Fair on Four

We had a week long technology conference at work with a lot of people from out of state/country. Each night we had a different activity. My favorite was at the "Fair on Four" at the MOA. It's a venue with go-cart racing, ax throwing, arcade games, and pinball. They had some really nice modern pinball machines set to unlimited play.

The ax throwing was a lot of fun. I'm glad that my survival does not rely on my ability to accurately throw and stick an ax.

 

Chair Repair

JP bought four old broken/wobbly chairs for CP for $75. Then we went to The Home Depot and bought some new bar clamps, screws, and dowels for $90.

Overall, the chairs are coming out very well. They are back to being solid pieces of furniture and should work well for CP.

 

Furnishings

CP ordered a modular sofa for his place. This way (in theory) he can move it easily if/when he moves again.

He also picked up a HUGE beanbag pouf chair.

 

MS Treehouse

No family get together would be complete without a huge meal. 

The treehouse on the river is really cool. It's hard to believe that the river can come all the way up to the 2nd floor.

 

MSU Campus

MB gave us a tour of the MSU campus. Her (and SB's) office is in this old house on campus. 

JP was VERY excited to visit the US Grant Presidential Library. It was completely unexpected! Who would have thought that Grant's library would be in Mississippi!!

 

MS U 4 Women

We spent some time checking out the MS U for Women in Columbus. The science & math school where MB will be going next year is located on campus.

Everywhere we went, there were artifacts of the Civil War. This door leads down to tunnels that were used to ferry wounded soldiers to a hospital that was setup in one of the dorms.

 

Bulldogs!

We took a long weekend and went to MB & Gramma & Grampa. Everywhere you look, there are bulldogs.

 

Lake Harriet Horror

All thruout the neighborhood, we have Little Free Library boxes that are full of books for the taking. This one was in the box next to Broders deli. The cover caught my eye - it's a map of our surrounding area. So far (halfway thru), it's interesting with all the references to our locality. 

 

Old School Movie

The theatre next to the supper club showed Aliens in all its 35 mm film glory. The theatre is from the 1930s and was redone in 2017 to restore it to its original condition.

The Ks joined us for a night out. We were able to sneak in to the supper club next door and get a light dinner in. (The wedge salad is AMAZING!)

 

Supper Club

We went with the Ks to check out the new old school Wisconsin supper club that opened up at 48th & Chicago. It took 3 weeks to get on the waiting list, and it was well worth it. Relish tray with radishes/carrots/celery, cheese curds with tomato jam, and smoked trout and a fish fry with perch, walleye, or cod. Top notch!

On the way out, we noticed that the theatre next door is open again with live music and vintage movies.

 

Ice Out

Ice out on Lake Harriet came along on April 4th this year. It was there one day and gone the next.

Time to hit the beach!

 

US FIRST Regionals

Some of us put in a few volunteer hours at the US FIRST robotics regional championships at the U. There were two regional events in side-by-side auditoriums, each with about 70 teams. It was fun & exciting.

The teams are all high school kids that build a big robot. It's a high school sport like none other that pretty much guarantees a head start on a career in engineering.

 

New Nest

CP took us out for dinner @ Terzo to celebrate him moving into his own place.

CP's new place is huge, nice, and close to his work. 

 

IL Road Trip

We braved the April weather and did a road trip to IL to see the N's new home in Glenview.

The drive was beautiful thru Wisconsin.

 

Higher Microwave

We went took a long weekend to go see Nana in IL. It was cold and yucky outside, so we did an indoor activity: we raised up her microwave by 4". The fool that had installed it hooked up the vent, but failed to install the damper so it was like having a window open in the kitchen. We fixed that and JP called the appliance company and prepared them for a followup call during the week. As Mr. T would say: I pity the fool that talks to her.

 

Spring Break '22

GP Came home for spring break and had a relaxing week with us. We took him all over to our new favorite spots. All he wanted was some of JP's home cooking.

 

Let There be Light

We finally got around to replacing the dressing area wall sconces. It took me a while to give up the art glass ones that were there, but now that it has all been repainted, the new chrome ones make more sense.

 

Kitchen Prep

JP is making sure that CP will be ready to move when the day comes next month. We hit the Galleria and he was introduced to one of my favorite pastimes, "Shopping with J".

 

It's for the Dogs

JP got us a reservation at Hops & Hounds, a place next to the Minneapolis Farmer's Market. We had never been, so we invited the Ks along with their dog, CK. It was fun. Loud and barky, but fun. I think we were the only people there that also have human children in addition to canine kids.

 

Swollen Creek

Out last storm started off with an inch of rain with thunder & lightning. After we went to bed, it changed to snow and dumped 6" on top of the rain. The creek is up and out of its banks. 

 

Healthy Birdfeeder

In addition to feeding all the little songbirds, we have unwittingly taken up feeding a Cooper's Hawk. It sits around and stalks the birdfeeder and picks off the sparrows one by one.

We looked into them, and the birding book says that they are a sign of a healthy birdfeeder ecosystem.

 

Shoes & Brews

The G's came up for a weekend of outdoor activities. On day 1, we did "Brews & Shoes" at the same brewpub that had the dogsled rides. For a few bucks, you get an hour of snowshoeing, 2 made-in-house beers, and a grilled cheese & soup lunch. 

On day 2, we just walked around the lake and soaked in the sun.

 

Dog Sledding

JP's late birthday present was a dogsled ride on Long Lake. A brewpub there hosted dogsled rides & brunch. 

JP got to ride on the runners and mush the dogs.

In addition to the dogs, there was a skating rink and an outdoor campfire overlooking the lake.

 

Ski Bunny

After getting back from Vegas, we both went thru Covid and it pretty much wiped out our January. Now that we're back on our feet, it's time to take advantage of winter before it's gone. I took off a Wednesday afternoon and we skied the trails at Hyland Hills in Bloomington. It was supposed to be cloudy and cold and windy, but it turned out to be warm and sunny. 

 

Calculus is Your Friend

It's not an everyday thing, but now and then calculus comes in handy to solve a problem such as finding the kinetic energy of a rotating mower blade.

 

Stillwater Friends

The N's came up for a chilly weekend. We drug them all over and had some fun in Stillwater on a weekday when it was not so crowded. JP finally got her German Christmas windmill.

 

Klondike Dog Derby

We made it out to Excelsior for the Minnetonka Klondike Dog Derby! We had been looking forward to this for the past two months. It's a 40 mile race around the shoreline of Lake Minnetonka. Last week more than a few of the 30 mushers completed various stages of the Beargrease race up on the North Shore.

The dogs were CRAZY at the starting line.

It was cold and windy for spectating. But I'm sure the dogs and mushers were not feeling it.