Pimentos, Old Stone Mini Golf, & Hamilton – Oh My!

Tags

fun, Hamilton, local art

What an amazing weekend we had in Minneapolis!  There are always so many people to see and things to do and this weekend we had some of the best of both!

We started with a trip to Northern Sun for some sign frames (we have new Water Protector signs to post) and some replacement buttons (Dan gave his “Jesus had two dads and he turned out OK” button away a while back and needed a new one).  Then we stopped for just a sec at a new community bookstore – Moon Palace Books, which had a terrific layout of books and a delightful cafe in back.  They also had used books upstairs but we left without tempting ourselves…  Some potential new reads I found were Come of Age: The Case for Elderhood in a Time of Trouble & Die Wise, both by Stephen Jenkinson.

Then we headed to our friend Sadie’s place where we would spend the weekend with her roommate Alison.  They have an awesome place and we were greeted with an amazing Mona Lisa painting that Alison had just acquired at an estate sale.  After some relaxation, we decided to head to her favorite restaurant, Pimento Jamaican Kitchen, where we were able to hook up with Uncle Cam and Aunt Karen too!  So good to catch up with them and enjoy some really great food.  We tried the One Love combo bowl which included jerk chicken, jerk pork, beans and rice, slaw, and plantains.  We didn’t even try any of their sauces as the meat was so delicious with the other sides.  Alison’s boyfriend met up with us also – we’re making friends faster than ever!!

The next day started with a drive over to Laura’s where fresh, ripe plums awaited my washing.  Since they were SO ripe, I didn’t think they’d survive until I could get to processing them at the Harn so we decided to make cordial instead – way better idea!!  Lutz advised as I filled jars with plums, sprinkled in some sugar and added the vodka.  In six weeks, we’ll be able to see how it’s tasting.  I have big plans to get the rhubarb cordial started when I get home too…  This is fun.  And beautiful!  Will make some good gifts…

I grabbed a quick book from the Little Library a couple houses down as it was a 35th anniversary edition of a book I have been meaning to read for some years – it had an Appreciation in it by Maurice Sendak and I wanted to check it out.  Boy, am I glad I did as I thoroughly enjoyed his words about this book.  Must get to it soon…

Then we headed to brunch at the Tiny Diner, a Permaculture-based diner with really good food, if not spectacular service.  I don’t know if our waitress hated her job, didn’t care, or just was off her game but wow was she NOT real friendly or helpful.  She seemed to try a bit harder after I’m guessing she heard me say to Laura as she brought her a spoon, “Maybe she’s having a bad day.”  Laura had to re-request said spoon after a delivery of sugar and stir sticks.  Good thing we got it as the sugar was really clumpy and had to be removed from the decanter with a spoon instead of pouring it from the spout.

I am always amazed by bad service when it seems to me there is a simple solution. If you’re a server having a crap day, say something!  Maybe, “Hey, I’m off my game today.  Not sure what’s up but please have patience with me if I am not as cheery or well-oiled as I normally am.” or “My cat died last week and I’m still feeling a bit blue so my brain isn’t firing on all cylinders.  While I’m doing my best to make your visit a good one, please let me know if I’m dropping the ball on anything as I could use a little extra help this week.”  I believe most patrons will be happy to accommodate and might even leave a BIGGER tip to try to help out your day.  I think most of us (those of us with a bit of compassion anyway) want to help others’ lives easier if we can.  But first we need to know you’re having a hard time, not just an apathetic grouch.

Dan said the biscuits and gravy was good – had a hint of lemon – and Laura’s egg sandwich came with pickled radish that was excellent.  I had the New Mexico Omelet with cheddar and pickled peppers – so delish!  The place had a lot of info about Permaculture, including a really rad pollinator housing complex.

Next we headed to Big Stone Mini Golf which was so wonderful.  Sorry no photos yet as we forgot our camera and I’m waiting on shots from my friend.  But check out their website for some shots.  The golf course is aged and has some rough edges that hang your ball so if you’re super competitive, you may find some frustration.  We were out for a fun day of artsy golf and got just what we wanted.  We definitely got out money’s worth on a per shot basis – the scores on a fourteen-hole course ranged from 60-80.  [Why, yes, I did win!!  But I was worried when I got an 8 on the first hole!!]

After the golf, we walked the grounds checking out all the sculptures.  From the IV/Walker statement on health care and the world of high art to the Shiny Mushrooms and Beans, to the Chains in the shape of a person on a large stone slab, there was much to make you think.  Oh, there was a Pig flying an Airplane and a giant Roshambo too.  And if you like pigs, there is also a free-range pig that wanders the grounds.  He keeps the goats and chickens happy – you can feed those guys if you like.

We got uber lucky when the artist who started all this wonderfulness, Bruce Stillman, was found walking the grounds.  I thanked him for creating this place and mentioned that he should let us know when he starts giving tours of the houses (there is a tiny house, a large home, and a studio).  Lucky for us, when Laura mentioned the studio tour, he gave us one!  We got to see his latest work along with some of his early things that he houses in the upstairs area of the place, including HIS Mona Lisa.  I was uber impressed with his latest concept of “Justice” and I’m hopeful to get a shot to add to this blog soon.

After golf, we headed to the city to meet up with a bunch of folks for an evening on the deck at Psycho Suzy’s.  I think I went through about 5 or 6 glasses of water as we talked and talked and ate good food.  We got to see the giant spider that comes out as the sun goes down and we saw bats flying around as it got even later.  What a lovely time with friends new and old.  Try the Thai Pizza – it’s really good.

Then it was back to the lovely old home for a good night’s rest – well, a partial one as we were up until almost 2!!  But I was up early enough in the morning to meet another house guest, Elsa, owner of Yoga One in Alexandria, who regaled us with stories from her previous evening – what a joy to meet her.  Hope to see her again when I’m back in Alex.  I had been meaning to check out that Yoga Studio…

The big event was yet to come… Hamilton!!!  Friends Sherry, Jamie, and Ann joined Dan and I for lunch at MacKenzie Pub before the show.  Totally recommend this place if you’re going to a show at the Orpheum as you can then sneak over to their bathrooms during intermission – and YES!! It’s WAY quicker than the line inside the Orpheum.  Three of us had the Caribbean Pork Tacos – GF and so full of flavor!  Sherry Ann ordered the hummus platter that had loads of kalamata olives and two kinds of bread.  Dan was disappointed to hear they were out of the Scotch Eggs but that just means he’ll have to get them next time…

So, Hamilton was just incredible.  I’ve seen large stage plays in the past, I saw musicals and operas in D.C. when Mom used to live there, but this was just beyond anything theatrical I’ve ever experienced.  There was SO MUCH going on all over the stage.  The choreography was excellent with the fast-paced and the stop-motion, the graceful and the blunt.  Every move was executed with precision and the singing was top-notch.  I cannot recommend this show enough.  I especially liked the T-shirt that said “Hamilton & Jefferson & Madison & Washington.  Burr.”  🙂

It was a wonderful experience in so many ways for me.  I will be listening to it on CD – especially Act 1 which had such a powerful effect on me.  Writing like you’re running out of time, indeed.  I just couldn’t help but see the links between what I’m trying to accomplish in fighting Line 3 and what Hamilton was doing in fighting to create a government for this newly birthed nation.

More on the Line 3 opposition next week…

 

Brosius After 5 Years

Tags

family, fun

So this past week, Dan and I have been at the (reportedly) “#2 Family Camp in the U.S.A.”, Camp Brosius in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.  I don’t know about all that, but it’s a fun place where we have friends we’ve been seeing since 1993 and we hadn’t been there in 5 years.  That last visit was the summer Tom was a counselor at Camp Brosius.  Lots of good and bad stories from that last time.  And good and bad from this time too, though we’ll stick with the good.

We were proud to arrive first, ten minutes early and about 9 minutes before the next car arrived, carrying the Sirotas!!!  These are good family friends with Tom and Karina growing up in the same group of campers through the years.  We were happy to see them and it had been so many years that their youngest looked about as old as their middle child was last time we saw them!  I kept thinking I would call him by his brother’s name!  He did teach us later in the week about Zombie Dice, which was awesome.  His mom won the first two rounds but he finally beat her in round three.  We also played Exploding Kittens.

We also had fun with all our Annex Friends.  Scott and Vickie, Rick and Mary, John and Rosalba, Andrew and new friends too!  We completed three, yes, 3, 1000 piece puzzles!  And we read some good books, more on that later…  We even won the Euchre tournament!  Great prizes provided by Mary were shared by the top teams who split them making both teams happy campers!

Met new friend Kathleen and while we did not prevail in the Brosius Euchre Tourney or the Cornhole Tourny, we can say we held our own in the Cornhole arena.  And we were playing young men.  We thought we didn’t have a chance but held the lead for multiple rounds!  In the end, they took us.  But we had a nice long game tossing the bags back and forth.  Also did some macrame with the craft group.

We ate a lot of great food and swam in the lake.  We saw Elkhart Lake (the village), ate at the Mexican place in Plymouth (El Sombrero) – great food and staff, and shopped at Fleet Farm – discovered Dried Peas!!  We did it all.  Dan read more than me: On Tyranny, Hiroshima, Howard Zinn Conversations on History and Politics, and A Nation of Immigrants by Kennedy – all currently relevant.  He’d read this last one in 7th grade and it’s eerily relevant.  I read the first and half of the third books above.  I was too busy puzzling for much more reading than that.  But I was impressed with the On Tyranny so watch for a Book Review on that next week.

It was a good week of relaxing, not worrying about anything but chatting, enjoying the breeze, and eating with friends and family.  Even took a nap one afternoon.  It was lovely and we are grateful to Aunty Reetz for providing such a wonderful opportunity.

Next year, maybe we’ll get Tom there…

 

I’m at Rec Lab!!!

Tags

Rec Lab

Taking the week off to thoroughly invest in Rec Lab.  See you all next week… hopefully with a report on all the fun I had, things I learned, people I saw, and clay art I made.

Rec Lab 2017 ~  Clay work and Instructor Laura Burlis

Update: This is the $2 jacket I picked up on the way to Rec Lab – hoping to decorate it in Jenifer Burlis-Freilich’s Upcycling Clothing class!!  (I can tell you it’s turned out great… you’ll see in next week’s blog.)  I also got a $2 olive colored shirt that I’m turning into quite the get-up.  I’ll be wearing it at the next Corey Medina and the Brothers show…. I’m really loving upcycling clothes.  But my first love of Polymer Clay is still taking a BIG part of each day at Lab…

See you next week!!

Is Spring Here Yet?

Tags

Birthday

We’re in the middle of Third Winter here in the North Woods.  It just keeps staying cold.  And it’s April!!  But we see more snow in the forecast in the coming week…

We did get a brief respite from the cold with a trip to Indiana last month.  It was a Birthday Fest and we partied til we dropped.

But I’m getting ahead of myself…

Dan and I decided that we’d break up the trip by stopping in Wisconsin for a quick overnight on the way down and the way up.  This made the trip so much easier on the body.  But it also made it more enjoyable for the soul!

On the way down, we were going to stop in Eau Claire.  But I noticed on FB that Stewart Huff was going to be in Madison the very night we were travelling through!  SO AWESOME!!!  Wait.  You don’t know Stewart Huff?  Oh, Lord, you NEED to!

Dan and I met Stewart at the Indy Fringe in… heck, maybe 2011 or 2012.  Anyway, I think the show was titled Uncle Baby Daddy and we thought that sounded fun.  And boy, was it.  Stewart comes on stage and, when you’re living with the Yankee bias that I do, you hear his southern accent and think, “Uh-oh.  This might suck.”  But you stay and you realize… that he’s BRILLIANT!  [We tell him he is the Smartest Hillbilly we know.]  If you EVER get a chance to see him.  Go.  Do not hesitate.  Just Go.  Seriously.  GO.

So when I saw his Madison show coincided with our trip south through Wisconsin, we were ON IT.  I contacted the venue because you couldn’t get tickets online.  The response was basically that they are first come-first serve, day of the event. So I told the guy we were driving eight hours and REALLY needed to be at the show, if he could help us out… (plus, I mentioned that it was my birthday week – can’t hurt!) Well Al Rasho who runs the North Street Cabaret hooked us up.  He was super awesome and we will definitely go back to this venue if in Madison again.  They have a small space but they fill it with great drinks & fresh, local food (heck, it’s Madison, People), along with great entertainment.  Give them a try if you’re in the neighborhood.

The show opened with newcomer to comedy, Allie Lindsay and I have to tell you, a tag line in her show has become a tag line in Dan’s life.  She gave us a great gift with her fart jokes that night.  And Nick Hart was amazing too.  IN a short set, he conveyed a story that linked McFast McFood, cocaine, and scallions.  It was phenomenal.

Since the first show where we saw Stewart, I’ve had this thing of sharing treats with him.  We were snacking on Freaky Fritos as he prepped for the Indy show as I recall and we offered him some.  He loved them.  So now, every time we see him, I bring him treats.  For this trip, I made him an ice cream bucket of Freaky Fritos, or as we call it “Krack”.  He was stoked!  [“This is ALL for me?”  He was incredulous.]  And he made me feel so special.  Like, I don’t know how many people this dude must meet but he really remembered me and Dan.  At the end of the night, after an amazing show full of laughs and even a few tears – cause Stewart speaks from the heart – he’s super smart and makes you think about stuff, often in a compassionate way so, yes, I cried – he asked Al if he could have a few more minutes… to tell a story that he recalled was my favorite from our days in Indiana.  How nice is that???  And then he told the Penguin Story.  Perfect night.

On we head to Indiana and it was SO GREAT to see friends and family.  Even though we planned an extra long stay – a whole week – it was not long enough to see but a few folks.  But we really enjoyed the warm-up and the green grass.  And it was Birthday Fest!  First was Steph and Chris, then me, and then Rookie.

Fran and I started with Chris – which, of course, involved CRAFTING!

I so miss my Crafty Ladies – Jackie and Shayla joined us today too!! – so we made some cards with really shiny embossing powder embellishments.  Chris’ cards are always so much better than mine but I enjoyed learning the process and I very likely will be doing more embossing powder, now that I’ve hung out with it for a while.  Crafts are kind of like that.  When I get a taste of one, I like to hang with it for a while and play.  We also had a lovely meal at the IHOP (Near Ft. Ben on 56th) – nice staff and good food (except the chicken wraps – don’t get the chicken wraps).  I had the corned beef omelet and it was smashing.  BTW, if you’re GF, be sure you tell them NO PANCAKE BATTER in your eggs – this is a normal thing they do apparently at IHOP.

So Steph’s Birthday required a do-over due to stress and overwhelm on the first one, but… Hey, we’re up for another party any day!  For her second birthday, I made the Red Wattle Ham that Merry Gardens had given us and, WOW, was it delicious.  I told Farmer Randy, “It’s like a total different kind of food!”  It was melt in your mouth delicious and, as it was accompanied by organic mashed potatoes, also from MGF, it was a big hit with Steph.

The next birthday was ME!!  Dan had a BIG PLAN that he’d been working on for weeks.  He’d organized a team of people to contribute to a BIG birthday surprise for me and it was Wonderful.  I especially loved the card from Tommy.  Sometimes you wonder, as a parent of a grown child, just how much and what they might think of you.  Well, I felt super special after reading his card.  It was lovely.  And made me cry.

We had a beautiful sunny day to go to City Market where Dan got his hair cut at Jack’s Barber Shop – you simply MUST go for the cut-and-a-show.  Brenda is a RIOT and if you don’t gather a few laughs while you’re getting handsome (or beautiful, as the case may be), it’s your own damn fault.  We had a bite of lunch with Steph and then headed to Fran and Ed’s where we REALLY Enjoyed sitting on the warm, sunny porch!  So beautiful.  And such a nice thing to be in that space again – a place full of so many fun times and good memories.  One of the hardest things about leaving Indy was knowing it meant not seeing Fran and Ed every couple days…

But today was a HAPPY DAY!  We had cake – yummy GF cake – Fran, you are TOO GOOD to me!!  And GIFTS!  The man really outdid himself with his Team of Birthday.  He and Tom actually had a code name for this venture so they wouldn’t have me catch them in their planning – though I remained oblivious throughout.

Then the BIG Party happened.  Little Rookie turned Three!!  And it was a whole Boss Baby thing.  He looked dashing in his Boss Baby Suit and I hope he liked the Boss Baby and (brother) Tim puppets that Connie, Char and I made for him as much as I enjoyed making them for him.  That was a real project but the three of us made it happen and I think they turned out real nice.

We were also able to catch up with friends Jill and Markus and that was super fun.  Dan got to check off a Bucket List item as we ate at Wheatley’s.  It’s kind of funny about the name.  I ordered bacon and eggs there, as well as some hash browns that the serving lady advised against… “Everything we have has Gluten in it.  I wouldn’t risk it.”  […to which I replied, “even those eggs and bacon?  they have gluten?” Seriously lady… you’re ignorant.]  But seeing the Robinsons was wonderful and it was good to hear about how grown the kids are now.

I guess the birthdays do start to pile up faster each year now.  But it sure was nice to have such a great trip full of birthday fun.

Oh, the place we stayed on the way home was an AirBnB in Eau Claire that we HIGHLY recommend.  We were their second hosting and these two Tech School Instructors were great fun.  We chatted up the evening and Kristi noted that she thought, on seeing our names, that we might be their first lesbian couple! When I told Dan later (as he’d stayed in nap mode after all that driving, his response was, “I’m a lesbian.” 😀  So I guess they CAN say we were their first lesbian couple. Anyhow, their place is comfy & cozy, fun, and quiet.  We got a great deal being one of their first stays – less than $25 as I recall – but they are worth the visit no matter the cost.  Check them out.

See you next week!!!

 

Livingston, Montana!

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Livingston, Montana

Life is finally calming down a bit to give me time for a fun blog.  In early October, Dan and I took a trip to Montana for a Rocket Mass Heater Innovators Jamboree and since that is a really long drive, we stopped partway there in a little town called Livingston, Montana.  It was so lovely I knew I’d do a blog on it to give you all a little taste of it.

Our first goal on making this trip was to have accommodations so Dan went on Airbnb and found a great place in Livingston. There are a bunch of places in town but this was one of the least expensive.   Ginger was our host and she was terrific.  The space is cozy and while the bed is really great for many – it’s a nice bed, really – it was a bit firm for me.  Dan loved it.  And she has a bunch of pillows which I loved.  There was a snack and welcome basket with a handwritten note and it just made us feel super special.  I hate to even tell you about all the wonderful things because you know how it is when someone gets your expectations up and then you’re like, “Hmmm, it was good but I was expecting more.”  But I am almost not even worried about this as Ginger does go the extra mile.

She has Netflix on the TV downstairs and, since we don’t have TV and were just pooped after driving for 12 hours+, we decided to watch a little something and found this cute show called Disjointed with Kathy Bates about an L.A. marijuana dispensary.   Here’s a review from a non-drug user at the LA Times that I found to be accurate.

When we’d told our friends Jon and Rita Koll about our trip they explained to us that Livingston is actually a really popular place with the superstars.  Apparently it’s no big deal to see a movie star enjoying dinner at the same restaurant as you.  However, we arrived on a Wednesday night and were leaving early Thursday so I did not expect to see any superstars, figuring they will be there mostly on weekends.

Having gone to bed relatively early, I got up and went for a walk to town while I let Dan, who’d done most of the driving, sleep in a bit.  As I’d been hearing trains go by, I wanted to see one up close so I headed to the Historic Train Depot and Depot Rotary Park just a couple blocks down from the BnB.  Lucky for me, there was some train activity early on a Thursday.    It was crisp at 34°F but I was layered in a couple sweatshirts and did fine – though I wished for some gloves.  I walked along Park Street (also Hwy 89 and I-90) which is the main drag along the railroad tracks through town.  I darted to my right onto Main Street and noted the temperature – missing those gloves now!

There were a bunch of little coffee shops, art/gift shops, galleries, and general town businesses.  I loved that the Montana Watch Store was located in the E. Thomas and Son Building – reminding me of my boy who always loved watches growing up.  I was thrilled to see a couple with their down on their bicycle built for three!  I missed getting a photo (but was able to crop one from the video to open this blog) so they did a U-turn on Main Street and gave me a chance for a video!!  It looks like a fun and quirky community – I was really stoked by their Community Ed poster.

I found two local bookstores.  The Sax & Fryer was founded in 1883 and the building has a beautiful tile entryway.   Warning.  Looks like they are a cash only business.  There was also a smaller antiquarian and used bookstore Elk River Books that had a wonderful sounding speaker that evening, Gretel Ehrlich.  I just wish it was later in the day so I could go into some of these lovely shops and that we were staying another night so I could visit that bookstore event.  Ah, next time.

And, as I didn’t, perhaps you don’t know that Livingston was once the gateway to Yellowstone.  There was a fellow guest at the BnB and he was meeting with family in the park.  Well, had I known how close we were I might have asked Dan to add a couple days on the front end of the trip – though where we’d have found them, I cannot say!  September to October there just are not enough days to get everything done that needs done.

The most interesting part of my walk that morning was when I stopped to take a second look at a building that had caught my eye on the walk east along Park Street.  Coming back to the BnB, I walked a block south to get a closer look and as I was checking it out, a woman pulled up in a minivan asking, “Are you buying that building?”  I explained that I was just taking a second look at it as I wondered what it was – it looked to me like a Nazi HQ.   She proceeded to tell me all about Livingston, Montana and her family’s presence there since the town was established.  Her great-grandfather had settled in the late 1880’s to work for the railroad.  Her family lived on 6^th street.  I noted, BTW that the city of Livingston has identified their streets on each corner.  I think maybe it’s because if the Yellowstone Caldera blows, leveling all the infrastructure, the street names will allow identification of locations even without all the houses and buildings. Anyhow, this lady was one her way to a cleaning job but she spent about 30 minutes telling me all about the corporations that began in Livingston, how the first Yellowstone guests arrived in stagecoaches – hence the hotels that popped up in town, how sometimes there are superstars – and her own sighting of Garrison Keillor in town, and how she often gives tours and she wished we were staying longer so she could give us more of a tour of Livingston.  I imagine she’s a pretty good tour guide as her time with me was pretty entertaining.  I believe this is her family home while growing up – if I followed her description accurately.

While on my walk I’d seen signs for Sacajawea Park and decided that Dan and I would check it out before heading on to Missoula.  I’m so glad we did as it was a beautiful park and a lovely day to see the Yellowstone River.

I’d say that we really enjoyed our short time in Livingston and I can see potential for a longer visit in the area.  Maybe next year we’ll make more time on our way to the Rocket Mass Heater Jamboree.