Breakfast

I picked up the camera the other day for the first time in weeks*, and realized that I took a bunch of pictures when we went to the Copper Dome after getting the girls off to the first day of school but never did get around to getting them off the camera, processed, and posted.

If you're ever in St. Paul, go check this place out. The decor -- flour, flour, and more flour -- is interesting and the food's great. And if you live here, what's your excuse? Give me a call. I'll meet you there for breakfast.


It doesn't really have a dome.



Flour!


Love the old time feel to the register. And the flour.


The menu's huge. Lots of choices, very small print.
This is just the first page (and I cut off a big chunk of it).
If you want pancakes, I recommend the Oatmeal Bran Banana Nut pancakes.
They're good.


But this time, I went for a ham and cheese omelette.
Also very good.


And hashbrowns. Mmmm. Hashbrowns.


I don't remember exactly what Pete had, but it was good too.


More flour.


I have resolved to get me into more pictures (because I'm bad about doing that).
So, here I am in the ladies' room of the Copper Dome.


Goblin Flour? How cool is that!

I wish they were still in business. I'd buy it for the name alone, just so that the girls could make goblin bread sandwiches for their lunches. Heh.


*The usual excuses: busy, settling into the school routine, sick, blah blah blah.

See, kids, we're not lame; we're simply years ahead of the trends

AFTER decades of obsessing about fat, calories and carbs, many dieters have made the unorthodox decision to simply enjoy food again. That doesn’t mean they’re giving up on health or even weight loss. Instead, consumers and nutritionists say they are seeing a shift toward “positive eating” — shunning deprivation diets and instead focusing on adding seasonal vegetables, nuts, berries and other healthful foods to their plates.

The article says people are starting to cook for themselves, too. And they're avoiding pre-packaged, processed foods.

o.O

I really need to figure out a way to market this kind of stuff before it becomes all hip and cool. Harumph.

Saluting an Iraq veteran

My brother's out of the army as of midnight last night. We were going to go out with his wife and him to celebrate tonight, but they've both got a mild case of food poisoning after a late-night dinner last night (eek!) and we've got a sick kid. So we'll hold off on the celebration. But oh, I am so glad and relieved that he's out -- and at the same time, incredibly proud of how well he served his country, too.   

Job well done, little brother. Enjoy your civilian years. You've earned them.

First day of school

4th grade!!!
(That's our old mailbox next to Morgan;
Pete made it into a planter.)


New backpacks, such fun.


Such serious students.


And a little sepia to finish off the session.


And now that the girls are off to school, Mr. Yon Saucy and I are going to brave RNC madness and go have breakfast at my favorite breakfast place, the Copper Dome. (Ignore the negative reviews. Those people are clearly deranged.) Yum.

Last day of summer vacation

You may have heard that the Republican National Convention is currently happening over in St. Paul. We're doing our level best to avoid it, so we spent the last day of the girls' summer vacation going to the Zoo in the morning and Cascade Bay in the afternoon.

The Zoo was crowded and the animals were mostly hiding away snoozing, but I managed to get a couple of OK shots.

Siesta time for the grizzlies -- at 10 a.m.!
Rough life, dude.


I wouldn't want to mess with those claws.


The snow leopards were only marginally more awake.


I don't think he (she?) liked the humidity.


And like I said, most of the other critters were hidden away asleep, so that was it for pictures.

I didn't bring the camera along to Cascade Bay, but it was a good way to close out the summer. We swam, played water tag and other games, and then the girls found some friends they hadn't seen since school got out last June and promptly ditched us. We were all right about being ditched, though, and retired to our lounge chairs and read -- with periodic breaks to hop in to get cooled off -- while the kids went down the various slides and floated around the lazy river a few dozen last times. For not only was today the last day of summer vacation; it was Cascade Bay's last day of the season. I have to admit that I was a little sad when they blew the whistles at 5 and booted us all out. Dang, this summer went by fast.

But tomorrow we start 4th grade! The girls' Girl Scouts troop, in conjunction with the Boy Scouts troop, is doing the first-day-of-school flag raising ceremony. Great excitement, I tell you, especially since they're now Junior Girl Scouts and have new green vests and insignia that they'll wear for the first time tomorrow. I'd like to think that all the Girl Scouts are this excited about wearing their Girl Scouts' gear for the first day of school (instead of new back-to-school duds) and raising the flag, but I suspect it's just my two quivering with anticipation. Heh.