Our Trip to Mesa: The Good, the Bad, and Flooding

Last week Hubby and I went to Mesa, AZ for our first "real" vacation ever. We've done the occasional long weekend - adding a Friday here, a Monday there. But we never really went away for a good long week and "vacated" our lives for a while.

My folks rented a house down in Mesa from a friend for a month. So, we flew down to Mesa and stayed with them for the week. Oh, what a glorious sight! Sun! Blue Skies! Temps in the 60s! Woot! Seriously, it seemed like we were charmed. We picked up our luggage from the luggage carousel and started to look for the shuttle to take us to the car rental location. Immediately, a guy said "The shuttle to the car rental? Follow me!" He took our bags onto his luggage cart and headed down a secluded hallway. Husband started looking nervous - how did we know this guy worked for the airport? But, lo and behold - he takes us through a door right to the first shuttle and starts to load our baggage. Nice!

We had similar luck at the car rental center. As we walked to the area to find our car - we had rented a compact car - a lady come up to us to help. She looked at our paperwork and said "You are renting a compact car? Here, I'm going to give you a complimentary upgrade to a mid-sized car." Wow!

I have to give props to the AZ highway system for their signs. So easy to follow. And, they have huge bushes of rosemary in the medians. Seriously!


We got to the house my folks are renting. It was very nice and great to see them. We had orange and grapefruit trees right outside. How cool to wake up in the morning, go outside, and pull a couple of oranges off the tree to make some freshly squeezed orange juice! Soooooooo tasty.


Unfortunately, our good fortune would not last. Hubby come down with a nasty sinus infection. He bravely tried to brush it off - doing a lot of sleeping and drinking OJ. However, it finally got to be too much. Thankfully my mom had her computer down there - I was able to check with my insurance company and find a clinic and pharmacy that was in-network.

Then, came the rain. Yes, the rain. The week before we came down, my folks were regaling me with how it was 70 and sunny all week. Of course, we come down in time for The Rain Storm of the Century followed by FloodGate: The Noah's Ark Edition. Suddenly, it was cloudy, cold (for AZ) and doing lots, and lots, of raining. Roads were closed due to flooding, someone's house got swept away by a raging river, massive snow storms at the higher elevations. It was crazy! They even had a Tornado Warning.

Even still, there were some shining moments - like the food. Yes, you knew I was going to go there.

We ate lunch one day at Cowboy Ciao in Scottsdale. Downtown Scottsdale is really nice with lots of shops and restaurants. There are some really kitschy places - selling all forms of turquoise and sand paintings - but also some really impressive art galleries and even a very cool antique book shop that had a 1400s Thomas Aquinas Summa Theologica (which the person manning the store actually took out of the cabinet and showed us). A mere $20,000. No big whoop.

Anyway, back to lunch. I had their signature mushroom pan fry - it had lots of different mushrooms with a nicely spicy tomato/pepper cream sauce smothering fried polenta. It was topped with chopped tomatoes and avocado. So tasty!


Hubby had a "salad" of confited tuna (confited in duck fat) with a salty sauteed spinach and tomatoes and a fried egg. The tuna was mixed with shallots and capers.


If you are down in the Scottsdale area - try Cowboy Ciao. I got a merlot flight that was really nice - and they didn't skimp on the wine (something that many placed do for flights and is a pet peeve of mine).

Another place we went to was Caffe Boa in Tempe. It is in the area of the the University. The head chef was originally from MN and they specialize in local foods. We were really excited to try it. We had lunch - after coming in from cold and rain. The place was very cool. We both had variations on the lunch special (sorry no pictures!): I had a half-pannini with mozzarella, basil, prosciutto, and a fig jam. It came with a side of soup that I though the server said was tripe - but it seemed more like a tomato-based vegetable soup with garbanzo beans and some small bits of beef. It was very good. Hubby had the pasta-soup lunch combo - same soup. The pasta looked more like a soup as well - in a beefy stock - rather than a sauce.

The food was good, but we had a bad experience with the server. He forgot to put in our order for the charcuterie appetizer. When we asked about (he had just put down our main course and asked if we needed anything) he asked if we still wanted it - which we did. He said it would take a few minutes - but we figured - it's charuterie. You slice the meat, put on some spreads on a plate and add bread. We finished our main course (about 15 minutes) and our places were cleared. Then we sat there....and sat there....with no one coming to bring our food or to check on us. Finally, the server showed up with the charcuterie. Really nice food - very bad service.

Finally, the other dining experience I would like to talk about is Pizzeria Bianco. So much has been said about Pizzeria Bianco - I feel like I would just be adding to the noise. But, I must say that it is fabulous. It helps to know going in that THERE WILL BE A LONG WAIT. But, I feel it is worth it.

It was our last night in Mesa - the sky was cloudy, the air was cool. We showed up at 4:30pm and got into the already long line. Several people were already in the middle of working on a full bottle of wine. Ahhhhhhh!The doors opened at 5pm. Immediately before 5pm - a swarm of people showed up - and joined their friends ahead of us who were the line place holders for the group. Yeah, I knew it would be a while.

Luckily (for us and for the owners), they have a wine bar next door. After putting our name in, we went over to the wine bar. We were lucky enough to get at least 1 bar stool and ordered beers and wine and conversed with other patrons as the bar tender would inform the next party when their name came up. We met some really cool people and tried a few AZ micro brews. Finally, at 7:45pm, we were seated at the bar inside the pizzeria.

We had the spiedini appetizer - melty fontina cheese wrapped in proscuitto on a bed of microgreens with a vinagrette.


We ordered two pizzas - the Margherita (to which we added La Quercia Proscuitto) and their Wiseguy - with onions, mozzarella, and fennel sausage.

We ate it all and I have no regrets. If you go - go early (as we sat there, people came in looking for a seat only to be told that it was a 3-3.5 hour wait). They only take reservations for parties of 6 or more - and when we went, their reservations were booked 2 months out.

Of course, the sun came back out on our last day. Our trip to the airport was as nice as our trip from the airport when we arrived.

To finish, an FYI: If you have an expired drivers license - even with the renewal paperwork - you will get through airport security, but you will not be served alcohol in the Phoenix airport. Is that a crazy world or what?

The Hubby's Birthday Bonanza

Yesterday was Hubby's birthday! We had a very nice day. It started off with birthday cake from Hi Quality Bakery. Yes, I know the better thing to do would have been to bake the cake myself. However, I ran out of time and at least Hi Quality Bakery is local. They make a very nice carrot cake with cream cheese frosting with "Happy Birthday Rick" written on the top. Quite nice. I also succumbed to my rumbly stomach and got a couple of caramel pecan rolls. I know, I know.

Hubby wanted to see Avatar, so I thought it would be fun to try out that new ICON theater in St. Louis Park. That meant a drive up to the Cities, but hey, it's his BIRTHDAY! So, I went online and reserved tickets for their VIP lounge. This section is the balcony section that is only for +21 folks, serves alcohol and has a restaurant. Ticket prices: our afternoon matinee with VIP seating cost what an evening movie ticket would be elsewhere.

We got the theater for their 3:30pm matinee showing of Avatar 3D. Since I printed the tickets from the website, we didn't have to wait in line. We went right to the ticket-taker. After going upstairs, we came up to the restaurant. Quite busy and full. We checked out their drink menu (which didn't show any of their beers - so a knock for that). Their wine list and prices were comparable to most restaurants. We didn't order any food, though so we can't comment on that.

We brought our drinks to our seats (some folks brought in a whole bottle of wine). The seats are VERY plushy - oversized and soft. There is a lot of leg room (no worries about someone thumping your seat from the back!). The seats are set together by 2s with a nice-sized "table" between each set of 2. The drink holders hold your glasses and there is ample room for food. Servers will bring your food to your seat up until the movie starts, but you have to order and pay at the restaurant beforehand. The food we saw brought in looked pretty tasty.

The movie was pretty good - visually stunning of course. Even though it was in 3D (yeah, doesn't work for me), it was still fun to see. I did notice a couple of times that I had my mouth open - the rendering and animation were really great. Yes, the storyline was predictable and a cross between Dances with Wolves, FernGully, and Star Wars. But, it was still a good time.

One nit - we went in the afternoon when there were a lot of "folks of many years" attending who needed to get up to go the bathroom several times during the movie. Get a seat at the front of the balcony or go later in the night.

After that, we went to Cooper Irish Pub (just outside and down the block). I'll do another post on that later.

I Do More Than Sing in the Shower

I've been singing for most of my life. In grade school, we did several programs through the school year. There was a big Christmas production. Imagine the excitement that started in November when all of the Dads of our our little 2-classroom country school house would lumber into the school and start putting up the stage. I'm sure the teachers (both of them) hated it because we kids couldn't concentrate after that. All of the banging of hammers, the clanging of boards - it really was the start of the holiday season for us.

In the spring we would do Mother's Day programs, sing for the residents of the local old folk's home, and do a graduation program - among many others. I guess you could say that I got bitten by the singing bug and never recovered.

I joined choir in high school and did a lot of theater. Once I got to college, I took some voice lessons and sang in choirs there. Singing had really become a regular part of my life, and I was kind of bummed at the thought of not really doing it much after I graduated.

However, in May of my senior year, just before graduation, my college roommate turned to me and said "I'm auditioning for my Dad's choir in the Cities. Do you want to come, too?" Sure - why not? I knew my roommate's Dad was a choir director - he did choir at St. Johns University. I didn't know until then that he had a choir in the Cities.

Now here I am, several years later, and I am still singing with this choir - Kantorei. We do several concerts throughout the year at several churches around the Cities. We also do educational outreach concerts with childrens choirs, high school choirs and community choirs. This year, we are going to be working on a new CD. It is being produced by a well-known producer who specializes in choral music. We are really excited about it.

I'll be sure to let everyone know when the CD is available. Also, I'd love to see people at our concerts. Another quick plug - we are having our annual benefit dinner (we are a non-profit and this benefit dinner is our main source of revenue for the year) on Valentine's Day. There will be a multi-course meal with wines and a silent auction in addition to music by the choir. Much of the cost of the dinner is tax deductible. If you are looking for something different to do for Valentine's Day, check out our website for more details.

End plug.

Food Experience since October

Ok, I mentioned that we’ve eaten a lot of food since my post in October. I figured I’d get you all up to speed on those. After all, one of my favorite things to do is eat (and drink). Here we go – in the shortened version:

Anniversary Dinner (October): We went to Sea Change, a seafood restaurant in the Cities that focus on sustainable seafood. It is run by Tim McKee, who won the James Beard Award this year for Best Chef in the Midwest. It is one of several that he runs – all of which are very good. But before we ate there, we got into town a bit early for our reservation. So, we headed over to Spoonriver, which is across the street for drinks and an appetizer. We had their charcuterie plate as the appetizer. It was pretty good – very nice cured meats and artisan cheeses. What really stood out, though, were the pickled vegetables. Based on that, we vowed that we would come back sometime soon for dinner.

At Sea Change, we had another appetizer of raw scallops. While it was very nice and well executed, I felt underwhelmed. I think I expected more sweetness and thought that the other flavors perhaps outdid the scallop itself. The entrees were again, very nice, well executed, but didn’t “Wow” either of us.

Dinner before the Playing for Change Concert (November): I will do another post on the Playing for Change concert. But beforehand, we ate at Ristorante Luci in St. Paul. The place is known for its homemade Italian food (housemade pasta) and using local ingredients. I had a lamb shank that was braised in a light tomato sauce. The lamb actually did have a lamb-y flavor (I’ve had way too many that didn’t – very disappointing when that happens). The tomato sauce really got infused with the lamb flavor and was very tasty. Unfortunately, there was no pasta or crusty bread served with the dish. There was so much sauce, I was really looking forward to sopping it up with bread or eating it up with pasta.

Salut Bar American Edina (November): We ate here before my choir’s Audience Appreciation concert (I’ll do another post on my choir). We were on a tight schedule, and our server did a great job of getting us our food and check in time. I had butternut squash ravioli in a brown butter sauce. It was very nice. The pasta still had a bit of tooth to it (not too much, though) and the squash filling was smooth and sweet. The sauce had a bit of lemon in it, which helped to cut through the sweet and creaminess. The Hubby had a steak which was perfectly done and nicely seasoned. It was very tender. Overall, it was very good for the price.

Simple, Good and Tasty Event (December): We attended an event for Simple, Good and Tasty (a local food website) that was at The Craftsman in Minneapolis. If you haven’t eaten at the Craftsman – GO! Mike Philips, the chef and owner, does his own charcuterie and own pickling. We had some wonderful appetizers including several cured meats, braun, cheese, pates – so very tasty. They had a wonderful drink called the Stormy Night which used their own mulled wine. It was HEAVEN!

Smalley’s Caribbean BBQ and Pirate Bar (December): Yes, it is quite the name. This is also a Tim McKee venture that specializes in Caribbean-style BBQ. We ate there with my folks and Hubby’s uncle and aunt. The meat was very tender and full of flavor. The sauces are very much the Caribbean-style – less sweetness and a bit thinner with a lot of bite. The side dishes were tasty as well. Our server was fantastic, explaining things to us, asking questions, and offering up suggestions when asked.

Spoonriver (December): I told you that we vowed to go back! We ate here before attending the Guthrie production of A Christmas Carol. We had a mushroom and pistachio pate for an appetizer that came with a cranberry chutney that was quite nice. I had grass-fed roast beef with fingerling potatoes and roasted parsnips and carrots. It was very tasty, tender, and full of flavor. Hubby had a lamb stew (more of lamb with spices, broth, and yogurt) over cous-cous. It wasn’t what one would expect, though we were sort of warned by the server when he ordered it that it wasn’t the type of lamb stew people expect. It was very nice, though. My one complaint was that their mixed drinks tended to be very “summery” – a lot of citrus, cucumber, etc. There were really no “wintery” mixed drinks (see the Stormy Night from above).

We did eat at other places, but these were the big ones. It appears that I have a couple of addition blog posting to work on. So, that is “what we ate since October”.

Happiness: A 2010 Project

I had seen a blog posted on Slate this past year called "The Happiness Project". I had read a few post here and there, but didn't really look into it in depth. Of course, at year's end, I finally took a closer look. Gretchen Rubin started the blog about trying to increase personal happiness. She has her own website with a whole happiness toolbox. Quite a few people have joined to work on their own personal happiness. In fact, she is even recruiting people to get involved with a more specific happiness program in 2010.

I thought this was quite interesting, especially as we approach the new year, when everyone starts working on those dreaded New Year's Resolutions that most of us fail at time and again. If you think about it, all New Year's Resolution are about increasing our personal happiness. Whether our resolution is to lose weight or spend more time with family or spend time on "me"- the end result should be in our being more happy about ourselves. Of course, we almost always "fail" or lapse in our resolutions just a few weeks or months into the new year. We make all sorts of excuses - the most common one being "I don't have time."

I think it is pretty sad that we are essentially saying "I don't have time be more happy." What a way to go through life, huh?

Ms. Rubin has a "Happiness Manifesto" on her website and encourages others to create their own manifestos. Of the several points in her manifesto, these stood out the most to me.

To be happy, you need to consider feeling good, feeling bad, and feeling right in an atmosphere of growth.
I like this because it doesn't buy into the fallicy that being happy means that you don't go through those tough days. You will have bad days. Also, it stresses that feeling happy and feeling right are not necessarily the same thing. One can be right and not feel good about being right. One can feel good and be very wrong. The point, I believe, is that being aware about your feelings and why you are feeling them provides you with a window into yourself. This will help you to deal the the bad days better, provide you with a guide for how to feel good, and check that your feelings are what you think they should be.

You're not happy unless you think you're happy.
Ms. Rubin uses this as a "fake it til you feel it" motto. That is all well and good. I think this goes more to awareness. I think we've all been in situations where we may have started out in being unhappy and suddenly realized that we were happy.We've also had those situations where we suddenly realized "I should be happy right now, but I'm not". Both of those situations require awareness.

The days are long, but the years are short.
Yes, we've had those bad days that seem to go on forever and ever and ever. We often dwell on them - bemoaning our wretched state, lamenting our mistakes, rehashing the sordid details until they are mush. But, we turn around one day and all of a sudden we realize "Wow, it's been 5 years since...." "Where did the time go?" "Has it been that long?" So, is it really important or necessary to dwell on each detail of the day? Or do we shake it off and look ahead? Like Anne Shirley (of Anne of Green Gables for those who may not know) says - "Tomorrow is always fresh with no mistakes in it."

Think about yourself so that you can forget yourself.
Put in the time and energy on you when you need to and then you can just let go and be you. You aren't sitting there stressing about what you are doing wrong, what you should be doing, etc. This is SO much easier said than done. I think women especially have problems with this one.

Ms. Rubin talks about setting goals but she believes that they should be specific goals if you really want to increase your happiness. So instead of saying "I want to spend more time with my family", you might say, "I will set aside the 1st Wednesday of the month as Family Night." Instead of saying "I want to exercise more", you might say "I will go for a 10 minute walk before lunch everyday." These are much more manageable and more concrete. You know very clearly if you have achieved the goal or not.

To that end, here are my goals that I have set out for 2010 in an effort to improve my happiness:

Do a blog post at least 1x per week - even if it is just one line.
I have gotten all worked up over not having done a blog post for a while. I've also done the "I have nothing to write about" lament. By doing at least one post a week, I will no longer feel bad about not doing a post. By allowing the post to be one line if necessary allows me to "not have anything to write about".

Do a major cleaning (ie overhaul) of the house 2x this year - one in the spring and one in the fall.
I have complained for years about the how messy the house gets. We get those Asian Lady Beetles everywhere. The dust bunnies add up. We are visited by rodents. I will beat myself up for not doing a better job with cleaning (even though I do clean every week). I have realized that sometimes my cleaning is more lax than other times. Also, there are some chores that I have a tendancy to not do. By setting up major cleaning sessions (and doing them), I provide myself with the time to devote to those tasks. I ensure that I will have at least 2 times during the year when I can look around the house and not lament its state of cleanliness.

Work out times for visiting family.
It seems that Husband and I always feel like we should be spending more time with our family. Since doing so requires a lot of time and travel, I think we need to work out some times in order to do so. I know I feel much better when I have a schedule and a plan on how to get things done. I know it is nice to simply "drop in" sometimes, but I will admit that doing so happens too rarely.

What about you? What would be some of your goals towards increasing your happiness in 2010?

And I'm Baaaacccckkk! And Merry Christmas

Ok, I was going to post this on Christmas Eve. However, our internet went down on Wednesday and didn't come back until tonight. Talk about withdrawl! So, I am posting the post that I had intended to post Christmas Eve. I know, I know - I haven't posted since October. Add "be more consistent with blog posting" to my New Year's Resolution List. Here we go!

Merry Christmas to one and all!

This Christmas has not turned out exactly as I would have liked. Due to Snowpocalypse 2009: The Christmas Edition, we were unable to have family down for Christmas Eve dinner. Alas! It also looks unlikely that we will be able to meet up with more family on Christmas Day. I suppose it is my own fault, really. I wanted a “White Christmas” and well, I got it. I only wish this power worked on the lottery.

This was to be the first Christmas Dinner that I would host. I have to admit that I was really looking forward to it. It was going to be a hodgepodge of my family traditions, Hubby’s traditions, and some new ones we would start ourselves.

So, here we are, snowed in at home with a whole lotta food and only the two of us. For those of you who could not make it, here is what you will be missing:


One 14.5lb ham, served Alton Brown-style. This means scored skin (to release the fat) then slathered with mustard and brown sugar, covered with ginger snaps (in this case, thin homemade ginger cookies) and spritzed with bourbon. Then it is baked til a nice crust is formed.


Creamy mashed potatoes. This is done with my Dad’s potatoes (he’s a potato farmer), riced with a potato ricer, and mixed with heavy cream and butter. There is ham gravy to go over the top.


A winter salad. This is made with bitter winter greens, olives, roasted red peppers, roasted tomatoes, nuts, cranberries, fresh goat cheese and topped with a dressing of good olive oil and local apple cider vinegar.

Grandma Clara’s Peppermint Dessert (sorry - no photo). This is a dessert from my childhood. My grandma made it every year and I love it. It is also really easy. It is powdered peppermints (in a food processor) folded into a pint of whipped cream. This is mixed with half a bag of puffed up marshmallows (done in the microwave with a bit of milk) and chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts). The mixture is poured into a pan that has been filled along the bottom with graham cracker crumbs. The concoction is frozen. You serve it by cutting out squares. These are minty squares of deliciousness!


Rommegrot. Yes, I grew up having rommegrot for Christmas. I also grew up having lutefisk for Christmas, but that is a tradition I am willing to let go. However, I love rommegrot (or as my husband dubs it “sweet wallpaper paste”). I occasionally get butter to separate out of the mixture, but not always. I don’t care though – a bowl with some melted butter, cinnamon and sugar and I am home!


Raisin-Eggnog Bread Pudding. I wanted to bring a new dish to the table. The Hubby had mentioned possibly doing a bread pudding and so I went onto the trusty interwebs to find what was out there. I came across a recipe for Raisin-Eggnog Bread Pudding at this blog. The recipe looked simple enough and quite tasty. There was even a link to a homemade raising bread recipe. The raisin bread is mixed with eggnog, eggs, sugar, brandy and rum. The top is sprinkled with nutmeg. I’m very excited about this.


Lefse. I don’t make good lefse. I have tried and failed. Crispy lefse is not a good thing. Luckily for me, there is a woman near here that makes excellent lefse. I have stocked up with her lefse. Yay lefse!


Christmas Cookies. I was a little lazy in the cookie department this year. I only made spritzes and ginger cookies. Perhaps in the future I will be more ambitious. However, since you can see I already have 4 other sweets on this menu, I figured that this would be enough.

What has been very nice is that we’ve been able to visit with some of the neighbors. One couple stopped by yesterday with cookies, banana bread, and homemade eggnog. It was great, because we were going to head over to visit them and bring them some 2009 Nocino. We sat around and talked while drinking some Tom and Jerry’s (mixed with bourbon and rum) while snacking on nuts and chippers (potato chips covered with chocolate – this is VERY good – you must try it!).

Today, another neighbor came by to help us clear out our driveway. We have a little lawn tractor with a little plow on the front. However, it only can handle about 2 inches of snow. Anything above that and it really just spins its wheels. Our neighbor came over with his tractor and big snow blower and cleared out the driveway in about 10 minutes. He came in for a drink and conversation and we gave him a bottle of 2009 Nocino. He said that he would come by tomorrow (we are supposed to get another 6-8 inches of snow tonight into tomorrow). It’s great to have fantastic neighbors!

Finally, I acknowledge that I have been very lax in updating this blog. Ok, lax is an understatement. How about completely off the grid? Anyway, we’ve been doing a lot of good eating since my last post (in October!) and I hope to catch everyone up with what has been going on between then and now. Also, one of my New Year’s resolutions is to be more consistent with my blog postings.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The Fall Festival on the Farm

Last night we had what we hope is the first of many Fall Festivals on the Farm. It was a great afternoon/evening. After weeks of cold, rainy, gloomy weather, the sun came out, the air warmed up slightly, and it ended up being the perfect day for a party.

First you need to know how this came about. The Husband has a tendency towards grandiose ideas for parties. Unfortunately, in the past, he has tried to pull them off on a few days notice. Having voiced his desire for a Fall Festival in the past, I felt some planning in advance was called for.

We got our pig from a local farm, Highview Pastures. It was pasture-raised, Berkshire cross.

The owners were wonderful. They promptly answered all our questions (and boy did I pepper them with questions and request), opened their place for a visit, and delivered the pig to us. They even brought us extra pig offal (they had processed another pig at the same time they processed ours).

The Husband took the party as an impetus to get some things done with the pole barn - our party location. We now how power to the pole barn (yeay) and we were able to organize and clear out a lot of things. In addition, we bought some 30 bales of straw to use at the party and later for our chickens and the dog (I hear straw is the best bedding for dogs during the cold, cold winters).

So, let's return to the day of the party.

Our friend, the Pig Roaster Extraordinaire, showed up way before the butt-crack of dawn (before 5am) with pig roaster in tow. The Pig Roaster Extraordinaire (or PRE) had some culinary tricks up his sleeve. First, there was stuffing the cavity of the pig with a mix of sauerkraut and apples (and a secret blend of spices). PRE expertly stitched up said pig and the pig was rolled up in a wire mesh to facilitate easy flipping throughout the roasting process. PRE also brought a special basting liquid, again with a special blend of spices, which was liberally applied to the pig on each flipping (done on the hour).

The Husband and I worked to get the pole barn ready for the party. It is always the case that all this work gets pushed and crammed to the last minute. Aside from the Christmas lights in the rafters, we spread out several bales of straw, set up the tables (some bought, most rented), and made sure all things were ready for the apple tasting, the homemade canned goods swap, and the pumpkin pie contest.
We set up a kids activity table with small pumpkins to paint, some wood pumpkin and autumn leaf cut outs to paint, paper, paints, and crayons.














The pig was absolutely fantastic - so juicy, tender, and lots of flavor. I will admit: PRE, the Husband, and I helped ourselves to an ear and the snout well before any guests arrived. PRE even made a pate from one of the livers for lunch (and a side dish for the buffet table). We got buns from Brick Oven Bakery in Northfield - a rustic French, an Oatmeal, and their signature Minnesota Rice.

The apples for the apple tasting (and the cider) were from Pepin Heights Orchard in Lake Pepin. We had 6 different varieties: Honeycrisp, Cortland, Prima, McIntosh, Green Gold, and Haralson. The favorite of this year's festival was the Honeycrisp. Next year, we hope to have a SweeTango.














We had 4 pies entered in the pumpkin pie contest - all vying for the coveted 2009 Walnut Nocino. We ended up with a tie between two of those pies. Every judge said that all of the pies were very good, but each was very different from any of the others. They had such a hard time deciding. In the end, a blind draw between the two winners determined who went home with the nocino.













We had so many people attend: neighbors, Guard friends, people the Husband knew from high school whom he hadn't seen in years, friends from Kantorei. There were smores, which were a big hit with the kids. It was a great time. Husband and I pretty much passed out upon hitting the pillows. Now, after a bit of rest and recovery, we're looking forward to next year's festival. I'm thinking a wild game festival...