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

We've had a wonderful weekend. Friday night, we had friends over for pizza. It had been raining all day so no time on the patio. Yesterday was beautiful so we took Gus for a long walk, then I went up to visit Betty who is recovering from surgery. As I pulled into the driveway, I got a text from Kathryn that she was at Hobber's on the patio with her daughters, listening to a good band so we joined them for a while. It was so nice when we came home that we fired up the smoker and grilled some chicken wings. Betty can't do a long car ride today so only Tom will join us for the annual Memorial Day Road Trip. We'll visit the Greenlawn Cemetery in St. Peter, Minnesota's second oldest cemetery, founded in 1854. Greenlawn Cemetery contains graves of missionaries to the Dakota, 13 Civil War veterans and even one War of 1812 veteran, as well as early pioneers. Then on to Union Hill, New Prague, and other stops along the way.Fun day!

From an old post that tickled me. Regis dreamed last night that I wrote a book called In Defense of Inarticulate Home Bodies. The premise of the book was that too many people don't venture out of their own spheres to find information and therefore, are inarticulate home bodies. It was a series of little vignettes. Or vinaigrettes, if you prefer. This is my second dream book, the first being The Party What Started Out as Jumping Around. Quite a body of work I am amassing.   We are having friends over for some social time at 3:30, which used to be after work when I worked. Which I no longer do. This week, I have done precious little of anything, bad back and all. I did unpack my mom's china from Bavaria. I was afraid if I just hauled it to the basement, it would be there forever. I'm going to have a family dinner and use it...and tell the story. This came in the mail today. Peter and April's wedding invitation. Regis wanted to know if I was weepy and I said no bu...

I'm not sure what woke me but I started thinking about my weekly menu and grocery list. I planned to buy groceries this morning while Regis has an appointment and when I tried to make the list yesterday, the HYVee site was not being very cooperative. I ended up with a very messy list which drives me bonkers. So, I got out of bed and re-did my list on an old template. It works better because I have it organized according to the store lay-out. No writing on the back of an envelope for this chick. For dinner, we grilled big portobella mushrooms stuffed with Andouille sausage, peppers, onions, and cheese. Tasty. I have had a hankering for Mexican food lately. Probably triggered by some great food in restaurants. We discovered we loved the fajita lettuce wraps at the Boulder Tap House. And Thursday night, I had a grilled shrimp and cilantro salad with pico de gallo at La Terraza in Mankato. Delicious. Yesterday was very busy and by the time I had finished all my chores and taken a b...

Thursday night I went to the graduation ceremony for my future daughter-in-law, April. She graduated from South Central College with an Associate of Applied Science degree in Community Social Service. We met up at their apartment in North Mankato where I was mightily entertained by Zoey. She did handstands and sang songs and asked me why I was old. Then she guessed my age as 10. I laughed and laughed. She is a hoot. We had quite a crowd. April's grandpa, Joe. Her mom, Kelly. Her sister, Erin. Friends Scott and Jackie. Tiffany and Elliot. Steve and Brenda. Grandma Dorothy. Kevin and Rachel. What a nice group of folks. I've been to three SCC graduations now and they are always so much fun. There is plenty of pomp but there is also cheering, air horns, lots of interruptions for photos, and obvious pride from the graduates and their families. As you would expect, the list of graduates (which I read from beginning to end) contained a lot of names I could neither prono...

Not really, but it sure feels like it. A sturdy breeze and very cool temps. Bright blue sky. I can almost hear the walleye chop. I have been busy. Last night Regis started asking me about essential oils. Did I have this or that. Did I have coconut oil. Did I have bee's wax. Yes. Yes. Yes. But I finally had to ask what he was planning to make because these were unusual questions for him. Beer bong he said. What? I said, you are not. I misheard...beard balm is what he said. It was a good one. So, this morning, I made the beard balm which, forever after will be referred to as beer bong. Then I went up to the Cox House Heritage Plant Sale. I have always wanted to go but never made it. I made some great scores. Anemone Maidenhair fern from a ravine on Don Gustavson's farm on 169. Angel Wing Begonia I stopped at a garage sale just down the street and bought a sheet pan, some craft things for the kids, and two Longaberger baskets for five bucks ea...

I'm taking a class called Digital Photography. I had homework this week to take photos of flowers, to fill the frame with the single flower, and to try to compose the photo artistically while blurring the background to get rid of distractions. I think I achieved that with these. I will practice more. It looks like another cloudy and overcast day. We have had about 2.5 inches of rain which is good for trees and grass but tiresome for a guy's disposition. I had another night of insomnia. A friend recommended a book which was compelling reading but creepy scary. I kept trying to read to the end (in one day?) so that I could have some resolution of all these gruesome circumstances. My very sweet future daughter-in-law graduates from SCC today so I will join my son to watch her walk in her cap and gown. A proud moment for her and for her family. My brain is a little fuzzy.

It's 3:30 am and I have been awake since 12:30. I have to be awake by 6 to head to Mankato with Regis. So ends a restless night of sleep. Maybe I have to consider resetting my internal clock again. I finished one book, I Hate to Leave This Beautiful Place by Howard Norman, and started another by Annie Dillard. Reading will usually do the trick. Not tonight. Insomnia. I hate it. I finally got up to look at pictures, my interest being piqued by my digital photography class last night. Regis had tried to teach about the camera for years but I was only ever interested in the automatic settings. Now, I am being forced (by choice) to learn about F-stop and aperture and ISO. The teacher is very good but he talks fast and moves fast so it is some work to keep up with him. These are the photos I was thinking about when I finally decided to get out of bed. I took these last fall right about dusk. The sky was beautiful but not this beautiful and vibrant. When I saw the photos,...

I checked my blog this morning and discovered, much to my chagrin, that I have not written anything here since March. In fact, I have written only ten posts since January 1st. I have a bunch of unpublished drafts that I will probably release back into the wild, but one of my goals for May is to become a regular blogger again. There have been some changes in my life. I lost my job at Lone Star in December. I quit volunteering at the Treaty Site in January. I have applied for a job at River's Edge Hospital as a weekend receptionist in the Physical Therapy Department. I started taking a digital photography class and I signed up to take Blues Harmonica and Beginning Drawing. I started going for walks with Regis again and I am going to take yoga and ballet again this summer. I spent as much time on the patio and in the garden as has been possible since the beginning of March. The weather has been weird...periods of almost summer like weather with intermittent cold spe...