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

November flew by me. Not sure how that happened but here it is, December tomorrow. I think in my efforts to add some structure to my days and weeks, I have over-scheduled myself. I should be more like Woodrow: Stay calm. Watch over the crowd from on high. Eat. Drink. Sleep. Repeat. We had a very nice time on Thanksgiving Day. I cooked and cooked and baked and baked leading up to it so the food was in abundance. So much abundance that I forgot to serve three dishes. Ah, well. Today is the day all the detritus gets dismantled and put away...all the dishes, holiday napkins, decorations, music, and table linens. Time to bring out the winter decor. My friend, Michele, and I went to Mankato yesterday for the Livestrong 10k. We didn't run 10k and only walked a little ore than 2 miles but it waas a nice walk and we got in a long visit. Over coffee, we talked bout how cancer and Livestrong have changed us. We wondered where we would be in life without those two e

I think I do this every year. I have such good intentions of coming into the holiday with everything clean and organized. I work hard at it and it looks like it almost might happen. The the shit hits the fan. I work a day. Regis works a day. Somebody comes in and stirs up our stuff. And suddenly it's the day before Thanksgiving and there is a huge mess. Peter, April, and Elliot are coming late this afternoon so I have between now, 5 am, and then, to get things in order. So, what am I doing? Drinking coffee, writing on my blog, thinking of making some more ice candles for my friend, Shelley. Jill sent me this: The modern blog evolved from the online diary, where people would keep a running account of their personal lives. Most such writers called themselves diarists, journalists, or journalers. A few called themselves "escribitionists”.  ( The word “escribir” means “to write” in Spanish.) I told her that fits perfectly. A combination of the words to write and exhibitionist

I am thankful for my little messy house, filled to the brim with food for Thanksgiving and so many cooking adventures in the past week: cranberry cake spiced with a Chinese Five Spice blend, pumpkin oatmeal cookies, cranberry whiskey tart, meatball tortellini soup, and kale salad. I am thankful for walks in the woods. After years of tramping down city sidewalks, we have discovered the trails through the woods around our town. So peaceful and pleasant.  I am thankful for opportunities to work. The Treaty Site which is not a dusty old museum but a vibrant and dynamic place to learn about where we live. The schools where I sub. My favorite places are the media centers in all schools and special ed classrooms. I am thankful for Livestrong at the YMCA. I realized as I talked to the reporter last night about my experiences, that I can't see a time when Livestrong won't be a part of my life. It was a powerful life force and those are enduring friendships. I am so glad I stumb

I know everyone's advice would be to put this out of my mind and think about more positive things. I'm trying to do that and by writing about it, I am trying to get it out of my system. Two years ago, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. November was a bitch of a month that year and it didn't get better for a long time. But November is what sticks in my mind as the month with the most suck. I go back and read over the blog posts I wrote in November of 2012 and get chills. Meeting with the oncologist for the first time, going to the hospital for the biopsy, surgery, the drainage tubes, the chemo port. Seeing all those bald people. Things about Thanksgiving seem to remind me of it, too, like the clear plastic glasses I had to use for drinks but ended up using for left-over parfaits. I bought some more for this year. I know it probably isn't healthy to dwell on these thoughts but in another way, it doesn't feel all that unhealthy either. It feels sort of nostalg

Regis has been driving the transit a lot lately so I volunteered to take Gus for his daily walk. Young Regis, his two dogs, Ella, Gus, and I tramped out into the woods behind the Treaty Site about noon. I had forgotten about the thaw so we were trudging through slick mud and wet leaves most of the way. Gus was filthy and needed a complete bath by the time it was over. Then I needed a complete bath. I went downtown to do my last errands before the holiday. I hesitated, it being Saturday and all but the St. Peter stores were not crowded. I went to the grocery store first, the place I like the least. Of course: no kale, no feta cheese, no wheat flakes. Next the coop where I picked up those things and my local, organic, grass fed heritage turkey. He looks kind of little to feed 12 adults and 2 kids so I'll have to bring up the subject of supplementing, never a favorite around here because I tend to supplement my way into 30 days of left-overs. By the time I got to Shopko on

I keep having these weird, inexplicable experiences. I wish I had been keeping track of them because now that they are piling up, I can't remember all the details. My old and dear friend, Sharon, who I lived with back in the 70's, got hooked up with me again via Facebook and another crazy friend we have in common. Turns out, when Sharon came to visit for the first time in many years, she was going through breast cancer treatment. Now another strange turn of events. Our former neighbor Mike, the comedian, is performing tonight at the treaty site. Sharon saw it on FB and wrote to ask if Mike is from Colorado. Yes, he is and how did she know? Mike's mom is married to Sharon's husband's brother. Mike and Sharon have know each other for many years. Holy crap. I have been on a baking binge lately. Yesterday, I spent hours in the kitchen making cranberry sauce and a cranberry tart. Today, I made pumpkin and oatmeal cookies because Joanne was coming and she loves pump

This poor post has been languishing in "edit" for days. I will just let it go and start a new one. I love fall and find so many things to do and documenting them takes the back seat.

The picture I posted the other day, of the heron, was not a heron. It was an injured pelican who was rescued by some nice folks from the cities. He had to be euthanized, though, because his injury was too severe and he wouldn't be able to recover. Good he didn't have to starve or freeze to death, I guess. We have been walking the trails around St. Peter, Regis more often than me since I am lazy. Traverse des Sioux has an amazing trail system now of many miles, all maintained by the Nicollet Bike Shop. These trails, and the ones behind the Mill Pond, are usually less windy than the trails atop the hill. They are also very peaceful and you would never know you are within a mile of a major highway. Gus can run unleashed and he loves to lope along, picking up a stick now and then, sniffing everything in his path, and peeing on multiple twigs and branches. Ah, the life of a dog. I'm going to the psychic expo tomorrow with my friend, Sharon. I have been looking over the li

Regis and I cleaned off the patio in preparation for the twelve inches of snow we expected Monday. We barely got enough snow to cover the ground, but the patio is put to bed for the winter. It looks so bare out there now. No more fires in the chimnea, no more grilling, no more pool. I've gotten very attached to the image of the raven. I spent one morning making a journal from a lovely leather notebook I got from friends a long time ago when I looked after their dad when they toured Europe. It is beautiful but I never dared to write in it. I ordered some raven digital images from Etsy and decorated it. Now, it's ready for use. I had my 24 month oncology check up the other day. I always think I am not nervous about it. I think I have been able to stop feeling fearful because I don't want to waste time being afraid of something that will most likely (I hope) not happen. But then I go back there, I sit in the same rooms where I heard I had cancer, I see the sa

One of the side effects of this better health journey that I am on is what I call my gerbil periods. I am struck with a need to do things, sometimes in the wee hours. Way more often than I was struck by that need in the past. I was a great one to overlook a closet that should be cleaned or a shelf that needed dusting. What has come over me? This morning, I woke up at 4 and started cruising Pinterest (my electronic hoarding place) for home organization ideas. I was most interested in ideas for tiny kitchens although our kitchen is not tiny but I love to cook and storage space is short. I recently have begun to try to keep my counters tidier so moved two large pots full of utensils to a drawer. Now I have a mess of spoons and spatulas in the lowest drawer...not convenient at all. I visited a friend who had hung antique utensils in her kitchen window, almost like a curtain. So, there you go. Rod on its way, hooks ordered, a new plan is in place. I also had the need today to clean out

I have been absent from the blog world for a while as I have been busy with other creative projects: de-cluttering and fixing up the home front, making a raven journal, working on a slideshow,, baking, and writing writing writing. Here are some of the photos from September and October as proof of my existence on the planet. Regis and I went to Canby to visit Mom and to meet up with Cousins Jo and Henry. Regis and I worked at the Grape Stomp at Morgan Creek. We had dinner with Kathy and Jack at Suzette's. We went to the Oktoberfest in downtown St. Peter and saw Lamont Cranston. I pickled peppers from my garden. I baked a ton. Pumpkin bread and pumpkin muffins. I cooked with tomatoes. We went to the pumpkin patch at Grandma's Little Acre. I got a new mixer and have been making bread! We took several afternoons to drive around and look at leaves. We walked in the Halloween Fun Run. We walked on t