Stygg Havn And Patricia's Book Club

On Sunday October 26th, we headed over to Patricia and Richard's for the afternoon. Bruce's book, Stygg Havn, was their reading for the month, and they thought it might be interesting to discuss the book with the author! Richard had already sent Bruce some of his ideas about the book the evening before, and Bruce later said he very much appreciated that as it helped to get his thoughts organized before the meeting. 

One thing that seemed to pique interest in some of the folks there, was when Bruce talked about using the Snowflake Method to get started in writing his novel, which would be first writing out the "heart or core" of the novel and then expanding outward with details about characters, plots, etc. until you have enough material to really get going. 

And, of course he signed a few books, and Patricia served lunch. It was a fun, interesting afternoon, and I was glad to be included! 

Marry Me Chicken Sliders

The Bundt Cake

Nugget

October Book Club Beauties

The Book Club Beauties met here on Sunday October 19th. And our September meeting was done via zoom, which worked out pretty well, but it really is much better when we can be together in person.

I'm trying to think of the last book we read, I think it was Bridget Jone's Diary! 😂 Life continues to challenge with health issues and crazy work schedules, so it's been a different kind of Fall for the Book Club Beauties. And come to think of it, we didn't actually choose another book to read for next month. That might have been intentional because of the very same reasons listed above, but I'm sure there will be plenty of new books to read in our future. Mona later said that it's wonderful to have a group you can share life's ups and downs with. That's the kind of group we've become.

sweet tea and M&Ms

lavender scones

Our deliciousness included an egg bake & bacon, fruits & salad, Cathy's harvest bread & Kat's lavender scones, plus a smoked salmon dip with crackers that Mona brought home from her recent trip to Alaska! Sweet tea, orange juice, and a sparkling Peach Secco, too. 

November Book Club is coming up soon, and will be held at Mona's. We might pick another book to read, you just never know.

why not pose by a pumpkin

Halloween 2025

How fun it was to be included in all the Halloween activities for the little boys! Daniel had a costume parade at his preschool that we were able to see, and Aaron trick or treated in our neighborhood with his dad and Pop Pop. Daniel decided at the last minute that he'd rather stay in and play with the trains in the living room but, again, he is only two... Katie carved two jack-o-lanterns for the boys, and I roasted the pumpkin seeds from the pumpkins. Of course I bought way too many treats again this year, but we did have about 30 kids stop by which was pretty good for our street. 

Katie had a birthday!

embellished Spiderman costume

perfect!

Toothless the Dragon

Wordless Wednesday

 

Bringing In The Docks

What a blessing it is to have young guys able to bring in the docks! Jake and Curt/Teri's boys, Jared and Max, did all of the heavy lifting and water work, while Bruce and Curt supervised. The reward was a pot of Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup with cheddar bay biscuits (made by Teri) and after eating, everyone came over to our place to bring in our dock. Curt makes a good point when he says that he and Bruce used to do all of that when they were younger, but being almost 70, it's time for a changing of the guard. It also makes for a pretty fun day!

Nick Island

Grease At The Chanhassen Dinner Theatre

The musical Grease has been playing at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre. And after quite a few back and forth texts over the last several months, Pa and I were finally able to find a time to see it together. The two of us have a history of loving back to the 50's music, listening for hours in her bedroom (Pa had a stereo!) to bands like Sha Na Na and American Graffiti. I would sometimes fall asleep while we were listening, and would end up sleeping on her floor until the morning. Mom would be furious that I didn't update her on my plans, even though I was just next door and she knew where I was, and though I didn't understand then why she should be so mad, I get it now that I have kids of my own.

The movie Grease with John Travolta and Olivia Newton John came out in 1978, also around the time when I happened to be dating a guy named Dan. And with music from the movie playing over and over again on the radio and in my head, I would daydream about Danny and Sandy...

Bruschetta

We went to a matinee this time, and were able to book a table (there had been a cancellation) right up in front of the stage! For our food, I had the grilled sirloin, Pa had the fish, and we shared an appetizer of bruschetta, plus a fudge sundae. We both said it was kind of nice going at matinee time, something to remember for future shows. And thinking about future shows, if Cats ever comes back to the Chanhassen, you can bet that I'll try to be there.