The Great Minnesota Get Together - Part 1

It took a few years, but Paul and I finally got a do over of our Minnesota State Fair plans that were thwarted by a fall down the stairs in 2010.  I know so many people that adore the fair, but I think the charms elude me.  I certainly found things to look at and to eat, but it is all just a bit too much for me with the crowds and sameness from year to year.  We made a full day and night of it, so we shouldn't have need to return for many more years.  Here are some pictures from our day.

Judging the vegetables

wild rice

I ate that ice cream.  It was good.

bonsai roots

frozen cider

Our 1 greasy food item: fried cheese curds!

misters to keep people cool

We headed home for dinner and to take care of Tchazo and then came back again for an evening fair concert.  More on that tomorrow!

Mill City Farmers' Market

At least once each summer I like to go the Mill City Farmers' Market and indulge in breakfast, sampling and a bit of shopping. The location of this market is stunning, the vendors pull out all of the stops for their booth displays and the goods are top notch.

The shaded section of the market is quite comfortable even on a hot and sunny morning.

Paul and his hash:

Peek-a-boo!

This year, beyond enjoying a delicious breakfast, I came away with a watermelon (for dehydrating), loose leaf tea (Mrs. Kelly's), shitake mushrooms (probably my favorite variety of mushroom), tiny grapes (so flavorful), peach focaccia sweet bread and I ordered a dress from Sassy Knitwear.  How I managed to leave that market without buying cheese is amazing to me.  Maybe I need to go back again before the season ends.

About Town

I am entering one of my busy phases at work, which means I use up all of my words during the day.  

In lieu of lots of words, I have a few sights from around town to share and a few words to go with them.

Post Softball BBQ Breakfast Locale

Lake Nokomis

Soaking up this hot weather with visits to the lake.  Last week included a  bike ride and a beach picnic with my mom.

Bella Lana, a beautiful yarn store in NE Minneapolis, will be closing in a few days.  We made a stop there over the weekend to check out the sale and visit the shop dogs one last time.

Kisses

Lean into it

Sunday (and today for that matter) was HOT.  We had high hopes for productivity around the house with dehydrating, beer brewing, laundry washing, etc...until the power went out.  My yarn and I headed out to enjoy an iced chai and some bonding time at Butter Bakery while the car boiled in the parking lot.

After working on the same sweater All. Summer. Long. I started a new project.  I needed some fresh yarn in my knitting world to get excited about it again.  I will still finish my Paulina but for now I have shifted focus to Madigan.

Then, I went home to find the power had come back on and gone out again.  Since neither of us felt like letting the cold out of the fridge, we decided to treat ourselves to momos.  I love momos.

Softball BBQ 2013

Picking Teams

Jessica at Bat

After a Tumble

Rosie

Cribbage Players

Hooping at Dusk

Past years here.

Turtle Dive Haikus

A turtle spotted

Ladies shared their tomatoes

This is what happened

Not so graceful is

The turtle going over

The edge of the ledge