German, Polish, Hungarian, French, American

The wife and I had a great weekend! It isn't that often that we get to spend the whole weekend together just doing what we want to do.

Saturday we got a chance to hang out with two of our favorite people; Peter and Lauren Sparr. Peter is my cousin of some sort. We think he is my 2nd cousin once removed. His paternal grandmother was sister to my maternal grandmother. If anybody know how exactly that works out let me know. Anyway, we all headed out to the Winzer Stube in Husdon, WI. This is supposed to be one of the best German restaurants in the country. I have been hearing about it for years so I was pretty pumped. We were not let down. This place had a bit of kitschy atmosphere but the service was great and the food was dang good. I had the wiener-schnitzel. It is lightly breaded veal cutlet, pan fried, garnished with capers and anchovies, served with spätzle, Bavarian white cabbage and red cabbage. The Mrs. had the schnitzel burger and was a bit let down. Her food was good but it just wasn't a very good fit. There was a huge portion of schnitzel on a bun, and a side salad.

The next day we spend the morning bumming around. We went to our favorite place on earth, Mickey's Diner. Then we hit church at the cathedral and visited my Brother Joe's family and her Grandmother, in White Bear Lake. We made our way home stopping for coffee and ice cream along the way. I fell asleep on the couch watching the USA vs. Canada, while my better half studied for one of her many accounting classes.

Once I was fully rested we headed out to the HistoricJamesJ.HillHouse on Summit Ave in Saint Paul. We became members of the MN historical Society several months ago and we try to use our membership whenever we can. Before our concert we got a guided tour of the mansion. We were shown all kinds of really awesome detail in the house. The two things that really stick out were the gas lights and the hand carvings in the woodwork.

This concert was a celebration of Polish piano genius, Frederic Chopin; he would have been 200 today. I am not a huge classical music guy but if I have to sit and listen to music Piano music would be my choice. I have always been envious of musical composers. To be able project thoughts ideas and feelings through music is an astounding feat.

One of the musicians featured was a contemporary of Chopin's named Franz Liszt. Liszt was my favorite musician of the ones being featured. His music was really expressive with rhythm and volume. The music program we received described him as “The Hungarian Giant” and “The Keyboard Destroyer”. I guess Liszt was a real character and kind of a rock star in his day.

The last man featured was French pianist Claude Debussy. Debussy was probably my least favorite of the three. I didn't really find his music as expressive as the others. It’s not that I didn't find it enjoyable but, it just wasn't up my alley. 

My phone didn't catch the audio very well so this isn't actually him playing but the song Liebesträume by Liszt was in the program


The whole concert was really nice.

Eric Himy was the pianist and he was perfect. It was an informal setting in the salon with maybe no more than 60 people in the room. Eric seemed really cool. He talked about each part either before or after he played. I'm not used to going to swanky shows like this so it helped me follow along. After the intermission he even came out rocking some wine! It was a great show and I hope we do it again soon.

Busy being lazy

Sorry for the lack of posts.  I have been both lazy and busy, mostly lazy.

Mrs. Schmitty threw me a surprise birthday party.  It was awesome!  She ordered food from one of our favorite spots in town, Chris and Rob's, they serve authentic Chicago Dogs and can't be beat.  She invited a bunch of my friends and family and we all hung out and just relaxing and enjoying good company.  I am truly blessed to have so many people that care about me. Opps I just realized she write about this last time. Sorry for the repeat!

I bought a new phone.  It is the Nexus One from Google.  My wife hates hearing me talk about it but I am such a geek I need to tell you how happy I am with it.  It always have it on me and I am constantly using it.  It may as well be a computer.  I use it to read ebooks, listen to podcasts, facebook, twitter, blog, read the news, and watch movies.  There isn't hardly a thing this phone can't do.

For the last few months we have been enjoying our bowling league.  Every Friday night we strap on the shoes and hit the lanes with our friends Matt and Colleen.  We aren't the best bowlers in the place (that means we are in last place) but we have fun and we get out of the house.

B x 4

4 B topics to blog about. Ready, set, go!

Basketball
We are currently in the car on our way home from the Timberwolves game. Basketball is not normally something I would even think of mentioning in our blog, but tonight was my first NBA experience. We got free tickets and joined friends Matt and Colleen for the evening. We ended up having a blast, especially when a whole bunch of mascots were out on the court having a dance-off with the cheerleaders. I can honestly say I would attend another game. We caught a glimpse of Target Field on our way to the game and we are so pumped for BASEBALL season!

Baseball
A.J. went to Twinsfest this morning with his brothers, Dad, and two oldest nephews.  They had a great time walking around the metrodome for the last time.  They were able to watch some player interviews at the AM1500 live broadcast booth.  The boys got to go crazy in one of those big inflatable bouncy things.  They some old-timers there: Jim "Mudcat" Grant, Rollie Fingers, George Foster, Vida Blue, and Fergie Jenkins.  Little A.J., Joe and Jen's oldest, took a few swings on the field.  He didn't get a big hit but he did get to circle the bases!  I think he needs to spend some time with his uncle this summer learning how to hit.

Birthday
I made my best effort to throw Andy a surprise 30th birthday party yesterday. I had the party at a friend's condo building and had that friend try and lure Andy over for poker night. I guess I am not as sneaky as I thought, so the party was not a complete surprise. However, it was still a successful gathering. I ordered dogs and wings from one of Andy's favorite places, Chris & Rob's. It was great getting a chance to catch up with lots of friends we hadn't seen in a while. The birthday boy still has a few more weeks until the real day.

Babies
We have had 2 different announcements in our families in the last 2 weeks!

September will be a very busy one for us. My brother Ryan and wife Leah along with Andy's brother Mike and wife Jessica are expecting, both welcoming their second child, are due in September.

We couldn't be happier for our siblings and can't wait to meet our newest nephews!