Skyway Wanderings

So sad that this turned out blurry. I'll have to go back and get another picture. A co-worker and i took a break from the action and did some wandering in the skyways. The first of many adventures i suspect. She wanted to see the Lumber Exchange building and so off we set. It allowed me some time to take more pictures of finer details of the building.

I think it great fun to go 'sploring with someone, particularly when they are just as interested in details as i am. We were completely fascinated by the wood doors in the building. The first picture above is a detail of the doorknob. Pretty cool and something you don't see as often. I'm surprised the knob wasn't worn smooth but it looks like the ridges have held up well over time.



The next thing that fascinated me about the door is the letter slot in it. I'll pause here for a minute and explain why the picture above looks the way it does. I have a toy camera app on my phone. I have been completely taken by it and i love how it transforms simple pictures into something even more interesting. The app has a few filters to choose from, or i can set it to random and it will select from the filters i have chosen for the random setting. As you can see, the above picture looks a bit greener than what the letter slot really is. Actually, now that i think about it, i used the app on the first pic. too.



The awesome thing about having someone with is that i have more courage to take pictures. For some reason i think i look less suspicious when i am with someone. I was very curious to see what lay beyond the letter slot in the door. So my co-worker held the letter slot open and i took a picture. Here's to peeking in!

p.s. i'll try to post more. i've lost my one hour in the a.m. to exercising again. The only hour i have in the day and i had to choose what to do, sit on the computer and get crap done, or take care of myself and get some much needed exercise. I chose the later for now. ;0)

Nice Day!

I actually took these pics. awhile ago. It was one of the first really nice days where it was sunny and no jacket was needed. It wasn't windy, it was just right. I'm sitting in front of the Mpls. library, right on the corner. Kitty-corner from where i'm sitting is my bus stop, just on the other side of Nicollet.



See? There i am. :)



This is an "up" shot of the library. It is just beautiful. I used to trek down here with a co-worker over lunch time. It was very relaxing to sit in there. I would sit on the third floor, by the windows facing 3rd st. I brought my diary and wrote in it. Not to mention the walk with a sane and reasonable person was a very much needed dose of "therapy". Basically, it was nice to have someone to talk to, and to forget about work for a bit (not that work is terrible, but you know what i mean).

I know, seems like a weird thing to write in a diary over lunch break, but it worked for me. The only problem was, it took 10 minutes to walk there and about 10 to walk back. Time was limited at the library.

If you haven't been to the library, i suggest you go. They have rooms with pianos in them. They have a room of moving bookshelves. They have great areas for sitting and reading or just relaxing (quietly). Their children's section is fun and inspiring. You should go! :) They have a gift shop and dunn brothers too.



Here is a shot of what i am sitting on. As i was sitting here, a guy came running behind me on the benches. You can barely see him at the top of the picture. He's in the white shirt. He's running on the cement "benches".



I'm looking to the left of me and here is the 3rd st. side of the library. Pretty nifty huh? Well, enjoy the weather my fellow Minnesotans. The outdoor stadium is beautiful, the smells are wonderful, the ballpark trash not-so-much wonderful, but the weather is something unarguable.

Macy's Flower Show Final

I liked this version of the mushroom better than the previous. I love seeing the little feet poking out from underneath. :) Who's under there??



I absolutely love this one. I wanted to somehow sneak this out of the show. A.) It's a little big B.) i think someone might notice me trouncing over beautiful flowers and trying unsuccessfully to pull this thing out of the ground. It's the minor details that prevent me from doing things.



At first when i saw this, i though, huh, that's cool. But then at second glance, i didn't realize this, but these planters are BALANCED on those tiny poles. I believe the planters themselves aren't probably heavy, but the plants and dirt must be. How in the world did they get those planters to balance? The bottoms aren't curved, so it's not like they are wrapped around the pole. The bottoms are flat! There are no bolts showing underneath indicating that they were bolted on. The poles are smooth. Was it liquid nails? If so, they did an excellent job of gluing as there are no signs of glue anywhere. So weird!

Today is the last day of the show. It's Sunday hours. Plain wisely if you were planning on seeing this. It not only looks pretty, it smells really good. It's not overwhelming at all.

Macy's Flower Show II

As promised, more pictures from the flower show. Hurry! It ends this Sunday the 11th! It smells wonderful up there. If you have allergies, take a pill, if you are allergic to smells, plug the nose. :)



I was talking with someone about this particular display. She said, it's things like this that make me want to actually climb up and try it out. It is very inviting isn't it?



These are little mushrooms with feet. Roses are poking out of them. I'm not so sure i'm crazy about this particular arrangement. These look more like noses....



This is my favorite! This little door. i wonder who lives in there? In talking with the same person mentioned above, she said, "see, this is something else i would want to explore. I want to climb right through that door to see what's on the other side." Very interesting perspective. I'm so busy looking at the details of the outside, i don't give a second thought about what's behind the door. Very interesting...

Here is the full shot of the scene with the little door. As you can see, the door is very tiny and would only allow a little elf through. Well, an elf that is about a foot high. Stay tuned for a few more pictures. After that.... i have gone absolutely nutso with a new app. the TOY camera... oh my. it IS as fun as it sounds.

Macy's Flower Show

Every year, Macy's (fka Marshall Field's) holds shows in their 8th floor auditorium. Typically one show in the winter and one show in the spring. My mom got me hooked on going to these shows. Since i work one building away from Macy's i typically visit the shows during a break. It really works out because at that time there aren't a lot of people there. During the weekends is when things get insane.

Anywho, i was able to make it to the flower show this year and take pictures. I loved the poster designed for this years show (as seen above). It's amazing how much effort is put into building the show not only inside the auditorium, but also the effort outside. The poster designs are amazing. It gets a person excited about seeing the show.

After traveling the escalator through unknown lands, i reach the 8th floor and the entrance to the auditorium. There is a long hall that has images of the current theme of the show. I think there has to be at LEAST 8 million layers of paint on these walls. Typically the images are hand painted on to the walls. This year, wall decals were used instead. Great idea, but the edges were starting to curl a bit.

After walking down the long hall, a person is sitting on a stool, keeping track of how many people are entering the show. I should pause here for a moment. Did i mention that this was free? All 8th floor auditorium shows are FREE! It's a great thing to do with the kids during the weekday. Okay, back to the show.

Bachman's designed the entire show. What's really cool, is it's not just flowers arranged nicely, there are also pretty cool scenes built as well. I thought this bee hive was pretty nifty. The bees are huge! It's really cool how set designs are incorporated into the design of the floral arrangements. Well, i suppose it could go either way. Stay tuned for more pictures. Due to the amount that i took, the posts will be flying now. :)