Ideas for things to do in and around the house to enjoy with your family and friends, with money-saving tips. The best staycations are at your doorstep.
Como Park Zoo in St. Paul is having a special event this weekend, April 24-25th, to help raise funds for the new Polar Bear Odyssey, a state-of-the-art polar bear habitat. There will be games and story-telling for kids, and you can get a tree seedling to celebrate Earth Day.
I’ve been a fan of Como Park Zoon since Bob Durr used to go on the Casey Jones TV shows and bring all sorts of animals. Now’s the time to help support this community resource, and have a great family staycation to kick off Spring.
When my Mom passed away in 2007, I inherited the house and her cat, Cleo. Well, actually, Cleo was my Dad’s cat. She was a birthday gift from my sister in 1990, to replace their cat who had recently died. Both of my parents loved having a cat, even though my Mom was notoriously against it until they had their first cat, Courtney, who was also a birthday present for Dad from my sister. Courtney was a white-haired cat who shed prodicious amounts of fur. I dubbed her The White Tornado because you could follow her trail through the house. She was prone to getting knots in her fur and Mom would spend hours on the couch, watching TV and combing out knots. One time Mom gave Courtney a bath in the basement laundry tub that left Courtney with a permanent cowlick near the back of her spine. I always joked that she’d broken the cat. My Mom loved to tell the story about how Courtney would quickly and deliberately walk, not run, down to the basement and hide under the couch at the first clap of thunder. Mom used to call it Courtney’s “fire drill”, which was a perfect description. So when Courtney died, it was only natural for my sister to get them another cat.
