Trader Joe's World

Trying to find a navigable route from my house to Trader Joe's is an exercise in creativity. St. Paul is still in the throes of ripping up almost all major streets and highways to make improvements.  Hard to be patient this summer for the finished products; the seasonal construction appears to have been worse this year than previous seasons.

Linking to Signs, Signs

Acme Foundry

Founded in 1906

Acme Foundry has been a supplier of quality ductile and gray iron castings for over a century!

Located on a very busy and somewhat unattractive street connecting St. Paul and Minneapolis, I thought that this was just another old abandoned building.  Haven't heard the word "foundry" in a long time, but it obviously is a strong, thriving business.  Check it out here. It has some interesting photos on its site.

According to their website: We continue to serve our large and diverse customer base by staying abreast of the times, offering old-fashioned service and craftsmanship, state of the art foundry technology and very competitive pricing.

Ancient Warrior

It's not a mural but not exactly a window either, but it is an impressive image at the top of the wide
dramatic stairs in the Castle of the American Swedish Institute.

Linking to Monday Mural

Seeking Knowledge

Are you ready for the September 1st Theme Day, Library?  I have been looking for a perfect photo for it but still have not found one.  These steps are not a stairway to heaven, but close. . .because it leads to the book collection on the second floor of my local branch library.  I am carrying on the hunt while I find book after book of interest.  Perhaps that was the secret intent of the theme?

A Restaurant's Aquarium

I used to see many more aquariums in restaurants and medical or business offices in the past than I do today.  I wonder why these tanks with their fish have slowly disappeared?  While waiting to be served in any of these places, I always am entertained, almost mesmerized, by these colorful animals.

Linking to Camera Critters & Saturdays Critters

The Abundant Love Project

Last Wednesday as I entered the Highland Park Library and pushed the automatic door opener, this caught my eye.  I saw it atop the pedestal just outside the entrance.  

What a delightful gift! 

Go here to learn about this project.

Privacy Fence

I wonder what is behind this fence?  Perhaps it is irrational on my part, but these privacy fences vex me!  I prefer a community that encourages more interaction with neighbours. We have a fence to contain our dogs, yet it doesn't interfere with visibility.

Linking to Good Fences

Morning Walk

WWWW during the summer she and I see many beautiful flowers and shrubs.  As they disappear with the approaching end of the blooming season and the advent of fall weather, we are noticing different things.  Love this sign!
Linking to Signs, Signs.

Garments

Clothing on display at the American Swedish Institute

Linking to ABC WEDNESDAY

Fresh Veggies

Yesterday I went to a new small outdoor Minneapolis Farmers Market and loved what I saw!

Tall Ships, 2016

On Friday DH and I drove to Duluth to see the Tall Ships festival, August 18-21.  Crowds were enormous and traffic was heavy.  For us, the festival has become too popular: too many people and long lines. It took about 1-2 hours in line to board one of the ships.(We passed)  I was hugely disappointed that I did not see the ships with their sails unfurled on the lake as I had in the past.  While we were there the ships were docked, and although it was an interesting experience, it was not as I had anticipated. To see their beauty, go here to an earlier post this week.  Not all was lost because we drove to the main area, snagged a parking spot in front of the Green Mill restaurant, had a cool beer and a great Cobb salad for me, enormous BLT for Jim and plenty of attention for Wild Wendy on the patio.

Rubber Ducky

A Rubber Duck joins the Tall Ships in Duluth for the four-day festival. The yellow bird towered over the long lines of people enjoying the art fair and the tall ships.  The bird is 61 feet tall and weighs 11 tons. I remain baffled why this duck was part of the overall festival. Tomorrow I will show you some photos of the Tall Ships.

Linking to Camera Critters and Saturdays Critters

An Apple Tree!

            How about dem apples?! 
I was very surprised to see an apple tree on a sidewalk in a retail area on Grand Avenue in front of Cooks culinary shop in St. Paul.  It looks like a shrub rather than a tree, but there it is, producing lovely looking apples!

Photo from an Alley

Even from an alley the camera can find an interesting image!

Slogans

We are fortunate in Highland Park in St. Paul to be surrounded by many small liberal arts colleges and universities: Macalester, St Kate's, St. Thomas, Hamline plus William Mitchell Law School. All of these are within walking or biking distance from my home.  As an alum of St. Thomas I often use their library to find books unavailable in our Twin Cities libraries.  Some of these colleges also offer courses for seniors so I am frequently on their campuses. While strolling around St. Thomas last Friday I noticed these posted banners.  Great ideas, don't you think?

Nordic

 Nordic: A Photographic Essay of Landscapes, Food, and People, by Magnus Nilsson

This very fine exhibit at the American Swedish Institute closed last Sunday after a very successful  run from June 2 - August 14.  Taking photos there is difficult because of the poor lighting in spots and glaring lights in others, but after slanting the direction, I was able to eliminate a few of the issues that spoil the shots I took. There still were many more enormously sized photos I wanted to photograph but was unable to do so.  Much to my surprise I learned that 32-year-old Nilsson is also a well-known and highly regarded chef in Sweden as well as a photographer.  Several of his cookbooks were in the gift shop (and on Amazon, too), but I was intrigued by the one pictured below.  It's a tome of over 700 pages. Nillson is an interesting guy; learn more about him here.

Linking to ABC WEDNESDAY "F"-Food and Photos

Peace Garden

The Peace Garden at the entrance to the Jewish Community Center 

Making Repairs

 Jeff, a Century Link technician, made the repairs to get our household back online.  Terrific guy!

Back online!

Yesterday I explained why my internet service was down.  Today a very handsome young technician arrived to save the day.  Between the squirrels who had been chewing on the vines and the internet line plus my landscape job, we did a great job of interrupting the service. After two hours, my new friend Jake did a spectacular job of getting our household back into business. He even cleaned up some of the vines I couldn't reach.  What terrific service!!

NO INTERNET: WHATEVER SHALL I DO??

WORDS WORDS WORDS

LIBRARIES: Thank goodness for this wonderful public service that allows me to use the internet until my home service is restored. Yesterday my grandson, DH, and I spent one and a half hours pulling down wisteria vines that had entwined shrubbery, trees and "unfamiliar lines" at the edge of our property, lining St. Kate's campus where the offending vines were flourishing. After hard work I went into our house to use my computer. . .nothing. Today I called our server and were told our internet went down about the same time we were clearing tropical size vines from our fence and shrubbery. Smart me, I put two and two together and am now waiting for a technician to restore service. What to do? The library, of course! Don't worry, I'll be back!!

The library below is where I used to volunteer when we wintered in Mazatlán, México. All the books are donated and are written in English with just a small collection of Spanish books.  How about that for taking care of expats and snowbirds?!

Formal Debut

 WWWW: WALKING WITH WILD WENDY

Some of you who are on Facebook know from my postings there, that WW and I take morning walks. Today is her formal debut in blogland also; she has appeared here now and then in the past. This summer WW has loved all the flowers in the neighbourhood so we have taken many photos of them.  Today she posed quite well among the blossoms, and we both wonder what we will photograph during our cold Minnesota winters.  Any ideas?

Linking to Our World Tuesday 

Tall Ships Festival, Duluth, MN

I took these photos in 2011, the last time I saw the tall ships in Duluth.  From August 18-21st, they again will be in Lake Superior at the port of Duluth. As usual I waited too long  to make hotel reservations, and now there is NOTHING less than $400+ a room available in Duluth, Superior, Wisconsin and the surrounding small communities. DH, WW, and I will get up early on the 18th or 19th and drive to Duluth to see these outstanding vessels.  To learn more about the festival, go here for an overview.

A Visit from the Fire Department

At our recent National Neighborhood Night Out gathering (see photos here) we were visited by several different "public servant" groups, including a fire truck.  Much to the delight of the children and a few adults, we were allowed to enter and examine the rig.  I was most interested by the panel of dials and instruments attached to the rear of the fire engine.  How can we adequately thank these people for their dedication and service?!

The kids loved to play in the spray of water coming from this hydrant that was opened for a short time of immense pleasure by the children.

Fey

We have many interesting creatures in this neighbourhood: dogs, cats, birds, an occasional raccoon or  coyote and have even seen deer in St. Kate's campus woods a number of years ago.  None seem to interest Wild Wendy, our small dog, as this statue of a fairy in our neighbour's garden.  WW cannot pass without saying "Hello"-- I suspect that at night when we are all fast asleep, both of them cavort about the neighbourhood as only kindred spirits do.  Perhaps WW is our own little fey?

Neighborhood Night Out!

National Night Out, held on the 1st Tuesday of every August, is a nationwide event designed to build partnerships, strengthen relationships between neighbors and law enforcement, and raise crime prevention awareness across the nation.

For the past four or five years the Bayard Avenue Neighbors plus many who lived on the adjoining side streets have gathered together to enjoy one another on this evening.  By prior arrangement to the delight of the children we were visited by the St Paul Police Swat Team, police officers,  fireman and a police dog.    The potluck food was plentiful and delicious and the conversation was terrific!

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