The mind of Derrick Lee Bradshaw, Sr.

Decatur Indoor Sports Center (DISC) near Millikin University in Decatur, IL 62522

ventrue21 — Wed, 09 May 2012 16:57:47 +0000

The DISC, Decatur Indoor Sports Center, is a great facility located just south of Millikin University. Quality Home Locator has many rental properties on the west end of town near the DISC and they offer a great yearly package for non-students. Just a few hundred dollars per year gives your entire family access to the whole facility. Most of our Millikin area student housing properties are conveniently located just a block or two from the DISC. As of May, 2012 we only have one house available for the 2012-2013 school year.

My Bear and Wolf scouts!

ventrue21 — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 16:52:19 +0000

My boys are cub scouts in pack 43 here in Mt Zion and right now is rank advancement time. I am proud to announce that Derrick has just earned his Bear badge which includes his whittling chip and at the next pack meeting Connor will earn his Wolf badge! As part of the celebration the pack invited The Amazing Dudley to the pack meeting and he is truly amazing! I have known Justin Dudley for awhile and I would recommend him for any kid event! He has been entertaining kids in our community for 20 years now.

World Aquarium offering 75% off half day Sea Camp or Seafari-Experience

ventrue21 — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 03:18:57 +0000

The World Aquarium is offering half day Sea Camp and Seafari-Experiences. These prices are only good for a few more days so if your interested in a St Louis adventure without all the cost this is your chance. Visit dealsaver for 75% off The World Aquarium.

immaculate 4 bedroom home in Forsyth, IL for rent to be announced soon.

ventrue21 — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 15:29:00 +0000

Quality Home Locator will be announcing later next month, its addition of a new property located in Forsyth, IL. A contract has already been secured via the companies property management services and the home will be available for rent soon. This 2400 sq.ft. home has hard wood floors throughout the living, dining, and family area. This property has all the upgrades one would expect including granite counter tops, stainless sink, maple cabinetry, and all major appliances. With the LG washer and dryer located on the main floor, getting the wash done is easy. If that was not enough, the property also sits on nearly 1/3 of an acre, partially fenced, and has a beautiful patio for entertaining. An ADT security system has been installed on the premises and would be available for use to the new tenant. A quiet culdesac near Forsyth park and just minutes from the new grammar school, this property will not stay available long. If you or anyone you know would be interested in a house within the Forsyth area, please contact my office.

Forsyth is located on the north side of Decatur, IL near Hickory Point Mall. This property would do perfect for someone in Decatur, Bloomington or Champaign.

4 bedroom house near Millikin University

ventrue21 — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 22:20:16 +0000

Since the addition of Quality Home Locator‘s Millikin area housing page the company has added a large selection of homes to its inventory. Our property management services have helped this process as well as connect landlords with great tenants. December of last year we added a 3 bedroom house near Millikin University. This month we are scheduled to add three to four more houses for the Millikin school year 2012-2013. My company announced today the addition of a 4 bedroom house near Millikin University, 460 South Taylor, but the property has already been leased out of the up and coming school year. Most of houses are already rented but you can contact us to reserve your choice for the 2013-2014 school year. As of today we only have one 4 bedroom house, about 2 blocks from campus, available for this coming up school year and if you are still in need of housing feel free to contact our office at 217.864.6485.

Cosi fan tutte

ventrue21 — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 22:48:43 +0000

I announced last week that Andrew Craig Brown would be performing Don Alfonso in the Yale production of “Cosi fan tutte”. So, this past weekend I took a road trip to see his performance. Don Alfonso is a family friend that feels the sisters; Fiordiligi and Dorabella are about to marry the wrong men. He decides to intervene and insists to the young men that there is no woman alive that can remain faithful. He is also a philosopher and likes the idea of studying the outcome of human nature. Taking a bet with Don Alfonso that their fiancees would be faithful, the two young men agree to do everything he asks. Creating a story that Ferrando and Guglielmo, the two young men, must leave for war, they secretly return disguised as two men from Albania and attempt to seduce the lady not his fiancee.

I have seen several Operas and this one specifically, I have seen a couple times. The performance of the entire cast was riveting. When act I was over I did not want an intermission and was hungry to see the rest of the performance.

WZK 70692 Quarriors! Quarmageddon Expansion

ventrue21 — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 22:46:00 +0000

It’s all-out QUARMAGEDDON as the epic battles of Quarry dice continue with this brand new expansion set to the popular Quarriors! dice-building game. The last set Quarriors, Rise of the demons was a huge success and this set looks to be even better.

Featuring 40 new custom dice & 26 new cards powering 6 new Creatures and 2 new Spells this expansion set contains updated rulebook and inserts designed for extra storage space.

In this game of “Uber Strategic Hexahedron Monster Combat Mayhem,” players compete to capture the most powerful Spells and Creatures (in the form of dice!) from the Wilds and add them to their collection. Players then roll their powerful cubes and summon them into play to battle each of their opponent’s forces.

Phone: 1.127.864.6485
Street date: June 6, 2012
Price: $39.99

Andrew Craig Brown in the Yale Opera Performance of “Cosi fan tutte”

ventrue21 — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:42:19 +0000

This weekend Andrew Craig Brown, a current Yale student who once studied at Millikin University here in Decatur, IL, will be performing in “Cosi fan tutte”. For more information on this production visit the link below.

Yale Opera Presents “Cosi fan tutte” by W.A. Mozart, Feb 10-12 @ The Shubert Theater from yalemusic on Vimeo.

World Aquarium Seafari-Experience Adventure Tour on Eversave.com $12/ticket

ventrue21 — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:30:19 +0000

Looking for something to do with the family?

This weekend Eversave.com is offering the following deal, $12 for a Seafari-Experience Adventure Tour at the World Aquarium — featuring the best parts of the larger Sea Camp.

Located within the City Museum in downtown St. Louis, the World Aquarium is not your average theme park aquarium. It’s a personable, hands-on oceanic oasis featuring aquatic eco-systems from throughout the world.

During the two- to three-hour guided Seafari-Experience Adventure Tour, your kids will feel like seasoned marine biologists as they touch, feed, and learn about stingrays, sharks, turtles and many more aquatic animals. They’ll further learn about the importance of conservation and the sustainability of our fresh-water ecosystems.

Grab multiple Saves for your family for an educational, underwater outing that makes fact as much fun as fiction. Just visit eversave.com between the dates of January 19th and January 21st.

My Owari Satsuma Mandarin Tree

ventrue21 — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 03:44:42 +0000

It has been almost a year since I ordered and planted my Asian Pear tree and two years since my first attempt at growing anything. I have to admit, it has been a great learning experience filled with many trials and tribulations! Last year in November I decide to purchase more plants online and one of those happened to be the Owari Satsuma Mandarin tree. My kids LOVE Mandarins so we decided to check and see if there was any way to get one here in Illinois. I called John at Clifton Nursery and told him my situation. After talking with him a bit, I learned that it is possible to keep such a tree here in zone 5 but you just need to bring it in during the winter. He highly recommended the Asian Pear tree so I immediately ordered one from his company. The beauty about this specific Mandarin tree is the Owari is a well-known Satsuma cultivar which ripens during the late fall season, requires little water, and is cold resistant. My tree has been inside since November when we had the tree shipped to us and as you can see by the picture it still looks very healthy, even with it being so cold outside. I have been giving her water about once every 4-7 days and misting the leaves every other to every day. I think overall about 3 or 4 leaves have turned color and fallen off the tree but I’m guessing that is a bit normal. I could be speaking to soon, but honestly it seems pretty easy to care for an indoor tree. I do have to say that the customer service at Clifton Nursery has been outstanding even after the sale. I frequently have questions and they always take the time to help me figure something out. I have even been able to send them a photo of my plant and they provide the best solutions or advice.

I have taken what I’ve learned from Clifton Nursery and applied it to my other plants. Last year over the winter my rosemary plant died before it could make it back outside and, as you can tell by the picture, even after being inside for 3-4 months my rosemary is doing very well. I brought a couple other plants in for the winter and I plan to do a full post right before spring with a report on everything’s health.

I’ve been hooked ever since I started growing things back in 2010. The American Garage is a tv show based in Texas and the pilot episode 1 is the start of a restoration project to bring a Bradley tractor back to working order. As you can imagine, this project caught my attention and I was brought on last year. I owe this connection to my newly found gardening hobby and a product I sell called Castaloy.