Where was I?

Oh yes, food at the fair...

After enjoying our "Veggie Fries" we made our way to visit with all of the crafts and veggies on display. (No, not in the same building, in case you were curious...but they are across the street from one another.)

As you would guess, Minnesota takes their crafts very seriously. The sheer volume of knitting, crocheting, felting, weaving, etc... is something to behold. With my trusty cell phone in hand I tried to get a few of my favorites as well as demonstrate the volume. Lets see how successful I was.

That's a lot of blankets. And that's just one case.

Its about 90 degrees out. Need a hat? Perhaps a scarf?

Ok, here's my favorite item displayed. Obviously, I wasn't the only one who felt this way.

If you want to see more of my fantastic reflective shots of the crafts, feel free. I'm getting hungry so lets move to the veggies.

Giant pumpkins!

As you can see in the background, its a whole room of veggies. There area behind the pumpkins are all the largest varieties. On the outer band of the room are all of the best of winners. Todd was impressed by the volume of varieties of pepers. Yes, he's easily amused. Of course, this is coming from the person exicted by the angry granny TP cover, so really its all relative.

Enough with the healthy stuff. Our next new culinary taste were the always popular cheese curds (from a different vendor...we live life on the edge people!). I really wish someone would rename cheese curds 'cause to a west coaster, that just sounds bad. But really, there is nothing bad about deep fried cheese. That is all good. Next was the porkchop on a stick. Not new to the fair by any means but we had never had it before. Apparently we didn't go to the stand that made these famous but ours was pretty darn tasty.

We also had the Nitro ice cream (always a favorite of mine) and Todd tried the Bell Pepper rings. As you would guess, instead of onion rings, they're deep fried bell peppers. Sadly, they're not on a stick but Todd liked them.

As a take home bonus I did a bucket o' cookies. They load up the bucket above & beyond so you can't close the lid. Here's a suggestion to all of you dropping cookies or feeling that you HAD to eat a dozen in the first five minutes to shut the lid...grab a plastic bag from one of your earlier purchases. That way you can take the excess cookies, put them in the bag and then close the lid on the bucket and eat at your leisure. I know this doesn't sound all that ground breaking but you didn't see the chaos with the cookies. It was cookies everywhere...cookie anarchy really. So with our $1 all you can drink milk we enjoyed the overflow of the bucket and I was able to bring home cookies to mom and the nice people here at work who are moving me from cube to office.

See, with cookies and tshirts and a sweatshirt, you can take the fair home with you!

Off to the Fair!

One of the myriad of reasons I go to Minneapolis over Labor Day weekend is the State Fair. Unless you've been there or some other farming state's fair, you've never seen anything like it. You and your closest 100,000 friends in one place. Though, because the fairgrounds are so large, you're not in any long lines or get pushed around too much.

We usually park in the front yard of one of the houses along the fairgrounds in St. Paul. For $20 you drive up, hand them your keys and walk right into the fair. No shuttles, no walking blocks and blocks to your car...just drive and go. Because of obvious traffic concerns, this year we decided to try something different and take the shuttle near Todd's house. $10 for the two of us round trip. And, oddly, as advertised, we walked onto the bus, and left about 5 minutes later. When we took the bus back, we walked onto it, and left about 5 minutes later. It really couldn't have been easier. And, we skipped all the traffic we usually sit in to get near the fairgrounds. Though, the rumors that you get discounted fair admission for taking the bus are false. Don't believe them. They lie. Admission is still $11. I'm just sayin'.

Because we took the shuttle we entered at a different gate over by all the live stock.

(By the way, that isn't the full fair map. I cropped it. There's more.)

Even at 9:30am, just a half hour after opening these areas were crowded. People here take their livestock very seriously....just so you know. First stop...corn dog. I mean, what says healthy state fair breakfast like a corn dog. Because we entered at a different gate, we got our dog at a different vendor. Usually we do Pronto Pup, this year we did Poncho Pup. I know, super exciting right? But, until you've had a corn dog at the fair, you haven't had a corn dog.

After our first food tasting, we did the swine barn. They pigs and sheep were very cute, despite my trying to figure out how to use the camera in my new phone.

Most of the sheep were either wearing their hoods and coats to keep them clean before they were shown, or had just been sheared. I thought it was mean to take pictures of them in their hoods (they look like unofficial members of a certain cult and really, I'm sure the sheep don't want to be seen in that light) or without any fleece. They looked so naked...cool, but naked. So here's a little guy with no hood and with his fleece just chillin'.

Here's the top boar:

I thought I got all of his stats in one picture but obviously not. As you can see Squeaky was quite content, taking in all of the attention.

Next we headed to the cattle barn and watched a few minutes of the milking demonstration. (I got bored when they hooked up the cow to a machine. Wow, watch the machine milk. Milk, machine milk. Not that advances in farming aren't fantastic. They are. Its just not super exciting to watch the machine milk.) We went inside and visited with the nice cows. I had no idea there were so many different kinds. It was cool to see them by category all in the same area..definitely gives you a good appreciation for what cattle people do and the size of these animals.

Outside of the cattle barn were the nice Alpaca people. They had alpacas and yarn and items made locally like scarves and hats and mittens. Everything was just beautiful. I chatted with Pat Hansen who owns Pure Country Alpacas. They doing a farm tour at the end of September...if I were in the metro area I'd totally go. I learned all sorts of things about alpacas and their fleece and the mill she uses the co-op she belongs to. It was pretty fantastic. Of course I had to buy a little yarn for myself, milled from her Alpacas! And, I bought a bit of hot pink roving from one of her friends who gave her roving to sell at the fair. Both are incredibly soft and if I weren't on such a spending spree that weekend I would have bought more. She had both hand spun and mill spun yarn. I'll admit, I went with the mill stuff but it wasn't for the quality. The hand spun was some of the nicest I've ever seen. But, how do you say no to 200 yards of lime green alpaca yarn? I'm so excited to have met the person who cares for the animals it came from.

Here's a (bad) picture of the alpacas they brought to the fair:

After the alpacas we went in search of more food. I mean, we had been at the fair for almost 2 hours at this point and only a corn dog to sustain us. My goal this year was either to eat stuff we hadn't had before, or, if we were going to repeat, like the corn dog, get it from a different place.

While looking for food, and for Raven, we stumbled upon "Veggie Fries." It was their first year at the fair.

As part of our food strategy, we opted to share everything so that we wouldn't explode, er, would be able to try more stuff. As you can see Todd is getting a jump start on the "Veggie Fries." Maybe it was just me, but it reminded me of vegetable tempura. But, it was darn tasty, on a stick and deep fried so it met all of the fair requirements.

Now might be a good time to let you know that Minnesota takes "on a stick" very seriously...and not just their food. I have Change on a Stick for Barack Obama that I got at the fair. They really like their stuff on a stick and take it just as far as they can.

Ok, I'm getting hungry...more food & fun tomorrow.

Minnapolis and a wee bit of shopping

Well Labor Day weekend means one thing to all of us...Minneapolis! What, you didn't go? I thought everyone in California went to the Midwest for the long weekend. Huh.

Anyways, I spent the weekend in beautiful Minneapolis. I kept saying, and I meant it, if it weren't for the (winter) weather, I could totally live there. If you haven't been and you have the opportunity, you really should. They have an incredibly vibrant art scene...plays and musicals and music and modern art and Russian art and all sorts of stuff. I've been traveling out there for 3 years now and haven't even seemingly scratched the surface. And, then there's the shopping. There's a three story Off Fifth right in the middle of downtown, not to mention the Super Targets and boutiques and all of the craft and yarn shops.

Normally, I don't shop in Minneapolis. I confine my spending to food and stuff at the fair. But, the February issue of Lucky recommended several shops in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Oddly, I was able to cut out and keep the page with the recommendations (so not like me) and even remembered to bring it with! I took this as a sign. But, being the level-headed shopper that I am, I immediately crossed off sever shops from my list for this trip...no craft or yarn shops as Regina & I are heading up to Portland in two weeks. Also, no trendy boutiques as I can find that stuff here. That left about four shops I really wanted to hit.

As timing allowed I was able to stop in two, Hunt & Gather and Design Collective. Hunt & Gather is about 3 blocks from the significant other's house. I've driven by this place about 100 times and always wondered about it but never had a reason to go in. So, we kidnapped, er, took his mom's dog for a walk and headed down the street. Todd and Brown Dog hung out outside in one of the many Adirondack chairs while I ventured in.

Hunt & Gather is not for the faint of heart or the claustrophobic. If you're a collector or someone who's looking for that diamond in the rough, this is the place for you. The store is divided into different rooms on two floors separated by the various vendors. Talk about Midwest and honest, when you're walking around this store you are definitely on your own to, well, hunt and gather. No sales people looming over you, no pressure...just wandering through thinking about your grandfather's attic and all the cool stuff you could find there. I didn't find anything I couldn't live without but there were several people having quite a fine time finding their own treasures.

Design Collective was described as off the beaten path in the Lucky article. Uhm, if you mean, one building up from a MAJOR street, one that Todd takes to work everyday, just past the busiest part of Uptown, then, sure, yeah, really off the beaten path. Its a small shop, but the polar opposite from Hunt & Gather. Everything is merchandised beautifully and despite the size of the shop, you never feel too closed in.

The shop has the clothes organized by designer with a little bio at the beginning of the rack. Other than the tshirts, everything was pretty much one of a kind. The shop feels like the various small designer sample sales you find in L.A. And, that's a compliment. The clothes are original and very well made. But, if you're not the size on the hanger, tough luck. There was one plaid skirt, very 50s that I liked but it looked to be about a size 8. So, no need to be a sample size, you just need to be lucky. I will say that if you're in the area and you need a gift or a fantastic card, go here. The cards are incredible and the tshirts, purses, jewelry and odds and ends would make a unique and fabulous gifts. I had to talk myself out several cards as well as some arm warmers. 'cause, you know, I really need arm warmers. So, Todd bought me a very nice tshirt and we continued on our merry way.

So I've been busy

I haven't updated my blog. I haven't been going out much. I've been working quite a bit and weekends are full...especially my Sundays.

"What are you doing on you Sundays, Jenna."

Holy crap, I'm so glad you asked.

In the beginning, Regina & I would dye roving and yarn for our own use. And then, while shopping around for, well, more yarn and roving, we realised that no one does what we do. No one is dying exactly how we dye and really, we needed to share it with the world.

So, ta da! We are.

4 Torpedoes is up and running. Now, the blog is under construction. But, since we have items listed at etsy and the blog is actually up I wanted to share that with you.

So, if you need fabulous yarn or roving, we're here to provide it for you. And, besides, since we dyed it, we love it and if isn't bought, we're using it to make Christmas gifts. Win win for everyone!

Right now we're dying a rambouillet roving blend endorsed by the one and only John Pitblato. I mean, it was a part of his fleece and he works with it himself, so I'm calling that an endorsement. We've had a ball dying and spinning with it so I'm hoping everyone else enjoys buying it and spinning it. I'm all about spreading joy and love. And, we also have fantastic one of a kind, hand-painted sock yarn as well as glow under blacklight sock and bulky yarn. I mean, we all need yarn that'll glow under a blacklight.

Getting a little too close to home

So we all remember the pet food recall last year. That was a big one. Then I learn that there's a smaller one...which in the scheme of things isn't a big deal except that ITS THE FOOD MY DOGS EAT. So not cool.

Luckily, we don't shop at Albertson's and we haven't bought their food at Costco for months. (That and the food we had bought at Costco is long gone.) Anyways, here's the recall information.


CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH WARNS CONSUMERS NOT TO FEED THEIR PETS PEDIGREE® COMPLETE NUTRITION SMALL CRUNCHY BITES BECAUSE IT MAY BE CONTAMINATED WITH SALMONELLA

DATE: August 12, 2008

NUMBER: 08-43

CONTACT: Suanne Buggy or Lea Brooks - (916) 440-7259

SACRAMENTO – Dr. Mark Horton, director of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), today warned consumers not to feed their pets certain bags of PEDIGREE® Complete Nutrition Small Crunchy Bites because the product may be contaminated with Salmonella, which can cause serious illness in humans as well as in dogs and cats. People who do not adequately wash their hands after handling the contaminated pet food may expose themselves to Salmonella.

This recalled product, manufactured by Mars Petcare US of Franklin, Tenn., was sold in Albertsons in Southern California in 20-pound bags with Lot Code No. 830BFCAT02 and Best By Date of 07/2009 and at Costco stores statewide in 52-pound bags with Lot Code Nos. 831BFCAT02 and 830DFCAT02 and Best By Date of 07/2009. The lot code is located on the back of the bag. There have been no reports of human illness associated with this product.

This product should be properly discarded in a secure container. Consumers can return the product to the store where purchased for a full refund.

Salmonella can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.

Pets with Salmonella infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever and vomiting. Some pets will exhibit decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. Animals can be carriers with no visible symptoms and can potentially infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian.

A list of safe pet food handling tips can be found at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Web site: www.fda.gov/consumer/updates/petfoodtips080307.html. Pet owners who have questions about the recall should call 1-877-568-4463 or visit www.petcare.mars.com.

My head just exploded

Just like every other blogger who read WWD's August 7th issue (Hey my source gets me WWD a few days late, but its free so who am I to complain) talking about Alexander McQueen being in talks with Target to do a Go International collection, my head exploded.

Seriously.

Alexander McQueen + Target = Jenna's head exploding

I would not only mark it in my all important Greyhound Calendar as I did for Paul & Joe and Erin Featherston, chech Target's website daily for the two weeks leading up to the release in hopes of it going live "accidentally" as the lines often do, but I might have already threatened a certain significant other who happens to live in the birthplace of Target that he might be going to every store in the Metro area to score every piece of this collection in my size.

Not that it exists yet, but I've already put that out there.

I have my priorities.

I'm not sure why, but last night I had one of those how-did-I-get here types of moments. Not the 33-year-old-living-at-home-with-two-dogs-as-roommates type of moment. More the, how- did-I-end-up-in-a-job-I-really-freaking-like kind of moments. Here's how the chronology ran in my head.

Got out of college and had two job offers...a really crappy on in Tucson (where I went to college - Go Wildcats!) or a really crappy on in L.A. Mom offered to let me move home so I did. Three promotions (with no extra pay) and a year later I left to go work assisting someone fabulous. A year later she left but took me with her. A year later I enrolled in paralegal school (mom's idea) and mentioned to the chick I sat next to that if a position ever opened up over there, please sign me up. Three positions opened, I sent her my resume, she sent me the key words that HAD to be on there (PowerPoint, Outlook, etc...) and after a few serious promises that I would learn any software they wanted, I got the job. 18 months. 2 going away parties, a $500 gift certificate to Neimans and a trashed office later I left for my first paralegal gig where I was greeted with "Do you always dress like that?" "Why don't you wear makeup" and my favorite "How do you expect to catch a man like that?" Five years later I left for another firm and then a year later I found myself here. 14 months its been and what a ride.

And after I went through that chronology, I thought to myself, when I talk about how long I've worked here, even if I say 10 years, I'm always going to refer to it in months. 'cause I'm cool like that. I make my own rules.