The Morel of the Story

Besides an abundance of garlic mustard, guess what Dave, our ace landscape guy, found in our backyard? Morel mushrooms! Who knew one could be a gourmande, albeit unintentionally?

According to Amazon, a pound of dried Morels costs $192. Zoikes, that's a lot of dough for really scary-looking mushrooms.

I am going to attempt to saute some of these tonight. Dave has recommended a milieu of butter and olive oil.

If you don't hear from Naperville Now for a few days, you'll know its because Dave misidentified these or we have embarked upon new careers as professional fungus purveyors.

RSVP

I'm co-hosting a bridal shower this Sunday for a dear friend's daughter. It's been a lot of fun planning the menu (sushi and quiche, in keeping with an international theme), the favors (Joyce, did I have favors in 1980?) and the flowers (Anyone know if hydrangea are in season yet?).

At the risk of sounding like a "Get Off My Lawn" kind of gal, I was a bit miffed that we hadn't heard from a couple of people on the guest list. Gosh, how hard is it to pick up the phone and call? How can one plan on the proper number of wrapped eels? How many quarts of pear sorbet are enough for parfaits? More importantly, how much champagne will be needed for the Mimosas? (Okay, that was a trick question. One can never have too much champagne, but you get my drift.)

As we sat down to dinner early last week with our golfing friends, I was about to start pontificating about the tardy non-RSVPers when my friend Betsy leaned in and whispered, "So, will you be joining us for Stacia's baby shower this Saturday?"

It Happens

The enterprising duo of Michael and Kevin left quite the flyer in my mailbox yesterday. They are advertising their services to clean and polish surfaces covered in bird poop -- rocks, cars, stones, concrete, tile "and much more. We like to save you money!"

Here are the cleaning prices:

A little rock costs $0.25.

A medium rock will run you $0.50.

A large or larger rock is $1.00 plus, with a $0.25 "extra fee for more than 4 square inches of mess per a object."

Luckily, polishing said items is only a little bit more.

"Our deals are a a lot cheaper than other companies or wasting gallons of water with power washers.**

** Don't worry we supply the water!"

My interest was definitely piqued by their choice of artwork, which is featured above.

I must say that anyone who starts a summer job in April is to be lauded, if not hired.  (Then decontaminated, of course.)

Nice work, Michael and Kevin.

Mirror Mirror Part Deux

Successsssss!

Thanks to vigilant Nancy, a hardware store aficionado who inspired me to buy my own electric drill 15 years ago, I have found two reasonably-priced mirrors for the guest bathroom. Lowe's in Bolingbrook just got a shipment in on Thursday. After I'm done celebrating, I will take some Advil, dust off my drill and start hanging.

(And no, my bathroom doesn't look like this. But it could.)

More reno stories, thanks to dad and son duo Charlie and Jason Jump, later.

Oh Those Lit Chix

Airtastic Play Land

Mother of 1-year-old to visiting sister: "Want to go to Airtastic with Zachary and me?"

Sister replies,"What's Airtastic?"

"An indoor jumping around place. Like Leaps and Bounds."

"Is it loud and sticky?"

"Maybe."

"Let's just take him to Buffalo Wild Wings instead."
"Okay."

1001 Knobs

These mini bathroom renos have required steely determination. For the life of me, I can't find mirrors that will work in the gray bathroom, never mind the rose one (yes, I have a rose-colored bathroom. Don't ask the color theme of the powder room). So if you need me to tell you what mirrors are available to the buying public in the western suburbs, I'm your gal.

However, in the midst of all that driving all over creation,  I have found a store to gladden your heart: Bemmco Hardware in Lisle (on Ogden at Yackley), which bills itself as the "House of 1001 Knobs."

Need nickel hinges to replace the corroded brass hinges of the 1980s? Here you go!

Hardware that will cover the faded wood from the old pulls? Voila!

Need a little help getting the doors to close? Well, I'm working on that.

I have never seen so many hinges, pulls, knobs and hardware in one place. If there's a hardware heaven, honey, Bemmco's it.