all that's past is prologue...

  There was no yoga today, so our morning exercise was marching in the Saint Anthony Park parade (which is an institution!) with our mayor, Kaohly Her . It was a lot of fun, we ran out of candy, we got to see other politicians we admire (like Congresswoman Betty McCollum , Commissioner Garrison McMurtrey , and Representative Claire Oumou Verbeten ), and it reminded us of the importance of democracy. Plus we got to see my cousin Erin and her husband, raising money for Mutual Aid through their church with a VERY well-rehearsed bucket brigade. We then got to check out a few stores (and the Finnish Bakery). Top on my list was Acorn Bookshop , a new, women-focused shop in the old Micawber's space that I have wanted to go to for awhile. The shop was great — totally lived up to expectations, and I wanted to buy everything there (but also tuition was due today so...) Tonight was the annual Songs of Hope picnic that Summit Manor holds on the 4th for their first concert. Songs of Hope is muc...

We don't skip yoga lightly, but today was the graduation party for K, who is the granddaughter of/lives with one of my oldest, dearest friends — and we were NOT going to miss it! K and K being the awesome women they are, there was a delicious coffee bar and donuts! But not going to yoga meant we did not get to see our friends M and B. Their son and his wife and their dog stayed at our other place while coming through last week, and left us the sweetest thank-you present! Though I love it intensely, I feel guilty; we were just trying to do them a favor, and they totally one-upped us! While Beatrix was at Pride, we foraged, picking tons of serviceberries (an homage to Robin Kimmerer ) and sour cherries from our trees. The serviceberries are small so it's hard to see how many there were, but there are A LOT. And we had 3x that many sour cherries!  I also harvested some rhubarb so I can make rhubabaritas. It was the kind of day to feel incredibly grateful for the friends and family...

  Poor Patrick Rhone. He's not a fan of list posts, and really photo dump posts are just a variation thereof. But today is our twentieth anniversary, so I'm going down a bit of a rabbit hole. Of photos at the park that afternoon (because Sarah Whiting is the best). Dinner at Zander. A late night ceremony at Nautilus: A reception two days later at the Ritz (just after it had opened to the pubic): And a mini-moon afterwards: Here's to an amazing husband, an incredible life, and all those who have supported us along the way. You are my sun, and my moon, and my stars above.

Ok, to be fair, I am a huge fan of everything Skewed Visions does. But even among an exceptional body of work, this one stands out. The show only seats 30, and there are only a few performances and tickets left. If you see one thing in the Twin Cities this year, this should be it. Tickets and information here . I don't want to say too much about it because I want you to see it and then I want to discuss it with you. But i will say this. get there a little early if you want to look through the rehearsal photos beforehand (or a lot early if you want to grab a drink and a dog at Meteor , down the block.) It's a contradiction to try to stay focused in a situation where you want to be hyper-aware of everything, but that's exactly what I would ask of you.  After the performance, take advantage of Charles' invitation to walk through and explore the set. Every single inch brings so much to take in. The performers are incredibly generous in discussing the process as well. If yo...

We're in that liminal phase right now where Beatrix is both an adult and still a youth.  She's old enough to get tickets for Phoebe Bridgers, in Brooklyn, when she's at school this fall, and to put together a group of her new classmates to go. She's young enough that she still needs my ninja ticketing moves (and "her" credit card that's tied to our account) to get them. She's old enough to remember to thank me. She's young enough to forget to check her spam to see if Sarah Lawrence had sent her instructions on how to set up her student portal (which of course they did, some time ago, and she did not notice.) She's old enough to promptly freak out that, in said portal, there are many important and imminent deadlines — and to work on plans for meeting those deadlines. She's young enough that she's still asleep this morning while Patrick called her doctor's office and ran a whole bunch of paperwork out there to get signed off on this m...

I have a lot more to say about graduation, at Beatrix's seven years at Saint Paul Academy, later. But for now I'm going to stick with: It was super fun to catch a super-fun grad shot at Grand Hand before we went over (thanks, Rachael and Ara!) And also to stop by Randolph Heights: And to do homage to Beatrix's theater teacher Seves with a quick snack at Due: Before dropping her off. Graduation got moved inside to we took our seats (with other family watching the livestream): The senior chorale performance was beautiful: And the speeches inspiring (though I took no pictures of those). I'm so happy her (sometimes chosen) family could be there to support her: For the friendships that she has developed and learned to cherish: For the teachers and staff who gave her so much: There's seemingly no language for being so proud of your kid that you feel like your heart is going to burst — and being so incredibly excited for the future — and also thinking you would give anythi...