2025, crops, Farming Update, pets, Theatre, Uncategorized, Weather

BOO! HISS!

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The 1940’s station I listen to on SXM has changed to Christmas music already. 

Bah. 

The neighbor guys say they should get to my corn this week. Well, we’re running out of week. I heard recently the grain elevators are full and they may not be taking corn anymore. Great. I wanted something else to worry about.

Waiting on a road repair on the township road that goes into our place. The ONLY road into our place. I’m sure they’ll do that the day we start combining. Mumble mumble mumble…

The 630 tractor I’ve been repairing on and off for 2 years now. I had it running; I got the main hood back in place and got the air cleaner and muffler installed.

Coming together. Air cleaner and muffler on the top!

And then the starter, which some times acts up, started acting up again. I knew there was a bad wire down underneath, so I pulled the flywheel cover off, got underneath the tractor and took the cover off the starter and disconnected the wires, pulled them up and out of there, pulled the four bolts out and removed the lower dash, disconnected one more wire, took out the four bolts for the upper dash and gauges, disconnected a second wire, built a new wire harness, taped it all up with heat shrink tubing to make it look all professional like, put it all back together and installed the starter cover while that voice way in the back of my head said ‘You didn’t test this yet’ but heck, I know it’s fixed. And I touched the ground wire to the frame and the starter starts to spin. Crap. Key on or off doesn’t matter, the starter spins all the time. It’s not supposed to spin until I push the start button. It doesn’t engage to start the tractor, it just spins. 

Sigh.

I took the cover off again and tapped on the starter with a hammer. GENTLE taps. Nope. Still spinning.

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Luna on the left, flywheel is the ‘X’, starter poking through in the right circle.

Sigh. 

OK, it’s just three bolts to get the starter out; will take it to the starter repair guy. 

The lights down in the feed room haven’t been working. I replaced the bulbs the other day and they still didn’t work. Hmm, it’s dark early these days you know, I’d like to have lights in there. The barn lights work. I trace a wire and know they should be powered by the barn lights meaning it’s not a breaker. There’s a box in the barn that maybe is the problem, but the box is covered with 17 layers of whitewash. 

Anyone remember or know of whitewash? Tom Sawyer was probably using whitewash on that fence he got the neighbor kids to do. 

When we were milking cows, we had a guy come out annually to white wash the inside of the barn. Whitewash is a mix of lime and a few other things mixed with water. Evidently it has mildly antibiotic properties. And it dries to a hard surface that will still rub off on your hands or clothes. In the barn, it was a nice finish the milk inspector would approve. Applying it was messy and we had to cover the pipeline (or wash it off when they were done). And once dried, it sure looked nice. Back to this electrical box; it’s covered with 17 layers of whitewash (which is also mildly corrosive on metal) and I don’t want to start digging into that electrical box because it’s gonna turn into a whole big deal. 

The next option was to see if there’s power to the switch in the feed room. I got a handful of tools and the gator since I knew it will be more than one trip back to the shop. Pulled the cover off, took the wires off, and when I touch them together, the lights come on. Yay! Back to the shop for a new (used) switch and I have lights again. That project took longer than expected. 

I finally got the drain finished in the new concrete. Only took 4 trips to ‘save big money’ to get this glued together. I haven’t finished the outside portion yet, but that’s easy; it was the inside that was the priority.

I’ve got concrete ordered for the 18th now. 

I was doing some research about concrete and cold weather. I know you don’t want it to freeze. Research shows that’s only for a day or two while it is curing. Cover it with a tarp and some straw and it’s all OK at these temperatures. Concrete gives off some heat while curing anyway. Whew! 

My schedule lately has been busier than usual. Got through the college show, then lit a small show in Mantorville (not a melodrama. Are you familiar with melodrama’s? The audience is expected to boo and hiss the villain and cheer the hero. Back in my youth ((1985)) I was the Hero’s buddy and I won the coveted Golden Oink Oink award for my performance. A big ham in other words.) Then I have another show to light at the Rep. And some outside rental events at the college in the evenings. It will be Thanksgiving soon, then it’s into Holiday concerts at the college. Plus my forensic chemistry class, and pouring concrete, and random stuff to do at home. And IF THEY EVER GET MY CORN OUT I’ll want to get some tillage done this fall before the ground freezes or it gets too muddy. I’m not stressed. I’M NOT STRESSED I SAY!This is pretty normal for fall. Kelly knows she doesn’t see me much between the first of November and middle of December. Some how it all works out. But that doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it.

You may remember we have this Joseph at home. He was rescued from a ditch and we decorate him for the holidays.

The Mantorville show has these plastic figures sitting on the side of the stage.

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Jedediah and his wife Bertha.

I sent a picture to Kelly. We laughed, This is Joseph’s twin, Jedediah, and his wife Bertha. Jed to the family. Jed has had a much more bourgeois life… “No ditch life for him” as Kelly says.

GOT A TWIN OR A DOPPLEGANGER? WHO HAVE YOU BEEN MISTAKEN FOR?

EVER BEEN BOOED?

2025, animals, Fantasy, home, Media, Uncategorized

Optical Illusions

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Earlier this week I thought of this song as I watched our dog navigate the space in our new home:

How much is that dog in the credenza?

The one with the beard that is grey.

How much is that dog in the credenza?

Why won’t he come out and play?

Kyrill hasn’t had much opportunity to look into mirrors until now. We had this curio cabinet with a mirror that we kept in the basement in our old house. The new house has more space upstairs, and we could move the cabinet upstairs. Kyrill saw the dog in the mirror, wagged his tail at it, and spent much of a day peering into it. He really loves playing with other dogs and wanted the dog to come out.

Kyrill’s breeder told me that his show Ceskys love to parade back and forth in front of hotel room mirrors. I wonder if they know that it is them or think it is some other dog?

What are your favorite optical illusions? How have your pets reacted to mirrors?

2025, Business, Media, Movies, Technology

I Robot

28 Comments

A wave of nostalgia hit me yesterday when I went to get a gift card for YA’s stocking.  When I was a kid, my folks would drop me off in front of the movie theater, I’d meet up with my friends, plunk down my buck, get the popcorn, find a seat, see the movie.  No checking a website for availability, no buying the tickets ahead of time, no assigned seats. 

When I walked into the Southdale AMC, it looked very similar to the photo in the header.  Just a bank of screens but no bodies whatsoever.  For years I’ve left movie arrangements to YA, so I had to idea that people had become quite so irrelevant to the process.  These days you can still buy a ticket from one of the automated kiosks but apparently most people buy the tickets online, choose their assigned seat and just go straight to the “ticket taker”.

If there was a way to get a gift card at a kiosk, I couldn’t figure it out, so I asked the ticket taker.  Apparently you do still need a person to get a gift card; he took care of it for me.  I thought about it as I went back to the car; nobody lets customers sell themselves giftcards at the self-checkout.  I suppose that there are just a few too many ways that the sale can go catty-whompus.  This was proved correct about 15 minutes later at Trader Joes.  I’m not sure what happened but even the cashier couldn’t make the cards scan properly.  The supervisor who got called over couldn’t figure it out either.  Eventually they did total out my groceries and then do a whole new transaction for the gift cards. 

I’m pretty sure that eventually they’ll figure out a way to automate giftcards and then there probably won’t even be a ticket taker when you go to the movies.  They’ll most likely AI the popcorn and pretzels one of these days!

What’s something that’s been automated these days that surprised you?

2025, Family, Gatherings

Marry Girl Cake

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My next-door neighbors’ son is getting married right after Christmas.  He met his fiancée when he was stationed in Taiwan a few years ago (Marine).  They moved here early last year after he retired; yes, that’s right, you get to retire from the Marines when you’re 30 if you join up right after high school.  He’s attending the Carlson School of Business for his MBA and she’s working in financial planning. 

Zander and Nina will be getting married in Taiwan, where her family still lives.  Apparently there are quite a few “traditions” that weddings incorporate in Taiwan, even in this day and age.  This is from their wedding website:

The wedding ceremony then will begin with a “bride pick-up” ceremony (迎娶), where the groom arrives at the bride’s home with music, groomsmen, and playful games. After the groom complete the “mission,” they travel together to the groom’s house. A tea ceremony follows, where the couple serves tea to elders in exchange for blessings and red envelopes.  The evening ends with a lively banquet, sometimes held outdoors as a traditional 流水席 (Liúshuǐxí), filled with delicious dishes, toasts, and laughter. Of course, mostly seafood in Taiwan.

Another tradition that wasn’t listed on the website was the sending out of engagement cakes – see the photo above.   YA and I are not invited – obviously it’s a small number of folks heading to Taiwan from the US the day after Christmas for this wedding.  This doesn’t bother me – I would have been shocked to be included and we couldn’t have afforded it anyway.  But it was nice that my neighbors brought us over an engagement cake (called “marry girl cake” in the past) which are sent out by the bride’s family to announce the upcoming nuptials.  I looked up the label to find out it was a red bean variety but then YA translate-googled the Chinese ingredient list and found out it also has pork.  So we got to admire it, but didn’t eat it.

Weddings are way down on my list of favorite things.  Way down.  Too much pomp, too much emphasis on the day and not the life afterwards, too much expense, too much “it’s the bride’s day”.  My first wedding was pretty much run by my mother; I made a few key decisions but she took care of everything else.  It was too big as far as I was concerned but at least it was very low key.  My second wedding was at a table at Good Earth; the judge joined us but didn’t stay for lunch.  Our witnesses were our waiter Philip and the waitress Sarah from the next section over.  The restaurant gifted us with a little centerpiece and comped our dessert.  Even though the marriage didn’t go the distance, I’m still happy with the memory of that wedding day.

YA will not expect a big flashy wedding from me… if she ever ties a knot.  I’ve been sending her psychic messages for years…. just one word…. “elope”!

Any good wedding stories?

2025, Food, home, Nature, Seasons, Uncategorized

Bye Bye Summer

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I swear I’m not doing yet another blog about hand pies, despite the header photo. 

A discovery was made a couple of weeks ago that if I ask Alexa to play “You Butter My Bread” by the Divers, I will get a nice mix of songs that remind me of TLGMS.  Some of the songs are actually TLGMS favorites.  

Yesterday morning, while I was making something that I’ve promised I won’t mention, I made my request and one of the songs that Alexa coughed up was “Canned Goods” by Greg Brown.  You all know I adore this song; this morning, looking out a the slight dusting of snow on the neighbor’s roof, I realized that it’s official that summer is over. 

So going into fall/winter, this is what I’ve put up this year:  strawberry jam, raspberry jam, pesto, applesauce, tomato sauce, basil/oil cubes, chive/oil cubes, mint/lime juice cubes, strawberries, raspberries and grapes.  Somehow it doesn’t seem like I’m keeping up with Greg Brown’s grandmother!

Any favorite summer songs to tide us over?

2025, Fantasy, gardening, Kids, Mysteries

I’m Blooming Nuts

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Once, when YA was about five, she didn’t want to turn off the light in her bedroom – her reasoning being that she didn’t want her stuffed animals (a prodigious crowd) to be worried in the dark. 

I couldn’t really give her grief about it.  After all, she comes by this stuffy empathy honestly – she gets it from me.  I was quite active in the naming of all her stuffed critters and gave in to her desire to anthropomorphize them big time.  Heck I once carried my stuffed javelina Henrietta in my carry-on bag because it didn’t feel right to close into the suitcase!

It shouldn’t surprise you then to know that I am having a little trouble dumping my flowering baskets this fall.  I usually plant the baskets on Mother’s Day – sometimes a few days before or after depending on the weather.  Then when the blooms fall, I stack up the deceased baskets alongside the garage in the back of the yard.

Here’s the problem; it’s been a full six months and five of the fifteen baskets still have flowers on them!  I’ve been moving the baskets around, taking the empty shepherds pole away and storing them in the garage.  With the temperature below zero more than a few nights now, I was worried about being able to wrench the poles out of frozen ground.  But I just couldn’t bring myself to stack the baskets with flowers in the back.

So I set the baskets on the back steps (see the photo above).  The last basket is on the front steps, which is where its shepherds pole stood all summer.  Since it won’t be above freezing even during the day for a few days, I’m guessing the flowers are making their last hurrah but at least they will be making that hurrah on the back steps, being appreciated whenever I open the back door!

Are you irrational about anything?

2025, animals, crops, Farming Update, pets, Seasons, Theatre, Uncategorized

WHO’S A GOOD CHICKEN?

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This week’s farm update from Ben


This week I was defeated by cheap electronics that think they’re smarter than me.

We have one of those little fake fires in the college show. The bowl with the fan, and the orange lights, and  the silk. I have a 12 volt battery connected to a power inverter (which takes 12 volts and makes it 120 volts) and the fake fire is plugged into that. It is all tucked under a table and the fire sits on top and it worked fine until one of the actors accidentally bashed the table into a wall. And then the power inverter didn’t work anymore. Which is disappointing to me, it’s all solid state, there’s no fuse inside because I took it apart to look, but all it does is give me a red “fault” light and it doesn’t do anything else. 
I went to the local electronic store and picked up a really cheap inverter and a little bit better one. Apparently the old one didn’t care if I only had 11.5 volts, it would still power the fire. The new ones want 13 volts and if they don’t have it, they don’t output anything except a loud annoying beeping. I tried a couple batteries wired together in parallel, I tried different batteries, and I tried other various assemblies without success. Between the two shows on Thursday I went over to the auto department of the College. They always look at me funny when I walk in with my arms full of whatever it is I’m working on for a show. They probably think it’s kind of fun and I think they do enjoy helping, but they still look at me funny. They suggested a jump pack, like they use to jumpstart your car these days. They even let me borrow one for the afternoon and that worked great. I’ve got one at home, it just never even dawned on me to try that. I took that in for the last couple shows. 


Cold weather coming for a few days. I think the snow they predicted is out of the forecast now. Still, I ran around Friday afternoon like there was a blizzard coming. I had to tell myself to just calm down. I drained all the hoses, put them away, took off the outside faucet I use for watering chickens. I parked all the tractors, the lawn mower, the gator, and the four wheeler in the shed. I finished power washing the deck and retaining wall. Both are in the shade and on the north side of the house so they get a lot of mildew and lichen on them. It sure looks nice when cleaned. One of those things you don’t realize how dirty it’s gotten. Once done, I drained that hose, and put the power washer in the heated shop.

My goodness! How did it get so grungy and we didn’t notice??

Driving into school in the mornings, the sun is at just the right spot now, it hits that gap in the visor. 

Achoo!

Another week it will have changed enough it won’t be a problem again. It sure does get dark early now. I like standard time; it just fits my body’s circadian rhythm better. Daughter is very upset it gets dark so early. 

I think all the deer in a 20 mile radius have moved to my corn fields. Just about all the other corn around here has been harvested and most fields are dug up for winter.  I don’t want to push the guys; they’ll get here when they get here to harvest mine. I just hope the deer leave me some corn. If you come down the driveway an hour after sunset, there are deer ALL OVER. Most coming out of the cornfield with an ear of corn in their mouth. Stupid deer. 

In one of the farm magazines, there was an article about an all-black chicken called an ‘Ayam Cemani’. They really are ALL black: Comb, skin, bones and even the meat is black. Their eggs are ivory colored. 

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 (Photo courtesy ‘Chickenscratchpoultry.com’)

Research shows these chicks can cost anywhere from $37 to $70 each. And I thought $5 was an expensive chick. The article I read says the chicken is “small, aloof, and only lays one or two eggs / week.” I won’t be getting any. That would be the first one eaten by a coyote. 

DOES SUNLIGHT MAKE YOU SNEEZE? ARE YOU A BIG SNEEZER OR A DAINTY SNEEZER?

2025, animals, Family, Health, home, Uncategorized

Billows

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I couldn’t find the cat yesterday afternoon, so I looked in our bedroom and found her snuggled in the down comforter we keep on our bed. She had been there for hours. You can see her in the header photo. She looks pretty comfortable, I think.

We have twelve very nice goose down pillows for the three queen size beds in our home, plus down comforters for each bed. Our friend who will live with us is allergic to feathers, so we bought two non-down pillows for her when she visits. The dog sleeps with us and also expects to have a pillow for his head at night. We are a spoiled bunch.

Husband’s allergies are so much better here. He is very allergic to cats and dust. There is very little dust compared to western North Dakota, and it seems the cat is shedding less now, probably because the humidity is higher. Our friend’s four cats will stay in the basement after she moves in, but I think we will get an air cleaner or two to mitigate any upward cat dander migration. I just had a Shark vacuum delivered that is especially good for pet hair, so I think we are covered. The dog doesn’t shed.

What kind of pillows do you prefer? Do you let pets sleep with you? If you have allergies, how do you manage them?

2025, Fantasy, holidays, home, Mysteries

Prince Who?

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On Tuesday we talked about trick-or-treaters and Bill mentioned that he and Robin also ask kids about their costumes.  I assume that most all adults do this.  It’s a low-level way to make a short connection.

One of my last little groups consisted of a girl in a pink princess dress and a boy in some kind of princely attire.  Knowing that I would never see these kids again and knowing that they won’t care a whit about whether I’m crazy or not, I started a conversation:

Me:  What a great costume.  Are you the Count of Monte Cristo? (knowing full well this kids wouldn’t know what I was talking about.)
Count:  No, I’m Prince Philip
Me:  Oh, from Sleeping Beauty.
Count:  No from Maleficent.
Me:  Silence for a bit.
Me:  (turning to the girl)  Are you a princess?
Count:  She’s Sleeping Beauty
Me:  more silence
Me:  Here we go (handing out the candy)

While I was perfectly willing to be silly about the Count of Monte Cristo, I didn’t think I needed to get into an argument on my front steps with kids about Prince Philip trick-or-treating with Sleeping Beauty but not knowing they were in the same story.

Tell me about a costume you wore as a child (Halloween, school play, whatever…)

 

2025, Art, Media, Movies, Theatre, TV

Diane Ladd 1935-2025

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I saw the sad news that Diane Ladd passed away yesterday – she was 89.  

She began acting at the age of 18 and just retired 3 years ago; her last roles were in Gigi & Nate and Isle of Hope.  When she first came to my attention was the year I graduated high school, when she appeared in Chinatown and then Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.  Both great performances and she was nominated for a Golden Globe, Academy Award and a BAFTA – winning the BAFTA. 

One of my favorite of her performances was as Etta, the sister-in-law of Theresa Turner in Black Widow.  It wasn’t a huge part but she really made her cool but nasty character sizzle on the screen.  The header photo is the best one I can find of her in that role.

I also really liked Rambling Rose in which she plays a southern woman who battles to keep a younger teenager from going under the knife unnecessarily.  Here’s a good clip from that:

I also remember a really nice part she played in a Columbo episode.  She’s a wheelchair bound woman whose husband kills her mother.  She wears pretty, diaphanous dresses and appears fragile, but turns out to be a strong and kind woman.  It’s one of my favorite Columbo episodes. 

Her part in Alice didn’t do much for me.  Of course, the I didn’t care the the show BEFORE she stepped in, but trying to shoehorn her into the role that Flo had vacated didn’t seem to work all that well.  But she was popular and did win a Golden Globe for her work.

Most of the news stories today have “mother of Laura Dern” in their titles.  It’s a shame because I don’t think that’s her big claim to fame.  She had a long, diverse and entertaining career; that’s what the headlines should be!

Have you seen Diane Ladd in anything?  Do you have a favorite?