Holiday Hoopla

On Sunday afternoon, Tomkin and I bought a tree at Menards, and then we let it settle while we went to the neighborhood Christmas party. We ate, drank, chatted with people we already knew and people we'd just met, and Tomkin held on to the family's dachsund, who apparently doesn't like anyone else (in fact, he bit a kid while we were there). After the party we went home and decorated the tree while the dogs rested on the couch, and Tomkin hung lights in our front porch. The house feels even more warm and cozy than usual now!

Our House, in the Middle of Our Snowy Street

As promised, photos of the outside of our house--taken on Saturday before our not-so-grand-meander.

Yes, This Is the Minnesota I Remember...

On Saturday, Tomkin and I had planned to go to the Grand Meander on nearby Grand Avenue. We'd thought it would be fun if we got a little snow while we and the dogs were meandering about. Well, be careful what you wish for! We did, indeed, get snow--the first snowstorm of the year. And we decided to make the mile trek down to Grand Avenue anyway, a decision I would seriously come to regret, especially during the mile walk home, when the wind was whipping snow needles into our face, and we were dragging ourselves through unshoveled inches of snow. At least we were able to go into a couple stores and warm up for a few minutes. But all in all, it was really horrible. I don't know if I've ever been so happy to get back to a warm, dry house! (The dogs were miserable, too, but fashionable in their new backpacks.) We had originally planned to get a Christmas tree that day, but after the Meandering Debacle, neither of us wanted to go back outside.

Tomkin's Last Day in Cubeville

Friday was Tomkin's last day at Xcel Energy. He just had to go in for his exit interview at 10:00, so I went with him. I got to see his cube, in which he had hung all kinds of inspirational posters. (Very strict rules about what can and can't be in your cube there.) After saying good-bye (he'd been there 8 years!), we headed to the nearby malls in downtown Minneapolis and did lots of browsing and window shopping. Wow, is it nice to have skyways! We ate lunch, got some coffee, and went to the library. That night, we went out for a celebratory dinner at Boca Chica. No more working for The Man! Woo hoo!

Our House, in the Middle of Our Street

I've had a couple requests for more photos of the house, so here you go! Rather than attempting to caption them all, I'll just provide a brief rundown here in the order they're presented: front porch, living room (you can see the dogs in their favorite sleeping spot), bathroom, bedroom, Tomkin's office, dining room, attic (half is the "guest room"--wanna come visit?--and half is storage), dining room again, kitchen, my library and office in the basement (yes, the office still needs a lot of organizing), and the laundry room (for comparison about how the whole basement looked just a few months ago). I suppose I should have also taken pictures of the house's exterior, but that would have required me to put on shoes and a coat. Another time, perhaps....

Sunday Brunch, Shopping, and Strolling

Sunday morning, Tomkin and I met my dad and Sandy for brunch at nearby Cafe Latte before they headed off to see (and hear, I suppose) the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. It's so nice living closer to them now, so we can get together like that! Tomkin and I did a little Christmas shopping on Grand Avenue--I'm not quite in panic mode yet...but close. We'll be getting together with Dad & Sandy & the boys on the 16th to exchange gifts, and I leave on the 18th for Texas, so I better get my shopping done soon!

Later on Sunday, Tomkin and I took the dogs for a walk around Como Lake. It was a gorgeous day out, and the dogs were very well-behaved (Tomkin has almost completely gotten them to stop barking at other dogs). There were hundreds of geese on the water and flying overhead, which I thought was really cool, and we got to watch the sunset. It was a nice, relaxing way to end a really fun (and busy) weekend.

The Neighborhood "Talent" Show

Saturday evening, Tomkin and I went back to Pizza Luce, this time with his friends Syd and Dave. Then we all headed over to the Scooby-Doo Mansion for Luke and AC's annual neighborhood talent show. It was quite an event! Zombie Robert Goulet served as the host, the winning team (Adam & Cheryl) did a mimed magic act, and other "talent" included Tomkin & Adam showing the proper way to give a man hug, Jim telling a truly disgusting poop-related story from childhood, Syd & Dave popping straws, AC reading poetry, and two different people performing bodily contortion acts. It was highly entertaining! We also enjoyed drinking from the "shot" machine, and I got to meet Tomkin's friend JimDog. A fun and fascinating evening all-around. This year I just watched the show and took pictures of the performers. Perhaps next year I'll actually get up on stage. Any suggestions for "talents" I could share?

Superstar!

Saturday afternoon, Tomkin and I watched Carrie's episode of "What Not to Wear." It was awesome! We both thought she looked really pretty on camera and came off as being confident and sassy, even in her multi-colored muu-muu. If you missed the show the first time around, they're sure to replay it again sometime soon. And if you live in Chicago, watch out for that sassy, well-dressed lady strutting around Lincoln Square!