Tag: minneapolis

Minneapolis Visit 2013

I love getting the chance to visit my sister in Minneapolis and so I’ve flown from Ohio to Atlanta and then up to MSP in order to do so once again! (The nice thing is that, though I flew AirTran, since I bought the tickets from Southwest, I got to use their rules and so my checked bag was free!)

I got up early yesterday morning (4:30 – blech!) and mom took me to the airport. Both the Ohio leg and Atlanta leg of the trip were uneventful. Amy picked me up at baggage claim and we returned to her place. Sadly, she was unable to get the day off work (though Monday and Tuesday she has off – whee!) but was able to work from home. So while she worked, I looked through the BiteSquad offerings to see what we could have delivered for lunch. We settled on Manny’s Tortas and Amy got a Cuban torta and I got Manny’s Special. The website didn’t say what was all on the sandwich, but we were willing to risk it. Turns out it had steak, ham, mushrooms, and their usual toppings (avocado, jalapeno and chipotle peppers, cheese, grilled onions, etc.) I’d not had a torta before and Amy described it to me as a Mexican “Great Steak and Fry” which described it well enough. Oh, and you get a bag of Lays potato chips with the torta order.

The BiteSquad website is nifty cuz it contiually refreshes the page to tell you where it is in the order. It was a Friday and the peak of the lunch time, so it was about an hour from when we made the order to when the BiteSquad dude dropped off the order. We sat outside on Amy’s patio and enjoyed our tortas and chips.

Amy was done with work by 4pm (she’d started early to get on the network before it got too busy at work) and so we figured out what our evening plans were from then. We both felt that a walk would be good and we might as well walk somewhere for supper. We used another website called WalkScore to find out what restaurants were nearby and how far the walk is. After much discussion and debate, we settled on Quang’s (a Viet Namese place) (with the option that if something along the way changed our minds, we’d go there instead). Turns out Quang’s was our eventual destination.

We started the meal with a steamed bun, which was HUGE and very yummy (and not on the menu, though it used to be). Then we both opted for the beef and egg roll vermicelli salad (bun thit nuong cha gio) for supper. This was a brilliant idea – a very yummy and refreshing salad (though with only a hint of greens. Heh). We both wound up with leftovers which we decided would make for a great breakfast. We also bought a (huge) chocolate chip cookie thinking we’d have it later in the evening.

Before heading home, we wandered back up the street beyond Quang’s to Glam Doll Donuts to see what all they had on offer. It’s a really cute store with some fun places to sit and eat. I picked up a cream filled donut and Amy chose a plain glazed donut. These, we figured, would complement our leftovers. We also popped into a new (to Amy) store called b. but didn’t see anything we could live without.

Since Amy had worked all day, she was too tired to do much else and thought sitting and reading would be a lovely way to finish the evening. I agreed. So once we were home, we sat in her living room and geeked on our laptops and then read until bedtime. A lovely day spent with my sister. (Oh, and we didn’t eat any of the cookie that night.)

This morning, we did as promised and had our leftovers and donuts. We were both a little disappointed in the donuts as, despite being yeast donuts, they were too dense (more like cake donut density). Ah well, now we know better than to waste our WeightWatchers points on Glam Doll donuts. Still, breakfast was yummy and I supplimented mine with a peach.

Our main morning goal was to get some summer fruit for Amy to freeze for the winter months. We stopped at the Midtown Farmer’s market for blueberries (Minnesota grown) and she picked up 6 pints for $20. They have been lovely tasting blueberries, too. Then we went to her local co-op, Seward, and she bought a case of peaches (Michigan and Wisconsin grown). A quick stop at a liquor store allowed dad to buy us some rum and gin and beer and cider. Thanks dad! (I love it when he gives us “bad girl money” to spend on liquor and chocolate!) And then we returned home.

Since we hadn’t yet gotten any real exercise for the day, we decided to go for a walk to our lunch place. This again required some discussion and debate and our eventual choice was Butter. I had a BLT and their pesto pasta salad and both were yummy. We returned home and then headed off on a grand adventure.

Yesterday, Amy and I went across the street to a neighbor of hers who had two old IKEA chairs and a matching ottoman available for anyone to take. Our goal today was to find some fabric and foam rubber to replace the cushions on the chairs. Amy drove us to Crafty Planet for some fun fabric and then onto Jo-Ann’s for some foam rubber. Since the Jo-Ann’s was near a Best Buy, we popped in there for some Cat-5 cable as well. (Not for the chairs, but for another project.)

We have since returned home and our evening plans involve grilling out and having Amy’s friend Kyle around for dinner. Should be some good geeky fun (among other things, he’s a Doctor Who fan).

Minneapolis Pix

I decided to give my phone a decent test on its camera when I visited my sister. So the following photos are some of the shots that I took. I noticed it tends toward over exposure when there’s sky around. So I’ve got a bit of playing around to work with it. It does a digital zoom, which surprised me.

Without further adieu, photos from my trip:

My nephew Curtis, working from home.
My nephew Curtis, working from home.

On the fence outside the area where the Midtown Farmer's Market is held.
On the fence outside the area where the Midtown Farmer’s Market is held.

Midtown Farmer's Market is bigger than the ones around here.
Midtown Farmer’s Market is bigger than the ones around here.

Striated eggplant from the market.
Striated eggplant from the market.

The Coop Co-op!
The Coop Co-op!

Chickens having dinner.
Chickens having dinner.

Chickens in the coop!
Chickens in the coop!

The beer place, the Four Firkins.
The beer place, the Four Firkins.

Beer!
Beer!

Our bikes, exhausted from mahoosive riding! (Well, not so much.)
Our bikes, exhausted from mahoosive riding! (Well, not so much.)

High fives! (Amy's the cute one on the left. I'm the one with the unfortunate fanny pack on the right.)
High fives! (Amy’s the cute one on the left. I’m the one with the unfortunate fanny pack on the right.)

The ice cream place we went the first time we went out biking.
The ice cream place we went the first time we went out biking.

Sea Salt, a lovely (and very busy) restaurant along our bike ride.
Sea Salt, a lovely (and very busy) restaurant along our bike ride.

Culture near Sea Salt.
Culture near Sea Salt.

The Minihaha Falls.
The Minihaha Falls.

From the top of the Minihaha Falls.
From the top of the Minihaha Falls.

That's a Nice Ride!
That’s a Nice Ride!

A view of Minneapolis from my sister's neighborhood.
A view of Minneapolis from my sister’s neighborhood.

Last day in Minneapolis *sniff*

Well, best laid plans & all that. Yesterday (Tuesday) I had written up my final Minneapolis LJ post with every intention of posting it when I had a free Internet connection. And then never got a Round Tuit… So below I present my post from yesterday.

Yesterday [Monday], as my title indicates, was my last (full) day in Minneapolis with the girls. After some discussion & discovering that the first restaurant choice was closed on Mondays, we decided to walk to Maria’s Cafe for breakfast. It was a little over a two mile walk, so we were grateful to arrive.

The girls ordered corn pancakes (which they let me try – very sweet & tasty, with or without cheese) while I ordered Pablo’s omelet. This was a 3-egg omelet with rice, refried beans, cheese, and grilled tomatoes & onions in it. Very tasty. I had a hot chocolate with it, too.

As it was a fairly long walk and starting to warm up, plus we all were feeling adventurous, we decided to hire Nice Ride bikes to ride toward home which would cut the trip in half. This was a first for me & Rachel. It was a bit expensive, but the bikes were pretty nice to ride for the distance we did. And the rest of the walk home was improved by being cut in half.

Along the walk home, Amy showed us her favorite garden along the route. It put my Secret Garden to shame. And the funny thing was, we passed by several gardens wherein we asked “Is this the one?” The girls are fortunate to have such a lovely neighborhood to walk & bike in.

Once we were back home, it was naptime. I spent the time finishing my book (Ben Aaronovitch’s latest Peter Grant book: Whispers Under Ground). Then around 2pm, Rachel had an appointment at N2Living, a strength training place that she had a free trial to check out. She invited us to join her and it was quite fascinating to see the various machines (designed by the Nautilus dude) designed to work on a specific muscle group.

The young people who walked Rachel through the routine were very friendly. The lady who owned the joint, OTOH, was late to the meeting. Still, the neck “stretching” machine was nifty as it connected to a PC (with a VERY old DOS system, it looked like!) and showed the angle of movement etc.

After the meeting, we headed off in search of lupper at a new pub the girls hadn’t been around to try yet. Only to discover upon arriving that they were closed that day for an employee event. *sad face*

Still in the mood for pub grub/beer food, we had one destination in mind, when suddently both girls were inspired to pop into another for their Happy Hour. We arrived at Blackbird with 10 minutes to spare and had a lovely lupper of slider burgers, fries with rosemary aoli, and walleye/crawfish potstickers. I had a pear cider from Ace which Rachel rightly described as “a pear Jolly Rancher.” Not one of the better ciders I tried this weekend, but it was drinkable.

Once we were back home, it was time for CHORES. I worked on getting Rachel’s laptop de-Nortoned and Comodo Internet Security installed instead. Then I helped Amy (she did the hard stuff. I handed her the tools) install a new mirror (purchased back in November) at the top of their stairs. Finally we retired to the basement to try out a few video formats and uploading a trial video to YouTube. And then it was time for Olympics & snacks.

I drank the last of the ciders which I bought from the Four Firkins and had some sesame sticks. (There’s enough left for Amy to have atop a salad some evening.) And then succumbed to the lure of cookies & cream ice cream (Alden, did you know you had an organic ice cream for sale in Minnesota?)

This morning, since we never did get to try out Butter, a bakery/coffee shop/eatery on my trip, we all got up super early in order to partake of their goods. Sadly, they don’t have the breakfast grill open until after 8am, but they had quiches for warming and plenty of baked goods. So I had a ham, broccoli, and swiss quiche, blueberry scone, and vanilla steamer for breakfast. All were very yummy.

Rachel then rode her bike on toward her work and Amy drove me to the airport. Gonna miss those girls! Was lovely for them to host me for the long weekend!

Now I am seated at O’Hare (though I refuse to pay for Wi-Fi so I won’t be publishing this until later) having just had a nice salad with walnuts, raisins, apple slices, bleu cheese, and raspberry vinaigrette. Tasty and not any more expensive than I’d probably get at a hoity toity place. Next flight in less than an hour and then I’m home again. Woo!

When I arrived in Dayton, the folks were there to pick me up. Then mom talked me into swimming (didn’t take much of an effort). After pool time, I headed home, with two stops – groceries and Chinese Fud. (Shamefully, after my nice & healthy lunch, I had to ruin it with General Tso’s and crab rangoon.)

The kitties were glad to see me. In particular, Lucy braved the fan of the den to hang out with me most of the evening. Apparently, I am fascinating to watch when I’m playing World of Warcrack. Who knew? 🙂

Trina & her sore bum

Yesterday, we started off the morning with leftover pizza. Turns out there were 3 slices of the Pizza Athena left, one without olives (mine!) so it worked out perfectly.

Eventually, we made our way to the Midtown Farmer’s Market. Now I often go to the two farmer’s markets in Troy and they’re awfully small affairs. Midtown was much bigger & livelier. We wandered around looking for produce and lunch. We got some nifty striated eggplants to grill and some brats (including wild rice brats) as well.

Lunch was at the Hola Arepa truck and I tried my first arepa. I had the slow roasted pork arepa with guacamole. Very tasty. I drank their strawberry ginger lemonade along with it.

Next, we went out to the house where Amy & Rachel’s coop co-op is housed. It was Rachel’s day to clean the coop and check on the chickens. They have 11 chickens at the moment and they all seemed eager to see Rachel. Amy and I sat & read while Rachel worked.

We returned home for a short break (and to drop off the food we’d gotten at the market) and then we headed off to check on Winter, the cat that Rachel is cat-sitting. Winter was pleased for the company. She is a very loving kitty.

Next was the trip to Microcenter to get a new battery for Rachel’s laptop. The last time I was at Microcenter, I exclaimed to Amy that I was in Nerdvana. 🙂 Across the street was The Four Firkins, a beer store that was small but loaded with beers, ciders, meads, etc. I picked out 4 hard ciders to try and the girls got several beers to check out.

After we came home, we headed off on a bike ride around Lake Nokomis. We got most of the way around the lake before my bum told me it was just too sore. So we paused a bit, then headed on to the Grand Ole Creamery for some ice cream. I had pistachio ice cream and vanilla malt custard. The frozen custard was particularly fine. I survived the ride back and then we got the place ready for guests.

A couple of friends of Amy (the folks who own the house where the chicken coop resides) were joining us for grilled brats. While Amy got the veggies & other things ready, Rachel and I cleaned the kitchen and then made a blueberry galette. Rachel made the pie crust and I did the innards.

Amy had grilled some corn on the cob, zucchini, summer squash, striated eggplant, onion, and brats. She also made salt potatoes. It was all very yummy, and I really liked the wild rice brats. We sat out on their back porch and ate, then retired inside for dessert. The galette was very tasty. And once again, I met friends of the girls who are very nice people.

Today will be another biking adventure. The weather is perfect (mid 70s F predicted for the high) and my bum is still sore, but I shall see if some Advil will help out today.

I am a Horrible Person

It’s official, I am a Horrible Person. As you shall read in this post, if you dare!

But before I had this fact confirmed, I had a lovely day with Amy & Rachel. Breakfast was cereal and 1/3 of the 3 types of cupcakes from the night before. Then Rachel had a couple of appointments and Amy had to work. So I watched Olympic events on my phone and worked on Rachel’s laptop.

For lunch, Amy made us Caprese sandwiches (fresh mozarella, tomatoes, basil, olive oil on a baguette) and we sat outside on their back porch eating lunch. It was a little warm, but pleasant nonetheless.

When Amy was done with work, the two of us took a walk to her library and around the neighboring area. Then we three rode bikes to Pizza Lucé where we met up with two friends of the girls. We had artichoke dip (very tangy and yummy with a little bit of heat) and bread followed by two pizzas – the Ruby Rae and the Pizza Athena. I also had two Angry Orchard hard ciders while the girls shared two pitchers of Summit Oktoberfest (hey, it’s August already!)

Before I left on this trip, dad had given me some Bad Girl money, so I thought our Pizza Lucé “beer & pizza” night was a perfect Bad Girl time. So thanks dad for last night’s wonderful supper (and today’s breakfast).

We then rode to Crema, a coffee and ice cream shop just a few blocks away. I tasted their sweet corn ice cream (yup, tasted of sweet corn!) and mint truffle ice cream (wrong type of mint for me) and then settled on their ultimate chocolate ice cream and their homemade caramel ice cream. Very yummy.

It was dark when we left, so I stuck close to Amy on the bike ride back, with a red flashing light attached to my backside. A&R’s friends were waiting for us when we got there (they had driven) and we chatted while we waited for Rachel to return from checking on the kitty she’s looking in on this weekend for a friend.

Once Rachel had returned, we start playing the game that I bought A&R for their anniversary (which is still almost 2 weeks away): Cards Against Humanity (a party game for horrible people). This game had been recommended on Twitter and I loved the premise. I figured the girls would love it, so I sent it to them before my arrival so I could play too.

So the five of us played the game and laughed throughout the whole process. It was so funny and so horrible. And when the game was done, I had won – I was the most horrible person in the room! 🙂 So now you know!

Vacationing in Minneapolis

Although I am a small town girl at heart, it is lovely having friends and relatives who live in Big Cities so that I can visit. And this weekend, I’m visiting my sister and her partner (and their cat, Curtis).

I flew in yesterday (via O’Hare) and Amy picked me up. It was lunch time, so she took us to a Pupusaria near her place. I’d never had pupusas before, so I loved getting to try something new. In the simplest description, they’re like stuffed corn tortillas. I had one stuffed with pork & cheese and the other beans & cheese. These were served with a pickled cabbage known as curtido along with their own salsa. They were very yummy!

Poor Amy still had to work that day, so when we returned, she worked from home for awhile and I goofed off, watching Olympics on my phone, for the most part. (Currently watching Britain’s women volleyball team battling Dominican Republic. Go Britain!)

When it was nearing 5pm, we walked to the Midtown Global Market to meet up with Rachel. She was trying on a shirt at Global Mama’s and wound up buying it. It looked great on her. Then we wandered around the Market looking for where we wanted to eat. We all settled on The Left-Handed Cook.

It’s a newer place at the Market and the girls hadn’t tried it yet. So we started with their appetizer “Truffle Truffle Parm Parm” which is really fun to say. It was French fries with Parmesan cheese and truffle oil. They were tasty. I ordered the spare rib rice bowl with poached egg & kimchee. Amy got a soft crab & avocado sandwich and Rachel the porky cake (a polenta & pork dish). Everything we tried was lovely. I also had a Minnesotan cream soda (forget the brand) as my beverage.

We finished at the Market at Salty Tart where we picked up a baguette and some cupcakes. Then we returned home. We watched Olympics (NBC’s rather poor coverage), the girls folded laundry, and then we had cupcakes. Peach & vanilla with buttercream, Surly Furious chocolate (Surly Furious is a beer), and flourless chocolate and almond. All were very tasty – and since we got 2 of each, we had some for breakfast too!

Today I’ve been watching/listening to Olympics (see above) on my phone and working on Rachel’s laptop computer. She has a nice external drive, but the backup software kept failing. So I think I’ve found something else that works – the drive has no issues with accepting files and Winders saw no faults with it.

Rachel is back, so it’s time for lunch! Amy has made us sandwiches even though she’s “at work.”

Back from MN/House Update

We’ve actually been back a couple of days (returned home on Tuesday), but I’ve been lazy about posting. We definitely had a ball with the girls. I miss ’em already!

We did wind up going to Hell’s Kitchen for breakfast. I had the French toast, which was very yummy, but also got to taste some other foodstuff. The rosti potatoes were tasty, and their signature peanut butter was – wow. The girls told me it was wonderful, but I figured "how different can this peanut butter be?" It was very very tasty – so tasty that I bought some for me, the girls, and my cousin who was checking on the kitties.

We dropped Rachel back at the house and then we visited Half Price Books (where everyone found something to buy, except me, alas!) and then returned to Home Depot to return some fittings that we’d bought thinking they were for a sink, only they were for a toilet & didn’t fit Amy’s new faucet. While we were at the bookstore, Amy realized she’d left her wallet on the sofa at home. So dad, impressed with a new excuse, paid for Amy’s CDs. (He’s heard ’em all, though usually from me. Heh.) Still, no wallet at Home Depot made the return trickier than it should have been. But let’s hear it for store credit!

We returned to the house to fiddle about, but it was soon time for Rachel to head for work. Yes, she was going to work a 6-hour shift even with her sprained ankle. Amy & mom took her to Seward Co-Op so she could work (they provided a stool for her – they treat their employees nicely) and so Amy could shop.

While the girls were off at the grocery, dad worked on putting up a second clothes line in the basement. Only the cinder blocks that make up the walls must contain diamond dust in ’em. The carbide bit was dead before he could get the second brace in place.

Mom & Amy brought back a nice assortment of groceries, including stuff for lupper. We had rotisserie chicken and salad. Mom & I did the dishes while Amy & dad went to the hardware store. Once dad was back with the new bit, he successfully got the new line up.

Amy decided to try and put her new faucet in, only to discover that removing the old one was going to be a PITA. She didn’t have the right tools to do the job, so she’ll probably get a handyman (or handywoman) in to do it. Leverage – it’s what you need to remove old faucets.

We had wine time after awhile, though it was actually mohito time. Amy made mohitos for me & mom & herself, dad had a beer. We had brie and baguettes and grapes. All yummy. Us ladies then tried to play Amy’s old board game (actually a RPG) Cloak & Dagger, based upon (loosely) the movie by the same name. Though we made a few mistakes, we all agreed it was pretty fun to play. But we didn’t get to finish because it was time for Amy to pick Rachel up from work. We all loaded into the car & Amy dropped the folks off at the hotel. Then we went to Seward to get Rachel.

We were running early, so Amy took a scenic route to Seward. And were still early, so we popped into the new video rental place, Filmzilla. It’s actually a film rental place that Amy loved which had replaced another rental place which she’d found handy. It’s right across from a Thai place and a liquor store across the street makes for a perfect trio. She figures Friday Night Date Night is a go once again in their household. 🙂

We got Rachel and returned home, in time for cookie time. We munched on cookies (or cinnamon bagels in Rachel’s case) and chatted. It was here that Amy & I realized we’d been playing Cloak & Dagger incorrectly. Whoops! Rachel was ready for bed after her 6 hour workday with sprained ankle. So to bed we went.

Tuesday morning, Amy got up before us and got donuts from their favorite bakery. Very yummy cake donuts – she got plain & cinnamon. She also made us scrambled eggs. After awhile, she picked up the folks and they also had donuts & some coffee. We had a leisure morning in the house, but far too soon it was time for us to move on.

Amy drove us to French Meadow Bakery & Cafe for lunch. I had a curried chicken salad sandwich and creamy tomato basil soup. Very tasty, even though the sandwich was on rye. I then bought dessert for folks and decided to try the Tres Leches (three milks) cake. It was very yummy – and the cake was actually damp because it was soaked in evaporated milk before it was iced. We also had an almond & lingonberry cake, which looked like a giant chocolate petit four, and a carrot cake. Oh, and I’d also ordered a vanilla French soda, which is like an Italian soda (soda water, flavoring, simple syrup) with milk. A tasty treat to end our trip.

We were once again ahead of schedule, so Amy decided to take a more scenic route to the airport. Which turned out to not be the best idea since there were a few detours & other issues on this route. Still, we got there an hour & a half before our flight. Only to spend most of that time trying to get through security. Probably the longest I’ve waited in awhile. Still, we were on time to our gate and soon boarded our plane.

In Milwaukee we had a 2+ hour layover. I decided to watch ep 3 of Shelock and probably would have finished it except we went to a bar for booze & treats. I tried a mixed drink of theirs with Malibu rum, peach schnapps, and cranberry juice. Pretty tasty. The folks tried the local beer – spotted cow. We also got some pizza dough knots and some calamari, both with a marinara dipping sauce. Tasty stuff.

The flight to Dayton was uneventful and when we got outside, there was a shuttle waiting. It wasn’t long before we were in Troy, then I was soon home. The kitties were happy to see me. Happier when I gave ’em a treat. 🙂

Yesterday, I got to see my house properly now that it’s mostly done (it was dark when I got home). It’s really cute. 🙂 I also got to get into my classroom and do a recce. I also took some carts from the girl’s locker room storage to my room (though the chemicals are still in there). But it was too overwhelming to start unpacking.

I had a late lunch in Troy at Chipotles, then decided to visit mom & dad. It looked like they were out, but then I got a call from mom on my cell phone. Turns out they were at my house. Heh. They both like the changes to my house and think it’s cute. So yay! I am not alone in thinking the place is cute.

Today I returned to the school, but with minions in tow. My little cousins (one of whom looked after the kitties for me) agreed to come & help me unpack. I had taken all of the stuff I was storing in my basement to the school. Then we got all of the glassware boxes unpacked and stuff put into the student lab drawers (which are smaller than what I had in the old building). I treated them to Panera for lunch. (Strawberry poppyseed salad for the win! I also had the chicken & noodle soup.) We also worked after lunch and headed home near 4pm. Haven’t decided yet if I go in tomorrow.

Anyhoo, I suspect you’re anxious to see the near-final photos of my house. So, what do you think?

Front of house, nearly done
Front of house, nearly done

Angled front of house view
Angled front of house view

South side view
South side view

Garage front view
Garage front view

Garage side view
Garage side view

Accident-free Days

Rachel called a moratorium on accidents for Saturday, so thankfully no one got hurt then or yesterday. Originally Rachel was going to work on Saturday, but her urgent care doc said no way Jose. So we got an extra day with Rachel – woohoo!

Amy made a nice breakfast for everyone (which was a second breakfast for the parents who have free breakfast at the hotel) which included sour dough coffeecake, scrambled eggs, and really yummy hashbrowned potatoes. Actually, it was all really yummy.

We decided that after the leisure lunch, we’d go see a movie. Although I’d seen Inception already, I was willing to see it again (it’s a fun movie) and everyone else was eager to see it. Amy drove us to a neat theater in a part of town I’ve not been before (can’t recall the name offhand) and we shared popcorn & watched the flick. I think everyone enjoyed it.

Amy drove us to Punch (think clowns) after the movie and we split some pizzas and a salad and an item they call the Pulcinella: a salad stuffed into a pizza crust that has bubbled up. It was all very tasty. We left Rachel playing Tetris on my phone in the restaurant while the four of us went to the liquor store nearby. I picked out an assortment of dessert items in the liquor store’s cheese shop while dad, mom, and Amy bought wine & beer & tonic water.

We returned home for some napping and then gameplay. Dad read while the rest of us played two games of Ingenious. Rachel won the first & I won the second. A fun game. We also ate the desserts I had bought, which were quite yummy.

The folks returned to their hotel (they’re experts at bus travel now) and we went to bed.

Sunday was to be Dim Sum & Winery day. We got up at a decent hour and had intended to be at Mandarin Kitchen before 10:30, but we got there at 10:30. The place was packed (literally – I felt like a sardine waiting to hear our name called) but we were seated in half an hour. The joint didn’t have an atmosphere so much as a cacophony (as dad noted). But the food was tasty and the five of us ate for $77 incl. tip. It was dad’s first Dim Sum experience and he wasn’t wowed by the food. But the rest of us enjoyed ourselves, despite the din.

Amy then drove us to Hastings, MN to the Alexis Bailly Vineyard. They have wine tastings for $5, and they give you a lot of wine for that fiver. They had 4 whites, 2 reds, a rose, sangria, and several dessert wines. There were actually a couple of wines that I liked (one even reminding me of the Granello I had in Italy that I liked). The folks who own the winery are very friendly and the place would be ideal for picnicking, if it hadn’t been so bloody hot that day.

In the gift shop, the girls bought two bottles of wine and I bought a baguette, a really nice Gran Queso (from Wisconsin), and some cheddar cheese curds (also from Wis). We returned to the house for some resting.

Since there was a heat index of around 100F, Amy decided to grill some veggies for our wine time. Apparently she didn’t need to salt anything, her sweat did the work. (No, not really, but damn was it hot). I was working on A & R’s computers to get my To Do list whittled down and got quite a few things accomplished. I may get it all done before I go – woohoo!

Wine time was wonderful – lots of yummy grilled veggies, cheese, beer bread & baguette slices, all of it tasty. While we were eating a cold front moved through, so we sat outside for awhile, until it threatened to rain. The folks returned to their hotel and the girls and I sat in the living room and looked up pets on adoption sites. Then it was bedtime (actually, past bedtime).

We’re all up now and getting ready. Looks like we’re going to Hell’s Kitchen for breakfast. The girls assure me that the homemade peanut butter is excellent, so maybe I’ll buy some for home. Gonna go brush my teeth now, then I’ll be good to go.

A visit to the girls

The folks and I are visiting Amy & Rachel this week. It’s been a fun, albeit interesting, trip thus far.

Amy’s 15 year old cat (which she’d had for 9 years) had been very sick and not eating. She and Rachel made the difficult decision on Tuesday to call the traveling vet to have him put down. Very sad. So after the folks and I arrived on Wednesday, I stayed with the girls & the folks checked into their hotel room. The vet was supposed to get there at 4:30pm. So we were all sitting with Fruvous upstairs in their bedroom. But she called at 4 to say she wouldn’t be able to make it until 6:30. Gah.

The girls decided to nap, so they napped and Fuvous slept with them. (Very cute – I got a photo.) After a bit he decided to wander. He wound up downstairs by the back door, so the girls decided he should have some outdoor time. So we spent the next hour or so following Fruvous around the yard. He wound up in front of the house, just resting & watching people go by. Around 6, Rachel carried him back into the house and he decided to sit in the basement for a bit. The vet didn’t show up at 6:30, however.

Fru returned to the main floor after a bit, and eventually back up to their bedroom. The vet arrived shortly before 7:30. She apologized for the lateness and removed the housecall charge from their final bill. She was very respectful of Amy & Rachel and Fruvous. The process went by pretty painlessly for Fruvous and the girls. They got to say their farewells and pet him during the process. He was a good cat.

We decided to get out of the house, so Rachel drove us to mom & dad’s hotel to pick them up, then took us to the Birchwood Cafe for a late supper. I had the Heirloom Tomato BLT, which was very tasty. The folks were returned to the hotel and we girls headed home.

Yesterday, like today, I had a blueberry bagel w/ cream cheese and a glass of milk for breakfast. Then Amy dropped me off at the hotel on her way to work. I spent the day with the parental units, having a working lunch with one of dad’s friends from Westar where I pitched using Drupal for Westar’s website to make it more immediate & interactive. We ate at Brit’s Pub, where I had very tasty fish & chips.

Amy was done with work around 4:30 and picked us up soon after. We then spent the evening at their house, having wine time in the kitchen and ice cream on their back deck. A very fun night. The folks then took the bus back to the hotel (successfully, on their own!)

Today started out nicely, except that Rachel had to go to a meeting, then work on a cover letter & update her resume. The folks made it back to the house via bus (but had to wait over 40 minutes for said bus) and then Amy took us off to Grumpy’s where Summit Brewery was having a cask of their beer for folks to try. Not being a regular beer fan (unless it’s beer bread, beer soup, or beer batter), I had a Mike’s Hard Lemonade. But the other’s tried this triple fermented beer (a golden ale, I think they called it) and seemed to enjoy it. Rachel was able to join us afterward, eating a little something from each of our plates (we all had far too much food) and having the Summit beer. She then rode her bike on home to finish up her typing and we went to Home Depot for a new faucet and then to Magers & Quinn bookstore.

It wasn’t until we were nearly to the bookstore that Amy remembered the Uptown Art Fair. But she found a place to park despite all the people there and we went to the bookstore. I picked up two books and met the folks perusing the fair. We were all a bit tired and headed back home.

After some napping, Dad decided to start working on Amy’s shelves in the basement. Amy joined him soon after, then later Rachel bounded down the steps – only to miss the last step. She fell & twisted her ankle, badly. Poor Rachel! After awhile, she was well enough to scoot backward up the steps and Amy drove her to Urgent Care. So the folks and I worked on those shelves, getting them completed only to find out they STILL weren’t stable when built. Dad declared them unsafe, so we took them apart and have since recommended to Amy to take ’em back.

Mom and I made beer bread (which by the end of the evening we were calling Brother Bob’s buttless bitter bundt beer bread) which we wound up putting in a bundt pan when we couldn’t find a bread pan. Then we had wine time from last night’s leftovers. The girls got back from Urgent Care around 9pm and had some beer bread, cheese, and ice cream. Then the folks took the bus back to their hotel. The girls and I chatted some, deciding that despite the twisted ankle, we’d had a good day, and headed for bed.

Here’s hoping tomorrow will be less eventful.

Thanksgiving

It’s lovely having a day set aside to be thankful. I try to be thankful every day, but for the days when I’m too busy or too frazzled or too sleepy or too sick, having a day like Thanksgiving helps to make up for those days.

Amy decided that she’d make a Thanksgiving Dinner for us this year once the folks and I invited ourselves around. (Well, we couldn’t resist the reasonable flight prices to Minneapolis, so we asked if they’d be willing to host us – they were!) So last night, mom baked a pumpkin pie and an apple pie (I peeled the apples). I made my “famous” Thanksgiving cheeseball. Amy prepped things for today.

This morning, Amy roasted a Heritage chicken, roasted chopped root vegetables (potatoes (Yukon, purple & red), sweet potatoes, yams (we learned this year there *is* a difference between sweet potatoes & yams), carrots, beets, onion, garlic, etc), cranberry & mushroom dressing, kale, green beans, and gravy (with Hefeweizen beer). Rachel baked some lovely (and sweet) corn bread. And dad carved the chicken.

Things were ready at 2:30pm and we ate a wonderful meal. And then ate a bit more. We still haven’t had dessert but will probably do that (and play games) after nap time. Which is what is going on now.

I’m grateful that my sister & Rachel have a lovely house which they can host us for dinner. I love that my family gets along very well and is fairly low key. I miss my kitties and hope they are having a nice Thanksgiving day. Hope you all (folks in friend’s list land) are having a nice time and that you have a lovely weekend.