On Saturday, we met family in Minneapolis and took three of the grandchildren to see Amahl and the Night Visitors at Orchestra Hall. (Every time I try to text message that title, it changes it to 'a mall.' They must think we're all obsessive shoppers!) Anyway, Amahl was performed by the Minnesota Ballet, the Minnesota Orchestra, and the Minnesota Chorale.
The Stage
Don't worry, this photo was taken long before the performance,
and without flash.
Everyone enjoyed it, and I've always loved the story, so each Christmas I go online to see if I can find a performance anywhere nearby. A couple years ago it was slated to be performed in Minneapolis, but a musicians' strike got in the way.
The Minneapolis Holiday Market
Next to Orchestra Hall
Next to Orchestra Hall
Shoppers pay a $6 admission fee for the 'privilege'
of shopping there! How clever is that!
On Nicollet Avenue
When I uploaded this photo, although it was taken at the intersection of 11th and Nicollet in Minneaopolis, it doesn't look like Minneapolis. It looks like some town in western North Dakota, low buildings and lots of sky. It looks different in person, somehow. It must be something about the camera.
After the performance, we all went to Brit's Pub, across the street from Orchestra Hall, for dinner.
Brit's Pub Interior
Two of our beautiful granddaughters, sitting next to their grandma who couldn't seem to keep her eyes open during the split second it takes to get a photo.
Grandpa and the Youngest of the Brothers
(who said he misses his cousin 'Hemry')
Mr. Cranberry and his wife
Unfortunately, other family photos were totally blurry. BUT, the rest of the family isn't off the hook. They'll be visiting over New Years and I'll catch them then.
I LOVE the big city...to visit. Then I like to come home to fields and woods and bright, starry skies.
SO, Family, Brits, and Orchestra Hall are a few of my favorite things. What are yours? Can you name three of your favorites?
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Although I usually forget to do it, there is a chance that this post will be linked to one or more of these great linky parties: Amaze Me Monday and Inspiration Monday and Mosaic Monday and The Barn Collective and Treasure Box Tuesday and Vintage Bliss Tuesday and KatheWithAnE and Rubbish Tuesday and Our World Tuesday and Tuesdays at our Home and Tuesday with a Twist and Knick of Time Tuesday (vintage) and Tweak it Tuesday and Vintage Inspiration Wednesday and Ivy and Elephants Wednesday and Adorned From Above and Artsy Corner Thursday and All Things With Purpose and Home & Garden Thursday and Good Fences on Thursdays and Time Travel Thursday and Freedom Fridays and Vintage Inspiration Friday and Saturday's Critters
Beautiful pictures! I have never been to your City, I would like to visit someday:) Your sweet Grandkids enjoying time with you guys, precious! Enjoy your day dear friend, HUGS!
ReplyDeleteJudy, you are so gorgeous! Seriously... I mean that.
ReplyDeleteOH and what an adventure, I would have loved to go on that date with you two and your lovely grandchildren!!!
Merry Christmas my friend!!
Much love,
Tammy x
What a beautiful post and beautiful people! Thanks for sharing this!
ReplyDeleteWell that just sounds like a blast and it's so nice to see some of your family in those photos. The last one of you and Mr. Cranberry is so nice...what a great looking couple! I agree with Tammy (above)...you are gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteIt looks like a great place to visit and see family at the same time. Enjoyed all the photos. Yes sometime my camera just wants to blur everything and I don't think I am doing anything differently with the settings.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun evening...love seeing your family! Every time I see Minneapolis I think of all our Grimm family who still live in the area! Hoping to get back up that way to see them!
ReplyDeleteMorning, such a wonderful fun evening with loved ones. Thanks for sharing your pictures with us, enjoyed. Blessings Francine.
ReplyDeletesweet family time! love the photo of the two of you 'old' cranberries. :)
ReplyDeleteThat orchestra hall is seriously beautiful. I'm sure all the performances there are fabulous.
ReplyDeleteIt's wonderful that your family gathered in the city for this adventure. I love all the photos.
What a wonderful time you had with the family. And lovely photo of you and Mr. Cranberry too!
ReplyDeleteI have never seen Amal, and do not know the story! Now it is very famous and I will be going at some time, I really want to see it. Would it be suitable for my eight year old granddaughter? You had a perfect day! Your picture of the stage is beautiful! And that Christmas Market...did you shop there? I would spend the whole day there, even having to pay six dollars. It must be worth it. And ending with a real Pub! It just doesn't get any better than this. Your granddaughters are truly beautiful.
ReplyDeleteLovely photos, especially of you and your dear family. And that would be a fun evening at the Brit Pub. My daughter-in-law performed in Amahl and the Night Visitors. We enjoyed seeing her up on the stage and she has a beautiful singing voice. Thank you for your lovely comment. I enjoyed learning about Dody. Poor Dody! That sounds like something a brother would do, I didn't have a brother but I had several boy cousins ;)
ReplyDeleteoohhhh what a beautiful and festive place!!! and those granddaughters are gorgeous, what fabulous smiles they have!!!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE my soap!! many thanks!!!!
Firts of all - I LOVE your blog title!!! Cranberry Morning! Perfect!
ReplyDeleteI am so pleased to meet you and Mr. Cranberry! Thank you for visiting me! I am your newest follower!
Three of my favorite things about Christmas -
Christmas Eve when all my children and grandchildren gather here at the home they grew up in and we have a dinner and laughter and roll Sugarplums - a tradition from the 1960's!
Decorating the house for Christmas! I have a tree in every single room!
Christmas Carols. My favorite is The Little Drummer Boy. I always stop and listen when it plays! It has been my favorite since I was a child.
This was such a fun visit! Thank you!!!
That's a great post and looks like you had a wonderful day. Really interesting to see the city - and lovely photos of you, Mr C and the grandchildren. You are sure they're not your daughters? It all looks very Christmassy too (yes, I'm allowing myself to get dragged in now) - and I'd like to know whether they sell genuine ale in the Brit pub?! Mind you, I'm impressed that it's there. The theatre looks amazing - most of ours are so OLD! I know what you mean about open space - I'm glad we don't live in a large city anymore. Just three favourite things? Well, I'm with you on the first two, of course - and my mp3 player loaded with some excellent tunes!
ReplyDeleteI really loved this. I LOVE big cities..... to visit or to look at or to watch in films. But, like you, I'd want to dash back off to the country - if I lived in the country I'm in the 'burbs).
ReplyDeleteI might chuckle all day about A Mall and the Night Visitors. :)
Enjoyed seeing the photos of you and your beautiful family! Looks like a wonderful evening was had by all.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous family photos! What a great night out!
ReplyDeleteYour family photos are beautiful, Judy. You and Mr. Cranberry are a great-looking couple. It would be so much fun to do something like this as a family. Our kids are spread out all over the country and we never get to do something as wonderful as this. 3 favorite things about Christmas for me: Christmas Eve service at our church, a special dinner with my husband, hearing from our children on Christmas day.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful family you have, Judy. Thanks so much for taking us along on your special day. xo Laura
ReplyDeleteJudy,
ReplyDeleteI love this picture of you and husband, it's a great one (maybe you can use it for a Christmas card). And your granddaughters are beauties! It looks like you had a wonderful time with them in the city. The city always has fun things to do and interesting things to see. Me and the girls will see the Nutcracker soon.
Have a blessed week.
~Sheri
Looks like a wonderful time. I love a big city -- to visit -- especially at Christmas time.
ReplyDeleteWOW! That concert hall looks like something out of Star Trek. Impressive!
ReplyDeleteGrandkids are wonderful. I don't have any yet, but I can already tell. :)
Oh what fun, Judy!! Great photos of everyone, but especially of you and your Mister!!
ReplyDeleteFamily, family, family. Anytime, anywhere with any of them!! :)
Judy, I'm with you....love the excitement of the big city, but want to be able to leave to come back home. Thanks for the pictures...so beautiful with the lights.
ReplyDeleteUnlike many others here, I love living in the city - though the one I live in now is small, it's close to two big, bustling areas, and one other small city. I love the choices they offer, but not the traffic to get there. One day I'd like to visit Minneapolis.
ReplyDeleteSounds like so much fun!! Your picture are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteSuch a gorgeous photo of you and your husband. The grandchildren are precious. What a wonderful visit!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful trip you had, Judy. I love ANY kind of live performance..and that one sounds spectacular. I have never spent any time in Minneapolis. My kids go though to the Mall of America at least once a year.
ReplyDeleteYou and your husband make a good looking couple! Your other family photos are wonderful, too. Hope you have had a great day so far. xo Diana
Lovely to see you and your husband!
ReplyDeleteLove seeing these photos of you and your family. Sounds like a wonderful time in the city.
ReplyDeleteThree of my favorite things - French language, history, dark chocolate.
What a great photo of you and your husband! I hope you print it out to keep. And it's neat to see the big city and imagine going to these nice places. 3 favorite things...my family, my lanai (I'm sitting here not and it's 70 degrees), and the HT Preserve that we hike at the most. Hugs, Diane
ReplyDeleteI'm sitting here NOW...not not! haha!
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of the production you went to see, I'll have to Google it. For us it's always been the Nutcracker Suite by the Toronto ballet and it's a big trip to the city for us too to go there.
ReplyDeleteI much prefer the cleaner air and less traffic of the country even though we are in a pocket village.
A nice photo of you and the hubby and your grands are sweet.
Thank you so much for stopping by White Lace and Promises. Wow! Looks like you had a great adventure. Those girls are beauties and I know the little one had a great time with his Grandpa. You are a good looking couple. Fun!
ReplyDeleteOh my, you just described my favorite things, and we'll be going to the 8th floor this weekend! We live about 25 minutes from Minneapolis and this year I was thinking of taking the grandchildren downtown on the LRT! Next best thing to being on a train! Brit's is one of our favorite places as well- I used to work downtown, so it's in my blood! So many folks south of the river just never bother going downtown. Just look at what they're all missing! A most lovely post.
ReplyDeleteYour jou is evident in the picture of you and Mr. Cranberry...Your grand daughters are beautiful and your time together looks so special....
ReplyDeleteWhat a special time together! And your Granddaughters are gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteThis is a memory that will last a lifetime - so fun to read what folks do, I realize we do need to get out more. : - )
Blessings to you!
Looks like a wonderful time, made even better because it was shared by loved ones! Beautiful family photos!
ReplyDeleteThree favorites: family, homeschooling, hymns. (Only three?) ;)
Sounds like a wonderful evening! Loved the pics of you and your granddaughters, (who are gorgeous). I have that same eye problem. lol! You and Mr. Cranberry are so darn cute!!
ReplyDeletehugs,
Jann
Three favourite things? My two-legged family, the four furry kids, and a good... deep... unembarassed belly laugh; there's nothing more healing!
ReplyDeleteYou and your family are beautiful! =)
Truly a beautiful post.
ReplyDeleteYou just glow with love.
My three favs..
My BFF (Papa John), Family and Wool.
hehe
Hugs to the Sweet Old Cranberries!
Christmas Love
JUDY! You were in my city! And do you know that I've never even been to Orchestra Hall! Thank you for coming by to visit, and I must say that you and your husband are a lovely couple!
ReplyDeleteMany wishes for a special Christmas! Anita
What a treat for you and your family to see the ballet and symphony. I loved seeing your pretty granddaughters, Mr Cranberry,, the little one, sleepy eyes and the smiling cranberry couple!
ReplyDeleteVery nice Judy . . .
An evening at the theater and dinner at an English pub seems quite delightful.
ReplyDeleteThree of my favorite things during Christmas and otherwise ~ Family, surprise packages, cooking for family.
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas!! xoxo
Lovely post. Great family shots.
ReplyDeleteI still can't get over the fact that they are called Holiday Markets, that's a new concept to me. I never got the chance to visit a Christmas Market this year due to one thing and another.
I was wondering if the shop you commented about on my blog with the Christmas display was Macy's.
Three of my favourite things ... don't really have favourites just rarities to look forward to like a time constraint - less saturday for a trip out to the Yorkshire moors and coast and well used things such as my Laptop and there might be something else that comes to mind ... !