Story of the Toilet Paper Holder

What annoyance have you put up with because it isn’t worth the trouble to fix?

Oh, this is easy! The toilet paper holder in our master bathroom. It is triangular shaped with prongs that a plastic tube fits into. It causes me no end of grief when I attempt to put a new roll on it. Getting the roll onto the plastic tube is easy. Pinching the plastic tube to set it in the first prong usually goes okay. Pinching and trying to insert the plastic tube with the new roll on it into the second prong while holding the triangle steady requires three or more hands. Maybe my hands are too small!

I have been dealing with this holder since April 19^th when we moved in. I kept thinking I would figure out a way to make it easier. I figured it would be easy to replace it but felt I needed to learn to live with it. After all it was not broken and looks kind of unique.

Monday morning the top of the triangle came out of the wall during the changeover to a new roll.

Joe went up and fixed it after I told him I hated the thing and wanted a new one just like the one Megan bought when she painted the half bath on the main floor. There may have been tears (of frustration) on my part.

This morning, we stopped at Lowe’s to buy weed killer and he bought me a gift… a new toilet paper holder just like the one Megan bought for the half bath. 

Strawberry Fields For Never

 What job would you find impossible to do no matter how much it pays?

Farm worker. It is one of the most important jobs in the world as it is how vegetables and fruits get to our table. When I was a teenager my friend Jean and I picked strawberries one morning at a local family’s farm. The couple of hours we picked felt like forever! I had already started babysitting for a neighbor, watching her three little ones (under eight years old), did a little waitressing at a small restaurant, and often babysat my four younger siblings. That was all a piece of cake compared to two or three hours on a summer morning crouched low in a row of strawberries.

Our goal was to fill small 2-gallon buckets with the strawberries, being careful not to pull up the plant. We were paid fifty cents per bucket. We were paid in cash.

One other job I would find impossible to do would be working in a restaurant kitchen. The chaos that reigns during rush times would have my head spinning. I think I would sit down in the middle of the floor and cry or go out the back door and never come back. Add in the imagined heat of a kitchen and I might suffer heat stroke before I was able to flee.

When it is all said and done, if I needed money and those were the only jobs available, I would give both my best effort.

Thank goodness I do not need to do either one today.

Yard Progess

Our front yard is almost finished! All that is left is the sod to be laid once we are back from Ohio next week. Joe has spent four to five hours a day these past two weeks digging up the area where the sod is going in. The soil was extremely hard with a clay, stone, and rock mixture. He broke up the soil, removed the rock and stones, and then mixed in compost we got free from the local recycle facility.

The photos today are of a small area of the front yard that will be watered by hand as needed. 

Joe's labor results - after rock.

Joe's labor results - before rock.

As Joe gets closer to completing the backyard and setting up the raised garden beds, he has been collecting materials to fill the beds before the soil is added. We have small branches of varying sizes, mulch, and today we got free hay. A local farm family harvested hay yesterday and before they could get it all in the barn it rained. They were giving away thirty-five bales; we only took three. Megan saw the announcement on a free Facebook site and notified us immediately. 

I caught Joe in the act of using his hay hooks to bring the bales to our car. 

Joe moving hay at a farm in Rockford.

Today's adventures included a trip to Runnings, a hardware store in Monticello, to pick up landscape fabric this morning and then a trip this afternoon to pick up the hay near Lake Sarah in Rockford. We know how to have all of the fun!

Words of Wisdom Unplugged

Things my mother and father taught me that I remind myself of when reading the news:

“Two wrongs don’t make a right.”

“If you don’t have anything nice to say about someone, don’t say anything.”

“Look out for each other.”

 

Things my husband has said to me that have changed my life as a friend, partner, and co-worker:

“I am forwarding you an article on assigning intent to others.”

“I love that you talk to me when something is on your mind.”

“I am not a mind reader.”

 

I love how the universe provides me with lessons as I need them. Today I am finding that I want to unplug from all of the media and social media. So, I am going to do just that for the rest of the day. Unless one of my friends sends a meme or video to make me laugh.

Besides, I have books I want to read. It is too easy for me to get distracted with the Internet providing movies, TV shows, political news, and social media. None of which helps me to relax and let go of the outside world for a while.

By the way, do you have a favorite parent or partner saying? 

Wrong!

What do people often wrongly assume about you?

People often assume I am an extrovert. The last time I took the Myers Briggs test I scored 51% introvert and 49% extrovert. This qualifies me as an ambivert. Given this testing was during COVID-19 years. I was emotionally exhausted from dealing with COVID-19 regulations and codes and the workplace issues associated with isolating by departments. People around me had needs that I was paid to help them with daily.

In my twenties, I did test as an extrovert.

I often hear people say, “I am an introvert and I hate people.” Having spent time with them, I think they mean that they need to spend time away from people. It is not the people they hate – it is simply that an introvert’s energy gets drained and if they are with people when this happens, they need to find ways to get enough time alone to recharge their energy.

I hear my introvert friends saying, “Nah, I hate people.”

Yet those same friends are among  the funniest and loveliest people I know. They are voluntarily  communicating with me, and I am a ‘people.’

So, I can only speak for myself when I say, “I love people.” I love their stories, their personalities, their adventures. I love visiting and talking with people and then I need to have time for myself. 

Dear Deer

Caleb and Charlotte brought my attention to the visitors in their back yard yesterday morning. The kids also saw the mother nearby. We were able to get a picture before Pan and Sylvie started barking and the fawns fled. The good news is I was not driving so it was no stress for me - the deer are lovely when the fear of hitting them is not present.

While the deer played in neighborhood backyards, we played Unstable Unicorns and Life. I won Life with $1.5 million dollars; Caleb was second at $1.1 million and Charlotte was only $10,000 less than the $1.1 million. Please note we all became millionaires. My career was in technical support, Caleb was a sheriff, Charlotte was an artist. Both Caleb and Charlotte chose the college path, while I chose the career path. Everyone is forced to get married in the game and everyone has to buy a house. Charlotte and I both landed on spots and had children. Caleb did not have any children so when he landed on a spot that had to do with being a grandparent, he insisted that he had no children so could not be a grandparent. 

I told him maybe his wife was married before and had a grown child who in turn had a baby. He looked at me like I was nuts. 

In the evening, Joe and I drove back to Riverside Park in Rockford to attend a Volunteer Appreciation event for volunteers and their families. There were about eighty people in attendance. I was happy to see Jean, Steve, Karen, Paula, and three other volunteers from the thrift store days. I was happy to introduce Joe to them. Once the grandkids go back to school in September, I may start going in on Thursday mornings to volunteer for three hours.

On the way back from Rockford at dusk we spotted three deer in a field. It was my first deer spotting while we were driving this summer.

It was a busy and fun day. I wonder if Amazon would let me use the $1.5 million Life money. Hmmm…

A Taste of India

This month our YUM box was filled with snacks from India. Our family dined at Tandoor in Maple Grove last evening. Maple Grove is only fifteen minutes from our house, so we just finished our India Trivia contest as we got to the restaurant. Charlotte won for the second month in a row. This month everyone did well on the quiz.

We each ordered an entree and then we shared it with the others at the table. Caleb ordered chicken strips with fries from the children's menu. His choice also happened to be the only entree that was not Indian. The children's menu also had butter chicken with rice which Charlotte went with and seemed to enjoy. 

We took photos of course. We do this more for other people to see what something looks like in case they ever want to be adventuresome and try foods from other countries.

Charlotte's Butter Chicken

Megan's Chicken Fried Rice

Caleb with his chicken strips and fries

Jeremy's Chicken Tikka Masala

Joe's Dal

Gulabjamum came with each of our meals.

Mango Cake to share

Beth & Joe's Tandoor Platter Combo that had Chicken Tandoor, Chicken Tikka, Shrimp, and Salmon

Vegetable curry served with the Tandoor Platter.

We enjoyed our food at Tandoor and both households ended up with lots of leftovers. We did not take pictures of the three different types of naan, the yogurt with cucumber and carrots dip, and the two appetizers we tried of Paneer Pakora (deep fried cheese) and Potato Chops. If you are interested in descriptions of the food, check out the link to Tandoor's Menu.

We learned the history of food in India. Going back to the Middle Ages, the Mughal Empire was one of the wealthiest empires in the world. Food was especially important to them. The rulers were served five hundred dishes of various foods every day. 500!! Much of what is considered "Indian cuisine: today originated from the Mughal Empire. 

Back at our house, after dinner, we taste tested the snacks in our YUM box. It was unanimous. Of all of the snacks we have tried so far, India's fared the worst across the board. For all except Joe it was the first time we had tasted cardamom and four of the six were not fans of any snack with cardamom in it. There were eleven snacks total. I liked seven, Joe liked four, Megan liked three. Jeremy liked four. Charlotte liked four. Caleb liked nine. These were odd results as Caleb is usually the pickiest of all of us, hence the chicken strips at dinner. Joe is usually the least fussy about food. We give Megan a pass as she is pregnant, and her taste buds are more heightened than normal.

Joe and I have enjoyed exposing the grandchildren to other cultures through food. We appreciate that Jeremy and Megan enjoy adventures as well. Tasty food and good company, at least once a month, makes for a fun evening (or lunchtime) out. 

 

On My Mind Today

I was thinking about buying the above T-shirt for Joe. On a practical note, he only wears plain T-shirts in public so it would be a waste of money as I already know he is thinking about plants... and to be fair he is not always thinking about getting more plants, he also thinks about planting, watering, and nurturing them.

The T-shirt would also be more accurate if it had a raised flower bed or yard with plants on it. I am the one who loves plants in the house. I buy them and then he ends up watering them at least half of the time. Before retirement he did the watering 99.9% of the time. 

Joe is very mindful about listening when I am talking. If he knows I am talking to him. There are times when it is only the two of us in the room and I start talking. He will turn to me and ask if I am talking to him. He has told me on more than one occasion I need to say his name first to get his attention. I get this, I really do, since he talks to himself frequently, he may think I am talking to myself. 

Joe is also mindful about listening when neighbors stop by to chat while he is working in the yard. I am grateful they have stopped because otherwise he would not have taken breaks from digging and shoveling. He is happy doing these chores and he appreciates how much stronger his arms have grown over the past three months. A normal day is at least five hours of work out in the yard as he tries to get it fixed up the way he wants it to look. His ultimate goal is to have a yard requiring extraordinarily little maintenance. 

That will give him more time to water the plants in the house.

 

Warning! (Political Blog)

Well, I blew up my own Facebook page by coming out in support of Kalama Harris as a candidate for president. I don’t normally talk politics as my mama used to say, “There are three things you never talk about in public, politics, sex, and religion.”

I recognize that people have strong feelings about these topics. So, I usually avoid public declarations so as not to offend people. At this point, I don’t care about offending. The Republicans have put forth a candidate that has no desire to be the next president of the United States for a four-year term. He wants to destroy democracy. So, I have had to ask myself, am I willing to put my beliefs on the line in favor of democracy or do I want to “let someone else worry” about the problem and stand meekly by on the sidelines.

Thus, whether you agree with me or not, I am going to urge people to educate themselves (FOX news and X do not qualify as unbiased news) on the issues and decide which agenda they think serves the United States of America they want to live in going forward. I expect even within party affiliations that may differ among voters.

I know what type of country I want to live in and frankly it is not one ran by white men who are afraid of women, people of color, and well, anyone who is not just like them. I want to live in a country where I will still have the opportunity to vote for President every four years, I want to live in a country with public education available to all. I could go on and on (LGTBQA+ rights, religious freedom, pro-choice, etc.) but I think my readers will get the gist of what I am writing.

I respect people not for their political beliefs, though frankly that is sometimes hard when I see people complain about government intervention into their lives but then they are using the system to support themselves. If you are a decent and kind human being that counts for more than your political affiliation. So bottom line, you are not going to change my ‘liberalness’ and I am not going to change anyone else’s mind about their political beliefs. So ,we will agree to disagree, and I will expect you to be respectful of me as I will be respectful of you.

We will call out behaviors that trouble us, we will not name call. That’s my big rule. I took a logic class in college that taught me when someone starts name calling, they are not having a discussion – they are only using false narratives to support their views.

I was going to promise that I would not write any more about politics until after the election. Then realized I can’t do that, either. I care deeply about the future of our country and will not be silenced by the idea that I might offend others. I plan to be civil. 

A Splendid Night Out

Saturday, July 20, 2024, Joe and I attended a bonfire at our friend, Juli’s home. I have written about Juli in the past as she is the owner of Hidden Gem Spa. Her magic hands have been instrumental in keeping the skin on my face and neck healthy.

Juli has sold her ranch and will be moving about an hour north of us. While she has no plans to continue her spa business, she will be coming three times a week to Rogers to see clients in her  behavioral health therapy practice. Rogers is about ten minutes from us.

The other good news is that while she cannot keep her rescue horses at her new home, she will have them at a boarding facility near her. The horses have been beneficial in the animal assisted psychotherapy segment of her psychotherapy practice.

Joe and I were delighted to meet Juli’s other guests, Angie, Pam and her son Caleb, and Mr. B. (I did not get contact info for Mr. B., so I do not have permission to use his name). Mr. B. and Angie have been helping Juli with getting the ranch ready for the new owner. He was a gracious and kind man in his early sixties. I later learned he was introduced to Juli by Angie.

Angie and Mr. B. became friends when they met at a non-profit event as volunteers. The organization is One Good Deed, their website is https://www.one-good-deed.org/. Their history is a terrific read, an excerpt: “started by a small group of neighborhood moms who dedicated one night a month to their friendship was the seed of One Good Deed.” Each month they focus on one project that benefits others in the Minneapolis area. Their mission statement: “Building kinder communities one good deed at a time.”

At one point everyone went off to feed and medicate the horses, Angie and I stayed behind and talked. She is an avid reader and we chatted about the book she is currently reading, she shared details about her trip to Ireland in 2022, and listened to me go on about how much I loved living in Egypt the year we were there. I feel like I have a new sister!

Pam and Juli went to high school together here in Minnesota. Pam now lives in North Carolina. She was accompanied by her teenage son, Caleb. Caleb’s neurodiversity includes a gift for the best hugs! That young man gave me a wonderful goodbye hug that I found soothing. Pam sent me photos she took of Juli and Caleb with the horses and the moon on Saturday night. Pam landed in my heart when she, at Caleb’s urging, told a ghost story around the firepit. Her story was funny and sweet. She obviously loves creativity. In addition to the following photos, she shared her Stampin Up website SunnyGirlScraps blog at https://sunnygirlscraps.com/blog.

Caleb has been taking riding lessons and has a joy for the horses. This was the first time he met Juli's horses.

And a sampling of Pam's moon photos:

We were enjoying the company so much that we suddenly realized it was 10:00pm. Joe and I are usually in bed by 8:30pm or 9:00pm. The time we spent with these wonderful people went by quickly.

This evening reminded me of another amazing evening Joe and I had with one of our neighbors on July 5^th. It was a driveway birthday celebration for the husband of the family. (I really have to work on getting permission to use their names – this family has become a huge part of why I cherish the neighbors on our block – they are so inclusive of us). We got to meet a few of their family and friends and there were two mechanical engineers present so that made for interesting conversations.

When I am counting my blessings, the people we are meeting will be on the list.

Celebrating New Life

 

Today, Jeremy and Megan posted this news privately on their Facebook, so now Grandma finally gets to be publicly excited. Back on July 9th at my birthday dinner they gave me this gift and swore me to secrecy until they could tell the other grandparents:

My first thought was, "I don't need alcohol to hang out with Charlotte and Caleb!" Then I read the fine print at the bottom: Baby Formo, coming February 2025. 

Joe and I are happy for the enitre Formo family. 

See, I can keep a secret...

Life is Better With A ________ (Fill in the Blank)

 

This is the  truth at our house. After thirty-one years with Joe (Joseph) Coehlo, I am grateful he chose me to partner with in our “older” years.

He has decided to grow out his hair and wear a ponytail. Tonight, he asked me to trim the fuzzies from his neck and his sideburns. Then he handed me his electric razor that fortunately has a trimmer built in. Trusting man. We got him cleaned up a bit though. I like the longer hair look on him.

Today, Joe went down to Rockford and worked with Jeremy on cleaning up the Formo air conditioning unit. Joe did ours the other day when the HVAC guy came over for an inspection (we get two free inspections a year as part of a club membership we were enrolled in when the new electrical was ran for Joe’s dream home machine shop). Joe asked how much the company would charge to do the cleaning and he told Joe around $600.00. There is no way we would pay that for maybe two hours of work. The HVAC guy was impressed that Joe could take it apart to clean it and put it back together. Foolish dude.

Then Joe came home and cleaned the interior of our car, got 15 buckets of free compost to work into the yard where we will install sod when we get back from Ohio in early August, and helped me clean up from dinner.

What did I do while he was busy with all of these chores? Whatever I wanted to do. Which included a bit of Amazon shopping, making meatloaf, reading, making a salad for dinner, reading, prepping a baking potato for dinner, reading, checking to see if indoor plants needed watering, sending funny videos to Ginger and Kim and one to Megan. There were other household chores, but I do so much of the cleaning automatically as I go that none of it really sticks in my brain.

We are off to attend a bonfire this evening. A friend has sold her horse ranch and bought a place about an hour north of us. She moves next weekend. She will be missed.

Caleb's Visit

Megan and Charlotte left this morning for an overnight Girl Scout event. Megan is one of the troop leaders as well so she will have five or six eight-year-old girls to keep an eye on. Jeremy works on Fridays which meant Joe and I had Caleb with us until Jeremy got off work.

I picked Caleb up at 8:20am and as soon as he got in the house he headed for the drawer with art supplies. All he needed was a pencil and a sketch pad and he got to work drawing a robot he had designed in his head.

When he finished drawing, I asked him if he would like to help Grandpa Joe in the yard. He went out for about ten minutes and helped to shovel stone into the wheelbarrow. Caleb had worked up an appetite so ate an apple.

 Next up, at his request, was to go to the Saint Michael Town Center Park which also has a splash pad. Megan had sent extra clothes in case Caleb got his clothes dirty helping grandpa. We were at the park about 10:30 am and it was already busy. Caleb found another boy to hang out with and they ran around the park climbing on everything. Caleb decided to climb up one of the slides instead of sliding down it. I watched as he tried the monkey bars. He is so tall that he ended up with nowhere for his legs to go – standing up, his head almost touched the bars. Think those were probably meant for toddlers.

Of course I took pictures!

Next up was the splash pad. I took a video of the most popular part of the park – the water tower. All of the children were lining up under the tower which tipped over about every 5 minutes.

Then it was home for lunch of his very favorite foods to eat at our house. A peanut butter and honey sandwich (no crust), mango slices, cucumber slices, dill pickles, and a glass of milk.

After lunch he went out and helped grandpa for another five minutes and then came and declared he was tired. He laid down on the floor under the bench in the family room for about ten minutes. He then changed places laying on the floor in front of the couch in the family room. After about half -an-hour he went back out to help grandpa for another ten minutes or so.

Jeremy was scheduled to pick Caleb up at around 3:00pm. The last forty minutes I allowed Caleb to play educational games on my computer. I was laying on the couch, reading, and fell asleep. Caleb woke me up to get his password for a math game.

Caleb is a joy to have around. He has great manners and I especially appreciated how he took his dirty lunch dishes to the sink when he finished lunch. When he wants to do something, he asks permission. It is easy to tell that boy yes. First because his asks are reasonable, and second because I can’t read minds. I don’t have to be concerned about entertaining him every minute. He finds things to do to keep himself busy and happy.

He was happiest though when his dad came to pick him up. They most likely have fun things planned for the rest of the day, fun things like playing a video game together and playing with the dogs.

  

Terrific Thursday!

Caleb, Charlotte, and I went to Saint Michael Cinema 15 to watch Despicable Me 4. We did the 10:40am show. After the movie we ate McDonalds for lunch. Their Happy Meals had Despicable Me 4 toys. I picked the kids up at 8:30am this morning. Caleb gave me a rundown on Despicable Me 2 so I would have a better understanding of how Gru goes from a bad guy to working for the good guys.

Eleanor sent me a photo of the ice cream stand across from her son’s home in Sterling, Kansas. She also wrote, “I said view was from porch swing but didn't say the TNT was also visible from the living room, the dining room, and the window to the side of me in the kitchen. Talk about temptation!” The name of the place is TNT Dairyland.

View from the front porch...

I was happy that Eleanor also sent me a photo of her taken during her Kansas visit. She is all decked out for the July 4^th celebration. Sterling hosts a parade that happens to go down the street her son’s family lives on. They also have the best fireworks show she has ever seen. The show takes place over water, so the reflections are amazing.

While the grandkids and I were at the movies and lunch, Joe and the neighborhood teen were putting together raised garden beds. They still have five more to go. Joe said the teen did a particularly good job. I know I went out to the garage to let Joe know we were leaving for the movies and the young man was chatting away with Joe like they were long time friends. This teen wants to study biotechnology engineering in college as he wants to develop medical devices. I think I have that correct!

Joe had his six-month blood test done to make sure he did not have cancer. It has been three years since his cancer surgery. He saw a new doctor and the doctor was impressed with Joe’s excellent health. I thought the clinic artwork was cool!

Feeling the Love

I spent the morning setting up medical accounts for Joe and me with a local clinic. The set-up was fairly easy when I got a delightful woman from Allina Health on the phone. The more complex part was setting up the online “My Record” accounts and linking/sharing from our old clinic “My Record” accounts.

The day got better though when I did a virtual chat with my cousin, Eleanor. I got to hear all about her trip to Kansas to visit her youngest son and his wife. She enjoys her trips. I was amazed at her restraint though as her son lives directly across the street from an ice cream stand. She said she managed to only go twice in twelve days. I would have gone twelve times every two days…

Megan, Jeremy, and the kids went to visit Jeremy’s family today, so Joe and I ran up to Rockford this afternoon to let Sylvie and Pan out to go to the bathroom. Sylvie has to stay in her crate when the family is away as she still likes to chew on stuff. We stayed for about 45 minutes to give her and Pan a bit of  playtime. The dogs love Joe! He had been working in the yard all day and so it was a treat for him to lay down on the floor and tumble around with the dogs.

Joe said it was comfortable on the floor.

One of our neighbor teens, he will be a junior in high school in the fall, offered to help Joe with the yard. He is going to come tomorrow, and Joe will have him help put together a cabinet and the raised garden beds. He can also help carry the raised beds to their final destination.

Another lovely day with a high of 72 degrees. The humidity was only fifty-five percent, which meant the air did not feel heavy.

Tomorrow morning, I am taking the grandkids to see Despicable Me 4 and out to lunch (they will most likely want McDonalds, but I will give them other choices). Megan does volunteer work on Thursdays which means I get time with my sweethearts. Here are the texts I got from Charlotte today: 

She sent the love you first. I sent the OMG.

She sent the AW... I sent the MUA!

A Rock Kind of Day

Today was a beautiful weather day. Mid-seventies and humidity fifty-five percent humidity. Light breeze of seven miles per hour with an occasional gust of thirteen miles per hour. It is the middle of July!

We get two free HVAC inspections per year as part of a package deal, we signed up for when we had the additional electrical installed for Joe’s dream machine shop. We did this because it gave us a 25% discount on the electrical work and because we wanted someone to show us how to best use the heat and air conditioning since the systems are 4-level. Of course, no system is perfect so we were hoping the HVAC technician could explain the most efficient way to set the thermostats for which floor.

The sellers had told us they just set everything at 68 degrees year-round and left it  alone. We do not use the entire house every day so that sounds expensive to us. Especially since we are used to warmer temperatures in the summer. The high today was 79 degrees, and it was perfect inside the house with the system turned off.

The technician they sent has been extremely helpful, answering all of our questions. He started with the furnace while Joe cleaned the air conditioning unit. Joe said the mud on the panels was caked on and about an inch thick. He looked like he had rolled in the mud when he came in to tell me that he thought it had not been cleaned in a long time – like maybe ten years. He then told me that the technician was impressed that he could take the unit apart to get to everything to clean it. That’s when Joe told him he was a machinist – come to find out the technician’s dad is also a machinist.

 Earlier today, Joe had five cubic yards of stone delivered. He will be using the rock around trees, planter areas, and walkways. We were able to get a before and after of one of the areas he completed today.

Joe and his rock!

Front tree this morning before rock was placed.

Tree this evening after rock was placed.

 

Bits and Pieces from an Overwhelmed Mind

My brain is overflowing with so much political and assassination news that I wanted to take a break from writing this blog today. My second thought was maybe that is exactly why I need to write. If you are feeling overwhelmed and frustrated by all that is happening in U.S. politics, you are welcome to hide here for the few minutes it takes to read my blog most days.

We woke up to rain this morning. Fortunately, it did not last long. Joe was chomping at the bit to go buy a longer extension for his pole saw and to get busy cutting cracked limbs off of the tree that had already dropped one limb on our garage roof during the severe storm we had two days ago. I sat with him while he cut limbs and branches while on a ladder. Now he is busy cutting the limbs up further so he can use them in his raised garden beds. I caught photos of Joe working away.

I think my camera lens fogged over from the humidity.

My birthday gift was a new four-quart Pampered Chef crockpot. Our house is currently filled with the aroma of crockpot barbecued boneless pork ribs. I will be making a green salad and mediterranean chickpea rice to serve with the ribs. The rice dish calls for 3-4 tablespoons of fresh parsley. Joe planted the parsley two months ago – I am excited to use it!

We used to belong to a Martha Stewart meal plan. We would get three or four meals sent to our home weekly. At the time, Joe was cooking and would prepare the meals. During the process he would have conversations with Martha. Usually along the lines of, “No, Martha, I am not going to juice ½ of the lemon now and ½ of the lemon in twenty minutes. I am going to juice the entire lemon right now.” This is a mild version of the suggestions he had for Martha and her cooking tips. Mind you, Martha was not present in our kitchen – I was!

Two of our friends had suggested Joe do a YouTube Cooking show while cooking the Martha meals. Joe does not like the limelight so refused. Eventually, I cancelled the meal plan with Martha as it was too stressful for Joe and for me listening to his rants. Joe is usually very mild mannered but over the year of following Martha’s step-by-step recipes he had grown more frustrated. I think in part because Martha had not changed – she was still insisting he juice a lemon or dice an onion in multiple steps. He felt this was a waste of his time when he could do it all at once. Also keep in mind, Joe liked to clean up as he went so Martha’s directions were foiling his clean as you go method.

Now that I do the cooking, I wonder if we would still be using Martha Stewart if I had done the cooking back then. I also clean up as I go. I would have juiced the lemon and diced the onion at the beginning. The only real difference between Joe and me is that I would not have felt the need to argue with Martha. I would just do it my way. I always do it my way in cooking. I may feel the need to follow recipes to the nth degree. But the process itself may get messed with along the way and I don’t feel compelled to discuss it. Joe is a process kind of guy so guess he felt there needed to be a conversation even if it was one sided. Again, Martha was not present in our kitchen.

Still, I found the year “we cooked with Martha” full of laughter. Okay, I was the only one laughing.

 

Major Storm Passed Through Saint Michael

About 2:oo am this morning we experienced the scariest storm to-date. The lightning and thunder were continuous, less than one second between each bout. The sky outside our bedroom windows was constantly lit. The rain was heavy and later there were reports of hail in Saint Michael of up to three and a half inches. The storm raged on for an hour. As the lightning lit up the sky, I could see the tops of Ash and Elm trees bending over and swaying. At 2:15am with the lightning it looked almost as if the trees were dancing. Freaky!

We woke up this morning to see a large branch blocking our neighbor’s driveway. Joe offered to help but she was able to get Perry Eggert (we call him our tree guy) out to clean it up this afternoon.

Megan came to pick me up for a shopping excursion to Kohl’s and Target. She pointed out an outdoor table umbrella on the corner of our street at the top of the hill. One of my neighbors took a photo and posted it to our Butternut Lane SE neighborhood page.

The wind dropped this umbrella at the top of the lane.

The tree limb in our neighbor's driveway. So glad there was no damage to the house.

While I was out shopping, Joe discovered that an eighteen-inch diameter branch from one of our trees had fallen onto our garage roof. He was able to tug the branch down as it was hanging over the edge of the roof within his reach. Tomorrow he will get on a ladder and see if there are any other limbs and if the branch has done any damage to the roof. He spent time cutting the branch up to use in the bottom of our raised garden beds.

I enjoyed shopping with Megan. We treated ourselves to lunch which gave us an opportunity to catch up. Like most stay-at-home moms, she is busy so it is rare these days that we can just sit and talk without the kids or dogs needing her attention. Forty-five minutes for just the two of us is a treat for me!

Today is our warmest summer day. At 89 degrees with 55% humidity, it feels like 91 degrees.

We were invited to a birthday party for a neighbor child turning one years old today. The neighbors were invited, and I had planned to attend. Joe is going by himself instead. Most nights I go to bed and fall asleep within five or ten minutes. Last night I did not go to sleep until 3:00am and then got up at 8:30 am. I took an hour long nap this afternoon thinking I would perk up, instead I am feeling more tired. I gave up coffee about six weeks ago and have been drinking a mushroom coffee that has half of the caffeine of regular coffee. On days when I have had little sleep, regular old caffeine could be the answer to getting me through the day. Except I fear if I drink coffee at midday, I will not be able to sleep at bedtime.

Anyway, all of this to say I did not have the energy or enthusiasm to be social. This is extremely rare for me. Instead, I am sitting in the sunroom writing and watching an eleven-year-old neighbor girl practice her fast pitches into a net. She has been at it for about an hour. At this very moment she is peering into the empty  wastebasket she uses to store balls in, tipping it upside down, slamming the wastebasket into the ground, and shaking it. I suspect an insect has made a home in her ball basket. One thing I know for certain for a wiry eleven-year-old she is doing an excellent job of pitching!

Heat

We were invited to an evening bonfire party; however, it was cancelled as there is a heat advisory alert. The alert is for the timeframe of 2:00pm today through Sunday at 8:00pm. The alert? Expected heat index of 98.

My California friends are experiencing temperatures of 113 and I am sure are staying indoors as much as possible! We do the same thing here. Stay indoors. Joe and I ventured out around 4:00pm for an early dinner at River Inn. It was even busier than usual and I was surprised how many people opted for outdoor seating.

Not us! The humidity makes my skin sticky.

I love how the humidity helps my skin and hair feel softer. When humidity gets to a certain level though, I begin to feel uncomfortable. Fortunately, our house stays cool with the windows open and ceiling fans running. 

Another thunder storm is expected at around 8 this evening. The roof and overhangs on the house are such that during storms we can leave our bedroom windows and the sunroom windows open and rain does not come in. I love the sound of storms. To be fair we are not talking monsoons! I am talking thunder and rain.

A young friend (under 35) texted me that the shooting at the Trump rally in Pennsylvania reminded her of Season 4 episode 2 of a show called The Boys. She said it was about a staged assassination by the right to boost support for their candidate. She said it would be hard for people who saw the show to not think it was a set-up. I abhor violence and am sorry for the bystander who was killed. It saddens me this happened at all. I am sure we will hear more about the shooter as the story unfolds. For now I am praying for anyone wounded.

Dinosaur Day

Joe and I spent time with Charlote and Caleb today. A local deep dish cookie company ran a promotion in the Buffalo Cub parking lot. Advertised as: Mighty animatronic dinosaurs will join the Top Food Truck in America with Deep Dish Cookies!! Come see our numerous animatronic dinosaurs including T-Rex, Spinosaurus, and Triceratops. We will be featuring our Raptor Enclosure, dinosaur photo opportunities and much more!

My favorite 'chicks'

After Grandpa Joe walked the kids through the display, we ate cookies and then headed to Lake Rebecca Park to let them run off the sugar from the cookies.

Time with Caleb and Charlotte was an enjoyable way to spend a Friday afternoon. Caleb mentioned it was too hot to be outdoors for long with temperatures around 84 degrees. After running around at the park, Charlotte removed her headband telling us it was too hot for headbands. I am sorry to hear our California friends are enduring temperatures of thirty degrees hotter!

Joe spent the cooler morning hours working in the yard. He is making progress; however, there is still quite a bit to do. At dinner he asked me to begin research on the best apple and pear trees for the Minnesota climate, information on pollination requirements, and the best time to plant. 

 I spent my morning on financial records and ordering five cubic yards of 1-½” buff limestone decorative rock for areas of the yard that are finished and will not have grass or mulch. When we get back from Ohio in August, we will be ordering about nine hundred square feet of sod to install in places the retaining wall installer’s equipment tore up the yard. Joe has the soil prepared; however, the sod needs attention every day for three weeks and it cuts it to close to our trip.

Another fine Minnesota day!