Welcome to my humble little home in cyberspace. I enjoy music, good food, travel, thinking, and exploring. My blog is a chance to consider different issues, attempt to make new foods, learn about interesting local places, browse through my pictures, and read my articles or quotes.
I know, I keep griping about Caputo’s but I was near by and picked up a few things. They are very disorganized. Half the stuff in the sales paper was either not on the shelves or properly tagged. This is something that should have been done the night before, not on the day of the sale.
Just look how bad these tomatoes are. There were plenty of these rotten ones. This is how much of their produce is.
Last Saturday, I went to the Woodstock Farmers Market. That farmers market is more appealing to me than the one in Crystal Lake. Anyway, since my wife doesn’t like buying beef from a store, we tried something new. We heard some good stuff about about Willow Lea Stock Farm and natural raised beef. We took a chance and bought a six pack of hamburger patties and one pack of stew meat. Yesterday, I cooked the burgers on the grill. For sure it was pretty smokey and the flames got pretty high if the lid was open too long. We were really surprised. The beef tasted so much different than the store bought meat and looked more natural as well. Next week I will be going there to pick up some more meat.
The price are not so bad. Ground beef is $4 a lb. The six burgers were $11 for 2.25 lbs. The stew meat was $6.50 a lb. I don’t mind so much paying these prices as a long I as I a better product.
I drove by Joseph’s and I hope this is a good indication of them opening soon. This is a blue dumpster which looks like it is ready for pickup. Shopping at Caputo’s is just terrible.
It doesn’t even look like they have started on Fresh Market. I didn’t get a chance to look through the window. Maybe they are working on the inside?
I saw this in front of my garage the other day. It is a yellow fuzzy caterpillar also know as a banded or pale tussock moth caterpillar. Don’t ask me how I know this…
Well, I am back after a summer break. The kids are back to school, I changed the design of my blog (hope it is better), and there have been a lot of things happening around town.
Joseph's Marketplace has been shut down for a long time because of storm damage. I really miss them and hope that they will open soon. I will not shop at Jewel or Dominick's. Aldi’s only has so much. The only other choice is Caputo’s in Lake in the Hills, but they are terrible! Where in the hell do they get their fruits and vegetables!? They are always rotten! I saw that there is going to be a new Fresh Market opening in Crystal Lake where the old Borders use to be. They are supposed to be cheaper than Garden Fresh, we will see. Garden Fresh didn’t last very long. I wonder who will open first, Joseph’s or Fresh Market.
The construction on Route 14 has been a bear… will they ever get done? Also, what is with all the fancy brick work and parking stalls? The planters sitting on the walk ways are so huge that there is not enough sidewalk for two people to walk side by side. What is the point of the beautification? Most will just drive by it anyway. I wonder if the construction will be done before any more stores go out of business?
I officially cancelled Netflix this morning due to the increase in pricing. Now it is time to find other alternatives such as Redbox and Hulu. What I like about Hulu, they stream the last television shows. The only issue that I have is Apple is looking to buy them out.
Consumers are being left with less and less choices for services. There is no such thing as competition anymore. If I am going to be left with no choices, I’d rather do without.
When one is silent and one’s body is at peace, the heart slowly starts beating in the same rhythm as everything else in existence. Life is not made from one thing, it is made from many.
Out of 100% of people who own bikes I would say 20% are professional riders, 30% ride at least four times per week and 50% are weekend only riders. I fall between the four times per week and weekend category.
What is better. A bicycle shop bike or a bike from Wal-Mart or Sports Authority? Why or why not?
I have been looking for a bike for quite some time now and have dealt with retail technicians and bike shop personnel. Bikes from a bike shop are very pricey. The price of one bike is comparable to two to three bikes from a retail store.
Bike shops say their products are far more superior than retail bikes. The few sales people that I talk to said their bikes have better parts. How are they better? I was told better chains, better brakes, better gears and etc., but still no definite answer.
A sporting's goods place was able to answer one of the questions I had. There are two types of Shimano shifters. Shimano who makes the shifters for the more expensive bike shop bikes and a company who makes Shimano knockoffs for retail bikes (another company has brought the rights to produce the knockoff Shimano shifters).
Here are my thoughts so far on bike shops:
Trek Model 820 and 3500 – Uncomfortable to ride. Too many of the gear shifting parts are made out of plastic. Gears are not smooth shifting. Bike technicians know what they are doing. Starting at $340 and up, these are over priced for what they are.
Schwinn in general – Schwinn is no longer Schwinn. Schwinn is made by Dorel. Schwinn seems to be more over priced than any other brand out there. If you want a Schwinn, I would rather buy one at Wal-Mart, I think they are actually better and the price is more reasonable.
My other beef with bike shops is the customer service. One would think that paying so much for a bike that the customer service would be pleasant, not! Most shop owners in the area are bitter, rude and full of themselves.
As for regular retail:
Wal-Mart, Target, Toy R Us and Kmart have a good selection on bikes in store and online. Wal-Mart has the best online service since just about all of their products are shipped to the store for free. Bike assembly is less than desirable, sometimes. I have seen some poorly assemble bikes. I think a lot of it has to do with people messing with them a lot. Usually I prefer to get the bike in the box and assemble it myself. The cost of the bikes is more realistic too.
Others will be there for you when you are feeling down and out. Don’t be shy or embarrassed to share your feelings with those people. Your friends and family know you better than you do.
There is a Chinese saying:
To read a book for the first time is to make an acquaintance with a new friend; to read it for a second time is to meet an old one.
