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

We spent the weekend in Canby where the wind blows relentlessly. We came back to St. Peter yesterday, sure that we would be protected in the river valley. No such luck. It was about 95 degrees with a blast furnace wind. All day. Ugly. We were going to make stuffed peppers on the grill but I'm not going out in that crap again. I made quesadillas on the griddle in the nice cool kitchen. These are wind power generators in Africa. This is what it feels like here today. It makes us yearn for fall and baked potatoes and meat loaf and open windows and sweatshirts. My friends tease me because I go to bed so early but I wake up at an ungodly hour most mornings. This morning it was just after 3 a.m. It's no wonder that I'm tired by 8 o'clock. I can't seem to change it either. Staying up later just means I get less sleep. I don't mean to give the impression that I am sleepless. I drift off nicely, I sleep deeply most nights, and I wake up early. Just the way it is. ...

We left Friday for Canby and a reunion weekend for the Class of 1970. I've been to most of my class reunions, I think, but never enjoyed one as much as this one. Regis took hundreds of pictures which I won't share here because unless you're in them, you won't care. It's all well-documented, though...the dining, the dancing, the drinking of wine. I have the reunion booklet in front of me here on my desk. It's full of updates from classmates that attended and many who didn't. It's nice to read about their lives now and see where they're living. Rolf, the reunion organizer, is famous (or infamous) for his slideshows. One he did last night was a collection of family photos...lots of kids and grandkids and even a few great grandkids. The circle of life. I almost got a little weepy. Penciled on the front of my booklet are several phone numbers and email addresses for people we'll connect with before the next reunion. Kevin's wife works in St....

It's Deb's birthday today so she's catching up to me! She might kill me for posting this trollop photo of us but I like it because it reminds me of the night we went to a fine dining establishment in St. Peter to celebrate New Year's Eve and left black feathers from our boas all over the butter and the dessert table. I think they were getting out the industrial vacuums as we left. We thought this was hilarious, of course, and could hardly navigate out of the restaurant for laughter. Boorish behavior...what can you expect? Happy Birthday, Deb!

Regis had a dream last night that involved me fighting an alien who looked like an egg in a dentist jacket. There were lots of bad guys fighting and lots of bloody violence, of course. In the finale, I did the two-handed grab on the pockets of his dentist jacket and pulled them off, killing the evil alien entity Humpty Dumpty. In the dream, they made a movie of the events and the premier was held at Patrick's. It was so crowded that Arnold Schwartzenegger and Maria Shriver couldn't get a seat. I wonder if they put their names on Hombre's waiting list. I've read the account Regis wrote of his dream and my version is not exactly accurate, but he is he, after all, and I am I. I ran for 45 minutes at the Pulse this morning, then went to yoga, the cumulative effect of which is to turn a person into a wet dishrag. I could hardly make it home. My friend Kris pointed out that the meditatively named "flow series" almost killed her. The flow series includes a bun...

Summer Vegetable Gratin Serves 6-8 as a side or 4 as a light main dish 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 pound zucchini, ends trimmed and sliced crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices 1 pound summer squash (yellow), ends trimmed and sliced crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices 2 teaspoons table salt 1 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes (3 to 4 large), sliced 1/4 inch thick 2 medium onions, halved lengthwise and sliced thin pole to pole (about 3 cups) 3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 2 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons) 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves 1 large slice white sandwich bread, torn into quarters ( Erin’s Note : I used 1 cup of Panko Bread Crumbs) 2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1 cup) 2 medium shallots, minced (about 1/4 cup) 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Brush 13- by 9-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon oil; set aside. Toss zucchin...

Joanne and I were at school yesterday and we heard a cackling noise. Going to investigate, we discovered three of these critters at the back door, tapping on the glass as if they wanted to come to school. I wish I had figured out how to use the camera on my phone because they were so cute craning their necks around to see in the window. That is if you can call something cute that has a pin head, beady eyes, and blue wrinkled skin.

I'm not very adventurous but as I've expanded my exercise horizons, I've had to venture onto some previously unexplored areas of St. Peter. With my fear of wild animals and mad dogs, I usually stick to city streets but in the last month, I discovered a whole maze of streets and paths along the west side of town. Not much traffic, long distances with no side streets, and asphalt which is better for feet and knees: perfect. So yesterday, I'm running on the paths along Nicollet Avenue and all of a sudden, the path is closed and torn up. What the hell. Old neighbor Deb, I know you're been riding up there for a while...any idea what's going on? Now, this is all fairly new...maybe in the last two years. The paths are in great shape, not starting to crumble or deteriorate. So, now it's really unsafe because you never know where one will end and you have to scoot over the grass and down the curb to the street. It looks like maybe they're going to replace the...

I bought a Camelbak hydration pack for the long bike rides and runs. I need a way to keep water more accessible and it got old trying to carry a bottle. I'm sure the person who invented it got the idea from this, right? Here's what I got. A couple months ago, I posted a picture of the other thing I tried. It was a belt with two bottles that came out like six guns. Peter and Regis gave me no end of grief about it and I finally abandoned it. It was not handy anyway to be trying to wrestle those bottles out of their holsters while on the go. This is much better. Of course, now that I think about it, a guy could put beer in this backpack. It would not be a smart thing to do, but you could do it.

My friend Joanne has had some bat problems in the last few years. It started when she re-sided her house then got much better for a while. Yesterday morning as she was eating breakfast, she heard a scratching noise in the sink. When she went to investigate, a bat was clawing around by the drain. She scooped him up in a Kohl's bag and deposited him in the garbage can outside. A live bat. When I told Regis about it, he said, "She's got some balls, that one". Amazing courage, Joanne. I ran into Ben at the PO and related the story to him. He told about an encounter with a bat when he was in the company of "a bunch of old ladies". When the bat turned it's little mousey head and hissed at him, he went running up the stairs flapping his arms and screaming like a girl. I almost fell down on the street laughing. I was going to post a photo of a bat but really, they are too ugly. Mice with wings that wear a human face. I'll settle for a poem.    The Bat ...

This is a video of a three-year old who memorized and recites the poem Litany by Billy Collins. It's amazing because he seems to understand the poem. He's not just saying words. What a nice way to start your day! I woke up at 4 and went back to sleep. I'm either going to work out at 8 or ride my bike to work. I checked weatherundergound, though, and the humidity is 94%. Lovely. We watched a great documentary the other night called Note by Note: The Making of Steinway L1037 . It was fascinating. I really could not have imagined the art that goes into making a piano. Much of the work is done by feel and by eye...not machine. Such interesting people that do this for their life's work. We've seen such awful movies this summer so this one was a delight. It reminded me of an article I read a few years ago about a woman who helps customers select their piano. Apparently this is complicated when one is spending more than a hundred thousand dollars. The customer ...

I got up at 4:10 this morning. Sort of an inhuman hour. I like early mornings but this is still night. I took the coffee filter out of the pot and sprinkled coffee all over the clean floor. Then I tried to grind some beans and lifted the lid on the grinder too soon and sprayed coffee all over that part of the kitchen. Damn. We ordered eight chickens from Mike the Mean Man. I hope we have room for them in the freezer. We may have to have a chicken extravaganza. Deb and Larry are coming from AZ to visit on Saturday. We'll cook two chickens because you never know if people like light meat or dark meat. I have a recipe for roasted chicken (very simple) that we love. Those chickens will look great on the table. I think I'll go to the Farmer's Market on Saturday to complete the meal. I woke up with a bit of a stiff neck and the general malaise. We're having an easy dinner tonight which I'm looking forward to since I'm working today. We're having a big gr...

Regis pointed out this poem on the Writer's Almanac the other day. Last Meal by  Bill Holm On death row you celebrate your last night with your last dinner, your choice, your last craving to make at least your stomach happy before it stops craving anything at all. Many choose simple food: a hamburger, mac and cheese, ice cream. What might it be for you, my friend? Duckling Rouenaisse? A roast of unborn lamb? Washed down with Veuve Cliquot '59 and old Armagnac? And how do you know, my friend, that you are not eating your last meal at this very table now? Chew slowly. Make sure you take in all the body and the blood. Now he says, "Chew slowly, my friend. It could be your last meal". The last line is that of my husband and not Bill Holm. We had a call from our friend and poet Bob Bengtson tonight. We're trying to pull together an autumn showing of poetry and love songs by Bob and his wife, Marilyn. I think we could pull this off at our house but Reg...

Tiffany and Elliot came over this afternoon, intending to accompany us to the fair. Elliot took a late nap, it rained spontaneously in a mighty cloudburst, we had steaks for the grill, and it all added up to = we didn't make it to the fair. You can see in the next picture that it was a wise decision. Elliot had a baby melt-down after his bath as he had enough excitement for one day. Poor baby. I'm not sure he would have enjoyed the corn dog anyway. I'm reading Barbara Kingsolver's book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle . I love her writing and I like most parts of the story: how they plant fifty tomato plants then have to spend the whole month of August preserving them, the chicken and turkey "harvest", the visit to the Amish friends. She gets a little technical/political sometimes and I try to learn something but sometimes skim those parts. All in all, a very good book with some good recipes! This is typical of me. I have three training programs for a half ma...

I just read the Caring Bridge site of Nicki Rikkard, my mom's friend who died of melanoma a week or so ago at age 44. It's hard to write after that. Nicki's sister Sara has written the last few months as Nicki was unable to and she is a wonderful writer. It's a poignant read. Regis and I have been reflecting on our summer and it was a grand one. We've had a lot of grill and patio time even with the bugs, we've seen some movies, had a nice long weekend visit with Mom, had the kids over for dinner a lot, made some interesting meals for friends, and we've enjoyed each other's company. Who could ask for more? I spent all day yesterday at the district data retreat, usually the meeting I dread the most because of the tendency for numbers in my presence to float up off the page and drift around my head. This one wasn't bad though and I could almost say it was energizing to make a connection between the data and what we should do about it. That's a s...

There is a column by Garrison Keillor at this link. It's called A Parent's Prayer . It's a lovely story. I read in the paper about a young man who was killed when a cement block fell off a landscaping truck and smashed through the window of a van being driven by his best friend in which he was a passenger. The driver of the landscaping truck had been ticketed some years ago for not properly securing his load of cement blocks after one dropped off his truck. Nobody was killed that time. As this story has haunted me, I wonder if there can be redemption for this person. I wonder if he was just careless...twice. I wonder if he was malicious...twice. I wonder if he will have a change of heart from carelessness or malice; now, finally. How do you live the rest of your life in peace knowing you ended the life of a young man with your deliberate behavior? This is a link to a youtube video of Barak Obama signing the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010 . The native woman who introdu...

We have some impending bad weather. When I came out of the Pulse at 6:30, the sky looked ominous. I've been checking the radar and it looks the storm is almost upon us so I took the garbage down to the curb. I hate storms and I especially hate them if I have to be away from home. Joanne was picking me up at 8:30 so we could have a breakfast meeting. She is as big a weather wienie as I am so we may postpone.

Inception. Well, that was one odd as hell movie. I had no idea what was going on so I finally just took a nap. Regis and Joanne said they liked it but they even seemed a little confused about what was a dream and what was real. Like I said, it was like that philosophy class. Now, Regis wants me to watch The Book of Eli with him. This is what IMDB says about it:   A post-apocalyptic tale, in which a lone man fights his way across America in order to protect a sacred book that holds the secrets to saving humankind.   This is almost everything I hate in one movie! Lots of brutal violence, a plot that can't really happen, dark and morbid themes, and scary guys with bad teeth who never bathe. Not much to redeem it, I'd say. After these two movies, I'm going to have to watch Sound of Music or Mary Poppins to counteract this nasty movie juju. I tried to just work on my grocery list and write a blog post while not paying attention to this movie but there was some awful sounds ...

The last week was a nice one. The bugs have finally taken off so we were on the patio a lot, we had some nice evenings with friends, we did some good cooking, and we got one home improvement project done. Yesterday, I bought a bunch of frames and spend the afternoon putting family pictures in them. Regis helped me hang them. Since there were so many and they were different sizes, we had to measure carefully and lay them out like they would be on the wall. This involved: a level, a tape measure, a big hammer, and a pen. I only mention the hammer because I used to hang pictures by pounding nails in with a wooden clog. By the end of the project, we were kind of eye-balling things and doing the best we could. We're not so big on home improvement projects. Only if we can afford to hire someone to do it are we interested. There are too many steps for me. You can't do just one thing without layers of home improvement coming into play. If you replace the curtains, then you have to...

One of my favorite blogs is Sweet Juniper . In his current post, he writes about being a navelgazing windbag whose blog is a performance. He writes it much better than I could (without plagiarism, that is) but his point is that writing a blog, while maybe not all that fascinating for the rest of you, is a source of endless interest to him. And to me. I write posts in my head and some of them make it here and plenty do not. It's changed the way I see my days. I notice things I wouldn't notice if I didn't think about writing them down. Things seem more interesting when I can translate them into words. Sometimes I do things only because it will be fun to write about them. On the spin bike this morning, I read Outside magazine. These are not the kinds of interesting things I do: climbing mountains, diving in underwater caves, hiking in the Amazon. My life is way more mundane and well, safe. My idea of things to do are more in the realm of making basil pesto or going for a w...

Elliot and Tiffany came to visit this afternoon. He tried out the new picnic table, had a popsicle, sat in the swing, ate a ton of blueberries, had a grilled cheese sandwich for dinner, and went home tired. We had a wonderful time. Nice way to end a weekend.

We were at the infamous Kato Ballroom last night but couldn't find a person (we didn't try very hard) to take a picture of the whole bunch of us so we were are minus me, the photographer. It was a beautiful wedding and it was nice to introduce myself as the minister's wife. At the rehearsal dinner the night before, nobody seemed to want to sit with us. Regis told the groom he should have told people that he's "not that kind of minister". The Kato Ballroom is a funky place. The decor is truly just what it was in the 50's. I sat on a vinyl bench that Buddy Holly might have sat on in his second-to-last concert. Think of it. This morning was my "long run" which has now become my long run/walk. So, when I say I ran 6.5 miles, what I mean is that I ran with walking breaks, the Jeff Galloway technique. It's what I'm going to do. For the most part, it was painless. I figure this is a good way to go for an old person like me. What the hell. ...