Butter Queen

It's tough to choose one image to sum up the Minnesota State Fair. Here, in a rotating refrigerated stage, one of the "Princess Kay of the Milky Way" dairy princesses has her head carved into a 90 pound block of butter. She is surrounded by the butter busts of the rest of the royal court. The princesses get to take their butter heads home with them. I understand it's popular to have a big corn roast and invite all the neighbors to lop off an ear or nose.

Swingers

Not a great iPhone pic. Visiting a friend's newborn. The father entertains Ellen for a bit in the backyard.

A thousand miles from the ocean

Another food pic. Here's the menu board from Sea Salt, a seafood-oriented snack pavilion in the Minnehaha Falls park. They get the freshest seafood available from air freight and turn it into tacos, crab cakes, crawfish po' boys, and other nice things. This is an unusual endeavor in the middle of the country.

Treats

I seem to have taken a lot of food pictures recently. This is a small selection of the pastry case at a French bakery. Oodles of yummy treats. I was just there to get a croissant for breakfast.

Rude awakening

So I pulled off the Interstate to get some coffee. I'm idling at a red light when the semi driver behind me decides that the light had turned green. It hadn't. This may be the first recorded battle of semi vs. Prius.

After party

Unconscious flower girls crashed out at the reception.

Flowers

Could the flower girls be any cuter? Or any more trouble? They needed to be on leashes because they were constantly plotting to make a break for it.

Rehearsal

Wedding rehearsal. Empty chairs make geometric forms.

Resting

Wisconsin interstate rest stop. On my way to Chicago for my brother's wedding.

God's waiting room

Being unemployed does give me a little peek at a world I never knew. Go to any McDonald's, Panera, or other cheap breakfast hangout on a weekday after 9 AM. The commuters and early risers are gone, and the place fills up with senior citizens nursing their (discounted) coffees and talking politics. Or the economy. Or sometimes just very crudely flirting with each other.

They never notice me there. I'm an intruder in their world.

First haircut

Just a little trim in preparation for my brother's wedding. She didn't mind the haircut at all. (This is the "before" picture.)

Pretty cars all in a row

A few Priuses hanging out at the Toyota dealership.

Final approach

We live so close to the airport that we're used to this. Here's a Northwest A320 zooming by the park.

Painted Lady

An ice cream cone painted on her face is almost as good as the real thing.

She loves the "samples" at the grocery store. Aged goat cheese dipped in aniseed honey? Gimme gimme!

Jumpin', jumpin'

Happy Toddler Daycare Jumper Day!!

That's what I'd call it if this was a Japanese game show.

Basket case

Pirate is bigger than he thinks he is.

Eat at Lou's

Chicago's famous Lou Mitchell's (as featured on Top Chef) for breakfast. The famous "pure filtered water" is used to make the extra-strong, extra-hot coffee.

Bachelor

My brother's bachelor's party. There he is in front of the beer trolley, wearing a tiara, chatting up one of the girls we picked up.