Onward to Oak Park

Giving Thanks

2008-11-27T11:35:00.002-06:00

It's been a crazy year, and sometimes it's the crazy years that remind me of how much I have. What all am I thankful for?

My loving husband, Hal, who has been more caring and supportive than I could have wished.
My family, especially my sister Tracie and her husband Steve, who made my dad's final years so comfortable at home.
Hal's parents, Louise and Tom, and our dear friends Susan and Mark, who welcomed me into their homes with such friendship and love this past year as I worked at RWJF while "living" in Minnesota.
Our many, many friends, who have stood by us and supported us in good times and bad.
The memory of my parents and my friends Liz, Lissa and Nina, who lived lives of such purpose and love. I hope to emulate their example.
Work that gives both support and meaning to my life.
Physical comforts that far too many people do not share this holiday season.
A sense of optimism that the best is yet to come.

Happy Thanksgiving, all.

Good To Be Home

2008-10-16T11:48:00.001-05:00

Chicagoland Living, First Impressions

2008-09-21T20:36:00.004-05:00

Yeah, so about updating the blog -- we are woefully behind. Here are some opening thoughts:

Oak Park, so far, has been a really good choice for us. Walkable for me, close to work for Hal, very coffee-friendly: a Starbucks across the street and the fantastic Caribou and Intelligentsia a few blocks away. Gorgeous homes (we're still in the market) and interesting people.
I went to the farmers' market yesterday and was overwhelmed by the choices we had for produce and was amused by the Democratic Party's presence (it is Oak Park -- I don't know why I'm surprised -- I am a typical OP resident and I do approve of their message).
We went to Oaktoberfest this weekend to sample local food and good music a few blocks away, and I was amazed by the family-friendliness of what is essentially is a well-behaved 3-block beer garden. It's encouraging to see parents with their toddler kids dancing in front of the stage.
Costco: leading candidate for the secular Promised Land. Enough said.
The proximity to my family is quite nice (4 hours instead of 10). I need to be better connected, that's for sure.
I know this sounds strange, but I have many moments where my heart (literally, as Joe Biden would say) swells with gladness in Chicago: riding the Green Line across the Chicago River, absorbing the friendliness of just about everyone, walking streets filled with people, making new acquaintances and connections via Twitter. Everything is big and lacks the ruthless efficiency of Minnesota, but it's friendlier and fairly well-organized and reminds me of a larger and more ambitious Philadelphia.
Many of my RWJF friends are coming to Chicago for a conference. Much as we're glad to be here, we still miss our Philly friends and are happy to see a few this week. It will tide us over until a more extended visit in the fall.

And By the Way ....

2008-07-29T19:19:00.000-05:00

Today is my father's 95th birthday.

What Will I Miss About Rochester?

2008-07-29T18:57:00.002-05:00

If you'd asked me, or Hal, to make a list of the things we'd miss about Philadelphia when we left last year, we'd have run out of space on the Internet. Rochester is much easier to treat in this way. What makes the cut?

Roscoe's Root Beer & Ribs: very nice barbecue, thank you.
Counterpoint Home: Located in the downtown mall, this was our mainstay for Old City-like shopping (beautiful modern goods with prices to match) combined with the largest stash of Marimekko items and fabric in one place I'd ever seen.
Minneapolis and St. Paul: Awesome cities, perfect for an urban fix, even in winter. Only wish they'd been a little closer.
The bluffs of the Mississippi: truly majestic. When driving here from eastbound points, you see hours and hours of farmland and then a spectacular view of the river and the valley it created. And then ... farmland again.
Knowing the people who raise the vegetables, meat and poultry we ate. We didn't know all of them, or know them well, but it's nice to buy whole chickens from the people who raised them.
Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport. It's a little funny to understand when you first get there, but if you use it regularly, especially to fly Northwest, it makes brilliant sense in a few ways. It's also far nicer than the Greyhound Station-like feel of parts of PHL.
Our DirecTV, especially for NFL Sunday Game Ticket and MLB Extra Innings. We are moving back to Comcast country.
Avocado's. There are other restaurants we'll miss, but Avocado's had interesting food (I would call it Caribbean fusion?), outdoor seating, and an atmosphere that might pass for parts of Philadelphia, if you squinted just so.

So Goodbye To All That ...

2008-07-23T21:06:00.003-05:00

Oh yeah, remember us? I know, it's been awhile -- another 25+ plane rides for me (forgive me for not tallying just yet), four months of winter for Hal and well, a lot of looking ahead to Chicagoland.

Many pictures of move-out and move-in promised soon. And then, possibly a new name for the blog to capture the magic of Second City and the awesomeness of our new hometown, the People's Republic of Oak Park (kidding!), and the saga of piecing together financing for an actual house.

Hey, Look: A Funny Use for PowerPoint!

2008-03-14T08:37:00.005-05:00

Think of it, as I read someplace, as karaoke with Powerpoint. Battledecks is a competition where poeple come up with the best presentation out of slides they've never seen before (view some on flickr -- warning slow to load), some of which barely make sense, others of which make all too much sense. Enjoy!

Spotted via blurbomat's Jon Armstrong, who participated and is in the video. Watch:

2008: The Year To Date in Travel, By the Numbers

2008-02-26T22:39:00.003-06:00

Number of weekdays I've spent in Minnesota in 2008: 5 (3 of 5 were travel days)
Flight segments flown in 2008: 21 or 22 (don't remember if a Rochester/Minneapolis segment was canceled). (Vacation counts for 5 of those segments.)
Northwest miles accumulated in January: 6,880
US Airways miles redeemed in January: 25,000
Orbitz points earned in January and February: approximately 10,000
Refunds owed us by United: 2 tickets for $155 total
Number of times I've texted Google for flight status: probably more than 50
Amount spent on parking at MSP: too horrible to count.
Number of phone calls/e-mails I am overdue in returning: way, way too many.

Tuesday Afternoon

2008-02-05T13:07:00.000-06:00

View From Our Patio Of Isabel II

2008-02-03T07:37:00.001-06:00

All flights worked ...hooray!

Happy New Year (Almost)!

2007-12-31T17:39:00.000-06:00

Still no mailed holiday cards (yikes!) but we wish all of you a happy and healthy new year and will eventually get around to sharing those greetings in a dead tree, environmentally suspect format.

Normally, at this point in the day, I am panicking over last-minute party preparations. Not this year. After spending several years buying caseloads of bubbly, buying a single bottle seemed to lack drama. (It's a good thing I didn't need to buy tiny bottles out here -- they are nowhere to be found).

Classic entertaining timewasters for the last week of the year:

Carolyn Hax: Tell Me About It: You want sane advice on crazy (but everyday) subjects? This is your place. Many, many meditations on the holiday letter. Guaranteed to waste hours.

2007: The Year in Pictures (New York Times; registration may be required): Gorgeous photos of places I've never been, often of conflicts I pay way too little attention to. I should see if the Photos of the Day are available via RSS.

Iowa songwriters say "Get Outta Our Town": Our local TV market covers both southern Minnesota and northern Iowa, and we have seen many local TV spots for the caucus candidates. I cannot imagine how the Iowans feel.

Enjoy!

Holidays on Ice

2007-12-24T10:09:00.000-06:00

We are much behind in our blogging, although we are even farther behind in sending holiday cards. But here's some holiday fun:

Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus .... Just Ask Google
This year, Google is helping NORAD track Santa. Why, do you ask, does NORAD track Santa? Some background from the official Google blog about NORAD's Santa-tracking history:

It was more than half a century ago, on Christmas Eve in 1955, that a Sears Roebuck & Co. store in Colorado Springs advertised a special hotline number for kids to call Santa. What the company didn't know at the time was that they had inadvertently misprinted the telephone number. Instead of Santa's workshop, the phone number put kids through to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), the bi-national U.S.-Canadian military organization responsible for the aerospace defense of the U. S. and Canada. Worse, it wasn't just any number at NORAD: it was the commander-in-chief's operations hotline. In the spirit of the season, Colonel Harry Shoup, the director of operations at the time, had his staff check radar data for any indication of a sleigh making its way south from the North Pole. They found that indeed there were signs of Santa, and merrily gave the children who called an update on his location. Thus, a tradition was born, and NORAD has continued to help children track Santa on Christmas Eve ever since.

How does NORAD explain Santa?

The fact that Santa Claus is more than 15 centuries old and does not appear to age is our biggest clue that he does not work within time, as we know it. His Christmas Eve trip may seem to take around 24 hours, but to Santa it could be that it lasts days, weeks or months in standard time. Santa would not want to rush the important job of bringing Christmas happiness to a child, so the only logical conclusion is that Santa somehow functions on a different time and space continuum.

Track Santa yourself at noradsanta.org and if you so desire, download the plug-in for Google Earth.

An Odd 10-Year Anniversary
Has blogging really been around 10 years? NPR explores the blog in an audioblog format. Cute ... and informative.

What's Elfdom at Macy's Like?
This morning, NPR replayed sections of David Sedaris's "Santaland Diaries," Sedaris's hilarious perspective on working as an elf at Macy's. Sedaris's vocal stylings of "Away in a Manger" are worth your time alone. It strikes me that NPR never plays the whole thing, so I will direct you to This American Life for the complete diary.

A Very White Minnesota Christmas
Hal and I are in Minnesota this Christmas. As it turns out, due to a harsh winter storm, it would have been difficult to leave if we could. Unless you own your own sleigh, your chances of successfully flying out of or through the upper Midwest are minimal. So, if you're out in the snow, be careful, and have safe and happy holidays and a healthy 2008!

Longwood

2007-12-09T10:46:00.000-06:00

Snow

2007-12-05T15:21:00.001-06:00

Around the Web

2007-11-23T15:34:00.000-06:00

Norwegians in Minnesota are fighting the potential loss of a Norweigan consulate in Minneapolis, says the New York Times. Two interesting notes: even Norweigans in Norway are snowbirds, and there's a Norweigan consulate in Houston.

Chow.com's The Grinder pointed out a profile about innovative food service at a Alzheimer's facility that reminds me of the special efforts my sister makes with my dad.

"I take a roast in the morning and rub it with garlic and olive oil and fresh basil and thyme,” he explains. “Then I go down to the assisted living area at 2 p.m. and stick the roast in the oven so the residents can smell the roast cooking. Then we carve it in front of them and serve it. We have found that atmosphere and surroundings have a lot to do with residents’ appetites. They eat better when they see that people pay attention to them.”

Hunting Season in the Media

2007-11-09T20:10:00.000-06:00

It's hunting season in Minnesota: opportunity to explore one of the great divides in America. Garrison Keillor, on last weekend's fall sampler show, described hunting this way: you either do it or you don't, and you do it if your father or your friends did. Certainly, hunting's a bigger topic in southeastern Minnesota than in southeastern Pennsylvania.

The New York Times travel section has a story about deer-hunting in Maine (free registration required) that in many respects could have been written about Minnesota. Of note:

a comment describing alliances between hunters and environmentalists (wildlife plates are popular with both Prius drivers and hunters)
a concern that younger generations aren't taking up hunting because they're trapped behind the TV. (See information about Minnesota's recruitment program.)

As Deer Think of Wooing, Maine Thinks of Deer.

Travel: A Recap

2007-11-03T21:59:00.000-05:00

From September 1 to October 31, in numbers:

25 days in Philadelphia/Princeton
20 days in Rochester
8 days in Indiana
6 days of misc. travel (San Francisco; Washington, DC; Chicago)
15 flight segments flown
1 missed flight and 1 canceled flight (luckily from Minneapolis to Rochester so Hal picked me up)

The time segments feel all crazy, and then I realize it's the travel. After November 15, the average breakdown of a two month period will probably look like:

16 days in Philadelphia/Princeton
44 days in Rochester

Yum

2007-11-03T12:00:00.001-05:00

30 Minutes To Kickoff

2007-10-28T11:40:00.001-05:00

More Eagles fans than I would have though.

Anchovy Pizza Dinner

2007-10-26T20:16:00.001-05:00

There must be some consolation after missing my flight.

Annals of Food and Other Notes for October 9, 2007

2007-10-09T17:54:00.001-05:00

Sunday morning we discovered the culinary treat that is Rochester Produce. Closer than any supermarket or farmer's market (in fact, I could have walked to it -- it's even closer than the coffee shop, but alas, no fresh coffee), it has organic fruits and veggies, decadent imported chocolate, even non-frozen fish! Hooray!
The store also has a kitchen couture consultant who is a member of the family that runs many of the city's good restaurants. Want to know what to do with that great but odd ingredient? She'll tell you.
Finally, check out Jay's commentary on the MLB playoffs at Esquire.com

Mara's Under Construction

2007-09-30T07:34:00.001-05:00

Taken so I can e-mail it to the former Philadelphian wine salesman we met last week at Hy-Vee Wines. Apologies for the blur.

The Pretty Good Food Guide to Rochester, MN

2007-09-30T07:30:00.000-05:00

Given that one of my questions pre-move was whether we'd eat well here, I figure I should point out two recent highlight meals:

Jasper's Alsatian Bistro: The owner of one of the city's largest bakeries also runs a restaurant in the 1/2 square block that could be reasonably dropped as-is into Old City. Hal and I dined there Monday night to celebrate that he passed the written step of his ortho boards. (Who-hoo!)

Avocados World Bistro: Any place gets to stay that serves mashed plantains with every dish and makes salsa with mangoes and hot peppers. Also, Avocados seems to get the chicken breasts that we never can buy at the farmer's market because we don't arrive early enough.

One thing both restaurants have in common, apart from great food and good overall prices, are good and not-bankrupting wine lists. After Philadelphia, this is a pleasant surprise.

My Dinner In SF

2007-09-20T01:26:00.001-05:00

Angie's Dinner In SF

2007-09-20T01:25:00.001-05:00

Sanity In A Bottle

2007-09-11T17:45:00.001-05:00

Thanks,Amy!

Must It Rain Everywhere?

2007-09-08T06:56:00.001-05:00

Time To Build The Ark?!

2007-09-02T21:05:00.000-05:00

Here is a picture of the recent flooding that occurred with all the rain we've had over the past few weeks. This photo was taken after about 8 inches of rain in one day, on top of 5 inches the previous day. Fortunately, the water receded quickly, although one town near us was not so lucky. Compare this photo with the one of the sunset from our 7/24 post:

Compare also to the moving truck picture:

Questions for Today

2007-08-31T22:28:00.001-05:00

Has Minnesota always been a magnet for the bizarre and the tragic (take your pick) and I just never noticed until now?
Should one think twice about using the restrooms at MSP? (By the way: even if it doesn't get you arrested, a wide stance is apparently bad for you.) Updated Monday night: This whole incident continues to bother me (to vastly oversimplify, I don't know who to root for or against) and I suggest reading this NYT op-ed, America’s Toe-Tapping Menace, (registration may be required).
Can Garrison Keillor make the phone book sound good?
Might Capogiro open an Upper Midwestern retail location?
Should the postal service be able to change the state for your mailing address?
Could sushi from Target satisfy my sushi cravings? Dare I find out?
Will I have to accept that it is just plain odd of me to order an extra shot of espresso in nearly every coffee drink I buy and that therefore people will draw attention to it in funny ways (such as "redeye" or "moose shot")?

Sunday Notes & Links

2007-08-26T14:20:00.000-05:00

My soundtrack for the ride home (not including several chapters of The World is Flat) was the musical happiness of Philly's The Lowlands, thanks to Jay. There's nothing better for a 20-hour drive to the middle of America. They've posted a few songs on their MySpace page -- hey, take a listen, and if you like what you hear, pick up their full-length debut album on September 2. It even has a song about Indiana :-)
Catch up on Darren's few minutes of fame for doing his part to make sure Philadelphia doesn't muddle along with a ho-hum future.
Sad news for all of us: no, I am not a Powerball multimillionaire.

T-5 Days to the Minnesota State Fair

2007-08-18T19:00:00.001-05:00

As we plan our trip to the Minnesota State Fair, we discovered FairWaves, the podcast of the fair, produced by Minnesota Public Radio. I felt this could not pass without drawing attention to it.

Also, we note the music line-up: Goo-Goo Dolls, Fountains of Wayne (for free!), a live show of Prairie Home Companion (of course) and, to top it all off, Def Leppard with special guests Styx and Foreigner.

Random Observations

2007-08-15T17:31:00.000-05:00

No clear winner yet for the lumberjack. And I realize I forgot an entrant: Nick Chopper! In the meantime, some quick hits on life in Rochester so far:

Hail: The White Combine. Since we've moved here we have witnessed three freaky thunderstorms including two with (yup, really) hail. Someone described hail to Hal as the "white combine" because it flattens crops. I most certainly can believe it, given the severity with which it pounded our apartment a few nights ago.

Talk About the Weather. And a related point: Minnesotans love to hear about (and talk about) the weather. MPR offers a weekly podcast where Cathy Wurzer, the MPR morning anchor, explores the weather. Yesterday, she noted on-air she had just been reading National Weather Service weather observer reports about the latest hailstorms.

Organic Grocery SuperTarget? From the day Airway closed up shop and replaced their avocado-esque 70s logo with the beloved Target bullseye, my love for the place has been a special one (although my first love, the Richmond Target, has been closed for more than a year). Moving here, though, I have discovered the extraordinary SuperTarget: not only does the store have affordable stylish furniture and decorations, it has a full-service grocery story with a house organic brand, Archer Farms.

Farm Fresh Continues. The farmers' market continues to amaze: plums, peppers, cheese, beef, chickens, carrots, broccoli, bread ... it's all been wonderful, except maybe for the half a chicken that refused to thaw.

Walkable, If You Force The Issue. I walked to the nearest Caribou Coffee last Friday: it is possible. Total round-trip time was 45 minutes. It will be nice to have a car here.

Poll: What Should I Name the Lumberjack?

2007-08-07T15:46:00.000-05:00

It's been anything but a silly week, but I'm forging ahead with this naming thing.

p.s. updated to note that the word I wanted was "forging" and not "foraging."

Safe at Home

2007-08-01T20:03:00.000-05:00

And surprisingly news-unaware: My sister Tracie called us while we were eating dinner to tell us about the collapse. We're watching TV now and thinking about the people on the bridge and the people responding to them.

Minneapolis Star-Tribune: I-35W Bridge Collapses

Update: Let the record reflect that my sister Tracie called me after my brother Randy, in Florida, called her. Thanks for checking in!

Lumberjack Needs a Name

2007-08-01T09:49:00.000-05:00

Before I left, the Web Team gave me gifts to help acculturate me to my new situation:
* How to Talk Minnesotan (seems to be working, by the way: I went to dinner last night in the Twin Cities and people remarked, oh, there's no way you've only been in Minnesota for 10 days).
* Much regionally inspired forms of chocolate (all gone, thank you)
* Ole & Lena fortune cookies with pretty good jokes in them (look for them on the blog soon)
* Spices (to bring more oomph to the inevitable hotdish)
* A Grow-A-Head so I can cultivate a conversational partner during the day
* and last but not least, the lumberjack pictured above.

As mentioned, the lumberjack needs a name. Got a suggestion? Leave it in the comments (I've turned moderation off to make this go more smoothly). I'll post the winner once Hal and I arbitrarily pick one.

Interruption

2007-07-30T10:53:00.000-05:00

Office mate Jeff.

A Bountiful Harvest

2007-07-28T11:26:00.000-05:00

Ah, Saturday, another trip to the Rochester Farmers' Market. This week's entertainment: An elderly couple playing guitar and cardboard box (!), singing classic country tunes.

Now that we have our pots and pans moved in, we were able to take full advantage of the wonderful food available. Here is a photo of our purchases.

View From Desk

2007-07-27T12:32:00.001-05:00

Did Someone Ask About Corn?

2007-07-25T12:47:00.000-05:00

From the Explore Minnesota newsletter:

The city of Olivia will present CORN CAPITAL DAYS from Thursday, July 26 through Sunday, July 29, with a family fun night, World Championship Corn Toss, Corn-Lympics, a sweet corn and bean feed, arts and crafts in the park, outdoor worship service, library book sale, pie & ice cream social, a grilled pork chop dinner, salsa contest, public salsa and chip sampling, a “ DJ Dok” Dance, Crazy Days sales, the Napa Monster Truck Car Crush, a kid’s fair, a car show, free Thomas’ Train Rides, the Corn Capital Days Grand Parade, a fly-in breakfast and air show, and the Minnesota Minne-Rods Tractor Pull! For further information, dial 1-888-265-2676, or visit www.oliviachamber.org

Cat Stalker

2007-07-25T12:46:00.001-05:00

Jeff does not like it when i shut the door for conference calls.

Office 1.1

2007-07-25T08:28:00.001-05:00

Our Move in Numbers

2007-07-24T20:56:00.000-05:00

- 106 boxes
- 54 items of furniture and non-box items
- 5000 lbs of moving weight
- 1 5x10 storage locker 2/3 full of items we didn't bring (packed after several rounds of donations and gift-giving)
- 5 movers/packers (3 in Philadelphia; 2 in Rochester)
- 1 parking ticket received by the Philadelphia moving crew
- 2 double cheeseburger meals purchased for the Rochester crew
- 1 52' (or is it 53'?) truck to unload our stuff here
- 4 transit days from Philadelphia to Rochester
- 6 nights sleeping on an air mattress (Eddie Bauer, not bad for its price)
- 1 911 response call to our apartment complex during move-in (not for us and thankfully with no problems/injuries)
- 1 other mover on-site this morning (guess it's rush hour moving in and out here)
- Countless pieces of plain newsprint on the floor of our apartment as we unpack our kitchen
- 0 broken items (so far)

I don't think I've ever been so happy and grateful to be surrounded by boxes. Akbar and Jeffie seem to be happy to have their old bed back as well: Jeffie immediately attacked it once it was set up. Hal's ortho library is nearly complete, and our kitchen is nearly unpacked.

Akbar Helps Unpack

2007-07-24T20:03:00.001-05:00

Moving in

2007-07-24T16:50:00.001-05:00

Sunset2

2007-07-23T20:34:00.001-05:00

The view from our deck.

Sunset

2007-07-23T20:33:00.001-05:00

Cold Enough There For You?

2007-07-22T19:04:00.000-05:00

For our family and friends, half the fun of our move to Rochester has been the good-natured ribbing about the winters. As a public service announcement, I'm writing to let you know we have now installed a weather feed on the blog so that you, too, can poke fun when it's -15 in Rochester while probably a balmy 20 in Philadelphia.

For the past few days, we've had splendid weather: low humidity, sun, temps in the mid-70s. Thank you, Mother Nature. But I'm sure at some point we'll have a storm or two, in which case you can get all of the details here.

If you'd like to track our upcoming misery via Real Simple Syndication (RSS) directly, here's the Weather.com feed of Rochester weather.

Also, here's my chance to educate you on RSS: RSS in Plain English (a perennial thanks to Phil for pointing this out).

Who Needs A Cat Bed?

2007-07-21T13:15:00.001-05:00

Not Akbar, apparently.

p.s. This blog post was created while listening to a podcast of the News from Lake Wobegon.

Musical Guests

2007-07-21T09:53:00.001-05:00

Apparently seasonal fresh food is not enough for the farmers' market: here is a blurry image of a string quartet performing in the center aisle.

First Visit to the Rochester Farmers' Market

2007-07-21T09:52:00.001-05:00

One of the things we most enjoyed in Philadelphia was our weekly run to the Reading Terminal Market. Before we moved, we started researching farm markets and local farms and discovered what a treat we would be in for. Minnesota appears to be a huge center for farmers' markets, community-supported agriculture and other farm-to-table efforts, and one of the highlights of our May visit was checking out the Rochester Downtown Farmer's Market.

The market is open Saturday mornings May to October and has probably 50 vendors of fruit, vegetables, breads ... and a truly dizzying selection of organic grass-feed beef, poultry and pork trucked in by the farmers themselves.

Because we don't yet have our kitchen utensils and cookware (Monday, hopefully), we kept our spree small: 1 New York strip steak, two loaves of bread and a pint of sugar snap peas. You can count on larger haul in upcoming weeks.

Office 1.0

2007-07-21T08:14:00.001-05:00

Rochester offices of the Foundation.

We're Here!

2007-07-21T08:01:00.000-05:00

After 20 hours over two days in the car, we are finally here! To tide you over until we write about just how darn nice the people are and how I for one am afraid I will be considered "the rude girl in 226" I will post pictures that some of you may have already seen. I'm working on flipping the photos on my phone, so apologies for the head-tilts.

Packed

2007-07-21T07:58:00.001-05:00

Captives

2007-07-21T07:55:00.001-05:00

Free At Last

2007-07-21T07:54:00.001-05:00

Guarding The Perimeter

2007-07-21T07:53:00.001-05:00

Admiring The View

2007-07-20T16:12:00.001-05:00

You have new Picture Mail!

2007-07-20T16:10:00.001-05:00