Lilydale Park is West of downtown St. Paul and on the other side of the river. There used to be houses in the little town of Lilydale which is right on the flood plane. The houses are long gone but you can see parts of foundations and old driveways in the woods. Some of the flowers in the gardens survived too.MORE »
It is nice to see homes being fixed up. There is a low interest loan program through Historic Saint Paul for people who want to fix up homes built before 1940. There are guidelines and rules but it is worth a look. MORE »
I have been gardening most of my life in St. Paul Minnesota. Sure were are having a super warm and early spring but starting a garden now is risky. Twenty years ago the common wisdom was to put the plants out and plant the warm weather crops at the end of May.MORE »
Signage issues and laws can really get people riled up. We lived with a really ugly sign close by for many years. It was in front of a tire shop. The sign was removed after a lengthy battle and we all did the happy dance. It was too tall to be in a residential area and it was ugly. In some cities there are signs every where and in others there are very few.MORE »
I remember when Cossetta's was a small an Italian grocery store on Ryan and what is now Eagle street in St. Paul. It is a family owned business started in about 1911. They moved to West 7th street 25 years ago. Both of my children had jobs there at one time or another and jobs are a good thing.MORE »
Hogs ground hogs day. I feel like celebrating the mild winter we have had. It has been good for business and the heating bills have been significantly lower than last years.MORE »
The Winter Carnival parade was cold. I am just starting to feel my toes but it was also good for business. The bars and restaurants along West 7th Street were packed full of people all day. We should have more parades.
Making resolutions for the new year is easy but sticking with them isn't so easy. Again this year one of my resolutions was to get rid of stuff that I don't need. I have been making at least one trip a week to the St. Vincent de Paul thrift store on West 7th street and have been dropping off a few items each time.MORE »
