Author Archives: Virtual Farmgirl

We tried for a while to build our snow bear, but didn’t make much progress. The snow is still pretty powdery and hard to pack. So we shifted our attention to the Barrie Park Sled Hill. With just me and the kids, I didn’t spend too much time taking pix. But you can get aContinue reading “Finally Made it to the Sled Hill!”

This wasn’t a big hit with the kids, but I really enjoyed the combo: broccoli and leek soup served alongside the star of the meal, a chipotle patty melt with caramelized onions and toasted sourdough bread. I found the soup to be a little bland – so I’m not surprised the kids only their obligatory,Continue reading “Blizzard Comfort Food”

Just as planned, my daughter walked out the back door and dove, yes, dove right into a snow drift. It’s what she’s been dreaming of doing since she first saw the accumulation. And she did it. I’m not sure we’ll make it the half block down the street to the Barrie Park sled hill becauseContinue reading “Fun in the Snow: Making Our Own Sled Hill”

So much for sleeping in. Bella was up bright and early and I had to nearly physically restrain her from getting her brother up to show him the snow. I couldn’t resist getting up either and checking things out. There’s a ton of snow, looks like close to two feet. The roads are plowed. ButContinue reading “Time to Contemplate Digging Out”

My kids are over-the-moon excited about this snow day — their first ever. And remarkably, it’s only the 5th snow day ever in Oak Park. One of my son’s teachers mentioned getting the day off in the ’80s. But the Chicago Tribune reported that since 1873, the only other Oak Park/River Forest High School closingsContinue reading “On First Snow Day Since 1979, Here's the Bucket List”

My mistake was looking out over the balcony and seeing the wind whip our power lines like kite string. That made me worry just that much more that our banished guinea pig Fluffy might not survive the night, especially if the power went out — rendering his new heating pad and heated water bottle useless.Continue reading “The Great Guinea Pig Rescue”

You can still see a bit of the street. Our backyard walk is mostly visible because the wind is blowing the snow to someone else’s yard.   We’ll wee what it’s like in the morning.

There’s nothing quite like a day to ourselves. No real plans. Nowhere to be. My daughter and I didn’t even get dressed. Best of all, after my lemongrass quest yesterday, we had all the ingredients we needed to make a Thai feast: Thai spareribs (a first for us) and Thai green curry – loaded withContinue reading “Just a Lazy Sunday (Except in the Kitchen)”

We had our Pepsi Challenge – a blind taste test using Mexican Coca-Cola and Mexican Pepsi, both sans corn syrup and loaded with real sugar. There’s no doubt – we’re a Coca-Cola family. All three of us who took the challenge – me, my son (not a soda drinker at all) and my husband pickedContinue reading “We're Pretty Solidly a Coca-Cola Family”

Girl Scout dressed in cookie boxes. I’ve been considering getting my daughter into Girl Scouts. I loved my brief experiences with scouting, early on with Brownies and later in middle school, when we did loads of camping. I wasn’t particularly focused on earning badges (though foursquare seems to be rekindling that interest). But I enjoyedContinue reading “Why Aren't Girl Scouts Leading the Charge to Eliminate Trans Fats?”