A member of our extended family has developed gluten and lactose intolerance due to an autoimmune disorder. I am helping with diet ideas and foods to help her find some yummy new things to eat. I ordered a bunch of gluten free baking products for her from King Arthur Baking Company, as well as 9 pounds of lentils and quinoa from other sources. . She likes Asian and Indian food, so that helps a lot.
I would have a really hard time giving up wheat and dairy products. I suppose there is a grieving process when something like this happens. I was surprised, though, at how many of the foods we like to eat are actually gluten free. Beans, corn, lentils, rice, quinoa, all gluten free. Ice cream, half and half in my coffee, those would be hard to go without. I love dairy products. It is comforting that butter is relatively lactose free. It is a good thing our relative doesn’t drink beer, which is full of gluten. I am hopeful she will feel better with her new diet.
What foods would be hard for you to give up? Any tips or recipes for someone venturing into a gluten and lactose free life?
I don’t remember when I found my donut at Sunstreet Breads… it was before pandemic, I do know that. All these years it’s my Wednesday default… donut and raspberry cream scone. Throughout all that time YA has only been moderately interested. Some weeks she’ll ask for a savory treat (spinach swirl, sweet potato chevre bundle…) and occasionally a fruit turnover of some kind. Some weeks nothing.
Then last week she asked for a donut. Doubletake on my part but I got her a donut. The gal at the bakery was surprised as well when I said two donuts. When I asked YA how she liked it, her lukewarm response was “it’s OK”.
So imagine my surprise when yesterday morning she asked “Can you get me two things?” The blueberry turnover and… wait for it… a donut. “They’re good” she commented when I looked at her as if hot frogs were on the loose.
Yesterday afternoon, after doing a boatload of errands, I came home feeling… joyous. I’m not exactly sure why – it’s not my normal go-to reaction to doing errands. The only think I could think was that yesterday, I finally handled two issues that have been on my back-burner for months. Neither of the issues is the biggest deal, so it’s been easy to put them off.
The main reason that I addressed both these issues is because this meme has popped up a couple of time the last two weeks:
It’s funny because it’s true of a lot of us, especially me. But seeing it multiple times felt like an omen that needed addressing.
Anyway, when I got home in my great mood, I asked Alexa to play “Sugar, Sugar” by the Archies. I’m not putting the song up here because if you have any liking for it at all, you remember it. And if you don’t like it, I don’t want to torture you. But it’s a happy tune and it’s great to dance to in the kitchen while you’re putting away groceries. Alexa then went on to play a lot more bubblegum rock – more good boogie music. Gave the dog and cat some extra afternoon treats. Texted YA that I love her.
It makes me wish I had more things I’ve been putting off; wondering if I can recreate this mood at will by playing a silly song by a made-up cartoon group?
Do you ever dance in the kitchen? Sing in the car? Or the shower?
Husband has decided that it is very important that the next time we travel overseas, we should go to Emden, in northwest Germany to see where my father’s people come from, and then go to Debden, UK to see the village where my dad was stationed during the Second World War. He also wants to go to Edinburgh and other parts of the Scottish lowlands to see where his mother’s people come from. He has no dates chosen for when we will do this, just some time after we move back to Minnesota when I retire.
When we visited my maternal grandfather’s village south of Bremen several years ago I felt a real connection because I still have family who live there. My father’s people left Ostfriesland in the 1850’s, and any connections there are long lost. Still, I think it will be pretty interesting, although it is my understanding that the people who live in Ostfriesland are frequently the butt of jokes in Germany and are stereotyped as backward and somewhat hapless. It will be fun to see for myself. All I know about the place is that it is low, flat, there is water everywhere, and the inhabitants drink more tea per capita than in any other country.
Where do your people come from? Where would you like to travel next, time, money, and health permitting?
This weekend Husband and I are going to have a shred fest, disposing of lots of unneeded documents that we sorted through and discarded last Saturday. For some reason probably having to do with all the renovation in the basement, our housekeeping has really gone south over the past 18 months.
What with Covid and our busy schedules we have had very few guests over to the house in the past couple of years. Last Sunday that changed when Husband gave a cello lesson to one of our church choir members. The aspiring cellist brought his wife along, also a choir member, and we had to do a lot of house cleaning before they came. The dust was awful, and there were countless dog nose prints on the bay window that needed to be cleaned. We even cleaned out closets and brought lots of stuff to the thrift store. We also gave the basement a good cleaning now that the renovations are completely done. We were exhausted by the time we were finished.
We really don’t have a schedule for cleaning. We just do what needs to be done when we see it. I think that when we are both fully retired it will be easier to be more intentional housekeepers. Cleaning closets is pretty low on the list, but it sure feels good when I open the closets and see the organization and fewer things. I have the same approach to cleaning and organizing my desk at work. I have a far too grand, u-shaped desk at work that allows me to have stacks of papers that get bigger and bigger and still leave me room to do my work. You can see how ridiculously big this desk is.
I also have some odd figures that I have acquired over the years that hold pride of place in one corner of the desk. You can see them in the header photo. When the paper piles start encroaching on Moishe and Sigmund, then I know it is time to file things and straighten things up.
What did or does your desk look like at work? What is your decorative style?
This week has been about theater. It’s one of those periods where I have to get a show ready, plus class, plus the real job, plus the everyday household stuff and chickens and kids and dogs and, you know… “Any Idiot can handle a crisis, it’s the day to day living that wears you out”.
I’m lighting Hamlet this week. “A Reimagined Classic” is the marketing tagline. I don’t know my Shakespeare, so I don’t know which parts have been “reimagined”. I know the script jumps over scenes, and it ends with Act 7 and it’s still 2.5 hours long. I recognize many well-known lines. And there’s some funny stuff in the first half. It’s probably not a spoiler to say everyone dies at the end. Being reimagined, I can use some non-traditional lighting and some color washes on the backwall, as well as color on the actors. Here’s a picture from my tech table, just to give you an idea, with work lights still on.
Scenic design by Erica Zaffarano, directed by Merritt Olson.
Paper tech will be on Saturday evening, meaning the director and tech people go through the script and coordinate sound and lighting cues so the Stage Manager, who runs it all, has everything they need. Sunday evening will be a full run through with costumes, sound, and lights. Generally, Monday will be make up, wigs, plus all the other stuff. It’s really interesting, the show can be really humming along, and then you throw all the tech stuff in, and the show takes about 4 steps back. As an actor, it’s just a lot of stuff your brain is dealing with besides lines and blocking (movement).
We had our first meeting at our new Haverhill Township townhall on Wednesday. Bathrooms! Running water! HEAT! And AC!
Our old townhall was basically a one room school. A wonderful place with a lot of character, but it was 100 years old. With no running water, and an outhouse… The only State Insured Outhouse in Minnesota!
I went to 4H there, I did one act plays on that stage, and my mom and dad met as infants when their bassinettes were put behind the furnace by their respective moms during Mothers and Daughters Club. A lot of history in this building.
At the college, I’m working on the set model for The Curious Savage, by John Patrick, our spring play. I also got the genie lift out and tie a rope up at the ceiling for the physics demonstration show Saturday and, since I had the genie out, I changed some burned out fluorescent lamps. I keep a log of when I change lamps so I can change several at the same time if they’re all on the same timeline. Some of these 8’ fluorescents have been going since March 2, 2015! It isn’t unusual to get 6 or 7 years out of them. I’ve got one set in the shop that’s been going since January 25th of 2012!!
When I walk back from class on the other end of the campus on the first floor, I walk up 5 floors, to a roof access door, just to get steps in, then back to my office on the 2nd floor. Written on the wall by the roof access is some pretty wise graffiti: “you bleed just to know you’re alive” and next to it, “Don’t forget you can live without bleeding “ And these: “The quality of life is determined by the questions you ask” – WB 2017 “If you don’t ask the questions, you’re never going to know the answers” – SF 2018
WHERE OR HOW DID YOUR PARENTS MEET? OR YOU AND YOUR SPOUSE? ❤️
My children love to characterize me as being really rigid and fussy. I’m really not that fussy and particular, but they exaggerate as a way of gentle teasing. My post last week about Saying “No” gave us some some fun discussion about my parenting. I didn’t realize that they both read the blog on a regular basis. Son sent me the following You Tube video, which I find hilarious. He likes to refer to me as “Meine lieblings Mutti”.
I like their teasing, as it is gentle and done in good humor. My father was a terrible tease but he wasn’t malicious. There is a fine line between good teasing and bullying, though. We don’t have bullies in our family.
I have been teased at work by my coworkers the past few weeks for my smudging of our building and the sheer amount of smoke that I filled the building with. That has been fun teasing, too. I imagine it got tiresome for a former coworker to have it brought up on a regular basis that she had been caught speeding in a State vehicle by the governor. She always accepted it with grace and humor.
What do people tease you about? Know any mothers like the one in the video?
At the back of my grandson’s elementary school is a good sized hill that the children can play on. I suppose in the fall and spring they roll down it. Now that they have enough snow, our son went to Lowe’s and bought a sled, and they had a great time on Saturday sledding down the school hill.
The sled is blue and green and made of PET plastic. It is long and narrow. Son had a similar sled when he was growing up. We called it the Black Blaster. Husband loved taking the kids to the butte two blocks from our house that had perfect slopes for sledding. It was a great way to wear out active kids.
I had a wooden sled with metal runners that you were supposed to be able to steer, but I was never very successful at it. Luverne didn’t have may hills at all, and the opportunities for sledding were pretty limited. The best places for sledding were the piles of snow at the elementary school that were from clearing the play ground. When I was in Grade 6 that wasn’t even an option as the school administration banned all snow pile play after someone broke their arm in a vigorous game of King of Mountain.
I am really glad our grandson has a good place to sled. Son said there were lots of happy yells as he descended the hill. I will have to find out if the sled has a name.
What are your sledding and winter play memories? Ever ride on a toboggan?
It’s winter again for a few days in Minnesota in February. In Rochester we have a dusting of snow and we had 13 degrees one morning. Good thing I plugged in the chickens’ water bucket. I had to keep moving in my sleeveless shirt or it was almost chilly.
And at least we don’t have mud for a day or two. But now I have frozen ruts. Boy, I’m just never happy with the weather.
I am making satisfactory progress on the farm bookwork and even getting some minor stuff done in the shed. I replaced the dust collector chute on the miter saw (after a minor woodworking mishap broke the old one.) The new one is 3D printed!
That whole concept is really neat! I don’t want to get my own yet, but I’ve got a buddy who had made me several parts with his 3D printer.
I’m a hack carpenter and even with the best of intentions, things don’t always work out the best or like I thought it would work out. The worst part is feeling like I’ll be judged by better builders than me. That’s the part that hurts the most. I got some tin on a door frame and was able to finish the lower part of the steel on the north wall of the shed.
I still need to frame the window and add the upper steel on the North wall and there’s a lot to do on the East wall yet.
Spring will be coming. I’ve ordered 50 baby chicks due to arrive the first part of April. And I’ve got seed ordered, so I’m gonna need a place to put that seed. Usually, it goes on this wagon.
Anyone see a problem with this? I don’t know, last summer when I started this shop project, I guess I didn’t see this coming. As we get closer and I can get machinery back outside, I guess I’ll just have to put pallets down and pile stuff on them so I have a place on the wagon. (I don’t put the seed on the ground on pallets so I don’t get mice in it.) Maybe if I was a harder worker. But I’m also trying to decide HOW I want to put things back. Where should the bolts go? What am I doing with tools? I don’t like pegboard, and I don’t have the same wall space I had before. Maybe I need a rolling toolbox? Maybe I need the slatwall display stuff? I’m almost paralyzed with indecision!
Speaking of design choices, we’re going to have our main bathroom remodeled later this fall. We have a builder lined up and Kelly has been perusing the bathroom remodeling sites for months. This bathroom and the adjoining laundry room are mostly original to the house built in 1968. We’ve painted and done wallpaper and added a wall in the laundry room when we put on an addition in 1995. But the tile floor, and the woodwork are dated, and it is finally time. Kelly has been very patient. The plan is to take some of the square footage from the laundry room, move the washer and dryer to the opposite wall, and gain a little room in the bathroom. It’s all pretty exciting to think about. Before photo:
This is mainly Kelly’s bathroom. I have the mudroom bathroom and that was remodeled a few years ago as part of the entryway remodeling.
Years ago, I had a jacket I wore all the time. I wore it for years (it came with a free tractor!); it was comfortable and I liked it. Once day I misplaced it and a friend of mine said “oh, you mean that ratty jacket?”…and that was it; it was tainted, and I got rid of it. As I told him about the bathroom project he said, ‘When are you remodeling YOUR bathroom?’ I was kinda flummoxed. I just did my bathroom. I mean, it could use a cleaning… but… What’s wrong with my bathroom?? Maybe he meant the basement bathroom with the 1960 pink retro look. But I hear that’s coming back.
YOU CAN 3-D PRINT ANYTHING WITH ANY MATERIAL. WHAT ARE YOU MAKING?
Today is a tough day for devout Roman Catholics and Lutherans in love. How do you celebrate Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday on the same day?
I suppose you could go out for a romantic dinner with the ashes still visible on your foreheads. It might also work to try to limit the number of chocolates you consume, or buy your loved one a bouquet of dead flowers. After all, it is the thought that counts!
Husband is in Bismarck today and won’t be home until late. The only flames ignited in our home will be the ones in the gas stove that is finally to be re-installed some time today. We decided to not attend the Ash Wednesday service this evening because we are heartily sick of church, having sung in the choir at both service’s two Sundays in a row, and having to play bells at both services this Sunday. I have consumed more than enough chocolate at work this week. Having Husband home safe tomorrow evening is a good enough Valentine for me.
What are some memorable Valentine’s Days in the past for you? How did your Elementary SchoolobserveValentine’s Day?
Trail Baboon 