Spring Music Program

Lily had a school concert and then we went to Wild Rumpus and then had a coffee at an outdoor cafe!

TNR

Another great ride, albeit a bit confusing -- thanks everyone!

And tonight's route:

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Spring

Makes walking home a pleasant experience.

TNR

Another great ride, this one a bit longer than usual. Unfortunately, Uriah had a difficulty or two. Or three. Nothing that couldn't be worked out without The Official TNR Hammer.

A cool statue. It almost seems to be patiently waiting for those horrid little machines to go away..

Amazing sunset.

Two guys, one hammer.

Oh, Dave..

The route:

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Limburger Zone

We just boarded the tiny plane for Detroit.  Our question is this:  what is the term for "inside the secured area?"   Since colors are used for the alert levels, Mary and/or Michael suggested maybe it's by odor.  So we are now past security and in the Limburger Zone.

Alpena, MI Airport

I don't know if it's the plane flying upside down or the ceiling fans with airplanes dive bombing me that bothers me more..

Cross in the Woods

We visited the (alleged) largest crucifix IN THE WORLD.  Also home to the previously mentioned doll museum.

Holy Order Doll Museum

This was a museum of Holy Order outfits, with walls of nuns and such in the different variations on the typical habit.  We saw popes and priests and everything!  The dolls were generic, but also were Barbie, many many Ken Dolls, a Johnny West, a few of the Jackson Five, a dozen or so John Wayne, a Mork (of & Mindy), and even a Donny Osmand.  Wow!

The picture of the rosaries was for Stacie, who prays the rosary while we ride scooters.  She would have gone nuts in the gift shop.

Gonzo

I made this for my brother in law, the Interlocutatorman.

Emma in Apron

Someone got tall!  (This image is ×not× altered in any way)

Crazy Cousins

We had some fun with the cam, phone, and picsay...

Trip

For you stalkers:  http://www.twitter.com/fnirt for all the boring details of my trip..

Moon Necklace Holder

Jill wanted something to hang her necklaces on.  She thought maybe a chunk of wood with hooks on it.  I saw the whole of the moon.. 

TNR

My favorite parts?

• Turning right (on Stevens) off a route we ALWAYS go straight on
• The motocross course on Stevens
• Portland roundabout
• Not seeing the Pilot waving from the plane but knowing it happened
• The Civil War vs WWI re-enactment
• Seeing the official MN Coast Guard Canoe
• BANGERS. AND. MASH.

Not so thrilled about the cold rain on the way home from "The Rest" and I need to up the sampling rate on my GPS for these rides, but otherwise:

AWESOME RIDE!

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Woodworking

Grandpa was wonderfully generous on Easter and as a result, there is an awesome, super fantastic scroll saw in my workshop! It's far more flexible and configurable than my previous scroll saw, allowing for some more complicated projects.  So I've been going a little crazy with it.. This is all stuff I've done in the last week:

I started with a quick couple of minutes whipping up this rocking chair for Lily's Barbie.

My nephew is having his first communion next week, so I made him a nice "Victorian Style Cross":

And for the niece and nephews, some puzzle boxes, one for each. Displayed in various stages of assembly:

I got a new book on Composite, 3d scroll patterns. This is a cut of a flower:

And a penguin, another composite:

A little bunnny! (more composites):

The latest progress on my wooden chain:

A drill/dremel bit holder:

And finally, a rack for all of my paints - sick of keeping them in a box and not being able to tell which bottle is which:

Saturday Bikes

A great afternoon for a family bike ride.  We expect the bare branches will have leaves by this time next week.

TNR

Another great TNR. Not too cold, not too hot. Beautiful night and a happy end at the Happy Gnome! Mmmm... Surly Coffee Bender..

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Walking

Last fall I began walking home from work. I have really enjoyed it and it's been a great personal challenge, and I've gotten the added benefit of exercise, weight loss, and etc. Rather than any other exercise program I've tried, instead of finding excuses NOT to do it, I'm constantly scheming ways to get 5 walks in a week if possible. I have, on a number of occasions, used the phrase "But.. but.. because I wanted to walk home" when we're late for something or planning on leaving town.

Back up. I've always been fascinated with extraordinary feats. Reading the Guinness Book of World Records, hearing about people doing amazing things.. It always fascinated me that someone could be the most or best at something. Like, certifiably the "only one." Call it a psychological need for uniqueness or whatever, but it's always been a draw for me.

Doing things people don't expect or understand is something I love. If someone says "but.. why would you do that?" it just means I HAVE to. If they say it can't be done, or shouldn't be done, all the better. Walking home from work in 20 below weather was fun not just because it was a personal challenge, but because it was dangerous. Go outside for an hour in that weather the wrong way and you can die. Ok, sure, I could have hopped a bus or gone into a store for help at any point, but it wasn't nothing!

The in-laws have a wonderful piece of land up by the headwaters of the Mississippi, and reading about people going the length from that babbling brook to the Gulf of Mexico makes me want to find a canoe and a backpack and just DO it. My brother-in-law and some friends once took a speedboat from Minnesota to Saint Louis down the river. Nice. How cool is that?

I've thought about streets like Lake Street and University Avenue -- how they're just regular streets, but they go for miles. Nobody thinks twice about walking three blocks down either of those streets, but rarely does anyone walk their length.

So one day many years ago I thought about how I could do something extraordinary. What hasn't anyone done? Hard to come up with anything, but in the thinking about it I thought about the size of the Twin Cities. They're pretty spread out. I wondered how long it would take to walk all the way across. Google maps tells me, but how right or wrong could that be?

This was about the time I thought about how I could prepare for a walk like that, and the distance from work to home was perfect. The first time I did it to see if I could do it. Other times it was to beat the weather. Then it was because I was losing weight and loved the idea of getting the scale to speak to me in respectful terms, not fear of my mass.

But now when I walk I think about what else I could do. Some days it kicks my butt, especially if I'm really moving, but many days it's just a pleasant way to get home. So sometimes I fiddle with google maps and come up with new ideas for ridiculous walks.

Downtown Saint Paul to Downtown Minneapolis (Radius) - This one I'm already planning.

The eastern border of Saint Paul to the western border of Minneapolis (Diameter) - My sister Lisa has told me she really really really wants to do this one with me.

Around the Twin Cities. (Circumference) - Here is where it gets crazy. That's, like three times longer than the radius. (3.141572?)

After that, who knows? Walk to the cabin in Wisconsin? The length of Route 61 to New Orleans? Golden Gate Bridge to Brooklyn Bridge? I'll probably be on some different insane hobby by then anyway, right?

Another homemade lolcat from the kids...

Happy Easter

The traditional "standing in the kitchen chitchatting" has begun!

Deebs

This is my cat in the spring sunlight.  His full name is Digital Boy, but we call him D.B. or Deebs.  It's from the song "21st century digital boy" since he has a computer chip just under the skin on his shoulder.  It's common now but 13 years ago when we got him it was pretty cool.

He's aging and has some liver problems (too much meowine?) But he will always be a little kitty to me.

Eli the reader

As kids we read a lot.  No, really, I mean a LOT.  Some of my most vivid early memories are of libraries and reading:

• The Lexington library and how it seemed to have carpet everywhere
• The massive downtown library that smelled.. Historic (in a good way)
• The scary and official process of checking out a book (what was that caThunk or flashing light about anyway?  
• Mrs. Kane, the gradeschool librarian from whom you did NOT want to get the 'late book' chat regardless of her being one of your friend's mom.. 
• Discovering the Tintin series in the children's room downtown
• My sister "winning" a book for having read more than anyone else.  Guinness Book of Records.
• The fact that church and the library had many of the same rules was not lost on me.  Quiet, reverent, beautiful architecture.
• I remember how cool we thought Amy Carter (the president's daughter) was because whenever her parents dragged her along to an official event, she always seemed to be somewhere in the background reading a book.

So it thrills me to see Eli so completely engrossed.  In this picture he's taking those lost few milliseconds in the family morning routine to catch a few pages of his current book.

Ah.. TNR

Dave uses my hammer to reattach his exhaust

.. while many people wait and post on facebook...

And here is where we went...