A Place to Sweat

Finally got around to setting up a place to play. The ceiling in the basement is not insulated, so playing there isn't really an option. With the dehumidifier in the garage, it's reasonably dry and the walls and ceiling are all concrete and the door faces the alley. A perfect place to rock out and play Rocksmith. Just need to look into insulating the door.

Fresh Paint

The boys helped paint CP's room last weekend. It went from a poopy brown to a bright sky blue. Both boys thought that the original color was green. They are both color blind.

So far, we have painted the living room, sunroom, dining room, our bathroom, and now one of the bedrooms.

Comet NEOWISE

We heard that the comet was visible after sundown, so we took a camera and tripod down to the lake for the 9:30 dog walk. The sky was still way to light to see anything, and the mosquitoes were really going to town (this is the first time we've had issues with them on our walks).

We cruised home and juiced up with the deep woods bug spray and waited a bit for darkness to fall. When we got back to the lake at 10:30, we finally got to see the comet. It was so faint, it took our eyes a while to acclimate enough to be able to pick it up. Not bad for being in the middle of a metro area.

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River Rat

S has fully embraced swimming. He floats almost as well as an iceberg, but with only about 1/2% of him above water. He's not a water dog, but he thinks he is. 

His new favorite activity is wading in the creek on his walk to chase dragon flies and cool off.

Minnehaha Creek is two blocks from the house, and the creek that drains Lake Harriet into Minnehaha isn't much further. JP likes it, too.

This weekend we explored the St. Croix River from Taylors Falls down to Stillwater. Our intent was to check out Interstate State Park, but it was overfull; we'll come back another day.

We stopped at William O'Brien State Park and hiked down to the river. There was a small creek flowing into the river there - it was crystal clear and maybe 50°. So refreshing! S did not mind at all. JP wants to book a canoe trip on the St. Croix before the boys head back to school.

Coming Together

JP ordered a new rug for the dining right after we moved in. It finally arrived!

Same with her loveseat for the music room sunroom.

We ventured out to the mall and found the perfect table for between the living room chairs. It's starting to come together. Just need to get some artwork on the walls.

ASU Lillies

Our lillies fianally bloomed! We thought that they might never open up - they are in the shade of the maple in front.

We have some really cool ASU-colored ones that are maroon and gold.

Smoking

A few weeks ago, I snagged a propane smoker that our neighbor across the alley was pitching out. We found a natural gas hose on Amazon and THD had the necessary brass fittings to convert it to natural gas. I also opened up the orifice from .038" to .062" to compensate for the difference in fuel heat capacity.

JP scored some pork ribs at Target. We tried our hand at trimming them up and doing a basic rub: pepper, salt, garlic, and chili powder. 

It took a while of playing around with the vents and burner control. Close the vents too much, and the flame will go out. 

It was a perfect day to sit on the patio and chat with our neighbor while keeping an eye on the temperature. Our efforts paid off, and we had some tasty ribs for dinner. 

Paddling

Last Sunday was another beautiful summer day. We walked S to the north side of the lake and rented a canoe. It was windy, but we had fun paddling amongst the sailboats. S really enjoyed himself in the boat. After paddling, we hit the Bread & Pickle for some sandwiches. On the way home, S was hot, so we let him for a swim. He jumped right in and chased some ducks! The water cooled him off, and he was full of crazy energy the whole walk home.

Dog Walks

To say that we enjoy walking the dog would be an understatement. We love our walks!

The only gas-powered boat allowed on the lake is the seaweed scooper. It goes around and pulls seaweed out along the shorelines.

There's a no-motor law for the lake which is awesome - it's all sailboats. 

...and the occasional electric-powered hydrofoil surfboard silently cruising above the waves.

The lake is 1-1/2 blocks north of us, and Minnehaha Creek is two blocks to the south on on the way to the Ace Hardware. S is getting to the point that he really likes the water. We need to get some tubes and go tubing on it!

Total Makeover

This is one of the homes we walk past every day. It's a 4,600 square foot beauty from 1907 on a half-acre lot overlooking the lake. It sold last year for $1,200,000 and it's being totally redone. It's hard to see, but half of the windows have been ripped out and the curtains are flopping in the wind - it's going to be a TOTAL remodel. We are excited to see how it comes out.

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We had a crazy 3"+ rainstorm two days after the top photo was taken. JP and I were upset about the cool old house with its windows ripped out. Even if you're planning a total to-the-studs remodel, why would you let all that water come in?!!?

The next day, it became clear why they didn't bother with the windows. It's a bigger remodel job than I thought it would be. 

Such a shame to lose such an historical house in the neighborhood. We hope that its replacement will match the 100 year old architecture of the rest of the neighborhood, but the chances are slim. There's a nightmare of a new house going up a couple blocks away. It fills the lot from side to side and towers over the neighboring houses and it's an ugly monstrosity. This is how and why neighborhoods create restrictive covenants.

Officially Minnesotans

It's official: We are now real Minnesotans!

JP Still has not received her driver's license from January and I still had not put MN plates on my car. With all the craziness going on, there has been little point to trying to get anything like that resolved. My car has accumulated maybe 10 miles in the last three months.

JP managed to get an appointment to get my car registered. There is no way to set up multiple appointments; the DMV website says to call if you need something special. When you call, the only response given is "We are closed. Use our website to setup appointments." There's a lottery system - every Friday, they give out appointment slots for a week a month in the future. We figured we'd try to sneak in getting our driver's licences renewed at the same time as getting plates for my car. It worked!!! 

When we applied for our first go around DLs in January, we were in the apartment and had no forms of residency ID, so we could not get "REAL ID" licenses that would allow us to get on a plane. Now we are all set (provided that they show up in the mail!). Speaking of that, yesterday we received the title for JP's car in the mail - you have to surrender it when you apply for MN plates and we assumed that it had been lost in the shuffle.

Glazing

The windows on the east and south sides were needing some TLC. Thing is, I reglazed 17 windows in the Woodstock house and I understand what it takes to do it. Not this time! 

We hired a window company to do it and they knocked out 10 windows quickly and cleanly. They will be good for the next 50 years

Shift.

With JP riding around on her new bike, it made it clear that I needed to get my bike going. The rear shifter cable had come apart, and I wasn't able to go into low enough gears to make it up the 49th street hill on either side of Minnehaha Creek.

$15 and an hour of trying to cleanly cut a cable housing, and the bike was back in business. Time to ride!

JP's New Bike

JP got a new bike this week. She rode to 50th & France and back. 

Mostly.

I was on a major conference call for work when she came in dripping blood from her knee. Very unnerving. 

Wildlife in the City

Yesterday, on our normal walk by the lake, we were greeted by a Bald Eagle as he/she snagged a fish just 50 feet from us. This morning we were greeted by a decent-sized snapping turtle. Apparently he/she climbed straight up a 2-foot bank. First one we've seen up close.

Closer to home, we have our tribes of chipmunks, grey squirrels, and red squirrels. The chipmunks are the bravest, by far. I had a couple run under my legs.

Sunroom

It's been a long time coming, and now it's here: JP's loveseat for the sunroom. Now it's a full-time search for a narrow table, plant, etc.

The footlocker I still have from MMI (1984?) works OK as an ottoman.

Tidy

One of our new favorite pastimes is just hanging out in the front yard and tidying up. 

Big Tree

This is a cottonwood along the trail from Lake Harriet to Minnehaha Creek. It's no kapok tree from the Amazon, but it's mighty impressive when you stand next to it.

Gulf Breeze Meets High Plains Cold Front

Seriously? A named tropical storm going over Lake Superior?

The tropical storm went to the east of us while a cold front came in from the west. This was the second storm Lincoln has had since we left that has damaged roofs and torn off siding. We heard from the G's and they actually grabbed everything and rode it out in their fraidy hole.

Getting Warmer

I never ever thought that it could get this hot here. Good thing there's a beach a few blocks away.