From the land of the long shadows

The last time I got a speeding ticket, was around 1975. I was zipping along through a speed trap in Holden, Massachusetts. I got a ticket, but back then there was a program that if you watch two hours of post-car crash video, you didn't have to pay a fine. I think I was doing 40 in a 35 mph zone.

Oh, wait, did I say the last time? That would actually be... today. I was doing 43 in a 30 mile per hour zone. See, I'm not one of those people who drives 75 to 80 on the freeway. You know, the people who never seem to get stopped for speeding. No, I get stopped for going forty-frickin'-three.

Anyway, I've written up the whole sordid story here.

At the time I got stopped, I was trying to find the hockey rink where Patrick and I played last week. I found it, thanks to the police escort!

The ice queen cometh

Carolie and I had an idea a few months ago to build an ice castle with ice candles from a mold I bought. The weather since December has been perfect for it, except for one day when a couple of candles perished in the warmth of a sunny day and an uninsulated garage.

Then tragedy struck one recent morning when the temperature was below zero. A crack rendered the mold useless.

So this evening, she built what she could with what she had.

Skating, not working

I'm having the most enjoyable winter since I was a kid. I don't mean things are going well and it happens to be winter -- we all know in the big scheme of things, things ain't going that well. I mean that winter -- the season -- is a blast this year. I love the cold weather, I've enjoyed the arctic candle making, and I'm skating more than I have in years, which is to say: twice so far.

Today, a small group of MPR employees and I spent lunch hour in downtown St. Paul, where they've closed off a street near Landmark Center (a beautiful building) and built a skating rink, along with a warming hut.

It was 9 degrees and several Minnesotans said it was "too cold to skate." Nonsense. The sky was blue, it wasn't that windy, and it felt great to skate. You can find some more pictures here.

We're going to do it every Friday afternoon until dreaded spring comes.



Notice those lengthy shadows? It was noon.