I'm Out. Probably Until July 1

I have decided to make a quick visit to see my sister Carole. She has had a pacemaker for her heart condition for a few years now, and had nothing but trouble. Evidently her heart is one of the few that just can't be properly regulated so her pacemaker has to kick in dozens & dozens of times each day. It has really impacted her life.

She used to be a real athlete--tennis, jogging, always in perfect shape but now she can't even go for long walks because that will trigger an episode. She and my brother (both older--I'm the change-of-life baby, remember?) both had heart conditions and she is now the same age as he was when he died too young. So I think that doesn't help her frame of mind much. I'm going to go and just focus on her, maybe see a few old family friends with her. That's it. My oldest daughter is going to drive up at the same time so I will get see my grandson again--yay for that!

It's kinds funny--Carole and my brother, of all the children, were the two who really worked at having healthy life styles and they are the two who had heart conditions. My other older sister and I have no problems despite the fact that we eat, drink, stay up too late, etc. Funny how that works.

Enjoy the rest of June! See you soon.

He Doesn't Play With Toys

My grandson that is. According to his mom all he likes to do is crunch numbers on his collection of calculators, do maze & connect the dot books and do art projects. What kind of kid doesn't play with toys?

I *Heart* Barnes & Noble

They email me nice coupons. Today I bought The Husband by my freaky friend Dean R Koontz. B&N gave a coupon worth 15% off after my usual members 10% off, so a $27 dollar book became a $15 book. Then, just to make me happy they also sent a coupon for a free Starbucks frappucino! So as I drove home in the 87' heat I had a nice frosty, frothy, caramel drink to suck on. Aren't Barnes & Noble good folks?

I'm having trouble getting clean.

Tuesday, just as he was about to leave for work Tom realized that his driver's license had expired. So I was rudely rousted from my beauty sleep to drive him to work, forty minutes into St Paul then 40 minutes to get myself back home--all without my proper morning coffee! I just threw on my clothes from the day before and jumped into the car all unwashed and barely awake. It was a lovely morning and would have been a nice drive except Tom was in a foul mood of course. He hates to make mistakes, especially ones that might expose him to ticket-writing cops. Since I had painting & gardening to do I just stayed dirty all day. :-)

Then yesterday for some reason everyone took a half hour shower because when it was finally my turn I was barely wet before the hot water started to go all lukewarm. So I couldn't wash my hair. I barely got my body washed before the hot ran out. Thus I had to take my son out to lunch with nasty, stringy hair.

Are you clean today?

Random Thoughts on a Very Christian Wedding

I'm back! The weather was perfect and we had a very nice time.

This was a very Christian wedding, in an Evangelical Lutheran church. The opening song was a solo sung by a woman with the most gorgeous voice. It was called, I think, "How Beautiful" and was all about 'how beautiful how beautiful is the body of Christ.' Nicely sung but I thought it a strange song overall.

The bride and groom came down the aisle to music from Pachelbel, again, very nice. It was the minister's words that seemed off and inspired my random thoughts.

Seven times during the ceremony he pointed out that "This is the true form of marriage--one man and one woman." "This is marriage as God created it--one man and one woman." So that's when he lost me. Also, he pointed out twice that people who wanted to change the one man one woman format designed by God were obviously wrong. Why do ministers have to address topics like this during a wedding ceremony? Shouldn't they just be focussed on the two people before them and talk about them? It's somebody's wedding for Pete's sake! (I have also sat through several scathing rebukes of divorce during Catholic funerals--as the divorced children on the deceased sat in front just trying to mourn their parent. So. stupid.)

Minister spent a lot of time explaining how woman was created from a man's rib and thus it was her destiny to submit to her husband since without him she would have been uncreated or something. I am not religious so I am always in anthropologist mode when I attend a church service. My thoughts on this are more Fruedian. Most women do not have Freud's famous Penis Envy. Insecurity about their penis is more of a male thing. But I think many men have Uterus Envy--because how powerful is it to create life from almost nothing? So as a Creation Myth, having woman come from man's body gives man back the power he craves. I also think it is interesting that the rib is kind of a penis-shaped & sized bone. The First Boner, so to speak.

Then he went on and on about how woman must submit to her husband as part of marriage. See, I have always thought that linguistically this is pre-medieval Code-speak for 'woman must be willing to have sex with her husband whenever he wishes.' Again, I have no idea why this ancient concept has to be so stressed in a wedding between two young professionals. I guess male ministers reinforce male power at every opportunity.

So when we got to the reception line, I noticed that people were listening very closely to the Rev. when it was their turn to be greeted by him. I wondered what he was saying that they found so interesting. Then when I got nearer I figured it out. They guy was talking a very low voice, so if you wanted to hear him, you had to lean in and focus. It was another control technique, very passive-aggressive too. So I have no idea what he said to me because I couldn't hear most of it and I did not lean it. Also, I was annoyed at him because of the whole anti-gay undercurrent he injected into the ceremony and the whole "submit" thing. So I just smiled when he was done speaking to me and said "Yes, okay." He looked a bit confused so I guess that was a Wrong Answer. But who cares?

The bride had a beautiful strapless white gown witha short train and lots of sparklies. The groom was movie star handsome. The bridesmaids had very nice, basic, long black dresses that will serve them well for a while. There was a Flower Girl, as their often is, and also a "Junior Bride." This is a new concept for me. She was about 9, wore a long white dress and a sparkly tiara and looked so happy to be part of the ceremony.

What is a Junior Bride? Who is she 'marrying'? (There was no Junior Groom.) Does anyone know where this tradition comes from?

Also, have I missed anything wildly important? I will do as much back reading as I can, as quickly as I can--but if there is something I need to know, please point me at it!

Steak for Breakfast, and a Wedding

Today I get to have steak for breakfast, lunch and dinner! Last night the DD and her BF were too full of pizza to eat the steak I grilled for Tom's birthday, so I have about 12 ounces of lovely left-over steak! With garlic mashed potatoes. So for breakfast? I had steak. Lunch? Will be steak AND a little garlic mashed. Dinner? Will be steak with the rest of the garlic mashed and the rest of the garlicked green beans. (Tom won't be here for dinner.)

Tomorrow we will all attend a wedding in Wisconsin - just 2.5 hrs away from Kim. It should be a good time, especially since we will have cool weather. I hate hot. We'll spend saturday night in a small town motel, which hopefully will not suck, before starting the 6+ hour drive back home.

Happy Birthday to the Sexiest Man Alive, June 8, 1949

Happy birthday, darling. You have seen these words before, but they are still the best I have:

I never realized that one person could light up my whole world...
until I saw you smile.

I never dreamed that one touch could change my life...
until you took my hand in yours.

I never knew that I could love someone so deeply, completely, and endlessly...
until I fell in love with you.

I will love you today and always,
Martha

Here is one of the first poems Tom ever wrote for me. I hope you don't mind if I share it. It is still one of my favorites. You may have to click on it to get a readable image.



In high school you worked your ass off on the farm, from dawn to dusk when you weren't in school--and usually milking cows even before dawn. Still, you found time for football, basketball, baseball and top grades:


You discovered girls and learned how to Dress for Success. I like to call this picture Please God don't let me be a virgin much longer!


(I ran out of photo space. My tribute continues in the post below this. Keep reading!)

Happy Birthday to the Sexiest Man Alive! Part II

(This is part II. Read part I above, first.)

You left for college a brilliant and rough-edged farm boy, with a wonderful smile:


And turned yourself into Joe Cool. 70s fashions were so over the top! This is Tom in 1971:


This is Tom in his Rutgers Letter Sweater. You were a walk-on going out for for football, and they put you on the 11th team. So in your sophomore year you dropped football and took up crew--where you made First Boat and wound up NCAA National Champion in 4-Man Heavy Crew.


Then you went to Madison to study accounting and become a Yippie. You always did pull off contradictions so well. I can't find a bearded Yippie picture just now. Darn! You accidently married the wrong woman for a couple of years but became a very successful CPA.

Then, we met and fell in love. But that's all back in my Meet Story.

Sometimes you're kind of goofy:


But you are always the shining sun at the center of my world. Wonderful man, wonderful father, wonderful husband. I love you more every day.

My sweetie, on vacation!
I love you, Tom.

Never Spray Paint Outside On A Windy Day When Tree Stuff Can Blow Down All Over Your Project And Cause Mayhem!

That is all.

Are You Ready for 6-6-06?

Or 6-6-6 as my local TV station calls it?

I'm thinking of an anti-Christ themed dinner. What should I serve? How should I decorate? Can you come?

My Lumberjack Chef

I grilled salmon this weekend, which reminded me of the wonderful grilled lake trout I can get at my favorite restaurant up north, the Lemon Wolf.

It's a storefront restaurant in a tiny resort town. The decor is rustic-bizarre, with chainsaw carved bears all over the place, even outside. If you have a window table, large carved bears with fake sunflowers in their open jaws will be looking in at you while you eat. The inside bears are looking at you too. The restaurant plays instrumental, elevator-music versions of old Roy Rogers songs - Yellow Rose of Texas, Heart of El Paso, stuff like that.

The chef himself is huge, 6' 4" burly guy with a thick black beard who wears plaid shirts, hiking boots and jeans. He looks like a guy who wins knife fights whenever he wants. And? He's one of those totally gifted chefs who can cook anything to perfection. His lake trout is perfect. Dishes with rice are perfect. Dishes with pasta are perfect. Desserts are perfect. Last time, Tom and I shared a slice of cheesecake that was at least 3" thick - and completely light and creamy from top to bottom crust. The lightly sauced raspberries and lingonberries on top tasted like they had been picked that morning. It was heaven on a seven inch plate!

And only a four hour drive away. Darn!

Lookie Nookie

The family manse. Does it look familiar? The stone wall went up in the early 60s (I think.) And yes, I was standing in the middle of Hwy 8 when I took this picture.

All the farmland surrounding the house has been sold for subdivisions, Seana. Our area was one of the last holdouts. They started building houses to the left of my house in 02 or 03, and houses to the right are just going up now. They are building some pretty high end homes there, but with teeny tiny little yards. So far as I know *my* house will go untouched.

My ABC Meme

A is for Age – which is older than I want. Why start with such a hard question?
B is for Booze – Brandy Manhattan, straight-up
C is for Career – (1) Laboratory technician in medical research lab, (2) Newspaper column (3) Accountant. My favorite job was the medical research one, which I did for about 15 years. Then I had 2 kids 15 months apart & needed something very part time, thus the writing. I did some on-line editing for WestLaw during this period also. Since I needed to be home for my son with autism I needed an at-home career so Tom & I started a business where we do the bills & payroll & various financial stuff for several local entities.
D is for Dad’s name – Paul
E is for Essential Item to bring to a Party – My Tom!
F is for Favorite Songs at the Moment – I’ve been listening to Sirius oldies lately and rediscovering the songs of my youth. Today my favorite song is the 59th St Bridge Song
G is for Goof off thing to do – Read. I love to read!
H is for Hometown – Grimsby
I is for Instrument you play - I have issues with this instrument thing. I’m the youngest child so my older siblings all had lessons for stuff – piano, guitar, accordion (waves to Nookie), flute, etc. My dad bought all the instruments and my siblings all quit their instrument after a year or two. So I was not allowed to take anything because “I would just quit anyway.” So unfair! And since my mom liked an uncluttered house, all the instruments were sold or given away soon after my sibling quit then – even the piano. It was so not fair!
J is for Jam or Jelly you like – Raspberry, Limecurd
K is for Kids – 2 daughters, one son
L is for Living arrangement - House in the woods
M is for Mom’s name – Elizabeth
N is for Names of best friends – Aren’t you all here? Also, Nancy, Deb
O is for overnight hospital stays -3 childbirths, gall bladder out.
P is for Phobias – Being trapped by a malevolent stranger on a boat. ‘Dome’ houses – they give me the creeps
Q is for Quote you like – I can’t remember, lol
R is for Relationship that lasted longest - Current one...25 years
S is for Siblings - 2 older sisters, one older brother who died too young in 1989.
T is for Texas, Ever been? – No
U is for Unique trait – Can’t think of one
V is for Vegetable you love – Cauliflower
W is for Worst traits – Procrastination
X - is for X-Rays you’ve had – regular teeth ones, dislocated elbow, gall-bladder series, that time I swallowed a screw
Y is for Yummy food you make – Curries, baby
Z is for Zodiac sign – Sagittarius