Halloween was kind of a bust here. We only had 19 trick-or-treaters before I closed up shop at 8:30. And 3 of those were my little friends whose parents drove them over just to see me. If they hadn’t come, it would have been 16. A LOT of leftover candy… sadly we bought stuff that we like.
One of the things I like to do when kids come up to the house is guess what their costumes are. Some are easy. Spider girl. Cowboy. Ninja. Cat. But some were clearly off my radar; my knowledge of popular culture is just not up to snuff for Halloween. One tween was all sparkled up with tuile and a jaunty hat; she told me she was Moulin Rouge. I was thinking another was Barbie but turned out she was the American Girl Doll Courtney, complete with a small rollie case with the doll itself inside.
The one who took the cake was a kid, maybe 11 or 12. I thought he was a monk… robe with rope as a belt, a few medallions, a long cross necklace. Nope… he told me he was a plague doctor. It took me by surprise and by the time I had the question “Where is your plague mask” come to my lips, the little group he was with had headed back the sidewalk where some parents were waiting.
Plague doctor? Really? I was dumbstruck. Do kids know what a plague doctor was? Are plague doctors in popular culture these days. Rabbit hole time.
Apparently plague doctors are alive and well among us:
The Plague Doctor from Vigil: The Longest Night. He’s a bad guy trying to resurrect an evil goddess.
The Doctor from Plague Road. This is a post-apocalyptic and ruined world game in which The Doctor explores and fights bad guys.
Plague Knight from Shovel Knight. Also a villain whose modus operandi is explosive alchemy potions.
The Leech from Wytchwood. Yet another sinister figure who injects diseases into his patients.
The Warden from The Serpent Road. This alchemist’s role is stopping a spreading infection with potion crafting.
Corbus from Thymesia. This character has survived the plague with an experimental treatment that leaves him with raven-like abilities.
This is just a handful and most of the games are in the dark fantasy genre. Almost all of them wear the traditional bird-like mask (which I also discovered, were fashioned so that there were receptacles along each side of the long beak for perfumes and drugs). I suppose that it’s easy to cast such a scary and suspicious-looking character into a bad guy in these games but it seems a little unfair to stain the service of all the doctors who tried to help with the plague despite the risks and the odds of not surviving themselves.
Any memorable costumes this year (or that you can remember from past years??
Years ago, YA came home with the first of the Lamb Chop chew toys for Guinevere. Guinevere was the Queen of Destruction when it came to stuffy toys. She could disable and disembowel a squeaky toy in a matter of minutes and once it didn’t squeak, it was just a useless clump of foam to her. I was extremely queasy about letting her have a Lamb Chop toy; it meant nothing to YA but I remember Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop from my childhood with affection.
Seeing Lamb Chop murdered before my eyes was not something I was looking forward to. To everyone’s surprise, Guinevere treated Lamb Chop almost with reverence, gently nibbing on it. No ripping it’s guts out, no chewing it’s head off. It was weirdly wonderful. When the Lamb Chop toys went on sale, we bought ten of them. Every Solstice she got a fresh one and when she passed, there were at least six of them still in service.
Freya has inherited all the Lamb Chops and so far, four of them have met their maker. She is rabid about getting to the squeaker, but unlike Guinevere who would just disable the squeaker, Freya wants to eat the squeaker! (Add this to a long list of things that Freya thinks she needs to chew/eat.) So in addition to the awful mess that an expiring Lamb Chop makes, I am now the Official Director of “Watch-Freya-To-Make-Sure-She-Doesn’t-Eat-The-Squeaker”. This means when she gets close (when she can get her whole snoot inside the toy), I have to take the toy and get the squeaker out myself. So now I am the one pulling out the innards of a beloved childhood character. From murder watch to pre-emptive murder itself.
Any childhood characters you think would make a good dog toy? Or that you would prefer NOT to see chewed on?
As a working research campus, the first commercially produced dry dog food was developed here
The Visitor Center here has education exhibits, wagon rides, a hayloft play area and hands-on animal encounters with chicks, lambs, bunnies and cows (milking).
Dogs are welcome here if vaccinated, leashed and well-socialized.
Voting on Election Day has always been my modus operandi – except, of course, during COVID. That year YA and I drove downtown to drop off our ballots. With YA’s travel and work schedule, she has used mail-in ballots more the last couple of years, including the upcoming election. Although I’ve been trying not to let the internet shove my anxiety over the edge, I have seen quite a few exhortations online to not actually MAIL your mail-in ballot. This led me to the Secretary of State website to find drop-off spots for ballots. I even volunteered to drop it off for her.
That’s when I discovered all the early-voting options in Minneapolis, including a pop-up, one-day site just a few blocks from my house. I have been absolutely slammed the last couple of weeks with appointments, meetings and projects, with no end in site for a bit to I decided to check it out. Well, let me tell you, I wasn’t the only one! It was hopping. The little parking lot was full, people parking on the street all around the park building and so many people on the move. I was a little worried that with this much activity, it would be a long wait.
But no. The line moved really quickly and as I got closer to the gymnasium, I saw why. There were at least 20 voting booths with another 10 or so sitting stations, 10 folks doing the check-in, 1 guy monitoring the check-in and he was notifying another gal who was directing voters when there was space. Everything is on the computer now… remember those big books of print-outs that used to be needed? History. They were even printing out individual ballots. 2 ballot boxes. So many volunteers. This was easily 3 times larger of an operation than my normal polling place on election day. It was amazing.
It took 20 minutes total, including the walk from my car to the park building and back and the additional form that I had to fill out to drop off YA’s ballot. Done and dusted in 20 minutes. I suppose I could have just waited, but it feels nice to have to have options and have it off my to-list. Can’t ask for better than that!
Have you voted already? Going tomorrow? Mail-in or in-person?
I saw a post the other day titled “How to survive Absolute chaos- Advice from a goose.” Turns out there’s a lot of advice from a goose out there if you look for it. Talk about a rabbit hole.
But here’s a few that I plagiarized. I mean I am sharing:
The Core Tenets of Goose Wisdom
Let them be wrong: Do not waste energy debating people who are committed to misunderstanding you.
Honk once: Express your frustration or boundaries clearly, then move on without over-explaining yourself like you are in a court. (I like this one)
Exit dramatically: Walk away mid-sentence if someone is testing your patience.
Remain Delusionally confident: Do I have a plan? No. Do I know where I’m going? Also no. Am I walking like I own the village? Absolutely.
Stop overthinking: Made a mistake? Embarrass yourself? It’s fine. I once screamed at a traffic cone. We all have our moments.
Lower your expectations: Not every day needs to be productive. Yesterday I stood in a puddle for 3 hours. Accomplished nothing. Absolutely magnificent day.
Celebrate small wins: Got out of bed? Brilliant! Had a little snack? Fantastic! Make it through Tuesday without fighting a garbage bin? Personal growth.
Go at your own pace: Some days you fly. Some days you waddle. Some days you stand in a field looking like you’ve forgotten why you’re there. All personally acceptable.
Accept the unexpected: Plans gone wrong? Never mind. I once followed a tractor for 40 minutes. No idea where it was going. Best afternoon of my life. (I may have done this one)
Final Goose Rule: Life is far too short to have everything figured out. Have a little waddle. Cause a minor inconvenience. Eat some grass. Tomorrow is another day.
Isn’t life like that? It sure feels like it’s just rushing and scurrying. It is just relentless!
Last Saturday Kelly and I went to a wedding at the Van Dusen Mansion in Minneapolis.
Love me some wood pillars!
George Van Dusen is buried in Rochester.
The final Van Dusen mansion.
Then we saw the Vikings play on Sunday. Daughter stayed with son and DiL. The wedding had reserved a block of rooms at a very nice hotel in downtown Minneapolis. We planned on walking to the stadium but Sarah, driving a pedicab appeared and she took us to the stadium. It was fun! And the game; SO MANY PEOPLE! And so much to look at. I was often distracted. Kelly says the Vikings did win.
We returned home on Sunday evening and the dogs were glad to see us. The next morning a neighbor sent me a trailcam picture of Bailey and Humphrey half a mile from home, carrying a deer leg. Humphrey has a sensitive stomach and does not handle carrion well. The next morning daughter had a GI bug. One of those that causes multiple washes of the bedding. Then Humphrey, uh, ‘brought up’ a large pile of deer guts. In Kelly’s office. Thank goodness (for me) I had already left for work. Kelly was rather dis-pleased. And then later, while I was at rehearsal, Luna brought her meal back for seconds. Quite a contrast to our weekend.
I sold some straw bales. And took a little time to get the bales out of the wagon from the hayride, put the wagon away, then cleaned a little bit more down around the barn where I tore out the fence. That was the extent of my farming for the week.
I talked with neighbor Craig about corn harvest and they’re having a tough time because so much corn has broken off and was blown down from that September 2nd wind storm. Trying to harvest that is slow going. One neighbor told me he’s going sideways across the rows just trying to get it to feed in. Thankfully, my corn is still standing pretty well. Luck or different varieties, hard to say. I did hear that one brand of corn seemed to go down more than others. And just yesterday saw a video saying the outside rows of a field, being exposed to the wind all season, develop sturdier stalks. Whereas the inside rows, being sheltered, are more brittle. And once exposed at harvest, it’s possible they’ll break off between one round and the next. Hopefully they get to my corn soon. Sure are lucky with the weather, I’d like it to hold until I can finish doing fall tillage.
It has been tech week at the college, and our fall play, ‘Dragons Love Tacos’ opens Saturday. Long days and evening rehearsals. School shows twice a day next week, but evenings home!
(BTW, if you’re interested, there are A LOT of songs about Taco’s according to Josiah, our director and music designer. Many are inappropriate for a kids show. The things you learn!)
Home to work on music homework. Music Intervals are killing me! It’s just not sinking in. I can count the number, it’s the major and minor that’s confusing me. The teacher is doing her best with me… I think she’s rolling her eyes every time I come in. It’s too late to audit the class rather than letter grade. Hmmm. We shall see. Chords next. I wonder how that will go? THEN maybe fieldwork!
It was a great wedding!
a bit of The Van Dusen Mansion
A lady said we were “cute” and wanted to take our picture. She had had a bit to drink. I’ve always gotten the best compliments from drunk people.
The pedicab driver, Sara.
Padawan is over on that side of the stadium.
MTM
Remember the baby guineas from summer? Seven survived and are pretty much grown up.
Spend your extra hour responsibly.
IF THAT EXTRA HOUR WAS AT 9:30 AM ON A THURSDAY, WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH IT?
Husband and I inherited a rather old but serviceable upright freezer from the former owners of our house when we moved to Luverne. It was a Kenmore brand. (The former owners once owned the local Sears store.) It was probably 15+ years old.
Its motor/fan ran continuously no matter what the temperature was set at. It froze things well, though. We brought a large upright freezer with us from ND when we moved. Given the way we cook, garden, and grocery shop, it is essential that we have at least two freezers in addition to the smaller one in the fridge.
I had been watching the old freezer closely, given its age, and noticed immediately last week when the fan just stopped working. After I unplugged and plugged it in again and turned the temperature control around a couple of times the fan started in again. Nothing had thawed. I knew this was a bad omen, though, so Husband and I went to our local appliance store in the morning. Yes, they had just the upright freezer we needed. Yes, they could deliver it. Would it work if they delivered it immediately? They were having a slow morning at the store. We had to race home to get there before the appliance guy did! I am glad we didn’t lose any food in the freezer and had ample time to get the new freezer cold before we emptied the old one. The appliance guy came the next day to haul away the old one.
The new freezer works well and is much bigger than the old one. This is the fourth major appliance we have replaced since we moved. There aren’t many aged appliances left here. I am happy the furnaces and A/C units are much newer. (We have two of each due to the building of an addition to the house several years ago.) I really don’t want any more major appliance expenditures for a while.
Any memorable appliance woes for you? Remember chest freezers? How many freezers do you have?
I wrote last week about my anxiety about participating in an art class at a local studio here. Well, my worries were for naught. The Raku class was fun, and far easier than I imagined.
The class was taught by a local artist who makes a lot of pottery. He is a retired electician who teaches how to be an electrician at a nearby technical college. He gives all sorts of art classes at his studio, which is in an enormous barn on a former horse farm just outside of town, and was filled with paints, glazes, potters wheels, kilns, etc.
We had to choose a pre-cast figure to glaze. I chose a dragon and decided if it turned out I would give it to my grandson. Boommate chose a vase. We were given a wide variety of glazes to choose from. I chose two glazes that were supposed to turn multiple colors. Some glazes were just single colors. We had to give the figures two coats of glaze. It dried really fast so we could fo two coats in quick succession. There were about 12 people in the class, including teens and adults. Many had been to his classes before.
The figures were fired in a kiln set to 1850°. There was fire shooting out of the top of the kiln. As they finished firing, the figures were placed in buckets, and we had to throw pieces of paper on them, which burst into flame and did something to the glaze finish. When they were a liitle cooler and the paper was all burned they were hosed down with cold water. Then we had to scrub them with soap and abrasive cleanser to remove any ash.
You can see my dragon in the header photo. My lack of artistic talent is well known in the family. Daughter commented “YOU painted THAT?!!” when she saw the photo. I am pretty proud of it. Boommate and I decided we will probably go to a winter class.
What have you made that makes you the proudest? What is your favorite kind of art?
Quite a few years ago I had DNA testing through Ancestry. Over the years there have been reanalyses of results. I believe it has become more accurate, and the area of my Europe my ancestors are from matches family history and lore. Both sides of my family come from northern Germany and the Netherlands. We are North Sea/Baltic Sea people. There is absolutely no evidence that my father’s family is French. That is a long held family myth. They are Dutch and Ostfriesian. My mother’s people come from the area around Hamburg and Bremen, and Schwerin, a town in northern Mecklenburg.
Every so often I get new results from Ancestry regarding DNA linked traits that I might possess. I don’t know how much I believe in the accuracy of the results, nor do I know how the results were derived, but some are spot on. I just don’t know how DNA influences them. For example, just last week I learned I had a new trait, that of not liking scary movies. Well, I really dislike scary movies. My mom didn’t like them either.
Some of the traits I allegedly possess that are consistent with my experiences are being likely to drink caffeine beverages, having good eye-hand coordination, being unable to smell asparagus metabolites, being unlikely to enjoy watching sports, enjoying cilantro, being likely to get cavities, having high pain tolerance, and being able to wiggle my ears.
According to my Ancestry DNA analysis I am unlikely to go grey early and unlikely to have pets. Well, neither of those are accurate for me. I started going grey in my 30’s, and I have had pets all my life.
I take the trait reports with a grain of salt. I think we have more free will regarding how we function than our DNA dictates. Nature vs nurture is hard to discern. I am often sarcastically thanked by our children for giving them my gene for Generalized Anxiety Disorder. I think I would rather say it was in the DNA, and not how I raised them .
What traits do you possess that you think are inherited? What did your upbringing contribute? Can you wiggle your ears?
Over the weekend I finished No Two Persons by Erica Baumeister. It’s for my “other” book club. The author refers to it as a connected collection of short stories, but it really didn’t feel that way. Alice is the first character we meet – she is an author – and in the rest of the stories we meet those who read her book. Even though it was clear that it wasn’t a novel in the traditional sense, it felt like much more involved than a random group of short stories.
Even towards the beginning it seemed that the various people in the book were connected in more ways than just being readers. I was keeping track of them in my head and when I got finished, I realized I really wanted to see those connections on paper. So I pulled out my markers and post-it notes and made a chart. Nothing fancy, but it did the job. The two smaller post-it notes are fairly minor characters but since they both touched more than one life in the book, they got added. Miranda got two lines because she had a “give back” connection to Alice. I can’t say more without it being a big old spoiler alert.
Language in the book was wonderful; I really felt like I got to know each of the main characters and what was motivating them. None of the individuals felt stereotypical – Baumeister did a good job of making them real to me.
It was a pretty quick read because I was really drawn in from the beginning and I’m recommending it highly. 5 stars. Absolutely sure this will make the Top Ten list this year.
Do you like charts? Have a favorite kind? Pi charts? Venn diagrams? Bar charts? Scatter charts? Remember the last time you MADE a chart?
Our church participates in the St. Dysmas ministry at the South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls. This is a ministry focused on prison inmates. Our church sends parishioners to the prison for services. St. Dysmas was the name given to the prisoner crucified on the right side of Jesus who repented of his crimes.
Husband is interested in participating in this ministry. In order to do so he has to submit a quarterly background check request. His record is blameless, but the authorities may have some issues with his wife’s last name.
In May, 1991, my father was asked to give a lecture on becoming a sports official and the intricacies of being a referree, to prisoners at the SD Penitentiary. He gave his lecture to about 30 male prisoners. It went well, he thought, and he gathered up his things and left. Within minutes after his departure there was a very serious prison-wide riot. He wasn’t blamed for the riot, but I imagine his name was mentioned in the report on the riot.
Dad’s friends thought the timing of his lecture and the riot was hilarious, and teased him about it with great relish. There wasn’t any connection between Dad and the riot, but was a pretty interesting coincidence. I worry that if Husband has to list my last name on his background check, he may get turned down for participation in the St. Dysmas program.
Ever been in a riot? Ever visited a prison? What might you like to give a lecture on, and to who?
