Story A Day

We hung out tonight with a friend of Tim’s from college, Erik, and Erik’s wife Ashley who are in town for the holiday.  Our chosen venue was the tubing hill at Buck Hill in Burnsville.  We got the two hour pass and relished the many slides down the icy hill, and relished even more the ride via tow rope back to the top.  We did decide, however, that because it was so cold it might have been a good thing to have to walk up the hill once in a while to stay warm We also learned to avoid lane 3 unless we were in the mood for a Tilt-a-Whirl type adventure.  For some reason that lane caused almost everyone who went down it to spin in circles at a very rapid pace for the bottom half of the hill.  I learned that the hard way, and despite putting my feet down continued to spin while also worrying that I was going to fly off the tube!  No more lane 3 after that!  There was a nice warming fire by the hill, so we made a few stops there to thaw a bit, and we took one break in the warm building to de-numb our toes.  We had a great time, and so did Erik and Ashley, who had never tubed before!

I joined my mom and sisters for an evening at the theater last night We all went to see “A Christmas Carol” at the Guthrie.  It’s my first time seeing this legendary, and long-running holiday show, and my first visit to the new Guthrie in downtown Minneapolis.  Both were spectacular.  The show was very well done.  I am amazed by performers who can do the same thing night after night, for two months, and yet their excitement and talent in performing their roles is still so good.  The Guthrie building was also quite a treat to see.  I’d heard about the huge “endless bridge” – a giant cantilever that protrudes from the building.  It’s a little weird standing out at the end of it!  We also found the “gold box” (my name for it, not sure what they call it), a yellow-windowed room that juts out from the rest of the building.  The views of the city were amazing.  An all-around enjoyable evening!

Tim successfully installed the sink/vanity in our downstairs bathroom today…no leaks!  There were challenges (as always), in this case related to the sink/countertop.  When the manufacturer molded the porcelain it was not level underneath the faucet attachment, and thus there was not enough space to attach the water supply lines.  A but of sanding did the job, plus some plumbers tape on the pipe threads – and vua-la (not sure how to spell that), a functional sink! Yipee.  Next up…shower.  We’re saving the toilet for last, and I may be making a stern call to the plumbing contractor who installed our piping when it comes to that one.  They attached the flange before we put down our flooring (and never asked us what our flooring plans were), and being rookies, we didn’t think anything of it until now.  Grrrrr.  Now it sits below the flooring and installing the toilet will be a challenge.  We’ll see if we decide to tackle that on on our own, or bring in the pros to finish the job.

Since the holiday hustle and bustle is slowing down, Tim and I decided to resume our slow but steady progress on the basement bathroom.  We had all of the materials to complete the bathroom, except a toilet.  I heard about dual-flush toilets a couple years ago at a state fair display in the “Eco Experience” building.  A place called Natural Built Home sells them, and it’s conveniently located in Minneapolis Tim and I ventured there to check it out.  These toilets are said to save a lot of water every year, since toilets are one of the major sources of household water consumption.  We wanted to check them out.  Though they are a bit more expensive on the front end, like most “green” alternatives, they pay for themselves eventually in water savings.  We purchased a Sterling Karsten model, made by Kohler.  If we like it, we will be purchasing another one in the future when we remodel our main-level bathroom!

I’ve been an absent blogger the last few days since we’ve been at a variety of Christmas celebrations.  We headed for Long Prairie the evening of the 23rd to visit Tim’s family for the holidays.  It was great fun staying at Karen and Andy’s and getting to spend quality time with them and our niece Isabelle.  We haven’t seen them since Easter, and Isabelle has grown so much!  Our Christmas Eve was filled with yummy food, good times with Tim’s family and lots of photo-worthy moments with little Isabelle. Check out the cute photo below – she knows how to pose for the camera!  After spending Christmas Eve with Tim’s family we drove back to the cities for a celebration with my mom, her fiance Lee,  and my sisters.  Our evening was filled with scrumptious food (sweet potato casserole is my fave!) and a couple rousing games of “The BIG Taboo” (even more fun than regular taboo) and Catch Phrase.  We’re happy to have this time to spend with family, and certainly have many blessings to count this year!

I awoke this morning to the sound of shoveling outside.  I couldn’t figure out what was going on since Tim had already left for work.  I peeked out the window and spotted my neighbor (from three houses down) shoveling my sidewalk.  Not only did he shovel the communal sidewalk, he also shoveled the walk to my front door!  I’m not sure how many sidewalks he shoveled, nor what compelled him to shovel ours, but it was certainly an act of kindness.

My sister’s visit to MN offered a chance for my mom, both sisters and I to get together today for some cookie baking!  We baked all of the family classics – butterballs, magic cookie bars, frosted sugar cookies, and a new addition this year, reindeer cookies.  For someone with very little will power, it will be a challenge to keep from consuming my share in too short a time!  Mmmmmmmmmmm…yummy.  The afternoon was also full of quality conversation and time spent with “the girls.”  Thanks Mom, Kathy, and Christy for a fun afternoon!

It was a frigid one today!! Thankfully, Tim and I were cozy in our house for much of it. We finished our Christmas shopping earlier than usual this year, so we were spared the need to go out in the skin-freezing temps to shop today Instead, we wrapped presents, worked on putting together the annual Christmas letter, and relaxed around the house. We did venture out this evening to hang out with Christy (my sister), and her husband Jeff. They are in town from DC for the holidays and it was well worth venturing from the warm, cozy house to see them!

A full day.  I had the day mostly off work (had a meeting and did some work from home), so I went to the staff holiday lunch at Valley Branch, my old workplace. It was great to see my previous colleagues and catch up!  Tonight, Tim and I have his cousins, Julia and Monica, here for a visit.  We watched Mama Mia and then spent a good chunk of time dancing around the living room and singing with the “sing along” portion of the DVD Goofballs…yes…Having fun?…also yes.  A good day!

I got a new computer today at work!!!  Wahoo!!!   A great treat after a year of suffering with a horribly slow laptop.  I’ve never had a computer with a built in camera, so I had some fun with it tonight…