had in my life.

Muscatine

Tasted better than it looks.

This dragon knows its watermelon!

Conesville

I have questions, but every time I ask a Catholic about Catholic things they don’t know anything.

I definitely enjoyed Muscatine County. I might have to make a watermelon run again this year, or commission Micky to bring back a melon. Hashtag watermelonlife!

Next time we hit the open road for auxiliary images from THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT, we will visit Henry County and Jefferson County.

Automobiles, Brandon, Self-Portrait, Still Life, Tenderloining

Tenderloining: Altoona Field Work

May 7, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

A few weeks back Brandon and I tried to go to Flight in Huxley after church. However, when we got there it was closed for a private event. (Flight did just win Best Burger in Iowa, in case you didn’t see.) So we ended up going to Claxon’s Smokehouse & Grill in Altoona. I’ve wanted to try it because of or in spite of the fact that they have the 2nd most annoying radio commercials in the world. The awfulness of their commercials are only eclipsed by the ApprovedbyJoe.com commercials.

The basic gist of all of their commercials is that one member of a married couple gets in trouble with the other one by going to Claxon’s behind the other one’s back. However, they get off the hook by bringing them back something from Claxon’s. While that doesn’t seem like that annoying of a concept on the surface, their is just something about how they are written and acted that puts my teeth on edge. When they come on it is usually a near instant turning of the radio. ApprovedbyJoe.com commercials are an instant turning of the radio and then pulling over to the nearest church and cleaning out my ears with holy water.

Here are some pictures of our trip:

Tenderloining - Claxon's Smokehouse & Grill

Fried Okra! Yes Please!

Okra Cornbread

The Three Pigs

I actually intended to go there and get barbecue, but I hadn’t tried a new tenderloin in 2023 and it was halfway through April and when I saw the name The Three Pigs, I was suckered in. The Colorado Grill has this specialty where they put something on the menu that is really good and then they take it away. One such item is the Porky Pig or maybe it was call The Three Little Pigs. Either way, it was a grilled tenderloin with a creamy barbecue sauce and a couple more types of pork on it. It is delicious! Well it was, until they took it away. Occasionally (like fried mushrooms) it shows up as a “special”. Willy also loves this sandwich and we alert each other if it is the special. This is why I went for The Three Pigs.

We started the meal with their Tobacco Onion Rings. They are described as:

“Lightly breaded, thinly sliced onions piled high as the sky, served with a side of Claxon’s chipotle-Chile ketchup | Half Order $6.99 | Full Order $8.99”

We got the Full Order, cause Brandon and I aren’t chumps. As a general rule I prefer a fatty onion ring (like at Dublin Bay) over an thin “onion ring”. Known in some circles as a “onion straw” or “onion strings”. I usually find them to be too greasy and they often lose their temperature too fast. Like the fries at Freddy’s.

However, these were really good and were the highlight of the meal. With the possible exception of the fried okra.

The Three Pigs came with 2 sides and rang in at a whopping $18.99! Cheap! The menu describes it thusly:

“Watch out big bad wolf! We have a Joe’s breaded pork tenderloin, thick cut applewood smoked bacon and a generous portion of our pulled pork!, served on a large toasted Kaiser with all the fixins.”

I got the fried okra for one side. It was delicious! I got the okra cornbread for the other side. It was less than. Middling would be a stretch. Which was quite the disappointment because I love a good cornbread. This wasn’t it.

I probably made a mistake ordering The Three Pigs. I’m not really a fan of pulled pork, but even discounting that fact, the tenderloin was a disappointment. It had some good aspects, but in the end it wasn’t very flavorful and it wasn’t moist. Reminded me of what a tenderloin that has sat for 17 hours and then been microwaved must taste like. And yes, the pulled pork wasn’t great and the bacon (strangely) wasn’t anything special either.

To cut to the chase. I would go back to Claxon’s if I was in the area. But I wouldn’t pursue it ever again. Yeah, annoying commercials… you won this round. But you won’t win a second time.

Claxon’s Smokehouse & Grill can be found here:

3181 8th Street Southwest
Altoona, Iowa

My final comment is that the service was pretty good. It took a minute for us to get seated, but once we were seated our server was quick and attentive. The fact that she was wearing an Elizabeth Warren shirt didn’t hurt either.

Amanda, Animals, Black & White, Boone County Fair, Candid Portrait, Dahlia, Event, Greyson, Logan, Nature, Russ, Still Life, Street Photography, Teresa

The Next Second You Were Gone

April 22, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

Seems like a good time to clean up the July backlog. This collection of images was taken in July of last year, but never really found a spot in a previous “An Artist’s Notebook” entry. Some pictures are of a storm. Some are from the Boone County Fair. Some are of a baby bird, or an immature bird. Some are from Dahlia’s birthday party.

Always feels good to get a little bit of that backlog cleared out.

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RULES

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