December 1 Snow

After a couple of "flurry events" that brought falling flakes but no accumulation, December 1 brought us the real thing. Here are a few photos from about 10:00 a.m. Saturday morning, towards the beginning of the snow that fell all day.

Now that the Twin Cities have mostly dug themselves out, we're slated to get another five or so inches today. Should be particularly interesting in that this will be the first real snow scheduled to arrive during a rush hour.

Flashback to Fall: Photos from Early October

Now that we've had our first big snow of the year, I'm realizing how delinquent I was in posting photos from the fall. It really was a lovely autumn in Minnesota.

Here's George showing his first fall colors.

Our beautiful birch tree out front.
We really should have made time to get to these leaves earlier in the season, but at least the fire keeps the patio palatable even in early October.

Not Jo, too!

“Johan, don’t let the door hit you on the way out,” read the opening sentence of a brief editorial in today’s Strib. “And the same holds true for Joe Nathan and anyone else the Twins can deal.”

I moaned. More “we’re better off without ‘em” crap, like we saw with Torii?

But no. The piece continued:

Don’t get me wrong – these guys are class acts. But the greatest pitcher of his generation and one of the best relievers in the game deserve big money and, more importantly, a shot at a World Series ring. With the Twins, they’ll get neither. Not with this owner [Carl Pohlad, aka (in my house) "Mr. WhytheHellIsn’tHeDeadYet!"].

The conclusion: “And please, don’t trade Santana to the Yankees. I want to be able to root for him.”

Couldn’t have said it better myself.

The All-Day Nap

This cat has achieved what may just be my perfect day -- shown below in time-lapse.

Say It Ain't So, To

Oh, Laura sad.

But Laura's also quite mad about this whole thing. Why?

For one thing, the "fans" are simply tearing Torii apart for this, calling him "greedy" and "disloyal." WTF?!? Yes, baseball players do get paid obscene amounts, but that's griping about the game, not this player. And as anyone who's ever had a well-paying but hellacious job can tell you, money is rarely reason enough to take or keep a gig. Far more important are feeling valued and having a solid future. The Twins have clearly demonstrated that they're not prepared to give Torii either of those things.

But the Angels are. They've signed Sweetcheeks for five years (while the Twins were only willing to go to three), but even more important, they're committed to building a team that has a real shot. The Twins don't seem to be interested in that route, preferring instead to save money and skip the quest for glory.

Now, if you wanted nothing in life more than to be a Broadway actor, would you take a job in Albuquerque? Hell, no! You'd go to NYC. So if Torii wants to chase a championship, why Earth would he stay here when he can work for someone who'll put his money where his mouth is?


On that note, compare the net worths of Angels owner Art Moreno ($1.2 billion) and Twins owner Carl Pohlad ($2.6 billion). Granted, it's always easier to spend someone else's money, but Carl's got plenty of it and if he's not willing to invest in the Twins, then maybe he shouldn't own them. Maybe he should leave baseball altogether and go back to (as one of his former part-time employees explains it) making inappropriate comments to his female staffers instead.

Oh, Torii, you'll always be my first baseball boyfriend. We'll miss you.