Rich Folks

My buddy Chris and I went to Wayzata on Sunday. They were having some festival with a parade and craft fair. We love craft fairs, and the guys were out of town, so off we went! This photo shows the view from the patio bar by the marina. Beautiful flowers, cold beer, (um, we were warding off heat stroke) it was great.













Here we are all cooled off. You can tell rich people drink here because the drink menu was a bound, hard cover book and not a laminated piece of paper. Also, we were amused to see that they sell wine by the glass, and charge $15! For one glass! I know I'm a rube, but I try not to pay that much for the whole bottle.













We took a tour of Lake Minnetinky on the refurbished steamboat that at one time was sunk on the bottom of the Lake. It has a nice, loud whistle that made me scream whenever it went off. The ride was a real bargain at $5, and lasted an hour. We figured it was probably our last chance to retouch our tans before winter.













Here is one of the mansions on Lake Minnetonka. We tried to imagine what it would be like to live in such a place. All we could think of was how much work it would be to clean! We also can't imagine having servants to clean for us. I would make a serious effort to get used to it, though.








The parade was also interesting. Marching Band must be cool at their high school, because it was huge. The middle school has a steel drum band! The best part of the parade was the "Westie" group. Over100 West Highland Terriers and their owners marched in the parade. Not only that, but all the dogs were wearing frog costumes! I'm told they do this every year, last year they dressed as loons. I've never seen anything like it. The little dogs don't seem to mind, either.

Rich people just seem to think differently than I do. We should have a zoo-type thing for them so we could watch them. This may explain the popularity of some of that reality TV, like "The real rich housewives of Texas". (I know 2 rich people, and they are both really nice. I like to visit them and see what is new. One has a microwave that is an undercounter drawer! It looks like a regular drawer, but it's a microwave! Fabulous. )

Although I would really like a big, neverending pile of money, There are probably some drawbacks, like worrying that somebody will kidnap your kids. That would be horrible. I'd rather be poor. (Let me point out that I know that as far as material possessions and such are concerned, I am blessed. By the standards of just about everybody in the world, I am rich. I (obviously) get enough to eat, I have a roof over my head, clothes to wear and easy access to excellent medical care. Not nearly enough people in the world can say this.)

I think there are advantages to NOT being rich like Paris Hilton. Such as:
1. We don't have fights over inheritance. We are not waiting around hoping for someone to leave us money, we know we have to go make it ourselves.
2. We are not shocked when something bad happens, we expect the s**t to hit the fan on a regular basis. Then we deal with it.
3. We won't be getting any of that hideous plastic surgery all the movie stars are getting. Why do they do that? It looks worse in the after pictures.
4. Our clothes don't go out of style from year to year, or if they do, we don't know or care.
5. Our kids can't get TOO spoiled.
6. We know people really like us for ourselves, not our cash!

I left book club early tonight to hit the William Kent Krueger book signing in downtown Anoka. I had told my friends that the last time I had a book signed by Mr. Krueger, he remembered me from the time before, complimenting me on my name and writing IN MY BOOK that it should be the name of a book character, maybe in HIS books! I was so flattered, he sees thousands of people! It's been a couple of years, so I didn't expect him to jump up and yell, "Kellet, great to see you!" which is good, because what he said was, "Hmmm...... Kellet, huh? What an unusual name, I've never heard that before!". Sigh.

Gotta go, but stay tuned. I'm working on something BIG! (NO, NOT a baby! put that out of your mind, RIGHT OUT!).

Today's recipe is for dog treats. Make them the right size for your dog, and while you could go all Martha Stewart and use a bone-shaped cookie cutter, remember that the DOG DOESN'T CARE!

Dog snacks

1 (6oz) jar turkey and rice baby food
1/4 cup beef gravy (use leftovers, the dog won't care)
1/4 cup water
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 egg white

Egg wash: 1 egg yolk mixed with 1 Tbls whole milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or foil. Mix all ingredients (except egg wash) together to make a dough. Roll out on a floured work surface to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into rectangles appropriately sized for your dog. Roll it thinner for small dogs, too. Put snacks on cookie sheet and brush with egg wash. Bake for 35-40 minutes (shorter time for smaller snacks) until golden brown. Cool before giving to dogs. Duh.