You can go home again!

Driving down Interstate 494 at dawn this morning I am filled with bittersweet emotions of the weekend. Large, lacy snowflakes are gently falling. The roads are slightly slippery as Dave and I approach the Minneapolis airport. We pass all the familiar landmarks that once were so common that you didn’t really pay any attention to them. REI’s rock wall, Best Buy headquarters and the Hyland’s ski jump. We notice they have finally replaced the Humphrey and Lindberg Terminal signs with signs that are actually helpful to non-Minnesotans indicating which terminals the airlines are based. This is progress.

I rendezvoused with Dave this weekend for a quick trip back to the old stomping grounds. Our dear friend Norrie (the christener of Epi Telos) recently moved into a charming new home affectionately named Stonehouse for its beautiful cobbled exterior and was hosting her first party. No one would ever guess that she just moved in a month ago, as everything is in place in her cozy cottage. If you did not know better, you would guess you were in some lovely English countryside waiting to host Miss Marple for tea with one of the many teapots Norrie has collected over a lifetime.

Norrie is famous for her dinner parties. There is always a mix of interesting people sitting around a beautiful dining room table feasting on endless bounty. As bad luck would have it, she developed a nasty cold just days before and probably would have rescheduled the evening if we had not flown in for the occasion. I volunteered to do most of the cooking and prepared a meal similar to one we offered at our Per Cazo Cellars’ New Release party – Roast Pork Loin with Plum sauce, Couscous with pine nuts and scallions and a colorful green bean stir-fry side dish. We reconnected with the Chandlers who recently survived a very scary accident and Jack and Barb Strothman who usually would be in Sanibel by now. We got better acquainted with Norrie’s friend and fellow pharmacist Lowell and his fascinating wife Cathy who is involved with the national bone marrow registry. Dave’s colleague from the old PCS days, Suzanne (also a pharmacist) and her husband Paul brought a decadent Red Velvet dessert that literally was the icing on the cake. Delicious! It was a delightful evening that will linger in my memory when I am feeling nostalgic for the snowy Minnesota winters.

Saturday was a busy day catching up with friends. We started at Starbucks where we met up with our realtor to strategize how to finally sell the house. It was decided that a new St. Joseph statue might be necessary and spent the next few hours trying to remember where Catholic bookstores where located. No luck, ok, let’s try Christian bookstores. No Joe, but the clerk offered the suggestion that he thought one could be found at Ace Hardware. After a few phone calls we tracked down the last one at the Ace in Uptown Minneapolis. Amazing what you can find in a hardware store.
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We headed back to the old neighborhood to bury St. Joseph in the snow bank by the “For Sale” sign. First, we checked in for a quick visit with our dear neighbors Bart and Norma Muldowney. We shared a glass of wine toasting to their good fortune of the arrival of the soon-to-be born first grandchild, Christina’s upcoming marriage and their last daughter heading off to Notre Dame next fall. We also drank to the Lattan family cookbook fresh off the press. Norma comes from a large Italian family full of great cooks. We have had the privilege of sharing many meals together with her sisters and brother including a week together in Italy when Dave and I crashed the family reunion. My autographed copy identifies me as an honorary Italian sister. I am very honored.

We went next door and I finally met the great family who is renting our house. Knowing they are red wine drinkers, we introduced them to our Rhone wine, Epi Telos. We got acquainted with their daughter, son and two adorable dogs as we shared a glass of vino together. They love the house and if they weren’t pouring a lot of money and love into renovating their Country Club home, they would seriously consider staying put. So, the next best thing is having Cathy and Tim eagerly raving about the house to any perspective buyer.

We ended our evening reminiscing about the glory days at our close friends Ward and Cathleen Godsall. Joining us was Kris Newcomer who is one of the original fab four. Let me explain. When we first moved to Edina, we joined a nearby church where Cathleen immediately took us under her wing. We quickly integrated our family into their circle of closest friends. Once upon a time, there were four families who entertained, traveled, prayed and raised our children together. Life got in the way but Cathleen and Ward were always there as the anchor of the group. Still are. I don’t know how many wonderful dinners Dave and I have enjoyed there but tonight’s was just as special, maybe more, since distance prohibits more evenings like this one.

It was a very quick trip and time did not allow us to reconnect with everyone we would have wanted to visit. I am sure there will be many more trips back to the Twin Cities but until the next one, I will be content to remember this one.

We barely have time to recover as we head out again on Tuesday. This time we are traveling to Hong Kong where we will spend Chinese New Year with our oldest daughter, Meg and her boyfriend Andy. We will blog more from there but for now I am ready to head back to California and enjoy the new lives we are building under the Paso sun.