Late night, Pandora and gin

What more can one ask for?

If you haven't checked out Pandora internet radio...you are missin' out! It is customized radio at your fingertips and it is FREE. Well, as free as what you are already paying for your internet. You type in a song or an artist you want to listen to and then it finds songs similar to the song you asked for along with songs from that artist or the song you wanted to hear.

I should be sleeping soon but there is really nothing like being a little tipsy and listening to great tunes on your computer late at night while the whole house is asleep.



Buenas Noches....zzzzzzzzz

The Week in Pictures

So much has gone on, I have been going non-stop ...and since I haven't had time to blog, I will give you the week in review in pictures.

Monday early in the A.M.: Tonsillectomy for the Little Man

Monday all day and night: In the hospital recovering

Tuesday: Went with The Teenager to his new school to work out his daily commute via light rail and bus . He did it the rest of the week all by himself! I can't believe school starts next week!

Wednesday: Laundry, cleaning and caring for the patient (not really picture worthy stuff).

Thursday: Kombucha making day - 3 gallons worth- I'm going to be so healthy!


Friday: Rattle My Bones Scooter Rally at Blue Cat Motors. Friday night was a BBQ and dance with music spun by DJ Aaron who spun the best ska and reggae all night long!

Saturday day: Rattle my bones continues with competitive scooter games.



Hard core scooter guys lining up for the "scooter pull".




Saturday night: Going away party for my good friend HG who is moving to NYC in a week. The events of my days and weeks will be greatly altered once she goes. I will miss her dearly.


Sunday: Rattle my bones continues...a 2 hour scooter ride along the beautiful streets of the Twin Cities. Took a picture with my cell phone but not quite sure how to get that here.

Here are some of the cool scooters that participated in the rally.

WHAT A WEEK!

Anniversary Weekend

The Professor and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary Friday, August 8th. Our whole weekend turned out to be a wonderful celebration of some of the things we like to do best.

1. Listen to and play music.
The band that the Professor is in, "The Durty Nellys", played the talent show at the Irish Fair that was going on all weekend down at Harriet Island.



So, we started off Friday afternoon, listening to the various acts that were competing for $250 and the chance to open up for "Flogging Molly" on the main stage on Saturday.

In my humble and biased opinion, "The Durty Nellys" were one of the best bands in the talent show. The Professor dressed the part and put his heart and soul into it. They didn't win but it was good experience for all involved.


2. Stroll downtown.
After we listened to some of the bands, we walked over the Wabasha bridge to downtown. We considered going to the newest art museum downtown but it was closed already. So, we meandered the streets a bit until we came to one of our favorite bars. Which brings me to the third thing we enjoy doing.


3. Have drinks at the St. Paul Hotel.
The St. Paul Hotel is one of the oldest hotels in the area. It is elegant, regal and filled with history. When you sit at the bar, you can imagine F. Scott Fitzgerald having a pint, jotting literary notes on a bar napkin. You can envision the plots being hatched in a nearby booth by John Dillinger and his gang during the 1930's.

It was in the late '90's that The Professor and The Godfather passed Liv Taylor sitting at a table conversing with rock legends. My father was a bus boy at the hotel in the '40's . This bar has HISTORY and we love it.
The bartender treated us to this tasty beverage called a cucumber martini. Very refreshing. I would definitely have one of these again.


4. Keep Healthy.
Part of my incredible anniversary weekend included running the Irish Fair 5K. I haven't been able to run for the last 7 years. My knees and back have been bad and until I started swimming, I never thought I would be able to run again. Swimming has strengthened my back AND knees and I have started to run a bit. It felt so good to actually finish the race. I was very proud of myself. I hope that I can keep on running...just a little bit.


5. Nap in the shade.
This isn't us but it could be ...we were doing the same thing come Sunday under a tree nearby. What a fabulous weekend we had and what a great way to celebrate our ten years of marriage.

Los Dos

Tuesday night was the night. The night to see both "Los Lonely Boys" and "Los Lobos". The Minnesota Zoo Amphitheater is an OK venue. The bleachers are a bit hard and you are packed in a bit close...but...if the weather is nice and the bugs aren't too bad, it is a beautiful spot to listen to quality music. The Professor and I brought our friends with. The Los Lobos crowd was an older group but very enthusiastic. A lot of 50 year old men in Hawaiian shirts. What is with the 50 year old men with Hawaiian shirts anyway? Believe me, they're in there.

My overall critique of the show was that Los Lobos has lost their "F-yeah" factor. That is what The Professor likes to call a certain groove that some bands or music just has. It is hard to replicate. Their music was slow where it shouldn't have been. They played only about five songs. David Hildago forgot the words to a cover he did by "Cream". It was pretty bad. Had they been up all night drinking or something? Who knows. Maybe they are just getting old. I loved seeing them but it was disappointing.

Los Lonely Boys, on the other hand, were amazing to watch live. I was never that impressed with their music in general but their live act was right ON! They had great showmanship, they were a tight band, and they are all awesome musicians. Los Lonely Boys should have been the main act for this one. I could have watched them all night.



In spite of the not so perfect concert, The Professor and I always enjoy a night out with friends. This was a great way to start our anniversary week. The big 10 is coming up on Friday...stay tuned.

Camping ...when pigs fly...

My family loves to camp. It has gotten harder to do though as the kids get older. The teenager has had commitments practically all summer that have kept us in town. FINALLY...we got to go.

My middle sister is in to camping as well and she was planning a trip to Blue Mound State Park in southwestern Minnesota so we decided to combine our efforts and go together. It has been a long time since my sister and I went camping together and I have never gone with her, The Professor and the boys. It was truly an enjoyable time.

When we first started camping, we tented. Shortly after though, The Professor's aunt and uncle offered to sell us their 1989 Coleman Pop-up Camper. It came fully equipped with utensils, plates, cups, pots, cooking gear, towels, table cloths and sheets for the beds. EVERYTHING! We bought it and we have never regretted it.


We opened it up in our driveway to check our supplies.



Another "person" who likes to camp is Lupe. She prefers to stay in the camper while we go on hikes or bike rides - she truly is a city dog. The thing I think she likes most is the fact that we are all together and she gets to hang out with us by the campfire. One big pack!

Blue Mound is prairie. Luckily, the campsite had trees for shade because the temperature was near 100 degrees for three days. The nights cooled off and generally there was a breeze but it was hot and humid for the most part.

We hiked the prairie the first day and saw all sorts of wonderful sites.




Wild prairie flowers of all colors.




Giant bees pollinating the wildflowers.



Huge rock formations.




Lichens, thousands of years old.




Prairie, yet signs of the gateway to the wild, wild West.


And roaming in the distance...BISON!

The highlight of our trip had to be what happened right here, on the entrance to I90 from a rest area in southern Minnesota.



This little guy ran across the road as we were entering the freeway. Now, many families may have just continued their journey and not thought twice about what might befall the little porklet... but NOT US! We jumped out of the van and began a 5 minute circus to catch the thing! I finally captured him by the hind end and quickly handed him to The Professor.



Ain't he cute?!

Luckily there was a ranger back at the rest stop who took the little piggy and popped him in the shed until he could find his rightful owner. He said that this was the third one they found today. Some trucker lost 3 little piggies on his way to the market?

Great trip!

What is it like to move away....and come back?

I'm up tonight watching one of my favorite movies,"Gross Point Blank". I like this movie not only because I LOVE John Cusack but it is a film that was meant for people just like me - 40 something, mid-eighties graduate. The soundtrack is filled with tunes from groups like, Aha, The Violent Femmes, The Clash, The English Beat, David Bowie, Queen and The Jam. All groups I LOVE!




I think that people can also relate to this movie because people do move away from the cities where they went to high school and then return for things like their high school reunions just like Martin Blank does.

I wonder what that would be like? I have only been away from the town that I grew up in for short periods of time, a year at the most. The house that I currently live in is less than a mile from the house that I grew up in. The house that I grew up in is still occupied by my mother and sister. I left home at 18 to go to college but only 5 miles from my parent's house. I now teach at the high school that I went to, my father graduated from and where he taught as well.

Now, I'm not complaining. It just has me thinking. I have NO idea what it is to leave the place where you have spent your childhood or youth and then return after a long period of time. I am interested to know if anyone has had that experience and what it was like?

The ten year reunion is something I think that many people, including myself can relate to. The high school flame that has never gotten out of your system. The one love that you wonder about years later. What would your life be like had you stayed together? Hmmmm....I guess that is why I like this movie; couple all that with the odd profession Martin has chosen in the ten years after high school - it makes a good movie and stirs up funny high school feelings again.

Live Music

I went to see The Professor play with his new band this week, "The Durty Nellys". It was their first gig and it went well for a first gig. The Professor looked HOT playing the drums . He kept up the tempo and held the band together. I had an awesome time and everyone in the place seemed to be enjoying themselves and the band. They will play again at the Irish Fair in August not to mention in my basement weekly :)

More live music that I am going to see.



Bought these tickets today at The Electric Fetus. I hadn't been there in probably 20 years. It has evolved into the cool, everything store. Not only do they have vinyl but it they sell cool earrings, clothing, candles, incense and everything else you could possibly imagine.

I went there to buy tickets for the Los Lobos concert. They are my all time favorite band. I see them every time that they come to town. I don't think I have missed a year. We have seen them in all different venues. I think my favorite venue was either First Avenue or The (old) Guthrie.

"I Walk Alone" is one of their favorites to do in a concert. It really gets everyone rocking!



The other song that I love to hear them do live is "Cinnamon Girl".



Now these aren't originals but they are classics and they are such a great band that they do it all!


While at the Electric Fetus, I couldn't help but notice other shows that were coming to town.

NEKO CASE!




I have never seen her in concert and within the last two years have really started to listen to her albums. I love all her stuff and now I am SOOOO excited that I have tickets to see her in person. First Ave. is a pretty good place to see her. The guy at the Fetus said, "gone are the days when you could see her at the Cedar"...yes, she won't come to a small venue like that again but First Ave is not like the Target Center or the Dome, it is still relatively small.

So, there you go. Live music ROCKS!