Cookbooks
By Owner: Bonnie Meier

We used to have a Pumpkin Land just north of Orange City. Unfortunately, they are no longer operating and Fields of Fun, just east of Sioux Center is now operating a fall adventure with pumpkins, etc. Renae Vander Schaaf is selling some of her books there including the Dutch Cookbook that we wrote together, "Receptenboek Van De Nederlandse Huisvrouw" or Recipe Book of the Dutch Housewife. Renae and I put this book together about two years ago and it contains a lot of Dutch history as well as being chuck full of Dutch recipes. The following is a summary of its Table of Contents: Dranken (beverages) & Voorgerechten (appetizers), Soepen (soups), Saladen (salads), Vlees (meat), Hoofdgerechten (main dishes), Groenten (vegetables), Brood (bread), Gebak (pastry) & Pies (pies), Nagerecht (dessert) & Kopek (cake), Koekjes (cookies) & Snoeperij (candy), Puddingen (puddings), Kaas (cheese) & Eieren (eggs), Indonesische Koken (Indonesian Cooking), Dutch Foods We Eat, Agriculture in the Netherlands, You Can't Beat the Dutch, Tulip Mania, Orange City Tulip Festival and Tulip Festivals Around the World. It concludes with a complete list of references from which we gleaned our information including books, web sites, personal conversations and the archives of Northwestern College in Orange City. So you can see it includes a lot more than just Dutch recipes. The book has a soft cover and sells for $14.95. You can order one by e-mailing us or calling us (see contact information on left hand side of this newsletter). We just sent four to a lady in California who was going to give several away to relatives.

At this time we are also planning on participating in the Sioux Center Public Library Holiday Boutique, which will be held November 21. Of course, there is a possibility that the event will be canceled if Covid demands it, so we won't include many details here until we know more.

Guttermann Thread and Kenmore Sewing Machine
By Owner: Bonnie Meier

Don't forget that we still have a full line of Guttermann thread on hand in our little home based store. We've had several people this month make their way over here to make sure they had quality thread to complete their sewing projects. We have spools of 500 meters ($6.16 each), 250 meters ($4.11 each) and 100 meters ($1.99 each). The sew all thread is made of 100 polyester. We also have 250 meter spools of Hand Quilting thread which sell for $4.67 each and is 100% cotton. We also have a variety of colors of Heavy Duty, Top Stitching tread, which comes in 100 meter spools and sell for $1.99 each. This is maybe a little more expensive than some thread, but many of the experienced sewers say that it is well worth the extra cost for the high quality.

We also have a very nice Kenmore Sewing Machine with an original sewing manual. This is a model 385.15318200 and has been completely overhauled by Leonard Blok. It sells for $70 and we have it on hand. Leonard always sells his rebuilt machines with a warranty so you can't go wrong if you are looking for a good machine. The manual is large (8 1/2 x 11) and has pictures that are easy to follow.

Book Reviews
By Owner: Bonnie Meier

I'm not going to do a book review this month because I've been spending most of my reading time this month reading a book from our personal library entitled "The Voyage of the Beagle" by Charles Darwin Copyright 1909, but written about a trip he took in the early 1800s. This is part of the Harvard Classics series of books and reads more like a text book than an entertainment book. Even so, I have found it very refreshing, but not very fast reading. I'm amazed at how knowledgable he was about all sciences, biology, botany, entomology, etc. When I think that this happened almost 200 years ago, I find it fascinating.

Covid Precautions
By Owner: Bonnie Meier

We have been trying to be very careful as both my husband and I belong to the older class of people who are considered high risk. We wear masks when customers come and have not participated in special sales events that we have in the past. We are hoping that a vaccine will be available soon and we can forget all about the trials we have been through this past year. Our county (Sioux County in Iowa) has had a very high percentage of positive cases, but only three deaths since this all started last March. We have known of people who have been very sick, but they are all recovering. We have very good medical care here and are pleased with the efforts of our community leaders to keep us safe.

Double Disc Court
By Owner: Bonnie Meier and her daughter Juliana Korver

As with us all, the sporting world has had to make some major adjustments this year. Disc golf is back in action with the disc golf pro tour going strong minus the spectators, but Ultimate Frisbee (think football with a Frisbee) has not been able to get back into the swing of things as it is requires much closer contact than disc golf. Because of this, Some San Diego Frisbee players have at least temporarily switched to playing Double Disc Court (DDC) to maintain better social distancing. The group has grown 16 players that meet twice a week and the enthusiasm is very high so it seems likely that this new DDC pod will stick around even after all restrictions have been lifted.

DDC is played on a court by two teams of two players each. The court is made up of two 13 meter squares 17 meters apart. You and your partner defend one court and the opposing team defends the other court. Teams switch sides after every 5 points. Each team starts with one disc. Play starts with the count down "Ready, two, one, throw". Both teams serve on the word throw. That is they throw from their court to the opponents court. The discs are specific to DDC. They weigh only 110 grams. This is much less than either a golf disc or an Ultimate Frisbee. Points are scored by getting a disc to land in your opponents court or if your opponent drops your throw. Your opponents get a point if your throw touches outside their court. But the real fun comes in trying to "double" your opponent. If you can get it so that your opponents are touching both discs at the same time, this is called a double and you get 2 points.

There are certainly physical aspects to this game, but it is also very cerebral. Teams must be able to see the big picture so as not to get caught in a double. Teams need to communicate with each other to know when and how to defend against attacks. Here is a link from last years Women's WFDF World Overall Championships DDC Finals. For a more fast paced version, checkout the men's finals at the same event.