October 31, 2007
This is one of Gidget's most favorite of days. She gets to dress up and greet all the little trick-or-treaters to our door.

This year she wanted to be a little chicken, and we came up with this costume for her.

Gidget sends you her Halloween greetings!


























October 20, 2007
In last week's paper, we read about a rummage sale at our local Norway Hall. In the paper, a woman was holding a kitschy viking ship mural, and we had to have it. So, we made sure that we were at Norway Hall first thing in the morning to be able to claim our Viking plunder. It was only $20 and it was a steal! We also picked up a print of a troll rampaging down Karl Johan Gate in Oslo. It was a fun print to buy. We also found a little wooden trunk that was filled with tins of make-up from the dance troupe from long ago.

Here's a snippet from the newspaper article:
"The plaster statue of the blue-eyed, chesty Viking with enormous wings attached to his helmet has got to go. So does the stuffed Viking with a sparkle-encrusted axe, and the ’70s-bright panorama of Viking ships sailing across the ocean. And what to do with those old copper etchings of members who have long since vanished from the Sons of Norway’s memory?

Arna Rennan, Gudrun Hoivik and other members of the Nortun Lodge in Duluth have been digging through the lodge’s closets in recent months, weeding out some of the “cheesier” items lurking among treasured lodge memorabilia. The culled items will be offered at a rummage sale at the lodge on Saturday. "

“All bad Vikings must go,” Rennan, president of the lodge, said as she poked through a table laden with some of the worst offenders. The popular notion that Vikings wore horned or winged helmets, for instance, just isn’t true.

Andy was very happy that he was able to purchase the Viking ship mural. It was created in 1963 and it is the ultimate in kitschiness.

October 15, 2007
Today, our Coffee Art® was profiled on the CocoaJava.com website.

"Looking to add a special designer touch to your home, showcasing truly unique art with a real hi-test flavor? For those with a taste for the extraordinary, coffee art paintings are the perfect choice, bringing together two things more and more people are passionate about – great java and great art."

Click here to read the entire article.


October 6. 2007
It was quite the blustery and turbulent day. The wind was howling out of the north east and Lake Superior was churning out large waves. As we were driving along the shore, we saw shadowy figures bobbing up and down in the frigid water and realized that they were surfers! It is a rare to see them out on the lake, but they are out there. A group of about seven or eight were out riding the waves on this cold day. We hope that they had some hot coffee ready for them when they arrived back on to shore to warm up.

This scene reminded us of our "Ride the Caffeine Wave" painting we created.




October 4, 2007
This Coffee Art® painting was inspired by the most beautiful of the Norse goddesses, Freya. Freya was a Norse goddess of love and fertility, war and wealth.

We like to think that Freya would have provided coffee to the Vikings to get them into their berserk trance, as well as to keep them awake and warm on their voyages.

Andy likes to think that there is some resemblance between the Scandinavian Goddess and Angel.

(It is one of Andy's favorite works, and thus, the original is not for sale.)

Prints are available here, though!

October 3, 2007
This Coffee Art® painting was inspired by the Split Rock Lighthouse on the rugged North Shore of Lake Superior.

September and October is one of the best times of the year to visit the North Shore because of the colorful leaves and the crisp air.

We were inspired by the lighthouse and its beam. The light was retired in 1969 by the U. S. Coast Guard. The lighthouse is now part of the Split Rock Lighthouse State Park and is operated by the Minnesota Historical Society. The site includes the original tower and lens, the fog signal building, the oil house, and the three keepers' houses. It is restored to appear as it did in the late 1920s. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1969.

Click here to view the painting.


October 2, 2007
This Coffee Art® painting was inspired by the upcoming Leif Erickson Day on October 9. While many were taught in school that Christopher Columbus was the first European to meet the Native Americans, while, in fact, it was the Norse/Icelandic explorer to sail across the North Atlantic five hundred years earlier.

This painting is dedicated to him and we are left wondering, "Would Leif made the trek even more quickly if he was high on caffeine and the hot coffee to keep him warm ?"

Click here to view the painting.

October 1, 2007
This Coffee Art® painting was inspired by the calm and tranquility in the early morning hours on the lakeshore.

This painting depicts a lone camper packing up his gear and portaging to the next lake to explore.

After the morning coffee, the camper is ready to forge on to the day ahead.

Click here to view the painting.