Staycation...All I Ever Wanted, Staycation...Didn't Get Away

Going in to our staycation, I wasn't sure if we'd use the time to play tourist around town, catch up on all the projects we never seem to have time for, or just relax and unwind. Turns out we ended up doing a little bit of each. On Friday, July 3rd, Tomkin, Chloe, and I headed to the Elko Flea Market. At first it looked like they mainly had antiques. But then we found a vendor who had all kinds of cool jewelry. We spent well over an hour just looking through her tables. Tomkin found a bunch of pins to put on his jean jacket, and he also picked out a bunch of tie tacks and cuff links. I got an assortment of bracelets and earrings. Cheap and fun! We had left Dulsi at home, thinking that Becca and Omar would pick her up on their way from the airport. But they ended up going straight home. So Tomkin and I drove Dulsi over, which gave us an excuse to see their fabulous new house. It's huge! But I guess when you have four boys and a dog, you need a lot of space. It's a beautiful home--and great for parties! I'll be ready to head over with my dancin' shoes on. We came home, read, and relaxed, and then we took Chloe for a walk. That night we watched "Spring Breakdown" (not a great movie, but fun, and I was entertained by the three main actresses) and "So You Think You Can Dance."
Saturday morning, Tomkin slept in, and I watched the movie "Young at Heart." I thought it was really good! We both got some stuff done around the house--Tomkin patched up the back steps to prep them for repainting. We got a sudden downpour just as we were about to head out for a walk. Once the rain stopped, then we all headed out. Pete came over about 6:00, and the three of us sat on the patio to eat, drink (I even broke out the wine coolers!), and chat. It was great to see him and catch up. And fun to play with sparklers! Chloe had fun, too, and even got her very own hot dog. After Pete headed home, Tomkin and I wandered around the neighborhood to take in all the fireworks. We ended up by the rec center a few blocks from home, where a bunch of people had gathered to set off fireworks/watch the show. We ended up hanging out and watching their grand finale. Quite a spectacle!
On Sunday we set out for a bike ride, not exactly sure how far we'd go or where we'd end up. We followed the River Road along the Mississippi and eventually found ourselves at Minnehaha Falls. We decided that would be a lovely spot for a picnic. It was a gorgeous day, and the place was buzzing. We found a place to sit down near the falls (though they're so dry, they were more like a trickle!) and enjoyed some lunch. Then we made our way to a nearby DQ for dessert before heading home. All together, we biked almost 13 miles. And it felt great, although it put a lot of strain on Tomkin's arm. Apparently, when he had his bike accident, he hyper-extended his arm, but he's still been using it like it's fine. So now he's trying to cut back on using it and has even taken to wearing a sling. Unfortunately, that means no more bike rides for a while.... We went home and took a nap, and then we watched "The King of Kong." Great documentary! We took Chloe for a walk--there were lots of people out, which was cool. Then we relaxed and watched "So You Think You Can Dance."
Monday morning we slept in and spent some time just lounging around the house. We had originally planned to rent a canoe that day, but then we realized that wouldn't be good for Tomkin's arm. We drove to the Rosedale Mall to run a couple errands (and got out of there as quickly as possible). Then we picked up some food from Brasa, a new restaurant nearby, and all headed to Fort Snelling State Park. We hiked around until we found a good spot, and then we threw down a blanket and had ourselves a picnic. The food was okay--I wasn't blown away. Chloe sure liked it, though! After we ate, we hiked some more. The area was beautiful--I'd never been there before. It's amazing how lush everything is considering what a dry summer we've had. One highlight of the day was seeing a deer! That was really cool. Back at home, we ran Chloe up and down the block, trying to tire her out before we took her to the Humane Society for her Canine Good Citizen test. (You would never know she's almost nine years old!)We also did some last-minute practicing. We were pretty sure she'd do well on most of the test, but we were nervous about a few things. (Would she "stay" as long as she was supposed to? Not get excited when walking by another dog? Refrain from whining when we left the room?)We headed to the AHS in Golden Valley, filled out the paperwork, and joined 15 other dogs and their owners for the test. Tomkin ran all ten tests with Chloe, and she seemed to do really well. There were a couple times when she was like, "Hey, there's Mom! I should go over to her!" But the main things the test checks for is whether the dog is fearful or aggressive (in addition to having some training), and Chloe was neither of those. As far as we could tell, she did everything they asked of her. But we had to wait until the end, when the evaluators spoke with each dog family one-on-one to let them know the results. They had told us up front that most dogs don't pass the first time around. But Chloe did!!! We were SO proud of her! I'm sure she didn't understand what the big deal was, but we were both just thrilled. This was the first step toward having her become a therapy dog--we'll begin that training in August. I think she'll be great at that, and I'll really enjoy doing it with her.
Tuesday morning, Jessie Marianello from Stray Dog Arts came over to do a photo shoot with Chloe. For my upcoming 40th birthday, Tomkin is commissioning portraits of Chloe and Scout, which is something I've wanted for years. And I really love Jessie's work. Chloe was an excellent subject--it'll be hard to choose which picture we want Jessie to use for the portrait! I showed her some pictures of Scout and told her about his personality. I still need to send her some photos, and we'll agree on the one she should paint. I'm so excited! That afternoon, Tomkin and I headed to the Minnesota governor's mansion, which is just a few blocks away on Summit Avenue. We walk by it all the time, and so we jumped at the chance to go inside and take a tour. The house was beautiful, but not overdone, and we enjoyed learning about its history. They had a docent assigned to each room, and they really kept things moving along. I loved how one docent squinched up her face when Tomkin asked about Jesse Ventura. Not her favorite subject, apparently! The grounds and gardens were lovely; it was really fun to get a glimpse of it all. (Governor Tim Pawlenty, who may run for President in 2012, lives at the house part-time with his family.) After the tour, Tomkin got a haircut and ran to the library. Then we walked Chloe to the bike store so I could get some padded bike shorts. (We're still planning to do the St. Paul Classic Bike Tour in September, though it looks like we may do the 15-mile route now instead of the 30-mile route.) My dad, Sandy, Phillip, and Sandy's friend Judie had come down from St. Cloud for the day so they could go to the Mill City Museum. They met us at our house, and then we all went to Pizza Luce for dinner. They'd had a great day, and it was fun to see them all and share stories. That night I had my weekly phone call with my mom, and then Tomkin and I watched a little TV.
Wednesday morning, Helena picked me up and we headed to Red Nails for pedicures. She was about to embark on a busy week, so it was nice to enjoy a little time of pampering. Once our tootsies were all pretty, we went to nearby Tea Source for some iced treats. It was a great way to kick off the day! Back at home, Tomkin gave Chloe a bath, and then he had lunch with his folks and did some work. I checked out the new Trader Joe's here in St. Paul. I'm so happy it's finally open! Tomkin and Chloe and I all took a nap on the couch, and then Tomkin and I got gussied up for the Minnesota Bride "Best Of" awards, which were held at the beautiful Varsity Theater. Tomkin was a finalist for Best Officiant! Syd and Dave picked us up, and we all headed over together. We had some food and drinks, did some mixing and mingling, and waited to hear the results. Of course we all thought that Tomkin was a shoe-in, but the award in his category ended up going to a judge. Phooey! Well, next year he'll take it for sure. After that party (which was fun, regardless), we headed to Brit's Pub and snagged a table on the rooftop. It was a cool place--I hadn't been there before. (One of the fun things about Staycation was checking out new places!) We got some food (including cake!) and drinks (including champagne!). It didn't matter that Tomkin didn't take home an award--we know he's the best and love him no matter what.
Thursday morning we slept in, and then we walked to the Blue Door Pub for lunch. It was a beautiful day, and we had to wait to get a table outside. But that was fine. We had a great (though unhealthy) meal--Juicy Blucys and tator tots. Delicious! On our way home, Tomkin popped into his barbershop to have them trip up his hair. Chloe went inside with him. I checked out Rebel Ink Baby, and then we all went into Patina. (With so much breakable stuff in the store, I was surprised they let the dog in--but I was glad they did!) Chloe was nice enough to carry all our purchases home in her backpack. We napped and read for a while, and then Tomkin and I went to the Ax-Man Surplus store--another first for me. They've got a lot of weird stuff--but it was really fun! We spent a long time checking things out and ended up with some real "treasures." That night we watched the fascinating documentary "Devil's Playground" about Amish teenagers (can you tell we're making the most of our Netflix membership?), and then we just hung out and relaxed. It always amazes me how easily we can kill time. And we never get tired of just hanging out and talking!
We had planned to go to the Guthrie tour on Friday morning, but we decided to just sleep in instead. Good thing! After getting up earlier to let Chloe out, I slept until 10:00, and Tomkin slept until noon! I guess we needed it. Tomkin had to take care of some car stuff, and I focused on catching up on all the blogs I read. I had over 1,000 posts that I hadn't looked at yet! (Needless to say, I skimmed over most of the newsy ones and just read those that struck my fancy or were written by people I actually know.) A couple of my favorite blogs these days are The Black Snob and Michelle Obama Watch. Both of them are entertaining but also enlightening and educational. I've also recently started reading Jane Fonda's blog--she's really interesting and insightful. Another new favorite is Awful Library Books, just for the entertainment value. Of course the best blogs are the ones my friends and family members write--I always love seeing and hearing what people are up to! Friday afternoon, Tomkin and I went to the Midtown Global Market. Neither of us had ever been there before, and we both thought it was really cool! People never seem to think of MSP as being a place of great diversity, but this place shows that we have more than just Norwegians and Swedes around here! Tomkin and I had some amazing African food for lunch, and then we browsed around stores that sold Indian clothing, Mexican foods, Scandanavian books and treats, and all kinds of other goodies. We also got some sugar-free fudge and some delicious produce. After we got home (and Tomkin took a nap), we took Chloe for a walk. Then Tomkin painted our back steps, and I read more blogs. That night we had pizza buns for dinner (a childhood favorite) and then watched "Monsoon Wedding." I needed a break from documentaries!
On Saturday, Tomkin spent the day (along with some of his poker-playing friends) at a gun class, which went from 10:00 to 5:00. I did laundry, wrote e-mails, read blog posts, labeled photos from Spain (it's been five months since our trip, so I figured I should get moving on that), and even did a bit of work. Once Tomkin got home, we rested for a while, and then we took Chloe for a walk. We picked up pizza from Pizza Luce and came home and ate it on our patio. Then Tomkin read while I labeled Spain photos. Gotta say, it's slow going! I still have a few hundred more pictures to label....
Sunday was our last day of staycation. We slept in and then ate cold pizza in bed. (Chloe liked that, since she got the crusts!) We read and relaxed for a while, and then we took Chloe and headed to Lake Como. It was a beautiful day out, so we walked around the lake. We had hoped to rent a paddleboat, but they don't allow any pets on the boats. Ah, well. We still had a great time! We saw lots of cool birds--Chloe sure would have loved to chase after the geese!
When we got home, Tomkin took a nap, and I read on the front porch with Chloe. Then we both sat outside in the Adirondack chairs and read for a while. That night we watched a little TV, read some more, and relaxed. I really do feel like our staycation was a good balance of activity and rest. I can't wait to have another one!
Monday morning, Tomkin headed back to the office. I went shopping at Cub and then went to a Profitlancers meeting. (I hadn't been to one in months!) It was just me and two other women, and we basically sat around and chatted--some about work (we're all freelancers) and some about other stuff. It was fun to catch up with them. Tomkin's new Roomba arrived (we now have one for the main floor and one for the basement). Gotta say--they're doing a great job! We took Chloe for a walk, and that night I had a premarital counseling session. Tomkin took Chloe and went to the library, then hung out in the yard until my meeting was done. We sat in the front porch, and Tomkin read while I did some editing work.
Yesterday (Tuesday), Tomkin went shopping at Menard's then worked on some house projects. I did a big shopping trip to Target. We took Chloe for a walk and went by the vet's office for her monthly weigh-in. She was 108.8 pounds, which means she lost about three pounds this month! Just a few more pounds to go. In the evening, Tomkin met with a couple, and I had a premarital counseling session. Since Chloe had to spend time in her crate, I gave her a fresh beef bone as a distraction. She happily chewed on it all evening! Tomkin and I watched "Man on Wire"--great movie.
This morning Tomkin worked on the front porch and then had lunch with his folks. I swept the patio and sidewalks, then got the guestroom ready for Carrie's visit this weekend (yay!), cleaned the bathroom, did laundry, and got a spray tan. Tomkin and I took Chloe for a walk--it was another beautiful day. Then tonight Tomkin and a couple friends went to see Emo Phillips at the Acme Comedy Club. I talked to my mom (who I'll get to see in a few weeks, when we both go to Grand Forks!), and worked on the blog. We've got a fun weekend ahead, so I can't really complain about our staycation being over. It sure was fun while it lasted, though!