why i hate the news

These were the headlines in the online Tribune this morning:

• Two convicted in beating 'all over a golf game'
• Man accused of tossing acid in face of ex-girlfriend
• Convict in porn case is on the lam

I need to know any of this? This is not news. This is national enquirer stuff that nobody needs to know. The only reason I would want to know any of this is if the convict in the porn case is on his way down my street and intends to make me look at the porn. Then I would want to get off the patio and into the house and lock the door. I believe in "need to know" and I don't need to know this shit.

Yesterday the students in one of our schools were making a huge deal about some breast cancer bracelets bearing the slogan: I love boobies. Of course this appeals to kids but they had seen on television that some schools were banning them so they wanted to force our hand. Big deal. I love boobies.

That's my only cranky comment today.

This is really odd. When I run, the only thing that gets sore is my shoulders. All they do is hold up my arms and that doesn't seem like such a big deal.

Isn't google the best? I just put in the words "sore shoulders after running" and got more than two million hits. What did we do before google? Regis thinks we looked things up the old-fashioned way but I think we more than likely forgot the question before we ever got to a book to find it.

The lady who cleans our house loves our dog. She raises dogs and loves all of them, but Kramer especially. She always has a treat for him in her pocket when she comes. He gets so excited to see her and yesterday, with his bad legs, he started slipping around on the kitchen floor. She started to cry. I don't know what's sadder, Kramer getting old and feeble or Jan crying.

I'm almost done with the book about FLW. It's taken me a month to read not so much because it's bad but it just isn't very compelling. I think I need to abandon the Kindle, too. I just can't deal with the books with no covers. I don't know what's on there and I don't know what I've read. I like the pile of books beside the bed. With covers and authors names.

I'm hungry for Mexican food today so we're either going to Mazatlan for dinner or I'll make flank steak fajitas on the grill. Making the fajitas at home would probably be the better idea since we have a ton of tomatoes and cilantro from the garden. We'll see how ambitious I am.

Have a great Saturday, my friends.

the color of sweet and good grief

Two of my off-spring asked me to procure books for them this week. Tiffany needed The Color of Water by James McBride and Peter needed Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Hurston. I love to read and tried to encourage them to love reading but I've always felt I was only partially successful at that. These books were not hard to find so they didn't really need me to do it...but it was nice to be part of the transaction anyway.

A friend of mine who left the district, gave me her tall director's chair in a lovely leopard print. It was kind of tough to track it down but yesterday Bev, who brings our school mail, delivered it. So much fun to sit on!

I have so many things to do in the house all of a sudden. It's into fall and I haven't gotten out my fall stuff. I love my little leaf dishes and the fall table cloth and the pumpkins. Maybe tomorrow. One of the things I look forward to in retirement is the slowing down of this season. The start of the school year is so busy that it seems like you blink and it's Thanksgiving. I'd like to be able to enjoy fall...really enjoy it. I hope this isn't something I think will happen but won't.

When people feel the pinch of time and resources, I've noticed that they get a little cranky. Sometimes about really dumb stuff. Like how many toilets we have or are going to get and where the new ones should go. All I can say to that is:

Go take a walk and kick a few leaves. Get over yourself. Let it go. Pour yourself a glass of wine and sit in the sun. Listen to the wind in the birch tree. Watch the chickadees on the peanut ball. Who cares about the flippin' toilets. If you have one and most of the time it works, be happy about it and go about your day.

I've been listening to a new podcast called The Moth; true stories told live without notes. Here's what the website says about The Moth:

The Moth, a not-for-profit storytelling organization, was founded in New York in 1997 by poet and novelist George Dawes Green, who wanted to recreate in New York the feeling of sultry summer evenings on his native St. Simon's Island, Georgia, where he and a small circle of friends would gather to spin spellbinding tales on his friend Wanda's porch. After moving to New York, George missed the sense of connection he had felt sharing stories with his friends back home, and he decided to invite a few friends over to his New York apartment to tell and hear stories. Thus the first "Moth" evening took place in his living room. Word of these captivating story nights quickly spread, and The Moth moved to bigger venues in New York. Today, The Moth conducts eight ongoing programs and has brought more than 3,000 live stories to over 100,000 audience members.


I subscribe to it through iTunes so it automatically downloads when I open iTunes. Somehow it gets sucked into my iPod so I can listen to it while I walk or run. I have no idea how this really happens. 


Another thing about which I really do not have much of a clue is the little RSS symbol on the top right. Bob was telling me about it last week but I lost interest when it started to sound like Phoenician. Then a friend of mine from a message board suggested that I have an RSS feed. I stumbled around in cyber space until this little thing appeared on my blog. Karen says I did it right and now my blog gets sucked into her email inbox. Amazing stuff.


I envision a system someday that will operate much like the mysterious way Lutheran ministers get called to a parish. It just happens and they know. You won't have to really ever DO anything. Things like your banking and bill paying and package sending will be initiated by your thoughts and we'll sit like amorphous blobs, just reviewing the end results. Ha!


Anyway, check out The Moth. Great stories told by real people.


Two projects I need to finish up this weekend: another wine trip. This one is an over-nighter to Rochester with a few stops at vineyards along the way. I just have to iron out the details on this one.


Our friends Bob and Marilyn are coming to St. Peter the first weekend in November to do a program of poetry and love songs. Vickie is going to host at her home so we're putting the finishing touches on the plans. Mom, can you come? Bob and Marilyn, there are lots of things going on behind the scenes! I'll send an email this weekend to fill you in on our planning. We're looking forward to it!


Here we go. It's 4:30 a.m. on Friday morning. I'm going to the Pulse to run five miles. Then I'm having coffee with Joanne at Waldo's. If we work up the courage, we'll go to work. Happy weekend, friends!

things I'd rather do today

1. Clean up the garden
2. Dehydrate zucchini and apples
3. Sort through my closet and make a box for the thrift store
4. Finish Loving Frank
5. Take a nap
6. Make vegetable beef soup
7. Go for a walk and listen to Shufflefunction on my iPod
8. Have coffee at River Rock with a friend
9. Write something
10. Get a massage
11. Dig out some of the crappy looking perennials
12. Freeze basil
13. Call my mom
14. Bake something with apples
15. Go to TJ Maxx

my well-developed right brain

I ran 9 miles this morning. It took me two hours and of course, I walked some so I had a lot of time to think.

I've read somewhere that the right brain is what keeps you from liking to exercise because it's the side of your brain that drives you to pleasure instead of pain. I've had many years of pleasure-seeking and pain avoidance. My right brain says things to me like this: You can't run, your feet will hurt. You could fall and hurt your hip. You should go home now, I think you need something to eat.

I've learned to pack well when I run outside. It might seem like extra weight to people who worry about time, but since I don't, it doesn't. This morning, I took a jacket with a half a peanut butter sandwich in one pocket and a kleenex and my iPod in the other. I wore my hydration pack so I had water. I wore a hat to keep the sun out of my eyes. I was one well-prepared scout.

My physical discomforts were taken care of so I thought about my psychological discomfort. I'm a little leery of running outdoors where people can see me. I like to go on Sunday morning when people aren't out and about too much and I can be alone on the road. I have a path that isn't well-traveled. I never (well, almost never) go with anyone because I don't want to be the one who holds them back. I think this comes from years of feeling non-athletic and always feeling like the last one picked for games.

I wasn't good at sports. Until I learned I could make people laugh in a game of basketball, I avoided any kind of sport. I grew up in a time when girls didn't play sports and really, didn't even play games for fun. We had a once-a-month girls athletic club but we played games like deck tennis. Not a game widely played in the real world.

I told Nikki at the Banana Relay last week that I'm not competitive but I don't like when people pass me. Ha! Maybe that is competitive. How would I know?

I don't plan to make a career of running. I'm not sure I'll ever do another long run after the half marathon in Mankato. It feels good though, to know that I can run ten miles. I've managed to quiet the right brain.

great time at rock bend

We had a great time at Rock Bend. Beautiful weather and a huge crowd. this is City Mouse...one of my favorite bands since 1971.

Here's a shot of the crowd in front of us. We were halfway between the flag pole and the Lion's beer booth. Easy to scope out all the food choices. Close to the bathrooms. On the main thoroughfare so we saw a lot of people pass by. Great fun. We're heading back tomorrow for a couple more bands.

weekend

I just checked weather underground and the forecast shows:

          Saturday                           Sunday


Perfect weather for the Rock Bend Folk Festival! We're heading down to the park about 2:00.

door project derailed

A guy came to measure for our new door. We had measured, but if he was installing it, he wanted to make sure it fit.

Then he did a scratch test for lead paint. Our house was built before 1978 so he said it was likely there was lead paint.

Positive for lead paint. Now, here's the deal.

The installation charge goes up by several hundred dollars. That will make it $500-600.

He has to cover the entire living room with 6ml plastic sheeting. He has to cover the outdoor area for 10 feet outside of the door with 6ml plastic sheeting. He has to string caution tape around an area twenty feet outside of that.

The furnace (if it is on) has to be shut off and the vents in the house covered.

Small children and pets would not be allowed to eat any of the paint chips.

We would have to get a permit to install the door. When we get the permit, they will ask who is installing the door. If we are paying someone, they will ask if the person is lead certified.

If an uncertified person puts in the door (for money) they can be fined $32,000 by the EPA. Or apparently arrested by the door police.

I sent this guy away. He was very nice but this is madness.

We paid 50 dollars for the lead test and the measuring but he can't measure once he knows there's lead because then he would have to go through the above steps.

I said it wasn't so much the money but the rest of this craziness. I'll install the damn door with a table knife and a wooden shoe. I assembled a bicycle once with only those tools.

The result is that more and more doors and windows will be installed by amateurs. Lead paint will be everywhere. Small children and pets will be lined up to eat lead paint chips.

Can you imagine the lead dust blowing around this town after the tornado?

first day of school blues

You'd think I was back in kindergarten. I've hardly slept for two nights worrying about school and other life trials and tribulations. No matter how much work you do in August, the week before school starts and the first day of school are just shit-hitting-the-fan fun. At least I've learned to control my BP which is more than I can say for some people who seem to think that every damn little thing is cause for wing flapping and shrieking.

Here are just some of the first day of school emergencies:

• A carpet not cleaned properly
• Rust marks on the carpet
• Rusty (really rusty) legs on the desks
• Two toilets not replaced
• Lack of job descriptions (this is probably the biggest deal)
• Bus issues as in the bus can't come at the time we want it to
• Papers unsigned
• Kids going here instead of there

People should know that once you go home and make a pot of chicken soup and pour a glass of wine, all of this recedes into the realm of "it doesn't matter" or the gray clouds of vagery (an erratic, unpredictable, or extravagant manifestation, action, or notion). There you go and ah, well.

Regis and I are doing our usual early evening laptop gazing and wine sipping. He had class today and that's always a little stress provoking, especially in the early days of the semester.

I'm in the middle of a book I'm tired of reading. I won't say the name in case it's your favorite book. I'm really weary of reading about this dude's love life so I might just do another book abandonment. I've done a lot of that lately. I know some people have rules against it but not me.

Regis looked at bug spray at the man mall yesterday with the intent of buying some. We have a monster spider who lives in the space between the kitchen window and the screen. Jan has cleaned it out three times and within a day, the spider is back and the web is bigger than ever. He's so persistent that I hate to just kill him. I suggested we scoop him up in a paper towel and transport him to the woods at the edge of the yard. Regis thought that was ridiculous so we're at a stand-off. The spider survives.

Over the weekend, I rescued two other bugs. One was a tiny spider who almost washed down the bathtub drain. I thought he was a goner but then I saw him floating in the water so I scooped him out and set him to dry on a can of hairspray. Before I got out of the tub, his little legs must have dried out because he was gone.

The other bug was a moth who almost went down the kitchen sink drain. He was a tough one. I had to rescue him twice because he kept flapping around and going back down the drain. I encouraged him (with a paper towel) to migrate to the sidewalk in the back of the house. Weird. I know.

Our little dog Kramer is having some (read: potentially fatal) problems with his back legs. Last time Regis took him to the vet, she said that it looked like a nerve problem in his back that was impacting his legs. He doesn't have much control over his left rear leg so it's hard for him to navigate on the linoleum. He makes it onto the couch most to the time but she warned against jumping...we just don't know how to make him stop aside from turning the furniture over which would be inconvenient for the humans. We've tried chondroitin and fish oil and all the other home remedies. He isn't in pain and he still eats and drinks and plays so he's fine for now. Sad to see your little pet go downhill.

We're looking forward to the Rock Bend Folk Festival this weekend. We drag a couple lawn chairs down to the park and hang out with our hippie friends for a while. It's great fun. They sell all kinds of fried food and beer and wine and crafts of the jewelry and tie-dye variety. What a hoot.

On Tuesday nights we listen to Bruce Davis's folk music program on KMSU. Tonight he's playing music by the folks who are coming to the festival. We send each other email reminders so we don't forget about it. Yes, this is what happens when you get old. You have to send yourself an email reminder. What did old people do before email and voice mail? Post-it notes?

buying a new door

I hate picking out stuff like this. There are too many options. These are the things I had to decide:

• steel or fiberglass
• window or no window
• color of metal in the window
• color of the door
• color of the hinges
• type of door knob and lockset
• color of door knob and lockset
• type of storm door
• color of storm door

You can see this is a nightmare. It took me all of about five minutes and mostly we asked the dude what he would pick. He's the door professional, right?

Here's the kind of door we yearn for...because it looks like something that would be at the bottom of an oak tree in a forest and gnomes would come out of it but really it's a massive solid oak door that you would find on the front of some rich person's mansion. The picture is just tiny. If we put this on our house, we'd have to gut two rooms. Who buys this stuff? Really.

So, we bought some kind of door (fiberglass) with a window (oval) in a prepainted color (red) with a knob (brushed silver). Some guy will come and put it in after they do the lead paint test. If we have lead paint anywhere, the consequences are dire. Picture the scene from ET where the men in suits come to investigate. It would be like that, I'm sure.

Honor Labor Day! Here's to all our hard-working friends and neighbors and family.

Happy birthday to Vickie and Tom!

start of the school year anxiety

I found other images for anxiety that were more descriptive than this one but frankly, they were scary. This one is more peaceful. This is where I need to lead my mind.

Last night, I hardly slept. I think it's partly the start of school and partly seeing our kids so much. It all triggers those gray faced men to march around the bed all night, reminding me of all the bad things that are out there.

We have a busy day planned. We're off to the Man-Store to find a new entry door for our house. This is an overwhelming task for me. I hate picking things out because I tend to do it impulsively then not like my choice later. Not a good thing. I hope we can find a helper who is older than 15 to assist.

Grocery store. It shouldn't be busy today.

Pay bills. No anxiety in that, thank God.

Sort through paperwork. I hate this job. Where does all that crap come from and why do I save it?

Friends on the porch at 3:00. Ahhhhh. That will be the lovely part of the day.

birthday

Such a nice party to celebrate Bob's 31st birthday. The food was great: barbecued ribs cooked by the birthday boy, broccoli salad, baked beans, roasted potatoes, and an ice cream cake. the mosquitoes made it almost impossible to be outside but otherwise, everything was splendid. Don't we have handsome offspring? Reg and Amber...where are you in the photos? Next time....

elliot

From Elliot and Nana

Regis and I took care of Elliot for a little while yesterday while the other grown-ups were busy doing something. He's not an age to be very helpful with those kinds of things. We had a nice time and Regis took a lot of pictures. We're going to another family event this afternoon (Bob's 31st birthday) so there will be more pictures of the little kids!

Peter was telling us of his amazement that Subway had hired two older people (in their thirties). He said if they hire people that old they're going to be breaking their legs. What the. We almost fell off our chairs laughing and I reminded him that I ran three and a half miles while he laid in bed the other day.

Beautiful fall weather other there! Get out and enjoy the day!

windy friday

I registered for the Banana Relay with two people who are closer to my age but crap happens and they couldn't do it. I ran the relay with two 8-year olds who did a great job. I think we were the team with the youngest members and the oldest member.

You had to run two miles, then pass the banana to the next team member. This little guy stepped in at the last minute to complete our team. He was fast. His little feet were smokin' when he headed out for the last leg.

We didn't win any prizes but we had a great time. The kids had banana splits and the rest of us in the over-21 crowd went to Patrick's for a glass of wine. You got to stay hydrated when you're an athlete, you know.

Yesterday morning I thought I would walk downtown to do some errands. I got about 3 blocks away from home and decided, due to the wind, this was a bad idea. I turned around and took the car. I parked it by the bank and walked around to do my errands, though, so got to stop in the two new gift shops on Minnesota Avenue. Cute stuff and nice people.

It's 46 degrees this morning. Shouldn't there be more than 12 hours between the time you have your AC on and your furnace on? We didn't turn the heat on yesterday but I was tempted. Regis saw a friend of ours mowing his lawn in a parka and a stocking cap. Minnesota. Good grief.

Why do thrift stores all have that same smell? Stuff never smells bad when it's in your house but you collect all the old junk in one spot and it's a bad collective impression. If they could do something about that smell, their stuff would be a lot more appealing. Well, maybe a little bit more appealing.

Regis got this email this morning from AARP: Spice Up Your Love Life. I thought it was mind-boggling when Paul McCartney was on the cover of the AARP magazine but this, this is a little too weird. We have a young friend (in his 30's) who shudders when we make the most remotely romantic comment in his presence. Old people having sex, he says, and he just shudders. I should send him this article.

I've been on a cooking jag lately. Yesterday I made a boat load of chili and used chipotle pepper instead of chili powder. It got a little spicy so this will be chili for which grated cheese or sour cream is a necessity. Also made a huge meatloaf. These are fall foods, folks, so you know what's coming.

first week of the school year

Even though I have what is referred to as an extended contract and work most of June and August, the first official week of the school year is a killer. We had our district day on Monday...ll teachers gathered in the theater for the inspirational speeches and power points of district goals and bad financial news. It isn't too painful but it is way over-stimulating. Some of those folks I have only seen once a year for the thirty years I've worked here. It's a struggle to remember their names. That is task enough, let alone concentrating on PLC goals and AYP results.

So, we have only eaten out once this week which is an improvement over some years when I can hardly find my way home in the afternoon much less round up the gumption to cook a meal. Last night we had stuffed peppers, our new favorite summer meal. I should have taken a picture of them on the grill...they're beautiful. Here's a few pictures from our evening.

Roasted vegetables

Pico de gallo with fresh tomatoes still warm from the sun

There was a dearth of good coffee (considered a sin in the Lutheran Church) at the school yesterday. The pot they served at break tasted like it had been made with radishes and tree bark. Seriously nasty and undrinkable. When I got to my school, someone had made a pot with Folgers kept in the refrigerator all summer. Mortal sin in the Lutheran Church. So, today I am bringing my own, which I usually do. Bad coffee is like non-alcohol beer. What is the point?

We had a wonderful thunderstorm that started about 3 this morning. Rolling thunder and cracks of lightening. It also brought a nice fresh breeze. I was in a wakeful period so I heard a lot of it. Then I was too tired to get up at 4 and exercise so my routine is disrupted today. Scream.

Have a good day, my friends. If you can read this, thank a teacher.

well if the damn wind don't quit blowing i don't know what i'm gonna do

We spent the weekend in Canby where the wind blows relentlessly. We came back to St. Peter yesterday, sure that we would be protected in the river valley. No such luck. It was about 95 degrees with a blast furnace wind. All day. Ugly. We were going to make stuffed peppers on the grill but I'm not going out in that crap again. I made quesadillas on the griddle in the nice cool kitchen.

These are wind power generators in Africa. This is what it feels like here today. It makes us yearn for fall and baked potatoes and meat loaf and open windows and sweatshirts.

My friends tease me because I go to bed so early but I wake up at an ungodly hour most mornings. This morning it was just after 3 a.m. It's no wonder that I'm tired by 8 o'clock. I can't seem to change it either. Staying up later just means I get less sleep. I don't mean to give the impression that I am sleepless. I drift off nicely, I sleep deeply most nights, and I wake up early. Just the way it is.

It's a busy week with school starting and Regis wrapping up his internship. We don't have any evening plans until Friday when I run in the banana relay with a five-year old since my other team mates were called out of town for a family emergency. We should have three people for the relay but me and the five-year old will have to do it solo. It's not like I'm very competitive anyway.

That's enough rambling for one night.

it's about going home

We left Friday for Canby and a reunion weekend for the Class of 1970. I've been to most of my class reunions, I think, but never enjoyed one as much as this one. Regis took hundreds of pictures which I won't share here because unless you're in them, you won't care. It's all well-documented, though...the dining, the dancing, the drinking of wine.

I have the reunion booklet in front of me here on my desk. It's full of updates from classmates that attended and many who didn't. It's nice to read about their lives now and see where they're living. Rolf, the reunion organizer, is famous (or infamous) for his slideshows. One he did last night was a collection of family photos...lots of kids and grandkids and even a few great grandkids. The circle of life. I almost got a little weepy.

Penciled on the front of my booklet are several phone numbers and email addresses for people we'll connect with before the next reunion. Kevin's wife works in St. Peter three days a week so we'll have her over for dinner on the patio. Jerome and Nancy said we should call them next time we're in town and we will. Bruce said to email so we can talk about writing. I might do that.

We ended the evening at a table with a group of people, none of whom were close friends when we went to high school, but we sure had a good time together last night. We danced and laughed and told stories and had a grand time. I've heard that some people won't go to reunions because their classmates are cliquey or snobby or something. I sure haven't found that to be true. The folks at this reunion were so happy to see each other again. People grow up and change and still....that common history.

At one point in the weekend, I was telling Regis a story and I said, "I brought it home". We were sitting in my mom's living room so he asked if I meant THIS home or our St. Peter home. I said I meant this home. He said that I hadn't grown up in the house where my mom lives now and I haven't lived in Canby for forty years. Interesting that I would call it home still. I said where my mom is will always be home. And as I think about this reunion, where my childhood pals are will always be my home.

happy birthday to my cousin deb!

It's Deb's birthday today so she's catching up to me! She might kill me for posting this trollop photo of us but I like it because it reminds me of the night we went to a fine dining establishment in St. Peter to celebrate New Year's Eve and left black feathers from our boas all over the butter and the dessert table. I think they were getting out the industrial vacuums as we left. We thought this was hilarious, of course, and could hardly navigate out of the restaurant for laughter. Boorish behavior...what can you expect?

Happy Birthday, Deb!

the dream

Regis had a dream last night that involved me fighting an alien who looked like an egg in a dentist jacket. There were lots of bad guys fighting and lots of bloody violence, of course. In the finale, I did the two-handed grab on the pockets of his dentist jacket and pulled them off, killing the evil alien entity Humpty Dumpty.

In the dream, they made a movie of the events and the premier was held at Patrick's. It was so crowded that Arnold Schwartzenegger and Maria Shriver couldn't get a seat. I wonder if they put their names on Hombre's waiting list.

I've read the account Regis wrote of his dream and my version is not exactly accurate, but he is he, after all, and I am I.

I ran for 45 minutes at the Pulse this morning, then went to yoga, the cumulative effect of which is to turn a person into a wet dishrag. I could hardly make it home. My friend Kris pointed out that the meditatively named "flow series" almost killed her. The flow series includes a bunch of down dogs, up dogs, planks and some such things. I demonstrated it for Regis on the patio and he agreed, yes, that could probably kill a person.

Our neighbors are packing up to drive to a southern state to get another dog. The little barking dog they have is the reason I don't keep a gun in the house. They think another dog might calm the barking dog down but this has the potential to end badly in a way that has nothing to do with me.

We cooked a beer can chicken on the grill tonight and aside from looking like a little mutated person perched over a can of Schell's Deer Brand on the grate in the grill, it was wonderful. We could have eaten it with our fingers right there on the patio but that would be barbaric.

I was going to stay up until 10 o'clock tonight but I think 8:50 is as close as I'm going to get.

summer vegetable gratin

Summer Vegetable Gratin
Serves 6-8 as a side or 4 as a light main dish
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound zucchini, ends trimmed and sliced crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 pound summer squash (yellow), ends trimmed and sliced crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
2 teaspoons table salt
1 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes (3 to 4 large), sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 medium onions, halved lengthwise and sliced thin pole to pole (about 3 cups)
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves
1 large slice white sandwich bread, torn into quarters (Erin’s Note: I used 1 cup of Panko Bread Crumbs)
2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1 cup)
2 medium shallots, minced (about 1/4 cup)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Brush 13- by 9-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon oil; set aside.
Toss zucchini and summer squash slices with 1 teaspoon salt in large bowl; transfer to colander set over bowl. Let stand until zucchini and squash release at least 3 tablespoons of liquid, about 45 minutes. Arrange slices on triple layer paper towels; cover with another triple layer paper towels. Firmly press each slice to remove as much liquid as possible.
Place tomato slices in single layer on double layer paper towels and sprinkle evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt; let stand 30 minutes. Place second double layer paper towels on top of tomatoes and press firmly to dry tomatoes.
Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add onions, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened and dark golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Set onions aside.
Combine garlic, 3 tablespoons oil, remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and thyme in small bowl. In large bowl, toss zucchini and summer squash in half of oil mixture, then arrange in greased baking dish. Arrange caramelized onions in even layer over squash. Slightly overlap tomato slices in single layer on top of onions. Spoon remaining garlic-oil mixture evenly over tomatoes. Bake until vegetables are tender and tomatoes are starting to brown on edges, 40 to 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, process bread in food processor until finely ground, about 10 seconds. (You should have about 1 cup crumbs). Combine bread crumbs, remaining tablespoon oil, Parmesan, and shallots in medium bowl. Remove baking dish from oven and increase heat to 450 degrees. Sprinkle bread-crumb mixture evenly on top of tomatoes. Bake gratin until bubbling and cheese is lightly browned, 5 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle with basil and let sit at room temperature 10 minutes before serving.

uff da

Joanne and I were at school yesterday and we heard a cackling noise. Going to investigate, we discovered three of these critters at the back door, tapping on the glass as if they wanted to come to school. I wish I had figured out how to use the camera on my phone because they were so cute craning their necks around to see in the window. That is if you can call something cute that has a pin head, beady eyes, and blue wrinkled skin.

hey what's happening to the paths????

I'm not very adventurous but as I've expanded my exercise horizons, I've had to venture onto some previously unexplored areas of St. Peter. With my fear of wild animals and mad dogs, I usually stick to city streets but in the last month, I discovered a whole maze of streets and paths along the west side of town. Not much traffic, long distances with no side streets, and asphalt which is better for feet and knees: perfect. So yesterday, I'm running on the paths along Nicollet Avenue and all of a sudden, the path is closed and torn up. What the hell.

Old neighbor Deb, I know you're been riding up there for a while...any idea what's going on?

Now, this is all fairly new...maybe in the last two years. The paths are in great shape, not starting to crumble or deteriorate. So, now it's really unsafe because you never know where one will end and you have to scoot over the grass and down the curb to the street. It looks like maybe they're going to replace them with cement which is way stupid. What the hell.

I rode my bike 11 miles this morning. When you don't leave town, you see a lot of neighborhoods in 11 miles.

We had a wonderful time last night with Cousin Deb and Larry from Arizona. they came about 2:00 and we spent the afternoon and evening on the patio, in spite of the neighbor's barking dogs. They usually have one barking dog (why I don't keep a gun in the house) but now there are four dogs over there. What the hell.

We had stuffed peppers. All summer, Regis and I have been in search of the best method. We settled on using the poultry rack that adjusts and that worked fine for about 4-5 peppers. Yesterday we had 10 which meant we had to come up with something else. Regis snatched a couple bricks back from a neighbor and I threaded the peppers onto skewers. We suspended the peppers between two bricks and ta da! the best pepper cooker yet!

Making oatmeal cottage cheese pancakes this morning and spending the afternoon in Tom and Betty's pool. Happy Sunday!

it's like a beer helmet except it's not beer and it's not on my head

I bought a Camelbak hydration pack for the long bike rides and runs. I need a way to keep water more accessible and it got old trying to carry a bottle. I'm sure the person who invented it got the idea from this, right?

Here's what I got. A couple months ago, I posted a picture of the other thing I tried. It was a belt with two bottles that came out like six guns. Peter and Regis gave me no end of grief about it and I finally abandoned it. It was not handy anyway to be trying to wrestle those bottles out of their holsters while on the go. This is much better.

Of course, now that I think about it, a guy could put beer in this backpack. It would not be a smart thing to do, but you could do it.

bats, balls, and bicycles

My friend Joanne has had some bat problems in the last few years. It started when she re-sided her house then got much better for a while. Yesterday morning as she was eating breakfast, she heard a scratching noise in the sink. When she went to investigate, a bat was clawing around by the drain. She scooped him up in a Kohl's bag and deposited him in the garbage can outside. A live bat. When I told Regis about it, he said, "She's got some balls, that one". Amazing courage, Joanne.

I ran into Ben at the PO and related the story to him. He told about an encounter with a bat when he was in the company of "a bunch of old ladies". When the bat turned it's little mousey head and hissed at him, he went running up the stairs flapping his arms and screaming like a girl. I almost fell down on the street laughing.

I was going to post a photo of a bat but really, they are too ugly. Mice with wings that wear a human face. I'll settle for a poem.

  The Bat by Theodore Roethke

By day the bat is cousin to the mouse. He likes the attic of an aging house. His fingers make a hat about his head. His pulse beat is so slow we think him dead. He loops in crazy figures half the night Among the trees that face the corner light. But when he brushes up against a screen, We are afraid of what our eyes have seen: For something is amiss or out of place When mice with wings can wear a human face.

I went out for a bike ride this morning. About four blocks away from home, I hear this soft pooshing noise coming from behind me. This is disconcerting, I thought. I turned to see what it was and saw my rear tire rapidly deflating. Thankfully there was not a biological cause for the noise but I had to walk the bike home and call the bike repair folks who are on their way right now to repair it. Great service, Nicollet Bike Shop!

more random stuff

This is a video of a three-year old who memorized and recites the poem Litany by Billy Collins. It's amazing because he seems to understand the poem. He's not just saying words.



What a nice way to start your day!

I woke up at 4 and went back to sleep. I'm either going to work out at 8 or ride my bike to work. I checked weatherundergound, though, and the humidity is 94%. Lovely.

We watched a great documentary the other night called Note by Note: The Making of Steinway L1037. It was fascinating. I really could not have imagined the art that goes into making a piano. Much of the work is done by feel and by eye...not machine. Such interesting people that do this for their life's work. We've seen such awful movies this summer so this one was a delight.

It reminded me of an article I read a few years ago about a woman who helps customers select their piano. Apparently this is complicated when one is spending more than a hundred thousand dollars. The customer comes in, talks with her for a while, she writes a number on a piece of paper. Eventually this is the piano they choose. My summary probably doesn't make it seem quite as magical as it was in the article but it was magical. It takes a year to build a Steinway piano so they're like babies complete with individual personalities.

Somehow I had forgotten that Regis and Peter go back to school next week. There was a time when college students started school way past the time that public school students started. When did that change? Peter is having a snaggle with the community college he attends. You know the one I mean. He's taking his last two classes to finish his degree and they claim they don't have his high school transcript. He's gone there for two years and he's faxed it twice. What the hell.

Regis went to pick up his books yesterday since they told him they were all in and ready. He got there and one was not there which means another trip but this time in a mob of students. He was not happy. He also got an email saying that parking would be tough and he may have to park on the street. For this he pays a parking fee? Frustration all around.

Regis bought our dog some little doggy dixie cups at the store the other day. It looks like ice cream. He's really an old dog and we indulge him. Some of us more than others. So, I get the dog his little doggy ice cream cup, dump it out in a dish and he proceeds to lick it into submission. When it's almost gone, he turns his head three inches to the right and ralphs up a slimy mess right on my new rug. I had a hissy fit about dogs and rugs and poop and barf and pee. Peter was there to clean it up but my stomach started churning which did not help my disposition at all. I had to get out the Spotbot to do the rest of the job. Ugh.

Well, there you go. Be happy today. Life is short and unpredictable.

random stuff

I got up at 4:10 this morning. Sort of an inhuman hour. I like early mornings but this is still night.

I took the coffee filter out of the pot and sprinkled coffee all over the clean floor. Then I tried to grind some beans and lifted the lid on the grinder too soon and sprayed coffee all over that part of the kitchen. Damn.

We ordered eight chickens from Mike the Mean Man. I hope we have room for them in the freezer. We may have to have a chicken extravaganza.

Deb and Larry are coming from AZ to visit on Saturday. We'll cook two chickens because you never know if people like light meat or dark meat. I have a recipe for roasted chicken (very simple) that we love. Those chickens will look great on the table. I think I'll go to the Farmer's Market on Saturday to complete the meal.

I woke up with a bit of a stiff neck and the general malaise.

We're having an easy dinner tonight which I'm looking forward to since I'm working today. We're having a big green salad of romaine, tomatoes, green onions, and peppers with a plate of different cheese from the cheese shop in LeSueur that calls itself Friendly Confines. I wonder where they came up with that. I can never remember it and usually call it the cheese shop.

I'm going to run this morning and try to shed the gray fog of malaise. I'll let you know how that goes.

oh my we hate to see summer's end

Regis pointed out this poem on the Writer's Almanac the other day.

Last Meal

by Bill Holm

On death row you celebrate your last night
with your last dinner, your choice, your last craving
to make at least your stomach happy before it stops
craving anything at all. Many choose
simple food: a hamburger, mac and cheese, ice cream.
What might it be for you, my friend?
Duckling Rouenaisse? A roast of unborn lamb?
Washed down with Veuve Cliquot '59 and old Armagnac?
And how do you know, my friend, that you are not
eating your last meal at this very table now?
Chew slowly. Make sure you take in all the body and the blood.

Now he says, "Chew slowly, my friend. It could be your last meal".

The last line is that of my husband and not Bill Holm.

We had a call from our friend and poet Bob Bengtson tonight. We're trying to pull together an autumn showing of poetry and love songs by Bob and his wife, Marilyn. I think we could pull this off at our house but Regis is skeptical. He thinks we need a bigger venue so I'm going to ponder that. If you have ideas, please leave a comment. Our house is on the small side for that kind of bash. Maybe the Donahower House. Youch. I see they charge $500 for events. Well, on to the next idea. It will happen and it will be wonderful.

We roasted a chicken from our new friend, who is labeled in my cell phone as Meat Mike. Mike is a very nice fellow who takes good care of his chickens and cows. He told me his dad had an operation for a hundred cows and now he has 12 cows in the same space so they are well cared for. He invited me out to see the cows and their accommodations. Oh, no, I said. I think I will trust you and believe that the cows have a happy life. The chicken was delicious and we are ordering some more. We like the idea of meat that comes from a real farm and not a Walmart farm, if you get my drift.

I spent the last two days at a meeting where we wrote a plan to help our district make adequate yearly progress toward 100% proficiency on the standardized tests. Oh, for god's sake. I wanted to stab myself in the neck with a fork and twist it. First of all, I can't look at numbers for four hours without having them float up off the page and waft around my head like spirits. I have a hard time even looking like I'm paying attention.

Then we spend the next 12 hours writing a plan about something that is almost totally unattainable. It's hard to get your head around it in a realistic way and I admire people (sort of) who can sit there and do it. I stare at the ceiling, I think about what I'm making for dinner, I take a nap with my eyes open, I look for other people who are equally apathetic and I talk to them about their drinking problems. It's hilarious. All of this is evidence that I might want to consider retirement. They all deserve to have a person with more enthusiasm than I currently possess.

Today I ran 3.5 miles. I think that's what it was anyway. I'm a little too random to keep track of this the way I should. My knees hurt tonight so I know it was a long dang way. How in the hell am I going to make it ten miles?

the factors that kept us from the county fair

Tiffany and Elliot came over this afternoon, intending to accompany us to the fair. Elliot took a late nap, it rained spontaneously in a mighty cloudburst, we had steaks for the grill, and it all added up to = we didn't make it to the fair. You can see in the next picture that it was a wise decision. Elliot had a baby melt-down after his bath as he had enough excitement for one day. Poor baby. I'm not sure he would have enjoyed the corn dog anyway.

I'm reading Barbara Kingsolver's book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. I love her writing and I like most parts of the story: how they plant fifty tomato plants then have to spend the whole month of August preserving them, the chicken and turkey "harvest", the visit to the Amish friends. She gets a little technical/political sometimes and I try to learn something but sometimes skim those parts. All in all, a very good book with some good recipes!

This is typical of me. I have three training programs for a half marathon. I have them so mixed up in my head that I don't know if I am coming or going. I thought I was supposed to run 8.5 miles yesterday (remember when I say run you should read that as run/walk) but the night before I reviewed the programs and discovered I was not running far enough during the week and too far on the weekend. Oh, hallelujah! So, Kris and I ran 5.6 miles yesterday.

I just can't be rigid about this and it may lead to me making an emergency call to Regis on the day of the race to pick me up at some corner or other. Or maybe it will be fine. I'm not interested in being first and I'm really not interested in hurting myself. After October, I'm going back to normal things. I'm not interested in running in the dark, rain, or fog, or on the ice or snow. Some pioneer I would have made, eh?

I read somewhere that we have a left brain and a right brain. I think I have this in some accurate fashion. The left brain is the side that tells you to do crazy things like run five miles. The right brain is the side that drives you toward comfort and pleasure so the whole time you're out there pounding your shoes on the street, your right brain is saying things like: your toe hurts, you have a headache, this is too hard, you better stop. See how well-developed my right brain is?

We'll sit on the patio this afternoon and watch the folks leave the fairgrounds. There should be a parade of RV's, tractors, horse trailers, pick-up trucks, and pop-up campers. They'll all be thankful for cooler weather today.

early morning

I just read the Caring Bridge site of Nicki Rikkard, my mom's friend who died of melanoma a week or so ago at age 44. It's hard to write after that. Nicki's sister Sara has written the last few months as Nicki was unable to and she is a wonderful writer. It's a poignant read.

Regis and I have been reflecting on our summer and it was a grand one. We've had a lot of grill and patio time even with the bugs, we've seen some movies, had a nice long weekend visit with Mom, had the kids over for dinner a lot, made some interesting meals for friends, and we've enjoyed each other's company. Who could ask for more?

I spent all day yesterday at the district data retreat, usually the meeting I dread the most because of the tendency for numbers in my presence to float up off the page and drift around my head. This one wasn't bad though and I could almost say it was energizing to make a connection between the data and what we should do about it. That's a scary thought coming from my head.

We had a trip to the county fair (3 blocks down the street so hardly a "trip") planned for Thursday but the heat index was a hundred degrees and I really didn't want to spend any time in a pig barn it that kind of heat. Jane says county fairs are hell with corn dogs. Or is it me that says that? Sometimes it's good to have a bad memory because you can take credit for clever things you didn't make up yourself.

Does anybody else think this is funny or is it just me? A JetBlue flight attendant got fed up this week and after a curse-filled announcement over the plane's PA system, grabbed a beer, engaged the emergency exit slide and slid down to a new career somewhere else. I know, I know...rules and public safety and all of that. It just seems like such a grand hissy fit.

I told Regis about my annoyance with Facebook. I enjoy reading the posts of people who post like I do...what they're making for dinner, movies they saw and liked, brief book reviews, comments on the weather. I don't like Farmville or Mafia Wars or gifts of heart. I don't like public arguments. I also get annoyed when people read it all the time (and how do I know this, you might ask?) and never post anything themselves. It seems like voyeurism. They peep on my life but never allow me to peep on theirs. And extreme self-centeredness on my part...Facebook, a world-wide social network, should function as I want it to function. Ah, well.

Good morning, friends. Get up with the sun and enjoy the day.

today

There is a column by Garrison Keillor at this link. It's called A Parent's Prayer. It's a lovely story.

I read in the paper about a young man who was killed when a cement block fell off a landscaping truck and smashed through the window of a van being driven by his best friend in which he was a passenger. The driver of the landscaping truck had been ticketed some years ago for not properly securing his load of cement blocks after one dropped off his truck. Nobody was killed that time. As this story has haunted me, I wonder if there can be redemption for this person. I wonder if he was just careless...twice. I wonder if he was malicious...twice. I wonder if he will have a change of heart from carelessness or malice; now, finally. How do you live the rest of your life in peace knowing you ended the life of a young man with your deliberate behavior?

This is a link to a youtube video of Barak Obama signing the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010. The native woman who introduces him is in full native regalia and she tries to tell her story but is choked by the trauma of 16 years past. For several minutes she is unable to speak. Obama moves up beside her, speaks softly, and it appears he is touching her back gently and encouraging her to go on. They stand that way for quite a while. Eventually she tells her story. It's quite moving and worth watching.

stormy weather

We have some impending bad weather. When I came out of the Pulse at 6:30, the sky looked ominous. I've been checking the radar and it looks the storm is almost upon us so I took the garbage down to the curb. I hate storms and I especially hate them if I have to be away from home. Joanne was picking me up at 8:30 so we could have a breakfast meeting. She is as big a weather wienie as I am so we may postpone.

later on sunday

Inception. Well, that was one odd as hell movie. I had no idea what was going on so I finally just took a nap. Regis and Joanne said they liked it but they even seemed a little confused about what was a dream and what was real. Like I said, it was like that philosophy class.

Now, Regis wants me to watch The Book of Eli with him. This is what IMDB says about it: A post-apocalyptic tale, in which a lone man fights his way across America in order to protect a sacred book that holds the secrets to saving humankind. This is almost everything I hate in one movie! Lots of brutal violence, a plot that can't really happen, dark and morbid themes, and scary guys with bad teeth who never bathe. Not much to redeem it, I'd say. After these two movies, I'm going to have to watch Sound of Music or Mary Poppins to counteract this nasty movie juju.

I tried to just work on my grocery list and write a blog post while not paying attention to this movie but there was some awful sounds and Regis made a face so I scooted out of there. Who needs that? Post-apocalypse: not my favorite movie genre.

I made quesadillas for dinner with the left over flank steak . Oh my they were delicious.

I went for a long walk this morning and found the coolest route. Not cool weather-wise because it was hotter than the hubs of hell outside...but cool in terms of the path. I went out by the River's Edge Hospital, then over to County Road 15. Along Nicollet Avenue, there are beautiful wide bike paths on both sides of the road that are asphalt. No traffic problems and no bumpy sidewalks. It was nice to notice the swallowtail butterflies, the small ginko trees along the boulevard, and the corn and beans. Everything looks so healthy with all the rain and heat we've had this summer.

Think I'll get up and do a few things before I go to bed.

august sunday

The last week was a nice one. The bugs have finally taken off so we were on the patio a lot, we had some nice evenings with friends, we did some good cooking, and we got one home improvement project done.

Yesterday, I bought a bunch of frames and spend the afternoon putting family pictures in them. Regis helped me hang them. Since there were so many and they were different sizes, we had to measure carefully and lay them out like they would be on the wall. This involved: a level, a tape measure, a big hammer, and a pen. I only mention the hammer because I used to hang pictures by pounding nails in with a wooden clog. By the end of the project, we were kind of eye-balling things and doing the best we could.

We're not so big on home improvement projects. Only if we can afford to hire someone to do it are we interested. There are too many steps for me. You can't do just one thing without layers of home improvement coming into play. If you replace the curtains, then you have to paint.

And in this project, now there are so many ink marks on the wall from picture placement that the wall needs to be painted. I did pick up some color samples at the hardware store.

We're going to see the movie Inception this afternoon. This is from Roger Ebert's review: Like the hero of that film, the viewer of "Inception" is adrift in time and experience. We can never even be quite sure what the relationship between dream time and real time is. The hero explains that you can never remember the beginning of a dream, and that dreams that seem to cover hours may only last a short time. Yes, but you don't know that when you’re dreaming. And what if you're inside another man's dream? How does your dream time synch with his? What do you really know? It sounds like the first (and only) day I spent in a philosophy class in college. Too weird for me.

I better get off my chair and do something. More later, I am sure.

the blog

One of my favorite blogs is Sweet Juniper. In his current post, he writes about being a navelgazing windbag whose blog is a performance. He writes it much better than I could (without plagiarism, that is) but his point is that writing a blog, while maybe not all that fascinating for the rest of you, is a source of endless interest to him. And to me.

I write posts in my head and some of them make it here and plenty do not. It's changed the way I see my days. I notice things I wouldn't notice if I didn't think about writing them down. Things seem more interesting when I can translate them into words. Sometimes I do things only because it will be fun to write about them.

On the spin bike this morning, I read Outside magazine. These are not the kinds of interesting things I do: climbing mountains, diving in underwater caves, hiking in the Amazon. My life is way more mundane and well, safe. My idea of things to do are more in the realm of making basil pesto or going for a walk in a tank top which I did yesterday and never have done before in my life. Fashion adventure. Ha! I should start a magazine. I could call it Inside.

Having mostly decided that I will retire next summer has started a mini-avalanche of thoughts and plans. Yesterday, I saw a retired teacher riding his bike and thought, "Next summer, that will be me". I won't be worried about going back to school. Will I be worried about NOT going back to school? It's a good thing a guy has a long time to ponder this as I can see it is a complex issue.

Regis is going to put all the related financial information on a spreadsheet so we can study it before making a final decision. We don't have piles of excess money laying around (I know, hard to believe after a career in education.) so we don't want to whack ourselves on the forehead in three months because we didn't think of THAT.

Ella and Alex came to dinner last night. They liked the new picnic table but Ella mostly liked my lap. Her mom says that in a couple years, she will have to grow out of the need for a lap but I hope not. We made plans for a girl's day next week so we can do make-up, read books, cook, and maybe walk to the pool. Alex is a hoot now and so busy exploring. Dinner was later than he is used to so he walked around with a sad face doing the sign for hungry. It was pitiful. Poor baby. Oh, the grown-ups had fun, too.

We're having friends for dinner tonight so I have some cooking to do today. Enjoy having your windows and doors open, folks. Tomorrow this ends!

elliot visits his nana and popop

Elliot and Tiffany came to visit this afternoon. He tried out the new picnic table, had a popsicle, sat in the swing, ate a ton of blueberries, had a grilled cheese sandwich for dinner, and went home tired. We had a wonderful time. Nice way to end a weekend.

Sunday 8:30 a.m.

We were at the infamous Kato Ballroom last night but couldn't find a person (we didn't try very hard) to take a picture of the whole bunch of us so we were are minus me, the photographer. It was a beautiful wedding and it was nice to introduce myself as the minister's wife. At the rehearsal dinner the night before, nobody seemed to want to sit with us. Regis told the groom he should have told people that he's "not that kind of minister".

The Kato Ballroom is a funky place. The decor is truly just what it was in the 50's. I sat on a vinyl bench that Buddy Holly might have sat on in his second-to-last concert. Think of it.

This morning was my "long run" which has now become my long run/walk. So, when I say I ran 6.5 miles, what I mean is that I ran with walking breaks, the Jeff Galloway technique. It's what I'm going to do. For the most part, it was painless. I figure this is a good way to go for an old person like me. What the hell. I'm not out to break any land-speed records. I just want to be vertical, and alive, at the end of it.

We still have not been able to shake that piney taste. It isn't bad if you are drinking liquids, but the minute you eat food, there it is, like aspirin (or pine needles) has been mixed with the food. It's a nasty taste. I guess it can last for weeks. Lovely.

Happy Sunday, folks! I might post some pictures of our Sunday. I plan to do some cooking and some gardening. Waddle on, to quote John Bingham.