29% off the price

Jason, the wine guy at "the Cellars," rung up my 6 bottles of wine on Friday afternoon. The "progressive sale" took 29% off the price of my wine for which I paid $55.20. It's simple... the precent off is the same as the date. The sale started on January 21st with 21% off and ended January 30th with 30% off. Sorry I didn't post this earlier!

Here are the bottles that went into my wine bag:

1. De Loach - Chardonnay from California
2. Columbia Crest - Chardonnay from Washington
3. Meridian - Chardonnay from Napa, California
4. Juan Benegas - Malbec from Argentina
5. Tilia - Merlot from Argentina
6. Lan Rioja - Crianza from Spain
Their previous sale - click here!

www.thecellars.com

Office treats

I stopped at the "Donut Star" doughnut shop on my way into work on Friday morning. The owner was already bagging up treats for the people ahead of me in line at 7:50 AM. She opens her store at 5 AM and is usually sold out by noon. By the looks of the doughnut racks, I was the 107th customer for the day. Allison and I enjoyed office treats and coffee back in the office.

"Donut Star" - 2901 East Cliff Road

Playing shadows

Opening our bedroom window, I snapped a photo of our backyard playset. The neighbors' fence added to the shadow play! Our kids and their friends spend a lot of time on it when the snow is gone! Our raspberry patch is hidden under the mound of snow in the upper right corner of the photo along the fence.

Eagan Rotarian series #14

Mark Bonstrom is a fellow Eagan Rotarian and towing business owner. He's a cheerful guy who is quick to smile or laugh. Call him if your car won't start or if it's crashed up and you need a tow!

Tel: 651-454-1533

Send a gift basket!

Do you need a personal or corporate gift basket to send for a new baby, Valentine's Day, wedding, engagement, new job or other occasion? If so, call or visit Mary O'Rourke or logon to her website for a wonderful gift! Tel: 651-994-8392

www.basketsonoccasion.com

A noble & celebratory cause

In celebration of Eagan's 150 years, the city has set a goal of collecting 150,000 pounds of food this year for the needy families served by the Eagan Resource Center.

Svenska Sallskapet Winter Party

On a rainy, icy Saturday evening, 99 Swedes, Swedish Americans and other guests gathered for a black-tie, scrumptious dinner at the American Swedish Institute on Park Avenue in Minneapolis. Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres were served upstairs in the Grand Hall of the Swan Turnblad mansion, a grand home built in the early 1900s by a Swedish immigrant who built his fortune with a Swedish-American newspaper.

Guests processed in a "Grand March" downstairs into the candlelit dining room elegantly decorated right down to the yellow napkins hand folded by Ewa from Sweden and Mr. EAGAN daily photo blogger.

The menu was extraordinary:

Double Consomme Brunoise (Franska soppa)

"Welcome drink" of Aquavit

Baked Filet of Cod 'a la Greque with Tomato, Olives, Pimento & Bordure served in a Scallop Shell (Inbakad grekisk torsk med tomat, oliver, och kryddor)

2008 Ferrari-Carono Fume' Blanc

Poached Corned Chicken Breast with Peas & Leek Spring Roll & Horseradish Drizzle

(Pocherad kycklingsbrost med artor och purjolok varrulle med pepparrotsas)

2008 Kendall-Jackson Vininer's Reserve Chardonnay

Cosmopolitan Granite served in Martini Glass (Cosmopolitan Sorbet serverad i drinksglas)

Roasted Rib Eye Florentine (Biffstek med spenatblandning)

2005 Waterstone Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Pom Gaufrette, Asparagus & Cauliflower in Sauce Italienne (Pommefrites, sparris och blomkal i italiensksas)

2003 Churchill Port

Gateau Rubinstein with Profiteroles & Coffee (Rubinsteintarta och smordegskaka och kaffe)

The dancing to live dance music was a fun extra we all enjoyed.

Leif and wife Anne savored an unforgettable night!

Link to prior Svenska Sallskapet dinner!

Eagan dog series #17

Drew Gorton, owner of my office neighbor "Gorton Studios," was out walking his black labrador retrievers, Millie and Ruby, past the Oak Cliff Place building. Drew's company designs websites. Need help with your website for a fee?

www.Gortonstudios.com

A sinking feeling...

Anne and I drove to downtown St. Paul, 17 minutes north of Eagan, to view the TITANIC exhibit at the Minnesota Science Museum on Friday afternoon. My boarding pass was issued to Mr. Edgar Samuel Andrew, age 18, from Buenos Aires, Argentina who traveled alone in 2nd class.

My wife scored a 1st class boarding pass; her Titanic "character" survived while my "character", poor Mr. Andrew, perished on April 15, 1912 at circa 2:20 AM in the iceberg laden Atlantic Ocean.

"Burnsville Uncorked"

Almost 500 guests attended the 7th annual "Burnsville Uncorked" wine tasting fundraiser on Thursday evening hosted by the Burnsville Rotary Club and Burnsville Breakfast Rotary Club. Rotary Assistant Governor Bob Stowell served fancy beef treats off a silver tray to guests. A jazz band played lively music while wine lovers sampled wines, ate fancy food and visited on both levels of the one year old Burnsville Performing Arts Center. Eagan and Burnsville are friendly neighboring suburbs.

Patty the potter

On the other side of the Eagan Art House from the 7 year old birthday party, Patty the potter was throwing lovely ceramic bowls! What a cool talent!

The "Tooth Fairy" is comin'

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson was standing at Eagan's Regal 16 movie theater advertising his upcoming movie, "Tooth Fairy." The story follows a minor league hockey player who is turned into a "Tooth Fairy." Other cast members include: Julie Andrews, Billy Crystal, and Ashley Judd. The film premiers on January 22 in Eagan and other locations. Dental floss & toothpaste not included.

www.toothfairy-movie.com

Turkey breasts, Hams & Sausages

While shopping at our posh Byerly's grocery store recently, I photographed these scrumptious turkey breasts, hams and sausages. Do you want some cookies, too? Then click here!

Coffee break time

Over 50 business owners and leaders met for an 8:30 coffee break at Home Federal bank in Eagan on Thursday, January 14. The event was sponsored by the Dakota County Regional Chamber of Commerce. Networking and introductions made up the agenda.

www.dcrchamber.com

Family skating event

Ice skating on Saturday was an Eagan 150th birthday event at Clearwater Park from 10 AM to 6 PM. We skated from 1 PM - 2 PM with a handful of others. Maybe everyone else came in the morning or skated later in the afternoon?

Black coats R US

At a nearby Macy's department store recently, I spotted a huge selection of BLACK coats. No green, no brown, no blue - just black. Weird!

Best photo of 2009

Last May, our friends, Steven & Allison, invited us over for dinner with our friend, G.K. Murty, from Bangalore, India. Why do you think I chose this photo as my "best photo of 2009" for the January mid-month CDP blog theme day?

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants around the world

Nice on ice

On Sunday afternoon, these three friends were skating around the ice rink at Clearwater Park just off Pilot Knob Road. I just happened to have my camera hanging around my neck inside my coat! 'Twas glorious to skate around outside with our daughters!

An artsy 7th birthday party

Our middle daughter celebrated her 7th birthday with school classmates and her two sisters at the Eagan Art House. An art teacher showed them all how to make a painted masterpiece and also a crayon colored abstract. Eating cupcakes from Byerly's bakery was a fun and yummy conclusion to the party. And notice the two fancy, plastic snowflakes rings atop each cupcake!

"Le Corsaire" - Pas de Deux

Will, 16, and Lauren, 14, were practicing their ballet duet with their teacher, Stacy, who formerly danced with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. Lauren has been dancing since age 3 and Will started dancing 6 years ago. They dance at Spotlight Productions, one of Eagan's more popular dance studios.

Miss Minnesota - Brooke Kilgarriff

Miss Eagan, Brooke Kilgarriff, was crowned Miss Minnesota on June 20, 2009. On Saturday afternoon, many people gathered for a sendoff party for Brooke who will represent Minnesota in the Miss America pageant in Las Vegas to compete against 52 other contestants.

Miss America is one of the largest educational scholarship opportunities for women in the US. Contestants compete based on their beauty, poise, and style but also their talent and their social "platform."

Brooke's talent is singing and her platform is "Music - the building block of education." The Miss America national platform financially supports the Children's Miracle Network. Brooke has volunteered weekly all year at Gillette Hospital in St. Paul which is one of 170 hospitals nationwide which directly benefits from the Children's Miracle Network. Miss Minnesota has raised over $12,200 for that charity.

Cheer Miss Minnesota on to win the Miss America crown live on TV channel TLC on Saturday, January 30 at 7 PM central standard time! Our family wishes our beautiful and talented neighbor all the best in her quest!

250th posting for Eagan Daily Photo blog

Eagan's 150th birthday!

Eagan residents gathered at the Eagan Community Center on Saturday evening, January 9 to celebrate the beginning of Eagan's 150th birthday year. Mayor Mike Maguire gave the opening celebratory speech. Scott Swenson, 150th birthday committee chairperson, also welcomed guests and spoke. Loud horns sounded, people ate cake, a quartet sang and everyone seemed to enjoy the opening event.

Truck drivers needed!

Can you drive a semi-truck?! If not, come to Eagan and take the truck driving classes! Breaker - breaker, 10-4 good buddy!

Call 651-735-9250

Happy Birthday Terry!

Our Rotary Youth Exchange student, Terry from Taipei, celebrated his birthday this week at our Eagan Rotary lunch meeting. Rotarians Judy and Sue were happy to pose with him!

Overachievers

These two Eagan high school students and best friends, Cortney and Katie, were the November and December "students of the month" recently recognized at our Eagan Rotary lunch meeting. They both excel academically and volunteer in the broader community. Their proud parents joined them for the lunch.