Today was a great day. I got up early for a Monday and went to a dance recital for my friends (hi Betsy!) daughter. Her daughter (hi Aevyn!) is 4. It was very cute. It was nice to go to something like that. It wasn't a fancy dance school dance recital, it was for a community ed class. The recital was in the gymnastics room at St Louis Park High School. I am so glad I was able to go, I wish I would have brought a flower or something.
After our cute dose of the day, Bets, our friend/her roommate (hi Ruth!), and I were hungry and went to Modern Times. Oooo, we ate the most delicious food. I love their kale. I have to learn how they do it, Chicago Diner too. I think those are my top two places to order kale at. How can I mimic it at home…?
It was raining so much outside and our bellies were full and I didn't have any plans until dinner and watching GOT with my sweet neighbor (hi Craig! and surprise Christine!). What a great day.
When I got home I made a cup of coffee. I have not had coffee in over a month. It was alright. I wish I had cream. I debated going to the coffeeshop downstairs, but decided that since I had some already I should just drink that. I watched some shows on Netflix not worth mentioning while lounging around for a few hours.
Yesterday I was near the river and it was about to rain and so windy. I loved it. I decided that today I would go walk across the river a few times, admire its beauty and strength and feel the harshness of the elements. Old man winter is gearing up to try to have one big last hurrah before summer takes a hold.
I took the bus downtown. I brought a travel mug of tea (vanilla cinnamon herbal tea), wandered around streets i never go on (like Marquette) and made my way to the Stone Arch Bridge. There were very few people out. It was too damn windy for umbrellas (well, cheap or vintage cute umbrellas…). For awhile it was raining those big hard fast raindrops that felt like hail. The whole time it was raining and winding and chilling. I loved it, the tea made it warm and nice. I tied a scarf on my head to keep my hair from blowing around (and keep my ears warmer) and felt like an old lady or a regular lady from olden (more serious) times.
I tried to take a serious picture, like I am walking because I don't want to get my horse wet and its looking awfully rainy for a long time… maybe I have to go to the flour mill to buy flour. I don't know what I would be up to, but its fun to play 'time machine' while walking around. Maybe I would be going to church. Maybe I would be going to the market for eggs and meat.
When I was 19 I lived near the other side of the river from this bridge. There was a supermarket where the Lunds is now. It was great, it had been there for ages. They had a really weird nice variety of items, totally catering to all the weird old people, college students and immigrants that lived near there. It was a great strip mall. There was the supervalue (I think, some franchise, I don't remember the specific name), there was a Snyder Drug (I think? Some drugstore chain that is not CVS or Wallgreens), there was a diner that I always meant to go to, places to get your hair cut, and a few other very specific small strip mall businesses.
Blah, blah blah, BUT REALLY tying a scarf around your head is awesome when its windy. Try it, your ears will thank you! This is nice because it fits under helmets and hoods. Any scarf should work.
The river was alive. It was tall. It was sloshing and swirling around. It was pretty great walking over it. It got really windy over the middle of the river. At one point, while on the 3rd ave bridge, it pushed me back a few times. While I was downtown I saw a lot of people lose control of their umbrellas and/or their umbrellas broke. I tried to open mind, nope. I just carried it around with me. and was glad I wore my raincoat. I was very thankful for my duofold shirt and my raincoat from the Fergus Falls Goodwill, also my croc rain boots. I don't know why I haven't gone rain walking over the river before (prepared and on purpose).
I find it important to try to appreciate the things can can be a bummer and out of our control, like the weather. Sometimes it's too cold, sometimes it's to snowy, sometimes it's too hot and humid, sometimes it's just to rainy and wet and unpredictable out there. Today I knew it would be cold and windy and wet. I dressed up for that and went out there. It was wonderful. If you can stay safe, keep a comfortable temperature and stay dry, you can enjoy whatever mother nature is throwing out there.
