I Do Stupid So Well

On my way to the Post Office this morning I briefly touched a mosquito bite on my forehead. I didn't pick it, I just touched it.

Then I chatted with the postmaster, stopped into the store and walked around town totally unaware that I was sporting a big, dried, bloody blob on my face that had dribbled down into my eyebrow. I scared myself looking into the mirror! WTF? I didn't feel a thing. How was I to know I was bleeding like a gunshot victim! Sheesh.

North Shore Trip Pics

Tom and I had a great time up at the North Shore! We stayed in our usual lodge on Beaver Bay, about 50 miles NE of Duluth, MN. All the rooms overlook the lake, which is nice and calm in this photo. We had perfect weather – hot sun and cold air. I love that!





Tom and I have mastered the art of Jacuzzi Camping. By day, we visit & hike in all the State Parks that dot the North Shore, packing our lunches, grilling dinners at various camp/picnic sites—just like real campers. Then at night we return to the luxury of our Jacuzzi suite and king bed instead of a tent & sleeping bags. This is definitely the best way to go camping!

Tom on a typical rocky shoreline. This is classic Lake Superior.





The area trails are spectacular! Our favorite places are the Temperance River, which has a deep, fast-moving river that has carved a series of cauldrons into the bedrock. The water just roars, the trail lets you go as close to the edge as you dare. So exciting! (Just for perspective - that little blue dot in the upper left is Tom!





Gooseberry Falls is another favorite. It is a series of 5 waterfalls in a lovely canyon wide enough that you can hike right alongside the water, instead of climbing on the rocks above. This is the first waterfall.





I love how the trees somehow root themselves into smooth rock.





This is, well, a great big fat hole in the ground. But it is the biggest man-made great big fat hole in the ground in the world. They have been mining iron ore here (Hibbing, MN) since 1884. The hole is now 12 miles long and 1.5 miles wide (something like that) and averages about 400 feet deep. It would be a wonder of the world if it weren’t just, you know, a great big fat hole in the ground. Think how many Great Pyramids would fit inside that hole!


Okay, I just previewed and the pics seemed more randomly scattered into the test than I wanted. Hope you can figure it out.

I Made Him Go Outside Naked

So Thursday night I watered & then put the sprinkler on some parched transplants, then Tom and I went upstairs to watch a couple of season finales we had missed. He promised he would turn off the sprinklers for me but he forgot until waaa-a-y late. He didn't want to get dressed again, so I made him go naked.

Usually, he doesn't mind sneaking out after dark with no clothes on, but we have new security lights.

Tom: Will the new lights go on?

Me: I don't know. Maybe.

Tom: They're really bright. Spotlights.

Me: Yeah, but you're quick.

Tom: *grumble* *grumble*

So he left naked, holding a crumpled up wife-beater, just in case. I'm not sure what parts he planned to cover if the security lights blazed on.

Oh yeah - I'm back!

I'm Out Until Friday 5/26

Tom and I will be celebrating our annual Homage to Spring at our favorite lodge on the North Shore of Lake Superior. It's a very swank, Scandinavian style place. It's a "log" lodge, and all the furniture is made of either logs or faux logs (sometimes it's hard to tell which.)

We always get the same room, lol, because the in-room jacuzzi has such a lovely view of the lake. I am hoping for all nice weather except for one great big slam-bang thunderstorm. I love thunderstorms and crashing waves!

We will try to be decorous guests this time. Lights and Sally may remember our misbehavin' there once before. Just remember boys and girls - when you have a ground floor room and you're having so much fun that you forget to close the curtains as dark falls and thus provide an extended free show to anyone out on the boardwalky-thing who wants to watch - when you do that the nice hotel people are not amused.

The only downside to this lodge is their Genuine Scandinavian Breakfast: boiled eggs, pickled herring, funny Swedish coffee, cheese and black bread. Who eats that kind of stuff on purpose?

So you all behave while I'm gone. Or, if you chose to misbehave post links or tell-alls here so I can catch up when I get back.

We are out tomorrow (Sunday) morning, and back sometime late Thursday evening.

My Peep Meet Dream

Oh, I had the funnest peep meet dream last night while Tom was gone.

So many of you were here, right here in my house! We had an absolute, freakin' blast. And we went out partying too. But like most dreams, when I woke up I couldn't remember any details. No matter how hard I tried! I am so bummed.

So remind me. What the heck did we do when I finally met you?

What She Finally Sent

I got this in my email today. I guess it's my Mother's Day card from the daughter I blogged about a few days ago. Actually, it's pretty cool beans. I thought the moms around here would enjoy it. (I still would have liked a real card though. One with roses & stuff.) (Apologies if this has been all over the Web and I am the last one to see it.)

Just a Mom???

A woman, renewing her driver's license at the County Clerk's office was asked by the woman recorder to state her occupation. She hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself.

"What I mean is," explained the recorder, "do you have a job or are you just a...?"

"Of course I have a job," snapped the woman. "I'm a Mom."

"We don't list 'Mom' as an occupation, "housewife covers it," said the recorder emphatically.

I forgot all about her story until one day.I found myself in the same situation, this time at our own Town Hall. The Clerk was obviously a career woman, poised, efficient and possessed of a high sounding title like, "Official Interrogator" or "Town Registrar."

"What is your occupation?" she probed.

What made me say it? I do not know. The words simply popped out.

"I'm a Research Associate in the field of Child Development and Human Relations.

The clerk paused, ball-point pen frozen in midair and looked up as though she had not heard right. I repeated the title slowly emphasizing the most significant words. Then I stared with wonder as my pronouncement was written in bold, black ink on the official questionnaire.

"Might I ask," said the clerk with new interest, "just what you do in your field?"

Coolly, without any trace of fluster in my voice, I heard myself reply, "I have a continuing program of research, (what mother doesn't) in the laboratory and in the field, (normally I would have said indoors and out). I'm working for my Masters, (the whole darned family) and already have four credits (all daughters). Of course, the job is one of the most demanding in the humanities, (any mother care to disagree?) and I often work 14 hours a day, (24 is more like it). But the job is more challenging than most run-of-the-mill careers and the rewards are more of a satisfaction rather than just money."

There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk's voice as she completed the form, stood up and personally ushered me to the door.

As I drove into our driveway, buoyed up by my glamorous new career, I was greeted by my lab assistants -- ages 13, 7, and 3. Upstairs I could hear our new experimental model, (a 6 month old baby) in the child development program, testing out a new vocal pattern. I felt I had scored a beat on bureaucracy! And I had gone on the official records as someone more distinguished and indispensable to mankind than "just another Mom".

MM's Meme, and BBQ

I borrowed this from MM's blog. I know she said she got it from Catt, but MM's Meme just has such a lovely homophonous ring, how can I not say it?

I AM: drinking coffee
I WANT: Tom to come home
I WISH: that I could be young again; I hate getting old.
I HATE: Oh. See above.
I MISS: My mother more than I can say
I FEAR: Anything ever happening to Tom!
I HEAR: Birdsong. Birds make me happy
I WONDER: How my children will succeed in life, and what their future holds.
I REGRET: That I never really knew my father, since he died when I was still a teen.
I AM NOT: Who I think I am, but I wish I was.
I DANCE: As if no one is looking. Because when you’re old, they’re not. Unless they need a good laugh.
I SING: In the shower, in my car, while I’m cooking, whenever I want. I don’t sing well or even complete songs, but I sing.
I CRY: As little as possible. Crying hurts.
I AM NOT ALWAYS: A good parent.
I MAKE WITH MY HANDS: Things that I love
I WRITE: To save myself.
I CONFUSE: Perception with reality.

On the BBQ front, I love our local Mongolian BBQ place. Everything is so fresh, so tasty and the cost is way cheap! When Tom is not home I rarely cook so yesterday on my way home from town I stopped at the BBQ and got a take-out lunch. They give you a big styrofoam container and you can fill it with whatever you want. In my case this included fresh stir-fry (you pick the uncooked ingredients you want from a buffet of uncooked meats & veggies. I get thin sliced beef, pork, Mongolian noodles, shrimp, pea pods, onions, sprouts, celery, cilantro. You ladle on whatever oils, sauces and spices you want from the same buffet. I take sesame oil, chopped garlic, Mongolian sauce and oyster sauce. Then a guy with 2 ft long chopsticks custom cooks your order on a three foot heated steel slab and swoops it onto a fresh plate. So. Yummy.)

Since the stir fry only filled about 2/3 of my box I filled the rest up from their huge buffet of already cooked specialties. I got a bunch of pepper chicken and 4 sesame rice dumpling things. I don't know what they are called but they are very similar to an Indian thing called Malpuris, only better. They are made with a special kind of highly glutinous rice that is spiced, cooked and then pounded and stretched like taffee until it is a paste with such a lovely smooth texture. Then you roll it into balls, roll each ball into whole sesame seeds, and flatten the ball into a small disc maybe 2 inches across and 1/2 inch thick. Man, I love those! I got 4 of them, lol.

The meal is sold by weight. So for $6.02 I got enough food for lunch and dinner! I love Mongolian BBQ!