Spring in the City

Joco and I went out for a walk today. It was threatening to rain, but the clouds were cool, so off we went. Everything is budding now and I was looking forward to some of the green I haven't seen for so long.

The clouds were cool.

Unfortunately, my idea of spring and Minnesota's idea of spring mean two different things.

And yet they still haven't found time to take care of poor old Longfellow. Now handless, Longfellow still stands alone in an abandoned field. I want to take him home.

Spring = street repair.

Edible Sumac. Good to know in these trying economic times.  :-)

The Art Crawl

Byron Moore

Kevin and I went to the Art Crawl yesterday. It's a great way to see a lot of art, most of which you would never get a chance to see otherwise. You get a map and go from building to building, following the signs to artists studios and apartments. 

Kevin Backlund is one of the artists that worked at my gallery. You can see his stuff here.

Byron Moore (pictured above) was one of the first artists we saw. He makes art out of pegboard. You can see his work here.

The roof above an elevator.

Now, I'm not saying that all artists are poor, or that all landlords are slumlords, but some of the places we saw could definitely use some work. See the cracks in the glass roof in the picture above? Luckily the elevator is not in use, or maybe they use it for freight. All I know is we couldn't use it, and there were a lot of stairs!

Wouldn't you want to live or work here? Mold anyone?

A brilliant idea for business cards.

Mary Barrett.

Mary Barrett was one of my favorites. Lots of amazing woodcuts and unbelievable talent. Unfortunately, she has no website and I didn't take more pictures. :-)

Kyle Renell

Kyle is another one of the artists from my gallery. We found her playing flute in the first building we entered. She also had some of her art up. You can see here work here.

Captain Mudslinger

Kevin P. O'Hara, also known as Captain Mudslinger works mostly with pottery and sculpture.

He teaches pottery too!  Above you can see him with one his sculptures. You can see more of his work here.

We really did have a good time. I didn't get to many pictures because most of the time it was too dark, and the flash is bad! I did get inspired though, and now I just want to play with art all day, but work calls.

Northfield, Mn

The last bank Jessie James Robbed.

I went to Northfield this morning with my friend Julie. She belongs to a Mayflower club, everyone has ancestors that came over on the Mayflower. I had to explain that even though I have two ancestors that came on the boat, I can't prove it because I don't have a birth certificate for myself! I'm really not a joiner anyway, so it's for the best.

They were discussing Northfield today and Julie knows what a addict I am for Minnesota history and invited me to come with her.

It's always sad to see abandoned ancestors in an antique shop.

I wanted this! It's a fireplace insert. I think it looks like a little couch.

Cannon River.

There are all these cool passageways to walk through.

They don't make them like this anymore.

So tempting! Fresh rye bread and coffee cakes.

Another walkway.

If you wear green you're an outcast!

There are always strange things on the way to little towns.

Apparently Cannon River is very exciting.

Back From Colorado

Joe and Marilyn

The day I left for Colorado, it was just starting to get nice in Mn. It was going to get to 70 that day, but I left in the morning and never saw it. When I reached Co., it was in the 30's and a blizzard was building. We made it to a German restaurant that evening, but then we were snowed in for two days! I think this is one of those "Be careful what you ask for" things, because I had been worried we would do more sightseeing than talking. 

The beginning of the blizzard.

I had no idea how exhausting talking could be. We talked, and talked, and talked. We had 45 years of catching up to do. I'm surprised we didn't lose our voices. Joe and I have a lot in common. Music, writing, art, politics and an opinionated big mouth. Marilyn kept commenting on how much we sounded like each other. It really makes you think about genetics. 

My mother always said, "You're so different." And I was. She and my sister were so alike that I used to tell people they were twins. Now I understand where most of my genes came from, and I understand why she said the word "different" like it was a dirty word. I reminded her of him.

Joe and Fred in the living room. Fred's on the couch.

Joe and Marilyn went out of they're way to make sure I was comfortable and had everything I could possibly want. I had my choice of bedrooms, they supplied me with toiletries, (all vanilla scented, my favorite) fed me constantly and didn't let me spend a cent when we did finally get out of the house.

My favorite lion.

They had a lion collection you wouldn't believe. I wish I had taken more pictures of the house and the collections (there's a clock collection that is just as amazing) but I kept getting distracted by the talking. We were so exhausted by the talking that I could barely function the day I left.

One of the clocks, and not the best one by far.

My brain is still mush today and I have a lot of work to catch up on. Tonight I go see Phylicia Rashad to blog about her tomorrow in the Bolder Women blog. 

Fred.

I do love a spoiled dog. What a cutie. He couldn't get enough petting. Of course, no dog is as spoiled as Joco, who is very glad I'm home. 

Oh, and when I left Colorado, it was going to make it to 70. I reach Minnesota... and it's 40.

Nerves

Tomorrow I go to meet my father. Today it has become real to me. I'm nervous. What do I bring? What do I wear? What will he be like? 

I find it odd that there are so few people interested in this. If it were someone else, I would be. Maybe it's because everyone I know has a biological father that they grew up with. They don't wonder what he's like or what they have inherited from his genes.  Honestly, it's a little disappointing. It's an important event for me.

Emily is almost as excited as I am. Her parents took in foster children and she's had some insight into people meeting parents for the first time. It's nice to have someone to talk to I know I won't bore to death. The sewing circle ladies are great to talk to too. You blog readers are just stuck with me! Although, I do know one reader will be interested and adding to her genealogy. :-) 

I'm going to update the blog when I can find an Internet connection. There must be coffee shops with Internet somewhere nearby. Stay tuned for pictures!

The Cosmos in a Coffee Cup

Physicists see the cosmos in a coffee cup

Source: www.physorg.com

A Duke University professor and his graduate student have discovered a universal principle that unites the curious interplay of light and shadow on the surface of your morning coffee with the way gravity magnifies and distorts light from distant galaxies.

I love Physics! I love Coffee! My life is now complete.

Head Banger Confessions

Listening to loud music today, letting it be loud enough so that I feel the bass in my heart, but not so loud as to destroy the tone.  Godsmack, K's Choice, The theme from Run Lola Run, Bikini Kill, Soundgarden, and Stone Temple Pilots, to name a few. Edwin calls it my head banger music, say's he's married a rocker chick, but he's not here.

Some times I need the music to shake loose the cobwebs, sometimes I need it to feed my anger. Today it's both. I'm not angry at anyone. I'm just angry at life. Today I feel like I've been working hard forever, and I think it's life turn to kick in a little. So I'm angry, I feel let down. The work hard, give more than you get ethic is supposed to pay off, or at least pay enough.  

Tomorrow I'll probably be mad at myself for not working hard enough, but for now, anger is good. Much better than feeling sorry for yourself, and for me, it makes me work harder. Remember in Run Lola Run when she screams? It's pure force of will. I will head bang until I get there.

Minute Stories

Back before I knew how to draw, I illustrated this postcard to go with my friend Robin's minute story. There's more of them, but god knows where they are!

This postcard I made during the last war. Remember the last war? Although, they didn't call it that. Apparently if you don't call it a war then it never happened. 

I've been updating Emily's website and store as well as my own. For days. My brain is fried. Here's the link again. It turns out I have a theme, which became very apparent as I created new products. This revelation required a name change. "Grim Graphics & Gothic Goods"  Don't laugh. OK, go ahead and laugh, but while you're laughing send the link to some crazy people with lots of disposable income...        

New Old Stuff

Just finished redoing the old CafePress store and redesigning the products. It was so much fun...hmm... what else can I do?

Click here to see the store.

Hair

The new hair cut. 

Traveling and Writing

It's official. I'm going to Colorado next week to meet my father. He's sending me tickets for the 16th this month. I'm a bit nervous yet excited too. Now I'm working hard to get all my bills paid on time so that I can go without needing to work while I'm there. 

On the 21 I'm going to see Phylicia Rashad at Orchestra Hall. Another Bolder Women blog entry soon!

Dial M

Just finished reading "Dial M, The Murder of Carol Thompson." It was a famous case in Minnesota in 1963. Initially, I was interested in the book because a relative tried the case, and I'm addicted to genealogy. But even though I was only a year old at the time, I was surprised how many of the places mentioned in the book were familiar. There were also lots of history tidbits, and I love that kind of thing.

Other than that I've just been working. I'm sooo exciting. Are you wondering why you read this blog yet?

Late Nights and a New Book

 I've been trying to be good, eating right, taking my vitamins and getting plenty of sleep. Then yesterday I caved and had a piece of pizza with a beer, stayed up until 3:30, got up at 8:00 and felt better than I have in weeks. Strange. 

Feeling better, physically and mentally has been my quest for a while now. It seems as allusive as the holy grail. I can't seem to find a pattern yet. Sunlight is definitely good. That much I know. The rest is up for grabs. I'm starting to suspect that an allergy might be at play. But how to find out what it is? 

Emily's book is in print now. You can see it here. She wrote a children's book and has several others coming shortly. The girl's been on a roll!

Edwin's play ends this weekend and soon he starts rehearsals for "Around the World in 80 Days." I can't wait to see that one!

It's late, almost 2:00 in the morning.  My brain just called it a day. Good night.

Old Pictures

I have been going through old photos today. I'm sure some of these were on the old blog, but I'm reposting. The top one is just too funny.

A painting of Hendrickson (my ggg-grandfather) house, by Alexis Jean Fournier.

Wrong white balance equals cool colors.

A Republican with a sense of humor.

Sharing the old small couch for a nap.

Selling Myself, Murder and Scandal

I'm reading Girard's book right now. He really writes great stuff. This one is all about believing in yourself and getting motivated. Girard is always a great read, even though he's a car salesman!

I have another book coming in the mail. "Dial M: The Murder of Carol Thompson." It was a very big story in MN in 1963, billed as the trial of the century. I found some news reels on the web. Turns out one of the lawyers in my family tried the case. It was pretty cool seeing him on video. I had to order the book to add to the genealogy book collection. There was no choice!

I also just found out that one of my great grandfathers was involved in the McKesson & Robbins scandal, which was billed as one of the biggest scandals of the century.

It's amazing how boring I turned out with all these crazy genes in me, but I somehow think I got lucky...