Being good

I've been good and I've not driven to work at all since buying the car. I can't wait for the weekend, though. I'm going to cruise the TC in high style.

Great day

Yesterday was great. I got a car!! I scared the pee out of people!!

I was a ghoul for a friend's Halloween display. I'll have photos soon. I looked like one of the animatronic dummies they had set up in their yard. I waited for kids to pass me by and then I jumped out at them. It was the most fun ever!

And I finally got the car. I've named it Tweeee, after its license plate (TWE-034).

Riding a sugar/terror high

I spent the weekend in a pre-Halloween haze. I wandered amongst a bunch of kids in their costumes on Saturday and glutted myself on scary movies on TV. I spent time working on my costume, too. I can't wait for Halloween tomorrow.

The shoe has dropped

Not about the car. Strictly project related. There was a big budget meeting yesterday and I'll be getting the results today. Initial report is a thumbs up.

Last night I made chocolate chip cookies. I figured they could be congratulatory or conciliatory. Either way, they are tasty. This is my evil plan - when I get a baking jones, I go ahead and bake, but I give away what I make. This time, it's a gift. Usually I wait until no one is looking and then I sneak it onto a table in the middle of the office. I get to hear "Oh no, who brought cookies/brownies/etc." even as they are sneaking a taste.

The photo is from the snow shower earlier this month. Nothing really stuck and we haven't had snow since, though we have had a hard frost. The snow made for a lovely walk in to work.

Le sigh

No car tomorrow. The starter is acting up. Bill is getting it fixed BEFORE he hands it off to me (very nice of him, I must say). So I won't be getting the car right away. I've still got my bus pass, but...I'M SO EXCITED TO HAVE A CAR. I really wanted it this weekend (for some Halloween cruising). Ah well. Soon.

Tomorrow is the big day

I get a car! I think I've got all my paperwork together. I go to the DVS (DMV in MN) and transfer title tomorrow. I can't wait. Whole new worlds are opening up.

snow today

From 80 degrees on Saturday to snow flurries today. But I love it. The air is not that cold, but the cold front has just started to pass through. There were beautiful snow flurries today. I was researching at the library this morning and I kept watching the snow fall outside the window.

My radiators came on last night. I went to bed in a cold room and woke up to warm air covering my like a blanket. It's one of the reasons I really like this apartment. The radiators keep me toasty warm all winter. Tempest likes to curl up near the one in the bedroom.

Keep your fingers crossed

I checked out the car last week and it looks good. I'm having it inspected tomorrow. If it passes, I'm buying it. I'm so excited.

This weekend was lovely. 80 degrees on Saturday and sunshine like liquid gold. I went shopping for presents for my mother and sister. Found some nice things at a store owned by local farmer's market vendors. Their cheese selection made me drool, but I restrained myself. I'll have to set myself a cheese allowance or I'll go overboard in there. I did get some lovely smoked trout, though, that I'll be noshing on soon.

Of course, the weather has now turned. Back to coats and cute boots. This weekend I'll be going to a sheepdog presentation. Should be wonderful

Free coffee

Caribou Coffee was handing out free coffee to commuters this morning, outside of the Xcel Center. It was in honor of the Wild's season opener. There was a band and everything. Fun to watch, although it annoyed others (slowed down traffic).

Yesterday's rain left us with cooler weather. We're in the upper 60's now. 83 on Sunday and Monday was nice, but I've already packed up my sandals. I'm ready for boots.

Speaking of which - I got two new pairs (on sale). The brown boots have the highest heels I've worn. I need to learn how to walk in them.

The photo is of a swarm of pigeons I saw on a walk into work. I did not investigate what they were swarming over, because they freaked me out.

I ate an amygdala

A paper one, but nonetheless. Just felt like it and I was staying late to work on a brain systems puzzle.

Sunday I went to the Renaissance Faire. There will be pictures of it soon (and of North Carolina). I had a great time. I got there early and spent a few hours wandering by myself. Then I was joined by Ethan, his girlfriend and her son. I was nominated guide (even though I only had a few hours on them). Such a nice Faire. Lots of music and acts and street theater. I saw the end of some phenomenal fire eating. The photos is me getting some lovin' from a puppy at the Herpetological Society Booth.

Last night was the season opener for Veronica Mars. I taped it for Susan.

And I'm looking at a car that a co-worker wants to sell. I'll test drive it tomorrow. I'm not the only one in the running, and I refuse to be rushed, but the price is right. We'll see.

Aaaaa...busy

In a good way, though. Works been slamming this week. Lots to get done and not enough people to do it. Lots of frustration and short tempers. I've been acting goofy to try and lighten the mood. Yesterday I ate a paper amygdala, leaving my team shocked but amused. I won a bet about what component our client would not pick (it was close, too. Too close).

On the home front, I was sick the beginning of the week, but massive infusions of water and hot mint tea seem to have alleviated most of the symptoms. But can anyone explain why I still spike a fever of 100 at night?

I did manage a night out. My colleague, Gene, was in town and on his last night here we went to Midtown Global Market. It's a new place, designed along the lines of Reading Terminal Market in Philly. All independent vendors, some food, some retail, all good. The best part is flitting from vendor to vendor getting momos here, bubble tea there, and why not a torta on the side. MMMMM.

Oh and YEA! Ethan's back. He was in NYC and he just stopped by to say hi. Beer tonight at the warehouse.

Weird allergy thing

I think it has mostly passed, but yesterday I woke up and my eyes were swollen. I felt itchy and sneezy all day. Massive dose of antihistimines seems to have minimized the symptoms, but I still feel weird. Fascinating, no?

Feeling temperate

Ahhhh...nothing like a nice relaxing vacation. The Outer Banks were wonderful. We went kayaking and ate delicious food. And there were hours of reading both inside and outside in the sun. Lots of wandering around and taking pictures, too. I'm still feeling relaxed and I can't wait to go back.

Today I remembered how much I love living in a temperate climate. We're having a cold snap, and this morning as I slipped on boots and a comfy turtleneck, I wiggled my toes around. I love wearing boots...and snuggly sweaters and all kinds of cold weather clothes. But I had a flash of deja vu from way back in spring when I got to break out my sandals and my toes got to be free. Guess I just like enjoying the change. There's always something to look forward to.

Almost on my way

Almost ready to leave. I've got a few work things to take care of. And I need to finish packing and cleaning house. But I think everything else is lined up. Can't wait.

Weekend wrap-up

After careful consideration, my plans changed. I'll go to the Ren Faire before the end of the month and I'll rent a car to get there. But it wasn't feasible for this weekend, since I worked on Monday. (I wanted to return the car Monday morning-but the rental place was closed, so they would have charged me for an extra day). And I skipped a return trip to the State Fair. I though long and hard about why I wanted to go back. Yes, the people watching is great and there were some exhibits I wanted to see. But really, I wanted to get to the junk food. So I skipped it.

Instead I made a loooong list of stuff that needs to get done (either in general or before my trip next week) and I got all but TWO items done! I'm pretty happy with that.

Now I'm working on cleaning out the perishable items and I'm making lists of "Things to eat using food I already have that will go bad if I don't finish it". Goat cheese omelet and roast chicken salad here I come.

what to do?

To rent or use the car share...that is the question. Despite anticipated rains, I really want to get out this weekend. I'd like to visit the State Fair one more time and I'd like to visit the MN Ren Faire (which is a ways out). Plus, there are a bunch of driving errands, some near and some far. So what's more economical, renting or car share? Not sure yet.

Locked out

I was locked out of Blogger yesterday. Weird. But all better now.

Calm time. I think my legs have recovered from Sundays Fair day. I would still like to get out for another day, but I'm not sure it will happen. It's just more fun with more than one, but I'm having trouble finding an new partner. All the more reason I'm glad I got Sunday.

Weather has been lovely. It's snuggling in the covers weather in the morning, which is okay with the cat and I. After every time I hit the snooze button, we find an new position and snuggle up.

State Fair

I went to the Guthrie on Friday night and saw Tom Stoppard's "Real Thing". Good play, and good conversation afterwards. Good cocktails, too.

Sunday I went to the State Fair. Kate and I were neophytes and we had primo guides in Rebecca and Beth. I'll post pictures soon.

State Fair

Tomorrow, the State Fair opens. I need to figure out when I'm going. There is so much to do and see. Lots of it is cool, some of it is cheesy. It's just a whole experience. It's here for a week and a half and then gone.

Blah

Feeling at odd ends today. Not sure what to do. I've got a bunch of stuff on hold and some stuff coming up. Nothing as pressing for now, though. Oh well.

Crop Art

So the art project I've been working on is now complete. I took it today to the State Fairgrounds and entered it in competition. You can't see it here (blogger won't let me upload a photo). But I emailed an update for OPhoto.

It's crop art. Which turns out to be lots of fun to do. My bad - it's good.

Wednesday already?

So Saturday was really fun. There were three different conductors who were being critiqued in the Master Class. Each one took a turn directing us. Then the instructor, other students, and even the choir got to offer comments. Really neat to have had so many conductors, so quickly. Makes you realize how much you come to learn the style and body language of your primary conductor. It becomes a symbiotic relationship very quickly.

My art piece is progressing nicely. I've finished the main design and am ready to fill in the background. I'll post pictures soon.

I had a horrible dream this morning. I was in a small house filled with all sorts of people who kept telling me I'd agreed to do things that I hadn't. I tried to talk to them, but my voice was drowned out by the sound of bagpipes being played indoors, very loudly, and slightly off key. It was maddening.

When I woke up? There's a construction crew ripping up the street outside my apartment. Not sure how long they'll be there, but they are astonishingly loud.

Putt Putt

YAY! Putt putt today. Dana is leaving soon, heading back to Philly (she interned here this summer). It was so much fun to have her around. So in her honor, and in celebration of the fact that the heat broke, we are having a big putt putt game today.

Tomorrow is another choir concert. But this time, we are the guinea pigs for a conductors master class. So we'll have to stay on our toes.

Concert

Last night's concert was lovely. My choir sang for the opening of the UUMN Conference (unitarian universalist musicians network). There was another choir there, too and we sang some separately and some together. I've never seen so many composers and writers together. After almost every piece we sang, the composer would stand up and we would thank them. Crazy.

hoooot

Blech - it's super hot and sticky outside. I'm trying to limit the amount of time I spend outdoors. The Art Party on Wednesday was not air-conditioned. I could feel the sweat building and sliding around.

Choir last night. Usually choir is dark in the summer, but there's a UU musicians conference next week and we are singing at two of the functions. Lots of music to learn in a short amount of time.

making art

I went to a stranger's house last night to make art. I'll post pictures of it soon. It's still in process.

Went to dinner first with Dana and her girlfriend, Lindley. We went to Everest for Tibeten food. Sooooo yummy.

Busy

Wow - it's been a busy few days. Thursday night I picked up my veggie box from the co-op. I now have lots of beets. And kohlrabi. And some other stuff. I'm still working out what to do with it all.

Friday through Sunday, I worked. We had clients in town from France and CA. How the weekend went depends on who you ask. I thought it went well.

Monday, I stayed home and had a mini-vacation. Slept in. Lolled around in bed and finished my book. Turned on the AC (the heat is back with a vengeance). Played around with all the food in my finally full refrigerator. Made waffles with strawberries on top. And quiche. And chicken with lemon, brandy and scallions. Watched cartoons.

In other words, a pretty much perfect day.

Beets

Wow - I've got a lot of beets now. I ordered a small amount from my local CSA and planned to experiment. I also got a $10 "vegetable box" (assorted - whatever is ready). I got even more beets in my veggie box, along with kohlrabi, carrots, onions, peppers, green peppers and some other stuff I can't remember. Not sure what I'm going to do with it all. But that's supposed to be part of the fun.

Sweet, sweet coolness

Ahhhhh...the heat broke yesterday. The air is no longer burning and painful. I shut off the air conditioning and opened the windows and let the noises of the world pour in.

Rain

There was a downpour this morning. A beautiful, thunder and lighting downpour. My meeting actually took a break so we could stand out in the parking garage and watch the rain pour down. It was invigorating.

Plus - There was a selection of food left over from a group meeting here and I snagged a bagel and yoghurt. I may be able to skip buying lunch today. (Since I was lazy last night and ate the last of my leftovers instead of saving them for lunch today.)

Au Revoir

Susan and Brian leave for Montreal today. Have fun!

I got to work with some really cool middle schoolers yesterday. They are going to create a light exhibit for one of my projects. Super smart kids. And they taught me a non-drinking version of I never. Good thing, too. I'd have been drunk by the end otherwise.

HOT

It was hot and humid this weekend. But just when I was already to whine about how hot it was here, I talked to my folks and they have it way worse. Oh well, it's still hot. Had a quiet weekend. Saturday was fun. I joined Sara and Brian for some errands and a trip to Trader Joes. It opened here a few months back and I've been wanting to visit and see how it's different/the same from the Philly one. For one thing, no green tea Mochi. I got the strawberry instead, but it's not the same. I did pick up a bunch of tasty snacky things. So I had a tasty snacky weekend. Plus - on of the errands was to Office Depot and I picked up a wireless mouse. I've gotten tired of using the keyboard mouse on my laptop, so it's nice to have a real mouse again.

All in all, a relaxed, take-it-easy, kind of weekend. Hardest thing was trying to sleep in the living room on Saturday night because it was too hot in the bedroom. Mostly hard because the cat kept trying to sleep on my head.

Choir

Last night was choir rehearsal. Usually choir is dark in the summer, but there are a couple of special events in the beginning of August and I volunteered to sing. Turns out the A/C is broken. We gathered in the sanctuary as the coolest place in the building, but it was still pretty warm.

Then, as I was walking out the door on my way home, the first few drops of an incoming downpour hit the ground. I begged a ride off the nearest choir member, and even though we really hadn't spoken before that, she gave me a ride home. Nice, huh?

Town Talk Diner

Had a great time with Andi last night. We visited my museum, including a round of golf in the Backyard. Then Andi bought us bags of sand for the Panning for Gems feature. We spent a fun half hour carefully dumping our sand in the panning thingies, washing away the silt and picking out our treasures. I got several nice chunks of gems/stones, but the big winner was Andi with a huge and lovely hunk of emerald.

Dinner was a Town Talk Diner, "a diner with benefits." Turns out we were served by one of the owners (I eavesdropped when he told the table next to us.) He was a fantastic server. In addition to beer, very affordable wine by the glass, and lots of classic cocktails, they serve 'adult' malts and shakes and Andi and I each wanted a Monkey Business (chocolate, peanut butter, banana and bourbon). On his recommendation, we split one. Good thing, too. One each would have completely spoiled our appetites. We split an appetizer of fantastic cheese curds. They were super warm and melty cheddar with a perfectly crisp outside. For main course, I had a pulled pork sandwich with fantastic fries and yummy bread and butter pickles. Andi got a cheeseburger that was perfectly cooked. Each dish came with a side of lemon mayo that was ethereally light and redolent of lemon. Superb.

Humidity

Ack - where did my wonderful temperate summer go? I think all the humidity that I've been happily NOT missing has been unleashed en mass on the metropolitan area. I was sweating at 7am this morning (which means I had to leave the A/C on so that the cat won't broil...or would that be braise?). This cuts into my putt putt plans. I'll just have to suck it up - putt putt is worth a little discomfort.

In other news, a friend of the family is in town. We're getting together tonight and going out to dinner. So that'll be nice.

Back on the wagon

Sorry I've dropped off in posting. I've been in a funk the last few months. But I'm going to make an effort to keep up with this.

So - This weekend was lovely. Warm, but not humid. I got lots of housekeeping stuff done. Sunday, I went to the farmer's market with Tilly. The St Paul market only allows produce created within 50 miles of St. Paul. So you are guaranteed to be buying local. I'm always so inspired at a farmer's market. It's the veggie version of a hardware or craft store. Just looking at all the lovely produce, I'm convinced I will change my ways and eat only fresh and healthy veggies. It's a nice feeling, even if it doesn't usually last. But I got potatoes, cucumbers and dill for potato salad. I picked up corn and green beans (which I plan to blanche and then quickly saute). Got some super sweet carrots, too.

Yesterday, Sara and Adele took me out to lunch for my birthday. We hit a new Mexican place around the corner. Lovely patio with a fountain and everything. Food was standard Mexican, but very tasty.

Funeral and wedding

Short post - I spend the weekend in Tennessee. My Aunt Judy died in a car accident last week. I went down for the viewing and funeral. I head back at the end of the month for her son's wedding.

Off to LA

I had a great visit with my parents this weekend. Much fun was had. Now I'm off to LA for a one day trip to E3. More later when I've had a chance to slow down.

Home

Boston was lots of fun, but it is good to be home. I was greeted with blue skies and 72 degree weather. I went in to work yesterday, but I was so tired, that I touched base with everyone I needed to and went home. Of course, there is no food in the house so I treated myself to a hawaiian pizza. Third time ordering from this restaurant, third time the delivery person could not find my front door. This time I asked the delivery guy what I needed to say to get them to find me. Worth it, though. Good pizza.

On my way

I spent the weekend packing and cleaning. I think I'm ready to go. I've got a bunch of work to wrap up and a short list of last minute things to finish at home. Then look out MA, here I come.

Perfect teeth

I got a clean bill of health from the dentist. They were very impressed with my teeth, exclaiming over them several times. I got a similar reaction at my last dentist. If only I could find a guy who was into teeth and could overlook everything else.

Peeps losing

Shoot - We were robbed. Not from winning (We like the first place winner). But they only picked 18 to show in the slide show and ours should definitely been included.

Here's the sad news in print.
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/living/14336520.htm

Spring

Spring sprang in the Twin Cities this weekend. Trees that were aching to put forth buds on Thursday had burst into glorious color by Sunday. Everything smells green and growing and sweet. Beautiful.

I spent most of my first free weekend in a month, lying around and watching the curtains billow. There was some cat snuggling, too, which got me back in T's good graces (she's not a fan of the weekend away.)

Time to pull everything together for the next big trip. AAM (and Boston) here I come.

Taxes are done

After working my third weekend in a row, I took yesterday off and did my taxes. Not getting much back, though. At least I'm not paying anything. The whole process felt weird, since I was in Philly for the 1st two weeks and MN for the rest. So I wasn't a full time MN res. Oh well.

And the winner is...

I almost forgot to mention my other cool job this week. I was a State Science Fair Judge. More specifically, I was a Special Judge for an award the museum presented for best exhibit design. I was co-judge for the junior division (middle school). It was buckets of fun. There were some really good projects and some clever ones. There were also some that were obviously thought up as a good way to get to shoot things (gunpowder ratios), watch movies (effects of movies on dreams), or have a slumber party (effects of sleep deprivation on 12 year old girls). Boy did it take me back to my salad days of last minute scrambles to complete my project. Our winner was a young man who was in his third year of studying toothbrush bacteria. This year he focused on the best place to store your toothbrush (in a cup by itself, by the way). His design was simple and clear and you understood everything in just a quick glance. He's got a future in museums, if he's interested.

Kayaking on the M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-Peep-Peep-I

So here's the Peeps diorama photo we submitted. We should hear back next week.

whew

This round of prototype testing is over. It went really well and we scared a lot of people. The busy push continues this week as we narrow down our component list and then meet with the outside designer this weekend. Then I get to collapse for a couple of days.

Countdown to Boston has begun!

so tired

Our first round of prototype testing is complete. We worked long and hard Thursday through Sunday. Today we review what needs to be changed before next weekend. Then I'm going to take a couple of days off before we do it all over again.

The Universe...

...is very big...and very small. And we don't really know how big or small it really is yet.

Omnifest is coming up and the staff preview of "Cosmic Voyage" was last night. That was the main idea. Cool, though.

Tonight is "Mystic India". I expect to go home craving tikka and panner.

I'm a "somebody"

Our bus accident made it into the paper. There's even a picture in the print version. Here's a link to the online article. I'm the "someone" who got the kitty litter.

Passengers pitch in, but the bus stays stuck
Pushing, shoveling, even kitty litter couldn't free Metro Transit bus
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/local/14091964.htm

Blizzard!

(and the march of the exclamation points continues)

After the warm front that melted all the snow, winter came back with a bang. All this happened over night. When I went to bed at 11pm it was raining with a light dusting of snow. This morning, I caught a glimpse of snow out my curtains so I went with the tall snow boots (just because I like them better - I had no idea how bad it was). As I left my apartment, I noticed blowing snow out the window, but I just thought it was blowing off the roof.

I was wrong. Very, very wrong. There was at least 6 inches on the ground when I got outside and it is still pouring down. You can't breath in without taking in some snow. Then there was the bus adventure. It was great to see how everyone pulled together to try to work the bus free when it got stuck. Sadly, things just got worse so I gave up on that bus and decided to walk. That resolution lasted exactly two blocks. Trudging through fresh snow during a blizzard is not fun. So I holed up with some other bus refugees in an entryway and waited an hour for the next bus to come. Now I'm at work...because a little snow doesn't stop a Minnesotan.

Adventure at every turn.

!

Since I seem to be temporarily obsessed with the exclamation point, I've decided to let this one stand alone.

As promised - peeps diorama planning, in process. That's Sara on the left and Renee on the right. Cari is at home, but will join us in the next phase.

Peeps!

Today I purchased $20 worth of assorted Peeps (but I only paid half that. I had a coupon.) This was in preparation for the Pioneer Press Peeps Diorama contents. Rule #1: Must contain Peeps. Rule #2: Must be a diorama.

Sara, Renee, Cari and I are working together on this one. I'm planning to document the process in photos. Tonight we debate the Theme.

Soup!

I made cilantro lime soup last night. Yum. And the apartment smelled so good. Now I need to pack it for storage before I manage to eat all of it.

Optometrist appointment today. They are going to dilate my eyes, so the walk home should be fun.

Nothing new

Worked late last night. Went home and heated up leftovers. Did not make soup. Went to bed. Would have been earlier, but the damn Colbert Report is funny. Daily Show is new again tonight. These are the kinds of things I look forward to.

planning ahead

I spent the weekend mostly cooking and cleaning. I made two loaves of banana bread. One will be breakfast this week and the other one I froze for later. Plus I made some sort of pot roast. I threw a bunch of stuff in the crock pot and took it out in the evening. I brought some in for today's lunch and we'll see how it tastes then. I'm trying to make sure to make extras of things to freeze, and sometimes I do. But its usually followed by a period of not wanting to cook and eating all my stores. Better than the reverse, I suppose. Tonight I'm making a pot of cilantro lime soup that is also destined for the freezer. After that I'm down to the dregs and I need to go shopping again.

I heart the 80's

Twice today I've been mocked for using the words "Totally" and "Awesome" (but not together, though, it's not that bad). Then I got caught chair dancing. It's totally time to leave. Luckily, today will end with beers. Ah....foamy.

I crush Winter under my bootheel

Yesterday was warm (like in the 40's). This morning, my bus stop snowpile proved vulnerable to my attacks. I could do little to whittle down the main bulk of the pile, but I spent a satisfing five minutes or so kicking off every protruding knob, including a huge foot-wide craggy outcropping. I then jumped up and down on them and reduced them to powder. The powder will be no match for the sun today and will be gone by tomorrow.

I think I'm ready for winter to be over.

Susan's visit

Susan came to visit the last weekend in January. We had oodles of fun. Her flight was a little late in arriving, so we went right to breakfast at Hell's Kitchen. Wow - Delicious and unusual food. Susan said they had great coffee. I enjoyed a kick ass Bloody Mary. We made an attempt to see the Winter Carnival King Boreas parade, but were stymied by the latest of the hour. We did get to glimpse it through the streets, though.

We spent the afternoon with my friend Ethan and his dog, Riley, at the Art Shanty project on Medicine Lake. Art Shanties take the idea if ice shanties (used when ice fishing) and reinterpret them. There were installations like the huge glass jellyfish and performances. There was a shanty were you could get hot beverages for the price of a story. There was a science shanty, where we saw zooplankton. Just really cool. Only wish I'd worn the right shoes.

Dinner that night was at 112 Cafe. It reminds me of some of the best places I used to eat in Philly. We split a bunch of dishes and a bottle of wine and the whole bill (w/tip) only came to $80 odd. Susan was amazed at the price considering the quality of the dinner.

After dinner, we went to the 400 Bar, where Bob Dylan got his start. We met up with my friend Tilly and chatted for a while. The Hopefuls (formally the Olympic Hopefuls, until they performed for the OC and then got a cease and desist letter from the IOC) were playing that night. We caught the end of the set.

Sunday, Susan decided to join me at the UU church I've been attending. My choir was not singing, so that was just really nice of her. Then we joined my friend Ellen and her husband for brunch at a cute little place near me.

The big event this day was SNOW TUBING! Oh my god...this was so much fun. We drove to a local place (about 30 min away) that has skiing, boarding and tubing. The tubing was dead cheap and came with the tube and a lift ticket for the conveyor belt lift. It was everything great about sledding, without having to climb the hill. Susan did all the dangerous stunts, I was content with just whizzing down the hill. By the end, Susan had figured out how to "tube dance" with me. She could spin us and everything. Now I'm trying to get my work friends to go.

We were pretty much exhausted after the tubing, so we had a quiet dinner at a place near me. Susan got the very last beef tenderloin and it was so good it blew my pumpkin gnocci out of the water.

Monday was our last day. We spent some quiet time chatting at home. Then I got to show off some of the stuff I'd been working on. There was an open house at the warehouse to show off the (90' long) model canal we built for the National Canal Museum and some other of their interactives. Then we headed to the museum to poke around. I showed her where my new exhibit will go and we got a sneak peek at Strange Matter and Science on a Sphere. Before taking her back to the airport, we walked through Rice Park and checked out the remains of the ice sculptures (warm weather pretty much killed them on the same day they went up.)

Too much to do to fit it all in, but we had a blast nonetheless.

Oh, what a beautiful morning...

This was a morning to remind you why it is good to be alive. The air was crisp, clean and tasted of snow. The sun shining brightly from the blue sky warmed my face. Tiny snowflakes were falling, star shape distinct as they dusted the arm of my coat. Exquisite.

Plus - when I got to work, the toys I bought for a couple of guys on the Managing Light team went over like gangbusters. The Light Up Glow worms are gummi worms that glow when you grip them with the special pincers. Cost: $1. Officewide merriment: priceless. (sorry - had to borrow from the ad).

Warm hearts

This January was the warmest in Minnesota since 1846. It's back in the 20's again and we got two inches of snow last night. You could practically hear the sigh of relief from the natives.

Shoot

Hunts over. Some high school students found it after six clues. We had the park right, though, and how the medallion would be hidden. Close, but no prize.

The Hunt is on

The Medallion Hunt* started on Saturday. Should have been Sunday, but they released the clue early. I haven't been out to dig yet, but I've been doing a lot of noodling. Second clue identified in what the medallion is hidden. A Pearson's Nut Goodie wrapper (local candy maker, very tasty!). See...

Son of Pear, hometown fare,
The nut of this year’s quest.
Sweetest patty, never a baddie,
Covers the prize at rest.

*Medallion Hunt is sponsored by the Pioneer Press. The medallion is hidden somewhere on public land in Ramsey Co. A new clue to it's location is released every day. For some, it's a local obsession.

De-decked

Sad, but true. This weekend I repacked my holiday decorations (except the mini-tree which will go back up for Susan's arrival). The tree was especially crispy, so removing the lights was both easy and messy. Made the whole place smell good. It took me a while to clean up most of the needles (never say all, they hide). Now everything is in boxes waiting to go back downstairs. Usually the apartment feels empty when Christmas is gone, but this year it doesn't. Could be because I'm still planning things to do with it. Just have to wait until I can afford it.

Susan's trip is all planned out. We've got reservations where needed, lots of Winter Carnival things to see and do, and plenty of downtime to just hang out. Weather permitting, we are going snow tubing! Like sledding, but on a real hill (which is good because I have neither sled nor hill). Looks like it will be lots of fun.

Thus far I'm dragging on my New Year's resolutions, but kicking tail on my To Do list.

Making a list, checking it twice

I love making a list and then crossing things off. I got lots of home stuff done this weekend and then made big lists of other things I want to get done. I'm still hanging on to Christmas by my fingernails. It's not done until Susan comes to visit at the end of the month. The Tree is not going to last that long, though. It's dead. It stopped taking in new water a week ago. Now I tiptoe past it as to not loosen any needles. I still have a few friends I want to invite over to admire it, but if they don't see it by this weekend, they may have to just admire the photos.

New Year

New Years was wonderful. I don't think I've ever been through that many states on New Year's day before. Unfortunately, I've come back with a cold. Mild but annoying. So I've taken it easy the last few days (which the cat loves). I cleaned house and am working on a grocery list. Mostly I sit on the couch and admire my Christmas tree.