July 2002

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IN THIS ISSUE
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• A Medley of Summertime Fun! 
• Featured Tearoom
• Product Reviews
• Recommended Websites
• Food For Thought
• Feedback
• Subscribe/Unsubscribe Information
  

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A MEDLEY OF SUMMERTIME FUN!
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July 4th is coming up pretty fast and don't we all have a reason to celebrate! I can't believe how much time has flown by since the last newsletter. If you thought that the last issue was lengthy, this one hasn't improved any! There is just too much to include! Our featured tearoom in this issue is The Carnegie Tea Room and The Linen Closet, located in Algona, IA. Please read all about the tearoom below.

Did you know that Clarion, IA now features two (yes, 2) tearooms? The tearooms are called Daisy's on Main and Lasting Impressions Tea Room & Gifts. There certainly won't be a shortage of choices there. Also, the Rose Cottage Tea Room is no longer in Greene, IA. Instead it has now relocated to Clear Lake, IA. Marjorie's Tearoom in Mason City has also added two more permanent items to their menu selection. So, if you're planning to visit the new museum at the Music Man Square, drop in for lunch. Check out their tearoom at  http://www.tearoomsonline.com/IndivList/Marjorie.htm for more details. 

There are just simply lots and lots of wonderful things to do here in Iowa. I can't even begin to list to them all. I know Des Moines has the usual line-up of festivities and concerts, the Fourth of July celebrations and fireworks nationwide, Bix Jazz Festival in Davenport, County Fairs galore, Nordic Fest in Decorah, the Iowa State Fair in August and the list goes on and on. Iowa is just bursting with a medley of summertime fun! Whatever you plan to do, please celebrate responsibly. 

On a final note, have a safe and happy Fourth of July to all. Have a great month!

Warm wishes,
Annette
TeaRoomsOnLine.com

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FEATURED TEAROOM

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THE CARNEGIE TEA ROOM & THE LINEN CLOSET

Prepare yourself for a charming experience when you visit the Carnegie Tea Room, housed in a stately old building in Algona, IA. After having talked to the owner, I wanted to see what the tearoom and gift shop was like, so I decided to take a drive to this town. Located about two and a half hours outside of Des Moines, I opted on the scenic route from Des Moines on US Highway 169. 

Upon arrival in Algona, I found the tearoom without any problems, you cannot miss the building. Built in 1904, this stately building was once Algona's public library until they moved to a newer facility in 1983. The building had remained vacant until it was eventually leased in 1998, by the two owners of the Linen Closet at that time, Deb Hellman and Joan Mueller, who were looking to expand their growing store. 

The tearoom came about soon after the owners had occupied the building and reopened their specialty store. Customers wanted and suggested that a tearoom would be ideal and so, in December of 1999, the Carnegie Tea Room was officially opened. The Linen Closet remains as the tearoom's gift shop which is housed on the main level of the building, with the tearoom being at the lower level. 

Browsing through the gift shop, one can't but notice the variety of unique gifts that they carry. They vary from china teapots, teacup and saucer. There was an assortment of scented candles, floral and wall decorations. They also carry Cannon Royal Velvet bath towels and Park Import kitchen linen, from matching placemats to napkins, dish towels, dish cloths to match. All in all, a wide variety of gifts for the home decor which were neatly displayed, some in the original library bookshelves. The gift shop also provides a bridal registry for the local folks in the area.

Although Joan Mueller is no longer a co-owner, Deb Hellman has since formed a new partnership with Marcia Munson for the tearoom. Both Deb (right) and Marcia (left) would together, plan and discuss the weekly menus, prepare the meals, cook, wait on the customers and clean up. Occasionally, when it gets busier part time help is available. 

What once was a children's library, it now serves as the tearoom on the lower level. Wide and airy, the windows around the tearoom brightens it up, which hardly indicates that you're on a lower level at all. Being on the lower level also makes it convenient for it to be handicap accessible. Along the perimeter of the tearoom, old bookshelves are now used to display more gifts. Entering the tearoom, you'll see a couple of booths (pictured at left) in the center of the room. These booths, restored by the owners, are a piece of Algona's history. Did you know that during WWII, there was a prisoner of war camp outside of Algona, and these booths were made by the German prisoners? An interesting piece of history, don't you think? 

An assortment of china teapots lines the top of the shelf (pictured right) and is used to serve tea. Meals are served with a mix and match of old china dishes, chairs that don't exactly match and floral decorated china cups as center pieces for the tables is not only whimsical but it all adds up to the charm of the tearoom. The menu for that week consisted of three main entrees, and I ordered a New York Deli-Style Salad. It was over a bed of lettuce with oil vinegar, topped with a mixture of ham & turkey, green onions and grapes, with a zesty mustard dressing and garlic breadstick for $7.25. It was extremely delicious! The other entrees for that day were a chicken fajita roll-up, a smoky ranchero corn garden salad and a chicken or crab salad on a croissant garden salad. "We tailor it (menu) to the different times of the year," says Deb. "And we also feature a homemade dessert every week," continues Deb. For example, rhubarb strawberry tart and/or frosty mocha pie with fudge almond topping. Despite my lack of concern for calories when I visit any tearooms, unfortunately I had to pass on the dessert, since the lunch I had was really filling. I opted for tea instead, and it was served from one of the teapots that I mentioned earlier (pictured above). Just for a moment in time, nothing else seemed to matter! 

The Carnegie Tea Room stays open all year round, except for the six weeks after Christmas. They are open for lunch from Tuesdays to Fridays, 11 am to 2 pm. Other times are by appointments. The tearoom can seat up to groups of 55 people. It has done class reunions, prom dinners, bridal showers and bank travel club luncheons. Entree prices start from $7.25, homemade desserts from $3.00 and beverages start from $1.00. Please note that since their menus do change daily, so call ahead to find out prior to your visit. Reservations are recommended. "We do take walk-ins too, but a reservation would be helpful," says Deb. The Linen Closet is open from Mondays to Saturdays.

On June 17, 2002, the Carnegie Tea Room was invited by the First Lady of Iowa, Mrs. Christie Vilsack, to help provide over a hundred desserts for her High Tea at Terrace Hill. There were two sittings, one at 11 am and 3 pm. Deb and Marcia were, of course, tickled pink to be invited!
 
Algona will be celebrating it's Founder's Day celebration on July 12th. It will be held on the grounds of this historical building. Food, entertainment, games, kid's carnival and street dance. For more information, please contact algonaiachamber@algona.org. The tearoom plans to be open too. 

I hope that you can find time to visit this charming tearoom and taste a slice of history at the Carnegie Tea Room & The Linen Shop, 110 East Nebraska, Algona, IA 50511. Tel 515.295.6950. For more information on the tearoom and gift shop hours, please check into our website at www.tearoomsonline.com.

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PRODUCT REVIEWS
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Trasan^® Miracle Cleaning Cloths are the finest micro fiber cleaning cloths available in the market. They come in 5 great colors: Blue, Wine, Yellow, Green and Pink and 2 sizes. Don't just take my word for it. Here are a few testimonials regarding the "Miracle Cloth"!

C.E. from Detroit Lakes, MN wrote, "I just had to write and tell you the exciting thing that happened concerning the "miracle" cloth. Last night my husband and I were invited to a Christmas party. One of the guests spilled a glass of coke on the carpet.. I, of course, asked the hostess for the Trasan cloth I had sold here. She said she didn't use it very much, but went to find it. I proceeded to clean up the spot of coke. I saw another spot about the size of a silver dollar and said I would do that one also. She said it was 3 years old and carpet cleaners had not been able to get it out.

As the other guests looked on, I removed the spot. The hostess and the other guests were in awe. The hostess said it would most likely be back after it dried.

This morning she called and was so thrilled that the spot had not returned and she was washing her cloth and going to keep it out and use it!

I am a believer in the Trasan cloth, but it is so much fun when I am able to tell others about this amazing product. Thank you Trasan."

D.K. from Pagosa Springs, CO wrote, "A friend of mine talked me into getting one of these "miracle" cloths and I didn't have the nerve to tell my husband because I have been "taken" so many times.

After it sat there a couple of days, I couldn't stand the picture window with the doggy nose prints on it so I thought, "okay let's just see what this cloth can do." My husband was sitting there and although he didn't say a word, he told me later that he thought I had lost my mind using a wet rag on the window and I would have a bigger mess than it already was. BUT instead, with he and I watching, it dried and the window was crystal clear! In fact, it was cleaner and sparklier than it has ever been.

Well, that started something and I have to tell you I haven't been this excited about anything in my life. But, I think you should put a warning label on it that says, "It can be habit forming." I can't seem to keep this cloth out of my hands. It's like, well, I wonder how it will work on this or that, etc. It has worked wonders on everything so far.

Thank you for such a great product. I plan on giving my newly married daughter one right away so she won't have to go through what I have all these years trying to keep a very clean house."

For more testimonials, please click on the link, Testimonials. Order here today, and see for yourself! 

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RECOMMENDED WEBSITES

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• Better Homes & Garden (http://www.bhg.com/) - A favorite place! Need I say more...
• Travel Iowa (http://www.traveliowa.com/) - Go to their website and check out their Calendar of Events! I'm including this again because it's a good source! 

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FOOD FOR THOUGHT
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Cicero, the Roman statesman and philosopher, wrote the following some 2,000 years ago:

THE SIX MISTAKES OF MAN

1. The delusion that personal gain is made by crushing others.
2. The tendency to worry about things that cannot be changed or corrected.
3. Insisting that a thing is impossible because we cannot accomplish it.
4. Refusing to set aside trivial preferences.
5. Neglecting development and refinement of the mind, and not acquiring the habit
    of reading and studying.
6. Attempting to compel others to believe and live as we do.

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FEEDBACK
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