Re: Spring is here in Minnesota ... finally! - Jill

[Dick R.]

On 4/28/2013 3:53 PM, Dick R. wrote:
> The snow is almost gone, temps in the low 70sF, feeders and birdbath
> full, and the birds are coming back! Downy and Hairy woodpeckers,
> Flickers, Chickadees, Cardinals, Robins and others. I caught a brief
> glimpse of a Wren. Life is good in Apple Valley, MN.
> Dick

Appropos of nothing, we had lunch at a diner in Apple Valley around 2005
or 2006. (He had to go to a specific place - a teacher's credit union,
maybe - to cash a check someone gave him for a painting at the Stone
Arch Festival in Minneapolis. The restaurant was next door, can't
remember the name of it.)

Having lived in the south my adult life, I was surprised to find country
fried steak with cream gravy on the menu. I'd always considered this to
be a Southern dish. I ordered it, it was great! They used real steak,
not chopped ground beef like some places. Our young server was a hoot.
She had on false eyelashes that made her look like a 12 year old who
had gotten into her mom's makeup case.

Jill
Saint Helena Island, SC

Hi Jill,
We arrived home a few weeks ago after spending 2 months in a rented
condo on Hilton Head Island, so we were kinda, sorta neighbors for
awhile. We had some nice weather days but mostly unseasonably cold.

This was our 7th year on HHI and we'll be back next year.

I can't figure what restaurant you went to in Apple Valley but I'm
glad you enjoyed it.

Take care down there,
Dick in Apple Valley, MN

[jmcquown]

Yes, we were kinda/sorta neighbors for a bit. The closest I've come to
HHI is seeing the signs for it when picking someone up at the airport.

It's still unseasonably cool! It's also been very windy, the entire
month of April and now into May. I'm not going to get upset about cool
temps but it's a PITA to keep the yard clean! I'm sure come August I'll
be complaining about the heat and humidity and wishing for a cooling
breeze. ;)

Glad you guys enjoy the area. It really is quite pleasant. My SO
comments every time he visits (from Eureka Springs, AR) how lush and
green everything always is. Yes, it is!

Jill

[Snag]

Eureka Springs ! Why that's practically next door , the wife and I have
taken up residence in Mountain View .
--
Snag
Learning keeps
you young !

[jmcquown]

Did you get snow? My SO, John (and a few other artists) had a gallery
opening in Eureka on Friday night. The snow kept everyone away. They
closed the gallery early and went to drown their sorrows in a tavern.

Jill

[Snag]

Not as far as I know , and the wife would have told me ... I'm in Memphis
right now , have been working so we can eat , but plan on heading back up in
a day or two . This trip back up all my mechanic tools go up ... which will
leave only the woodworking stuff here . We're hoping that by midsummer I
won't have to work here , but that my machine shop will start making enough
to keep me home .
<<We own a house here , which is occupied by my son and his family . I have
a room upstairs , but Grammy just can't live with "those people" any more ,
lifestyles are just way too different .>>

[jmcquown]

On 5/5/2013 4:48 PM, Snag wrote:
>> Did you get snow? My SO, John (and a few other artists) had a gallery
>> >opening in Eureka on Friday night. The snow kept everyone away. They
>> >closed the gallery early and went to drown their sorrows in a tavern.
>> >
>> >Jill
> Not as far as I know , and the wife would have told me ... I'm in Memphis
> right now , have been working so we can eat , but plan on heading back up in
> a day or two . This trip back up all my mechanic tools go up ... which will
> leave only the woodworking stuff here . We're hoping that by midsummer I
> won't have to work here , but that my machine shop will start making enough
> to keep me home .
> <<We own a house here , which is occupied by my son and his family . I have
> a room upstairs , but Grammy just can't live with "those people" any more ,
> lifestyles are just way too different .>>

I lived in Memphis for 35 years. Best of luck with your machine shop!

Jill

[Snag]

Thanks !! I must admit the current demographic situation has something to
do with the move . Suffice it to say that the minorities have taken over and
a white boy hasn't a chance in hell of making decent money .

[jmcquown]

AFIAC Memphis has always had a significant minority population. I will
say when I moved here I left an apartment in Cordova I *loved*. I'd
lived there for 10 years. Quiet, peaceful. Then I came to SC to take
care of my elderly parents. After they died it was almost 2 years
(settling the estate) before I could get back to clear out the apartment
and "officially" move. I was *very* surprised at how much the
neighborhood had changed in that short period of time. And no, not for
the better. So I'd have had found another place to live anyway. I got
laid off in 2004. The reason I couldn't find a comparable job had
everything to do with outsourcing.

Again, good luck with your shop!