Play time at the Northfield Rambler

Our niece Hannah spent the whole weekend with us!

Her favorite activities were ice skating, reading stories, attending a formal dinner, and dancing at the ball with Uncle Kevin and Aunt Stace.


Here's Hannah at the formal dinner.













Here Aunt Stace reads a story to Hannah and our friend Lucy.

Posted by Stace
We are a pasty white, lumpy people. Well, I can’t speak for all, but those of us at the Northfield Rambler certainly are. In light of this, Kevin and I are talking about joining a gym - with the real intention of one day doing so. In addition to this, we are slowly beginning to talk about dietary changes. Kevin kicked it off when he mentioned that he might like to cut out dairy. Now, let me tell you that I have been down this road before with lovely results - but I will not lie to you, this is not an easy path to take. Cutting out dairy will do wonderful, amazing things like eliminate phlegm, help one lose weight, and make that whitish eye goop be a thing of the past! And, it can make you cranky like nobody’s business when you start reducing ice cream, the yummy yogurts, and start eating the *gasp* non-dairy cheeses. The honest to goodness reality is this: I lost weight when I significantly reduced dairy in large part because the non-dairy stuff wasn’t nearly as tasty, and I simply ate less. (But you still cannot beat the absence of phlegm and eye goop…)
So, we are relatively committed. We are slowly reducing the amount of our dairy consumption. I say “slowly” because we are newly married, and I would hate for our relationship to come crashing down around us due to the lack of lactose and the prickly behaviors associated with that. We are drinking soy (except in my coffee - because if I have to live that way I might as well just end it all). We are exploring more vegetarian options. We are beginning to de-sugar the house (not entirely, but the only way to get over the cravings is to get rid of the sugar). And, most importantly, we are beginning to stay away from hydrogenated oils. “Fantastic,” you might think. “Your hearts will love you for it,” you might say. Well, sure. We are all for it, but here’s the deal. I had my 2 snacks of Cheez-It’s and graham crackers in the grocery store cart yesterday, then thought, “oh, I need to check for hydrogenated oils,” and both snacks went back on the shelf. Kev checked his natural chips and he got to keep them. We checked out Orville’s microwave popcorn while holding our collective breath, saying a silent prayer, and yea, we got to keep that. I trudged over to the slim pickings in the health food aisles and found the equivalent of graham crackers and Cheez-It’s in the smaller packages for twice the cost, and tossed them in the cart.
And so we begin our journey of detoxification, which from past experience I know will get easier and easier with time. In the meantime, however, we search the pantry for something “good” understanding that behind us on the island sit apples and quickly browning bananas. That there is a red pepper and carrots and hummos in the fridge - and yes, that makes a yummy snack. I have to continue to remind myself that today healthy foods taste way better than in the past when only Oatscream and Tofutti were the ice cream choices, and we have to just be vigilant in our choice to boycott anything hydrogenated. I have to go eat my graham crackers now.

The place we live.

Posted by Kevin.......

There is a chance that when I walk to the store to get the Sunday newspaper, I may die.

Where we live, daily life continues undaunted regardless of the weather conditions.

With the temperature bottomed out at 15.7 degrees below zero Fahrenheit (and a wind chill of 30 below zero), I dressed warmly and said goodbye to Stace as I embarked on a journey of self fulfillment and determination.

Mostly, I wanted the Sunday coupons.

As I set out, I discovered that what was to be a major expedition to the grocer was infact a tranquil walk in the crisp and clean Minnesota air, and the surprising warmth of the early morning sun.

With a newspaper successful obtained, I began the 3/4 mile return walk home. With the wind now at my back, I was a little too warm. I removed my face cover and sunglasses.

I felt the cold air as it entered my nose, ran down my chest and into my lungs.

In some parts of the country, people can't leave there homes because of crime.

We have something special here in Minnesota. We do not fear the harshness of winter. We embrace it. We ice fish. We cross country ski. We snow mobile. And I'm sure this morning there were runners and walkers out and about, feeling cold air seeping in through any tiny gap in their expensive protective clothing.

This is the place we live.

http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/02/02/travel/escapes/02adventurer.html