Visiting Red Wing

six senses saturday

March 24, 2012
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six senses saturday

smelling :: the sweet scent of flowering trees and shrubs on McSorley Street as we walked downtown for dessert and cocktails for our date night last evening. seeing :: the warm glow of the Red Wing street lights, the historic St. James Hotel, and a quick peek at the new Red Wing River Bend Coop, complete with a grocery section, and a coffee, tea, soup and smoothie cafe! I’m in heaven! tasting :: a slice of homemade pear torte for two that we shared while sitting on the outdoor patio of this little restaurant…and tonight homemade “grillin’ beans” (see recipe below) with grilled bratwurst and English Breakfast iced tea hearing :: this gorgeous music by Francis Leftwich…heard it first over at the always lovely Today’s Letters. Emily has the...

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six senses saturday

March 10, 2012
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six senses saturday

seeing :: train graffiti hearing :: THIS ROCKIN’ SONG that I can’t get out of my head…Cheerio! feeling :: the ground tremble beneath my feet as the trains pass by the Red Wing Depot smelling :: fresh spring air and THIS LOVELY PERFUME that the hubby gets for me every year. what a sweetie. I know spring is here when I spray on this scent! tasting :: a yummy chicken salad sandwich, a glass of THIS RIESLING…and then a glass of THIS PALE ALE at the always amazing Nelson Creamery knowing :: spring has sprung! yay! What did you do today? ~Melissa

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’twas the night before christmas…

December 24, 2011
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’twas the night before christmas…

…and all through the house, not a creature was stirring… Well, that’s not true. I’m still stirring. We had a wonderful time at the historic St. James Hotel this evening. The holiday buffets on the Summit are always such a treat! The prime rib…and the salads…the grilled asparagus… the butternut bisque… the truffled fingerling potatoes… the wild mushroom bread pudding…the smoked salmon… the cheese… the desserts… and, oh dear, the wine… (whew!) were all SO good! I only had a little bit of everything and still managed to stuff myself to the point of being more than a little bit uncomfortable. As soon as I got home I put on my comfy clothes, so now I’m feeling much better. Today was pretty laid back. We finished all the present...

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holiday stroll and a quiet day at home

November 25, 2011
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holiday stroll and a quiet day at home

This evening we walked downtown to enjoy the annual Red Wing Holiday Stroll. We watched the lighting ceremony, ate s’mores, had wine and coffee at Sarah’s, went to the mural parking lot for live music and a warm fire and saw Santa and Mrs. Claus drive by on a fire truck at the parade. We ate another turkey dinner with all the sides and went out to our front porch to watch the fireworks over Barn Bluff. Another beautiful day in the Mississippi River valley. What did you do today? ~Melissa

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date night ~ estate sale & dinner out

November 14, 2011
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date night ~ estate sale & dinner out

the loot … after a fun couple hours treasure hunting…we decided on Fiesta Mexicana for dinner… I had the tamale, enchilada, chilie rellanos combo… and Jeff had the Carne Asada… This week for date night we were out for an evening walk and happened to see an estate sale sign. We discovered this treasure trove on the last day, and usually that means everything is pretty well picked over…but in this case it was perfect. There were still plenty of great finds and everything was 50% off! Kismet! I took home 4 fine English bone china teacups in pristine condition (Royal Albert, Elizabethan and  2 Queen Anne! The little one in the second picture is a hand painted china Nippon. ) I also lucked out by finding an RS...

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six senses saturday ~ weekending

November 12, 2011
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six senses saturday ~ weekending

hearing: leaves crunching, squirrels scurrying, geese honking, and prairie smoke whispering feeling: exhilirated and creative. super proactive with my art, writing and photography seeing: the last of the fall color tasting: a Caribou campfire mocha! smelling: our backyard bonfire knowing: Autumn is the eternal corrective. It is ripeness and color and a time of maturity; but it is also breadth, and depth, and distance. What can stand with autumn on a hilltop and fail to see the span of world and the meaning of the rolling hills that reach to the far horizon? ~Hal Borland What are you up to this weekend? ~Melissa

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halloween 2011 ~ part 1 ~ decorating and pumpkin art

October 31, 2011
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halloween 2011 ~ part 1 ~ decorating and pumpkin art

~ halloween throughout my house ~ The Halloween celebration started last night. We put on an extra layer of woolies, carved pumpkins on the deck, (also known as the “dock”) and had a camp fire.  At dusk, we drove over to Grandview Avenue here in Red Wing, armed with  a thermos of hot, spiced Honeycrisp cider, and our cameras. This year the Habedank Pumpkin show boasted close to 200 carved and illumined Jack-O-Lanterns! It’s worth the trip to bucolic Red Wing just to drink in the river town’s ambience, but now there’s even more reason for a nocturnal pilgrimage: the Habedank Pumpkin Show. More than 100 pumpkins — some transcending the term “Jack-o’-lantern” — have succumbed to the artistry of Bill Habedank’s carving knife, and his 35 years of...

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autumn unconfined

October 24, 2011
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autumn unconfined

“Thy bounty shines in autumn unconfined, and spreads a common feast for all that live.” ~James Thomson This morning my friend Jen and I met for an early breakfast at Caribou and a nature walk photo shoot. We’d been wanting to photograph autumn for a couple weeks, and today was a great day for it. There’s an amazing path through the woods that leads to the top of Sorin’s Bluff, only a block away from my house, and I swear it’s enchanted. The breeze whispering poetry as it plays with the leaves on the trees. The rich, sultry scents of woodsmoke, moss, damp earth. Leaves that make a delightful crunch underfoot, releasing the smell of Rooibos tea brewing. Shades of red, yellow ochre, burnt sienna, frosty purple and stained...

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date night ~ provenzano’s ristorante & late night antiquing

October 12, 2011
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date night ~ provenzano’s ristorante & late night antiquing

Date night at Provenzano’s Italian Ristorante… ~ wine tasting notes ~ Barone Fini Pinot Grigio:  Straw, almost clear in color, this wine has a mineral, earthy nose and a creamy texture. Its dry flavor is characterized by subtle lemon, orange and minerals. It has good acidity and a nice finish. It was amazing with Italian porchetta, garlic mashed potatoes and creamy alfredo sauce. Tezza Garganega: Passito is made from dried Garganega grapes with hints of honey, floral and exotic ripe fruits. Elegant and sweet. Full-bodied with very good length – typical of a fine quality Passito. Delicious with dessert or cheese course. Walleye  Italian porchetta with garlic mashed potatoes everything was wonderful! After dinner we decided to do a little antiquing and found some awesome deals on vintage cameras,...

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fall festival of the arts

October 10, 2011
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fall festival of the arts

My journal entry from yesterday: We’ve been enjoying beautiful weather in the Mississippi River valley these past couple weeks. Sunny with temperatures in the 70s and 80s. The perfect opportunity to get outside, go for bike rides, take photographs, go for little trips on the Wisconsin’s Great River Road, write, paint, pack picnics, visit apple orchards and wineries, listen to beautiful live music, bake with apples (and pumpkins and squash…oh my!) and grill as many meals as we can over charcoal before winter’s chill sets in. My garden, however, has taken a turn for the worse. I must confess, I haven’t been tending it as I should. When we took our last little out of town excursion to the North Shore I forgot to have my daughter Andrea come...

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