Scrugg....Moge...Flubbel....

We spent the afternoon in Ikea. Towards the end we were not speaking, apart from making up shelving names. This is in spite of having the traditional Ikea row in the car-park before-hand, in order to get it out of the way. In spite of that, we've managed to get about a billion set of curtains (we suffer from a surfeit of open door-ways), a set of shelves, two sofas, a TV, TV-Stand, and, oh look, I've lost interest again.....

Beforehand, we popped next-door to the Mall of America to spoil T before the onslaught of what is Ikea-shopping-Madness by taking her on several rides. We also ate at the Napa Valey resto, which was particularly yummy, and the only place we have ever been to which has a proper children's menu (i.e. real meals, and not mac n cheese, chicken bits etc). We both had steak, eggs and potatoes (rib eye), and T had a three-course meal of celery and carrot, chicken pasta, and real vanilla ice-cream. It came to about $40, so not bad.

We also went to Fort Snelling, where I kept getting alarmed by actors leaping out at me in order to bow. I found myself bobbing towards the end, which never looks good in jeans. Very interesting though and worth the $10 entrance. Unfortunately, I forgot that it is one of the places you can get in for free if you go the local library before-hand.

One of the conversations had here, led me to examine the extremely warm coats options at the Mall. Some excellent ones for minus 20 degrees F for about $179 at Eddie Bauer (http://www.eddiebauer.com/home.jsp). The particularly spunky young officer in question was telling me that it gets so cold here, that you can take a cup of boiling coffee (would Ovaltine work?), throw it up into the air, and it will shatter when it hits the ground. Beats my story about frying eggs on Perth pavements hands-down.