Howdy Friends! 😊
Happy Monday to you. How was your weekend? It was a pretty epic one here. Annie & I went to Minneapolis and saw Ed Sheeran on Friday & Saturday night. I had bought tickets for his big concert at the US Bank stadium for Saturday night. But then they sent me info about a lottery I could enter to try to get 2 tickets for a smaller venue he'd perform at on Friday night - and I was able to get them! For those of you that don't know, I'm the biggest Ed fan around. I have loved him, his songwriting, and his sweet soul... forever!! So this was my 3rd and 4th time seeing him in concert. Yes, I'm fully aware I have a problem. Lol 😂 God bless Matt that he is the sweetest most understanding bf in the world! Lol So here was the timeline of the weekend:
Friday night: Annie and I went to see Ed at the State theater and there were only about 2,000 people. So it felt very personal and intimate. It was more of a seated concert and he performed his album Subtract. It is an album of grief as he wrote it almost 2 yrs ago when his best friend had died unexpectedly, his wife was pregnant with their 2nd child and got cancer, and he was in a lawsuit battle. He explained each song and then performed it. Then the 2nd half of the night was "happy hour" and was upbeat songs of his prior albums and we all stood up and sang and danced to those. At the end of the night he sang completely acapella with no microphone and on one song he even had us sing and harmonized with us. It was soooo cool! I'll share some clips of some moments below. Truly the most magical night for me. He even sang songs off his new album coming out this Fall! We couldn't film any of that of course. Then we stayed overnight at my cousin's house and had brunch Saturday morning with her, her hubby and my other cousin (her sister) and that cousin's daughter. Great time!
Saturday: Annie and I headed to the Mall of America and stayed at a hotel there. We headed for Ed part 2 and that concert was also amazing! He broke the attendance record at the stadium with over 72,000 people there! Matt came down that night and even picked us up after the concert so we didn't have to uber! He's such a keeper. But sharing both of those concerts with my Annie was the best!!
Sunday: Matt, Annie & I had fun at the Mall of America. Did some really fun shopping. Ate at a really yummy restaurant for lunch. And then after walking for miles (the MOA is humungous) - we had naughty dessert at the sugar factory 😉 Then came home to a cousin of mine visiting. (yes, I have many cousins and come from a very big family on both of my parents' sides) She was passing through with her hubby, and a friend of theirs, as they were heading up the north shore for a trip. (they're from Utah)
So it was truly a jam packed but wonderful weekend. One for the books!
THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:
ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE THIS MORNING:
a piece of cardamom bread, some fruit and an iced coffee
ON MY TO DO LIST THIS WEEK:
errands, quick run to 10 mile & see Matt's folks and he need to sign some papers at the bank there, Annie starts volleyball practices - school for her next week (I need to print of papers she needs to bring her first day), Aaron's bday celebration here, groceries, home projects, hospice work
THINKING ABOUT:
How there is a coolness in the air today. Last night was actually chilly when we were sitting out around the fire with my cousins visiting and catching up. And the fact that Annie starts school next week too...it all just shows there is definitely a Fall anticipation in the air around here. But up here in the northwoods August is always a pre Autumn time, as much as it is the wrapping up of summer. 🍂
AS I LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE
Nice and tidy. I had cleaned well before we headed out for our big weekend - knowing that my cousin would be popping in for a visit. And I did our dishes from last night already and put away everything from the trip. I have the windows open and I can hear leaves rustle as the wind blows nice breezes. I have classical music on and it feels quiet and peaceful. Kind of nice after such a busy and loud weekend. Lol
CURRENTLY READING
??
ON THE TV TODAY:
Outlander, HGTV and food network shows taped, AGT, Sweet Magnolias, And Just Like That, Grantchester, When Calls The Heart, Big Brother
ON THE MENU THIS WEEK:
MONDAY - leftover pizza, veggies & fruit from cousin visit last night
TUESDAY - brats on the grill, chips & taco dip, veggies (garden cukes 😉 ), melon
WEDNESDAY - cardamom bread french toast, bacon, fruit
THURSDAY - Aaron bday meal (he requested his favorite turkey melt sandwich I make) but for family coming over I'll also have fixings for sub sandwiches, a favorite pasta salad of Aaron's, chips & salsa, veggie tray, melon/berries, and brownie sundaes (his bday dessert of choice) 🎉
FRIDAY - broccoli & cheese stuffed chicken, ranch potatoes, salad
TO RELAX THIS WEEK I WILL:
pontoon ride, work on fun home projects
TIPS OR SOMETHING TO SHARE:
As it's pre-Fall here in August... I'm now thinking these kinds of thoughts.
FROM THE CAMERA:
Did I mention I chopped about 4 or so inches off of my hair? It needed some serious damage control. Lol
At the smaller venue Ed had violinists and other band members for the 1st half of the night. Then for the "happy hour" portion it was just him and his guitar (& loop pedal) ;)
The top pic was taken 4 years ago when I took Annie to Ed for the first time. She still had braces! And the bottom one was Saturday night. Love my girlie so much!! She's such a young woman now (sigh)
Khalid opened for Ed and he also did a number with him during the show
For the song Galway Girl he had a fiddler run and play around the stage with him.
The viking ship outside US Bank stadium (home to the MN Vikings - boo. Lol)
For all of his sweet efforts to come hang with us this past weekend (& picking us up from the concert) I wanted to treat my Honey to a fun dessert at the Sugar Factory. He ordered chocolate peanut butter mania milkshake. Yes, that’s a piece of cake on top of his milkshake, and a lollipop and peanut butter cups. Lol
Annie had the smaller and more reasonable brownie sundae. 😆
And I had the caramel sundae with caramel corn both on top and in the sundae! The pieces in the sundae coated and softened in the warm caramel were the best! ;)
Then a nice Sunday night with family including my cousin Abby and her hubby Steve. One of those perfect late summer weekends. ❤️
Here a few clips from the concerts:
This is at the very end of the 1st night when he sang without a microphone and acapella in the smaller theater (he sang an old Irish ballad his Dad used to sing to him and then morphed it into his song Afterglow) This is at the very end of Afterglow when he ended for the night.
This will give you an idea of how much bigger everything was the 2nd night!
PRAYER LIST:
For an end to the conflict in the Ukraine and other areas of the world living in war & fear. For peace and unity in this country, especially from hate and shootings or violence. For anyone sick, suffering, in pain or fear... that God bring them comfort and peace. For His Light and Love to cast out the dark everywhere.
For all those suffering from weather events and turmoil in our world. Especially for those in Maui dealing with the aftermath of those horrible fires and loss of lives and property. 😢 🙏