We've had a nice weekend, so far. I went to exercise yesterday, picked up Ella on my way home, we decorated the Christmas tree, went to Patrick's for lunch and watched the fish house parade. Our float concept would have been a hit so we're already planning for next year.
This last car was our favorite. The license plates are from South Dakota. Not sure if they meant to be in the parade or not but they were such good sports. They all wore Santa hats and the windows were rolled down so we could hear the Christmas music. Beyond this, there was not a lot of imagination or humor in the fish house parade.
Regis and I went out for a quiet dinner last night and ran into some old friends. We had a good time at Pappageorge with Ann and Brad, then stopped at Patrick's on our way home. The band, the New Primitives, is one of my favorites so pretty soon it was dancing time. Two young women who were not born in this country, Teresa and Christina (twins) were fairly inebriated and they decided I was their spiritual mother or something. The band was fun but we got out of there before the crowds came and I was kidnapped by the drunk girls.
They had an ugly sweater contest at the bar last night. There were lots of ugly Christmas sweaters but you were afraid to mention it in case it was just a sweater somebody wore.
The temperature is zero. Zero. What the hell. It's going to be a cold week, Miles, so keep your long johns handy.
Birds. Here I am in a pair of red velvet reindeer antlers with jingle bells on, feeding the birds. We had two pair of cardinals at the feeders yesterday. They were so beautiful against the white snow in the dusk. It takes your breath away. Regis took the picture through the window and the white lights are the reflection of our Christmas tree lights.
Fun today. Ella is coming over to decorate our tree then we're going to the fish house parade and maybe downtown to see Santa.
Boots. I have been on a boot kick for the last year. When I was ahem, fatter, I always wanted to wearboots but my calves were too big. Now that I can fit my strong legs into boots, they're all I want to wear. I like a good deal, though, so I shop the clearance area of 6pm.com and this is my latest purchase. They're Carlos Santana snakeskin/leather boots. They were 180 bucks originally (yeah, I don't know where...) but I got them for 38 bucks. Wow. Great deal. They are not good on ice, though. Wherever Carlos lives, they apparently do not have winter. I wore these out last weekend and had to stand motionless on an icy sidewalk while Regis ran to get additional footwear.
My mom pointed out in a comment on the previous thankful post that I should be thankful for her and I am. She's a woman with a kind heart and good sense of fun and adventure. I hope I can be as much fun as my mom is when I'm 80. Speaking of 80, she said she got something from her car insurance company that said her car was only driven by an 80 year old woman and she thought, "Who in the hell is the 80 year old woman driving my car?" That's a hoot. Of course, Mom didn't say hell because she doesn't cuss as much as I do. Hardly anybody does.
Coffee. Not really but I had this great cartoon.
This thing is starting to mess with my formatting so I have to stop with the list. I don't like bad formatting...or spelling mistakes in public places.
Regis and I went to Patrick's last night for a glass of wine. They had posters up advertising a band called the New Primitives. Primitives was spelled like this: Primatives. Holy crap. I thought they would be stunned to know this so I took a couple of them down to show Brian who is in charge of things like that. He shrugged. I told Joey who was waiting on us. He shrugged. So, I guess in the world of Patrick's, it doesn't matter.
Onward and upward. Ella is coming over this morning to help decorate the tree. We will venture out to see the fish house parade and Santa later. It should be a wonderful weekend. Hope you enjoy it, too.
It's easy to be overwhelmed by the crap in life because there certainly is some of it. Anybody who reads the paper, listens to the news, or who gets dressed and leaves the house once a day knows it. There are so many things for which to be thankful, though, so my mental exercise this morning as I drink my coffee and watch my fireplace is to think of them.
The safety of our friend, Bob, after his terrifying roll-over on an icy road near Alexandria. It took me two days to respond to his email because it was such a frightening story. As he is a good and kind person, he didn't curse the state for not sanding or even nature for sending such road conditions, but he was grateful for the kindness of a stranger and for his health. For all of this, I am thankful.
A warm and well-lit house, tiny as it is. Regis and I have lived in this bitty two-bedroom, 1950's style rambler since we married 13 years ago. Most days we are overwhelmingly grateful for it's coziness and lack of storage space. We accumulate enough crap without storage space. What would happen if we suddenly had spare rooms? Our house is warm, covered in Christmas lights this time of year, and a fun place for our friends and family to gather.
Our similar temperaments when it comes to things like Christmas buying. We are well-suited to Christmas shopping together because what has evolved is that we don't. We enjoy buying things and doing things with other people but insanely buying Christmas presents is not one of them. Thank God we are both like that. It must be the hippie liberal coming out in us. We should have lived in a commune.
My sweet and supportive husband. Over the past two years, Regis has been kicked in the pants by job loss and unemployment. He struggles with it from time to time but for the most part, has picked himself up and gotten an education so he can be employed again. He berates himself at times, for all of this, but I think I got a good deal when I found him. He cares about my welfare almost more than his own. he knows my thoughts sometimes when I am not aware of them myself. I'm not describing a weird alien symbiotic relationship or anything, folks, just a man who loves me and takes care of me. What a treasure.
Good flavors in my food. When I had weight loss surgery, I thought I would give up the appreciation for good food. What I gave up was quantity and really bad food. I'm fussier now about what I eat and I love lots of flavor. Yesterday for lunch, I had a half a quesadilla with hot peppers stuffed with Andouille sausage and Mexican melting cheese we had grilled this summer with a cranberry and jalapeno dipping sauce. Oh, my.
Words and music. Scan to the right here and down the past month for all the beautiful words. A couple weeks ago we heard a crazy Irish rock band from Minneapolis. Saturday night there is a reggae band playing downtown. We have an iPod loaded with music that plays all evening. No commercials and no political ads and no news. Just music.
Exercise. I never thought I would say I enjoy exercise but I do. I look forward to a walk on Sunday when the sun is shining. I like the treadmill at the Pulse. I ran in the Mankato half marathon this fall and it was much harder than I thought it would be much a lot more fun than I thought it would be. Hey, I'm an athlete!
The internet. I was in a meeting yesterday where someone was cursing the internet and cell phones. I know there are bad things associated with each but I also remember the days of one telephone in the kitchen. The internet has made it so much easier for us to be connected and I like that. I have an online support group. I have relatives I have never met that communicate regularly on Facebook. I have friends who read my blog to find out what my recent rant is all about and to see pictures of my grand babies. What could be more fun than that?
My friend Jane's son Devin and his wife Hiroe welcomed Baby Grace Yushika on Wednesday, December 1st. She weighed about 6 pounds, 5 ounces. Mother and child both healthy and in good spirits.
This year, more than others, I hate the dark. I come home from school and I need lights and lots of them. I light candles, I light the hula girls, I turn on lamps. Yesterday, I asked Regis to stop at one of the big box stores to find more lights. He came home with a string of 300 LED lights and four packages of min-lights and two sets of battery operated lights. I should be set.
When I signed in this morning I noticed that I have written 1,221 posts. That's a lot of blah blah blah, I'd say. But I've had 18,483 hits on my main page which even accounting for me going back to read what I wrote myself and family who like to see their own pictures and friends who want to make sure I haven't moved to Poland, that is a lot of readers. Here's where the current readers come from:
457
91.40%
Minnesota
9
1.80%
New Mexico
5
1.00%
Colorado
5
1.00%
New York
5
1.00%
Wisconsin
4
0.80%
Massachusetts
3
0.60%
Kentucky
3
0.60%
Illinois
3
0.60%
South Carolina
1
0.20%
North Carolina
1
0.20%
Texas
1
0.20%
Georgia
I don't think it means much. I'm just saying is all.
Regis is watching the squirrels and birds in the front yard. They've been really active lately, building up their reserves for winter, I suppose. We have quite the fat squirrel population and they're fun to watch. They sort of hog the feeders though and the birds won't come if there is a squirrel sitting there. We've had more variety this year in the birds: nuthatches, chickadees, two pair of cardinals, flickers, woodpeckers, blue jays, finches.
I made the menu for the week composed completely of left-overs. We have meatloaf, turkey, chili, and chicken in the freezer in those vacuum sealer bags. Not much cooking required this week so we won't even have to make a trip to the store tomorrow.
We wanted, in the worst way, to have a float in the fish house parade but it looks like it won't happen. The guy who had the trailer says that part won't work out. We don't know anybody else with a truck and a trailer. And, pitiful as this sounds, apparently they have only had one entry. What is the matter with people?
I have a busy day planned but it might include a nap. I want to get the Thanksgiving dishes put away. I'm going to make soup with the turkey stock I made yesterday. I might even drag out a few Christmas things. Today will go by quickly and then it's back to work. A five day week. It's true, if work was fun, rich people would keep more of it for themselves.
Regis and I got the most immediate aftermath cleaned up yesterday. I made some turkey stock with the wings, we froze the left-over turkey in small packages, and froze the bread. Too good to throw out, you know. There are dishes all over the table but those will be put away tomorrow. Today is a day for fun.
I went to the Pulse this morning after a two day hiatus. I was beating myself mentally for being a slug lately and worried that I was losing my motivation. I have meticulous records of my exercise going back to August 2008 when I started so when I got home, I dug them out and analyzed the data. Here's what I learned:
September 2009 = 19 times/month with an average 226 minutes/week
September 2010 = 15 times/month with an average 234 minutes/week
October 2009 = 22 times/month with an average 220 minutes/week
October 2010 = 14 times/month with an average 213 minutes/week
November 2009 = 21 times/month with an average 188 minutes/week
November 2010 = 15 times/month with an average 197 minutes/week
Looks like I exercised less times per month this fall but about the same number of minutes per month. So, nothing to worry about, I guess. It's a busy time of year, the start of school and the holidays. Things will pick up in January.
I'm making the transition from one season to another. I don't do a lot of decorating for Christmas but I love winter music, Christmas dishes and linens, and I love Christmas scents. I bought evergreen scented candles yesterday, one of those reed diffuser things, and a tiny light-up snowman.
Betty, Tiffany, Ella and I are going to see the Nutcracker in Mankato on the 12th. Tiffany loved the Nutcracker when she was little and we went several times. I was always fascinated that she was so little but loved a long story with few words. Maybe it's the dancing. Ella, here is the slideshow from last year's performance.Ella hasbeen over to watch the McCauley Culkin version acouple times and always wants me to read the names of the characters in the credits. The story is always a little different. We have front row seats so it will be fun!
On with the day. We're piddling around this afternoon and celebrating the end of the weekend with dinner at Pappageorge. Enjoy the day, my friends.
Oh, for anyone who is interested in the spoon-hanging picture below....there are spoon hanging tutorials on youtube. LOL Actually, there are tons of them. Here's one.
We use Alton Brown's turkey recipe. The bird brines in a bath of salt water, aromatics, and citrus fruit. It smells wonderful!
One nice lookin' pie. The chocolate one is disappointing. I don't make it often enough and forget the minor details like you can't make ganache in the microwave.
Ella came over to help make the pumpkin pie with tofu since she is allergic to dairy. She's a good helper in the kitchen and she especially liked pushing the pulse button on the food processor.
My black market lefse made it from Fargo, thank God. I pay six dollars a package for Freddy's lefse from Fargo and they sell it for twelve at the coffee shop. My lefse agent said when he was in the store, someone was ordering two packages to be delivered overnight for 90 dollars. Holy crap. But it is lefse, after all, and it's only money.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Looks like the roads will be passable around here. I'm glad nobody has to travel too far.
If you have seen the snow
somewhere slowly fall
on a bicycle,
then you understand
all beauty will be lost
and that even the loss
can be beautiful.
And if you have looked
at a winter garden
and seen not a winter garden
but a meditation on shape,
then you know why
this season is not
known for its words,
the cold too much
about the slowing of matter,
not enough about the making of it.
So you are blessed
to forget this way:
a jump rope in the ice melt,
a mitten that has lost its hand,
a sun that shines
as if it doesn't mean it.
And if in another season
you see a beautiful woman
use her bare hands
to smooth wrinkles
from her expensive dress
for the sake of dignity,
but in so doing trace
the outlines of her thighs,
then you will remember
surprise assumes a space
that has first been forgotten,
especially here, where we
rarely speak of it,
where we walk out onto the roofs
of frozen lakes
simply because we're stunned
we really can.
I took a personal day yesterday to prepare for Thanksgiving. Regis and I bought our groceries at 6 a.m. in Mankato. Our friends at the HyVee were preparing for the onslaught of customers. With Monday's icy road conditions, people were not out shopping and all we've heard since Monday night is the icy conditions anticipated for today. That leaves yesterday. Cars were streaming into the parking lot by the time we left at 7:30. It was gonna be ugly.
I went to the Pulse to exercise, then spent the rest of the day puttering in the house and cooking. The cooking part is what I love. These are the things we did yesterday:
Made a stop at the Co-op for nutmeg and ginger
Picked up flowers at the greenhouse
Made cornbread for the Andouille sausage stuffing
Baked my Italian country bread
Made spicy cranberry sauce with jalapenos and apples
Got the ingredients ready for the onion tartlets
Caramelized onions for the tartlets and the cranberry compote
Started thawing the turkey in a cold water bath
Set the table
Did dishes...probably ten times
Tonight, we make three pies, brine the turkey, cut up vegetables for the dressings (thank God for the food processor), make the cranberry and apple chutney. I might cut up the vegetables for roasting, too.
I dread the weather conditions. Dread. Dread. Dread. I'll just be traveling around town but all of our kids will be on the roads to school and work and it can drive a guy crazy with worry. No help, I know. But crazy just the same.
So, let's get safely through this day, then on with the show.
I'm awake at 3 a.m. worrying about icy roads and how I will get to the store for my Thanksgiving groceries. Finally decided to get up and check the weather. Like that will make a difference. And after all of that, I forgot to check.
Also worried about not having enough time to thaw my turkey if I buy it tomorrow. Is it the full moon that does this?
Ella came over Sunday afternoon to bake a pumpkin that we got at Living Land Farm this fall. She wants to make a pie so we baked the pumpkin and she'll come over on Wednesday to finish the pie.
Scooping out the pumpkin guts as she calls them.
Almost five years old!
The finished product. She liked the pumpkin with a little brown sugar on it.
We sat in the chair with the hula girl lights around our necks.
Snuggling.
Looking stylish.
The forecast doesn't look too bad for tomorrow. Icy rain today. Ugh. I have to find my yak trax. Of all things, I found the ones Regis never even put on last year but now I can't find mine. I wore them all the time. What the hell. I hate losing things but it's the story of my life.
Rooting around for Yak Trax at 3:30 in the morning. This is insane.
