Market Regulars, Jud's Visit, Pie

The beer chasers in this photo had bacon in them - and were icky!

Pablo and I are becoming Des Moines Farmer's Market regulars. This week we were happy to meet our friends Jane Ertl and Ken Root downtown at the market. They traveled in from their home in Dyersville for some business in the area and we made plans to meet Saturday Morning at 7:30 a.m. - you know where. Ken was gadabout the whole time we were there - being the ag radio guy that he is. Heck, he wrote the TV commercial for the Busy Bee Garden Center. He knows most of the vendors up and down the street and was gathering plants for the garden he's getting started in Dville.

Paul, Jane and I headed for Farmboy Hearty Food Company - for breakfast burritos. The gal that takes the burrito cash knows me. Yep! I'm important. The family that runs this successful business is from Prescott, just west of Creston and her husband works at the Creston News Advertiser. (I wish I knew her name). She remember back when I wrote a monthly column in that paper. Awww - that warms my heart. Or ego or something. Plus the burritos are darn good!

The flowers at the market always perk me up

Paul is addicted to the Farmer's Market strawberries. This week I talked him into buying a bunch of rhubarb - and you know what that means! No? Let me tell you.

We lived in Osage, Iowa for a couple years - from 1984 until 1986 when Amy turned 1 year old. The neighbor who lived in the house just north of our rental place, Mrs. Clara Wall, was a very nice lady who brought us a homemade pie that first spring after we moved in. It was the best pie ever - rhubarb with French vanilla pudding. (In the small world department - when we moved to Creston, we met Mark and Pam Wall, who were about our age. Mark is Clara Wall's son!)

Laura Goldsmith, bless her heart, taught young Paul Goldsmith how to bake pies. So I've never been charged with that task. I'm the cookie, bar and cake (except Angel Food) maker. Paul does pies. He even makes crusts! We got special Rhubarb Pie from Clara Wall before we moved south - so Pablo could bake that pie. We tried to grow our own rhubarb - transplanting some from the Joe Carroll household down by Rainbow Park in Creston. The Carroll Fam kindly gave us some of the plant after we rode our bikes by their house one year. Joe was out gardening, and we professed our love for the stuff. That's all it took. Nice people.

Paul confessed recently that perhaps he got carried away with weed killer. That was the end of our rhubarb. Regardless, we don't need to worry about growing it these days. We can purchase the fruits of other peoples' labor. I also purchased red potatoes and bread and Paul bought corn. We were set! Then it was Bloody Mary time at CABCO (Court Avenue Brewing Company). Such a gorgeous morning. We were lucky to snag a few chairs outside on their patio. After 1 drink, we headed home with our wares, leaving Jane and Ken to lunch with Ken's CABCO buddies (he still has his own mug there).

Jud got here about 3:00 p.m. Saturday. He had dropped Kara off at the airport that day - she was on her way to Ohio for work. We were out riding our bikes when he arrived and he was sitting on the steps of our place when we rode in. He was ready to go to Jethro's for some wings. That night we went to the Lone Ranger movie - I'd advise waiting for it to come out on DVD. It was entertaining but not great.

Rapt Attention

Sunday "dinner" menu for our baby boy: steak - sirloin, a chopped salad - kind of oriental, a mix I bought at HyVee, the red potatoes sliced with Hidden Valley Ranch and some onions/carrots, corn, garlic bread from the market (with special olive oil from Northfield, MN) and the rhubarb pie. Fabuloso!

After our food comas were over, we headed to Valley Southridge School to watch Capital City League hoops. Iowa State present and future players scrimmage Drake and other players. Jud and Paul are huge fans of sports. They follow recruiting and watch videos of high school players. I enjoyed watching them watch the game more than the game. A Creston lad who will play at Simpson College plays on one of the teams. We talked to his dad at the game. Phoenix Recycling company sponsors one of the teams, and Tony Colosimo - one of the company owners - I guy I've known for years, coaches a team. Small world.

Tony in purple polo

Creston's Trey Thompsen

Jud took off about 6 p.m. for St. Joe not long after the 2nd game started, and we came home. It was nice to have him home. We miss Amy. I received a short email from her today - she and Rachelle are in Uvita Costa Rica - which looks like a beautiful remote beach. They head to San Jose on Tuesday.

My Little Sis Chiya reports she is leaving Wednesday for Mississippi. She's not sure how long she's going to be gone. I'm feeling abandoned by my kids!

My sis Susi got to meet her new grandson James in person today. I can't wait to see pics! It's going to be hard to go back to work tomorrow. Weekends are fun.