10 Questions About…

Patrick and I attended opening night of the Burial at Thebes at the Guthrie Theater. Opening nights always include a little reception – think free wine or champagne. And think attended by people link the playwright – who was Seamus Heaney.

Guthrie artistic director Joe Dowling introduced Patrick (and me but that’s not such a big deal) to Seamus Heaney. In the picture, Patrick is actually standing near Seamus and is talking to his wife.

My favorite art event of the year is the $99 Art Sale at the Soap Factory. They get artists from all walks of life to create unsigned art. The art is all the same size and the price is $99. You buy it ‘cause you like it – then you tell you who the artist is. Then you research the artists to see if you have any taste.

My bit of sadness is that they changed the size of art this year. It’s bigger – not like 8 x 11. More is not always better.

I got a fun picture of Patrick by the modern art. I think it’s his future. (The grey beard, not modern art!)

Today we went to the Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis. I found some “quest” online, which is sort of like a scavenger hunt but not as good. Actually while we were questing I saw a scavenger hunt sign for bikers with a QR Code and I was jealous – except that I really don’t enjoy bikes. I shouldn’t bad mouth the quest. It was kind of fun. The instructions took us around the bridge and the mill ruins. I learned that it only take 9 minutes for the lock there to fill up. I found that amazing because I also learned it was 9 million gallons. We saw the last couple minutes of a boat floating up – which was kind of cool.

I hadn’t been around the ruins much. I used to work very near there – but that was really before they started the serious excavation and fixing up. You can see pieces of old bridge, which given the proximity to the old 35W bridge is a little unsettling. But you can also see the various tunnels to the old mills and of course you can see the old mills as well. It is a nice way to stop and take a look at what a good job they’ve done of merging the new with the old. The Guthrie Theater fits right in.

We also walked up (above and beyond the quest) to the 35W bridge memorial. It’s very nice. There was a couple there who were very moved – so we were guessing that maybe they knew someone on the bridge. It is amazing to be reminded of how few people did lose their lives considering the size, height and busyness of the old bridge.

I swear we have done more since we’ve been home but I just can’t remember it and/or have no photo proof. I must admit that even though I’m very glad to me home – things don’t seem as noteworthy here. And in fairness I have been working a ton – but we’ve been trying to get in some outings before school starts.

Last weekend we went to Minnehaha. First we had a fantastic lunch at Sea Salt. We had mussels, clam strips, shrimp and a bunch of other things that probably not all kids love – but we liked them all. The best thing about Sea Salt is that it’s all outdoor dining and we scored a great table with a sun umbrella. The funny thing was that the umbrella was bombarded by acorns the whole time. At one point Kate stretched out and she caught an acorn in the head; that sort of thing is always funny, even if it happens to you. Also we got to see some American Indian dancing throughout the meal. I’m not sure why folks were demonstrating the dancing – but it was fun.

After lunch we trekked down to the waterfall. With all of the rain it was pretty spectacular. Then we hiked around Minnehaha Creek. There’s a place where you can wade in the rapids. I’d say if you lost footing you might find yourself down river, but they’ve done a nice job over the last few years of fixing it up so that you no longer fear for wandering toddlers. (Often it seemed that while I may be worried for toddlers, the parents didn’t so I’m glad to have one less worry even if no one else is.)

Actually the area all around the Creek has been fixed up quite a bit. You can walk all of the way to the Mississippi, which is always fun. The River really is beautiful and you pass some cool caves and old bridges along the way.

The Fringe Festival in Minnesota has been going on for about 15 years. Patrick had a play in the Fringe the first year – but since our participation has fallen off some. This year the girls and I went to two shows – but were Shakespear-related shows for kids.

First we saw Lost in Shakespeare. The premise is that kids time travel to Shakespearean times because someone (who also time travels) has been changing the plots of the plays to make then less tragic. So they try to warn Romeo & Juliet to save the bloodshed – but of course that ruins the story. It was a cute show with a lot of actors and activity.

The second show was Perchance to Dream featuring a sleeping Shakespeare whose imagination runs wild producing scenes and character introductions from various plays. Our cousin Jack played Bottom the Weaver from Midsummer Night’s Dream. Jack was very funny in the show and it’s always fun to know the funny one of the stage.

Both plays were fun opportunities to show snippets of shows, soliloquies and brief scenes that even kids would recognize. Both were done by and for kids. The witches from Macbeth featured highly in each production. I guess all kids must recognize the bubble, bubble babble. I watched Aine and her friend at Perchance to Dream – both girls are seven so I’m going to say their firsthand experience with Shakespeare would have been pretty limited – but they were both laughing at various parts. I on the other hand have seen tons of Shakespeare through the years, so for me it was kind of fun to see how long it took me to place each character and recall the plot of each show.

We’re definitely giving double thumbs up to both shows!

Since she could talk, Kate has been talking about how she wants to be a hair stylist when she grows up. So that’s a good job for a math genius. Good to have someone who understands how to mix a good dye. In an attempt to show support for her ambition I suggested that Kate, Grandma and I go to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts hair show.

Kate thought the music was too loud and only wanted to try to get a Dr. Pepper. I thought it was kind of cool. Next time I will be going solo.

Rock the Cradle is a family event sponsored by The Current the non-classical music station of Minnesota Public Radio. It’s a free event held at the Minneapolis Institute of Art and Children’s Theatre. Apparently this is the sixth annual Rock the Cradle. We went a few years ago and thought it would be worth another chance. Aine invited a friend and Kate got dragged. It’s definitely an event for the under-tens. The good news today is that the event apparently come rain, shine or snow – because it started snowing at about 10:00 and hasn’t stopped.

We first stopped at the kids’ disco. There were live bands intermingled with DJ music. We caught Koo Koo Kango Roo and Bazillions. The younger girls enjoyed both. I think they particularly enjoyed when the parachute hit the dance floor. There were yummy, free treats in the disco and tattoos. The girls got several.

Next we roamed the halls of the MIA. The younger girls were super excited to see works that they have learned about at school, where they take part in Art Adventure. Art Adventure is a fun program; parents volunteer to introduce kids to art using work from the MIA. They were excited to see Shiva Nataraja and a Tzedakah box. Kate went to the MIA with school just last week so she was able to find the art quickly. I was impressed.

It’s really a nice mix of music and art. They have tons of free things for the kids, and who wouldn’t love that. But I was impressed that what seemed to be the most fun for them was dancing and seeing the art they have learned about it school.

Last night I had a fun night with my friend Daniela at The Walker After Hours. We started with appetizers at La Belle Vie. Years ago I had one of the best meals ever at La Belle Vie when we went with Billy. The sous chef back then had worked under Billy and cooked us an amazing meal. Well the appetizers were pretty good too – personal highlight was the truffle oil potato chips.

Next we headed to The Walker. It was relatively warm (27 degrees) so it was an easy walk. We started by going through the newest exhibition – The Spectacular of Vernacular. We visited the ice bar outside, which was fun but not as cool as the ice bar I visited in London a few years ago. Then we got our picture taken – as seen here. Very Fun!

OK this is what I’ve been hoping to post – today we went to the winter kite flying gig at Lake Harriet in Minneapolis. It was 7 degrees Fahrenheit. But you know what? It didn’t feel that cold – until we started to freeze. If you’ve spent time in Minnesota, you’ll know what I mean.

The wind was almost non-existent. Yet – we managed to get our kites up! The girls earned the roasted marshmallows they had.

It’s hard to get yourself going to something like this – but the group did an amazing job. There were marshmallows, hot chocolate, pretty affordable kites and some amazing kites brought in my kite experts. We had a great time.

An added note for Grandma — we did wear sunscreen.

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All of the Treacy cousins met up for the annual Christmas Pizza party. I think everyone made it, which is fun. Every year we meet up at Broadway Pizza in Minneapolis. And this year we proved that we met in all sorts of weather. The snow was really coming down, In fact I think we were all about 30 minutes late.

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