Not according to plan

I hate to be cranky about it but nothing is going according to plan this weekend. Betty and Tom were going to the Bothy with us but they changed their minds, we were going to have breakfast on the porch but Regis changed his mind, and this was supposed to be a warm and sunny day. So who the f changed his mind about THAT? Ha! Right now, we can't see across the street for dense fog. It looks and feels like the moops. There have been some signs of spring, though. I wore sandals for the first time yesterday and the picture is of a tiny crocus blooming on the west side of the house. I'm surprised that the bunny didn't find it and eat it...they like those tender spring flowers. We hope to get the grill out today but I guess that will depend on the fog and damp. I have scallops and some ribs ready. That will be the last straw if I have to make meatloaf for dinner instead. Harrumph. Maybe we should just go to Hermie's to drink Grain Belt and play buck euchre.

We saw some great bluegrass music last night. A group called Hit and Run Bluegrass from Colorado played at the Bothy in Mankato. Amazing that you can hear such good music in such a small venue. There were less than a hundred people there and we paid fourteen dollars for a ticket. This is not your grandma's bluegrass music either. The website calls it hard drivin' and I guess it is. Some of the band members were very young...twenty-five years old. And the Bothy shows start early so we were home by 10:30. The problem with so many live music shows is that they don't start until 9 or after and we run out of steam by about 10. We've talked to a few people in bands, suggesting a set that starts at 5 or 6. Doesn't that make sense?

I finally got the St. Patrick's Day detritus put away. The Irish coffee mugs are stowed and the green shamrock glasses put in a box with the cookie cutters, green kitchen towels, and the table linens. Now I can get out the Easter lights and bunny rabbits. I love holidays. I'm thinking about my Easter menu and thinking that I'll do something simpler. Maybe scalloped potatoes in the crock pot with a spiral cut ham and rolls. And sugar cookies.

I found a website dedicated to holidays. What a surprise...there are probably ten thousand of them. Everybody's got a website, a blog, and a MySpace page. Regis said this morning that blogs have gone mainstream. Even the Dalai Lama has one. Today is Houdini Day, this being his birthday. The 22nd was Goof-Off Day and I'm really sorry I missed it.

New Day

What a difference a sunny day makes in a guy's mood. Today was crisp and bright and beautiful. Busy...but with all this other, it was tolerable. It helped that Ella spent the afternoon and evening with us. What a funny little character. She's talking more now so when I started to get her out of the car to visit Betty, she said "Betty" and "Gonzo". Tom made fried potatoes and she loved them. She'd eat one and point at the bowl for more. We went to the library and Regis read to her and followed her around while I went to a meeting. She loves other little kids so she toddled after them dragging her pink blankie. When we got home, I gave her the Easter hat and purse that Grandma Shirley sent for her. I wish we had taken pictures but taking care of baby and all baby's stuff is a complete two-man job. No way we could manage a camera, too.
Just a little sports commentary. What's up with this Tubby Smith? How can anyone take seriously a grown man who lets himself be called Tubby? Of course, I could make a whole long list of men in this town who go by goofy nicknames they had in fifth grade...not mentioning any names. Maybe it's a man thing and what the hell anyway.

Wednesday at Dino's

It's been a very long and stressful week. Regis and I met up in Mankato after haircuts to go to Dino's, our favorite pizza place. From the website: Dino's in North Mankato recreates every detail of a classic New York pizzeria, from checkered red tablecloths and hardwood floors to thin, foldable pizza crusts topped with homemade tomato sauce and freshly grated cheese. Modern innovations like lobster and artichoke find their way onto some of the restaurant's more daring pies, accompanied by a full menu of appetizers, pastas and salads. At the bar, patrons enjoy house wines and premium beer. It was foggy on my way over which scared the liver out of me. I was sure that a big truck would roll past, lose a wheel, and dump a load of steel rods onto the hood of my car...all real possibilities in my closet of anxieties. I ordered a glass of wine at Dino's without looking at the wine list. Big mistake. Eight dollars a glass. I started to cry and couldn't stop but I don't think it was the eight dollars. Could be strung out from work (I won't get started on that...) and the fact that I don't like March and I miss my kids. Tiffany just turned 22 on Sunday. I miss taking her shopping when she'd hold my hand. I miss Easter baskets. I miss picture books and birthday parties. I think it all comes flooding back in March when their birthdays come around. Regis says I should be glad for what I have and I try to be...I try to remember that fog is a blanket for spring flowers and tulips are waiting just beneath the dirt but I'm still sad.

Tiffany's Birthday and St. Patrick's Day Party

Tiffany is 22 years old today. Regis and I are going to Minneapolis to deliver presents and take her out to lunch. This picture was taken the day after she came from Korea to be our baby. She was awake all night...then slept all day.
This picture was taken when Tiffany was two years old. Happy birthday, Tiff!

We had a great turn-out for the party. A few people came before the parade, we had a Guinness to celebrate the day, then went down by Patrick's to watch the parade. There are more pictures ono my mac website. Doesn't Regis look good in his Donegal hat?
Tom Hynes and Betty McGraw were two of the best Irishmen at the party. Tom brought shamrock sunglasses for me and the cool cap for Regis. He taught us how to make a black and tan out of Harp and Guinness with a bent spoon. We couldn't figure out how to make the shamrock pattern in the top of the foam, though.
Joanne dressed in green for the party. Joanne's mom's maiden name was Hennessey but she didn't appreciate her Irish heritage. She said the Irish left Ireland for a good reason.
Here are the holiday cookies. I don't know how many dozen we had to start with but there are four cookies left so we can assume they were a hit. All the food turned out just fine. I was nervous...too many things to come together at the same time. I used two different recipes for the corned beef, but this was my favorite. The cabbage really needs to cook in the juice...and in this case, beer.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Regis heard a broadcast from Ireland yesterday on MPR. Apparently they celebrate St. Patrick's Day but it's a tradition of parades and parties they've gotten from Americans. I guess they don't eat corned beef either. I borrowed a couple of Irish cookbooks from Tom. I'll say it isn't the most appealing looking food those folks eat.

It's a flurry around here. I made four loaves of bread last night and Regis and I frosted cut-out shamrock cookies. My usual pattern before a party of big dinner is to get nervous that I don't have enough...sure enough...Regis had to trek back to Mankato for another corned beef brisket. I'm sure we'll be eating corned beef hash and Ruben soup until the 4th of July, but at least we won't run out of food today.

The parades at 3 so some people are coming for a pre-parade Guinness. Pictures and stories later! And it's Tiffany's 22nd birthday tomorrow so we're going up to take her out to lunch and to deliver some presents. Happy birthday to my baby girl!

It's a Goat's Life and Duke

These goats are named Ginger Jones and Jules Jones. They live in Washington. I've always loved goats. I love thier funny little eyes with the slits that are vertical and their funny little faces. I've never really known a goat personally but have visited one at the Sibley Park Zoo (the phrase "smells like a goat" is no accidental turn of words) and always visit the ones at the Nicollet County Fair. I stumbled onto this blog that has great goat pictures and stories: http://goatcentral.blogspot.com

I saw my friend Mary today and she reminded me of the time I brought bread out to her house after her mom died. I had two loaves in a large Penney's shopping bag. As I got out of the car, Duke, her yellow lab came out of the garage to escort me into the house. Duke was really interested in what I had in the bag and kept sticking his head in to smell. Mary yelled at him and he would pull his head out for a second but he was right on my heels. As I went through the door into the house, Duke ripped the side of the bag and took off with a beautiful loaf of dark oatmeal bread. Mary and Al yelled for him to drop it and good bird dog that he is, he did. I scooped it up and dusted it off. Mary said Duke thought it was a duck so he didn't even leave a scratch. I'm sure the after-funeral guests didn't even notice a little dog spit on their bread.

Getting Ready for St. Patrick's Day or Can We Buy Enough Corned Beef (or beer) for This Crowd?

We're having a St. Patrick's Day party, as you may know if you are a regular Buns of Stone reader. I told Regis (and he was not surprised) that I was getting anxious about not having enough corned beef. I bought seven pounds but this is the pattern...I always get nervous about three days before a party and start buying more food like a crazy person. I'm using a recipe from the food network, although not from Emerill. The menu has been fixed as follows:

Corned Beef and Cabbage
Boiled Potatoes and Carrots
Scotch Eggs
Irish Oatmeal Bread
Irish Coffee
And of course, Guinness and Harp for appetizer and dessert. I think I'll make some big cut-out sugar cookie shamrocks with green frosting and sprinkles but they aren't really Irish so I can't put them on the official menu.

I don't have a lot of Irish in my gene pool. I believe my paternal grandfather, Hassa Saum, was Irish. Regis has no Irish in his background at all...he's Polish and German. His maternal side had the family name of Bogacka which is the feminine form and Bogatzky being the masculine form. They sure liked to conserve those vowels. But they don't have parades for the Poles here...the Norwegians either for that matter although now that I think about it I might have a party for Syettende Mai. What the hell.

I picked up two new books at the library. I finally figured out to put books on hold so it's really handy. I have Jim Harrison's new book Returning to Earth and Let Me Finish by Roger Angell. The Angell book has this for a description: Intimate, funny, and moving portraits form this book's centerpiece as Angell remembers his eccentric relatives, his childhood love of baseball in the time of Ruth and Gehrig and DiMaggio, and his vivid colleagues during his long career as a "New Yorker" writer and editor. The last memoir I read was a complete dud so I hope this one is better.

Jim Harrison is one of my favorite authors and this is what Publisher's Weekly said about his book: Dying at 45 of Lou Gehrig's disease, Donald, who is Chippewa- Finnish, dictates his family story to his wife, Cynthia, who records this headlong tale for their two grown children. Donald's half-Chippewa great-grandfather, Clarence, set out from Minnesota in 1871 at age 13 for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. In Donald's compellingly digressive telling, Clarence worked the farms and mines of the northern Midwest, and arrived in the Marquette, Mich., area 35 years later. As Donald weaves the tale of his settled life of marriage and fatherhood with that of his restless ancestors, he reveals his deep connection to an earlier, wilder time and to a kind of people who are "gone forever." The next three parts of the novel, each narrated by a different member of Donald's family, relate the story of Donald's death and its effects.

We have the movie Babel but man, that seems like work. Has anybody watched that and actually enjoyed it? I think I'd rather wait for Benny and Joon or Kinky Boots. We voted and Babel will have to wait for another night.

End of Weekend

It was nice enough this afternoon that I took a notion to clean up the porch. We don't use it much in the winter because there aren't heat ducts out there. This time of year, it starts to warm up enough that we can sit out there for about a couple hours mid-afternoon. The sun was coming in the east window, Kramer was lying on the back of the couch soaking up the rays, and I could see the dust was thick. I got done just in time for us to sit down and read the paper before it clouded up and cooled off. At least the porch is clean if it's warm enough on St. Patrick's Day.

Tom and Betty brought a box full of goodies down last night and we did fondue for dinner. Do you do fondue or have fondue? Or is fondue the verb? We fondued. That doesn't sound right either. In any case, we had little bits of rib-eye steak, Cuban bread, vegetables (there were lots of those left) and swiss cheese. We cooked the bread and meat in oil, then in the cheese. For dessert we had strawberries and bananas in chocolate ganache. It smelled like the State Fair in here this morning but it brought back good memories.

When I was in college my friend, Mike Erickson, called that curious dread of Monday that you get on Sunday night, the Sunday psychosis. If you've ever worked, you know what it is. Not that you hate your job but it's the sudden feeling that all the things that go along with working as opposed to leisure are going to slam down on you again the next day. I keep checking my lottery tickets but Lyn says her chances of getting the money by accident are about as good as my winning. Guess I have to keep working, Sunday psychosis or not.

We watched The Prestige this afternoon. It was good but I didn't like it as well as The Illusionist. It was a little too much work to watch. I had to keep checking with Regis to make sure I wasn't missing something. In the end I was annoyed more than entertained. Last night we watched Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. It's about three drag queens who head out across the outback of Australia in a bus. Very strange but there were some great lines.

A Spot of Bother (Mark Haddon) on the other hand, is great. George watched his wife walk into the kitchen in the morning and wondered how he could love this woman with the witch hair and wattles. I laughed right out loud. It's a little dark and twisted but the British humor is hilarious. It would make a god movie but there are too many off-color parts and too much general weirdness. I don't think it would play well in the Midwest. I hate it when the text in a post doesn't fit right with a picture so I'm going to keep writing and try to get this sentence to go to the bottom of the book graphic. There.

Early Saturday

Regis and I puttered with homemade pizza last night after work. It's so nice to have him come home on Friday night and have the whole weekend to look forward to. Bob and Emily came for a visit with Ella. She likes the jack-in-the-box but anticipates the clown popping out and gets a little afraid. She backs right into her dad when she sees the lid start coming up!

We had a nice time playing peek-a-boo with the edge of the
tablecloth and reading Helen Oxenbury's Tickle, Tickle. It was one of Tiffany and Peter's favorite books when they were little, too, so it's fun for me to read it to Ella. She says "tickle, tickle" at the end and laughs. Such a sweet-natured little girl.

Regis was awake last night from 2-4:30 so he went back to bed after reading the paper. Nice that he can do that now, but it means I have to be quiet this morning. I made tea instead of coffee because the coffee grinder would wake the people next door. I'm anxious to start banging around the kitchen. Betty and Tom are coming for dinner tonight. Tom calls it, "Have fondue, will travel." Ha! It means he'll come with fondue pots and all the food...I just supply the table and the bread.

I have to make a couple loaves of Cuban bread for the fondue and start getting ready for our St. Patrick's Day party next Saturday. I have a new tablecloth and I ordered ten Irish coffee mugs from some place online. I found a great recipe for Irish coffee from an artist name Bill Murphy. I had to print it and put it on my recipe binder. You can find it here: Bill Murphy. He says that using whipped cream products (Cool Whip) or aerosol whipped cream is considered a mortal sin in the Catholic church. And you must use good Irish whiskey. Our plan is to have people here for a Guiness before the parade and then again after the parade for corned beef and cabbage. (In 1978 I had a legendary St. Pat's party in St. Paul that involved Irish coffee and a parade. This won't be a repeat of that performance.) Regis made a great invitation and we're delivering them today.

Our snow is melting fast. Yesterday the temperature was in the high 40's and it might be 60 by the end of next week. Coats and mittens are starting to feel like a bother and my feet can't wait to be liberated into sandals. Socks and shoes feel so constraining.

A rabbit living under my shrubs in the front yard has almost destroyed a winged euonymous. I don't know why he finds that so tasty. Regis knows I won't do anything to discourage the rabbit so he suggested I put out something he (rabbit...not Regis) might like to eat instead of the shrub. I've gotten to be a bit of a joke among some of our friends because I feel the same way about moles. A few years ago, the moles were making the yard on the south side of the house so mushy with their tunnels that I was almost afraid to walk there. The hill in front by the sidewalk had so many mole holes that it looked like it had been shot at by a bazooka from Linda Elvie's front step. Regis mentioned the mole issue to Jim who offered his mole traps. One look at those and all I could think of was Mole Music.

This is from the review: In this tender-hearted picture book, McPhail (Tinker and Tom and the Star Baby) goes underground (literally) to explore the restorative powers of music. Mole feels something is missing from his life, which consists of digging tunnels all day and kicking back in front of the TV in his subterranean home each evening. One night Mole watches a man playing the violin on television ("He made the most beautiful music Mole had ever heard") and resolves to obtain his own violin and learn to play it.

I went to Fred's garden center to ask about something more humane. He sold me a bag of stuff for twenty-five dollars that would "discourage" them, he said. They would likely just move on to the neighbors...where they would be killed by mole traps. I decided they could just live here. They don't bother all that much. So we have a mole and rabbit sanctuary. My neighbor to the north doesn't like critters or weeds. The tall milkweed plants in the middle of my garden drive him crazy. He just points and says, "Roundup!", and I say, "Monarch butterflies!" It's my yard so I get to pick.

New job and hump day

We made it through the first part of the week. Regis seems to enjoy his new job, at least the training part and I managed to get a meal on the table a couple times. School was kind of crazy after the long weekend and I have bruises to prove it. One little crapper who was making high-pitched shrieking noises all morning thought he could barricade me out of the entry of the school. Guess he was wrong.

Since we joined Netflix, watching movies has become somewhat of an obligation. We watched Pirates of the Caribbean last night and I could hardly stand it. If it hadn't been for Johnny Depp that would have been a complete loser of a movie. As it was, I gave it a 2. Tonight we have Taladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. It's the kind of movie you really don't have to pay attention to...that's a plus on a Wednesday night.

I started a book last night called A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon. The review from Publisher's Weekly says: Recent retiree George Hall, convinced that his eczema is cancer, goes into a tailspin in this laugh-out-loud slice of British domestic life. George, 61, is clearly channeling a host of other worries into the discoloration on his hip (the "spot of bother"): daughter Katie, who has a toddler, Jacob, from her disastrous first-marriage to the horrid Graham, is about to marry the equally unlikable Ray; inattentive wife Jean is having an affair—with George's former co-worker, David Symmonds; and son Jamie doesn't think George is OK with Jamie's being queer. Mild-mannered George, despairing over his health, slinks into a depression; his major coping strategies involve hiding behind furniture on all fours and lowing like a cow. Quite a cast of characters.

Well, so far, I wouldn't recommend Taladega Nights. Gads.

End of a long weekend

Tomorrow I will say hello again to the cold cruel world of work. My surprise four-day weekend is coming to an end much to my chagrin. I've enjoyed four days of sitting around in my flannel nightgown drinking coffee and watching the snow fall all morning, then wandering into the kitchen in a cooking frenzy for the afternoon. I'm tired of spending my days for the betterment of the education of youthful sex offenders. I'd like to have a job in a sunny but dusty little used bookstore with a cat and an easy chair. Is that too much to ask? It was a cosmic accident, really, that I have been unable to do this so far in my life. I think the error could be corrected if I were allowed to win the lottery soon. It only seems right.

I went to Mankato with Jill today. As usual, we talked so much and so fast that I was nearly short of breath when I got home. We didn't spend much, which is not usual. She had two small bags and I had one with some St. Patrick's Day paper plates and napkins. Target was a madhouse and we both felt the need to get the hell out of there. I think there was something strage going on with their ceiling fans which might mean that the roof was about to collapse. That made me nervous, too. (Could be one of my unreasonable fears...)

Regis will be leaving America's Mattress in about five minutes. Tomorrow he starts flying the friendly skies...oh, wait...that's United Airlines. He'll be working for those folks with attitude...NWA. He'll be home every night and every Saturday. Hurray!

Ella

We took Ella to Betty and Tom's last night for chili and grilled cheese sandwiches. She had a healthy dinner of fruit, chicken, and applesauce...we enjoyed the grilled cheese and chili. She loved Betty's little dogs, Gonzo and Fletcher. After she warmed up to the whole scene, she followed them around, shook her finger at them, and jabbered like she was giving them what-for. There are more pictures on my mac site.

It took Regis almost three hours to get home from work last night. About the time I expected him to walk in the door he called and he was only in Waseca. There were patches of dry pavement, patches of ice, and blowing and drifting snow. One more day of commuting. He starts tomorrow at NWA in Mankato.

I feel like I should relax today since it's the last day of my surprise four-day weekend.

Music, movies, cooking, and snow

I didn't like The Departed but I did like the music, so I bought it from iTunes this morning and have been listening to it ever since. It has tunes by Roger Waters (Pink Floyd, the Beach Boys, the Allman Brothers, Badfinger, Patsy Cline, and a band called the Dropkick Murphys (punk Irish music). I haven't liked a soundtrack so much since The Wonder Boys.

I just finished a pan of brownies using a recipe from Cooks Illustrated. I really like them (the reviews say not too cakey and not too fudgey) but sometimes a crust forms on top and I can't figure it out. You mix them by hand and I wonder if I don't mix them enough. And now I bet you wonder that, too, unless you use box brownies which are an abomination and don't deserve the name. There's no excuse for bad food....box brownies and store-bought wiener buns fall into that category. Don't even get me started on Pop Tarts and jello.

I've been experimenting with different chocolates and today used Ghiradelli bittersweet chips. If you read about chocolate, those folks are real snobs. The choices in St. Peter are not many and what isn't Hershey is expensive but I wanted to see if it made a difference. Like to time Tom and I tried expensive wine to see if it really was better than cheap wine. It was. The Toad Hollow bottle of pinot noir ($45) beat out the Yellow Tail pinot noir ($9) by a mile. One of us would have to get a better job before we could have that on our regular wine repertoire, however. My current favorite wine is Black Box cabernet. I like the description in the link: Black Box Wines - High-End Boxed Wine: Vintage Dated Bag-in-Box Wines

Ella and I are going up to Tom and Betty's tonight. I bet she'll love Gonzo and Betty's nephew and niece. I'll take some pictures so I have something to post besides snow.

The day after the big snow

Regis went to work today and it only took him twenty minutes longer than usual. He has one more day to make that long drive.

I stuck my head out the back door when I let the dogs out and the snow is swirling around and making drifts. It's so bright you need sunglasses in the living room. All the cobwebs are lit up like Christmas ornaments! I might decide to venture out in the truck for more flour a little later. Got to make more bread, you know. I think what I made yesterday was some of my best. I like using starters and it seems like every loaf is a little different.

Peter made it home from Mexico at 4 a.m. Their flight was delayed because of weather so it was a long day of travel but he said they had a great time. Details to follow, but not all of them I'll bet.

I talked to Tiffany this morning, too. We sent her a package of CD's of music Regis found for her. We like to think we're not totally unhip when it comes to music but he said he hadn't heard of one of those bands. At first he thought maybe it was obscure urban music from bands with one CD...but no...some of the them had put out lots of music. How could this escape us? Have you heard of Cake or Diesel Boy? And why don't these bands have normal names like Freddie and the Dreamers or Herman's Hermits?

Snow pictures and more cooking

This one gives a good perspective on the snow. It covers the fence and comes almost to the top of the steps. Regis thinks we got 18 inches and it's still coming down. The blizzard warning has been continued until tomorrow. Regis has two more days to work in Rochester and I have major stress because I know how he drives on good roads and it isn't much better on bad roads. He says it isn't so but I know it is. He's a little bit like Estle that way...everybody behind him is an SOB and everybody in from of him is an A-hole. It makes for very relaxing car trips.

It's hard to see the drift in the front of this picture but it's chest-high. We drove to the top of the hill (St. Peter's in the Minnesota River valley, you may not know, which is supposed to protect us from things like tornadoes.) and it's very unpleasant up there. One lane was drifted almost shut and the other one wasn't good. Visibility was poor.

I've alluded to all of my bad-weather cooking in the past week. The Tribune was soliciting stories about the storm so I sent this. You know I could have sent photos, too.

When a snow storm comes, something draws me to the kitchen. Last Saturday, I made a big beef roast au jus, two loaves of French bread from starter that I made earlier in the week in anticipation of the storm, and a batch of molasses cookies. On Sunday, I made a pot of Ruben soup and a pork roast. Since our kids are grown and it’s just my husband and me at home, we have to find friends willing to brave the storm to help us eat all this food but I don’t seem to learn the lesson. This week, I did the same thing. Friday as the ice and snow started, I made two pounds of hamburger into meatballs with a recipe from Emerill. Then I made a pot of spaghetti sauce. Then chocolate chip cookies and Rice Krispie bars. Today, I have more bread on the counter rising. Tomorrow- more friends, more food, more snow. What could be better?

Regis is in the living room watching The Departed. I knew with the first beating that this was not a movie I would enjoy so I escaped to the kitchen with my glass of wine and my laptop. I don't care how many Academy Awards it won; I like to pretend that kind of thing doesn't exist.

Storm

I'll post some more pictures later today once Regis ventures out to blow snow, but here's a link to a photo gallery on the Star Tribune website.

The news today is full of closed schools, closed highways, collapsed roofs, and accidents. This seems insignificant, though, compared to the tornado news from Alabama. That's very sad and hard to watch.

The Big One

Well, this isn't exactly how I wanted these pictures to post. The first one is an amaryllis that Jill gave me for Christmas. I wasn't sure I had the horticultural skill to make this happen but it's beautiful and looks very tropical in the midst of our big snow.

The next picture is my garden bunny. He's quite tall (maybe 18 inches) but you can see he's almost buried and most certainly blinded by the snow. When I took the camera out it was snowing heavily and the lens got wet so it was pretty much point and shoot. The next picture shows the garden. The snow is past the seat on Edna's old metal lawn chair.

We had the neighbors, Mike and Erin, over for spaghetti and meatballs tonight...the magician and the physician. Very nice people. I wanted to ask him to make the dirty dishes disappear but I suppose he gets tired of magic jokes. They recommended a board game called Settlers of Catan. You can only buy it in chess stores. Chess stores? I didn't know they existed. Mike's last name is Callahan so he can be the token Irish at our St. Patrick's Day party.

Snow and the small dog redux

For our friends and family in distant parts, here is the latest weather forecast:

Wednesday, February 28, 2007 6:56 pm

Winter storm warning for the metro...blizzard watch southwestern MN....blizzard warnings posted near Duluth. Get ready for a wild 36 hours of snowy, windy fun! It won't be much fun on the highways later tonight and Thursday.

Potential for 8-14" of snow with this next storm....icy mix for a few hours from the metro south and east Thursday may keep amounts down a bit....best chance of 12-20" just north/west of the metro, from Willmar to St. Cloud to Brainerd and Mille Lacs area.

Conditions slowly improve on Friday as snow begins to taper, but blowing and drifting problems will remain, especially outside the metro area. Get out and play in all that new snow this weekend...highs may reach the mid 30s next week.

Last night I noticed that Bert seemed to be in some distress when he was on the couch lying on the faux fur. His heart seemed to be pounding and his breathing seemed labored. I didn't want to pay for a chest x-ray the last time he was in for a check-up but I didn't want the pathetic little dog to suffer either. So, Regis took him to the Kind Vet Clinic for the chest x-ray today. A hundred and a half dollars later, Bert has been diagnosed with an enlarged heart and fluid in the lungs. He was prescribed Enalapril and Lasix. Regis takes the same pills so I suggested he just shave a little off his for Bert. No he said, Bert's pills are really cheap. Long pause. Then maybe you should take his pills I suggested. At least we declined the five hundred dollar echocardiogram.

News Items

There may be some less personal details (the signature) on our blog lately. I started a work-related blog and it's hard to have one set of details for one and another for the other. I just hope I hope I don't mix up the other stuff and write about the nude tequilla parties in our hot tub on the special education review site.

Now, what was the other thing? Oh, yeah. I enabled the comment thing. I didn't think anyone read our blog so it didn't matter. Now that I know we are so widely read, we would love to hear what our public thinks.

And don't you love that poem by Robin Sarah over there? Riveted?

Teresa

Midwest Macho

God help me but I love moving snow. Teresa really didn't do it justice in her post but I enjoy running the snow blower almost as much as I like drinking beer. Why? Well I think it has something (everything) to do with all those years I lived In Philadelphia. We didn't own a snow blower when I was growing up and I learned to resent the snow shovel as a tool of Satan. Worse yet I resent the fact that my father could have made life so much easier. But that is a different subject. When I moved to Minnesota that was one of my first acquisitions. It was a little single stage that never ran right but it got me through winter #1. When that died I went out and bought myself a White 2 stage with all the trimmings down to the halogen headlamp. I cranked that sucker up, hit the snow running and I never looked back. Hell, six forward gears and it will throw snow 35 feet straight up!
That brings me back to the point of this drivel. Moving snow is a religious experience. We don't have a lot of space to pile it up so every new snowfall has to be carefully considered as to where it can be moved. By this point in the winter there is typically a good pile on both sides of the driveway, along the boulevard, and in the front yard. It is at this time of the year that it takes a bit longer as there is more thinking to do. It is also this time of the year that when I finish the work I can stand there and admire my cunning and forethought as the piles all fall into place. That feeling cannot be described. Is it like taking a bear with a bowie knife? Is it like driving a race car at 200 miles an hour? Is it like the feeling one gets when he's just cleaned everyone out at the poker table? Well, no, it doesn't feel like any of those, but it a feeling of accomplishment that is very satisfying. I saw a guy standing in his driveway yesterday. Clad in a flannel shirt and a bomber cap he cut a Randy Quaid Christmas Vacation like figure there in his driveway.With one hand on his hip and the other on his shovel eyes cast outward I knew just how he was feeling. It is an attitude I describe as Midwest Macho.

Hasta La Vista, Baby

I took the job in March 2001. It was a retail job in a furniture store, one of the nicer ones in town. Over the years retail has been good to me. For the longest time I used to joke that it was one way to meet the town one at a time.

Overall the experience has been good and in general people are great. I have found that if I am friendly, fair, and courteous I receive that in kind. On day when I am “up” people seems to want to hand their wallets to me all day long, and on the days when I am “off” or tired I can’t give merchandise away.

I’ve been working in an upscale Sleep Store anow I am leaving. By coincidence it will be March once again though this time it is 2007. I am burned out. I am weary of the travel, 90 miles one way, and of the uneven paychecks. I got over the rejection factor a long time ago (my favorite joke is that I have heard the word NO so many times today that I have to go through the drive thru at McDonald’s and ask the girl working there if she’d like to go out so that I can hear it just one more time) and I try not to take it personally; but after 6 years I do.

So I am getting out of your hair Mrs. and Mr. Shopper. I am saying “bye-bye” for the last time on March 4th. There won’t be any bells or whistles, no brass bands, and no Bon Voyage cake. The truth is that no matter who you are, come tomorrow if you aren’t there, somebody else will be. So, there will be no gifts for me, or praise, or tears. As they say I will leave not with a bang but a whimper.

But I would like to leave you with a gift, dear reader, as you will all be customers of some big ticket item sooner or later. The gift I would like to give you is a simple lesson about how to act towards your salesperson. I know that there will be endless suggestions from others about what I have left out, but these are nearest and dearest to me.

1. Please drop the “Just looking” from your vocabulary. I know why you are here, you know why you are hear. I am only here to help you make an informed decision.
2. Listen carefully to the sales people you meet. After hearing a few talk about the same type product you will become an expert as to figuring out which one of us is full information and which is full of hot air.
3. Don’t get insulted or feel pressured when I try to close the sale. If I have done my job and made a great presentation and have built value into the product I deserve the right to ask for the sale.
4. If you have a problem after the merchandise is delivered please don’t call or stop in screaming at me from the word go. You’ve got a problem and you need a friend to help you out. Treat me like dirt and I can guarantee you won’t be happy with the solution I don’t care how intimidating you try to be.
5. Please keep your kids under control. You wouldn’t let the little darlings jump on your furniture would you? And please write this down, if one of your kids gets hurt you will be at an attorney’s office faster than you can spell N-E-G-L-I-G-E-N-C-E.

So as I ride into the sunset, I say to all of you, “Happy Trails, until me meet again”, or as Arnolds much more succinctly puts it, “Hasta la vista, Baby.”

Some reasons why my dog should die

Warning: People who love dogs and tolerate anything from them will not like this post. People who hate dogs and can't understand why a person would let one into their home won't like this post.

I know he's cute (he's wearing a bow-tie in this picture) and I know this is not going to be very PETA-like, but I think Bert is ready to go to dog heaven. At least I'm ready for him to go there. I came tonight and nothing seemed amiss even though I had a meeting after school and didn't get home until 4:30. Then I noticed Kramer sniffing around at the bottom of a book shelf in the living room. I pull off a couple photo albums and I can see, I am not kidding you, that Bert has taken one of those marking leaks on the shelf. On the shelf. In the living room. In the house. What the hell. So, I clean that up and come into the office to deal with an insurance problem (more on that in the second paragraph) when Bert comes in, sits by my feet, and starts licking his lips. I have lived with that dog long enough to know something's up. I walk into the living room and find that he's found a small baggie full of pretzels and has shredded the bag and the pretzels all over the floor. Why does a person put up with this kind of harassment?

On another equally insanity-provoking note, I got a letter from my home mortgage company today, informing me that they did not have proof of insurance on my house so they had "secured temporary coverage" for me to the tune of 1500 dollars. Now you might remember that back in November, I crowed about meeting with a nice insurance woman who had reviewed our "portfolio" and made recommendations for change and she would kindly take care of all the tranfers in our policies. Not necessarily so. I've been cancelled by almost every insurance company, new and old, in the last three months, some more than once. I won't mention the name of the company, but if an agent tries to give you this same line of BS, don't swallow it.

Snow

Regis is out blowing snow. He never complains about it and I think he appreciates the chance to make that snow fly twenty feet in the air! We're sharing our snow blower with two neighbors; they pay for gas and provide maintenance and we supply the machine. It works for all of us. There isn't much more snow today. Regis thinks we got about 8 inches which is a far cry from the 18 they were predicting.

This doesn't look all that bad but it looks like more snow when it's blowing, if that makes any sense. Regis managed to get in my truck so the doors aren't frozen shut but I don't think I'll be driving it for a few days. (All the pictures I took of the snow were taken from the front step where I stood in my nightgown and slippers. Reminded me of the old Wild Kingdom shows where Marlin Perkins said, "I'll just stand here behind this tree while Jim wrestles the alligator." That still cracks me up.

We watched La Cage Aux Folles this afternoon. A couple reviewers on Netflix said it was better than The Birdcage but we didn't think so even though many of the gags were the same. Nathan Lane was so much funnier than the French guy. We have The Departed, which Regis will watch alone, and Mrs. Henderson Presents coming this week.

More snow...more bread

Here's the weather report:

Conditions go from bad to worse. The heaviest snows come Saturday night when 6-10" may accumulate. Warnings remain in effect through Sunday evening for treacherous travel conditions. Snow totals will probably range from 10-14", with 15-20" for far southeastern MN, where blizzard warnings are posted (worst conditions from Rochester to La Crosse to Madison. Almost a blizzard for western Wisconsin and southeastern MN....near white-out conditions reported. Make sure you have a winter survival kit if you are driving this weekend.

Regis didn't go to work again today. They may close the store because conditions are supposed to be near-blizzard in Rochester. It's nice to have him home. We left the curtains open in the bedroom last night so we could watch the snow. About 3, Regis woke up to see deer running down 4th Street. Snowmobilers spooked them, I suppose. Ironic that he would have his eyes open and be looking out the window just as they ran past. Or was it a dream?

I'm making more bread today, in fact, we may have to go out for more flour.

Finally some snow...and baking bread.

Loaves of bread I made from a French bread sour dough starter that I made Tuesday. Regis thinks it's lame to post pictures of bread on a blog, and I guess it isn't the most sophisticated thing, but what the hell. We're finally getting some snow but it will have to snow hard to come up with 18 inches in the next 24 hours. We just finished watching the movie The Illusionist. It was very good. Just the right amount of everything...romance, lust, suspense, drama. Two thumbs up. The truck is in the driveway all frozen up so we aren't going anywhere today. We might have a little happy hour right at our kitchen table later. Peter called to say he made it safely to Mexico. I think the first thing they did was find the Corona and head to the beach.

Saturday

After all the predictions for this storm, it's 10 a.m. Saturday morning and there isn't much going on yet. We had a blast of freezing rain early this morning so Regis opted to forego the trip to Rochester. It turned to snow about 9 but now has quit. The weather guys are still saying it could be a big one, but they could be blowing smoke.

We spent the evening with Betty and Tom last night. Tom made French dip sandwiches that were delicious and we had a few beers. Gonzo seems to have mellowed out a little so the dog stimulation was kept to a minimum. Betty told about her dream the night before where Tom was dancing some kind of weird fish dance, gulping for air and flapping his hands around his face. Tom says that he only regrets that all his acid trips were before he met Betty.

I've been up since 6 cooking. I have a beef roast in the crock pot, bread in the bread machine (I've been experimenting with starters...have two in the refrigerator and a sour dough on the cupboard...this morning I had to feed them, like pets.), and a pot of ruben soup on the stove. Regis has requested peanut butter cookies so that will be my next project.

We'll post some pictures if the big snow arrives.

The Big One

Peter's on his way to Mexico, the Melia Cabo Real all-inclusive resort in Cabo San Lucas, and we're expecting maybe 18 inches of snow this weekend. That doesn't seem fair, does it? Very nice of Jake's parents to invite him along. He has been so excited he's counting the days.

Here's the weather report:

Winter Storm Watch posted from Friday evening through Sunday afternoon for most of Minnesota. This could be the Big One, the first 12"+ snowfall since March 8-9, 1999, when 16" fell on the metro. Snow arrives after rush hour Friday evening, heaviest snows Friday night and Saturday, 10-12" possible by Sunday evening, potential for 15-18" in a few areas close to home.

Regis may be having the weekend off whether he wants it or not. As long as everyone is staying put and not driving around on icy roads, I won't mind. We went to the grocery store to stock up on popcorn and Junior Mints and we have two movies to watch so we'll be fine.

Angelo

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110 people do the Polar Bear Plunge

I can't believe they found 110 people who were willing to jump into the frigid water yesterday. Regis and I thought maybe 5-10 people would do it...no wonder I was surprised by the crowd. None of them needed paramedics or rescue crews. The big, portable hot tub, though, was the most popular spot on shore. This is an actual picture of Nicollet County Sheriff Dave Lange, who organized the event.

Polar Bear Plunge

I didn't make it to the actual event in St. Peter. Kathy and I drove down there at 1:45 and it was packed. People were parking blocks away and being shuttled to Hallett's Pond in the city bus. Cars trying to get in the parking lot were backed up for blocks. I hate crowds (Saum genes) so we decided to drive right on past. But this is probably what it looked like; with google images, you can find a picture of anything. So just pretend this is a St. Peter resident taking the plunge. What's the guy in the snorkel there for anyway? The whole thing is a little weird.

Naked guy running

I didn't witness this insane act, but Jill did. Yesterday, when the temerature was about ten degrees but the wind was strong enough to make the windchill below zero, this nutcase ran in the Freeze Your Buns Winterfest Race wearing what you see: gloves, hat, shorts, shoes. He probably has frostbite on parts he didn't know existed. Don't be fooled by the wet look to the road. This was not spring-like weather.

We went to the Bothy last night and while it wasn't one of our favorite shows, we had a good time. The show had started when we got there so we couldn't sit in our favorite spot, the popcorn machine was broken, and the bar was packed because it was prime rib night, all of which conspired to make us feel a little out of sorts. Such creatures of habit we are.

New clinic!

I forgot to post these pictures of my brother David's new acupuncture clinic in South St. Paul. It's called the Southview Acupuncture Clinic. Check out their website. I saw the clinic when it was almost done. It's lovely inside, soft yellow and warm wood, and in a friendly looking neighborhood.

NWA

And that's not the rap group to which I am referring. Regis has a new job as a customer service agent for NWA working out of Mankato for a company called ACS. He'll be working from 6 a.m. to 2:30 Sunday through Thursday. He's a little sad to be leaving a job he really loves but I think he's ready to be done driving 180 miles a day. I'm so glad that he'll be home more...every evening and all day Saturday. We won't know how to act.

The last week was busy with Winterfest activities. I heard Wil Weaver on Tuesday night and Thursday night we had our book group at the treaty site center. (Wednesday night we clebrated Valentine's Day with Jan and Anders.) If you haven't read A Gravestone Made of Wheat or seen the movie Sweet Land, I recommend both, even if you have to go to a snotty yuppie theater in Scottsdale. Ha!

Last night we went to see Betty and Tom. Tom's back on his feet after his knee surgery but not ready to carry mail yet. We were home early and watched part of the old movie The Birdcage before calling it a night.

Tomorrow is the Polar Bear Plunge. Pictures will be posted!

Valentine Cookies

These are the Valentine cookies that I baked, frosted, and sprinkled today! I'm not a big fan of sugar cookies but these are very good, if I do say so myself. I ran out of frosting with two cookies left, so that worked out well. I'm almost done with Thirteen Moons, a book I like so much I think I have to buy it just to have it around. Kathy stopped earlier and we had a Sunday afternoon glass of wine. It was her birthday yesterday.

This day is almost done. I'm going to make beef commercials for dinner. Great comfort food.

Brassed Off

I know the picture is dark. Regis tried to lighten it but it didn't work very well in the translation. I tried to take pictures with the flash, but Ella has learned that the light is bright so she would shut her eyes as soon as she saw me with the camera.

She's so funny. I had Prairie Home Companion on the radio and anytime she heard the music, she would stop right in her tracks and dance for a couple seconds. She does this pointing thing, which I suppose works when you don't have language to tell what you want. She points at things, and if you don't get it, she makes a grumpy face and points with more emphasis. Ha! She also loves her books and we read them over and over. She knows a few words from the books: toes, baby, boots, ducks. She especially loves ducks. She has the book The Wheels on the Bus and Emily has taught her some of the motions like swish, up and down, and move on back. As soon as I started to read, she would do swish, swish, swish. So cute. We had a wonderful time.

We watched a movie Friday night called Brassed Off. I saw it recommended in Roger Ebert's review of Waking Ned Devine, one of our favorite movies. Brassed Off is a British comedy, well, at least Netflix calls it a comedy. I'm not sure that you can call a movie about the closing of coal mines in England that includes: an attempted suicide by one of the main characters, his wife taking the kids and leaving, his dad dying of black lung disease, his beating by a loan shark, and repossession of the contents of his house. There are some funny lines and we enjoyed the movie, but it was dark. Brassed off is a British expression that means the same as pissed off, but the movie is also about a community brass band that's the source of a lot of the humor and sweetness.

I'm making Valentine cookies today...rolled sugar cookies with frosting and sprinkles. I have a box ready to send some to Tiffany and I'll take some to Peter. Regis loves them, too, and I'm making two in dog bone shapes for you-know-who. Not my idea.

Winterfest!

This dog does not even seem happy to be watching the Winterfest parade. Most people stayed inside their toasty cars...or if they were walking, they were so bundled up in winter gear that you couldn't see their faces. They had a hard time getting candy out of their plastic bags and their hands were too cold to toss in gently so they flung it in gobs. A guy could have gotten brain-damage from a frozen gumball.

The men with us were pansies and stayed in the bar to keep our table. Joanne, Kathy, and I went outside and stood in the cold to show our Winterfest spirit. I made it almost to the end but had to dash back in before the Govenaires (local drum corps) came by because I just couldn't stand the cold another minute. It was the usual 9-minute parade: a couple small bands, a few boats, a tractor, the firetrucks, the ambulance, and the queen candidates. There were a couple old ladies pushing babies in strollers. The babies were completely covered by blankets so I guess it could have been beer kegs they were pushing.

There are more festivities today: a pub crawl, a beer can invitational, a hairy legs contest, and a rock/paper/scissors contest. Our friend Bob Wright is going to do the polar bear plunge next weekend so we might have to go down to Hallett's Pond and take pictures of that. I suggested a physical exam before he's allowed to participate. Regis suggested a mental exam. I'll be sure to keep you updated on the latest news.

Here's what the Tribune says about the weather:

Tonight: 10th night in a row of subzero lows...coldest since Feb. 2003 when we experienced 9 nights/row of negative numbers. Daytime highs in the single digits.

Windchill advisory posted for northeastern MN where it may feel like -40 later tonight.

Stubborn, stalled pattern, jet stream winds howl from the northwest through much of next week, keeping us 15-20 degrees below average, no thaw possible until third week of February.

It was 13 below on our weather station this morning. Yesterday it was 19 below when I stopped for coffee on my way to work. I'm going to warm up the house today by making some food for Betty and Tom. Tom had his knee surgery on Tuesday so he's incapacitated and Betty doesn't cook. Tonight we're watching Ella while Bob and Em go bowling. That's all the news from Lake Wobegone.

Oh, I have a new job for next year. District Special Education Coordinator. And a raise. Yippee!

Doorbells Redux

The doorbells that I was so proud of last week have come to naught. After they were installed on the board, only about three of them worked reliably. A couple didn't work at all. Apparently this is the difference between a doorbell system purchased for 2000$ and installed by a professional and one purchased at Menards and installed by me. No wonder I'm not principal of the year. The building and grounds guy for the district thought this would look sort of "Jeff Foxworthy" anyway. Does that mean redneck?

I figured out the other day that I can retire in 2011...the year I turn 58. If I did the math right, that is, which is not likely if you know anything about my math skills. (At the Super Bowl, we collected 5 dollars from 10 people and I thought I would win 25 bucks. It was that F in second grade that caused my math phobia.) That's four more years to work, if my math is right. Too bad I took the money out of my retirement when I left Iowa but I was about 23 years old and what did I care about retirement. Little did I know. Here's another piece of good irony. About five years ago, I called TRA to see what it would cost to recapture those three years. Some very earnest woman told me it would cost me the small sum of 30,000 dollars. Ha. If I had that kind of money, would I be so worried about TRA?

Winterfest

Apparently they are doing this polar bear plunge thing as part of the Winterfest. I bet the people who signed up are regretting it now that it's been sub-zero for a week. Remember the shrinkage episode on Seinfeld? I wouldn't think that would be very good for your other parts either...like your heart. Here's the rest of the schedule if you want to check out the other activities.

More snow

We had about five inches of the lightest, fluffiest snow you have ever seen today. When I brushed it off Joanne's car at the end of the day (I don't drive on snow) it didn't even look real. It looked like something made out of plastic. It really was a gorgeous day. It cleaned up the back yard, too, which was nice. Not so nice in the spring when it all melts...but nice for now. Joanne said when she drove to work, semis would go by and it was like driving with your eyes closed. It's probably what caused that 100-car pile-up on 35 this morning. Semis driving through fluffy snow. Why can't they slow down when it snows?

I watched Pride and Prejudice last night. I've never read the book (bad English teacher!) and still don't know if I want to, but the movie was good. That Mr. Darcy, what an arrogant weasel at first. Those Brits can be so pompous. I'm reading Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier and it's so good I can't stand it. Beautiful writing and a compelling story. I started reading Wil Weaver's short story collection Sweet Land tonight, too. It's the St. Peter Reads book for this winter, and also the Thursday book group selection. I love A Gravestone Made of Wheat and cry almost every time I read it. Of course, since I saw the movie I picture Olaf as being hot, hot, hot!

Tomorrow Emily is picking me up after school and taking me out for dinner, then to Aveda for my hot stone birthday massage. What a treat! I still have a massage and pedicure from Deb, too, but I think I'll wait until sandal weather for that.

We have a busy weekend coming up. the St. Peter Winterfest Parade is Friday night. That should take about 8 minutes if it's like most of St. Peter's parades. Saturday night we're celebrating Valentine's Day with Ella. I'll be sure to post a couple pictures. The Winterfest has lots of quirky activities...my personal favorite is the Chimchanga Festival at the Jesus Church. My next favorite would have to be the rock, paper, scissors contest on Saturday night. Small town stuff.

Teresa

Super Bowl

Betty and I were doing last minute things at her house before the party and we asked Tom if he had one of those gambling things. No, he didn't want to do that, he said. Then Mark called and said of course, you have to have a board. He told us how to do it, so we wrote the numbers on little pieces of pink paper and sold them for five dollars each. We had one for the half-time score and one for the final score. I won 50 dollars on the half-time score with zero and Betty won 50 dollars on the final score with six. Ha! The irony is that you would probably have to go to Botswana to find two people who know less about football than the two of us.

We had a good time and the menu was great. Tom served chili dogs, chicken wings, and lots of other munchies. The chili dog recipe came from some dude on Food TV and it isn't actually chili at all but more of a combination of the condiments you might put on a hotdog. Reminded me of sloppy joe stuff. I made brownies, Joanne made Special K bars, Harvey brought his famous shrimp mold...lots of tastey food. A good time was had by all.

It's 12 below here this morning.

Teresa

Robins

Thse pictures are from today's local paper. The article says that many robins do head south for the winter, but some choose to ride a rough Minnesota winter out. The robins’ range extends well into Canada, so these birds that suddenly showed up in the area may be migrants moving southward only far enough to find a food source. The birds that linger can get along just fine on berries and fruits. Open areas near the Le Sueur River ensure adequate water and the trees, especially the dense boughs of the cedar trees growing in the surrounding ravines, evidently are providing roosting cover. Hard to believe any birds could survive this cold. We had brutal windchills again during the night.

We're going to a Super Bowl party today at Betty and Tom's. I'm not fond of football but Betty says we can stay upstairs and play games and watch Mike's program at 6. I am kind of interested in the two coaches. How I know about Tony Dungy is a mystery...did he live in Minnesota once? Has he written any books? And I like the other guy's name, Lovey Smith. Isn't that sweet? So that is the extent of my football knowledge.

The brownies that I made yesterday were good. Regis and I had one for dessert with a mudslide martini while we watched Waking Ned Devine. Great movie if you haven't seen it. that reminded me that we have unchecked lottery tickets in my purse. The next time you hear from us, we could be in Jamaica!

Teresa

Cobwebs and Dirt

I don't know why I can walk by a cobweb for eighty days and not see it...and all of a sudden it looks like something shed by a wooly mammoth. I'm doing my semi-annual cleaning today. Ha! Not that bad, really...but it's not something I enjoy. If I had money, I'd do what Christina on Grey's Anatomy suggested...hire a wife. Part of my problem is that I'm random. One of my friends told me she cleans all her mopboards one day every month. In the first place, I wasn't even really aware of those or that they had to be cleaned regularly and in the second place, I would never be able to start at one end of even my small house and go to the other end, cleaning every mopboard without getting distracted. This is the same friend who said she cleans her oven every time she has a day off from school and I said I clean my oven every time I give birth. Today I seem to have a kind of zen-like awareness of cobwebs. Tomorrow it might be dust or dirty floors. Who knows.

Teresa

Brrrrr!!!!!!

Our weather station said it was 11 below this morning and we had a wind chill of 35 below during the night. The dogs had to be booted out the door this morning...they aren't so dumb. Regis got in the car to drive to Rochester after listening to me remind him not to leave the car if something happens, to take a warm hat and gloves, and to take well-traveled roads. He has a cell phone so I guess he'll be fine but I don't even like to go downtown when it's this cold.

I have a full plan for today. I need to do some cleaning, then I'm going to cook and bake. I'm going to make a big pot of chili and a batch of brownies for Tom and Betty's party tomorrow. I have a project to finish, too. I bought small metal tins for my spices and I need to get them labeled and put in their baskets. I buy spices at the Coop and always have little plastic bags full of stuff with no label. It makes cooking a little risky.

My friend Mike Hazard's video called Paul Wellstone's Magic Green Schoolbus is on PBS tomorrow night at 6, so if you aren't glued to the football game, check it out. He made it with a group of kids and it's very sweet. Mike's got some other great videos about Minnesota people, Native Americans, and poets on his website: http://www.thecie.org

Anybody reading this who was fascinated by Tom and Betty's new dog Gonzo that I wrote about a month or so ago, don't run out and buy one. He's incorrigible. He walks on the tables, eats anything he can find, edible or not, jumps constantly on your lap leaving huge wads of hair, and seems to be fairly dim-witted. Betty says pugs are not intelligent dogs and that's becoming fairly plain to see although he is curious and friendly. Pugs were bred to be lap- warmers for the kings and queens so I guess they didn't have to survive in the wild. He has a darling face and he's so affectionate but I'm not sure that makes up for the general unruliness. Dog shoppers...beware the pug.

I had a dream last night that I was writing a book called The Party What Started Out as Jumping Around. The image was of cows jumping in the air and clicking their heels together. Now, that has possibility!

Teresa

Groundhog Day

Tomorrow is ground hog day. It's been kind of a brutal month, weather-wise, so if there's a groundhog in Minnesota, he probably won't pop out at all. We've had a little bit of snow every day...just enough to clean things up and make it slippery and tonight the windchill is supposed to be 25 below. A real winter at last.

Regis and I went to HyVee to buy groceries tonight then stopped at Famous Dave's for a beer and a bite. There was a rude ass at the next table with a loud cell phone. We seem to run into that a lot lately. It isn't that hard to figure out. It rings loudly once...you turn it down. How hard is that? We tried a beer that they're brewing in Lucan, a tiny town in southwestern Minnesota. The one we tried was good but they make a strawberry beer. Not too appealing.

We have a hefty income tax bill so if you don't see us for a few months, that's why. We'll be hunkered down trying to save our money to pay that bill.

Teresa