Taken from the Stone Arch Bridge today, the Guthrie Theater’s architecture nods to the area’s industrial past. Its prominent “chimneys” are actually scrolling marquees. The building houses three theaters, and this evening we’ll be seeing the new play, Primary Trust, in the proscenium theater.
Category: Living
Reservoir Woods Park via Roselawn Cemetery
It was the day for the annual cycle to Reservoir Woods Park, where a 30-million-gallon water tank that supplies St. Paul stands atop a hill. My friend rarely misses a chance to cycle through a cemetery, and today was no exception. Here we’re looking out over the Hmong section of Roselawn Cemetery.
At least the catenary shone
Our neighborhood izakaya, Zen Box, is closing, sending me on a quest for decent replacement ramen. Today’s nameless stop scored a 2/10. It was supposed to be tonkotsu; the broth had the color, but none of the required texture or flavor. I took a photo, but here’s something more palatable: new copper catenary for a light rail extension, which I saw while cycling to that nameless place.
Fading colors
The trees of Gold Medal Park were starting to look threadbare as we headed out for our Sunday morning walk. Occasional gusts of wind sent leaves flying. All reminders of the inevitability of winter and motivation to do some planning for winter travel.
Dinner and a play
It’s Sausage Saturday! That means sausage and cabbage for dinner, but we’re mixing it up a bit. We’re having red cabbage instead of the usual green, and swapping the movie for a stage play: I’ve cued up a National Theatre (of Great Britain) production of Harold Pinter’s “No Man’s Land” starring Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart. Of course there’ll be ice cream in the intermission.
Not the usual suspects
Walked into Orchestra Hall for pre-show drinks ahead of a Minnesota Orchestra concert featuring works by Kurt Weill, Saint-Saëns, and Ravel that were not The Threepenny Opera, Carnival of the Animals, or Bolero, respectively.
Focusing on core objectives
Over the years, I’ve learned it’s important to avoid over-correcting English Language Learners and focus on the primary learning objective. When marking sentences today, the goal was semantic comprehension: using vocabulary words correctly in sentences. It took effort to assess their grasp of meaning and context while being lenient on other mistakes. The impulse to correct everything is powerful.
Discovering Fawkes Alley Cafe
Discovered Fawkes Alley Cafe, hiding at the end of an alley. I learned it’s located in a building that originally housed the Fawkes Auto Company car salesroom when it opened in 1911. The cafe is a nonprofit that supports the community by mentoring its employees and funding youth soccer for underrepresented communities. My Americano, served in a ceramic cup, was near-enough perfect.
A reluctant trip to temples of consumption
Dwight had delicately suggested my dress shirts were getting a little ratty, so I visited Nordstrom Rack at the Mall of America but left empty-handed, resolving to buy them online. I recovered from my shopping fail by picking up Japanese Kit Kats from Ebisu, exercising unusual restraint around the LEGO store, and greatly enjoying the Swedish meatballs with lingonberry jam, mash, and veggies at IKEA, on special for $2.99.
Hopkins to Excelsior round-trip
Cycled on a rail trail from Hopkins to Excelsior on Lake Minnetonka with a friend. At 318 Cafe in Excelsior, we refueled with coffee and the best ever apple coffee cake, warm from the oven. Energized, we cycled back to Hopkins.