outside – Peaceful Reader

Café Mir is a special restaurant run by two brothers in a very small town called Fertile, IA. My mom introduced me to it probably about 3-4 years ago when she lived near Clear Lake. She asked my husband and I to meet there for dinner then because she read about it and one of the brothers bought some of her fresh herbs at the farmers market. Back then we drove the 1 1/2 hours to get there and took a walk around a bit before our reservation. The backyard of Cafe Mir sits on the Winnebago River and with a bridge that crosses over to a park making it a lovely place to walk before or after dinner. The restaurant is in a small storefront with the front and back rooms set aside for dining and the kitchen and host area lay in the middle. It’s quaint with an eclectic vibe; mismatched napkins and china that all look like they were pulled from various grandmother’s cabinets. The food is exquisite in this charming spot, making it worth the drive. It’s a little expensive but worth it especially for a special occasion. Because of all this I was determined to make it there again for dinner before winter is upon us.

(Charles City, Winnebago River view)

My husband is happy to plan day trips especially when beer is involved and I’m happy to ride along as long as there are patios. Saturday was a gorgeous day, lots of sunshine, too much wind but we didn’t blow away. We loaded the dogs into the car (patios are so perfect) and headed north to St Charles City Brewing Company where we shared a flight of beers and hard seltzers. A Filipino food truck was parked behind the brewery so we felt obliged to sample a plate of noodles and an egg roll which were delicious and a perfect snack to tide us over until our 6:30 reservation. We soaked up some sun at their outdoor picnic tables and then took a walk along the river before piling back in the car for our next destination.

Another 30 minutes or so we took a back road into Osage, IA to find The Limestone Brewing Company on Main Street. This place was a little more crowded but luckily most people were hanging inside which left the outdoor tables to us. There were a ton of fat tire bikes leaning up and down the street with most of the owners inside swigging beer, listening to live music, and eating pizza. Outside there was an eggroll food truck and two long picnic tables. While the patio situation was not the greatest at least we had a place outside because only staff were masked inside and the place was packed because the beer was good and there had been some major fat tire trail ride earlier in the day. We shared a flight here as well, bought two crowlers, and headed back to the highway.

These two stops broke up the drive perfectly and we arrived at Café Mir 30 minutes before our reservation. Unfortunately the weather had taken a turn and it was pretty chilly walking the dogs around the park. It was toasty inside, the place was bustling, the tables were widely-spaced, staff wore masks, and I wore a mask it still seemed like the virus was a thing of the past for most others. I’m not of that mindset but I also have to live a little before we get totally locked down by the weather. I hope you did something thrilling with your weekend as well.

I’m a summer kind of girl but I love much about spring and fall as well. I always hope for a bit of Indian Summer to hold me over so I’m a bit sad that we’ve jumped head first into winter-like weather. First, it rained a lot (way too much for fall) and the fall leaves are suffering (and the farmers). It’s been very windy this weekend. Our rivers and lakes have flooded across bike paths and over roads which pushes people from their homes.

The only silver lining is staying inside and reading. I finished The Maze Runner, which has been on my to-read list for years. I really enjoyed it and am very curious about the next one in the series. James Dashner created a unique and weird dystopian world and I’m invested to know more about the maze and how it all came into being. I want to watch the movie and I brought the second book home from school. It’s waiting, taunting me, but I have other books to read first.

One of my best readers at school showed me the book Hideout by Watt Key and told me he wanted me to read it when he finished. Last week he gave it to me and I promised to read it within the month. I actually skipped reading my book club book, Pachinko, to read Hideout. In my life, one thing leads to another all the time and now I want to read all of Watt Key’s books. This one tells the story of Sam and how he finds a young boy, Davey while motoring his small boat around the bayou. Davey is living in a rundown shack and waiting for his dad and brother to join him. Sam agrees to help him fix up the shack and bring him supplies because it all seems like a great adventure until things become real. Sam discovers more than he needs to know about Davey’s family and who they really are and once in it is difficult to get back out. I’ll be happy to hand this book back to my student and help him find more of Key’s books.

I started reading Jewell Parker Rhodes new book Ghost Boy, which tells the story of young Jerome as he navigates the world after being shot by a police officer in Chicago. It’s a sad beautifully-told tale and I want students at my school to read it even though it is about a difficult topic. While it is sad the real message is; it’s up to us to make real change. In my recent Social Justice class we discussed the importance of elementary students being aware of the real world around them. This book not only deals with death and grief but poverty, bullying, and the historical context of young black men as targets starting with Emmett Till. I’ve read all of Rhodes’ other titles starting with Ninth Ward (Hurricane Katrina) and Towers Falling (911). She does an amazing job of bringing these tough topics to elementary students through her well-written books.

I just started Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson, which I received as a gift when I went to hear Woodson speak at the Englert Theatre. She was amazing to listen to and I would love to have lunch with her. I’m only two chapters in so I’ll give you the back blurb for this one:

Six kids. One school year. A room to talk…

Once there were six of us.

We circled around each other, and listened.

Or maybe what matters most is that we were heard.

I hope you are giving yourself plenty of time to read this fall. I have to head outside to breathe the crisp air and get my bones moving often as well. Our new dog Ruby loves to romp in the leaves and run freely in the green space across the street. It is a joy to watch her play outside which helps to balance how I feel about her chewing habits.

Tag: outside

Road Trippers

It's the perfect weather for reading