Music to Read By


Get a playlist! Standalone player Get Ringtones

A Little About What Little I Know About Myself

My photo
Hold On I Know I Wrote This Down Somewhere, Canada
Just a quiet country boy who believes in remaining calm at all times even though there are times when a little excitement is necessary. I also believe in living each day to it's fullest because when it's over you can never have it back and it makes one less you have coming. I was married to the most wonderful woman in the world, my late wife Ellen. She will always have a place in my heart. I like cooking, dining out, traveling, shopping, gambling, blogging, bling and I love my truck cause she's pretty and fast. Oh and let's not forget food.

June 22, 2010

June 20


A REALLY GOOD WEEKEND…




Well I didn’t get into any trouble after my last post so I decided to not write anything until the weekend was over. The rain I drove through on the trip to Grand Forks continued for most of the evening Friday. Saturday morning it was a bit chilly and trying to drizzle off and on. I made my way over to IHOP and had a really good breakfast and then headed to the Farmer’s Market. I was a bit early but my friends were there setting up for the day. We visited for a bit and then I told them I would be back after things got going. I jumped into the truck and made my way over to one of my favorite stores The Home of Economy. Judging from the style of the place, it’s been around since Grand Forks. There isn’t much you can’t find in there. They have everything from furniture to tractor tires and from clothing to just whatever you want. Since I was playing El Stupido when I left home without any of my jackets, I went back into the Carhartt section and found a nice ball cap and a fleece type shirt to wear during cool times like it was now. Just what I needed was another jacket or coat anything but as I stated, it was a bit chilly out there. Also while I was there I picked up that American flag a guy at work wanted. From there I made my way over to Widman’s candy store. The cleaning lady told me to not go in there and buy any chocolates because the stuff was making her fat. Actually I don’t remember twisting her arm to eat any of the stuff I bring back. Would be hard to twist anyway with it buried up to the elbows in a chocolate bag. I made off with a bunch of loot there and then it was time to visit the market again which was right down the street. I loaded up with Kuchens and then made my way over to another stand where a lady has some really nice pictures and other things she does. This is the place where Scooter the racoon came from. She does these really nice artwork pieces consisting of pheasant feathers in nice patterns. Each piece she does is numbered and signed and she keeps a record of where it is going and to whom it belongs so she will know where all her work she sells is. She told me she has now done over 700 pieces to date. I picked out one and got it for the cleaning lady to put in her home. Yeah I know she is spoiled but she deserves it because my house is nice an clean and I don’t have to raise a hand to keep it that way. All I have to do is not make a mess between visits.




I returned to my room with all my loot and then off to the Dollar store again. I had forgotten to get bottled water for drinking the first trip and while I was there I picked up another cooler like the one I had gotten the day before. A 48 can soft side cooler for only $12. My friends that were down also needed another one for some of their stuff so I thought of them and picked up one. I wouldn’t have needed the one I purchased the day before if I hadn’t been playing El Stupido again when I left the house without one of my coolers. I was about 20 minutes into the trip here when I remembered not bringing one from the house. Oh well what’s another cooler eh? Especially when you already have enough of them to start a cooler store! Then it was off to the Qdoba Mexican Grill for some lunch. They have some of the best burritos ever. You need big hands and strong arms to even attempt eating one of these things. I took that back to my room and pigged out. It was just after 11am then and I had made all my rounds that I was going to make so I decided to just chill for the rest of the day until my friends arrived. It’s good to just sit back and rest once in awhile.

My friends finally made it into town but didn’t come to their room. Instead they had some items to return at a store and some more shopping to do so they sent me a text message and told me where they were. Later after they got to the hotel we all got together and sat and chatted and had a few glasses of wine until it was time to go for our dinner reservations at Sanders. I have nothing but good to report about this establishment. The atmosphere was so relaxing, the staff was wonderful and our waiter was more than helpful and had a really nice warm personality and a good humor about him. The food…FABULOUS…and you weren’t rushed to eat and leave. We were there for almost 2 hours as they would bring one item at a time and gave you time to talk and eat before coming over and asking you if you were done or ready for anything. This is the way is should be in my opinion where you just eat and have a good time and don’t get in a rush. They also have a wine selection to marvel at and we had some excellent Terra D’Oro Santa Barbara Pinot Grigio at $25 a bottle. One of our party was drinking beer and the rest of use were into the wine. Into it enough to polish off 3 bottles with dinner. The owners of the restaurant were originally from Maryland where I was raised so I couldn’t wait to try one of their specialties Maryland Style Crab Cakes. Since I was raised in the area where these things were famous and the best, I consider myself a pretty good judge of how they are. The ones I had at the Blue Moose during an earlier trip were really good but these were just so good it’s impossible to describe the sounds my mind was making each time I put a morsel of this into my mouth. I had French Onion soup and Cucumber Salad prior to my meal and had coleslaw and baked potato with the crab cakes. I didn’t stop there…oh no, I had a dessert afterwards. I had the crème caramel, a rich custard served with fresh fruit and whipped cream. Everyone’s dinners were fantastic and very satisfying. The place is a little high end but well worth every cent. Our bill for the 4 of us came to just over $275 and we left a $40 tip. I’ll be back there again, probably on my next trip down. I highly recommend the place if you want a dinning experience to remember for a long time to come.

Afterward we proceeded back to the hotel where we gathered in one room and polished off another 2 bottles of wine while conversing. Whew I was paying for this night when I got up this morning to come home. I left a little later than I normally do but I was fine. That was a bit more alcohol than any of us usually consume but I guess once in awhile doesn’t hurt. Well it hurt the next morning but you know what I mean.

It was another beautiful day and there was no one on the road coming home. They didn’t even make me go inside and pay duty at the border but I had only spent $195 [most of it candy and kuchens] this time which is another all time low record for me so I made it home in good time. I was greeted by my meow meows and we played and then I unloaded my stuff. I was a bit beat and probably still suffering some from the night before so the Tabby cat and I snuggled up together and took us little nap. I woke just in time to watch Hop-Along Cassidy and then get on here and order dinner from Pizza Hut.

Ok my food is here and that’s all the excitement for this weekend. It was a really good one and I hope everyone out here who’s reading this had a wonderful one also.

3 comments:

Phyllis said...

You certainly know how to live, Curtis!!
I LOVE the feather art.

Unknown said...

Sally invited me to have a look in your Blog! Well, here I am my friend. Now I have to read 2 long stories from you. Haha :=)) Keep writing :-)

Anonymous said...

Thank you for sharing your adventure, Curtis.

The photo you posted of that store front reminds me of hundreds I've seen in my travels throughout Iowa. Farmers markets are the best destinations this time of year--loaded with fresh produce and baked goodies, art and crafts such as the beautiful feather designs you wrote about(and the photos were lovely), and of course, all the people!

I enjoyed your description of your dining experience (by the way, the list of establishments you offer at the begining of Canuckville is mighty interesting, as well). The discomfort after such an evening would surely be a small thing compared to time spent with good friends, enjoying good food and good compay; life doesn't often get better than that!

An enjoyable read!