Ahoy!

Well, I think the Golden Slugger's birthday celebration may officially be over. Friday night we decided to take advantage of the warm weather and drive out to Stillwater. On a whim, we went on the Paddleboat dinner cruise up (or down?) the St. Croix. It was a beautiful night; very relaxing being on the water. And fortunately, no pirates were encountered. It was, after all, National Pirates Day.

The rest of the weekend has been laid back as well. I did a bunch of shopping/errands (lots of stops at Joann's, Michael's and Dick Blick)...and I finished 3 more necklaces.

This last little bit of summer was quite a treat. I think we'll need to savor this weekend for quite a while to come.

Happy Birthday, Joel! My Golden Slugger!

September 8th

I returned to work today after a week off...not a bad day...actually a fairly decent day. Late this afternoon, Joel called me and I answered my phone by saying, "How's the man I said "yes" to 2 years ago today?" Yup, today's the day we got engaged at the baseball game (that story here).

What was nice was that my husband remembered the day and wanted to do something to commemorate the day. We settled on a wonderful romantic dinner at Kincaid's, a St. Paul restaurant we've been meaning to check out. My review--great for a special dinner. And if you go early--between 5-6 pm--you can get a fabulous 3-course dinner for $25.

And just let me say, I'm still tickled pink that I said "yes" two years ago today.

RNC

Police State?

The view at Rice Park--the location of the MSNBC broadcast

Landmark Center decked out for the RNC

No getting past this gate

Just wanted to post a few photos that I took on my walk downtown today to catch some of the action of the RNC...well, what you can see from the street. It's been sort of a surreal event taking place in our backyard. There have been cops everywhere in every form...on foot, on bikes, on horses, and even in the air (helicopters). There are cops in uniform, cops in polo shirts and cops in riot gear. And then there are the Secret Service...some in suits and some with bullet proof vests that identify them as such. Downtown St. Paul is normally a very quiet city, but not this week.

I look forward to a return to normal.