Mpls Misc

After arriving at at the MSP airport, I made a quick trip to the Mall of America (half hour!) and then started to head north through the city. My 200 mile drive would take me up I-35 through Duluth and then east for an hour or so to Washburn, Wisconsin. By the time I hit the road, rush hour was getting into full swing.

Boy, I had forgotten how icky rush hour is in the Twin Cities. I thought Seattle-Tacoma was bad, (and it is) but after being away for so many years, I had underestimated the Twin Cities’ “slow and go” freeway crawl. I was on the south end of town and had to head north across the entire metro. Because of rush hour, and since I had a rental car and was not at the mercy of anyone else’s transportation, I stayed off the freeways as much as possible. My route took some nostalgic turns through old neighborhoods where Frank and I lived.

Here are some miscellaneous pictures of my journey through town:

This is the first apartment that Frank and I rented together.

Odd Socks

At the Mall of America, there is an odd little sock store called Little Miss Matched. They sell mismatched socks by the trio – yes, you get three per package – with the idea that you should not have matching socks.

 

Personally, while I’m not interested in shelling out up to $3.11 plus tax per sock, I absolutely love this idea.

The Hunger Games at the Mall of America

About a month ago, I made an impromptu visit to my old stomping grounds in Northern Wisconsin and the Twin Cities. After landing at the airport, I drove my rental car across the freeway to the Mall of America. I wanted to stop in for a just few minutes before heading north to Wisconsin.

Yes, it is possible to stop in for just a few minutes.

If you have willpower.

I was there for a half hour, tops, and that includes walking to and from parking. The visit would have been even faster if not for the day’s scheduled event and me with my camera.

I guess I’m getting old. I hadn’t heard of The Hunger Games before stopping at the Mall of America. Maybe I led a sheltered life, too, since I had never been part of a screaming frenzy of teenagers.

Both book-turned-movie and screaming teenagers filled the south end of the MOA (Mall of America) when

Basil seeds → Pesto

This past summer, Frank had an assortment of potted herbs on our south-facing steps.

Near the end of the season, when Frank was in the hospital, I chopped off the seed heads and dried them in our dehydrator. Since we love basil, I also managed to buy a full stem at a farm market in Jefferson. Those seed heads also went into the dehydrator.

The rest of the stem became fresh pesto. Mmmmmmmmm.

Here’s everything in the dehydrator. The rosemary plant also got a trim and those stems were also dried.

Salt, salt, salt, and salt

Salt, salt, salt, and salt, originally uploaded by Adventures of Pam & Frank.

We always have a variety of salts in our kitchen. My least favorite is the metallic-flavored table salt. I think my favorites are the Baleine and Kosher.

At the Hawthorne Fred Meyer up on Portland, they've got a huge variety of salt available in their deli. We've been trying to get Frank up there for months, to look at the salt. Red salt, grey salt, black salt, pink salt... I've never seen so many varieties. 

Have you ever read Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky? I read it a while ago and it was one of the most fascinating books I have ever read. Anyway, after reading the book, seeing the salt in person boggled my mind.

Sweet Sixteen

I don’t believe I ever shared a picture of Rachel’s birthday cake from her 16th birthday.

She wanted number candles instead of 16 burning sticks melting wax all over the frosting, so I rummaged through the birthday candles and came up with 16.

  

When the cake came out, she looked at it, smirked, and said, “Yup, that’s 16 all right.”

Ode to Ollie

When we got Ollie from the Animal Shelter, they were having a buy one get one free deal. Two cats are better than one, so we wandered through the place, trying to decide who to adopt. Violet picked us first, and after a lot of searching, Ollie picked Rachel.

You’ve heard the old adage “You always get what you pay for,” and this couldn’t be more true for sweet dumb-dumb Ollie. He was the free one. He is the goofiest, silliest, most loveable dork of a cat we have ever known.

World, meet Ollie.

Can I jump to the house roof?

Maybe I can get on the roof this way?

I’m just gonna wait here.

I can haz tequila?

Gardening makes me pooped out.

Hold me like dis. My back likes the stretch.

Why you wake me up?

Dad’s leg is cuddly for nap time.

Why are you pointing that box at me?

My comfy chair.

Nap time.

Caesar, you watch out for mom while I look for my presents.

This water tastes like dog drool.

Bugs are cuddly for napping.

I see you, Mr. Squirrel.

Halp. My claws are stuck in the rug.

No, I don’t know how that tomato ended up on the floor.

 
I like jalapeno peppers. They are fun to play with.

Go away, he’s my daddy.

So if I fall outta the tree again, you catch this time, ok?
(Ollie has a habit of falling out of this tree and landing on people’s heads.)

I can has dog cookie?

Zzzzzzzz…

Hot Peppers and Not-So-Hot Peppers

Last summer, Frank planted several varieties of peppers. The two most prolific varieties were Mariachi (gorgeous colors as they turn red) and Thai peppers (the skinny red ones.)

Once they were ready, Frank put on some gloves and prepared for a little taste test.

The Mariachi peppers were nice and sweet with just a little kick.
Even the wimpy, Scandinavian members of our household were able to eat them.
The Thai peppers, on the other hand, were left to the expert for tasting.

Frank made two kinds of hot sauce with these peppers: Sambal and Piri Piri
You can get the recipes off his food blog, DeafChefAtLarge.com

Meanwhile, I did my part by saving the seeds to plant next year.

The Van Duzer Corridor

Every now and then, Rachel and I need to just get away and relax. Our favorite direction to head is west, toward the Oregon coast, which is only about an hour from home. We usually take the dog, and the plan is to do some beachcombing and just walk in the wet hard-packed sand, breathing in the briny air and watching the seagulls.

Getting there is half the fun. Highways 22 and 18 from Salem to Lincoln City first pass through farmland, wineries and vineyards, logging operations, and a casino. Following the casino is our favorite stretch of road: The Van Duzer Corridor. We love the winding highway, passing lanes, moss covered trees, Salmon Creek, and the summit over Murphy Hill.
Sure, it’s one of the more dangerous stretches of road due to high traffic volume, limited passing, tight curves, sharp drop-offs (guardrails are a luxury item,) and roadbed undermining, but there’s something magical about it.

On one particular trip, we didn’t have time to go all the way to the coast and back, so we stopped at the rest area at the west end of Van Duzer, just before Rose Lodge. All of these pictures were taken at the rest area in October, but the lush moss and vibrant greenery stay this way all winter long.

That’s the beauty of Western Oregon – when winter arrives, everything turns all green and beautiful.
Our winter climate is like a wet refrigerator; cool and damp.

Caesar took a break at the rest area and explored a little. Here he is, King of the Tree Stump. This was either a Douglas Fir or Redwood, with a cut diameter of about 4 feet. It was quite a jump for Caesar to get up onto the stump, too, since it’s about 4 feet high.

I can never get enough of the moss. It comes alive in the fall and coats the trees in its various forms: thick dark moss, minty green lichen, chartreuse velvet… I don’t know any of the moss names, so I refer to them based on how they look. Some moss clings tightly to trees, some looks like a fur coat, other forms drip from the branches.

Either way, it’s breathtaking.
The Van Duzer Corridor may be a dangerous stretch of road, but it’s like a magical fairyland.
We love it.

 

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas

It’s the best time of the year.

I don’t know if there’ll be snow, but have a cup of cheer.

Oh by golly, have a holly jolly Christmas this year!