Holiday Road

If you hadn't noticed already, I gave the blog another face-lift. Unlike the previous design, I didn't do everything myself. This time I just used a template, and added a few of my own touches like the photo on the left.
Only a few short hours and Labor Day weekend is officially here. Not a moment too soon, either. Work has been ridiculously slow the last two weeks, probably some combination of the state fair and Labor Day weekend making the jobs scarce.
We're picking it up a few things tonight and then packing for the trip to the Amey cabin for the weekend. Rather than drive up tonight, we opted to get up early tomorrow, grab some coffee and donuts at Mojo Monkey and hit the road. I'm excited to do a little canoeing this trip and use try out a couple of the new fishing lures I bought recently.
I've still got my eyes and ears focused on the NHL lockout situation, in hopes that the season starts as scheduled. As of right now, both sides have made offers and continue to negotiate, but a cloud is still hanging over the proceedings and the September 15th deadline is inching closer.
September is going to be a busy month for us. After the long Labor Day weekend, the following weekend we are attending the Summit Backyard Bash on September 8th. If I haven't mentioned it already, it's a outdoor show featuring all local bands (Doomtree, Now, Now, Caroline Smith, etc.) and delicious Summit brews. Friday, September 14th we'll be at the Gasthaus for Oktoberfest, and I''ll be announced the winner of the mug design contest. I'm really excited to see my design on the mugs and partake in the german food and festivities. The day after that we are heading the Park Square Theater to see "Red," the first play of our season ticket package. The following week/weekend my mom will be in town from Florida, so we're leaving most of the days open to fill as we see fit. Finally, the last weekend of September we are going to the Renaissance Festival. A fun end to what looks to be very fun month.
We're also getting ready to book a campsite at Pettibone park in LaCrosse, WI for the first weekend in October. We'll be tenting right on the waterfront, with close access to fishing, hiking, bike trails and an 18-hole disc golf course. We'll also be within walking distance of downtown, where we plan to attend Oktoberfest.
I just love this time of year.

Showdown

Had a nice weekend and the weather was perfect. Saturday morning I drove over to Jeremy & Kelly's to play a couple rounds of disc golf at Silverview Park. Since we got started early, we had the whole course to ourselves, had a great time as usual.

Friday I came home and the night stands we ordered (with the bed) was sitting on the front step. All I had to do was open the boxes and they were assembled and ready to use. I was pleasantly surprised by how well it worked out. Now we're just waiting on the dresser to ship and we'll have everything.

Saturday night Angie and I went to Circus Juventas to see "Showdown." I really enjoyed this year's production, it featured wild west characters and themes. I especially enjoyed the music, which is a combination of live scores performed by the circus band and a few choice tracks of music. To our delight, they even chose to use "Enemy Guns" by Devotchka during the Russian wheel act. Every year we look forward to going and every year the kids deliver. For my money, there isn't a better ticket in town.

Speaking of tickets, I forgot to mention we now our season ticket holders at the Park Square Theater in downtown St. Paul. I'm really looking forward to being able to attend more plays, since I feel even a mediocre play is still better than almost everything on TV. We both really enjoy the Park Square because it's smaller and intimate, you can bring your beverages into the theater and it's close to home.

Sunday I went out with my dad to do some fishing on Big Marine Lake. We didn't get catch too much, but at least we didn't get skunked and the weather was great. I'm not sure how many more times I will get out this year, it might have been the last hurrah.

Next up is the State Fair, which we plan on hitting this Saturday. We both like to get there early, so the first couple hours it's much easier to get around. I don't have a long list of must-have foods, but I can't leave before I get some Lefse from the food building and a peach parfait from the Global Food Market stand.

Bed Post

I'm just getting over some kind of flu bug, which made the last few days less than spectacular. Despite illness, I really enjoyed watching the Olympics. It's nice to watch some sports-style drama prior to the football (meh) and hockey (woo!) seasons this fall.

We are getting part one of our bedroom set delivered tomorrow, unfortunately it's between the hours of 4pm - 8pm. Not exactly convenient. Our nightstands and dressers were on backorder and will hopefully be arriving by the end of September. I'm always worried about buying furniture online, after we received not one, but two broken items from World Market in the past. Hopefully this time will be better.

Since the weather has finally cooled off, I've been busy with little projects around the house. Last weekend I finally got around to painting the doors and trim upstairs, which turned out great. Next, I'd like to find a small desk that will fit in our bedroom, so we can move our computer. Eventually, we plan to paint the office in hopes of turning it into a nursery. At some point, I'd like to pick up some landscaping blocks and do something along the side of the house and perhaps a little in the backyard, too.

I've still been reading like a madman, and I'm currently about a hundred pages into the The Fellowship of The Ring. As soon as Borderlands 2 (Sep) and Resident Evil 6 (Oct) comes out, I plan to take a break from the books and hit the games pretty hard. The last time I bought a game was Batman Arkham City, so I don't feel too guilty indulging myself a little.