Another fancy "do"

Erin from Plymouth, Minnesota, had a hairdo which is a bit more conservative and less colourful than Loren's.  I think that they both share the same desire to stand out in a crowd, which they and their friends did very well. Erin told me that he had finished his post-high school coursework and is currently employed with Target Corporation.  Just a group of kids looking to have a good time at the St. Paul Jazz Festival.

A little Saucy!

Would you like a little salsa with your tacos?

Bet your boots!

Just a regular boot.

One that you or I might wear.

Hair-raising!

The 13th Annual Jazz Festival was again held in the lovely Mears Park in downtown St. Paul. The spectators were almost as interesting as the musicians.  Loren who was visiting from Milwaukee where she currently lives originally hails from Green Bay, Wisconsin where I spent my tender growing-up years. The conincidences don't end there; her grandparents live in Kewaunee, not far from Door County where  I was born. And, I bet you thought that another coincidence was our similarities in hair style and colour that I had when I was her age! Not a chance, folks!

Sunday Bridges-Double Decker

This overpass on Godfrey Parkway is a rather scenic roadway, leading to the Ford Parkway bridge if you're travelling on the top but going straight ahead leads to West River Parkway along the Mississippi River.

To see more Sunday bridges, click here

Camera Critters-Olivia and neighborhood cat

The cat is a beauty.  Despite the bell on its collar, I wish that this cat would not be allowed to roam the streets, especially since baby birds are just stretching their wings and learning how to fly.  Should I broach the subject with its owner?

To see more camera critters from throughout the globe, click here.

Macabre or Realistic?

If none of you have ever seen an urn room, I'm providing you a sneak peek.  This room is located at O'Halloran and Murphy Funeral Home on Snelling Avenue in St. Paul. Surprised at the variety, or would you settle for a cardboard box?   It seems that more and more people are becoming proactive and are pre-planning their own funerals.  If you might be interested in cremation, there are lots of urns from which to choose.  Although I am currently not at all interested in this wonderful service, provided by one of my former students who is now a funeral director (stepping in his father's footsteps) I'm rather partial to the Rustic Sage myself.


 An interesting question: I wonder how many bloggers have done this or are thinking about their own future service?

Pianos on Parade #3-"Under the Sea"

To have a whale of a time...

Sit down and play!

This is one of the 20 pianos as part of the Pianos on Parade project. Located downtown at the Traveler's buildings across from St. Peter Street, it was painted by students at the Northwest Youth and Family Services center.  To see two pianos I have posted earlier, go here and here.

"It's like a whole orchestra, the piano for me."
Dave Brubeck

ABC Wednesday-"W" Wholly Wonderful Pasta Bar

Broder's Pasta Bar, our favorite Twin City restaurant, includes an outdoor patio which makes summer dining very, very nice and wholly delightful!!

If you go here, you will find many more wonderful ABC WEDNESDAY posts from bloggers around the world.

A 21st Century Mary Poppins!

 Mary Poppins blew by me...

Cycling at an amazing speed.


"When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race."  

~H.G. Wells~

Happy Dad's Day! 2011

For Jim, my DH: Husband, Father, and Grandfather.  It's been quite a ride...for all of us!!


For all the Dads and Granddads "out there!"

Not Forgotten by Sheila Packa

I learned to ride

the two wheel bicycle

with my father.

He oiled the chain

clothes-pinned playing cards

to the spokes, put on the basket

to carry my lunch.

By his side, I learned balance

and took on speed

centered behind the wide

handlebars, my hands

on the white grips

my feet pedaling.

One moment he was

holding me up

and the next moment

although I didn't know it

he had let go.

When I wobbled, suddenly

afraid, he yelled keep going—

keep going!

Beneath the trees in the driveway

the distance increasing between us

I eventually rode until he was out of sight.

I counted on him.

That he could hold me was a given

that he could release me was a gift.

Camera Critters-Goats...Part of the old sod??

"Al Johnson’s is an authentic Swedish family owned restaurant where you can find goats grazing the sod roof. It's quite a sight, and it's made this place one of the most famous restaurants in Door County, WI. Inside the casual, carpeted dining room, young ladies in Scandinavian garb dish out limpa bread and Swedish meatballs.

The menu consists of a variety of Swedish fare, from pancakes with lingonberries to Swedish meatballs, whitefish, sandwiches, salads, and a variety of hot and cold plates."

To learn more about the history of the restaurant, to see the photo gallery and learn the history of the goats who are on the roof of the restaurant, go here.

Go here if you'd like to see more Camera Critters.

The Watering Hole

This is one reason why our canine friends enjoy joining us at our neighborhood cafe.  We all need to feel welcomed!

End-of-School-Year Fun Run, 2011

 At my granddaughter's school the end-of- the-year fun run with a carnival-like fair afterwards was once again a success. Some walked while most ran around a huge city block surrounding the school.  Each of the runners (students, faculty, and parents) got a ribbon and a t-shirt commemorating the event when they crossed the finish line. When out-of-sight our granddaughter revealed that she often walked and even collected some interesting leaves and stones, but when she approached the end, she picked up her pace.

1-2-3...here's Olivia!!

Another ABC WEDNESDAY POST-"V" VERY, VERY FUNKY!- Pianos on Parade

 During the months of June and July, 20 pianos decorated by local artists will be placed throughout the city by an organization called  Keys 4/4 Kids. Read here for a complete description of this musical project. Passersby are encouraged to sit down and play. Last Thursday I toured the city quite early to find some of the pianos in parks, on sidewalks, and next to buildings before many people were out and about so I found no performers, but I found great pianos.  This one is in front of Ordway Theatre and was decorated by Joy Liberman, whom you have met on my blog before when she did the Apple-a-Day project.  Here is what she said about this piano: "Keycycle" My paintings are representational but often have an added level of meaning. I seek unique possibilities for joining common subjects and materials. "Bicycle Races" by Queen is the subject of my Pianos on Parade project. Both bicycles and pianos are machines that can take one for a ride, either on a physical or spiritual dimension. www.joylibermanpaintings.com.

If you go HERE, you'll find more ABC WEDNESDAY posts.  (Check my post yesterday, too, please!

ABC WEDNESDAY-"V" VERY, VERY FRENCH!!

On June 7th I posted a photo of this lovely young woman, making crepes in front of the Meritage restaurant in downtown St. Paul.  The chairs on the terrace remind me of the cafes in Paris. The food  in this restaurant is excellent.  Come join me and DH for a very fine meal sometime!

To see more ABC Wednesday post, go here.

Simple and Sweet-Doorways Meme

I am so happy that a Doorways meme has been re-established.  My first impulse was to find and post one of the many ornate doors on our prestigious Summit Avenue in St. Paul, but then decided that this blue door has a special quality of simplicity.  It's located in a small, serene neighborhood with comfortable and unpretentious homes.

To see more doorways, go to Louis La Vache's San Francisco Bay Photo.

Sunday Bridges-Over the Creek

This bicycle and foot bridge spans Minnehaha Creek along the Parkway.


David Russell - “The hardest thing in life is to know which bridge to cross and which to burn.”


To see more bridges, go to Louis' meme here. 

Here, Kitty, Kitty!-Camera Critters

This feline was hanging around the patio at Nelson's Cheese Factory, waiting for handouts.  She was skitterish and kept her distance, unless food was involved.  I couldn't quite decide which I admired more: her eyes or her tail.

“Cats are smarter than dogs. You can't get eight cats to pull a sled through snow.”

Jeff Valdez  To see more camera critters, go here.

STOCKHOLM PIE COMPANY-ROAD TRIP #4

One of the compulsory stops on our  road trips in this part of the world is The Stockholm Pie Company, a small shop on the corner of the main street in Stockholm, Wisconsin.  The small narrow shop normally has standing room only customers, waiting patiently in line for a slice of pie, cookies, ice cream or to order a take-out pie, which, based upon personal experience is "to die for." The description below from their website is the gospel truth!!

The Stockholm Pie Company

Recently awarded the Best Pie of 2011 by CityPages.com

We are proud and honored to be the best pie around. According to them, "the sweets that Janet Garretson makes at her cute-as-a-button Stockholm Pie Company aren't so much trendy as timeless. They're certainly as good as grandma's—probably better."

The Stockholm Pie Company opened in May, 2008, with the notion that pie-lovers would delight at being able to have a slice of an old-fashioned, hand crafted, and flaky crust pie. Since then, there have been many pie-lovers delighting in the little shop.

With a repertoire of more than thirty varieties of fruit pies, cream pies, pecan, and ice cream pies,  the shop makes all of the customary crowd-pleasers. Old time classics such as sour cream raisin bring back memories of pies grandma used to make. Lunch is also a tasty treat with a Savory pie, which is a  6" pie with delectable blend of meat, cheeses, spices, vegetables and fruit with an egg and cream custard in a flaky crust, or a slice of quiche, such as Spinach and Mushroom or Crab and Bacon.

Pies are available as 10 inch whole pies, 6 inch pies, and slices to eat at the store or for takeout.  Special orders are encouraged to ensure customers can get the pie of their choice. You may order pie by the slice, too.  If you want a pie not on the menu, it’s possible that a new recipe can be created. Customers can also feast on homemade cookies such as peanut butter, chocolate butterscotch chip, molasses, and chocolate chip oatmeal. 

No commercial pie dough, roll dough or pie fillings are used in crafting the pies, apple dumplings, or cookies.   Each item is made by hand, from the freshest ingredients possible.

Pianos on Parade

"This summer, St. Paul’s newest and hottest music venue will be its sidewalks. The music isn’t coming from a speaker, though-- it’s coming from your neighbor, a stranger, your friend playing an artistically transformed piano in a public space. During June and July, St. Paul will play host to Pianos on Parade — twenty pianos, each transformed by a local artist, and all available for the public to play and enjoy. Whether on a street corner or in a favorite park, a piano will spur St. Paul’s residents and visitors to spontaneously engage with art, music, and one another, creating moments of community and highlighting the city’s exceptional commitment to music and arts."
 Credit: http://pianosonparade.com/

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ABC WEDNESDAY-Another "U"-Truly Unbelievable!

On theme day I showed you this nest under construction.  This morning when I stepped out to pick up my morning paper, I noticed that all but one of the babies had already flown away.  I watched as this one gingerly left the nest and was perched for take-off.  It left its comfortable home as Mama watched from a nearby tree.  It's off on its first adventure.  Good luck Little Robin!

Go here to see more ABC WEDNESDAY posts.

ABC WEDNESDAY-"U" Unbelievably Delicious

This crepe foodstand is located in front of The Meritage--with a hungry patron ready to enter the French restaurant while waiting for his wife, the photographer. The cuisine at the the Meritage Restaurant is exceptionally good.  As soon as the weather warms up a bit, we intend to come downtown for Sunday brunch or lunch on the outside terrace as well as to indulge in the tasty-looking crepes. Since food carts are now becoming more and more popular in the Twin Cities we fully intend to sample most of them, if not all.

"Meritage Crepe Stand

Opened in Spring of 2010, the Meritage Crepe Stand was kicked off with fanfare and social media sources buzzing. 


To see other ABC WEDNESDAY posts, go here.

Biker Chick-Road Trip #3

On  week-ends during the spring, summer, and fall, Wisconsin Highway 35 is full of friendly bikers, many of whom have Harley's.  As we were driving away from a restaurant, this biker chick and her male companion roared up.  I leaned out the window and asked for a smile, and she willingly obliged.  Wonder how I'd do on one of those things.  Hah!!

Hastings Rail Bridge-Road Bridge#3:Sunday Bridges

During pleasant weather DH and I drive on Wisconsin Highway 35 following the Mississippi River along western Wisconsin. Although DH is quite good about indulging my photographic whims, he refuses to jam on the brakes while travelling in traffic. I took both photos from the car and am happy with the result. My contribution to Louis' bridges meme is this wonderful rail bridge described below.

Hastings Rail Bridge
A view of the Hastings Rail Bridge from the west.
Carries	One track of the Canadian Pacific Railway
Crosses	Mississippi River
Locale	Hastings, Minnesota
Maintained by	Canadian Pacific Railway
ID number	L-268
Design	Lift bridge
Total length	1,755 feet (535 m)
Width	One track
Longest span	324 feet (99 m)
Clearance below	60 feet (18 m) (span lifted), 21.9 feet (6.7 m) (span down)
Opened	1981
Coordinates	44°44′48″N 92°50′52″W

Hastings Rail Bridge is a lift bridge that spans the Mississippi River in Hastings, Minnesota. It is one of only three lift spans on the Mississippi River, the others being at Hannibal, Missouri, and in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota. It was built in 1981 by Milwaukee Road and was designed by Howard, Needles, Tammen & Bergendoff.

It crosses the Mississippi river in a north/south orientation from Hastings just upstream of Point Douglas, where the Saint Croix River empties into the Mississippi river. In addition to CP Rail traffic, the bridge also carries Amtrak's Empire Builder across the river.

Another nearby lift bridge is the Prescott BNSF lift bridge, in Prescott, Wisconsin that crosses the St. Croix River. The two tracks converge at the St. Croix.
(Credit: Wikipedia)

To see more bridges, go here.

Camera Critters-A Patient Canine

This beautiful and friendly dog waited patiently for his owner to come out of the neighborhood coffee shop.  Unlike some dogs whom I approach to photograph, he did not bark wildly as he guarded his domain, but instead nonchalantly posed for me. Good dog!!

To enjoy more photos of animals posted by bloggers throughout the globe, stop here.

Alley Flowers

It's fun this time of year to walk down alleys to see what kinds of flowers are planted.  Later in the summer there is an alley flower contest, but I think that this planter probably would not qualify. Look closely to see why.

You Bet Your Boots!

You bet your boots...

that it's fun to hang out with your friends at a Jazz Festival!