thursday

We had some of the off-spring over for dinner tonight so the could enjoy some old family pictures. We had a good time and some good chicken. Lots of laughs. Ella says for Halloween she's going to be a dancing queen like her Nana.

daylight...what the hell happened to it?

I read in the paper today that the sun rises at 7:45 and sets at 6:08.. That isn't much daylight. No wonder we're getting cranky...and November is our cloudiest month. Look for wine sales to sky rocket at MGM in November.

Someday cell phone companies will be known for the pirates that they are. Tonight I'm getting messages from something called celebsquares urging me to play some game on my cell phone. Imagine what that would cost. And who signed me up for that crap? It's insidious.

I went to a baby shower on Sunday for Gabriel, Joanne's new grandbaby. His daddy opened a package of t-shirts with writing on them like this: Eco-friendly. Save the trees. Conserve water. We decided that they were politically correct baby shirts...or baby clothes for liberal babies. And then the obvious next thought is this: What would conservative baby shirts say? Screw the poor? No health care for the middle class? Education for the rich? Hahahaha. I crack myself up. (No political rants in the comment section, please. This is not a democratic blog.)

Peter came home from work today with some kind of illness. He slept all afternoon and evening until I went down to check on him. He has a wicked headache and a cold. Good mom made him chicken soup and poured him a big glass of juice. Regis is disinfecting the house and worrying.

I'm going back to bed. More tomorrow.

notes; random ones

In the last few days, I've composed a few blog posts in my head. I do that a lot and I tell you, that is some good stuff going on up there. They never made it to the launching pad, though, as you can tell. I can't even remember what they were about anymore.

I came home, turned on World Cafe, poured a glass of red wine, and made squash soup. The house smells grand and dinner was great.

Not only is St. Peter all torn up from stem to stern, but now they've started resurfacing the road leading up to my school and there is a big construction project going on in the next lot. All of this makes for lots of large equipment and lots of noise.

The walls were vibrating this afternoon which makes for an over-stimulating environment. I think if it continues tomorrow, I'll fall to the floor and fake some kind of seizure and apply for disability. That's probably sort of morbid humor. But it explains the need for the zen moments...the wine, the music, and the soup.

Regis is making popcorn for me. We've forsaken microwave popcorn so he's making it in a pan. That's an art.

We're watching Antiques Roadshow. They must have a Halloween theme...lots of weird things like skulls, hair art, and cases full of scarab beatles. We like to guess how much the stuff is worth but this one is hard.

I'm out of gas early tonight and on my way to be soon. Good book waiting.

cowboy duds

The cowboy duds in the picture are not the property of Regis as a boy. They are part of the photo op. What 1950's kid wouldn't have loved those cowboy duds?

We stopped by our favorite liquor store tonight. We haven't been there for weeks, mostly because you can hardly get there from here. The manager was very positive about the changes that are happening in the street, bless his heart. It's a real flippin' mess out there but I did buy a nice bottle of transition wine, a pinto noir. I like white wine in the summer, red in the winter, and pinot in the fall.

We went to Tom and Betty's today. We had a good time, laughing at their pug and planning our Halloween costumes. Betty could make a prize winning costume out of my dirty clothes pile and I have no imagination so we're a good pair.

Regis and I went out about 10 this morning, in the cold sunshine, and started raking leaves and putting our lawn furniture away. It made me sad because we haven't really used the grill since the first part of September. The bugs got so bad that it wasn't pleasant, then it started to rain and it was freezing cold. So much for the end of summer...and apparently fall.

We got the leaves that have fallen moved to the curb where the city will pick them up tomorrow. I dug up the canna lilies (we have about 500 of the buggers), and got all the stuff moved to the garage. That's it for summer....

pony

When we were in PA, Jane gave Regis a box of photos that had come from the home of his dad. We had a great time looking at them and passing them around to uproarious laughter. This is a picture of Regis on a pony. Apparently, it was common back in the day for someone to come around with a pony and take pictures of the neighborhood children for a price. Good gig. Someone should do that here. Hey, I only live a block from the swimming pool. I see a new career for me! Here's a warning to our offspring: You will be getting an invitation to the family photo viewing. Come and enjoy! Go home with a box of photos!

back from the woods

An uneventful trip to the woods up north. No unseemly precipitation on the way up or back.That place is like a weird retro resort...twisty hallways, tilty floors, smelly old carpet, bed like a cement pad with a sheet over it. That didn't keep me from sleeping until 7:30 one day, however. It's good to be home and I'm looking forward to crawling into my own bed tonight.

One day when Regis and I were driving around in PA, he started pushing buttons on the dash. All of a sudden we had a human voice in the car asking us what the emergency was and which emergency personnel she should summon. Apparently he had called Onstar. Uh oh. If there is a button somewhere, a man will push it. It's a universal truth.

I ran into a friend of mine at Patrick's tonight. She had belonged to a book club but just resigned for a lot of reasons. We decided we will have random book club meetings at the bar, we'll write our notes on scraps of newspaper, and we'll only talk about the books like a conversation. No lessons, no questions, no annual list of books. It will suit us.

I'm on my way to bed. Long week.

another trip

Tomorrow I take off for my third trip of the month. For a person who is loathe to travel, this is about enough but it isn't over yet. I'm leaving for a conference in Brainerd tomorrow about noon. I dread the thought of going in to pack. I'm not a fan of the resort where we're going. It reminds me of the beat up old resort in Dirty Dancing. The floors are a little off-kilter and it smells like dust and mice. Maybe that's just my memory, which is not always accurate.

I think I'll take my laptop and a book and do my best to avoid too much socialization.

We had omelets with Italian peppers, onions, and sun-dried tomatoes for dinner. It was a comfort meal. If someone else had done the cooking, I would have been happy with something else, but this was easy. I've been hungry for meatballs and meatloaf. Don't ask me why.

I'm going to bed to read. Regis is watching a baseball game. Is this the World Series yet? Good grief. This stuff just goes on forever.

pictures from a trip

Sister Jocelyn, brother Larry, and Larry's wife Eileen. Larry and Eileen just got back from a trip to Vegas.
Jane and Kurt's dog, Cody. They had four beautiful labs at their house. Big dogs but full of personality and very gentle. Except that darn Sandy. Sandy's only saving grace was that she would deliver a cold beer and take the empty bottle back to the kitchen. We almost bought her a plane ticket for that!

Larry, Eileen, and Jocelyn.

Teresa and Cody.

Regis and his old friend, Jack. We met Jack at the Golden Dawn diner (diners are a mystery to me...) for dinner Thursday night and again Saturday morning for breakfast. Jack's quite a story teller so it wasn't difficult to sit for two hours over coffee.

Teresa and Jane looking at pictures. That's Morgan on the couch between us. Morgan is also known as Large Marge. She was scared of Sandy and shook like a leaf when Sandy wanted to be the top dog.

This is a piece of driftwood that Kurt found floating in the surf in Jamaica. I don't know if you can tell from this picture but it looks just like Christ on the cross. It would make a good match for my Virgin Mary peanut.

Regis in some wine cellar we visited on Friday. It was not the most picturesque place as you can see in the following photos but the wine was good. We visited several vineyards, sampling and buying wine, then realized we couldn't take it back on the plane. Uh oh.

Here's the basement. No tour or anything...they just pointed us to a dusty cellar full of big stainless steel tanks.

They had a nice yard with sculptures but it was so damn cold that we weren't about to sit out there.
A ceramic house display out in the yard of the vineyard. Interesting but a little weird.

Grape vines. Big deal. Ha!

random stuff but I promised Sandy

I haven't posted anything for a week. Regis and I flew (not of our own power) to Philadelphia for the weekend so I feel like I have been pulled through a knothole butt first.

We left home Wednesday right after school. We checked into the Dakota Ridge Best Western where we could park our car for a week. We wandered over to a restaurant within walking distance where we had a glass or two of wine and some comfort meat loaf.

Our plane left at 8 a.m. and of course I was nervous about over-sleeping so I woke up at 2:30 and spent the rest of the night worrying. So helpful.

We got on the shuttle in plenty of time and waited in the airport for 90 minutes, just like they tell you to do. Not everybody follows the rules, though, because we were the only ones there for quite a while. Our plane left on time and there were no incidents.

The fellow who checked us through security was funny. I told him we're inexperienced travelers so he told me what to take off (nine pounds of bracelets) and what to put in the bins. He told Regis to put a new cell phone on his Christmas list because his face plate is cracked. Ok dude.

We landed in PA to 40 degree temps and driving rain. They call this miserable weather condition a Nor'easter. Yeah, my hinder. It's as close to snow as you can get without flakes. We had to drive around all day because the relatives who were housing us were at work and have four dogs. We didn't want to be consumed by large labradors so we killed time by driving from mall to mall and buying warm clothes.

We stopped at a strip mall restaurant in South Philly for pizza. It was perfect. A woman in a large blond bouffant called me hon and brought me a gorgeous pizza. You can't buy dough like that in Minnesota.

We had a nice time with the siblings and their spouses. Friday night we went out to eat with Kurt and Jane. We were serenaded by Dominic, Italian waiter just off the boat (I swear...) at the lovely Italian restaurant we visited. The restaurant doesn't have a liquor license because it's a dry township but you can bring your wine and beer into the place. So here is this very posh joint and people were carrying Playmate coolers and Walmart bags in containing their wine and beer. Very strange. I said that would get you arrested in MN.

Ride home was uneventful, too. We made it through the weekend without anybody getting testy or homicidal. I feel like I've been time traveling...so many things and people and conversations all mixed up. I'm not sure sometimes if I've said things or just thought it and it didn't come out my mouth.

Wednesday I leave for a conference in Brainerd. I ought to be in fine shape by Saturday.

Alex learned to crawl! Look at him go!

more with some photos later

I'm finally thawing out. We had a good trip to Philly but it was 40 degrees there with a stiff wind and driving rain. It looks from the forecast like that will be what the rest of our week in Minnesota is like. Great. I might have to move to AZ, Deb!

They do know how to make bread on the east coast. Oh my. The South Philly pizza crust is like heaven.

Enjoyed all your posts from the last few days. Sounds like you had a great time with Mike and Bennett. Is that one t or two?

yuck snow

I usually enjoy the first snow of the season but they don't come this early. We woke up to about three inches of wet, heavy snow that continued to come all day. It didn't stick on the roads but it made a mess everywhere else. I heard a guy on the radio call it a menacing mess. That's about it and what the hell.

Somebody said it's going to warm up. Yeah, and when would that be? It barely crept above freezing (that's 32 degrees for the warm weather fans) and it's not supposed to get much above 40 this week. If it's going to get warm, it has about two weeks to accomplish that. It...whatever that is.

I woke up at 3 this morning and didn't go back to sleep which makes for a long and fuzziesh day. I don't feel at the top of my mental acumen, if you know what I mean. Or is that acuminium?

I coin words when I'm tired. If you can't think of the right one, hell, just make one up.

I think I mentioned before that I had given some thought to the Halloween Fun Run. I talked a friend of mine into walking with me so it might be fun. I'm not running. Not on my old knees.

We're flying to Philly on Thursday. Deb says it helps to have a glass of wine pre-flight to help with anxiety. Do they sell wine at the airport at 6 a.m.?

busy weekend

Busy this weekend. Changed out all the summer clothes for fall clothes. Got out mittens. Sorted through stuff for the thrift store. Piled up stuff to go to the basement. Found a few things that had been misplaced. Got the few outdoor plants that get to come inside situated. Put the electric mattress pad on the bed. Got out the Halloween stuff and I have a lot of it so that's no small feat. Still to do: fill bird feeders, bake a turkey breast, start packing for our trip.

proof that the town is messed up

Here's the main street of St. Peter. Proof that it's a messed up place to try and drive. Highway 169 North is down to two lanes, too. You can hardly get from here to there. I think by next week it will be impossible to go to work. What a pity.

Regis took our ear infected dog to the vet this morning. Kramer got excited when he heard a cat and pooped on the floor. On their way out, he lifted his leg on the corner of the desk. Hey, thanks for coming. We appreciate your business. Hahahaha

snow

saturday

The dog woke us up at 3:00, shaking his head and scratching at his ear. He apparently has an infection and it was bothersome. Regis took him out to the couch to sleep. He'll have to go to the vet.

Tiffany's car dropped a muffler on Highway 52 headed to Rochester. It had to be towed in for what may be expensive repairs.

Peter finally took his car in yesterday for a tune-up. Arvin called and said he did need a tune-up but the more important matter was a leaking something or other that could start a fire. Arvin said a car that doesn't run right is one thing but a car that starts on fire is quite another. Arvin is a philosopher and the repairs are expensive.

So far today, Regis and I are healthy.

It snowed during the night.

We're taking the GPS unit to PA with us. Regis is busy entering the addresses of the places to which we plan to motor.

I'm headed to the pulse soon for my Saturday work-out. Joanne and I are going to walk the Halloween Fun Run. There's an oxymoron for you. Fun Run. We aren't going to wear costumes, right Joanne?

Anybody else feeling the pinch to winterize? We still have our grill on the patio and it's covered with snow. What the hell. We had two weeks of hot weather this summer and they were both in September. I don't have mittens out yet but I need them. This whole thing is a little mixed up.

I stayed awake until 8 last night. I was a little worried because a couple nights this week, I tipped over at 6:30 and slept all night. Well, until 3 or 4. We're going to the Bothy tonight so I better stay awake until it's over. It would look weird to be sleeping on a folding chair.

Happy weekend.

baseball guilt

So. Last night I watched about a grand total of three minutes of the baseball game. When Regis cheered and waved his TC cap in the air, I looked up and tried to figure out what happened. I felt a small desire that the Twins win and some anxiety that they wouldn't so I went to bed and figured I would find out in the morning. At 3 a.m., I woke up and wondered aloud to Regis who won the game. He had also given up and gone to bed so I had to get out of bed and check the Trib online. And then there was no going back to bed for me. It's been a long day.

Regis has night class tonight and I have the game on television. I know more about baseball than I do about football. I know that when they hit it a really long way and people cheer, that it could be a home run. I know that when someone catches the ball, it could be an out. Beyond that, I'm fuzzy, but somehow I manage to live a rich and happy life.

I put some chicken breast and carrots in the oven for dinner. See? I do remember how to cook.

In the dark of night this morning, Regis went to the grocery store. What a guy. He also sent me a beautiful bouquet of roses at work yesterday. They're white on the outside and deep red on the inside. They look like this:

I wore my first pair of tall boots to work today. I felt like I had to learn to walk all over again....like I had peg legs. A guy gets a powerful feeling in a pair of boots and that's one of the reasons I like them. Click click click. And they're very comfortable. Remember the guy in the cowboy store asked me what I was going to be doing with the boots. Walking around I said.

Ok well, now I'm tired and full of chicken and carrots and I don't care about the baseball game anymore. G'night. I have no idea why those words are the way they are. Ghosts.

the confluence of a bunch of shit

Regis and I went to Patrick's for dinner. I was going to make spaghetti but it was a lomg day and I got new cowboy boots that were dyin' to be worn out and about. So Patrick's was wild...the confluence was the Twins game, the Nobel Conference, and trivia night. We had a hard time getting a table but it was grand fun. Lots of clapping and cheering. I think that was the Twins branch of the confluence.

Our dog, keeping watch for bad guys.

My new boots below. They're Ariat cowboy boots that I got from Sierra Trading Post for dirt cheap.

Reg and Amber are in the process of house buying. They made an offer on a house about two blocks away from here. The offer was accepted and today they had an inspector (Clouseau?) came to check it out. We had a glass of champagne to celebrate. They're in for a couple month's worth (maybe years) of hard work. I think they should have Thanksgiving at their house. Ha.

I cut down the canna lilies on Sunday. Later in the afternoon, I saw a hummingbird hovering over the place where the cannas were. He looked confused and disgruntled. I was in despair. How sad. Poor thing looked and looked, landed on the bird feeder, hovered again, then flew off presumably to Mexico.

Hall of Fame

visit with the grand babies

a long week

Well, so far this week has been about 14 days long. We went to Patrick's after work for a glass of wine and cup of chili. Bob and Ella, and Reg, joined us there. I'm not sure I got the commas in the right place in that sentence but I don't care. Regis and I are having another glass of wine and some popcorn for dessert now...and watching some junk television. It should be Friday.