A very big Happy Birthday to my Mom! Doubly special that many of her sisters and her brother could come and celebrate with us! 🎂

Large multigenerational family group smiling outside a Taste of India restaurant on a birthday celebration outing.

Very happy that I found out you can get 12” firewood. This fits perfect in the sauna oven. Let it snow! 🥶🔥

Outdoor barrel sauna with transparent polycarbonate panels and wood-burning chimney, beside a rack stacked with split firewood, next to a gray garage.

Taking my (very dirty) boat in for the winter.

Pontoon boat approaching a white aluminum dock on a calm algae-covered pond with a lakehouse and trees in the background.

Chromatic firmware upgrade to 4.0! I love the retro vibe of the updater app. 🤩

ModRetro Chromatic system update screen showing firmware v3.2 with v4.0 available, featuring a pixelated yellow Game Boy-style handheld graphic.

Got my first immersive card in Pokémon TCG Pocket tonight — Pikachu ex. The videos for these are pretty cool.

John Prine had the answer to being “too online” before being online was even a thing.

Blow up your TV, throw away your paper,
Go to the country, build you a home,
Plant a little garden, eat a lot of peaches,
Try and find Jesus, on your own.

Spanish Pipedream released in 1971.

John Prine: Songs & Souvenirs

I never got a chance to see John Prine play. There is a list of bands that I really regret never seeing play live. Hüsker Dü is on it. So is The Replacements. And so is John Prine. When he passed away in 2020 I was sad that we lost such an amazing songwriter.

I don’t remember how I found John Prine but I know it was on a CD run that I picked up Great Days: The John Prine Anthology and listened to disc 1 of that set many, many times.

Jason Wilber and Dave Jacques both toured and played with John Prine for well over a decade. They took the stage at The Dakota and led a great evening through the Prine catalog and encouraged the audience to sing along the verses. It was a gift from them to us — to be able to hear those songs and enjoy the music even though Prine is gone.

They also raise funds for Prine’s Hello in There Foundation from each show. Wonderful stuff. 🎶

Two musicians perform on stage at Dakota jazz club, one playing acoustic guitar at a microphone, one playing electric bass guitar.
Painted wooden sign on an easel in a garden reading Be Brave Enough to Suck at Something New with colorful floral decorations on a black background

Climbing Stillwater’s Main Street Stairs.

Family of four taking a selfie at the base of a long outdoor staircase next to a brick building, trees visible at the top.Young person in a sweater and shorts descending long concrete outdoor stairs flanked by metal railings and lush green trees.

Off to Stillwater area this morning. Starting with breakfast at Mon Petit Chéri.

Storefront of Lift Bridge Cowork and Mon Petit Cheri Bakery and Kitchen on a sunny small-town main street with fall pumpkins and mums outside.