Season Opener

One of the perks of our Twins ticket plan is that we can go to Target Field and watch the season opener even though it's an away game. They open up the club level and dish out free hot dogs, chicken strips, and pretzels for 1,500 fans.

The game was shown on the jumbotron. We had great window seats inside out of the rainy 45° spring weather.

 

First Swim of the Season

Finally!! There's enough open water for swimming! We took S around the lake and he was getting close to heat stroke. He jumped in without hesitation to cool off.

 

Thom the Elf House

Thom the Elf and his tree house have really started collecting tribute from his followers. There is a complete micro-size cast iron stove with pot & pans now. 

I saw a guy working on the door a few weeks ago; it looks like he repaired the hinges and installed a new lock.

The sign on the door reads "I have moved my castle toward the East. You may write to me at PO Box 30358, Minneapolis, 55405"

 

One More Interview

After being rejected for a position, I got a callback several weeks later: "Was I still interested in the position?" Yes I am! I had been through three interviews with them already, so a fourth was no big deal other than being with the CCO of the company. Apparently, I impressed him enough to land the job. I'll be starting in mid-April. I applied before Christmas.

Afterwards, we hit George & the Dragon for a celebratory lunch and a walk down to the creek. What a feeling!!

 

Shady Snow Refuge

The ice on the lake is to the point we don't want to be out on it, but that doesn't deter the dog. The snow in the shade along the south shore is the only cool spot he can find. 

 

Record Heat

We hit 81° on March 21 and EVERYONE was soaking in the sunshine.

We were on the patio all day until the sun went down.

 

Steamy Ice

My favorite vantage points on the lake is by the south beach; it's directly opposite the bandshell and there are no trees.

 

Dead Laptop

On top of the car going kaput, the laptop I've been using for all my job search activities also went kaput. I tried rescuing it, but it's 6 or 7 years old and needs to be retired. It was GP's laptop from when he went to school. The new one works like a dream, and it's a lot faster. 

 

Mouse Nap

 This little guy was perched on top of a drain pipe in the basement. I stood up on a stool and he was right there in front of my face. Not sure how he got there or how long he's been there. 

Bachman's in the Spring

There's nothing like popping into the Bachman's greenhouse in the spring to get out of the weather than is too warm for winter activities and too cold for anything else.

 

Mean Ol' Puddy Tat

The mean old cat took over our houseguest's blankie for herself.

The little dog loves to snuggle in blankets.

 

Spring Snow

CP came over before the big snow and I was glad to have him help with the shoveling.

We ended up with 10" of heavy wet snow. It called for the snowblower to clear the driveway. I would have rebuilt the snow fort, but this snow was not going to stick around. A few days later we hit 79°.

Once everyone cleared their own snow, we relaxed by the fire.

 

Fresh Snow

There's nothing like waking up to fresh snow on a day when you don't have to drive to work thru it.

 

Snow Attitude

One of my favorite aspects of Minnesota is how everyone embraces winter weather. As the saying goes, "There is no bad weather, just bad clothes." It doesn't take much of a snowfall to get everyone excited and outside enjoying the peace & quiet of a snowfall.

 

Scythe Dog

We tried to get M to play Scythe with us, but she was only interested in sitting in JP's lap.

 

St. Patrick's Day Run

Each month the parkway around the lake is closed off for a run of some sort. It's fun to stand at the top of a hill and give out words of encouragement as the runners pass.

 

Cleaning the Grill

Every night around 9:00, the Mexican restaurant behind us cleans their grill and launches a massive cloud of steam. It's the signal that there won't be any more mouth watering smells until the next day.

 

Dogsitting

We dogsat M from across the alley for 10 days. She latched onto JP and would not leave her side, especially when the cat was near.

Every night she burrowed into the covers and stayed until JP got up. She had no interest in being out the door before sunrise.

The cat & dog tolerated her, and were very relieved when she went home and they got JP's sole attention again.

 

Cathole

The cat doesn't hesitate a bit when she shoots thru her hole in the door. 

 

Fuzzy Loon in St. Cloud

We took the new car for a spin up to St. Cloud to hit the Fuzzy Loon gift shop to pick up some of their Minnesota loon gear. Found a cozy place for some tasty nachos & tacos for lunch.

 

Tug o War

We dogsat CK for a few days. As soon as he realizes that he's staying with us for more than a few minutes, he switches into resident mode and settles to be one of us.

 

Outdoor Show

The Gs came up for a fast weekend visit. It was crappy weather outside, so we hit the Outdoor Show downtown and then went over to Brit's for some fried cod.

 

Morning Fog

The fog off the lake has made for some great photographic lighting.

 

False Spring

We had a week of temps in the 50s for our false spring. The forecast for the end of the week is highs in the 20s.

 

Frozen Lake Fog

The ice is melting fast and giving up its moisture as fog.

100 Year Roofing

The big Spanish house on the corner by the lake is getting its original old tile roof replaced after 100 years. 

 

Ice Falls

We took the new car over to the falls to see what the ice looked like. There's still a lot there!

 

End of the Line

Last Thursday when we got how from running errands, the Mazda was making some sick sounds from under one of the valve covers. We've been putting off replacing it because it runs great and we like its comfort and lack of a monthly car payment. 

The sounds were menacing enough that we went car shopping Friday morning. We went to the Toyota dealer; they had one car on-site, and it had been sold already. If we wanted a Toyota, it would be three or four weeks to get one and there were none to test drive.

Then we went to the Subaru dealer and test drove a new Outback. It drove well, but the new 2026 model is UGLY, and it was $10k more than we wanted to spend. While we were test driving it, the dealer test drove the Mazda and broke it. He said that it died on him twice and overheated. When we got to it, the coolant overflow tank was empty and the engine oil looked like chocolate milk! Oh no!! It blew a head gasket!!! We were right about the noise not being good.

JP was more than a bit upset about the death of her pride & joy. We left the Subaru dealer on foot and crossed over 494 and walked to the Honda dealer. Six hours later, we drove home in a new CR-V hybrid. It's quite a bit smaller than the Mazda, but it will get better milage and it's not making any weird sounds.

 

Snow Fort Rebuild

It took a half day of shoveling and all the snow from the driveway to build the snowfort back up. 

 

Forecast: 1-3"

We were forecast to get 1-3" of light snow. Instead, it snowed all day and we got 7".

The preceding week was well above freezing, and it destroyed the snow fort..

We took advantage of it and skied out on the lake.