The daily digest of Twin Cities culture | Secrets of the City

I was so thrilled by this afternoon's sunshine and 30-degree weather, I took a stroll through Loring Park. It was mostly deserted. But as I rounded the northwest edge, I could have sworn I saw one of the members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers smoking a cigarette outside Nick and Eddie. So I walked over to investigate.

Back in the late 70's, when I was a kid going to Groveland Elementary School, the little strip mall at the corner of Minnetonka Boulevard and Highway 101 contained a hardware store, an inky-dinky library branch, a small natural foods co-op, and a SuperValu that smelled like chicken and macaroni and cheese.

Well, who ever imagined that strip mall would some day contain a swanky little wine shop and a restaurant so popular, the parking lot would be jam-packed and you would have to park in front of the auto body shop across the street?

The answer: Chris Eriksson did.

I'm not a big fan of the Big Three: Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa.

I lost a friend about a year ago. Or at least, I thought I did.

Last month she came back. It turned out she and her husband were going through a terrible time when she faded away: he'd been diagnosed with a chronic disease and had to go on disability; they were on the brink of losing their house; they pulled their son out of college because they couldn't pay the bills. She told me all this over coffee but assured me that the situation has since righted itself. Her husband is working, they renegotiated their mortgage. The kid is back in school.

So you think you have some control. But really, you don't.

Here at Secrets of the City and MNSpeak, we thrive on the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. We love to feast and be merry with our friends and families...and to exchange cool presents, which is often easier in theory than in practice - especially with all that merriment. But gifts happen, so we prepare! Think of this guide as your brainstorming jump-start: gift ideas, tips for fun shopping efficiencies (oh yeah), and thoughts on how to make your holiday season sparkle in a creative and original way.

Back when we were dating, in early 2006, my husband and I used to drop $85 on dinner without giving it a thought. Thirty dollars for a bottle of wine to take home. Another 10 or 15 for sweets to eat in front of the fire. What the hell...

Well, those days are gone.

So I've done a fearless moral inventory and come to the conclusion that I am powerless. Not over alcohol, per se, but pretty much everything. The economy, fashion trends, my adult kids' lifestyle choices. And OK, maybe alcohol, too. Because get this.

For years, I've been a wine drinker. ONLY a wine drinker. And I used to say often and fiercely and with some pride, "I don't consume hard liquor. It's not healthy." Yeah, right. . . .

People say I can be a bit harsh. Like, say, Stalin. (See my husband for details.) I’m working on this.

Travel back with me, if you will for just a moment, to those happy, halcyon days of the year 2001. Oh, what a time to be a young American artist it was!