Tales of a Shoebox Princess

For me the whole point of going to the North Shore last weekend is so I could see Devil's Kettle Falls. I'd heard about it a few years ago, a "mystery" place! It's a two-pronged waterfall on the Kadunce River, with one side your normal, run-of-the-mill water going over rocks and continuing to flow onward in a river-like fashion. The other side, however, goes down a hole, described in whatever article I read about it as "bottomless" because they didn't know where the water ended up. This I had to see. Bottomless pits are a bottom-less pit of fascination. Since I read that article, a credible theory has arisen to explain where the water goes, and while it is a bit of a let down, it is nice to know the bottomless pit is not a wormhole to another dimension that needs our river water. The theory is that the water ends up back in the river by emerging back up into the river bed from underneath.  Regardless of how bottomless the hole is, where the wate...

Jim and I went up north over the weekend and I took WAY too many pictures, enough so that I can do an entire blog post about the light fixtures in the Glensheen mansion. Glensheen is Minnesota's version of Downton Abbey, although not as old. It's very well appointed and just oozes with richness. We took the full house tour and were quite delighted with it because of the architectural detail and the historical background. It's fun to see how the other half lives, even if they lived a hundred years ago. lions and pineapple on the entry way light. Lions for power and wealth, pineapple for welcome they look like upside down champagne flute fixtures. Yes, that is a GOLD ceiling. water lilies The bowls look yellow, but.... ...when the lights are off, they are mint and white. I like the cord Silver, and a bear to polish LOVE the art deco lampshades! I didn't know billiard tables do not have holes like a pool table does. Nice...

I'm partial towards Minnesota, having lived here most of my life. I enjoy discovering new places in Minnesota (those places are becoming fewer and fewer in number, but I don't think I'll ever see all of scenic Minnesota) and this past weekend, Jim and I crossed two off the list: Pipestone National Monument and Split Rock State Park. I took a lot of pictures at Split Rock, but the following picture sums up most of the best ones: the dam and the stone arch bridge. There was a hiking path at Split Rock and Jim and I got our shoes and socks all wet traipsing the shorter of the trails. Some of it was along the lake, and some through wooded areas. Very invigorating.  Then we went to Pipestone National Monument. Cool rocks the path along the cool rocks a waterfall from up above. We followed a tiny unpaved footpath to the upper falls area and I felt like an explorer the lower view of the falls, accessible by paved path This view would make a n...

I had to go to Sioux Falls on Friday for work so Jim took the day off and we made a short trip out of it. After I was done in Sioux Falls, we drove to Pipestone MN and checked into the Calumet Inn, an historic hotel. They had started decorating for Halloween, so naturally I was inclined to love the place despite its oldness. And heck, the oldness had a charm of its own.  Jim found a binder near the front desk with ghost stories from people who have stayed in the hotel, and we were mildly put out that we did not have a haunting to report. Oh well. the skeleton mummy hanging over the entrance to the dining room Old time charm I love these chairs! They haven't dusted the cobwebs in a while Do you like stairs and railings? Then you should stay here. Looking down Pipe decor, function AND decoration I like the 2 story rock wall Our room. Each room has a quaint name, like Summertime, Hearts and Flowers, Paradise... Creepy baby doll. W...

The post title is the last line of one of my favorite Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' songs, "Heartbreaker Beach Party." I don't know which album it's on, or maybe it's a rarity, but Jim has had the song forever, and I love silly songs like that. I also love potato salad. Of course one must reminisce about Thomas Earl Petty's music this week on the sad event of his untimely death. Jim and I have seen him in concert a handful of times and Petty and his band have always been good value as a musical act.  So when I saw that a local group of musicians were getting together to celebrate the music and life of Thomas Earl (for a pretty decent ticket price of $10) I jumped on the chance to purchase. Lucky too, because the show sold out in only a day. This was a relatively unplanned concert, since the loose association of musicians known as All Tomorrow's Petty, doesn't play very often, and weren't planning on performing as the group until Tom...

I'm never going to beat diabetes, but I can live with it. I realize this is a progressive disease and I might get worse at some point, but for now, I am doing well. I have been able to control my blood glucose level most of the time, and when it does spike, I know what to do (mostly go for a walk and drink water) to bring it down. And it has always come down with in  a few hours. I'm not giving up sugar completely, but I have learned to enjoy small doses and only a couple times a week. Yesterday, I had a very delicious Samoan blondie (thanks Katie!), but I made sure to have a tiny slice and I shared it with Emma. So I went shopping for pants on Saturday night because the one pair of jeans I have in my wardrobe is too big and in danger of falling down whenever I put my cell phone in the pocket. I am happy to report that I am down 3 pants sizes, and 2 shirt sizes. I actually bought a dress from the misses section (NOT THE PLUS SIZE WOMEN'S SECTION). This is huge! Not lite...