Ice Skating at Steinberg Rink

We met Dona and Paul at Steinberg Rink on Friday night. I've always been a big fan of ice skating, not as an aspiring Oksana Baiul but as a form of fun and fitness. When I was 13, 14, and 15, I spent lots of time ice skating during the fall and winter months. However, I've only been sporadically since then so my stamina and skill has suffered greatly. Anyway, Friday was warm and it also happened to be the first day of Winter break for a lot of us so Steinberg Rink was super super crowded. More 13 to 16 year old kids than you could count. Throw in a bunch of love birds and some doting, photo-taking parents and grandparents and you got yourself a mental image of Steinberg on Friday. We skated for an hour and decided to leave for dinner and drinks at the Boathouse.

What You Lookin' At?

Well, I don't know about everyone else but this is what I've had to look at the last few days. Apparently, cats, even 20+ lbs, massive, prehistoric-sized cats--like ours--don't maneuver too well in the snow. So, the normally I-only-come-in-for-my-4-squares-a-day Lil' Man has opted instead to chill indoors these past two snowy, wet, cold days. And, out of all the places that he could have had to relax peacefully, he's picked the dining room table across from my computer to snooze. What bothers me more than the inappropriate location and the incessant licking/grooming and the mounds of cat hair/dander is how he sleeps. One eye open. Sometimes two. But always suspicious. And always ready to strike. I just gave myself goosebumps. Yes, he's that scary.

And, if you're interested in seeing 3 hours of a day in the life of our other normal-size, more stable cat, Bernice, follow the link. Don't worry--it's time lapsed so it's only a 3-minute video.

Happy Boston Tea Party Day

Today is the 224th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party. I'm not sure how, or if, one should commemorate the event but dumping my Crystal Light Raspberry Instant Tea (yeah, it's crap) into the Mississippi River just somehow didn't feel right. So, we took down the recycling instead, which, as it would happen, is a dumping event of sorts anyway. I also took these photographs along the way.

Willa Katherine Henske

Born 3 years ago. Happy Birthday!

Momma Mia!

Andrew, one of my favorite 20th Century Studies kids, works at Imo's Pizza which is across the street from MRH. During privileged lunch, he ran over and made the "Andrew Special" and brought it back to share with his friends. Since I was gracious enough to let them eat in my room, Andrew was gracious enough to offer me a slice. Delicious!

Wrap This Up

The kids just finished a study of immigration and migration and had to demonstrate some level of mastery by completing a final project. So what you see here is a sample of what I watched for a week. It's always fun in the beginning to watch their little minds and fingers wrestling, interpreting, constructing. But, after 4 days, the good times are over and I'm ready to move on to new territory. I think some of them feel the same way.