Landmark Plaza, downtown St. Paul

Gorgeous evening, so I biked down to the first of the summer dance series in which instruction is provided for free in a certain dance style, followed by music and opportunity to practice your new skills. Tonight was tango which is ambitious. I loved this woman's cute cutout back dressette but I failed to capture the teeny tiny scale of everything about her. If I'd had maybe a teaspoon with me or a pencil eraser or something you could tell how seriously small she is. The dress is an XS from Wet Seal ($10!) where she shops because it's one of the few places she can find things that fit. I like the way she played up her small frame with the very close cropped hair and girly pearls.

the tent#1

So I got a Walmart trail tent for free from my neighbor and, looking ahead to my upcoming trip to NYC and hotel prices that have bounced back jauntily from their recessionary humility, I thought to check out all my housing options. Included are: a stuff sack, a tent (and I use that term loosely; more like a tarp with some tissue-thin carcinogenic polyvinyl sewn to it), two telescoping poles, four strips of plastic rope and six fragile stakes. The half-page instructions spent a fair amount of time on site selection including positioning the door away from prevailing winds, but then rushed through the actual set up, jumping from Assemble all parts to Now your tent is ready to use! I identified an information gap the size of the Grand Canyon but I have tent experience and the limited number of parts seemed encouraging. I suffered a moment of doubt when I noted that the tent itself (not the box, mind you) was emblazoned with a logo that said Ozark Tent. Having seen Deliverance and driven through the Ozarks at top speeds, any combination of Ozarks and camping is ill-advised. Onward!

the tent#2

Look at all the triangular shapes formed here. Interesting. This is where they got the idea for pyramids probably. See those two yellow strings (excuse me, guy wires)? Those and the less visible collection of five toothpick-like stakes are the sum total of the accessories. I'd like to see the Egyptians build a pyramid with that.

the tent#3

Still optimistic. Note the firm staking and artfully angled pole. Now we're getting somewhere. This is the way the west was won.

the tent#4

If I just hold it up like this...

the tent#5

So close. Rascal is surprisingly unhelpful and is frankly a little embarrassed by all the running back and forth and ineptitude. But from this angle it was perfectly clear what needed to happen -- corners firmly staked first, then the end poles practically right themselves.

the tent #6

Success! Quite an effort though.

the tent, the end

Whew. I'm in and quite cozy. Hot even. This structure would easily stand up under a 6 or 7 mph breeze and up to and including a not-ridiculous amount of dew without collapsing. Last time I was in this situation, I was in the process of getting a life-threatening number of sand flea bites. I'm thinking that mesh is not no-see-um-proof. Weirdly and inexplicably, don't those look like Rascal's pointy ears peering through the door from above? Eary. Get it?