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The Trip, or Three Things You May Not Know About Winter in Minnesota
Yes, it’s time for the trip report. ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
1minnesotagirl and I had to leave a day late, due to stupidity on several levels. Fortunately, it wasn’t stupidity on OUR level, so we got the heck out of Austin and headed for Oklahoma.
(Summary follows – if you read the first post, see paragraph three.) It was a smooth trip, and I drove the first day, because1minnesotagirl has had the worst winter on record, and needed spoiling. She would do most of the driving in Minnesota, because I haven’t driven on snow in, oh, longer than I want to admit. The Driving on Ice mantra was, “If anyone is gonna wreck 1minnesotagirl’s car, then 1minnesotagirl should do it.” Worked for me.
We spent the first night in OK City withbevhale and MM, in their lovely, Zen guest room. Bev had a great dinner planned, and then presented us with Tong jackets. She’s decided to formalize adopting us all into the “100 Blessings” tong, which is not an underworld gang, but merely a family united by interests, respect and love. Many folks do not have enough quality family by their side for support, whether through good or bad times. This is Bev’s solution. Fear us – we have couture.
Originally we’d planned to stay an extra day with Bev, but1minnesotagirl got hold of pegkerr, and Peg’s free evening was Tuesday. So we lit out Monday AM for the northlands. We made something like the KS/NE area by the wee hours, and decided that we really didn’t need to drive through the night. We were too tired to set up the computer, so we crashed. I don’t remember doing 600 miles in a day to be such a drag, but since I’ve been ill, I will cut myself slack. The motel did have a computer in the front room, so I double-checked where the restaurant Peg suggested was located. (In St. Paul, of course. It was the deservedly famous Café Latte.) Best thing about the region? The Applebys’ have sweet potato fries! Worst thing about Super Eight motels? The continental breakfast was blah. And NO real oatmeal! Even at an IHOP!
The First thing you did not know about winter in Minnesota: your toes start freezing in Kansas City, KS and do not improve even when the car heater is warm enough to melt body fat. The toe heater packs were needed, but which bag were they in? Clearly, the Thor-Lo hiking socks weren’t going to be enough. Tomorrow, the merino wool socks!
We reached St. Paul by late afternoon, dumped suitcases, etc. at R’s home, and then headed for Café Latte. We’d missed dinner, so we did that first, after connecting with Peg. She has a sharp new haircut that makes her look like a forest elf – she looks way too young for two daughters on the heels of their teens. I tried the Diablo Chocolate flourless cake on Peg’s recommendation, and am lucky they had only a half piece left, because I would have eaten the entire thing! We had a nice visit, and appreciated Peg coming out in the cold. And it was cold – we’re talking 15 below that night, or something like that.
The Second thing you did not know about winter in Minnesota: if you use the windshield wiper cleaner (Special de-icing type bought at Wally World) and the heater has NOT been blowing on the window for 15 minutes, the spray will freeze on the window, requiring you to stop and scrape the silly thing.
Merino wool sock day. A definite improvement, but not quite the right solution.
Wednesday AM had us heading into St. Paul, this time so I could visit a psychic. It was interesting, gave me some information I didn’t have, and will figure somehow into one if not both of the two current books I’m writing/researching. We buzzed a bookstore that didn’t have exactly what we wanted, so I picked up a button that says “Artists make lousy slaves” and1minnesotagirl picked up a bumper sticker. We laughed at so many of the offerings, I don’t remember which one she took home!
We stopped off at Turtle Bread for lunch, which was quite tasty, and I picked up a loaf of sourdough bread (which I can have in small doses). It turned out to be a multi-grain version, which was not what I thought I’d bought but was delicious. Too many holes in the bread, though.
Before we ate,1minnesotagirl called Patricia Wrede to see if she had any time to visit. I had lost track of Pat sometime after the year of the Divorce, the Career change, and the Illness (the dreaded trifecta of modern life) and was chicken about calling. Pat, in her usual Cecy-like style (See Sorcery & Cecelia) said something along the line of “Your timing is terrible, I’m going out of town tomorrow. Come to my place at 5:00 PM, I’ll see who I can find.”
After visiting Uncle Hugo’s and Dreamhaven (and purchasing a few books, of course) we drove to see Pat’s new house (new to me, as opposed to the old house.) It’s just as charming as the last one, but in a totally different way. She’d tried remodeling drawings on the old house, and it just didn’t lend itself to what she wanted to do with the place. And: “I wanted out of the basement.” Writers with offices in the basement in the far northlands can get bummed out and not write. So – find a house to remodel!
Pat expanded her kitchen to make a great area for meal prep and dining, and also built an office with lovely windows and a closet like no other. But I’m getting ahead of myself – let’s start with the front closet. You open the coat closet to hang up your coat, and you notice that there appears to be a tornado on the inside of the door. Parting the coats, you see – good grief, the Emerald City on the back wall! Step inside, turn around and look up, and there’s Dorothy’s house swirling among the winds.
And that’s just the start. The guest bedroom closet, which goes back under the eaves, is a rabbit hole down to Alice in Wonderland, with the Red queen, flamingos, rose trees and I think I saw the Cheshire Cat, too. The master bedroom closet was good-sized. When you step inside, you see fur coats painted on hooks to your left. When Pat shuts the door and turns off the light, you can see dimly in the distance, the lantern shining in the Lantern Waste!
But the writer closet was the best. It is a shallow, shelved multi-door storage area in Pat’s office. Her sister the artist painted dozens and dozens of books, tall books, fat books, picture books on their sides – they were blank spines. Every writer who has visited has written their name on a book – and the title of a book they never intend to write. So Pat has a library that will never exist – except in her office.1minnesotagirl called hers “The Demon’s Revenge.” I called mine “No Bleeding on the Ballroom Floor.”
About that time, Lois Bujold came over, and we went out to dinner at Macaroni Grille. I can report that MG’s salmon and veggies were quite tasty, and Lois took dessert back “for later.” Pat was the perfect hostess, and fed all of us, and we went back for an hour or so catching up on books in print, agent roulette, and life changes. Lois and Pat were leaving in the AM for a Chicago convention. Lois was GoH, and Pat was “driving her down” – and seeing her elderly parents, “just because she was in the area.” So far, Pat doesn’t think they have twigged to her occasional check-ins.
The Third thing about Minnesota Winters: Thorlo-Socks with a Merino sock overlay are just the ticket for February.
The rest of the week, writing was accomplished, family things were removed from R’s closet and packed deeply in the van, I worked on R’s shoulder and suggested things for her to ask her PT/doctor about, and we met an old friend of1minnesotagirl’s for lunch.
Still no real oatmeal, or sweet potatoes.
Heathens.
Who ever heard of a brunch place in the snowy north without real oatmeal?
We headed back south once again on Sunday, stopping outside Kansas City the first night, and Oklahoma City the second night. Good talks, good food at GoPuram, and Bev took us to a sari shop. I meant to buy one of the daytime Pakistani tunics and scarves, but nothing in my colors was in my size.
So Bev made me buy a sari. I was gorgeous, but haven’t yet modeled for W. I have always secretly wanted one, and it is astounding how comfortable it is. Indian women have it easier. The other outfits they were out of are probably the source of “pajamas”.
We left early on Wednesday, since I had my client Wednesday night. We know we can travel together, and1minnesotagirl would like me to go back to MiniCon with her this April. However, that would mean AggieCon one weekend, SF to see doctors the second weekend, and then Miniapolis the third weekend. Not sure my strength or budget is up to that. I’d like to be able to do Minicon, but not making plans yet. I did tell1minnesotagirl that she could ask programming ops about how late they could go on adding people. But I am not sanguine about going this year. Next year, perhaps? That would be nice. Must sell a book first! Must buy transportation first.
(1minnesotagirl did give me her old parka. I teased her about it being a bribe, but she did buy one for herself that was a much better color, and I would have been an Alfreda-cicle without the parka. Perhaps it imprinted on me.)
Tomorrow, I will try to report on ConDFW, which as always was a great con.
1minnesotagirl and I had to leave a day late, due to stupidity on several levels. Fortunately, it wasn’t stupidity on OUR level, so we got the heck out of Austin and headed for Oklahoma.(Summary follows – if you read the first post, see paragraph three.) It was a smooth trip, and I drove the first day, because
1minnesotagirl has had the worst winter on record, and needed spoiling. She would do most of the driving in Minnesota, because I haven’t driven on snow in, oh, longer than I want to admit. The Driving on Ice mantra was, “If anyone is gonna wreck 1minnesotagirl’s car, then 1minnesotagirl should do it.” Worked for me.We spent the first night in OK City with
bevhale and MM, in their lovely, Zen guest room. Bev had a great dinner planned, and then presented us with Tong jackets. She’s decided to formalize adopting us all into the “100 Blessings” tong, which is not an underworld gang, but merely a family united by interests, respect and love. Many folks do not have enough quality family by their side for support, whether through good or bad times. This is Bev’s solution. Fear us – we have couture.Originally we’d planned to stay an extra day with Bev, but
1minnesotagirl got hold of pegkerr, and Peg’s free evening was Tuesday. So we lit out Monday AM for the northlands. We made something like the KS/NE area by the wee hours, and decided that we really didn’t need to drive through the night. We were too tired to set up the computer, so we crashed. I don’t remember doing 600 miles in a day to be such a drag, but since I’ve been ill, I will cut myself slack. The motel did have a computer in the front room, so I double-checked where the restaurant Peg suggested was located. (In St. Paul, of course. It was the deservedly famous Café Latte.) Best thing about the region? The Applebys’ have sweet potato fries! Worst thing about Super Eight motels? The continental breakfast was blah. And NO real oatmeal! Even at an IHOP!The First thing you did not know about winter in Minnesota: your toes start freezing in Kansas City, KS and do not improve even when the car heater is warm enough to melt body fat. The toe heater packs were needed, but which bag were they in? Clearly, the Thor-Lo hiking socks weren’t going to be enough. Tomorrow, the merino wool socks!
We reached St. Paul by late afternoon, dumped suitcases, etc. at R’s home, and then headed for Café Latte. We’d missed dinner, so we did that first, after connecting with Peg. She has a sharp new haircut that makes her look like a forest elf – she looks way too young for two daughters on the heels of their teens. I tried the Diablo Chocolate flourless cake on Peg’s recommendation, and am lucky they had only a half piece left, because I would have eaten the entire thing! We had a nice visit, and appreciated Peg coming out in the cold. And it was cold – we’re talking 15 below that night, or something like that.
The Second thing you did not know about winter in Minnesota: if you use the windshield wiper cleaner (Special de-icing type bought at Wally World) and the heater has NOT been blowing on the window for 15 minutes, the spray will freeze on the window, requiring you to stop and scrape the silly thing.
Merino wool sock day. A definite improvement, but not quite the right solution.
Wednesday AM had us heading into St. Paul, this time so I could visit a psychic. It was interesting, gave me some information I didn’t have, and will figure somehow into one if not both of the two current books I’m writing/researching. We buzzed a bookstore that didn’t have exactly what we wanted, so I picked up a button that says “Artists make lousy slaves” and
1minnesotagirl picked up a bumper sticker. We laughed at so many of the offerings, I don’t remember which one she took home!We stopped off at Turtle Bread for lunch, which was quite tasty, and I picked up a loaf of sourdough bread (which I can have in small doses). It turned out to be a multi-grain version, which was not what I thought I’d bought but was delicious. Too many holes in the bread, though.
Before we ate,
1minnesotagirl called Patricia Wrede to see if she had any time to visit. I had lost track of Pat sometime after the year of the Divorce, the Career change, and the Illness (the dreaded trifecta of modern life) and was chicken about calling. Pat, in her usual Cecy-like style (See Sorcery & Cecelia) said something along the line of “Your timing is terrible, I’m going out of town tomorrow. Come to my place at 5:00 PM, I’ll see who I can find.”After visiting Uncle Hugo’s and Dreamhaven (and purchasing a few books, of course) we drove to see Pat’s new house (new to me, as opposed to the old house.) It’s just as charming as the last one, but in a totally different way. She’d tried remodeling drawings on the old house, and it just didn’t lend itself to what she wanted to do with the place. And: “I wanted out of the basement.” Writers with offices in the basement in the far northlands can get bummed out and not write. So – find a house to remodel!
Pat expanded her kitchen to make a great area for meal prep and dining, and also built an office with lovely windows and a closet like no other. But I’m getting ahead of myself – let’s start with the front closet. You open the coat closet to hang up your coat, and you notice that there appears to be a tornado on the inside of the door. Parting the coats, you see – good grief, the Emerald City on the back wall! Step inside, turn around and look up, and there’s Dorothy’s house swirling among the winds.
And that’s just the start. The guest bedroom closet, which goes back under the eaves, is a rabbit hole down to Alice in Wonderland, with the Red queen, flamingos, rose trees and I think I saw the Cheshire Cat, too. The master bedroom closet was good-sized. When you step inside, you see fur coats painted on hooks to your left. When Pat shuts the door and turns off the light, you can see dimly in the distance, the lantern shining in the Lantern Waste!
But the writer closet was the best. It is a shallow, shelved multi-door storage area in Pat’s office. Her sister the artist painted dozens and dozens of books, tall books, fat books, picture books on their sides – they were blank spines. Every writer who has visited has written their name on a book – and the title of a book they never intend to write. So Pat has a library that will never exist – except in her office.
1minnesotagirl called hers “The Demon’s Revenge.” I called mine “No Bleeding on the Ballroom Floor.”About that time, Lois Bujold came over, and we went out to dinner at Macaroni Grille. I can report that MG’s salmon and veggies were quite tasty, and Lois took dessert back “for later.” Pat was the perfect hostess, and fed all of us, and we went back for an hour or so catching up on books in print, agent roulette, and life changes. Lois and Pat were leaving in the AM for a Chicago convention. Lois was GoH, and Pat was “driving her down” – and seeing her elderly parents, “just because she was in the area.” So far, Pat doesn’t think they have twigged to her occasional check-ins.
The Third thing about Minnesota Winters: Thorlo-Socks with a Merino sock overlay are just the ticket for February.
The rest of the week, writing was accomplished, family things were removed from R’s closet and packed deeply in the van, I worked on R’s shoulder and suggested things for her to ask her PT/doctor about, and we met an old friend of
1minnesotagirl’s for lunch.Still no real oatmeal, or sweet potatoes.
Heathens.
Who ever heard of a brunch place in the snowy north without real oatmeal?
We headed back south once again on Sunday, stopping outside Kansas City the first night, and Oklahoma City the second night. Good talks, good food at GoPuram, and Bev took us to a sari shop. I meant to buy one of the daytime Pakistani tunics and scarves, but nothing in my colors was in my size.
So Bev made me buy a sari. I was gorgeous, but haven’t yet modeled for W. I have always secretly wanted one, and it is astounding how comfortable it is. Indian women have it easier. The other outfits they were out of are probably the source of “pajamas”.
We left early on Wednesday, since I had my client Wednesday night. We know we can travel together, and
1minnesotagirl would like me to go back to MiniCon with her this April. However, that would mean AggieCon one weekend, SF to see doctors the second weekend, and then Miniapolis the third weekend. Not sure my strength or budget is up to that. I’d like to be able to do Minicon, but not making plans yet. I did tell1minnesotagirl that she could ask programming ops about how late they could go on adding people. But I am not sanguine about going this year. Next year, perhaps? That would be nice. Must sell a book first! Must buy transportation first.(
1minnesotagirl did give me her old parka. I teased her about it being a bribe, but she did buy one for herself that was a much better color, and I would have been an Alfreda-cicle without the parka. Perhaps it imprinted on me.)Tomorrow, I will try to report on ConDFW, which as always was a great con.