Horse Manure Park

Please forgive me. It has been two months since my last blog. I have no idea where that time went. I suppose it went to that place where all the other time goes. I was kind of surprised to get an email from someone who asked me if I had given up blogging. It made me feel kind of good that someone checks in to read now and then. Believe me, I think about writing all the time but "thinking" and "doing" are two different things. Actually, I have written a couple of posts over the last 60 days, mostly on rainy days (which has been 55 of the last 60 days), but I decided the posts got too political. There's nothing worse than somebody rambling on about their political/moral beliefs. Especially when you run the risk of upsetting others and when you don't really know what you're talking about. I confess I usually don't know what I'm talking about. So here I am sitting on my unstained deck, typing away. The neighborhood is alive with the sound of...

I'm a bit sporadic at updating my little space in cyberland here.  That's what happens with kids and a job.  Thankfully, you haven't missed much if you don't visit here often. I opened an account on a new site called This Life , which is maintained by Shutterfly, and I'm really liking it.  It sort of works like Drop Box; all of our photos on our devices automatically upload to our This Life account and all of the pictures on our lap top automatically upload to the site as well. But what I really like about This Life, as compared to Drop Box, is the site magically organizes your photos by date and it has a facial recognition program which organizes your photos by people as well.  It is kind of cool and creepy all at the same time.  It's bizarre how it can recognize the Boy as a baby and as a five year old. I don't know how it works, but it works.  Yet it makes me wonder what kind of technology is out there that we don't know about?  It's probabl...

For the first time since 1952 (so it seemed), it was not painful to go outside this weekend.  As a result, we spent Sunday doing absolutely nothing but sipping on hot chocolate and Bailey's (well, at least for the adults) while sitting around a makeshift fire in the backyard (our fire pit is buried in two feet of snow and I'm far too lazy to do that much digging). Our chairs sunk deep into the snowpack (making sitting somewhat uncomfortable) and we had to endure an occasional stray snowball thrown by the Boy, but it had been five months since we sat around the fire and we enjoyed it immensely. Of course the ashes have now made our pristine white backyard look like someone spilled a large bottle of India ink in the middle of it - a big black stain on a bed of white.  But I honestly couldn't care less. The snow was perfect for snowman building... "Olaf" the Snowman.  His life was joyous, but brief. The Boy and the Girl look happy in the picture...

Maybe this time it's for real. Yesterday, for the first time since October, I opened the windows and let fresh air come rushing into the house. It was 70 degrees. Then a unicorn ran across my lawn, chased by two mermaids atop a sparkling dragon. It was awesome. If Old Man Winter is not dead, he is definitely on life support.  The bastard.

Happy first day of spring.  The tulips are in full bloom and the orioles are singing their beautiful tune! Then I was jolted awake. WCCO says this is the coldest first day of spring since 1965 (the Beatles had not yet released "Help!").  Since it's only about 15 degrees here, I believe it. They also say this is the deepest snow pack since 1971. And the Twins' home opener is in 13 days... "Boys of Summer?"  Maybe not.  Photo taken March 19th; courtesy Pioneer Press. At this point, camping and sitting around the fire pit seems like light years away. I'm so sick of winter.  Thank goodness for March Madness, which will keep me occupied for the next couple of weeks.

Since this is a (public) journal of the happenings in my life, I am going to make a quick entry.  Today was an exciting day for Ava.  She had her first swimming lesson!  Beth said she did really well and Ava was very excited about it.  She'll take lessons once a week for the next six weeks.  Here are a couple pictures... Learning to kick (she does that really well - no lesson needed!).  Ava is nearest the camera. Floating and kicking Ava learning to back float

Poof!  Just like that, there goes another weekend. It is kinda funny, in my last post I mentioned it was in the 70s and that "spring was officially here".  Since then, we got about a half inch of snow and it hasn't gotten above 50 degrees... or at least it sure hasn't felt like it.  Most of the snow has since melted, but depending on which forecast you choose to believe, more snow is on the way this week.  It might not hit us, though.  It might go further south and east.  I hope so.  I am ready to open the camper and get on with summertime. At least one person was happy about the new snow.  Ava making a "snow bunny." Sandy and Ray stopped by yesterday and gave the kids Easter baskets.  We had coffee, pie and chatted.  It was good to see them and a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon.  It sure beat working! Yesterday was the first time Beth and I had been home together in over a week.  It was nice while it lasted, b...

A beautiful day today.  It is still 71 degrees at 6:00 PM.  I think spring is officially here!  We still have some snow in our yard, but most of it is history.  So long, sucker. I woke up at 6:30 AM and commenced my "Leave No Turd Behind" campaign.  I scooped dog crap for an hour and I still didn't get it all.  My dog certainly didn't suffer from constipation during the winter months.  Good grief. Moving from dog sh*t to cookies... (there is just no nice way to transition the topic) My son has an unhealthy obsession for cookies (or as he calls them "coo-coo-cookie?" always phrased as a question).  I baked a couple dozen yesterday in my role as Mr. Mom and he wasn't pacified unless he could see the damn things constantly (with close adult supervision, of course.  Since an adult wasn't here, I had to suffice). Keeping his eyes on the prize.  Notice the cabinets are bungee'd closed?  Our house is a giant obstacle course. He...

What a relaxing, beautiful morning.  Dropped Ava off at school, Neil laid down for a nap... so Beth and I sat outside and enjoyed some fresh Starbucks and listened to the horny birds fight with each other.  Yes, it is that time of year alright. I noticed that I recently surpassed 10,000 visitors to my blog since October 2008.  Wow, that's pretty awesome! I am thinking we are going to give the camper a good scrubbing today and pop it open for some spring cleaning.  I have got the itch to go camping sooner rather than later.  We only used the camper twice last summer.  No excuses this year! I am feeling pretty good today; still a little sore, but not bad at all.  Thought about posting pictures of my stitches, but I guess that would violate some kind of decency code.   Time to go enjoy some more sunshine.  I'd like to start some yard work, but I'm not supposed to get too carried away quite yet.  Hard not to do when we've got weath...

It is so nice out today I decided to open the windows and let in some welcomed fresh air.  It has been a long time since I've opened the windows.  The cool breeze and clean spring air makes me think winter just might be over!  Man, it feels good.  I shouldn't complain, though.  This was a very "tame" winter by Minnesota standards.  I can only recall one really cold snap and maybe a couple of snowstorms, but nothing compared to what they had in other parts of the country, especially the East Coast. Went back home yesterday to Aunt Helen's funeral.  It was a very moving tribute to a great woman.  I did get to see my aunts and uncles and cousins and brothers, and a bunch of folks from Hewitt who I haven't seen in years.  Also visited Mom and Dad's grave site.  Helen was laid to rest just a few yards away from them. Heck, I bet they are all having a big game of " schmear " up there right now. So yesterday was bittersweet.  It is ...

Had my consult with the surgeon yesterday.  All that's left is the slicing and dicing. Whoopee! Our yard is clean and bare.  No snow whatsoever.  This is pretty early to be relieved of all our snow.  I keep thinking we'll get that one last snow storm (as we do every year), but nothing is forecast and April is right around the corner.  Yes, it can still snow in April, but it would be very short lived. As a result, we've been grilling like we haven't grilled in five months... which is because we haven't grilled in five months.  Steaks, burgers, grilled veggies, paninis.  I am fighting the urge to open up the camper.  It is still pretty early to do that.  I don't want to let my enthusiasm get the best of me, open the camper and then get six inches of snow.  That would kind of stink. However, nothing says I can't whip up a nice campfire one of these nights.  Oh the temptation... Well, we are off to get our taxes done.  We...

Haven't updated here for a while.  Haven't really been on the computer much.  Had a fun weekend.  Dale & Mel and Bob & Kathy came over on Saturday and John & Becky joined us for dinner Saturday evening.  Had a good visit with everyone, good food, too many cold beverages and in the blink of an eye it was Sunday morning and it was all over with.  Why does time go so fast when you're having fun? Now it is back to work for the week.  Beth and I are going to one of our favorite places for her birthday - Duluth.  Just us, no kids.  Our first time with no children since February 2006.  I'm not sure if we even remember how to be "just a couple," but we're willing to give it a try.  We're not going until the very end of April/beginning of May, but we're already talking about what we're going to do and what we're going to see.  One thing for sure on our agenda is a visit to Split Rock Lighthouse.  I've lived in Minnesot...

I'm sitting out on my deck enjoying a cup of coffee -- wishing it was a Michelob Light. My deck needs to be re-stained. It looks awful. Okay, add it to the list. Check. The sun is shining, the sky is blue and it almost seems like summer. Ava is running around the yard, pretending to be a dog. She's "barking" at that yapping piece of crap Pekingese that lives next door. I'd love to drop-kick that damn dog through the goal posts of life. Some day I will. I hate that frickin' dog. Hi. I look like an asshole and I act like one too. This weekend can't end soon enough. I need a couple days off. No, more than that. How about a month? No... how about if I just quit my job and live off the government? My drunken, Pekingese-loving neighbor does. I can fake a back injury as well as him. Disability seems like nice work if you can get it. Man, am I in a foul mood. I'm sure tomorrow will be a better day.

Time to update things, although there's not much to say. Our house has been rattled by some nasty stomach virus lately. As posted earlier, Ava was sick a week ago. Yesterday when I got home from work, Beth was not in good shape. She had been up most of the night puking. She felt lousy all day yesterday, but was able to sleep last night and is acting much more like her chipper self today. It was just a quick bug, but it was bad while it lasted. Somehow, I've been able to avoid it so far (he said, feverishly knocking on wood). Baseball season has started once again, a sure sign of spring. The snow is gradually melting, although it is always so slow to melt around our house because we have so many trees. That's okay, though, I'd rather have lots of trees and slowly melting snow versus no trees and green grass at the moment. Trees are good. I've also been noticing lots of robins lately and other little birdies (whose names I can't remember right now), al...

...okay, not really. Ish, that would be gross. It's about time I update things. It is pouring rain (but not men). I've heard this crap is supposed to turn into snow during the night and leave a big mess by tomorrow morning. Bring it on. I'm used to it. Come on Old Man Winter! Is this all ya got? Ya big pussy. We've had a busy few days. Our good friends Korey and Shelli became grandparents again late last week. Scott and Sammi are proud new parents of a bouncing baby girl. A drink is called for, but the challenge is finding an opportunity to drink it together. We also had a long overdue dinner and visit with the Stokes's on Sunday. Jon grilled brats and burgers -- aaahh, spring time! -- and we had a nice long visit. How overdue was it? I finally gave Jon his birthday present. His birthday was November 22nd. So we kind of lucked out over the past few days. Spaghetti at the Dau's Friday, grilling at the Stokes's Sunday. (In these hard economi...

The snow has been doing a peculiar thing lately. The last few days have been what they call "above freezing," a strange and magical occurrence in which frozen things become unfrozen. The snow has been slowly turning into an anomalous and unfamiliar liquid state, called "water," which seems to be evaporating into the atmosphere or soaking into the ground. We seem to be transitioning into a different chapter and I am concerned. I am told it is the arrival of a new and exotic setting, which, oddly enough, is called "Spring." It is a frightening time of year when the air becomes un-cold, vegetation comes alive and insects emerge from their secret hiding place to once again crawl the face of the earth. I suspect the root cause of this disparity is attributed to Earth being tilted on its axis at a 23.5 degree angle. As Earth revolves, our north pole tilts more toward the sun which causes an increase in solar radiation, thus causing an increase in environmen...