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

I went to the Pulse this morning, something for which I seem to have trouble finding motivation some mornings. There was nobody else there...no teenagers hitting tractor tires with sledge hammers...so it was peaceful. I did my strength exercises so when I got to a nursing home when I'm 98, I'll be able to get out of a chair by myself. That's my goal. I weeded my garden the other day. First time this year and it showed. I'm sure the neighbors drove into their driveway and exclaimed in surprise. I can be such a slacker sometimes. I have the sprinkler on it now as it has been very hot and dry here. This afternoon, I'm going to clean and cook all of my dark, leafy greens with some sweet onions and red pepper and freeze it in little pucks. Regis is not a fan and I can't eat this much of it but won't it taste good in the winter? I have had great trouble sleeping lately. I finally went to the doctor the other day and I think she has me squared away...or a

I just looked over my blog stats and posts. Out of the last three posts, two had the word rant in the title and one had the word suck. What the hell. Not a good sign, right? I'm laughing now.

Regis had a great report from the cardiologist on Monday, rescheduled his surgery, made arrangements for all the other malarkey, then got a call yesterday that they want him to do another stress test. It feels like we're making progress, then we get dropped again. We are hoping that in a month it will all be over and he'll be on the path to recovery. Medical crap is very stressful. I've been thinking about social media since it's a big part of my job now. I feel like I've been pretty successful at helping to build an audience and engage people in conversations about our food. Then one day I get called out, personally, by a woman I know, for writing too much on Facebook. This is our business page we're talking about, not my personal page. She starts the comment by saying, "How do I be nice?" When someone starts a conversation like that, it's like saying, "No offense, but..." Guaranteed offense. And you're not nice. Doesn'

Regis was scheduled for knee surgery June 26. We were gearing up for that, making lists and plans. On Wednesday, he went for his pre-op physical and had an EKG. They called him in the afternoon and told him he had atrial fibrillation and the surgery would have to be postponed. We were completely deflated. I cried into the dishwater for a while, then looked atrial fibrillation up on the internet. It didn't sound as dire in print as it did verbally. Regis went to the Makato Clinic to have an echocardiogram Friday afternoon and meets with a cardiologist on Monday. We are hoping for the best possible outcome. He said it feels like the beginning of running from one specialist to another. On the less suckful side it was a fun week at work. I am constantly amazed by the wonderful food those folks can make. I had a quinoa salad this week that was so good I had to buy some to take home. The herbs were perfect. They make my job, promoting their food, very easy. I picked Elliot up at

I've had trouble sleeping lately. I can't take naps anymore because I don't fall asleep and it ends up being frustrating. I have trouble falling asleep at night and I wake up at midnight. Tonight, I went to sleep about 9:30, woke up at 12, went to sleep about 1:30, woke up at 4. Blast it. I don't think that's enough sleep in a row. I'm reading a good book that I found through the book review page in the Star Tribune. It's called The Financial Lives of Poets by Jess Walter. Here's a YouTube video that tells a little bit about it. Ha! A book review in a YouTube video. What a riot. I tried to embed the video but it didn't work so here's the link .  Actually, his other book was reviewed, Beautiful Ruins . The writing is clever and funny and the characters are interesting. Why I am afraid of book clubs. My friend, Emily, thinks a book club would be a good idea. I have gone along with trepidation but the truth is that book clubs terrify me. I

Regis is having his right knee replaced on Tuesday the 26th. In preparation, we attended Joint Class today. Joint Class. They really call it that. We made a bunch of jokes all weekend about it and we were brutal today. Killer humor. Joint class. The funny thing is we were probably the only ones in class who thought it was funny. The couple next to us have kids older than us. That's kind of encouraging, right? One old dude was having both knees replaced at the same time. He could use a joint class. We only laugh about this because we have seen it on television and in movies. Not that we have any experience with joints. We took Gus to the Paw, attended Joint Class, did a few errands, and had a late lunch at Mazatlan. We came home and sat on the patio in the heat and mosquitoes for a while. It was a good day. River Rock did the photo shoot for the Minnesota Cooks project today. It was a celebratory kind of day for them, too. Back to the knee. Regis will have surgery on Tu

Pictures are not in the proper order. I'm not sure how to fix that so we'll just roll with it. It was a good day but we weren't sure what the weather would do. About noon, there were gale force winds and sideways rain. Not good for grilling. Regis was confident that by the time we were ready, the weather would clear. And it did. Since Regis is having knee surgery on June 26th and the 4th is barely a week later, we decided to celebrate the 4th of July on Father's Day. It was a good spread. Thanks to everyone who helped in some way...and to those of you who showed up to eat. Blueberry Corn Salad that I found on Pinterest. Regis proclaimed it the weirdest thing ever but I loved it. It has a lime vinaigrette, a few jalapenos, and cilantro. Nice bite. Regis did a great job getting food pictures for me! I love to have pictures of the food. Emily said it's kind of like archiving the memories...like a scrapbook only digital. Emily brough

We got our first share of the Living Land CSA yesterday and I am determined to use the produce wisely. More wisely than in years past. I gathered up all my vegetable cookbooks, reviewed them with the list of what would be harvested when. So, when kohlrabi showed up, I was ready! I have Kohlrabi Slaw in the refrigerator that Regis pronounced pretty good, I made Marinated Radishes , I have a mixed green saute ready for tomorrow night, and we have greens galore. I've been really disgusted with grocery store greens lately. A day after I buy them, I can find leaves that look like pond scum. Not appealing. Here's a link to a recipe that I want to try.  Coleslaw with Cumin-Lime Vinaigrette It's a challenge to use all that stuff in a timely manner! Regis and I are going to pop down to the bar for a drink about 5 o'clock. We think we made a mistake on the bill and want to correct it. Then we're coming home to cook a big steak and some peppers on the grill. Love

I had a dream that I wrote a book called The Party What Started Out as Jumpin' Around . I wrote about it here . It occurred to me that it would have been a good theme for the birthday party or at least for a blog post. Ah, well. I had a dream the other night that someone built me a wooden cart with an umbrella. It looked a little bit like this in the dream. Not as fancy. More like this. With an umbrella. I don't remember being dressed as a rag picker from Charles Dickens' time but that would be appropriate. I pushed it up and down Minnesota Avenue filled with scones and muffins and a airpot full of coffee. I was wearing an apron. People would pull over in their cars and I would sell them coffee and treats. Yeah, my subconscious has a great imagination. I have been hunkered down most of the day writing my social media. After about four hours of that, a guy could get a little bit irreverent. I learned at my seminar that Twitter is like a Chamber cocktail par

We've been to church on the patio, we've eaten, we've played with the dog, we've listened to music. We feel like our batteries are drained and we're waiting for them to recharge. I looked through some old Arts and Entertainment sections of the Trib and added to my book list. I made a list of party attendees and counted them. Almost 60. I looked through the birthday cards again. I read the obituaries in the Tribune. One really nice one. I sent an email compliment. Very nice writing. I've been watching the Weather Channel. The sky looks dark, it's humid, and it feels unsettled. It's going to be hard to go back to business-as-usual tomorrow. Can you tell? Waiting for storms... Notice the gold fish in the martini.

That's my friend, Monica, in the picture with the John Denver look-alike in the party photos. She was convinced he was a relative of John Denver, but the fellow said he wasn't. He does seem to be cultivating that look and he sure enjoyed that Monica thought he looked like John. Monica, never shy about her thoughts, told him he should get his DNA checked because John's wife was from St. Peter and he would have been hanging out here about 40 years ago. We love this band . Now I have a signed CD of Shake Your Boogie, another copy of Shake Your Boogie, and Live at Blues on Grand. They're going to play at the Savoy in Mankato on Sunday, July 29th. We have it on the calendar. Ironically, they're going to play at Checker's Tavern in Cedar Rapids, Iowa next Thursday night. Monica might gather up the Iowa gang and attend. I think she just wants to see if John Denver shows up again. This is me with Bobby Lee Sellers, Jr., the drummer in the band.

This was my list for Friday. I was checking it and crossing things off until 4 o'clock when I was finally done. Done getting dressed. Done paying for things. Done worrying about this or that. Done. I sat down to wait for the fun to start. By six o'clock, the band was set up, the food was on the table, the cupcakes had been displayed, and the friends & family were beginning to gather. Oh, my. What fun we had. We danced and sang and hugged everyone and we carried on until 1:30 a.m. The next day, we drove out to Schmidt's meat market to buy big steaks for the grill. We stopped at the Chankaska Creek Winery for some cold beer and a glass of wine on the deck. This is Monica and Ronnie, Dick, me, and Jane on the deck at the winery. We came back to the house and continued the merriment. Great food, wine, stories, and laughing until we cried.  This morning, more coffee, more stories...and Monica spiked my hair up! What a hoot! This is my list