October 25, A Day to Celebrate

When the wife's birthday comes around, we take the chance to get out and do something a bit different to make the day special and to celebrate the event.  So, this year we buzzed out of town and did some things that she likes to do, which, in this case, involved eating some good food, doing a little shopping for clothes and other stuff, and feeling lots of different kinds of yarn.  Anything the wife wants to do, I'm her man. 

Crawford's in downtown Sioux Falls

We also did some things for yours truly, which involved picking up some new tires for the bicycle and having a good "old-fashioned" down at Crawford's, where we had some excellent food (blackberry ribs and walnut-encrusted pork chop) and dessert (midnight chocolate cake).  Yum!  Beautiful place, too. 

We also picked up a copy of the new Joe Walsh album, "Analog Man," but we forgot it in the trunk and haven't listened to it yet. 

Looking Forward to a Darn Tough Winter

Winter has come.  Snow has fallen, wind driven and cold, covering most of the leaves that never got raked, the wood that didn't get moved yet, the snowmobiles that have rested since spring came, the porch floor that didn't get painted.  So now some of those are hidden, temporarily, until spring comes round again.  Meanwhile, the wife and I are happily facing a short week, just one long day and one short one, then a Wednesday free from duties, then a Thursday for giving thanks.

One item on my thankful list is this dandy pair of Darn Tough socks, a gift from my daughter and her beau.  They're guaranteed to last as long as I hope their relationship does--meaning, for a lifetime.

I've been dogging on the blogging, but we have been busy, gone to Sioux Falls for a weekend getaway on Veterans Day, where we enjoyed a stay at the Holiday Inn, dinners at Parker's Bistro, Phillips Avenue Diner, and Bros Brasserie Americano.  All great places to eat.

In addition, we enjoyed an evening with the Carpe Diem String Quartet and picked up a copy of their Montana CD, which extends the enjoyment of the weekend.  It's awesome, tough and beautiful, like Montana itself and this fine Vermont pair of socks.