The announcement about my retirement has finally been made (took my boss and her boss about three weeks to try to talk me out of it).
One of my co-workers, in a very serious tone said “but what are you going to do with all your time”. She wasn’t joking (although I had assumed she was). How could she not know me after working in the same department for 20 years together.
Without even a thought I rattled off:
Reading
Gardening
Cooking/Baking
Crafting
Walking the dog
Volunteering
Home improvement projects
Travel
Hang with friends
I put an app on my phone that is counting down for me. Kinda fun. Right now as I’m typing it’s: 1 month, 18 days, 15 hours, 53 minutes and 32 seconds.
Daughter was at some friends’ apartment last Friday helping them get two kittens to the vet as the friends went to a grandmother’s funeral. Both the friends were stressed. One of the kittens had walked across a hot electric stove element and burned a paw. The other kitten had blood in its stool. Both needed medical care. Daughter was going to transport the cats to the vet as soon as the friends left for the funeral.
As the trio of humans and ailing cats tried to leave the seventh floor apartment, the knob on the apartment door jammed. No amount of jiggling the knob unlodged it. The male partner phoned his brother to get ideas how to remove the knob. The brother’s advice didn’t work, either. They had to phone 911.
Three firefighters arrived, and they, too, struggled to unjam the knob. They asked hopefully if Daughter and her friends were sure that the door wasn’t bolted at the top of the door. Well, of course it wasn’t. One of the firefighters eventually removed the whole doorknob, destroying it in the process. There is now a gaping hole in the door, and it probably needs to be replaced.
Daughter and the female friend decided that the male friend’s grandmother jammed the door because she didn’t like what he was wearing to her funeral. I am relieved they didn’t have to climb out of a seventh story window and be rescued by firetruck ladders.
When have you had to phone 911? Ever needed to be rescued? Every been in an Escape Room?
I have been sketching from old photos, which has been interesting. Learned a few things, had some catharsis, wasted some time. Made me think about all the places I have lived.
1. Sebeka, in home my parents built, still standing, much changed. (44-45)
2. Superior National Forest, dozen miles north of Isabella, a shack torn down long long ago. (45-48)
3. Two Harbors, the farm. All buildings now gone. (48-63)
4. Chicago, dormitory. (63-64)
5. Chicago, apartment in old house. (64)
6. Minneapolis, apartment building very near U hospital, replaced by medical building. (65)
7. Minneapolis, apartment building, now I-35W. (65)
8. Minneapolis, apartment in old house, now I-35W. (65-66)
9. St. Paul, apartment building, Marshall Ave. east of Snelling. (66)
10. Minneapolis, Prospect Part, apartment in old house. (66-68)
11. Lindstrom, apartment in old house. (68-69)
12. Two Harbors, house on North Shore, header photo. (69-97)
13. North Mankato, century-old house, which we updated. (97-07)
14. Mankato. association home, worst place for us to live. (07-10)
15. Mankato, current apartment, from which I think I need to move.
Is 15 above the average for 77 years?
This is our house, or shack, over my shoulder, north of Isabella. I was an industrious thumb-sucker until age 4.5 when I announced I was done. And I was. My father and uncle, back from the war and a angry at the world, my uncle having spent more than two years in a stalag, took jobs in a logging camp. This was a trial for my mother, the bugs, the dirt, the cold in the winter. And her mother with twin teenage boys lived next door; my grandmother was my mother’s trial in life. It was a trial for me, but I have no memory of it. My uncle’s two daughters were nasty to me, have been nasty and miserable all their lives. I never crawled because they would not let me. Are they still alive? No idea.
This was the farmhouse, again behind me. It was not a promising place, but my father rebuilt, wired, plumbed, added on. Re-sided, with asbestos siding in fact. But it was at the upper reaches of poverty, which never seemed that way at all. There is a hint of the poverty and my mother’s frugality, if you look carefully.
How many places have you lived? Any stand out for you?
Husband is single handedly taking on puppy duty while I am in Minnesota this week. He told me he napped a lot Monday after I left, and then went to a local pet store, where he said he spent a small fortune on things for the dog.
Kyrill is the sweetest little fellow, but is only 4 months old and having teething issues. I have found puppy baby teeth on the floor. He wants to chew everything. He also wants to be close to us and play constantly. It is hard to get things done, especially if you are his only caretaker. Husband told me he bought all sorts of interesting chewy things and toys for Kyrill to keep hm busy. Husband said his plan was working well. I can only imagine the clutter of dog toys on the living room floor. Our home is certainly dog centric, and I suppose you could say we have a very spoiled puppy. Husband was the same with our children. I remember getting after him to stop constantly playing with our son and daughter when they were little, and to let them figure out how to entertain themselves so they didn’t expect an adult to play with them all the time. Of course, they rarely chewed up the furniture or the electrical cords.
As an only child, I always resented comments from people that I “must” be spoiled since I had no siblings. I didn’t get everything I wanted, and I had to entertain myself quite a bit, and I guess that is why I expected our children to do the same. I know I can’t expect that of the puppy. I am grateful that Husband is cheerfully being a single dog parent this week, even if it means that when I return, I will have a dog with definite expectations for me.
How do you like to “spoil” people and other creatures? What expectations have your animals had of you?
Our grandson is 4, and is at that stage where, if he takes an afternoon nap, he can’t go to sleep for the night until after 10:00, and if he doesn’t nap, he is a real pill until bedtime.
When Son and his family visited over Memorial Day weekend, we put on a vinyl recording of Beatrix Potter’s The Tailor of Gloucester narrated by Meryl Streep, with music by The Chieftains, for grandson to listen to one afternoon. Son listened to the same recording when he was a small boy, usually at bedtime. I was tickled to find Son and Grandson sound asleep on the sofa shortly after starting the recording. They didn’t even get to the part where the Tailor sets free the mice that Simpkin, the naughty cat, had imprisoned under the tea cups, before they dozed off. I have always liked Simpkin. Grandson was so tired after traveling to us that the nap didn’t interfere with his usual bedtime.
What helps you sleep? Who is your favorite Beatix Potter character? What do you remember about naps as a child?
We have had hot water heater issues for the past two weeks. I noticed that the water was getting cooler and cooler a couple of weeks ago, and phoned the home service company that we pay for every month with our utility bill. I had never done this before, as we don’t have a lot of appliance repairs, and when it involves plumbing, I have always phoned a local plumber who does great work and who we have known for 35 years. I thought I could save some money.
I was told by the home service company that all the local contractors were booked out for two weeks, but they would find another one from nearby. Well, “nearby” turned out to be a guy from a little town north of Bismarck, more than 100 miles away. He arrived the next day, which was a Saturday, fiddled around and replaced a couple of parts and relit the pilot light, and that was it. So far, so good.
Last Saturday while our son and family were visiting, I noticed that the water was getting cooler and cooler, and saw that the pilot light had again gone out. This time I phoned our local plumber, who came over at 7:00 pm after he finished another job, relit the pilot light, posited a couple of theories for why it was happening, and told us to phone him if it happened again. He had a feeling that it would, but wasn’t sure. It indeed happened again on Monday, which was Memorial Day. Well, we phoned the plumber, who was again at another job, and he came over, replaced the one part the first plumber hadn’t replaced, and now it seems to be heating up just fine.
It is truly wonderful to see someone who is living out his/her vocation like our plumber is. Our plumber loves what he does. He comes on holidays. He is kind and competent. He is honest and reasonable. I doubt I will phone the home service company again unless the furnace goes out.
Did you ever feel you had a vocation that you had to fulfill? Who do you know who is living out their chosen vocation to the best of their ability?
Corn is up! The first stuff was planted Saturday the 14th, saw it poking out of the ground Wednesday, the 25th.
I planted it 2.5” deep. I’ve heard a lot of guys saying they only went about 1 ¾” deep because it’s late. Valid point, however, there’s a lot of summer and fall to go yet before we know what the crop will amount to. You don’t want it too shallow or it won’t develop the brace roots later on.
Remember, corn grows out of the seed and the growing point on the corn is still down in the seed and will be for several weeks yet.
A soybean pushes the seed up out of the ground as it grows.
Been cool and rainy the last few days. A wet chicken is a pathetic looking creature. Especially the roosters with their tail feathers all flopped over. Missed the photo, but trust me. They look terrible. With the hot weather predicted, everything will take off.
I need about one day yet to finish planting soybeans, whenever it dries up. I had the co-op spread fertilizer for the soybeans and it was incorporated with pre-emergence herbicide. That’s the best way to do soybeans; a pre-emerge spray for grasses, then a later application for broadleaves and whatever else is growing. Never used this method before so I hope it works.
Most guys, after planting soybeans, they go over the field with a big roller to press the rocks down into the dirt, and firm up the seed bed, and just level out the field so that you can cut closer to the ground when harvesting this fall. I don’t have a roller, but last year I used a drag and went over the field to kind of do the same thing, or at least, level it off. This year, I was just trying to get everything planted first and then was going to go over it. Now that there’s about two weeks between the first field and the last field, the first field might already be growing and I don’t want to hit that with the drag as it would rip all the plants out. So that may not get done this year.
Using my ag cameras system again to monitor the beans in the drill. It’s pretty slick.
We got the baby chicks outside on Friday. Kelly built an awesome fence and I sat in the gator and offered unsolicited advice.
The lilacs are lovely this year.
We’ve lost one of the black ducks and that’s a bummer, we really like them.
I’m leasing straw bales to a friend to use for seating at his daughters wedding. We really hope the weather is nice, both for getting the bales picked up here, lying on the ground there, and picking them up again after the wedding and returning to me. We don’t want them rained on.
It’s been pretty quiet here this week with all the rain. Not much to report.
Kelly’s Aunt Ruth and Uncle Bill used to have a big picnic and all the families were there. We tried to keep it up after they passed but people get busy and, well, it doesn’t happen anymore.
YA took a long weekend trip to Chicago the past three days. I dropped her off early on Friday at the airport. I was really looking forward to having a long weekend all to myself. You all know that I adore YA but since I haven’t traveled for work since March of 2020, we haven’t really had a break from each other for quite a while now.
She didn’t ask me for any input on her trip, except for two questions, one about her Real ID and one about security at the airport. When I asked her if she needed a packing list printed out (I have it on my pc), she said no. (I did see that she had created and printed out her own packing list when I took a couple of things into her room yesterday!) As the parent of a young adult, I was not expecting to hear from much if at all until her pick-up (noon today).
It was a nice surprise on Friday afternoon when I got a photo text of A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by George Seurat with a question about whether this was my favorite painting (I had mentioned my favorite painting was hanging in the Chicago Art Institute – this isn’t it).
Later on Friday I got a quick text about an “ok impossible burger” but no photo to enshrine the meal.
Then on Saturday morning this photo came.
I didn’t realize right away that it was taxidermy – The Natural History Museum. A bit later, a photo of Sue, the famous tyrannosaurus rex, showed up (header photo). No texts about dinner.
Yesterday, there was a photo of a breakfast taco and smoothie and then, some real polar bears at the Chicago Zoo
This was followed by a picture of a lovely flower – the Botanical Gardens. I didn’t even remember that this was on her schedule.
No photo of the pizza dinner last night. Her flight arrives at noon today so no more photos will be coming. But I definitely feel like I had a trip to Chicago even though I barely left the house over the weekend!
If you could get a virtual tour of someplace, where would that be?
All things do eventually arrive. Even good weather.
The corn is all planted and we’re working on soybeans. Growing Degree Units for my area are at 317; about 90 above normal, which, I’m finding hard to believe as cool as it was this spring. But I read it on the internet so it must be true.
I’m still struggling with the pinched nerve and I’m lucky my brother has been coming out and helping do fieldwork the last few years. He and Kelly got to work last Saturday with me pointing and giving instructions and they took the loader off the tractor, hooked up the corn planter, got it all greased, filled it with seed and started planting corn. Several times it became clear to us how many things we just do, without thinking about them, and then have to explain to someone *how* to do it, is much more difficult. Communication people, Communication.
Kelly planted the first field of corn. Again, so many things to watch, that I do automatically, but trying to explain it all to her…well, one thing at a time. It wasn’t helpful that sometimes I change my mind in the middle of what’s happening. But she did it! I knew she could! She just hadn’t had too before. Eventually I discovered I was able to get into the tractor and I was able to do the planting. I have more corn this year than normal, partially because the co-op and I had a mix up of maps and they weren’t spreading the fertilizer where I expected them to spread it. A few phone calls and texting photos of maps back and forth solved the issue. I’m still not sure what happen but it’s OK and I’ll verify next year before we start.
Several very fortuitous things have come about this year. We bought a gator two years ago; one of those side by side utility vehicles. I’m able to get in that and drive it. I can park it at the back door, I can drive it through the fields, and into the shed. It’s been very valuable. And the decision last fall to have the co-op spread all the fertilizer, while at the time was more about precision application of nutrients, certainly became valuable this spring as I wasn’t trying to explain how to run the fertilizer wagon to Kelly. Not to mention having to refill the planter so often. With the co-op doing it, all the corn fields are fertilized at once and I just have someone add seed to the planter and I can go many more acres before needing a refill. Ah, those decisions we make without realizing their full implications.
The barn swallows returned the first week of May and a pair have built a nest on top of a wind chime outside our front door. This has been a regular occurrence the last few years. We’ve learned to put some cardboard down to collect all the droppings. And a Robin is building a nest on top of a gutter downspout where it angles under the eave, at the back door. I enjoy watching the swallows fly around me when out in the fields. I’ve been seeing pheasants near the CRP, (Conservation Reserve Program) fields. He doesn’t seem to be very afraid of me in the tractor. One day daughter took a walk and said she saw an owl. I thought that was kind of unusual and figured she meant a hawk. Two days later, Kelly and I were going to get the mail, and there was an owl! Daughter was right.
Planting corn was almost without issues. On the second to last field, the planter settled to the ground by itself once and I thought the hydraulic valve on the tractor must be leaking. (It’s hydraulic oil that holds it up). When I got to the last field, I realized there was an oil leak and that’s why the planter had lowered itself. Oh. Heck. I tried to finish planting but it soon became apparent I was losing too much oil. Making a run for home, I almost made it before running completely out of hydraulic oil. The next day we found the leak and my brother got it apart, I found a replacement, he reassembled, and we finished planting corn.
The chicks are growing up; they’re kind of at that awkward teenage phase.
I watched a pair of guineas the other day. I’m not sure if they were fighting or playing or mating.
Last week I extolled calling a professional concerning my front porch. The stucco guys weren’t the only professionals I called upon last week.
The story of my “privy” is a long one. When I moved into my house 30 years ago, the lid on the bank had been previously broken in 2 places and glues back together….badly. The glue had been liberally applied and the excess, which had yellowed, had not been wipe off. It looked so awful that I always draped a towel or napkin over it. A few years later, it got dropped and broken again, this time it couldn’t be put back together again. Luckily YA, Child back then, found an exact replacement at Architectural Antiques downtown.
I had learned early on to changed out the tank ball; it needed to be done every year or so. I also installed a new fill valve several years back. So when the trip lever broke about a year ago, I figured it would be a quick fix. Wrong. I won’t go into the excruciating detail, suffice it to say, it went from bad to worse and we ended up having to jiggle as we flushed and then jiggling again after the ball dropped. Sometimes twice. I’ve probably spent 40 hours in the last year trying to adjust, replacing levers, replacing the ball. Awful.
I was pretty sure what the plumber would tell me, but when he showed me what was contributing to my issues and talked through the repairs, I knew that I had been right to expect the worse. He came back two days later and voila – a new throne! It uses less water, fills faster and does its job better. I almost wish I had replaced it years ago. YA is reserving judgement as it’s taller than the old one.
Trail Baboon 