Entertainment, too!

Recently I posted a photo here of an excellent take-away at Longfellow Market on Lake Street.  DH and I have become regulars now for a casual Saturday lunch.  Last Saturday I had a delicious Juicy Lucy while listening to this musician who entertained us with his music and a smile. If you live in the neighborhood, go to eat and listen.  Prices cannot be beaten! Incidentally the proceeds usually are given to a neighborhood food shelf;  a young boy scout whose troop was that day's recipient was volunteering at the store.  A good deal all around!

Another peek at Syb's Garden

On June 29 I showed you a photo of Syb's Garden.  Within a few weeks the scene and the colors changed!

Good Fences-Beach

A barbed wire fence in need of repair along a sand path leading to Lake Superior.

Linking to Good Fences

Oscar, the Fright-ABC WEDNESDAY 'F'

Yesterday you met Fiona.  Today I want you to meet Oscar, her brother. He selected a face painting very different than his sister's.  I think his choice is a success as a "fright."


Linking to ABC WEDNESDAY

Fabulous Fiona-ABC WEDNESDAY "F"

A family moved into our neighborhood with two children both of whom are adorable, Fiona and her younger brother, Oscar.  I have been particularly charmed by Fiona and enjoy watching her.

The finished face of Fabulous Fiona

 These photos show the beginning stages of the face painting.  At our neighborhood block party, one of our neighbors patiently sat for a long period of time indulging the delighted children by painting their faces with different designs.


Linking to ABC WEDNESDAY

Peter Rabbit

While shopping yesterday, I spoke with both Hannah  and Greg who were one of the protestors picketing Whole Foods on Grand Avenue in Saint Paul. Stores in several states were being targeted on that day. Apparently the market is promoting rabbit food in the meat department in their stores.  About ten protesters were displaying their banners, offering petitions for interested people to sign who opposed the practice, and suggesting ways to persuade Whole Foods to discontinue rabbits as food.  One of their objections is that the USDA's Humane Methods of Slaughter Act does not cover rabbits. I included a photo of a rabbit carcass on sale inside the store at $4.99 a lb, and this package cost $29.07.

Meet Liam

I meet Liam O'Neill in the shop, Irish on Grand, when I went in to find information on travel to Ireland. Originally from County Cork, Liam who has lived in St. Paul for the past 20 plus years was most helpful.  To stimulate  my husband's interest in a visit to Ireland, he helped me purchase a huge driving map of the Emerald Isle plus a T-shirt for DH to wear.  I decided also to find something for my daughter, middle name Kilbane, but I'll keep that a secret for now.

Cry Wolf!

In a small mall on Franklin Avenue in Minneapolis in a highly diverse neighborhood of Native American and Somali residents,  a number of interesting stores, social service agencies, Maria's restaurant and this statue can be found.  One shop not to miss and visit sells Native American artifacts, and this large statue seems to be an appropriate guardian of them all.

Linking to Camera Critters

Pay Attention!!

Good Fences-Mississippi River Boulevard

The homes along Mississippi River Boulevard are large and lovely.  This fence follows a property line that divides two homes.

Linking to Good Fences

Enigmatic-Wordless Wednesday

Linking to Wordless Wednesday & ABC WEDNESDAY

Excellent Take-away: ABC WEDNESDAY "E"

Recently a newly-opened independent grocery store in  Longfellow, a nearby neighborhood, offers an excellent lunch at excellent prices on Saturdays. I hope it continues because the meat is high quality from their meat department.  Hot dogs ($1),  absolutely delicious brats ($2), and huge Juicy Lucy hamburgers ($3).  We have been shopping there recently because we want the market to succeed, plus I am delighted with the above Saturday specials.

Linking to ABC WEDNESDAY

Pastiche Lantern

I absolutely love volunteering as an interpreter in the Ordway Gardens in Como Park in St. Paul!
I learn a great deal about the Japanese Garden while there.  This lantern located in the tea garden is assembled from the parts of five other lanterns by Masami Matsuda in 1991, Nagasaki's ninth generation landscape gardener. From the beginning of the garden's design, members of the St Paul's sister city, Nagasaki, worked with Como to bring examples of Japanese culture to the garden  and the people of Minnesota.

Aspiring to Heaven

“An instinctive taste teaches men to build their churches with spire steeples which point as with a silent finger to the sky and stars.”

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Congratulations!

Eleven young men took their first vows as Jesuits at St. Thomas More church on Summit Avenue in St Paul, MN, today. I was honored by an invitation from a former student to attend the mass and reception afterwards. The large church was filled with family and friends, and I have never before been in a gathering with so many Jesuits!   By an amazing coincidence during the reception , I talked to a Jesuit from Xavier College, visiting from Cleveland.  Much to our delight, we discovered a mutual friend, a Jesuit who had been close to our family for decades and who our children still refer to as Uncle Jack. Like most Jesuits I have met, Jack was an intellectual and learned man whose death and absence has been sorely missed by our family and the Jesuit community.

Congratulations to all of the eleven men whom we honored today!

Library Renovation #2

Last June 12th I showed you the beginning stages of the Highland Park Library on this post.  It's moving right along, but I am anxious for it to open in fall as predicted. The photo on the left was taken a few weeks ago, but now many glass windows have been added.  This library is going to be enlightening in more than one way!

Good Fences-U of MN President's House

The University of Minnesota's Presidents always reside in this house on Mississippi Boulevard, with a beautiful view of the river.

Linking to Good Fences

Yesterday's Wordless Wednesday is an overpass at the entrance of a tunnel in Duluth, MN.  Interesting that some bloggers considered it an Egyptian motif.  The symbols are of Viking ships.

Wordless Wednesday

Linking to Wordless Wednesday

Delightful Deli-ABC WEDNESDAY "D"

Cecils, a Highland Park neighborhood institution, has marvelous bread, great deli selections, and a hot pastrami or reuben sandwich "to die for." 

Lucky me, only a few short blocks from our house.

Linking to ABC WEDNESDAY

Tribute to Officer Scott Patrick

Next Wednesday the city of Mendota Heights and West St Paul as well as surrounding suburbs and communities with gather to honor Officer Scott Patrick at his funeral service.  On On July 31 during a "routine traffic stop" he was gunned down by a man with a long history of violence. The man was apprehended and shot after a gun fight.  Charged with murder, he is still recovering from his wounds at Regions Hospital.  Officer Patrick, who is a highly regarded policeman and family man was 47 and a 19 year veteran on the Mendota Heights police force. He is survived by a wife and two teen-aged daughters. His fellow officers and the communities are shattered by this senseless tragedy.

Glass by Nate

Nate is a Minnesota artist who has a passion for glass blowing and music.  To see more about Nate and his work, go to his website right here.

Meet Ray-Camera Critters

 Friendly four-year-old Ray and I had a mutual admiration  exchange recently at a local coffee shop.  I learned that he eats six cups of special dry dog food each day.  He's laid back,  is a gentle Great Dane giant who loves attention, and he has impeccable manners.

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Linking to Camera Critters

“Dogs are our link to paradise. They don't know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring--it was peace.”

― Milan Kundera

Take Away Store (Take-Out to some) -August, 2014 Theme Day

Food Trucks have been all the rage for several years now, and what a wonderful boon for the people working downtown, especially in the sunshine, and warm summer weather.  I occasionally drive downtown just to sample some of the food on the various menus. It is almost a festive experience.


The City Daily Photo theme for August is “Takeaway Store”. Click here for pictures from all over the world interpreting the theme.