Minnesota State Fair Day One: 4-H

We next visited the 4-H building, which was sprawling.  The Arts-In people were mid-performance when we arrived, but we opted to look at the displays.  I planned to go back the next day to catch the full performance.

There were many books of projects to look through.  This 4-H-er spent less than $30 to make this string art.

The informational posters are often my favorite part.

Like this one.  Who doesn’t need to know more about the song “Don’t Stop Belivin'”?

And maybe you have some cosplay needs?

Aside from showing off one of the many 4-H banners on display, this is also my favorite thing I found in the 4-H hall.  What an interesting way to study the root system of soybeans and corn.

And here’s a good lesson for all.

And maybe you need a baby jogger converted into a gun rack?  This 4-H-er has got you covered.

Another banner.  I’m wondering if each group doesn’t make a new one every year?  I don’t think that fidget spinners would have been on people’s radar last year.

I’m going to say this a lot, but the sheer quantity of everything about the fair was mind-boggling.  All of these items had to be collected and then hung, then will be taken down and redistributed.  How many volunteers does it take?

4-H skill at building furniture was on display.

I leave you with science, and cheese.

Minnesota State Fair Day One. Getting there and Fine Arts

It’s fair time!  Sara and I walked to the U of M shuttle stop and waited. Then realized that we forgot to bring the tickets.  Then we waited for Shawn to appear with the tickets (the original plan was that he was going to join us later) only to eventually figure out that he took the city bus system, not the shuttle system.  It gave us time to observe the large amounts of people who take the shuttle to the fair. The buses come regularly.  Every five to 15 minutes.

Reunited with Shawn at the entrance!   Here’s a poorly taken self-portrait at the streetcar arch.  It was great Shawn and Sara bought tickets online before the fair started.  The line to buy tickets on-site was very, very long. Long lines come with the fair, so it was nice to skip that one.

The fair even has mapped out the best place for a self-portrait.

There were a lot of people there.  Apparently, it had rained the previous weekend, so THIS was the weekend to go.

How many people attended on this day?  254,431.  Yep. Bigger than my hometown of Boise, Idaho.

Shawn navigated us through the crowds and we took in the fine art at the fine arts building. I “bought” Sara a lot of things.  There was a really cool Rube Goldberg machine that was not for sale.  Which was too bad, because interest was high among the fair-goers.  It probably would have gone for a good price.

This volunteer kept an eye on us, and was ready to help.  Notice the stack of pencils to his left.

Capitol Wander

After our campus tour, and a trip home for lunch, we took the light rail to St. Paul to visit the newly renovated capitol building.

It looks great, as every newly renovated capitol should.

Here’s the informative plaque when the capitol was first built.  The renovation had a similarly-styled plaque across the hallway.  I neglected to take a picture of it.

Sara fills an empty niche.  Why is this niche empty?

There is a grand view under the rotunda.

The rotunda itself was very impressive.

Sara as governor in the governor’s reception room.

We loved all the guilding and that very ostentatious “M” on the curtains in the reception room. 

Why have two flags when you could have six?

There were quotes about government.

Some good manifest destiny imagery.

The worker, working away.

Looking down on the star that is a symbol of the motto “The North Star State.” 

A closer look at the rotunda.  All the detail!  Such a good color of blue!

These lights were very fun.

Sara and I rounded a corner and spotted this elevator.  We both gasped in delight.  It was so beautiful!

The mail slots were still there, but alas, no longer usable.

We looked at all four of the season murals.

Looking down to the main floor.

One of the most interesting thing about this capitol building was that it housed not only the governor, House and Senate, but also the Supreme Court.  I feel that this is an unusual setup.

Great staircase.

More quotes about government. 

Here’s what the murals looked like, before the restoration.

We took the fabulous elevator down to the basement, where we were delighted to find…

The Rathskeller Cafeteria.  It was designed in the style of a German Beer Hall and included fun mottoes written in German, along with small animals painted on the walls.

Here are some of the mottos and how they were changed during Prohibition.

We also found the media area, located right under the star below the rotunda. When we looped back around, there was a man vacuuming, so we got to see it lit up.

It’s not surprising that chilly Minnesota has an underground tunnel system built into its physical plant.   We could have walked the whole loop, but opted for a trip to the Senate Office Building and back. Aside from having a good capitol building, they also had an impressive amount of grounds.

Campus Wander

Sara had an interview today on the University of Minnesota Campus, and so I wandered around until she was done.  Here are some things I saw.

Man, the Richardson Romanesque of this campus?  Amazing.  So many good details. 

I heard this group coming long before I saw them.  I’ve never been in the kind of running shape to run with a group, but this looked fun.

There’s a big mall/quad area that has these red Adirondack chairs scattered around.  Quite lovely.

Outside Coffman Memorial Union was this formidable sign.

I wandered around Coffman Memorial Union. It’s the student union. They had this great photo of TV time in the (presumably) 1950s, or early 1960s.

And look, you can still have TV time today.  I would bet there is a lot less newspaper reading, though.

I hung out with John Sargent Pillsbury for a while.

I wasn’t the only one hanging out.

I enjoyed this person following the rules of the sign.

Sara & I walked across the Washington Avenue Pedestrian Bridge.  It crosses the Mississippi and joins the East Bank of Campus with the West Bank of campus.  And! The student clubs paint ads in it.  Here are some of my favorites:

Game of Thrones was a theme in many ads.

Being formerly Idaho girls, we easily spotted the Mormon club.

It’s always good to have a good artist in your club.  Then your panel looks better.

Quiddich and a Yule Ball? Amazing!

And, oh my gosh, if this club had existed in my college days, I would have signed right up.

You can see that the SOBER club was lacking a full-artist-type person.  But they did a pretty good job with what they had.

Here she is.  The Mississippi!

And our next stop, the Weisman Art Museum. 

The museum had some good stuff.  I even found a platter on display made by my friend Sue, who participated in the St. Croix Valley Pottery Tour. That was pretty exciting.

And the Pedicord Apartments?  It rocked my world.  I loved it.

“What is that?” I said to Sara, while pointing.  She gave a shudder.

Inside, the hallway was super claustrophobic. The artists had used forced perspective very effectively.  Plus, there was goopy stuff all over the doorways.  I loved it!

And then I went back out and read the informational sign and it got even better.

When you leaned in to listen at the doors, you could hear what was going on inside the rooms.  Really creepy and incredible.  Highly recommended.  I spent some time figuring out what made the sound start when you leaned into the doorway.

Here is more information about the piece.

From a balcony at the Weisman we could take a picture of the Washington Avenue Pedestrian Bridge.  The light rail runs below the part we walked on.

We went in search of postcards, which afforded me this picture of these overalls, worn by enthusiastic students to games.  Earlier in the day, at the campus bookstore, I watched a guy trying a pair on.

Vintage Cakes: Lemon and Almond Streamliner Cake

I forgot to take my traditional cake-with-Vintage-Cakes picture, but this one is more fun.

As you might guess, it was Deborah’s birthday.  I offered to make a cake.  She mentioned she liked lemon, so I found this recipe.

I’m a chocolate girl, so I never would have made this for myself.  But it is a-mazing!  The Almond cake (which introduced me to almond paste) is delicious and joins perfectly with the lemon curd on top.

This is also a fairly forgiving cake, as I put it in the wrong sized pan (9×1-inch is not quite the same as 9×2-inch) and it spilled over onto the bottom of the oven.  Turns out that aside from the extra-crispy bottom, that spillover was very tasty too.

I also didn’t put all the lemon juice called for in the lemon curd, but it was still divine.

I’ve learned from Julia Child not to tell everyone your cooking/baking mistakes, so I kept mum about my cake baking trials.  No one noticed anything amiss and the cake was very well received by all.

I’ve also learned that when you freeze a piece the lemon curd becomes something like sorbet.

Another Vintage Cakes winner!

Cascade Head Hike for Kelly’s Birthday

It’s Kelly’s birthday and she wants to go to hike Cascade Head.  So off we go in Heidi and Kevin’s Car.

There was a stowaway who climbed aboard for the trip.IMG_5768

Kevin got to drive.  Thanks Kevin!IMG_5769

From the car, pictures of some trees.IMG_5770

At the informational sign.IMG_5771

Kevin had to be coaxed into posing.IMG_5772

Our first glimpse of the ocean.IMG_5773

Long way to fall.IMG_5774 IMG_5775

Heidi made birthday cupcakes!  The birthday girl samples hers.IMG_5776 IMG_5777

Our view while we snacked.IMG_5778

Cascade Head makes for a good birthday hike!

Pine Street Market with S&S

Sara and Shawn came back through town and we went to dinner at the new Pine Street Market, which is where a bunch of gourmet-type restaurants all banded together to sell their wares and share a big seating area.  You might recognize the concept from the mall food court. But this has better quality food.

My food was good, but I didn’t love the noise level or the fact that some places had table service and some did not.

What I did love was the Wiz Bang Bar, which is Salt & Straw‘s foray into soft serve.IMG_5672

I got salted caramel with chocolate dip (which is more magic shell than dip–although I guess they are probably the same thing) and it was delicious!

I did not take any photos with Shawn and Sara.  Perhaps when they get their posts up, there will be pictures.

Heidi & Kevin’s Post-Sunday Parkways BBQ

It’s another year and another Sunday and another Sunday of Sunday Parkways. As this is the North Portland Sunday Parkways, Heidi and Kevin hosted their annual post-ride party.

Kevin grills!  Bella hides from the sun!IMG_5614

New to the party this year was Cornhole.  Matt turned out to be a ringer, winning all of his games.IMG_5615 IMG_5616

Bella!IMG_5618

Figs and umbrellaIMG_5619

This was the party at which Matt’s birthday cake was consumed, today being Matt’s birthday.  Happy birthday!IMG_5622

Thanks Heidi & Kevin for yet another good party!

Things to know about the Cosmic Tripster Party. (AKA: We go to Cosmic Tripster IV)

The first thing to know is that there will be lines.  So many lines.  We stood in line for more than an hour to get in and then we stood in line for food and for ice cream and for drinks and for more drinks.  We also stood in line to get all the special Cosmic Tripster IV stamps and stood in line multiple times for the bathroom.  There are a lot of people.  You will stand in line.

Standing in line is entertaining.  The more I drank, the chattier I got.  Among other things, I learned all about the first Cosmic Tripster party while standing in line.  We ran across one of the McMenamin brothers while standing in line.  There is ample people watching to do when you are standing in line.

If you are a person who likes to “do” things know that these were the kind of things to do at this particular Cosmic Tripster Party:  eat food, drink various beverages.  Go on the special passport hunt of the day.  (Said passport hunt doesn’t get you any prizes.)  Stand in line for a photo booth photo on Edgefield’s stage. Drunk text your friends.  Visit the backstage at Edgefield. Play ping pong backstage.  Play some of the lawn games that were strewn about the lawn.  Listen to the free concert.   People watch.  It’s a pretty chill party.

If you want to get be there from the very first moment, plan to arrive early to stand in line.  We arrived at the start time and stood in line for an hour to get in, so plan your arrival time accordingly.

If you will drink (and I heartily recommend it) don’t forget to bring cash to tip the bartenders.  I only had one dollar and was not very successful at tipping.  Sorry bartenders.  If I attend another Cosmic Tripster Party I will be more prepared.

And now, the photos!

The line, second leg.  At this point we could hear that cheering was happening, but not see what was going on and we wondered about all the cheering.

IMG_5521

Part of the line went through the golf course, which made for some low-level excitement.  Would anyone be hit?  No one was while were were standing in line.IMG_5522

It turns out the cheering was for us!  The Cosmic Tripsters!  After we were checked off our list and got our wristband and sticker, we were gauntlet high-fived by McMeanamins staff.  Which I was feeling awkward about, but was kind of fun.IMG_5523

Our first order of business was food.  There were appetizers being passed as we waited in line.  I was quite happy to have a hot dog.  It was 3:00 and I was HUNGRY!IMG_5524

We sat on the Edgefield Lawn to eat.  The party was just getting started, but you can see the line for the photo booth on the Edgefield Stage had already started.IMG_5525

Standing in line to enter the raffle and for commemorative posters.  Despite Matt checking early and often, none of us won a raffle prize.  Boo!IMG_5526

Matt standing in line for ice cream.  You can see his sticker.IMG_5527

I wore my Cosmic Tripster t-shirt.  And so did everyone else.IMG_5529

Eating the ice cream. Mine came in a cup, not a cone.  I rolled with it.IMG_5530

Backstage at Edgefield.  (This may have been my favorite part, other than people watching.  And all the drinking.)IMG_5531

Burt samples the big bowl of M&Ms.  No brown ones. IMG_5532

Hanging out in one of the pre-show trailers.  Also, behind this door is a bathroom that you didn’t have to wait in line for.  IMG_5533

Though the space was fairly spartan in its furnishings, I was surprised at how much original artwork was on the walls.IMG_5534

The view from the couch.  We hung out on that couch for a while.IMG_5535

Laurie and Matt play ping pong backstage while I stand in line for a drink.IMG_5537

We did not opt for a photo booth photo, but Laurie did go stand on stage.IMG_5539

Burt getting Brian McMenamin’s autograph.IMG_5540

On the hunt for stamps!  Hops growing at Edgefield.IMG_5547

Grapes growing at Edgefield.IMG_5548

Cosmic Tripster shirts abounded.IMG_5549

The Jerry Garica statue was in full bloom and we all posed.2016-06-12

The port-a-potties were very fancy, but getting out of them was difficult if you had imbibed.  I was befuddled and had to slowly puzzle together the multiple steps.  Other drunk people just pounded on the door, yelling they were trapped.IMG_5553

Laurie has found both water and beer!IMG_5555

The two of us were very good at imbibing.  As neither one of us is known for our imbibing, we had a great time.IMG_5558

More people watching.  (Notice the cornucopia of beverages before them.)IMG_5559

The program.IMG_5560 IMG_5561 IMG_5562

Our special stamps.  (I have no memory of getting the backstage one.)IMG_5564

My sticker and a peek into my bag.  IMG_5567

The guy in the tie-dyed shirt was the man who put my bracelet on me.  Noticing he had no name tag I inquired as to its whereabouts.  He is the head of security at the Crystal Ballroom.  Thus, he has much experience checking up on the overly drunk woman you can’t see in this photo. Eventually the ambulance came and took her away.  I marveled that there are people in this world who don’t mind dealing with drunk people as their job. Thanks Ken!IMG_5569

Happy Tripsters.  Part of the fun of being drunk with this crowd is that we were on the younger side of the population.  There were no frat boys present.  It felt like a good place to be drunk.IMG_5571

When the party ended we needed something to soak up all that alcohol.  Burt and Laurie hadn’t redeemed their SE Portland page prize of free fries or tots.  So we drove to the Barley Mill Pub and ordered more food.  On the way to the bathroom I found this piece of artwork and chuckled.IMG_5573

I wasn’t sure what to expect from my Cosmic Tripster Party and I wasn’t entirely sure I would have fun.  But it was a great time.  Thanks McMenamins!

PKO Graduates!

You might recall reading about PKO here. Or my photo-filled walk to her Senior Dessert.  But today she graduates!

Small school graduations.  So very different from big school graduations.IMG_5455

Here are the members of the Class of ’16.  They each got to pick the color of their graduation gown. (Which was very hard for me; the uniformity of graduation gowns and mortarboards is the only reason to wear them.  This just looks messy.)IMG_5457

PKO listening to her teacher’s speech about her.  It was a great speech, filled with all sorts of fun PKO facts.IMG_5466

The degrees have been conferred and the tassels have been switched.  She has two tassels because she was the recipient of an achievement award.IMG_5482

After the teachers made speeches about the students and the students said their thank yous, the staff sang a song to the students.  In keeping with the theme of the teachers’ speeches, the song’s main sentiment was, “Yep, you’re done.  Time to leave now.  Door’s that way.”  This theme was initially off-putting, and then quickly became tremendously fun.  It was like a gentle student roast by teachers who knew the students very, very well.IMG_5486

PKO and the moms, TO & LKIMG_5499

PKO and more of the fam.IMG_5496

PKO with her friends.IMG_5516

Congratulations PKO!