Weekend over

The last weekend in February has come and gone, and March plans on changing the calendar tomorrow, whether we're ready or not! 

On Saturday morning, I caught up with a friend over brunch. Two months ago we began emailing each other to find a weekend day and time that would work for both of us, and Saturday was the day. 

On Sunday morning, Miles, Westy, Annie, and Tanner made a stop to play and to share Monster Cookies before going to the Grimmius house to celebrate Will's 22nd birthday. Happy Birthday, Uncle Will! Miles told me the best m&m's in (in the cookies) are the orange ones. He's right.

Dad/Larry/Paco and I don't get out much, so we'd been looking forward to hearing Branford Marsalis (sax) and Terence Blanchard--he's "the trumpet guy", Miles--play at Orchestra Hall. D/L/P suggested we have dinner at Emily's Lebanese Deli, a little restaurant in northeast Minneapolis that we'd seen on Guy Fieri's "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" recently.  Watch this VIDEO to see Guy making some of our dinner.

A number of the reviews of the restaurant come down to the adage, "Don't judge a book by it's cover," which is true in this case. It's not glamorous or trendy by any means, but instead homey and family-friendly. Neither of us salivate over the thought of eating lamb, which permeates the menu. Larry wonders who can eat those cute, fluffy white animals anyway. Chicken to the rescue for Larry, and I opted for what I went for in the first place, spinach pie. Our entire bill, including a basket of flatbread, taboui salads for each of us, an order of rice and ground lamb wrapped in grape leaves, chicken kabobs, spinach cheese pie, two soft drinks, and baklava for dessert came to just over $26.00. Yes, we tried ground lamb in the grape leaves, and it was mildly spiced and delicious. And minimal.

I'd read that Emily's fills up fast at dinner time, and it's true. We arrived at 5:00, with only one other customer in the place. By the time we ordered, two more tables filled, and when our food arrived there were only a couple of tables unoccupied. And in the midst of it, people were coming and going to pick up and take out orders, too. To add to the charm of Emily's, Larry had to go through the kitchen, up a set of back stairs, through another small dining room, and down a hallway to get to the restroom. On the way, he met the entire family, including some little kids who were waiting for the shift change and a different babysitter.

Off to Orchestra Hall...and on the road to St. Peter at intermission. We both enjoy jazz concerts, but not this one. Larry/Dad/Paco has an ear for music and I don't, so at first I wondered if the cold I'm getting over was affecting what I was hearing. Apparently not. Branford Marsalis plays--to quote Larry-- "like Tina Turner on speed." I couldn't listen fast enough, it was that wild. By intermission I had a headache, and Larry had enough, so we left. The good news is, we got home in time to see the last half hour of the Academy Awards. Even at my age, I like looking at all the fancy dresses.

On to Monday.

Vivian and Hannah

 Two more for good measure! Thanks for sending these, Elisabeth.

Hannah and Vivian

Grandpappy and I had a little Skype session with las chicas de North Carolina this evening. Hannah and Vivian entertained us while they ate supper. Little Miss Viv is an eager rice cereal and applesauce eater--no stopping to smile or stare at the computer screen for that girl when there's solid food near by! So cute!  Hannah looked grown up and fancy in a dress with gigantic polka dots on it, and dark pink tights. We should've taken some screen shots to post here.

Speaking of putting pictures of Hannah and Vivian on my blog, it's been a while. But, it's been a while since we've seen them. Two long months, for anyone who's counting. Even though relatives get to see pictures of the sisters, there are other readers who haven't had an update since December. Here they are!

Valentine's Day Sisters

 Hannah expresses her love for Vivian with a passionate smooch on the head.

We miss you! XXX OOO

Rekindled

I know you've all been waiting anxiously, so sorry to be slow in reporting that I now have my second Kindle, a Kindle 3, a replacement for my mortally wounded first Kindle, a Kindle 2. I'm getting used to K3, which is slightly smaller, lighter in weight, and has a few minor differences in design from K2. Because of the size difference, the beautiful green leather cover I spent too much for to adorn my K2 two years ago does not fit K3. I'm going to look for a journal or notebook to put inside so I can still use it. The K2 padded zipper case is still usable for storing and toting K3, even though K3 slides around inside the case a bit.

This is all pretty boring, isn't it? It occurred to me that it's like watching and listening to product description videos on YouTube, the kind where someone buys a camera and tells you all its features, starting with the materials composition of the box in which it arrived. "My Canon Sure Shot 115 U2 camera arrived in a recyclable brown cardboard mailing container. The box is easy to open. Just grab the tear strip and pull evenly. See?" Reminds me of listening to someone (who shall remain nameless) who once described to me how her friend, a literate adult person, reads. "She starts at the first line and reads from the top of the page to the bottom, then reads the other side from top to bottom, then turns the page and starts again at the top of the new page." You can imagine how awestruck I was to learn about the startling and unusual skill the woman possessed.

To bring this snoozer of a blog entry to a close, here's my new Kindle, a Kindle 3, which replaces my first Kindle, a Kindle 2. Who's on first?

     P.S. For anyone who wonders, I'm reading Abraham Verghese's novel, Cutting for Stone. He's a wonderful writer. He also wrote The Tennis Partner, which is nonfiction. I highly recommend both books.

Kindling

Announcement:  My Kindle 2 bit the dust this week. I am sure it's because it slid off a pile of stuff  and bonked itself on the floor one too many times.  A brief consultation with the Amazon.com website indicated I should make a phone call to the Kindle people, which I did. I was connected immediately, and I had a long and moderately productive discussion with a Kindle service representative about my options. 

Because I hadn't purchased an extended service contract beyond the one-year warranty  that came with the purchase of my Kindle in March of 2009, replacement with a new device wasn't an option. Since I don't want to be without a Kindle to read, here's what I concluded after talking with Gene, the service rep, about my perceived options:

1. I could send in my current, damaged Kindle, and exchange it for a refurbished model for $89.00 ("They can't be repaired, ma'am.").

2. I could throw away the old Kindle and buy a new Kindle for $139.00.

3. I could do #1 AND buy a new Kindle so that we'd be a 2 Kindle household. 

As I reviewed the choices, I pictured Gene nodding, and I could hear him mumbling in affirmation. Then, I asked if it would be possible to return the damaged Kindle and get a discount on my new one, since they could refurbish the old one and sell it for $89. Remember, they don't repair, but they DO refurbish.

Well, no, they couldn't do that, according to Gene. So I asked if he had a manager who might be open to that idea. He said he'd check, so for the next two or three minutes I waited for him to get back to me with news. I'm sure he clicked me off and sat at his computer chewing gum and reading email during that time. Anyway, when he got back on the phone, he was sorry to tell me that my suggestion wouldn't fly with the manager for several reasons, including the fact that purchasing a new, 3rd generation Kindle, wasn't an eye for an eye, so to speak. I'd be getting a better product. So what? I simply asked for a discount on a purchase. What would the manager care which version I was buying? But, apparently he does care, and it's not possible, ma'am.

By that time I was planning to order a new Kindle as soon as Gene and I parted ways, but I had one more thing I wanted to ask about. Could I send them my old Kindle so that they could try to refurbish it?  I'd even throw in the power cord. That way, maybe someone could use the Kindle (or the cord, or both) and it wouldn't have to go to a landfill, at least not at age 2. Yup, Gene would send me a mailing label right away by email, and I could box up the useless Kindle and send it back. He said I might get a partial refund. Maybe.  Whether I do or don't is not a big deal. I'd just rather have the disposal of a dead Kindle on the hands of the company that produced it rather than toss it in the garbage myself.

The new Kindle should arrive on Monday. It's in Eagan right now, according to the tracking information. It's been there since 7:00 a.m. I should have driven to the Eagan UPS station and picked it up!

 My dark and pathetic Kindle screen. Can't turn it off, can't lighten it. 

2/12/11 UPS Update:  Out of curiosity, I checked the UPS tracking link to make sure my Kindle rested comfortably overnight. I was surprised to find out that it left Eagan at 8:21 last evening. Does UPS deliver on Saturdays? I don't think so. Now I'm wondering if my Kindle is driving around the suburbs, or if it's parked in a UPS driver's driveway, or just what's going on. It will have a story to tell when it gets here!

Superbowl weekend

While Mommy and Daddy were away, two little boys decided to play. 

The toga party was a hit...

and it inspired enthusiastic marching from room to room. 

Turning the living room into dance party headquarters drew a big-time deejay...

as well as local rapper 2Hat ShoRt GuY, who turned the room on its side.

It wasn't all parties and loud music, however. The boys took their childcare responsibilities seriously, looking out for the twin babies in their charge. Owen lovingly fed and burped the pink baby...

 and Ethan took the purple baby for a walk in the Bumbo.

Mommy and Daddy, you'll be glad to know that the boys followed through on the  college prep studying they'd planned for the weekend. Here, Ethan is making connections to prior knowledge and Owen is reviewing the periodic table, conveniently printed on the end pages of the book Science Verse.

Later, they critiqued and edited videos of the day's activities 
for their modern film class.

Grandpa and Owen took a relaxation break before the Superbowl festivities began, while Ethan (out of camera range) headed off to his bedroom for a  necessary pre-game diaper change.

Despite being spoiled by two sets of grandparents for several days (Grandma Dar and Grandpa Dean played with them in Northfield), E and O were  as happy as two little boys can be when Mommy and Daddy arrived home on Monday afternoon. I wish I'd taken pictures!

517 Hillcrest Drive

Mike, Margot, and I were in Spring Valley yesterday to pick up the last of what we wanted to keep from Mom and Dad's house. The house is empty of furniture, the walls are bare, all that remains are a few cleaning supplies and a couple of waste baskets with the last few items to throw away. A few hours of work by Spring Valley's version of the Merry Maids, and it will be ready to go on the real estate market on February 15, as scheduled. I only lived there during my junior- high and senior-high school years (from 7th to 12th grade, for anyone not clear about what I mean) and the summers on either end, but my parents lived there for much longer. It was my mom's home for nearly 40 years, and my dad's for 50. And of course, it was the place my three siblings and I called home.

Mom was a homemaker and Dad taught and coached in Spring Valley when they decided to build a new house. A teacher's salary didn't offer a luxurious lifestyle like it does now (ha ha!), so Dad's summer work in the 1950's and 60's was being a carpenter, a skill he learned alongside his brother (my Uncle Art) and their father (Grandpa Fred Reps). Dad and some of his teacher friends did much of the work on the house, from basement to roof, and Mom and Dad did most of the finishing work inside. Mike pointed out yesterday that Mom often said how proud she was that she and Dad had designed the layout of the house, which is probably why we had that great laundry chute to mess around with! I think Mike got stuck in it once...

Our family of five moved  to our brand new split-level in the summer of 1960. The house seemed huge to us, and it probably was by 1960 small-town Minnesota standards. We had two bathrooms and a family room, which was a big deal back then. Mary Jo and I shared the largest of the three bedrooms. Our room was painted pale yellow and adorned with floral bedspreads. The closet had  two big storage drawers, and a laundry chute that we loved, except when Mark threw his dirty clothes into our closet without opening the chute.

Mark's single-person, small bedroom suddenly needed to become a room for two, when we found out about Mike's impending birth in April of 1961. Mom and Dad kept baby Mike in crib in their room for a while, and then Mike and Mark became roomies.  Their bedroom had a closet that was extra deep on one side for storage leading up to the attic. Whenever I went into their room at night or when Mom and Dad were gone, I made sure the closet door was closed so attic creatures wouldn't descend into the rest of the house. And I was 13. What a wimp!

I remember the first night we slept in the house. Friends of my parents had spent the hot and humid late summer day driving back and forth between old and new, loading and unloading furniture and boxes, emptying 608 North Huron Avenue, and filling 517 Hillcrest Drive. That first night was hot (no air conditioning) and, while our beds were assembled and in their respective bedrooms, everything else was in boxes, waiting to be put away tomorrow. The house smelled new and wonderful. I drifted off to sleep feeling happy that we'd moved, but a bit out of place in the unfamiliar surroundings. There was work to be done yet to make the house completely livable--carpeting and furniture for the living room and sealing some of the hardwood floors, for example. But it was a big adventure to be in our brand new home and we kids didn't mind the minor chaos as much as Mom did.

For 50 years, everyone from Grandma Kirsch, Grandpa and Grandma Reps, Big Uncle Mike, other aunts and uncles, and the few cousins we had came and went. Larry/Dad and I got married and we brought our babies, who became adults in the blink of an eye, and soon they brought their significant others. Then  they got married and brought their own babies. We came and went for birthdays, anniversaries, Christmases, weddings, funerals, and most often just to visit.  It's been too quiet in that house since September. Soon a new family will move in, and people will come and go once again, and call this house their home.

Entrance hallway

 

Living room 

 Walnut room divider-- wood from Uncle Art's property in Minnesota City

Butternut paneling, also wood from MN City

Backyard view from dining room

Kitchen

 Kitchen

 Upstairs hallway

Bathroom

Mike and Mark's room

Originally Jill and Mary Jo's room, then Mom and Dad's

 Originally Mom and Dad's room, then guest room

517 Hillcrest Drive