Microblog

At lunchtime, walked over to a nearby brewpub to check out the holiday decorations.

Deadfall Minnesota cherrywood (our Christmas tree) never looked finer. The angel is a little the worse for wear.

Yesterday Dwight made mince pies. Today we decorated.

Created a Dyson shrine and installed Elfa shelving in the laundry. This space is close to the front door, hence the shoes.

Most people were at work, a good opportunity to try out our building’s fitness room for the first time. Worked up quite a sweat cycling snowy trails in the Swiss Alps while reading a novel.

Installed LED tape lighting in our coat closet around the interior door frame. I can change the color but Dwight prefers I keep it at 2700° Kelvin.

On my chilly walk, warmed up in the former Milwaukee Road Depot, now the Minneapolis Renaissance Hotel. The head house is now an event space: chimneys which vented smoke from locomotives evoke an earlier time.

Completed a three-morning walk along University Avenue (connecting Minneapolis and St. Paul) with a friend, pausing at architecturally interesting buildings. Today, our walk along “Asian Main Street” included wonderful Vietnamese pastries.

Posted Hiking above Palm Springs.

Winnowed down our worldly goods, enough for two carloads for Goodwill and Habitat for Humanity. Dwight inadvertently put this scarf on the Goodwill pile, but I rescued it. My dad wore it while serving in the Home Guard during World War II.

The painting in the men’s room at the restaurant where we were having dinner was upside down. We accused our 12-year-old nephew and his friend of the nefarious deed. (It was screwed to the wall because people kept turning it.)

Fried egg with runny yolk sandwich at Mill City Museum, grey snowy day, life’s good.

Continued exploring University Avenue with a friend. Visited a modest Vietnamese bakery for one of the best almond croissants ever. I was experiencing a consequence of a convoluted path from French colonialism to skilled Vietnamese refugees and their offspring.

Contrail over Palm Springs PSP. Time to go home.

A Marie Kondo moment…My boots walked their final switchback today. It was time to part company after thanking them for the joy they’ve brought to my life.

Rode the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway to 8,500 feet. With one foot of snow on the ground, we abandoned our hiking plan. 7,000 feet lower, in Indian Canyons, we enjoyed an arduous, warm (75°F) hike up the Maynard Mine Trail, carefully avoiding cacti.