back to the Iowa-y

Just in time for major snowstorm...Hooray...

No more Northfield, Malt-o-Meal and the continuous smell of baking cookies...

cows, colleges, and contentment

This is the official motto of the city of Northfield.  I have not seen any cows yet, have seen
both colleges (St. Olaf and Carleton) and the jury's still out on contentment.  It's been significantly
warmer, making the environment while not exactly delightful, at least less hostile! 

relativity

It's "warmed" up... to -1

just one of the "gang"

Dared to venture out into the frozen "tundra" here, now sitting in a cozy, sunny spot,
drinking my "James Gang" coffee.  Paying homage to the Jesse James' history here in good ol'
Northfield: in a bank robbery attempt by the James Gang in 1876, local citizens went after the
robbers and several members (although not JJ himself) were caught and the bank robbery was stopped.  In fact this event is such a notable piece of history the town has a whole "defeat of Jesse
James Days" festival every September!

feeling Minnesotaaan

Drinking Minnesota coffee in Minnesota...seems fitting

it's above zero today!  Woo-hoo...

Northfield, MN

• Is -1 degrees, wind chill of -22
• Has bagels!
• Has upscale specialty fancy olive oil and vinegar store
• Has street preacher
• Has co-op but also has saddest sad sack grocery stores 

pizza stanch

Today: local Pizza place delivery car stopping by
Sunshine: finally!!!!  Seriously, this seems to be the first day it has not been cloudy and
overcast in nearly a week?  Longer, perhaps.
Yesterday while driving, saw a Ford 4x4, with a bumper sticker that said something like this:
Warning: in case of the Rapture, this car will become unmanned.
Okay, then...

Happy reunion show

One nice thing about the airport is due to its relatively small size, all the returning travelers must exit
through one set of stairs and there are a bunch of chairs set up in the "waiting" area/lobby.  You can
sit there and immediately see the person(s) you are waiting for.  It makes meeting people very easy.
And while you are waiting there, like I was yesterday, you can watch the "Happy Reunion Show". 
Little girl runs up to happily greet mom, mom scoops her up, very touching.  Older folks pick up
returning college kid.  Too cool dad greets wife & young kids.  Other family and friends reunite.
It's a great show to watch and you get front row seats to all the drama! 

an observation

Reading upside down for extended periods of time sort of makes my head hurt and
to me, makes the words look like another language.  Trying to follow along with what
someone is reading (ie. if you are giving a reading test) and looking at said passage upside down,
kind of messes with my eyes and brain, and after a while the words don't even look like English to me.

first snow

First brush of snow, Veteran's Day... more notable for the fact that yesterday it was 60 degrees during
the morning/early afternoon and dropped about 30 degrees...

addendum

I forgot to add this quote:
"Pigs outnumber people 6-1 in Iowa..."
I'll have to double-check that but could be true.  Good thing our newly elected senator is
all about cutting "pork"...

more pork

and returning to the category of " I can't make this stuff up... "
under a local story about today's bacon expo

" also feature a bacon eating contest, where 20 participants will be asked to eat half a pound of bacon as fast as they can. Finalists will then be required to eat five bacon cupcakes, and the fastest eater will be crowned the winner. " (Ames Trib)

Apparently the 3 components being focused on in this year's event (the 2nd annual one), are:
education, vendors and entertainment.

I know I am always heard to be decrying the lack of "bacon-education" in this state... Won't someone
please think of the children...

Also, accompanying this article, a candid shot of woman eating bacon (in case you wondered how it was done.  Insert in mouth, close teeth, etc.) 

where everybody knows my name...

Today I discovered there is a SE Karen Drive in my neighborhood. 
I found it accidentally, while taking a "short-cut"...

adventures in (mis)translation

Instructions from our (Taiwan-made) rice cooker:

"As a safety feature, this plug will fit in a polarized outlet only one way.  If the plug does not fit fully in the outlet, reverse the plug.  If it still does not fit, contact a qualified electrician.  Do not attempt to defeat this safety feature."

(you will not win!)

Alpaca Days!

There are many many cool things about alpacas.

They're cute, have very nice, very soft fur, and big eyes (thus lending to their cuteness).  Their fur
is softer (and warmer) than llamas. They make this nice little humming sound that means they are
content and lets other alpacas know they're around. They have one offspring at a time, called a cria. There are a couple alpaca farms in this part of Iowa and this weekend was National Alpaca Farm Days!  Time to show off your wonderful alpacas! Who wouldn't want one of these adorable little alpacas????

random

Today I met someone from Moldova, a country I admittedly know very little about.
I actually asked if she was Russian, based on my perception of her accent.

next reason

Okay, that wasn't hard...

Long-sleeved cotton t-shirt at a local boutique, for $40, with
"Gun totin' America lovin cowgirl" emblazoned on the front, along with red rhinestones
On the back it proclaims "Cowgirl justice".

reasons I wish I had a secret camera in my head

1. bushy bearded cook/prep guy in the open-kitchen restaurant wearing a "hair" net over his
bushy beard

2. sign for "pork pizza' somewhere

3. tiny wiry little dog on a leash at the farmer's market

4. kids playing with hula hoops at a block party

Those are all I'm thinking of right now... will try to list more as they come to me.

Bike rack

or giant puzzle...

universality

Maybe a comment on the universality of things--- kids who are picky eaters--
I was eating dinner with a group of the Nepali ELL students and watching one of
the kids pick apart her samosa-- until she had emptied it of its savory filling (peas and potatoes),
and just ate the outside wrapping of the samosa!  I asked her mom about it and she said, yes, she only
likes the outside of the samosa!  :-)