john and hiroe: November 2005

A great osanpo 11/27/05

Sunday we took a walk along Minnehaha Creek. Yes, it was a little wet, and the snow added a chill to the air. However, it's really quite relaxing and quiet and beautiful. And so close to our house. Soba got a bit dirty, though... and Hiroe was very happy we took my car instead of hers.

Snow in the cities 11/25/05

Snow in the cities today... It was kind of fun. Too light and fluffy to make a snowman, though.

Sofia 11/23/05

Sofia is born! In this photo, she's only 14 hours old.

11/19/05

A cutie woman on a cutie bench in St. Paul.

11/18/05

Another new dessert...

A backyard fire 11/13/05

On Sunday night, Jim, Carola, and Carola's mother Pilar stopped by for dinner. Afterward we made s'mores on our new outdoor fire pit. S'mores are toasted marshmallows and chocolate sandwiched between two graham crackers.

The fire pit started as a trip to New York. When we discovered that New York hotels were too expensive, we considered driving to Chicago. Then we settled on camping because that was easier. Then since it was cold, camping didn't sound good, so we bought the fire pit. At least we're warm.

Machu Picchu 11/12/05

On Saturday night we had a lovely dinner at a restaurant in uptown called Machu Picchu. We ordered a fantastic Ebi Ceviche for an appetizer. That was followed by a Peruvian beef stir fry dish (with french fries?) and Paella. For dessert it was Flan, but it wasn't nearly as oishee as Hiroe's chocolate flan...

Stone Arch Bridge 11-9-05

Most nights I drive Hiroe to class at the U. Wednesday night before picking her up I stopped by the Mississippi and took this picture. This is the footbridge that's in other pictures from earlier posts. Cool view from this spot, but it's kind of spooky at night. The city is right behind you, yet you feel very alone.I should have brought Soba to keep me company.

Hill House 11/7/05

Monday night we went to the James J Hill house in St. Paul for a concert. James J Hill was a railroad "pioneer" who started the Great Northern railroad that stretched across the states in the late 1800s. As a sign of their wealth, the family built this mansion. Here they raised 10 kids. They also hosted numerous parties. And vacationed at many of their other homes in the US and Canada. The early "american dream."

The concert was held in the music room. This is the same place Mr. Hill hosted concerts when he was alive. He also welcomed local artists to display their works in this room. Today there is art from Mr. Hill's grandson, Jerome. Jerome was a musician/composer, painter and photographer.

The concert waswonderful, as I'm sure Hiroe has mentioned. Here's a photo of the room where we listened to the music. Yes,that's a Steinway.

We also enjoyed dessert and champagne after the concert to celebrate 20 years that the concerts have been performed by this group a the house. A tour was included as well and it was cool to see how the house was built. The little details were the most interesting, like how Mr. Hill rejected window designs from Tiffanys, and how air for the pipe organ in the music room was manually generated by servants in the basement.

A busy day 11/5/05

We had a lot to accomplish on Saturday. Drop off the boat for storage, pick apples, shop in Stillwater, sample wine at the vineyard, and go hiking.

The boat came first. It was sad to leave it to be stored for the winter, especially since we only used it 6 times this summer. However, it was good to get this fall chore done. Once we left the boat was moved to a big barn, safe from the winter weather.

Next we went to the apple orchard. Expensive apples and a goat petting farm. The goats looked kind of bored. But then, I'm not a goat expert.

You talking to me?

We decided not to pick the apples there. They were a bit expensive. And we couln't find the type we wanted. So the quest for the perfect apple continued.

Next stop was hiking in Afton State Park. A very nice park, in my opinion. Great trails, backpack camping, the river, and friendly people. They had some nice beaches too. It looked like a great spot for a group picnic.

Next we went to Amodt's Apple orchard. There we found wonderful apple desserts including apples in caramel and an apple turnover. That's my apple turnover on the lower left. And excellent apple cider too.

After some shopping in Stillwater we stopped back at the St. Croix Valley Winery to sample the wine. It was actually quite nice wine (who would have thought that possible in Minnesota?).