Company's coming

Josie and Ferdinand are driving here from Brookings, So. Dak. today to spend a Renaissance Festival weekend with us. We know them through Jennifer and are eager to meet them tonight. Great fun ahead.

Cousin Erika's got a new web site

Stan's New York actress cousin, Erika Rolfsrud, has a cool new web site. Check it out by clicking here. And thanks to proud Pops Arnold for putting us on to it.

Sod Busters

Almost gone.
Note the director's chair.

The crack Abbey Point Sod Team was rolling bright and early today, putting 70 square yards worth of Kentucky blue grass on four former flower beds that had seen much better days. This morning was the culimination of a month or so of pecking away at the task and the weather was perfect and the excitement was palpable. Team members include, from left, President Bud, Stan, Greg, and Joe and Mina leaning on the shovel. Donuts were delivered by Debbie on her way to work, Tom arrived just after the photo op. Hearty encouragement came from Carla and John, and Kathleen took the picture. We'll discuss further details at a post operations cocktail hour and dinner at the clubhouse tonight.

On to Kindergarten!

In what may have been the most photographed event of the season, at 8:35 a.m. today, Emily Kathleen Blethen stepped on to Eden Prairie School Bus No. 854 to inaugurate her pursuit of higher learning. The gravitas of the much-anticipated moment was not lost on her loved ones, and her grandparents rose early to drive over and witness this once-in-a-lifetime event.
Pardon any over-the-top enthusiasm, but this is big. Really big.

So who ordered the Grasshopper?

From the outside, a sure-footed window-walker watched the diners. 
The Dolce Oak Ridge Conference Center is nestled in a natural area just west of the Hazeltine National Golf Course in Chaska. The views from the dining room in this architectural gem are spectacular. . . and pretty much unobstructed.
To see more of the grasshopper, click on it. To see more of Oak Ridge, click here.

Brunch at Oak Ridge with friends

Dave and Jane did the charitable thing a few weeks back and bid on an Oak Ridge Conference Center brunch package at the St. John's Lutheran fundraiser. They won it. But the big winners were Kathleen and Stan, who were invited to join them today for a fabulous spread of mid-day delights at this wonderful retreat in the heart of Chaska.
It was leaked to Alex the waiter that both couples would be celebrating their anniversaries this month, so while we were loading up on fruits, salads, fishes, roast beef, sausage, omelets, potatoes, fine cheeses, sweet breads, desserts and every other kind of good thing you can spread on a premium buffet table, some talented kitchen staff member was squeezing out personalized anniversary wishes for both couples in a fine chocolate cursive. Nice touch.
Needless to say, we had a wonderful time, laughing and stuffing ourselves, grateful to our good hosts, the Chases, who were our next-door-neighbors when we lived in Chaska. . . and they still talk to us anyway.
Thanks, Dave and Jane!

(If you were planning on sending us a card, you still have until Sept. 26)

Cousins

Katie's Kennedy kin
Kathleen chatted with two members of the Kennedy clan, sisters Mary Beth and Peg. They are Kathleen's cousins on her mother's side. The three shared memories, family stories and a window seat during a warm conversation Thursday.

David's daughters

Stephanie, Tikki,  Deb, Heidi, Diane

A dish of David
memorabilia

These five women are the daughters of the late David Brewer, reunited yesterday in a keepsake photo. A Memorial Service for their father was held in the garden behind the former family home overlooking the Mississippi in St. Paul. David grew up there, where his father, famed Minnesota artist Edward V. Brewer, created much of his work, often using David as a model.
Fifty members of the extended family and their friends attended a "Celebration of Life" for the 91-year-old patriarch who died Oct. 9, 2010, in Durango, CO. After sharing music and often humorous stories, balloons were released and a buffet dinner was served. The event was planned by Mary Lou Brewer and her daughter, Heidi. To see Mr. Brewer's obituary and other history, type David Brewer in the search box, above. To see a slide show of 70 photos from yesterday's event, click here, then click on "slide show."

A gentle breeze rising from the Mississippi
occasionally cooled the warm afternoon event.

Why did the turtle cross Abbey Point?

Yurtle, meet Birde

There it was this morning, mid-way between the Abbey Point concrete curbs, perfectly positioned in the crush zone. The turtle was apparently migrating from Pond A to the deeper, more dense Pond B, perhaps aware that it was the first day of September and time to get started on winter plans. It is a turtle, after all.
We scooped up the little mud turtle, with its glorious markings, and brought it inside and around the neighborhood for a brief science show-and-tell and naming ritual. It was easy to see why it is called a "Painted Turtle." It is tiny now, but will grow 7 to 10 inches during its 40-year life-span.
He was not shy, kept his head and legs out of the shell, and clearly didn't appreciate the disruption to his travels.
Not wishing to disorient him, we took Yurtle back to his original route, and he parted company at a brisk turtle trot.
These are creatures of habit and Yurtle will no doubt be making the same trek for decades to come.
If he can stay out of traffic, that is.