Chance : Little Blueberry Lake

Sometimes when we are out and about.  Far Guy will ask Far Side “Have you ever been on that road?”  If she says “No” most of the time we get to go..being the adventurers we are. On Sunday Far Side said “Follow those Public Access signs..see where it leads, maybe we can walk Chance there.”  Well that brings me up and at’em and out of my slumber in the back seat. Walk and Chance in the same sentence means I am going to get out of the car! I usually sleep in between cows and horses.  If I am really dozing on the job..someone usually hollers “Horse” or “Cow.”

Ten miles later following the little brown Public Access signs we arrived.  It was not quite a two track road toward the end.

We wondered what lake we found.  Far Side said “It looks more like a river than a lake.”  You would think that they would put up a sign..you know the ones with a red X..you are here.

The options were Blueberry and Shipman..they kinda knew where they were. But they had never been there before. We consulted with Cousin Chuck..he said we must have been at Little Blueberry…he used to work for the DNR and knows the name of every lake in the area!

The water was cold..and neither of them ventured in with me. Far Guy found a stick to throw..a stick..I don’t “do” sticks…I was a bit of a grump about that stick. I retrieved it a couple of times..then Far Guy did the unthinkable…

He threw it in the deeper water where I would have to swim.  I can swim..but only with Far Side and she was not swimming that day.  She finally said “Enough already.”  I guess barking at sticks does no good..all the dogs across the lake began to bark. It was like a symphony:)

Strange Bales

Yesterday we went on a little drive, we headed to a flea market about an hour away. 

Not far from home we saw that this field of Kidney Bean vines had been baled.  I was curious what they would be used for..animal bedding was the answer that I got from Peg…she said that the vines were really hard to chop up..so it was decided to bale them. 

On the way we saw this field…

Need a closer look?

Yesiree..they are corn stover bales.  Corn stover is what the corn stalks are called after the cobs have been harvested.  This will be used as a low quality feed for livestock. I have never seen corn bales before..have you?  Sometimes the corn stover is left for livestock to graze right there in the field.  Most times it is plowed under because it decomposes and returns nutrients to the field…Corn is a heavy nutrient user.

The flea market was pretty cool..there were four buildings full of “junk” and there was lots of room for outside vendors in the summer.  I only found one guy that was selling old photos..I bought what he had that interested me. He wanted five dollars a piece..I said “Well that is too rich for my blood.”  We settled on a dollar a piece.  Far Guy found an old model car for his train set..we are pretty boring..we always look for the same thing.

All the leaves are on the ground here..everything is different shades of brown..we are still working on getting the leaves out of the yard..and yes we have a leaf blower..we just have a really large amount of trees that loose their leaves..we rake, we chop, we blow..one way or another the flow of leaves that stops and swirls right in front of the front door must be stopped:)  

Indian Summer

Indian Summer is making a visit to Minnesota, and staying. It can stay until Christmas as far as I am concerned.  Sure the mornings are cool..it was 27 degrees again this morning..but the days are warm..with temperatures in the 50’s.  Indian Summer has been a welcome relief after all the rain that we had during the summer.

Chance and I hate that it is too dark after supper to go for our evening drive. We will have to begin going before supper.

Yesterday we washed all the windows..Far Guy helped and Chance followed him around dropping the ball against his ladder. We only have seven windows..it was the least amount that we could reasonably have..I hate washing them. The north facing French door had algae growing in the track where the screen goes..it was that wet this summer.

Hockey Season has started and Far Guy arranged a date with Savannah to attend the Sioux vs. Beaver game last Friday night. Trica was feeling up to attending the game too!  I guess the Sioux are not the Sioux anymore. I think they should just change the spelling and stay the Sue.  Chance and I were going to go along and spend the evening with the other two grand girls..but they were headed for a school dance..who woulda thunk it. Grandma was aced out first by hockey then by a school dance. Chance and I stayed home and had a nap and then played ball out in the dark.  We are totally capable of making our own fun!:) 

Marge Grass

We have a beautiful grass out in the wildflower/weedy area.  It was a gift from Marge, Far Guys Godmother.  She was and still is a heck of a gardener.  She has hit a rough patch the past couple of months..and one day she said to me “Don’t go talking about me on that blog of yours.” Now there is a very fine line between talking and writing about someone. 

So I won’t say how every year on February 15 the phone rings and it is Marge remembering her Godson’s birthday.

I won’t say how she shared some of her very invasive grass or how she smiled when it left her yard.

We planted it out on a mound of soil..and we enjoy it all winter long..I have no idea what this grass is called and you know what I don’t care…we call it Marge Grass:)

Lake Fog

This morning when Chance and I got up there was lake fog, it was cold out.  It was 27 degrees, the water at the lake is warmer than the air and a misty fog rises out of the lake. We went for a quick ride..me in my jammies..Chance in his coat.

There was frost on the hay bales. It is a fine reminder that cooler weather is on it’s way.. perhaps it is here.  We have had two hard frosts this week.

Stories and Rumors..  there are two wolves hanging around together..a neighbor three miles from us got a photo.  I also heard that several wolves attacked a dog right in town in Detroit Lakes.  My cousins dog who was tied up in his yard was taken by something and dismembered and partially buried in mud. They think it was a Mountain Lion.  They heard a rumor that someone had a pair of Mountain Lions that were rescued as cubs, they became to large to handle and too expensive to feed ..so they released them into the wild.  I am not sure what would possess people to have wild animals..other than they are cute when they are little.

There is another lost dog(Australian Shepherd) poster and reward up at the local convenience store..the little dog that was lost last spring has never been found.

We try to go out with Chance after dark..he likes the company and we feel better knowing that he has not left the yard. Some evenings..like last night all the dogs in the neighborhood take up howling..at deer or whatever else is out there:)

Three Cats

In any other family, Cats would mean kittens..not so if you grew up with a Dad that ran Heavy Equipment all of his life.  Or if your other baby brother from the time he was three wanted to be just like his Dad and move dirt. Somehow it must have been passed down through the genes so that my other baby brother’s only son has this dirt fever too…and his son Mason has it too..at the ripe old age of six it is quite evident.  Their blood must be part diesel fuel.

My Brother, My Father and My Nephew

My other baby brother who lives next door wanted some three generation photos taken. He owns his own Construction Company.  Yesterday they were all three working at the same job.  Far Guy and I drove out there early in the morning, the sun was just coming up. 

My Dad loves to work for my other baby brother.  My other baby brother moved from Wyoming to buy his own business. Needless to say he handles all the snow removal all winter long on the driveway that we share!  He employs a number of young men who have families..so we are always happy when he has an abundance of work.

My Dad started working for a Construction Company before he was married.  He was a truck driver.  After some bad farming years due to grasshoppers and the weather he went back into construction to feed  his family.  He has been a “Cat Operator” for just about fifty years.

 

Here goes my Dad off into the sunrise..off to another day of work:)

Wistful Wednesday : 1930

In 1930 my Mother was one year old.  Photography was sometimes challenging.  The light isn’t right. The camera operator is shaky..

My Mother has marked this photograph “Me.”  Now, I know who it is..but will my children or their children?  Probably not.

This is a photo of my Mother in 1930.  I cropped this out of another larger photo..it needs some restoration.  I will put it on my list of things to do.  I believe my Mom was not yet one year old in this photo.   There are only three photographs of her in 1930.  These are two of them.

Today is my Mothers birthday, we will meet for lunch in town at the place that serves the sour cream and raisin pie, then she is off on one of her many volunteer activities.  I suppose I could tell you that she was a few days short of being twenty one when she married my Father..sixty years ago:)

Chance : Sugar Point Battle

Hello..it’s me..the blogging Border Collie.  A few weeks ago we were gone all day long.  Far Side has not told you about the best part of that trip. So I guess it is up to me..

Far Side told me to jump up, so I did..then I walked on the rock ledge..perhaps I should do agility.  Far Guy has his jacket  over his head because it was windy..very windy and cool with the wind coming off the water.

What a perfect place to watch for my ship to come in.  Look at all that water!

Leech Lake even has some wave action..

How about some Chance action?  I can’t believe it, I played in the water all by myself..no matter how many times I invited Far Guy to play by barking at him, he kept hollering at me “ Chance I am not coming to play in that water..it is freezing.” Far Side finally gave up and grabbed a really long stick and splashed some water for me..she usually doesn’t mind wading in the water at least up to her knees..she looked pretty stupid leaning way out over the water. I kept hoping she would fall in..then we could have stayed and played all day long.  

I had a blast!

Far Side has been by here before, but only at night..the last time we were by here she had to take a flashlight out of the car to read the marker.  It says:

Sugar Point Battle

When a Federal Marshall with 100 troops of the 3rd Infantry tried to arrest the Chippewa Chief Bugonaygeshig at Sugar Point opposite here on the North East shore of the lake a sharp fight occurred October 5, 1898 the whites lost 7 killed and 10 wounded and the arrest was never accomplished

It sounds like Chief Old Bug was a tad upset about his tribe members being picked on by local officials.  Members of the Tribe were being arrested and then transported way out of the area for trial.  Then the Lumber Companies were coming in and not paying the Indians what their trees were worth. This was considered the last Indian uprising in the United States. I betcha never knew that ?

Far Side let me blog today because she needs to do real important stuff like laundry and raking leaves into the woods and out of her garage:)

The Anniversary Party

It was a lovely day yesterday here in Minnesota..almost too warm as the temperatures hovered in the high seventies. 

After my parents cut their small cake the gathering began.  There was no formal program..one of their friends sang a beautiful anniversary song for them.

It is a good thing my baby brother was not in charge of the menu..he asked where the red and green Lutheran Jello was?

 

We served fruit in a basket that was carved by my son on law Handy Andy..he is in the black shirt in this photo..he is talking to Missy..she is married to my nephew ( they live next door to us).  My sister is stirring, and my sister in law from Oregon is the paparazzi. Anyway on with the food..pickles, fresh fruit, carrots and celery, a couple of different salads that my Aunt made, fabulous potato salad, buns and pulled pork in Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce.  Decent fare for a Sunday Afternoon Snack!

There was cake..two of these..each one serving one hundred..so I would guess that since we had only four slices left over..that we served just about two hundred people.

Food is hard to judge…but apparently no one went away hungry. 

From the left: my other baby brother who lives next door, she who sees robins first, my sister, my sisters husband, Mom, Far Guy, Dad, me, my baby brother from Oregon and his wife. I am the oldest and there is quite an age span.  I am three years older than my baby brother and nine years older than my other baby brother..he will be turning the big 50 very soon and I am almost sixteen years older than my sister.

Our oldest daughter Trica and her husband with their girls. We were very thankful that Trica could join us after spending most of last week in the hospital.

Our youngest daughter Jennifer, her husband and the boys.

Thank you to everyone who pitched in to help make the day a success, especially Jen and Far Guy who have been my “rocks” throughout the past week.  I am tired today..I will probably take a nap later:)

Crossing the i’s and dotting the t’s

Or is it the other way around?  Excuse me today if I am confused.  I am good at the groundwork for parties..It is the final day..when it is all supposed to come together flawlessly that freaks me out.

A box full of memories that will decorate the tables.

I have been planning this party for weeks, I have been fretting over the colors of napkins and the decorations.  The food and the cake decisions gave me nightmares..there have been many decisions to make..my baby brother lives far far away and is flying in the day before, my other baby brother who lives next door is working seventy plus hours a week moving dirt before it freezes, my sister lives far away and will not be here until the day before.  MY parents should have had more children. Children that like making decisions. Children that are party planners..children that know all the right stuff, all the etiquette ins and outs. 

The menu is set, NOTHING more will be added..I hate the cooking, and the food prep.   Hopefully by the time you all read this..all the cooking will have been accomplished…all the last minute preparations will be ready for the open house that will honor my parents on the day that they will have been married exactly 60 years and three days. 

Their children and grandchildren are hosting an open house at  church to honor them and their accomplishment on Sunday afternoon.  I have jobs for everyone, being the oldest has it’s perks..I can boss them around just like in the olden days. HA!  

A special cake was made at the bakery, my Dad has Celiac sprue so he can eat no oats, wheat, rye or barley ( gluten).  When I talked to the Baker, she had never made a gluten free cake before..but she was willing to try.  She had a real can do spirit that I really admire.  I told her “I might be the first one to ask for a gluten free cake..but not the last.”  

I swear I have made lists of my lists. I know that there will be something or someone that I will forget. I am not perfect, but I do want my parents to have a perfect day.  If they make it to seventy glorious years of marriage, I am going to be way to old to accomplish that party..someone else is going to have to take over..:)

Grace at Bovey

The little town of Bovey is famous. You have probably seen the famous photo/painting and didn’t even realize that it was The State Photograph of Minnesota.  I knew about the painting..I have seen it many times. I just didn’t know the story..

Sometime in 1918 a peddler by the name of Charles Wilden posed for a photographer by the name of Enstrom.  The photo was of an old man praying, it was meant to capture the simple things that we could be thankful for instead of pining away for the things that we didn’t have.  In the photo are a Enstrom Family book, spectacles, a bowl of gruel, a loaf of bread and a knife, and of course the elderly gentleman praying.  The photo was made into a painting and Enstrom put one in the window of his studio in Bovey, and every time he sold one he painted another.  The photo was named “Grace.”

Now if you listen to the locals in Bovey..they put their own spin on this story.   The elderly  gentleman, possibly a hobo was nicknamed a “Swamp Angel” he came into town one day, got a shave and a haircut, bought a new shirt and had his photo taken.  Then he disappeared back into the swamp..never to be seen again:) 

Thank you for your kind comments and prayers for Trica, we appreciate them.  She was released from the hospital and returned to her home yesterday afternoon.

Hospitals and Waiting

I don’t know what is worse..waiting in the hospitals or waiting at home.  Wednesday we waited in the hospital..first we waited for the ambulance to arrive. Then we waited on Doctors and tests..

I wonder why they have a Piano in the hospital?  Far Guy was pushing the buttons..

He was also entertaining the “squirrels”..his affectionate nickname for the Grandgirls.

Here comes the cavalry..

Savannah and Jen

Nothing better than meeting your favorite Aunt at the door and getting a hug..I missed that photo..but you get the idea.

Jen took over for us and we came home, waiting tires you out. She is younger..she is a better waiter( NOT).  We waited at home Thursday..waiting for the phone to ring..waiting for answers that did not materialize.

We have no complete diagnosis ....we still have more questions than answers.  Far Guy and Richard who are the “fixers” have nothing to fix..because they don’t know what is wrong..or what WAS wrong.   Jen and I the “planners” have no plan because we have no idea what direction to go in. Therefore the fixers get angry and frustrated and the planners throw their hands in the air and sigh heavily.

We had hoped that with the transfer to a larger facility we would get some answers.  Trica is feeling better, she looks better, for that we are thankful. The Cardiologist said “ I don’t think you had a heart attack.”  YET he has no idea why her troponin level was way up and no idea why her EKG changed or why she was unconscious for 22-30 hours earlier in the week, and neither do her other Doctors.

They are going to release her from the hospital this morning. 

I don’t think it is a good idea to let her out…the Mommy in me..says “Whoa”..what are we missing..what was overlooked. What is going to happen to her before someone figures it out..she is lucky to be alive..she is lucky not to have brain damage..but not lucky enough to find a Doctor that is worth a hill of beans:(

Sixty Years Ago

October 07, 1950..that is the day that my parents got married.

Mom did her own hair, perhaps her sisters helped her..and apparently that “old wives tale” about the groom seeing the bride before the wedding being bad luck was a bunch of baloney.

Last summer my baby brother who lives in Oregon got a new camera..I asked him to take a photo of Mom and Dad for a pre anniversary photo..it was used in the Cousins Newsletter.

This is their formal wedding photo that I used in the newspapers and in the Church Bulletin to announce an open house in their honor this weekend. 

Luckily I did some of the preparations for this event last week. We hope that Trica will be able to attend..we will see..she wants to be there, she is their oldest grandchild..just one of twelve…some live far far away and some are on student trips abroad.  So it is not possible for everyone to attend. I am sure that they will all be there in spirit! :)

Chance: Trica Transferred

It is I,  Chance, giving an update on my sister Trica.  I had to stay home all by myself today..well Jo came to take care of me..but I was alone for a little while, then I went with Jo to visit Hooch and Odda!   Then Far Guy and Far Side came back and they were too tired to play ball.

My sister is now in a different hospital, with different doctors and different tests..and it is further away.  It is in Fargo, North Dakota..that is a different state than we live in. Far Guy said “Someone is finally getting their shit together..she should have been transferred last Sunday or Monday at the latest.”

It was a warm day here today..too warm for me to wait in the car safely.  Far Side said “The dog is not going in the car today.” What a relief..I have been in and out of that car so much in the past three days.

There is not much to report, my sister has a bad infection ..but they are not sure which strain yet.  Her Echo Cardiogram today was much better than the one they did on Sunday..DUH..it has been three days.  She had a chest x-ray and another MRI today..no results from them yet and she is scheduled for a PET scan in the morning. I wonder if they use a dog or a cat..or a bird..they are all pets..ha ha..that’s a funny! 

Far Side does have a post for you tomorrow..Lord willing and the crick don’t rise..or if she doesn’t sleep half the day..or if the phone doesn’t ring :)

Pulling Together

This photo was taken on a family house boat trip a few years ago.  Trica, Far Guy, Richard and Andy.  Jen was attempting to beach the houseboat..it was very windy.  I was doing what I do best..taking photos and being in charge of the children and Chance.  Within any family dynamic we all have our strengths and our weaknesses.

Far Guy and I spent the morning in ICU with Trica, we came home this afternoon.  They are running more tests..lots more tests..searching for answers…after seeing the Doctor this morning we all had many more questions than we have answers.  The only thing we know for certain is NO Stroke and NO Pulmonary Embolism. We don’t know much of anything else..she was seen today by a Urologist and a Neurologist.  She ate a half of slice of toast today..she looks better and sounds better..she is very emotional..and very worried.

Did you know that almost teenagers can make squeaky noises with their shoes in the hallway of a hospital that is like running your nails up a chalkboard?  They stopped as soon as I said “No more of that ..people are sleeping.”  They really let loose with this fancy shoe squeaking once we were outside..I told them “Go for it girls!”
If I knew more, I could report more..as it is we all just wait:)
Here is Jens blog post today. 

October 04, 2010 Update on Trica

Today we learned that our thirty –eight year old daughter Trica had a Heart Attack.  This morning she woke up and began to struggle with being intubeated..she finally got the nurses to understand that she needed something to write with..she wanted to know what happened and where she was.  Later the tubes were taken out..and she had to stay awake all day long.  Through blood tests and changes in the EKG is was decided that she had a clot that caused a heart attack.  They did more tests to RULE OUT a Pulmonary Embolism and a Stroke..and to our relief they were ruled out. (Thank you God!)

When she saw me today she said “Mom what happened?”  She was awake at 2 AM and spoke to Savannah and her friend because they were being a little giggly and loud..she returned to bed.  Maddie checked on her at 8:30 when she got up and she was sleeping..but at 10:30 when Savannah tried to wake her up ..she couldn’t get a response and her breathing was shallow. I had the girls holler at her, slap her cheeks and put cold wash cloths on her face..nothing would arouse her. I told them to watch her breathing..and to make sure she didn’t stop breathing..and that one of them should stay on the phone with me..and if we got cut off for some reason they were to call me right back..one was to call 911 and tell them that their Mother was unconscious..and the other was to try calling their Dad. I was confident enough in their capabilities and in mine to stay calm. I could instruct them how to open the airway and begin rescue breathing if necessary.  I don’t know exactly what happened..but sometime while she was asleep she had a heart attack.

We are going back up early in the morning to speak with her Doctor to see what they are going to do next.  We came back home after everyone was settled for the evening. We like to sleep in our own beds.

Paige, Savannah, Trica and Maddie this afternoon.

Thank you for your kind comments and prayers, this afternoon Maddie read them all to her Mother..it means more than you can know to have support during this trying time.  Trish (her real name is spelled Trica..I was in a severe hormone depression when I named her and spelled it funny! )anyway Trish or Sis as we call her..said “See girls, there were even people we don’t know praying for us.  Your grandma has lots of good blogging friends!” :)

Sunday : October 03, 2010

 

Trica in 1974 when she was 2 years old.

Our oldest daughter, Trica was taken by ambulance to the hospital this morning, the little girls were unable to awaken  her.  The little girls did great calling an ambulance and keeping us apprized of what was happening minute by minute. Thank goodness they all have cell phones, while one was talking to me, another was trying to reach their Dad who was out of town and someone else called 911.  Trica remains in Intensive Care in a drug induced coma until the Doctors can figure out what to do next.  Our focus at this time is with her and her family, your prayers would be appreciated. It is difficult not to be able to make it all better, If I knew what to do, I would do it.  Waiting is really hard:(

Mums the word for Fall

The North Central Research and Outreach Center is located at Grand Rapids, MN.  It is the northernmost station in the continental United States. It is affiliated with the University of Minnesota. 

We passed by there the other day, Far Guy drove way past..then he kindly turned around and we wove our way through the campus to what had caught my eye from the highway.

Field Trials..makes the heart of a Horticulturist go pitter patter..they were researching Mums!

During the winter Horticulturists make the hybrids in the greenhouses..they take the pollen from one and put it on another..the resulting plants are planted out the following year.  They are trialed in gardens such as these.  I have evaluated gardens like these when I was a student.

This is the good section..I am not sure what their rules were, did they pinch back or not..I noticed that they were allowed to water..some trials are not allowed water..did they fertilize..maybe.  The cool thing about trials is that everything in these plots gets the same thing.. sun, wind or rain and you can see which plants do the best.  That pink roundy moundy row near the center is a stand out for me..you can see that she flowers prolifically and has no splits in the foliage like the orangey one next door ..although that orangey one isn’t too bad.  The bright yellow one did not fill out as nicely.  When these were planted, they were all planted the same distance apart.

The actual Chrysanthemum bloom can be classified by flower form..this is a quill type bloom..one of my favorites..and it wasn’t covered by bees. (This place was bee city!)  There are thirteen types of forms..incurved, recurved, spoon, spider, quill..the list goes on and on. 

All the Mums used to be yellow..chrys ..in the Chrysanthemum means yellow, anthemum just means flower in Greek. Mums have come along way.  Between Fall flowering Mums and Asters every color can be found except black which is really a non flower color  anyway..in my opinion!

What do these trials looks for??  Flower size, color, growth habit, vigor, frost tolerance and winter hardiness.  All the things that will make a mum perfect for fall in Minnesota.

I don’t “do” mums..I have never had any luck with them..they always winterkill for me, or I forget to pinch them back and they flop over, or I pinch them back too much and they barely bloom before they are killed by frost.  I do like mums but they  are just to fussy for me:)

Sarma at Bovey

Bovey Minnesota is a quaint little town, population 662.  You have to go through Grand Rapids and skirt the edge of Coleraine then head north to Bovey..it is just a hop skip and a jump from Coleraine.  Far Guy said “Isn’t it weird that these two towns are so close together?”  It made me wonder.  The story we heard from a local was this ..Bovey was a mining town back in the day, and it was full of brothels and bars.  When the owner of the mine wanted to move his family to the area he said that he would have none of that around his family..so just down the road he started the town of Coleraine, Bovey kept its brothels and bars and Coleraine became a nice family town.

I found out later that John Greenway a former Rough Rider with Teddy Roosevelt was hired by the Oliver Mining Company to start a mine at Bovey, he picked Coleraine as the new town, named it after Thomas Cole, President of the Oliver Mining Co. and in 1920 Coleraine was considered a “spotless” community safe for miners and their families.  Sin filled Bovey remained just to the north of town.

Well, what brought us to Bovey? An Antique shop of course..actually it was more of an Antique Mall..two levels of treasures.  They also serve lunch at huge round oak tables that are placed in front of the sunny windows that are filled with sparkly colored glass bowls and vases in all shapes and sizes.

The chalkboard announced “Sarma” freshly made!  We asked our waitress “What is a Sarma?”  Far Guys cousin highly recommended it.  But we are both clueless.  Our very friendly waitress explained that it is hamburger and rice with seasonings that is rolled in a cabbage leaf and then the whole thing is covered in Sauerkraut.

Yummy!  I love sauerkraut..but sometimes it does not love me and gives me terrible gas. Far Guy has never appreciated cabbage in any form so his decision to have a Canadian bacon, turkey and cheese sandwich was understandable.  I had to think a bit..hmm..going to a thingy at the Library tonight..small room,  lots of people.. guess for their sakes I should pass on the gas producing food.  So I ordered a sandwich also.

Well wouldn’t you know it, the waitress was so nice and friendly, she was a Norwegian from Hibbing. She brought us a Sarma ..and said “Here try this..it is on the house!”  It would have been rude to refuse.  I was still thinking about the gaseous explosions and how my stomach sometimes rumbles like a huge mountain whilst it produces that gas.. all the while I devoured the Sarma.  It was good, however I do prefer my sauerkraut a bit more sour.  Far Guy took one small taste..and made a face.  He then said “I would have to be starving to death before I ate that.”  Our waitress being from Hibbing and all told us that up in Hibbing Sarmas are served with a tomato sauce,  there is a political correctness code about the Sarmas, and that they never would be served that way down in Bovey.

Sarmas are a Serbian food, and it is one of those special foods that is served during holidays and special occasions. I took several tums after I ate..and thank goodness embarrassing gaseousness was avoided.

Whilst we were  having lunch the sun came out..this is the road between Coleraine and Grand Rapids..heading west.

What did we buy..well lunch and  a bag of old wooden thread spools. Why?  We are wondering the same thing. We both saw “something” really cute carved from a wooden thread spool. We cannot remember what it was..we have to wait till one of our friends shows up at carving again to refresh our old fading memories:)