Paper Snowflakes

When JP went to the Swedish-American Institute last summer, she picked up some paper snowflakes for 50% off. Fun! It took MB & me two hours to assemble four snowflakes. 

The wreath and snowflakes transformed the kitchen into a festive space.

 

Galleria Shopping

No trip to MN would be complete without a trip to a mall. Rather than the MOA, we dodged the crowds and hit the Galleria. 

 

Sunroom Nap

S found a new friend in his sunroom.

 

X-Mas Tree

Our normal boy scout tree lot did not pop up this year, so we had to go down the street to Wagner's. This year we got one that goes to the ceiling.

 

Icing Conditions

We had our first night in the single digits. The wind blew all night and created icy lily pads along the shore.

 

Boilermaker Colors

We got decked out in Purdue gear to root for the Boilermakers as they took on Indiana. Our efforts did not make a difference in the 0 to 66 score. We always have next year.

 

Thanksgiving 2024

MB came to MN for her short Thanksgiving break. It was great having her around the house for a few days. She brought us a beautiful wreath and helped out in the kitchen.

 

Garage Door Spring

The garage door spring decided it was time to go early (4:30) Wednesday morning before Thanksgiving. It shook the house and sounded like a car hitting a trash dumpster. I jumped up and ran outside to see what had happened, but found nothing. It wasn't until we were leaving for the airport to pick MB up that we realized that the reason the door wouldn't go up was because of this.

 

Sunset Walk Home

My walks home from the bus stop are now graced with the early sunset. 

 

Beach Breakfast

On the weekends, S directs our walk to the coffee shop where he gets a goodie and I get something equally tasty in human terms. Today it was a ham & cheese croissant sandwich. We sat on a bench by the dog beach and had a tasty breakfast.

 

Leaf Raking

Even though the landscapers came and removed a truck load of leaves a couple weeks ago, we raked up 10 bags from just the front yard. We finished out the day with a pleasant backyard fire with the neighbors.

 

Bird Dock

The fishing pier was moved offshore and the seagulls quickly took it over.

 

2nd Snow

We had a front come through with an inch of precipitation, but only a dusting of snow. It was right at 32° and glazed the roads with some icy patches. When will it turn into real winter?

 

Café Dining

Our café makes everything from scratch. This month is Indigenous Peoples' month, and each week there's some special dish on the menu. 

I could not pass this up. walleye wild rice cakes & squash hash. It was tasty!

 

Early Thanksgiving

We hit Nana's house for an early Thanksgiving celebration. It was nice going on a non-holiday weekend; the traffic was minimal, and all the stores in town had normal hours. We took the scenic route down & back and had a great time. We even scored some egg nog!

 

Model Dog

We are blessed to have such a photogenic dog.

 

Fall Lake Sunrise

The nice thing about the darkness of this time of year is that it's easier to hit the lake at sunrise on the weekends.

 

One Last Swim

I think this may have been S's last swim of the season. 

 

Tub Caulk

We've had a minor leak around the shower door. Re-caulking has helped, but not all the way. The real solution: remove the entire door frame, remove all the grout around the tub, and re-grout it. We ended up spending way more time than we thought it would take.

 

Fall Decor

All the Halloween decorations went away on Nov. 1 and the real fall decor came out.

 

Dog Walks

The fog makes the horizon go away on the lake.

 Looking like fishing season is going to be extended again this year.

It's so fun hearing the eagles screeching at each other.

Changing of the Guard

I tried to do my part.

 

Fall Pillows

The cat's favorite spot is on one of the velvet fall seasonal pillows. The dog, too.

 

Ice Fog

We had a frosty start to the day last week. It didn't snow or rain, but we an icy ground fog developed that turned the bridges and overpasses white with frost. 

 

2024 First Snow

After two weeks of beautiful warm weather, we got our first snow on Halloween. We had over an inch of precipitation, but it was so wet it only amounted to barely an inch of snow. During the Halloween Blizzard of 1991, 0.85 inches of precip turned into 10" of snow.

 

Bdote

High on our list of places to go for an urban walk is Pike Island at Ft. Snelling State Park. It's an island between the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers. The confluence of the muddy MN and clear MS waters is known to the original locals as Bdote.

The MN River side of the island has steep banks and the water is inaccessible. The tip of the island (halfway point of the 4-mile walk) flattens out and the MS River side of the island has a nice beach. By the time we got to the tip, S was severely overheated and was glad to be able to finally take a swim. GP refused to go swimming.

 

Fall Walks

While summers here are great, fall is pretty nice, too. The dog doesn't overheat as much, but he still likes to cool off when given the chance.

 

Spooky Halloween

Our neighbors put up a 12-foot tall skeleton. It turned out really well and it's truly spooky.