The Cost of War

One Day = $720 Million

Old topic - new stuff

Video from the Rake.
Article in vita.mn
Fox9 story by M.A. Rosko

Winter!

It seems aberrant to post this when it's -15 degrees F with a -25 windchill, but this wonderful picture of my extraordinary friend Mina totally captures the feel of last weekend. The photo was taken by Max. That's Midnight in the passenger seat.

If you need something to ease the pain of Johan leaving - try heading to Medicine Lake!

Another weekend on Medicine Lake

Unfortunately I loaned out my camera so I don't have my own photos. The dog and the teenagers and I spent five hours on Medicine Lake yesterday. The temps were in the twenties and the ice was 2 feet thick (learned that fact in the HQ and told the compelling story of "how I learned I was allergic to wool"). I visited Misfit Toys, Mobile, Limnology, Norae, and the Taxi shanties. The teens went to the Survival shanty and some others as well. Dante split his time between running with the roving pack of dogs and looking at people eating hot dogs. I'm selling "art cars on ice" buttons (50 cents) and patches ($1) if anyone needs these particular items.

Here are some more links to press on the art shanty projects:
Dwell Magazine blog (the comparison to Burning Man's alternative on ice is something I keep hearing)
MinnPost article by Molly Priesmeyer (with slide show)
Star Tribune slide show

Opening Day is tomorrow

Sweet Video:
Ice Cold Shanty Art // Current

Winter in Minnesota!
It's predicted to be minus 12 around 9 am tomorrow when I head out and there's a wind chill advisory too. So it will be too cold to take the dog. He has a coat but no boots.

Art Shanty

For the past month a dedicated team of art car artists have been working every weekend at the Soap Factory to create a taxi stand / warming shanty for the Art Shanty Projects that start next weekend on Medicine Lake. The ice is thick enough and we'll be installing the shanty tomorrow. Woo hoo! I can't wait.

Winter Solstice

Oh my gosh. What a beautiful night to go skiing - fresh snow, no wind, 15 degrees F, and a nearly full moon shining in a clearing sky. My skis were newly waxed and moved so smoothly - with the exception of a couple thin spots underneath bridges where no snow had accumulated. Dante was super happy to run all over. Oops, I just looked and the windchill is minus 5. I guess the route I took along Bassett Creek was pretty sheltered - now I remember my hair was blowing as I headed back.

AP and I are supposed to go skiing tomorrow - who knows though, it's supposed to get colder. December has been nice for us. We had drinks and saw Juno on the 5th. On the 7th we dined on beet ravioli and lamb stew at Spoonriver (it's been on my list of places to go for a year) and then saw Dan Wilson at the Guthrie (and found a very private spot during the intermission). The next week I called him on my commute to work just to share how exquisite the hoarfrost and sun dogs looked. That Friday I took off work and we spent the morning sleeping in. This week we had a good talk about how we each look at the future. I'm so looking forward to the dinner date we have planned for New Years Eve.