Fruit Basket Upset

 It has been so long since I have blogged (So much for web log!) that I never knew that Blogger changed it's screen designs.

The morning started dark and grey, but now the sun is shining through patches of blue sky. I had thought that our snow was here to stay, but perhaps I was wrong. 

I just finished eating two mandarin oranges. So sweet. I am not sure if it is because they are a different brand than usual, Sunrays, or if it is because they are the first fruits of a new season, but they are so juicy and delicious. The Honey Crisp apples which I purchased a couple of weeks ago are also exceptionally large, juicy and tasty. Once I buy fruit I have to finish the bag, so I have been eating a lot of both this past week. 

Arthur and I took a short trip to Ottertail County at the end of September. While we were there we took a tour of The Prospect House Museum in Battle Lake. What an interesting place! It is dubbed a Civil War museum, so one expects when walking in the door to see Civil War artifacts. In reality, the first part of the tour, probably an hour's worth of time, was walking through the home which once served as the first resort in Battle Lake. If you like antiques and art, it is the place to go. The house is still furnished as it was in 1929 before the stock market crash, with items purchased from Dayton's in Minneapolis.The family did not throw anything out, so many things are much older. We saw a very fancy lace Valentine from the Civil War era, and a dead, painted baby turtle which had been mailed home from the Chicago World Fair. There were loads of antique toys which were fantastic replicas of the full versions - a cast iron stove, a cast iron "iron", and aluminum cookie cutters: I would be delighted to own them, and play with them. I have never seen so many varieties of paper dolls. The present owner's mother, Kay Wilkins Johnson, was an artist trained at the Minneapolis Art Institute. Several of her paintings are on display throughout the house. I enjoyed seeing them very much. Particularly spectacular was a portrait she painted of her son, Jay Johnson, who currently owns the home. After we toured the whole house, we moved to the basement where the Civil War mementos were located. There was a bayonet, a bloody letter from the battlefield, and a uniform coat with bullet holes. One could have spent hours in that part of the museum alone, reading all of the materials which were on display. If you ever go to Battle Lake, I highly recommend that you stop in and see it. Our trip also included hikes in Maplewood and Glendalough State Parks, and visits with friends.

I continue with Vision Therapy, though with very spread-out sessions. I have had double vision for quite some time since my right eye is now turned on. I can tell that as well as being cross-eyed, my eyes are also out of alignment with each other. It has been a long haul.  

Happy Honeymooners

For our 25th anniversary we stayed at the GrandStay Hotel in Parkers Prairie. We had checked out a few bed and breakfasts in the area, but the GrandStay had the best prices. Fergus Falls was our preferred location, but WeFest was scheduled for the following week-end. It was a quiet stay.

The down side of staying in Parkers Prairie is that there was only one place open for eating in town on Tuesday evening. Many of the area cafes and supper clubs are closed until Wednesday, or even the week-end. We had dinner at the bar, both of us choosing burgers. They were good, mine a close second behind a Culver's cheeseburger. But we were  glad to have options the other evenings. Burgers and fries the whole trip would have been fattening. After dinner we drove to Adley Lake Park. It was isolated, quiet, and very peaceful. Cows grazed across the lake. It would have been a wonderful place to sit and read a book.

On the first day of our vacation we went to Alexandria and met Fr. Joe for lunch at the Travelers Cafe. The three of us took a walk in the city park along Lake Carlos and Ole. After wards I stopped at Dawn's Quilt Shop. I bought precisely 3/4 of a yard of solid fabric to match some previous purchases. Now I am able to sew the apron for Anonymous for Christmas or for her birthday. Dawn's shop has doubled in size, but I did not enjoy it. I felt overwhelmed with prints. The center of the store was as packed as the outer edges with fabrics and counters and quilting machines. I did see one cute cat print which I had to leave behind, since my goal is to deplete my stash, not increase it. After that we made a stop at Carlos Creek Winery for some taste testing. I sampled the sweet wines. Samples were $10 for five or six samples out of six different categories of wines. We made no purchases, but I was  tempted by their Hot Dish Red and the Minnescoto, which the sommelier  recommended with orange juice for a mimosa. On the way back we hiked to Inspiration Peak, stopped at Our Lady of the Hills,  and then ate dinner at The Peak Supper Cloud

On Thursday we went to Glendalough State Park and hiked for two hours. I so wish that I had had my swimming suit with. The beach looked wonderful, sandy and clear. We could have gotten in some free fishing had we planned better.

We stopped at Vining to look at the talented and comic sculptures of Ken Nyberg. We also stopped at a little shop called Old Sweet Song. I could have dropped a bit of money on proprietor Ruth Hanson's paintings at the shop had I had the money to drop! She had some very nice farm scenes. Other items which caught my eye were some photo note cards done by her brother, and a cute Viking ship votive candle holder.

Here are some of our pictures.