Jake could best be described as my closest friend and good food soulmate here in America. He has his own huge gardens selling vegetables and eggs to Chicago, is developing a farm to table restaurant and also, above the restaurant ,has an airbnb.
Last night we had a wee pretend party and I dusted (literally dusted ) off my tripod and packed Camera house, loaves of fresh bread, a few of my white platters and went out to a party for the first time in years. Jake had the beef and chicken and a range of vegetables from his garden already. We were on a mission to showcase our own homegrown food in pictures and collect some images for his promotional package.
Here are a very few of those shots – I look forward to unpacking the rest today after chores.
The apartment sleeps six and is opposite the courthouse in Pontiac, Illinois. (Just in case you are doing Route 66 and want a lovely central place to stay). Airbnb of course! It is called Acres Inn. It is spacious and light. Beautiful.
Jake cooked.
c
And we ate.
The courthouse tower was lit in pink for Cancer Awareness week or month or something. I have always hated this campaign. I know no one who has not been affected by breast cancer. We are all fully aware of it already thank you very much. So are the big boy pharmaceutical companies. Breast cancer is big business. What more can we be aware of except to be asked to donate money?
Frankly, at the risk of making myself extremely un-popular, I think the breast cancer awareness promotion is a big racket- (The CEO’s are some of the best paid ‘charity/non-profit’ heads in the world). They feed off grief and guilt and fear and fly First Class to boot.
If they spent this amount of money on ‘good food awareness’ or ‘chemicals in your environment to avoid because they CAUSE cancer’ awareness, it would benefit so many more people including the women. But the chemical companies would not allow it nor would the politicians. As usual breasts are sexier than food. I don’t see them giving this money directly to the poor young mothers struggling with breast cancer who have had to mortgage (and sometimes sell ) their houses to pay for the thievery treatments and are left alone throwing up into their basins while making lunch for the kids.
The chemicals they are pushing and ‘researching’ are not free to the sick here you know. Anyway – this is where my support goes – straight to the Mums, and Aunties and Grans. Not into the pockets of the pink people.
Woops there I go again. Trying to show you a nice wee party then going off on a tangent!
I hope you have a lovely day.
Love celi
Monday 10/30 20% / 0 in
Cloudy early then partly cloudy and windy this afternoon. Slight chance of a rain shower. High near 50F. Winds W at 20 to 30 mph.
Monday Night 10/30 0% / 0 in
Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low near 30F. Winds WNW at 15 to 25 mph.
Sun
7:21 am 5:50 pm
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 74% visible 3:41 pm 2:02 am
The Kitchen's Garden 
63 responses to “A PRETEND PARTY AT JAKES”
Lovely appartment and fantastic food! And good vent 😆
Yes – that apartment had great light too – I would love to stay there.
What a lovely combination, tantalising photos and food for thought. Which we should all share as it often will make a difference to someone else just at the right time. Constructive, thoughtful food for discussion kept to one’s self can be of no help to anyone else.
I told the boys last night i was perfectly happy to do some photos for them good wine, good food, good company and a camera. Lovely.
I’m late so I’ll be brief. Need a nap already. I agree with you 100% on the charity thing. The photos are stunning and the aribnb should do well. The food, I’m salivating. We need more real, good food. That’s where our money should go and to help those that can’t buy it. You are so very articulate with your tangents. 🙂
Yes – a priest i used to know said Eat well and Sleep cheap –
I’m one of those single women who nearly lost her home, throwing up alone. I don’t recall any benefits coming directly to me from the Pink Brigade… The Pink should be a blush of shame at how they are abusing peoples’ goodwill. Which is why I support a whole other cancer charity and colour, despite having had breast cancer. I know where the money goes, and have seen it in action, providing research funding, support for sufferers and a very minimal publicity campaign for a rather invisible and silent killer. People say that if a charity is worth anything, it should be able to pay its workers. To which I say Bollocks. If people will volunteer their time, the money should go where it’s going to do some good, instead of in the pockets of executives. Right, rant off chest.
Beautiful, delicious food and photos. Congratulations to you and to Jake and his buddies.
You are a star darling girl — c
Ohh that food looks good! I agree with you regarding the charity campaigns.
I love good food!!
As someone who has had breast cancer I can but agree with your comments, Celi. Even while I was undergoing treatment I felt overwhelmed by ‘pink’ and all that it encompasses. I was invited again and again to various groups, either fund raising or support and it was quite a force to keep at arms length. I took plenty of time for self evaluation and came to my own conclusions. I found one research group who uses none of the donations for admin fees (admin fees are taken care of by the hospital with which they are associated) and I donate to them for research. I offer my own support if someone I know is going through breast cancer. For myself, I realised I have a wonderful life and family and friend support system and am grateful every day. The photos are very tantalising, Celi, almost makes me want to drive route 66 just so we could stay there! xx
I agree with finding a charity that suits – or not at all as the case may be – Breast cancer is nasty – but many cancers are nasty. we are only 100 miles south of the beginning of route 66!
LOVED your tangent!!!
Have a lovely evening Deb
Thanks C! Hope you did too: )
To each their own. Having been involved in ‘charity’ work since I was 14 1/2 [By the bye I hate the word! It is a welfare issue!!] and still being active in half-a- dozen nationally and internationally now I have seen little money ‘wasted’. I too had my breast removed over a dozen years ago and was overwhelmed by offers of help from a lengthy hospital; stay to years afterwards at home. I was made to feel absolutely secure and every query I had [and, yes, doctors affected also have queries!!] was answered and followed up. For those living in Australia – are you aware of the absolutely wonderful work of the McGrath Foundation: for every ‘x’ dollars donated there is another home nurse doing the rounds. Unless one has personal knowledge both as a worker [and I have always done this as a volunteer!] or grateful patient, perhaps I question the right to criticise!
Australia has a wonderful health system – I have seen it at work first hand and applaud their work
Hobgoblins afoot again! As I said yesterday, these orgs are NG ones and entirely dependent on citizen support freely given. Australia ‘works’ well because everyone gets involved and money and time by the volunteers is not an issue. Actually our government health system is in dire need at the moment . . . I do not have one friend who does not ‘donate’ at least one day a week, and many work fulltime into their 80s at least . . . . many use their one day a week off to help the society, some of my best professional friends have hardly taken a holiday in the past few decades, so others might have an easier time . . . . I was taught that at 3 or 4 . . . .
As a breast cancer survuver (17 years) these charities just infuriate me. They seem to think that if you’ve had and survived breast cancer you should sing their praises. They did nothing for me except send me tons of wasteful junk mail, flood my one inbox to the point I closed the email account, telephoned me almost daily and were worse pests that cockroaches (at least you can kill those). I was “offered” a horrendiously expensive chemical which was touted as giving me a 50/50 chance of no recurrence but which also was more certain to destroy my vision and/or induce liver, kidney or colon cancer (great trade off that). I was called stupid when I refused the chemicals and just told them to “lop ’em off if the tissue isn’t there it can’t get more cancer” and I had to fight for the double prophylactic mastectomies (both at the same time). It was the best possible decision. We in America are too focused on breasts as sexual objects – they are for feeding babies. I was not going to have babies. I discussed it with my husband and he told me he’d rather have me alive and as healthy and happy as possible rather than preserve two lumps of glandular tissue that had already threatened everything. I was offered no help from any of the charities, other than pushing the chemicals, which I found disturbing and indicated to me that there were bribes or payoffs involved or something like that. My surgeon told me that I had made the smartest decision, she ended up having to do mastectomies on women who had opted for the chemical “treatments” which had little or no effect on the cancer plus the chemical caused cancer in other parts of the body if not metastasized cancers. I would far rather offer to help an individual or small local charity than these non-profit megacharities where the lion’s share of the money goes to “administrative” costs.
I think it’s important that we can share the conversation here in the Lounge of Comments. I may not comment often but I do read them every day, I learn a lot, agree to a large extent with many and follow several others who comment here. It is a community in which I feel safe to speak my mind without wondering if I’ve opened myself to nasty retaliation (I’ll handle that on my own blog).
Jake’s place looks so welcoming and from the photos the food looked marvelous (my stepson in a professional chef in the Indianapolis area). Nothing like fresh local ingredients, prepared in a loving, caring way without any attempt to disguise the flavors. The Airbnb apartment is inviting and looks cozy too.
I agree that it is paramount that we can speak here without fear, I love it when we all join in and speak.. c
It has something to do with the respect each person shows here. It doesn’t matter if we all agree, it does matter that we are respectful in what we say and how we react to each other.
Your photos (and Jake’s food of course) have me salivating! I have a polite response to telephone solicitations – “I don’t donate to anyone over the phone”. Here’s one for you, my John is two weeks into a five week course of daily radiation treatments at a local cancer center affiliated with a world class health care system. However, the other day I saw the little white signs proclaiming the grass had been treated for weeds with a herbicide/insecticide. Is that not ironic? At a CANCER CENTER?
Now that IS just crazy – i hope his treatments are going well – I bet he is in really good hands – I have met some simply wonderful doctors and researchers lately – they are a joy to work with – tell hubby Do Not Walk On The GRASS!! c
Hear hear! In England now they’ve really ramped up the door knocking and leaping out at you on the street and asking you to sign up to various charities…some poor folk are terrorised into doing something they can ill afford. Anyway…beautiful photos, it looks like an amazing place and that food….😀
Tanya – Actually we are not ‘door-knocking;’ usually . . . and certainly not ‘terrorizing’ anyone. A simple, friendly ‘no’ is always acceptable. . . . if some people feel otherwise: perchance it is their mental problem . . . Naturally I do not know about the UK, but in Australia giving for a fair society is the only acceptable option . . . . I mentioned the McGrath Foundation as the last day of the Cricket Season sees every man, woman and beast in beautiful pink and all the kids damn well thrilled to bring out their piggybanks to make ‘another lady stay alive’ . . . that is how I brought m children up, and they theirs . . . .
When will Jake’s restaurant open? I would love to come back out and visit and dine. Looks like there are some nice air bnb’s in the area! And I appreciate your rant. I agree completely.
We are still waiting on approvals from the council. Sigh
The apartment looks fab, as does the food.. wonderful images Celi 🙂
I think Jake is a good friend to have! Everything looks amazing.