Fitzgerald Theatre

The Fitzgerald Theatre, named after one of our favorite sons and until recently owned by MPR,  is located around the corner from this mural. My family and I have attended many theatrical shows and performances there and wonder how the recent sale to First Avenue will affect programing. 

Linking to Monday Murals

Sitting It Out

After several calls to tech support and three visits to an Apple store I had to leave my MacBook Air
at the shop so that one of their Genuises could wipe the slate clean and reinstall the only upgrade that my 7-year-old computer could handle.  How can a computer of that age be considered OLD?! I do not want to replace it  and will use it as long as I can before it dies a peaceful death. When I picked it up yesterday it looked terrific, but now I have to relearn part of the new format.  I think that I have a love hate relationship with the internet and technology.

Everybody Works

One of the rules of St. Benedict that is observed by Benedictines is that everybody works. Chef Victoria demonstrated how to hold knives and how to cut onions, carrots, and vegetables. The large container of apples is the result of about 10 minutes of effort by us. If you want to know more about the retreat I just attended, read last Sunday's explanation here.

Count Down!!

Better stock up--0nly 7 more days before ghosts and goblins will come knocking on your door~

Linked to Signs2

The Chef's Magic Oven

Chef Victoria and her Alto-Shaam, Oven-Steamer

It had been years since I attended an honest-to-goodness retreat, but last week-end I stayed at St. Paul's Benedictine Monastery to participate in "Food and Faith." I learned so much about our current agricultural system: industrial farming or sustainable agriculture.  Wikipedia describes the latter this way: "Sustainable agriculture is farming in sustainable ways based on an understanding of ecosystem services, the study of relationships between organisms and their environment." I also learned about our local, state, and federal food programs and intend to pay attention and learn more.

During the summer months, it has been easy to support local farmers, but now I am determined to change many of my habits during the non-growing produce season. Yesterday our family joined a local coop where I had occasionally shopped, but am now determined to become a regular customer. I discovered myriad ways to shop, cook, and bake in order to support our local farmers. Now all I need is a gourmet kitchen!!

The above photo is of the chef, Victoria, who described her magic oven and how it  works. It  truly is quite remarkable! Stay tuned for more photos the next few days.

Annual OysterFest III-Crêpes

These two young women cheerfully worked during the entire OysterFest providing a different kind of sustenance!
crêpes

crêpe

G.A.R MEMORIAL AND SAWYER CANNON

The Grand Army of the Republic Memorial was donated by the Lakewood Cemetery Association in 1889 to honour the Civil War dead. Near the memorial stands a Sawyer cannon made for the Union Army. This cannon represents a breakthrough in cannon design and is the only existing model of its type remaining in the United States. (Credit: Lakewood brochure-"A Self-Guided Tour")

Homage to Todd Bol

Little Free Library creator Todd Bol Died

The founder of the Little Free Library movement has died. Todd Bol was 62 and had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. A St. Croix Valley native, Bol was born in North St. Paul and went to Stillwater High School. He was a serial entrepreneur, founding companies that created nursing fellowships and a health care staffing company.

For the full story, Click here

Family Cemetery Plot

These markers in Lakewood Cemetery display a very difficult and tragic history  for one family. 

Hard times!

 I am going on a three-day retreat today.  Will be back on Monday.

First Snowfall-October 14, 2008

The snow melted by noon, but I got a few interesting images.

Annual Oysterfest II

Oysterfest Scene

I described this annual event earlier this week.  Here are some more scenes.

Humphrey Memorial

Last Sunday I posted a tribute memorial photo of Paul Wellstone,  a Minnesota politician. Today I would like to honour another famous politician, former Vice President Hubert Humphrey. and his wife Muriel.

Humphrey Quotes:

• Freedom is hammered out on the anvil of discussion, dissent, and debate.
• Compassion is not weakness, and concern for the unfortunate is not socialism.
• Behind every successful man is a proud wife and a surprised mother-in-law. ...

Oysterfest 2018

Despite the early snowfall that luckily melted by mid-afternoon and the cool temperature, the annual outdoor OysterFest organised by the Meritage restaurant in downtown St. Paul was enjoyed by a large crowd of people on Sunday. White tents were set up to shelter those who expertly shucked the oysters for the hungry gourmets who waited patiently in line for the delicacies  supplied by The Fish Guys.  The well-organised event also had beverage tents, delectable crepes, an oyster store, a shucking showdown stage, a band and fire pits to help keep us warm.  DH and I had a great time!

Wellstone Memorial

The people of this country, not special interest big money, should be the source of all political power.Paul Wellstone

Paul David Wellstone (July 21, 1944 – October 25, 2002) was an American academic, author, and politician who represented Minnesota in the United States Senate from 1991 until he was killed in a plane crash in Eveleth, Minnesota, in 2002. A member of the Democratic Farmer-Labor Party, Wellstone was a leader of the progressive wing of the national Democratic Party.

On October 25, 2002, Wellstone, along with seven others, died in an airplane crash in northern Minnesota, at 10:22 a.m. He was 58 years old. The other victims were his wife, Sheila; one of his three children, Marcia; the two pilots, and campaign staffers Mary McEfoy, Tom Lapic and Will McLaughlin. The airplane was en route to Eveleth, where Wellstone was to attend the funeral of Martin Rukavina, a steelworker whose son Tom Rukavina served in the Minnesota House of Representatives. Wellstone decided to go to the funeral instead of a rally and fundraiser in Minneapolis attended by Mondale and fellow Senator Ted Kennedy. He was to debate Norm Coleman in Duluth, Minnesota, that same night.
(Credit: Wikipedia)

Beloved by many, his absence is still sorely missed in the political arena.

More Wellstone quotes:A politics that is not sensitive to the concerns and circumstances of people's lives, a politics that does not speak to and include people, is an intellectually arrogant politics that deserves to fail.

We all do better, when we all do better.

Autumn finery

Although these trees are lovely in all of their autumn finery, most of the colours on other  trees are not as prolific and beautiful. The wind and rain has stripped many of the leaves off the trees in our neighbourhood.

You may notice that the house in the top photo looks tilted.  Unfortunately, I need a new computer for a lot of different reasons. The one I am using refuses to allow me to edit my photos.  I may be offline for awhile while I make a computer decision.

Lakewood Cemetery Mausoleum

Mausoleum at Lakewood Cemetery in fall colours on a rainy day

About 250 acres in size, Lakewood memorializes the dead with more than 100,000 monuments and markers. Long considered one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the country, it was modeled after the rural cemeteries of 19th-century France, such as Père-Lachaise in Paris. When Lakewood was established in 1871 rural cemeteries were becoming more popular as part of a growing trend away from churchyard burials in the heart of the city.

A Common Sign-A Common Complaint

This message is not unusual in public areas, but I think it covers everything: 

1. Be a good neighbour

2. Leash your pet

3. Clean up 

4. Bag the poop

The only instruction missing is to "dispose of it properly!" Members in my neighbourhood facebook group often complain that dog owners will blithely throw the bag into any garbage can they might walk past. My own neighbours can rest easy: when on our morning walks, Wild Wendy uses the boulevard side of the grass for her toilete, and I take the bag home with me. Yes, all of us should be Good Neighbors!!

Linking to Signs, Signs 

Seasonal bouquets

Seasonal bouquets!  Which do you like better?

Clear Instructions

OUR RIDE/WALK--I often take Wild Wendy a few blocks from our house to a different area so that she can have new places to explore and smell. There are few things less desolate-looking than an outdoor summer pool area after the season ends. It looked both empty and bleak, but I saw this marvellous mural/sign by the entrance. No child can cry or wheedle his/her way into the area that contains the wonderful curved slide into the pool because the instructions are clear.

Linking to Monday Mural

Stop raining, please!

Is anyone else getting tired of all the rain you might be getting?!

More green space

As autumn is fast approaching with the change of colours, I am looking at the greenery with a different eye, wishing this season would last longer. These are everyday images I might pass by if it were not for my longing to stay green!