Summer in Minnesota

We're winding down our stay here in MSP. Chloe is the hit of the campground - she's fallen in love with the owner, Rick, and literally pees when she see him. The problem- she pees ON HIM!!

She just gets so excited when he picks her up (needless to say, he's holding her at a bit of a distance these days!)

Tonight we're unveiling her new t-shirt. All the staff wear these kelly green t-shirts- so I found one at PetsMart in the exact color with "I rule" on it. She's going to be devastated when we leave here!

The “girls” got together for lunch in White Bear Lake – and it was a real high school get-together. Even my mom came down for the afternoon. We wanted to eat at the little restaurant on the water, but it was closed. So, we went into downtown WBL. How strange to be back there- seeing all the same store-fronts, now housing yuppie designer stores. The Avalon theater is closed- evidently one of the retaining walls is collapsing and they’re trying to save it. The other theater is now an art gallery. The only thing I recognized was Bernie’s Barber Shop- still going strong.

We had a great lunch with Mom and E.D. at a little German restaurant in St. Paul. Great German beer and food.

We just got back yesterday from 3 days at "Mom's. What timing- her oven gave out the day we arrived, so all of our dinner plans had to be re-jigged. John had his list of to-do's (changing out the dish washer panel, fixing the screen door lock...) while I had PC work to do - plus an afternoon of shopping for new stoves. Fortunately, the selection is limited at "end of the earth" Wisconsin. It was a choice between the local-very expensive-appliance store and Sears (and not the big huge mall size Sears store---the little tiny country outlet.). It was tough trying to balance getting a great oven with every possible feature and a little less expensive one- realizing that she'll probably be selling the lake house in the next year or so - and is only there for 2 1/2 more months this year. We found a really nice one- on sale- with great features (even a stay warm option- AND even a "Sabbath Mode" for Orthodox Jews who can't "work" on the Sabbath- it allows you to pre-program your oven. What will they think of next?

It's always great to be at the lake- the views from Mom's house are gorgeous. Chloe got her first view of a lake and loved the dock. We did have to be careful with her, watching closely for ticks. Last year, Mom got Lyme's Disease and it was probably the worst thing she has ever endured.

This year, with high gas prices, the traffic up to lake homes has dropped off. It's a bit like having your own private lake.

Check out Chloe's new do---