First, I must apologize that it's been over a month since my last update on life in Lake David. It has been a busy time, full of changing seasons and the glory of spring (snow) showers. We took a trip to Madison at the end of March to visit Herr and Frau Shabaker and gang, however I regret to inform you that the camera was left behind. Much fun was had by all. Activities included great food, sight-seeing downtown, shopping the newly renovated Hilldale, Orange Tree Import and State St., and revisiting some old neighborhoods. You may taunt, "So much for photo journaling!" Inasmuch as Lake David only recently made the leap from all ASCII, you should be used to it by now and just enjoy this small moment of purity reminiscent of that time before the internet added color and ventured into 3 dimensions.

If I've left you soured, then this should give you a good chuckle. Here is a glimpse of the current work site in my office building, entitled "Step 1: Demolition". For information on Step 2, please e-mail me.

A view from the exit door of my office suite...to be completed July 4, 2008.


Dust much?

A couple pics from Friday's 2nd annual Skyway Open, an 18 hole minigolf course designed by terrific architects and setup on platforms, as shown, in downtown Minneapolis. The event benefits the Boys and Girls Club.







An added bonus! Friday was also the kickoff to the weekend-long MBOTMA Winter Bluegrass Festival in Plymouth, MN. As D&C are new members of MBOTMA we were excited to partake in enjoying the jamming, in legal areas only, and highlight performances including a group from Madison, Wisconsin. Here's a neat review from Citypages.

When the never-ending arctic temperatures get you down, you can always get a laugh and a lift with an ice cream cone at Sebastian Joe's. How does an ice cream parlor stay in business during the Siberian season? They offer a sliding scale discount commensurate with the severity of the day's low temperature. That, and free WiFi.

Next weekend, Feb 2-3, is the annual City of Lakes Loppet. Thousands of local people cross-country ski in 9 events - anything from a couple blocks in the luminary event to the big race event 33KM. The organizers are making 50,000 cubic feet of snow (bonus points for anyone who can calculate the weight of this) to dump on the streets of Uptown for the finishing section. It is as exciting and entertaining as marathon-spectating; find a spot nearby and watch the enthusiasts fly by. You can yell things like "WAY TO SKI!"

I can't think of a better example of Minnesotans celebrating what nature brings us in our land and our winter.