Virginia; another possibility is a nursery just 23 miles south of Dubuque,Iowa-- it's in Bellevue,iowa , the link is listed below. and yet another is the Bickelhaupt arboretum in Clinton,Iowa at www.bicarb.org Virginia Just before you cross the Missisippi from Nelson ,Wisconsin into Waubasha,Minnesota---- I highly reccomend that you stop and order at least 2 scoops of "RUM CHERRY" ice cream at the Nelson Cheese Factory-- it's on 35 in town - you will not be dissapointed--- we might just cross paths there, as I and other friends will be travelling to Camp Lacupolis (Lake Pepin) for a week of White Bass fishing. There used to be a wonderful Nursery in Reads Landing, just 2 miles north of Waubasha,Minnesota-but they closed about 4 or 5 years ago--- the nursery was located atop/above on the ridge overlooking Reads Landing and you could see a wonderful valley of Chippewa River coming out of Wisconsin, and the Missisiippi River valley- now the only similar view is in Alma, Wisc - atop the ridge there, and my suggestion for a ride to Iowa is to use the scenic beautiful 35 at least to Lacrosse from Bay City. enjoy your trip to Iowa, and bring/buy lots of plants, and stop at all the pick-u own raspberry signs you come across. Here is a link that might be useful: Ridgeroad nursery

There used to be a really awesome restaurant in Arkansaw. Don't know what happened to it, but the food was gourmet. That's my one time I've been in Arkansaw, but know the area well. In fact, once in a while I'll do some coverage for the guy in Durand. Right now our climate feels more like the deep south, though. 94 and humid as heck.

In 1965 my husband to be and I stayed two weeks in the Hotel Royal Bretagne at 11bis rue de la Gaîté in Paris. Years after I read in Simone de Beauvoir's memoirs that she'd stayed in this hotel for several months in 1937, commuting from her teaching post in Passy. She describes it as a very decent hotel and it still was in 1965 and also in 2000 when my husband was given a room there purely by chance when he attended a conference. A room then cost much more than the 17 francs we paid and was much improved. On this same visit we looked at the nearby Hotel Orfila in rue d'Assas where the Swedish author August Strindberg experienced the psychosis he described in his book Inferno. Another literary place I've actively sought out was Jane Austen's Chawton in Hampshire, on our way from Mottisfont Abbey. We arrived too late to see the inside but the outside loo was open, to our relief. The greatest disappointment was the long detour we made to Little House in the Big Woods near Pepin, Wisconsin, where we had hoped to show our children Laura Ingalls Wilder's childhood home. It was a shiny new replica with hardly a tree in sight. 29 years later it looks more weathered in internet photos.

During a big lapse in income -- after the 2008 financial collapse -- I decided to try popping my own popcorn -- something I hadn't done in years. ... instead of buying the expensive microwave stuff. Bought a bag of "small white kernel" popcorn -- 99â -- lasted for 3 months! Cooked it using generous amount of canola oil. When I took that first taste, I was amazed at the rich, buttery flavour ... and I was going to pour melted butter over it. But it didn't need any butter. All I added was fresh-ground sea salt. Yummmm.... There's been no turning back (to microwave) since that first bite! I know it's slow ... but the proof of the pudding is .... .