If yer Irish, come in to the parlor. . .

Mom's dear housemate, Benita, is pure Irish so today Jill gave her a big head start on St. Patrick's Day with a manicure suitable for Kell Avenue Royalty.
Stan brought his Irish bride to Kell Avenue today, and listened to tunes like "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen," "Danny Boy," and "Who Put the Overalls in Mrs. Murphy's Chowder," all sung by an Irish tenor.

Northfield update

It's not all work for our new homeowner in Northfield, still holding down two jobs and improving her fixer-upper in spare moments. There was time to try out some cross country skis along the Cannon River this weekend -- after fueling up at Martha's, the new bakery in Dundas, then scoring some dandy discontinued butcher block counter tops at a crazy Menard's sale. The counters are safely stored now, (below) next to a vintage claw foot bathtub in the backyard workshop/garage.

Happy Birthday, Ford

The Dean of Discipline at Shakopee Junior High West, above at left, is celebrating a birthday today. Happy Birthday, Ford!
Above, watching cousin Shana's swimming meet at the University of Minnesota a few years ago, are Ford and Uncles Virg and Stan and his Dad, Steve.

Detained by authorities. . . again

World traveler Laurie Hartmann was pulled aside and held at the Israel-Jordan border last week for 45 minutes while her tour mates chafed in the bus. Guards searched her luggage thoroughly, wiping hard surfaces for signs of explosives while interrogating her at length.
She still has absolutely no idea why she was chosen for this special treatment while touring the Holy Land and viewing the wonders at Petra.
A couple years ago when she was detained by authorities in Moscow while her tour group awaited the flight home, at least she knew what was suspected: she was believed to be smuggling state antiquities. After a lengthy interrogation she managed to keep the icon purchased from a street vendor. Her flight left on time.

This icon purchased on the street
added suspense to Russian trip.

We enjoyed these travel tales at Laurie's house tonight, along with a delicious pork roast and trimmings. . . capped with a homemade strawberry rhubarb pie.
Birdie made the trip with us, and when it was learned that she was going to be late for her dinner, our gracious host whipped up the prescribed rice and cottage cheese dinner for a dog on the spot.
As we departed, our dear friend presented us with a small nativity scene, that was carved from olive wood. . . in Bethlehem. Now that's a parting gift.

This nativity scene, shipped from Bethlehem, arrived yesterday in
perfect condition at Laurie's Prior Lake home.

Hometown cabinet maker

Our cabinet designer Beth, with Becky.

In an all-time small-world coincidence today, we met the cabinet designer for our master bath upgrade project. . . and she's an old Alexandria Cardinal!
More than that, her Collins Cabinets company is located in rural Alexandria, just across the County Road from the Strandberg farm, where, while driving Paul home back in 1964, Stan blew out the engine on Mom's 1957 Oldsmobile.
We were introduced to Beth Collins by our neighbor and interior designer, Becky Loebertmann this morning. Becky had no idea of the old home week that would briefly overwhelm her planning meeting.
Beth helps run the Collins Cabinets family business. It was founded by her late father. Beth lives in Minneapolis with her husband, but maintains a home in Alexandria near Lake Darling. She's on I-94 a lot, shuttling between the busy workshop and the Twin Cities market.
The two ex-Cardinals could have chatted away all morning, but there was work to do. (Beth was the captain of the cross-country team in the 90s. Stan's ninth-grade basketball coach, Casey DeJong, is now 80 years old and still helps out at Collins Cabinet.  And of course she knows the Sonstegaards and the Strandbergs. And can barely remember Triple R Sports before it became The Bugaboo Bay.)
It's going to be nice to be able to say that our master bath was re-built by friends from Stan's hometown.

Bachelorette Party!

Our niece, Briggs Rolfsrud, enjoyed a raucous evening with friends in earnest preparation for her upcoming nuptials, with vows to be broadcast via streaming video, March 23.
Check out details on the Lynn and Briggs blog at http://rolfsrudwilson.blogspot.com

Soldier on, little sentinel

It's been a tough, long winter here at 2355 Abbey Point, no doubt about it. Here's what's left of the brave little red flag carefully set out last fall to warn snowplow operators where the driveway ends and the grass begins. The latest dumping has left huge piles around the property, but hope springs eternal and this too shall melt. Thank you for your steadfast service, little sentinel.

From San Diego

Our neighbors, Tom and Sandy, were in San Diego today watching their niece play water polo. "It's my new favorite sport," Uncle Tom (with the ball in the photo above) asserted. They'll be home in time for cocktails with the neighbors tomorrow night.

Happy Birthday Linda!

This fast-moving couple is on the road today, in Texas, New Mexico, then Colorado soon, celebrating on the road. Happy Birthday, Linda. . . shown here with her husband, Ron. The couple toured Carlsbad Caverns, a great adventure always. Kathleen and Stan were there in January 2008 and filed this report. Click here.