Skol!

I often find myself repeating the old line about "the best laid schemes o' mice an' men" while shaking my head about something in my life that I could never have contemplated just a year and change ago. Of course, although I'm fond of old Burns, the rest of the poem is depressing-- and does anybody really know what "gang aft agley" means? I guess I just mean that life has lots of twists and turns and surprises, and most of the time they make me smile. But also shake my head.

This weekend the moment hit me as I was bundling up against the chilly Minnesota wind, having sat outside the metrodome downing 16 oz. cans of Miller Lite with other green- and purple- clad revelers for the better part of the day. I am a Vikings fan by marriage, it seems. I was still reeling from the purchase of the deep freezer and the fact that I was now the proud owner of a cookbook featuring elk meat. And now, somehow, Seth had gotten me out of my cute new oatmeal raglan sweater (worn with knee high boots) and into a garish purple and yellow sweatshirt that actually laced up the neck, a bad replica of some imagined Viking maiden garb of yore. He himself was wearing a purple jersey and matching hat. The face paint, I admit, was all my idea. When in Rome...

 

Don't get me wrong. We love our football in Southern California. But it's a much more... civilized proposition. And it's definitely warmer.

 

At any rate, we did have a terrific weekend in Minneapolis. I seriously- and somewhat secretly- love that town. Well, actually, St. Paul. It's beautiful and friendly. We got to enjoy the tail end of fall foliage season, and were blessed with sunny, above-freezing weather. I ran a local 5k around beautiful Como Lake that reminded me why I used to love road racing, so friendly and enjoyable was the event. (Try finding one of those in DC!) We LOVED getting to hang out with Jayne, although Tony's absence due to late-season bean combining (I think I got that right) couldn't help but put a damper on things. (I really did score in the in-law department in a major way.) Seth got his cheese curd fix, and thanked me with a stop at lululemon, and Jayne finally broke her very-impressive beer fast. I was reminded that I love Grain Belt beer, and discovered coal-fired pizza. Oh, and we got to catch up with Seth's buddy John, who was with him in the blast in Afghanistan, and his brother Danny, who had provided us with the tickets (so we tolerated their Packers allegiance and corresponding gear.) A good time was definitely had by all.
 

Until I woke up Monday morning an hour after our early-morning flight to DC was supposed to have departed. Seth and I spent the better part of the day at the Minneapolis airport, me hoping fervently that I would not be reported AWOL. (I wasn't. Although it was threatened. I think jokingly.) Thank goodness MSP has the nicest USO on the planet. It wasn't a bad day of playing hooky after all, although I'll be working late every night this week to make up for it.

 

Oh. And the Vikings lost. I'm pretty sure this surprised no one but Seth. He did not take it well.

 

Photo of the week (taken right after the devastating, if unsurprising, loss.) Better luck next year, Vikings. Or do they say skol?