Aug 25, 2011

Happy Birthdays!

This year has been a big one for our family. Milestones birthdays include: 60, the "height" of the twenties, a quarter-century ... you'll notice I'm not naming any names ... and yours truly, who has to count up from a certain year, just to calculate her age.

Well, it is time to say Happy Birthday to youngest son Peter.

Peter's birthday present may well be "Goodnight Irene" evacuation orders from the Outer Banks. Possibly he'll be lucky, and miss the hurricane by the same small margin that we missed the Great East Coast Earthquake.

You see, we were in Minneapolis, the home state of Bill Holm, who shares today's birthday with Peter. This trip had a number of superlatives, including a few Icelandic ones:


I was given a really remarkable gift in Anoka from Professor Batty. It was Halldór Laxness' Salka Valka, in a hard-to-find, English translation. (See Laxness in Translation.) The lesson is, keep searching for that special book, and it will reveal itself to you. Thank you, Professor, for your generous persistence.

The Open Book space, featuring curious and beautiful reclaimed architectural features, where I got to see the offices of Milkweed Editions, publisher of Bill Holm's books, many of which feature Iceland. If you visit the Minneapolis area, be sure to stop by to see the intriguing space and the wonderful examples of book art.

Non-Icelandic highlights of the trip: walking/strolling, eating and fun times with Coco and Family; the best beer tour and tasting ever at Schell Brewery, New Ulm; the stunning collections at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts; the Baby Marx puppet exhibit at the Walker; great, independent coffee shops on every corner; beautiful weather; the Minnesota 150 Exhibit; the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum; and awesome bike paths everywhere that make Minneapolis the #1 bike city in the U.S.!

Three trips to Minneapolis/St. Paul in the past three years=good times!




4 comments:

Professor Batty said...

What a treat to host you and John! And Minneapolis in August has NEVER been nicer. Now, when is that house warming for the Condemnation Plantation?

Darien Fisher-Duke said...

Yes, that's the ticket! I think you are suggesting a Pool, Professor. I wonder how many betting people read Condemnation Plantation? Which is a short way of saying that your guess is as good as mine. Probably better.

The winner of the "moving in pool" can be a co-host of the Cabin-Warming Party!

Shoshanah Marohn said...

All of these crossovers and connections- oh, my!

Darien Fisher-Duke said...

The housewarming finally took place, on Sunday, August 19, 2012!