anne's chit chat

I was in Northfield Minnesota today spending the day with my friend Amanda. She is involved with an organic Community Supported Farm; they harvest every Monday and Thursday and bring the shares into town.

I helped this afternoon and it was amazing! The process, the art, and the outcome of this food is beautiful. So much time and labor is put into growing and farming the land.

The concept of a Community Supported Farm is wonderful and something I believe in strongly. In the future I hope to be a part of something like the farm I visited today.

All of the food in the photographs (plus much more) I got to bring home with me! Yummy!

Onions.

Beets.

Squash.

Broccoli.

Potatoes.

I finished late last night. I cried. I went to sleep dreaming of Harry Potter.

After a fabulous dinner with my parents Saturday and watching Hotel Rwanda (which is a very intense movie) that night…Jake and I headed back to St. Paul Sunday morning. We met Paige, Allisa, Delip, and Amanda at Keys (which is the restaurant below Paige’s downtown loft).

We all stuffed into Delip’s Buick LeSabre (yup, all six of us fit!) and headed to White Bear Lake for a day of sailing! After I applied SPF 30 to my entire body I was ready to set sail. Even though Amanda sprained her ankle and Delip almost drowned; it was calm and peaceful out on the water and a wonderful afternoon with my friends!

Jake stayed Sunday night and headed back to Iowa Monday morning. I was completely lazy for the rest of the day. I took a nap, read Harry Potter, watched TV, read some more Harry Potter but then it started to rain.

It was raining SO hard that I couldn’t resist going outside. I grabbed my rain coat and umbrella and headed out into my neighborhood. I was the only one out exploring the new surroundings; which had turned the streets into raging rivers, house stairs into cascading waterfalls, and yards into lakes. Gravel parking lots with small paths leading to sidewalks were overtaken by miniature rapids from the rainfall. I walked in ankle deep water wishing I was in a small boat setting sail.

And then I saw the most peculiar thing of all, a sprinkler going off in someone’s yard. I felt like screaming, “Don’t you see the river outside?! The waterfall coming down your roof?!? The rapids I am fighting to get through this street?!?”

No imagination I thought, no imagination.

Jake was going to come to St. Paul on Thursday.
But I got sick.
He came on Friday instead.
We were going to spend the entire weekend in St. Paul.
But after dinner at Punch Pizza we drove to Mankato instead.
We thought we would see our parents that night.
But they all had plans so Jake and I shared a blizzard and rented Million Dollar Baby.
After Jeanette’s bridal shower Jake and I were suppose to drive back to St. Paul this afternoon.
But it looks like we might hang in Mankato instead.

I rolled into St. Paul yesterday afternoon and it felt great to finally be in my own space after almost two weeks away. I didn’t have any toilet paper though.

Today I walked downtown to visit my friends at Starbucks. I have missed them so very much! Allisa, Paige, and Miriam were all there, so it was perfect. I got all caught up on the happenings of their lives and of course a little Starbucks gossip. Things have been busy; Allisa had her first ultra sound, Paige put in her two weeks notice, and Miriam bought a house!

Tomorrow Jake is visiting for the weekend so I hope we can all get together.

Also, Jake finally posted some new illustrations. Check them out at Poorly Illustrated.