Some Assembly Required

Last night I finished Anne Lamott's non-fiction book called Some Assembly Required; A Journal of My Son's First Son. In this story she describes her new role as a grandmother. The way she talks about holding her tongue made me laugh out loud. Also in the book are interviews with her son who tells his side of the story. Because I listened to this book on CD I got to hear both of their voices. Inflection and emphasis mean much so I am glad I got the audio version. I read one of her other books, Blue Shoe, and I liked that. Perhaps because she writes about neurotic mothers who constantly second guess their parenting decisions I feel I can relate. 

Black Walnut Sap

Last night I decided to burn some brush that I have collected over the past year. I lit a fire and it took off quickly. I had a lot of small branches from my bridal veil bush, my crab apple trees, and various branches that fall down where I want to mow. In order to keep the small branches burning I weighed them down with a huge black walnut log. This photo is the black walnut log. The fire is red on the right side of the log. The black oval is the cut from the chain saw. The yellow bubbling fluid coming out of the log is walnut sap. There was a lot of sap coming out from beneath the bark of this black walnut log. I have read that you can tap black walnut trees and make syrup. Black walnut sap contains a lot of pectin so this can be a problem because the pectin will clog up the tubes and make it hard to filter. Am I sure I would like to taste black walnut syrup? Not really. I have seen what black walnuts have done to my skin when I harvested the nuts. My hands, even though I was wearing latex gloves over rubber gloves, turned a nasty shade of brown for two weeks.

Lunch!

Today I had lunch at the American Indian Center on Franklin Avenue in Minneapolis. I got a little turned around getting there but we made it. One of my companions uses a wheelchair so I found a spot wide enough to unload her. I had a wilted kale salad that was hot and served with wild rice and nuts and blueberries and feta cheese. It was delicious! The name of the café is Gatherings. My two companions had bison burgers with cheese and tomato aioli and onions with fruit cups and they ate every bite.  The food was economical too. I would definitely go back to this restaurant. Eating took so long we didn't have time to visit the art museum or the gift shop so  there is another reason to  return. When we left someone parked next to my van so I had to back out to make room for the ramp to come down. We figured it out and were able to make it back safe and sound and only ten minutes  late.

Garden Planted

From the left is some red stemmed rhubarb (originally from my garden in Columbia Heights which I transplanted to North Minneapolis to Coon Rapids to here) followed by orange zinnias followed by two peony plants from a friend in Ham Lake and in front of those are some snap dragons followed by more orange zinnias and a basket of  impatiens.

Why No June Bugs?

This evening I was outside watering flowers and hostas with water from the rain barrel. I opened the door to come into the house and a moth flew by when a question struck me. Here it is, June 26, and I have not seen a single June bug this year. Normally June bugs are at my front door this time of year or banging against the window panes at night. Where are the June bugs?  Did all the grubs die off during this past beast of a winter?

1974 Epic Road Trip

When I was twenty years old my good friend and I went on a road trip. We drove around the Great Lakes clockwise. We headed north toward Duluth on Highway 61. There was no highway named 35 to Duluth at this point. At the small town of Esko the muffler departed from my 1968 Rambler American so we had a very loud trip. We drove north into Canada and then east. We took a ferry from some place in Ontario to Niagara Falls. My father gave me the map and it was very old so we didn't know that the ferry had moved to a different city more than ten years ago. We missed our ferry and had to wait all day until the next ferry. We sailed across Lake Ontario in the dark. When I drove my car off the ferry the steering was off. Maybe the rocking of the boat affected the steering but it was very loose. I had to crank that steering wheel twice as far as I usually did to turn the car. Gradually that went away and my steering was back to normal. This was before power steering was available. On our way back we stopped in Chicago. My father's cousin had a bakery there. We stopped at the bakery. My father's cousin was not working but the woman at the desk gave us a bag of broken cookies to take home. We also stopped at a Pier One store. My friend admired this picture by Picasso while I admired a stainless steel bentwood rocking chair. Later I bought a copy of the drawing, had it framed and gave it to her as a gift. I still like that drawing because it reminds me of her and our friendship. While we drove she was crocheting a brown lap blanket. She kept talking about the great gift I was going to get on my birthday. I was so surprised on my birthday to open my present and here was a brown crocheted lap blanket. After Chicago we spent the night at the Wisconsin Dells. I have not been back to the Dells since that trip. I hear it is much different. I am so glad I went on that trip with my friend. We sure had a good time.

All The Birds, Singing

I read Evie Wyld's book, All the Birds, Singing fast because I could hardly put it down. This novel starts out in Australia and ends up on a small, unnamed island in Britain.  Jake Whyte is the female protagonist. The story is told going back and forth in time and location. The British part of Jake's later years are told in sequence. The Australian part of Jake's younger years are told going backwards in time. The reason why Jake acts the way she acts takes a long time to figure out. Jake is no ordinary woman, living on a secluded island, raising sheep, and acting as if she needs no one and cares for no one. Some parts of the story are very difficult to read about but then the author pulls back and sprinkles in some humor to lighten the mood. This book won quite a few awards back in 2014 and 2015. I think the story is brilliant.

Parade Marshal

Today I volunteered at the Twin City Pride Parade in Minneapolis. I got free parking at the Dunwoody Institute. From there I walked to Loring Park where I checked in at the volunteer tent. I got my bright green t shirt, a pride backpack bag, and my swag which included a water bottle, a tiny fan that hooks up to an eye phone, a collapsible straw, and some lip balm. We took a shuttle bus to our destination. The woman driving the first shuttle bus did not know exactly where to go. Soon enough she had 12 back seat drivers yelling directions at her. Traffic was terrible because of the Pride 5K run. Some streets were blocked off. Some people were let off where they wanted to be. One woman on the bus got agitated. She said we all had legs and should get off so this driver could go back and get more people. She also said that our job was to blend in with the people we were walking with. We should wear the clothes they were wearing. Here we are all wearing pride volunteer t shirts and she is saying we will be putting on other clothes. She said last year she was a lion. One woman started arguing with her and she got more vehement so we all quit talking to her. We were glad when she got off the van because she had been talking loudly about getting off the van for five full minutes. Eventually time was running out so the three of us who were left got off the van and walked to our assignments. I had a nice corner to wait. Once the parade started the fun began. I was waving to the paraders. If I caught a piece of candy or a necklace I have it to the people behind me. One guy approached me and asked if I was a volunteer. I said I was. He thanked me and told me he was John, Amy's husband. He said he hoped it would not rain. I said I had an umbrella with me. He showed me he had an umbrella stuck in his pocket. As he walked away I realized that possibly I shook hands with the future first husband of the United States! Later a guy with a huge camera set up next to me. A drumming group walked by and he took his camera off the tripod and focused the shot on the sticks hitting the drums, walking backward as he filmed. Soon enough he introduced himself as Alex Hagen. He asked if he could interview me. I said sure. He put a microphone on me and asked me some questions. He put the camera real close to my face. I told him he was very close and asked him if my wrinkles were showing. He said I looked beautiful. He said I might be on the news tonight. Later I watched the news with my father and was glad to see I was cut out of the filming. There were so many people at the parade today because it was the 50 year anniversary of the Stonewall incident. And the clothing! You should see what some people wear! Some of the clothing is beautiful and others make me shake my head. I try not to be judgy but I saw things today that I do not usually see. This one float with movie characters stood at my corner for a long time. Moana was there and an octopus lady was there and Captain Jack Sparrow was there. Oh, Captain Jack Sparrow! I had my eye on him. Later in the day I saw him again as I walked back to Loring Park. And then after my lunch I was walking back up the parade to meet Offspring #2 and Captain Jack Sparrow was there again. I will probably dream about Captain Jack Sparrow tonight. All in all I had a super day with the peaceful, inclusive, and colorful crowd. I would definitely volunteer there again.

Laughing While Cleaning

I was cleaning house this weekend and came upon this classic newspaper clipping. Reading it made me laugh out loud.

Happy Summer Solstice

After supper tonight I took the stem of some red leaf lettuce out to the chickens for a treat. I grabbed my bottle of animal stop on my way out. I spray this nasty smelling spray on my hostas every week plus any other plants I want to protect from the deer munching. As I approach the chicken coop a deer stands there looking at me. She is standing at the crest of the hill on my mowed path just beyond my compost pile. I stop to look at her. She looks at me. I ask, "You looking at me?" She responds by stomping her left front leg. I move a pace closer. She stomps her right front leg. "Seriously?" I ask, "Are we having a stand off?" I consider spraying her with animal stop but refrain. I doubt the spray would go that far. I advance another stop. She stomps her left front leg. Unlike me she has very dainty ankles. Her hooves are black and shiny. I advance another pace. She stomps her right front leg. I say, "We could do this all night." She huffs a huff of air and bounces away with her white tail bobbing through the grass. She enters for forest behind my house. I suspect she is miffed with me.

Technical Assistance Program

Last night I traveled to the Carlos Avery DNR building for a meeting of the chapter of Master Naturalists. Our talk tonight was led by a guy who works at MN TAP - the Minnesota Technical Assistance Program. This is an organization of the state but run through the University of Minnesota. Their goal is to help businesses become more efficient by reducing the use of water, energy and waste which will also save money. MN TAP has a summer intern program. Each intern works with a company for three months. The intern delves into the business looking for ways to improve efficiency. Our speaker gave us examples from the food industry. A business that canned peas kept finding peas on the floor at the end of the day. A couple of strategically placed steel plates kept the good peas from reaching the floor. A business that made cheese kept finding cheese curds on the floor. Redesigning the conveyor belt helped that problem. A business that produced beef jerky had a pile of spices on the floor next to the conveyor. Turns out the spice dispensing arm was six inches too long. Cutting off the extra six inches and welding the end shut ended that waste. In many places, including the one where I work, we do things because we have always done it that way. It takes a fresh look by a college student to really analyze the situation and come up with a better plan. One intern looked at the Science Museum of Minnesota. They found the sprinkler system in the grounds were over watering the grass. Re-calibrating the computer that ran the sprinkler system was a fairly cheap way to save a lot of money and the waste of good water. They are still looking at ways to save the water from the roof run-off and using that gray water to flush the toilets at the museum. Once in a while an intern will come to a company and not find very much at all that needs improvement but that is a small percentage. Most of the interns are in the engineering field but some are environmental science students or business students. MN TAP has many applicants who want to be interns. They also have many businesses who want an intern. I learned a lot last night. I had one of those situation where I learned some but also learned there is more to learn than I knew before.

The Expatriates

I picked up The Expatriates at the library. Janice Y. K. Lee wrote this tale about three women living in Hong Kong. Although Hong Kong is a big city Mercy, Hilary and Margaret keep running into each other. As they navigate their lives in a foreign country they realize as Americans they are treated differently than the native people of Hong Kong. They realize some Americans are rude and they talk loud and they argue when they don't get their way. Eventually all three of them come to a point where they too are loud and rude when they don't get their way. Personally I can't imagine living in a foreign country for years but reading this book helps me picture it. I enjoyed reading every page of this book.

Grandpa's Whistle

My irises are blooming today. These irises used to be my mother's irises. Before that they were my Grandfather's irises. When I see these big beauties in my yard I remember my Grandfather's whistle. When he was feeling good he would whistle. He whistled hymns most of the time and he had the ability to whistle in and whistle out. He could whistle a hymn without stopping for breath. I, too, whistle when I am feeling good but I seldom whistle hymns. I whistle rock and roll songs, classical music, and the odd television jingle.

All Night Long The Argument Goes On

I heard a lot of bird calls last weekend in Wisconsin. The red-eyed vireo talked all day but that bird sounded like it was talking to itself. I heard several veerys calling. I heard a loon. I was most impressed by the sound of the Eastern Whippoorwill calling. The Whippoorwill talks when the sun goes down. Unlike the red-eyed vireo who seems to be talking to itself, the whippoorwill sounds like it is in a heated argument. The sound of the bird call is similar to the name of the bird. The bird says whip poor will. But the emphasis is on the last word; whip poor WILL! The crazy bird sounds as if someone were whispering in it's ear "Whip poor won't." So it has to yell back Whip Poor WILL! All night long the argument goes on. I normally don't like to listen to arguments but I do enjoy going to sleep to the sound of the Eastern Whippoorwill.

Paddling the Namekagon

Yesterday a group of five of us paddled the Namekagon River between Fritz's landing and Riverside Landing near Danbury, Wisconsin. The water was high. I drove my car to the take out point and squeezed into another Honda Fit to travel to the put in point. We had two canoes. I was in the bow of the Kevlar canoe with two people. The other canoe was aluminum and had two people in it. The river was high and fast. We expected the 17.5 mile trip to take 3 to 4 hours. We set off from the landing. This was my first trip on the Namekagon. I had heard it can be a dangerous river. Turns out this river, on this stretch, does have rapids but only class one rapids. I was given a fancy schmancy bent wood canoe paddle. I was holding it backwards. Three times I had to be told to turn my paddle around. We set off talking quietly and enjoying the passing scenery. We floated under an eagle nest set in a pine tree. We saw kingfishers flying by. Turtles warmed themselves on fallen logs. The water was reddish in color but not too cold. I was asked to keep a look out for rocks. I pointed out rocks or what I thought were rocks. Sometimes, with the water being so high, we could float right over rocks. Other times the woman who sat in the middle of the canoe on the floor said she could feel that rock. My cousin was in the stern and she is an excellent paddler. Sometimes I would suggest a path through the rapids and she would choose an entirely different path but it always worked out. A group of nymphs must have just hatched because big black dragonflies were everywhere.  Some of the dragon flies had elegant emerald green wings. When they landed on my sleeve I thought I had a most decorous bracelet. We stopped to rest on an island. We shared cookies, grapes and crackers while one person swam and floated around the island. We got back into the canoes and came upon some dangerous rapids. Some of these rapids were scary and some were only exciting. We got hung up on one rock. My cousin in the stern had to step out and move the canoe over the rock and then hop back in. I sat in fear gripping my bent paddle while she did that.  We came to a huge island. Our plan was to take the right side of the island because the left side had a series of rapids that was long and rugged. The right side of the island was calmer and slower and much more relaxing. Eventually we came to the take out point. I was sorry our adventure was over but my back side was glad not to be sitting in the canoe anymore. I drove the driver of the other car and another woman back to the put in point. The road between these two points is mostly gravel. Four wheeled vehicles have torn up that road so bad that there were times I thought I would get stuck in the sand. But we made it through. The other woman and I headed back to the cabin to get supper prepared. Some other women who did not come canoeing had made tomato sauce that was simmering on the stove. They had the pasta pot of water boiling and were in the process of setting the table when we came in. One of the women offered me a glass of Italian red wine. I was having a very good day. Eventually everybody got back. We unloaded the canoes and put the paddles and life jackets away. We sat down to a dinner of salad, polenta, french bread, pasta, tomato sauce, porcini pesto, chicken sausage, and brownies with cherries in the batter. Not every canoe trip I have been on goes this smoothly but this one did and I was grateful.

Saturday Morning Wake Up Call

Whoa! Nothing like being woken up on a Saturday morning by Zeus throwing a lightening bolt right outside your window!

The Salt Path

My book club read the true story account by Raynor Winn called The Salt Path. This story is about a couple who make some good decisions and some bad decisions. Hard times come upon this couple. Their children are in college. A good friend and business partner rooks them out of their home. Now homeless the husband learns he has a neurological disorder and is told to rest. So what do they decide to do now? They decide to walk a path along the coast of Wales that most young people would not dare to do. Along the way they have many hardships. Rain and wind, cold weather and the cold shoulders of people once they are told of the homelessness situation are just some of the things Raynor and her husband face. I would not have solved their problems the way they did but I think Raynor tells a fascinating story about two people in love, together for the long haul.

Yucky Yucca

Last weekend I picked up a fresh yucca root and took  it home to try. I thought about looking up how to prepare the yucca root but I got  busy with other things. I peeled the root  and sliced it into round disks. I took  a bite. The taste  was yucky. Like a fool I took another bite. The second bite was as bad as the first. This weekend over dinner I spoke about the yucky yucca root only to learn that a person should not eat it raw. In fact, eating the root raw can make you sick or even kill you. Cyanide poisoning is not the way I want to go. Tonight I might slice them into fries and try it again. Some time boiling in hot water and soaking up coconut oil in the oven ought to improve the taste.

Achoo!

Dinner On The Patio

Today was a perfect day to gather at Psycho Suzi's Motor Lounge for drinks and dinner on the patio!

Orange

So Nasty!

There is this one woman at my gym that irritates me almost every time I see her. She does a lot of cardio. She often does the same kind of cardio like one of those gym cardio bunnies. She is younger than me. She bugs me for many reasons. One reason is she uses six to eight towels when the club sign is posted to use only one towel. I, for one, use one towel. She spreads her belongings all over the bench so everyone else in the area can not use the bench. She is over by the mirrors putting on make up and doing her hair but we still can't use the bench. But the main reason she bugs me is when she takes her sweaty shorts, her sweaty top, her sweaty bra, and her sweaty underwear and puts them in the swimsuit spinner to spin her sweat out. Dang nabbit! That is so nasty. Then some innocent swimmer like me comes by to spin out a swimsuit and the swimsuit gets mixed in with her sweat from all the pores on her body. Tonight I got lucky. I spun my swimsuit before she spun her sweaty clothes. I suppose I could say something to her but I don't.

Smell So Good!

The patch of lily of the valley in my front yard around my rain barrel are in bloom. I find the smell of these lilies to be so delightful. I pick six and set them in a jelly jar next to my bed. I pick another six for the bathroom and another six for the living room. They just smell so good I can hardly stand it. I walk around my yard with flowers under my nose muttering aloud, "Oh, they smell so good!"

Chestnut Street

I was in the mood for some light reading and that  is why my eye was drawn to this collection of short stories by Maeve Binchy.  All the characters in Chestnut Street live on Chestnut Street. Some of the characters are married either happily or unhappily. The rest of the characters are single and some are successful and others less than successful. All possible human emotions are happening here on Chestnut Street. Reading this book was as refreshing as a hot shower after mowing the lawn.

A Poem I Found In the Closet This Weekend

There are times when the past comes back to you

And haunts you with loneliness

The smiles of yesterday

Becomes the hurt of today

Trees shed their leaves

And grow new ones again

The leaves are left on the ground

To decay and nothing more

How similar is our fate

Bones become dust

Long after it's usefulness is past

Remember while you are still young

The wasted time amounts to nothing

And although there is a seemingly endless supply of time

Your grasp on it is minute at best

So grab what you can and run away.

I think Offspring #1 wrote this. I think it is lovely but sad. Isn't it crazy when your offspring have such amazing talents? I find it humbling.

SURPRISE!

Today I realized at 11:15 a.m. that I had a party to go to at noon. Shoot! I wanted to go. I mapped the route and it said 48 minute ride and 30 miles away. Eden Prairie is a straight shot down Highway 169 from my house. I checked with a couple other family members to see if they were going. One of them was and one of them wasn't. I decided to go. But do I use my car or my motorcycle? I don't like using the motorcycle on highways but Highway 169 isn't that bad. The highest speed limit is 60 mph which is far more than my favorite speed of 40 mph but it is something I can do. I bought the bike in Hopkins and did just fine bringing it home so I thought I could do this. I put on jeans and went out to the garage. If the bike started I would take it. The bike started. I got all my gear on including yellow leather gloves, Timberland hiking boots, and a safety green vest. I set off on my journey with the directions written on paper and taped to my gas tank. The bike purred along with nary a problem. The engine hummed along like a well crafted machine. This was fun. I greeted other bikers with the left hand held out. Being on a motorcycle puts me in the cool crowd. The wind was pushing me around a little bit but I managed to stay on. I arrive safely at the bowling alley. I think I see my nephew in the parking lot but the hair isn't red enough. I get off the bike and start walking to the door. I see another nephew with a lovely lady heading to the guy on the motorcycle. This one I do recognize (although he is an identical twin so not really) so I follow them. My nephew is surprised to see me. He introduces me to his lovely lady and says they just randomly decided to come here. I said I did too. My other nephew says he did too. We all walk in to the bowling establishment together and a group yells, "SURPRISE!" The whole gang was there to welcome him back from military training. The party had free food, free open bar, free bowling and free laser tag. We all ate together and started to bowl. I haven't bowled in years. The last time I went bowling is when we planned a canoe trip and it rained so we went bowling. The bowling alley keeps score for you and also tells you how fast you throw the ball. I think I did well. I scored an even 100 which is odd because yesterday I bought food at Aldi and the bill came to an even $21. I decided to head home after the first game because I had things to do yet today. As I left one nephew came with me to fix a rear view mirror that would not stay put. The mirror kept moving inward so instead of seeing the road behind me I had a good view of my own face in the helmet which is not something I want to see when I am going 60 mph down Highway 169. I brought out my tools and he fixed it in ten seconds. I asked how I could repay him. He responded, "by not hugging me."  I laughed out loud and offered him a kiss on the lips which of course he turned down. I got back on the bike, bought gas  (only half a gallon), and found my way back on Highway 169. One the way home the wind was not as pushy. I pulled the bike into the garage glad to be home safe and sound. Some times I think I should sell this bike and some times I think I should keep it a little longer.

Pomp and Circumstance

Last night we trudged over to Roy Wilkens auditorium in Saint Paul for a high school graduation ceremony. The weather was great so it would have been a great day to graduate outside. I thought back to my own graduation ceremony which was outside on the football field. I sat in a chair out on the grass while my parents and my Grandmother sat in the metal bleachers. I wore a black robe and a black hat. My tassel was yellow. I still have my tassel hanging on the kitchen cupboard door handle. Some kids were batting beach balls back and forth during the ceremony which, for me, was anxiety ridden and boring. I was anxious about falling as I walked up the steps, across the stage, down the steps and back to  my seat.  I didn't fall though. What did I wear under my gown? I suppose I wore a dress and flat shoes. I noticed other kids in the audience bringing their arm up and pointing their elbow at the blue sky. I was so naive. Those kids had bottles of alcohol under the sleeves of their robe. I can't remember who spoke or what they said. I was one of 624 kids graduating. I was a slightly above average student with a very small amount of school spirit. I liked our school fight song though because one of my fellow students said her father wrote it and I thought that was cool. I understand that the fight song for this school is a variation of the one he wrote for my school. As I sat in my chair at the auditorium last night memories kept flooding back. The pomp and circumstance song played. Young adults of all colors, shapes and sizes filed by. Most of the graduates decorated the tops of their hats. My particular graduate had an avocado on hers. Some kids had college logos or sayings or flowers or glitter or fur attached to their square topped hats. One guy had LED lighting in a rainbow strip on his hat. We didn't decorate our hats when I graduated. One of the student speakers last night gave an incredibly moving rap song or poem. Wearing her hijab she impressed all of us with her performance and her words. I am quite certain that woman will go places in her future. All the students will go places. Just where they go remains to be seen. I, for one, am not one bit envious of any one of them. I sat in my chair with my bad back and my arthritic joints and was glad that I am where I am in life.