pictures and events

This picture and the one following are from the family reunion at Ottertail Lake in June. Nobody took many pictures, but Deb took a few. This one is beautiful.

Here we are after Saturday's dinner, going out for a ride on the pontoon. There are a bunch of people on the pontoon and a bunch more on the beach. We've gotten to be quite a multitude.


Here's our current weather map, Miles. Big rain and storms coming. You might have already had some in Owatonna. It's starting to rain here now and you can see the red stuff is coming right over us. By the way, I saw the pictures of Career Day at the daycare center. Keep your eye out for something that isn't too dangerous and where you can make enough money to support your toy and diaper habit. Another thing: maybe when your Mom & Pop get into their dotage, they'll want to live in your basement, so keep that in mind, too. The things a baby has to worry about these days.

I had a nice visit with my friend Jill yesterday afternoon. Her home is so restful. There are interesting things to look at everywhere, places you can rest your eyes. We always have a lot to talk about and this time it was grandbabies and life circumstances and how we end up being who we are. It was deep for a summer afternoon.

Late afternoon, we were invited to Tom and Betty's house for a burger and hotdog cook-out. They have a lovely patio and deck that Tom built himself. They're so good to guests, providing cold drinks, a pool of cold water for your feet, snacks, and good laughs. Tom likes to cook and read recipes, too, so it's always fun to see what he's cooked up.

Last night Tom used a recipe from Cook's Illustrated that called for grinding up boneless short ribs and beef tips together to make burger. Sometimes we overdo it on side dishes but last night we just had burgers, hotdogs, lots of sliced onion and tomato, and chips. It was perfect. In the end, Tom brought out strawberry and blueberry sauce over shortcake that he made from scratch. Delicious. Made from scratch. What a funny expression.

I suppose this rain isn't helpful to the county fair folks across the state but probably better now than evening. They just button up their little stands and trailers and get an extra nap. We need the rain but not the hail.

I've just finished rereading two of Jim Harrison's novels: True North and Returning to Earth. They might not be to the taste of everyone because there's sex, cussing, violence, and death. Here are a few lines so you can see what a wonderful writer he is:

• We are both staring at the moonlight on the lilacs out the screened window. Their odor is nearly overpowering and it's as if we've both given in to living memory of earth. Moment by moment it's lilacs.
• Heraclitus was wrong when he said you can't step in the same river twice. You can't even step in the same river once except for a microsecond.
• The danger of civilization of course, is that you will piss away your life on nonsense.
• ...in a culture in the seventh stage of rabid consumerism the peripheral always subsumes the core, and the core disappears to the point that very few of the citizens can recall its precise nature.

Last night I started reading The Beast God Forgot to Invent. The characters Jim Harrison creates are so vivid and so interesting you feel you know them and you like them. I have been sad at the ends of these books, feeling like people I knew have gone away.

This post has taken me two cups of coffee and a bowl of cheerios to write. The thunder is still rolling and I'm still sitting in my nightgown. If I get dressed, that's like a commitment to do something constructive.

Here I go...