Drizzle's Weave Poles

The cats have not been forgotten! I've been training our little fluffballs to do some tricks and it's been going fairly well. The cats have their different strengths and while Flurry is content to sit, lay down, and play dead, Drizzle is a bit more active. Last week we purchased some PVC pipe and a hacksaw and Nolan built me a weave poles. Having the weave poles is great! Previous to them I'd been training him with candlesticks and rolled up yoga mats. I know my husband loves me (and the cats) when he indulges me so.

The inaugural run went pretty well! Stay tuned for more.

A Show and Dinner

The day after the wedding Nolan played with the Minnetonka Symphony. He is a very busy boy! This concert, intended for young people, featured a 16-year-old concerto competition winner playing Beethoven and a narrated piece called Tubby the Tuba about a Tuba who longs to play the melody.

Normally I just get to listen to Nolan's concerts but at this one I was given the opportunity to conduct and I took it! I must say, the group followed me pretty well. After the concert we chowed down on homemade sushi. The cats were interested but uninvited to the feast.

Liam and Char Conger Wedding

Nolan and I drove up to Crosslake on the 20th to see the wedding of his longtime friend, Liam Conger. On our way we passed a long line of cars driving off the lake near Garrison at the end of an ice fishing tournament. It has been so warm in Minnesota so I was surprised so many cars could be on the lake without the ice giving way!

We arrived just in time for the bride and groom to walk down the isle to the tune of the bagpipes! Both Nolan and Liam grew up in Cook and then they were roommates for a year in college. Everyone would joke about how their dorm must have been the quietest in history; both boys were pretty silent in those days.

It was fun to meet so many people in Cook that had a large influence on Nolan over the years including the mother of the groom who was his elementary music teacher!

One of the fun personal touches to the wedding were the Norwegian Wedding Cakes made by the mother of the groom. To break the cake the bride and the groom try to grab as many rings as possible from the top down. Tradition says that the number of rings they grab is how many children they'll have.

Finn Fest with the Minnesota Orchestra

We were so lucky to see the Minnesota Orchestra Sibelius concert on Friday February 19th. It was absolutely phenomenal. The musicianship was outstanding and the violinist for the Sibelius Violin Concerto in D Minor was outstanding. I was so moved by the encore she gave. To top the evening off the whole orchestra gave an encore as well! How blessed we are by music.

Linden Hills

Nolan had another concert with the Linden Hills Chamber Orchestra. I had a better view of him before the bass player showed up but this is probably the best I can ask for. The trombones are always in the back! This group plays a very good variety of music from opera to symphony and ballet.

Valentine's Weekend

Always on the lookout for concerts and keen to things I'll like, I was delighted that Nolan found this concert featuring an accordion soloist with the Wayzata Symphony Orchestra! It was a great cap to the Valentines weekend. The night before we attended a Romantic Kenwood Symphony concert preceded by a delicious dinner at a Himalayan restaurant.

Super Sunday

After church and choir on Sunday we went to a friends house to watch the Superbowl. As an added bonus, the Broncos won!

 It was fun to have my parents with us for the weekend in Minnesota and we hope they enjoyed all the cuddles they got from the kitties!

Fire and Ice Castles

My parents arrived on Saturday February 6th and were eager to get out of the car and enjoy some of Minnesota. After a brisk walk around Lake Harriet, a trip to Glam Doll Donuts, and dinner at the Malaysian restaurant, Peninsula, we finished our day at the ice castles in Eden Prairie.

The structures were quite impressive. We kept wondering how they were built! There was a lot of open space but also many tunnels and pathways to keep it interesting.

I read online that the icicles will not fall because they are part of the structure and not attached to a separate structure. That was good information to have because it was sometimes imposing to look up.

Not willing to let the children have all the fun, we also took the ice tunnels that required us to get on hands and knees.

For a bit of extra drama, fire and ice combined with a show.

University Wind Ensemble

The night before my parents came to visit, Nolan and I went to the Wind Ensemble concert at the University of Minnesota. They started with Music from the Threepenny Opera arranged by Weill himself. I was thrilled to see a banjo and an accordion onstage! I was less thrilled that they only played a very small portion. All of the concert selections came from the Roaring Twenties. Nolan took a great picture of the Ted Mann Concert Hall.

British Masterworks with Sonomento

Time for the monthly catch up! Today we start with January 31st. I sang with Sonomento, an adult choir at MacPhail Center for Music in Minneapolis. The program was called British Masterworks and featured a little bit of Baroque to Modern. The highlight of the concert was Britten's Cantata Misericordium: a retelling of the Good Samaritan.

Originally written for the 50th anniversary of the Red Cross, MacPhail partnered with the Red Cross for the concert doubling as a fundraiser.

Another highlight for me was singing Vaughan Williams' Serenade to Music, written for 16 solo voices, and a solo: Fear No More the Heat O' the Sun by Finzi.