Saturday, April 5, 2014

A Bird, Trees, Fudge, and an Old Photo

Mr. and Mrs. House Finch were out and about this morning.
Mrs. hid before I could get the camera out, but Mr. posed nicely.
Linking to Saturday Critters & I'd Rather be Birding

Last weekend, I drove down to Newton, Illinois. Newton is a little larger than most of the villages/towns I have visited recently. It has a population of approximately 3,100. Notable native, Ross Wolf pitched for the Texas Rangers and the Marlins before going to a team in Korea and Author Irene Hunt used the Newton area as the setting in her civil war book titled Across Five Aprils.
There is a very nice park with playground equipment and a swimming pool. Lots of trees. And a quaint downtown area.
 Newton has a town square with hardly any empty buildings. Impressive for this area. I wanted to check out this store called The Country Touch, but it wasn't open.
This sign caught my eye. A Cappuccino in middle-of-nowhere Illinois? I had to have one. I do miss having a Starbucks down the street.

I went inside to browse. It was an Arndt's store. We used to have one of those in Greenup where Mom went to pick up embroidery yarn for her crafty projects. This store had a little bit of everything. Lots of fun things to look at and a Hallmark card section. They also had bulk candy—and fudge!
This is a half pound of praline fudge I brought home to share with Hubs. The texture is creamy smooth, easily the best fudge I've ever tasted. They sell it to other companies and online at Arndt's Fudgery.
And last, but not least, here is an old picture Bro O printed from an ancient negative. Taken at Grandma's house. It is me and daughter about a gazillion years ago. It isn't in very good shape, lots of white specks, but a great find anyway!

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend! I'm taking Monday and Tuesday off, so I'm looking forward to a 4 day weekend. Woo Hoo!

19 comments:

Amy Burzese said...

Quaint little town. I like it when the town squares are still fairly active. Enjoy your long weekend!

Margaret Birding For Pleasure said...

HI Lovely shot of the House finch also love the trunks of the tree. that old photograph probably brings back many memories for you. Glad you found it. Have a great weekend.

TexWisGirl said...

neat town. arndt's reminded me a bit of ben franklin's. :)

cute old photo!

Janet Shaw said...

Nice House Finch for Saturday Critters :)
Also, the town looks quaint:) Great Photos! Thanks for sharing

DeniseinVA said...

Great post, loved the old photo and the other pictures were great too. I sure would like to taste a little of that fudge, maybe I will get one of my recipes out today as a fall back :)

Hootin Anni said...

A great find indeed [that photo!]

Beautiful finch image...so colorful...just gorgeous. [don't forget to link up at I'd Rather B Birdin at NOON today if you wish.]

Ohhhhhhh, and be still my heart. That fudge!!! Ohhhhhhhhhh.

Haddock said...

Mr Finch has given his best profile.
(and you have captured it perfectly)
That Country store could have some really interesting stuff. And the last picture takes the cake - nothing like looking at old pic.

Karen said...

A beautiful finch photo, and I want some of that fudge!!

Jenn Jilks said...

I love it. A gazillion years ago! Time flies, doesn't it.
(ツ) from Cottage Country Ontario , ON, Canada!

Elizabeth Edwards said...

i love the tree scene.

can you gain weight from drool over a screen shot? that looks amazing!! yum!! i bet it was just delicious!! ( :

Anni said...

...thanks for linking up and sharing this wonderful finch photo of yours!!

BTW...after I saw your fudge earlier this morning, I HAD to make something sweet. I made pie. Close enough 'til I can persuade you to share a sample. LOL [kidding]

eileeninmd said...

Love the male House Finch! The town is cute, nice stores! The cappuccino and fudge would be my downfall. Wonderful outing and photos. Thank you for sharing your post with Saturday's Critter party! Have a happy weekend!

Stewart M said...

The House Finch looks good - and the fudge even better!

Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

HansHB said...

A beautiful bird, great colors!

Molly the Airedale said...

That praline fudge sure does look yummy ☺ The birdie picture is just beautiful!

EG CameraGirl said...

Wonderful shot of the male house finch! And I love the old photo of you and your daughter. Hope you are enjoying your long weekend!

Phil Slade said...

Your House Finch sure posed up for you Betty. I really like the look of that fudge - half a pound sounds like there might be some left over for me?

Brian King said...

Wonderful shot of the finch! And that's a nice quiet looking town! Old photos like that are a treasure no matter what shape they're in!

Unknown said...

Roan,
Mr. House Finch is photogenic! I like the color contrast you captured.

There are lots of neat things to see and discover in small towns. Looks like you found a hidden gem.

How fun to find old photos!