easy like a sunday morning

25 january

you have never heard more squealing, from women and men alike, then when an 11 week old corgi named zelly comes to visit the office. tiny body, tiny head, and giant ears are irresistible to all genders. our receptionist, becky, drove with her husband last week to lancaster, pennsylvania where a mennonite family raised zelly from birth. zelly now happily resides with becky and her family in minnetonka. i highly recommend a corgi puppy fix for anyone needing a lift!

26 january

maria and i did some catching up about her awesome new job at an architecture firm. first we made a visit to maxwell's for some of our favorite nachos and then she gave me a tour of her new office. the nachos were divine, all full of spiced chicken and jalapenos, and her office was stunning. located in the historic grain belt brewery building, they didn't miss a beat. here is the lobby, where a fire crackled in the fireplace where folks wait to meet with staff. i could wait there all day!

27 january

it snowed for the first time in a long time today. it's super pretty outside, though i only ventured out a few feet! i stopped to take a photo of the snow out my living room window just as a north star light rail train sped by. i love the brash, colorful metal bursting through the gray placidness.

india + africa + china + bali + paris

23 january

whenever i'm fortunate enough to go to an indian restaurant, i have to order a kingfisher beer, just like i did on many occasions in india. kingfisher is not a craft brew, it's not impossibly stuffed with hops, it's just light and easy to drink like a beer should be in a hot country like india. it's easy like a sunday morning, or in this case, like a wednesday night. doug and i took advantage of a groupon that was close to expiring to check out himalayan restaurant in the seward neighborhood, and we were not disappointed. goat curry, chicken tikka masala, mango lassi, and some pakora to start made for a wonderful meal. can't wait to return.

24 january

i've made an executive decision to leave my ipad at home when i go to mexico next week. that means paperback books will be coming with me. i'm compiling a stack of books that i've been meaning to read and will decide the night before i leave which will make the trip. here's the pile so far. i guess i shouldn't be surprised that all these books are memoirs about people living or spending time in other countries. it wasn't intentional at all, these are just the books that pique my interest when i'm perusing amazon.com. i can't wait to figure out which books are going with me!

flat tire and pinot noir

22 january

today started out not so hot. literally. we're enduring subzero temperatures of the negative 10 degrees variety and i got a flat tire. but i'm luckier than most in that i live right by an auto shop where my brother works. can't get much more convenient than that! the day ended on a much better note with a pinot noir wine class held by surdyk's. it was my christmas gift to my dad so we went and learned about the different parts of the world where the grapes grow and that all french wines labeled burgundy are pinot noirs and we sampled lots of different kinds of pinots and cheese. i love learning stuff.

i can see clearly now

21 january

the eye doctor was late today, making me wait, which naturally meant i had to start snapping photos from the crazy eye seat. at least i had some fun stuff to look at. a simple chair, two mirrors and some giant phantom E's. ok, so not really that fun.

another busy week in photos

16 january

so i took a day off from work and recruited my dad to go to ikea with me so that i could pick up a new dresser. i told him i needed his help and van to get the boxes back to my place. i didn't implicitly state that i would also like for him to put it together, but he's been a dad a long time and he just knew. eighty thousand nuts and bolts and three hours later, and my dresser was born. it's a beaut, thanks to this guy.

17 january

i found a recipe online for a dessert shooter that i wanted to make for doug's 50th birthday party, but it used an ingredient called mango puree. this is not something i typically see at byerly's and, indeed, cub didn't have it, either. but quickly i thought about the fine folks of india who share a love for mangoes with me, and i knew a stop at the indian grocery down the street would do the trick. indeed, about one foot inside the door as the smell of curry filled my nose, there was a giant display of sweet mango pulp that would do the trick. thank u, india.

18 january

exhausted from a long week of work and preparing for doug's birthday party, friday night doug suggested dinner at zen box izakaya and i jumped at the chance. i love this place and the owners are super nice and the food is fresh and light. three asahi beers and several small plates later, including these dishes of squid and octopus, and the weight of the week lifted from my shoulders.

19 january

doug turned 50 today. a half century, and nary a single gray or thinning hair. he's quite fortunate and handsome. i've been waiting for months to give him his gift. during our visit to japan last year, we were lucky enough to stay at the gorgeous grand hyatt tokyo, where we fell in love with just about every aspect of the hotel. top on his list (next to the amazing soaking tub and japanese toilet!) was the in-room robe, a kimono style that fit him perfectly. we discussed that we should buy one before going back to hong kong but forgot before we left. luckily, my friend lisa, who we were visiting in asia, stays at the grand hyatt tokyo relatively frequently so last summer i asked her if she could pick one up for me during one of her business trips and bring it home to minnesota with her during a visit. she did so in august and i've been waiting ever since to give it to him, along with the matching slippers! doesn't he look cute?

20 january

this is the worst advertising campaign ever and it seems to get worse every day. three times now i've seen this person standing on the corner of lowry and central in front of the bowling supply store, wearing a cheap statue of liberty costume. the first time i saw her (or him, i'm not sure), she was waving a hand-painted sign that said "instant refunds." the second time, in the same costume in front of the same store, was another vague sign about tax refunds but still without the name or location of the business. today she simply stood on the corner in our sub-zero temperatures, which really made me feel bad for her, kind of swaying in a quasi-dance and she held no sign at all. doug and i surmised that she's trying to convince folks to come on down to liberty tax, about three quarters of the block down on central, but who knows? there's also a jackson hewitt tax shop on the block. i'm no marketing genius, but i just want to stop her and mention that perhaps the name of the tax preparation shop somewhere on her person wouldn't be a bad idea. 

bat crazy

15 january

random things like this rubber bat hanging from the ceiling at my office are what make me love working there. let me tell you, there were no rubber bats suspended in mid-flight when i worked at the behemoth banking empire. fun was not allowed there. you never walked by a blow up doll dressed up like an art director. you never opened the kitchen cabinet and found a bottle of sour apple pucker. and you certainly never freaked out when walking into the storage room and finding a human sized mannequin wearing an m&m costume. 

beauty is pain

14 january

sporting an alien vibe at the salon tonight, my head covered in pieces of tin foil, waiting for the highlights to soak in. i like how i look all angry. you wouldn't believe the full view of what's going on from my neck up, so i didn't photograph the whole thing. this is really more than enough. trust me.

it's been a hungry week!

jesus, it's easy to get behind on anything you vow to do daily! of course, somehow i always manage to shower, brush my teeth, and eat daily. but the rest all goes to hell amongst long hours at work, pug sitting, and general merriment. sheesh. and i just noticed that every single photo i'm posting for this entry involves food. absolutely unintentional.

9 january

invited over for "kitten & kocktails" to a friend's home to get to know her new kitten better and make sure the sweet little feline gets properly socialized with humans, i had no clue we'd be served such absolutely divine asian appetizers! i knew the food would be good, but it was phenomenal. homemade shrimp spring rolls, chicken satay with four dipping sauces, and pork lettuce wraps. insanely delicious. and the kitten melted our hearts. not a bad gig for a wednesday.

10 january

roberto the pug went home to his real mom tonight, it was unbelievably heartwarming to see how excited he was once he realized she was back! i will miss that little guy, but i know he's happier at home. after the hand off, my mom made the family some chili and popovers for dinner. my teenaged nephew george noticed that his looked a lot like the sydney opera house. he was so right.

11 january

long, stressful day, which is weird for a friday. what better way to get the weekend started than happy hour at the 1029 bar? we ordered bacon mac & cheese, fries, and a shrimp basket and washed them all down with nordeast beers. oddly, this was the only photo i took all day on friday. i'm just glad i didn't completely forget. yet.

12 january

birthday party fun time for doug tonight with his life long group of friends. while doug gathered up all the sushi ingredients he was preparing, i baked up some all-butter puff pastry into little circles and filled them with a mascarpone, yogurt, ginger and orange cream. then i topped them with blueberries and a little strip of orange zest. i've made other variations of these before, they're delicate and fairly addictive.

13 january

we needed to move a pretty big wardrobe from my place to doug's storage space today, so we enlisted the help of one of my favorite ranch hands, my nephew george. to pay him and his dad for their time and effort, we bought them breakfast at our neighborhood joint, the spring street tavern, where the breakfast burrito weighs just a tiny bit less than george himself. he almost ate the whole thing. he could have finished it, but that basket of tater tots right next to him proved to be too much for him and did him in.

of oceans and sunrises

i have more photos of the pug if you'd like to see them. ha! of course you would love to see them, everyone adores roberto. but i felt i was getting too dependent on him for daily photo opps and since our time together is destined to end soon, i dug deep and took photos of other parts of my life. it's nothing personal, roberto.

7 january

i'm enchanted by this light up globe we have in our office at work. i love looking at all of the countries in the world that i've visited and all the ones i haven't and the ones i hope to and the ones i never will (jamaica, i'm looking at you. really, that's probably not fair because there was a time i had no interest in visiting japan and now that i've been there - yowza! - i can't wait to go back. life is funny that way). but the only country i can currently see when i glance over at that lit up orb is beautiful, sunny, historic mexico. i'm just a few weeks out from another trip there (my tenth? twelfth? not quite sure) and already i can feel the warm pacific waves rolling over my shoulders as i float in the sea, my skin flecked with gold rays from the setting sun. 

8 january

on days when i find it difficult to get out of bed, i allow myself to lay there and think of at least one good reason to pull myself from the warm flannel sheets. too often, i can't think of a good reason, other than that whole paying-the-mortgage deal. often times i am able to convince myself that the view of the sun rising over the lake during my commute into work will make getting out of bed worth it. while i didn't have to talk myself out of the blankets this morning due to knowing i had to get up to take care of a certain stout pug, i was nevertheless rewarded with a stunning sunrise over cedar lake. i had to drive out of my way and pull over so that i could snap this shot, which still didn't capture the majesty of the moment. i'm really fortunate to have such a dazzling commute.

victory 44

i want to love victory 44, the little restaurant that could in north minneapolis. and for the most part i always enjoy the food. but our server this morning left more than a little to be desired. he couldn't have been less interested in us. coffee not refilled, checking on our experience not done, and then just forgetting to come back with an answer to a simple question we had about the food. ugh. i hate bad service. but i love a good mocha.

6 january

sunday morning breakfast at victory 44. salmon eggs benedict. french toast. and this beautiful, rich cup of chocolatey, caffeinated goodness. yes, please.

oh, that pug!

hmm...i have some concerns about what i'm going to photograph every single day once this stout little pug is no longer rooming with me. i mean, look at him, he's quite irresistible. i've been taking him to my work, to my brother's work, and to my parents' house at christmas. once he goes back to his owners next week, will my life be empty? void of photo opportunities? probably not, but it won't be a sure thing any longer.

3 january

roberto and i went for a short walk over to my brother dave's auto shop. i took all sorts of shots of the pug around the different equipment, and then my brother volunteered to take him up on the hydraulic lift that took them up towards the ceiling. roberto took it all very much in stride.

4 january

roberto's last day at the office during his visit with me. several coworkers fell in love with the little guy, but few with the fervor demonstrated by anita, who nuzzled him every chance she had. 

5 january

we took a little break from the pug (or perhaps he felt he got a break from us!) and went to the saturday noon meat raffle at the knight cap bar. maria and i were skunked and doug only won a free drink. this is the official meat raffle wheel and the various meats - hams, turkey breasts, bacon, ground beef, pork roasts, and more - displayed for all to admire. and, apparently, for everyone else to win.

a photo a day

well, hello. how've you been? not sure if you remember me, but i'm deb. i used to write this blog, but i lost the love. blogs became old school, a ridiculous outlet for folks with too much to say. if you can't say it in 140 characters or less, it's not worth saying, right? not right. but that's been the prevailing thought. well, too bad.

i was just reading an article about taking a photo every day. this wouldn't be too much of a challenge for moi because, as anyone who knows me can attest, i pretty much take photos all of the time, wherever i go. of whatever strikes my fancy. not necessarily photos of anything anyone cares about, but photos nonetheless. ah, that's funny. i still love the word 'nonetheless' almost a year after writing about it. see? some things never change.

but taking a photo every day, while admirable and creative, holds a little less meaning if not shared. and, there's something to be said for accountability. so, here i am, preparing to share a photo a day, every day, this year. dear reader (and i do mean that in the singular), please do not expect a post a day, but rather posts with several photos in them. it will all even out in the end. promise.

i just hope i can remember to take a photo every day.

1 january

i'm taking care of my friends' pug, roberto. i've probably taken a thousand pictures of him in just a couple of weeks because he is unbearably handsome. some say he's so ugly that he's cute, but i think he's just cute. here i came into the living room and found him passed out on the couch, using my pillow just like a human does. so creepy. and cute.

2 january

i took this shot at the request of my coworker, clarice, who wanted a photo to show to her husband, a lover of pugs. roberto's a good egg and even though it looks like he was trying to fly away, he loved it.