Sunday, April 30, 2017

Adventures!





While I waited for Jim to finish paying the cashier at Thrifty Outfitter where we had just bought rain jackets for our Alaskan cruise, my eyes were drawn to this poster. Oh, adventure calls me!!
Edmund Viesturs is a high-altitude mountaineer and corporate speaker. He is the only American to have climbed all 14 of the world's eight-thousander mountain peaks, and the fifth person to do so without using supplemental oxygen. Wikipedia
BornJune 22, 1959 (age 57 years), Fort Wayne, IN
SpousePaula Viesturs (m. 1996)

Saturday, April 29, 2017

Another Rice Painting!


Because the weather lately has been both chilly and damp, I haven't ventured out with my camera. While checking my archives,  was delighted to find another Amy Rice painting that I hadn't posted yet. A sweet painting that is perfect for Saturday's Critters and Camera Critters. Enjoy the week-end, everyone; I hope that there is a bit of sunshine in your life!

Linking to ABC Wednesday, too!

Friday, April 28, 2017

Spring!!


After spending days watching the enormous and diseased tree next to my house being cut down (see five previous posts),  it was such a pleasure to see these beautiful blossoms adorning the driveway of this charming house.


Thursday, April 27, 2017

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Tree. . .Be Gone #4



Before "the woodcutter" could start the final stages, the huge trunk which I showed you yesterday had to be felled. They cut a wedge into the side, took one of the big pieces of equipment, and just shoved it over.

Linking to ABC Wednesday

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Tree. . .Be Gone #3

  Getting closer to the ground!!


 In the photos below you can see some of the rot and also the many holes where the racoon families had their "nursery" and where the squirrels moved in after it was vacated by previous families!



Monday, April 24, 2017

Tree. . .Be Gone #2




Taking down this massive tree (ironically on Earth Day) was of great interest to the neighbours.  After watching for  a short time, most of the adults returned home to go about their business but an eleven-year-old boy and I spent the better part of the last two days watching the procedure. I, because I lived next door and had an invested interest in it since it was diseased and could easily have fallen on our house or garage but the boy just was fascinated with the entire process. Truth be told, I, too, was fascinated with the skill and talents of the men who were doing the work.Tomorrow I will show you more photos as the work came closer to the ground.

Saturday, April 22, 2017

Tree. . .Be Gone!!



This diseased, hollow tree has been the bane of my existence since we moved next door to it in 1976. During the entire time it has been the home and incubator for a family of three racoons, a mother and two offspring, on occasion plus several families of squirrels every season. During a rain and thunderstorm in a previous year one of the large limbs broke off, ignited after falling on power lines but was safely extinguished by members of our stalwart fire department before it burned down the house on the other side of the property.

 Despite our pleas as well as the other family's,  three previous owners would not incur the expense of having it removed. Remarkably we all remained civil to one another despite the danger to our homes and property,  in addition to the mess we incurred during the spring and fall,  Finally, we recently got new owners next door, a young couple who wisely are having the tree  professionally removed today. I am giddy and gleeful!!

 

Friday, April 21, 2017

Spring is Here!


This house belongs to one of our close neighbours whose house has a very classic look; in fact, it is often selected by various companies for commercials.  The magnolias add beautifully to the long- awaited spring scene.
AND
A Happy Birthday, darlin daughter!
The years have passed but you are still a beautiful gift!!

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Oh! Mon Petit Chérie Bakery and Kitchen


After passing a small bakery/cafe on Franklin Avenue, I finally stopped in yesterday and enjoyed a delicious blueberry scone and latte. The interior has unique decorations and artifacts.




Monday, April 17, 2017

Abby's Gone


On April 4 I told you the story about the relationship between Glenn and Abby, the dog who belongs to one of Glenn's neighbors.  The neighbors have moved and this is a farewell photo of the two of them taken by a guest photographer. It is my hope that the former neighbors will occasionally bring Abby back to unite the two, Abby and Glenn.

Saturday, April 15, 2017

A Rare Butterfly

This is probably the last photo of Amy Rice's paintings that I have taken. It appeals to my whimsical nature! 

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. Muhammad Ali 



Friday, April 14, 2017

Veggies?


Fancy soap as seen through the glass window of a shop on France Avenue in Minneapolis.

Thursday, April 13, 2017

The Hungry Crabapple Tree


Trees need sustenance to stay healthy. This crabapple and its backyard brother appeared to need some fertilizer, and who are we to say "No?" Tomorrow they will be sprayed with chemicals claimed to be safe for the environment and animals. The needs of home ownership are many.  .  . and expensive!

Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Broders: Take your Pick!


For years we have been enjoying many meals at Broder's Pasta Bar in Minneapolis. The Deli, where it all began, the Restaurant, and Terzo, the wine bar, are clustered on three different locations on the corner of 50th and Penn. Now the management is conducted by the second generation of 3 boys (men now) with their mother. Cleverly placed on the corner of the intersection, the signs will point the way! You won't find a better place to eat.


To read more about the history of the restaurants and the beginning of this family owned business, click here.
Linking to Signs, Signs

Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Good Morning, April 11, 2017



April 11, 2017: Such is life in Minnesota, I guess!


Linking to ABC WEDNESDAY

Monday, April 10, 2017

Lemon Madeleines


Lemon Madeleines

There’s a little cake out there that’s synonymous with a literary giant. It’s light, spongey and not much bigger than a walnut, yet it’s imbued with the potential to evoke powerful memories of things past. It’s the humble madeleine, and it will forever be associated with the French writer Marcel Proust

'No sooner had the warm liquid mixed with the crumbs touched my palate than a shudder ran through me and I stopped, intent upon the extraordinary thing that was happening to me.” Proust

I am a chef, not a baker. Most of my attempts to bake have resulted in disaster.  I discovered Madeleines--my attempts to make them have been successful! Easy and fun to eat.

Sunday, April 09, 2017

Wooddale Church



When I saw the white spire against the blue sky, I knew that I had to get out of the car and take some photos. It is a large modern structure firmly planted on a large green, well-landscaped lawn. Nowhere did I see any indication of the church's denomination,

Saturday, April 08, 2017

The One that Didn't Get Away!


Another of Amy Rice's wonderful paintings!

“I am an expression of the divine, just like a peach is, just like a fish is.” 
― Alice WalkerThe Color Purple

Friday, April 07, 2017

Minnesota Spring Sky


While running errands this morning I noticed this bank of filmy clouds.  The trees still haven't leafed out, yet the scene gives me hope for the arrival of spring weather.


Victor Hugo
“There is one spectacle grander than the sea, that is the sky; there is one spectacle grander than the sky, that is the interior of the soul.”
Linking to Skywatch Friday

Thursday, April 06, 2017

Marble Columns


Just one example of the many beautiful marble columns scattered throughout the Minnesota Capitol building in St Paul.

Wednesday, April 05, 2017

Macalester College-Old Main


Macalester College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Saint PaulMinnesotaIt was founded in 1874 as a Presbyterian-affiliated but nonsectarian college. Its first class entered September 15, 1885. Macalester is exclusively an undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,978 students in the fall of 2013 from 50 U.S. states and 90 countries

Linking to ABC Wednesday-"M"

Tuesday, April 04, 2017

Good bye, Dear Abby!

Good bye, Abby--good memories: For several years now a friend and I pick up donated bread, rolls and pastries at one of the Turtle Bakeries on Monday mornings and then drop the food off at a local food shelf. While waiting for the donation, we normally indulge in coffee and rolls, and during this time we have made a friend who often brings his neighbour's dog to the restaurant. Abby is everyone's  favourite and we enjoy both of them enormously.  Much to our displeasure Abby's owners will be moving this week so we had to say good-bye to her. The neighbour, Glenn, who sometimes walks Abby to Turtle is not moving so we will continue to see him, but we all will miss Abby.

Monday, April 03, 2017

A Dog's Life


Years ago Snoopy and his friends were seen all over St. Paul.  After the individual dog houses and the gang were sold to people and businesses, they seemed to fall off the radar as sources of interest and conversation..  Yesterday I saw this one peeking over a neighbourhood fence, and it brought a smile to my face.

“You think dogs will not be in heaven? I tell you, they will be there long before any of us.”
Robert Louis Stevenson (author, Treasure Island)

Sunday, April 02, 2017

Mary Poppins- Wet #2


Whizzing down the street
Protected by umbrella
Happy rainmaker!

This is probably my all-time favourite water photo.  On a summer day in 2011, this wet cyclist whizzed by my car  on West River Parkway.  I chased her down the  street and asked for a picture,  to which she cheerily  agreed.  What a sweetheart; wonder what she is doing now?

"When it rains on your parade, look up rather than down. Without the rain, there would be no rainbow." "Gilbert K. Chesterton 

Saturday, April 01, 2017

April Theme Day, 2017-"Wet"


Repost: I have several favorite previously posted water photos that I especially enjoy.  Since our spring is still very dry,  I knew that I could not find any photos that could top the pictures I have in my archives.  During a past neighborhood-nite-out-block party, St. Paul fireman came to our street and turned on one of the water hydrants, enjoyed by all the kids.



To see more interpretations of the wet theme by other CDP bloggers, visit this link.