Jeff & Kevin

A place for our thoughts

Author: Kevin (Page 2 of 5)

Longest Day Once Again

20 June 2008 /

As has become custom with my flying club (Club Cherokee), the Thurdsay nearest the longest day of the year was once again time for the annual Thursday Flyers trip to East Gull Lake airport.  Since I’m bumping up on accruing the maximum vacation I can bank and I haven’t been flying as much as I’d like, I decided to leave work a little early and participate in this year’s trip.  I have gone a couple of times in the past and really enjoyed it.

I took the whole afternoon off.  I wasn’t current to carry passengers and needed to get a couple of take-offs and landings in if I hoped to actually pilot on the trip.  So I got to the airport around 3:00 where I found a couple members already there.  Although it was a bit warm on the ground, I decided I should go ahead and take the plane out for a couple of times around the pattern.

They had already started some construction at the airport, and the winds were moving around enough that I got a little excitement during my practice.  I even got some additional excitement when suddenly the pattern got a little busy, tower changed the landing runways, and another aircraft entering the airport didn’t quite follow their directions.  But it’s always nice to know that I can handle improvising with the tower controllers when something like that happens.

dscn0711.jpgFinally it was time to head back in.  By the time I got back to the hangar, all the other aircraft were out and much of the gang had arrived.  It turned out that the aircraft I was using wasn’t going on the trip…so I turned around and moved it to the back of the line.  After finding another plane and a partner, it was decided that I’d fly out, and he’d fly back.

We couldn’t have asked for a nicer night for flying.  The wind already seemed to be waning and the air was much smoother than it can be during the summer days.  The trip up went fairly quickly.  Although we were the first to taxi out, we were in the Warrior, so we weren’t the first to arrive! (However we weren’t the last!)  And although the approach can be tricky and it had been quite a while since I’d done a soft field landing, things went really smoothly. (And thank goodness, because everyone already there was watching!).

dscn0715.jpgWe shuttled over to Cragun’s for a nice dinner and chance to all visit with one another.  We had a new member along and it was great to meet him as well as catch up on some pilot stories from many of the other members.  Then it was time to head back to the strip and get ready to make the trip home.  This time it was my buddy’s turn to fly, so I got to look around.  We were off the ground well before sunset, but it seemed just after a front was passing through.  Off to one side we saw a great rainbow, and to the other, well…it’s views like this that make it all seem worthwhile:

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Betsy’s Wedding

29 May 2008 /

No, I’m not referring to the 1990 movie featuring Molly Ringwald, but rather our very own cousin’s nuptials this past weekend!  Betsy and her husband Nathan already had had an intimate wedding earlier this year, but wanted to share the event with friends and family, so they had another one!  Jeff and I made the journey back home to attend the service as well as to visit with family and friends.

We each took Friday off to make a 4-day weekend, which we each really needed.  The weather on Friday was great and it allowed us to each get some things done around the house before heading out of town for the rest of the weekend.  Jeff got some running in, and I got some outside chores taken care of.  The pressure washer came in handy to rinse the dirt off of the front of the house, and I finally opened the Mr. Clean car-washing gadget I bought last year and never had used.  I used it to wash Jeff’s Jeep and I have to say I was really impressed with it!  The Jeep washed up quickly and dried with no water spots!

Mike & JerryThe drive on Saturday was fairly easy once we got outside of the metro area.  We took a quick stop for lunch along the way and ended up in Appleton late in the afternoon.  We had arranged to visit with our friends Mike & Jerry, who had offered to let us stay with them.  It was a great treat to catch up with them after a few years, and they were wonderful hosts.  They grilled a dinner and we made a Brazillian drink called a Caipirinha made with a rum-like liquor called cachaça that was quite yummy! We brought the Nintendo Wii along on the trip, and so we enjoyed playing Wii Sports and Mario Kart.

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Fresh Snow, New Friends, and OutWest Adventures

6 March 2008 /

Nearly a week has passed already but still fresh in my mind and soul are the fond memories and wonderful experiences of our visit to Telluride, Colorado.  Since mid November we have been planning our mountain get-away, with high hopes and expectations that it would provide a much needed respite.  We anxiously awaited this trip because for us it signified several firsts.  It would be our first visit to Telluride, Colorado…our first participation in a Gay Ski Week event…and our first group trip taken with a travel/tour company. And as it turned out, it did not disappoint!

We started early Monday morning, and after a close call at the MSP airport, we managed to make a smooth connection in DEN and arrive in Telluride by 10:30a.m.  We arrived to emerging sunshine that glistened and danced on top of several inches of fresh new snow.  Although our official tour didn’t start until that evening, a short stroll down the quaint Main Street of Telluride was all that it took to make us realize we simply couldn’t wait until the next day to get on the mountain!  We checked into the beautiful Hotel Telluride and opened our luggage like kids with their presents on Christmas morning!  The mountain was beautiful!  Fresh snow, bright sunshine made us forget all about the  possibility of altitude sickness.  We were in heaven as we warmed up for the coming week.

Equally exciting was the meet-and-greet reception scheduled for the evening.  Having never attended a Gay Ski Week event before, we had decided that maybe it would be best to go as part of a packaged trip, and found that OutWest Adventures seemed to have the perfect solution.  Rather than spending the entire week like two needles in a haystack, OutWest offered the chance to meet and bond with a group of about 16.  This was the night we would meet the other group members, and start forging what we hope will be lasting friendships.

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Happy Holidays!

20 December 2007 /

It’s that time of year again!  The holiday season is upon us once more, each and every year it seems to come a little more quickly.  Normally I’d be pretty stressed right about now, but this year things are going a little bit better.  Perhaps it’s because we’ve made some changes in my family this year, or perhaps it’s the fact that I have actually been home this year, as opposed to commuting weekly to Utah.  But I’m certainly not complaining :)  Now if I could just win a stocking from Derek & Romaine I’d be all set!

The tree is up, the cookies baked, the shopping is nearly finished and the last of the cards are going in the mail in the morning.  I always like to save wrapping for just before we go to visit the family.  This year we’ll be fortunate enough to visit with both families during the holiday season!

To those of you who are visiting our site for the first time, welcome!   You can get some highlights of our past year by reading other articles.  We will try to write more often as the mood strikes in the coming year, so please bookmark us and come on back!

Meanwhile, we wish you peace, health, happiness and prosperity in the coming year, and we look forward to seeing and hearing from you soon!

Where has the summer gone?

11 September 2007 /

I was chatting with my friend Chris and somehow the topic of this web site came up.  I knew I hadn’t posted to it in a while, but gosh…I didn’t realize it was Memorial Day Weekend!  Here it is well after Labor Day weekend already!  The summer has absolutely flown by!  Let’s see if I can recall where it went??

In June I had one more trip for a week to SLC for work.  I haven’t been there since, and it has been quite an adjustment to be home.  I miss the people there both in and out of work, and I miss the chance to work out at the local 24Hour Fitness (we don’t have them here…and if we did it would be insanely crowded).  But it is really nice to be home.   Oh, except for that trip to San Jose, California for 3 days.

That month we also took a quick mid-week trip to Chicago to see the True Colors Tour at the Auditorium Theatre.  We met up with my friend Stephen from Nice (who is now working in Chicago) for a nice dinner on the Miracle Mile and then headed to the show.  We were treated to performances by Cyndi Lauper, Erasure, Debbie Harry and several others.  It was a great show benefitting the Human Rights Campaign.

I also completed my horseback riding lessons that month.

New Counter, Sink and FaucetsJuly marked my first month without travel since maybe September of 2005.  It was simply wonderful to be home.  We didn’t really do a lot that month, but we did get new kitchen countertops, sink and faucets installed.  After an exhaustive search and many changes of mind, we settled on DuPont Zodiaq in the shade of Smokey Topaz.  We had a new under-mount stainless sink installed, and selected Price Pfister faucet.  A bonus feature (and not without installation agony) is the under-sink water filter with dedicated faucet.  It’s so nice to have freshly filtered water available any time.  A new quiet disposer polished it off.  Thankfully my parents and my Aunt Mary came for a weekend visit, as per usual, Dad’s help was much appreciated with the projects.  We ended the month with another concert treat, this time seeing Erasure for a rare appearance in Minneapolis!  It was a great show again.  Anyone who hasn’t heard my band lately needs to check them out on their web site.

August was relatively low-key as well.  I decided I’d been home enough that I could manage to drive to Milwaukee for my brother Ken’s birthday (ha ha…I’m not the only one in my 40’s now), and we had a nice visit with the whole family.  Near the end of the month I started to catch a cold, which I still have.

And that, technically, was the summer!  Over Labor Day weekend, we finally attacked the last of the nasty blue carpeting.  We had the stuff on the steps going downstairs replaced with a nice mocha-brown color low pile.  And in the upstairs guest room, we ripped out the last of it and applied hardwood flooring once again.  I guess by the 4th room, you get pretty good at it, because it went fairly smoothly.  And we had just enough flooring to finish the room.  And I mean just.  We cut the last board to put in the last row in the closet!

When it came time to put furniture back in, we’ve decided that the room isn’t going to be a guest bedroom any more.  It is so rarely needed for that purpose.  Instead we’re making it a little study.  We found two cute new chairs at Slumberland’s Grand Opening sale, and a lamp and some bookshelves at Target, and a rug at Pottery Barn.  It’s not quite done yet.  So photos are to come.

I guess that’s it for now.  I promise I’ll post updates and thoughts more often. 

“Done” in SLC???

28 May 2007 /

Well, after 16 months of commuting nearly full time to work in SLC, it seems as though my time there is done.  I use italics because I can’t really be sure of anything.  But at least for the full-time nature of it, I think it will be….for a while.  I attach somewhat easily, so it was with mixed emotions that I am transitioning back to a normal life.  As I packed up my things in SLC, I was both excited to be going home and a little saddened that I won’t be seeing the friends and co-workers I’ve become used to seeing every day.  I know I’ll be back there from time to time, I just don’t know how often.

I’ve now had two very busy weeks back in Mpls before heading off on a much-needed vacation away from the office.  And as I sit here tonight, I should be going to bed instead so I can get up and face the office after 10 days away!  I can only imagine the email that will be waiting.

Update

28 May 2007 /

Memorial Day is here, and is the last day of our little spring vacation.  We both needed some time off, so we spent some time in South Carolina visiting Jeff’s family and the end of last week here at home.  The trip to South Carolina seemed to go quite quickly, but it was good to finally see his brother Joe’s new house and to visit with the niece and nephew.

While we didn’t get a whole lot done once we returned, we did get some things out of the way on our list.  We bought new kitchen faucets and had our countertops measured.  We got some samples of Zodiaq and think we’ve finally settled on the color we like, and we selected a new sink.  Now we wait for the quote to come in before ordering.

New Flax BathroomNew Flax BathroomJeff decided that since the plans to re-do the upstairs bathroom fell through, he should at least paint it.  It’s now flax and sports new picture frames with art, towels and rugs (only one is shown in the photo.  It looks quite nice, but now really underscores the need for new flooring!  Someday we’ll get to that, but I’m not sure when!

Meanwhile, I finally attacked some of the trim for the hardwood floor we installed in October of 2005.  Yes…coming up on 2 years ago!  But with few bugs outside, nice weather and finally being mentally ready to attack the project, I finally got at installing the quarter-round in front of the baseboards.

Of course I couldn’t get very far without running into issues I created because it was the first room I installed the flooring into.  Those included never really finishing the transition between the hardwood and the tile, or figuring out how to fill the gap created by the bowed wall on the living room side.  What I really needed to do the job was a new table saw.  One quick trip to the new Home Depot down the road and I had a new power tool.  And boy..did it ever make the difference to rip floor boards the long way with the proper tool versus trying to use a jig saw!  I managed to get the last row of [partial] boards installed right up near the tile, and used the other halves to fill in for the bowed area of the baseboard, and installed quarter-round throughout most of the dining room.  By no means done, but on the way!

I told Jeff when it’s finally all done, we need to have a T.G.I.F. party (that can stand for Thank God It’s Done, or… Thank God It’s a Floor).  Stay tuned, but don’t hold your breath!

Live Long and Prosper

14 February 2007 /

The words of a science fiction character…well wishes from a race of logical beings that have trained themselves to control and even eliminate their emotions (if that’s really even possible).  But wise and kind they are.

Today we burried my Grandmother.  For me and the rest of my family, it was far from emotionless.  Having nearly reached the age of 94 years, and bringing up and positively influencing four children, four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, it would seem she did heed that advice, and heeded it well.

She had a good, long life, and in the end, really didn’t seem to suffer.  We were all fortunate enough to have the time to visit with her…to laugh and cry together…and to face head on the certainty of what was to come.  We know she was ready and that she is now in peace.  We are comforted by these things, as well as the many wonderful memories and traditions she has given to us.  She will always be with us, and I’m very grateful to have been fortunate enough to have had her in my life.

Yet mixed with the gentle smiles that emerge on our faces when we find ourselves thinking of her, come the tears at the recognition that we will miss her dearly.  Our lives have now changed forever, as we will no longer enjoy the company of someone that has been a part of our entire lives to this point.  We instead must be content with our memory of her.  Fortunately, there are many wonderful memories upon which we can draw.

She created a wonderful legacy, and even in her death provided an opportunity for the family to strengthen the bonds we have with each other.  For a woman who never boarded an airplane, she certainly understood the philosophy of a fictional culture from beyond the stars.

Happy Holidays to All!

27 December 2006 /

Greetings friends and relatives! It’s hard to believe yet another year has passed so quickly.  But here we are, facing the end of 2006 already!

I spent a majority of the year working in Salt Lake City again this year.  It was every other week for the first 3 months, but then turned into 4-5 days a week for the rest of the year, with an occasional break in the schedule.  Early in the season, I split my weeks over weekends and had Jeff join me in Utah to take advantage of the many nearby ski and snowboard resorts.  Late in my second season on the snowboard, I’m finally getting the hang of it and can almost keep up with Jeff!  We’re looking forward to doing the same this coming season, so if you’re interested in joining us in Utah this season, let us know.  They say it’s the “greatest snow on earth�.  I don’t know if that’s true, but it’s pretty close!  I do know that Jeff’s very anxious to use his new snowboard.

In my spare time, I continued my French language classes at the local chapter of the Alliance Française on Saturdays throughout the summer and fall.  In addition to one trip to Geneva (Switzerland) and two to Montreal (Quebec) for work-related meetings, we were planning a fall vacation to visit France.

In the first half of October, we took an 11-day trip to France.  We had been talking of it for years, and we finally made it happen.  We flew from Minneapolis to Nice, where we spent 4 days on the côte d’azur.  Our friends Stephen and Cayetano, who live in Nice, were wonderful hosts, showing us sights from Monaco to Cannes and locations in between.

We then took the high-speed train (TGV) from Nice to Paris.  I would recommend it to anyone.  The scenery was beautiful, the coach was roomy and comfortable, and the whole trip was only 5 hours.  No airport hassles either!  Once in Paris, we spent the next 6 days on foot and using the Metro system.  We covered a lot of area and saw a great many sights, including the scene depicted in the original oil painting we bought 2 years ago.

We had a wonderful time and I could go on about it for hours!  There are photos online here and some more details if you read down this blog an article or two.

Meanwhile, Jeff has kept himself busy as usual.  He again this year participated in the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon as a runner in the 10-mile run, which he really enjoyed.  He also has become a member of the marathon’s staff working in the marketing and communications department and putting his technical writing skills to work.

This year also saw some more home improvement work.  Although the finishing touches aren’t complete on the hardwood flooring installation in the living and dining rooms, this spring we undertook the master bedroom, its closet and the hallway upstairs.  It made a huge impact on the look of the room, calling for new furnishings.  The trim work still calls my name when I’m home, but we still have the upstairs guest room to go.  This winter or spring we also hope to work on the upstairs bathroom.  We’ve selected tile already, and look forward to changing from shades of grey to more earthy tones.

Professionally, we’ve both found ourselves very busy.  I have been involved in a very large project that has been focused in Salt Lake City.  That project is scheduled to be completed by mid-year, at which time I’m really hoping the commuting will significantly ease up.  My company has asked me about interest in relocation to Utah, but I told them we aren’t interested.  We will see how things play out in 2007.  Jeff got a promotion to a lead business analyst role this year, and I have noticed he’s a lot busier!  He’s enjoying the challenge though!

We’d like to thank our family and friends for being part of our lives and we look wish you all the best for the coming year.  We look forward to hearing from you and seeing you if at all possible.

Kevin & Jeff

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