Hai. . . have you checked our house yet?

David Brewster, Star Tribune

A massive sheet of ice coated the back of a Chaska home that was heavily damaged when water leaked while the owners were away for weeks.

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It goes like this -- comment from reader at Strib.

The pipes freeze and crack. The water doesn't start to run until the pipe thaws, maybe days or weeks. Water could have been running down the basement floor drains for days until they froze and then it starts to pour out the doors and windows. At -8 the ice on the outside of the house could have developed over a matter of hours or overnight. It could have been as simple as the failure a $5 component in the furnace. I'd say the neighbors did their best. Last winter I saw 18' icicles hanging in the entryway in a townhouse in Plymouth. Water had been running for WEEKS down the floor drains. Nothing on the outside of the house.

Erika Rolfsrud update

Our cousin Erika Rolfsrud has been busy, last fall starring with Tonya Pinkins in Black Pearl Sings at DC's Ford's Theatre. Presently, she's playing a Polish aviatrix in a Broadway production called Misalliance, a George Bernard Shaw play.

Here's a clip fromYouTube that's fun to watch her tell about Black Pearl. In it she makes a reference to her Dad, who has always been very proud and supportive of his daughter. (Erika is Arnold and Metha Rolfsrud's daughter. Arnold is Halvor's son, who is Erling's brother. Got that? All this proves that even if you have a name that no one can pronounce, you can still make it on a New York stage.)

Here's another link that shows some dialogue in the same play from Erika. She's Susannah, the woman from the Library of Congress in this clip.


Now here's some excerpts from a review of Misalliance by Wilborn Hampton in the New York Times: 


“Misalliance” may be one of Shaw’s talkier plays, but it is also a very witty one. The action takes place one spring day at the estate of John Tarleton, a onetime shopkeeper who made his fortune manufacturing underwear. His daughter, Hypatia, is engaged to Bentley (a k a Bunny), the whining milquetoast son of Lord Summerhays, who once asked Hypatia to marry him. Tarleton’s son, Johnny, now runs the family business, while his father goes around England endowing libraries.
In quick succession, three uninvited guests drop in — two quite literally when they crash-land their small plane into the Tarletons’ greenhouse. The pilot, Joey Percival (Michael Brusasco), quickly catches Hypatia’s eye. His co-pilot, Lina Szczepanowska, (Erika Rolfsrud) a Polish trapeze artiste whose family tradition demands that she risk her life at least once a day, catches the eye of all the men. The final guest is an impoverished clerk who is carrying a gun and a picture of his dead mother, a woman who was once the senior Tarleton’s lover.
.....Erika Rolfsrud is fiery as the Polish aviator, and Sean McNall is first-rate as the gunman. Steven Boyer and Dominic Cuskern contribute nice turns as the Summerhayses, son and father.
Bill Clarke’s sets and Liz Covey’s costumes beautifully evoke Edwardian England.

“Misalliance” continues through Jan. 24 at City Center Stage II, 131 West 55th Street, Manhattan; (212) 581-1212; pearltheatre.org.

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Cool. Huh?

Blank slate

The tile project is finished in the Tucson master bath. No mauve anywhere. The guys did an excellent job. It's now a neutral so that's good. It is also very boring in the bath, as the wallpaper and tile are pretty much the same texture and shade. So that's not good. Today we go and look for a color, maybe find some colorful artwork to hang over the bath to give us some inspiration. We'll pull paint and towels from that.
Incidentally, we discovered some inspiration just outside the door this morning, with the mourning doves fussing under the little bush at right. Don't worry, there won't be a purple bathroom. . . this time. We're going to play it safe, but we have to hurry. Company is coming in a week!

I recognize Goofy and Kim. . .

But who's that big dog?
Just kidding, Adam. Looks like you had a wonderful time. Read all about it on the Jerdee blog. -- Stan

We're here!

We arrived at 1:30 p.m. today. Tucson was 72 degrees, blue skies, no wind. Stan rolled down the window and hung his arm out for a while, just because he could.
Got the stuff moved into the house, got this PC up and running and got the Magic Jack free phone hooked up to supplement the cell phones.
Birdie loves it here already, but she's presently doing a timeout in her kennel. Too much excitement.
The drive was uneventful, just the way we like it. Met some folks over breakfast in Alamagordo this morning who know the Rolfsruds from Alex. "Well, that's all of us, then," Stan said in his best Minnesootan. Turns out the woman's late mother (a Mrs. Schubert from Parkers Prairie) had been written up big time in the Park Region Echo newspaper when Dad wrote his weekly personal column years ago.
The daughter obviously never forgot it and said so over bagels, orange juice and coffee in the motel's free breakfast room.
Actually, that's not all of us. Don't forget the Halvor North Dakota Rolfsruds too. And we just got an email here about Cousin Erika Rolfsrud, our star of stage and screen. Stan would open it and display it here, but he hasn't been able to crack the software code on the email sent to him by her proud papa Arnold Rolfsrud in Washington State. Stan'll check Erika's web site instead soon and get back to you on her new role.
Much to do. All good.
Stan and Kathleen
(Oh yes, One more thought while driving on the flattest road in the world, Highway 54 through Kansas: "Why call it a hot water heater. Isn't it a cold water heater? --- And shouldn't that be the flattest road ON the world?)

Thoughts while driving through Kansas

1.Is it good if a vacuum really sucks?

2.Why is the third hand on the watch called the second hand?

3.If a word is misspelled in the dictionary, how would we ever know?

4.If Webster wrote the first dictionary, where did he find the words?

5.Why do we say something is out of whack? What is a whack?

6.Why does "slow down" and "slow up" mean the same thing?

7.Why does "fat chance" and "slim chance" mean the same thing?

8.Why do "tug" boats push their barges?

9.Why do we sing "Take me out to the ball game" when we are already there?

10.Why are they called " stands" when they are made for sitting?

11.Why is it called "after dark" when it really is "after light"?

12.Doesn't "expecting the unexpected" make the unexpected expected?

13.Why are a "wise man"and a "wise guy" opposites?

14.Why do "overlook" and "oversee" mean opposite things?

15.Why is "phonics" not spelled the way it sounds?

16.If work is so terrific, why do they have to pay you to do it?

17.If all the world is a stage, where is the audience sitting?

18.If love is blind, why is lingerie so popular?

19.If you are cross-eyed and have dyslexia, can you read all right?

20.Why is bra singular and panties plural?

21.Why do you press harder on the buttons of a remote control when you know the batteries are dead?

22.Why do we put suits in garment bags and garments in a suitcase?

23.How come abbreviated is such a long word?

24.Why do we wash bath towels? Aren't we clean when we use them?

25.Why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle?

26.Why do they call it a TV set when you only have one?

27.Christmas - What other time of the year do you sit in front of a dead tree and eat candy out of your socks?

28. Why do we drive on a parkway and park on a driveway ?

Courtesy of the Korkowski blog. . . who knows where they got this.

We're packing. . .

The blog computer is down, tucked in a box, wrapped in a blanket, stowed behind the back seat. We'll fire it up again soon in sunny AZ. Meanwhile, we may be able to report our southward progress from some chilly Great Plains motel lobbies, but until then, adios. . .
Stan and Kathleen

What's new in this picture?

What's new? It's not the mac 'n cheese, not the avocado, not the parmesan/garlic dressing, not the radishes, not the olives, not the petite sirah, not the goji beans, broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, alfalfa, cottage cheese or macademia nuts. Nope. There's something in this picture taken tonight that has never been seen at this table, or anywhere else before. Give up? Jenny's got BANGS. Yup, our curly-haired vegetarian has straight-bangs on her forehead. We love the look. We think Joe does too, but then, how would you really know? He's a bit whipped by our little darling.
Kathleen made the mac and Jennifer brought copious salad fixings tonight; then J & J ran off to work on the Hopkins townhouse. They're installing a ceiling in the kitchen and hardwood on the floors this weekend. Kids nowadays.

Don't worry! Grandma's got Medicare!

Grandma took a tumble today during one of the toboggan flights down our side yard hill, but she's okay. (Maybe a little Advil tonight.) It was one degree outside, but there was no wind chill, so it was just about perfect for a Minnesota tobogganing joy ride. The new sled held up well once we got the hang of it and got the snow packed down. The neighbor Tom came to look, but he didn't have three layers of clothes so he quickly turned tail. This will be the last snow run for Grandma and Grandpa this year. They head to Tucson on Sunday. . . and not a day too soon.