Autumn Applefest

Although I have not blogged since school started, I have been thinking about blogging, and taking some pictures of our adventures.  It has been a gorgeous fall here in the Northland! 

The maples were brilliant.

The sumac was stunning.

And the roses were taking their final bows.

Last weekend, we were celebrating HubBub's birthday. It was a beautiful day, so we hit the road and headed for the Bayfield, Wisconsin Applefest.  It is an annual festival attended by some 50,000 folks.  For those of you who are not locals, Bayfield is located on a tiny peninsula which juts into Lake Superior. 

At one time, the climate of Bayfield was marketed as ideal for apple growing.  As it turns out, it is pretty good for apples, and there are a number of successful orchards that turn out an unbelievable number of apple based products for the festival.

We had apple brats.  HubBub loves him some bratwurst!

We had apple crisp, sans ice cream. (Neither of us can have ice cream anymore, so just imagine a lovely scoop of vanilla on top of this.)

We washed it down with apple cider.  HubBub had the Apple-Raspberry, but I recommend the Apple-Cherry.  Delish!

Lest those of you who know him worry about such things, HubBub was able to squeeze in the customary festival corn dog.

We spent some time enjoying the PowWow. This is a grass dancer.

This jingle dancer had beautiful beadwork on her collar, leggings and moccasins.  For those who don't know, the jingles are made from the tops of tobacco cans which are rolled into a cone shape. I thought the emcee did a very nice job of explaining the regalia and dances. I wish there would be more PowWow experiences at festivals like this.  I think they have the potential to develop a deeper understanding of the culture.

I got myself a new Stormy Kromer hat for the upcoming winter.

A huge crowd filled the street enjoying the band from the Big Top Chataqua. They played their own folksongs with a local theme, and they were fantastic!

The leaves were brilliant,

the harbor was beautiful,

and the orchards were busy. It was a fantastic festival this year!

We followed the shore on our way home. This is the pier at Cornucopia, WI.

HubBub used to camp here with his family when he was young. We saw a few people working to put their boats up for the coming winter.

The marina was was full,

and so were the grounds. 

We made the loop past the Siskiwit Falls on our way out of Cornucopia.

And as the sun begins to set over the big lake called Superior, we will close on our Bayfield adventure.  Sometimes people ask us why we put up with our harsh winters.  This is why.

Be grateful and see the beauty in each day!

State Fair Fare

All my life, I've wanted to be a mom. 

Somehow, I was blessed with the greatest kids.  They never gave me a minute of trouble.  They always got along and took care of each other.  Although our life has had some very difficult times, we always hung together and enjoyed each other's company.

My children are grown into fabulous adults and moved a couple of hours away now, but they still want me to come and spend time with them. I love that, and still love them more than life itself.

They wanted to go to the State Fair.  The Minnesota State Fair is the second largest state fair in the United States.  If you go to the Fair; expect large crowds, walking until your feet fall off (or you wish they would), and unimaginable fried foods served on a stick.  This year's State Fair set attendance records.  On our day, Labor Day, the weather was cool, windy, and featured intermittent rain.  I decided a photo journal of our foods on a stick would be a good way to chronicle our State Fair adventure.

Ryan had been to the Fair earlier in the week and scoped out the foods that give the most bang (and grease) for the buck.  Our first stop was the food area by the Agriculture Building.  Ryan, HubBub and I began our culinary journey with the deep fried cheeseburgers.  Typically, Ryan dug in with gusto. You've got to admire that level of enthusiasm!

By the time I was able to swing the camera around and take a second shot, this was all that was left of HubBub's fried batter-covered cheeseburger.  The stick on the cheeseburger only served to fasten a dill pickle to the top. 

Katie's boyfriend, Brendan, was with us for the day.  Ryan's wife, the lovely Audrey, was working at the hospital lab, and could not join us.  Katie, seeking out vegetarian options, started with the wild rice burrito. Brendan went with the apple topped funnel cake.

The seed pictures called Crop Art in the Agriculture Building provided a tranquil opportunity for digesting.  Perhaps it was the cheeseburger, but it seemed that Ryan should have paced himself better? His second course was chicken nuggets, normally a lifelong favorite for him.  Is it me, or does his fried-food-enthusiasm seem to be waining already?

The chicken nuggets were quite tasty. HubBub decided to do a scientific study of the differences between the traditional corn dog and a pronto pup.  There is a difference, I understand, in the breading that covers the hot dog.  Both are, of course, deep fried and covered with mustard; and served on a stick.  Clinical Trial A=corn dog.

We spent quite a bit of time in the Fine Arts building.  It is a favorite stop for me, and Brendan, as he is an artist.  There was a multimedia piece on display by a friend of Brendan's.  I particularly enjoyed the dolls on display, and it made me want to try making some art dolls soon.  HubBub and Ryan were particularly interested in the photography, so there was something for everyone in that building!  While we were there, HubBub and I took a little sit-down on a bench.  I snapped this pic of one of the gorgeous ivy-covered arched windows that are a feature of the fine arts building.

We watched a stage performance of a new television program entitled Mad About that stars two friends of Katie and Brendan's.  The show is premiering this fall on a Twin Cities channel. We headed to Machinery Hill, where Ryan paid a dollar to get a nice yardstick.

Am I noticing a hint of a smirk?  It may be time for more fried food soon!

Yep!  Kate looks ready for another treat! Isn't she pretty? She is so much fun!

Having cleansed his pallette, HubBub was ready for Clinical Trial B=Pronto Pup.

Brendan was satisfied with the standard Pronto and a Coke.

HubBub's life credo is "More is Better" so he went with the Papa Pronto.

Ryan assisted in providing statistical data.

After much chewing, swallowing, pondering and contemplation; we have the results of our scientific comparison.  HubBub said he could taste no difference.  Both the Pronto and the Corn Dog were equally yummy.

Since we were by the Fried Twinkies booth, and Ryan had been able to move without discomfort, it was time to introduce Mom to the nirvana that is the Fried Twinkie.  Ryan got one first, so that I could sample a bite.

Yes, that Twinkie is covered in batter, deep fried, dusted with powdered sugar and chocolate syrup.  Yes, indeed.  Kate and Brendan initially kept their distance.  Ryan knows the deliciousness that is the Twinkie. Do you see that "come hither" look I'm getting?

HubBub and Kate shared some sugar covered Fazoles.  HubBub and I shared a Twinkie.

The Fazoles reminded me of Danish aebleskiver.

Brendan and Katie were in the mood for ice cream. Back into the Ag. Building we went.  Katie got Apple Cinnamon Wine infused ice cream.  Brendan got the honey ice cream. Both were very tasty!

We also stopped by the 4H Building.  The arts and crafts were very nice, and there were underwater robots that the guys fooled with.  It adjoined the handcrafts building, which I thoroughly enjoyed.  I had an interesting conversation with some women from the Textile Center about wool combs.  They were so knowledgable and friendly!

Anybody who knows me personally knows that my hair has an adversion to moisture.  My three strands of extremely fine, wispy coiffure turns into a crunchy mess when dampened.  Because it was raining during our adventure, this is the only picture you will see of me.  I am a Minnesota Vikings fan.  My teaching partner is a die-hard Packers fan.  This picture was taken specifically so that I can blow it up and put it on my desk at school.

GO VIKES!

HubBub was simply famished after snapping this photo, so he decided upon a gyro from the International Village.

The gyro was quite good.  I think the look on his face is because it was raining pretty hard at this point.

Katie and I enjoyed some delicious steamed noodles and veggies from the Chinese booth in the International Village.  Brendan found a glass of Summit ale.

We munched our goodies while listening to a Salsa band and watched their dancers.

Both of my marvelous children had gifts for me, and it wasn't even my birthday.  My wonderful son had spent the previous week working on upgrading my computer with a new operating system.  Windows 7 is awesome, and I know it was a big headache for him.  He is so smart and computer savy, and he saves my tech-ignorant butt more than I care to admit.

My equally smart and considerate daughter made a lovely purchase for me at a recent trip to Fargo, North Dakota.  She and Brendan went there for a wedding and she took the time to venture into the Boucle Yarn Studio looking for something for her old Mominski.  This is what she selected for me. 

It is stunning handpainted Lorna's Laces handpainted roving for me to spin!  She said she saw it when she first walked in the shop and loved it.  She looked all around the shop, and it kept calling her back.  She asked Brendan what he liked and he pointed out the same roving.  The colorway is called Flames, and I love it.

Speaking of things fibery, the HubBub green sweater is getting kind of large to haul around now; so I started a pair of socks for myself on the way down to meet the kids.  I'm loving the colors in this yarn, Sockin' Sox, formerly called Rockin' Sox by Plymouth.  This is the 003 colorway.  I'm using the Lifestyle Toe Up Socks pattern from the PULSH Fiber Journal found online.  I love the pattern, and adore the fit I'm getting with these socks.  I will most definitely make more of these for myself!

So, all in all, Labor Day (the finale of summer) was a fantastic day! 

Thanks to Ryan, Kate, Brendan and Bob, for making it so special!

Love you all!

Be grateful and see the beauty in each day!

Summer's Hurrah

I know everybody says it, but I really cannot believe that summer vacay is coming to an end.  HubBub actually took the weekend off, as things were pretty slow there.  So, he had Sat thru Mon off!  I know!!! Never happens!  The sad thing is, that on such short notice, we couldn't get our dogsitter set up.  So, we took a couple of short daytrips on Saturday and Sunday. 

On Saturday, we took a trip through Cable, Wisconsin and down to Hayward.  I had been wanting to visit the Pine Needles yarn shop in Cable all summer.  I have been very good about NOT increasing the size of LeStash, but I did score a couple of skeins.

On the trip to Cable, I finished yet another set of Fetching Gauntlets.  I've lost count, but I think I've made 4 or 5 sets of these this summer. 

I love this yarn!  It is Debbie Bliss Cashmerino. Knit Picks has a new cashmere and merino blend out that I might have to try.  When I finished the gauntlets, I went back to work on the green sleeves for the HubBub sweater. 

I feel that I've been working on this sweater forever!  I guess it has been about a year, off and on.  I'm making it on size 4 needles and he's a big guy, so it is a big project. 

While we were in Hayward, we stopped by the candy store.  It was packed in there!  We got a small bag of assorted hard candy, and some fudge!

I got a half pound of maple nut fudge, my absolute favorite!  I've been carefully rationing out a small bite in the evenings. I can make a half pound of fudge last a LONG time that way!  We drove over through Danbury on the way home and came up Hwy. 61 from Hinckley. I love the drive north from Hinckley via 61.  When I was a kid, we came up that way every Sunday to see my grandparents.  The trip always feels like "we're going to Grandma's" to me.

Yesterday, we went to the County Fair.  It was hot, but enjoyable.  HubBub had never been to that fair, and he was surprised at how much there was to see.  We watched some horse racing, took in all the historical buildings, and listened to some former students play music on the stage.  I was coerced into joining the Historical Society, but it's okay because I'm into the family history and stuff. I love the animals, and I took pictures at the Petting Zoo of the babies.

There were two very tame alpaca.  Gotta say I love their fleece!

Twin fillies, this one had one blue eye.

Arguably the smartest animal in the pens. Donkey.

Zebra reaching for a carrot.

Wallaby.

Camel.  It was a one-humper.

In the end, Jack was very happy we were home each evening and that he didn't have to be left with the sitter.

All in all, it was a really nice weekend, even though we didn't get to go on a longer trip.  I wish we could have more weekends like this!

I was reading some advice for good blogging, and it said to keep to the theme of your blog.  It said that your readers should know what to expect when they visit your site.  I think about the other blogs I frequent (see blogroll on right) and in fact, those bloggers pretty much hold true to whatever their theme is.  That's got me thinking.  My blog was originally supposed to be about knitting, but like my mind, it seems to wander.  In my attempt to be fairly frequent in my blogging, I see that I resort to writing about daily life more than knitting.  In fact, it seems I write about my daily life with some knitting sprinkled in, which is pretty much how my life is.  I'm wondering now if my blog is too scattered, or if it is okay to write about life with fiber sprinkles?? 

Be grateful and see the beauty in each day!

Grandma's Driving

I  gave my mother a pretty good laugh today.  She recently made a visit to the eye doctor and they gave her a peripheral vision test.  She has a genetic condition that is reducing her vision as she ages.  This condition can be repaired with a bit of cosmetic surgery on her eyelids.  She's balking at the idea of cosmetic surgery.  I am encouraging her to have the surgery, because impaired vision is a safety hazard when she is driving. 

I reminded Mom of a time when I was out driving with Grandma.  I'm thinking I was in the ten-year-old range at the time.  That would have put us in the late 1960's. Grandma had several surgeries for breast cancer, and combined with radiation of long ago; she had quite a bit of scar tissue on her chest, neck and sides of her torso.  We were making a quick trip to the Holiday station, as I remember it.  I don't know if it was a Holiday at the time; but that's what it is now.  Grandma was driving a boat of a Chrysler 300.  The vintage may have been a '64. It was white with red interior and push button transmission.  She pulled into the lot and snubbed the bow of the boat up to the side of the building.  She left me inside listening to the radio while she ran into the store.  It was busy, and lots of people were coming and going.  I was enjoying the music and not really paying much attention to what was happening around the station.  Gram wasn't in there very long, I think she just got a gallon of milk.  She hopped into the driver's seat and threw the boat into reverse.  She was gabbing away at me as the boat moved backwards.  I noticed a slight uphill grade to the parking lot that I hadn't noticed when we came in.  At the same time, I saw a guy in the store start waving his arms and generally blowing a gasket.  I glanced behind us and thought I saw a roof of a car, kinda close.  I hadn't just fallen off the turnip truck, and putting two and two together I said, "Uh, Gram?  I'm pretty sure you just backed over a car."  She said, "What?! No I didn't! Who'd park a car behind me??" She threw the boat into drive and pulled slowly forward.  As the boat came down off the crest of the sheet metal wave, there was the definite tinkling of lots of broken glass hitting the asphalt.  About the same time, the raving, red-faced guy came boiling out of the store.  He started with something like, "Are you crazy lady? You just ran over my car!"

Now, Gram could be a formidable force, and looked a good fight directly in the eye.  She was a firm believer in a strong offense, and went after him. "Why in the world would you park right behind my car?  Didn't you know I couldn't see it?  I'm an old lady, and I can't turn around like I used to!  Don't you go calling me names, Buster! It's totally your fault for parking behind me, and your toy car better not have scratched my car!....

That poor guy just couldn't believe it!  He started backing away, shaking his head,  and couldn't get a word in edgewise.  She said call my insurance man and gave him the agents name.  She got back into the boat and we headed for home.  The whole time she was grumbling, "Can you believe the nerve of that guy?  Parking right behind me and then saying it was MY fault?  What the devil kind of toy car was that he was driving anyway?  It wasn't even substantial enough to hold up to a little fender bender. I couldn't even tell I'd nudged the damn thing..."

Gram's been gone for 23 years now.  She gave the cancer the stink-eye for almost 30 years and never lost her fighting spirit.  Love you, Gram, and you gave us a good laugh today!

Lifedream Procrastination

The past week and a half have been spent mostly working on school stuff.  The room is coming along.  I have one more bulletin board to go, and my number line to put up.  My classlist has changed.  Two children were moved out of my room and four were added.  The current count stands at 25, and it may stay that way until school starts.  This is good news, as I have started to put names on things and get their desks set up.  Progress!  The earliest that I may hear on the resume I have outstanding is Monday, Aug. 16.  It is difficult to be working on setting up the classroom, spending the money required to get things ready; and know that I may not be spending the year there.

Those of you who know me in person, know that this hasn't been the easiest summer for me.  Emotionally, there have been several family matters that have been taxing for me.  I was raised to be a nurturer, and nurture I must.  Even when I am not physically with my family members, I feel the worry and want to take care of things for them.  I do not feel rested, in fact, I feel less rested than I did in June when school ended.

Yesterday it was a scorcher (again) and I spent some quality time with the new Where Women Create and Studios magazines.  I LOVE these magazines, and spending time in a cushy, air-conditioned chair at Barnes and Nobel reading them is heaven on earth for me. I find them totally and completely inspiring. After enjoying them, I started some negative self-talk on the way home.  Why is it that these women can find the time to do that which I so desire?  The simple answer is that they devote time to developing their passions.  I ask myself why I have such trouble giving myself permission to play as they do.  I look back at my New Year's goals and my beginning of summer journal entries for perhaps the past eight years and I see the same thing.  I write about spending time creating, giving time to myself, dedicating time to refilling the well so that I have more to give.  Yet, here I am, at the end of another summer.  Exhausted again.  Still.

I think that there may be two important reasons why I seem unable to begin the life I crave.  The biggest reason is fear.  Whenever I sit with a blank piece of watercolor paper, or even a clean page in a sketchbook, I hear a voice in my head that says, "Your brother is the artist."  I feel simply terrified to put a mark on the page.  It is fear that the comments are right.  That I will put marks that will verify my fear.  That I will put marks on the page that will tell me that my dream of being an artist is unattainable.  I have sketchbooks that I purchased when I was a teenager that only have one or two sketches in them.  I look at them now and I see an ability to draw, but they were put aside because they met with lukewarm praise from those most influential in my life.  Perhaps they were afraid I might follow my passions toward an "unmarketable" or "frivolous" career choice?  Perhaps my brother was better than I, but my ability was never really recognized. In fact, I feel it was discouraged.

The second reason is my understanding of responsibility.  I was taught that it is my responsibility to take care of family, home, and everybody but myself.  I was taught that self-care is selfish and a waste of time.  If that is your core belief, how does one justify time spent doing something just for enjoyment?  You don't.  You can't justify it.  Not if those are your core beliefs. 

So, I understand that this is what is at the heart of my procrastination and frustration.  Where does one go from here?  I am 51 years old.  Isn't it time for me to start living the life I want to live?  Unfortunately, those around me are accustomed to me giving to them and caring for them; and they are not very happy when I express a desire to do for myself.  This has recently caused much difficulty in my home life.  I'm not sure where this will end or lead, but I do feel I am finally at a point in my life where the well is empty.  I feel that I cannot give more to those unhappy with me until I refill the well by living the life that meets my needs.

I also believe that it is this unfulfilled need that I try to fill with food.  I don't wonder, I know, that I would physically be a very different person if I made the life change I crave.  I know that my appearance is a direct result of putting myself aside, basically since I was a very young child.

I know from past experience that my resolve toward change can be manipulated by guilt and threats.  Unhappy people sometimes will do anything they can to keep change from occurring.  I really need support from others to help me stay strong in my quest.  Since those discouraging this change are closest to me, I cannot look to them for support.  I understand this now, and realize that the lack of support (and outright saboutage) has been a critical piece in changing my life.  Where does one look to find the support I need?

Be grateful and see the beauty in each day!

Steamy Tuesday

Today, it is my mother's 74th birthday.  It is also my parents' 53rd wedding anniversary.  My mom got married on her 21st birthday because she wanted a sunny day for her wedding.  All her life, it has only rained a handful of times on the day of her birth.  The day of their wedding was brilliantly sunny.  In the outdoor photos, everyone is painfully squinting.  She got her wish and had a beautiful wedding day.  Happy Birthday, Mom!  Happy Anniversary, too! You had yet another sunny day!

I believe today was the hottest day of the summer, and the first 90 degree day we've had in something like 2 years.  What was I doing on this steamy day?  Climbing on and off a ladder and countertops at school, putting up bulletin boards. Youza, she was a scorcher, especially at ceiling level.  I had my little fan a-chugging, but it only made it feel like somebody had a blow dryer aimed at my face.  I did get two more bulletin boards up and my alphabet is at least on the wall.  It needs tweaking, as it is still wrinkly and a bit crooked, but it is actually on the wall. 

I could have taken pictures of the bulletin boards, but my brain was fried and I forgot.  It feels good to be making progress, albeit it slow progress, in the classroom. 

Be grateful and see the beauty in each day!

Relaxing Sunday

Yesterday, I spent some time at school putting up a couple of bulletin boards.  The room has been gutted since mid-July, and now that the company is gone, I can start to put things back together.  Here's the start of the biggest bulletin board in my room.

That is green cotton fabric on the board.  I prefer to use fabric, as it holds up better than paper.  The blue next to the ladder will go up for the next part of the board. Here's how the green section turned out.

On I went to the next section of the big board.  By this time, I was hot and sweaty and put my fan on "high."  I had to finish cutting out all of the little animals for the next section of the board.  I'm not sure why I love farm scenes so much, but I do.  It must be the farming in my genes, put there by my great grandparents.  Here's the farm board.  I'm going to put the words "Welcome to Our Class" on the yellow sign.

After I finished this board, I went to my folks' house for a little visit.  Here's how the two look next to each other.

Today, was a relaxing day spent at home.  I did a little walking around outside and snapped some pics of the flowers in the yard. In spite of my notorious black thumb,  love having flowers around me and really miss them all winter.  This year, I went with mostly petunias.  I also have roses (which are past their prime now) and daylilies.  So, enjoy a few shots of my summer flowers.

Alyssum

Red Wave Petunia and Lobelia

Katie's Planter

Pink Daylily

Pink and White Petunias

Bright Yellow Daylily

Watering can planter

Purple veined Double Petunia

Be grateful and see the beauty in each day!