Category Archives: home

2026, Food, Gatherings, home, Mysteries, Uncategorized

Let’s Grill

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According to New of the Weird this week, in some parts of Russia, men are running personal ads.  Not those kind of personal ads!  They are running ads are “barbecue companions”.   Apparently it’s exactly what it says – someone to come over to your house for barbecue, beer and conversation.   The men are charging anywhere between $13 and $65.  They higher end companions can include preparing the grill, grilling the meat, setting up a tend and acting as a buddy.  One such ad said “I’ll help you organize barbecues and camping, keep you company, and grill some meat. Jokes and anecdotes are also included,” This seems to be on the up and up.  Only marketing to men and are meant to be one-time services – not an invitation to friendship.  If someone wants to hire the barbecue buddy’s services again, they have to pay for it.  Russian restaurateur Evgeny Demchenko said “From a business perspective, this is absolutely natural: if there’s an unmet need, a service will emerge.” 

It feels a little sad to me.  Don’t Russian men have any friends?  If I volunteered to grill, I’m pretty sure I’d have folks lining up.  Especially if the weather is nice.

Does having a barbecue companion hold any allure for you?   What do you like to grill?

2026, animals, home, Nature, Uncategorized

Fireflies

30 Comments

About a month ago we had quite a bit of rain and the humidity stayed quite high into the evening. I was delighted to see small lights flit here and there all over the yard, and realized they were fireflies. We also saw them in the woods near our rental a couple of weeks ago near La Crosse. Grandson was entranced. There aren’t many fireflies in Brookings, SD.

It seems fireflies like heat and humidity, and we never had them in ND or in Winnipeg since it is so much drier there. There were tons of them the year we lived in Southern Indiana. We were pretty close to the Kentucky border. It was really hot and humid. The fireflies are my favorite memories from Indiana. Husband did his predoctoral internship there. We moved to Indiana after several years in Winnipeg. It was a pretty awful place after living in Canada. At that time Indiana was considered the most politically corrupt US state. It was very socially conservative. I was glad when our year there was up.

I can’t imagine there weren’t fireflies here in Luverne when I was growing up, but I really have no memory of them. Neither does Boommate. It was great to see them the other night. They seem magical.

Got fireflies? What are the best and worst places you have lived?

2026, Food, home, Mysteries

Half Butter?

36 Comments

YA and I switched from margarine to butter a long time ago.  It was a hit to our budget at the time so I’ve spent years keeping an eye out for butter on sale.  I have absolutely no brand loyalty to any kind of butter, unless you count the seriously fancy hand churned butter that I get a Kowolskis every couple of years.

I’ve also been lucky enough to have two friends who have worked at dairies.  My friend Tim worked at one of the big names for years and he would regularly be able to grab a pound or two of butter from their “free shop”.  Right about the time he retired, my friend Rita moved to the same company and now part of my solstice gift every year is a gift bag of butter.  Such wonderful friends.

Because of how I acquire some of my butter, I don’t always know what I have in the fridge.  Last week, I opened up a box of butter and was surprised when eight little wrapped bars fell out.  Instead of four ½ cup bars, there were eight ¼ cup bars.  As a baker who goes through quite a bit of butter, I laughed out loud.  I didn’t know anybody packaged butter like this.  I do occasionally need a half a stick of butter but it’s pretty rare and when I do, I just cut a whole bar in half.  Not a reach. 

But I suppose there may actually be a need for these half bars since somebody somewhere when to the trouble to manufacture and package these things???

Butter or margarine?  Any brand loyalty?  Would you appreciate half bars?

2026, Family, home, pets, Travel, Uncategorized

Meet Freya

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First off, no we did not go get her in Columbus. 

We officially started our dog search about a month ago.  It went quite quickly – adoption application, meet and greet at the foster’s home, a virtual home visit (which we passed with flying colors), more paper work.  Took our Columbus trip, got home last Monday and picked her up on Wednesday!

She is one of five siblings who were “breeder release” dogs from Missouri.  There are a couple of scenarios for this.  Some BR dogs have been over-bred and the breeders don’t want them anymore.  Then apparently many breeders quickly get in over their heads, especially if they get too many puppies around the same time or they just have other issues that keep them from getting their dogs adopted out.  We think she is this latter category of “overwhelmed” as she clearly has not had puppies.  The rescue organization (which is actually in Wisconsin) goes to breeder release events and purchases dogs which they then adopt out.

She came up as “Olga” on the rescue website.  The foster mom said that they just make up the names – theses siblings came with just twine around their necks and little hand written tags.  Olga’s said “37”.  That was it.  Apparently most of her 18 months have been spent in a kennel.

On the way to the meet & greet, YA and I decided we did NOT want Olga as a name so we came up with a short list.  Isolde and Jorinda were completely shot down by YA immediately.  We also added Arwen and Galadriel from Lord of the Rings.  YA wasn’t crazy about these either but she didn’t rule them out.   This lead me to Freya, Norse goddess of love. YA grudgingly thought this was OK. 

As we entered the house to meet the dog, the foster mom said “she responds better to Freya than to Olga”.  YA and I looked at each other and smiled – was there ever a better omen?

She is about average height for a female Sammy, although she is skinny at this point.  Hard to tell with all that fur.  She is extremely skittish and shy but she adapts well.  After the first couple of airplanes overhead, she is now ignoring them although low-flyers that cast a shadow still bug her).  She is very very curious and has already shown a passion for standing on her back legs and looking out the windows.  The cat has decided she isn’t a threat but Freya doesn’t feel that way about the cat yet.  She loves other dogs, so in a few more days, we may introduce her to some of the other canines in the neighborhood.

The rescue organization has some strict rules about adoption; they prefer to still have “ownership” of the dogs until their medical exams and spay/neuters happen.  So right now we as “fostering to adopt” and the adoption will be finalized three days after the spay, which will most likely be towards the end of July. 

We are ecstatic – she is very sweet and we already adore her.  Now the race is on to find an Irish Setter to complete our little household!

What happens after it rains cats and dogs?

2026, gardening, home, Nature, Uncategorized

Water Feature

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The previous owners of our home spent a lot of money on landscaping in the backyard. I have never had such a fancy backyard. We added the fence. There is a fire pit:

We also have lots of brick paved areas with rock-filled beds for plants:

Those are some of the largest hostas I have ever seen. We never had hostas before. The rest of the plants are lower maintenance shrubs, Stella d’oro lillies, and succulents. They didn’t even have rhubarb!

I think they went a little over the top with the water feature, however. It is a bubbling brook powered by an electric pump submerged in a deep vat at the bottom of the brook. It is plugged into an electric outlet by the fence. The pump has to be removed every fall so it won’t freeze up over the winter. It is not easy to remove or reinstall.

The birds love the brook. It has to be refilled every other day or so or the pump starts to make groaning noises. I plan to turn over the stones with the words carved in them, as I think those are a silly affectation and they annoy me.

The dogs love to plunge in the brook at the top and slide down to the bottom. I would never put such a thing in a yard, and I absolutely hate all the rocks in the flower beds as they make weeding and replanting a lot more work than they need to be. I plan to put in roses and hydrangeas and spring bulbs next year, but we need to clear a lot of rocks from every side of the house before that happens.

If you had to have a water feature in your yard, what kind would you get? What words would you have carved in flat stones in your yard?

2026, animals, History, home, pets, Stories, Uncategorized

All Fluffed Up

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Today we brought our pups to Brandon. SD to be groomed. Our Cesky Terriers have a very specific hair cut, leaving them with a shaved back, tail, head, and ears, with a fluffy beard, eyebrows, chest, and ballerina skirt on their front and sides

Their longer fur is very curly and prone to matting. Last night I noticed lots of mats on Mitzi’s legs, so I grabbed my bottle of corn starch and the grooming comb I got from the breeder. The cornstarch really helps with detangling. I was able to get most of the mats out, so I hope today’s grooming won’t be so traumatic for her. She was so good and patient during my combing. The only problem with squirting the dog with cornstarch is that you can’t let them get wet afterwards.

My first haircuts were by Kay Aanenson, a rather flamboyantly gay barber on Luverne’s main street. I don’t remember this, but I was told that I cried the whole time, and Kay just stuffed chewing gum in my mouth to keep me quiet. Kay was a noted dancer of the Charleston, worked as a dancer on Atlantic cruise ships in the 1920’s and 1930’s, and wore very gaudy, colorful suits to our Lutheran church. He came to church every Sunday until he passed. I remember those suits.

I really need to brush out our dogs on a more regular basis. Mitzi loves to plunge in the water feature in our backyard, and I think that leads to more matting. I need to invest in more cornstarch.

Where was your first haircut? Have you had dogs who needed grooming? What is your favorite production of Anything Goes?

2026, Business, Computers, Food, home, Technology, Travel, Uncategorized, work

It Will Be Here When?

19 Comments

It has been a real eye opener moving here from the middle of nowhere on the Northern Plains. The weather here is far more changeable and unpredictable. Pickup trucks are fewer and smaller. Lots more bugs.

Sioux Falls is our “big town ” for shopping. It is only 24 miles away as opposed to Bismarck, our former “big town” that was 100 miles away. Trips to Bismarck were few and far between. Even so, we really don’t want to be running to SF all the time for things we need that we can’t get in Luverne. That means more ordering on-line.

We have been astounded by the speed on-line orders are delivered to us. The other day I ordered some bookends at about 10:00 am. They were delivered by 6:00 pm the same day. Other orders come overnight and are delivered between 5:00 am and 8:00 am. Is this normal? Does this happen elsewhere? I think if folks back in western ND knew this was possible, they would protest the wait times for their deliveries!

I wonder, though, how long deliveries across the country will be quick and speedy. The other day I got an email from a produce company in Oregon I often order celery root and savoy cabbage from. They were offering a $500 bonus to any customer who could recommend a CDL trucker who could deliver their produce. There seems to be a trucker shortage. Hmm. I wonder why?

Do you get orders delivered fast? Tell some delivery stories. Know any truckers?

2026, home, Technology, Uncategorized

Fandango

18 Comments

Husband and I have very tall ceilings in our dining room, and kitchen. Most of the lights are recessed. These are the lights in the kitchen:

We haven’t had any bulbs burn out, but when we do I am afraid I will have to phone an electrician to come and change the bulb. We haven’t a tall enough ladder, and I can’t manage heights any longer.

The living room also has a very high ceiling with a large fan that works well to circulate air and keep the house cool. You can see it in the header photo. It is little too rococo for my tastes, and like many appliances in our new home it needed to be repaired. I had the electrician come over on Thursday to fix it. The fan worked, but made an intermittent grinding, scraping noise that was maddening to listen to. Sometimes it was quiet, sometimes it wasn’t. It is also very high up, and there was no way we could check it out ourselves.

The electrician figured out that one of the blades was not flush and was making the scraping noise. He told us it needed a very thin shim to raise it up, and that he would “MacGyver” something to solve the problem. It was quite a process to take the globe and other internal parts off to get to the blade turning mechanism, and he did it while standing atop a very tall ladder. He intended to use a very small, thin piece of wood as a shim. He inadvertently broke off the tip of his screwdriver in his attempt to raise the blade mechanism to put in the shim. To his surprise the metal tip stayed under the blade and was exactly the size shim he needed to keep it from scraping. Now it runs really quietly.

I was able to wash out the glass globe before he reassembled the fan. It hadn’t been cleaned out for a very long time. The electrician couldn’t “MacGyver” how to change the direction the fan blades circled, but at least it is quiet.

What have you had to “MacGyver”? Broke many tools? Got ceiling fans?

2026, animals, gardening, home, News, Uncategorized

Bugs?

14 Comments

I know. I know. All bugs are insects, but not all insects are bugs. I had biology minor in college, and took an invertebrate zoology class where I learned that Rock County, where I currently live, is one of the very few counties in MN where they have termites that actually swarm. In ND, we had very few insects or bugs or other pests in the garden. We had the occasional flea beetle on the cabbagey plants. (I applied Sevin, but hated using a pesticide. ) No aphids. No slugs. None of those cane borers in the raspberries. Cabbage worms were easily dealt with by applying Bascillus Thuringiensis, a natural cabbage worm killer. We had virtually no mosquitoes due to being in a semi arid part of the country.

It has come to my attention that there are more insect/bug pests in MN than I remembered after being away for 50 years. I have had incredibly large carpenter ants in the house, presumably living in the decaying sections of our deck, and drain flies in my bathroom. We are planning how to replace the deck. Boommate has abandoned hopes of a hummingbird feeder due to ants getting into the sweet nectar she put out now on two occasions.. I have not yet seen a mosquito, but I am sure they are coming.

Our vegetables are planted in raised beds and thus far we have had no pest issues. A couple of weeks ago we had a pleasant guy from a pest control company come to the house to offer us pest eradication services for ants, hornets, and other home invasion pests. In the past I would have sent such a guy packing, since I hate the thought of pesticide use, but I engaged his services after finding out many of our neighbors enlist his company’s services. They may know more about potential pests than I currently know, and I don’t want any unpleasant bug surprises in the house.

What advice do you have for me regarding MN garden or house pests? What bug or insect issues have you successfully or not so successfully dealt with?

2026, Art, home, Uncategorized

Lost And Found

23 Comments

One of the more frustrating aspects of moving and unpacking is the tendency I have noticed of my putting things away in places so they won’t get lost, and then forgetting where I put them.

I made certain when we packed up our pictures and wall hangings in ND that the hanging-up hardware was put into sealed bags and accurately labeled. Upon unpacking them in MN I tried to keep the hardware filled bages in one place.

This week I intend to finished hanging up the wall decorations and have done with them. One main thing I wanted to hang is a Zapotec rug. I knew I had the hanging hardware in a marked bag, but do you think I could find it? It wasn’t with any of the other picture hanging hardware. I also knew that neither I nor Husband I would have tossed it out. That meant that I had moved it somewhere for “safe keeping”. Sigh.

I spent much of yesterday going through drawers, arranging and straightening closets and cupboards, and searching any possible place for the rug hardware. I resigned myself to go to the hardware store today to find suitable hanging brackets when, at 5:45, I finally ran across the bag in a bookshelf in the guest room where I intend to hang the rug. I had put the bag there for “safe keeping” but didn’t remeber that I had put it behind a three ring binder. You can see the hardware in the header photo. Today the rug goes up!

When have you lost something after you put it away for safe keeping?