Thanksgiving Comes First

(Image courtesy Thanksgiving Corner, FREE Thanksgiving wallpapers are available here as well as Christmas wallpapers.)

Amazing how the time flies, Halloween is over 15 days ago, and Thanksgiving is a mere week away. But with the usual antics from our local strip malls, department stores, and news media of all types, we know all too well Christmas is coming.

As I have already reported, back on October 7th, Kohl's was the first time I experienced this year's Christmas shopping blitz.

http://northmetro.blogspot.com/2007/10/christmas-in-october.html

Ironically, while I type this post, I overheard two Christmas commercials on the TV blaring in the background. It is only November 15th!!

Five and a half weeks until Christmas, Thanksgiving is a week away. But we must suffer the onslaught of rabid materialistic commercialism. And don't get me started on that jolly fat man in the red suit.

A shame is upon the proprietors of materialistic goods that cheapen the Christmas holiday and overshadow Thanksgiving. Why is it necessary to forget Thanksgiving and peddle seasonal goods and wares?

But I digress, this is a time for Thanksgiving. A time to give thanks for all we have. A time to be with family and friends. To reconnect with loved ones and visit relatives we haven't seen for some time. A time to relish the Autumn's abundant harvest.

Thanksgiving is a non assuming holiday, there are no gifts, packages, or bows. No gift lists, suggestions, gift wrap, tinsel, or musical prose.

Just remember to look at the calendar, Thanksgiving is on November 22, Christmas is on December 25. So please, let us celebrate one holiday at a time, and in order, it is only one day for Pete's sake!

I join in a protest along with many others to bring back some sanity and slow down the rampant commercialism of Christmas, especially before Thanksgiving. Have a care, join in, let's solve this dilemma.

http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com/2007/11/thanksgiving-comes-first_16.html

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Merry Retail Sales and Happy Corporate Earnings!

Good Morning!

Goede Ochtend

Bonjour

Guten Morgen

καλημέρα

Buon giorno

おはよう

좋은 아침

Bom dia

хорошее утро

Buenos días

Hyvää huomenta

Early morning on my way to work I go. So far so good, traffic is quite light. It's gonna' be a great day! Have a good day everybody!

(Translations brought to you by AltaVista-Babel Fish Translation)

Sign, Sign, Everyhwere a Sign

Here in the north metro, our city planners decided it was high time we step into the new millenia and follow our European brethern by building a number of round abouts. This will get rid of only a few of those complicated 4-way stops. Personally, I like these new round-abouts. Traffic flows more smoothly with less congestion.

Consider the 4-way stop; too complicated for many. Some just can't quite figure out who's turn it is to proceed forward from the stop.

Sometimes we wait while the first in line waves to the other across the intersection to proceed ahead, while the person being waved at insists that the waver proceeds. In the meantime, nobody is moving; we are now 7 vehicles deep in all four directions.

No doubt these same people who have trouble with the 4-way stops will find the round-about a difficult procedure to follow. I've seen some stop, blink their turn signals and wait until the "cows come home" before proceeding.

But look at how many signs they put in place. I am surely positive this is the work of the over zealous sign manufacturing lobby. We have a sign that warns the driver of the upcoming round-about, (as if we can't see it in the first place). Notice how these unsightful signs detract and block the lovely street lamps.

Next is a yellow yeild ahead sign that tells the commuter that there is a yeild sign ahead. Gee, thanks for this warning, I may have missed that bright red yield sign.

Then we have a sign that warns us of a cross-walk. Wow, do these people think us commuters as stupid. We can plainly see the white cross-walk stripes. These white stripes are internationally known as a cross-walk.

Even the pedestrians are insulted along with us commuters with the addition of the little arrow sign that points cleverly toward the painted crosswalk stripes in the street.

And of course we have the ever useful no parking sign. Dangit! parking in the middle of a round-about is the best place to park one's vehicle. (please note the sarcasm from the crumudeonly author)

Sign Blight

Our esteemed city council deeded that a Day-Care in a residential area to be against the city zoning regulations. It was just a simple little sign to advertise a Daycare facility so we the commuters would have a care when driving down that street. Also to let parents know of this new Children Day care facility.

Down the Daycare sign went. Seems strange to me to worry about a little Daycare sign, yet the council blights our city with a mirriad of insulting and quite obvious street signs throughout the city.

"Sign Sign everywhere a sign
Blocking out the scenery breaking my mind
Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign"

For more on Champlin's cute roundabouts, please see http://thechamplinconnection.wordpress.com/2008/03/16/going-round-and-round-about-roundabouts/

At the Bus Stop

A few days ago, November 9nth to be exact, Hyde Daily Photo in the United Kingdom posted a photo of a bus stop sign. I thought I would return the favor.

Here is a typical bus stop in our town, a non descriptive sign, a bench adorned with plenty of advertising, that is about it. Nothing special. Although the marketers seemed to have the bus stop bench lobby with all their advertising expertise on every bus stop bench. I am amazed by all the advertising we are bombarded with on a daily basis.

Mums for Moms

Yesterday, I posted a photo of our first snow here in the north metro area on Minnesota. Today was quite different. Today was a beautiful sunny and warm day. The kind of day one wishes to relax a little before finishing the yard work before winter.

Under the sign for our neighborhood Wells Fargo Bank is this pretty bed of 'mums. I thought it pretty for all of you hard working moms. Happy Sunday!

First Snow

Friday while at the office, our receptionist yelled out, "It's snowing"!

Work briefly stopped as many of us left our little fabric boxes in the cube farm heading toward the distant windows in the conference rooms.

Many "ooh's", and "ah's" could be heard. Someone muttered, "I'll bet this will mess up the evening commute".

I grabbed my camera and headed outside to catch a pic of our first snow from our parking lot. Although it didn't last long and it all melted within minutes, this still counts as the first snow. More to come...unfortunately...

Pizza Oven

Neapolitan pizzeria; Make mine a Margherita Extra per piachere!

Best pizza in town, Punch Pizza!

The Last Color of Autum

Bright vibrant colors are all but gone now. It is time to rake the leaves from our lawns and prepare for the inevitable snow. soon we will don on our parkas, caps and mitts, and man the snowblowers to rid our walkways and driveways from all the expected snows. Soon, but hopefully, not yet.

364

364 More Days

364, a magic number. 364 days from now, we take time to vote in the next upcoming Presidential election. It matters not from which political camp the candidates are from, we the public are doomed either way.

364! 364 days of campaign news. 364 days of hot air, 364 days of mudslinging. 364 days of empty promises, inevitably to be broken. 364 days of campaign slogans. 364 days of yard signs. 364 days of one candidate telling us what the other won't do for us, and 364 days of the other candidate telling us what the other had done to us.

364 days of BS.

Free Air? Not hardly; it comes with an expense, the expense of the public's sanity.

364 days of trying to numb our pain.

364 days of our elected public officials NOT doing their jobs we elected them to do. I sure wish I could get paid to not do my job like these con-artists. 364 days of asprin and ibuprofin to quell my 364 day headache listening to these mudslinging BS artists. Millions will be spent (wasted) in campaign financing by both the DNC and RNC. Imagine the betterment for public good this money could have been used for rather than thrown away in nonsense campaigns. A poignant movie quote from Micheal Corleone, "Politics and crime, they are the same".

364 More Days...pass me another beer, please, this will be a long year.

Sentinel Ents

Gnarled Oaks line the boulevard. thankfully, as the new development was being developed, many spoke out to keep these old trees from being cut down to make way for the possibility of more strip malls. Bravo!

Dare to be Different

A view of just about any typical street in the north metro. Leaves fall and decorate the surfaces. Beauty can come in the smallest of forms.

Speeding to the Ristorante

Olive Garden in Maple Grove serves up decent Italian cuisine. One of our frequent weekend stops.

Their culinary institute of Tuscany is located in Riserva di Fizzano. I wish I had gone to chef schooling to study Italian food abroad.

November Theme Day - Blue

The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis on the banks of the Mississippi River. Now playing, Jane Eyre, The Home Place, and coming soon, A Christmas Carol. Almost similar in color to IKEA.

Boston (MA), USA - Cleveland (OH), USA - Philadelphia (PA), USA - Arlington (VA), USA - Cape Town, South Africa - Portland (OR), USA - Sequim (WA), USA - Selma (AL), USA - Arradon, France - Petaling Jaya (Selangor), Malaysia - Stockholm, Sweden - Singapore, Singapore - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Phoenix (AZ), USA - Seattle (WA), USA - Toulouse, France - The Hague, Netherlands - Moscow, Russia - Fort Lauderdale (FL), USA - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Saint Paul (MN), USA - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Stayton (OR), USA - Maple Ridge (BC), Canada - Detroit (MI), USA - Crystal Lake (IL), USA - Port Angeles (WA), USA - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Nelson, New Zealand - Bandung (West Java), Indonesia - Greenville (SC), USA - Hyde, UK - Radonvilliers, France - Albuquerque (NM), USA - Nashville (TN), USA - Manila, Philippines - Port Vila, Vanuatu - Saarbrücken, Germany - New Orleans (LA), USA - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Melbourne, Australia - Hobart (Tasmania), Australia - Forks (WA), USA - Wichita (Ks), USA - Barton (VT), USA - St. Louis (MO), USA - Joplin (MO), USA - Chandler (AZ), USA - Quincy (MA), USA - Setúbal, Portugal - Inverness (IL), USA - Christchurch, New Zealand - Toruń, Poland - North Bay (ON), Canada - Le Guilvinec, France - Chateaubriant, France - London, England - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Naples (FL), USA - Norwich (Norfolk), UK - Sydney, Australia - Austin (TX), USA - Mumbai, India - Boston (MA), USA - Santa Fe (NM), USA - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Paderborn, Germany - Montréal (QC), Canada - Jackson (MS), USA - Stavanger, Norway - Orlando (FL), USA - Grenoble, France - Cheltenham, UK - Forks (WA), USA - Mexico City, Mexico - West Sacramento (CA), USA - Silver Spring (MD), USA - Weston (FL), USA - London, UK - Jefferson City (MO), USA - Ocean Township (NJ), USA - Belgrade, Serbia - Paris, France - Shanghai, China - Montego Bay, Jamaica - Montpellier, France - Saint Louis (MO), USA - Wailea (HI), USA - Rabaul, Papua New Guinea - Auckland, New Zealand - Evry, France - New York City (NY), USA - Nottingham, UK - Las Vegas (NV), USA - Oslo, Norway - Minneapolis (MN), USA - American Fork (UT), USA - Cypress (TX), USA - Haninge, Sweden - Trujillo, Peru - Trujillo, Peru - Melbourne (VIC), Australia - Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation - Durban, South Africa - Brussels, Belgium - Anderson (SC), USA - Budapest, Hungary - Wellington, New Zealand - Prague, Czech Republic - Saigon, Vietnam - Ystad, Sweden - Miami (FL), USA - Seoul, South Korea - Hong Kong, China - Melbourne, Australia - Baziège, France - Greensboro (NC), USA

Separation Anxiety

Who are these stickmen with no hands or feet, and why is his head detached?

Happy Halloween, take care driving tonight, many children are out having great fun Trick or Treating.

Halloween Pumpkin Bash

Smashing Pumpkins

Pumpkin Meteor?

The teenagers were out early this year, making their rounds of mischeif before Halloween. Pumpkins seem to be an easy target they enjoy. I can't help but to savor the aroma from these smashed pumpkins when walking past. That, and the scorched pumpkin aroma from a candle in a jackolantern. The beauty and aroma of Autum, is there a better season?

Fast Food Wars

No golden arches here, and looking almost classy. New, bright, and colorful, this teenager hangout, Arby's, may be the reason, Ronald McDonald decided to demolish his old restaurant across the highway. and build a new one. Soon to open in mcDecember.

McDonald's may have their Big Mac, Hamburgler, Grimmace, and Mayor McCheese, Arby's has their Giant Roast Beef Sandwich. Who's "cuisine" will reign supreme?

http://northmetro.blogspot.com/2007/09/wheres-ronald-mcdonald.html

Brew Time

Town Hall Brewery, a brew pub in the 7 corners area of Minneapolis. Located just up the street from Grandma's Saloon on Washington Avenue.

Fire Safety

Fire Hydrant outside Mill City in Minneapolis.

No Yellow Flowers, but still Green

Last June I posted a photo of a new strip mall being built; I had asked you to enjoy the little yellow flowers before they were gone. I do hope you enjoyed them.

The yellow flowers are now gone, but the project remains incomplete. Nothing has been done since June. Fine by me, they must have overbuilt and too quickly at that. Sometimes the price of progress< (as with taxes) is too high. We shall keep watch on this lot and see what is to come. Until then, stay tuned...

http://northmetro.blogspot.com/2007/06/62407.html

Over the River...

...and thru the woods,

to Grandma's Saloon we go!

Located on Washington Avenue in Minneapolis, Wes Bank's 7 corners. Dining, and drinks, 3 levels of food and fun! Happy Hour Time!

Tequila Sunrise

"Its another tequila sunrise,this old world

Still looks the same,

Another frame, mm..."

Just another work day, same routine as usual. Come into the office, sit in my chair and power up the PC; wait for the log in and the inevitable seven emails that await me.

The office is unusually quiet, not a sound, nobody discussing the previous evening's events. Surprise, eight emails. It is time to get a cup of coffee before answering the emails.

Not sure why, but I decided to bring my camera to the breakroom. Glad I did, after enjoying the first sip, I noticed the spectacular sunrise out our breakroom windows.

I power-gnaushed down that mug of coffee, and another while enjoying the sunrise. Email will have to wait. What a great start to the day! Those eight emails didn't seem so important anymore after witnessing this Tequila Sunrise. I ignored them, only to answer them at 10:30.

Some days you need to treat yourself; this old world, things are the same, a different frame.

As seen in the street

Orange Bubblewrap; is it concave, or is it convex?

This is actually a new rubberized mat that is on nearly every sidewalk corner ramp in our part of town. I believe these mats are to aide wheelchairs in navigating the ramp to gain access to the sidewalk.


Back on 10/7/07, Twin Cities Daily Photo uploaded a perfect circle, an interesting photo of a manhole cover in a cobble stone street. I was inspired to submit a similar photo. This one is seen outside the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis.

Joe's Basement

or, better known as Buca di Beppo; a ristorante of southern Italian cuisine. The franchise started in 1993 in a Minneapolis basement apartment, not seen here. This photo was taken of the Maple Grove location.

Your best bet is to dine with a group of people, dinner is served family style. I recommend the Chicken Saltimbocca, Chicken with Lemon, Penne Arrabbiata, garlic mashed potatoes, house chianti, and of course, Tiramisu for dessert.

Bicycle races are coming your way

Bicycle bicycle bicycle

I want to ride my bicycle

I want to ride my bike

I want to ride my bicycle

I want to ride it where I like

Bicycles parked outside Mill City, just behind the farmer's market. A lovely day for a bicycle ride, a lovely day for a bicycle race.

Alternative Transporters

Modified two wheelers, but, not a bicycle. These alternative modes of transportation devices were located in the oold Mill City ruins museum.

Groups of these transporters are seen riding the St. Anthony Heritage Trail, on the Stone Arch Bridge, in front of the Guthrie Theater, and even over by Nyes Polonaise Room! These devices really get around town.

Grasping the Obvious

Sometimes I wonder why our city officials need to post such signs in some areas, but not others.

I am not sure how someone would dive into this pond with the tangle of growth along the shore. I am also not sure why someone would want to swim in a matt of green gew covering the pond's surface.

I would also assume skating to be out of the question as there is open water, as we can plainly see. Yes, it will freeze over during our winter. But how will a person get onto this pond, let alone change their boots to skates in this tangle of growth along the shoe of this pond?

Sunny and Bright

In the neighborhood of Mill city, the Guthrie Theater, and the Mississippi River. I wonder who's moving in; I can't say I am a little envious. We enjoy this part of town.

It's been cloudy and raining for a week and a half. I needed this sunny pic fix.

Electrifying

Powerlines, seldom looked upon as a thing of beauty. Most of the time we scorn the little black wires and power poles that line our cities. They ruin our view, cluttering our photos with unwanted blemishes.

But a necessity we use everyday, sometimes too much. Without it, how would we view our City Daily Photos, email family and friends, or worse yet, how would we brew coffee? Oh, the horror!

Sometimes, these powerlines can make for artsy photos.

Sprained Finger

We went for a walk before the forcasted rains of the day. We usually start out heading for one of my favorite coffee shops. This day, we took the long route, delaying my caffiene fix for the day.

Four miles into our walk, and feeling light headed for lack of coffee, we needed to cross a four lane highway to get to my favored coffee shop. With sore feet, we approached this traffic signal light at the intersection. I can see my favorite coffee shop across the intersection.

That is when it happened; while pushing this button repeatedly in hopes of quickening the change in traffic flow to our favor, I strained my finger. Nothing serious mind you, I survived, the coffee was hot, and delicious, well worth the walk and sprained finger. All set and done, we walked a good 6 miles this day. I did manage to get some strange looks from the occupants in the vehicles as they watched my take this photo.

Remember, safety first when crossing busy roads.

Interstate 35W - Closed

A strange sight to see crossing over Interstate 35W in Minneapolis, and not hear the roar of constant traffic. Up ahead, the freeway is fenced off where the bridge crossing the Mississippi River collapsed.

Ottobre - At the Guthrie Theater

Act 1 Scene 1; Approaching the Guthrie Theater from Gold Medal Park. The lawns are marvelously manicured. On our way to the Mill City Museum farmer's Market.

Act 2 Scene 1; autum takes over. An explosion of color wafts over Gold Medal Park complementing the deep blue of the Guthrie Theater.

Ora del pranzo

Lunch hour at Trattoria Michelangelo - Fine Italian Dining. One of the restaurants my co-workers and I have in our lunch hour rotation for our pasta fix.

Autum Impressions

Nearly like a painting with a palette of dabbled color by Claude Monet. Almost, nature is reality, Monet was perfection.

Smoke Out

Smoke 'em while you got 'em. But I am not a smoker. Something that is legal to purchase is now illegal to enjoy. Soon businesses like this will close. But where will the tax money come from?

"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety". - Benjamin Franklin

"A government that is big enough to give you all that you want is big enough to take it all away". - Barry Goldwater

Big Gulp

O'zapft is! (It is tapped!)

Oktoberfest is all but over, except for this 2 Liters of Granite City Oktoberfest beer. And that will go quickly!

Outdoor Seating

Reservations not required on Main Street, Hopkins.

Queued On the Tarmac

Flaps - check, running gear - check.

Last minute pre-flight check before heading south; this is a suncountry midmorning flight ready to depart for Florida.

Buon viaggio!

Christmas in October?

A trip to the malls for a few items needed for the autum season. Everywhere we went, all the name brand stores already have their Christmas displays up and Christmas items ready for sale.


Is it really necessary to celebrate Christmas for 3 full months? For Pete's sake, we haven't celebrated Halloween or Thanksgiving yet. They must be trolling for cash early. Can we celebrate one holiday at a time, and in order, please? Sheesh!

Leaf Awnings

Natural awnings canopy the north side of the sidewalk along Main Street. On the south side, th little trees will need decades of growth to catch up.

Main Streets

Great food here at this Bar and Grill. Burgers are second to none. Live music, karaoke, (which I do not partake in).

Symphony of Little Bells

In five minutes, the little bells will ring to strike the hour of 6 pm on Main Street in downtown Hopkins. just enought tim to make it to Main Street Bar and Grill for happy hour.

Dualing Cranes

Which crane will complete the job first? New construction south of Southdale Mall in Edina. More office or retail space, or is it a condiminium? We wait with anticipation.

The falls

The fall at Anoka Electric dam. From the pier, a pretty good fishing spot too. The Rum River continues on a short distance before running into the Mississippi River.

Autum Gold

Autum has arrived with a brilliant palette of vibrant colors; the best time of year.

Stately trees line the entrance to a business complex near my office in the circle tour named Opus Center. it is a miriade of one way confusing circles. The scenes are wonderful, almost making the morning trek into the office worthwhile.