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I promise that all of the photos from Minnesota will be up today.

I also wanted to let you know that I saw two people from my new favorite show, Modern Family.

Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Reid Ewing

If you have not watched the show, which I think is a huge mistake, you can find some episodes online at abc.com and hulu

List items 3 & 4

Grills make me thankful that I am not a vegetarian, I know that sounds awful, but they do. The only thing I do not like about living in my fantastic apartment is that I no longer have an outside space to cook. So when I have the opportunity to have bbq-ed meats I do. The closest thing in LA I have that tastes like it has been cooked outside (well, now that I think about it, it has) Is the Brazilian place in the Farmer's Market called Pampas Grill. My mom makes some great Bbq-ed chicken.

Seeing lightning bugs. I guess it is just a Spring thing. I didn't see any.

before I forget-sightings

Last Wednesday I had the pleasure of seeing restored Charlie Chaplin films at the Silent Movie Theater. This was my first experience seeing a Chaplin film, I know shocking since I am such a movie nerd. The films we saw were:

The Idle Class and City Lights. Both fantastic and very funny. Can't wait to go and see more.

Also there I saw Jason Ritter, who you may know from a tv show called The Class, which I kind of liked, a new show coming out called "the Event" and a little film with my very first boyfriend called "The Perfect Age of Rock and Roll" His Dad is also the late John Ritter.

I am kicking myself, because I didn't go...because I came back to LA and got a very nasty cold that left me incapacitated for a couple days, but I had an invitation to the opening of Kat Von D's gallery called Wonderland. You may have heard about her first Red Carpet appearance with her new beau Jesse James. (Who I am sure you have heard about by now)

I was just too sick and would have been fine just looking at the art, but all of the photogs, the taping of two reality shows and the desire to be on, would have been just a little too much.

Oh well, there is always next time.

Items 5 & 6

I did walk in the rain for a minute on my way around Lake Calhoun, just a few sprinkles and no thunder and lighting but I was hoping. I did hear rain and thunder and lighting up north as well as saw the glimmers of the later, but didn't see the light show I wanted simply because there are too many trees. Which is hardly a complaint.

So kind of a check and check.

photos and more photos

As you will see from the photostream I am very excited about my new camera. I have posted so many new photos that I have maxed out my flickr account, which forced me to upgrade. I will post more once my account is fully upgraded.

Until then enjoy.

List item 2-Walk around one of the MPLS chain of lakes

The first true sign of summer in Minneapolis, was your first walk around one of the Minneapolis chain of Lakes (Harriet, Calhoun, Isles) A time to shed your parkas and show your fish belly white legs and arms and see people you could hardly recognize under scarves, hats, mittens, etc.

Even though it was overcast and raining a bit, I had to walk around Calhoun, especially after stuffing myself full of Punch Pizza (I know, not gluten free, but an essential part of the lake walk experience)

It was nice to walk and talk with my friend Janie who is an excellent tour guide and took me to some of our old haunts, the Nicollet Mall farmers market, and to see how much Uptown has changed. The restaurant I used to work at is gone, the Uptown Bar is now the largest Apple store in the US, Calhoun Square is a ghost town.

It's true, you can never go home again.

The picture above is a view of the mpls skyline from Calhoun and is one of the last photos taken from the camera I got 6 years ago. It had been with me in France, Italy, Minneapolis, New York, San Francisco, Monaco, Bryce Canyon, Zion.... but it is starting to turn everything blue.

I bought a new camera on this trip and it is fantastic, can't wait to show you all of the photos.

List item number 1-See family of course

The majority of my ten day vacation was seeing family, of course. It has been way too long since seeing NoNo, especially with the baby model photos, I needed to see all of that beautifulness with my own two eyes.

(um could she be any happier)

I was in town for my mom's birthday. Where we ate a Florio's of course. (where the fried chicken rival's Rooks)



I had a brief foray into camping and actually cooked my own hot dog on a stick. (Gasp!)And camping calls for the Johnsons and Pearsons of course.




Then as I was leaving I had the opportunity to see Reeeda, Er-ee, Arne and Carol for a nice lunch where we ate until we were in food comas and yelled "We love you guys" and followed them down the driveway waving goodbye like good Minnesotans of course.



I did miss seeing Evan just by three days, which is a bummer of course.