all that's past is prologue...

For the most part, our Halloween weekend was based around performances of the Middle School play ( A Midsummer Night's Dream , in which Beatrix played Hermia). Thanks to so many family and friends for coming! But we did make it to yoga twice. And a dinner party. And a clothing exchange. And an outdoor goods exchange, where Patrick got a pair of cross-country skis so we can try skiing this winter! And to Saint Paul Brewing so Brutus could enter the dog costume contest, Tonight Beatrix has a friend over and we hope to make it to a couple of places as well. We did NOT make it to Monster Bash at Lake Monster, but it looks like it was a lot of fun! Maybe next year we'll be more prepared. Happy Halloween, everyone!

 A few more (non-dog) highlights from a great weekend: - Watching the colors change and stopping at Tobie's (yes, I know the owner is a jerk but their caramel rolls are soooo good!). - Trixie Belden books at the antique store. - Amazing beer and pizza at Ursa Minor . I first discovered them through Craftapped and they are no longer on it, but I still love the beer! - Love Creamery . Enough said. - More antique shopping. - Hanging out at the harbor at Two Harbors. Climbing the rocks, walking on the beach, watching boats come in. - Not one but TWO stops at Mocha Moose (on the way there and back) for fancy coffee. Yum. Even when they are slammed and slow they are great. - Wild State Cider . Enough said. I brought home some crowlers if you want to come hang out. I think I could go up to the North Shore once a month and still not have enough time there....

It was a great weekend spent building trails, but apparently I was not done helping out! Yesterday we got an urgent email from the middle school theater director, who I adore. A Midsummer Night's Dream runs this weekend, with a fantastic cast (Beatrix is playing Hermia), and it's the first production back on stage at the school since March, 2020! Tech and dress started yesterday — but suddenly the costume designer can't be due to a family issue — YIKES! So a couple of other parents and I showed up yesterday to help. It was clear right away that it was going to be chaos; turns out that only a couple of pieces had actually been designed for the show (either shopped or built), with the rest kind of half-pulled from existing stock (like a little trip down memory lane). Still other elements were not there (for example the fairies were all in glittery skirts or leggings, but there were no shirts). Only a few of the kids had previously seen their costumes, and we did not have any...

If you are a faithful reader of my blog, you know that every time I go up to Wintermoon Summersun I come back raving about how life-changing the time there was. So if you are sick of that, I suggest you skip the post (but you might want to think about signing up for time there, because if I so confidently rave about it, I must be on to something, right?) This weekend, we had signed up for a trails weekend to help with prepare for the winter. We worked, Kathleen provided the lodging and the meals. And I have to say it was amazing the entire time. We arrived Friday evening, got settled in, fed the dogs, and had a lovely meal ourselves. When Beatrix and I were last there, in the summer, it was so hot that you could only interact with the dogs during times when it was cooler, or they would get overheated. Now that it's cooler, I was delighted that I could snuggle with and talk to the dogs as much as I wanted, and started out the weekend by spending time with my favorite, Osa. It was u...

It's not a "triumphant return to the theater" because I have seen some outdoor things — and Animate was part indoors part outdoors. But seeing The Red Shoes at Open Eye tonight felt like home ( a lot like home because I have spent a lot of time in that theater). I mean, things were different. You show your vax card, you mask up, you leave space between yourself and others (who am I kidding, this is Minnesota, you always do that). But the magic of theater was also a coming home. The wondering how they did that. The movement. At Open Eye, the puppet influence. The general magic. All packed into a tight 80 minutes. If you've missed theater as badly as I have, do yourself a favor and head over before it closes on Halloween. Because as we've all learned in the last year, you nee to take your chances as you can get them.

One of my New Year's resolutions was to plant lots of bulbs at both Summit and Ashland. I just ordered 200 bulbs (scilla, tulips, crocus, allium, grape hyacinth, dwarf iris, a couple of different kinds of daffodils, jonquils, snowdrops, and glory of the snow). The other day I planted them at Ashland, and today I planted under the magnolias at Summit. I'm thinking of planting some datura under the trees next summer. I also got several bags of pine needles from our friends Tom and Sarah to mulch under the magnolias. Pine needles are a great mulch for magnolias, and look really nice as well. We're still fighting some scale that mysteriously began after the neighbors did some damage to the trees, so they can use all the help they can get! I'm looking forward to a spring of lovely blooms at both places!

Last night, we went to the first Walker After Hours since the Jasper Johns exhibit (my calendar tells me that was February 15, 2020). I realized during the times when everything was closed that I really missed visual art, but even as museums re-opened, I just had not made it back — timed tickets and such just seemed hard to suss. And I knew very little about Julie Mehretu . As we pulled into the Walker garage, I started to get really nervous. We were there right at the start of the event, and the line was long. Really long. I was thinking about the number of people that would be inside and almost bailed. But the Walker required vaccination cards, and masks, so I just decided to stick it out, and I was so glad we did. First and foremost, I loved the art. I'm excited to go back and see the exhibit again, and to bring Beatrix. I could write for hours about the details and choices. It was great to see the band (Annie Mack) and realize how much I had missed live music. Bust most of all...