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.

Anniversary month

August 8th was our 9th wedding anniversary. We unfortunately spent this day apart. Tom had to be in D.C. for work. I figured I make the best out of it and treat myself extra special that day. I started out the day having breakfast on my way to work in a cute little joint in Dinkytown called "Al's Breakfast". I probably would have never walked into this place, it is barely noticeable and it looks like a real greasy spoon but one day my dad and I got together to have lunch and he wanted breakfast. Al's only serves breakfast and what my dad wants, my dad usually gets, he's 77 years old, I figure he deserves it. To my surprise, Al's was more than a greasy spoon, their breakfasts were tasty and what I consider to be healthy. I had scrambled eggs with spinach and feta cheese and a side of whole wheat toast. I haven't gone there often but on my anniversary I thought it would be a nice treat.

Inside Al's is a row of stools, maybe fifteen of them. If there isn't a seat available, you wait against the wall behind the stools and try to be as skinny as possible. As soon as someone gets up, you let them squeeze out and dash for the stool.

I don't mind eating alone in fact I find it peaceful and inspirational. I like to take everything in, see what is going on and study people. Sometimes you even meet someone new. The man that I was sitting next to was having breakfast with his friend. We started up a conversation after the server saw us both talking on our cell phones and asked if we were talking to one another. I was being a moderator for my arguing children on MY phone. We started to talk about life, our children, our jobs. We could have chatted away most of the day. In the end, he told me to have a happy anniversary and bought my breakfast! I love those random acts of kindness.

Having breakfast at Al's with the kind stranger and his friend on my wedding anniversary.

Our celebration had to wait a couple weeks. We decided that we would officially celebrate the night of the Los Lobos concert. We had the tickets for months, they were playing at the Zoo.

It was perfect. Our very first date was at the Zoo, how much more romantic could that be?

Of course we had to have Mexican food prior to the show. Tom wanted to go somewhere close to the venue - not many Mexican food choices out in the burbs. It had to be the only Chevy's left in MN out by MOA. It had been quite some time since we had been out on a date.

Tom called this a "manage a trois".

This is my favorite entree when dining at a Mexican/American restaurant, cheese enchiladas with rice and beans. I ate the WHOLE thing!

After dinner we proceeded to the parking lot of the MN Zoo for a little tailgating. I can always count on my betrothed to surprise me with his graceful touches to add to a fun filled evening. He had just the right pre-concert music playing, The Paladins mixed in with a little KFAI reggae and St. Germaine. The cooler was fully stocked with my favorite brand of wine.

The moon was almost full and with a black reboza, I twirled in the moonlight.

The concert was AWESOME! Tom and I have been to see Los Lobos numerous times over the last twelve years - although the Zoo is not the best place to enjoy them full bodied. I had to move from my cramped seating arrangement about 4 songs into it because I was smack in the middle of a row of bleacher - sequestered people whom I was bound to elbow and knee as I danced to the beat of a cumbia. The dancers were down front on the stairs. I danced the night away and as per usual for Los Lobos, they let a few of the women up front hop up on the stage to strut their stuff. I had always wanted to do this in the past and what a better way to make this evening memorable, so I jumped to the stage and danced with the band ...

a photographer/blogger is always prepared for moments like these!

Me and Steve Berlin, Los Lobos keyboardist and saxophone player.

Me and Conrad Lozano, bass player for Los Lobos.

Ah, but the night didn't end there! After having seen these guys so many times and in so many places, I started to introduce myself to the road hands. I met Tony a few years back when they played at the Guthrie and had to say hi to him again. I told him to thank the band for letting me come up on stage and dance. He told me to go and tell them myself and proceeded to escort me to the after-show portable where the band hangs out. I quickly waved down Tom to get his ass by me before he was left behind.

I'd like to say that there is nothing cooler than "hangin' with the band". In good faith, I can't say this for Los Lobos. We've gotten to go backstage once before when they played at The Cabooze and it was the same, very anti-climatic. My guess is that is probably very draining being on the road, that you have hundreds of people, like myself, that you don't know, trying to get to know you - so you just smile, nod, don't give them any information and soon they go away. So, that was that.

The night didn't end on a bad note. From there we had been invited to a friend's birthday party that went into the wee hours of the morning. The boys spent the night at Grandma's house so we didn't have to hurry home AND we were allowed the luxury of sleeping in late the next morning. THIS is good because I don't do the 3 in the morning very well anymore and it usually takes me a week to recover.

It's now Monday and I could use a vacation from my anniversary outing.

Take me WAY back!

I've been thinking a lot about things that have influenced my life - friends, books and music are the top three. My experience with each stirs feelings and like a recorder, plays back tapes when I encounter them. This video clip of Bobbie Gentry singing "Ode to Billy Jo", with it's creepy, mysterious sounding violins in the background brings back waves of childhood/adolescent memories and questions.

' 70's TV junky!

I thought I was a lot older when I was watching these shows. Researching it, I found out that I was 7 - 11 years old...prime brain washing age. '70's TV was a daily part of my life. As I watched the old footage of these series, I remembered each scene vividly, like it was yesterday. You have to wonder how did these images, the portrayal of these "super women" influence my life, my choices, my psyche.

I forgot how Wonder Woman got her powers...this explains it all...During World War II, a pilot, Major Steve Trevor, bails out during an air battle over the Bermuda Triangle, home of Paradise Island. The island houses Amazons, beautiful, ageless women with great strength, agility, and intelligence. Amazon princess Diana rescues Trevor, and proposes a contest to return him to America, where she will remain to help the Allied forces. Her mother, the Amazon queen, is dead set against Diana being the one to go. So Diana enters the contest in disguise (a blond wig), and ties for first. The play-off is bullets and bracelets, where each of the two take turns shooting at the other, who must try to deflect the bullets. Diana successfully deflects all the shots at her, but her opponent deflects a few but is injured by one. So Diana wins, and then removes her wig and reveals her identity, and proclaims her loyalty and love to her people, her queen and mother. Her mother agrees to send her with her blessing.


The other show that I loved was the Bionic Woman which premiered in Jan. 1976 and ran until May 1978. The Bionic Woman was a spin off the Six Million Dollar Man which I also watched religiously. Jamie Sommers was a tennis professional who got seriously hurt in a sky diving accident. Oscar Goldman and Rudy Wells, who built Steve Austin rebuild Jamie to give her amplified hearing, a greatly strengthened right arm, and enhanced legs, enabling her to run faster than a speeding car.

Check out this scary episode clip!