Dan And Rosie Come To Town

It was pretty exciting when we heard that Bruce's brother, Dan, was planning a visit to Minnesota, and that he'd be bringing Rosie along with him for us to meet!

 

The Fish

It was decided that they would stay here with us, which was great, because then we'd have a lot of time to hang out and get to know each other. And what better room to stay in, than one with a fish? Rosie made sure The Fish was fed while they were here. 💕

Dan and Rosie

We extended an invite to Diana, too, and she flew in on the same day they did. That evening, Dan grilled the No Name Steaks, and fancied up the little steamed potatoes with sour cream and butter. I had already made a special layered salad to go with. Then we had s'mores on the patio.

Crossroads Deli

Shakshuka

The next morning, we thought we might go to Perkins because Dan was craving Perkins pancakes. Just as we were about to leave, the power went out in the house! We continued on our way to Perkins, but discovered they were also out of power, so onward to Crossroads Deli. While we were waiting at Crossroads Deli for our breakfast to arrive, Diana bought sweet cranberry bread, a lemon cake, and Dr. Stu's Cabbage Borsht to bring home. Bruce ordered a (very) spicy Shakshuka for his breakfast, and I ordered the Lox Omelette. 

We stopped at Cub Foods and the liquor store afterwards and found they were also out of power, but still open for business! It did feel a little strange to walk through a dark Cub Foods store. Pretty much as soon as we walked into the house, the power came back on. 

It's interesting to note that good things seemed to be happening since the arrival of Dan and Rosie. My geranium hanging outside the porch just wouldn't bloom for me, then all of a sudden had new buds. And, the hot tub had developed a rattle that mysteriously stopped when they arrived. I don't know, come to your own conclusions... 

sweetheart

Some old friends of Dan's from high school had a dinner in his honor that evening. There were tacos and margaritas, and I had a chance to hear stories about Dan that I had never heard before. 😂 

Time for morning coffee and listening to music on the porch 

Sunday arrived, and it was time for The Family Gathering. We had French toast and bacon for breakfast before everyone arrived, and since I had already put together a lot of the food, all that needed to be done was to put things in slow cookers. There was even a flower power family cake to celebrate the day!

snack mix

The Cake 💕

Baby Daniel

Baby Stellan

Little Boy and the Flower Power Cake

Four Siblings

It really was a great day. Uncle Jim brought his laptop so he could share family genealogy, little boy got his own bowl of snack mix to carry around (he looked so proud 😊) and everywhere you looked, people were talking, and laughing, and enjoying each other. 💕

Monday morning when I went to see Mom, Bruce, Dan, and Rosie ended up going to Perkins, and Dan got his Perkins pancakes after all. (Plus back in the day, the two of them had actually worked as cooks at Perkins. I think we can all agree that Perkins pancakes are pretty good.) Then they took a drive around Lake Minnetonka. 

In the afternoon, we went to the Arboretum to see Grandma Gloria's bench, and it was so peaceful. Rosie told me later that although she loved the family gathering, her favorite day was going to the Arb and sitting on the bench. I can see that. 

Dan said he remembered that one of his mom's favorite places to go was Lord Fletchers on the Lake, and she'd order an early walleye dinner. So, that's what we did in the evening. 

Fletcher's Acclaimed Walleye Dinner

I love this picture

On the last day of the visit, Dan and Rosie rented bikes and rode around Lake Harriet. Bruce and I took our usual walk to the beach and back, and Diana went to Katie's for the night. In the evening, we went out to eat at Dukes. We didn't stay up too late on the porch drinking wine that night as they needed to be at the airport early the next day.

I think I've gained a new sister! And there's even talk of a trip to Utah this Fall...