all that's past is prologue...

I did not want to be laying in bed, wearing a fleece onesie and still shivering, while my husband and daughter headed out to the several wonderful NYE parties we have planned. I have a beautiful new dress that I got in Duluth for tonight, and was looking forward to the collection of friends we would be seeing. Our friend Whitney in particular is throwing the last party at her B and B, and it's breaking my heart not to go. But I feel logey and coughy, and more to the point, I have a low fever, and I don't want to mess around with possibly getting anyone sick. I'm still holding out hope that I'll miraculously feel better and the fever was a mistaken reading, but I doubt that. And I feel lucky to have 3 sets of people who want me in their lives tonight and who I don't want to get sick. As our yoga teacher Viv says, it's not like a page turns and everything is magic. You get some things that are good, and some that are not, and life is living in the middle. -- In 20

Tonight was the last night Twin Spirits Distilling was open, do we went over one last time. We had lovely drinks and delicious tacos and loaded fries from the food truck. And we wished that we had come here more often. I've always liked Twin Spirits, but their response doing the pandemic, when you could reserve little greenhouses to sit in, was truly awesome. It was places doing things like that at that time that I think truly kept us going. They still have some of them: Brutus was especially a fan: Brutus was also a fan of Lakes and Legends taproom, which also closes forever tonight: I especially appreciated their dog-friendliness, and the wide variety of people you could see there. When we went for one last drink last week, there was a table of older ladies who drank right until their Metro Mobility bus started honking for them, a somewhat droning musician, people playing cards, a long table of younger folks, several people with dogs, and more than one family. It was awesome. And

A reminder to myself to fake it until you make it in the holiday season: With the biggest tree we have ever had There may be no snow but the window boxes are up (and FB reminds me there was no snow 3 years ago either) Winston in his "Feliz Naughty Dog" bandana Paper stars in the hallway A decorated mantel ready for Santa The spoils of a cookie exchange with Natalie, Rochelle, and Meghan (plus Norwegian dance baking day) Escaping the house for a holiday drink with my honey It's a hard time of the year, but I have much to be grateful for!

As many of you know, I was on jury duty this week, until I came home from Day 1 yesterday and tested positive for covid (little-known fact: this does not get me out of jury duty, it simply defers it.) So I have spent the past 24+ hours in bed with a really nasty case of it — this variant is NOT here to play around and scoffs at things like my booster and masking and my previous cases. I don't even know where I got it, so to anyone I inadvertently exposed, I'm truly sorry. People have been amazing, bringing by food and oximeters to lend (turns out mine was reading several pints low so a new one stopped me from freaking out so much) and pie and hot toddies and gag kleenex boxes and the like. I have amazing friends. I've missed several important events but that does not seem like such a big deal right now. You see, December 12 is the day I always kind of start to lose it. December 12 is the day that my mom went into the hospital via the ER, never to come out again. It's a

It seemed like Christmas came early today when Patrick enlisted the help of a friend to move some big heavy furniture around! To back up a second — much of my office work is done in a big comfy chair, with an ottoman in front of my, the cats nearby, and where I can grab things as they come out of the printer. But my old big comfy chair, which we had brought over from Summit, was worn out, to the point where the staples on it kept on catching at me. Though it was comfortable, it was not inspiring. Luckily, since I was sitting in it, no one saw much of it on zoom. The ottoman had been converted into "Trouble's play space": And the other chair on the 3F was suffering a similar fate: So I got a new chair from the neighborhood free board. It turned out to be from a friend's mom, which makes it extra special, and our friends Peg and Troy helped us pick it up. So I think about a lot of greta people when I sink into it (it's much squishier than the old one). I don't l

(well, really liquor problems but I can't resist a good Taylor Swift reference) When Patrick and I were touring the Old Sazerac House in New Orleans (you know, because it was educational...), I really liked the little round bar carts at the tasting stations. I thought they might be the solution for our liquor situation — an overabundance of bottles, though relatively few mixers. However, did you know that round bar carts are $200-$400? Yikes! Luckily, I found a dupe (it's supposed to be a plant table, but whatever) in the neighborhood BST group for $3, and she even delivered to our house. Plus we sold an old playmobil advent calendar, so I actually made money on the BST this week. So late last night, after a fruitless hunt for the Northern Lights, I decided to redo the bar area. Note I now have a whole shelf for shakers, for gin, and for hooch! Everything else fits well in the main part of the bar, without getting too stacked up on top! In a win for the canines of the househol

As I posted on Threads today, while in the middle of it: "You might not have ever really been to New Orleans until you are standing on the Poydras Street median, with a marching band heading down the beginning of the parade route on one side of you, while a dueling band is heading back up the parade route on the other side." And if you don't understand what seeing a New Orleans school marching band is really like, please enjoy this minute of watching one walk by (I unfortunately wasn't thinking about taking a video when the much-vaunted St. Aug's kicked the parade off).

Are you ready for Minnesota’s favorite giving extravaganza, where we spend all day donating to our favorite charities like Swifties at a new merch drop (and don’t get me wrong, I’m loving the merch drops…) Yes, I mean Give to the Max Day tomorrow, November 16 (though early giving has started now) May I suggest some of my clients, that have all gained the patented Bethany Gladhill Seal of approval? I PROMISE YOU that even a $5 donation to one of these places will make a world of difference.   For filmmakers/film lovers (and an awesome new space in a renovated historic building): FilmNorth   For other arts lovers (also an awesome new space in a renovated historic building): The Victoria Theater Arts Center   For history groups who tell important stories: Historic Saint Paul Historic Summit Avenue   For other theaters and arts organizations that make our world so much richer: Pangea World Theater Wonderlust Productions Ten Thousand Things Full Circle Theater Company Nimbus Open Eye Figure

It's been a long time since we have been at a Walker After Hours, so we were excited to go tonight. The night began auspiciously enough. We got to the Walker a little after 9:00, and ran into our friends Joel and Lyra almost immediately. The place was bumping, so we decided to go through the exhibit ( Multiple Realities: Experimental Art in the Easter Bloc 1960s-1980s ) pretty much right as we got there. The exhibit had some strong pieces, and a big political focus (clearly). But I can't help but feel like maybe we don't have enough distance from that period yet? I don't know, I just remained somewhat apart from it all. It was crowded, and loud, and though the people-watching was good, not a place we really wanted to hang out at. So we decided to try out Public Domain in the North Loop. Sadly, there was a wait there, so they suggested that we try out, Neon Tiger, their "upscale dive bar" in the back. Call me unimpressed. $30 got us an ok piña colada and one o

 It's 1984, and David Byrne and his art school friends are the soundtrack to my life. When I struggle sleepily in to my carrel in the morning, someone in the common space has probably already started the tape of Stop Making Sense on the creaky old boombox. It's probably still playing when I'm back during my free period. That weekend, Remain In Light or More Songs About Buildings and Food are the background to another gathering at Phillip Abbott's house. When the movie comes out, Phillip and I take the #16 bus over to the Skyway Theater to see it. In a dingy gray cinema with indescribably sticky seats we are enthralled, and at the end he asks "Shall we stay and see it again?" and so we do (it remains one of only two times I have technically snuck into  movie theater.).  I will never in my life be as cool as any of the Talking Heads. Late this last Sunday, after a jam-packed weekend, Patrick and I go see the re-master at the Riverview. Sadly, my friend Dan wh

In general, I am pretty progressive. I believe in "we all do better when we all do better," and I love Saint Paul with every inch of my being. But I don't believe in the 1% sales tax.  No, it's not the "1¢ sales tax," but rather1%, which would put Saint Paul's sales tax at 9.88%. That's not only as one of the highest-taxed places in the state (I can't remember if Duluth is a tiny bit higher), but also in the country; for example, New Orleans, which is known for taxing tourism, has a 9.45% sales tax. (edited - with recent sales tax changes, this will put as as the 5th highest in the US). Ok, you say, but shouldn't Saint Paul be gaining sales tax from people who come in to the city and use its facilities? Shouldn't they be paying their "fair share"? I reject that argument. If they are coming in for theater, like the Ordway, there's no sales tax on tickets. If they are buying goods, I don't see a lot of places where they wo

When I was young, my dad took me to House on the Rock . I never understood why he took me there, and not to Taliesin at the same time...until this trip. The first garden at HOTR Taliesin There's a story (since proved wrong, for any number of reasons), that Alex Jordan built HOTR because he wanted Frank Lloyd Wright to collaborate on a house and Wright refused. But that contrast stayed in my mind this trip. Though House on the Rock has some cozy spaces in the house itself... ...it's really about the show, the razzle-dazzle. In fact, one thing that we learned about the house is that Jordan only ever spent 4 nights in the house ever. he built it as a showcase, as a tourist attraction. And it succeeds, even though it's kind of exhausting. It's also a place for him to showcase all of his collections, from carousels to dollhouses to firearms to cars to jewelers models to musical rooms to full-built towns. I think my dad aspired to that, though all he really seemed to collect

Last year, we went to Door County for MEA break with our friends the Freys. This year we topped that, with a trip to Spring Green, Wisconsin! We drove down on Thursday, with a stop at Norske Nook for pie on the way. So delicious! (though the lefse was meh at best). Then we checked into our AirBnB. It was a relatively new listing, with great space for all of us and some wonderful touches to make us feel pampered. And waking up to this view the next morning was not half bad either.... On Friday we spent hours at House on the Rock, which was as ridiculous as I remember it and a rollicking good time. We then had a lovely dinner at Homecoming, with lovely wood-fired pizzas and a hippie vibe: The next day, after "brunch-lunchy" at the Spring Green General Store and touring the art crawl, we went to Taliesin, which was every bit as amazing as I would have wished. Then dinner at Arthur's Supper Club and a night of jazz at the Slowpoke. We took the long way home today, which inclu