Well, once again I am blogging because I am traveling. It seems I can only make the time in a hotel room or maybe it is because I finally have something interesting to relate.
I came to St. Cloud for the company Christmas party....and while I was here we decided it would be a good time to meet the new hires, go over things, & share what I learned in training before the contract is finished & we will all have no time to catch-up.
You know, I work with great people & I love my job....really. I know that isn't fashionable nowadays, but I do. The party was a mini reunion as well. Dad came back for his retirement kudos & get his 'fix' & laugh about how he had to throw his daughter to the company so he could leave. Well, the joke's on him...I may stay to retire myself one day. I'm very proud of you Dad. Putting up with _______ while helping to build an empire. You deserve your R&R.
Anyways, I am waiting to find out the current delays at the MSP airport so I can go home today. Snow has been falling steadily since yesterday. Haven't been in a vehicle skidding on ice in quite a while...interesting. Love the fluffy swirls of flakes & how pristine white paints the landscape, but I do not miss the blast of bitter cold that greets you as you walk around a corner & it steals your every breath. Scares me everytime....shades of a shaky childhood memory. Loved the Herberger's 70% off sale...had to stuff my carry-on suitcase full of course. Oh, and did I mention the bathtub? They upgraded my room without telling me & walked into a suite complete with Jacuzzi tub. I took 1 or 2 baths everyday...seriously, besides my showers...usually 1 sometimes 2. I am squeaky clean I tell ya. I looked like a starlet from a 60s movie...an entire mini bottle of body wash , flip on the jets, & I had bubbles up and over my ears.........loverly! Hmm....is there an adult version of Eloise? I wish to be her. Living in the Radisson forever & ever. Sigh.
Today, breakfast with the parents, my aunt & fiance, & my MIA brother....WHO NEVER READS HIS TEXT MESSAGES....WHY DO YOU HAVE A CELL PHONE IF YOU'RE NEVER GOING TO CHECK IT? Okay I'm done venting.
Let you know how this all turns out: When next our heroine appears will it be in sunny Arizona or will she be swathed in the luxury of the Radisson hotel & their ever attentive staff? Or will she be stranded in an airport terminal fighting the sleep deprived crowds for the last stale package of peanut butter crackers in the vending machine? Stay tuned.
Ciao for now...Trish
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Blue Grass Country
This summer has been full of unexpected trips.
After camping at the Mollogon Rim for July 4th, then Verndale MN at the end of July, then Bob & I went to Escondido for the Labor Day weekend to pick up my vehicle...a Geo Tracker (yea Solana Beach-actually Cardiff Cliffs..hope I spelled that right...& the San Diego swap meet), & now to Kentucky. Yeah, that's right Kentucky. I have never had the privilege before. Probably because I would have insisted we move here. It is just gorgeous! The trees are just beginning to turn the most yummy colors. Soft buttery yellow, burnished golds, rusty reds, & glorious blazes of fiery ruby that scream for attention against a restful background of every hue of green there is. Another reason why green is my favorite color...there are so many to choose from & I do hate being limited in my important choices...haha.
Trees & plants of all sizes are perched upon ledges of shale that look so fragile, but yet have endured. We have only seen the tip of the Daniel Boone National Forest so far...wow is all I have been able to say. Imagining our surroundings; where battles took place, where trails were forged thru seemingly impenetrable forests, where pioneers staked a claim & fought to raise a family while surviving from the land...and succeeding. Amazing & humbling. How easy, in some aspects, we have it nowadays. It is easier to survive...food, water, & shelter is as close as a phone call away. Even the most destitute of us can ask for help. We no longer have to scratch out a meager living from the earth, if we choose, & basic medical care (even if expensive) is always nearby. We no longer have to protect ourselves against natural predators or hostile natives. And even the weather can be predicted close enough to anticipate the harm heading our way. Our country's pioneers knew there was tragedy when it was on their doorstep. Talk about a hardy lot...and determined to make it work. I am so proud to be a part of this admirable people...Americans.
Next, we will head for Chattanooga TN so we will head right between the Daniel Boone National Forest & the Appalachians. Woo hoo, here we come!
Trish...on a quest for more reasons to call herself RWE!
After camping at the Mollogon Rim for July 4th, then Verndale MN at the end of July, then Bob & I went to Escondido for the Labor Day weekend to pick up my vehicle...a Geo Tracker (yea Solana Beach-actually Cardiff Cliffs..hope I spelled that right...& the San Diego swap meet), & now to Kentucky. Yeah, that's right Kentucky. I have never had the privilege before. Probably because I would have insisted we move here. It is just gorgeous! The trees are just beginning to turn the most yummy colors. Soft buttery yellow, burnished golds, rusty reds, & glorious blazes of fiery ruby that scream for attention against a restful background of every hue of green there is. Another reason why green is my favorite color...there are so many to choose from & I do hate being limited in my important choices...haha.
Trees & plants of all sizes are perched upon ledges of shale that look so fragile, but yet have endured. We have only seen the tip of the Daniel Boone National Forest so far...wow is all I have been able to say. Imagining our surroundings; where battles took place, where trails were forged thru seemingly impenetrable forests, where pioneers staked a claim & fought to raise a family while surviving from the land...and succeeding. Amazing & humbling. How easy, in some aspects, we have it nowadays. It is easier to survive...food, water, & shelter is as close as a phone call away. Even the most destitute of us can ask for help. We no longer have to scratch out a meager living from the earth, if we choose, & basic medical care (even if expensive) is always nearby. We no longer have to protect ourselves against natural predators or hostile natives. And even the weather can be predicted close enough to anticipate the harm heading our way. Our country's pioneers knew there was tragedy when it was on their doorstep. Talk about a hardy lot...and determined to make it work. I am so proud to be a part of this admirable people...Americans.
Next, we will head for Chattanooga TN so we will head right between the Daniel Boone National Forest & the Appalachians. Woo hoo, here we come!
Trish...on a quest for more reasons to call herself RWE!
Saturday, September 6, 2008
A Rant A Day Keeps The Acid-Reflux Away!
Hmm. Sure am finding this blog a little intimidating when it comes to maintenance. Pictures are the hardest, hence no new uploads of vacation pictures. Also, the written word plastered up there for all to read is even more daunting. "What if I whine too much or am too boring?" Ah the ego of the writer, so absolutely fragile when it comes to criticism...real or perceived!
So a rant it is this fine day...BTW it has only been about 100-104 lately punctuated with wild monsoon storms, just marvelous. Hey, only a Zonie would truly understand that seemingly ludicrous statement.
Being in my premenopausal stage and after 25 years of marriage (come March 31st), I feel an obligation. The rude, obnoxious, wild side of me wants to say WTF (I apologize to those of you with gentle sensibilities but in all honesty this is all I can think of lately...tho I usually only chant the letters in my head NOT the actual words....so again I apologize. Enough said on that). I have this 'fairness meter' inside of me that tilts when justice (as I see it) is not being served. Taking into consideration my tendencies toward control/perfect (for those unfamiliar with the flag page look here https://www.flagpagetest.com/) I know I have to reign in my fix-it-ness at times, BUT now I shake my head over unfairness that I cannot do a blasted thing about. I know praying is an option, as is ignoring it, tho I would rather rant today..so rant I shall do.
So on with it. To married women over 40: Do you feel that frustration deep down inside? Feel anxious & antsy one moment & then complacent or despondent another? Tired of waiting for everything to fall into place even tho you have periods where you are happy to be who you are? Wish there was a manual or seminar you could send your husband to? Maybe even another one to send your children to at the same time? If so I am with ya sister!
I am happier today with who I am, fat/age spots/physical limitations included, and yet am at my most frustrated when I feel the above 'symptons' and watch my fellow sisters in their marriages. This is NOT FAIR!! We did not get to this stage of the game just to lose it all...or live on Xanax. I'm not even talking about neglectful or disengaged husbands. This is for all of them.
Here is the crux of the issue: husbands need to pay closer attention now than they ever have. There is a reason they call these years the danger years. Something happens to women close to 40. We realize that our lives are at least half over. Most of our kids could survive without us. Our parents are gone or ailing or just not as invincible as they once were. We have skills for a life we are not living. Inside we are perilously fragile tho we are stronger than ever as well...the paradox of the Steel Magnolia. After years of living lives in tandem with our mates we may find ourselves either independent & loving it or clingy & needy and hating it...usually the opposite of what we had been or have strived to be.
One of the dangers is in deciding this is a female hormonal issue. Or that this is just a phase or season of life..."This too shall pass". Danger Will Robinson! Do not ignore the warning signs gentlemen!
Does your wife's list of unnatural fears seem to be growing over the years? Then she is not secure in her relationship with you.
Has the importance of hugging & kissing/holding hands/sharing dreams & thoughts/listening & hearing/protecting/edifying/tenderness/kindness/cherishing become trivialized or has been gone for some time? Someone else will be waiting to give it to her. No matter her shape or her personality there is always someone out there ready & willing to give her what she lacks, even if only for a moment. She may successfully fight temptation or she may not. Do you want to take that chance?
Do you understand the 10 cow principle? If so practice it, it works. If not, then adopt it today. It will change your marriage. (This is the best version I could find.) http://www.schooleyfiles.com/2006/10/johnny-lingo-and-ten-cow-wife.html
Do you want to be able to navigate empty-nest syndrome, avoid mid-life divorce, and/or share your retirement years in bliss rather than bitterness? Then be proactive, use those corporate strategies for a higher purpose. Be humble. Prefer another above yourself. Actively love the wife of your youth. Prov. 5:18.
Let's not lose what we have all worked so hard for. We shouldn't grow old together because we 'stuck-it-out'. We should be able to enjoy the fruits of our hard labor & enjoy them together. They call it the golden years for a reason.
I think marriage survival should include a post-debriefing toward the end of our marriage. Pastor Gary Johnson once gave a teaching on finishing our lives well. The bad example was King Solomon. He started well, it ended not so well. Why can't our marriages end the way they started...with promise & love & hope? They can & will be the good example we crave!
End of rant!!
Trish
P.S. Disclaimer (so PC of me): This in no way absolves women of my future rants on their behavior. The End!
So a rant it is this fine day...BTW it has only been about 100-104 lately punctuated with wild monsoon storms, just marvelous. Hey, only a Zonie would truly understand that seemingly ludicrous statement.
Being in my premenopausal stage and after 25 years of marriage (come March 31st), I feel an obligation. The rude, obnoxious, wild side of me wants to say WTF (I apologize to those of you with gentle sensibilities but in all honesty this is all I can think of lately...tho I usually only chant the letters in my head NOT the actual words....so again I apologize. Enough said on that). I have this 'fairness meter' inside of me that tilts when justice (as I see it) is not being served. Taking into consideration my tendencies toward control/perfect (for those unfamiliar with the flag page look here https://www.flagpagetest.com/) I know I have to reign in my fix-it-ness at times, BUT now I shake my head over unfairness that I cannot do a blasted thing about. I know praying is an option, as is ignoring it, tho I would rather rant today..so rant I shall do.
So on with it. To married women over 40: Do you feel that frustration deep down inside? Feel anxious & antsy one moment & then complacent or despondent another? Tired of waiting for everything to fall into place even tho you have periods where you are happy to be who you are? Wish there was a manual or seminar you could send your husband to? Maybe even another one to send your children to at the same time? If so I am with ya sister!
I am happier today with who I am, fat/age spots/physical limitations included, and yet am at my most frustrated when I feel the above 'symptons' and watch my fellow sisters in their marriages. This is NOT FAIR!! We did not get to this stage of the game just to lose it all...or live on Xanax. I'm not even talking about neglectful or disengaged husbands. This is for all of them.
Here is the crux of the issue: husbands need to pay closer attention now than they ever have. There is a reason they call these years the danger years. Something happens to women close to 40. We realize that our lives are at least half over. Most of our kids could survive without us. Our parents are gone or ailing or just not as invincible as they once were. We have skills for a life we are not living. Inside we are perilously fragile tho we are stronger than ever as well...the paradox of the Steel Magnolia. After years of living lives in tandem with our mates we may find ourselves either independent & loving it or clingy & needy and hating it...usually the opposite of what we had been or have strived to be.
One of the dangers is in deciding this is a female hormonal issue. Or that this is just a phase or season of life..."This too shall pass". Danger Will Robinson! Do not ignore the warning signs gentlemen!
Does your wife's list of unnatural fears seem to be growing over the years? Then she is not secure in her relationship with you.
Has the importance of hugging & kissing/holding hands/sharing dreams & thoughts/listening & hearing/protecting/edifying/tenderness/kindness/cherishing become trivialized or has been gone for some time? Someone else will be waiting to give it to her. No matter her shape or her personality there is always someone out there ready & willing to give her what she lacks, even if only for a moment. She may successfully fight temptation or she may not. Do you want to take that chance?
Do you understand the 10 cow principle? If so practice it, it works. If not, then adopt it today. It will change your marriage. (This is the best version I could find.) http://www.schooleyfiles.com/2006/10/johnny-lingo-and-ten-cow-wife.html
Do you want to be able to navigate empty-nest syndrome, avoid mid-life divorce, and/or share your retirement years in bliss rather than bitterness? Then be proactive, use those corporate strategies for a higher purpose. Be humble. Prefer another above yourself. Actively love the wife of your youth. Prov. 5:18.
Let's not lose what we have all worked so hard for. We shouldn't grow old together because we 'stuck-it-out'. We should be able to enjoy the fruits of our hard labor & enjoy them together. They call it the golden years for a reason.
I think marriage survival should include a post-debriefing toward the end of our marriage. Pastor Gary Johnson once gave a teaching on finishing our lives well. The bad example was King Solomon. He started well, it ended not so well. Why can't our marriages end the way they started...with promise & love & hope? They can & will be the good example we crave!
End of rant!!
Trish
P.S. Disclaimer (so PC of me): This in no way absolves women of my future rants on their behavior. The End!
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Christmas Prep
I know...what are you doing talking about Cmas in August? Actually I have started thinking about Cmas in August for several years now.
Here's why:
http://organizedchristmas.com/holiday-grand-plan
They used to be 2 separate online sites, but now work together to get me ready by Thanksgiving. Is everything done & perfect by then...NO. But something has been accomplished & I have an idea of the kind of holiday season my family wants. I can always tell when my thoughts are turning to the holiday season when I catch myself browsing books for new ideas, cookbooks for new recipes, & craft mags & books that inspire me to create a great gift for someone.
The site has printable calendars that I always tweak a bit & of course now they have tons of chats & links to help with anything. Looking for that poem about the candy cane? Want Grandma's missing divinity recipe? What do I buy for my nephew that I never see & is now too old for toys? They can help with all of it.
But the most important parts of it for me is that I interview each family member about the last year & get their ideas & likes & dislikes....and I begin to work on the area of the house that is listed for that week. Also, I update my Cmas notebook & Holiday Recipes binders on menus, recipes, & card/invite lists. I can go to the same notebook year after year & find what I am looking for. I change the calendar and off I go!
I am a list person & this is my fav list making place. Try it, even just a little of it. It is worth the peruse.
Ciao...Trish
Here's why:
http://organizedchristmas.com/holiday-grand-plan
They used to be 2 separate online sites, but now work together to get me ready by Thanksgiving. Is everything done & perfect by then...NO. But something has been accomplished & I have an idea of the kind of holiday season my family wants. I can always tell when my thoughts are turning to the holiday season when I catch myself browsing books for new ideas, cookbooks for new recipes, & craft mags & books that inspire me to create a great gift for someone.
The site has printable calendars that I always tweak a bit & of course now they have tons of chats & links to help with anything. Looking for that poem about the candy cane? Want Grandma's missing divinity recipe? What do I buy for my nephew that I never see & is now too old for toys? They can help with all of it.
But the most important parts of it for me is that I interview each family member about the last year & get their ideas & likes & dislikes....and I begin to work on the area of the house that is listed for that week. Also, I update my Cmas notebook & Holiday Recipes binders on menus, recipes, & card/invite lists. I can go to the same notebook year after year & find what I am looking for. I change the calendar and off I go!
I am a list person & this is my fav list making place. Try it, even just a little of it. It is worth the peruse.
Ciao...Trish
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig
Wow...where to start?
Verndale, MN...you complete me! Okay a little sappy & cheesy, but it feels true.
We drove past my old houses...a little stalker-ish, but I needed to refresh my family's historical perceptions of me. I mean Bob lives where most of his childhood memories were created, I don't. So we drove to Hewitt & Deer Creek & Wrightstown, just to name a few. A lot of Cris B. Bacon research has now been done & a ton more to wade thru.
After a nap & some visiting with the folks in St. Jo we left for an all-night drive. Instead of the largest ball of twine we voted for Mt. Rushmore on our excursion back. We were all going to view it for the 1st time. Being the patriotic family we are, we just had to go...even if it meant that Bob was going to drive all night, we would miss showers, & chose being cramped in a Dodge Caliber instead of stretching out on hotel sheets. As I drove the last leg on that long road to the site, I was amazed at the vehicles I saw in rural South Dakota at 8AM on a Monday morning. Were they all really going to the same locale I was? Ya betcha. (Just a little MN humor.) I still can't find the words to express exactly how I felt upon catching that first glimpse of the monument. I know when we left the park I was so very proud to be an American & humbled. In the giftshop, the author of a very detailed book about Mt. Rushmore was sitting alone at a small table. When I approached him & asked if he had written the book in front of him, he gave me the best tour I could have ever asked for. As he flipped thru the pages he pointed to various photos & gave me a greater insight to the construction of the monument & what the artist's intent had been. Perseverence in the face of setback ad infinitum. Amazing and inspirational. It's not like he could just hide the canvas in the closet if it didn't turn out or paint over it. This is a mountain of rock & everyone knew he was sculpting it. He kept hitting bad rock, but just adjusted to it. Hmmm, I'm sure there is a lesson here.
As always we were so glad to be home in our own beds after a week away. But now we want to go again next year...want to join us?
This week I will put up a slide show of my fav vacate pics!
Ciao,
Trish
Verndale, MN...you complete me! Okay a little sappy & cheesy, but it feels true.
We drove past my old houses...a little stalker-ish, but I needed to refresh my family's historical perceptions of me. I mean Bob lives where most of his childhood memories were created, I don't. So we drove to Hewitt & Deer Creek & Wrightstown, just to name a few. A lot of Cris B. Bacon research has now been done & a ton more to wade thru.
After a nap & some visiting with the folks in St. Jo we left for an all-night drive. Instead of the largest ball of twine we voted for Mt. Rushmore on our excursion back. We were all going to view it for the 1st time. Being the patriotic family we are, we just had to go...even if it meant that Bob was going to drive all night, we would miss showers, & chose being cramped in a Dodge Caliber instead of stretching out on hotel sheets. As I drove the last leg on that long road to the site, I was amazed at the vehicles I saw in rural South Dakota at 8AM on a Monday morning. Were they all really going to the same locale I was? Ya betcha. (Just a little MN humor.) I still can't find the words to express exactly how I felt upon catching that first glimpse of the monument. I know when we left the park I was so very proud to be an American & humbled. In the giftshop, the author of a very detailed book about Mt. Rushmore was sitting alone at a small table. When I approached him & asked if he had written the book in front of him, he gave me the best tour I could have ever asked for. As he flipped thru the pages he pointed to various photos & gave me a greater insight to the construction of the monument & what the artist's intent had been. Perseverence in the face of setback ad infinitum. Amazing and inspirational. It's not like he could just hide the canvas in the closet if it didn't turn out or paint over it. This is a mountain of rock & everyone knew he was sculpting it. He kept hitting bad rock, but just adjusted to it. Hmmm, I'm sure there is a lesson here.
As always we were so glad to be home in our own beds after a week away. But now we want to go again next year...want to join us?
This week I will put up a slide show of my fav vacate pics!
Ciao,
Trish
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Strawhat & Sunbonnet Days
Saturday was wonderful, interesting, enlightening, & comforting. Verndale is the kind of hometown everyone wants to be from. They never really forget you, can trace you to at least one family from the area, and manage to make you feel connected by one conversation.
Bob decided to be my PR man & let everyone we met know who I was & why we were there.
We ate in the Yesteryears Cafe for breakfast (best giant cinnamon roll I have had in years...mine included) and I recognized some classmates a few years ahead of me.
Then to the several tables around the park & on the sidewalks for some raffle tickets...a riding lawnmower, a chance at one of a dozen rifles, and a beautiful quilt. Local cookbooks were purchased & then off to the museum.
The Verndale Historical Society Museum is in an old home at the north end of town. Each room has a different aspect of Verndale history to focus on...the school room, the railroad, farming in all its variations...ie grains, sheep, cattle etc... and their town heros. I talked to my original 4-H leaders & was apprised of people I had known as I lived there. Then we were invited to a tour of the school that the class of '53 was conducting.
I was able to see the class of '83's pictures hanging in the elementary hallway...well it used to be the elementary side of the school. A lot had changed since 1980, but I did peek into the auditorium & the cafeteria & the huge gymnasium. Good times...good times.
Well,I met up with Cheryl at the parade uptown & it was as if 8th grade had been yesterday. We yacked & walked around town as her brother Brian filled us in on the 3-Ds: the divorces, the deaths, & the delectable gossip! I met others I had not seen in over 25 years & filled a void I was not aware I had...I was home.
We spent the late afternoon in Wadena (most everything closed at 5PM...& I found out the population is now over 4000!), I bought scrap/stamping supplies at 70% off (you know I'd have to find at least one place before I came back), & we headed to Brainerd for dinner...a chinese buffet (what can I say...we support multi-culturalism) & then a drive by Camp JIM (Jesus Is Mine) on our way back to Staples. The site of my conversion & many great summers. It was gratifying to see it was not only still operating, but thriving. Love it!
Kim & I braved the Verndale street dance as Bob & Vanessa passed out at the room...even Cheryl was too tired to go. My younger brother Shawn (here visiting his side of the family) showed up at the street dance too. Kinda weird since I had just seen him back home in Mesa. We people-watched...real fun when beer has been liberally applied all day long.
Today we will drive by other sites of my past for research & family history lessons for the girls. Some pleasant, some not so much.
Ciao for now!
Bob decided to be my PR man & let everyone we met know who I was & why we were there.
We ate in the Yesteryears Cafe for breakfast (best giant cinnamon roll I have had in years...mine included) and I recognized some classmates a few years ahead of me.
Then to the several tables around the park & on the sidewalks for some raffle tickets...a riding lawnmower, a chance at one of a dozen rifles, and a beautiful quilt. Local cookbooks were purchased & then off to the museum.
The Verndale Historical Society Museum is in an old home at the north end of town. Each room has a different aspect of Verndale history to focus on...the school room, the railroad, farming in all its variations...ie grains, sheep, cattle etc... and their town heros. I talked to my original 4-H leaders & was apprised of people I had known as I lived there. Then we were invited to a tour of the school that the class of '53 was conducting.
I was able to see the class of '83's pictures hanging in the elementary hallway...well it used to be the elementary side of the school. A lot had changed since 1980, but I did peek into the auditorium & the cafeteria & the huge gymnasium. Good times...good times.
Well,I met up with Cheryl at the parade uptown & it was as if 8th grade had been yesterday. We yacked & walked around town as her brother Brian filled us in on the 3-Ds: the divorces, the deaths, & the delectable gossip! I met others I had not seen in over 25 years & filled a void I was not aware I had...I was home.
We spent the late afternoon in Wadena (most everything closed at 5PM...& I found out the population is now over 4000!), I bought scrap/stamping supplies at 70% off (you know I'd have to find at least one place before I came back), & we headed to Brainerd for dinner...a chinese buffet (what can I say...we support multi-culturalism) & then a drive by Camp JIM (Jesus Is Mine) on our way back to Staples. The site of my conversion & many great summers. It was gratifying to see it was not only still operating, but thriving. Love it!
Kim & I braved the Verndale street dance as Bob & Vanessa passed out at the room...even Cheryl was too tired to go. My younger brother Shawn (here visiting his side of the family) showed up at the street dance too. Kinda weird since I had just seen him back home in Mesa. We people-watched...real fun when beer has been liberally applied all day long.
Today we will drive by other sites of my past for research & family history lessons for the girls. Some pleasant, some not so much.
Ciao for now!
P.S The day was brite & fare with a nice breeze..around 75 degrees. BTW this post is the same color as the Verndale Pirates' color, which is my absolutely favorite...green.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Disappointments & Redemption
It is amazing how many highs & lows one can go thru in such a short period of time. I called Cheryl from Little Falls to let her know we were coming into Staples & she had heard that the Wadena County Fair was pretty disappointing. They didn't even have a midway this year & the demolition derby had been the night before. Then the hotel was not really what the website portrayed. I mean it wasn't the Bates Motel, but it was as stripped down as it gets. Bob convinced me to drive around & to check out the fair anyways. I am glad he did.
I gave a guided tour of Verndale before the sun disappeared & a shorter one of Wadena. When we found the fairgrounds we heard loud growling sounds. Woo Hoo! The stock car race was on!! I hadn't been to a stock car race since I was a kid & it was the 4th of July & we had gone to Alexandria. (Otherwise known as Alec.) Anyways it was noisy & exciting & we were splattered with mud & I loved every minute of it! Then we wandered thru the booths & the exhibits & saw the largest cabbage I have ever seen, listened to a local band playing Aerosmith & CCR & Duran Duran. Varied, not bad...not great, but not bad. We ate BBQ chicken, corndogs, & had real milkshakes made by dairy farmers. It was great, way smaller than I expected & the midway consisted of huge blowups for the kids to jump in, that was sad. They are all feeling the economy. Today is the big day...Wadena has their Crazy Days sidewalk sales & at Verndale there is the museum, the parade, the booths at the park, & the street dance at night. There I will finally see Cheryl in person. And I have loads of notes to take for research.
Ciao for now!
I gave a guided tour of Verndale before the sun disappeared & a shorter one of Wadena. When we found the fairgrounds we heard loud growling sounds. Woo Hoo! The stock car race was on!! I hadn't been to a stock car race since I was a kid & it was the 4th of July & we had gone to Alexandria. (Otherwise known as Alec.) Anyways it was noisy & exciting & we were splattered with mud & I loved every minute of it! Then we wandered thru the booths & the exhibits & saw the largest cabbage I have ever seen, listened to a local band playing Aerosmith & CCR & Duran Duran. Varied, not bad...not great, but not bad. We ate BBQ chicken, corndogs, & had real milkshakes made by dairy farmers. It was great, way smaller than I expected & the midway consisted of huge blowups for the kids to jump in, that was sad. They are all feeling the economy. Today is the big day...Wadena has their Crazy Days sidewalk sales & at Verndale there is the museum, the parade, the booths at the park, & the street dance at night. There I will finally see Cheryl in person. And I have loads of notes to take for research.
Ciao for now!
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