Some good ideas came out of the 1970s: the regulations and laws that created the Environmental Protection Agency; the launch of Ms. Magazine launched; the first riders boarded Amtrak...Then there are other ideas that probably should have stayed back in the decade that also brought us Watergate, Kent State, and Jim Jones. Growing up primarily... Continue Reading →
I don't normally wax rhapsodic about a grocery store - except maybe when Trader Joe's arrived in Saint Paul, but the San Antonio-based H-E-B has changed all of that for me. I'm not a gourmand and I skew frugal (some of you might have other words for me), but even if I weren't those things,... Continue Reading →
So I've been sick all week - started with a cold on Sunday night and five days later my lungs hurt, my husband is sleeping on the couch to avoid my coughing, and I've spent 30 of the last 48 hours horizontal. I also discovered a stash of unexpired Cipro under the sink, so there's... Continue Reading →
Lots of places have a distinctive art form or repeating feature in architecture. Think wrought iron balconies in New Orleans, adobe buildings in Santa Fe, the brick of Annapolis, and maybe skyways (?!?) in MSP. Footbridge, Brackenridge Park in December. Anyway, here in San Antone, there’s an abundance of “faux bois” or “imitation/fake wood.”... Continue Reading →
I’ve been known to spout off random fascinating (to me) facts about places in San Antonio to anyone who is listening. For instance: San Pedro Pool - photo from SA Express News. San Pedro Springs Park – just a couple miles north of downtown – is the second oldest public park in the nation! Boston... Continue Reading →
In my years of having tended a yard in Minnesota, I’ve been known to hurry out and cut the grass before an impending storm drops rain. There have also been Novembers (and God forbid, Octobers) where the snow comes without warning and there are still piles of leaves on the grass. I guiltily head out... Continue Reading →
Aside from the obvious temperature differences, the other clear sign that I’m not in Saint Paul anymore is the surrounding flora. I’m starting to get used to it, but I now live in a place that has palm trees – big ones and small, prehistoric looking ones. For decades palm trees only meant vacation. My... Continue Reading →
In no particular order: Image from here. This is the best alumni association name ever. How could we improve the University of Minnesota alumni association name? The Gopher Goners? Moved On Minnesota? 2. I'm so excited for the San Antonio Book Festival happening on April 4th. I wasn't able to make it to the inaugural... Continue Reading →
You can find the anti-littering slogan “Don’t mess with Texas” on pretty much anything – a shot glass, t-shirt, a scholarship program. It is a catchy phrase and on its face you might not think it was about something as lefty as not throwing your trash out of your car window – since it has... Continue Reading →
I was both kind of surprised and not surprised to discover that every two years the good folks at the Texas State Historical Association publish the Texas Almanac. This biennial beast clocks in at around 3 pounds and 700+ pages. Despite covering the history, geography, economy, agriculture, politics and demographics of just one state, it... Continue Reading →
Antonio & Paul: The Patron Cities of I-35 