Category Archives: home

2022, home, Mysteries, Travel, Uncategorized

Losing Track

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I am over-calendared.

Handmade on dresser in bedroom.  Daytimer on chest of drawers in bedroom.  Birthday calendar in studio.  Daily holiday calendar in studio.  Calendar on refrigerator.  Lighthouse for the Blind calendar in the breakfast room.  Calendar on my phone.  And two calendars at work (one on Outlook, one on Teams – these two are not by choice).   

Two weeks ago, I took a day off work to get the house picked up and cleaned a bit because my friend from Madison was coming for a weekend visit on April 8.   First houseguest since before pandemic.  On Wednesday I texted her about what kind of milk she likes so I could order the right thing from my milkman.  Then on Thursday, I texted her about what she wanted to do for dinner once she arrived.  This text she answered a little distractedly that we could work that out later.  Then on Friday, knowing that she was coming from Rochester (follow up medical stuff), at 5 p.m. I texted her to see if she had left for the Twin Cities yet.   About 2 minutes later the phone rang.  When I answered, she said “May 13.”   Took me just two seconds to scroll back to the very first text about her visit.  May 13. 

I’m still not sure how my brain translated May 13 into April 8.  All I can think is that I was looking forward to her visit so much that my gray matter shoved it up a month.   For someone who has 9 calendars, it’s a little embarrassing.

If you were stranded on a desert island, how would you keep track of time?  (Or would you?)

2022, books, Family, Fantasy, home, Uncategorized, Weather

Cabin Fever

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Yesterday was my first day back at work in two weeks, and I was curious how my coworkers spent their time during the blizzard. Half were ecstatic about the time off, loving the isolation and the enforced stay at home. The other half hated every minute of it, feeling trapped and anxious. I think that is called cabin fever.

There was a very funny article in the New Yorker April 11 by Ian Frazier about cabin fever and what it is like to go stir crazy. He used to live in a cabin in western Montana, and noted how socially awkward he became the longer he spent in isolation in the woods. He also noted that in 2018, a Russian scientist at a research station in Antarctica stabbed another Russian scientist because he kept giving away the ending of books. I am happy to report that none of my coworkers stabbed anyone, but of course they were only snowbound for three days.

Because of the way the snow blew in, there is a huge pile of snow on our roof on the front of the house, and the melting has caused enormous icicles to form right by our front door. You could stab someone with one of those, I suppose. It is a good thing that Husband and I both like being at home, and neither of us gives away the ending of books.

Have you ever had cabin fever? Who would you like to be snowbound with? Ever read much by Ian Frazier?

2022, animals, home, Nature, Travel, Weather

Missing Out

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I am currently in Fargo, ND at a nice hotel. My home is 300 miles to the west. Since Tuesday, the residents of my town have been having a rip roaring blizzard, and I am missing it! For the first time since we moved to our town in 1988, my office has been closed for three days in a row due to the weather.

I love snow storms. I should preface that with the disclaimer that I love being in a snow storm while in my warm home with a full refrigerator. Friends are sending videos of their yards, their stock pens, their barns full of goats and leghorn chickens, and I am so jealous. We have been in a drought, and this moisture is welcome, but it is hard on the cows and their new calves. The header photo is of a friend’s cow on Wednesday during the storm. As she says, “the price we pay for moisture”. I should add my friend and her husband provide good protection for all their cows in various ways. I don’t know why this one was out in the open and looking so pathetic. Another friend just reported that her snow day was ruined by the discovery of a mouse in her house

My next task is to drive home on not such good roads. If I were at home, I would spend time staring out at the snow blowing by, gauge the depth of snow in the driveway, perhaps bake, and maybe take a nap. As it is, I will just bless the snowplow operators and keep both hands on the wheel.

What don’t you want to miss? What do you like to do during a snow storm? Any good storm stories?

animals, Family, Food, home, pets, Uncategorized

All Wet

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Sometimes I think I’m living in the Twilight Zone.  A few nights back, as I was sitting my room, I got a text from YA.   Getting a text from YA isn’t all the bizarre, although getting a text from her when she is in the next room strikes me as a bit on the weird side.

However, this was the text:

“Will you get some kitty treats and put them under the bathroom door?”

If you want to get my attention, that’s the way to do it.

Turns out she had decided that Nimue needed a bath and it was the point in the process in which Nimue was indicating that her patience had been worn out. In addition to trying to open the bathroom door from the inside, she wasn’t cooperating with the blow drying part of the evening.

As you can see from the picture above, kitty treats weren’t her highest priority right then.  She was not a happy wet kitty.

And it got worse from there because then there needed to be brushing.  Nimue can tolerate brushing on her head and her face and even down her back but she draws the line (and occasionally blood) if you get near her back haunches.  Those are strictly her territory.  I didn’t hear any actual howling or hissing, but I did hear some grumbling and growling.  Luckily all her bad humor was for YA and as soon as she escaped the bathroom torture chamber, she was very glad to sit on my lap and get petted and cosseted.

Are you a bath or shower person?  Or just a quick dunk under the hose?

2022, animals, Farming Update, home, Uncategorized, Weather

April Farming?

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Today’s post comes from Ben

Man, this weather. It’s probably normal for early April to be undecided about what it wants to do… it just doesn’t feel like it after last year’s early spring. And I think I say that every year.

But the turkey vultures have returned! And the Killdeer! And I’ve put the pot of chives out on the step. And just this morning, we heard Sandhill Cranes! (Aw, Steve…sure miss you. )

The other day, the day before it started raining, I got out in the fields with the tractor and loader and started pushing trees off the edges. Most of these down trees were from the December storms and since that was a South wind, these were on the North side of the fences. Meaning It was muddy there and the frost maybe wasn’t out, and it was kind of a mess. Only once did I scare myself thinking I probably shouldn’t have really gotten down in this muddy corner hillside, but I got out and it was all fine. Had three of the tractors running, which always feels good, pulled the seed wagon out, and hooked onto the soil finisher with the big tractor. Made me feel better that I was at least getting a start on things. Doesn’t take too long to get things greased up before getting into the fields.

Also, finally found the lid from the big garbage can that we keep salt and sand mix in. It blew off during that December storm and I figured it was gone for good. Nope, found it thirty feet away in some trees.  

When I left for work one day this week there was a car parked on the township road, just off the highway. I took a photo of it and told Kelly about it. Figured maybe it was someone walking, maybe it broke down, maybe it was a couple high school kids hooking up and left one car here. Didn’t think much of it. But 6 hours later when I came home, and it was STILL there I called the deputies. Turns out it had been stolen. No other details.

Not the first stolen car we’ve found. Thirty years ago there was the car on a field road, but the tires were gone and ignition was ripped out and the dealers lockbox was in the back seat.  We found it before the dealership reported it stolen.   

On the duck and chicken front, all is holding steady. One Phoenix chicken is broody so she’s in a nest box all day. Since I collect the eggs every day, she’s moving daily to sit on someone else’s eggs. And I haven’t had to give them any water the last few weeks (because there’s water everywhere!) But otherwise all is well for the moment. I’ll need to start cleaning up the pen I use for the baby chicks. They’ll be here before I know it.   

What was your biggest accomplishment or disappointment last week?

2022, holidays, home, Media, Theatre, Uncategorized

Waiting For Einaudi

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Latest November I decided to treat myself to a CD of the string group La Pieta playing the music of Ludovico Einaudi. He is a modern Italian composer, still living, and I love his compositions.

I ordered the disc through Amazon from a place in Oxfordshire, England. I was told the order would arrive in time for Christmas. By the middle of December there was no indication that it had shipped. Husband was anxious for it to come because he knew I was really looking forward to getting it. Our conversations were reminiscent of dialog by Samuel Beckett.

“Has it arrived?”

“No, but they said it was coming.”

“When will it come?”

“They said it would be here by now.”

I got a message in mid January that the package was lost in transit. I reordered from another US company, and finally, in mid March, the disc arrived. Of course, although it was brand new, it required substantial cleaning before it would play without skips and pops.

Who is your favorite or least favorite modern composer? Any interesting delivery stories? Have you ever seen Waiting For Godot?

2022, Art, Family, Fantasy, home, Nature, Seasons, Uncategorized, Weather

Icy Art

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At this time of year when you wake up to ice and snow, you have to work hard to find the fun in it.  I’ve been very crabby the last week (due to work) and boy, did the crummy weather not help.  All morning I was kind of fuming about it.

YA goes into the office on Wednesdays (although starting next week, we both have to go in on Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday).  When she drives, she turns her car around near the garage so that she goes headfirst down the driveway.  When I went out over lunch to do a couple of errands, the tracks that her car made in the ice were kind of pretty, like the work of a modern artist working in an unusual lmedium.  It was just the lift that my spirits needed.

Have you seen anything that struck you as “artsy” recently?

2022, Family, Fantasy, Food, holidays, home, Kids, Mysteries, Uncategorized

Easy as…..

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Even though I didn’t celebrate Pi Day the way I would have preferred (lots of pies, lots of party), I did pull some pie dough out of the freezer and picked up some frozen blueberries last weekend.  My plan was to make a blueberry pie – YA’s favorite – on Monday over my lunch.  Blueberry is about the easiest pie out there – no slicing of anything, no fancy ingredients, nothing that needs to marinate or rise.  If you cheat, like I often do w/ pre-made pie dough, it’s about a 10-minute project before you’re slipping the pie plate into the oven.

Unfortunately last week was a little stressful to say the least and my lunch “hour” on Monday ended up being an 8-minute cheese sandwich (that includes the making and eating of said sandwich).  So pie didn’t happen.  And you all know that when I’m busy at this time of year I don’t have much energy  at the end of the day.  Daylight savings helps a little but not enough.  YA asked about the pie a couple of times the next few days and finally on Friday I told her I’d work on it over the weekend.

Friday night I was wallowing after a 10-hour work day, in my jammies at 7 with a book in hand when I smelled the aroma of baking wafting up from the downstairs.  YA likes to do her cooking and baking in the evening and it smelled good but I didn’t wander down to see what she was doing.  I was actually a little surprised when she came upstairs later and announced she had made a blueberry pie.   I don’t remember her ever making a pie on her own; actually I don’t remember her ever even being involved in pie making.  Of course, I can’t trust my memory on this – heck I can’t even remember the Wordle word an hour later!

I asked her if it tasted good and she said she had put it in the fridge to cool down.  When I got up on Saturday I was surprised to see a whole pie in the fridge; I assumed she would have a piece before she went to bed (which is always later than me).  But it was still whole and gorgeous.  Not only did she weave the lattice crust, the lattice pieces were really even; she had clearly used one of my pastry cutters.  Sure enough there is was in the sink (waiting to be washed). 

She knew I had a pastry cutter for lattice work?  I had a quick thought that maybe aliens came down and helped her, but I do actually know better.  So may surprises with YA.  And among all this fun news – the pie tastes great as well!

If an alien came to help you, what project would you like assistance on?

Family, Food, gardening, home, News, Uncategorized, work

Expert Advice

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Husband was highly gratified yesterday to get an email from a local soil scientist who works for the FPAC-NRCS office in town. That is the soil conservation branch of the US Department of Agriculture, and they work with local ranchers and farmers to promote soil and water conservation. The sender of the email had heard through the local grapevine that Husband was a passionate proponent of urban agriculture, and she needed his advice putting together some soil health teaching/demonstrations to help local urban gardeners improve their garden soil and increase their production. She explained she was new to the area and was more familiar with the soil issues of area ranchers than she was with those of urban gardeners and the peculiarities of our local urban soil. Husband replied he would be happy to help.

We are usually asked for our expert opinions by the Court regarding rather sad and troubling situations. This was a delightful change. Also delightful was figuring out how on earth she got our email. It involved a tangled pathway from former clients, the Food Pantry, a pastor of a Lutheran church we don’t attend, and the pastor’s mother in law who is one our our fellow parishioners. Living in a small town can be quite interesting.

What could you provide expert advice on? What are the informal pathways that news and information travel in your family and community?

2022, Art, books, gardening, home, Nature, Seasons, Uncategorized, Weather

Borrrrrrring!

52 Comments

I’ve been writing a lot of notes these days and it’s been hard.  I don’t find I have much to say about my life.  It’s kinda boring.  I work, I sleep, I read – the triumvirate.  Then there’s all the day-to-day stuff that makes life run (cooking, eating, laundry, errands).

There is crafting of course.  It goes into the “Other Stuff” category because it’s not a daily activity; I tend to do most of my crafting on the weekend, when the big a** work monitor is moved off my desk in my studio.  It probably accounts for 6-7 hours a week. 

But even with the crafting, my life right now feels boring to me.  I lost my winter attitude way too soon this year and I’ve been feeling trapped in the house by the cold weather.  This is not something I usually experience during Minnesota winter.  The only difference between this winter and other winters has to be the lack of seeing other folks.  Calls, text, even online meetings for work aren’t quite the same as being with people (although I will admit the irony that I wish I could keep working from home starting the first week of April). 

 I am really looking forward go warmer weather so I can add a socializing slice to my pie.  And then there will soon be a gardening/yardwork slice to my pie as well as a dog-walking slice.  Can’t WAIT for a more interesting pie!

What does your pie include these days?  Any new slices coming up for you?