b*list

NOTE: Ok, ok, soooo I wrote this earlier this week, when those promising hints of spring were first arriving. Before a giant blizzard landed on our state with a force so menacing that this post now sounds a bit ridiculous. That is what I get for pre-posting I guess! Ok, carry on….

At long last, the snow is melting and the temps are inching upwards. Just marginally, but there is upward progress. Spring has officially arrived, and I suppose that this means I must conclude my Winter Bucket List. Oh yes, about that. I know, I haven’t mentioned it in awhile. Somewhere around mid-February, I lost my vim and vigor towards cold weather activities. Six items on my list never got crossed off. Perhaps I was a bit too eager early on. At any rate, I feel that the list was still a success. This winter, more so than almost any winter in my adult life, I got out and made friends with the cold. In the land and ice and snow, I found myself frolicking–and enjoying it at that. I skiied and snowtubed and walked in a blizzard and made a snow angel and sat on a throne made of ice. I became the queen of winter. I piled on the layers, and greeted each subzero day and fresh dumping of snow with a smile. And, perhaps most astonishing, I did not long for, think of, or state my anticipation of summer once until the beginning of March. This surely must be a world record, as most of my friends were wishing winter away in early January.

All that being said, I feel confident crossing off one last item today, before I bid winter adieu.

embrace the cold, get out in it, and learn to love winter

Now that that’s been taken care of… I will ask the question that most of Minnesota is demanding an answer to. When, on God’s green earth, will I be able to wear shorts and flip-flops again???

The summer is winding down in a major way. I can feel it in the air, and a glance out my office window proves that the trees are beginning to turn. It’s time to wrap up the bucket list of summer. It’s been a wonderful few months–full of good, simple, and delicious summer things. We hung a swing from a tree in the yard, and watched our garden grow; we swam and swam some more; I watched the sun rise and set, and traveled to some of my favorite summer places. There are few things I didn’t quite get to on the list, but there is always next summer. Before I officially conclude, here are a couple more items checked off.

On Saturday, under a bright, warm, late-summer sun, we headed out on a boat cruise on Lake Minnetonka. We boarded the Steamboat Minnehaha, and cruised around the lake with the wind in our hair, and the tour guide pointing out historic homes along the way. The lake is a playground for the wealthy, and it was fun to get a closer look at some of the crazy mansions along the shore.

take a boat tour of lake minnetonka

This week, my mom is visiting, and together we’re tackling several projects, the largest of which is the production of a huge garage sale. I need to get rid of an endless amount of clutter, and the time is now. Anything that’s left over will be donated to a thrift store!

have a garage sale and rid my home of unneccessary junk

While I can’t quite cross this one off, I can say that a trip has been planned for October. More details to come!

celebrate four years of marriage to my best friend with a trip, somewhere

I made this list in the very beginning as an effort to make the most of my short summer. I wanted to live and do as much as I possibly could during the few months of warm, sunny days in Minnesota. I wanted to soak it all in, and look back on this summer as a good one–a full, happy, busy stretch of the year that would carry me through the cold winter ahead. In that sense, I think the bucket list project was truly a success.

give, love, sing, grow, do, feel, see, live. more.
even more. as much as i possibly can

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I hope you enjoyed coming along for the ride, seeing the photos and hearing my little stories. Thanks for tagging along, for all the encouraging comments and for sharing your own stories with me. Here’s to the end of a great summer!

We go every year, without fail. We always head straight for the animal barns. We eat more fried food (on a stick) in one day that I do in a year. We always make sure to check out the butter sculptures, and get all-you-can-drink-milk for only $1. When we leave, our feet are tired, our bellies full, and our senses overworked from all the sights, sounds, smells and tastes. The Minnesota State Fair, also known as the Great Minnesota Get-Together, is one of my favorite summer traditions. I usually start looking forward to it around May or June, but then catch myself and remember that the fair means summer is almost over. This year was the first year I’ve ever worn a down vest to the fair, and while it felt decidedly more like fall than summer, it was a welcome change from previous years of heat and humidity.

As is tradition, we made sure to eat plenty of fair food. We started with corn dogs, my very favorite thing to eat at the fair, then moved on to share a Chicago-style hotdog. Next we shared some Asian noodles. He ate with a fork, I ate with chopsticks. It’s the norm for us. We wandered more, and then split a hamburger. We decided to skip the traditional strawberry malt from the dairy building, as well as the bucket of Sweet Martha’s Cookies. I was saving calories for something really special. One of the items on my bucket list this year was to eat something new and unexpected at the State Fair. I passed up the fried alligator on a stick, and wandered by the Big Fat Bacon (also on a stick). By this point in the day, I was thinking something sweet.

Then I saw the sign. DEEP FRIED CANDY BARS. Really? Seriously? Oh yes, really. It seemed like an adventurous, new and very different thing to try. I walked right up and slapped down $3.50 for a deep fried Snickers. Now, keep in mind that I have been on a very low sugar diet for the past couple months. When I bit into this… thing …I think my eyes crossed. Sweet, was an understatement. I needed something cold to wash down the ooey, gooey mess of chocolate, nuts, and sugar. The Milk Booth seemed like the natural place to head. And why not wash it down with chocolate milk? I mean, what the heck, right? I am not kidding you, I ate about three bites of that deep fried candy bar, and a few gulps of chocolate milk, and I was rapidly on my way to a sugar coma.

eat something new and unexpected at the state fair

You may think I’ve forgotten about the good old bucket list of summer, seeing as I’ve neglected to mention it recently. However, it’s still on my mind, as I watch the days grow shorter and the leaves begin to tinge red. Knowing that fall is around the bend, I have been busy soaking up the last rays of summer, and checking more items off the list. Despite the fact that the first few weeks of September in Minnesota feel decidedly autumn-like, this year I will be living summer until the last official second. After all, I have enough left on the list to truly relish summer past-times for a few more weeks!

Today I’m checking off three more things.

First up, let’s talk flip-flops. I love my Teva sandals. I buy a pair a year, and always wear through them. This year was no exception. Worn daily, from the yard, to the farmers market, to the mall, to walks on the north shore, these sandals have certainly gotten a workout. They have a couple weeks of life left in them, but just barely.

wear out another pair of teva flip flops

Swimming in the cool, clean waters of a Minnesota lake is pure summer to me. I grew up on a resort in northern Minnesota, where I would roll out of bed and put on a swimsuit immediately, heading out to the beach after a quick breafast of blueberry pancakes in the lodge. A couple of my childhood nicknames were “the mermaid”, and “fish”. Yes, I love the water, and especially lake-swimming. This year, I really made an effort to spent hot days floating on a raft in the middle of the lake, or doing cannon-balls off my parents boat. When I wasn’t up north, I headed down a gravel road near the cottage, to a local swimming hole where the cool water glistened in the sun, welcoming me to dive in. This summer, more than any of the summers in the past few years, I became a fish again.

swim in lakes, as often as possible

I mentioned a few weeks ago that my garden has been thriving this year. The bounty of the harvest is filling my kitchen, and just a few days back, I was inspired to make an entire meal using only my homegrown produce. I whipped up a salad using fresh cucumber, grape tomatoes, yellow pear tomatoes, baby onions, and banana peppers. Veggies sliced thin, with a bit of Good Seasons dressing drizzled over the top, this salad was the epitome of fresh, delicious summer cuisine. However, a salad isn’t a meal, so I got busy making the main course. I gathered up 5 or 6 of the largest, ripest red tomatoes my garden had to offer, determined to make a fresh tomato soup. Using onions, basil, oregano, and chives, also from the garden, I blended the ingredients, and then simmered my soup on the stove top. The result was divine. I made enough for a couple servings, and a day later, I am happy to report the soup is even more amazing, as the flavors have blended together. Today I ate it with a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch. Yum!

Here is the recipe for anyone who has an abundance of garden-fresh tomatoes; home-grown or from the farmers market!

:: ingredients ::
5 – 6 large tomatoes
3 – 4 small (tiny) onions
1 tsp chopped basil
1 tsp chopped oregano
1 tsp chopped chives
1 – 2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar

:: directions ::
Peel and coarsely chop enough tomatoes to yield 4 cups pureed.
Mix in blender all ingredients, then simmer over stove until warm. Enjoy!

make a meal entirely from my vegetable garden

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There you have it, three more things off the list! Tomorrow I’m getting in the car with my mom and my best friend and heading to one of my five fave summer spots. Door County, Wisconsin, is one of those places where you instantly feel like you’ve traveled back in time about 50 years, to a simpler pace where days are filled with the lovely things of life. We will be hiking, wine tasting, watching the sunset, swimming in Lake Michigan, and exploring the many sleepy harbor villages that dot the peninsula. I won’t be posting again ’till next week, so here’s to one more perfect summer weekend! Enjoy it, my dears, because all too soon it will be gone.