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

Regis and I went to the place for dinner where when you used to go there the bait shop had a better bathroom than the restaurant. Not true anymore. The bathroom is lovely and the beer is cold. Those are not in order of importance. I went swimming today and the water was a gorgeous temperature. I didn't want to get out but I was alone and it got a tiny bit boring. I tried treading water and watching television through the window but that didn't work so well. There was a monkey and that's all I know. I can count quickly five people I know well who have lost their jobs or who are fearful of losing their jobs. Scary times. Regis says the atmosphere at his work is awful...people think that on Friday they will come for them. We're going to see Dean McGraw at the Bothy tomorrow night. This is one of the best shows in town for fifteen bucks. You can have some popcorn, sit in the front row, visit with the Doctor Daniels , and hear some fine music. Sometimes Dean has us sing an...

ack crap. It's been a long week but a good one. I'm going swimming again tomorrow and that will be five days this week. That's as close to being competitive as I have ever been. Usually, I don't give a darn about that kind of thing. Betty and I are enjoying our swimming time. It goes fast because we gab, and later in the day, I have to think about whether or not I have exercised. I've loathed exercise all my life. This is a big change. We're watching Man on Wire . It's a very cool but weird story about the French guy who walks on wires between tall buildings like the WTC and Notre Dame. I read an essay about him a year ago which didn't make him sound quite as loony as this documentary does. What the hell. What would make a guy do this? You really should check it out in some format if only because it emphasizes in an amazing way the continuum on which humans lie. On one end there are people like Philippe Petit and on the other end there are people lik...

When the big boys, Bob and Reg, were small, they frequented the 7 Eleven near their home. There was an old hobo guy who also frequented the place on a banana bike that he sort of scooted along on. Regis pointed him out and said to the boys, "There's your real dad. If you don't behave, you'll have to live with him." Oooohhhh. A guy with an evil sense of humor. They laugh about it now. I've been patting myself on the back today about my swimming, then got an email from a friend of mine who is 80 years old. He walks three miles a day on a treadmill UPHILL and swims a mile in 52 minutes three times a week. What the hell. I feel like a slacker. I heard another good story today and I remember starting to write a blog post in my head but by the time I got home, it had drifted away. I hate when that happens.

Hey, Annie. The second definition for piddle is to pee. So your family has not been out of the dictionary loop after all. Such cute video of Miles saying peacock and holy cow. Way to go grandma! If you noticed the eco-safe logo to the right, it's only there because I wanted to find a way to print my whole blog (700+) posts. I've searched and searched and can't find a way to do it. There are places that will print it in a book form but you have to do the formatting which is the hardest part. I don't have any delusions about book publishing but I am egocentric enough to want to keep what I've written here for the last few years. Ec0-safe will let me print one month at a time, in pretty much the same format you see on the website. Not much help frankly. I was driving home and noticed the thermometer in the car said it was 14 degrees. Not exactly a heat wave but better than sub-zero. We're watching a program about the migration of the monarch butterflies. It's a...

I notice that I used the verb piddle twice in the last blog posts and I know I used it in several emails over the last few days. What the hell. That's not a word I've ever read in a book and I don't remember using it in the past. Where did that word come from? My theory is that words lie dormant in your brain, waiting around among the sloughing cells, for the moment when they get to pop to the fore and make you sound silly. Regis pointed out tonight that at 5:40, it was still light outside. Now, we haven't seen the sun more than two days a week for the last three months so light is a relative term. What he meant to say is that it was not dark. Yet. It's not dark yet. I think those words are in one of Dylan's songs. In the movie Wonder Boys. Man, google is great. Here's the link to the lyrics. I put "it's not dark yet" in the search bar and there it is. I've written about the blog Sweet Juniper before and it's still worth checking out....

Regis bottling his Mr. Beer project. Pay no attention to the messy desk behind him. A few more weeks before the tasting. My current favorite wine and the aerator that Tom gave me. It wakes the flavors up! It was a lazy weekend of movies, peanuts, wine, and piddling around.

Tom recommended the tangelos at the food coop so I asked Regis to pick them up on his way back from Bob's. They're wonderful. So juicy you have to eat them over the sink. I have a pot of soup on the stove and I think we'll spend the rest of the day watching movies. I don't want to be too productive.

Winter is oppressive this year. Even people who normally like it, are weary of the never-ending snow and bitter cold. We had a few almost spring like days this week, then woke to subzero temperatures with a biting wind again yesterday. Here's the forecast, Miles: Winds: W at 4 MPH Barometric pressure: 30.63 in. (Hg) Sunrise: 7:42 am Sunset: 5:11 pm (That's about 9.5 hours of sunlight...if the sun isn't obscured by clouds.) Wind chill advisory posted from 9 pm tonight through noon Saturday - wind will make it feel like -20 to -40 F Temperatures tumble today - and struggle just to reach 0 Saturday....expect 4 more nights below zero. First time since 1994? Possibility of no January thaw for the Twin Cities (defined as two days > 32 F.) Friday night: WINDCHILL ADVISORY. Mostly clear - bitter . Low: -12 Windchills from -20 to -30. Saturday: Numbing sunlight. Winds: W 10-15 High: 2 Saturday night: Clear, frigid . Low: -14 Sunday: Bright sun, still very cold . Hig...

I saw the menu for the inauguration lunch and wish I could have been there. They served seafood stew in puff pastry, duck breast with cherry chutney, herb roasted pheasant with wild rice stuffing, molasses whipped sweet potatoes, winter vegetables, and a dessert they are calling “Cinnamon Apple Sponge Cake,” which is more like an apple charlotte made with brioche. What??? Roasted winter vegetables? I think I myself moi' served that for a holiday dinner a while back and was severely ridiculed by my peasant family who asked where the mashed potatoes were. We didn't realize roasted winter vegetables would appear on the White House menu. I have no idea what an apple charlotte is but I copied it from an online article so that item came along. I have to finish up here. I hauled my laptop back and forth to work for the last two days to do menu charts but never had time to open it up. So I haul it home today and forget the blasted cord. The battery on this clunker lasts about an hour. ...

This is evidence that I am a poor photographer. I but off Nancy's head and got Tiff and Evie making funny faces. Tiffany looking over a little outfit for Elliot. Brenda, Ruth, Teresa, Tiffany and Evelyn. The name tag on Tiffany's tummy says, "Tiffany and Elliot". Brenda and I drove to Pine Island for a baby shower for Tiffany. We met the nicest people and had a lovely time. Tiffany looks happy and healthy and she's waiting anxiously for Elliot's arrival. The weather, on a more dismal note, was horrific today. We left about 8 o'clockthis morning and it wasn't too bad although I saw one car in the ditch between St. Peter and Mankato, and we saw several big SUVs in the ditch on 52 north of Rochester. We headed for home about 1 o'clock and it was awful. Many cars in the ditch, horrible visibility, and icy roads. Just east of Waseca, we were behind a pick-up truck. It looked like it took a deliberate right turn and all of sudden it was in the ditch and ...

Technical problems have been repaired. I didn't check "for public viewing" when I uploaded the video because it sounded like something sort of lewd. Oh blast, some of you people don't even know how to upload so don't give me any crap. Now it's public and there you go. Joanne wrote such a funny comment in the video post (she could see it) that I have to republish it here: Oh Regis- Ye of little faith! Everyone knows that this works. I watched 2 different meteorologists do it on different news channels while I was exercising this morning. It was even on CNN news. They also had a guy in Minnesota pound a nail into a board with a banana that had sat out overnight. Now that I hadn't seen before. A banana? I might have to try that. Scrubs is a hoot tonight. It's the musical one. Who writes this stuff? Genius! It's a good thing that I have many outlets for my verbiage. I had a frustrating incident today and I wrote about in another venue. The air was blue...

We're having technical problems, Houston. Stand by. The technician has been called and is enroute.

One of the myths that Regis claims I have perpetuated over the years is that, on very cold days, you can throw a cup of boiling water into the air and it will vaporize before it hits the ground. Regis always scoffed at me and I couldn't find proof of it anywhere on the google. Tom and Betty called last night to say they'd done it, so first thing this morning, we filmed the proof. We probably should have had a better script, but this works. We boiled water in a tea kettle, Regis threw it high into the air over the garden, and I filmed and directed. You hear me say okay at then end. I should have said cut.

Sweet Juniper

Green Devil Ingredients 1 ounce gin 1/2 teaspoon absinthe 1 bottle Duvel (11.2 ounces) Procedure Take a beer glass (preferably one made for Belgian beers) and coat the inside with absinthe. Add gin, and fill with beer, aiming for a nice, foamy head. Take the next day off.

A sweet wait person named Ingrid brought me a glass of wine at Patrick's tonight. As we gabbed about the bitterly cold weather, she said it's like walking into knives, which I thought was very poetic and elegant. Then she said it freezes your boogers. Not so poetic and elegant but true. Going swimming in this weather is a true test of the pioneer spirit. I grit my teeth and go out in it at 5 a.m. Swimming is nice because the pool is warm, there are plants and tables with umbrellas, and it smells like waffles. But when you get out of the pool and go back in the cold, it kicks your ass for the whole day. I still haven't tried the Yaktrax, Charlie. Now that we have all the snow, it's less slippery. I hear the temperature is going up eventually and we should expect freezing rain so the opportunity will come back. I feel better for having them. I was going to make chicken casserole for dinner but Regis sort of wrinkled his nose. I had to remind him that some women don't ...

I came home at noon, put on every piece of microfiber I own, turned the mattress pad up to high and took a long nap that felt like I was sinking into jello. I've felt woozy in the head since I got up but I managed to do some cooking. I don't like being sick and find that if I activate my endorphins, I can usually avoid illness or at least shorten it. I've a great believer in endorphins. Whatever they are. Regis and Peter cleaned the walks and took my Christmas stuff to the basement. Hurray that was worth the cooking. We got our Yaktrax in the mail today but neither of us have the gumption to put them on and go outside. They look like the clear deal and we plan to give them a trial run when the wind chill gets above thirty below. Don't look for any "Charlie" pictures...no running down the driveway with and without the Yaktrax to illustrate the pratfalls that are possible. We watched the Golden Globes last night. The young men all look alike and the women are ve...

I got a package in the mail yesterday. It felt like clothes but I hadn't ordered anything. Turns out it was a white polo shirt from the driving safely for old people group. I'm not much into white polo shirts and I'm sure not going to wear one with the old people's logo emblazoned on my chest. Ugh. Not much of a fashion statement. We watched Pineapple Express last night. Regis laughed a lot and I chuckled a few times. It got a little long about 45 minutes into it. Not recommended. We gave it a 2 out of 5 only because we did laugh a few times. Burn After Reading was much better. More snow and blowing snow coming tonight. Our YakTrax haven't arrived yet but here's the review (with photos) of another blogger . If Charlie can run in them, I should be able to waddle vertically. I've been busy in the kitchen today. I have a chicken in the oven for something I'm making the end of the week, I made Chex mix for Peter, I tried out the Cuisinart ice cream ...

Since Regis stopped working weekends, we've gotten into the habit (more than a year's worth of habit) of buying our groceries for the week early Saturday morning. Sometimes we have breakfast before or after, but we're usually out of the house by 6:30. I don't mind any other time of the year, but this is a brutal schedule in December and January. I have to say I complained a bit this morning. Our favorite grocery store in Mankato has been undergoing some renovations so it took a long time in the produce section. Nothing was where it used to be and things didn't seem to be grouped with like things. Mushrooms were in two different places. We noticed that there seems to be a new arrangement of groceries in other departments. I needed flour and I like to buy unbleached white flour. The flour section has shrunk. The flour section now has as its neighbor, the strawberry twizzler section. Does this make sense? We noticed before that some of this made sense: green beans, mus...

What the hell. Is the a hunter-gatherer thing? We sit down to watch some television at 8:00 because it's too early to go to bed and too late to do other things. I understand there is about a 3 minute window where you choose a program for either the next 30 or 60 minutes. Not the man of the house. He wants to see everything that's on and sample a little and pretty soon it's 8:17 and too late to watch anything. It irritates him when I say calmly, "Pick something." And it irritates me when he watches 43 seconds of the beginning of Twister and 26 seconds of Law and Order. Men. My son. If I call him too much, or happen to call when he's with is friends, he is irritated. So, I hadn't seen him for three days except for footprints in the snow and his car parked in the front of the house. Yesterday I call to see if he can do something in Mankato for me and he barks, "You don't see me for three days, and you don't care how I am?" What the hell. He...

We decided to swim at the local hotel the last few days. The lights are low, it's warm, and there's nobody else there. The pool is about the size of a postage stamp so you have to do laps the short way which is about like Tom's inflatable pool but all other factors weigh in its favor. Oh, and there are steps to get in and out so you don't have to hoist your hinder up a ladder. But, I've had enough; tomorrow I'm taking the day off. This is the weather outlook. The blue is snow and the pink is ice. We'd much prefer the snow, thank you very much. There is a lot of whining going on about the weather. The final blog count on pratfalls was only four, in addition to the seven I noted. Our yaktraks should be here by Saturday so I won't be adding to the count. We're watching the second season of 30 Rock. What a hoot. You have to pay close attention, though, because the best lines are fast.

I was going to a meeting at the high school this afternoon and at the intersection of Washington and Grace, there was this young fellow with three huge bags, like suitcases. They had airline tags on them, he didn't have a hat or gloves on, and it looked like quite a load. So I figure this guy is safe and not a mugger or abducter. I rolled down the window and asked if he wanted a ride. He put his bags in the back seat and away we went. He was a Gustavus student so as he directed me to his dorm, he told me he had flown back to Mpls, fallen asleep at the airport, and didn't wake up when the police asked about his unattended bags. They took his bags to Lost and Found. He had to take the shuttle back to SP and his bags had to come later. His name was Trent. Nice kid. The lesson is this: Never take a nap in an airport. I suppose this is a Homeland Security issue. My friend Tom bought new glasses with transition lenses. Yesterday his wife noticed one lens was dark and one was light. T...

Do I count? Two times...once on each side. Regis once, in a fit of temper over the fact that I fell down. Young Regis two times...once carrying an armload of rugs and he claimed he was making snow angels when asked why he was covered with snow. Mom once. She said the hardest part was getting back up. I can relate. Vicki, one of our paras at school. She called it a wipe-out. That's seven pratfalls among five people. Do we need more proof that this is a treacherous winter? At least nobody was injured except in the dignity department. I wonder what people in warm climates talk about when they don't have the weather or weather-related injuries as topics of conversation. I read in the paper today that spinal injuries from falls are way up this year. Holy crap. If you've fallen down this winter, add your comment at the bottom. Regis tells me he just ordered two pair of Yaktraks for us. The UPS guy who delivered a package today had a pair on and said they are all the rage at his ...

Made with My Cool Signs.Net Made with My Cool Signs.Net

The pool area was 62 degrees today and the showers were icy cold. I'm not going back there until they turn the heat back on. That's torture. The water wasn't any too warm either...people were trying to swim with only their noses out of the water. It was 20 degrees outside and that was just enough sun and warmth to melt the grit into the ice. Ugh. I finished the book about Henry the VIII. He had lopped the heads of about half the population of England by the end of the book. It was good but I knew how it would end: At the scaffold or the chopping block. Betty gave me a pile of that genre to read but I might have to take a break and read something that isn't so full of pillage and plunder. Not much else to report tonight. Cold. Dark. Icy.

The little things along the right side are widgets, at least what I call widgets, and they're back. My fascinating lists of favorite authors, books, movies, and such.

We went to a Christmas party where these little delicacies were served. Homemade, no less, and they were delicious. I remember them from the bakery of my youth and they were called mocha cakes. That doesn't really make sense because they're made of white cake, white frosting, and peanuts. My cousin, Deb, remembers the same thing. Anybody else have a memory of these and what they were called? In the recipe Deb found, they're called Blarney Stones. Playing around with another widget:

Nobody ever walks by with their dogs. At least not so you would know. In the summer, we sit under the birch tree and every day a dozen people walk by in the late afternoon and early evening. They always say hello and visit for a minute. Now, when the sidwalks are icy, we don't see anybody. It's dark all the time. In the last few weeks, it's dark by 4:15 and it doesn't get light again until 7:45. You can combat that in December with Christmas lights but in January, it's morbid. If you have a dog, your backyard looks like hell. There's no way to clean all that up so you have an archaeological dig of poop from first snow to last. You never see your neighbors. They could be gone for weeks and we wouldn't know. Strangers clean their walks, their houses are dark, you don't know where they are. You might as well live in Siberia. If you do see your neighbors, you see them as they scrape their windshields or drive into the garage. No spontaneous backyard barbecu...

Regis got a package in the mail today that contained a jawbone. I wrote about this gadget a while back after we had been to the cell phone store. It's the military technology cell phone ear thing. Good for a man who never leaves the house. I can't complain too much because a couple hours later, I got my very own copy of the book The Oxford Project in the mail. I hid it behind the chair. I have been grossly slothful today although I did go swimming at 5:30 this morning. They apparently turned off the water heaters at the high school because the showers are like ice and the pool has been gradually getting colder. It's like going into a hypothermic state and it takes me all day to warm up and start moving. Similar to hibernating squirrels except I don't have fur and squirrels don't swim. Otherwise similar. I made bread and roasted a chicken for dinner. Regis laughed. I don't think a man whose wife makes bread from scratch and roasts a whole chicken ought to scoff a...

Tiffany has been here this afternoon and we had a very nice time. She looks so cute and so healthy and seems happy. She ate and napped and ate and napped. She's on her way over to her dad's now to visit with them for a while. It's hard for me to see that little pregnant person get in a car and drive off into the cold and dark winter. I wish she was still a baby and I could keep her safe.

Happy birthday to Ella! Happy 3rd birthday to Ella today. She was at the party for a while last night wishing us all a happy new year and doling out hugs. Her parents were there, too. And Uncle Reg and Auntie Amber. They moved on to a party at John and Heather's about 7:00. Tom made homemade Swedish meatballs which were a big hit. Betty suggested they buy frozen ones and he said no, Teresa would never allow it. I do have an aversion to frozen meatballs. All of the food was very good and the company was fine. We didn't make it to midnight, in fact, as predicted, were home in bed by 8:30. I lost an earring at some point and didn't miss it until we were in the car coming home. I called Betty and asked her to keep an eye out for it, but when I got out of bed later to take an ibuprofen because my knee hurt, it tumbled out of my nightgown. Maybe it had hooked on my necklace and I didn't see it. One would hope. We got through the evening with no major medical events. When we ...