The Blog: Spellbound by our own imperfect lives...

Mosquitoes are out in full force here! It could be like the year you had to spray yourself to take the trash container to the curb safely. The gnats are also something to contend with. I had a knob on the back of my head from a gnat bite like I'd gotten the El Kabong from Quick Draw McGraw. Little bastards. We've had thunderstorms popping up all afternoon and evening. There were tornado warnings for some counties but I don't think they amounted to any sightings. Keep your weather radio on tonight, Miles. It was nice to meet Miles today. He's just as blue-eyed and happy as he looks in his pictures.

I love Friday nights because the whole weekend stretches out in front...and last night, the whole summer stretched out in front of me because yesterday was the last day of the regular school year. Today they both start ticking away. Another weekend phenomenon: I don't know why it seems on a school day I could sleep until 9 but on Saturday, I wake up at 5:30. Today I'm going to Jill's to meet Miles, my weather report buddy. Miles lives a ways from St. Peter so he always wants to know what he should wear when he comes to visit. Unfortunately, I've had to advise the Patagonia quite late in the season this year. Also weights in the pockets a few times as it's been so windy. We watched the movie Dan in Real Life last night. What a waste of plastic and human energy. That was the sappiest, stupidest movie ever made next to Joe Versus the Volcano . One of the reviewers said, "I had a friend named Dan once. He stole my wife, killed my dog, and burned down my house. I s...

When the tides of life turn against you And the current upsets your boat, Don't waste those tears on what might have been, Just lay on your back and float. -- Ed Norton

Regis met a guy on the phone yesterday whose name is Dude. Well, really his name is Du-Wayne. Or at least, that's the way he said it. It was a beautiful afternoon. Regis wanted a light dinner but I wanted to cook wieners on the grill and I won. The elder son stopped by and had dinner with us...I loaded up the tray with condiments and a bag of chips and we ate wieners off the grill right in the front yard. How gauche. This is Ella with her umbrella chair that Tiffany gave her last year for Christmas. She spends a lot of time dismantling the umbrella part which I guess if you're a little kid is half the fun. It was dang cold on Memorial Day, even with a camp fire but the mosquitoes weren't out yet. Today they are out in full force and big as hell. You have to hug the grill and stay in the sun to discourage them. Gads, they are nasty critters. I can hardly get Regis outside when the temp is below 80..and there is no chance when you throw in biting insects. Speaking of critters...

These are pictures from our traditional trip to Green Lawn Cemetery, the first one established in St. Peter when Minnesota was still a territory. It's a beautiful place, full of old oak trees, columbine, wild strawberries, and dappled sunshine. Unfortunately, today it was also full of gnats. You had to wave your hand in front of your face to keep from swallowing them. This is the headstone of the Pettijohn family. There are three small children buried here and a young man of 19. In these days, people hoped their children made it through infancy, they didn't expect it. I can't imagine living through the deaths of all those babies. We wondered if the young man died in the Civil War. There are many veterans buried here, some from the Indian Wars in New Ulm and from the Civil War. Someone takes good care of the graves and they all had stars and little flags today. I was admiring these beautiful columbine flowers and turned a little to the west to see... this tiny fawn napping i...

The dark cloud has lifted. It helps that the wind has stopped for now. We didn't get any of the violent weather but the tornado in Hugo and the one in NE Iowa were terrifying. Peter made it home safely from the concert he went to and we're spending a quiet Memorial Day by visiting the pioneer cemetery this morning. There were baby birds everywhere yesterday. The robin in Tom's next was liberated sometime while we were there taking care of Gonzo and managed to make it out of the yard before he became pug lunch. On the way over there, we saw a grackle mama feeding her fledgling baby right in the road. What was she thinking? I know every baby bird ever hatched can't live into adulthood or we'd be over-run with birds, but nature is so cruel. It's a good thing I don't have to witness it everyday. I have some planting to do this morning and that should be pleasant since the temperature has cooled down. I'll get my garden hopper out and take a cup of coffee ...

I woke up with a serious case of the blues today. I was weeping into the dishwater after breakfast and I don't have an explanation, at least not a good one. I could say it's hormones, the weather (which is turbulent), or some other reason but I don't think it's any of those. I think it's a force from outer space. It's weird when that happens. There are storms moving into southern and central Minnesota. That always makes me nervous and I have to be gone for a couple hours this afternoon which makes it worse. I feel a little calmer in my own house. But I don't think it's that making me feel like this. Then of course, add the guilt for not really having a good reason to feel like this, other people have terrible things to deal with and I'm just in a mood, and you get a great goulash of nasty mood. I have nerve-wracking things coming up: a 250 mile trip, a portfolio presentation, things like that. But I don't think it's that either. Those kind of...

It's been a full day. We went to the grocery store for a deal on pop this morning, then to Fred's to buy the same plants I buy every year: basil, parsley. profusion zinnias, marigolds, and some other herbs that I buy based on smell. I had a haircut this afternoon while Regis went to Walgreen's and bought me some lotion. We went to Prairie Pride and picked up the pork for Joanne's party then drove to LeSueur to drop it off. We wandered on to Lexington to a favorite resort that we try to get to once a year. I asked if they had any unusual beers since Regis was drinking from a glass that advertised a Czech beer. The hickey-studded waitress said they had Leinekins Creamy Dark or Bud Lime. Yes, well, I guess. Bud Lime might be real beer but coming after Leinekins, I wasn't so sure. I thought being so close to Montgomery they might have something more interesting but it was not to be. This resort does their own fresh mushrooms, onion rings, and green beans in their own v...

I went out to the garden to find two baby grackles sitting on the edge of my fairy pond. The babies are kind of cute; too bad they grow into those grotesque looking adults. Also saw that the peonies were blooming. It's a beautiful flower, sort of a tighter smaller version of the regular size peonies. What a perfect day. I slept until 7 o'clock and can sit around in my robe until noon. The only thing I have to do this morning is to make sense of my paperwork. I loathe that job but I've been putting if off long enough. Gas is 3.85 a gallon here now so it's a good thing Regis isn't commuting too far. You have to sell a lot of beds to pay for gas at that price. Here's some information on the old cemetery we like to visit on Memorial Day: GREENLAWN CEMETERY EST 1856 Plaque: OLD TRAVERSE CEMETERY March, 1856 - Traverse des Sioux and St. Peter organized a cemetery Assoc. purchasing 10 acres. Early Missionaries, pioneers, and Civil War Veterans are buried here. Rev. T...

Amanda used that as a subject line on her post today and it does such a nice job of expressing my attitude lately that I stole it from her. Is that plagiarism? I think we steal things all the time from what we read and we aren ’t always aware that words or phrases have crept into our language, although I was aware in this case and blithely swiped it anyway. Yesterday I wrote about the word ennui. I know that words get into my vocabulary in steps…it’s not like one day I hear a new word and yippee I’m able to say it and use it in a sentence where it makes sense. I’ ve read ennui many times, thought it a few times, and finally it fit in something I wanted to say. Looks like a good weekend coming up. Regis and I have some relaxing time planned for this evening, I get a haircut tomorrow, I’m helping Joanne with a graduation party on Sunday, and Monday we are invited to a picnic at Bob’s house. I’d like to plant some flowers sometime and clean out the back porch. I know that has b...

Regis just left to buy refried beans. He has a taste for refried beans and had to have them tonight. Pica? On his way out the door he asked if we had a garlic roaster. This does not sound healthy for the environment. Somebody call the EPA and ask about superfund money. I went to my last MSU class tonight. I'm sure 38 years is not a record but it's pretty darn good. I was not enthusiastic about this one but the 300 dollars I spent on it will make me feel better about the 1000 dollars I wasted on the last one. Armstrong Hall is just as boring and difficult to find your way around in as it was in 1970. And whoever did the signage is hitting the crack pipe. I should have taken a picture. I just did a google search thinking someone else over the years must have been amused by that but I guess not. The day I go back to do my portfolio presentation, I will take a picture and you will be amazed. I tried to overcome my ennui today and organized all the random papers in my office so I co...

Regis, Peter, and I were sitting in the yard last night watching the grill cook our burgers when a baby robin hopped through, very oblivious to us. He had real feathers but still some baby fluff and he looked very vulnerable. We didn't see a mama (who has been guzzling grape jelly) taking care of him as he went through the garden and into the neighbor's yard. It's 41 degrees this morning so I'm worried about him. He didn't look big enough to make it on his own. Regis and I tried to watch the movie Hot Fuzz last night. Peter said it was hilarious but I warned him that we might not find it so funny and sure enough, we're waiting and waiting for the parts that are funny. I chuckled a time or two but there were no guffaws and when Peter left for Mankato, we closed 'er down and watched an episode of Seinfeld. I don't have much imagination this morning, don't have much inspiration or gumption. Don't have much interest or concern or drive. What I have a...

These are the wild horses that dragged my ass to work this morning. We had such a nice weekend that it was very hard to go sit at a desk and push papers. I really need a big cardboard box to pile all that crap in so I can store it somewhere until my gumption comes back. It looked like rain this morning so I tossed a couple bags of grass seed around the yard and we decided, after work, to go out for a cheeseburger rather than cook on the grill in the rain. While we were sitting at Patrick's, the sun came out and it's a gorgeous evening. Geezer Row at Patrick's was well-populated today. The (geezer) men were all lined up watching the weather on the Mexican television channel. They aren't watching the weather, believe me. If there were hot chicks reading recipes, they'd all be interested in cooking. I can't recommend enough, the book about the Mayo brothers that I'm reading. It's entertaining and fascinating. I'm almost done, which will make me sad, but...

Remember the bird bath I bought at the Rock Bend Folk Festival last year? Here it is in the garden. On the right is a little fairy hovering over the water. She's hard to see. This is the gazing globe I got for Christmas. It's so pretty I hated to take it outside. It's right by the oriole feeder so maybe it will attract some birds. The apple tree is just beautiful. In yesterday's wind, it lost some petals but it's still gorgeous and still full of birds waiting for the feeders. Red tulip. Creeping phlox. Minnesota redbud tree. It blooms before the leaves come out. For a small tree, the leaves are huge and shade a large part of my garden, so the sun-loving plants are gone and have been replaced by hosta and astilbe.

And that's a big joke. I just go from a paying job to a non-paying job on weekends. We had a very nice time at the Hynes house last night, though. We sat on the patio for hours and talked and watched a pair of robins feed their constantly hungry babies. Peter is on his way home today. He's spend a couple months in the basement suite and then will move on to his own apartment, we hope. I put all my winter clothes away and dusted in there so it isn't quite so dreadful looking. There's something about winter clothes in May. You'd like to put them all in a bag for the thrift store because you can't imagine wanting to wear them again, ever. We're having a burger and hot dog patio party at the Hynes house again today. I sliced tomatoes and onions real thin, chopped an avocado, made some cucumbers in vinegar, and bought Hebrew National hot dogs. We saw them on the food channel and thought we'd give them a try. They're kosher and they answer to a higher aut...

Some people are of hardier stock than us but we grilled out for the first time tonight. It was about 70 degrees when I got home so I sent Regis to the store for potatoes and cabbage. I had a few carrots, an onion, and a bag of chicken wings. My favorite was the carrots. They cooked in a foil pouch for a while then Regis dumped them into the wok with the potatoes so they got nice and dark. We had a glass of wine, watched the birds, criticized our compulsive yard freak neighbors, and had a wonderful time. The apple tree is in bloom and the feeders are full of birds. The little yellow finches are in line but we haven't seen an oriole yet even though the grape jelly is waiting. A weird bird feeder phenomenon: In the winter, birds will not eat the hulled sunflower seeds out of the big feeder. Do I throw them out now? They get wet when it rains but it was a cold winter and they couldn't be bad, could they? This has happened the last few years so if anyone has an answer, I'd appre...

It was Jane's birthday yesterday. Here we are in the front seat of her red Mustang. Regis is packed in the back seat. We drove up and down the country roads visiting the places we used to go. Happy birthday, Jane! Kramer went in for his grooming and well pet visit yesterday. They asked if I wanted the senior blood panel to check his liver function. I said no, he feels fine. When I picked him up they recommended he have his teeth cleaned and that he see an ophthalmalogist for his cataracts. I declined that, too. Regis said they're probably down at the court house getting an order for protection and placing him in foster care. We obviously can't be trusted. I went to the teacher's retirement party after school yesterday. I remember sitting there as a young teacher thinking those retiring people looked so old. They don't look so old anymore. I spoke for my friend, Jill, who retired from the district but not from teaching. I cried, of course, and wondered aloud who let ...

I made lo mein and marinated tofu last night for dinner. This is one of my husband's favorite meals but one I can easily never eat again. It leaves the house with an intense smell that doesn't go away for days. A nasty reminder. We watched part of the first season of Feasting on Asphalt last night. I thought it was the River Run from New Orleans to Lake Itasca but it was the east to west trip. Still very entertaining. The weirdest food was something they ate in Indiana (I think)...brain sandwiches. A deep fried slab of pork brain. I don't think I'd be willing to give that a try, thank you very much. I did learn to eat nuts in Iowa and I don't mean the legume variety. They made little baskets of deep-fried animal testicles and served them as an appetizer. Hey, they taste like turkey! Our poor grungy looking dog goes in for a haircut and a bath today. It's more like a shave, nothing very fancy but they trim his nails and clean him up so he smells good. That mea...

I have been looking over Regis' new benefit information. Among the many things that amuse me are these: The felonious assault benefit. It a felonious assault results in a guy's death or dimemberment, there is an additional benefit if the assault is not committed by his spouse, a member of his household, or a fellow employee. I suppose those are statistically the most likely to commit a felonious assault upon a guy. The coma benefit. If a guy is in a coma within 30 days of an incident and in said coma for at least 3o additional days, there is an additional benefit. The repatriation benefit. If a guy dies outside his home state or country, this benefit pays to get your remains home. So, you can imagine that I wonder if you are the victim of a felonious assault perpetrated by a stranger outside of Minnesota and are in a coma for 45 days then die, does it pay triple? I suppose some would think this is morbid wondering. I think it's just finding humor in insurance language. I...

Here's my mom, Shirley, on her 76th birthday. Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

I got up before 7 and commenced house cleaning. The word commenced makes me think of the time I was going to put a rock garden in the back yard and I succumbed to the ads to Call Gopher One Before You Dig! How did I know they were going to conduct the Spanish Inquisition about my plans? The woman I spoke with wanted to know if I planned to use dynamite and where the nearest intersection was that would be accessible to an ambulance. What the hell, lady, I said. I'm making a rock garden. There is no dynamite involved. Then she wanted to know when I planned to commence digging. That is the exact word she used...and she said if I didn't plan to commence digging within 48 hours I would have to call back and give them the information again...about the dynamite and the ambulance accessibility. I started to laugh and said maybe they should screen calls so people like me wouldn't have to answer such ridiculous questions. I'm not making this up. So, the house cleaning was fi...

I made it to the end of the week but just barely. I don't remember if I mentioned this or not but I've decided I have seasonal allergies. Sunday night I was so miserable I was sure I was coming down with some horrible flu or at least a bad cold. It never materialized but I continued to feel crappy until I got some Zyrtec. I felt better with that but still was so tired I could hardly drag myself around. What a whiner. It's a beautiful afternoon but the rest of the weekend is supposed to be cold and rainy. I have to clean the house tomorrow...not my favorite endeavor...and I guess some of our off-spring are coming for dinner on Sunday. Regis says he is in charge and I only have to decide what I want to eat. Work has been stressful lately as the ends of school years are. I called a friend of mine after school today and said what if it never gets better, what if every year we just get tired of each other's BS earlier and more intensely, what if we lose interest more and mor...

This week has been nine days long already. It started with the marathon yardwork on Sunday, then the advent of seasonal allergies, a night in a bad bed (grand, my ass), almost three hundred miles on the road, and a lot of damn cranky people. I feel like I can hardly drag myself around by the time I come home. Regis really likes tofu so I put some in the marinade tonight but we realized it takes a long time for the flavors to seep into that rubber, I mean tofu. So we got some really unhealthy chicken at a franchise that will remain nameless. It's against the laws of nature to say the name of this place in the same paragraph with tofu. One of the big grocery stores in Mankato sends out an ad once in a while. My favorite summer wines was on sale in the last brochure so Regis made a special trip over to get a bottle. The manager said they don't carry it because they don't have room and seemed to think that was reasonable. Regis got a burr under his saddle and sent a letter to t...

Ah, spring arrives in Minnesota. Finally. A daffodil has been blooming in my garden for a week because it's so cool and wet. A nice side effect of the horrible weather. A grumpy face in the garden. One red tulip. My favorite flower pot that looks like GW. Lilies pop through the ground and you can almost see them grow. My first baby on her second day with me. Tiffany is 23 now. Peter and Tiffany. It was hard to take a picture of them apart. Bob and Emily. Our grown-up kids. Regis and Amber. Laughing. And my little Ella. Reasons for Mother's Day.

I didn't clean the porch on Sunday. We decided since the city was coming to pick up yard waste on Monday, we would clean the yard and the garden instead. I always underestimate how long a job like that takes and how out-of-shape my muscles are. I think we started at 10:00 and I finally limped in at 4:30 to take a bath. We had a waist-high pile of grass, leaves, and branches running the length of the house. We only have three trees so I don't know where all that crap comes from but there it was. Monday we left at 6 a.m. to be at the famous M Clinic in R for more tests. We parked in the Kahler ramp and hiked over to the Clinic. This was not easy since the muscles in my legs and arms were crying our for mercy. One test after another through the day and finally a meeting with the doctor. I seemed to be coming down with something and fell asleep in the chair in the waiting room until I woke myself up with a sharp snore. Always a nice touch. When I wasn't snoring in the chair, I ...

We had dinner last night with Young Reg's in-laws, Peggy and Mike. Very nice people and lots of fun. They live in Grand Rapids so their stories are about snowmobiling and ice fishing and moose. Actually I don't remember them telling moose stories but it sounds so up north. Patrick's was packed...looked like a wedding party, maybe some prom-goers, lots of college students and parents, and the general riff-raff to watch the Kentucky Derby. Ella and Emily stayed home because Ella is developing a bad cold. We stopped at the liquor store on our way to pick up a couple lottery tickets. Regis found a pile of t-shirts for a buck each so the men at the party all got party favors...Jagermeister t-shirts. We also celebrated Amber's birthday with a present of Bath and Body Works products and a bottle of wine. That could mean a really long bubble bath and a big glass of pinot grigio. Nice way to spend Sunday. I'm almost done with the furniture rearranging around here. I made an ...

We didn't get any snow last night which was a relief but the wind has battered the house all day again. Poor birds can hardly land to eat on the feeder. At least the sun is shining. I'm going to Rochester with Regis on Monday. He has tests and appointments all day until late afternoon, then another early morning appointment. I decided, because the whole process is stressful, that rather than driving home, we would stay over. So I made a reservation at the Kahler which is right across the street and connected by the subway system. They have a room that's $3000 a night (the square footage of this room is twice that of our house) but we got something much more modest, the list of amenities for which included "toilet". Hmmm. That makes you wonder if there are hotels that don't include one. Maybe it should make me wonder what kind of room one gets for peanuts in an establishment that has rooms for 3 grand. Ella came over this morning with her daddy, Uncle Reg, Glen...

We went to see some friends tonight and had a pan of left-over lasagna from a church dinner and several bottles of wine. The rain pounded the windows on the east side of the house, then on the north side. I'm not sure what that means, meteorologically , but it can't be good. We had a good time considering all the wine and beer and Tom's rapier wit. While it's painful sometimes to have friends who remember your husbands and boyfriends from 30 years ago, it's also nice to remember, and to remind them, that they (Tom) dropped their pants in those days, when the party was over. We're home now, looking at the rest of the weekend. I have to get up early and prepare for the furniture movers. I rented a 10X10 storage unit and I'm moving some excess furniture out of the garage and the basement. I've warned my kids that they have until the end of August to claim what they want, then it's going to the curb. The price of the moving help is breakfast... pancakes ...

I don't know if cold and monsoon are mutually exclusive concepts but you get the idea. It's freezing cold and there is a torrential rain coming down. Someone looking out the window with me swore they saw snowflakes. I don't doubt it a bit. The bars will be full tonight. We've made it through another week of testing at the famous M clinic in R. We had a good laugh last night over the fact that Regis has a EMG scheduled because he happened to mention a sore toe which also resulted in him prancing around the doctor's office on his toes and heels wearing a hospital gown. I would have laughed out loud if I had been there. I said he better lock his lips and be careful what he scratches while he's there. If they get a hint that anything is amiss, you're in for an expensive test. They may not discover what's wrong but they will certainly find out what's NOT wrong. The city is picking up yard waste on Monday so we planned to rake and trim trees and pick up st...