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

I just finished two books by Howard Norman. I have been in a reading slump for some reason...could not find anything I wanted to read, much less finish. Here they are if you missed their mention earlier: What is Left the Daughter by Howard Norman The Bird Artist by Howard Norman I also started White Truffles in Winter by N.M. Kelby and really like that a lot, too. Here's a bit of the review from Amazon: White Truffles in Winter imagines the world of the remarkable French chef Auguste Escoffier (1846-1935), who changed how we eat through his legendary restaurants at the Savoy and the Ritz. A man of contradictions—kind yet imperious, food-obsessed yet rarely hungry—Escoffier was also torn between two women: the famous, beautiful, and reckless actress Sarah Bernhardt and his wife, the independent and sublime poet Delphine Daffis, who refused ever to leave Monte Carlo. In the last year of Escoffier's life, in the middle of writing his memoirs, he has returned to Delphine, wh

When I was a young teacher, I had a friend who always talked about Sunday Psychosis. It's the feeling you get at the end of a nice weekend, a mild dread at going back to work, a tiny resentment about giving up your life of freedom. Mike said he saw amoebas in the midst of his Sunday Psychosis. I could be feeling this today. I avoid talking about my despair at the lack of sunlight in Minnesota in the winter because maybe acknowledging it makes it worse. I'm taking extra Vitamin D, hoping that will help. I don't think it's anything serious enough to see a doctor about or engage in any serious light ray box therapy...just a general malaise regarding the weather. Even a raging blizzard would help. I have enjoyed the Thanksgiving weekend to the fullest extent possible and now I am ready to move on to December meaning that it may be time to get out the Christmas lights. I'm not sure about the rest of that junk yet as it starts to feel like it's choking me after a

We are going for a ride this afternoon. To Cleveland or LeSueur, some place not Mankato where the shoppers are converged. He says we shouldn't wait too long because the traffic gets bad. In Cleveland? It took more than two hours to do the dishes this morning. I had offers of help last night but just didn't want to bother with it then. No regrets. It was sort of a zen moment (many of them...) as the sun came up red as fire in the eastern sky. Beautiful. All the dishes are done and organized on the table waiting to be put away. I think I will take that job on tomorrow. I'm not decorating for Christmas or even thinking about Christmas until December. I averted my eyes at the bank this morning when I saw they had Christmas stockings hung already. Can't we just enjoy Thanksgiving through the weekend? Regis made this youtube video of an accidental series of pictures we took on the patio yesterday. It's a hoot. We took some left-over pumpkin cheesecake to our f

Here you go. All here. We had a great time, good food, and left a big mess to be cleaned up this morning. Better get at it.

My friend, Karen, currently of Lake Tahoe and formerly of Atlanta, Georgia, wants to know about the mystery movie. She says she likes puzzles like this one. So, for Karen, I will describe everything I recall about this movie. But first, does anybody think it's ironic that a person like me, who has not been out of the state of Minnesota in the last five years except for twice and once was to Iowa and the other to South Dakota and barely over the border at that, has friends in far flung places? Ah, the internets are great. So, here is the list of things I think I remember: I think I saw it in the 80s. It took place in the South. There were dark scenes (black and white?). There was a scene where women were putting pillows into pillow cases in the bedroom of an old house...lace curtains and flowery wallpaper kind of house. There was a scene where some people were sitting under a weeping willow kind of tree. A man gets shot for infidelity. I think by his wife. He had a name lik

 The last few years, since she has been old enough to spend the night with us, Ella comes for an overnight before Thanksgiving to make a pumpkin pie. I picked her up at school yesterday and she came for our annual event. Ella lost her first tooth a while back so she had to show the Paparazzo where the tooth used to be. Ella is always nervous around Gus at first, then decides she loves him. He drapes himself over her like a big, furry blanket. He weighs almost as much as she does. Ella has animal allergies but Gus is hypoallergenic so it's a good match. Our back yard is a mess with the melting snow so he practically needs a bath every time he goes out there. Regis ordered him some boots so we'll see how that goes. Ella and I pose for some pictures with Gus. Ella gave me the low-down on school yesterday. She likes recess when she has snow pants and can go on the playground. She doesn't like it if she has to stay on the parking lot. She hates making letters and disli

Without being too sappy and going on about family and friends and good health...here is my list for 2011. 1. I am thankful that I can get out of the bathtub without help. I was headed in a direction where that might have been possible for long. I am thankful for Rachel kicking my sorry ass on a regular basis and increasing the chances that I will be mobile into old age. Here's hopin', anyway. 2. I am thankful for a husband who appreciates good food and doesn't mind a hot pepper now and then. I have been in the presence of people who refuse to eat onions or garlic, for God's sake. I was married to a man who, seriously, would ask a waiter, if onions had been cooked on the same grill as his hamburger. Do these folks have abnormal taste buds? Does all their food taste like Wonder Bread? 3. I am thankful for a temperament that allows messiness in my life: trees that shed sticks, a huge dog who brings untold amounts of dirt and detritus into our house, books and papers

So, I planned to be out of work by 12 and it was more like 1:00. I planned to drop the turkey off at the food shelf at 10 but they weren't open so it was 1:30. I planned to cook in the afternoon but I went to Pet Expo with Regis and Gus. I planned to have left over pot roast for dinner but we had stuffed peppers instead. It all works out...just not like I planned. Today I don't work at all so there will be plenty of time to get things done. I was going to work out but we'll see. I may have to vacate the kitchen while Regis makes another batch of apple pie. We watched the movie that I thought I remembered...Crimes of the Heart...last night. Turns out it was not the movie I remembered which is going to make me crazy, again. Regis said it was one of the top five worst movies he has ever seen. Two plot elements, grand-daddy dying and mama hanging herself, he attributes solely to the wretched awfulness of this movie. It wasn't that bad, really. I have such clear visio

I have been working on my recipe binder and my menu for a few days. Most of the list-making is done so today I started on the gathering of dishes and silver and table linens. In the midst of it, I pulled a drawer of the refrigerator out to wash it and found a mess in the back like someone had slaughtered a cow in there when we weren't looking. An hour later, all is well. I don't like to take everything out of the refrigerator to clean it so I do it one drawer or shelf at a time. This experience demonstrates why a person should take everything out from time to time...just to discover the evils lurking in the back. I told Regis if anything ever happens to me, he should make sure to hire someone to do that periodically because if not, the botulism will surely get him. We had our fist snow of the season yesterday. It was inconvenient but beautiful. It's sticking around today but I hear it might be 50 degrees on Thanksgiving Day which is not convenient either as I like to u

Spicy Cranberry Chutney 3 to 4 jalapenos, finely chopped 8 cups cranberries 2 limes, zested and juiced 2 oranges, zested and juiced 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar 1 cup water Salt and fresh ground black pepper Directions: Put all of the ingredients in sauce pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat and simmer until desired consistency, about 40 to 50 minutes.

I got home from work about five o'clock. The traffic downtown was wicked ass bad and it was chilly in the house so I turned on the fireplace, lit some candles, turned on World Cafe, and we sat at the front window and watched the birds. Ah, the peace of the home fires. It was a good week but I am looking forward to the next one. Regis kept an eye out for the birds. This is a red bellied woodpecker. I don't know why they call his belly red when it's his head that is most clearly red. Maybe to distinguish him from all the other so-called red headed woodpeckers. We do have a pair of those that flit about the yard, too. Here is one of the fat cardinals that frequents our feeder. There is this adult male, a female, and two juvenile males. This guy gets to eat first. I love getting up early on Saturday. Gus and I went out in the yard for a while. It's cold enough now that I wear my goose down coat and gloves. I love picking up dog poop with my red velvet gloves. I use a

I'm on the sofa and it's Friday morning. Waiting for the coffee to finish. Started the fireplace and Shuffle Function. Gus came out to take a look then went back to bed. I'm feeling a little bit like that myself. My plan is to go to the Pulse at 8:00 to run my mile challenge and go to yogalates but I can't see that happening right now. I finished What is Left the Daughter yesterday. I loved it. I loved the story and I loved the writing. Somewhere toward the end I read a sentence (while riding an exercise bike) that made me close my eyes and hold the book to my chest. As I wrote the other day, much heartbreak but also sweet redemption. I ordered another book by the same author. I reminded me of the experience of reading Out Stealing Horses when I finished the last page and went right back to page one to read it again. We went to the Beaujolais Nouveau party at Patrick's last night. Here's a little video of what the whole thing is about...mostly a great mark

I was awake early this morning thinking of weird things. As usual. One of the things I pondered was the difference between my blog and Facebook. Regis told me on Sunday, on our drive back from Canby, that I put too much out there. What? I didn't really understand because I think I am discrete on Facebook and nearly as discrete on my blog. I don't think I feel like writing all the rules I have but just know that even though I process and eventually write about almost every thought I have, written versions of those thoughts differ depending on the medium. So, I wake up thinking I will ditch Facebook because I waste some of my best lines there. Last night I wrote that one of the good things about getting old is that you can enjoy a glass of very expensive birthday wine while you hem a pair of flannel pajama pants. I meant that I don't have to wait for a special occasion to make the wine worthy. Being home with Regis in front of the fireplace, hemming pajama pants, listenin

We had a little ceremony. Gus and Regis had their picture taken together and I marched around the living room singing Pomp and Circumstance with a dog bone in my hand. Well done, both of you!

Most of you know Regis and I have eschewed television in the past few years and have learned to love the radio. Last night was a new experience as we listened to Miss Lona's show on KMSU. She usually plays jazz but last night she played old cowboy songs like Sons of the Pioneers and Roy Rogers. She does some trivia questions and we each won once so we can't wait to see the prizes. It was a hoot. The Venn diagram for people who are interested in cowboy songs and know how to use google would be something, eh? A is people old enough to be interested in cowboy songs. B is people who can use google fast enough to be the first called on a trivia question. C is where the two groups intersect. I am really bad at math so this rudimentary/complex explanation is fascinating to me. Yes, that's it. Right there we are...in C. Gus graduates from dog obedience classes today. When we talked to Ella about dog school, she hooted, and said, "Who's his teacher, a dog?" She th

These are backwards but I don't have the mental capacity to change it this morning. I'll start at the end and go in reverse. We had our event at River Rock last night. A Farm to Table dinner and a comedy show by Mike Callahan and Paul Strickland. It was a phenomenal night. I got to work at 2:00 to set up tables and candles and the bar. We had 30 paying guests which makes a crowd in the front of the shop. I knew almost everyone there so it was fun and didn't really seem like work. My job was seating people and pouring water...and visiting with people about the food. I get paid for doing this? People started showing up before I was done setting up the tables which got a little crazy but everyone was seated and in the process of being fed by 6:15. Oh, here is the menu! It's hard to read here but if you click on it, it will get bigger. Regis even complimented the kale. This is the stage Michael set up for the comedy. It looks great and worked really well. Ever

Here's my short (or maybe long) list of happenings for the week. Tomorrow is Veteran's Day. My dad was a veteran and there he is in the picture. I would not make a good soldier so I appreciate anyone who can do that. Bless their hearts. It's been a crazy week at work and at home.  Regis, bless his heart, has toted me to Mankato two times. Once on a purely personal mission and today on a work mission.  Personal mission: Great fall sweaters in autumnal colors. Also an amazing scarf made of some kind of goat fur. Would that be hair...or fur? Work mission: Picked up checks and paper and stuff at thrift stores. Silverware, extra plates, ice cream dishes. Wine elfed (blogspot does not recognize the past tense of elf...what the hell) a colleague who has done the same for me. Sold a bunch of tickets to the comedy event Sunday night at River Rock. Listening to Shuffle Function and the theory that Paul McCartney died in 1963 and was replaced by a Canadian. Gads. Crackpots, t

I've been up since 5 o'clock looking at recipes in my Thanksgiving binder and on the web and in my google docs file. I always feel like I want to try something new or at least a new twist on an old favorite. These experiments are not usually popular although now Peter requests the cornbread Andouille sausage dressing every year. This is an antipasto plate and I think it will be my appetizer du jour this season. Instead of making three appetizers that will either go unconsumed or will be eaten wholly to ruin the appetite for the meal, this will be perfect for the cheese/meat/egg/vegetable/bread eaters among us. Something for everyone. I was hoping to take the week before Thanksgiving off but we had an unexpected resignation at the coffee shop and it might not be possible now. I am hoping at least to work limited hours. We had a staff meeting last night with a coffee guru from Minneapolis. I want to learn to pull shots of espresso! What a hoot! She was fascinating and I was a

Wrap yourself in LED lights and put on a pair of reindeer antlers. The rest of my mental health action plan: Vitamin D supplements. Be warm. Wear long underwear to work. Wear warm socks and mittens. Work in the front of the shop rather than the dark office. Take a longer walk when I go to the bank. Sunshine is good. Talk to people instead of hunching over paperwork all day. Turn lights on in the house. Light candles. More LED lights. Write more.  Exercise outside. Would this be helpful? Readers. Send other ideas.

I can already feel the lack of light. I wake up at 5 and it's as dark as the middle of the night. Gus walks around the kitchen and goes back to sleep. I drink coffee and feel a little blue. The sky gets light so slowly and seems to go black so fast at the other end of the day. Would Vitamin D help? Should I linger on my walks to the bank at mid-day? I'd like to stay in my lounging clothes and wooly socks all day and look at recipes for Thanksgiving instead of going out into the cold and dark and doing what I have to do. I just read back over my posts from previous Novembers and I feel this every year...a sense of dread about the loss of light. General malaise and crankiness. As if you needed further proof, here, also written in November, is a blast from the past: things that annoy me in no particular order .

On Sunday night, River Rock and Mike Callahan will present Paul Strickland , the cranky comic. There will be a wonderful seasonal and organic dinner served beginning at 6 o'clock. Mike Callahan will perform at 7:00 and Paul will begin at 7:30. Tickets are 35 dollars each. Where else can you get a great meal and a show for a price like that for 35 bucks? I feel like my ass is on the line for this one since I have promoted it for months. I should have kept this idea to myself, maybe? Regis and I have been looking at the strangest website called Awkward Family Pet Photos . Under the photo menu, check out the Hall of Fame. It is a strange experience and you will not be able to look away. Like Walmartians. I think my retinas are burned.

With so many ways to receive input and to generate output of information, I get mixed up sometimes. I can't remember what I posted where and sometimes I can't remember from where things came. Did I get that by email...text...blog...it's hard getting old. Or maybe the world is just getting more complicated. In any case, this is the picture of Regis and me when we did our Shuffle Function gig which was a total hoot. We got there at 5:30 a.m. and spent two hours live on the air with Tim and Shelley, playing our music that we had thoughtfully chosen over the last two weeks. Here is our playlist if you want to see what we like. You have to scroll down a ways. We were on November 2nd. We love independent radio. I have been enamored of etsy lately. I can spend hours shopping for this and that...handmade and vintage. What a hoot. Vintage clothes are really tempting because they look so cool but it's hard to know what they look like in real life. All the stuff coming out o

Regis is my paparazzi. I give him photo assignments and he takes care of it. But, yesterday he took pictures of the dismantling of the Halloween decor and such but the pictures have disappeared. Ah, well. We had a meat marathon for dinner. We had taken out of the freezer, over the last few days: two pork chops, a bag of scallops, a whole chicken, and a piece of tuna. It all had to be cooked today so we seasoned it up and grilled it. Now, it's in the refrigerator in meal-size containers for lunch and dinner. Hah! I have probably talked about this before but Regis refuses to eat tuna based on his Catholic upbringing but I tell him if he ever tasted it, we'd have to arm wrestle for it. Seared ahi tuna marinaded in soy sauce and toasted sesame oil? Oh, my. We went on a shopping spree this morning. We needed coffee from Aldi, bird seed from Pet Expo, and I needed a few new sweaters from TJ Maxx, my favorite store. What do you know, I found some in great fall colors: sage green

I was awake every hour during this past night, I swear. Even with my friend, Ambien, I could not stay asleep. I read several chapters in my book several times. Finally got up at 5 and took Gus out in the yard. The sky is gorgeous which is a sight I would not see if I were a late sleeper. Of course, the stars probably make an appearance on the other end of night, too. I scanned two papers, make that three...two electronic and one real... this morning but it was dismal work. Most of the stuff in there is not really anything I need to know or care to know. I'm thinking I will transition to walking to work today. Last week, I was riding my bike but there is something about riding a bike in a parka that is unappealing to me. When it's 35 degrees in the morning, bike riding is a cold business. It's even less appealing to get into a cold car and besides I like visiting with folks I see on the street. I had been trying to contact an egg source for River Rock for a few weeks,