Caring Bridge

Back in 1997, Sona Mehring of Eagan created the first CaringBridge website during a friend's high-risk pregnancy. Since then, it has become widely known for the creation and implementation of "Compassion Technology" that facilitates convenient communication for people receiving care, often individuals struggling with cancer, trama, hospice or high risk pregnancies. Their current 40 Eagan employees work with a mission which reaches out in all 50 states & over 200 countries. With 10,000 people per day being diagnosed with cancer or a severe injury, etc., they feel they are only reaching 2% of those people. Spread the word about this great website resource!
"Connecting family and friends when health matters most."

Congratulations to Sona, Founder & Executive Director, and her team for making a difference!

Think Summer ...

Walking around Home Depot lately, I spotted these riding lawn mowing tractors. It got me thinking: it would have to be much warmer outside, we'd have to have green grass and it would have to be May...

No boys allowed!

Our French friend, Isabelle from Angers, came over for a Sunday afternoon visit with her three daughters, Albane, Aleanor and Aurore. Our three daughters enjoyed a yummy chocolate turtle cake with them before playing out in our backyard!

Earth hour 2010

At 8:30 PM * on Saturday night * 27 March 2010, we turned off all our lights, our computer, tv and stereo. Our family ate a late dinner by candlelight to observe the global "Earth hour 2010."

About Earth hour: On Earth Hour, hundreds of millions of people around the world will come together to call for action on climate change by doing something quite simple—turning off their lights for one hour. The movement symbolizes that by working together, each of us can make a positive impact in this fight, protecting our future and that of future generations.

70th B-day @ Jensen's

My father-in-law celebrated his 70th birthday with the whole Lee family gathered for dinner at Jensen's Supper Club in Eagan. Tasty drinks, delicious food and wonderful family time were enjoyed in a beautiful restaurant. The photo was taken before our food arrived.

Getting married?

On Sunday afternoon, lots of brides-to-be and young couples came to the Wedding Expo at the Eagan Community Center. Wedding planners, cake bakers, tuxedo rental consultants, caterers, limo drivers and others offered their information and suggestions to those planning to say, "I do."

A bridge over troubled water

We drove north out of Eagan on Highway 35E and parked overlooking the mighty Mississippi River. Strolling across the St. Paul bridge, we saw the severely flooding waters over the riverbanks past the trees which normally form the edge's border.

The St. Paul Pool & Yacht Club, opened on May 1, 1956, seems to be swimming in murky water! The flood waters are now at 19 feet above flood level. In 2001, the waters reached 23.4 feet, in 1997 up to 26 feet and back in 1965 hit the 26 feet mark, too.

Drinking Summit beer for charity

The Minneapolis Rotaract Club hosted their first annual fundraiser at the Summit Brewery in St. Paul on Thursday, March 18 to benefit a women's facility in Managua, Nicaragua. Over 100 Rotaracters, Rotarians and other guests gathered for locally brewed Summit beer, a mashed potato & beef buffet with a dessert bar, silent auction and $5 red brick donation board. It was a smashing success and someone had to help drink that beer!

Eagan dog series #19

Dave Kettering and his Siberian Samoyed dog, Sasha, visited us at our weekly Eagan Rotary club lunch meeting. Sasha, 9 years old, loves peanut butter and winter. Sasha works as a therapy dog doing 3 things:
1. Animal assisted activities: nursing home visits, reading with kids, etc.
2. Animal assisted therapy: speech, physical and occupational
3. Crisis therapy after: floods, tornadoes, big accidents

www.mntherapyanimals.com

Vespers with Viking Chorus

The Viking Chorus, male Freshmen students from St. Olaf College, led the Lenten Vespers/ Evening Prayer service at our Gloria Dei Lutheran church on Sunday evening. Dr. Christopher Aspaas '95, Assistant Professor of Music, directs the chorus of almost 75 voices.

Soggy Black Dog Road

The Minnesota River in our area is normally at 696 feet above sea level. With the record snowfall this winter, the Spring flooding has began. The city of Burnsville, our neighboring suburb, closed Black Dog Road from Highway 35W to Eagan on Monday. We went to see it for ourselves on Saturday afternoon. This road, which runs alongside the Minnesota River, will remain closed until further notice. If the water level reaches 710 feet, then 1.5 miles of road will be submerged under water!

Out of gas

If you're looking for a business opportunity in Eagan, then call Duane Johnson at Calhoun Realty to discuss buying this "out of business" gas station. However, the Holiday gas station next door is a fierce competitor!

As a photo update, the snow is now newly gone but the opportunity is still there!

"Bowman Pond"

I climbed through the woods to the edge of this small pond near our house. The ice still covers most of the water but it's disappearing fast now. Some people living across the street from this pond didn't know its name so now I call it "Bowman Pond" in their neighbors' honor.

Eagan has primarily 16 named lakes & ponds. Watch for an upcoming lake series!

Paradise in Pearlmont Heights

The Twin Cities "Parade of Homes" happens annually in March. Top homebuilders in the metro area showcase their work with a month of open houses. Ron Clark, a 2008 "Minnesota Business Ethics Award" winner from Edina, built this rambler walkout in the Pearlmont Heights neighborhood of Eagan. For $469,900, this twin home features a 3-car garage, owners' suite, great room with expansive windows and pier fireplace with granite surround, sun room, gourmet kitchen with granite countertops and raised snack-bar, custom birch cabinets, red oak floors, 10-foot ceilings and a lower level finished with a family room, game room, fireplace, two bedrooms and bath.

www.pearlmontheights.com

Natalie Darwitz, Olympic Champion

Natalie began skating at age five in Eagan and now just returned from winning an Olympic silver medal in Vancouver as the Captain of the US women's hockey team. She also sports a bronze medal from the Olympic Games in Torino, Italy and Silver from the Salt Lake City Olympics. Olympian Darwitz graduated from Eagan High School and the University of Minnesota. The Vancouver Olympic medals are all different & unique with each one making up a piece of the bigger "puzzle" of the scarf's design inspired by native Canadian art. Congratulations, Natalie!

Pret pour le recital

Teacher Miss Laura, former dancer with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, gave our daughter's ballet class their costumes at the end of Saturday's class in preparation for their June recital.

11th annual Home & Leisure show

The Eagan Civic Arena hosted a show of 80 home and leisure related vendors: remodelers, landscapers, air control, realtors, painters, hardware store, etc. The "Eagan Women of Note" and the "Eagan Men's Chorus" provided some music during the weekend of activities.

www.eagancivicarena.com

Hockey tournie

Eight high school hockey teams competed on the indoor ice recently in a tournament held at the Eagan Civic arena. Lakeville and Eden Prairie played in the match captured here.

Stacked up quickly!

Over 100 school students from 7 states came to the Eagan Civic Arena for the 2010 WSSA Central Regional Sport Stacking Championships. Individuals and teams raced in the timed and judged table competitions. "Wonderful Pistachios" deliciously sponsored the event.

www.speedstacks.com

Bowling with a Taiwanese spin

Fellow Eagan Rotarian Michael Proebstle, his family, two of my daughters and I brought Terry from Taipei bowling on Sunday afternoon. Terry came to Eagan for the school year as a Rotary International exchange student. Fun times!

Rainy, grey & cold

I snapped this monochromatic photo out the back door of our office building this morning. It's just 39 degrees Fahrenheit and we've had lots of rain! Luckily, Jacob of Ocala, Florida, where it's 80 degrees and sunny, felt sorry for Allison and me and has invited us to visit him and Lois Anne at their Floridian villa. Great that Jacob is sending us plane tickets, picking us up at the airport and wining and dining us for a week. Being Jacob's favorite fellow CDP blogger and Jacob's favorite female commenting friend has its perks!

"The Tenin Technique"

Eric Tenin started posting a daily photo of Paris back on March 11, 2005. From his idea, a current group developed of over 1,000 city daily photo bloggers around the globe from Adelaide to Zimbabwe who are posting a photo of their city every day. March 11 is again a theme day; in honor of Eric, the suggestion for today's theme was to use one of Eric's photographic techniques. So I chose "focusing on myself."

- Photo taken just before the Eagan Rotary Art Gala

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

3/4 sleeved cardis

The "Old Navy" store has been in Eagan since 1997. Our local shop is one of 14 others in the Twin Cities & 1,300 in the US. Old Navy stores are also found in Canada & Germany. Stop in for affordable, fun, hip, cool clothes for Spring!

Spring will arrive in Eagan eventually...

Svenska semlor

Our Minneapolis friends, Henrik & Charlotte, invited us over for Swedish "semlor" and coffee. Freshly baked buns filled with almond paste, lots of real whipped cream and dusted with powered sugar, a heavenly treat enjoyed during Lent in Sweden! Our daughters had fun playing with their kids, Nils-Emil & Ebba. Tack for fika!

Here she is!

Red Pine Elementary School principal, Gary Anger, happily introduces Magaly Miralles. Ms. Miralles was selected as the first teacher in Minnesota to receive the National Education Association's George I. Sanchez Memorial Award. This honor is presented to educators in Hispanic affairs who significantly impact education and the achievement for Hispanics.

Red Pine has 900 students with 40 of them speaking Spanish as their first language. More than 15 other first languages are spoken among their student body of kindergarten through 5th grade.

Ms. Miralles came from Caracus, Venezuela to the US at age 8 speaking no English. She finished her studies back in Venezuela and later worked for 4 years as an ESL teacher in Illinois before joining Red Pine as their ESL specialist in 2005. She will receive her award at the 2010 Human & Civil Rights Awards Dinner on July 2 in the Grand Ballroom of the New Orleans Convention Center. Congratulations! Happy International Women's Day!

Mail break

On Saturday afternoon, we walked past our regular mailman who was taking a delivery break in his mail truck. Everyone deserves an occasional, little respite, eh?

My blog award from Barcelona

Wahoo! My friends at Barcelona Daily Photo, Rob & Mandy, gave me a blog award on Saturday. Tack sa mycket! Vielen Dank! Thank you very much! Domo arigato gozaimashita! Grazie mille! Tusen takk! You made my day!

Now, the rules say:
List 10 things that make you happy, try to do at least one of them today AND tag 10 bloggers that brighten your day.

In no particular order, except for number 1:
1. My wife, Anne, and our three daughters.
2. Foreign languages - especially the ones which I know: German, Swedish, Japanese & French.
3. Talking a long walk with my family.
4. Making a difference through the Eagan Rotary Club and Rotary International.
5. Meeting all of you fun and talented CDP bloggers since I started my blog in May 2009.
6. The challenge of posting a photo every single day on my Eagan Daily Photo blog.
7. Coffee and good treats with friends and/or family.
8. Traveling to foreign countries and meeting people there.
9. Living in Eagan in spite of her longgggg, cold winters.
10. Eating outdoors on our backyard patio with family and friends.

Here are 10 bloggers that brighten my day - I love their blogs. Some of my favorites have already received this award so I'll broaden the circle with the following who did NOT already get the award from Rob & Mandy in Barcelona and again in no particular order:

Andreea in Bucharest, Romania

Rune in Drammen, Norway

Mary Ann in Beirut, Lebanon

Jacob in Ocala, Florida

Bharat in Jaipur, India

Jilly in Monaco

Lauren in Paris, France

Brattcat in Vermont

Steffe in Haninge, Sweden

Louis la Vache in San Francisco

I could have listed more than 10 but sometimes I like to follow the "rules."

March 6, 1860

On Friday, city leaders, politicians, Rotarians, business owners and other citizens gathered for "Eagan's Founder's Day Lunch" at the Eagan Community Center. Mayor Mike Maguire gave a history and "State of the City" address for the crowd of about 150 people in celebration of Eagan's 150th anniversary or "Sesquicentennial."

Eagan was created as a township by act of the Minnesota Legislature on March 6, 1860, the year that Abraham Lincoln became president and just two years after Minnesota became the 32nd state. With just 567 residents then, a town named after its first Board Supervisor, Patrick Eagan, our city has grown from a tranquil farming district once known at America's onion producing capital to a robust suburban community of more than 67,000 residents and a workforce of almost 50,000 employees. Today, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Thomson Reuters, Delta Dental, Lockheed Martin, Ecolab and the former Northwest Airlines (now Delta Airlines) call Eagan their corporate home.

Honoring heros Daniel & Benjamin

Wayne & Gwen Olsen hold their oil painting of their son, Daniel Olsen, who died in Saqlawiyah, Iraq in April 2007 while protecting some Iraqi police with his Marines group. Jill Stephenson shows her oil painting of Benjamin Kopp, her son who died at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington D.C. in July 2009 following an attack in Southern Helmand, Afghanistan while working with his Army Ranger Special Operations team. Daniel graduated from Eagan High School and Benjamin was a Rosemount High School graduate.

Kaziah Hancock has painted many fallen US soliders as a gift to their surviving families. She's an artist living on a goat farm in Manti, Utah. Eight families recently received these oil paintings and Kare 11 TV News featured the story this week.

www.heropaintings.com