Farmer's Markets

When I moved to Des Moines the farmer's markets became a part of my weekly routine during the Summer and Fall. I do love going to the markets and go once or twice a week. This year Dale discovered some great bread and we have both become regulars at the Valley Junction Farmer's Market on Thursdays. We also hit a Saturday market some weeks. Since I have been trying to eat healthier this year the produce is even more appealing. I love the colors and the variety. I also love the atmosphere at the markets. Now that I have my very own hand made market bag it's one more thing to enjoy. Now that it's almost September I look forward to squash, apples and much cooler weather!

Iowa State Fair

Although I am not a huge fan of the State Fair I do go every year with Dale. I realize that some of my feelings stem from a bad experience four years ago. I won't go into all the details but when I returned to my car to find four police officers waiting for the tow truck it was not a good day! I was able to talk very nicely and the tow truck driver was dismissed and one of the officers gave me a golf cart escort through the herds of people swarming on the grand concourse. In the years since then I have not had any major incidents but it is not my favorite event. It is always in August. The heat, humidity and crowds are usually awful but this year Dale and I made a great choice when we headed out to the fairgrounds after work on a rainy day. As forecasted, the rain stopped shortly after we arrived. The air was nice, almost cool and there were no crowds. We walked right up to the butter cow and the pork producers. No lines!! We ate our favorite fair foods . . . mostly foods on a stick. Pork chop on a stick, corn dog and a Fair Square (rice krispie bar on a stick.) We saw the largest ram, the largest boar and the largest bull too. That's always quite a sight! Again, I will spare you the details!!

Farmer's Market Bag

I finished a knitting project that was NOT a rectangle! This is my new handmade farmer's market bag. It has been a very fun project. In July when I met my friend, Julie on Main Street in Cedar Falls we wandered into a yarn shop when we saw these bags in the window. Julie and I each bought yarn and got the free patterns. On my way home from Cedar Falls I stopped in Ames to have dinner with my friend, Kymm and she lent me the appropriate needles. I was uncertain at the beginning but really enjoyed it once I got to the mesh body of the bag. Last weekend when Jill was here I spent lots of time knitting and finished the body and started the handle while I had expert advice in the house. I was motivated to finish the handle this weekend so that I would have the bag to use at Saturday's farmers market. I was thinking that it wasn't very big but that bag really stretches. It's holding six ears of corn, cantaloupe, pepper and a loaf of bread! We also got to check out the newer smaller market at West Glen. It was certainly not a huge event like the downtown market but it was much less crowded and easy to grab some quick produce on our way west to attend the annual Adel Corn Festival. I guess that we will have corn twice this week!! I truly enjoyed this knitting project. Thanks to Julie, Kymm and Jill for the assistance! Fortunately I have new yarn ready to start the next project, which happens to be another rectangle!

Knitting with Jill

I had a great weekend with Jill. She came down on Friday night and stayed until Sunday. We spent most of our time in the pool or knitting in the air conditioning. It was so relaxing to just sit and knit and talk. Saturday afternoon we finally got dressed and did a little shopping. . . mostly for yarn. I actually purchased yarn for two new knitting projects. I am almost finished with my current project; a farmer's market bag. Last night I started a new project, a mobius scarf. With this horrible heat, I love the thought of having to bundle up in a warm thick scarf this winter. I also have some yarn ready to start an afghan but that will wait. I cannot have more than two projects going at one time! It was so fun to spend the weekend with Jill . . . relaxing and fun!

National Balloon Classic

Saturday evening Dale and I drove the short distance to Indianola to see if we could spot some balloons. We knew we were too late to catch the mass ascension scheduled as a part of the National Balloon Classic but we were fortunate enough to catch the end of the flight and see many of the balloons landing just before sunset.

We had not attempted to attend this event for a couple of years but I was very interested in the idea of catching a few photos this year. We were just out on the country roads following the brightly colored balloons as they moved closer to the ground. The one that landed just on the other side of the pond offering the beautiful reflection was a big bonus. It was fun to chase a photo opportunity.