Kittens From The Dark Side: Minnesota Spring

Sadly, Greg's Grandma died a couple of weeks ago.
The funeral was this past Friday,
and we decided we needed and wanted to be there.

There was a huge snowstorm in Minnesota on Friday, and the roads
were not cleaned off quickly in the north!

Our flight was delayed twice - 5 1/2 hours in total -

unrelated to the weather.

The Mesa Gateway airport is teeny, but it has beautiful greenery in the

courtyard area.

The cacti were blooming.

When we heard about the second delay,

we decided to get some food.

There was a grill restaurant that had a reasonable salad -

which I had with pretzels I brought with me.

Actually, now that I see it again, it was better than "reasonable"!

Eventually we got on the plane!

I bought some new wired headphones to listen on the plane -

and I got another pair for running.

I don't want the wifi in my ears/brain,

so while I run, I turn on airplane mode and use wires!

We got to Minnesota too late to get our rental car,

but a nice couple from Bemidji generously offered

to give us a ride up there!

Amazing. Minnesotans truly are kind!

It was chilly, but not cold.

It was dreary and I was hoping for more snow

(though no one else was!)

When we stopped at a gas station,

it was snowing a little bit - hooray!

There were flurries for the last bit of the trip up to Bemidji.
It was magical.
Look at those gorgeous frosted trees!

It was still snowing when we arrived.

It's been years since I wore my winter coat,

and I LOVE IT!

Snow makes me happy.

Greg's Mom is a thoughtful lady,

and she made us some tasty food.

Greg got a melted cheese sandwich.

She had some vegan cheese (Chao brand) for me to try,

and I was impressed by the taste and texture (though the ingredients

weren't great),

Here's a squirrel's track across the deck!

And look at the little domes of snow on the pillars.

Snow makes everything pretty.

In the morning, I was able to see icicles.
I can't remember the last time I've seen icicles!

They started melting immediately and all of them fell off before long

because it was warm (in the 40s).

Greg's sweet Mom made us tater tots in the morning

and we assembled a wonderful smoothie.

What a delicious breakfast!

We got dressed for the funeral.

Greg looked very handsome.

I had never worn this dress before,
and I am excited to wear it again. It's lovely.

It's twirly, too!

We needed to take more photos of and in the snow before we left.

The sky was bright blue and clear.

Off we went.

After the funeral, we went to the graveyard
for the burial.
Greg looked like James Bond.

You'll see in this photo a practical Minnesotan

and a high-heeled person who no longer lives in Minnesota.

I was somewhere in the middle.

We went back to the church for a nice lunch.

There were corned beef sandwiches on rye
with sour cream and potato chips.
Just like Grandma used to serve on Christmas Eve.

Greg's family is wonderful becasue they always have gluten-free options,

fruit, and veggies (as well as potato chips!)

With a few sides, I'm well-fed!

We went to Target to get some hair and skin care stuff . . .
we decided to share a suitcase and then realized that we only had
40 pounds (instead of 50) . . . so lots of things we could have taken
got left behind - shampoo, conditioner, face wash, make-up remover . . .
And it worked out just fine! I'm proud of us.

The snow in the Target parking lot was piled up high!
This amount of snow was from ONE SNOWSTORM.
All the rest of the snow from winter had already melted;
this snowstorm was a biggie!

Then we went to the grocery store for a few things.

I was getting pretty worn out by this time, so I was glad it was quick.

I loved being out and about in my pretty lace dress

and my polka-dot coat!

We had a little rest at Greg's Mom's house and then went over to Greg's Aunt Marj's and Uncle Andy's house for a farewell Grandma dinner.

Aunt Susie made this beautiful unstained stained glass hanging in their porch.
Wouldn't want to block the gorgeous view!

I re-learned how to play chicken foot dominoes,
thanks to Brandon (left of me) - thanks, Brandon!
You're a patient and encouraging teacher!

Those of us who are gluten-free got to go through the food line first

to avoid contamination. I was excited by the fruit salad and potato chips all over again.

We had a great time catching up with Greg's family members.

I got to spend some great time walking outside in the beautiful

chilly snowy starlight.

The next day we had a slow morning and had time to go to Giovanni's Pizza

for Greg's favorite pizza!

Again, the snow in the parking lot was piled up high.

Greg's Mom and me.

There's the gluten-free version!
I love it that they pile on the toppings.

There's Greg's!

Greg was taking this photo . . .
but his Mom forgot to smile!

After lunch, we went across the street to spend some time with Paul Bunyan
and Babe the blue ox.

We've never gotten a great photo with them, so I'm pretty
happy that we got at least this one.
I would've prefered no sunglasses, but it's always sunny when we're there!