The kiddo and I have been in need of some quiet time so we’ve been taking it easy this mellow Sunday. I’ve been alternating between lounging, baking, cooking, catching up on correspondence, reading (in the middle of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and declaring it to be “meh” so far), and devoting myself to my latest five minute crush…Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. He is “a British celebrity chef, smallholder, television presenter, journalist, food writer and ‘real food’ campaigner.” I haven’t been watching much TV lately but I have gotten caught up in watching episodes of his River Cottage shows. Smallholdings are already of interest to me, but Hugh is especially entertaining. With grand schemes to convert an old dairy farm into a kitchen/café restaurant/teaching center or capturing a wild swarm of bees to begin bee-keeping or hang-gliding around his property searching for mushrooms by air…the man is equally crazy and charismatic. I learned about him through an old friend’s blog - a friend we happened to visit yesterday. Rick and his lovely wife Jessica hosted an outstanding dinner party in a pole barn at their home/hobby farm. They’ve got a great combination of green thumbs, patience and perseverance - and it shows.
Other recent highlights? Thursday morning I joined a few of my fellow Clockworkers to celebrate the launch of Nice Ride MN, a new public bicycle sharing program. My photos are here (I was particularly drawn to the folks in the bright yellow Equal Exchange banana costumes). Thursday evening the boyfriend and I had a grown-up evening out which included flipping through used vinyl at Extreme Noise Records (I purchased Voivod’s Dimension Hatröss), stopping by an art opening at the new-ish and fantastic Cult Status Gallery, having a snack at the recently revamped Aster Cafe and enjoying the hell out of The Good, The Bad, The Weird at St. Anthony Main.
Friday was St. Paul pride day. I worked from home, with a break to take a stroll in the rain. We heard the sounds of cheering from multiple World Cup parties nearby as we made our way to Jerabek’s, our neighborhood coffee shop, and on to a visit to the Riverview Library. The evening was spent with friends in the North End, along the Rice Street corridor. While at Unique Thrift the boyfriend found an amazing pair of cateye frames for me for 45 cents! (Now to get them fitted for lenses.) Dinner was had at E Noodle Cafe, where I failed to spot the juggalos in the parking lot, though our friends did. Afterward I ventured across the street to make use of my Merwin Liquors Groupon (yay Groupon!) before heading home for a little group Wii time. It’d been ages since I’d had anyone over for cow racing.
Saturday we were up and out early to get to The Fitzgerald Theater for MPR’s Magical Classical Cartoon Morning. It was worth it just to see and hear The Mighty Wurlitzer organ in action, but the cartoons shown were excellent too. Especially some great oldies from the 1930s like The Sunshine Makers (happy gnomes vs. grumbly goth goblins). Naturally I took a few photos.
The week ahead promises to be equally active, which leaves me feeling somewhat exhausted, but thankfully it will mostly be fun. Full steam ahead!
One Comment
Seeing classical cartoons in a theater with an organ sounds awesome!! The Sunshine Makers reminds me of this cartoon we have on dvd called To Spring. It’s so great. We love it!
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