Lynden's Soda Fountain

Just because Wynn is still on a liquid diet doesn't mean she can't have fun - after dinner tonight we tried Lynden's Soda Fountain at the corner of Randolph and Hamline in St. Paul.  I can't believe none of us have been there before - this is an honest-to-goodness ice cream counter like in the old days that can do all the phosphates and specialty drinks, plus a heavy-duty espresso machine too.  Ann & Wynn had cups of ice cream and I had a waffle cone - came to $12.75.  We shall return!

Green Line Opening

Much anticipation for the opening of the Green Line linking downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul - not too far from our house & the redevelopment along University Avenue is astounding. So we braved the rain and wind to check out our new trains!

The trains were PACKED despite the rotten weather.  Wynn ended up dancing to the buskers' music...

MSP is becoming a REAL city - we have two metro train lines now!

 

We got off in the Little Mekong neighborhood and had lunch at Mai Village, a large and beautifully-decorated Vietnamese restaurant.  Service was good as well as the food.

 

But despite good food, the weather got to be too much so we called it quits for the day instead of exploring several more neighborhoods...

Mouth surgery recap

This summer's operation is to take a small chip of bone from Wynn's leg and graft it into the gap in her upper jaw. At the same time, the fistula will be closed up (that little hole between the inside of her mouth and her sinuses, just big enough for a strand of spaghetti to sneak through).

Ann and I were prepared to spend the whole morning waiting, but the surgery was over in about 45 minutes!  Wynn and I spent the night at Gillette Children's Hospital - mostly for observation's sake, as she was up and walking the floor by dinnertime (and I had to hustle to keep up with her IV drip and monitor...)

No complications at all with anaesthesia thanks to the short duration of the surgery; we had also briefed the team about how that has been the roughest part of prior operations for her & they adjusted her ventilation tube to irritate her throat less. Seems to have worked.

Ann got to be the parent to go into the O.R. with Wynn this time to help her fall asleep

Bored the next morning - she's on a smoothie diet but for some reason Gillette seems unable to make them. Ann brought one in from Starbucks and Wynn wolfed it down. We got home around lunchtime.