we were sitting in a new cupcake bakery in minneapolis and this car pulled up out front. that dog didn’t take his eyes off the door it’s owner went through the whole time that dog was no dummy. as soon as the owner came back to the car i could see the dog get handed a treat...a dog cupcake maybe? dogs are the best.

the chick that did the flowers in our wedding is also an artist that’s been getting a ton of attention lately...well deserved too, her stuff is amazing. we stopped by her gallery opening in st. paul to check it out. it made me think that someday having a gallery show of some sort would be supercool...but than again i would probably have to stand around and drink wine and eat cheese and talk to people, and i wouldn’t be into that.

hot plate is one of many new restaurants in town. their whole gig is a hot dish/comfort food thing with a 1970’s style decor theme. very cool. the mac & cheese about put me down for the day, and they always have some sort of creme of (fill in the blank) as a daily special. can’t argue with that.

i’ve said it before, i’ll say it again; the bryant lake bowl is a gift. it’s one of those places that if i went to something like it in another city i’d wish we had one here and i’d think it was the coolest city of all time. well we do have it here and it is cool. take an old run down bowling alley, hip it up, serve great food and booze and why not add a theatre while you’re at it. it’s been the coolest thing in this town for over 10 years now.

speaking of doesn’t get any better...the convention grill chicken noodle soup is as good as it gets. nothing fancy here, just straight up chicken and noodles. add a cheeseburger, maybe a salad and a malt and you’ve got a hell of a meal. pam always insists on ordering fries which kills the deal if you ask me, but they are good fries, and all served in a true 1930’s era dining room complete with brushed chrome dining counter and stools.

lets just say cuban food rules the world and call it that, okay? especially when the cuban food is served by a family that makes everything fresh and serves it out of a restaurant space that could easily be mistaken for a tool shed... a very old and rundown tool shed too. in this world of over executed themed chain restaurants it’s nice to have places like victor’s that serve killer food with tons of soul.

Lou was playing in new york the day after we were leaving and i almost stayed the extra day to see him play...heck, i thought he was dead! i was real bummed i missed him in new york but when i saw he was coming to minneapolis i knew i had to catch the show. and what  a kickass show it was. there’s something about the old jazz dudes that’s just so cool. they’re all about being laid back. they don’t over play and they know how to be showman. lou told jokes between songs and carried himself like a rockstar, owning the room. as an added huge bonus lou had dr. lonnie smith on the hammond B3. talk about amazing...i thought he was dead too! i got two amazing jazz legends in one night. can you see my goosebumps?

i guess i knew we wouldn’t last long without a french bulldog, but i didn’t think we’d get one this soon.he just sort of happened. he came to us from a breeder who needed to find him a home after he’d bounced around a few times. he’s about two and a half years old so i guess that makes him a “rescue”. it’s been a bit of a challenge to say the least getting him to fit in our groove...or us fitting into his groove which is probably closer to the truth, but things seem to be working out pretty well. of course as i sit here typing this he’s laying on my leg farting like an old man after eating a pound of egg salad and i don’t know that i’ll ever get used to the amount of gas this little dude puts out...yikes!

every year around the holidays they bring in different choirs to sing christmas...sorry, holiday tunes in the IDS center. usually the grounds are kids...the younger the kids the more jarring and annoying the versions of the songs. this group was a pleasant surprise not just because they were the quietest of the bunch, but because they were the oldest at most interesting to watch. only a couple of guys in the bunch...probably because all the other guys were already dead, but i was thinking maybe they were in it just for the chicks. a guys odds would be pretty good in that group. that’s sick. there was one woman that looked one step away from death. at one point they propped her up to the mic and announced she’d be singing a solo. oh god...i could barely look. was this some sort of sympathy move and we’d all have to suffer through it? the first note out of her mouth sounded like velvet. it was amazing. she couldn’t walk or even keep her eyes open and head up straight but she sure could sing. proof that music will keep you young...or at least alive.

tim invited us over to his parents house to have dinner since they now have a new baby boy and getting out isn’t as easy as it used to be. pam couldn’t make it because she wasn’t feeling well so i went alone. naturally the evening focused on the new baby boy and many pictures were taken funny noises made. tim will make a great dad and seems to be way into it so far. after seeing that baby diaper fill up i didn’t have any regrets about choosing to not have children.

we were all worried that frankie would kill the new dude since she hates all other dogs. that wasn’t a problem at all since they get along great, even sleeping together at times. the problem is grady and the cat...he hates the cat and just wants to kill him. not good. we are managing pretty well in keeping them separated, but what a pain in the ass we weren’t planning for.

this was the view looking out the window of our friends patrick & kelly’s condo in st. paul on a cold and snowy night. we brought grady over to play with their bloodhound lili. it was a great night to just sit around and drink with the fire going and patrick playing great tunes like he always does.

the holidays. and not one holiday type drawing in the bunch. oh well. truth be told i spent most of december making the drawings from the new york trip. i’m not big into the holidays anyways. not having kids has something to do with that. the holidays are for kids. it’s all about presents and santa. in that spirit i did get to play santa for my niece so that was pretty cool. ho ho ho. now lets move in to some less festive more regular type of stuff.