Cold? Uff da. You don't know from cold!

This past weekend I took a quick drive up to Winnipeg, Manitoba to attend the funeral of my great aunt Julie. My dad (Sir Richard) was flying in to help handle some of the estate issues and to represent the Toronto branch of the family so I thought that I'd join him.

My timing was impeccable.

A few hours after I left Minneapolis it started snowing. Really, really snowing. Hard.

Sunday morning, this happened.

Which led to this:

Actually, there are probably a whole buncha things that led to that, but anyhow...

When I arrived home, here's what I found.

There were 16" of snow on the ground at home, conservatively speaking. The driveway had not been shoveled, but some enterprising neighborhood kids had knocked on the door and offered to clear the sidewalk for $10. Great deal for Laura. Fortunately for myself, I had stopped in Fargo, ND and purchased a brand-new, secondhand refurbished snowblower.

In about an hour, the rest of the work was done.

On the positive side of the coin, it's nice and warm here in Minneapolis at -10F this morning. As Einstein said, everything's relative... it was -40F in Winnipeg yesterday morning. That's why they plug in their cars there. No joke. This is a public parking lot with free plug-ins for your block heater.

Awesome. My dad rode back down with me to minneapolis, and will be here for the week. maybe we'll be dug out by then... and maybe Brett will stop crying...

Truth in Blogging Chronology act of 2010

Sponsored by Dr Laura Dundas, (Independent, Minnesota)

...it has been brought to my attention that I missed some significant events... and as usual, the auditor is correct.

Anyway, let the record reflect... during September, Nana Lynda came into town and spent the better part of a week with us. Then I headed to Harvard, UCONN and Salus Universities on a speaking tour with Jason, Jerry and Barry... and when I got back, Grandad John and Grandma Nina were here for the week. We crossed the mighty Mississippi at the site of St. Anthony Falls... the reason that Minneapolis is where it is.

We also went to the World's largest corn maze with Kim, Jeremy and Jameson. It's not Indiana, but Minnesotans are serious about their corn.

There was a 'corn pit' that was a hit with the kids. Probably the best pics from the day too...

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat...

...so we're going to eat him.

Anyway, no posts since September!! That's embarrassing. Well, maybe not embarrassing, but definitely a poor showing.

Since we last posted, more than a few things have transpired...

1. We went to Canadia for Real Thanksgiving - which was a great visit. We flew into Buffalo (disaster - the airline didn't bother to bring our luggage with us from JFK), and drove up. Dave was in town for work, so we all got to hang out. We went to see Grampa in Picton, who had never met Fletch, spent lots of time with Owen, Dom, Parker, Chace, and Skylar, and had thanksgiving with Pete, Sara, Avery and Cole Kendall. I was excited to meet Kai Shibata as well when Beck brought him to Mom and Dad's house- amazing - he's a perfect mini Shibby! Great weekend. We even managed to sneak a trip to the Chicken Ballet in.

2. We sold the house in Nashville. Which we have very mixed feelings about. On the plus side, for once, I'm not just putting all of my paychecks into paying mortgages, but on the minus side, it feels like we've cut a cord with East Nashville that we really didn't want to cut. Laura teared up when we signed the papers. So our Nashville friends better come and visit, 'cause we miss you and the weather here is awesome. If you're a bear.

3. Miraculously, a lifelong dream came true when a Porsche 911 Super Carrera showed up in my driveway. Okay, I drove it there after I bought it, but that's why you bust your hump for seven years rehabbing two houses, getting a PostHoleDigger... right? the car arrived (fortuitously, I

think) during Dr. Spencer's Halloween visit. Fortuitously, because it meant that Laura couldn't actually kill me until AFTER Beth left, by which time she had calmed down a bit... I jest. Sort of.

4. I've been out to Portland, OR to present research at the NCRAR (National Center for Research in Auditory Rehab). What a cool spot - the NCRAR is in the Portland VA hospital, which is on a mountaintop (well, it would be considered a mountain in Minnesota, anyway) and is accessed by road, and GONDOLA. How cool is that? I stayed right downtown in the Pioneer Square district. Portland is a cool city - it has the most breweries per capita of any city in the Western Hemisphere. Also the most crackheads, but I digress.

From Portland I hopped on the 2010 version of the Wright Brothers flyer and took the hop up to Vancouver, BC to visit Dave and Nikki. We had a great time in Vancouver - I really enjoyed it this time around (Vancouver that is, I always enjoy hanging out with Dave). He had blown up ridiculous mustache pictures from our last sailing trip and nonchalantly put them into frames all over the apartment. I shudder to think about what Nik must have thought of me before I arrived!

5. While I was in Portland, Laura and Fletcher headed to their home away from home, on the river in Connellsville. They stayed there for almost three weeks, leading up to Thanksgiving. I flew in to the 'Burgh on thanksgiving day (which incidentally, has to be the best day to travel in the USA EVER - the airport was a ghost town). Nick Sandusky picked me up at the airport (thanks Nick!) and delivered me to Connellsville in style in Glen's MB E430. Nice. We had a great visit with the family, and were excited that Cassie made the trip up from Blacksburg to hang out as well.

6. Finally, Laura and Fletch decided to come home, and Laura has started a part time job with Starkey doing qualifying exams for our research participants. Fletch is hanging out in daycare two days a week and seems to be adjusting okay, although walking in to pick him up on his first day was a heartbreaker. He was sitting with his back to the wall holding a teddybear that he'd adopted, while the other kids were running around and playing. I guess that it'll take a few days to adjust...

7. Christmas arrives in St. Louis Park! And Chaunahka too! In our house though, we're sticking on the gentile side. Decorating the house is going well - it's a great canvas to start with, but having a great decorator like Laura sure helps!

Well, that's about it for today... I'll try to post more sooner, rather than later!