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

My time in that race this morning sucked which I knew it would but I guess I report it when it's good so I better report when it's bad: 0:42:46. I can usually do a 5K in about 35 minutes. There was a big bottle-neck right after I crossed the starting line and several further on in the course. I am not competitive. Really, I am not. But if they bother to give you a chip timer, it should go better than this. (Who is this talking?) The course was way too narrow for that many people and it got jammed up a lot. There wasn't a consistent plan for dealing with traffic. Some volunteers made the runners stop and some made the cars stop so you never knew. It was fun to see all the young girls running, though. Girls on the Run, you know. Regis and I were planning to go to Olives for dinner. About 20 minutes ago, I had the unhappy thought that it is prom night in SP and might be prom night in Mankato. I called Olives and they are booked solid until 7:30 which I don't care about s...

A picture of Regis I forgot on my camera...making ribs for Easter dinner. We made a trip to Friendly Confines this afternoon and this is the resulting lunch. Delicious. The cheese in the front on the orange plate with the crackers is called Brun-Uusto ( Brunkow's Baked Cheese with Jalapenos ) and I loved loved loved it. You heat it up a little and it has a bit of carmelizing on the crust. A picture left on my camera of Elliot's last visit. Me on the cow at Friendly Confines. Regis and the Kirby Puckett cow at Friendly Confnes.

I've been awake since 6, shopping my favorite world-wide marketplace, Etsy. I have been, of course, on a mission for coffee-related things for my new career. This is my latest purchase. I wonder how this will look with the Spellbound heels. I registered for a race today but it looks like the weather is a little risky. The forecast is for 80% chance of thunderstorms. I'm not running in Sibley Park under those big trees in pouring rain and lightening. Regis and I are planning a trip to LeSueur today for a stop at the Cheese Shop (I can never remember its real name.) and the coffee shop over there. Just checkin' it out. I am resisting the urge to start buying coffee books until after Monday. I'm going down to River Rock at 4 o'clock to meet the staff and so Tamika can give some direction on resources. I have a lot to learn but instead of just going blindly into the vast morass, I'll wait for guidance. This morning, we're engaging in the devilish g...

I have about ten minutes before I go to the Pulse to work out. I have been neglectful of that the last few days. Back to work... I'm missing the Royal Wedding. I have to admit some interest even though it might be silly. I watched Charles and Diana marry years ago and loved it. It's a fairy tale...or at least they paint it like one. We watched The King's Speech last night. Good movie and a different picture of the royal life. And I've read books, believe me, and I know they do not live perfect lives. Planning the weekend. There are always so many choices of things to do but our favorite seems to be not much of anything. There is a race I'm registered for tomorrow morning in Mankato and that might be just enough structure to the weekend. I still have all the crap around from last weekend...Easter basket stuff, fancy dishes, table cloth, big table in the kitchen. I'd like to get that stuff stowed tomorrow. Moving on to the next season...summer! iGoogle say...

When I leave the house in the morning to exercise, I always tell Regis I will lock the door. He has always said it isn’t necessary, but here is proof that there are bad guys out there and they will come into your house if you don’t guard against them. SPPD is investigating recent residential burglaries that have occurred in the following areas: the Summit Community, the 400 block of Mulberry, the 700 block of Washington Avenue , and the 600 block of N. Minnesota Ave. The suspects primarily target cash, jewelry and electronics. The burglaries have occurred during the early morning hours, between approximately 4:30 am and 6:30 am. Suspect(s) have gained entry through unlocked doors. I am vindicated. My concern about bad guys is not unfounded. I don’t like to travel and get regular grief about it from my loved ones who do. Here is a poem by Billy Collins. He talks about commanding the simple precinct of home. Consolation by Billy Collins How agreeable it is not to be touri...

A week ago today, I had a meeting in a local coffee shop/café. A friend of mine was in a meeting in another room with the owner of the shop. They talked about a position she was trying to fill and my friend told her about me and my search for an interesting and challenging post-retirement job. This led to a long phone conversation on Saturday and an interview yesterday. I had an amazing two hour conversation with the owner of the coffee shop/cafe. She wants me to meet the staff before it becomes official but I am sure this job is mine. It is really too good to be true. First of all, I like her very much on a personal level. She asked what I like to read and we were off on a twenty minute conversation about books. (We both fill our books with post-it flags and underlining.) She asked about cooking and preserving and we talked about that for twenty minutes. We talked about the power of food for people and how important the dining experience is for good food to be enjoyed. She says she...

So, yesterday, my mom sends me an email containing photos of Queen Elizabeth with every American president going back to Harry Truman. The commentary said something about not believing how old she was. I laughed, too, but then thought hey wait a dang minute. I remember every one of those presidents except for the very last one. Ha! There's some irony for you. I have an interview this afternoon for what seems like it could be my dream job post-retirement. It's been so much fun gathering letters of recommendation and artifacts to demonstrate my skills for THIS job as compared to the process of trying to get a job in a school which was bloody awful stuffed-shirt torture. Every time, it was. I have some wonderful and creative letters from friends, pictures of our theme parties, pictures of costumes, pictures of holiday table settings, and a recipe binder for St. Patrick's Day and the Vernal Equinox party. What could be more fun than that? I got a haircut last night and as a...

Ella and I colored Easter eggs in the sink yesterday. The results were disappointing. Not the intense colors I've gotten in the past with the cheap Paas kit, but washed out pastels that seemed to run off the egg onto the paper towel the minute we set them down to dry. We had a good time anyway. The weather was beautiful and we got to sit outside most of the afternoon, only coming in to eat. The egg hunt was a success and I wish we had gotten some pictures of it. This from the blog of Paul Douglas: *  From 64 later today to a chance of slush by Wednesday morning . Welcome to "spring" in Minnesota. *  1.13"  of precipitation expected from Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday afternoon (vast majority should fall as rain). When they talk slush and "vast majority should fall as rain", this is bad news folks. Spring snow. No disguising it. We're all going to be on Prozac before this spring ends.

Another chilly and cloudy day. We keep trying to be optimistic about spring but it's hard. We are hoping to cook ribs on the grill tomorrow afternoon and I'd like to clean up the yard a little but I'm not going to do either of those things if it's 40 degrees. We went to Olives for dinner last night. We planned to get a table but when Regis saw Adam, our favorite bartender, he steered me right up to the bar. We had a very good time and a wonderful meal. We visited with Nancy, a woman we met last time who was fortifying herself with a drink before she went to the Job's dance. Now there's a woman to admire. She just defended her thesis and said she would invite us to her graduation party. What a hoot. I love those accidental friendships. I stopped another woman to visit as we were waiting in the lobby of the hotel. turns out they are from St. Peter. She asked if we knew Vickie, the woman whose house we were at Thursday after work. They live right across the str...

Regis and I are not working today so it feels like Saturday even though it's only Friday which will be like having an additional day in the weekend. Too bad the weather is so morbid. We have been able to sit on the patio once time this year and we haven't used the grill in the front at all yet. Good grief. It's almost May. I'm trying to decide if I should go to the Pulse or walk outside. I'm inclined to walk outside even with the nasty weather conditions just to get some fresh air. It feels like a luxury to get outside. I tend to put that kind of exercise off, though, and eventually the day ends without doing it. This is why I get up at 4 a.m. I went to the Pulse and it was fun to be there at a different time. I saw friends who are usually late morning exercisers instead of the early birds I usually see. I walked for 45 minutes...a little over three miles. I bragged a little about my medal. I told them I figured out that I don't have to get faster, I just ha...

I was informed today that because I was the top finisher in my age group in the race on Sunday, that I have earned a medal. I have to pick it up next week. Seriously. I feel a little guilty but what the hell. Regis said he will take a picture of it when it comes. I would guess it isn't like the Olympic medals but probably more like a plastic cracker jack medal. But you never know.

We woke up this morning to no snow on the ground. We were hugely relieved as it meant we would get dressed and go off to work as is our responsibility. We had threatened that we would not be reporting to work in the event of snow. Disaster averted. I have been trying to think of a creative pursuit for myself after retirement. Besides my mission to be a web content writer, I would like to either learn to play the concertina, learn to draw, or learn photography. I'm not very patient so the hobby that can be developed in the shortest amount of time is the one I will be more likely to pursue. That's a joke. Regis brought me home a great pair of shoes from the costume company. They're called Spellbound and they are meant to be worn with a vampire costume. Cool. You want to make sure you are stone sober and walking on a smooth surface when you wear these babies. I am perseverating on the fact that I won in my age group on Sunday. I admit to myself it is only because I was th...

Here are the results from the race Sunday. I am the only one, and therefore first, in my age group. Yes! Getting older has some rewards! Female 50-59 Place        Bib #        Name           Age                  Finish                            Elapsed 1              952           Teresa S.      58                   9:37:32                         0:36:33

This morning as I was taking some stuff out of my back seat, I whacked the outside heel of my right foot somehow. I stepped right out of my shoe into a mud puddle. I had to hop on my left foot to get closer to the car so I could wipe my wet foot on the seat before putting it back in my shoe.

I feel good today. Like I have passed over the hump and I'm on the downhill side. My wonderful mom called last night with lots of support and encouragement. Bless her heart. We had a glass of wine together...across the miles. I went out this morning and cut a bouquet of daffodils for a friend of mine who had a wicked bad-ass week. There is always worse shit than the stuff you are wading through yourself. I went to the Pulse this morning and it was much quieter than it was yesterday. Sometimes I can hardly stand the stimulation. I got on the treadmill with Crazy Heart on my iPod and read The Road Home while I walked a nice pace. Relaxing way to start the day. It will be about my third time back and forth through The Road Home in the last two months. I started it on my Kindle, realized I had to buy it, read the paperback version at the same time I was continuing to read the Kindle version. Now I'm back to the beginning of the Kindle version. I love Jim Harrison's writin...

I might have mentioned (but I can't remember and can't find it in a previous post) that Regis suggested I write this post with this title. I suggested instead: falling off the perch with wit and grace...which we all know would devolve into sarcasm. He says if I write honestly about my feelings regarding the end of my career, maybe I will find peace with it. I can try. The only things I seem to be able to focus on are the things I really like or the things I really hate. The other day, I looked at my two portfolios, which cost me a ton of money and a ton of emotional capital. When do I pitch those in the trash, I wondered. It got me worked up into quite a lather by the end of the day. What a waste of a good frenzy. The truth is that it doesn't matter one iota what I do with them. The time for portfolios has passed and I can either keep them on the shrine or I can toss them into the ash bin. There is no point in being dramatic about it now. What they represent to me is pr...

Ella met me toward the end and ran across the finish line with me. She was a trooper. I tried to give her my race shirt for a nightie but she said, "No, thanks. I have enough of those." Yeah, me, too. That was about as cold as I have ever been. If I had had my phone on Nicollet Avenue when we were going north, I would have called for a ride. I dropped a tissue and it blew into the ditch. I went after it since it was the only one I had and seriously, I thought I was going to tip over and fall down. My legs were numb from being cold. Thinking about this now, it might not have been a bad strategy. We met Nikki and Scott for breakfast at Patrick's after the run. It was packed in there. Ella came home with us and helped me do some cooking. We made meatloaf muffins and egg bake and flax meal muffins. That should carry us through lunches for the next few weeks. I think someone should have a party to celebrate the Royal Wedding. I'm not up to it but I would like to a...

Yesterday, I staged a protest against the cold, wet weekend and wore capri leggings and sandals with 4 inch heels. I planned to hang round the house in that get-up but Regis got such a kick out of it that he offered to take me out for a glass of wine. We went to Tony's place and had the cheese and fruit plate and it was wonderful. I may have gotten second degree frost bite on my toes but it was worth it to thumb my nose at Mother Nature. When we left at 4 o'clock, it was 37 degrees. What the hell. I swear I saw snow flakes again when we came home. It's disgusting. This morning, it's about 35 but they say it feels like 23. I'm going to run in the Race for Acceptance at GAC and wanted to wear sunflower leggings to celebrate the lovely spring weather. I'm not sure that will happen but I refuse to dig out the long underwear again. We had a wonderful day yesterday. We took our long grocery list to the HyVee and did some serious damage there. I went to Kohl...

Our weather has gone south fast. Not south as in warm and sunny, either. South as in to hell. I think this morning it’s about 35 degrees. And windy. I got up and went to the Pulse, did the dishes, met Joanne for coffee, stopped by my house again to get a warmer sweater, stopped by North to see a couple teachers, and finally got to school. It felt like I did a day’s work before 8 o’clock. I’m working on the Easter menu. My parts, if all goes according to plan, are to bake bread, make a vegetable, and make a Guinness cake for dessert. Not like we need dessert with candy but what the hey. It’s a holiday. My friend, Jill, was visiting a school yesterday when the tornado sirens went off so she spent thirty minutes in the boy’s locker room with seventh graders. I told her I would almost rather take my chances with a tornado. I volunteered to write some articles for our district’s staff newsletter. I am doing the lazy man’s journalism approach…sending out email questions. Actually, t...

I picked Ella up after school yesterday so she could come over and help decorate for Easter. This is not a big decorating holiday so she was a little disappointed but we had fun. We went to Patrick's for a Cha Cha basket with fries and a pink lemonade. After dinner, we came back and had our first patio sit of the season. It was a beautiful evening. Regis has pictures of us on the patio but for some reason we can't get them off his phone. Sometimes technology sucks. Today is Peter's 24th birthday. I love this picture of him. I guess I will have to go to work again today. More later... Regis beat me into the shower so I have to sit here a while longer. What a hardship. The daffodils in the garden are starting to bloom. Ah, a hopeful sign of spring. I just read Paul Douglas on weather and he says the chances of big snow in the forecast have come way down. That's a relief. On to Wednesday.

I have cleaned up the flotsam and jetsam from the party. I have taken a nap. I have eaten a nice Western omelet. I have played with the pictures from yesterday. And I just hired a young man to rake my lawn. It's been a productive day, so far. The weather here is peculiar. When we woke up this morning it was muggy and gray. Reminds me of the tornado day. That was early spring, too, and unseasonably warm and humid. Bert was in a state of near panic all day and tried to get into the refrigerator every time I opened it. I don't have a dog to predict the weather today. Regis and I like to set the party mood so yesterday, I put 400 pictures of our friends and past parties on a jump drive so it would play on the digital frame. I found 50 hits of the 30s on iTunes so we had some music of the era playing for the party. I have a kid raking the yard for us. He said he wanted ten dollars which of course, I said, was not enough and I would give him 40 if he did a good job. He's no...

We had a little party last night to celebrate the 78th anniversary of the repeal of prohibition. I didn't really get in the swing of it until Friday when I ordered a costume. Yesterday, Regis printed a bunch of posters, we found some slang from the 1930s  (You shred it, wheat!), and I dragged out some doilies and depression glass. Good thing we got in gear because our friends came in great outfits! Here's a slide show of the whole shebang, if you're interested. I ordered some prints and it's too much trouble to weed out the photos I didn't want to print so you get it all. We had a great time! Regis made ribs but didn't make them on the grill. It was just too chilly to stand outside all afternoon watching ribs cook. There were no complaints about the oven version! I better get to the pile of dirty dishes. Stay warm and dry today, friends. 

I woke up at 4 this morning but made myself stay in bed until 5 at which time I got up, made coffee, and did my usual morning stuff...checking email, reading a few blogs, checking Facebook. I have pretty much given up on newspapers as there is nothing there but bad news. I did read that the state overpaid some folks on unemployment 25 dollars a week during 2010 because of a computer misdirection. Lovely. So, people who are already lacking resources are going to be dunned by the state to repay this money. Why don't they try to get it back from some of the fat cats who cheat on their taxes? Like maybe Denny Hecker has some cash to spare. Or those folks who screwed our city out of all that money. Let them pay it back. Regis and I had a quiet Friday evening. We stopped at the bar with Joanne for a glass of wine and some wings and came home early to watch a few episodes of Arrested Development. I had a good meeting yesterday afternoon with some powerful and competent women who wil...

This is the Mayer cat, enjoying the sun. We should all do this on the first, warm days of spring...lie in the sun on the warm concrete with our feet in the air. We'd all be happier for it. This is me looking over the new patio addition. Karl Struck does nice work and we're going to love it. I walked around it a few times last night but it was a little chilly to sit out there. Maybe Saturday. A few other random photos of the patio before we start populating it with furniture and stuff. Thursday...good and bad. I'll be back at the end of it.

Regis called with a funny story about a new guy at the costume company. He's really tall and this morning, he stood up and whacked his head on a beam that runs over his desk. Regis said any other company he has worked for would have had a four hour safety meeting as a result and probably would have suspended operations until the issue was fixed. At the costume company, they say, "You all right, dude?" hahahaha. I said they could offer him a hat to cover the lump. I stopped at home to pick up my lunch yesterday and to check on the status of the patio. Mike and Kathryn were outside so I ran over with a party invitation and with a vintage Cabbage Patch doll. Kathryn loved the doll and said she had to think about what to name the new baby. As they were leaving, she told me that they were going to put a slack line in their back yard. I laughed. Her daddy is a comedian, magician, and he likes to walk on wires. A slack line is what wire artists use. So cute that she knew that...

I slept in this morning until 5. My muscles are sore from the TRX workout yesterday and I needed a little more sleep. I don't have much interest in working today, what a surprise. Karl came yesterday to start the patio addition. We'll have a bigger patio by the end of the day today. The guy is a hard worker. I have ideas about populating the patio with chairs and such while Regis has a more open vision. I flash baked two chickens for dinner last when Bob, Emily, and the little ones came to our house. Flash baking means that you cook them for 45-60 minutes at a high temperature. I woke up in the middle of the night and  realized that our house smells like vaporized chicken fat. I can only imagine what the inside of the oven looks like but it doesn't matter, the chicken was delicious. I read the note on the city's newsletter about their plan to pick up yard waste. It's so confusing that we might have to take the whole business to the compost site ourselves. They...

Regis made Mexican omelets for breakfast after our grocery shopping trip. He used left-over peppers stuffed with cheese and Andouille sausage. Wonderful flavors. Tonight we had flank steak fajitas with grilled onions and peppers. Another wonderful meal. I'm tired. That's the end of it for tonight.

This has been a lovely weekend. I seem to have recovered from the blues of last week. It may hit me again from time to time but I'm hoping that the peak has passed. Regis suggested some retail therapy yesterday so he drove me around Mankato and I picked up some great spring clothes in bright orange and bright pink. I've never been much a thrift store shopper but in the last few months, I've gotten some great stuff at consignment and thrift stores. Yesterday, I scored a couple of denim skirts and a bright red, wool jacket. Ella called when we were on our way home so we stopped and got her on our way into town. She had me model the new clothes for Regis. She insisted on helping with buttons and zippers and accessories and would precede me out of the bedroom, announcing to Regis that he would "love this look". What a hoot. We had dinner at Olives last night. I love that place. We got there earlier than the friends we were meeting so we sat at the bar for a wh...