Monday, August 03, 2009

Greetings from Star Valley

Star Valley
Once a year we venture across the mighty Mississippi from my parents' home in Minneapolis to Crawford county, Wisconsin, home to my best-friend-since-forever, Phil and his partner Randy, in idyllic Star Valley.

Grape Arbor in Star Valley
Upon our arrival last night, we had cocktails under the grape arbor (above) and then a magical dinner made entirely from products from the farm (below). I jokingly suggested that I submit the above picture to a fanciful new publication, Arbor Living. Ha! Why not?

Dinner Table in Star Valley
On the menu was zucchini tempura and fresh pea soup. NOM!

Fresh Pea Soup
Zucchini Tempura
This morning we visited Viroqua, a town where granola Waldorf school enthusiasts, Wisconsin agrarians and Amish farmers peacefully exist. There I was able to visit the yarn store Ewetopia, a fantastic LYS that carries its own brand of yarn (see below):
Ewetopia yarn

ewetopia
We also stopped by the the farmer's market, where I saw the most delightful, gnome-worthy log ever:
mushrooms
Later today we'll go back to the Cities (boo) and then on Tuesday, back to Pennsylvania (double boo). More on that later!

19 comments:

Angela said...

I have an arbor just like that--in the special place that exists only in my head. Gorgeous!

Elizabeth said...
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Elizabeth said...

Those photos are so idyllic...straight outta Martha. This is how I envision my backyard summer dinner parties in my dreams. Thanks for sharing them! Love the yarn shots, too.

Anonymous said...

It is too funny that I came across your blog this afternoon on Ravelry. I call the Kickapoo Valley home, and live in La Crosse, WI. I'm glad you visited Ewetopia Fiber Shop. It's my favorite!

Julie said...

They ARE straight from a magazine! I want to eat that exact dinner in that exact spot!

Claire said...

The sock yarn. It's so.... I WANT IT! :)

And how about those mushrooms? I'm so glad you snapped a picture. I think I'm going to look at it every day on flickr. :)

Lynn said...

Oh that yarn is GORGEOUS!!!! I can SO imagine sitting in that arbor knitting. What a great trip!

Ashley said...

OMG this place is amazeball. I want to go to there. A lot. Are they hiring interns?

Sarah said...

I'm not sure which is more drool-worthy -- the tempura or the yarn!

Anonymous said...

*sigh* someday, take me please! the zucchini looks really, really good. So does your souvenir yarn!
Great looking log too, love those mushrooms.

Alison said...

Oh my goodness, I can't tell you how much I long for an arbor like that in my yard... it's on the 'one of these days...' list, dreamy sigh...
And that yarn looks scrumptious!

happy travels,
and happy knitting-
ali

Rose said...

I don't know which looks yummier, the yarn or the zucchini!

Yarnhog said...

That zucchini looks so good, my mouth is watering!

Kim said...

Lordy, this post was complete and utter pRon for me. The arbor, the picnic table, the food, the yarn. WOW.

Octopus Knits said...

Oooo, that all sounds wonderful! I want to eat that zucchini... I can taste it now!

kim said...

Those yarns look incredible. Almost as yummy as the food in this post.

earthchick said...

Ooh, gorgeous pics! Sounds like you're having a great summer. :)

Btw, the word verification I have below is "dealish." Perhaps it meant your pics look delish?

tiennie said...

What a gorgeous place to be!

sophie said...

All of these pictures make me green with envy!
(All right, I can skip the windmill)