2025, animals, Family, Food, Gatherings, holidays

Happy Chinese New Year!

45 Comments

YA and I celebrate the lunar new year, although not as robustly as we used to.  When she was younger, we did a big house cleaning running up to the new year, put up a lot of decorations and had folks over for a nice dinner of Chinese.  I used to cook all that food on my own but over the years, we moved to getting takeaway from our favorite Chinese restaurant. Since the pandemic, we’ve scaled way back on some of this.

It turns out that this coming year is not just Year of the Snake but Year of the Wood Snake.  Apparently every 60 years or so, the Year of the Snake aligns with a Yisi year – which corresponds to heavenly stems and branches.  Hence Wood Snake.

Folks born during a snake year (1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001,2013 and 2025) are associated with intelligence and resilience.  Additional characteristics for a Wood Snake (1905, 1965 and 2025) are wisdom, intuition and renewal.  I’ve seen a couple of headlines this week saying that a snake year for shedding negative energy.  A good image for a snake, especially as the wood snake is linked with renewal.

According to a feng shui master who has been giving interviews, “The Snake — with a strong fire element, along with some metal and earth elements — is a zodiac sign that can cause significant clashes and conflicts. We need to be mindful of accidents as we approach the Snake Year. The overall atmosphere in the world will become slightly more chaotic.”  Personally I don’t think you need a lunar new year prediction to come up with that….

Do you know your Chinese zodiac sign?  Any favorite Chinese food this week?

2025, Kids, pets, Uncategorized

Birthday Balloons

11 Comments

YA doesn’t like a big fuss made about her birthday.  This year she did request a birthday breakfast at one of her favorite places – The Lowbrow – but that was it.

This is hard for me as I love making a fuss.  In my old job, everybody was in charge of someone else’s birthday.  Card and treat.  For the last several years of my employment, I had Norma’s birthday.  Norma loved having a fuss made over her almost as much as I loved making a fuss; we were a match made in heaven.  I miss those days.

Anyway, YA doesn’t ever want a gathering, a cake, a fuss.  About five years ago I made a banner that I hung up in the dining room and then I added balloons for her age.  She allowed this so that’s my go-to these days…. I hang up the banner and put up the balloons.

I figured out that year that I could extend the festivities a bit by celebrating the dog.  YA is 20 years older than Guinevere so all I had to do was take down the “2” balloon, leaving the “5” balloon up for the dog.  It’s the only fuss that Guinevere gets; she doesn’t even like the balloon.  If you take it down to show it to her, she runs out of the room. 

This year, with Guinevere turning 10, I did have to get a “1” balloon to make her age correct.  Seemed a little silly to buy a balloon for the dog, but I did it anyway.   Since I’m not making a big deal about Norma anymore, I guess the dog gets the attention!

Have you ever celebrated a pet’s birthday?  How?

100 Words, 2025, Gatherings, Mysteries, Weather

Polar Plunge

20 Comments

Watching out the bus window on my way downtown, I saw a young man sitting on the roof of a porch, facing the sun, wearing a pair of shorts.  Nothing else.  It was 12°.  I thought maybe it was some strange life-size blow up doll but then he moved.  

The bus kept going but I haven’t been able to get him out of my head and I haven’t been able to come up with even one far-fetched reason he would have been sitting up there, basically naked, on such a cold day.

Any thoughts?  Ever done a Polar Plunge?

2025, Government, Technology, Uncategorized, Weather

Jury Duty – Big Bust

20 Comments

My guess is that I’ve thought more about jury duty than most folks.  With my dad being a trail lawyer and our shared love of Perry Mason, I’ve known about juries from childhood. 

About 35 years ago I got a summons for jury duty but despite sitting patiently in the basement of the Government Center every day for a week, I didn’t get impaneled.  On Friday afternoon they released me and said I didn’t need to return.

Right before Christmas I got the Summons in the mail.  Things have changed somewhat in 35 years (doh!).  The biggest change is that you don’t have to show up on Monday morning and sit all week.  You get assigned a group number and twice a day you check online (or call in) to see if your group needs to go in.  One thing that hasn’t changed much is the stipend.  It’s not enough to pay for parking downtown (which is just outrageous) so if you are on a fixed income, if you drive and park, it’s like you’re paying to get on a jury.  I took the bus.

My group didn’t get called in until mid-day on Thursday (12:15 notice that you have to be at the Government Center at 1:30).  The waiting area is now on the 24th floor and is referred to as “The Jar”.  Hmmmm.   There were 33 of us in the room; orientation took 15 minutes and at 2 p.m.  they pulled the first group of 22.  That left 11 of us, not enough for a jury. I assumed at some point 10 folks would come back and then there would be enough of us if they needed to call a new group.  Nope, at 2:15, the 11 of us left in the room were sent home and told we didn’t need to come back in the morning or the following week.  Our service is complete – we won’t be eligible again for 4 years.  (This puts me above the required age limit so I can decline with no reason if I get called again.)

45 minutes of jury duty.  I spent more time on the bus than doing my civic duty.  And if you add all the time I spent researching how it works these days, rates at downtown parking ramps, bus routes and senior discounts not to mention the weather….. way more prep time than jury time. 

I’m not begrudging the time – I do actually think of it as my civic duty.  I know I wouldn’t want to be on trial and have it go wrong because you couldn’t find enough folks for a jury.  Although I do think it would have been more fun to actually get impaneled and see a real trial!

Any good jury duty stories?

2025, animals, Family, Farming Update, home, Kids, Nature, Weather

I Spy

36 Comments

The weekend Farm Report comes to us from Ben.

Every time I went outside this past week I’d say “Hooo Doggie!” like Jed Clampet. It was kinda brisk.

No one was very interested in going outside.   

The chickens were very happy to just hang out in the coop.

The guys working on the tower didn’t come back until Wednesday morning, and then Thursday they had a crane helping them.

Taking daughter into town one morning and I was telling her about a dream I had. (I have a lot of theater and lighting dreams). I was expounding on dream interpretation, when she said, “Okay Dad”. Ah. Point taken. I stopped talking. And I thought she was hanging on my every word.

The bathroom remodeling is in the dusty ‘sanding drywall’ phase. The guys are doing a pretty good job putting up plastic and sealing things, but that dust…it gets everywhere. Kelly taped baffles over the gap at the bottom of the doors, and even that didn’t help. I picked up my computer mouse and there was a dusty outline of that. And that was at the far end of a room with the door closed. Sigh. Part of the deal. This too shall pass. That’s Humphrey peeking through the plastic in the header photo, he’s just wondering when this will finish. Kinda like daughter. The guys know it’s not personal when she comes out of her room and yells, “WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO BE DONE!??” It’s just messing up her routine.

I’m making progress organizing the shop. Construction is basically done, other than adding shelving or cabinets, and I do have to finish installing some screws on the ground row (because I hate getting down on the ground unless I must, I put off installing those screws) and a couple other places I realized I forgot to install screws. I’ve mounted an air hose reel inside, and finished the wall outside, and moved some toolboxes. There’s a couple things I’m not sure I should mount until the electricians are finished. I’ve ordered some fancy dancy lights: A bunch for inside, a couple big ones outside the shop doors, a small one over the walk-in door, and two over the work bench.

Luna the dog. Short for ‘Luna-tic’. When we go outside, she’s so excited to be out doing something, she spends most of the time hopping on her back legs chewing on my hand. We learned a new trick where she bites a big stick, and I can spin her in circles. Well, I myself can’t spin too many circles before I fall over, but she loves it.

Bailey hates to be left out.

And all three dogs love eating the corn I throw out for the chickens. Luna will eat right out of the bucket while I’m dumping it out.

They’re all so weird.

Last week I got seed ordered for spring. This week all the necessary fertilizer and chemicals was confirmed. My goodness, nothing is getting cheaper. $30,000 this week. It’s only money!

Saturday is the Met in HD opera movie. ‘Aida’. It’s a long opera, 3 hour 15 minutes. I’ll be getting the large popcorn. And taking a nap. During the movie I mean. I can’t stand the music, but I enjoy the “production” of it all. 

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE FOOD TO EAT RIGHT OUT OF THE CONTAINER?

2025, Business, Travel, Uncategorized

House Sitting

35 Comments

A high school classmate of mine has found a really interesting gig lately. She has become an international house and pet sitter. I had never heard of this before, but there are companies you can sign up with who certify you as a good and responsible person, and then allow you to travel to house sit for people. You have to pay for travel expenses, but you stay for free in the home you are caring for.

My friend is currently in the south of France in a lovely old farm house caring for a couple of dogs, two cats, and some chickens. She is working remotely at her job in the States while she is there. The most difficult part of her current stay is firing up the stoves that warm the house. This place has no central heating. When she isn’t working or hauling wood and coal, she is traveling to quaint villages and markets nearby. The only down side to her current trip is that her luggage first went to the Canary Islands before it came to her.

Her previous stay took her to Montreal for two weeks. There, and now in France she stated that the neighbors take a keen interest in her and take her all around to show her sights, feed her, and socialize. I don’t think she speaks French, but that hasn’t been a problem. I am curious where she will go next.

Where in the world would you like to house sit?

2025, Business, Fantasy, Gatherings, Nature, Uncategorized

Warm Floors

35 Comments

At the sibling gathering (while I was visiting Nonny in St. Louis earlier this month), someone must have mentioned something about heated floors.  I made a note on my post-it note app, assuming (ha ha ha ha) that the words “heated floor” would trigger my memory for what I thought might be a blog piece.  Again, ha ha ha ha.

About 25 years ago, I had a site inspection scheduled to San Francisco and Napa.  The morning of the trip, the client called to cancel due to his wife’s illness but he told me to go ahead, see what I needed to see and take good notes and pictures.  No problem on my part.

The plan for the group was to do a day of wineries and a lovely lunch.  However the group was too big to be at any one winery at once (most of the Napa wineries are actually pretty small) so we needed to split up the group.  Group A and Group B went to different wineries in the morning, had lunch together at a place that could hold them all and then the groups would flip and do the wineries for the afternoon.  Easy peasy, right? 

In one long day, I visited 11 wineries to find the four that would work well for the group.  Each owner met me, toured me around and… offered me samples.  There didn’t feel like a gracious way to turn down the wine.  Even though I never finished an entire glass, by the end of the day, I was a bit tipsy.  Add to that the weather was chillier than had been forecasted and my coat was not up to the job.  By the time we got to the hotel, Meadowood Resort, all I wanted was to have a bit of room service and collapse in a warm bed.  

With all that liquid refreshment, I ended up having to visit the bathroom in the middle of the night.  It was chilly as I walked across the bedroom and then…. oh my stars… the bathroom floor was warm.  The first and last time I’ve personally ever come across heated floor tiles.  And of all the times I could truly appreciate them, there they were!  When I finally left and headed back to bed, I slept like a baby.

If this wasn’t what I was thinking about when somebody at the sibling gathering mentioned heated floors, then I’m completely in the dark.

If money weren’t an issue, what home improvement would you like to make?

2025, Fantasy, Food, Gatherings, Movies

Hello – My Name is Inigo Montoya

18 Comments

Right before Christmas I discovered that there were two Princess Bride cookbooks.  Who knew?  You all know me well enough to know that I couldn’t stay away from this.  The first one came to the library yesterday… I was outside the library door when they opened.

It’s a fabulous book… lots and lots of glossy stills from the movie and a lot of chat about the filming, in front of and behind the camera.  Even without the recipes it’s a fun read.

The recipes themselves are nothing out of the ordinary but the NAMES of the recipes are a hoot.  Here are a few:

  • Hash You Wish
  • Buttercup Buttermilk Scones
  • Chips of Insanity
  • Mostly Dead
  • Bonetti’s Defense
  • Anybody Want a Peanut
  • Bread Pirate Roberts

Normally I like to make one or two recipes from a cookbook like this… just for fun.  I’m thinking the Bread Pirate Roberts and the Chips of Insanity are on my list.

Maybe we should have a Princess Bride theme party.  The Lightning Sand pudding cookie cups look fun too!

Have you ever been to a fun theme party?

2025, Art, Gatherings, Kids

Saturday Crafting

22 Comments

When I was in St. Louis, looking for place close to Nonny’s where I might find an old-fashioned roller shade, I discovered that Fleet Farm was doing a free craft day.  Luckily it was after I got home since driving around in St. Louis after their big snowstorm was not my idea of fun.  Also luckily the craft event was at all the Fleet Farms, not just the St. Louis locations.

I didn’t have anything scheduled for that morning so headed south to the Lakeville Fleet Farm – about 20 minutes in the Saturday morning traffic.  Got there about 10 minutes early so wandered around a bit.  Although I was technically first in line, a family with two young boys was right behind me; I left them go first. 

It was a pretty easy project.  Paint the little jar with modge podge (a kind of craft glue), roll it in fake snowflakes, glue on the two little eyes and carrot nose.  Then twist together two pipe cleaners and pick out two cotton “earmuffs”.  The staff hot glued the pipe cleaners and earmuffs on the cap of the jar.  Then they gave us each a battery operated votive candle for inside the snowglobe.

As a planner at heart, I couldn’t help noticing how I would have done the craft day differently.  I would have put modge podge and snowflakes at each of the tables to prevent the big glut at the beginning.  I would have checked all the glue bottles to make sure the top notch was clipped off so the glue would come out.  And I would have had at least three employees at the hot glue station. 

Of course, these are big complaints… the craft was going as well as could be expected when most of the crafters were five and under.  I was the first one done and I was walking back to my car, two different families stopped me to look at it, as they were on there way in for the event.

I didn’t really need to drive to Lakeville to do this.  By looking at the photo I was pretty sure I actually had all the stuff to make this at home, except for the little votive candle.  But it was a pretty morning, I had a good CD for the drive and got a nice coffee before I headed home.  I used red and green pipe cleaners so it will be part of my Solstice décor in December.  For the time being it’s still sitting on the kitchen counter where I can still admire it every day.

Do you have a relaxing Saturday morning routine?

2025, Business, gardening, Seasons, Uncategorized

Hunkered Down for Winter

26 Comments

Bachmans is a fixture in my life.  In addition to the many times I stop by in the spring, summer and fall, it’s also located on my main conduit for when I am out and about.  I go by it five or six times a week.  Last week was the first time I’ve visited the shop in January.

Two things took me there.  I’ve written about the hot sauce bird seed cylinders that I discovered – it turns out they have them at Bachmans.  Also, if you go to visit your mother and forget that you need to mail your Bachmans bill before the trip, you can stop by the store and they will process the payment for you on the spot.  Saves a stamp as well!

I got there right at 10, when they were opening and the gal unlocking the door said she would let me in but that I would need to leave using the gift shop/Patrick’s Bakery door.  As soon as I stepped inside, I saw why.  What I consider the main part of the store was absolutely empty.  No bulbs, no seasonal anything, no shepherd’s hooks, no fertilizers, no merch on the endcaps, nothing.  And looking out the sliding doors towards the back were row after row of empty tables and shelves.  It was the eeriest feeling.

The gal at Customer Service told me they do this every winter; they start to ramp back up towards the end of February.  That’s when people start thinking about seeds and getting started indoors for the eventual return of warm weather. The gift shop is open through the winter – if you need something for Valentine’s (including cut flower bouquets), Bachmans is ready for you.

Luckily the bird seed section on the far wall towards the back is still available.  It’s nice to know I won’t have to drive to St. Paul if I need another hot sauce cylinder before spring!

Do you have any seasonal shops?