radio and venn diagrams

Most of you know Regis and I have eschewed television in the past few years and have learned to love the radio. Last night was a new experience as we listened to Miss Lona's show on KMSU. She usually plays jazz but last night she played old cowboy songs like Sons of the Pioneers and Roy Rogers. She does some trivia questions and we each won once so we can't wait to see the prizes. It was a hoot. The Venn diagram for people who are interested in cowboy songs and know how to use google would be something, eh?

A is people old enough to be interested in cowboy songs. B is people who can use google fast enough to be the first called on a trivia question. C is where the two groups intersect. I am really bad at math so this rudimentary/complex explanation is fascinating to me. Yes, that's it. Right there we are...in C.

Gus graduates from dog obedience classes today. When we talked to Ella about dog school, she hooted, and said, "Who's his teacher, a dog?" She thought it was hilarious. Actually a great question.

Yesterday morning, I lingered at home. Regis and I sat in the living room and watched the birds hold a massive reunion at our feeders. We had these birds: two male cardinals, one female cardinal, two blue jays, a bunch of sparrows, juncos, finches, nuthatches, chickadees, and a pair of downy woodpeckers. We found a bag of seed at Pet Expo called Cardinal Mix that seems to draw the cardinals. The thistle seed that was a favorite of the finches in the spring sits untouched and they go for the black sunflower seeds. The fall menu, I guess.

The cardinals can be a little cranky and chase off the sparrows. Some of the birds are messy...the blue jays are fussy and will only eat one kind of seed so they toss everything else over the side.

My Thanksgiving guest list is growing so I better start thinking about how to accommodate these folks in our small house. The back porch, weather permitting, will be where the kids and toys are. Right? I have a draft of a menu and grocery list but it needs work. It's always a balance between traditional and new recipes.

My brain feels tired. I am planning to take next week off from work and feel like I really need it. I could have put that in capital letters but that would be dramatic. Maybe overly so. I haven't had more than a day off here and there (and not many) since last Christmas. I know some people work that all the time but I'm old and I learned a new job in the last six months. That's hard on a gal.

I'm going to work out and then I'll wander in to work. Ah, Tuesday.

weekend in pictures: canby and river rock

These are backwards but I don't have the mental capacity to change it this morning. I'll start at the end and go in reverse.

We had our event at River Rock last night. A Farm to Table dinner and a comedy show by Mike Callahan and Paul Strickland. It was a phenomenal night. I got to work at 2:00 to set up tables and candles and the bar.

We had 30 paying guests which makes a crowd in the front of the shop. I knew almost everyone there so it was fun and didn't really seem like work.

My job was seating people and pouring water...and visiting with people about the food. I get paid for doing this?

People started showing up before I was done setting up the tables which got a little crazy but everyone was seated and in the process of being fed by 6:15.

Oh, here is the menu! It's hard to read here but if you click on it, it will get bigger. Regis even complimented the kale.

This is the stage Michael set up for the comedy. It looks great and worked really well. Every seat in the house had a good view. 

Here I am with my mom, having a glass of wine on Saturday afternoon. We had good food...an antipasto plate on Friday night and we cooked on the table top grill on Saturday night: shrimp, sirloin, mushrooms, onions.

So, here we are at Monday. I didn't get home until 11:00 last night which is really late for me. And of course, I wake up at 5:30 just like every other day except for the days when I wake up at 4:00. I would love to sleep in one day.

A reasonably busy week. Make it a good one. Have some fun and stop making those to-do lists.

thursday

Here's my short (or maybe long) list of happenings for the week.

• Tomorrow is Veteran's Day. My dad was a veteran and there he is in the picture. I would not make a good soldier so I appreciate anyone who can do that. Bless their hearts.
• It's been a crazy week at work and at home. 
• Regis, bless his heart, has toted me to Mankato two times. Once on a purely personal mission and today on a work mission. 
• Personal mission: Great fall sweaters in autumnal colors. Also an amazing scarf made of some kind of goat fur. Would that be hair...or fur?
• Work mission: Picked up checks and paper and stuff at thrift stores. Silverware, extra plates, ice cream dishes.
• Wine elfed (blogspot does not recognize the past tense of elf...what the hell) a colleague who has done the same for me.
• Sold a bunch of tickets to the comedy event Sunday night at River Rock.
• Listening to Shuffle Function and the theory that Paul McCartney died in 1963 and was replaced by a Canadian. Gads. Crackpots, the lot of them.
• Regis made wonderful chicken wings for dinner. Better than anything we have ever had out and about in a restaurant.
• Went to a great party last night at Annie and Kyle's apartment. So funny how little things have changed in the years since Regis and I were young and in college. Lots of talk of keg stands, beer die, and fun. Tommy gave us the lowdown on the rules for beer die. Crazy. I think he had a moment of nostalgia. Hahaha!
• Several of the folks at the party had lived in that very same apartment. What a history and if those walls could talk. Quite a hoot.
• Bought a gorgeous cashmere scarf at TJ Maxx that looks like it was made from the coat of golden doodle. I love cashmere. I love it. I wish I were rich so I could afford lots of it. I mentioned this before but it's worthy of another mention. Actually, I admired it the other day and lusted after it for three days before going back to buy it. That's a good test.
• We have been planning our first, in quite a while, event at River Rock. it's been fun and I hope it goes over well. I'm nervous but well-prepared. The accountant told me today to get used to the last minute planning. I said hmmmmm...school districts are not like that. Ha!
• Going to see my mom this weekend. Hope there are no ill-intentioned folks reading this who will break into my house and read my recipes and steal our crappy music collection while we're gone. Ha!

Ah, that's all the energy I have. Drinking some really cheap wine tonight...Flip Flop? Regis is out taking pictures of the stars and the passing meteors and space ships with his paparazzi equipment. Thanks to our oil well money. Ha!

I've been up since 5 o'clock looking at recipes in my Thanksgiving binder and on the web and in my google docs file. I always feel like I want to try something new or at least a new twist on an old favorite. These experiments are not usually popular although now Peter requests the cornbread Andouille sausage dressing every year.

This is an antipasto plate and I think it will be my appetizer du jour this season. Instead of making three appetizers that will either go unconsumed or will be eaten wholly to ruin the appetite for the meal, this will be perfect for the cheese/meat/egg/vegetable/bread eaters among us. Something for everyone.

I was hoping to take the week before Thanksgiving off but we had an unexpected resignation at the coffee shop and it might not be possible now. I am hoping at least to work limited hours.

We had a staff meeting last night with a coffee guru from Minneapolis. I want to learn to pull shots of espresso! What a hoot! She was fascinating and I was amazed at all the connections between coffee, food, and wine in terms of flavor. I was mortified to be drinking gas station coffee from a to-go cup which I almost never do but I was desperate before the meeting started and the shop was closing. I did not reveal the source of my beverage. I have become a coffee snob.

I'm going to prepare for the day and go to the coop for the fixin's for my first antipasto plate. We're going to a fall festival at the home of one of our young bakers. Should be a good time.

a solution

Wrap yourself in LED lights and put on a pair of reindeer antlers.

The rest of my mental health action plan:

1. Vitamin D supplements.
2. Be warm. Wear long underwear to work. Wear warm socks and mittens.
3. Work in the front of the shop rather than the dark office.
4. Take a longer walk when I go to the bank. Sunshine is good.
5. Talk to people instead of hunching over paperwork all day.
6. Turn lights on in the house.
7. Light candles.
8. More LED lights.
9. Write more. 
10. Exercise outside. Would this be helpful?

Readers. Send other ideas.

light, or lack thereof

I can already feel the lack of light. I wake up at 5 and it's as dark as the middle of the night. Gus walks around the kitchen and goes back to sleep. I drink coffee and feel a little blue. The sky gets light so slowly and seems to go black so fast at the other end of the day. Would Vitamin D help? Should I linger on my walks to the bank at mid-day?

I'd like to stay in my lounging clothes and wooly socks all day and look at recipes for Thanksgiving instead of going out into the cold and dark and doing what I have to do.

I just read back over my posts from previous Novembers and I feel this every year...a sense of dread about the loss of light. General malaise and crankiness.

As if you needed further proof, here, also written in November, is a blast from the past: things that annoy me in no particular order.

now, for a commercial message

On Sunday night, River Rock and Mike Callahan will present Paul Strickland, the cranky comic. There will be a wonderful seasonal and organic dinner served beginning at 6 o'clock. Mike Callahan will perform at 7:00 and Paul will begin at 7:30. Tickets are 35 dollars each. Where else can you get a great meal and a show for a price like that for 35 bucks?

I feel like my ass is on the line for this one since I have promoted it for months. I should have kept this idea to myself, maybe?

Regis and I have been looking at the strangest website called Awkward Family Pet Photos. Under the photo menu, check out the Hall of Fame. It is a strange experience and you will not be able to look away. Like Walmartians. I think my retinas are burned.

sometimes i get mixed up

With so many ways to receive input and to generate output of information, I get mixed up sometimes. I can't remember what I posted where and sometimes I can't remember from where things came. Did I get that by email...text...blog...it's hard getting old. Or maybe the world is just getting more complicated.

In any case, this is the picture of Regis and me when we did our Shuffle Function gig which was a total hoot. We got there at 5:30 a.m. and spent two hours live on the air with Tim and Shelley, playing our music that we had thoughtfully chosen over the last two weeks. Here is our playlist if you want to see what we like. You have to scroll down a ways. We were on November 2nd. We love independent radio.

I have been enamored of etsy lately. I can spend hours shopping for this and that...handmade and vintage. What a hoot. Vintage clothes are really tempting because they look so cool but it's hard to know what they look like in real life. All the stuff coming out of China and Indonesia are a little scary, too. Really? I send a paypal payment to someone in China and they ship me a dress? I like local better.

Regis is on his way home with our groceries for the next two weeks. We like to go to the store twice a month and can usually manage that pretty well. Our next big trip will be the Monday before Thanksgiving. He called, disappointed, because the pepper selection was pitiful. We love stuffed peppers on the grill and were hoping for one more meal of them before it gets too cold.

Gus is agitated when Regis is gone. Heck, he doesn't even like it when Regis closes the bathroom door. He sits and scratches at the door. Good grief.

Here is a perfect poem for this time of year:

Praise Song by Barbara Crooker.

Praise the light of late November,

the thin sunlight that goes deep in the bones.

Praise the crows chattering in the oak trees;

though they are clothed in night, they do not

despair. Praise what little there's left:

the small boats of milkweed pods, husks, hulls,

shells, the architecture of trees. Praise the meadow

of dried weeds: yarrow, goldenrod, chicory,

the remains of summer. Praise the blue sky

that hasn't cracked yet. Praise the sun slipping down

behind the beechnuts, praise the quilt of leaves

that covers the grass: Scarlet Oak, Sweet Gum,

Sugar Maple. Though darkness gathers, praise our crazy

fallen world; it's all we have, and it's never enough.

I was making Thanksgiving cards today (thanks, Mom) and was digging through some old files. It's one of the things I love about my blog...I have a lot of crap archived and it's a hoot to read later. Yes, I realize I have used the word hoot three times in this post. Anyway, here is a list of things for which I was grateful in 2008. I think it needs to be revised:


(I copied this list and I know that the formatting is messed up but I have better things to do than try to fix it right now. One of the things that irritates me...)

What I’m thankful for as 2008 rolls around


  1. iTunes, Barnes and Noble online, and Netflix. I used to spend a lot of time looking for books, music and movies with no idea what I wanted. I made a lot of mistakes. Now with modern technology, my tastes can be compared to others and recommendations made for me based on our similarities. I may never have to watch a movie like Joe Versus the Volcano again, read a book like Echoes by Danielle Steele or buy a CD that ends up being a coaster. I’m not saying it’s never going to happen, just that the risk is minimized.

2.      The realization that I’m not going to have a clean and organized house. It’s really taken a burden off to know this and to say it out loud. Kathy’s tried to help and we did make some progress but the stress is overwhelming. Regis and I are not good at getting all like things in one place. Say socks, for example. It’s really not a bad thing to be disorganized and I think we’ll live a rich and happy life in our slovenly ways.

3.      
3.  The Minnesota Board of Teaching. I forget about my anger over the inequity of the secondary principal job market and stop ranting about it toward the end of every year, then I get the letter from the BOT reminding me that I haven’t paid the 75 dollar licensing fee (authorized by the MN legislature and in addition to the regular license fee) since I hold a principal’s license BUT NOT A JOB.  I read the letter and it starts the fire all over again: 70% of high school teachers are women, more than 50% of students in ed leadership programs are women, and yet only 10% of secondary principals are women. Some dude at the school board association tells me that by law, school boards are required to hire the most qualified candidate and therefore it must be true. No need to say more.

4.     Technology. I love podcasts, my blog, digital photos, Picassa, and the Google/Picassa website. Think of what the internet will do for human intelligence. Ten years ago, if you had an idea,  you could tell a few friends or write an article for a newspaper but very few people had much of an audience. Now I can send pictures or rants clear across the country in a matter of seconds. Even goofballs can have a national audience.

5.       Babies. Just when you think you’re too cynical to live, someone you know has a baby and adults who used to be reasonable sit around for hours and stare at it and think that everything it does is fascinating. We’re in the grandbaby age now and not only are these grandbabies, ours and those of our friends, the smartest and the cutest but we don’t have to be awake all night when they’re teething. All the joy and none of the responsibility.

6.     Sleep. I listen to people who talk with a sense of shame about sleeping in until ten, or better yet noon. If I sleep until 5 o’clock, I’m grateful. Most nights I wake up at 3 and have trouble going back to sleep. I’ve always been a champion napper, but now I get my best sleep during the day. Not at work, of course.

7.    
5.        Brain development. I read an article in Newsweek about how the human brain develops slower than what was previously assumed to be true. Right about that time, my son who had given me fits through his teen years, expressed a desire to go to school, moved in with his grandma, got a job where he is admired and respected, and became helpful and social. Yes! If that ain’t proof…

I might come back occasionally and add to my list but that’s enough for now. Of course, I’m also thankful for the usual things: my mom, my kids, my husband, friends, my dog, a warm place to live, enough to eat, enough to drink, and pants with elastic waists.

That's how I felt about it in 2008. Some of those things make me glad that a few years have passed and I don't have to spend time being thankful for that bit of stuff anymore. (BOT)

See ya. Happy Monday.

what happened to the pictures?

Regis is my paparazzi. I give him photo assignments and he takes care of it. But, yesterday he took pictures of the dismantling of the Halloween decor and such but the pictures have disappeared. Ah, well.

We had a meat marathon for dinner. We had taken out of the freezer, over the last few days: two pork chops, a bag of scallops, a whole chicken, and a piece of tuna. It all had to be cooked today so we seasoned it up and grilled it. Now, it's in the refrigerator in meal-size containers for lunch and dinner. Hah!

I have probably talked about this before but Regis refuses to eat tuna based on his Catholic upbringing but I tell him if he ever tasted it, we'd have to arm wrestle for it. Seared ahi tuna marinaded in soy sauce and toasted sesame oil? Oh, my.

We went on a shopping spree this morning. We needed coffee from Aldi, bird seed from Pet Expo, and I needed a few new sweaters from TJ Maxx, my favorite store. What do you know, I found some in great fall colors: sage green, aubergine, pumpkin, heather gray, and black. Regis and Gus sit in the car and attract chicks (women) like a magnet. Advice from Regis to all young men: Get a cute dog.

I passed up a great scarf that the label said was cashmere. It looked like Gus's coat, I swear. Long and crimpy...gorgeous. I have some restraint...but, I might have to go back. Cashmere comes from goats, did you know?

We have our Thanksgiving music on the thing that plays music....Ostroushko, Ungar and Mason, and some other nice violin music of which I cannot recall the names. Regis asked me to delete some of the crazier stuff like Nancy Whiskey. What the hell.

Gus got a new water bowl from Pet Expo. It has to be plugged in and it guarantees that he always has fresh water. Are you kidding me? Every dog we've owned has not been averse to drinking from the toilet and puddles. What the hell.

Busy week on tap. Coffee shop staff meeting on Tuesday night. Trip to Canby to see Mom. Grocery shopping, working out at the Pulse, general monkey business. Here we go.

worst night of sleep in a long time

I was awake every hour during this past night, I swear. Even with my friend, Ambien, I could not stay asleep. I read several chapters in my book several times. Finally got up at 5 and took Gus out in the yard. The sky is gorgeous which is a sight I would not see if I were a late sleeper. Of course, the stars probably make an appearance on the other end of night, too.

I scanned two papers, make that three...two electronic and one real... this morning but it was dismal work. Most of the stuff in there is not really anything I need to know or care to know.

I'm thinking I will transition to walking to work today. Last week, I was riding my bike but there is something about riding a bike in a parka that is unappealing to me. When it's 35 degrees in the morning, bike riding is a cold business.

It's even less appealing to get into a cold car and besides I like visiting with folks I see on the street. I had been trying to contact an egg source for River Rock for a few weeks, finally saw him delivering eggs to Patrick's one day so I camped outside the door until he came out. I was in a costume which may have made him more or less inclined to talk business with me but we got it done.

I'm going to order a French press when I get to work today. It looks like this:

As we wondered one day why customers don't order them even though it makes the richest coffee, I laughed and said who would even know what it is. If people start seeing it out and about on tables, they'll ask and they'll try it. I've been trying different coffee drinks and now I know my favorite is a two shot short latte.

It's amazing what some folks order. A friend of mine comes in and orders a wake-up call which is two shots of espresso with the cup filled with dark roast. And he gets a double shot of espresso on the side. If you're curious about the caffeine, I found this in wikipedia:

While espresso has more caffeine per unit volume than most beverages, compared on the basis of usual serving sizes, a 30 mL (1 US fluid ounce) shot of espresso has about one third the caffeine of a standard 180 mL (6 US fluid ounces) cup of drip-brewed coffee, which varies from 80 to 130 mg.

So, Mathias isn't getting all that much caffeine but he is sure getting a jolt of coffee flavor. I love the little espresso cups so I might just switch to espresso.

I spent some time this morning cruising my favorite blogs. I have trouble if I check two or three times and there is nothing new. I lose interest and move on, probably missing some good stuff. Come on, people. We need to be more prolific.

This Goat's Life is one of my favorites and I am willing to cut them some slack if they miss a few weeks. I like goats but this blog is so clever, that even if you don't, you might like it. It's written in the voice of a goat which usually does not appeal to me (Christmas letters in the voice of your dog? Ugh.) but this is hilarious. Check out the little video in the middle of the page about goats being in heat. It's a riot.

I could probably get a lot of things done if I didn't spend so much time sitting here in the semi-dark documenting my every vapid thought. Ah, well.

how did thursday come around so dang fast?

Well, here is a fast re-cap on the week:

• We celebrated Halloween in fine fashion. I think I did write about that.
• Peter came to take me out to lunch for my birthday. It's a sign of maturity, I think, right? Like getting your own cell phone plan.
• Regis and I were programmers for the day on Wednesday at Shuffle Function (Pop Music as Pornography) on KMSU in Mankato. If you don't know this radio station or these folks, you really should check it out. They are a dang hoot. We controlled the musical destiny of Southern Minnesota, Northern Iowa, and the World that day for two hours. They give great swag and it is a ton of fun. they will eventually publish our playlist and our photo. Tim said we were telegenic. Ha!
• We came home Wednesday to find a check from my mom.We've had great fun today thinking of ways to spend it while having fun. Mom insists that we don't replace the bathroom plumbing or anything so pedestrian as that. We're happy to oblige.
• Work has been a handful this week. Not a bad handful but a handful.
• Saturday, we are making the transition from Halloween to Thanksgiving. We are very seasonal people in our cooking, decorating, and even in our music. We have plans to get out the Thanksgiving playlist that includes a lot of Peter Ostroushko, Molly Mason and Jay Unger, and some Lehto and Wright (They play all the hits of the 15th and 16th centuries.).
• I wear a lot of orange and aubergine in the fall but not in the other parts of the year. I have some earrings and bracelets I only wear in the fall.
• We have outdoor work that still needs to be done. The plants are still in their pots, there is a flag sticking out of a geranium pot (ugh), and a few lawn chairs need to go away. Decision: Do we let Howard's rosemary tree freeze or try to nurse it through one more year?
• We found out that our neighbor is not moving away. Whew. We thought it might have been something we did. 
• I got out the Thanksgiving binder and have started collecting recipes for some changes. Regis insists we do not serve oysters and roasted root vegetables. No sense of fun, that guy.
• I ordered up a pair of sturdy but not too ugly winter boots. I have lots of boots and most of them are probably what could be called fashion boots. They are not practical for the sorts of trudging about town that I do in a day at work. Here's what I bought:

• Regis saw a red-headed woodpecker in our yard today. Here's a picture in case you are bird-knowledge-impaired. I had another word there but Regis thought it would be offensive so he sanitized my word choice. This is not the actual bird but a google representation.

• I also bought a new hat and a pair of mittens. A guy has to be ready for bad weather before it appears which could be momentarily.
• We do not have huge plans for the weekend. It's hard to have huge (read: any) plans when you have a 45 pound furry infant who has tantrums  living in your house.
• Regis was so frustrated with Gus after dog school the other day that he bought a gentle leader collar for Gus. He will get a tutoring session (Gus, not Regis. I think.) after class next week. I made excuses for him...he was over-stimulated from the weekend...he was off his schedule...he was teething. 
• Mom, if you are reading this, I bet you are anxious to have our dog visit next weekend. He really isn't this bad. I exaggerate for effect.

Well, there you go. Off to bed. I'm reading a book called Corvus. I love it. Regis thinks crows are creepy but I love them. Shelley said they seem to know something about you so you don't want to make eye contact with them. She could be right.

Good night and have a great Friday.

it's not easy being green

I was kind of exhausted by Halloween by the time it arrived officially. I was tempted to not costume-up at all but then the mood came over me again. I wore this into River Rock in the morning and thought I would fool a few people. Josh looked up as I walked in, said, "Hello, Teresa" and went back to counting change. The 9:30 coffee group said, "Who else?" Well.

Elliot and Tiffany came over for dinner and trick or treating. We had an early dinner then walked around the neighborhood a bit. He got the hang of that real fast...say trick or treat...people throw candy in your bag. I think his favorite was the gold fish crackers.

Bob and Emily went to a party before they came over so they were all in costumes.

Betty gave the little boys each a truck that made spectacular noises so they were busy all night on hands and knees, pushing trucks around the living room.

As always, Halloween was frenetic and went way too fast. By 8 o'clock, the trick or treaters were gone, the street was dark, and we were alone. It was a great holiday but it can wear an old gal out. Back to normal life today.

I'm making meatloaf for dinner tonight. I have to publish the recipe here because this blog is like the archive of my life. Some day if I can't remember where that meatloaf recipe is, I can find it here. I't called Low-Carb Beefed-Up Meatloaf. It has a layer of prosciutto and provolone in the middle and we like to add some roasted hot peppers.

I ordered tickets this morning for The Nutcracker in Mankato. I have taken Tiffany and Ella for the last few years. We like to have lunch before and make it a special day. I ordered tickets online here. At least I didn't have to buy them through ticketmaster which I loathe. I still had to pay two dollars each for a "convenience fee" for ordering them online. Whose convenience? Heck, they don't have to print them or hire a person to sell them to me.

I'm sitting here in front of the fireplace worrying about my feet being cold this winter. Time to get out the warm socks and boots, I guess.

Happy November!

fun run fun weekend fun birthday

Joanne and I ran in the Halloween Fun Run. Regis took a ton of pictures from Tom's front yard...here are a few.

Joanne and I ran this 5K in 39 minutes and 20 seconds. We walk a little run a little walk a little...and don't really care about time. The last time we ran together, we did it more than 45 minutes so our improvement is impressive, no?

Tom and Betty host a little gathering on their front yard. Minnow is there to watch Emily, Tom makes a big pot of coffee, and everybody hoots and hollers and bangs on drums when we go past.

Joanne...power woman according to her daughter! Cool!

There we go!

This was a great costume. Not sure how the people in the middle knew where to go.

Rasta man, Tom.

Dave and Doreen with the little Grimius boys, Weston and Miles.

Emily...great shot!

Our old friends, Jane and Dick, came for the weekend from Iowa. We did most of the things we do every time they come: we met at Patrick's for drinks and appetizers on Friday. We went downtown and looked in a few shops, we went to Schmidt's Meat Market in Nicollet,  we cooked steaks on the grill, we drank wine and spent hours at the table telling stories and laughing. Regis made a batch of Apple Pie (not the kind your mama makes) and some at the table enjoyed a sip of that. 

I spent a couple hours after they left, putting my house back together and getting Halloween stuff tucked away. I have celebrated Halloween for the last two weeks and I'm kind of ready for it to be over and how pitiful is that? I am costumed out.

I'm sure tomorrow, I will be fine. I'll put on some crazy tights and a wild hat and go out as myself. Tiffany and Elliot are coming over for dinner and trick or treating, Ella and Alex are stopping by some time for a treat, and  we're passing out candy. How much fun is that?

I just went through the last two boxes of stuff from my school office. Most of it was left behind but what I did bring home has been dispersed. Now, it's all been shelved, boxed, or tossed. Whew.

I can feel a nap coming on....

my colleagues at river rock celebrate pirate day!

What a hoot of a day! More later. It's been a story-worthy week!

ah, well, the perfect kind of mistake to experience

I rode my bike to work today. Streamers from my witch hat flying behind me, a purple broom and a fake raven in my bike basket, and my fuschia gloves. I saw several people reaching for cell phones. Maybe they were going to call the cops.

The hospital x-ray department called me this afternoon and apologized profusely for their mistake. The radiologist had not read my comparison images until the letter had gone out and the appointments for follow-up had been made. I don't need any further images. I told her not to feel bad. If a guy has to experience a medical mistake, this is the right kind.

So, off to get a haircut and meet Peter for dinner.

bookmarks and early bird risin'

I made the decision to go to work a little later in the morning which for the most part, has worked out fine except that I continue to wake up at 4 most days, spend a half day before I even go to work, and come home when I'm tired and a little cranky from the long day. Damn.

Here I am at 4 a.m. Do I start DOING something like the day is beginning or do I hover between sleep and wake for a while?

I woke up thinking about my Halloween costume. In the middle of the night I asked Regis his opinion about which skirt and which tights. Such a dilemma.

My friend, Jill, gave me a subscription to Bookmarks as a retirement gift. It comes bi-monthly and has a ton of reviews of all different kinds of books. I had been through it several times and yellow-tagged quite a few I thought I might want to read. Yesterday I checked some more on-line reviews and ordered some books...some kindle versions and some paperback versions.

This is one I am most interested in reading. Corvus: A Life with Birds.

Here's something I snagged from the Amazon review:
Ever since her daughter rescued a fledgling rook years ago, Esther Woolfson has been fascinated with corvids, the bird group that includes crows, rooks, magpies, and ravens. Today, the rook, named Chicken, is a member of the Woolfson family, along with a talking magpie named Spike, a baby crow named Ziki, a starling, a parrot, and others. From their elaborate bathing rituals to their springtime broodiness and tendency to cache food in the most unlikely places, these corvids share a bond with humans that one might never have imagined before reading this book.

Letting her experience speak for itself, Woolfson likens the fears and foibles of corvids to those of humans, taking into account the science of bird intelligence, evolution, song, and flight. She highlights their big personalities and capacity for affection: Chicken hates computers and machines, while she loves evening neck scratches on Woolfson’s knee. It is through this intimate lens that Woolfson invites us to reconsider the kind of creature capable of being man’s best friend.


I bought this in paperback because I think it will be like Oranges by John MCPhee, a fixation. If you don't remember Oranges, just ask me.


So, I love Bookmarks. My reading mojo was limp for a while and I just couldn't find anything that called me. I reread a lot of old favorites but new things were not interesting. I think this is going to be just the thing. Check it out.


I just can't get excited about my kindle. I can read a certain type of book on it but I can't get any framework...no cover, no summary, no author information. I started reading a book the other night and realized last night, that I have missed something. I read the reviews on Amazon and the book is called non-linear. Oh, yeah. I hate that.

Not my favorite type of book to begin with and now I have no way to check back and figure out who the hell Uri is. This book is a series of short stories loosely tied together and I am incapable of figuring that our in my random reading. Arrghgghg, I say. I like to read the old-fashioned way, I guess.

Today is Witch Day at work so I better get moving and figure out my costume. I have a small black cauldron full of eyeball gum and rubber duck witches. Ha!

Gus is giving me the signal that something needs to happen...so on with the day.

t-bones on the grill

This is what I wore to work today as it was River Rock Colors Day. Tomorrow is Witch Day, which I reported as Pirate Day. Ah, well. An old gal must be excused for getting things mixed up, right Mom?

My neighbor dogs are barking so much (all day and incessantly) that I am invoking the Why I Don't Keep a Gun in the House Billy Collins rule. Holy crap.

grilling in the dark

We like to squeeze every possible grilling date out of the season. I know lots of people grill all winter with gas but we use charcoal and it gets hard to keep the temperature up enough when the temperature gets down below 50 degrees. So, here we are in the dark, with the charcoal glowing red. It looks like the blaster on a rocket ship.

Big steaks were worth standing in the cold and dark. We got a split side of beef from Mike last week so these are delicious and not from some factory farm which gives me the creeps. We get out chickens from Mary and from Mike. If I could only find a local source for tuna.

I chase the dark away with lights. Halloween spider lights, hula girls (thanks to Bob and Betty!) and turkeys at Thanksgiving, lots and lots of lights in the month of December. I have been known to wrap myself in lights. 

I don't believe I published this photo before but it's from last year. Apparently I felt the need to go incognito in my own home. You never know when you might be put on the witness protection program and not notified of it. In case a bad guy were to look in our windows, I would not be recognized which is a good thing, You can't be too careful.

Regis just went off to the store to buy a long list of groceries. I used to accompany him but Gus is not feeling favorable toward being left alone in a big, metal crate these days so he goes and I stay. We don't buy groceries often and this will probably be our last trip until the big Thanksgiving trip.

I suggested going off the beaten path and serving something other than turkey this year. That went over about as well as the time I served roasted root vegetables instead of mashed potatoes. Damn traditions. I'm going to buy a turkey from a real farm, though, and not one of those poor poor pitiful things I see drive through town squashed in the back of a giant truck. Ack.

I started my Thanksgiving planning because I had a nightmare that I forgot and when people showed up, I had no turkey and had to go all over town looking for one that wasn't frozen. It was a good lesson.

Regis had a dream last night that we went to England with our friend, Sam Kelly. Somehow we hooked up with the Queen of England who feigned interest in Sam's new discovery about gasoline. The dream was not specific about what that discovery was but it intrigued the Queen enough that she traveled back to America with us, to Sam's delight. Turns out she only wanted to come here to get drunk which distressed Sam no end. In Regis's dreams the people in England do not drink apparently.

I think I mentioned before that we are going to be programmers for the day on Shuffle Function, a radio show we listen to on KMSU. We have had to develop a play list of about 30 songs for the two-hour show. That has involved sitting at the table, shuffling through all of our CDs and negotiating about which CD, which cut, which version, how many by which artist. Here's our draft list:

Play List for Shuffle Function

1.  Sons of the Pioneers

2. Buddy and Julie Miller Dang Me Track 5

3. Decades Neil Young Needle and the Damage Done Track 17 (Disk 2)

4. Leo Kottke Embryonic Journey Track 12 (Disk 2)

5. Sinatra Summer Wine Track 13

6. Dylan Things Have Changed Track 11 (Disk 3)

7. Buffalo Springfield Mr. Soul Track 2

8. Greg Brown Good Morning Coffee Track 6

9. Willie Nelson I Never Cared for You Track 2

10. Reverend Raven The Woman I Love Track 8

11. City Mouse Moonlight Baby Track 7

12. Becky Thompson Carryin’ Fire Track 9

13. Warren Zevon Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner Track 4

14. Delbert McClinton Tell Me About It Track 2

15. Trampled by Turtles Codeine Track 3

16. Lyle Lovett She’s No Lady She’s My Wife Track 7

17. James Taylor Bartender’s Blues Track 5

18. Peter Ostroushko The Whalebone Feather Track 1

19. Dire Straits Money for Nothin’ Track 2

20. Dylan Farewell Angelina Track 5 (Disk 2)

21. Rolling Stones Gimme Shelter Track 1

22. Stevie Ray Vaughn Little Wing Track 4

23. John Gorka People My Age Track 14

24. Johnny Cash Bonny Prince Billy Track 6

25. Tom Waits Long Way Home Track 3 (Disk Bawlers)

26. Loudon Wainwright White Winos Track 3

27. Lucinda Williams Concrete and Barbed Wire Track 5

28. Dave Carter and Tracy Gramm Crocodile Man Track 6

29. k.d. lang Trail of Broken Hearts Track 3 

30. Buddy and Julie Miller

I'd say that is the play list of folks who have been around the musical block once or twice meaning old but not too old. There's no Elvis on there, notice that.

It was an interesting exercise. Kind of like choosing five favorite books to take to a deserted island. Or writing a letter to the editor with only 300 words. The list might be different if Regis were doing it alone but he wasn't. I can get a favorite CD and listen to it over and over for months like I did with Wonder Boys and Crazy Heart.

Our show is on from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. We get a CD of it so if you are even slightly curious, don't feel compelled to get out of bed before the crack of dawn to hear it.

Have a great Wednesday!

And a comment from my husband will follow. He is such a character and writes such funny stuff. Didn't want anyone to miss this:
First off the Queen would come to America to get drunk for the same reason that teachers used to go go out of town to drink. You just don't want the locals to know. Secondly, I don't want some lame ass scrawny bird on the table for Thanksgiving. Tom, the butcher at Hy-Vee told me that their turkeys are massaged nightly and, when their time comes, are given a ride to Mankato in a seed filled stretch limo. Obviously it is ok to buy one at the Hy-Vee.

ah, well and I seem to say that a lot

Saturday, I got a letter from the clinic about my recent mammogram. It seems there were some irregularities that require more imagine. Hmmm. I didn't really panic about this until yesterday when I called and the receptionist/appointment person told me that the letter (not one I saw) said that I need "spot compression" and possible ultrasound. WTF. She asked if I had an ultrasound anywhere prior to this. I don't think so WTF. This is a nasty process.

Of course, in my usual calm fashion, I wig out and spend a horrible day weeping and carrying on and sending emails to friends. (I didn't tell any kids....don't be offended. Who wants to talk about this to their kids?) It was awful. It involved a lot of wine. A lot of wine.

Today, I am better. I have heard from many people who have been through the same thing but didn't talk about it. Holy shit, people. I would feel better if I knew that 8 out of 10 friends had been through this before, and lived to tell about it.

Things always look better in the light of day and with the love and support of friends.

But, I have to wait until Friday to have the next imaging (sounds a little sci-fi, huh?) when the radiologist is there. Yeah, he can be there but I am not letting anybody in this town cut on me, no offense. Don't you love it when people say no offense and of course, they know what they just said is offensive?

Enough about that. Friday I could be celebrating. Here's hopin'.

I have been wearing costumes or at least, crazy clothes, to work every day. Yesterday, I had on a bright green  sweater and neon orange tights. I ran into a friend of mine on my way to work. She said she forgot it was dress-up day at River Rock. I said it wasn't and this is the way I always dress. Ha!

Today, I was walking to the bank and I wondered about a lot of things. Like hippies.

Yesterday, when I was riding my bike down the street, Reggie happened past in his Ameripride truck. He hung his head out the window and sang the Elvira Gulch song. Hahahaa! He called to ask if Ella had dressed me. Hey, I have a lot of years to dress like an old lady and not very many to dress like a kook. Well, maybe they can overlap a little.

Well, on my way to the evening.

this weekend passed quickly, as most do

We had a wonderful weekend. Lots of cooking on the grill, lots of squandering time being lazy, and a busy Sunday getting things done.

I had tubs of stuff belonging to Tiffany and Peter in the basement, some of it worth keeping (dolls and action figures and first clothes) but much of it was stuff that could be thrown away. Did I really need to keep that deflated balloon that I got when I was in the hospital when Peter was born?

It's been consolidated to one tub per kid to keep, a box to go to the thrift store, and a box of junk. They aren't sentimental at this point in their lives but I hope some day those things will be important to them. Tiffany has a few beautiful dolls, because I loved dolls, but she was kind of uninterested in them. One she thought was creepy and asked for it to be re-boxed and put in the closet.

I started going through stuff in what used to be my office. I cleaned out about a dozen binders full of writing stuff (this made me a little sad) and boxed up a lot of books. Almost everything is on a shelf now.

We've given away a lot of furniture in the last few weeks. We have had two easy chairs and an ottoman for more than ten years and we got it used. Last week, we asked Jan, the woman who cleans for us, if she wanted them. Before we could blink an eye, she had muscled those chairs out the back door and they were on the way to her truck. It feels good to have less crap and more space.

That's enough about my cleaning binge. We have run out of recycle and garbage room this week. If you have any to spare, let me know.

Last night we cooked a mega pile of stuffed peppers on the grill thinking that it might be the last time we get to do it. Now we have peppers for the week to eat with our left-overs and in omelets. We have enjoyed those this summer.

This week I get to start wearing costumes. Wednesday is River Rock Colors Day which is not really a costume but still has potential for fun. I have crazy brown and orange tights that Regis found in a free box at the evil costume company where he worked. I think the bad mojo is gone from them by now.

Thursday is Pirate Day so I better start brushing up on my pirate speak. I have a great costume but whether I dare wear it on the street in broad daylight is a good question. Oh, yeah, I think I do. Friday is Witch Day. Some of the young people I work with are nervous because they apparently don't have a lot of costumery in their closets. Hey, I can help.

This is me in my pirate costume. The cutlass is not real, neither is the parrot. I am peering at you through a telescope which I also use to spot rum runners. Hahaha! I'm hoping the weather is pleasant enough that I can ride my bike. Be sure to stop in the coffee shop this week to share in the fun.

Gus likes to go out a lot in the morning. He goes out right away when he wakes up but as soon as he eats, he starts ringing the bells to go out again. We're on to his game and know that usually it's what we call a stick run (he likes to chew sticks) or he just wants to patrol the perimeter of the yard, keeping us safe from bunny rabbits, I guess.

Well, on to Monday and work and the rest of the foolishness. Jane and Dick are coming next weekend so there are preparations to be made. Stories will be told and more created, no doubt.

that is EXACTLY the reason

I read Jill's comment. That is exactly why I didn't run. I would hate to qualify for Boston and have to travel out there. Loud groan....

true confessions

So, yesterday I went to pick up my race packet and the whole experience was so daunting and unpleasant that I decided to forego this experience. I decided that going down the road at 7:30 a.m. with 4,000 other people was not my idea of a good time. Here I sit. Drinking coffee. Contemplating a shopping trip. Thinking about breakfast. Ah, life is good.

ah, yes. what was i thinking?

I registered for the 10K at the Mankato Marathon. What was I thinking?

Last year, I ran, using the term loosely, the Half Marathon which is 13 miles. I bolted out of the gate from excitement then crashed about 3 miles into it and walked the rest of the way, munching a peanut butter sandwich, waving at people and petting dogs.

I crossed the finish line after 13 miles about the same time as the marathoners who had run 26 miles. In fact, some of them passed me.

Regis dropped me off and picked me up so he simplified the process for me. The whole process was oppressive but exhilarating. It gave me stories for months.

So, I guess I signed up again but decided to run the 10k instead. That's only six miles and I figure with my run/walk combo it will not be too hard. What I dread is the getting there. 3500 people are registered so traffic and parking will be a major nightmare. Blah.

Next weekend is the Halloween Fun Run in St. Peter. 3 miles in a Halloween costume. That can be fun.

Three of my more intense friends are injured and can't run at all which indicates to me that my slovenly ways are being rewarded. I am injury free to this point and intend to keep it that way. My personal best is to remain vertical and mobile. Some athlete.

We've had two good frosts. I had two big plants that I was considering hauling into the house. I guess my benign neglect made the decision for me. I don't like house plants because I forget to water them and we don't have enough sunlight so they look like hell by the end of the winter.

We've had a cardinal convention in our bird feeder the past few days. Right at dusk, there were four males and a female. I think it might have been one adult male and some juveniles because some of them are rustier red than the others. A beautiful site at the bird feeder.

We could get two or three in the photo, but never four.

I've started celebrating Halloween early. Yesterday, I wore black tights with purple and green stars and a splotch of purple in my hair. My friend, Amanda, said she read this in a book: I don't believe in fashion. I believe in costume. Life is too short to be the same person every day.

I told a woman at River Rock that my husband bought the tights for me and she was astonished. "Your husband?" she said...then "He rocks!" I agree.

I'm going to Yogilates this morning at the Pulse, then to work. Happy weekend!

the nicest kind of surprise

I was walking back into the house after exercising this morning when I spotted this in my garden. It's an impatiens and it's growing in an area that has seen major disruption this summer with a patio expansion, then hosta and perennial planting, let alone the fact that I didn't plant any impatiens this summer. Where did this little thing come from? Quite a survivor, I'd say. What a nice surprise in the late fall garden.

I also found this lovely plant that I don't believe has ever bloomed before and used to be in a different place. I think it's a variety of joe pye weed, but I can't be sure.

Regis is really into zombies this year. He wrote a story for a writing challenge they had on our favorite morning radio show. This is the show for which we will be the programmers for a day the 2nd of November. Put that on your calendars! I don't really understand a fascination with zombies as I have never read about them and have never seen a movie with a zoombie in it. Ella knows more about zombies than I do. I'm not a fan of anything scarier than....can't even think of an example. Regis says the lion in the Wizard of Oz. Yeah, that's about it.

It was cold here today. I talked to a fellow at the shop who was in the process (packed car) of moving from Utah to Minnesota and he was not in favor of this cold weather. I would have no clue about the weather in Utah but he says it's much milder than here. We are a hearty lot in Minnesota.

Two days in a row, my new schedule has worked. I exercise at 8:00, go to work at 10:30, and come home at 4:00. That's a great string!

I'm reading a very good book that everyone else has probably read long ago: The Thirteenth Tale. Just now checking the reviews, I see it came out in 2006. I wonder how long it's been on the shelf. I like it anyway. I have been reading a lot in the middle of the night which is fine but I often wake myself up when the book falls to the floor.

We're getting our beef from Meat Mike tomorrow. That's what I call him in my phone. Damn android phone collects every phone number for anybody who crosses your path in any of the social media so there is a list a mile long. I can't remember who all these people are so I call them things like Meat Mike and Patrick Hair.

If you recall, when we first started doing business with Mike, he offered to have me come out to his farm to see that his cows had great pasture-fed lives. No, thanks, I said. I'll take your word for it. I don't need to look into the big brown eyes of anything today that I will be eating next week.

We're celebrating Halloween at River Rock with a series of dress-up days and some of my coworkers don't have adequate costume supplies so I am gathering some things to take to work so they can be appropriately clothed. Let's see....pirate day, witch day, River Rock colors day, dress like a biker day, crazy hat day, and costume of your choice day. I've already been doing WILD TIGHTS DAY every day but I felt that might be an imposition for the men on our staff.

Regis and Gus went to dog obedience class this morning and Regis reports that Gus did very well oh thank goodness he did not get kicked out of school. He and the dingo are still like bad magnets but at least they don't fly around the room like crazy kites at the ends of their leashes. That was embarrassing.

Gus weighs 35 pounds and is about the size of a small pony. Hard to believe he could be 70 pounds. We had visitors last night and he was well-behaved what a relief. Today, the assessor for our home refinancing came around and took about 5 pictures of our house and about 20 pictures of Gus. Ha!

I saw a friend of mine today, who in the last three months has had pneumonia, bronchitis, a house fire, and a bad case of tendinitis. I said she should probably walk away real fast because she's a lightening rod for bad luck. No, I didn't. That would be kind of mean, now wouldn't it? hahaha! On my walk to the bank, I saw a woman sleeping behind the wheel of her car. (It was parked.) I had the worst urge to pound on the hood. That would wake her up. Some people don't admit to these kinds of thoughts, I know that.

Well, that's probably enough of my random thoughts for one night.

a new week

I got home from work on Friday about 4. Regis and I wandered down to the bar about 5 and had a drink and a bite to eat. We were home by 8:00 after visiting with lots of people, hearing the news about the Oktoberfest, and seeing the Govies parade off down the alley. That was the last time we left the house all weekend except for a brief trip by bicycle to the bank on Saturday morning.

We're ready for a new week. We got some piddly chores done that we have been putting off for a few weeks and we had a day of complete decadence. It was a good weekend.

There are a few things we need to get done before winter. Organize the garage a little bit for one. You couldn't get a snowblower out of there for anything at this point. We tend to just drop things as we go in the door. Never a good policy but it's the way we are.

I've been working more hours than I want to work at River Rock. Every week, I think I have a handle on it and turns out, I don't. My exercise has suffered and I feel unbalanced many days. I made a schedule Friday that says I will go to the Pulse every day at 8:00, some days I will take a class and some days I'll just walk or run. I'll go to work at 10:30 and work until 4:00. Many good things about this schedule and I'm going to try and stick to it.

We didn't partake of any of the Oktoberfest. It might have been a happening but we don't drink real beer anymore, don't really enjoy polka music, and it was cold. Ah, well. It looked like a good time...all but the sauerkraut eating contest. I can eat a bite of sauerkraut about one time a year. Ack.

Regis and listened to a two-disk set of songs from the 60s yesterday while we finished out DIY projects. Ha! Pretty funny. He grew up in a big city and was a little more savvy regarding the 60s than I was. I said growing up in SW Minnesota, I didn't experience the 60s until the 70s. Always a decade behind. Of course, I missed the 80s completely because I had two babies. No wonder my sense of recent music history is so messed up.

The radio station we listen to in the morning is crazy. They play independent stuff which we appreciate. (We're going to be programmers for a day on November 2nd.) This morning, they announced that Sonic Youth is splitting up. Who? Never heard of them. Like the time I read (on the cover of the Rolling Stone) that Radiohead is the Future. I wondered how this could be when I had never heard of Radiohead and had no idea if this was a person or a band or some kind of small kitchen appliance. Maybe I should be more careful about expressing my ignorance.

Well, this was pretty much a random and weird post. It's Monday morning so what can you expect?