IKEA
Another Minnesota Night
I wrote the previous message last night. We ended up closing the blinds, which has helped somewaht but since it is (at 10:30 am) -12 degrees, I don't think that there is anything that will really help.
We were foolishly thinking that we were doing so well with the cold. We thought-- this isn't any worse than Michigan, and then this week has proven how wrong we were. Thankfully we live in the city with the world's largest system of skyways-- over 80 blocks and 8 miles worth and we were able recently to walk from a block from Jim's work to the Target Center and on to have dinner at Applebees and see more of the town.
Brrrrrr!
For My Mom
I will post more photos when we have totally reaorganized the bedroom. We put the new bedframe up and have the table you can see in the picture behind it as a place to put our clock, glasses etc. Our new bedframe used a table in this manner, but from IKEA it was $190. Ours is on clearance $27 from Sears. (We still make our way into Jim''s old stomping ground of Sears, but not as much as in Michigan.)
5 Reasons I Love The Twin Cities
From this Target you can see over the river to the northeast side of the city. Jim's work is straight through town behind the central building.
2. Within a one mile radius of our home you can find several middle-eastern delis, many supermercados, Indian grocery stores, traditional suburban stores like Target, Old Navy etc. and skyscrapers.
3. The view from Jim's parking space:
We are actually on the second story roof of an old warehouse. It is so funny to approach what appears to be a random warehouse and press a remote control and enter past dumpsters and an old boat and drive up a twisty ramp to a beautiful view such as this.
This is the inside of the parking ramp.
We pass by the General Mills plant whenever we drive into town and if you time it right you can get a little snack simply by breathing deeply.
5. Our apartment:
Our apartment has been such a blessing. Since we found it online with no actual presence in the city, we could have done so much worse. It has also been wonderful for getting loads of free stuff. So far to our collection has been added an entertainment center, dvd shelf, kitchen table and 4 chairs (seen in the photo of Jim's birthday cake pre-lighting) a large barstool, step ladder, humidifier and a wrought iron bedframe. Now we are just waiting for a tv and a dresser. :) In our heated underground parking we have an area designated to share our abundance with others- a real need for a new couple starting out.
Another Target aquisition, used with the candles I won at my won shower. (Thanks Melissa!)
This last photo I have loaded for Sena. The twigs are in the vase that I got at your wedding. It sits to teh lest of the entertainment center right next to the doors to our balcony. It really adds something to the apartment and I wanted to say thanks again.
Happy Birthday Hubby
Happy 35th birthday to my wonderful husband! This is our first birthday since we have been married, though we got to have Christmas.
I'm Beginning to Understand
Tanker Spill
Today however, this was interrupted by the shocking event of a gasoline truck overturning on the ramp between 394 and 94 (Yes for you Michiganders this is the same 94 as in Michigan: it meanders a lot and winds up here in MN) It is estimated to have spilled around 7000 gallons onto the road and into the storm sewers, which ultimately funnel into the Mississippi River. Booms have been placed to avoid the gas leaking any further. Foam has been sprayed and one of the tunnels has been closed down to avoid explosions. I was a little worried at first because one route that we can take to Jim's work takes us directly past the on-ramp in question, but it appears to be contained. I don't like him being that close to a site that is likely to explode.
We decided that I shouldn't bring him lunch today, and now I am only waiting to hear what the road conditions are like before heading down to pick him up after work, as teh highway closures are likely to continue past the evening rush hour and cause massive slowdowns, and this in a city already affected by te 35W Bridge collapse.
Its Been So Long
It was odd to be down there so close to Christmas, and you should be able to make out the Christmas lights on the palm trees outside of our hotel. I felt like I was walking through a Corona commercial every night.
The hotel was lovely and was suite style with a complete kitchen, and at the time looked much more well organized than our apartment. Thankfully now things look a ton better, but we are still adjusting to our new apartment.
One night we were able to take a bike taxi out on the town and ride past streets of restaurants and mini-golf with a volcano and ended up visiting Wonderworks, a building mmade to look as if it had fallen from the sky and landed on another.
It hasn't been that cold since that day except in the middle of the night and has really been quite mild so far. I thought that I would just add a few more photos from the trip to the bottom of this page. I could launch into a long explanation of our vacation and what Jim was doing with his time down there, however, I have so much to blog about that has happened in the interim so I will let the pictures speak for the thousand words I am not writing.