Barack Roll

I'm Leaving...on a Megabus...

Man, has this been a busy summer! And it's only going to get busier, at least for a while. Tomkin and I had a lovely vacation in Northfield last Sunday through Tuesday. Fun and relaxing--just what we needed. I finally finished putting together all the wedding photo albums (phew!), and this week we got the wedding DVD! I'm in the midst of starting a second career as a premarital educator, while still doing freelance editing. And I'm leaving in less than an hour to catch the Megabus to Chicago, where I'll be spending a few days visiting with friends. I haven't been back since last November! I still won't get to see everybody, but I will get to visit with some people I haven't seen since I moved to Minnesota last October. I'll get back late Tuesday night, and then next Saturday Tomkin and I are driving up to Grand Forks/East Grand Forks for my 20-year high school reunion! My mom and aunt Candy will also be in town, so we'll have lots of family activities, as well. Thanks to all of you blog readers who continue to check in, even though I haven't been posting much lately. I really do intend to get back into the swing of things...eventually. In the meantime, I hope you're enjoying this fabulous summer!

Also, happy 50th birthday today to my favorite singer, Michael Penn!

New Blogs on the Block

The blog bug is catching! (Which is awesome--I think everyone should have a blog!) Here are three new ones to check out:

Becca's Blog about the Surly Crew
Amy's Blog about Ripley
Golla's Blog about Golla Stuff

Enjoy!

Mid-July Already, Is It?

So I really do still intend to catch up on many of the goings-on from the past couple months. There's a lot to blog about--trips, dinners with friends, parties, dog-park outings, and even a recent go at kite-flying. In June I was swamped with work, and I spent many (many!) hours whittling down wedding photos to our "favorite" 700. (Which have now been ordered from Kodak...so my next task will be to put them in albums and frames.) Tomkin's been busy with weddings, and we're still in that newlywed phase where we love spending as much time as possible together. We take Chloe for a walk every day, and we have a ridiculous amount of fun, even if we're just sitting on the couch, talking. I will confess that I recently joined Facebook, and that's been a minor addiction, so if I'm on the computer for non-work purposes, it's often to send Pieces of Flair or to play Scramble or Scrabulous. This weekend I'm heading up north to attend the Fertile Fair with Brenda. She's been wanting me to go for years, and this year (since I now live within relatively easy driving distance) I'm finally going to make it! Tomkin has a busy weekend planned himself--for one thing, our house is going to be featured in the Lex-Ham Garden Walk (from 10:00am to 1:00pm on Saturday, if you want to stop by). Next week we've got birthday celebrations, Paws on Grand, and a BBQ at our house. Hmmm...I'm not really sure when I'm going to catch up on all this blogging. Well, winter should be here in a couple weeks--maybe I'll do it then!

Remembering Scout

In tribute to Scout, here are some photos from his younger days.We could tell Scout was going to be mischievous even before he came home from the breeder's. (He's the one looking up, with a twinkle in his eye.)Scout with a Favorite ToyJulie and Sweet Puppy Scout (Feb. 2000)He's Getting Bigger! (March 2000)Claudius vs. ScoutReally, They Were Good FriendsRelaxing in the HostasHaving a BallThe Birthday DogMajestic Scout in the Boundary WatersHard-Partying Scout in Grand ForksHappy Dog in ChicagoCamping in Wisconsin Relaxing in the Sun in One of His Favorite SpotsHippie DogSanta ScoutSparkling ScoutHe Always Loved Wearing Clothes!Scout Chasing ChloeSibling RivalryScout and Chloe at the OfficeScout in the SandScout the Lapdog

Firedog Scout

RIP Scout

Here's the post that I've been dreading--the one about Scout's last weekend alive. Thank goodness it was a fun weekend filled with dog-friendly activities. That Saturday, May 3rd, Tomkin and I took Scout and Chloe to the Humane Society Walk for Animals around Como Park. It was a gorgeous day, and the dogs enjoyed a nice, long stroll with hundreds of other dogs around. That Sunday, May 4, we took the dogs to a nearby park and let them run around to blow off some steam. Then we met up with Cassidy and Angie and their dachshund, Fergie, for Dog Days at the St. Paul Saints baseball game. We started out by getting some food, which the dogs really liked, and then we headed into the bleachers. The dogs were a little more ambivalent about that, but they did okay. Scout spent most of the afternoon watching kids running around, playing.On Monday, May 5, Scout acted as normal as usual--we had no indication that anything was out of the ordinary. I left about 6:30 that evening to meet Jill for dinner at Buca di Beppo, and Tomkin left at 7:00 to see Iron Man. I got home about 9:30 and found Scout dead in his crate. It was incredibly shocking, to say the least. Tomkin got home a few minutes after I did. That night we slept on the futon so that Chloe could sleep with us. The next day we brought Scout to the vet to have him cremated. It was so strange to suddenly not have him around anymore--there was definitely a huge hole in our lives where he used to be.At first I thought we would want to get another dog right away because Chloe would be lonely and freaked out, but she has actually thrived as an only dog. She's more relaxed--no competition for food or attention anymore (except when Watson comes to visit), and we've realized what an incredibly sweet and well-behaved dog she really is. So for the time-being, we're going to stick with one dog, but eventually I would like to get another one. That Wednesday after Scout died, we brought Chloe along to Tomkin's parents' house when we went there for lunch, and then we walked through the Walker Sculpture Gardens. It was nice, though it was hard not to think of Scout and how much he would have enjoyed that, too.
We got Scout's ashes back on May 20 and took them to the dog park, where we had a little ceremony on "Scout's Ridge," as we've come to call the hill where he liked to run. Then we buried his remaining ashes in our backyard.I got Scout as a puppy from a breeder named Barbara Sawyer-Brown in Chicago. Right off the bat, he had a mischievous spark, and we loved him for it. He was brave and adventurous and always up for trying something new. And he didn't have a shy bone in his body--he always enjoyed meeting people and getting attention from them. He definitely had his naughty side, especially when it came to food, but he was sweet and loving and cuddly and fun and a wonderful companion. When I lived alone in Chicago, Scout and Chloe were great company for me, and I felt very safe having them around. We miss Scout a lot and wish he could have lived longer than 8-1/2 years, but I'll always be thankful for the time I got to spend with him. He was really a special and amazing dog.

End-of-April Highlights

Lunch at Pizza Luce with Lucas

We did a few other fun things the end of April/beginning of May. On Saturday, April 26th, we met up with Lucas for lunch at Pizza Luce. On Sunday the 27th, we met Dad & Sandy for lunch at Guadalajara's restaurant (halfway between us and them). It was the first time we'd seen them since the wedding, and it was fun to recap all the weekend's events. Tomkin, Jules, Sandy, and Dad

On Monday the 28th, I went to a GO Girls event put together by Lucas. (She's so awesome about coordinating fun things for us to do!) We took a salsa dance lesson at the Cinema Ballroom. It's such a cool place--I'd love to take more lessons there! Girls GO Dancing at the Cinema Ballroom

On Thursday, May 1st, we got dinner with Syd and Dave at Jerusalems and talked about their upcoming wedding. Tomkin, Jules, Dave, and Syd at Jerusalems

And on Friday the 2nd, we had dinner at Heidi's house with her and her daughter, Hannah, which was really fun. Heidi made Mexican food, and we looked at wedding photos and talked about work, dating, and our upcoming high school reunion.Tomkin Chowing Down at Heidi's Hannah, Heidi, and Jules

In the midst of this all, I was having one of my busiest work weeks since I got here, often working well into the evening. It's good to be busy, but that was a little crazy.Tomkin and Chloe Keeping Me Company While I'm Working

Jen & Mike's Wedding

Groom's Dinner at The Lexington

Stepping back in time.... Our first big social event after our own wedding was the wedding of Tomkin's friends Jen and Mike. He performed the ceremony, which was held at the beautiful Minnesota History Center on April 26th. We went to the groom's dinner at The Lexington on Friday the 25th. I've been wanting to go there--it seems very cool in an old-school kind of way. We had great food and drinks, and I enjoyed meeting the bride and groom and their families. I also had fun talking with the wedding coordinator, Amanda. The wedding itself was gorgeous and elegant--and very different from ours. It was big and fancy and all very well-coordinated. (They had a four-page timeline for a five-hour wedding!) The ceremony was short--about ten minutes long--and then we had a chance to grab a drink before the sit-down dinner started. After dinner, the bride and groom changed clothes and performed a traditional Korean bowing ceremony in front of their parents, which was really beautiful. Then we all danced to the Minnesota Jazz Orchestra. That was so much fun, and I love getting to dance with Tomkin! We did swing dancing, latin dancing, ballroom dancing, and even a polka. After the wedding ended at midnight, we headed to Eugene and Katya's house for a post-wedding party and then headed home. Amanda and I had so much fun talking that we made plans and got together for lunch. She has dogs, so we're hoping to have a dog park date soon.Jules and Amanda