Making Time

Someone recently asked me how do you find time to do all the blog entries and drawings. I thought about it. You make time for the things you enjoy, some days more successfully than others.

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Acting Like An Idiot

Why is it when some people get tired and stressed they are smart enough to become subdued; I get loud and goofy. Argh!

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Taylors Falls

It's been a long time since I'd been here and we found out they no longer allow swimming. The park service may have banned it with all the people jumping off the bluffs or it might just be because the current is a lot stronger than it used to be.


















Taylors Fall State Park view of the Saint Croix River














The paddle boat is waiting for a wedding party.














The pot holes. I have no idea how someone managed to put graffiti down there.

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A Spontaneous Picnic After Shopping At Target

We went to the Roger's Target to get a copy of Moonlight and bought food for a picnic.














Target has excellent fried chicken and Archer Farms makes wonderful macaroons.































We were joined by a sandhill crane.

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Computers Need Feng Shui To

I have only listened to about 10% of the things on my ipod. Today I clutter cleared iTunes and got rid of a ton of books and songs. My Mac is so much lighter now, I took a photo of it levitating.

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A Satellite View of My Dogs

I went to Google Maps and did what probably most people do, put in my own address.

This is the closest it gets since we are rather dull by government standards but the black and white dots above the left building (garage) are Zelda and Marilyn.

They like to chase anything that wanders past so they are on leads that cover a good sized chunk of the yard.

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Minneapolis Skyline at 55 Mies Per Hour

I think this shot turned out well since we driving at freeway speeds and the windshield was cleanish.

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Day 1 of Fall Quarter Book Pick-Up

I drove Nissa to get her books for fall quarter. This Barbie was in a window off the parking lot. The sign says "save me".


















$145 for a used math book?


















All the trash cans have this handy take-out window for squirrels.

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Comedy In The Park?

We went to a comedy show in the park. It was structured similar to the TV show Who's Line Is It Anyway. The TV show was funny, the park show was not. We left early and looked up to see a departing plane; it seemed to be fleeing the show as well, which was funny.








We stopped at Cafe Ena, which serves Latin fusion cuisine. The service was excellent and we sat at a sidewalk table.














We shared an appetiser and entree. The appetiser was thin sliced plantains served with salsa (we had eaten several before I thought to take a picture). The entree included a pork loin, potatoes, asparagus, and caramelized onions with fennel.

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We've Had A Bit Of Rain Lately

I think we got a summer's worth of rain in the last 2 days. We have a nice crop of mushrooms in the yard; it's a pity they are not morels or even edible.

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Local Sweet Corn

Sweet corn is becoming available and this batch is particularly nice.

My father once bought a pickup truck full of corn and had my sister and shell it while he and my mother froze it. We were so sticky that I thought I'd never get clean.

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Goofy Acorns

I took a picture of the acorns that dropped yesterday in the driveway. I can only imagine how many more there are right now.

It's 4:30 in the morning and the dogs are on high alert since the acorns keep hitting the gutters and roof.

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Crayfish Party

I saw this sign today at Ikea.

How do you invite Crayfish to a party; do you mail out invitations?

How do crayfish feel about a party where they will also be on the menu? I saw shrimp on a piece of toast, Ikea isn't throwing them a party.

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Good Morning Dave

Nissa has been redoing her room and she needed a small laptop table. She checked online and decided to get Dave.















We are off in pursuit of Dave. No traffic tangle is too difficult to deter us.










Eureka, Ikea! Our goal is almost within sight.


















Nissa is impressed by my chronicles of our quest.


















Like all good adventures, proper provisions are a must. We wisely got extras in case of emergencies and discovered Ikea has takeout boxes near the microwaves. I had no idea they had microwaves. Today is educational!















Dave in his natural environment.


















Writing a map to Dave's location.


















Who can say no to a reading lamp for $7 called Not.


















We split Dave from the rest of the herd.
















Dave's care and feeding instructions are daunting but now he is fully assembled and in front of a leather wing back chair that bears a strong resemblance to one that recently went missing from my studio/office.

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Nissa the Photographer

I've discovered you can't put Nissa in a small enclosed space with a toy that clicks and flashes. In 20 minutes she took 137 photographs; these are the best of the group.

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Minneapolis Skyline Viewed From Lake Harriet

We were at the lake and spotted this attractive view of the skyline. I particularly enjoy the sailboat that is floating left of the IDS building.

It's hot today so there's a bit of a haze.

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Now I Know Why Alethea's Purse Is So Heavy

Alethea started to show us what was in her purse. We never finished since the gyros arrived but I'm in awe.

art journal
check book
credit cards
notebooks
a tin of earrings
pens
bottle caps
cell phone
Leatherman multi-purpose tool
flashlight
duct tape

It's like having lunch with MacGyver.

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Sidewalk Cafes Are Pure Bliss

We went to the French Meadow in the Uptown area of Minneapolis. The coffee shop/bakery has a popular outdoor seating area where Nissa and I shared this decedent chocolate cake. Alethea had apple crisp (not my favorite thing but she likes it).












































While waiting outside for the girls to order I enjoyed a bit of Italy, Pellegrino bottled water.

I tried to make the bottle look like it was sprouting a tree, I think they may have taken a bit too long to order.

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Family Time Has Changed

I left my studio/office, went into the living room and Nissa was on the couch, Alethea in a chair and Bryce was at the dining room table. Everyone was on a laptop. I wonder if this is the modern version of a nuclear family.

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Let's Play Blingo

The restaurant Fridays has a fun activity for people dropping by late in the evening, Blingo.

They call it Blingo due to copyright restrictions and when you win you call out Blingo!

You get 3 cards for every round and color the squares in. I don't know what the prize is since I didn't win but it was a lot of fun to play while you grabbed a sandwich.

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A Day At The Pool

I feel like a piece of fruit floating in an umbrella drink.

This pool In Maple Grove, Minnesota has a sand bottom and beach.


These are the clouds about an hour before the storms hit on Saturday.

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Cow vs Alien vs Zelda

The alien picked on the wrong cow but neither was a match for Zelda.

Nissa was playing a claw machine and won 4 aliens in one grab. When she triumphantly came back to the table and told her story, a herd of eavesdropping children stampeded for the claw machine.

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Are You Going To Eat That?

Marilyn wanted to lick the foam from an orange ice cream float out of a glass.

We held it up to show her there was nothing interesting in the glass but we were wrong.

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