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

I have been mostly inert today. I woke up early but did not exercise. I intended to work this morning (from home) but that didn't happen either. I spent two hours at the clinic doing my annual physical. Everything looks good and I'm scheduled for a bunch of tests. Ack. I like my doctor (nurse practitioner) a lot but some of those people in medical facilities are cranky. I worked this afternoon which was fine. I made a trip to the farmer's market for more homemade jam, hot peppers, and smoked Italian sausage. I love the farmer's market. I finished the last Will Thomas book. They are very entertaining which is what I seek lately. My brain is not coping well with the high literary arts. Not like it ever did. This time of day, I lose interest in making dinner. A sorry state of affairs since this is when some people like to eat it. Too bad. Our neighbors are moving. Very sad day. We will miss them. I should have made a casserole but mostly I just avoided it....

Beautiful morning. We slept with the window open and it was so pleasant to hear the birds this morning. I think they all high-tailed it to the north when it was so hot. Smart birds. We're drinking coffee and making a plan for the day. So far, the weekend has been quiet. But it's early, right? We need to make a trip to the farmer's market and the grocery store this morning. Gus is badly in need  of a trip to the dog park and Regis has to pick up some meds. How is that for productivity? The rest of the day will be more leisurely. I think we'll be able to pay a call on our friends, Tom and Betty. We've hardly laid eyes on Betty for months but we do see Tom regularly at Patrick's. In fact, we had a beer together yesterday. Ella may come for a sleepover since the weather is cooler and we can use the blow-up bed on the porch. We've been talking about this all summer. Last time she was here we made a list on sticky notes of what she should bring and what we w...

And not just because of the rain. Two of our friends who have been diagnosed with different forms of cancer had oncology appointments this week and received good news. No chemo. Things seem clear. No need to come back. Wonderful to celebrate this kind of news. Regis has had good appointments this week, too, although he got a little cranky this afternoon when they made him go from the 2nd floor back to the 1st floor to check in, which involves the same thing he has done countless times in the last two weeks. Same checklist, same insurance card, same questions. We're thinking how weird it is that with so many different medical facilities in our area, that many of them do not share electronic records. Someone tried to explain it to me today but I waved my hand and suggested they make a spreadsheet or a Venn diagram. It's crazy. In the past week, he has updated his medication list three times. The person asking always puts it in a computer but the next person doesn't h...

We woke to rain and thunder early this morning. I intended to go exercise but decided it was more pleasant to stay in bed reading, dozing, and listening to the rolling thunder. I don't regret that decision a bit. I can go later. We've had about 3/4 of an inch of rain. Much needed rain. The humidity yesterday was oppressive and we're hoping that this weather front kicked some of that along the way. Regis continues to recover well but has difficulty sitting in hard chairs. The back of his thigh gets sore and we've theorized that it's muscles and tendons stretching and accommodating the new knee. That, the extreme heat, and the dog combine to keep us home and inside most days. It's like cabin fever in the summer but it will pass. This time of year, I get tired of watering plants outside. Well, actually, I never really like it. Most of my plants are of the Darwin variety...survival of the fittest. I have watered my patio plants this year and they look better t...

Since Regis had his knee replaced, I have been doing the driving. I never drive so I wondered if I was getting on his nerves as I am notoriously a slower, more cautious driver than he is. Yesterday he made a comment about driving like Wilma Flintstone. I tried to find a picture of Wilma driving and there were none to be found. Only Betty or Fred. I worked out with Rachel this morning and she kicked my ass. I was sweating, my arms were shaking, and I almost konked myself with a ten-pound kettle bell. Who invented these devices of torture? She said Jason is building a set of monkey bars. I inquired as to the reason and Rachel said so people can do pull-ups. I always got an F in pull-ups on fitness tests. I also always got an F in the softball throw. I have unpleasant memories of those physical endeavors. Oh, and the rope climb. Seems like in my day, PE was not really physical education but a place for those already talented to show off their skills. I never got better at anyt...

I woke up early but didn't get out of bed until 8. I started reading John Irving's new book, In One Person, and really like it. As in his other books, many interesting characters. It makes me want to read again, all his other books that are among my all-time favorites: The World According to Garp, Hotel New Hampshire, A Prayer for Owen Meany, and Cider House Rules. I did all my household chores. Well, most of them. Picked up stuff, cleaned out the refrigerator, did the dishes, took out the trash and recycling. I have a pile of paperwork in the office to sort through and deal with by we're on the right track. The leaves are drifting off our birch tree like it's autumn already. I'm sure it's the stress of the hot summer and  the fact that it's almost August. Almost August. How can that be? I forgot to tell this funny story. When Regis had his surgery, they sutured the inside stuff but stapled the outside skin together. It looked gruesome. Like Frankenste...

Regis saw his surgeon this afternoon, who proclaimed him a rock star. In ten days, he has made progress made by most patients in 4-5 weeks. He can straighten his leg and walk with a cane, in fact, he can walk without a cane. He bypassed the crutches entirely and barely used the walker once he was home. He's worked hard at it and I knew he would. Dr. Swanson will see him again in four weeks to talk about the other knee. We'd like to get that done before winter. You can look this up and I only write about it because it's the weird kind of news story that we love. At the Olympic Village, 150,000 condoms will be distributed free to the athletes. Regis read somewhere that each athlete would get 15 free condoms for the 17-day event. That's a lot of....activity. Never mind that these people are competing in things like high hurdles and 400 meter dash (Is that a thing?) which for most people would be enough physical exertion for two weeks. I went into Men R Nerds by mysel...

It's been too hot to do much cooking but a guy has to eat so once in a while I suck it up and just do it. Sunday, I baked a giant chicken and a meatloaf. We've been eating that cold since then. Today, I started dealing with the accumulating vegetables from our CSA. I sliced up three pounds of cucumbers to make pickles tomorrow. I sauteed onion, red pepper, and a boat load of leafy greens. And I made my favorite summer recipe, Summer Garden Gratin . It's layers of zucchini and patty pan squash, caramelized onion, and tomatoes. Some fresh thyme, olive oil, and garlic gets drizzled on some of the layers. There is a layer of Panko crumbs, parmesan cheese, and oil on the top. Before the crumb layer... After the crumb layer... It's a putzy recipe to make because you have to layer all the vegetables on paper towels and sprinkle them with salt to get rid of the moisture. I've made vegetable gratins without this step and they end up like soup. It's a...

We made it through the week in fine shape. Regis is home, moving about quite well, I survived my bout of independence, and we're all settled in again. I think Regis is tired of my hovering. The more I see he is able to do for himself, the less I'll hover. I hope. For the most part, he is a good patient and just does what he has to do to go home. He is not a complainer or a whiner. He puts his head down and gets it done. I spent the day washing sheets, mattress pad, blankets so he has a somewhat sterile bed to climb into at the end of the day. I went to the pharmacy here in town, always stressful...today was no exception. More than one customer seems to send them into a tizzy. Today, everyone had a problem. It's a good thing Regis has not much of an appetite because I have not much of a desire to cook.   I can subsist on whatever I can scavenge. I'll eat chicken wings for breakfast or scrambled eggs for dinner. It doesn't matter too much. I took a chicken ...

Regis got his new knee yesterday! The surgery took about an hour, he was in his room by 4, in a chair by 6, and walking by 11. I think that is amazing. I stayed until I knew he was safe and they were taking good care of him, then I picked Gus up and we came home. My friend, Emily, came over to share some dinner and a glass of wine. It was nice to have company after that long day. The surgeon said he had worn that knee down to nothing. It wasn't even straight anymore. I had several texts from Regis through the night as they woke him up to check vitals and move him around. He said he watched the All Star game...pretty good for guy who spent the day on morphine, oxycontin, percocet, and versed. He was up, bathed, and dressed by 6 am, which is a much faster pace than I am on this morning. It's a huge relief to have it over. I just realized that it's a good thing I shut down the comments for a while. I'd be getting drug offers from all over the world. Gus is lost w...

I'm making it more difficult to comment on my blog because I'm getting too many spam messages about buying nude celebrity photos and viagra. You just have to prove you are a person and not a robot.  Sigh.

I found this picture in a text message this morning. Not sure when it was taken but I thought it was too good to pass up. I get so many pictures that I get mixed up about what's where! I don't buy anything fat-free or low-fat anymore. Better to be concerned about chemicals than a little fat. That stuff tastes like crap anyway so why bother. A friend of mine at work told me she found an alfredo sauce with no fat and no calories. I asked her what the hell it was but I knew...a chemical shit storm. I'm trying to get my butt to work this morning. We'll see how that goes. I have not been too motivated to do anything this week. Cook...nope. Exercise...nope. Clean...nope. Read and sleep. That's about it. The weather guys say it will cool off some tonight. I hope they're right. This entropy is killing me. Hahaha!

We had a wonderful 4th of July even though it was hot. Bob and Reg set up a canopy so we had shade, at least those of us who didn't venture down to the curb to collect tootsie rolls. Regis is the camera man in our family and he wisely stayed home in the cool AC. I only took a few with my phone. Alex, Elliot, and Ella each had an umbrella chair. I think it helped but by mid-parade, they had lost interest in candy, too. Elliot came back to sit with me in the shade where I had ice, iced wash cloths, and cold water. This is Jesus. Nice of him to come to St. Peter for the 4th of July. There was also a float with a Presbyterian minister spraying water on the crowd. I told Emily to step back or she'd be baptized. Interesting that we can have all these religious floats in our parade but no politicians. Tiffany trying to get a tan. That's my girl! Alex makes a run for it. I stayed right here in the shade. There was a reasonable breeze so it was man...

I love this version of Smooth. Man it´s a hot one Like seven inches from the midday sun Tiffany is determined to go to the parade so I'm packing up the wagon with hats and sunscreen, a cooler with ice bags, frozen washcloths, and cold drinks. Reggie has a tent and blankets laid out by the community center so we'll have shade, but...  Regis is going to drop us off as close to the appointed site as possible and we have an exit strategy if we need it.  I feel like we're going to the damn desert on a mission. Last night I watched The Last Waltz again. The Last Waltz was a concert by the rock group T he Band, held on November 25, 1976.The Last Waltz was advertised as The Band's "farewell concert appearance" and the concert saw The Band joined by more than a dozen special guests, including Paul Butterfield , Eric Clapton , Neil Diamond , Bob Dylan , Emmylou Harris , Ronnie Hawkins , Dr. John , Joni Mitchell , Van Morrison , Ringo Starr , Muddy Waters , Ronnie...

I wandered down town this morning (in my air conditioned car) to stop at River Rock and Ace Hardware. I bought a little chair for Elliot and a bag of charcoal. Good to get home to the cool. Regis and I are heading to Mankato this afternoon. He has his stress test at the hospital and I am getting a hair cut and maybe making a stop at my favorite consignment store. If we have time, we'll have a late lunch when he's done. Gus will be at the Paw. Tom brought us their covered swing to borrow for Regis' recovery from knee surgery. It looks like this...without the lake. It's too hot and I'm too lazy to walk out to the patio to take my own picture. Even in this heat, we like to sit on the patio every day. It's tolerable when there is a breeze, as there was last evening. Regis has a cold beer and a cigar and I have a glass of white wine on ice. It's lovely. The dog days of summer. I'm trying to remember this for January. Sensory memory, right? I ha...

Regis and I are galavanting around town this afternoon. We're headed out to the winery for the first meeting of the Wine Circle. Aha, but I am not sure drinking wine in this heat is advisable. Elliot was here for a short time this morning while his mama worked. He helped me water the plants on the patio and we sat in Tom's swing for a while. It was too blasted hot to sit there for long. Regis took Gus to the dog park early. Too hot to be out in the blistering sun...even for a dog. It's Patrick's 24th birthday so we may have to stop down to say howdy. It's my mom's birthday, too! Happy birthday, Mom!