Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Two New Residents At the Yen Household

This weekend, Kim, the kids and I went to visit our friends Peter and Jody, who own The Old School Records in Forest Park, Illinois. They were participating in a sidewalk sale/street fair that Forest Park holds every year.

I rode the "Berry-Go-Round" with Adam and Mel (I am the "Designated Goes-On-Carnival-Rides-With-The-Kids" Parent) and bought the kids Italian Ices (okay, I had one too). This was not without its reward: Kim shelled out three bucks to get me this awesome Elvis candle.

The Candle King wasn't the only new resident who made his debut this weekend. Last fall, I helped my landlord unload our other new resident from his van. All 300+ pounds of him (he's made of cast concrete). We had to wait for the yard renovations to be finished-- we wanted to move him only once-- and so he's been stored in the garage since last fall. He ended up having to be moved twice, though; my landlord moved him to his final home, but "Uncle Ho," as he has been dubbed, got tanked up on sake and fell over into the garden the night after he was installed. Adam and I helped my landlord pick him up and put him in a more secure spot.

I'm looking forward to both new residents joining us for cocktails in our new backyard this summer.

11 comments:

Fran said...

The King AND Uncle Ho??? WTF - that is a weekend beyond compare.

From the looks of things, I would be inviting myself to your soon-to-be-cocktail party in your backyard. Lucky for you (and Bubs!) I am far enough away to not be any real danger to you or your families.

But a girl's gotta have dreams, right?

(If I do come, I will bring my battery operated singing Elvis that used to sit on my desk, back when I was employed. I hope to have him "deskified" soon again!)

Cap'n Ergo "XL+II" Jinglebollocks said...

Uncle Ho looks like he has to fart really bad.

deadspot said...

I love Italian Ice. Down here, though, you can only find them in the freezer section at the grocery store. Here, the street fair lemon consumption vehicle of choice is the Lemon Shake-Up. For the record, the Champaign Historical Society sets the gold standard.

Cheer34 said...

I had Italian Ice in little Italy in New York city once....

also made the mistake of requesting ranch dressing on my salad ( back in the day when I ate dressing)...at a restaurant in Little Italy....the waiter just looked at me and said "You 're in Little Italy and you'll get italian dressing" oops sorry my mistake

Uncle Ho looks like he is ready to take a tumble again...has he been hitting the sake

Anonymous said...

Uncle Ho looks like my Uncle Joe. If his appetite is anything like my Uncle Joe's, you better double up the food and drinks at your next gathering.

Barbara Bruederlin said...

Everybody needs a 300 lb Uncle Ho in their backyard!

Dale said...

I love the candle and the ho! Great finds.

It looks like Uncle Ho is receiving messages through those twigs, vines or wires above his helmet. Be careful!

SkylersDad said...

I have nothing clever to add, but I am breathlessly awaiting GKL's comment...

Johnny Yen said...

Franiam-
A singing electric Elvis on your desk? You're obviously our kind of person. Hope you and yours can share a libation with us and the Bubs clan in our groovy backyard some day.

Cap'n-
I wondered what that odor was. I thought it was one of the cats.

Deadspot-
Italian ices aren't usually at street fairs here, either-- I jumped at it.

The Champaign Historical Society? I didn't know anything ever happened in Champaign. Wait- didn't they build a college there a while back or something?

Cheer34-
So what kind of dressing would you have gotten in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood?

Suzel's Sass-
Duly noted. I'll watch my drink and bbq around Uncle Ho.

Barbara-
All the cool kids are getting them.

Dale-
I think you're right, and the message he's receiving is "Stand very, very still for a very, very long time..."

Skyler's Dad-
I'm sure she's got something to say, one Ho to another...

Fran said...

Well there may be a reason I don't work there any more...

Hey - no Elvis? No Fran!

Heheheheheh!

Trust me, when I am next in Chicagoland, you all will be either very happy or very regretful that you met me via blogging!!

GETkristiLOVE said...

Yeah, you have to watch those Hos... they will tend to get tanked up and fall over on you. Thanks for being there for one of us. I should be so lucky!