Same Time Last Year

I wrote about what happened one year ago.  Remember? Snow.  Not much but on Oct 10, even not much is too much.  This year has been a VAST improvement on last year.  This past week has been absolutely glorious!  I tell you, when Mother Nature isn't PMSing she knows how to put on a doozy of a show!

Friday was the homecoming football game and my three oldest went while we sat on the deck with friends in 75+ degree weather and ate spinach and chicken salad with a warm bacon mustard dressing.  We moved down to the lower deck and lit a fire and relaxed on our previously little used patio furniture and listened to the sound of fireworks each time our team scored.  Which was often given the 52-28 final score.  It was a stunning night.

Saturday we hit the lake for one last hurrah, taking the kids and meeting up with friends on the lake.  We relaxed and enjoyed the stunning views of the leaves changing.  This was from the cove where we relaxed:

Then we moved around the lake and I HAD to have a picture of this stunning maple.  I wish I could buy the house if JUST for the maple:

OK, yeah, being on the lake wouldn't suck either.  But...that maple...


We headed to Capt Jacks for a late lunch, did a little wake boarding and called it a day.  BUT we still had a full evening ahead of us.  We had to attend a 40th birthday party for a neighbor.

Intending only to stay for a little while, we ended up leaving much later than we had expected.  We had to find out the results of the quiz on how well we knew the birthday girl.  Prizes were given and while we were fairly positive we wouldn't win for any right answer, we were pretty sure we'd get "most creative".  Sure enough, the husband and his friend tied.  While most people would split the prize, these two characters Indian Leg Wrestled for the prize.  Surprisingly, it was a bit of a draw so they did end up splitting it:  A bottle of Boons Farm AND a coupon book of 5 $1 coupons to McDonalds.  Now there's a prize worth wrestling over. (edited to add picture...because really...seeing IS believing):

And that's all I'm going to say about that.

This morning we went to church and since it was STILL so gorgeous (although not quite at the 88 degrees of Saturday), we decided to head down to Jim's Apple Farm which bills itself as Minnesota's Largest Candy Store:

There were pumpkins and gourds galore.  And hay bales and corn stalks.  Every variety of squash you might possibly want.  There was apple tasting inside.  And yes...there were 87 different kinds of Licorice:

That's just part of one table.  I think there were about 10 of these that were about 25 feet long and 6 feet wide.  And there were tables on each outside wall.  There was candy from my childhood that I thought never to see again:  Clarks Teaberry Gum, Gold nugget gum in a little bag, candy cigarettes (SCANDALOUS...yes, we did buy some), Ju Ju Bees, Boston Baked Beans, Sugar Babies and Daddy's, Razzels, Zotz.  We had the girls with us and they were like...well, a kid(s) in a candy shop.  I actually found my all time favorite candy, which normally I can't find outside of Canada or England:  Cadbury Flake bar.  YUM!

The store didn't just sell candy and pumpkins.  There was a bakery and they sold fresh pies and strudel.  Hand dipped caramel apples.  Fresh picked apples and cider.  Various kinds of cheese curds and root beer.  Tons of varieties of popcorn (for popping), different teas, different kinds of salsas, jams, mustards, syrups...it really was seemingly endless.  We escaped with a bag of apples, some popcorn, a treat for everyone, some smoked meat sticks.

While my preference would be for Mother Nature to continue drinking whatever it is she has been drinking that's making her so happy, I think I COULD be ready for the "s" word.


Once I find out what it was she was drinking so I can get me some.