We awoke to cloudless skies, and I am ready for it! 

If you've read this blog, it will come as no surprise to you that I like cemeteries.  Just why I like them, I couldn't tell you, but I'm sure there's some textbook explanation.  What I haven't mentioned is that I also love movies.  Love 'em.  I get up at 5 AM every morning and start my day with a cup of coffee laced with heavy whipping cream, a couple of healthy hemp waffles to counteract the heavy whipping cream, and a movie.  My former ex-husband, who I lived with while he was dying of cancer, said he liked my style.  He said I sort of "wound up" to the day.

Anyway, on to the Banger Sisters.  This movie is about two former groupies from the 70's who meet up 20 years later.  Now, if you do the math, it's really 30 years later, but the women look so great, we'll just play along with them.  Susan Sarandon plays Lavinia Kingsley, a suburban housewife, and Goldie Hahn plays Suzette who apparently doesn't deserve a last name because she is down on her luck and not a surburban housewife.  If this movie were my life, I would be Suzette without a last name, and my friend, Cindy, would be Lavinia.  Surprisingly, it is uptight Lavinia who has preserved the sordid Rock C*ck collection. I know, that's naughty, but I didn't write the movie.

There is a tender moment after a night of rekindling their friendship, where Suzette asks Lavinia, "have you ever been to Paris?"  Of course she has. Then Suzette asks if Lavinia went to that famous cemetery, Pere Lachaise where Jim Morrison was buried.  Yes, Lavinia had been there.  "It was sad."

Jim Morrison is buried in Paris?  Why?  Well, that's a whole other story.  And one that I'll save for a later date.  All I know, is I want to travel!  I want to go see Jim Morrison's sad grave.  I love Minnesota, but a girl needs to get out of town once in a while.

Take a look at this awesome website of photos from all over the world. It's one of my favorite.  While I'm in Paris, I'll also visit Shakespeare and Company, a popular Bohemian bookstore that's been around forever.

But why stop there?  In my imaginary trip to Europe, why not visit Highgate Cemetery in London?  Its guest list includes the notorious Karl Marx, and the novelist George Elliot.

I will be a world traveler.  I will be a world traveler.  If I say it often enough, maybe someday it will happen.  I found a website for a travel neophyte, such as myself, at http://www.goin2travel.com.  It has a lot of information about any region in the world.  Very educational.  And it looks like any trip could be tailor-made to the type of experience a traveler would want.  Winding my way through http://www.goin2travel.com has got me chomping at the bit to make reservations.  Believe me, if I get to Paris or London, you're going to hear about it.

Now this is the reason we went to the fair.

The belt display near the livestock barn was stunning.

I love a man in a cowboy hat. 

Of course it rained - again.  We sat on a bench and ate corndogs and watched the crew drying off the big slide ride.

The fair is a great place to watch people.  We saw this pink haired goddess in the horse barn.

When it's my time to go, if the Good Lord puts a Midway in front me and says go to the light, I won't be able to help myself!

I am a former resident of Redwood Falls, Minnesota.  In fact, I had the opportunity to be employed by its first tourism office, and I loved it.  I spent four busy years there.  Redwood Falls is a beautiful community with a lake and a huge park nicknamed "Little Yellowstone," sporting a zoo and waterfall. That is not to say the city has made the most of them.  The lake has been unusable for years, but I've read recently that a reclamation project has been approved.

When Jackpot Junction Casino opened in the late 1980's, there were high hopes for the city of Redwood Falls.  We had an influx of tens of thousands of visitors just ten miles down the road at the Casino, and they kept our hotels full for a few years.   Clearly, the marketing department at the Casino knew what they were doing.

Bed and breakfasts, limousine services and flea markets popped up around the region.  A forward-thinking group of individuals pulled together a cooperative tourism organization to market four local counties, but our cooperation reached to both ends of the states before I left that office.

Somehow, in spite of everything, Redwood Falls missed the boat.  So what happened?  Redwood Falls is a conservative community which is great for banks, insurance companies, and utility companies, but not much help when it comes to incubating the kinds of businesses that appeal to tourists.  We just didn't have enough charming little businesses and restaurants in our downtown to give them a reason to spend their time or money.  The city eventually decided to keep the hotel taxes in its own coffers and market sporting events to bolster support for the new community center.  But I'm over-simplifying.

Every visit to Redwood Falls made me sadder and sadder.  Then one day, strangers came to town and did something outrageous.  They opened a coffeehouse name the Calf Fiend!  What the?  And it is a wonderful coffeehouse.  It is colorful and cozy, with a life-size paper mache kicking calf,  and the food is remarkable.  Everything is homemade.  It rivals any big-city coffeehouse I've ever sipped espresso in. 

AND that's not all!  Even though the long-established Morgan's Supervalu closed, it morphed into Morgan's Deli , a bright and spacious eating establishment down the street from The Calf Fiend.  The property has been renovated and has gorgeous hardwood floors and brick walls.

Guess what! There's more.   I'll fill you in on future updates.

Kasey and I headed out to Southwestern Minnesota to check in with the Fieldstone Vineyards near Morgan, Minnesota.  They'll be hosting the Arnold Kramer exhibit and we needed to hammer out a couple of the details for the last weekend in September.  For more information about the event, you can read a PRESS RELEASE at the Arnold Kramer website.

I loved being at the vineyard.  Everything was so tidy. I'm a farm girl, so the fact that the wine tasting and retail is located in a big old barn really appealed to me..

I guess vineyard owners don't get to choose when they'll harvest crops, and the proprietor advised me they're ready a little early this year. 

The vineyard works with a number of different growers from around the state and their wine is 100% Minnesotan.   Their retail products are also from producers around the state.

If you're considering a trip to the artshow, it can be combined with a visit to Jackpot Junction Casino, which is only about ten minutes away.  Jackpot is the premiere Native American Casino in the state.  Nearby Redwood Falls has a couple of darling eating establishments, and a drive through Ramsey Park to see the waterfalls is an absolute necessity.  There is a small zoo and the views are breathtaking.

Check out the new Ashland Wisconsin Photo Album.

One of Melanie's friends in Ashland told her an amazing story of a macabre shipwreck on Lake Superior near Ashland in 1886 where the sailors were found lashed to the ship's deck and frozen to death, less than a quarter mile from shore .  It was fascinating.  You can read about it at the Wisconsin Shipwreck website. 

I was very taken with the community of Ashland, Wisconsin on the shore of Lake Superior.  Melanie dragged me along with her last Spring when she was applying for a job.  The lake was covered with ice when we retired the night before, but we awoke in the morning to the sound of waves slapping against the shore.  It was wonderful.  I come from land-locked southwestern Minnesota, so being near the big water is a treat.

I spent the day touring Ashland while Melanie was busy, and found the people there very engaging.  I visited the Black Cat Coffeehouse, the healthfood store, and the local library - which has a wonderful reading area.  One of my favorite experiences was eating at The Deepwater Grille & Southshore Brewery.

I can't explain why a shipwreck has a sense of romance in it for me.  Too many wench and pirate drugstore novels, maybe.  But whatever the reason, there is no doubt Lake Superior has a seductive personality.

I fell in love with Duluth when I saw how rich its architecture is.  And the nice thing about Duluth being built on a hill, is that so many tiers of historic buildings can be seen from the main highways.  I enjoyed seeing layers and layers of beautiful and interesting types of architecture.   But this house that Melanie is renting takes the cake.  Crabby Dave, who is a very gifted woodworker, claimed he had never before seen the types of medallions used under the eves of this house.

If you drove me around Duluth all day and asked me to tell you which house or building was my favorite, I couldn't do it.  Duluth is like the jewelbox of Minnesota architecture.  If it has a rival, please let me know!

I was also impressed with the design of the supporting wall along the freeway.  Someone took the time to create not only functional, but beautiful, infrastructure.  After all, if something has to be there,  can't it at least be beautiful?

I must have a dark side.  It's been cloudy for over a week straight and it could go on for a while longer as far as I'm concerned.  I'm dressed in black and blue and looking as happy as a bruise. 

It seems fitting to me, as we are still in a state of mourning over the lives lost on the 35W bridge, and now in southeastern Minnesota.  What in the world is going on?  I suppose it is simply our turn to entertain the country's disasters.  God bless us all.

One of the reasons I love ghost ads is because they bring together a variety of things I'm interested in.  Architecture, art, history and romance.  Of course, the romance part is in my head, but I can imagine the intrique of a couple of strangers in some small town setting up their scaffolding next to the local bar while the girls looked on.  Surely one painter would be tall, dark and silent, while the other would be short, red-haired and funny - flirting with girls sent downtown by their mothers, to run errands.

I had the opportunity to photograph a number of ghost ads in and around Duluth this weekend, because Dave was driving, and I was free to hang my head out the window like a dog.  I love riding and letting someone else worry about traffic.  Dave was a pretty good sport about it, but had to pull the reins in when I wanted him to roll to the middle of an intersection at a red light so I could get a better angle.

What I'd like to know is this.  How did they do it?  I paint pictures, and I know that to paint something on such a large scale would be especially hard to keep in proportion.  I suppose the bricks worked as sort of a grid, but without modern technology, I can't imagine how it was accomplished.  I'd love if someone could explain it to me.

I started a new photo album specifically for ghost ads.  I'd like to hear if others of you have noticed or have an affinity for ghost ads too.  I'd enjoy seeing images.

On Sunday night, I begged Melanie to dump Dave for an hour or two so we could spend some quality girl-time together before my trip back to the Twin Cities.  My goal was to find the perfect dessert.  Believe me, Dave didn't mind.  He was more than happy to see us go so he could engage in some manly endeavor related to car-repair.

We walked along East Superior and saw a number of remarkable things.  We saw a natural amphitheater with Lake Superior as the backdrop, where the actors were getting ready to perform Shakespeare.  We also saw an incredible garden with a fountain and statues, where it appears weddings and events are held.  We saw architecture that I couldn't stop staring at.

We eventually wound up at VaBene Berarducci's Caffe where we were not disappointed.  Their pies are all homemade and the coffee was rich and dark.

We sat in fat chairs and looked out over Lake Superior.  It was wonderful, but hazardous.  As you can see from the following photo, I need some practice eating this way.

  This was no way to eat pie!

Of couse, the bathroom was lovely at VaBene and featured a window that looked straight out onto crashing waves.  Wow!

Does anyone have a personal favorite menu item at VaBene?  How about suggestions for other awesome restaurants in Duluth?

Sometimes it's just too hard for those of us who are past our prime to pass up a brush with antiestablishmentarianism.  Sunday morning was one of those occasions.  We were tooling around Duluth, Minnesota in our little four-door sedan with dings here and there, when we came across Hell's Kitchen.  We weren't disappointed. 

It sported enough red and black in it's decor to justify its name, and it came with its own set of rules.  But really, isn't the reason we might go to hell because some of just can't follow rules in the first place? 

I always like to check out the bathrooms in restaurants to see if they have anything to say about the establishment.  I wasn't disappointed.  It worked well, and had personality!  If you get a chance to eat breakfast at Hell's Kitchen, (I see by their website we have one in the Twin Cities, too)  try the BISON SAUSAGE PATTIES.  They are seasoned like nothing I've ever tried before and were simply delicious.  It was my favorite thing about our visit.

My friend, Melanie, rented an apartment in a historic house in Duluth, Minnesota called the Dr. W. H. Magie House, and she invited me up to see it.  Hoodwinked me, is more like it.  You see, I was unaware that she hadn't moved in yet, and her husband, who, for obvious reasons, we affectionately refer to as Crabby Dave, was there to help. 

Dave and I treated ourselves to an alternate route, driving along a road that ran alongside 35 and missing the Friday afternoon traffic.  The trip was amazing.  On highway 23 we stopped at the Veteran's Overlook and the view was stunning.  This is a route that motorcycle enthusiasts enjoy driving.

Melanie was driving in from Deer River, so Dave and I stopped to have a refreshment at Fitger's Brew House to wait for her.

 I was in awe of the historic architecture and the view of Lake Superior, as well. 

 I have to admit it.  I have a crush on Duluth.

At the end of the day, we sat on Melanie's little porch and enjoyed being outside in the cool, dry air.  A nice change from steaming weather we had left behind in Minneapolis.

This is the tiny backyard outside of Melanie's apartment.  The thing that thrilled me the most was that I could see Lake Superior at the end of Melanie's street.  Garbed in my jammies with a piping hot mug of coffee, I wandered down there at 5:30 on Saturday morning.  It was astounding.  Of course the seagulls looked at me funny - yah, right, like they've never seen a middle aged woman walking around town in her loungewear before.

Tomorrow I'll tell you about the places we ate.  I think you'll like it.

Saturday night was the first time I got close to the 35W bridge after it's collapse,  and I have to say, there was something toned-down about the City.  It was almost like it knew something grave had happened.  The atmosphere reminded me of the bittersweet feeling you get after a funeral when you've survived the shock and now you're reconciled with having to take a new view on your life.

You can see it in the photographs. 

I got an email from vineyard owners Charlie and Michele Quast earlier this year after they "unearthed" a painting by Minnesota's Grandpa Moses, Arnold Kramer.  They found his website and contacted me to see if I would be interested in helping coordinate a show of Arnold Kramer's original paintings.

YES!  Absolutely.  This prolific Minnesota artist's work has been preserved in several collections, one at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, Minnesota and a collection at the Wabasso Community Museum - Arnold's hometown in southwestern Minnesota.

His detailed paintings, rendered in a style commonly known as naive, have sort of gone underground, and as far as I know, have never been traded on the open market. 

If anyone has any idea what these paintings might be valued at, please let me know!     

Hmmm.  What do I want on my tombstone?

This marker is located in Lakewood Cemetery on the shore of Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Boy, did Mother Nature give us a swat on our big old Twin Cities backside last night, or what?  I read in the Star Tribune that one of the suburbs had five inch hail.  That's a whole lot of broken windows and dented cars.

When I was a child on the farm, the kind of weather we had last night would have sent us to the basement.  Storms on the prairie are frightening.  It's always windier out there.  I remember my late friend, Grant, telling me that it wasn't until he moved to northern Minnesota where there are lots of trees that he realized snow could fall down, not sideways the way we saw it in the nether-regions of southwestern Minnesota.

You can get an idea of the prairie life a couple of generations ago at a website dedicated to Minnesota's Grandpa Moses, Arnold Kramer.

Last night, rather than head to a cellar, I put my earplugs in and went back to sleep.  My aunt Florence once told me, "Dearie, it doesn't matter where you are, if the Good Lord wants you, he'll find you."  Sleep tight.

My daughter, Kasey, and I took a drive to Saint Anthony Main this morning.  We enjoyed absolutely gorgeous weather after the thunderstorm last night.  If you've never visited Saint Anthony Main on the north shore of the Mississippi just off Hennepin Avenue - go!  I'm including photographs.  We had a two-year-old along, so we weren't able to settle in, but when I get back there I'm going to dine at Aster's.  It's one of those charming, turn of the century cafe's that was practically poking a stick at me to come in enjoy.

We strolled along the shaded sidewalk and avoided getting run down by a pack of Segway two-wheeled vehicles.  They have tours you can purchase to roll along the cobblestoned street and over the bridge to the the Mill City Museum.  I've never been there, but that will be fodder for a future blog.

We headed out on the Saint Anthony bridge and noticed that people were congregating there. It didn't take us too long to realize that they could see the 35W bridge in the distance.  Just barely.  I'm afraid curiosity got the best of us and we found ourselves on University Avenue overlooking the disaster.  It was quiet and sad. 

My friend Shane and I went to eat at Crave restaurant at the Galleria last night.  We had an appetizer of scallops that melted in our mouths.  I'm not kidding!  I've heard of food other than Jello described in that fashion, but I don't know if I've ever experienced it quite like that.  Amazing.

Afterward we took a ride along the parkways through Uptown and swung through Downtown Minneapolis.  I thought it might be a little somber after the 35W bridge collapse, but it was busy as ever. 

When we left Crave, Shane's car thermometer said the temperature was 100 degrees even.  I was a little worried by the looks of the clouds west of us.  Out on the prairie you can watch a storm approaching for miles and the anticipation of it is better than a cinematic thriller.  When I was growing up we had some dry summers like this year has been, and I remember the entire family getting out of bed in the middle of the night to watch the rain when it finally came.  The wet earth smelled like a little slice of heaven.

Anyway, we ended up driving through torrents of rain and by the time we got to Downtown Minneapolis the temperature had dropped to under 75 degrees.  You gotta love Minnesta weather. 

I took some pictures of our trip.  I just can't get enough of Minneapolis and Saint Paul!  I love the art galleries, the theaters, the skyways, the busses.  The whole shebang. 

Shortly after I arrived in the Twin Cities, I discovered the Lakewood Cemetery on the edge of Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis.  I've always had an odd attraction to cemeteries, but there's nothing like this in the tiny burg I hail from.  I was fascinated by the fact that the south end of Hennepin Avenue stops at its gates.  The place is like an outdoor museum.  And the names that fill it!   Pillsbury, Dayton and Wellstone.  Check it out!  If I were buried there, I'd want you to come and visit me.

In the country, when a farmer gets hurt or sick, the coummunity will rally around him and help plant or harvest the crops, depending on the season.  We all know one another's business.  It's a given.  So, one might think in a city full of strangers you could not expect that kind of response, but I'm here to tell you that is not the case in the Twin Cities.

Last night my daughter was stranded in Burnsville with a flat tire she was having a devil of a time changing.  She called me, desperate for help.  It was after hours and we were wracking our brains for solutions.  By the grace of God, when I went online to find someone to help, I found the Bloomington Firestone shop which the website said was open until 10 PM.  A gentleman named Eric answered the phone and advised me the place had closed 15 minutes earlier.  Oh boy.

But then this angel, Eric, offered to help her for ten bucks.  Ten bucks to come to the rescue of my precious daughter?  His assistance was worth a great deal more than that to me, but I don't think he knew that.  I gave him her cell-phone number and he called and made arrangements to rescue her.  She came home last night with a full set of badly needed tires and an alignment - something she had been meaning to do for some time.

So.  Good business, or good Samaritan?  You be the judge.