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

Regis is doing a wedding this weekend for some young kids who are friends of Regis and Bob. They live about four blocks away from us down on Broadway. At the rehearsal tonight, we met the mother of the groom who talked about a dog they had named Buddy. Tick tick tick...and suddenly we put it together: Buddy Voss! When we first moved into this neighborhood, Buddy was infamous. He was a huge yellow lab with a reputation for escaping his yard like Houdini. He would come down to our house on a regular basis, leap over our fence in the back yard, and drive our dogs insane. He was tall enough to look into our windows and leave elephant sized piles of poop on the tops of our shrubs. Buddy was captured so many times by the canine cops that eventually he learned to trot right to the dog pound when he was hungry and tired of running. Kind of like Otis in Mayberry checking himself into the jail. The wedding is at the Kato Ballroom although I think it calls itself an entertainment center now. ...

Meat Mike called a couple days ago and our beef has gone to the butcher. Nice he didn't say that our cow had gone to the butcher. I decided to pick up our vegetables at the farm because I wanted to see the place where they grow, but I'm not sure I feel the same about my beef. I think I still prefer that process to be a little sanitized for me. I know where the beef comes from but I will be just fine seeing it wrapped in plastic in my freezer. We had some friends over for dinner last night. What a fun evening. Regis made wonderful ribs, all the food was good, we had a lot of laughs, and now there is a mess in the kitchen. Ah, well. The price you pay for having fun. I should have gone on the group run this morning at 7:15. Five miles. I just couldn't make myself do it and I have blamed the heat, the knees, the distance, and probably a few other random things. The fact is that I didn't go which is not good. I need to get my mojo back. Regis is performing a wedding th...

Regis took this beautiful picture of a dragonfly this morning. It was on what we call the cannolis. Really they are canna lilies. I've had a busy day not doing too much. We're having some young friends (as opposed to our old friends...hahaha!) over for dinner so we're cooking and cleaning up the patio and hiding stuff in closets. I never get my big clean-up done because I am too easily distracted. I get a few things sorted and packed up, then I find something else to do. We're making Regis's wonderful ribs on the grill, stuffed peppers which are our current summer favorites, and focaccia bread. Instead of a green salad, I'm going to make a caprese salad with tomatoes from Living Land Farm, fresh mozzarella, and basil from my garden. Facebook is a strange phenomenon. This morning, I noticed on the recommended pages that Jesus has a Facebook page and quite a few fans. This afternoon, I see Elvis has a Facebook page also, and it looks like he has more fans...

I put on my running shoes and left the house at 6:15 this morning because I knew it was going to be hot. The temperature was already 72 and the dew point was 72 so it was a steamy one. It was a tough run and I might just as well as tied the Honda to my hind end as much mileage as I did. I was pitiful. Tomorrow I think I will hang around indoors to do my exercise. Then I had to go to work. There's a big meeting tomorrow and I had updates on all my little jobs to prepare. My office was full of crap from other rooms that were being cleaned so it was difficult getting around and finding things especially my marbles. It took me five hours to do 45 minutes worth of work. Seriously. What the hell. I stopped at the coop to buy some pine nuts. Fifty dollars later, I come out of the coop with three kinds of nuts, two kinds of cheese, and two packages of Andouille sausage. They don't always have it and we like it chopped up in stuffed peppers. A helicopter just flew over the house...

The fajitas, a recipe I found in the Weber grilling cookbook, were delicious. They were made with a flank steak on the grill. We grilled the peppers and onions and served them with sour cream and pico de gallo. Oh my. So good. So much better than the fajitas I used to make in a pan.

In the last couple days, I read Marathoning for Mortals . It came to me at just the right time. I was getting terrified, looking into the future and seeing myself all hobbled up and trying to run 13 miles. John Bingham makes it sound like something real people can do and he helped me realize that it's ok if I walk now and then. I feel better just knowing that I can walk if I want to walk. Rachel, God bless her, is a driven runner and I'm not sure she understands the needs of the less driven, former couch potato as myself. I use a Nike + when I run or walk outside. This morning when I got back and ended the workout, Tiger Woods came on and said, "That was an amazing workout!" I bet they wish they could have a do-over on that one. Then when I plugged it into my computer, some dude came on and said, "Not everybody can run a hundred miles. You are officially a bad-ass." Really. A bad ass. So, I had a five mile run on the agenda this morning. This is what I l...

Once when I was doing staff development for teachers of writing, I used an overhead slide and I misspelled lightening. I bet they used that to discount what I said. Misspelling a word is worse than death to English teachers. We've had the nicest lazy day. I'm hoping that when I retire I don't sink completely into lethargy like this. I feel like now I have to conserve my energy and wallow in indolence because soon I'll be going back to work. And she drops her head to the table and weeps. And the fir tree went unconscious and fell over. This is a line from the Prairie Home Companion show. Last night we watched the end of the PHC movie. I sang right out loud and cried at the end. That is the best movie. Then we went down to the bar and met up with Ben and Dolores for a glass of wine. We went to Mankato this afternoon as Regis needed a new shirt for a wedding he is performing next weekend. We decided to go to Famous Dave's for ribs for a late lunch/early dinner. I...

We slept with the bedroom curtains open so we could watch the light show last night. Not much rain came out of it but it was a spectacular show for a while. I had a restless night...dreams, worries, those gray-faced guys marching around the bed. You know the ones. I ran three miles this morning. I can't do it without stopping and Rachel tells me I have to quit doing that...stopping, that is. There isn't a good reason for it...my head just says to stop and I've been lucky enough to always run with people who let me do it. I plugged my iPod thing in and I ran almost a hundred miles since the end of April. I know, not halfway around the globe or anything but still a miracle. As I read yesterday, the miracle is not that I finished but that I started. My neighbors are out running their machines already this morning. One a lawn mower and the other a power washer. We really need lazier neighbors or at least some with lower standards for lawn care. Our back yard looks like a m...

I have a day of rest tomorrow but I should have taken it today. I went to the Pulse but didn't make 3.5 miles. Had to finish on the stairs. My clothes were soaked when I got home. I made breakfast for Peter...pancakes and bacon. The house smells so good. I cleaned out a spot for our tiny freezer. They should be bringing it between now and 2:00. Regis thought they would leave it at the curb. Maybe that's how they deliver things in Pennsylvania but not here in Minnesota. My neighbor's dog is going crazy again today. Why would someone own a dog that yips like that all day long? It's why I don't keep a gun in the house. Hee hee. I have a heap of crap in the back porch that will get boxed up and taken to Goodwill or the Salvation Army. How does a guy accumulate all that stuff? Three things we've discovered: Don't look at ads. If you don't look at ads, you don't realize all the junk they advertise that you really don't need but will buy anywa...

Tiffany graduated this morning from her employment skills class. I cried and cried. So many stories of hope and optimism. I am so proud of her. Bless her heart, my sweet baby girl. 

We grilled two big steaks last night with a Penzey's spice rub called English Prime Rib Rub. OMG. Delicious. I can only eat a small amount of beef so I shared the steak Regis ate, then stowed mine in the refrigerator. He had it tonight. We were moved to call the cow man and report on the quality of the steaks. Prime. Wonderful. Delicious. Today was day #3 of my half marathon training. Oh my. I dragged my feet. I had to do 5 intervals of 1/4 mile sprints...9 mph and 10:30 mph. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be but I was sweating like crazy when I was done. I didn't want to do it but I can't quit now. I made it. Tomorrow I have to run three miles and Kris is going to meet me at the Pulse at 5:00 to run to the Catholic Church and back. No significance to that. Sunday is my big day... a 5 mile run. Holy crap. I'm going to have two kids and a husband out in the driveway doing a man project...checking out the interior or a door for a stuck window. Why do men e...

 I intended to get up at 4 so I could join the 5 a.m. group run. I was there in time but I was intimidated by my own head) so I ran on the treadmill instead. I ran for 3 miles with very briefs stops along the sway to mop sweat and replace fluids. I wasn't really winded at the end which I guess means I can do that much for sure. It's something in my mind that wants me to stop. Probably years of thinking that I would keel over if I exerted myself at all. I came home to clean up the kitchen and read a little. Regis and I have been enjoying Radio Heartland although we were disconcerted to find out that they unceremoniously dumped Dale Connelly, the bunch of chumps. Same reason Bruce Davis was dumped by KRBI a few years ago, I suppose. Most radio is canned programming so it's cheap. Some dude sits in a cubicle in Toledo and runs radio stations all over the country. It's disheartening. I forgot to mention that we bought some organic, farm raised, corn and pasture fed b...

I've written a lot here about my exercise and how weird it feels, at my age, to become interested in being physically active in any way. I was never competitive, never interested in games or sports or anything that caused a remote sweat in myself or anyone else. So, I'm pondering the why and how of it. I've done three of those fun runs now. The one last Halloween, the Jingle Bell Jam in New Ulm, and the Freedom Run on the 4th of July. Joanne and I ran and walked together on the Halloween Run but the others were solitary affairs for me. I noticed at the beginning of the 4th of July run, that there was an emotional response to running with all those people. I almost wept running down Third Street, for goodness sake. What? I had a hard time believing it. I have always been a weeper, but a weeper over a sporting event? It was unthinkable. This summer I've run a couple times with other people. Once with the group of women that we call "the heavy hitters", the...

We're in the doldrums of July. It's hot, it's humid, there are storm warnings about every three days, and I take a nap a day. It's not so bad, really. This afternoon, in the 98 degree heat, we went up to Tom and Betty's house and paddled around their pool in big floating lawn chairs wearing straw hats and sun screen and carrying glasses of chilled wine. It was delightful. Tom made a beef brisket on the grill and we had fresh berries and potato salad. A perfect summer day. Now we're home watching the storm warnings. Kids from down the street are walking over for apple pie. Not the kind you bake. We had a nice time. Amber's brother, Mike, from Grand Forks is here visiting so he came along with Reg and Amber. We talked smart and had a few snacks and some drinks. It's raining a bit now so it feels like a sauna outside. Happy sleeping. Hope you all have AC!

I've been awake since 3:30. I suppose because I went to sleep so early for which there was no good reason. I feel my summer coming to an end already... and how can that be? At 3:30, I made coffee and set about paying bills.Good thing we had some money left. Then I took a notion to clean off my desk and get rid of some of the stuff I save but don't use. Two garbage bags later, I moved on to another project. Not yet 5 a.m. I started a box for the thrift store. I got a package ready to mail. Or UPS. I got another package of pictures ready to mail to Iowa. I did some work (school-related). I went to the pool to watch Ella's swimming lesson. She went off the diving board! I went to the funeral for the mom of a friend of mine. She was 95 years old so there were lots of o-l-d people in the audience. Interesting to note how many ladies still wear clip earrings. In their pretty pastel colors and poofy white hair, they looked like cupcakes. Home again thinking of anot...

I got a call from the garden ladies last night. I was not a winner in the garden make-over contest. I wasn't too disappointed as the rest of the summer would have been consumed with work and dirt and bugs instead of laziness and we are more than satisfied with our garden the way it is. Que sera sera.

This is my Great Grandma Andrina Matson, Mother of Josie Syverson, in her garden near Ulen, MN in 1930. Today, two of the master gardeners from St. Peter came to visit my garden for the garden make-over contest. They took pictures and walked around and asked a lot of questions. When they asked me what I liked about my garden, I said it's a combination of a Monet painting and a Superman ring. It changes every year as things move and pop up here and there. That probably sounded strange but I followed up with the wise words of Regis: We want it to be people friendly, animal friendly, and earth friendly. So, we'll see what transpires. I walked around the garden this morning with my coffee in Aunt Vi's china teacup. Now, there's some good karma for you. I just read the first paragraph again. I suppose some people don't remember Superman rings. They had the plastic scene on the front that moved when you shifted your hand. I saw a huge one once in a Ben Franklin sto...

 Regis and I went to Canby this weekend to celebrate Mom's 80th birthday. We left about noon on Friday so we had a long and relaxing visit. Friday night we went to the Stateline Bar and Grill. They have your usual cold beer, deep fried bar food, and a cast of characters. Saturday, Mom had a short list of jobs for us. Helen and I pulled a few weeds in the sunshine while Regis and Pat did manly chores. We had a lovely dinner at the Landmark Bistro in Marshall. Nice weekend. I always have to report the current wildlife sightings. Helen and I were sitting on the deck yesterday afternoon and a small flock of pelicans soared right over our heads. They looked to be enjoying the breeze. We also saw two hawks close up on our drive. One was trying his best to carry a rabbit off the highway...not sure if it was roadkill or his kill but he gave it his best shot. The garden ladies are coming tomorrow so I had some notion of cleaning up the yard and patio when we got home but I ran out of g...

Peter told us last night that they were having a special sale at Subway so he might work late today and wear the sandwich costume for some extra money. This is about the last thing we would ever expect him to do. Rolling on the floor laughing our asses off. Sorry, Pete.

I made these two jars of Lebanese turnip and beet pickles this morning. I had turnips from Living Land Farm and I bought a couple beets. I've never eaten them before so it's an adventure! Aren't they pretty?

I got a call this morning that I am one of the finalists! They have some questions they would like to ask so they're coming Monday morning at 10:15 to look over the garden and to talk to me. Now, what in the world will they ask?

I saw in the Herald a week or so ago that they were having a garden make-over contest. I had to write a 500 word essay on why I should qualify for a garden make-over by the master gardeners. This is what I submitted. I was waiting in the car in front of the house yesterday when the master gardeners came by in a car to take a look. They didn't get out of their car, but I could see my essay in the hands of one lady. They sat in front for about five minutes, then pulled into the driveways on either side of our house to take a look at the other perspectives. I haven't heard anything and I'm trying not to be disappointed. We bought our little house on North 4 th Street about six months before the tornado so we didn’t have much time to think about a garden that first fall. The summer after the tornado, though, we started giving serious thought to where to plant a big, wild, flower garden. We decided to dig up half the front yard and we filled the garden spot with a couple s...

We celebrated the birthday of Regis yesterday with what was intended to be a small barbecue on the patio. The last few years, we've made it more of a bash but for lots of reasons, the crowd was smaller this year. the mosquitoes have been like a plague, too, so that convinced us to send the birthday boy out to do the cooking while the rest of us relaxed in bug-free, air conditioned comfort. This photo is Bob and Emily, Alex and Ella waving good-bye at the end of the evening. Our friend Vickie came to help celebrate. The three girls sat at the table and Ella did our nails and showed us how she can write her name. Vickie brought the always popular cheese potatoes. Alex has learned how to wink which amused his Popop greatly. He has also learned to make some great monster noises and I think in general, to get people to laugh. Ah, that is one of the great pleasures of life and he's learned the lesson early. Good for Alex. Ella was most interested in eating bread and popsicles ...

 We love holidays. I set the table with the 4th of July dishes (thanks, mom), use appropriately festive paper napkins, light candles, make food that fits the occasion and we celebrate. I especially love holidays that don't involve too many presents but a lot of cooking. We had a wonderful 4th of July although some parts of it were quieter than usual. The mosquitoes and the humidity were daunting yesterday, even for us. We spent the afternoon indoors with a batch of Emerill's chicken nachos and a nice bottle of pinot noir. Scott and Nikki came by to spend the afternoon and we had a few laughs and ate some good chow. Regis and I finished off the evening watching the fireworks on television because there are no mosquitoes in our living room. There were some parts of the television fireworks that were bizarre. When did Jimmy Smits start doing the MC thing? Holy crap. Do we need commentary for every flippin' thing? And that Toby Keith dude. Man, that is why I don't like ...

Looks like rain all day which is disheartening. So many outdoor things planned today. I'm ready to go to the Freedom Run but not sure if I can convince Peter to get up and go. He thinks he'll melt. So, the punk ass kid didn't come but I ran in the rain. My finishing time (not official) was a little less than 39 minutes for the 5k. Go, Teresa. My fastest mile...and I know this because I have a Nike + iPod...was 9 minutes. Too bad I can't sustain that! My goal was to finish and not die and I accomplished that. I could easily have done the 8k. Next time I will. Here are the weather stats from weather underground: Humidity: 92% Dew Point: 73  °F Wind: 1.0  mph from the North Pressure: 29.53  in (Falling) Heat Index: 74  °F                                           ...

We really love holiday weekends. This morning, I got up and did a 40 minute run/walk outside (way more fun than inside on the treadmill!) then came home to wake Regis. He wasn't all that happy about being awakened when he had trouble getting to sleep. I offered to make breakfast on the patio so he fired up the grill and I made bacon and eggs and toast in a cast iron pan. It was lovely. This afternoon, I've done some prep cooking for tomorrow and Monday. I cooked an andouille sausage for the stuffed peppers, made the chicken for Emerill's chicken nacho recipe, started a loaf of Italian country bread for Monday, and made pico de gallo. I love cooking. Regis went to take a nap and I'm going to take a bath with a glass of wine. Then we're going out in the country to a party where a band, One Fast Move , is playing. That's them in the picture. Sherry, who invited us, is a math teacher who used to work at the school where I have worked for a million years. They l...

My mental health has made a full recovery as long as I avoid the news and loud noises. Regis and I celebrated Patrick's birthday and my mom's birthday last night with a world famous patty melt and a glass of wine (or two) at the bar. It was fun. We got to visit with a lot of friends and we got out of there at a reasonable time. We got up early and went to buy groceries at HyVee. I went to work out and about the time I was walking in the door of the Pulse, Nikki was walking out to run so I joined her. It's way more fun to run outside with a friend than to run on the treadmill like a gerbil. We ran up the hill to the Catholic church and back down the hill to the Pules. About 3 miles total. When I got home, I tidied up the house and we did some yard chores. A late afternoon nap since we're on vacation and some cooking on the grill made the day perfect. We made a Cook's Illustrated recipe for stuffed burgers that called for bacon and sharp cheddar. Oh my. Wonder...