[For days in advance, the weather outside was or was looking frightful. No specific celebratory plans were made. We wanted to remain fluid, to act on the moment. The moment came when our usual wining and dining venue advertised they were open and to come on down for a Bloody Mary or a mimosa. I was thinking mid-afternoon, but by the time the Super stopped receiving phoned birthday wishes the afternoon light had waned. Dinner, too? We drove downtown all the while thinking it’s a holiday night, few if any places were going to be open. It wasn’t. Thus, for the ride home, the last night to see the city’s decorations before they’re taken down . . . ]
[At Big Ole Park, above and below, it appears The Depot may have been open?]
[The car’s entertainment center (mostly totally beyond my comprehension) notes that we were listening to Gladys Knight on Siriusly Sinatra at 5:38 pm with a temperature of minus 7 . . . ]
[One last swing by Ole (the new and permanent water closets on the right) . . . ]
[As we drove away we thought we heard Ole murmur something about having to wear a miniskirt in these subzero temperatures . . . ]
[The holiday lights of Broadway will light no more until the day after the next Thanksgiving . . . ]
[The Legacy of the Lakes museum was looking festive . . . ]
[Icicles were on display . . . ]
[And the lights were on in the “new” museum building . . . ]
[Back home for the two-person party . . . ]
[Her annual birthday present of a fine champagne . . . ]
[Woo-woo! She was just happy to be dressed up . . . ]
[Warm up a little shepherd’s pie with a dinner salad and we were good to go . . . ]
[Happy Birthday and Happy New Year, my dear! (Different style glasses so we’d know whose was whose.]
They tell you that you’ll lose your mind when you grow older. What they don’t tell you is that you won’t miss it very much. ~ Malcolm Cowley
The Journey Begins
Thanks for joining me! This is the follow-up to the original, “alexandriacardinals.wordpress.com,” which overwhelmed the system’s ability to handle it any more. Thus, this is “Part 2.” As the original was initially described:
10-26-07-4
“It all began in a 5,000 watt radio station in Fresno, California” . . . wait a minute, that was Ted Baxter on the Mary Tyler Moore Show! Let’s see . . . oh yeah, it all began in 2003 when retirees, i.e., old people, in Alexandria, Minnesota, who had no desire to become snow birds, went looking for mid-winter entertainment here in the frozen tundra of West Central Minnesota. We discovered girls’ high school hockey, fell in love immediately, and it remains our favorite spectator sport to this day. Initially, and for several years, reports on these games were e-mailed to those who were actually snowbirds but wanted to keep abreast of things “back home.” It was ultimately decided a blog would be more efficient, and it evolved into a personal diary of many things that attracts tens of readers on occasion. It remains a source of personal mental therapy and has yet to elicit any lawsuits.
~ The Editor, May 9, 2014
p.s. The photo border around the blog is the Cardinal girls’ hockey team after just beating Breck for the state championship in 2008. It’s of the all-tournament team. The visible Breck player on the left is Milica McMillen, then an 8th-grader – she is now an All-American for the Gophers. The Roseau player in the stocking cap I believe is Mary Loken, who went on to play for UND; and the Cardinal player on the right, No. 3, is Abby Williams, the player we blame most for making us girls’ hockey fans who went on to play for Bemidji State.
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Photos contained herein are available for personal use. All you have to do is double click on any of the photos and they will become full screen size. You can then save them into your personal “My Pictures” file. They make lovely parting or hostess gifts, or holiday gifts for such as Uncle Ernie who wants to see how his grand niece is doing on the hockey team. If any are sold for personal profit, however, to, for example, the Audubon Society, National Geographic, Sven’s Home Workshop Monthly, Curling By The Numbers, or the World Wrestling Federation, I only request that you make a donation to the charitable organization of your choice. You have two hours and fifteen minutes. Pencils ready? Begin!
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alexandriacardinals2.wordpress.com 
Love that new jacket!!!
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Love all photos of tooling around Alex. on a nice and chilly night. Love the red jacket Ruthie!!! Great photos of you.
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