Category Archives: home

2026, Fantasy, Health, home, News, Uncategorized

Rumours

38 Comments

I am giggling. On Monday afternoon, Husband was in the driveway seasoning his new automatic charcoal smoker/grill, when the neighbor across the street came over to talk. She is a couple of years older than I am, and I was a high school classmate of her younger sister. Our mothers were in the same sewing club. Her family owned the Old Norwegian Boarding House in Luverne in the early years of the 20th century. Her son recently fixed our tires.

Mary asked Husband anxiously how I was doing, as another neighbor, someone we only met once, told her he heard that I had been diagnosed with dementia.

Well, this was quite a surprise! Husband had me come out to reassure Mary that I was fine, and in possession of all my faculties. She gave me an enormous hug, and said she would go have a little talk with the neighbor to let him know he was wrong, and that he had probably mixed me up with another close neighbor who actually has been diagnosed with Alzheimers. We walk our dogs with that woman, whose name is Jeanette. Her husband is a Vietnam Vet with MS and Agent Orange issues.

This is a small town. I am curious if any other residents have heard I have dementia, and how I should address it. Start reciting facts and figures? Wear a sign that says “I am cognitively intact”? Maybe I can act outrageously in public and everyone will forgive me!

How would you manage a situation like this? Ever been the subject of a rumour?

2026, animals, home, Travel, Uncategorized

Road Tripping

17 Comments

The chances are pretty good that while you are reading this, YA and I are in my car, headed to my mom’s service and to get her condo cleaned up.  I am in charge of the service and also the cleaning up/organizing/donating.  My middle sister has taken over most of the paperwork and financial stuff. 

Initially we had planned to take the dog with us.  With her anxiety/lashing out, there weren’t any boarding places that would take her.  YA had purchased a new collapsible kennel for the trip and we were acclimatizing Guinevere to it.  The neighbors were going to watch the house and come over a couple of times a day to feed the kitty and take down the garbage – all that good neighbor stuff.

After a couple of days of ruminating on it, both YA and I have decided we want to take the cat with us.  She’s a little discombobulated by the dog not being here so leaving her in an empty house seems cruel.  In addition, after both my mom and the dog going so very quickly, we’re just not emotionally ready to not have the cat with us.

So… purchased a new cat carrier as her old one is pretty small (only used for the 2-block trip to the vet every year).  Found a harness that fits her in the “pet drawer” (we have everything from every pet ever in that drawer).  All the travel-with-cats websites say make sure she’s micro-chipped.  Check.  When I was at Petsmart getting a top-off of cat food, I decided to get her a new kitty bed.  She has two on the radiator in my bedroom but one is so horribly scruffy and dirty – it would be too awful to take that with us.  Yes, I know I could probably toss it in the washer but I think the shed kitty fur is the only thing holding it together. 

The list now includes new carrier, new bed, littler box w/ litter, little litter bags, harness, kitty dish & kitty food, kitty treats.  Hopefully we haven’t forgotten anything! 

Wish us luck!

Any good animal road trip stories?

2026, Business, Fitness, home, Uncategorized

Boyish Plumbers

25 Comments

In the last month we have had numerous workers in our home to replace the dishwasher, stove, and microwave, as well as to do some minor plumbing as we had one toilet replaced and a hot water shut off valve replaced under the kitchen sink. We also had new smoke detectors installed and a new electrical outlet installed for the new stove. The old outlet was a 110, and the new stove required a 220.

We have been very happy with all the workers who have come to the house. I was most delighted, though, with the plumber. He was a fully credentialed professional plumber, but he looked as though he was 16 years old.

I asked him if people often remarked that he looked too young to be a plumber. This was evidently a touchy subject with him since he told me that he is always told this, and it was really annoying. “People tell me I look like I am 18. I am 21 years old!” I suggested that it might help if he grew a beard. He said that he had inherited his father’s inability to grow much facial hair, so that wasn’t a solution.

People assumed that I was older than I was when I was a child and teen because I was tall for my age. I didn’t mind, but it meant that people often expected more from me than I was capable of. Now I just hope I look younger than I am.

Do you look your age? Do you act your age? Had any home repairs lately?

2026, Food, Gatherings, home, Kids, Uncategorized, Weather

Fuzzy Pi

28 Comments

Big snow storms and big parties don’t go together.  I watched the weather like that proverbial hawk for a couple of weeks and was a little dismayed when just a few days ahead of Pi Day, the forecast took a turn for the worse.  For the next few days we were hoping the snow would hold off until Saturday night, but it became clear that our hopes wouldn’t be realized.  YA suggested that we move Pi Day up to 5 p.m. (instead of 6) to give folks a little more wiggle room so I sent out an email.

I was a bit worried about whether I could be ready by 5.  On Thursday and Friday I was… well a little fuzzy.  Just not firing on all thrusters.  Around noon on Friday, I had some pie shells par-baking; as I waited, I took a quick break on the sofa.  When the timer went off, I headed to the kitchen, faced the oven, turned off the timer, put on the oven mitts and then promptly turned right around and opened the dishwasher.  Just a smidge loopy I’d say.

YA was an angel and by the time the first folks arrived at 4:30, everything was done except for the whipped cream on the last three pies.  We had everything on the table and ready by 5.  Phew.  Of course not everybody got the email so there was a 5:00 influx and a 6:00 influx.  One friend came at 7:15!  No worries – enough pie for everybody!

Here is this year’s menu:
Blueberry
Dutch Apple
Peach
Pear Croustade
Oreo Cream
Double Lemon Chess
Nectarine Almond Crumb
Key Lime
Crack
Banofi
Fudge Pecan
Coconut Macadamia
Root Beer Float Whoopies

So you can have a Pi Day celebration when there is a storm and even if you’re a little discombobulated.  However I did make everybody who left after 7 call/text me when they got home safe and sound!

  What kind of pie is best eaten underground?

2025, Family, home, pets, Travel, Uncategorized

Two Damn Dogs

49 Comments

This post title comes from tim, who commented that having one dog makes it your boon companion, but having one more dog means you have “two damn dogs”.

We picked up our second dog, a 12 week old female Cesky Terrier, from her breeder last week Thursday in Kansas City. Our 4 year old male Cesky is from the same breeder. He is located in Oklahoma City, but was at a dog show in KC, so we met him there. I had never been in Kansas City or at a dog show before. We met the breeder back in the grooming area where there were dogs of every size and breed. It was quite fun. He is a very responsible breeder, and the two top Ceskys at the Westminster dog show this year were his. He also breeds Soft Coated Wheaten Terriers.

We drove to KC on Wednesday and drove back to Luverne on Thursday. Mitzi, the new puppy, was a good traveller. We also transported a year old Cesky girl named Secret to Luverne to get her to a Manitoba woman who is a dog trainer and Junior Dog handler trainer. The woman had been at Mayo for hand surgery and met us in Luverne Friday morning. We picked up our Cesky boy, Kyrill, from the boarding kennel on Friday morning as well. Our main goal in getting another dog was to provide him with more socialization and activity. It has been working like a charm. He is 30 lbs and she is 3 lbs but they race, chase, and tumble. They love playing indoors and outdoors. They steal each other’s toys and chews. She is a sweet but spicy little thing who doesn’t seem to mind him running her over. She puts herself at a distance from him and then charges into him. He doesn’t seem to mind. They exhaust one another in the best way.

We are sort of crate training her. I mean “sort of” because she sleeps with me and Kyrill in the guest room so I can let her out in the night when she stirs to go potty every three hours or so. Wednesday night she made it six hours before I I had to take her outside. Kyrill isn’t too sure he likes her next to him in bed with us, but she snuggles by me out of his space. I predict in a month they will snuggle together.

Having a puppy in the house is like having a new baby in the house, and we are pretty tired. She is so sweet and is going to be as much of a soul mate as Kyrill is. I am really glad we have two dogs. We don’t just have two terriers. We are dog people now.

Ever been to Kansas City or at an animal show? Tell about your favorite/troublesome dogs.

2026, Art, home, Mysteries, Uncategorized

Scrappy Do

22 Comments

My neighbor Don once asked me about how I keep up with supplies for my paper crafts.  I think I snorted.   I’m pretty certain that if I didn’t buy anything else ever (except for tape, which I go through at a prodigious rate), I could keep making cards until I’m 105.

You’d think that with stacks of paper, I wouldn’t be so stingy with it.  I keep almost every scrap, unless it’s thinner than 1/2”.   There are two plastic bins in my studio with paper scraps – one is for solid-colored cardstock and the other is for patterned paper.  Both these bins are full and I spend a bit of time sifting through to see if there is something I can use rather than cut into a new piece of stock/paper.  I try to keep it organized, but many days when I’m straightening up after I’ve crafted, I just toss the scraps into the bin willy nilly.

That means that a couple of times a year, it’s time to sort out the scraps.  I go through each bins separately; solids get divided up into colors (blues, greens, purples, etc.) and patterns get laid out by pattern type and/or season (stripes, dots, floral, Halloween, etc.)   At this point I usually jettison a lot of the smaller pieces, especially the patterned stuff.  The header photo is what it looks like (this is the solids).

This whole process takes about an hour.  It’s not hard by any means and I can’t say that I actually enjoy it but it does feel quite good when it’s done.  And I don’t have to think about it for another six months or so!

What do you have that needs periodic organizing?

2026, books, home, Kids, Mysteries, Uncategorized

Rocks & Hammers

27 Comments

Not quite sure where I got the idea to read And Then We Hit a Rock by Greg Buenzli – it had a catchy title – sometimes that’s all it takes.  Greg and his family bought a catamaran and sailed around on it for a year and a half.  Four stars. It would have been five stars if the good stuff / bad stuff had been more balanced.  It was about 90% the bad weather, the things that broke (legend!) and other things that went wrong; only about 10% (most of it in the last 10 pages) of why it was a good experience.  An OK read, just not as good as it could have been. 

The reason I’m telling you this is a warning.  Do not attempt any home improvements projects right after finishing this book.  It’s cursed.

Now that YA has finished painting all the hallways, she’s been at me to re-hang all the pictures.  I was ready; I had purchased some new picture hangers, I’d sorted through the photos and stacked them by where they should go, I’d dusted everything off.  No worries – I’ve certainly hung pictures before.

It was a nightmare.  If it could go wrong, it did.  Hallway is just dark enough that everything I dropped (repeated little nails, anchors) needed the flashlight to find it.  I only dropped the hammer once – the only luck of the day was that it didn’t land on any of my toes.  Two photos had to be re-hung because I just did a bad job the first time.  The wire on the back of one photo ripped off after it had been on the wall about 15 minutes. The box with the various tools was right underneath it at that point or the glass would probably have shattered. Also the number of tools kept expanding as I went along. Level, hammer, pliers, painters tape, scissors, flashlight, ruler. And have I mentioned my poor fingers?  Mashed, crushed, banged, pounded, beaten, whacked, smashed, bashed, battered…. I’ll stop now.  Suffice it to say I hung 17 pictures and bashed a thumb or finger at least 20 times.  I did try using a little pliers to hold the nails, but it wasn’t very effective.

I couldn’t bring myself to do the destination photos that go down the stairway after getting the upstairs done; hopefully I’ll have the nerve tomorrow.  Maybe 24 hours between me and the cursed book will make it not so painful!

Ever read a cursed book before? Bashed a finger recently?

2026, Family, Food, home, Uncategorized, Weather

Blizzard Fare

21 Comments

I have been reading with some amusement and sympathy for our East Coast fellow citizens dealing with the reality of snowstorms. I can’t imagine having to manage something like that with no experience. It would be like me having to prepare for and sit through a hurricane.

I was very tickled by the NYT cooking site yesterday posting a number of recipes titled “Cooking For The Storm”. If you have to stay in you might as well cook, was their attitude. They highlighted lots of filling soups, pastas, and stews. There was no mention of making a mad dash to the store for provisions, however.

My mother was a very dedicated Grade 3 teacher who didn’t like to cook. If we had to stay at home due to bad weather she always made rather complicated waffles that called for the eggs to be separated and the whites beaten into a meringue and folded into the batter. I absolutely loved them. We called them “Blizzard Waffles”, and I made them for years until I moved on to Husband’s sourdough discard waffles. They are the best.

In our ND town, the minute bad weather was predicted the main grocery store would be overrun with customers stocking up before the storm hit. I have yet to experience this in our MN town, but I imagine it is the same here.

Husband and I seem to go to the grocery store every day for one thing or another, but in a pinch we could manage for weeks with what we have in our fridge, freezers, and pantry. As long as the power stays on and the larder is full, how fun to be snowed in!

Quick! A blizzard is coming! How will you prepare? What do you need to get at the store? Any advice forEasterners on how to deal with the snow?

2026, Computers, Family, Government, home, Media, Uncategorized

Approach/Avoidance

39 Comments

Yesterday Husband and I successfully closed out a small retirement account he has had for years. The occasion marks a finale in business actions we have been deluged with for the past 14 months.

When I say “we” I really mean “me” since I am the one who has handled the bulk of address changes, registrations, and monetary decisions needed with our retirements and move. I am so sick of dealing on-line and over the phone with faceless beings, automated “helpers”, and pressing the needed number on the phone keypad to get my work done.

For some reason I was dreading this final transaction more than any of the others. I kept putting it off, finding more pressing things to do instead. It left me sleepless, and gave me bad dreams. I think the issue was that Husband had to do the bulk of the work on the phone, and that left me feeling out of control. I really didn’t want the control, but that is the essence of anxiety, I think. I am a master of avoidance.

Yesterday’s transaction went without a hitch. I am so relieved! Now it is just a matter of getting everything to our accountant to do our taxes. All I need to do is mail it, since I collected everything needed. My new task is to find the next thing I need to worry about.

What are you avoiding? What makes you anxious?

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2026, Automotive, home, Medicine, Uncategorized

Just Like That!

29 Comments

I continue to be amazed by the speed at which we can access goods and services here. Our town in ND was 20,000 people. Our current town is about 4,900 people. You would think it would be easier to get things done in a bigger town, but that has not been the case.

A couple of weeks ago I finally had it with the front right tire on my van losing air with sudden temperature changes. This has been going on for a couple of years. No one in ND had offered a solution. We randomly chose a tire shop here to deal with the matter. The nice young mechanic/owner explained how he would fix it, and then told us he could probably squeeze it in that afternoon. What? I didn’t have to bring it in the following week? Well, he fixed it in a couple of hours. There was a leaky pressure sensor that needed to be replaced. I then figured out from his last name that his grandmother and my mother had been members of the same sewing club, that his parents lived across the street from us, and that I graduated from high school with his aunt. The tire has behaved admirably ever since.

Wednesday I was feeling awful with a flare-up of diverticulitis. I phoned the medical clinic at 9:50 am. They said they had an appointment for me at 10:15. I took it. This was the actual clinic, not Urgent Care. There is no Urgent Care here. The clinic is a 3 minute drive from our home. By afternoon I was feeling better.

The wired-in smoke detectors on our new home were all a faded, aged yellow. They looked original to the home, which was built in 1998. They should be replaced every 10 years. When our son tried to brown the Thanksgiving turkey at 500°, the upstairs was filled with smoke yet none of the smoke detectors went off. Yesterday at 12:15 pm I phoned an electrician to get them replaced. He told me he could come over that afternoon. He was at the house by 12:40 pm, and by 1:10 pm all seven of them had been replaced. They are white, not yellowed.

What are the wait times for you to get goods and services? How are your smoke detectors? What is the longest you had to wait for a medical appointment?