This week, D. took a tour of the new StandArt Lofts. The rectangular shaped building, which you may have noticed when driving into Downtown from The Trail or I-75, was built in 1906 for Standart-Simmons Hardware Co.

More than a 100 years later, this building has been converted into fantastic apartments… with some serious ceiling height!

The windows and exposed brick look great.

I love D.’s shot of the staircase. No worries, the building has elevators… which is more than I can say for most of the buildings where I lived in NYC. That’s luxury!

Standart Lofts | 34 S. Erie Street | Downtown | (419) 249-9800

A couple lazy Sundays ago D. and I were in Perrysburg with time to kill, so we went looking for Fort Meigs. It had been decades since D.’s last visit as a child but we found the 1812 battlefield easily. Apparently it’s free to stroll the fort during the wintertime–the blockhouses are closed, however.

There was a very nice, 100 ft. tall obelisk built in the great year of 1908. We saw several people sledding down the river-side of the fort–regardless of the “no sledding” signs posted about the visitors/gift shop building. Inside the gift shop I picked up a soft-cover book of old Toledo Blade covers. So… I suggest a visit to one of the area’s oldest destinations, on a moderately cool winter day… and maybe bring a sled?

Fort Meigs | 29100 West River Road, Perrysburg | (419) 874-4121

This is Charlie aka “Cat-attack Charlie”. He was saved from a murderous cat by a kid in the neighborhood. He brought him over to me and I went straight into action by calling R. & M. for advice on where to bring him.

Nature’s Nursery in Whitehouse, Ohio was where I ended up. It was about a half-hour drive but pleasant, with lots of farmland.

The volunteers were very nice and helpful. It turns out Charlie is a baby robin. He had a leg injury but they didn’t think it was broken and assured me the little champ would be okay. So, what could have been a very sad incident was turned around by that great organization. Big thanks to Nature’s Nursery!

Nature’s Nursery | Whitehouse, Ohio | (419) 877-0060

Friday night, J. hosted a group of friends in her office’s suite at the new arena. This was more than my first time seeing the Walleye play–it was my first hockey game ever.

There were people dressed like furries, posing for photos.

And a fight… someone should break it up!

Snacks were yum, and the Lucas Co. Arena is very nice.

D. and R. had their minds set on walleye sandwiches. Supposedly, the condiment bar is epic. That’s a lot of mayo!

And at the end of the night, Toledo Walleye won the game! Great job!

…but stop all the fighting.

Toledo Walleye | at the Lucas Co. Arena | Downtown Toledo!

I’m really not a comedy fan. But it’s good to push yourself to do things you wouldn’t normally once in a while. Right?

Friday night, our friends M. and K. invited us out to see M.’s cousin do stand up. Jon Ueberroth is originally from the East Side so his routine was very Toledo-centric. Several funny cheap shots were tossed towards the East Side, of course.

More friends joined us, like R. and M. — who happened to have gone to high school with one of the opening comics, Andy Peters. Andy was very amusing, especially when the question had arisen of whether there was a Potbelly sandwich shop in Toledo.

There there were plenty of laughs, cheap drinks, and outside the outbursts of what we called “the stoned table” it was a pretty great time.

Connxtions Comedy Club | 5319 Heatherdowns Blvd. | (419) 867-9041