Creatures, inside and out

Living as we do in the suburbs, one is always surprised when wild life comes creeping up. I had thought that we had chased most of the animals and birds away years ago, if not killed them all.

There is a blue jay outside my screen door as I speak, stealing dog food. (we put the food outside for the dogs sometimes and call it a "picnic"). The jay is chirriping as jays will do when they are not screaming out warnings, and I can see it if I turn around from the computer screen.

We have a family of crows that have nested near by. Probably in the tallest of the oaks we have here. I see them on the roof of my neighbors house, and the young ones (very large and able to fly) screeching for food. It can get annoying, but it is still wonderful to see them. One of the neighbors has a small garden plot, and standing on a post is a fake owl to try to keep the birds out.
I have seen the crows attack this owl over and over, hitting it so hard you can hear the thuds and see the owl shake side to side. The crows seem so angry over this fake owl that never moves or flys.

The boys are making beer. They were up very late last night and this morning there are strange
pieces of equipment all over like some mad scientist's lab. I have no clue what they do and went to bed fairly early last night.

Hopefully it will be a quiet Sunday and I can relax and get ready for Monday once again.
Here's hoping yours is quiet too.

Today

Today we will wait to see what our elected leaders will do.
Today we will wait to see if millions of Americans will now have health insurance.
Today we will wait.......

Busy

It has been a crazy week. My sister was visiting from Canada. She has lived there for years and I don't get to see her that often. I drove up to see her several years ago in Toronto. It was a beautiful drive across the UP and into Canada. There are still small farms there which was wonderful to see. I also saw bear and deer so often it became common.

My sister is silly, crazy, funny, talented, and I love her dearly. She was a second mother to me being the oldest of 8 children. A lot of responsibility on those small shoulders. But she became a very organized person and I wish I had that skill. She can multi task till the cows come home and is always 10 steps ahead.

She also plays in a ukulele band up there and because of the singing and strumming in the house, I am now the proud owner of a ukulele. I can now play "Big Rock Candy Mountain". Very slowly of course because it is difficult to learn all the cords to songs. This one is easy because it only has three and I know the song from "Oh Brother Where Art Thou". Maybe I will become a busker and work for small change although I know I have a lot more songs to learn.

That is my week. A new one is ahead. I will miss my sister and look forward to seeing her again although I don't know when. She just calls and shows up like spring.

Have a great weekend all.

55 and still alive!

I have entered the great club of "Senior hood" today. I woke to a beautiful bouquet of flowers in sunny yellows, a complete breakfast of bacon and eggs, and happy returns from my dearest husband. It was lovely!

When I got to work, there were roses and a massive group of balloons from a dear friend here. Cards and presents, hugs and best wishes.

Too bad every day can't be like this.

I have finally reached that age where small things don't matter, the weather is a big deal, discounts abound, and one is finally happy with who they are. At least most of the time.
I make a commitment today to show those I love, love. To show those who are friends, friendship, and to disregard all the others. I just want to be kind and graceful.

Happy day for me!!!
Hope it is a good one for you also.

Waiting for the coffee to be done.....

I woke up too early this morning and could not go back to sleep. That seems to be happening a bit too often lately. And I have miles to go before I sleep again.

I have been checking my son's facebook page to see if there are any new postings from him. He took the train to Caen Normandy on Friday, is in Paris as we speak, and will be heading back to London on the 3rd. How exciting is that!? (pause - mmmm coffee) I am excited to see what new pictures he will post and what stories he has to tell.

Some weekends ago, my husband and I went to see a friend who plays in a band. This friend was playing quite close to where we live so we decided to walk. Not only would we be safe if we drank a tad to much (which we didn't) but we also need the exercise after being cooped up this winter.

A good time was had by all, we didn't make too big fools of ourselves on the dance floor, and the band was very very good! We left a bit before midnight and decided not to take the same route back as we had there. The sidewalks are treacherous and I have always had visions of myself falling and breaking a hip or something. (I think most Minnesota women have this fear).

As we walked across the street to get to a side street off the bigger road, a police car came racing out of no where with his lights flashing and PULLED US OVER! He wouldn't explain why, he just insisted on seeing our IDs. After having the daylights scared out of me, I tried to explain why we were walking on the side of the road (ice conditions). He didn't want to hear anything, he just plugged our license numbers into his computer. A tinny voice came back and said that our IDs were good. As he handed them back, he said "Walk on the sidewalk".

Needless to say, I was angry about this. One does not normally carry one's ID if one is just out for a walk (which is basically what we were doing).

I waited a couple of days to cool off and then shot an email to the Chief of Police. I wanted to know what the police officer's reason was for not only pulling us over, but also his rudeness and failure to explain his reasons. I have yet to get a response.

We do not need bullies out there. But I look at past incidences with the police in my town (not my incidences but ones I have heard), and I am beginning to think that in this small burb town, one is guilty until proven innocent. There was no traffic on the road, we weren't drunk, we live 5 blocks away, etc. But there you have it. Pulled over for street walking.

It is now my normal wake up time so I had better go get ready for work. I think I will have Cherry pie for breakfast.

Yay!!!!!! I won!

I won this in a contest on the "Country Girl" blog. I read this blog every day and marvel at her lovely stories and pictures. She is a wonderful photographer.

Needless to say, I was very excited! I needed a coffee cup for work and this is perfect!

It made the cold and snowy day much more tolerable.

Happy Weekend everyone!

Cold

It is cold here but the moon is so huge and bright. Beautiful!
Son in London is doing well. I hear London is a mecca for vegitarians so he is happy. He posted pictures of Bath, Stonehenge, the Military Museum he is interning at. All in all he seems to be doing well.

I have cabin fever. Badly. I go to work and come home, maybe with a side trip to Beyerly's to get some sushi rolls, or to a fabric store (like I need more fabric!). Just call me Hermit.

Lately I have been dreaming about summer. Walking down the country road by the cabin looking for agates. I am a rock hound to the nth degree. I have containers full of rocks, some good, some bad. Mostly agates but I only keep the big ones. I have rocks from Arizona, New Mexico, well, you name it, I have rocks everywhere. I do not know anything about geology, I just know what I like.

So, I am bored half to death. If I could just sleep all the time things would pass quickly. But I can't and I have a nasty habit of waking up by at least 4:30 - 5:00 a.m. Sometimes the days just seem so long I can't wait till nightfall comes. But this only happens in this second tundra on the right. Minnesota can be so beautiful, but also so bleak at this time of the year.

I am ready. Ready for spring and the cabin. Ready for long walks on dusty roads. Ready for green leaves and fishing.

Sigh. The furnace comes on once more.

Raggy Baggy

I need a hair cut. I am beginning to look like an escapee from Woodstock. Not that the hair styles then weren't the thing at the time. But I look shaggy. And now that I made a New Year's vow not to buy anything new until I am fitter, I feel a tad like a rag doll.

It is amazing how a new style or a new outfit make one feel so good. I think this is why women buy so many clothes. In our sometimes mundane lives, feeling wonderful because we look good is so important.

So, I think I will get a cut this weekend. Maybe something new and stylish. But I will have to think about it because if it is the wrong decision, I could wind up having to look like some chipmunk for a couple of weeks before my hair grows long enough to do the same old thing with.

Until then, I will have to curl, spray, rat, or do what ever it takes to make this mop of mine look somewhat acceptable.

Cheers to you all

This is not a cooking blog

Definitely not a cooking blog. Couldn't sleep. Got up finally at 3:45 a.m. and decided to make something. Scones!

I added everything, mixed and realized something is wrong. A quick re-check of the recipe shows I have forgotten an all important ingredient. Butter! Now I have this massive glob and have to mix the butter in. I have no idea if this will work but I did the best I could, cut the rolled out blob into scone shapes and I am waiting to see if they turn out. I guess my mind is someplace else, mostly wondering if Sam made it safely to London.

The timer on the oven rings. I take out the now golden brown rough looking blobs and actually, they look fine. I will try one and if it worked, I won't tell anyone that I messed up. Because really, who can mess up scones, right?

I should have put chocolate chips in them.

Good morning to you all. Have a scone.......

London Calling

Sam leaves for London today. I have had that on my mind for some time now. He tends to be like Phil in certain ways and forgets things he deems unimportant like where he put his wallet, or locking up his bike, etc. Yes, he is 22 and a man now, but I worry as he is my baby and always will be.

But on the other hand I envy him his adventure. I loved to travel and did well on my own. Spain, Portugal, Japan, DC, etc. I did meet people along the way (I have forgotten most of them), and tried to get away from military stuff most of the time. So I hope he has a grand adventure that he can bring to mind and savor all his life. It is a wonderful learning experience for him and I know that he will make the best of it.

But....my baby, my still smoothed cheek child will be an ocean and a culture away from the hugs of a somewhat over protective mother. Maybe that is the point. After this, my mothering will not be as important any more. All those years of protection, of soothing, of loving more than life will be like a wallet. Hopefully not laid aside and forgotten.

New Year

I wanted to say that 2009 was a year best forgotten. That there were so many things that caused conflict not only for my family personally, but the world at large. The economy tanked, unemployment soared, wars in Afghanistan and Iraq forced us to rethink our position in the world, climate change has become a huge issue, and rightly so, and we worry about our children making a place for themselves in a world that no longer seems as friendly as it did when we were their ages.

We spent the Christmas holiday in Arizona. Mostly at the bed side of my brother in law who was in hospice care. After some time of being ill, he found out he had Hepatitis C, probably for years, and didn't know it. He went through Chemo and was on the Liver Transplant list but things got so much worse that they took him off and sent him home.
Mark was a cowboy, a true cowboy. He was a construction foreman, had a ranch with horses, and he fell in love with my tall beautiful sister in law. Mark was a Viet Nam vet, raised two sons and was at the time in his life to start thinking about retirement. He died on Christmas Day just past noon. We will miss you Mark.

2009 also brought the break up of two friends. After 20 years, he decided he wanted more. It was such a shock and my dear girl friend Karen is struggling with the whys, the what did I do wrongs, and trying to start over at 55.

But 2009 did bring good things too. Weekends at the cabin with my husband, a dearly loved daughter graduating from college, a lovely visit from my sister from Canada who I don't get to see nearly as much as I would like to.
So there were some good things too.

2010 is starting out well so far. I have my lists of resolutions, none of which are so difficult I can't accomplish them. And the best so far is a new Grand Nephew who lives in Germany. I am making him a sock monkey so he knows that far away someone loves him very much.

I still have a job, Phil's company's work is picking up. My son leaves for London in a week or so. What an adventure!

But that is what it all is, one grand adventure. Some good, some bad, but exciting none the less.

Happy New Year to you all.