Sunday, June 21, 2009

Productive Saturday...

We got through seven new recipes this week - the ones we selected as our favorites were the Caprese Pizza with Bacon, that decadent Chocolate Pound Cake with Peanut Butter Glaze and those easy Turkey Wraps with Chipotle Mayonnaise.

We had a pretty productive day yesterday and I thought it would be nice to give you a peek into how it went. After we had those scones for breakfast, Jeff and I took Gus downtown to stroll through the artsy booths at the Stone Arch Festival of the Arts.

It was such a beautiful day (if a bit toasty!) that we had to get out - we first went to this festival last year and had to go back this year. The booths were littered with fun, unique and quirky items - come on, doesn't everyone need one of these?

Okay, so maybe that isn't our style, but I'm sure it will find a home!

We walked Gus over the bridge so we could feel the cool breeze and he just couldn't help himself - he had to go sit up by the railing and strike a pose with his happy little tongue sticking out.

And PS... Gus tends to be quite the people magnet... it took us a pretty long time to walk the whole event as we made frequent stops so people could pet him!

What's behind Gus? It's a great spot to stop and gander at the "falls" on the Mississippi River...

And you can't go down to St. Anthony Main without getting a snap of this old building!

Once we got home, I had the pleasure (well, I wouldn't exactly call it a pleasure...) of getting these darn trees trimmed.

You would think these trees are on a drip supply of steroids with how fast they shoot their branches - they are called "Austrees" and are a hybrid of the Willow tree. I first tried using scaffolding to get me up high enough, but that just didn't work as well... so I gave up and crawled up the middle of each tree - my legs are so sore from trying to not fall out! I cut about 3 1/2' to 4' off of each tree... and to think, this needs to be done at least twice, if not three times a year! I'm up about 18 feet at this point and all I could do was hope the branches wouldn't snap underneath me.

This would have been impossible if we didn't pick up this handy trimmer... although, it got darn heavy after a few hours of hauling it up and down.


Finally - all done and tidy... and the neighbors get their view back!

5 comments:

  1. Sounds like you had a great time! It WAS hot yesterday--I was at World Refugee day at Minnehaha Falls/Park and it was definitely a sunscreen intense day!

    Gus is so cute--I am not surprised people stop to let you know just that :o)

    Courtney

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  2. Nice pics of the city! Gus is quite the poser - he knows he's photogenic! Actually, our little dachshund/terrier mix loves ledges like that too. Any time he can gain some altitude, up he goes. I think he thinks he's a mountain goat. Be careful in those trees!

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  3. I did a long-term project in downtown Minn and stayed near the river. I loved that area and spent many evenings and weekends walking and bike riding in that area. Thanks for the memories :)

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  4. How about paying someone to do this heavy garden chore, What are you suppose to be,a Superman Joe ? I think I should have a talk with Jeff.

    Joe is already doing too many things,where can you get a first class chef, all around housekeeper, dog minder and God knows what else, all for one price?

    Rita

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  5. Courtney - I need to remember that sunscreen more often.

    Sobaka - So true about the goat comment!

    Teri - It really is a great area.

    Rita - Yeah! I have a few people in mind that need to hear that.

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