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.