reality of Thanksgiving

Things that can go wrong generally do. Alex was sick so he and Emily couldn't come. We missed them! Good thing they don't live far as Bob was able to transport food over to them at the right time for eating dinner. We had good luck in the kitchen with most things but the lefse fell apart. It felt chaotic as it was happening, but the meal was good and the aftermath was sweet. Most of the clean-up is done. I'm going to exercise this morning and having lunch with Joanne and Laurel later. My goal is a relaxing weekend. Now go back and read sentence #1!

One of the nicest moments was when Tiffany and Peter were in the kitchen making gravy and I was sitting in the chair in the dining room directing them. They were laughing and having fun together. It was fun to see.

cooking cooking cooking

Awake at 4 a.m. As usual.
Made a peanut butter pie.
Made a pistachio salad.
Checked over the recipes for the traditional bread stuffing and the Andouille sausage stuffing.
Rolls are rising.
Had coffee. Had another cup of coffee.
Did the dishes. Many times.
Opened a Thanksgiving card from Mom.
Checked my email.
Had another cup of coffee.
Thinking about taking a nap.
Thanksgiving Parade starts at 8:00!

Thanksgiving Eve

Came home after work.
Opened a bottle of sauvignon blanc.
Made a pumpkin pie.
Made cornbread.
Visited with the Young Regis who bought a house today.
Cut up all the onions and celery for the dressing.
Went to the garden and picked sage, parsley, rosemary, and thyme.
Helped Regis with the brine for the turkey.
Got the turkey into the cooler with the brine.
Cooked the giblets.
Reviewed the to-do list.
List looks good.
Poured another glass of wine.
Talked to Tiffany on the phone.
Looking forward to tomorrow!

on a mental vacation

I've let go of all the stress. I've just let it go. I'm not going to worry about the BS anymore. Life's too short and too sweet. I'm going to get done what I can get done today. I went to Patrick's for a glass of wine tonight. I stopped at the liquor store to buy wine for Thanksgiving Day and thought about a bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream. There was a beautiful baby boy sleeping in my bedroom today and how I can be upset about anything when that's true. I'm glad to have my friends (sane as they are) and my family (sane as they are) and the rest will sort itself out eventually without my interference or worry.

oh my

I can't believe it's been a week since I wrote on my blog! I used to love documenting my mundane activities here but this fall, there are a lot of things that make it happen infrequently.

My exercise routine, getting up at 4:30 and working out for 60-90 minutes in the morning, kicks my hinder. I'm not tired for the most of the day, but by the time I sit down on the couch after dinner...maybe 6:30...it doesn't take much for me to tip over and go to sleep. Some days I can stay about until 9, but not often. It doesn't leave much time for anything in the evenings.

I don't read much anymore either. I've been reading the same damn book for weeks. Spooner is good and the writing is entertaining and funny but I can read about five pages and I have to go to sleep. I hate to think about all the good books I'm missing.

My job is more stressful this year. Some days I go to three or more buildings and probably three or more meetings. By the end of the day, I hardly remember where I've been and what I did when I was there. I write down every phone call and make notes on all the meetings but I still miss things. Last week I missed one meeting entirely and went an hour late to another one. Scrambled marbles.

The other factor is that I got hooked on the instant gratification of facebook. So easy to jot a quick line or two as a status update and move on. I didn't have to think much or compose anything in my head...and remember it until the end of the day. Believe me...I have composed some great blog posts in my head this fall only to have them disappear into the breeze.

I have managed to get my Thanksgiving menu ready, the groceries bought, and the to-do list printed. This is my favorite part of the meal preparation. I wish we had more people coming this year....might have to beat the bushes for some unoccupied friends!

Reggie came over for dinner and we started talking about the Christmas Eve menu. Fun! I won't reveal the possibilities yet.

I made a delicious wild rice and chicken soup for dinner with corn bread. A good dinner for a late fall day. Joanne came for a mid-afternoon glass of wine but didn't stay for dinner.

Our friend, Dick, was recently diagnosed with congestive heart failure. I talked to both Jane and Dick last night...Dick sounded much stronger and more like himself than he did when we saw him this summer when he seemed pale and tired. It's discordant...having your friends diagnosed with old people diseases. Like seeing the scruffy old man at the grocery store at noon buying two shrimp rings with cocktail sauce. We hope Dick continues to recover and feel better. Discordant...interesting idea.

It was so beautiful outside today that we did some surprising things. Regis hooked up the hose and washed the outside of the house. I took our old fish tank out and washed it off on the patio. As miserable as October was, November has been wonderful.

About a month ago, we found a foster home for our last surviving fish, a loach. I found someone who was interested in the tank so now it's in a new home, too. Fish are high maintenance. I only want low maintenance pets for which our current little dog qualifies. He can't hear so he doesn't back when the door bell rings and he can't see very well so he doesn't bark when the mailman goes by.

I have to see who the next Iron Chef will be. And then on to bed. I'll do better at documenting our own imperfect lives, I promise.

Sunday psychosis

Oh, I hate the end of a weekend. Since school started, we have hardly had any weekends with nothing to do. Not even one day... and I could tell by the archaeological dig that is my house. The late summer brown-eyed Susan flag was still up which means the Halloween flag didn't see the light of day. At least the 4th of July decorations were gone. Small favors.

A lot accomplished and we're ready for the week.

It will be a busy one. Haircut tomorrow night. AARP class Tuesday night. Night class Wednesday night.

Time for bed.

slide show of the goings-on

i get my picture taken with the dignitaries

me with Santa

me with Tim Walz (and Gus and Hope)

me with Terry Morrow

We had a blast at the 169 Celebration today. I have more pictures to post of the festivities but these are some of my favorites. I was excited to see which dignitaries would show up for the opening but I never dreamed that Santa would be among them. In a golf cart, no less. He was happy to pose for a picture with me.

thursday already

Regis and I walked down to the highway late this afternoon to see the progress they're making on the construction. It's starting to look almost normal down there and it's a good thing. Tempers are running a little short with the detours and disappearing and appearing stop signs. To say nothing of the rapid traffic down the other residential streets that aren't designated detours. This morning a woman followed me down 4th Street and man was she in a blazing hurry right on my bumper. I slowed to 20 mph and put an end to her big deal rush. What a bag.

There is a big grand opening to foot traffic celebration on Saturday. I'm all over that since there will be state and federal dignitaries there and I want to see that! There's a beer and wine tasting at our favorite beverage store, a band at one of the establishments starting at 4:00, and pictures with Santa at Total Entertainment. It will be a happening.

I had kind of a grump going today. Maybe it's because I was in a building with no windows. That wears on a guy. Hell.

My computer is all messed up tonight. It's hard to explain what it does. Regis tries to use it and he claims it's fine. It's possessed when I take over.

I went back to Mayo on Monday for my 6-month check even though it had been 7 months since my surgery. I saw the dietitian. It's always curious because she gives me information that the doctor laughs at. She said I should be eating 130 grams of carbs a day. He laughed himself silly over that one. Then I saw the psychiatrist. She remembered me from my first appointment so it was nice to visit with her. I could have sat there a long time because I like to talk about my inner workings and she seemed interested. I suppose they don't pay her for that though so she ushered me out after about 30 minutes. Then I saw the nutrition doctor who proclaimed me a healthy person. He said I am doing a great job, my lab results were perfect, and I should keep doing what I'm doing. I'm a rock star!

I'm reading a good book called Spooner. I've been tired this fall and I can only read for about twenty minutes so it's like watching five minutes of a movie a day. I can hardly track with the plot. This is from the review: Warren Spooner is a sad sack. His mother despises him as the surviving twin from a hideously painful delivery. He's not very smart, and his one redeeming talent--baseball--is nullified by catastrophic injury. He gets into trouble, a lot. Though he manages to organize his life through marriage and a (terrible) job, the self-destructive behavior endures. Really, it's funny.

Tomorrow is Friday. My favorite day of the week. Have a nice one.

mournng the end of summer

Regis and I spent the afternoon raking leaves and putting away the remnants of summer...the lawn chairs, the patio table, the bird bath, the lawn mower. It was a wonderful summer and a not so nice fall so we really appreciated today. If we could have days like this for a few months, winter might not be so intolerable.

I've started planning my Thanksgiving menu. This is the part of it that I love. I have a big binder full of menus and recipes from the last Thanksgivings and I look them over and decide which ones to make this year. Not like there are that many choices, you might think. My family likes the old standards: turkey and gravy, green bean casserole, bread stuffing.

I like to throw in a few new side dishes like the corn bread Andouille sausage stuffing I made two years ago and loved. That gets a repeat performance every year now. Regis made some little onion tarts one year that were a big hit. We don't stray too far off the beaten path...no tofurkey or roasted parsnips and rutabagas.

This year, I'll make a couple changes to things so I can eat them. I have a recipe for no-sugar cranberry fluff (it's got the dreaded Cool Whip in it...) that I think I'll make. And a peanut butter pie that sounds good. If you don't have a place to go and think this sounds like a menu you could eat, let me know. We always pack a crowd in our tiny house for Thanksgiving.

I have a big pot of chili bubbling on the stove. It is such a big pot of chili that I had to dump it from one pot into another bigger pot. We like chili and we'll freeze the rest of it into serving packages with the vacuum sealer tomorrow.

On Monday, Regis and I travel to Rochester for my six month post-surgery visits. I have an appointment with a humorless dietitian, a psychiatrist who makes me nervous, and with my nutrition specialist who is a little aspergery but very nice. I feel attached to him like I did to the doctor who delivered Peter. Is that a universal thing? Regis sent an email to his heart surgeon on the tenth anniversary of his bypass so maybe it is. I'm anxious to see what my lab work reveals...if I get enough protein and calcium, etc. And it's always nice to get props for your hard work. I'll give a report on my visit when I get back.

So, that's it for the end of the week. Tomorrow we get ready to move into the next week by making an early morning visit to the HyVee. Regis has been shopping alone on Mondays since school started so I bet the guys at the meat counter think he either got divorced or I passed. They'll be glad to see me alive and kickin'!

bloodybelly comb jelly

Is this the weirdest thing ever?

Brilliant and seemingly glowing, the bloodybelly comb jelly comes in different shades of red but always has a blood-red stomach. The sparkling display on the outside comes from light diffracting from tiny transparent, hair-like cilia. These beat continuously, propelling the jelly through the water.

This species has only recently come to the attention of scientists, thanks to images like this, supplied by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute’s remotely operated vehicles.

rain

We had several sunny days in a row even though one of them had gale force winds. Today started out bright and clear but about 2:00, the clouds moved in and it started to rain. Again. Oh, it can be difficult to get through these gloomy fall days. I came home and lit a candle, turned on World Cafe, and made meatballs. Regis made a pot of coffee and we visited while we cooked.

On my way to work this morning, I saw a woman and child get in a car, drive around the corner, and wait in a line of five other waiting cars with their motors running, for the school bus. What the. Do kids today melt when they get wet or cold? At the end of the day at the high school, the streets are full of idling cars waiting for the little prima donnas to come out and get in a warm car for the ride home. It isn't even cold yet! Here I could launch into my "I walked to school...." speech but I won't.

I'm shopping for a long goose down coat. In my lightened condition, I get cold easily (sorry...whining) and I want a warm winter coat. I'm currently looking at a Cabela's goose down coat.

The meatballs were delicious.

I go back to the Mayo Clinic on Monday. I have an appointment with the dietitian at 10:00, the psychiatrist at 2:00, and the nutrition specialist at 4:00. I'm curious about the psych appointment. I wonder what she'll want to know. I like things like that and can go on and on...thinking aloud. I have pages and pages of notes I could share but they don't really want to know all of that. They want the basics. I've done blood work and such and had it sent over there so I'll get the results that day. I'm curious about that, too. I've lost 130 pounds (about the size of some people...or a month-old horse) and I feel great.

I skated over the Halloween Fun Run but it was not an insignificant thing for me. I'm 57 years old and have never exercised regularly in my life until I started planning for WLS. Last winter, I swam every day. In June, I joined the fitness center in town. Now I can walk for 60 minutes on the treadmill, I finished a 5k (walking!), and work out with a trainer once a week.

When I was seeing the therapist before surgery, she identified one of my thinking errors as this: People who exercise love it. Since I didn't love it, I guess that let me off the hook. She told me to think about it like this instead: You might not love doing it but you can grow to love how you feel because you do it. She was right.

I don't exercise to make my pants fit better, although I enjoy that they do. At my age, I don't exercise to fit into a bikini, although I did think about a pair of tall boots as I did my walking lunges.

I exercise because I feel stronger and healthier and because it might help me live a longer and better life. It might keep me out of a nursing home! An older friend of mine shared that as she exercises she thinks these muscles will help her be independent longer. Not a bad motivation. One of my motivations for surgery was seeing lots of people my age in walkers and scooter chairs. I didn't want that for myself. I exercise because it helps me mentally. I feel better about myself having done it.

I'm thin and healthy and strong. Ah, that feels so good!

a very busy weekend

Friday, I spent two hours in the cold rain, taking Tiffany to get her oil changed and her tabs renewed on her car. Tote a baby along and you have some real errands. She headed over to her dad's about 5.

Saturday morning, Joanne and I did the 5k fun run in St. Peter. This involved leaving the house at 8:00 and not getting back until about 11:00. I needed a long, warm bath after that adventure.

Tiffany arrived about noon with Elliot. We baked brownies and went to the grocery store and played with Elliot until we went to Tom and Betty's at 4:00. We partied and danced and ate and had a great time until we went trick or treating (see photos). We came home at 9:00 and I went to bed shortly after that.

We got up this morning and went to breakfast at Patrick's. When we came home, I put a roast on for dinner, peeled carrots and potatoes, and took Elliot for a long walk.

Tiffany and I had a wonderful time. We had some time to relax and visit about school and about other things in between our business. I'm exhausted but all in all, it was a grand birthday weekend.

This is a video of Elliot. I wanted him to do a different trick for the camera, but what he did was crawl over to the couch and starting eating the tassels on the sofa pillows. It was hilarious.

Fun Run Results

443   22 W50  Joanne Smith, 51, Le Sueur, MN             46:54.0   15:06  Pulsators          
444   23 W50  Teresa Saum, 57, St. Peter, MN             46:57.6   15:07  Pulsators  

Joanne and I finished 443 and 444 (in the over 50 group) in the Fun Run yesterday.
That's out of 700 some.        

Halloween

We had a great time on Halloween night! We all went trick or treating (leaving some folks at Tom and Betty's to hand out candy there. Good food, good music, lots of laughs. Great fun.

More Halloween pictures here!

thursday

We had some of the off-spring over for dinner tonight so the could enjoy some old family pictures. We had a good time and some good chicken. Lots of laughs. Ella says for Halloween she's going to be a dancing queen like her Nana.

daylight...what the hell happened to it?

I read in the paper today that the sun rises at 7:45 and sets at 6:08.. That isn't much daylight. No wonder we're getting cranky...and November is our cloudiest month. Look for wine sales to sky rocket at MGM in November.

Someday cell phone companies will be known for the pirates that they are. Tonight I'm getting messages from something called celebsquares urging me to play some game on my cell phone. Imagine what that would cost. And who signed me up for that crap? It's insidious.

I went to a baby shower on Sunday for Gabriel, Joanne's new grandbaby. His daddy opened a package of t-shirts with writing on them like this: Eco-friendly. Save the trees. Conserve water. We decided that they were politically correct baby shirts...or baby clothes for liberal babies. And then the obvious next thought is this: What would conservative baby shirts say? Screw the poor? No health care for the middle class? Education for the rich? Hahahaha. I crack myself up. (No political rants in the comment section, please. This is not a democratic blog.)

Peter came home from work today with some kind of illness. He slept all afternoon and evening until I went down to check on him. He has a wicked headache and a cold. Good mom made him chicken soup and poured him a big glass of juice. Regis is disinfecting the house and worrying.

I'm going back to bed. More tomorrow.

notes; random ones

In the last few days, I've composed a few blog posts in my head. I do that a lot and I tell you, that is some good stuff going on up there. They never made it to the launching pad, though, as you can tell. I can't even remember what they were about anymore.

I came home, turned on World Cafe, poured a glass of red wine, and made squash soup. The house smells grand and dinner was great.

Not only is St. Peter all torn up from stem to stern, but now they've started resurfacing the road leading up to my school and there is a big construction project going on in the next lot. All of this makes for lots of large equipment and lots of noise.

The walls were vibrating this afternoon which makes for an over-stimulating environment. I think if it continues tomorrow, I'll fall to the floor and fake some kind of seizure and apply for disability. That's probably sort of morbid humor. But it explains the need for the zen moments...the wine, the music, and the soup.

Regis is making popcorn for me. We've forsaken microwave popcorn so he's making it in a pan. That's an art.

We're watching Antiques Roadshow. They must have a Halloween theme...lots of weird things like skulls, hair art, and cases full of scarab beatles. We like to guess how much the stuff is worth but this one is hard.

I'm out of gas early tonight and on my way to be soon. Good book waiting.

cowboy duds

The cowboy duds in the picture are not the property of Regis as a boy. They are part of the photo op. What 1950's kid wouldn't have loved those cowboy duds?

We stopped by our favorite liquor store tonight. We haven't been there for weeks, mostly because you can hardly get there from here. The manager was very positive about the changes that are happening in the street, bless his heart. It's a real flippin' mess out there but I did buy a nice bottle of transition wine, a pinto noir. I like white wine in the summer, red in the winter, and pinot in the fall.

We went to Tom and Betty's today. We had a good time, laughing at their pug and planning our Halloween costumes. Betty could make a prize winning costume out of my dirty clothes pile and I have no imagination so we're a good pair.

Regis and I went out about 10 this morning, in the cold sunshine, and started raking leaves and putting our lawn furniture away. It made me sad because we haven't really used the grill since the first part of September. The bugs got so bad that it wasn't pleasant, then it started to rain and it was freezing cold. So much for the end of summer...and apparently fall.

We got the leaves that have fallen moved to the curb where the city will pick them up tomorrow. I dug up the canna lilies (we have about 500 of the buggers), and got all the stuff moved to the garage. That's it for summer....

pony

When we were in PA, Jane gave Regis a box of photos that had come from the home of his dad. We had a great time looking at them and passing them around to uproarious laughter. This is a picture of Regis on a pony. Apparently, it was common back in the day for someone to come around with a pony and take pictures of the neighborhood children for a price. Good gig. Someone should do that here. Hey, I only live a block from the swimming pool. I see a new career for me! Here's a warning to our offspring: You will be getting an invitation to the family photo viewing. Come and enjoy! Go home with a box of photos!

back from the woods

An uneventful trip to the woods up north. No unseemly precipitation on the way up or back.That place is like a weird retro resort...twisty hallways, tilty floors, smelly old carpet, bed like a cement pad with a sheet over it. That didn't keep me from sleeping until 7:30 one day, however. It's good to be home and I'm looking forward to crawling into my own bed tonight.

One day when Regis and I were driving around in PA, he started pushing buttons on the dash. All of a sudden we had a human voice in the car asking us what the emergency was and which emergency personnel she should summon. Apparently he had called Onstar. Uh oh. If there is a button somewhere, a man will push it. It's a universal truth.

I ran into a friend of mine at Patrick's tonight. She had belonged to a book club but just resigned for a lot of reasons. We decided we will have random book club meetings at the bar, we'll write our notes on scraps of newspaper, and we'll only talk about the books like a conversation. No lessons, no questions, no annual list of books. It will suit us.

I'm on my way to bed. Long week.

another trip

Tomorrow I take off for my third trip of the month. For a person who is loathe to travel, this is about enough but it isn't over yet. I'm leaving for a conference in Brainerd tomorrow about noon. I dread the thought of going in to pack. I'm not a fan of the resort where we're going. It reminds me of the beat up old resort in Dirty Dancing. The floors are a little off-kilter and it smells like dust and mice. Maybe that's just my memory, which is not always accurate.

I think I'll take my laptop and a book and do my best to avoid too much socialization.

We had omelets with Italian peppers, onions, and sun-dried tomatoes for dinner. It was a comfort meal. If someone else had done the cooking, I would have been happy with something else, but this was easy. I've been hungry for meatballs and meatloaf. Don't ask me why.

I'm going to bed to read. Regis is watching a baseball game. Is this the World Series yet? Good grief. This stuff just goes on forever.

pictures from a trip

Sister Jocelyn, brother Larry, and Larry's wife Eileen. Larry and Eileen just got back from a trip to Vegas.
Jane and Kurt's dog, Cody. They had four beautiful labs at their house. Big dogs but full of personality and very gentle. Except that darn Sandy. Sandy's only saving grace was that she would deliver a cold beer and take the empty bottle back to the kitchen. We almost bought her a plane ticket for that!

Larry, Eileen, and Jocelyn.

Teresa and Cody.

Regis and his old friend, Jack. We met Jack at the Golden Dawn diner (diners are a mystery to me...) for dinner Thursday night and again Saturday morning for breakfast. Jack's quite a story teller so it wasn't difficult to sit for two hours over coffee.

Teresa and Jane looking at pictures. That's Morgan on the couch between us. Morgan is also known as Large Marge. She was scared of Sandy and shook like a leaf when Sandy wanted to be the top dog.

This is a piece of driftwood that Kurt found floating in the surf in Jamaica. I don't know if you can tell from this picture but it looks just like Christ on the cross. It would make a good match for my Virgin Mary peanut.

Regis in some wine cellar we visited on Friday. It was not the most picturesque place as you can see in the following photos but the wine was good. We visited several vineyards, sampling and buying wine, then realized we couldn't take it back on the plane. Uh oh.

Here's the basement. No tour or anything...they just pointed us to a dusty cellar full of big stainless steel tanks.

They had a nice yard with sculptures but it was so damn cold that we weren't about to sit out there.
A ceramic house display out in the yard of the vineyard. Interesting but a little weird.

Grape vines. Big deal. Ha!

random stuff but I promised Sandy

I haven't posted anything for a week. Regis and I flew (not of our own power) to Philadelphia for the weekend so I feel like I have been pulled through a knothole butt first.

We left home Wednesday right after school. We checked into the Dakota Ridge Best Western where we could park our car for a week. We wandered over to a restaurant within walking distance where we had a glass or two of wine and some comfort meat loaf.

Our plane left at 8 a.m. and of course I was nervous about over-sleeping so I woke up at 2:30 and spent the rest of the night worrying. So helpful.

We got on the shuttle in plenty of time and waited in the airport for 90 minutes, just like they tell you to do. Not everybody follows the rules, though, because we were the only ones there for quite a while. Our plane left on time and there were no incidents.

The fellow who checked us through security was funny. I told him we're inexperienced travelers so he told me what to take off (nine pounds of bracelets) and what to put in the bins. He told Regis to put a new cell phone on his Christmas list because his face plate is cracked. Ok dude.

We landed in PA to 40 degree temps and driving rain. They call this miserable weather condition a Nor'easter. Yeah, my hinder. It's as close to snow as you can get without flakes. We had to drive around all day because the relatives who were housing us were at work and have four dogs. We didn't want to be consumed by large labradors so we killed time by driving from mall to mall and buying warm clothes.

We stopped at a strip mall restaurant in South Philly for pizza. It was perfect. A woman in a large blond bouffant called me hon and brought me a gorgeous pizza. You can't buy dough like that in Minnesota.

We had a nice time with the siblings and their spouses. Friday night we went out to eat with Kurt and Jane. We were serenaded by Dominic, Italian waiter just off the boat (I swear...) at the lovely Italian restaurant we visited. The restaurant doesn't have a liquor license because it's a dry township but you can bring your wine and beer into the place. So here is this very posh joint and people were carrying Playmate coolers and Walmart bags in containing their wine and beer. Very strange. I said that would get you arrested in MN.

Ride home was uneventful, too. We made it through the weekend without anybody getting testy or homicidal. I feel like I've been time traveling...so many things and people and conversations all mixed up. I'm not sure sometimes if I've said things or just thought it and it didn't come out my mouth.

Wednesday I leave for a conference in Brainerd. I ought to be in fine shape by Saturday.

Alex learned to crawl! Look at him go!

more with some photos later

I'm finally thawing out. We had a good trip to Philly but it was 40 degrees there with a stiff wind and driving rain. It looks from the forecast like that will be what the rest of our week in Minnesota is like. Great. I might have to move to AZ, Deb!

They do know how to make bread on the east coast. Oh my. The South Philly pizza crust is like heaven.

Enjoyed all your posts from the last few days. Sounds like you had a great time with Mike and Bennett. Is that one t or two?

yuck snow

I usually enjoy the first snow of the season but they don't come this early. We woke up to about three inches of wet, heavy snow that continued to come all day. It didn't stick on the roads but it made a mess everywhere else. I heard a guy on the radio call it a menacing mess. That's about it and what the hell.

Somebody said it's going to warm up. Yeah, and when would that be? It barely crept above freezing (that's 32 degrees for the warm weather fans) and it's not supposed to get much above 40 this week. If it's going to get warm, it has about two weeks to accomplish that. It...whatever that is.

I woke up at 3 this morning and didn't go back to sleep which makes for a long and fuzziesh day. I don't feel at the top of my mental acumen, if you know what I mean. Or is that acuminium?

I coin words when I'm tired. If you can't think of the right one, hell, just make one up.

I think I mentioned before that I had given some thought to the Halloween Fun Run. I talked a friend of mine into walking with me so it might be fun. I'm not running. Not on my old knees.

We're flying to Philly on Thursday. Deb says it helps to have a glass of wine pre-flight to help with anxiety. Do they sell wine at the airport at 6 a.m.?

busy weekend

Busy this weekend. Changed out all the summer clothes for fall clothes. Got out mittens. Sorted through stuff for the thrift store. Piled up stuff to go to the basement. Found a few things that had been misplaced. Got the few outdoor plants that get to come inside situated. Put the electric mattress pad on the bed. Got out the Halloween stuff and I have a lot of it so that's no small feat. Still to do: fill bird feeders, bake a turkey breast, start packing for our trip.

proof that the town is messed up

Here's the main street of St. Peter. Proof that it's a messed up place to try and drive. Highway 169 North is down to two lanes, too. You can hardly get from here to there. I think by next week it will be impossible to go to work. What a pity.

Regis took our ear infected dog to the vet this morning. Kramer got excited when he heard a cat and pooped on the floor. On their way out, he lifted his leg on the corner of the desk. Hey, thanks for coming. We appreciate your business. Hahahaha

snow

saturday

The dog woke us up at 3:00, shaking his head and scratching at his ear. He apparently has an infection and it was bothersome. Regis took him out to the couch to sleep. He'll have to go to the vet.

Tiffany's car dropped a muffler on Highway 52 headed to Rochester. It had to be towed in for what may be expensive repairs.

Peter finally took his car in yesterday for a tune-up. Arvin called and said he did need a tune-up but the more important matter was a leaking something or other that could start a fire. Arvin said a car that doesn't run right is one thing but a car that starts on fire is quite another. Arvin is a philosopher and the repairs are expensive.

So far today, Regis and I are healthy.

It snowed during the night.

We're taking the GPS unit to PA with us. Regis is busy entering the addresses of the places to which we plan to motor.

I'm headed to the pulse soon for my Saturday work-out. Joanne and I are going to walk the Halloween Fun Run. There's an oxymoron for you. Fun Run. We aren't going to wear costumes, right Joanne?

Anybody else feeling the pinch to winterize? We still have our grill on the patio and it's covered with snow. What the hell. We had two weeks of hot weather this summer and they were both in September. I don't have mittens out yet but I need them. This whole thing is a little mixed up.

I stayed awake until 8 last night. I was a little worried because a couple nights this week, I tipped over at 6:30 and slept all night. Well, until 3 or 4. We're going to the Bothy tonight so I better stay awake until it's over. It would look weird to be sleeping on a folding chair.

Happy weekend.

baseball guilt

So. Last night I watched about a grand total of three minutes of the baseball game. When Regis cheered and waved his TC cap in the air, I looked up and tried to figure out what happened. I felt a small desire that the Twins win and some anxiety that they wouldn't so I went to bed and figured I would find out in the morning. At 3 a.m., I woke up and wondered aloud to Regis who won the game. He had also given up and gone to bed so I had to get out of bed and check the Trib online. And then there was no going back to bed for me. It's been a long day.

Regis has night class tonight and I have the game on television. I know more about baseball than I do about football. I know that when they hit it a really long way and people cheer, that it could be a home run. I know that when someone catches the ball, it could be an out. Beyond that, I'm fuzzy, but somehow I manage to live a rich and happy life.

I put some chicken breast and carrots in the oven for dinner. See? I do remember how to cook.

In the dark of night this morning, Regis went to the grocery store. What a guy. He also sent me a beautiful bouquet of roses at work yesterday. They're white on the outside and deep red on the inside. They look like this:

I wore my first pair of tall boots to work today. I felt like I had to learn to walk all over again....like I had peg legs. A guy gets a powerful feeling in a pair of boots and that's one of the reasons I like them. Click click click. And they're very comfortable. Remember the guy in the cowboy store asked me what I was going to be doing with the boots. Walking around I said.

Ok well, now I'm tired and full of chicken and carrots and I don't care about the baseball game anymore. G'night. I have no idea why those words are the way they are. Ghosts.

the confluence of a bunch of shit

Regis and I went to Patrick's for dinner. I was going to make spaghetti but it was a lomg day and I got new cowboy boots that were dyin' to be worn out and about. So Patrick's was wild...the confluence was the Twins game, the Nobel Conference, and trivia night. We had a hard time getting a table but it was grand fun. Lots of clapping and cheering. I think that was the Twins branch of the confluence.

Our dog, keeping watch for bad guys.

My new boots below. They're Ariat cowboy boots that I got from Sierra Trading Post for dirt cheap.

Reg and Amber are in the process of house buying. They made an offer on a house about two blocks away from here. The offer was accepted and today they had an inspector (Clouseau?) came to check it out. We had a glass of champagne to celebrate. They're in for a couple month's worth (maybe years) of hard work. I think they should have Thanksgiving at their house. Ha.

I cut down the canna lilies on Sunday. Later in the afternoon, I saw a hummingbird hovering over the place where the cannas were. He looked confused and disgruntled. I was in despair. How sad. Poor thing looked and looked, landed on the bird feeder, hovered again, then flew off presumably to Mexico.

Hall of Fame

visit with the grand babies

a long week

Well, so far this week has been about 14 days long. We went to Patrick's after work for a glass of wine and cup of chili. Bob and Ella, and Reg, joined us there. I'm not sure I got the commas in the right place in that sentence but I don't care. Regis and I are having another glass of wine and some popcorn for dessert now...and watching some junk television. It should be Friday.

yesterday sucked

I decided a few weeks ago to turn in my district laptop and buy my own personal laptop. I did that and today, took my new red Dell to the tech department to have the network software installed on it. Nope, that's against the rules. So now, I have a laptop that gets to work for me on the couch. Regis cleaned the other one off before we knew that and therefore it has to go back to have all of that stuff re-installed so I can use it at school. That's only the start.

I got home and found a letter from my mortgage company saying I hadn't paid my bill. I pay it through bill pay at the bank so I called customer service. I got into a little shouting match with the woman who said my bank probably didn't mail it on time. I said maybe the mortgage company was sitting on the checks so they could collect late fees from all their customers before they turn the bank over to Wells Fargo. That didn't go over so well with her and she got more shrill. I asked to speak to a supervisor who said I had never been late so he was refunding the late fee. He had a real southern accent so I calmed right down.

I quit in the middle of this whiny post last night because the new Dell seemed to have ghosts. It would open windows randomly and the cursor jumped around and started typing in places where I didn't want it to type. What the hell. So I quit.

You know, the wind blew like a banshee yesterday and that might have contributed to my agitation.

Today didn't suck. It was actually a very good and very busy day. I went to work out at 5 and the stars were gorgeous. I suppose it was the clear sky and cold temperatures (does that affect the clarity of stars?) but maybe it was just my heightened visual powers.

Tiffany called this afternoon to tell me that Elliot went to the doctor today and he weighs 19 pounds. He's in the 50th percentile. He had a couple shots so wasn't happy about that but otherwise he's happy and healthy. She called the other night to make sure she had him dressed warm enough to go outside. Isn't that sweet?

I spent a lot of time on the road today. This is where I went: SPHS-MVED-LSH-MVED-HLC-SPHS-MVED. Then home. My butt's draggin'. I'm not sure this was an efficient use of my time but I scheduled it so have nobody to blame but myself.

Two people, both of them in my family, referred to my clothing today as "my get-up". I was not dressed outlandishly (today) and I was not wearing my cowboy boots which I understand might cause me to be accused of wearing a "get-up". But anyway hell, I have a lot of years to dress like an old lady so I might as well live it up now. I think I'll start wearing those cowboy boots every day just for the hell of it. I realize I used hell twice in this paragraph.

Regis got slicked up yesterday and asked Nate if he could take a couple pictures. Nate graciously posed for this picture. On his business card, it says "get slicked up". He's a real character. His shop is downtown below Erbert's and Gerbert's if you haven't been there.

I really like this shot, too. Regis took it through the window as he went down the steps. It has kind of an artsy flavor, I think. I keep telling Regis he should start a blog or something for his photos but he probably won't. He has a much better eye for that kind of thing than I do.

Well, that's it for the past two days. Fascinated by our own imperfect lives.

goodbye to the weekend

We're ending much cooler than we started. The wind came up late this afternoon and blew big clouds of dirt and plastic bags around town and blew some cold temperatures into town.

Regis saw a hummingbird this evening! I said tell him to go...it's going to get cold! I shouldn't have to worry about wildlife.

We watched the Vikings game. Actually, I was in the other room but I heard it. And now I saw the replay. This is one of the things that confuses me about sports. Is this the real thing in real time or the thing from the past replayed? I wondered who got credit for the 32 yard touchdown...the guy what threw it or the guy what caught it. Regis says the thrower but man, the other guy was at a dead run a long ways away with his arms in the air. I bet he can't believe he caught that ball.

Hey, the salsa verde turned out to be very tasty. In my usual fashion, I have a boat load of it so if you'd like to try it, let me know and I'll deliver some. Peter won't eat it...he says it looks like baby food and it is a shade of green but the flavors are great. A little sweet from the tomatillos, spicy hot from the jalapenos, and tart from the lime. The pumpkin cake got good reviews, too, but the pork butt...mmmmmm. I got a text message from Paul who said he could smell it across town. I think he was kidding.

Here's an observation on how linear my mind is. Regis likes to channel cruise and doesn't mind dropping in on something 45 minutes after it started. It's like opening a book to the middle and starting there. How do you know what is going on? I'm willing to admit that some people might be able to get a story like this but I'm not one of them. I don't even like books that alternate chapters. Maybe it's a sign of dim-wittedness.

making up for every lazy day we've ever had

There's more smokin' here today than the pork butt. We've gotten more done today before noon than we do in most entire weekends. Maybe it's the cold front and it's awakened our primitive need to prepare for cold weather.

I'm making salsa with the last of the garden tomatoes and tomatillos. I've never gwon tomatillos before and when I tasted one, it reminded me of what we used to call ground cherries. Come to find out, they're in the same plant family.

Regis is doing the laundry. He always does the laundry. I just drop my dirty clothes down the chute and they come back clean and folded. What a guy.

We saw a hummingbird in the cannas yesterday but none so far today. Maybe it was his last meal before the big flight.

Going to work on the salsa.

early sunday

Regis woke up at 3 this morning, realized he wanted to smoke a pork butt today and hadn't rubbed it yet, so he got up and started the grill. Ah, man and fire. Since cave man days.

I had more to say last night when I wrote that short post but the keyboard thing was driving me mad. I figured out (thanks to google) that it's called mouse drift and when I downloaded a new touch pad driver, it was fixed. God knows how I got that right.

It's going to be windy today, my least favorite weather condition. Right now it's beautiful out but I bet it isn't going to last. Kramer doesn't like wind either (or fireworks) so he's curled up right at my feet.

We have a new Kings of Leon CD on the machine. I was curious about them since I read the article in Rolling Stone. I know the future is Radiohead but so far, I like this. (That was a headline in RS about a year ago. I got such a kick out of it.)

Drinking coffee. Our current favorite is a German roast from Aldi's. It's really cheap, too, which Regis thinks is a plus. I miss grinding beans. We'll go back to that in the winter. It's a seasonal thing like switching from pinot grigio to cabernet.

I love being up early.

saturday night musing

We had a busy Saturday. The refrigerator has been in the middle of the kitchen floor floor for four days because there seemed to be something wrong with the freezer. I opened it one morning and the box of popsicles was running down the side. Not a pretty sight. Regis cleaned up the immediate mess and we let it sit there so the back could be vacuumed and the floor beneath it cleaned. Some yuck had accumulated but not too much. Turns out it's fine. At least it seems to be at the moment.

I have a new laptop and the mouse pad operates differently than my old computer. It takes groups of letters and drops them in odd places. It skips up whole rows of text and inserts parts of words where I don't want them. When I type, I must drag my finger across the pad and it does these weird things. Of course, now that I'm conscious of it and pointing my Luger at the screen, it won't do it. Damn thing.

broken boot surrealism

I was riding my horse to New Ulm and got as far as Klossner when I looked down and saw my new boot had a hole in the side. Dang. Now I have to go back to the cowboy store.

Regis was talking to a computer customer service agent in India the other day about a problem with his mother board. The dude in India said he would send a repairman, and by God he did. Someone showed up at our door this afternoon with a box of parts. Sent by the guy in India. Amazing.

I don't really have any idea what a mother board is. I also don't know what a virtual server, a gyroscopic mouse, or a thin client is. I almost burst into laughter when those words were bandied about in the technology meeting. Burst into laughter. That would have been funny.

just went out in the dark

I'm a morning person and I'm rarely outside after dark in the summer. Just now, the cicadas and crickets were making such a sweet racket. I miss the dark.

swap meet

I don't know if other St. Peterites know this but at least once a year there is a swap meet at the fair grounds that is very entertaining for the folks who live on our street. Cars start parking way down here early in the morning. The attendees, mostly men, climb out of their cars and grab back packs, coolers, and lawn chairs...like they're going to a music festival or something. Regis and I aren't even too sure what they're swapping but we think it has to do with cars because there are old cars roaring up and down the street and the swap meet patrons come back bearing things that look like muffler parts. We were tempted to walk down there to see what's going on but decided it's more fun to speculate.

We were much more productive today than we were yesterday. Regis did laundry and homework and cooked ribs this afternoon. I did some cooking...fiber muffins, chili, and an egg bake. La dee da. It was a gorgeous day and a wonderful way to end the summer. Fall starts Tuesday, you know. It's the autumnal equinox.

Of all things, we're watching the Emmy Awards. We don't watch much television, at least not much of a variety, so most of these people are strangers. I find the same thing when I pick up a People magazine. I don't know who those people are anymore. What happened to the old movie stars like Paul Newman? This is how it happens, isn't it? You don't know who Seal is and pretty soon you can't set a digital clock.

Regis is shopping for a laptop for me online. I have a school laptop but honestly things are so tight financially lately that I feel like I'm taking food out of the mouths of starving infants by keeping it. Hell, I'll turn it in and buy my own. I can't take the guilt.

We're taking a long weekend trip to Philadelphia next month. I have a terror of traveling in any fashion and especially traveling that requires an airplane but I'm trying to swallow it for these four days. I sent for a tourist book from Bucks County and have been paging through it looking for the things I want to do. I bought tickets to the Jim Henson exhibit at some museum and I'd like to visit a winery. I don't remember seeing the Liberty Bell last time we were there so we might do that again. If you've seen pictures of that stuff in history books, it gets all mixed up and you think you've been there. Or you've been there and you think you saw it in a history book. No difference.

One of the things I hate about the East coast is that it takes so long to go anywhere. Everything is 45 mintues away. You can't go for an ice cream cone without driving 45 minutes. I don't know how they do it as there aren't enough hours in a day to get all those places. Our bank, grocery store, bar, restaurant, drug store, and counseling center (ha!) are all within a four-block area. We think three cars at the stop sign on Third Street is a traffic jam. We're barely suited for big city travel anymore. We should stick to gravel roads. Such rubes.

I didn't see any hummingbirds today so I think they have all headed South. Here's to their safety, fragile little things. Regis saw one light on a branch yesterday. He and the hummingbird made eye contact and they both froze for a second, then the hummingbird took off.

I have to go out and shut the sprinkler off. On to the week.

saturday tour

Regis and I went out and about today and took pictures of some local stuff for the Norris blog. Here we are at the pearly gates and at the Treaty Site Historical Center. I'm looking at the straw-filled bed and wondering how many bugs and mice live in it.

I bought a pair of black cowboy boots at a western store at the mall the other night. It was an interesting experience, let me tell you. Two dudes who looked like real cowboys worked there. The one helping us asked me what I was going to use them for which is a good question, I guess. I said for walking around. No goat roping for me. I wondered later how these guys dress when they aren't working at the western store. Joanne says she has a neighbor kid who dresses like that when he goes out at night. And where does he go dressed like that, I wonder. It would be like going into a toga store and having the clerks dressed in that gear. There would be nowhere to go dressed like that. Same for cowboys. Of course, I bought the boots and now where am I going dressed like that? The irony of this escaped me for a while...but now it dawns.

pressure from weekends and random observations

I feel this enormous pressure to do the right things on weekends. There are so many things that could be done but I like a balance of relaxing and working. Emphasis on relaxing. I'd like to get the garden cleaned out because they pick up the stuff on October 5th but I don't want to do it today because it's going to be too hot. You can see how this gets complicated.

I went to the Pulse this morning. When I walk on the treadmill, I don't always have control of what, if anything is on television. Most people don't like TLC and Clean Sweep like I do so if they get their first, we watch CNN or Fox News, which I loathe. I discovered today that if I keep my iPod headphones on and turn the music up loud, I can make up stories for the pictures on the news. It makes it much less painful to watch. Same thing with sports. Who would watch ESPN, seriously? They should have a network devoted to poetry, right Bob?

I have been frustrated with all the meetings I have to attend this year. Then it dawned on me yesterday that this is my job now, going to meetings, and suddenly I felt much better.

A few weight loss observations: As I get closer to my goal, I have been thinking about two seemingly contradictory ideas: being vigilant always about food and exercise…and letting go.

I had a conversation with Deb who has lost weight with the help of some competition with another friend. After two years, she has maintained well and her competitor has had a little more trouble with regain. They wondered if they had “lost their edge”...and I wondered if “losing the edge” is a good thing. Isn’t it important at some point, to go back to normal living? I don’t mean to stop being vigilant about food and exercise, but to stop carrying around the binder full of weight loss records and recipes.

I carried that binder every day, everywhere I went for the first 8 months. I felt like I needed the constant reminder, I needed to write down what I ate right after I ate it, I needed records of water intake, exercise, calories, appointments, etc. It got to be a lot to lug around. Finally, the therapist I have seen since I started this process, suggested that I leave the binder on a shelf and start living my life.

Now the binder is on the shelf at home as I make my way toward a healthy weight and maintenance. I’ve spent so much of my life on the white knuckle flight of diets…hanging on for dear life until the last day when I would abandon all the rules and eventually regain all the weight. I don’t want to do that, of course, but I don’t want to spend my life in a constant state of fear and anxiety either.

I think my resolution to this problem is to find a place in my head where I can balance the vigilance about food and exercise with letting go and feeling free. When I exercise, I'm trying to enjoy the moment instead of striving so hard for faster, longer, more reps, more weight. When I eat, I'm trying to enjoy the flavors and amounts I can eat instead of agonizing over what I can’t or shouldn’t eat. It’s almost like meditating throughout the day, appreciating the trees and forgetting about the forest.

There you go. Happy Saturday.

progress

what good stock

My great aunt Hazel's obituary is below, or at least a link to it. She died the other day at 102 and she was the sister of my grandfather, Ben Syverson. I told my dentist today about Hazel (daughter of Norwegian immigrants) and he said many very old people still have their own teeth. I said Hazel's obit didn't mention her teeth but maybe they should. Instead of listing predeceased by they could say whether or not the deceased possessed their own choppers.

I've probably had busier days than the last two but I don't remember when. Honestly, I am pooped. I've figured out that when I take Ambien, my balance is not so good in the morning. I don't need to take it very often any more...maybe once a week...so there's some motivation. I won't fly off the treadmill like a sack of wheat if I am in my own mind.

Regis went over to Bob and Emily's yesterday. He felt Ella tug on the bottom of his shirt. When he looked down, she said, "Want to go to Patrick's for lunch with me on Saturday?" What a hoot.

I'm reading a good book I borrowed from Betty called Still Alice. It's about a woman who is diagnosed with Alzheimer's at age 50. It's very good. It's written from her perspective so you get a sense of how terrifying it is to be lost or to realize you are forgetting basic things like names.

We picked a bunch of tomatoes from our pathetic tomato patch tonight and now they're bubbling on the stove. I decided not to season them so they can go either way...spaghetti sauce or chili.

Well, that's it for tonight. It's only 7:30 but I've had it. I'm going to bed to read and sleep.

Hazel (Syverson) Haugo | Obituaries | INFORUM | Fargo, ND

Hazel (Syverson) Haugo | Obituaries | INFORUM | Fargo, ND

Posted using ShareThis

a few rock bend scenes

Peter's great juggling stunt

Teresa shops for a bracelet

Divers

Kris and Ron

what the hell is with the weather

It's warmer this weekend, and will be warmer all week, than it has been all summer. I'm not prepared clothing wise, for this. I wore jeans and sweaters the whole month of July because the temperature barely rose above 75. It's going to be 83 today and in the 80s all week. I guess the only good thing is that the temperature peaks about 3 and then starts dropping. Not like June when you have heat for a much longer period of time.

Congratulations to Joanne on the birth of her first grandbaby, Gabriel Joseph. Gabe was born Thursday, September 1oth.

We still have hummingbirds in the canna lilies. They should be on their way to Mexico soon. Smart birds. Get out of here before the ice and snow.

I have a few things I should get done before we go to Rock Bend today. Tedious jobs. Bill paying and garbage hauling and cardboard recycling. I'd rather read and futz around. Hey, futz is a real word. I just checked.

long sigh and wonder where the time goes

How did it get to be Saturday and almost the middle of September already? Is this some kind of time warp?

I went to a big ass meeting in the cities (not sure which one) yesterday. It was ok but very stimulating for a person like me who is leery of social events that involve crowds. I went to bed at 8 o'clock last night and slept soundly until 5. Uff da.

I went to the Pulse this morning. I did my cardio exercise and oh by the way, I remembered what the numbers mean. My goal for this month is 20 times a month, 40 minutes a time, 200 minutes a week. I didn't make the 200 last week because Elliot was here but I did this week. I had to do 53 minutes today to make up for a shortfall. I'll make 20 times this month, too, I think.

I actually considered the Halloween Fun Run which would be more of a walk for me since I don't like running, or jumping for that matter. Not that they require jumping. I actually thought, hey I could walk three miles. I'm sure I won't do it but I think it's significant that it even entered my consciousness at a level where it was considered. I'm not sure that people who exercise can appreciate the change in thinking that must happen for a person who has been a waddlesome sloth (Bill Bryson) most of their lives to become a more active person. It's probably like becoming a communist.


Regis is enjoying school if I haven't mentioned this before. He is sure working hard at it so he deserves to do well. I think he'll make the dean's list or the honor roll, whichever they have there at SCC. Good for him. He made me a spreadsheet for paying bills which will be nice since I've been doing it the old-fashioned way for years.

On to the weekend.

poor pitiful garage gets a make-over

Our little garage has an interesting story. It looks (and smells) like an old machine shed inside leading us to believe it was hauled in off some farm back in the day. The part you can't see is a nose off the back side of it that was probably added because the car was too long to fit. A big Chrysler, maybe. It had a pretty holey roof when we moved in and we planned to fix it but when the tornado blew through town, it left our garage standing while most of them in the neighborhood collapsed in piles of lumber. We fixed it structurally but it always looked pretty crappy aesthetically. This summer we replaced the small door on the side, had it painted, then replaced the big door. Ta da. The garage gets a face-lift. Next spring I'm going to plant tons of hostas around the foundation so it looks pretty.

made it through a long day

I started the day at the pulse...5 a.m. It's dark at 5 a.m., let me tell you. I was a little out of shape after my five day hiatus but not too bad. Crappy balance. Not sure if that's the dry spell or the deep sleep.

Regis had a dream last night that the zombies got me. I lost my check card so we couldn't leave town to escape them and he was mad. He knows a lot about zombies...way more than I do. For example, zombies can't open doors because they don't have fine motor skills. And when a zombie kills you, you get up and start looking for flesh, too. Anyway, I got out of the car because I panicked and the zombies got me. He was very distressed at my loss to the zombies but he left anyway. Watching me lurch down the road from the readview mirror. I said Regis has a better imagination when he's sound asleep than most people have when they're awake. Maybe he should forsake a career in technology and try to sell short stories. It worked for O. Henry.

I ended the day at River's Edge. What a nice place. I think I'm going to start hanging around there. They have bistro tables and chairs out in the lobby area now, near the grand piano. If they only served wine. I suppose they would say that is sort of contrary to their health care mission, although I don't know why.

I graduated from acupuncture today. I haven't had any real pain for a week so I'm on my own. I told Dr. Mahoney I would recommend him to my friends. There you go.

We started the school day with a burned out fluorescent light ballast (whatever that is), a shower of sparks, and a sulphur smell that filled the ducts through the building. I hope that isn't an ominous sign of things to come. Zombie attacks, maybe.

I'd like to sleep in tomorrow and go to the pulse when Regis goes to night class but I know myself too well. I better go in the morning.

monday night

You can tell I've been lazy today because this is about my third post and none of them have anything to do with productivity. I'm not cleaning the garage, pulling weeds in the garden, or scrubbing the kitchen floor. I enjoy doing nothing. I have friends my age who are in the neighborhood of retirement age. Some of them wonder what they would do if they retired. What they would do? What the hell. Doing nothing is the whole point. I figure by the time I retire, I will have the technique perfected.

I finished a book this weekend, actually in the middle of last night. It's called God's Middle Finger. The subtitle is Into the Lawless Heart of the Sierra Madre. It's a travel book, I guess. They grow a lot of drugs in the area and drink a lot of home brewed liquor (mostly from corn) so things get pretty crazy and violent. I don't think is a place most of us mellow midwestern types would want to visit. Good book, though.

Regis and I cooked steaks on the grill tonight. Beef for him and tuna for me. The tiny bugs were relentless and made it more unpleasant than most of our grilling days this summer. He had been doing homework most of the day so was ready for a break for a Stella Artois (sister of Menage...get it?) and I had a glass of white wine. It's almost time to make the transition to a pinot noir. I'm very seasonal about my wine and food.

I read in the weatherguide calendar that the hummingbirds will leave for Mexico in a couple weeks. Can you imagine those tiny and fragile birds flying all that way? No wonder they are carb loading at the canna lilies this weekend. Sometimes there are two at at time. We'll definitely going to plant those again next summer as they've provided quite a feast for the hummingbirds and quite a show for us.

I was awake for two hours in the middle of the night last night. Man, I hate that. It's not such a problem now, when I'm not getting up at 5 to go to work but tomorrow, this would be a killer. I have to be at the pulse at 5 a.m. to work out with Rachel and I've missed five days. I'll get my rear kicked from treadmill to stairmaster. Uff da. My goal this month is 20/200 which was really clever when I thought of it last week but now I can't remember what the hell it means. I think the 200 is minutes of cardio a week. I have no idea what 20 means. Times a month? Hell.

Regis mentioned watching a football game tonight. Frowny face. Ugh. Maybe I can talk him into a movie instead.

a tour of the yard

honor labor day by being lazy

From the Department of Labor website:
The vital force of labor added materially to the highest standard of living and the greatest production the world has ever known and has brought us closer to the realization of our traditional ideals of economic and political democracy. It is appropriate, therefore, that the nation pay tribute on Labor Day to the creator of so much of the nation's strength, freedom, and leadership — the American worker.

Honor workers today. Especially if one of them is you.

pictures from the barbecue

I like it when Regis sets up the tripod and takes a group photo. Here we are on good behavior. There are some funny pictures...

Sometimes we wonder where Alex gets his serious nature. Then again, we really don't wonder. Here he is with his dad.