In a Blur...

That is how my life feels like right now. It is all rushing by so fast I'm having trouble keeping up with everything. 

"Tales of the Road"--the book--is flying off store shelves. I'm amazed. I was bemused to see this shop window. It is pretty big time to share shelf and display window space with Garrison Keillor. People, however, are complaining that they can't find books. Many places are sold out and the book is back ordered for several weeks. Bad timing to be sure, but nice to know that it is popular. 

I'm in the process of 'pulling' soundbites to plug into the script for the documentary. I have 25 pounds of stuff shoved into a 10 pound bag and I'm really going to have to edit the final script closely. At least I'm looking at the final script. It took DAYS to watch ALL 65 tapes. My brains were seeping out my ears near the very end. As I've said in the past...logging tape is my least favorite activity in broadcasting/filmmaking. 

The calendar says Christmas is near yet my head is somewhere else. It doesn't feel much like Christmas at this point for me. Oh, a few of the book signings were very festive. The book talk/tea at the Le Duc Mansion in Hastings was lovely and with the mansion all decked out for the holidays, I felt pretty Christmas-y! Beyond that I'm not in the spirit of the holidays...yet. 

Here is hoping YOU are filled with the joy of the season!!!

Where has the time gone?

I'm not sure when I lost all track of time. Looking out the window, I know for sure that the landscape says it is winter and the calendar certainly bears that out.  In my head, I'm still back in June or July and wondering where all that time has gone!  I can't believe Christmas is close at hand. 

I'm including a photo of yours truly and Cindy Harris Steinhoff. Cindy is such a sweetheart and was a brave soul to be interviewed on camera about her great, great grandfather--John Harris-who is credited with being the first to successfully raise apples in the LaCrescent Minnesota area. LaCrescent is the Apple Capitol of Minnesota and it still lives up to that moniker. In the photo, Cindy is showing me some great family photos and Photographer Joe is doing his usual magic. Now, to be honest, I haven't SEEN the footage we shot that day. I will.  I'm slogging through 65 videotapes in a mad effort to "log" all the tape. Logging is not my favorite thing, but it is fun to see the places we've been and the people we've met.  Cindy and her family are wonderful! 

Today I was holed up in an edit bay and was painstakingly rolling through tape of the Red Wing Minnesota area and a great spot just outside Red Wing where the original alignment of Highway 61 still exists. In fact, there are two bridges that are still along that old road. One is a cement bridge built in 1921 and the other is a steel span bridge built around 1917. (Note the photo!) 

How exciting to find these last vestiges of the old highway still intact!! I hope they will remain for future generations. 

The tour for "Tales of the Road-Highway 61" is quite a whirlwind.  Grand Marais, Winona, Red Wing, Minneapolis, Northfield, St. Cloud, Duluth, Alexandria and St. Paul to name a few sites.  Juggling the demands of the book with the film is a little trickier than I had imagined it to be. Then again, I've never been in this position before. What a trip!!!

P.S: I'm still looking for submissions for a Highway 61 photo contest.  Selected photos get a free copy of "Tales of the Road-Highway 61"