Fairs, Furniture and a New 'Do
We headed back to Rochester Thursday afternoon after Rachel finished for the day with a class she's been taking at Inver Hills Community College. It was nice to get away together.
Tammy was finally able to look around inside the home Rachel will be renting this school year and to size up her room for a bed and some other furnishings.
In the summer, the city of Rochester helps promote a weekly celebration called Thursday's on First and 3rd where there are dozens of vendors peddling all sorts of art, crafts, and food along a few city blocks. It's a nice time. We ate at Newt's outdoor grill then spent the rest of the afternoon and evening kicking around the city taking in the sights. Tammy and I love Rochester but more importantly, Rachel does too. She really feels at home there. It's been a good fit for her.
We were back in the glassblowing studio on Friday where we both had a pretty good day; not great but better than our previous session. We continue to get our share of encouragement from other artists there and that helps us to realize that we actually are making progress. It's incredibly challenging, often times frustrating but so rewarding. It's also eating into my time on the bike but so far I'm not being bothered by that in the least. Surprising!
I made a couple of tea-light candle holders that I was pleased with. I'm thinking these may make nice Christmas gifts.
Tammy and I made it out to both the Uptown and Powderhorn Park Art Fairs in Minneapolis Saturday. We'd hoped to get an early start but opted for sleeping in and battling the crowds later instead. Parking can be difficult to find but this seemed a bit extreme to me.
As we made our way from our car to the Uptown fair we came across a woman out in front of her home selling a bedroom set of dressers. Tammy doubled back to have a closer look. It was perfect for Rachel she remarked. We gave her $20 to hold it then continued on toward the fair with me wishing we'd driven the truck instead. We'd have to hurry just a little to make it back by 5:00 with the extra trip back home to swap out vehicles.
The fair was nice, it always is and Foci was well represented by several artists we've gotten to know from there over the past few months.
Uptown Art Fair photos.
From Uptown we headed east a few miles to Powderhorn Park's fair to see a couple more artists from Foci. Powderhorn's fair isn't quite the draw that Uptown is but I like the atmosphere there—less crowded and more laid back.
Photos from Powderhorn Park Art Fair.
Video from both fairs.
We returned for the bedroom furniture right at 5:00 and managed to fit it all in the bed of our truck. On the drive home I asked Tammy if she was up for another trip to Rochester that night to set it up in Rachel's room.
She was. Rachel had nothing planned and offered to come along and drive Tammy's car loaded down with more things for the move. I let Rachel lead the way.
It was nice to accomplish all we had, considering we had no plans whatsoever of finding her a bedroom set when we started out earlier in the day. It's a perfect fit for her room and Rachel's really happy with it. Now all that's left is to get her bed set up and that's on our to-do list for Thursday. She plans on being back in Rochester on the 23rd to get settled in before school begins. It's all coming together nicely.
We finished out the night at Baker's Square in Apple Valley. It had been years since we were last there: 2003 to be precise. I'm quite certain it won't be another 8 years before we make it back. On a side note—I learned that lemon juice on french fries is awesome! Taught to me by none other than the member of our family who puts her potato chips inside her sandwich. Also, not a bad combination!
Did I mention that Tammy has a new 'do? She likes to cut her own hair and usually she does just fine. Usually. Not always. I encouraged her (there's a very tactful way to do this...trust me) to find a stylist and pay them to do the work for her. She did and she's glad she did. So am I.
Tammy was finally able to look around inside the home Rachel will be renting this school year and to size up her room for a bed and some other furnishings.In the summer, the city of Rochester helps promote a weekly celebration called Thursday's on First and 3rd where there are dozens of vendors peddling all sorts of art, crafts, and food along a few city blocks. It's a nice time. We ate at Newt's outdoor grill then spent the rest of the afternoon and evening kicking around the city taking in the sights. Tammy and I love Rochester but more importantly, Rachel does too. She really feels at home there. It's been a good fit for her.
We were back in the glassblowing studio on Friday where we both had a pretty good day; not great but better than our previous session. We continue to get our share of encouragement from other artists there and that helps us to realize that we actually are making progress. It's incredibly challenging, often times frustrating but so rewarding. It's also eating into my time on the bike but so far I'm not being bothered by that in the least. Surprising!
I made a couple of tea-light candle holders that I was pleased with. I'm thinking these may make nice Christmas gifts.
Tammy and I made it out to both the Uptown and Powderhorn Park Art Fairs in Minneapolis Saturday. We'd hoped to get an early start but opted for sleeping in and battling the crowds later instead. Parking can be difficult to find but this seemed a bit extreme to me.
As we made our way from our car to the Uptown fair we came across a woman out in front of her home selling a bedroom set of dressers. Tammy doubled back to have a closer look. It was perfect for Rachel she remarked. We gave her $20 to hold it then continued on toward the fair with me wishing we'd driven the truck instead. We'd have to hurry just a little to make it back by 5:00 with the extra trip back home to swap out vehicles.The fair was nice, it always is and Foci was well represented by several artists we've gotten to know from there over the past few months.
Uptown Art Fair photos.
From Uptown we headed east a few miles to Powderhorn Park's fair to see a couple more artists from Foci. Powderhorn's fair isn't quite the draw that Uptown is but I like the atmosphere there—less crowded and more laid back.
Photos from Powderhorn Park Art Fair.
Video from both fairs.
We returned for the bedroom furniture right at 5:00 and managed to fit it all in the bed of our truck. On the drive home I asked Tammy if she was up for another trip to Rochester that night to set it up in Rachel's room.
She was. Rachel had nothing planned and offered to come along and drive Tammy's car loaded down with more things for the move. I let Rachel lead the way.It was nice to accomplish all we had, considering we had no plans whatsoever of finding her a bedroom set when we started out earlier in the day. It's a perfect fit for her room and Rachel's really happy with it. Now all that's left is to get her bed set up and that's on our to-do list for Thursday. She plans on being back in Rochester on the 23rd to get settled in before school begins. It's all coming together nicely.
We finished out the night at Baker's Square in Apple Valley. It had been years since we were last there: 2003 to be precise. I'm quite certain it won't be another 8 years before we make it back. On a side note—I learned that lemon juice on french fries is awesome! Taught to me by none other than the member of our family who puts her potato chips inside her sandwich. Also, not a bad combination!
Did I mention that Tammy has a new 'do? She likes to cut her own hair and usually she does just fine. Usually. Not always. I encouraged her (there's a very tactful way to do this...trust me) to find a stylist and pay them to do the work for her. She did and she's glad she did. So am I.
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