Category Archives: home

2026, animals, dreams, Family, home, Kids, Movies, Uncategorized

Jori!

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Big Red by Jim Kjelgaard was published in 1945, the first of a trio of “Red” books.  At some point Walt Disney picked up the rights and the movie came out in 1962.  My folks always took me (and sometimes my sister) to the Disney movies and I was absolutely besotted by the big Irish Setter in the film.  I was six, so not quite up to reading the original book on my own, so my mom read it to me.  I read it again on my own a year or so later.  (This is not a rant about how Walt Disney completely re-wrote much of his source material; but suffice it to say it was my earliest lesson in how books and Hollywood weren’t always in sync.)

From the moment I watched that movie, Irish Setters have had my heart.  It took me eight years to convince my folks that we needed to add a red dog to our family and one of the first things I did as a young adult, in my first house, was get an Irish Setter of my own (Scarlett).  Other setters followed (Tristan, Rhiannon).

YA and I knew quickly after Guinevere passed that we needed a dog in the house; since I grew up in a two-dog household and usually had two dogs at a time as an adult, I knew it was time for two dogs.  And I knew that one of those dogs had to be red. 

I contacted the rescue organization that we had adopted Rhiannon from, filled out the paperwork and haunted the website.  We also searched other sites but Irish Setters are not a very popular breed – they got wildly overbred back in the Disney movie days.  They also aren’t the easiest dogs… very high energy and quite stubborn.  We also looked into puppies from breeders but the price tags were so very high; YA and I are also both committed rescue folks, so that avenue didn’t go anywhere.

Jori showed up on the Save Our Setters website on a Monday morning in early September.  It was so hard not to make a nuisance of myself throughout the process, and I’m not sure if I was successful.  Then came the call from the foster, who had the biggest say in who would be a good fit for Jori; we had a great talk; she said she had three other folks to interview and then I would hear back.  Three days of torture before I got THE call; Jori was ours.  I’m pretty sure I shrieked a bit on the phone.  There were some tears as well.

The foster (and Jori) were in Georgia but before I got myself too worked up about transport, it turned out the foster was going to an English Setter dog show in St. Louis the first week of November.  Driving to St. Louis and back was much more do-able than driving (or flying) to Georgia and back.  So that’s why last week I had a solo drive to Purina Farms on Tuesday and a dual drive home on Wednesday (the dog show was at the P.F. arena in Gray Summit). 

Jori is the name that YA and I gave her.  It’s short for Jorinda from an old Grimm’s fairy tale that I always loved as a kid: Jorinda and Jorindel.  Jori has been on my short list for dog names most of my life and now is the time.  Not YA’s first choice, but I overrode her objections.

She is settling in amazing well for a rescue – clearly feels at home and has taken over my bed already.  Freya thinks it’s wonderful to have a playmate – they tussle over toys, chase each other in the yard and wrestle in the house.  Jori loves everybody within the first minute of meeting them and at this point has no manners at all about letting you know.  She’s very very happy about the large variety of treats we have at the house.  So far she’s figured out “sit”, “come”, “uppie [for going upstairs].  She’s loves walking but pulls and because she’s huge for a female setter, she is quite strong.  We’re working on this but did I mention stubborn??

So that was the big Where in the World is VS mystery from last week. 

How have you picked out names for your pets?  Kids?

2026, home, Uncategorized

Appliance Woes

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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?

2026, Family, Food, home, pets

Who’s In Charge?

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Freya is extremely food motivated.  I’m pretty sure if I left a 40-pound bag of dog food open in the kitchen, she would eat until she popped.  She’s not eating me out of house and home, although I’m going to need a separate line on my budget for dog treats.  The good news is that combined with her smarts, it makes it very easy to work on training. 

Of course, I’m not sure who’s being trained.

Nimue is not all that food motivated.  If she feels like it, she’ll show up at meal time but sometimes she comes down later to partake.  She does have dry food out all the time so she’s certainly not going hungry.   She does have one exception; she loves her Friskies Party Treats.  If I shake the jar (I keep them on my bedstand), she comes right away. 

The treat parade started when Guinevere was young.  If her stomach went empty too long, she’d throw up bile – ick.  So I began giving her a couple of dog treats in the morning to tide her over an hour or so before breakfast.  This was when I started giving Nimue a couple of treats as well.  Took a few tries to find that she loves Friskies.  I’m not sure when the two of them convinced me that they should also get a few treats at bedtime.  7:30 p.m. to be specific. 

It took Freya about a day to realize that there were treats to be had when the kitty was getting her Yums.  It took her about another day to figure out that 7:30 was the magic hour each night.  So now, they are both presenting themselves at 7:30 for treats.  See the header photo for the “Gimme treats” eyes.  And they will both lie to me if necessary.  Last night I got home late with Freya from dog class and Nimue blatantly lied to me about getting her treats.  When I asked YA, she confirmed that she had given Nimue treats at 7:30 in my absence!

Clearly where treats are involved, I’m not in charge.  And I’m not highly motivated to change that.  Maybe I should get a treat at 7:30!

Do you have any nightly rituals (with or without pets)?

2026, Family, gardening, History, home, Nature, Uncategorized

Raking Leaves

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Where is it written that people have to rake the leaves off of their lawns every fall, so that no leaves remain? We have neighbors here in MN and had neighbors in ND who worked daily in the fall to remove any traces of leaves. We are not raking people.

In our ND town the City was of no help to people who needed leaves hauled away. People had to haul them away to the landfill themselves. Of course, this was the City that wouldn’t remove snow from residential streets unless 4 or more inches had fallen. (It’s going to melt eventually anyway, and we don’t have it in our budget to plow anything but major arteries.)

Luverne has a much different attitude about this. I attribute it to the proximity to Northwest Iowa and a Dutch influence regarding neatness. The other day while it was raining we saw several street sweeping machines washing streets. The City sends out leaf suckeruppers several days in October and November to remove leaves that residents have swept into the gutter. Snow of any amount is also plowed up.

We like to leave the leaves for ground cover and pollinators. We sweep up leaves that collect on the sidewalk or deck, though. I remember the smell of burning leaves in the fall when I was a child, and loved it when my mom and dad would make leaf piles for me to jump in. Leaf burning is illegal now, I think. I am glad we have better things to do now than rake.

What are your leaf raking, leaf jumping memories? Are you a raker?

2026, animals, gardening, home, Nature, Uncategorized, Weather

Blanket Weather

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I have to admit it. I turned on the furnace last Thursday. It was chilly in the house, with a hard freeze predicted for Friday night/Saturday morning. I hate being chilly and just dressing more warmly indoors doesn’t help.

I set the thermostat at 70°. Who can argue about 70°? None of my housemates complained, not even Boommate who is always too warm. Now that it will be warmer this week, I doubt the furnace will kick in very often. But should the house temp drop below 70°, I shall still be comfortable. The dogs have been snuggling closer at night since the temps dropped.

I love fall weather. I love wrapping up in blankets. We have several Pendleton wool blankets, a really warm and fuzzy Norwegian wool blanket, quilts, and several down comforters. We are set for cold weather and chilly nights. I find my cooking plans have changed somewhat this past week, too, and I am finding soups and stews more appealing than salads. Husband picked all the tomatoes Friday before the freeze, and they are ripening in boxes in the garage. The Swiss Chard survived the freeze, but as I have frozen pounds of it already, I think we shall let it face its fate in the coming weeks. I, in any event, will be warm.

What is your cue to turn on the furnace? Favorite chilly weather foods? How do you keep your garden going through early freezes and frosts?

2026, Food, holidays, home, News, Seasons, Uncategorized

Anyone’s Guess

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Well, it is that time of year when people try to predict how severe or mild the coming winter will be. Winter is coming, you know!

Our Arikara Indian friend from Twin Buttes, ND likes to use buffaloberries for prediction. Buffaloberries, aka Shepherdia or Bulberries, are a pictured in the header photo. They are tasty, tart, native berries that grow on shrubs that make lovely jam, jelly, and pie. You can order plants for your yard. Deer, elk, and bison love them. Our friend Bruce says the more productive the buffaloberries, the harsher the winter. I haven’t had a chance to ask Bruce what he has observed as yet. I trust his judgment, but it may only be relevant for north central North Dakota.

Woolybears. The caterpillars that develop into Isabella Tiger Moths. Well, if the black stripes on them are near the front end of the caterpillar, winter will be early. The more black stripes, the more snow and the harsher the winter. The more brown stripes, the more mild the winter. I wonder through, what if the woolybears all have different stripe allocations? Which one do you believe?

I think I have a better source of prediction. Saturday we noticed a house down the street that was having a Christmas light service install their lights. I had no idea such services existed. Humbug Christmas Light Services was on the job. We don’t put up Christmas lights, but how nice for people who want lights but who can’t manage ladders. I think the earlier the lights go up, the earlier the first snow.

What do you think we should use as winter prediction? Be creative. Do you put up outdoor Christmas lights?

2026, animals, Government, home, News, Technology, Uncategorized

Dirty Little Secrets

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I was quite amused this week to read that the Federal Communication Commission is worried about our robovacs as threats to national cyber security.

Thats right. Along with certain routers and drones, the FCC has banned the importing of many robovacs unless they meet certain criteria. This means there will be fewer robovacs on the market, and, of course, prices for the government approved ones will rise.

We have a Shark robovac that we put to good use on our upstairs wood flooring. We named her Good Clean Bess, or just Bess, for short. Shark products are included in the current government ban, although already purchased or other units currently on the shelves haven’t been banned. She is parked in the dining room on her charger. Now, when I walk by her I wonder “What is she telling foreign spies about me and my home? What does she tell them about the dust and dirt she collects? Our cat ignores Bess, but what about cats who like to ride on robovacs as they travel over our floors? Do we need to worry that our cats are sharing State secrets ?

I know I am being a little over the top about this. I can understand concerns about routers and drones, but vacuums?

What would a hostile foreign government learn about you and your home from your vacuum? What would you do with a drone?

2026, Family, home, Mysteries, pets

Foamy Mystery

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Every rescue dog comes with its own set of baggage to sort through.  Freya loves to chew – probably some from anxiety but more likely from being caged most of her life and now finding a whole new world of tactile sensations.

Even though I pick up the toys most nights, by 9 a.m. she has most of them out of the bin and every one is missing something – an ear, a fin, a flipper.  Once she finds a way in, then she goes all in looking for the squeaker so the white toy stuffing goes all over.  Our living room right now looks like a stuffy toy abattoir.  Even the hard rubber toys are no match for her little shark teeth.

Unfortunately, it’s not just toys.  We realized right away that pretty much anything is fair game.  It took YA a bit longer to come to terms with this – she’s lost a shoe, a slipper and a pair of shorts.  We’ve taken to limiting her smorgasbord a bit right now by putting up gates to keep her in a smaller area and by keeping a very close eye on her.

She is however quite stealthy and if your attention is elsewhere, she can get around you quite nicely.  On Saturday I spent some time on the phone with one of my BFFs from Madison.  I had been upstairs before the call and when I came down, I neglected to put up the gate at the bottom of the stairs.  A few minutes into my call, I looked up and saw Freya chewing what looked like a big chunk of yellow foam.  At first I figured she had gutted a stuffy but most toys these days are white fiber fill; I also didn’t see any stuffy carcasses nearby.  When I took it from her and headed toward the trash, I noticed more yellow foam on the landing.  I had reconfigured the dog bed situation upstairs so I thought that maybe Freya didn’t like my renovation. 

When I got off the phone, I went to check it out.  No trail of yellow foam to the landing. No cover to whatever the item had been.  Both upstairs dog beds were intact.  In fact, everything upstairs was intact.  I even checked rooms with closed doors.  I moved the gate to YA’s room and looked around in there.  Bupkiss.  I even did a slow-pan video of her room and sent it to her (she’s out of town for work) and she says it looks fine.  We haven’t replaced bathroom rug yet.  All my pillows are fine.  Downstairs everything in order.  Piano bench fine, dining room chairs fine, breakfast room dog kennel fine (I checked this twice).  Not one bit of yellow foam anywhere else.

At this point I have given up looking for whatever it was in its past life.  I’m figuring that in three months or so I’ll be looking for something, won’t be able to find it and a lightbulb will go off.  Maybe.

Have you lost anything lately that you think you might find… eventually?  Any mysteries in your life this week? 

2026, education, Family, home, Mysteries, Uncategorized

To Wrinkle or Not to Wrinkle…

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When I was growing up, ironing was as art form.   In my family, EVERYTHING got ironed, from my dad’s work shirts, to shirts and dresses, towels and sheets.  I don’t remember underwear getting the once over, but I could just be suppressing that memory.  My mother had me ironing pretty early – starting when I was in first grade – and she instructed me in the correct way to do every kind of garment/fabric.  When my dad’s ship came in, Nonny’s first luxury was to send out the laundry to be ironed.  She still washed and dried everything but then it went into a bag to get picked up by the ironing person twice a week.  I can still see the ironed items (in garment bags) hanging in the front closet after they were returned in pristine shape.

I do have an iron, but it gets lonely in the closet.  The only thing I’ve ironed in the last year was the quilt that I inherited from Nonny (well, inherited is probably the wrong word.  “helped myself to” is more like it).  And the only reason I ironed it was that I was adding sticky fabric tape to several places where the fabric had basically disintegrated over the years.  YA probably uses the iron and ironing board maybe once a quarter.

When I went off to college, Nonny did send a little travel iron with me.  Snort.  The very first things that I quit ironing were my sheets.  They stretch out on your bed and you sleep on them, for goodness sakes.  Sheets were quickly followed by just about everything else. I never looked back.

With this in mind, I’m not sure what the heck I was looking at on YouTube a few days ago, but for some reason, a few posts came up about how to fold a fitted sheet.  Then I made the fatal error of clicking on one.  Now my feed is full of folks seriously showing me how to fold a fitted sheet — all of them basically the same method – sticking the two lower corners into the top upper corners, then folding into thirds or fourths and then folding again.  It LOOKS easy, but I remember trying this years ago and it’s not that simple.  And if you’re dealing with slippery sheets, of which I have several sets for the summer, the method doesn’t really work at all.  I did find a YouTube of how I do it…

I don’t actually chuck it into the closet.  After I’ve wadded it up, I then put the folded top sheet and the pillow cases on top and then gently slide the whole pile onto the shelf.  I’m not a savage.

Toward the end of her life, I know for a fact that Nonny was still ironing some of her clothing, but she had abandoned ironing the sheets, thank goodness.  Whenever I would visit and help her with laundry, she would have us do the two-person fold.  I’m now sure what she was doing on her own.  I hope she was wadding the fitted sheet into a ball, but somehow I doubt it!

Do you fold fitted sheets?  What method do you use?  Do you use a top sheet?  Linen closet or drawers?

2026, animals, Fantasy, home, Mysteries, pets

Detente?

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When YA and I started our search for a dog, the #1 trait that I was worried about was “does this dog have a strong chase instinct”?  For eleven years, Guinevere chased Nimue.  It was just her instinct to chase, especially when startled.  Any time the cat surprised her (like jumping off the bed when Guinevere was snoozing nearby), the dog would lunge out of her sleep.  As soon as she lunged, the cat would run.  The minute the cat ran, Guinevere would chase; she couldn’t help herself.  Unfortunately this ended with the cat getting injured a couple of times early on.  After that YA and I set up a couple of serious gates that allowed escape routes for the cat in the two places where the trouble was happening.  That solved their problem – it was a pain for YA and me.  We did not want to have this problem repeated with a new dog.

While Freya does chase squirrels and rabbits in the yard, she’s not shown any interest in chasing the cat.  In fact, she is afraid of the cat. If Nimue is on the back porch when I open the door to let the dog in, Freya freezes on the back steps until I shoo the kitty back into the kitchen.  If the cat is on the steps to go upstairs, Freya will stay at the bottom of the steps until Nimue has gone all the way up.  And the only way I’ve been able to get Freya on the bed when Nimue is already in residence is with a bunch of treats; as soon as the treats are gone, the dog is gone.

Nimue is loving this.  After all those years, she is definitely enjoying having the upper paw.  She will turn and give the dog the stink eye.  There has been some hissing and I’ve even caught her chasing Freya a couple of times.

It’s been three months and I’m starting to see the very first signs of an eventual détente.  Freya is a little braver about coming in or up when she sees the cat.  The cat is ignoring more.  And a few times it seems clear that Freya would like to play with Nimue.  She follows behind, doing some sniffing and then plopping into that classic “Wanna play?” pose with the butt in the air.  Then yesterday morning, when Freya came into the kitchen, Nimue was sitting on top of the kennel.  Fraya approached slowly, nose stretched out.  Nimue didn’t exactly stretch to meet, but she didn’t back off and for a few moments they were nose to nose.  Then Nimue moved back a bit to lay on the blanket, out of Freya’s reach. 

I didn’t realize how much I was longing for this until I saw it.  All my other dogs and cats have gotten along well until Guinevere came along to rock the boat.  I do miss her but I don’t miss the chaos.  Now I’m eager to see how long it takes for Nimue and Freya to settle into, if not friendship, or even companionship, but détente.

Tell me about someone you’ve had to learn to deal with.