Daytripping in Des Moines at Penzey's

Penzey's Spices, above, below Sam being somewhat patient in front of the sea salt display.

Recently, Mom, Sam, and I headed North for a couple of days, just to say we'd been somewhere! Actually, we went to visit my cousins and do all the fun things I love to do when I'm in Des Moines, which isn't as often as I'd like. So hang on, the next few blogs will feature what we do when we hang out in Des Moines. After all, there is no commercial that says "What happens in Des Moines, stays in Des Moines. (And c'mon, Mom and my 10 year old son were with me!!!)

I have this list of things I have to buy when I go to Des Moines. Hostas, orange almond creme cake, hostas, chocolate raspberry jam, hostas, and Snookies Ice Cream. This year I've also added quilt stores, since I've started thinking about sewing again!

Mom and Jan found what they were looking for...and then some!

Our first stop was Penzey's Spices. Last year, Jan introduced us to Northwoods Fire Seasoning and we were instantly hooked. We've had to resort to ordering from Penzey's catalog and we were ready to see the real deal. Of course, it had everything the catalog has, but there were SAMPLES here!!! We loaded up on Northwoods Fire, Southwest Seasoning, cocoa, vanilla sugar... well, you get the picture. I tried not to spend all my money on the first stop. I made mental notes of what I'd have to have next time! Sam endured it well. It's not easy being stuck in a spice store with Mom, Grandma, and the cousins. But even Sam highly endorses Northwoods Fire on hamburgers on the grill!!! Although, not as highly as he recommends Snookies' ice cream!

Cousin Belinda found something she needed. What's nice about Penzey's is they offer everything in several sizes.

Me, grinning like an idiot, because I drag everybody to the places I want to go. I'm lucky though, because they want to go to the same places! Or at least they pretend to and Sam doesn't get a choice. There are some advantages to being the adult!

New Plant Species Discovered

Oh, I'm just kidding. This is our cat, Mena. Sam found her up in a tree in our yard over a year ago. She was very young, but had had a litter of kittens. Unfortunately, we were never able to find her kittens. Of course, Sam wanted to adopt her and so she became a member of the family. I like to drink my coffee on the patio where this pot of dirt sits waiting for flowers. Mena likes to hop into the pot, curl up, and take a nap. Silly cat! She really has turned out to be a good cat. I like to think she chases all the snakes in my yard into the neighbor's yard!!!