Nicole and I went to the St.Paul Winter carnival today. It was pretty warm (30 degrees) so we thought it would be fun. There was a Grand Day parade, snow and ice sculptures. There was also typical carnival treats. We sampled some mini donuts, cheese curds and kettle korn. After about two hours the wind shifted and it got kind of chilly so we called it a day. Here are some photos of the afternoon. One is a replica of the Minnesota State Capitol building.
In my usual haste to get out of the door for work yesterday, I left my keys on the table. Not a problem except the spare key was under the house, having fallen there last week and nobody (namely Aaron) retrieved it. Ater several attempts to get the key from a point on the deck, I locked the dogs up in the gate(lest they lick me to death) and crawled under there to get it. Got the key, opened the door, stripped on the way to my room, buttoning and zipping on my way back out of the door, locking it behind me, neglecting to get my keys and now the spare one too. Fretted some more and then "hi-ya" kicked in the door. It opened allright. Split the frame. The good news is nobody was hurt and I was only a half an hour late for work.
This is Popp's Fountain in City Park. I had lunch here today. When I was last here, I was tailgating for a Tulane-Navy game at City Park Stadium. Dad was supposed to go with me but he had broken his ankle. The fountain was overgrown and looked like it hadn't been tended to in many years. I didn't know what it was. They light this up at night but I haven't seen it yet. I don’t remember seeing this as a kid but I’m sure I must have. For you Viking fans, the star of the day was Mewelde Moore of Tulane. Some Navy jets did a flyover during the National Anthem. It was a fun day.
Is there anything sadder than a padlock on a public facility?
Shot through the bars.
As Patsy so eloquently put it, ewwwwww.
Celebrity deaths usually don't move me to say anything more than, "gee, that's too bad". This one bothers me.
When I first started watching the Tonight Show it was kind of a rite of passage being able to stay up that late. While babysitting it was quite often the only thing on. I was ready for the parents to get home when the Tonight Show was over because there was nothing else on t.v. except for the nightly playing of the Star Spangled Banner or the prayer hour.
I heard clips of old monologues on the radio this morning on the way to work. Heard all about Clara Clippers clappers. Ed McMahon is supposed to be on Larry King tonight. Should be an interesting show.
There should be a rule. If the sun is shining, the temperature should be at least 50ºF. It’s 20º with a wind chill that puts the temp in single digits here but the sun is shining. A good day for riding the bikes, watching football, and eating leftover king cake.
Patriots and Falcons in the Super Bowl. You heard it here.
Spied this ritual on our feeders this morning. Two tufted titmice were taking turns dropping out of the tree above our feeder, grabbing a black oil sunflower seed while keeping an eye on the guy with the camera,
and then flying back up and banging said seed on a branch to open it.
It has been a while since making my last entry, so it is time. I hope all are well in their hibernation. It was below freezing again last night, but warmer weather is on the way.
I finally got spam guard, but I still have to go into the spam box and deal with the mail. I want to know why the "cheating housewives" junk is so titillating to people. One of the subject lines is "Eff Fernando's wife". It is just ridiculous. For one dollar, you can meet up with cheating, wanton housewives with nothing better to do. I think it is just the fantasy that the idiots are promoting, but are there really that many unsatisfied and desperate and nasty housewives with no floors to clean, or PTA need to satisfy first? Sheesh. No reality enters into the picture.
I am meeting some very interesting people and hearing some of the most intriguing stories at work. It is a magnet, as I have been all of my life, for eccentric people. Everyone has a belief system. Everyone believes their belief system is THE belief system to believe. It will be my secret from them that mine is actually the belief that is the correct one. Amen. Allelujia. So on and so forth. I have written. Carry on.
6º in Minneapolis this morning. At least, it's above zero. Unfortunately for me, it's only about 15º colder than it is here in Bush. Go away winter.
I forget what this building is called but I seem to remember Mom's office had a picnic here once or twice a long time ago. Mom?
Love blue sky pictures. Where did I put that Allman Brothers album? This was taken yesterday at City Park. My first lunch plan didn’t pan out so I grabbed a couple of burgers and ate in the park. This tree is in City Park Lagoon. A duck waddled up and wagged his tail at me after I had finished eating. Wish I had saved some of the bun. Lunch wasn’t so bad.
Here's some parade information that might be interesting to those of you who attend parades: David and Matthew will be riding their horses in three parades this year -- January 23, Sunday, 1:00 p.m., Pearl River; January 30, Sunday, Slidell; February 4, Friday, 7:00 p.m., Slidell. Pearl River will be Matt's tryout because it's a small parade and David will check him out and see if he and Ali are worthy. He joined a club of horse owners. Joe Bowers is also riding. Joey provided the tuxedo shirts. It should be fun for them and also fun for the onlookers. The horse groups have always been one of my favorite parts of a parade.
An update on Ashley's English paper....the teacher gave all the students an A+. So they didn't really get graded but it was "counted". I'm going to wait to send an e-mail 'til the grades are entered. I talked to another mom who is also a teacher and she knows this teacher both professionally and as a neighbor. Seems he's "passionate" about many things and has a hard time seeing anyone else's side. Nicole has already requested not to get this teacher when she gets to High School. Well, winter has finally arrived here. We actually got one inch of snow yesterday. I think we got 2 but who's counting. "They" say that the windchills and actual temps will dip below zero for the next 4 days. Angela, bet you wish you were here. :)Keep Warm. Carol
Yes, Mom and cousin Laura, the Robins are still here in Bush. I suspect this one will skip the trek south across Lake Ponchartrain with the balmy weather we’re having here not to mention the tons of insects and worms in my yard.
First King cake. This was breakfast this morning for me. These came from Marguerite’s Cakes. They were fairly traditional cinnamon King cakes. A little too dry for my tastes but still very good. They also make them with various fillings. Raspberry and cream cheese is the version I like. In fact, I want one now that I’ve typed it.
Traditionally, bakers start making King cakes on Twelfth Night or Epiphany (January 6) and stop making them after Mardi Gras. There is a another tradition with King cakes. The baker puts a plastic doll/baby somewhere in the cake. Tradition holds that the person who gets the piece with the baby is to provide the next King cake. Some of us dive right in not thinking for a moment about the baby. There are about 5 of us left on this planet. We are a dying breed. These things are sold for $5-$25 and you would not believe what people will do to avoid getting the baby. Some I’ve noticed:
Slice very thin slices and then pick up 3 or 4 of said thin slices.
Swallow it whole and don’t tell anyone.
Spit it out and don’t tell anyone.
Don’t get any until someone gets the baby.
Ask if anyone got the baby yet or the more subtle “Who got the baby?”
Ok, so here's the question.....
Ashley was assigned (for English class) to do a biography report on someone who is over 65. So she interviewed Dan's mom. There was specific criteria as to number of words, information needed etc. Then came the due date. She diligently worked on it and turned it in on time. While she was waiting for it to be handed back (graded), she overheard him telling a few other students that he wasn't sure that he was going to grade/count this essay. So she talked to him and he said the same thing and that he would grade/count the best essay of the next 2 handed in (As Ashley said, how am I gonna know which is the best one). Now I'm thinkin' that this isn't fair to all the kids who worked hard on this paper. This is an advanced English Literature class and all the kids are the type to work hard on the projects. I asked Ashley if I should contact the teacher and she said it wouldn't matter 'cause the teacher told them from the get go that if he hadn't received at least one phone call or e-mail from a parent complaining about his teaching, then he wasn't doing a very good job. Now of course I think this is very egotistical of him to say and not an appropriate thing to say to the class. So the question is, what would you do. I'm thinking I should contact him via e-mail and see what his response is and depending on that, possibly send a copy of the "conversation" to the principal. What do you think. (p.s. no offense to any of the teachers out there, but this is one of the reasons I always hated school.)Carol
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