What we did, read, watched and thought about this month.

Todd R.: We dove headfirst into the first two seasons of The Shield, which has not aged as well as The Sopranos or Breaking Bad but still provides an interesting final installment of the three great dramas that featured hopelessly flawed and corrupt men claiming they make decisions in order to protect their families.  Offspring #4 came home, and I showed him The French Connection, which is one of the three movies of the late ‘60’s and early 70’s that made Gene Hackman into a star. Then he headed to London, while we headed to Hibbing, leading us to Boomtown Brewery and Sportsman’s Cafe. But the locals assure me we have only just begun to sample the good restaurants up there.  In a couple of weeks, we will hit the Detroit Lakes area, and that might require a side trip to Spanky’s Stone Hearth in Vergas.

Rich: The warmest February on record made Minnesotans almost forget Winter! NOT! We are just glad to have a break from harsh Winter; we know Winter will return.

Kari and I took a six-day vacation to Scottsdale where it was colder than usual, but we were able to enjoy a fun resort and recharge. I also took long weekend golf trips to Scottsdale and Florida.

However, the most thought-provoking event in February was attendance at Dial M for Murder at the Guthrie. It prompted me to reflect on the Pandemic and its effect on our lives. For the first time since the pandemic, it felt normal and wonderful to be in a crowded theatre sharing a wonderful performance. That’s something we took for granted before COVID-19. It will be years before we fully understand the pandemic’s impact on humans and our society, but it certainly has enhanced my appreciation of being with other people and enjoying their company.

Todd S.: Well, our son Dalton survived three rounds at the Minneapolis Public Schools district spelling bee before “elocution” knocked him out. Since then, we found out that he has qualified for the regional spelling bee, so more practice sessions await. We shall dub him, “Sir Spells-A-Lot.” Beyond that, I managed to squeeze in the series remake of Mr. and Mrs. Smith – interesting, modern take that might be worth your time if you seek a little escapism. The lead actors are terrific. The dudes and I went to see Madame Web – not the best, but not sure it deserves the social media wrath it has endured. Beyond that, I’m spending most of my spare time asking long-time Minnesotans if they have experienced a winter like this one. So far, it’s unanimous – this one is (very) different.

Jodi: I quite literally rolled into February, using a scooter as my primary mode of transportation as I recover from a broken fibula. Needless to say, it’s been a stay-at-home month for me. I have spent an inordinate amount of time watching old episodes of Jeopardy on Pluto TV, playing Yahtzee and Quixx, and watching nature documentaries. Night on Earth, Our Planet and Hummingbird were a few good finds. I am a bit in awe of the hummingbird. I finished reading The Heaven & Earth Grocery Story by James McBride. A must-read! I also enjoyed City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert and the light-hearted and what could be a rom-com in the making, The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston. I introduced my husband to Mama’s Pizza in Saint Paul, which brought back a few memories of lunch hours and late nights from my time working at the Minnesota House of Representatives.

Sean: 2024 continues to fly, keeping me busy both at work with the start of the legislative session and at home, with some family getaways and what feels like a new sickness running through our household every other week (likely brought on by James’ daycare). We were able to escape up to Michigan for a snowboarding trip with Rosie’s family and decided to stay an extra night to catch the Super Bowl, which did not disappoint. Wasn’t rooting for the Chiefs, but I’m proud of myself for resisting bets from my brothers-in-law to go big on the Niners.

We wrapped up True Detective, Night Country on HBO, which seemed to get worse by the episode. I also just started Shogun on FX – a little special treat for myself when Rosie is working the night shifts at Chidren’s Hospital.

James is inching ever close to walking, one big grunt and occasional fall at a time. He’s learned to navigate the stairs – a feat I’m simultaneously proud and fearful of. I was able to drag him to a handful of political fundraisers, starting him off early. I’m beginning to learn that bringing a baby to events is the ultimate social hack. He makes for an automatic conversation starter and no one judges me when I leave earlier than planned.

Looking forward to continued productivity as we head into March… just hoping it slows down a little bit!

Anna: I spent much of this dreamily warm February at the park with Owen, who is walking and getting faster every day. I enjoyed a stained glass class at The Artery Studio in Ramsey, which exercised my creativity in such a fun way – and gave me a lovely red cardinal to hang in my window. I devoured Forsaken Country, one of the latest mystery novels from one of my must-read authors, Allen Eskens. Ike and I finished the latest season of the show that makes us cry almost every episode – All Creatures Great and Small. I highly recommend it for a storyline that’s like a three-course meal of comfort food. Speaking of comfort food – I couldn’t let winter pass (even a mild one) without making my family’s recipe for homemade macaroni and cheese.

Meredith: For Christmas this year, my cousin bought me one of those “diamond painting” kits where you place small colored jewels down on a sticky design similar to paint by numbers. While I initially thought it would irk me to have to individually place so many small diamonds, I found that working on the kit while watching TV is surprisingly relaxing. They do, however, take forever to complete. The first one took me nearly 30 hours to complete, and I am keeping that pace for the second one. The biggest downsides to the kits are you have to focus on what you are doing, and my kitten is intrigued as I shake the jewels in a tray to get them to face right-side-up. She doesn’t seem to understand that if she paws at the diamonds, they go flying. Nor does she get that she can’t lay on the sticky design, so it has been an interesting task to complete without being ambushed by her curiosity. If you are someone who enjoys arts and crafts or filling in adult coloring books, I would recommend trying one of these kits.

Cullen: February was filled with sports. I joined an indoor soccer league with a couple of friends on a whim, which has quickly become a highlight of my weekends. My gym also introduced me to the wonderful world of racquetball, which is scratching my racket-sport itch until the weather warms enough for me to get back out on the tennis/pickleball courts. The way this winter has gone, that might not be long! Lauren and I also made it to Wisconsin basketball games for both the men’s and women’s teams, which only made me more excited for March Madness.

The Priory of the Orange Tree might be my favorite high fantasy I’ve ever read, though I’m not planning to make 880-page novels a habit. March’s reads will be All of Us Villains and potentially This Is How You Lose The Time War, if I can get to it.

Alida: This month started off strong—I got to see Minneapolis local Dan Wilson perform live on the 2nd at the Women’s Club. It was fun to hear his versions of songs that he’s written for popular artists, including “Treacherous” by Taylor Swift and  “Someone Like You” by Adele. A day later, I celebrated my mom’s birthday with a delicious dinner at Restaurant Alma, followed by a walk around this year’s Luminary Loppet on Lake of the Isles. Sadly, the cross-country ski race itself couldn’t happen on the lake this year due to unusually warm weather, but the Loppet Foundation still managed to turn Lake of the Isles into a winter wonderland, with 1,200 candlelit luminaries and a variety of ice sculptures lining the walking path. The rest of February was mostly uneventful, besides the obvious and exciting affair of starting my new job at Rapp Strategies!

Colette: I will call February the month of culinary exploration. A few batches of chocolate-covered strawberries were called for to celebrate Valentine’s Day, but my favorite new meal was salmon with artichoke orzo. This meal was a perfect blend of Mediterranean flavors with the comfort of a hot meal. I opted to serve it with a side of parmesan asparagus. Other exciting adventures from the month included visiting my sister at Iowa State University, highlighted by a stroll around the butterfly wing of Reiman Gardens.

Madison: February was filled with firsts for me - my first full month back to grad school after winter break and the first day of my new position at Rapp Strategies! Starting as an Assistant Account Executive has been a wonderful experience, filled with great opportunities and learnings.

In my free time this month, I've been on a reading frenzy and got to the third book in the A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J Maas. I also finished the latest season of True Detective - a must-watch for everyone. Overall, it has been a month of catching up and finding my bearings.

Alex: February began with a week-long trip to Savannah with Molly and her family. Tourism was at its peak as we enjoyed day-long trolley tours, a ‘haunted’ pub crawl, walking through cemeteries (including seeing John Mercer’s grave!), going inside the many different historic buildings and homes and getting to try delicious food that you just can’t match in Minnesota. I also convinced her family to watch the Super Bowl with me as I rooted for the losing team for another consecutive year, but that’s okay, I’m used to losing because of a certain northern team.

As soon as I got home, Molly and I packed up our bags and moved to St. Paul where we will try to live up to my stepfather’s legacy by taking care of his cats and enjoying his home. It won’t be easy as we are now living with five… yes five cats in total. Make your jokes now, but I am fully embracing the crazy cat lady persona. Plus, it will be nice to know we will never have a mice problem.