Saturday, August 17, 2013

A surprising first for me

I bid Gypsy a fond farewell early this morning as she headed out to continue her journey to New York.  Then it was back to the business of living.  I hung out two loads of laundry to dry, gathered my things, and drove to Fargo, ND, to take care of some errands.  It seems that after only a little over a month, I had run out of chocolate covered sponge candy.  Horrors!  I’ve told you before how much I like sponge candy.  It’s hard to find, and I’m going to enjoy it while I can.  I bought a full pound this time.  I did ask if they ever sold it without the dark chocolate covering, and they said no.

Since going to Fargo meant I would miss the farmer’s market in Detroit Lakes this morning, I decided to check on line to see where the Breadsmith store was in Fargo.  They come to the market every Saturday, and it’s the best bread I’ve had since Ackerman’s Bakery in Chicago when I was growing up.  Turns out there are quite a few Breadsmith stores scattered throughout the country.  Their breads are old European type breads that are hearth baked, hearty, and have a crispy crust.  None of that mushy Wonder Bread kind of stuff.  I ended up buying three loaves at their store: Rustic Italian, Russian Rye, and a loaf that I think was called Patriotic.  The patriotic loaf was a crusty white bread with blueberries and cranberries baked in.  The young sales clerk said it made the best toast she’d ever tasted. 

Three loaves is a lot for one person, but they freeze well for up to three months, so I just cut them in half.  I’m set for several weeks.  As I was checking out, the young lady said, “My, you have beautiful nails.”  What the heck?  No one has ever commented on my fingernails before.  I’ve never had a manicure, and I don’t do anything special with them either.  That was a surprising first for me.

After a couple of other stops, I headed back to Tamarac.  I saw a sign for fresh sweet corn, and just had to stop.  I generally only buy two ears, but this farmer had three varieties for sale today, so I ended up with one of each variety: white, yellow, and bi-colored.  After fresh tomatoes, fresh sweet corn comes next.

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                             It’s wheat harvesting time around here.  I just love the undulating contours.

After a hearty breakfast this morning, I had timed my trip so that I would be hungry just about the time I would be returning back through Lake Park, MN.  Now why would I do that?

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So I could stop at the malt shop, of course. Winking smile  I’m a malt fan, not a shake fan, so with home grown tomatoes, crusty bread, sponge candy, and malts within driving distance, this area could be my paradise.

IMG_0177  And next to the malt shop is a classic car place.  It’s kind of like slipping back in time.  How cool is that?

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I’m not into old cars, or even new cars for that matter, but I enjoyed taking a peek at these old classics.  You’ll have to figure out what they are, because I sure don’t know.

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I’m thinking someone could pick up this old Catalina for a song if they were into that classic restoration thing.

Well, that was my day today.  It’s time to bring Emma back into the rig, and I suppose I’d better wash the dirty dishes.  I leave you tonight with a bevy of trumpeter swans swimming off into the horizon…

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Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy