Bye Santiago

I could live here, if I never had to go through customs

Probably the most beautiful big city that I had never given much thought to.

Leaving Brasil

As big and explosive as I'd heard. Wonderful people. So much potential in the markets. Rio yesterday, Sao Paulo today.

A place I never expected to be

Inside the Peruvian Consulate to Brazil in Rio. Waiting for a friend to sort out a visa problem. Staring at the walls. When an official comes in the room to make an announcement I shrug, nod, and roll my eyes along with the others as though I understand what is being said. The silent universal language of citizens waiting in government offices.

Independence day

Let freedom ring. Watching Britney's top ten hits on mtv in a hotel in Buenos Aires. (Hit me baby was #1)

In Search of Higher Education

Just returned from a week retracing the hallowed steps of Lee, Jackson, Stuart and others in search of a college for our youngest daughter in the heart of our native Dixie. Clemson, Furman, Davidson, Elon, Washington and Lee, James Madison. Each with its strengths and weaknesses, each in need of more students like my daughter. Some appropriately focused on helping her find a career, others more interested in helping her find herself (assistance she does not need). A great week that also included church with Grandmother, and assorted get togethers with her Uncles Kevin and Rodney, Aunts Diane and Mildred, cousins Katie and Becky. Also two great hikes in the Shenandoah Valley.

Still a long road ahead and a lot of decisions to be made over the next year. I'm sure she could have found better company than me, but for a mom and dad there is no better way to spend a week than close to a child helping shape a big decision. When you first hold your child there are things that flash through your mind. Riding a bike for the first time, learning to read, walking.... Somewhere in those little thoughts is the college search.

August 6

There are dates that get ingrained in your mind. Something happens, or doesn't happen, and they stick.  Usually they are important, but sometimes trivial, like the birthday of my second dog that I got when I was a kid, March 16 1964. In my country there are many dates we think are important and should be remembered. But I have easily let slip by more than one July 4, September 11, November 11, November 22, December 7 without so much as a thought.

June 16 I remember. I got married. Long time ago but I have never missed an anniversary, never even came close to forgetting.

Funny thing, I cannot tell you when anyone else in the world got married. I guess it doesn't matter to me as much I would like to think it does. I know my parents got married some time in August. I have a cousin who got married the Saturday after 9/11 and a nephew who got married about a month after Christmas. It gets really fuzzy after that. Although I am glad other people in my family are happily married, when it happened is something I can't keep in my head. 

Other dates of importance. November 24, April 17 and November 27. The birthdates of my three children.

August 6, 2011 is the day that the first one of the three above gets married. A wedding date that hasn't happened yet but is already burned in my mind. It's the day a wonderful woman become part of our family. Already the date means something to me, though nothing like what it means to her and to my son.

I look forward to the event, but more importantly, to every blessed anniversary that follows. Welcome Laura.

Farmington

It was last Saturday, the grass was cut, I'd put in my run for the day, I was bored, and ready to get out of the house. According to the Minnesota Tourism website, the Minnesota Soybean Festival was one of the big events of the weekend. This photo is taken from ground zero of the soy extravaganza, at the height of the festivities.

We stayed there all of 5 minutes, chatted with the locals, then moved on to the Afton Arts Festival, which was like Times Square compared to this.

Boston

Been here a dozen times or more and it never feels familiar. Many places I visit I leave thinking, "I could live here", or at least, "I can understand why people would build a life here." I have thought that about Bangkok and Berkley, but not Boston.
.................

She got a new car

The mystery woman in my parking garage has a new car. It was filled with junk even before she had the new plates on. See my prior entry of August 27, 2009

Tranquility Base

I just returned from two days in New Orleans. While I ate at several nice restaurants, the best meal was enjoyed while sitting on a park bench overlooking the Mississippi with beignets and coffee from Cafe Du Monde. If the weather is right it is simply one of the most peaceful places I have ever been. The smell of the river and all that it brings, the statue of Andrew Jackson, flowers blooming, the sound of fortune tellers selling lies, and the occasional smell of something cajun cooking somewhere close by, all gather to make this a special place that I have to visit every time I'm near the French Quarter.  

This got me thinking about other places, where I feel like this. Relaxed, reflective, and most detached from day to day cares. Here are a few places in the US that make my list. Some I've been to many times, others just once or twice

1) At my mothers home, when only the two of us are there.
2) At my home, when the Christmas tree is up, the snow is falling, the fireplace is roaring
3)  Miller's Homestead, Roan Mountain State Park, in Tennessee
4) Sedona, Arizona
5) St. Andrews State Park, Florida
6) The White River, Arkansas, near Cotter
7) Dunnegan Park, Bolivar Missouri
8) Pinnacle Mountain, in Arkansas
9) Driving Silver Bay to Grand Portage, Minnesota's North Shore
10) Lake Placid, NY
11) The Lawn on the campus of the University of Virginia
12) The financial district of San Francisco, 6am on any morning
13) The grounds of the St. Louis Arch
14) St. Patrick's Cathedral - NY
15) Alfred B. Maclay State Gardens, Tallahassee

Smoker 2010

Smoked a pork shoulder this weekend. Second one of my relatively short Minnesota smoking season. Got up early Sunday morning and had the meat on the rack by 6am. Added a few coals before heading off to church, as did my wife as she was leaving a little while behind me. I got my work taken care of before the rain started while she was dressed for church juggling an umbrella and a tin bucket of charcoal.

We had some peaches down in the freezer left over from last year. I pureed them and marinated the shoulder in it overnight. Just another experiment in search of the perfect barbecue. It was OK, but the sugar in the juice almost did some damage to the outer bark on the roast. It carmelized and then started to blacken. While a little sweetness can be good on a shoulder, or ribs, etc. I think it's best that it come at the end. The front of the train is all about simplicity. Salt, pepper, maybe a paint job of yellow mustard if you're trying to impress the neighbors. Not much else.

For all of my barbecue the real test comes on day two, after it's been in the leftovers category for at least 24 hours. Last night I tried some when I got home and it passed the test of good, but not great, barbecue. I used cherry wood this time which I think imparts a milder smoky taste than hickory, for example. Very good, but i've done better. It's still early in the season.

How I spent my tuesday

My morning and afternoon near here with clients....


My afternoon and evening took me here with my niece, Kristin
http://www.urbanpromise.org/default.asp

I guess you could say my day started at a symbol of love and ended at a sign of love.