Ah...The Renaissance!

What an era! What a day! The family ventured to the Renaissance Festival in Shakopee, MN this past Sunday. It was a gorgeous day, cool breeze in the air and sunshine in the sky. Only my intelligent husband had been to the Renaissance Festival before. I've lived in MN for almost all my life and for some reason (maybe because it is in Shakopee and I'm a St. Paul gal) I had never gone.

This year we knew that we had to go. Our youngest one has a flair for the theatre and his forte seems to be the medieval period. If you believe in reincarnation and past lives, this small one definitely lived few lives during this period that are hard for him to let go of.

Our first purchase for him was this wooden sword. The vendor challenged him to a dual and the small one was more than eager to oblige his request. The next stop was to find a shirt like the swordsman was wearing in a small size. Had my battery not died shortly after this, I would have taken a picture of him in his new Renaissance outfit.

This guy had a great job...he stood at the entrance on top of a stump and opened and closed his cape. When he opened it, this is what you saw! We never did get to the actual MUD SHOW but saw it in passing. There was so much to see and do, we just didn't have time for it all.

Julian showed off his jester skills. He could have entertained a court just fine.

People watching at the RF is definitely worth the trip. Many interesting characters sauntered in the streets decked in their finest attire.

Wine and beer flow freely in the streets and you can even get a giant turkey leg to go with it!

Transcendental Thought for the Day

This song has been going through my head for days now. It is an amazing piece of work both musically and lyrically. This song is forty years old...just like me and yet it's relevance is timeless. I revisited the words and have been thinking about their meaning and life.

Within You and Without You

We were talking

about the space between us all

and the people who hide themselves

behind a wall of illusion

never glimpse the truth

then it's far too late

when they pass away

We were talking

about the love we all could share

When we find it

to try our best to hold it there

with our love, with our love

we could save the world

if they only knew

Try to realize it's all within yourself

no one else can make you change

And to see you're really only very small

and life flows on within you and without

you

We were talking

about the love that's gone so cold

and the people who gain the world

and lose their soul

They don't know, they can't see

Are you one of them

When you've seen beyond yourself

then you may find

peace of mind is waiting there

And the time will come

when you see we're all one

and life flows on within you and without

you

- George Harrison

Cold Scooter Mornings and New Car Nights

I love fall weather even if it isn't officially fall yet. Crisp, cool air and sunshine in the sky is the reason I live in Minnesota. I would wish for fall year round but then I wouldn't appreciate it like I do or look forward to it after stifling hot August days.


This is the new territory for me and scooter riding. I ride the scooter to work in the morning and my professor husband rides it home in the evening. This allows each of us a turn at riding it daily and also allows us to fulfill our parental responsibilities of driving the small child to school and bringing him home in the afternoon.


I have found I enjoy the morning drive. I take the scenic route, not the freeway and because I leave at an un-Godly hour of the morning, there is usually little traffic. You really feel a part of everything when you are moving through the air at 30+ mph. The smells in the air this time of year are generally good ones, wood burning, grilling, morning dew. Every so often you do get the bad river smell but having lived near the Mississippi all my life, I'm used to it.



Now, 50 degree weather is not too bad for riding the scooter, I don my wine colored leather jacket, my cycle gloves and I feel very cozy. Yesterday...it was in the 40's! Riding the scooter in 40 degree weather FEELS a weeeeee bit nippy!! It actually feels below freezing. By the time I got to work (a 25 minute ride)I could NOT feel my fingers and my legs were pure ice!

Thank goodness for this neck scarf that I wore up to my goggles to keep my face warm. I found these leather gloves on the sidewalk and have inserted stretchy gloves inside for warmth but they didn't do the kind of job I needed yesterday.

This is me arriving at work after a not so chilly ride today.

This is me YESTERDAY after I removed all the head wear. Tired and frozen! I decided that I wouldn't put on my eye makeup until I get to work because my eyes water while riding and I look REALLY scary when that happens. I look really scary here as well but remember....this is very early in the morning frozen me!

My ride home from work these days is just as enjoyable - minus the cold. We sold our 2000 Buick Regal that we bought a year ago from my dad and stepmom. Our reasons for doing this were the same reason we bought the scooter...fuel efficiency! With a mini-van AND a luxury sedan we were spending a small fortune on gas. Financially and environmentally we just couldn't do it anymore. My sister inspired us first by purchasing a 2007 automatic red Toyota Yaris and we followed suit. Ours is a 2007 manual, blue Yaris and we just love it! The boys are big enough now that it is not an issue of getting them in and out of the car easily - they do it themselves now. A lot of the time I am driving just one child to activities or myself from place to place so we don't need anything big for city driving anymore. Right now the van sits on the street in the company of other "second" cars and waits for long rides and camping trips...I'm not sure that the Yaris could pull the pop-up camper but you never know.


Here is "Blue" head on, smiling for her satisfied owner.

This is her from the side. Small child says she looks like a bug. I'm sure Volkswagen would have issues with that.

Evolution of a box

I vow that children do not need TOYS! From the time that they are able to play, I have found that the things they find most interesting are the things you have around the house anyway...keys, pots, pans, telephones and cardboard BOXES.

Both of my children look forward to appliance purchases, large packages and most recently the longboard that came in this box.

First idea...small child can fit in this box.

Second idea...if I can fit in the box, you can't see me smiling, so...I need a smile!

Third idea...it would be better if I could USE my arms and look like a REAL walking box.

This is small child's latest Halloween costume idea - problem is, Mom or Dad would have to carry him up and down people's stairways to get the candy.