Microblog

It did my heart good to see school buses lined up outside the Guthrie Theater this morning. For a year and a half, during the early days of the pandemic, the building was lifeless. Tonight we’ll walk over to see Leo Kottke performing on the Thrust.

Every week or two we feel lazy, so we head over to our local for dinner. Rachael and Summit for him, Reuben and Surly Furious for me, both with cole-slaw. Then back home for the semifreddo I made for his birthday. It goes well on top of beer… I hope.

Started into a new biography of J. Edgar Hoover, head of the FBI and its precursor through six presidents from 1924 up to his death in 1972. I expect the book will help me to better understand divisions in today’s America and reinforce my belief we mustn’t regress to the 1950’s.

Popped into Lunds & Byerly’s to pick up Oreos for a dessert I’ll assemble for Dwight’s upcoming birthday. (Our co-op doesn’t stock such questionable fare.) The number of variations was overwhelming: decided regular-flavor Oreo Thins would best present a veneer of elegance.

On my walk home from my Friday gig, spotted a mural I’d never seen before in the Cedar Riverside neighborhood. It depicts many stories of the neighborhood, ranging from the first Americans to the journeys of the newest Americans. I’ll be back to take a closer look.

On a chilly walk, warmed up at an exhibit in a university library: The Art of the Travel Narrative. A standout was A Complete Map of the Ten Thousand Countries of the World drawn by Chinese cartographers in 1603. Google Translate and an interactive digitized version revealed fact and fantasy.

On my walk through the Minneapolis North Loop (Warehouse District) popped into recently opened Backstory Coffee Roasters. The former warehouse is stunning, complete with a green wall and historic artifacts from the former occupant, the Duffey Paper Company.

Today we’re getting a decent snowfall: a good reason to go outside and walk.

Wrapped up well for a bicycle ride and coffee with a friend.

On Sundays, Dwight makes sure all the plants are properly watered. Most of these plants have automated watering and misting. Plants in other areas are watered manually and get rotated through this area.

It’s Sausage Saturday, which means a movie with a frozen treat in the intermission. Tonight: vanilla yogurt riched up with heavy cream and honey.

Spent the afternoon researching 2023 travel and booking fragments of trips: two hotels, a one-way flight, and a round-trip ferry.

Let the festivities begin. Thanksgiving 2022.

Walked past a construction site, which got me thinking about Azuma House in a working class suburb of Osaka. I’d made a point of standing in front of that home last week: it raises questions; with answers I warm to it. “Like” or “Dislike” are not enough.

Accompanied Dwight to his appointment to remove a basal cell carcinoma. The procedure went well, the lesion was shallow. As we walked towards the exit, chuckled at “Everyone will notice. No one will know.” Not our style.

It’s almost inevitable: after an overseas trip, a cold has set in. An early night sounds so good.