St. Paul Winter Carnival 1/27/07

Hiroe was working hard at studying today, so I thought I'd go check out the St. Paul Winter Carnival. I didn't really hit it at a peak time. I think that later in the week there are parades, performances, and cold weather related contests. Like snow scultpure competitions. When I was there, many people were still working on their entries.












And others seemed to be finished.















































Maybe it was just the ice sculptures that were finished. I think this person was judging them.


















They were also working on an ice maze. I could probably get some cool photos of these scenes at night, but it's kinda cold outside now, and Soba is currently keeping my feet warm.












One could go for a pony ride.












Or slide down a GIANT SNOW SLIDE. You know, even though we don't have mountians here and we ski on hills, this slide seems really small. They used to have the slide at Como Park and my friends and I would sneak over there at 2 AM and go sliding on it. Until security asked us to leave. "Park's closed guys," is what he said. That was our catch phrase for the next several months.


















Remember to wear warm shoes.












A Minnesota festival just wouldn't be complete without a corn dog stand, no matter what the temperature.












Another Minnesota scene... trying to sell convertibles when it's like -15 celsius outside. Hope it has heated seats.

shopping

Went shopping the other night. Hiroe found a new ring...

busy, busy 1/25/07

O.K., yes I know too much time has passed since the last post. Typical excuse... busy, busy busy. Both Hiroe and I. Part of the heavy workload has included a business trip to the San Diego area. Sunny skies, warm temperatures, fantastic views of the mountains and ocean. And work. Work that prevented me from really enjoying any of it. It was like a carrot dangling in front of me to work harder and then maybe someday Hiroe and I can pause long enough to enjoy it. At any rate, here is the view from my hotel room at night. Sorry for the poor image quality... I used our little point and shoot camera. And no, I didn't get to check out the water temperature.

Art Shanty 1/14/07

On Sunday we went to the west side of town to check out the "Art Shanty" project on Medicine Lake. Here in Minnesota, we take advantage of the cold weather. Or maybe it's better said that we find creative ways to pass the time until spring comes. Many people enjoy ice fishing, choosing to either stand in the cold or take shelter in an "ice house." If you've seen the movie Grumpy Old Men, where they all have little houses that they push out on the ice in the winter, well it's a lot like that. Enter the artists. They want to get in on the fun. Hence the Art Shanty Projects was born. This is an art exposition whereby artists make their own themed ice houses for everyone to enjoy and/or admire. I have no idea how long this has been going on as I just learned of it this year. Nevertheless, we decided to check it out.












Before walking on the ice and entering the town, we had to study the rules...












Don't worry, it's safe. The ice usually has many cracks. Local officials will check the depth of the ice to determine how much weight it can support. Often times its thick enough for large trucks to drive on it.


















After entering the town it's apparent this isn't a usual ice house village.












They have a rather laid back schedule. Notice that fishing is not on the agenda. My favorite is: 12 noon - Lunch - All Welcome... bring your own.












If you're wondering how they get these houses out on the ice, this picture might help. In a normal Minnesota winter you could use a vehicle to get the house out there. But it's been pretty warm and the ice isn't ready for that.












Many of the artists were still working on their houses.


























First stop was the Rendevous Cafe...












They have a fishing game outside. It's basically a magnet on the end of the line and a metal fish. That's about all of the fishing that I'm interested in... Drop in the line, bring up the fish, now go do something else.












Inside the house they had one request. Write or record (on a voice recorder) some story about a lake or water. You can make up a story if you want. When you do that you get a hot drink and a nice pastry. We each wrote a story. I enjoyed my hot chocolate. Hiroe had a piece of honey cake. She asked the owner for the recipe and she said she'd give it to her if we send a postcard to her shanty. Yes, they can receive mail at their shanty. More on that later. But as Hiroe and the owner spoke more, she invited us to her house sometime for a piece of Green Tomato Pie. I'm having trouble imagining it, but she said it is really good. I'm still having trouble imagining it.


















Later we headed off to check out some other shantys.












Like this one, called "Our Brrr Shanty."


















To enter you pass though some kind of forest into the main area.


















Inside they have a book with a written description of the sounds that various animals and birds make in Minnesota. You simply select the sound that you like, then press the little wooden loon (below) and speak the sound into the microphone. About a minute later your sound is played back to you. The entire time you hear the other sounds that people have recorded throughout the course of the day. It's just like being in Northern Minnesota. Kind of.


















They we moved on to the Knitting Shanty. Rachel and Corvus should appreciate this one...













Inside it's nice a warm. There are chairs around the room. Quickly someone gets up to offer you their seat. It was really quite calming in there.












As we moved from shanty to shanty, a random person asked if he could trace us in on the ice with water color. There were figures from other people all over. Hiroe decided to participate.





































Hiroe's outline.


















This guy was close by. Maybe he was waiting for his turn to be traced on the ice.












Another shanty was the stuffed bear shanty.












You could go inside and take any bear. All that you are expected to do is give the bear to a child in need. Then you take the postcard attached to the bear and write a quick story about the child that received the bear and send the card back to the artist.













No idea what the purpose of this shanty was.


















There were many people outside of the shantys playing games. This is a game known as broomball. Actually they were just practicing the game. The real game is played on a hockey rink. You get a broom as shown. One ball is used. You cannot wear skates. Most people wear boots, though they do make broomball shoes.

























The person below seems to have found that one boot and one broomball shoe works the best.












And now we come to the post office. You can send mail from here and buy normal postal supplies. They also receive mail for the other shantys and deliver it to them. We'll have to send a post card to the rendevous cafe thanking them for the recipe.













In case you're wondering, Hiroe enjoyed the day.













A lot...

Saturday concert 1/13/07

On Saturday night we had dinner with some friends at a local indian restaurant then went to a Minnesota Orchestra concert. It was a wonderful night, especially for Hiroe. She was able to have indian food, enjoy a concert, and see me dressed somewhat presentable. This is not normal for me, but things are changing...

A Russian Holiday 01/08/2007

On Sunday we celebrated Russian Christmas by simply inviting our Russian friends over for Christmas. Japan and America (north and south) were also represented. To celebrate, we left our tree up. And had fantastic food. And, of course, some wine. All that I need now is a few days off from work in the spirit of this holiday.









In the holiday mood...

Crepes! 01/06/2007

Hiroe made a special treat last weekend. This was our breakfast on Saturday. Healthy? Not really. Delicious? Of course.
She first made crepes at our house after a google quest on my part failed to turn up a new place to find a good crepe. Sure, there is Mall of America. They're acceptable. I hear there is a place downtown. I couldn't find if they were open or exactly how to get there.
So we dined in.
Lovely.