personal history

223/365: lunch @ the veranda, st. james hotel

Last Friday we journeyed down river to visit friends in Davenport, Iowa. Along the river roads, we stopped over in Red Wing for a lovely lunch at the St. James Hotel. It’s where we spent our first Valentine’s Day, where Brad proposed, and where we celebrated one of our early anniversaries. We wanted to share this history with the kids and revisit them ourselves – adding a fresh memory to the many treasured stories that already unfolded in this place.

 

april showers

We’re in a drought in Minneapolis so it’s uncool to complain about the rain. But it is a raw, gray stretch of a week here. Time for hot tea, good books, warm (dry) socks, and a stylin’ umbrella.

95/365: vintage umbrella

08.04.13 (im)perfection

As a rather discouraged perfectionist, I often delight in the bit of mayhem, disarray, erosion, and decay that marks accidents, nature, life, antiques, people, art.

There is so much order and artistry in this piece: the measured ribbing, the graceful strokes of calligraphy and the vibrant,  expressive figure of the crab.

And, then, there is a hole. In the umbrella. Allowing just a little bit of water or sunlight – exposure – to filter in. That’s what makes it interesting.

216/365: umbrella with calligraphy & crab

267/365

The rain came in torrents, soggy sheets twisting in the wind. An unwelcome guest, it stayed too long, swallowed up the day, and left us damp and gray amid the puddles.

rainy day people