Attn: Chubby Trout Enthusiasts!!

Information, and my own opinion, are happily available at the bottom of the page.

Hope you enjoy your visit!

Request

Please pray for a friend of mine going through some troubles. I cannot share any information, but know that prayers for wisdom and patience are appreciated.

MasterCard Idea

Flying your family in from around the country for your birthday weekend? -$2,000

Having all your loved ones throw you a surprise party? - $800

Being able to sit next to your sister and razz her about who's team's better during the big game?

Priceless.

Yes, there really are things money can't buy, and I had the privilage of witnessing one of them tonight at Mari's uncle's 60th birthday. Family is precious. ^.^

Shamisen Master

Tonight, right after I got out of class, Mari and I went to an informal traditional Japanese music concert. It was one of those things that I found out about b/c I know one of the people involved in organizing it.

It was very fun. They played several different instruments - shamisen (guitar), shakuhachi (flute), and voice - in a variety of different musical styles. Several songs were traditional folk songs, a couple were renditions of geisha songs (from both eras of geisha), and there was even a section devoted to improvisations with the shamisen. It was a fun evening.

The two featured instrumentalists were Baisho Matsumoto and Dr. Yoshi Kitagawa (who is a professor in linguistics here at IU and been taking shamisen lessons from Matsumoto in correspondance). A teacher friend of mine, Molly Adkins Jeon, was the vocalist. Unbeknownst to me, she had studied with Matsumoto quite extensively while she lived in Japan.

The world if full of fascinating people. ^_^

THE END is here!!

It is!! It came in the mail Friday; I'm so happy! ^.^

In case you're not a teacher or a general dork and bookworm, I'm talking about Lemony Snicket's Final Book of the Series of Unfortunate Events: #13, The End. And yes, it was released on Friday October 13th. I spent a few minutes reading it yesterday, but, due to the lack of free time recently, will probably not be able to finish it for at least a week, and it's likely to take even longer than that!

If you've never read these dreadful books, I would not suggest visiting the official website. It would be better to read something else, preferably with a happy ending (like the Spanish Inquisition, perhaps). Anyway, that's just the author's advice. You, however, will have to make a decision yourself.

Adios, Don Chuy! Vaya con Dios!

Tacos Don Chuy was a great little place in DunnKirk Square here in B-town where you could get fresh, traditional tacos for cheap. Very cheap. Apparently too cheap, because it's no longer in operation.

Mari & I had developed the habit of going there for dinner after I got out of class for Taco Tuesdays! But last Tuesday we showed up and there was a sign on the door:

"Closed as of October 6
-Don Chuy"

Mari just stood there pittifully, staring at the sign, mourning the loss of "tacos con carnitas" - his favorite.

Taco Tuesdays will never be the same.

Anniversary 2006 (partie nº2)

Ok, so it's been a few days...internet supposed to be back by end of next week. (Cross your fingers...) Also, be sure to check back, b/c I'll add links to photos as I get a chance to post them. Enjoy!

So, Sunday morning, we got up and had breakfast at Steak'n'Shake (in case you didn't know, Mari is obsessed with the Strawberry Stack). We then drove to Mishawaka to see the Shiojiri Garden. The garden was small, but very pretty. It is part of their river walk parks in this small town. They are still doing construction on some of them, but it looks like thy will be very nice public places when they are totally done.

We next went and saw a conservatory in South Bend. It is a very famous one, apparently, and was built by Ella Morris, who is a famous conservatory designer. We spent quite some time wandering around the place. It was built in the 60's and 70's, so the architecture was interesting, as well. Mari had the camera, and took lots of pictures! There was a bit of everything from a desert room to a small waterfall to orchids! Unfortunately, we found out that that the conservatory may be shut down. There has been a general uproar about this, including trying to rally public support to keep it open. It really would be a shame to shut it down. It is very beautiful and the plants are so well established that I think it would probably kill some if they were moved.

Our last stop: the South Bend Chocolate Company. (Probably Mari's second-ever favorite chocolate place!) Since it was a Sunday, they were not giving tours of their facilities, but they did have "almost perfect" chocolate for sale at a discount! ^.^ We got to try some thing that we may not have normally spent the money on at the regular price...and we're still enjoying it! Chocolate covered cashews and cherries and dark chocolate malt balls that are more chocolate than malt! Mmmm! ;)

After enjoying a couple of treats (and some good coffe/chai drinks), we drove around the Notre Dame campus, just for fun. It was very pretty, and we were even able to navigate about a complete tour of the campus. (We didn't always know what we were looking at, but we had fun, especially admiring the architechture!) By this time our breakfast had very much worn off, so we headed downtown to see what sorts of interesting restaurants we could find. Again, we were not disappointed: the Fiddler's Hearth was right on our was out of town and a very cozy place to enjoy a late lunch!

We got home in time to snuggle, enjoy the Vignoles we'd bought for the occation, and read the comments people had left for us on our wedding day a year before. It was a nice, quiet evening at home, which is one of those things that we probably enjoy the most!

Anniversary 2006 (partie nº1)

I've recieved one or two e-mails asking me what Mari and I did for our anniversary. It was nothing big or exciting as most folks would define those adjectives, but we enjoyed our little excursion nonetheless.

Our original plan had been to camp at Indiana Dunes and to explore the area, but since the weather decided to not cooperate, we had to change plans. We drove up to South Bend Saturday afternoon, stopping by Anderson's Vineyards and Orchards on our way. It was a cute little place, with very neat porchlights. Their store was something like Dillman's Farm and Oliver's combined, with lots of homemade treats. We tried several of their wines and bought the blueberry. (Now we have to find a time to try it...) ^.^

The only goal for the evening was food, hopefully at a restaurant that is more of a local haunt than one with a "mainstream" feeling. We were very pleasantly surprised and please with our find.

The Chubby Trout was down the street and around the corner. (You could honestly drive along, be distracted with all the signs never know it was there!!) It was wonderful! I had "The Cubby Trout" (seasoned and grilled lake trout topped with a lobster "stuffing") and Mari had "The Winey Cow" (steak soaked in port cooked with peppercorns and cumin) for dinner. Both were delicious and very well done. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED if anyone is ever up near the South Bend/Indiana Dunes area and doesn't mind a bit of a drive to find a totally different meal!!

The Chubby Trout
2730-B Cassopolis
Elkhart IN 46514
Phone: (574) 264-5700

That's all I have time for right now. Sorry I'm so terribly behind...I gave up waiting for the internet companies to get things straightened out and am using IU's free dial-up (slooowww!), but I'll try to get more up tomorrow. :)

Update! 3/16
The Chubby Trout is finally getting a webpage. At the moment, it is not completed, but anticipate more info soon!

http://www.chubbytrout.com/