Spring at Last

Tulips in my sister's garden

When I was packing my bag for Stratford on Tuesday evening, I found my selections a little heavy on winter wear. Fortunately, I remembered that this region of southern Ontario is always warmer than home, even this year when winter stretched on forever. I decided that I didn't need a sweatshirt or winter gloves.

I have often been here in May, and my first impression was that the leaves are a little more advanced, but nowhere close to where you'd expect them to be in mid-May. And then I saw my sister Marilyn's beautiful spring gardens! Her tulips have reached their prime and they're stunningly beautiful. The weather feels much as I imagine Holland at this time of year.

Our Minnesota spring can't be too far behind, even though the thermometer is still flirting with near freezing temperatures. My spring Facebook album has lots of photos: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10203085851483591.1073741848.1125181306&type=1&l=a325b326c6

MSP vs. YYZ

I've been flying the Twin Cities - Toronto route for many years and I've always enjoyed flying into the beautiful Toronto metropolitan area.

In recent years, I've noticed that MSP has really improved its appearance and functionality. The airport is bright, clean, well laid out and efficient. This morning, my flight left from the B terminal, a long way from the ticketing area but made easy by a series of moving sidewalks and a modern tram. I was impressed with our airport's use of  limited space in a high traffic environment.

My arrival at YYZ was unwelcoming and dreary. The walk to Customs is long and the escalator wasn't working. I had trouble finding my bag because the monitors with baggage information weren't easily visible and I got incomprehensible answers from the two airport staff I asked for directions.

If I were a first-time visitor to Toronto, I wouldn't be too interested in seeing more of this beautiful city.

A Wild Dream

I hadn't watched playoff hockey for many years until the Minnesota Wild surprised fans with a powerful appearance in post-season play.

I was hooked when the Wild lost a first game heartbreaker in OT, and I didn't get much sleep on hockey nights until Minnesota went all the way to Game 7 and clinched the series in Denver. I dared to hope that the Wild could win the subsequent series against Chicago.

Minnesota played impressive hockey but finally succumbed to Patrick Kane and the Hawks in last night's Game 6 overtime loss at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul. The outcome was deflating and very disappointing for Minnesota fans.

However, I think we'll see a revitalized and more experienced team next fall. I'm daring to hope for a great 2014-15 season in the state of hockey.

Corvette Season

Home at last and ready for a wash

The October summer toy storage is the first milestone marking the end of summer and the beginning of another northern winter. Bob's sadness is hard to bear and I'm always glad when the job is done.

The reverse is true in the spring when we make the trip to Isanti to pick up the Corvette and the boat. Bob's glee is contagious and I picture the little Corvette ready to escape the gray  shroud covering her in the Isanti barn. This year he did fret a little after learning about a "controlled burn" planned for area surrounding the building. He had a vision of the plastic body of the car melting merrily before a gas tank explosion.

Fortunately, fears were unfounded. Bob had his spring list ready and the main task was to reconnect the boat and Vette batteries. We were on our way in almost record time and I had pretty much -- finally, after all these years! -- memorized the route so I wasn't too nervous about getting home. The Corvette is fun to drive, even for a scaredy-cat like me.

That great "happily in control" feeling lasted about five minutes, until the seatbelt started to strangle me. At first, I thought I could get through the next hour, but the belt got tighter and tighter as I drove along. I fiddled with the lock and suddenly the whole damn thing flew off.

Rolling down the highway at 60 mph isn't the best time to mess with an unfamiliar seatbelt, but I did try valiantly for a few minutes. Then I began to rehearse my explanation to the police, just in case I was stopped for either a seatbelt violation or out-of-date plates (new plates and tabs were in an envelope on the passenger seat). We managed to hit a green light every time I might have tried to re-buckle, so I stopped worrying and finally buckled up a mile or so from home.

 The C6 Corvette is an electronic marvel. Assuming that the battery is charged, the push button start works as long as the fob is in on or near you. The only problem now is that the key fob system is acting up and for awhile Bob couldn't start the car. The Chevrolet dealer told Bob to have the car towed in for servicing!

He did get the car started and we fooled around unsuccessfully with the instructions for resetting the two key fobs, but at least the car is now in the garage and not sitting in the alley. Bob is replacing the license plate right now, and giving the key fob re-programming another try. I foresee a dealer appointment in our near future.

Veep

I loved Julia Louis Dreyfus in Seinfeld and enjoyed her role in The New Adventures of Old Christine. I don't know how I missed her latest role as Selina Meyer in Veep until I saw Season 3 advertised on TV last at the beginning of April.

I didn't even know we were HBO subscribers, and I certainly had no idea that I could watch TV online. I might have suspected that online watching was possible, but I had no earphones and didn't want to isolate myself in another room where I could turn up the sound.

Turns out Bob's earphones for his unused mp 3 player are a perfect fit, and I embarked on a weekend of binge watching, a first time experience for me.

A week later, I've finished Season 2. I haven't laughed so much since my annual Christmas Vacation intro to the holiday season. Veep characters actually remind me of people I once knew when I was a staffer in the Canadian House of Commons and the Minnesota House of Representatives.

Certainly "must watch" TV for any political junkie with a sense of humor.

Quebec General Election - April 7, 2014

I've lived in the United States for nearly 31 years, but I always feel a pang of something like regret whenever I follow a Canadian or Quebec election. It's a sense of missed opportunity to participate in building the future of Canada.

This passion and emotions surrounding this year's riveting Quebec general election reminded me of  November 15, 1976, when the Parti Québécois, Quebec's independence party, first came to power. It was one of the worst days of my life, partly because I wasn't on the voter roll and didn't vote in that election, but mainly because I drank far too much as I watched election returns well into the night.

For voters who favored the Parti Québécois, the next day was filled with euphoria and hope for a new, exciting future. For me, not so much. I woke up the next morning under a friend's dining room table. Literally -- the beginning of a three-day hangover and years of guilt for missing the election.

At the beginning of the last election campaign, I thought there was a good chance Premier Pauline Marois would get her majority government and move forward with isolationist policies that would culminate in yet another referendum.

That was until "star" PQ candidate Pierre-Karl Péladeau's right wing, anti-union positions clashed with the party's left leaning history. PKP created so much controversy that the Parti Québécois lost track of other campaign themes that might have seemed more attractive to the electorate.

I started to look for election results shortly after the polls closed on April 7 and was stunned that the Liberals gained a solid majority early on in the evening. The outcome of the election was a disaster for Marois and others who lost their seats. The Parti Québécois itself seems in disarray, with fewer seats than at any time in the last 35 years.

The jubilation of loyal Canadians was reminiscent of that long ago day in 1976 when Parti Québécois victors celebrated for days. The independence bullet has once again been dodged, but civil debate and respectful dialogue could provide many opportunities to identify and embrace common ground. The issue won't just "go away" until the sovereignty option seems unnecessary and undesirable

Ignatian Volunteer Corps

I like to put structure into my day, with the objective of achieving a balance between physical and mental activities. I tend to divide every day into a few hours of physical labor, some writing, keeping up with social media, and work on my photos. The beauty -- and major attraction -- of photography is that it requires so many physical and mental skills, while providing the opportunity to spend time outdoors.

For the last few months, I've also entertained the possibility of part-time work. One of the interesting opportunities was the Ignatian Volunteer Corps. Like many other American Catholics, I'm somewhat influenced by Pope Francis' charismatic personality, so I thought I'd check out the IVC, whose work is grounded in Jesuit spirituality. I met with the regional director on Tuesday and learned a little about the IVC's presence in the Twin Cities.

The idea of finding a match with one of the partner organizations is intriguing, but I'm reluctant to commit two full days a week to a project for ten months of the year, at least for now. Over the short term,  two books by Jesuits on my reading list: Jesus and Tattoos on the Heart.

First 70F Day since October

I didn't want to miss a minute of the warm day promised by Twin Cities weather forecasters. I was in shorts and a polo shirt by 9:30 a.m., determined to get "indoor work" out of the way before noon. I'm not quite caught up from the month away, but by the end of the morning the kitchen and bathrooms were clean, most carpeting was vacuumed. The irritating cat puke stains are still there ... it will take a professional carpet cleaning to resolve that particular problem.

Both Bob and I worked outside all afternoon. He washed the deck and deck furniture, and put a good dent into spring window cleaning. My main task was to remove the leaves insulating Bob's roses and my spring bulbs, a bigger job than it sounds.

I uncovered burgeoning daffodils and tulips, one of which I ruined with the rake, but most seem to be intact. I'm hoping that the daffodils' yellow foliage will soon turn green now that it's exposed. The bulbs planted too deep near the front of the house have yet to peek through the ground.

After filling full barrel with leaves, I started on another and added to it by picking up leaves that had drifted to the area between the back fence and the garage, and we made our first trip of the season to the compost site.

I ached all night from using muscles I'd forgotten about over the winter, but feel reasonably energetic this morning. Spring planting seems a long way off, despite recent balmy temperatures.

One Year Anniversary

A year ago today I worked my last day as a State of Minnesota employee. I had been preparing for several months, so my last day's activities were limited: last-minute emails, goodbyes, file purging; lunch with the MN.IT team @ Commerce; last log out and key card return; happy hour after work.

In retrospect, it seems that I spent many hours in the following weeks shoveling snow and cleaning house. Bob's knee replacement surgery seemed more all consuming than my own had been a few months earlier. Suddenly, summer was over and we set off on our awesome Grand Canyon trip. I spent much of the fall and early winter recovering from a nasty virus that knocked me off my feet in Ottawa, precluding a long anticipated visit to Montreal.

Despite all our misgivings, the Florida road trip was a great success. The winter of 2013-14 provided a lot of outdoor work and I realized that I am physically stronger than I was a year ago. I haven't published the online book I'd hoped to write ... but I do have several writing and photo projects in the works.

Happy to have the first year under my belt as I look forward to an active spring and summer.

Florida: Epilogue

Tulips and daffodils will soon be in bloom

After I hit 60, I often thought about this segment in the opening monologue of  a Jerry Seinfeld episode:

"My parents live in Florida now. They moved there last year. They didn’t want to move to Florida, but they’re in their sixties, and that’s the law. You know how it works. They got the leisure police. They pull up in front of the old people’s house with a golf cart, jump out, “Let’s go Pop, white belt, white pants, white shoes, get in the back. Drop the snow shovel right there. Drop it!”

Although we've occasionally entertained the idea, I don't think we'll be moving south anytime soon. The Florida road trip now seems like a distant memory, and I was really ready to come home to quiet St. Paul last week. Like true Minnesotans, we followed the weather in Midwest and across the continent while we were gone, and we had the impression we would be returning to the dead of winter, with five-foot snowdrifts in the yard.

In reality, we were a little stunned to see signs of spring everywhere, with the little remaining snow melting under a hot April sun. Of course, last Friday's blizzard felt like something of a setback, but the snow was already melting on Friday morning and by yesterday, it was almost gone. Some of the daffodils and tulips I planted last fall are peaking through the protective cover of leaves in the garden, and I am enjoying the long days, bathed in the glorious light of a Minnesota spring.

The temperature soared to the high fifties yesterday, as warm as a few of our days in Florida. Today the sun will shine on the Twins' home opener. Summer can't be too far off and I'm happy to be spending it in Minnesota.

Sochi: Border Battle

The most significant change  for me during these Olympics is that I can watch events live in a time zone 10 hours ahead of hours. I've logged hours watching events like skeleton, snowcross and women's bobsled, along with my favorite figure skating, ski jumping and giant slalom. Throw in hockey, both on TV and on my PC, and by now I am feeling a touch of Sochi OD.

For the most part, Bob and I enjoy the same events and cheer for the same competitors. The only hint of conflict comes when Canadian and US athletes are vying for the same medal. I've lived in the United States for over 30 years, but old loyalties remain and I just can't help supporting Canadian medal contenders.

On Thursday the Canadian hockey women defeated the US 3-2 in overtime. The US was ahead 2-0 until the last couple of minutes of the game, when Brianne Jenner's goal revitalized the Canadians. Marie-Philip Poulin, who scored the two goals in the Vancouver Olympics when Canada won gold, tied up the game with 56 seconds remaining and there was a little tension in the room as we waited for OT to begin. When Canada scored, I was jubilant. Bob, not so much. Marie-Philip Poulin scored the winning goal as well. A great victory for Canada.

On Friday, we spent several hours shoveling and blowing snow and were ready for the late morning start to the men's semi-final.  Jamie Benn scored the only goal of the game, giving Canada a 1-0 win against Team USA. I felt a little sorry for the lack luster Americans, especially because two of our Minnesota Wild players, Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, looked so dejected after the game.

Today Bob and I were both cheering for the US against the Finns in the bronze medal game. The outcome was a sad shock. Anaheim right-winger Teemu Selanne, 43 years old in his sixth Olympics,  led Finland to a 5-0 victory over Team USA and the Finns skated away with bronze medals.

Tomorrow Team Canada takes on Sweden.  I may be alone cheering for Team Canada -- so many Minnesota Swedes!

Polar Vortex

I heard on a weather update yesterday that it's been much colder than average most days since December 4. Sounds about right. I've had the inner layer zipped into my jacket since the week after Thanksgiving; most winters, I wear only the outer shell most days.

The first frigid cold spell broke in time for Christmas. I was keeping track of how many days of respite followed each week or so of bone chilling cold, but I gave that up awhile back. I lost interest when our temperatures didn't come close to breaking records. In January schools have been closed a couple of days, and shortly after the year began, even Rainbow Foods and other businesses closed early.  For some employees, the extreme cold has created the added hardship of reduced hours and income.

I feel confined to, and by, the house. Sometimes the outing of the day is grocery shopping or running a few errands. I wear a hat, scarf and warm mittens to shovel snow and clear the sidewalks. As I worked outside this morning, I thought about the very few times in my life when I've been really cold:

• frozen toes as a child from walking in deep snow in search of a Christmas tree
• frostbitten fingers from a holding an iced up rope tow as a young skier
• snowshoeing in too few layers for the weather
• skiing with Bob in Quebec City, when I couldn't keep my glasses fog free
• tent camping near Crosslake, when I froze in my light summer sleeping bag
• camping in Yellowstone National Park, when I couldn't warm up after falling in a frigid mountain lake

That's about it -- until now. I'm now remembering, a little wistfully, my hand wringing over global warming when we had a long run of positively balmy winters a decade or so ago.

As the number of tolerable indoor activities diminishes, that five o'clock cocktail hour is a very welcome little reward for making it through yet another sub-zero day.

Road Trip in the Deep Freeze

Early last week my friend Monica was looking for a volunteer to make a quick hop to Des Moines with her on Thursday, January 23.  I thought it would be fun to catch up with her and attend her presentation to the Central Iowa chapter of ARMA in Urbandale, a suburb of Des Moines. The topic was  information governance, specifically the impact on cloud computing on records management. Information management is one of my major interests, so I was looking forward to the event.

Earlier this week, temperatures began to fall and by yesterday morning the temperature outside our kitchen window was -18F, so I was somewhat less enthusiastic about spending at least eight hours on the road when Monica arrived to pick me up at 7:15 a.m.

 She's an excellent driver and we made good time, even though I35E was very busy in both directions. Fortunately, there were no drifts on the freeway and as we drove south, there was very little snow, a sharp contrast to the very snowy environment in and around the Twin Cities.

Monica's presentation was very well received and we had a good lunch at Mama Lacona's: salad, several kinds of thin crust pizza, lasagna, a variety of rolls and bread. Our server was the restaurant's general manager: very professional, attentive and pleasant. I was happy to be back in the familiar world of information management, if only for an hour on what was really a day on the road.

We stopped at Majestic Lion Antique Center on the way home and spent a pleasant hour walking through a large warehouse, full of antiques, memorabilia, old class photos, kitsch, and junk. I'm neither a shopper nor a collector, but I had fun looking though this eclectic collection. I was just a little tempted buy some old Fiestaware in colors and sizes that I don't have, but the last thing I need is more dishes, so I resisted the inclination to purchase.

Wind farm just east of I35E in northern Iowa.

The ride home was a little warmer -- above zero some of the time -- but the landscape was very bleak and monotonous for most of the 250-mile drive. The wind blew relentless across the freeway, powering the windmills in northern Iowa and southern Minnesota and I remembered the early autumn beauty of last September. Spring seemed so very far away.

Monica dropped me at the door shortly after 7:00 p.m. I was almost surprised that our long day had been so enjoyable. The frigid winter day on the road was great fun.

Estate Sale

Pre-dawn on the first day of the sale

Our neighbor's estate sale began yesterday at 9:00 a.m. and it concludes today at 3:00 p.m.

E. was our friend for many years, She and her family knew my husband and his first family for several decades before I moved into our house when Bob and I were married thirty years ago. Her wedding gift to me was a lace tablecloth that I used for a long time until one too many cats used it to slide across the Duncan Phyfe dining room table, not unlike this one but full of cat scratches, replaced with a more modern set about a decade ago. The furniture and the tablecloth would have fit in perfectly with E.'s estate sale offerings.

E. had moved to assisted living five or six years before she died eighteen months ago, so the house has been vacant for quite some time. When the family invited us to preview the items in the sale a few days ago, I felt very sad to see E.'s life laid out on every available surface in the house. E. & I shared a love for cats, and I was happy to be given a cat bookmark and a little, round china box with a black and white cat on it. When we got home after the viewing, my husband and I immediately began to clean house. We made several trips to the trash bin with buckets of garbage and polished off the afternoon with an excursion to the Goodwill.

We were unprepared for the onslaught of vehicles on our street yesterday morning. When I got up shortly after 6:00 a.m., cars were parked on both sides of the street, as far as I could see. By 8:30, a line of people stretched from E.'s house to the street, and the steady stream of people continued until the doors were locked at 3:00 p.m.

Yesterday, the serious collectors were out: WWII memorabilia, outboard motors, vintage magazines, ancient gardening tools, old books. We saw camping equipment from the fifties and garage shelving carried out to waiting trucks and SUVs. Our young neighbor bought some model railroad books from a half century ago and a newspaper section with a headline announcing VICTORY! after the Second World War.



People lined up all weekend

Today, leftover stock went on sale for 50% off. Several buyers were waiting at the door an hour before opening. Two hours before the estate sale ends, there's no place to park on the street and the house is being emptied by the bagful. A guy just walked by the window with a pair of older skis and poles. Even husband Bob went over, and came home with a cat carrier he bought for $2.50. I was actually very pleased, because the cat is too strong to stuff into her own small carrier, and this one will be more manageable.

E.'s tidy little house is full of strangers greedily shopping for a bargain. Just doesn't feel right.

Seinfeld: Party of 2500

Jerry Seinfeld 01.17.2014 - Orpheum Theatre

The Orpheum Theatre was filled to capacity Friday evening for the second of Jerry Seinfeld's three shows in Minneapolis. Looking around the audience, I saw a lot of AARP types, junkies of the old Seinfeld sitcom. Like me, they probably knew every Seinfeld episode and have seen most of them several dozen times.
I laughed for nearly two hours and woke several times during the night with lines from Seinfeld's fast-paced routine in my head. This NY Times item provides some interesting insight into how Jerry still tries out his jokes in NYC comedy clubs, obsessed about perfecting language, timing, gestures.

I loved this routine full of Jerry's quirky view of the world. Seinfeld has jokes on everything: cell phones, social media, other technology, death, pop tarts, and more.  My favorite segment was the bit on relationships and I enjoyed peering into the little window revealing tidbits about Seinfeld's personal life life, including his marriage, being a husband and father.

Warm-up comic Mario Joyner was a happy surprise as well. Highlights: a rant on his New Year's resolution to eliminate regional accents overestimating one's do-it-yourself abilities, "upscale" homeless in Santa Monica, California. This comic managed to address delicate issues with fairly inoffensive killer humor.

Magnetron

I an adept and frequent user of my microwave, and have been very happy with the over-the-range LG model that replaced my 10-year-old GE model last April. I was surprised, and a little shocked, when the machine suddenly quit working on day 2 of the New Year. I immediately called the manufacturer's customer service desk, and after a few simple diagnostic tests (like restarting the microwave and resetting the time), the agent authorized a service call covered under the warranty.

The two-week wait for a technician seemed a little long, but I decided to make the best of the situation and reverted to "the old ways":  I haven't forgotten how to use the oven and still know how to manage cooking times so that dishes are ready at the same time. My favorite recent meal of sautéed fresh salmon was just as good reheated at 350 degrees as it had been the previous evening.

I'm used to cleaning up as I work, and was a little dismayed that preparing the main course and side dishes simultaneously resulted in many more dishes at the end of the meal. Fortunately, Bob stepped in as cook's helper and clean-up was quick and efficient.

Nevertheless, I was counting down the days and literally jumped out of bed this morning, as excited as a kid at Christmas. I was dressed and outside clearing snow by 7:00 a.m., in case the technician arrived at the beginning of the 8-12 service window. Dustin, a good looking young man in the Air National Guard, was on the job shortly after 10:00 a.m.

After removing a few screws and performing a few minor tests, Dustin diagnosed a bad magnetron and diode, an easy repair. The bad news: the parts in his truck are mostly for old machines and he didn't have the parts for our newer microwave. The repair is now scheduled for January 29, and I'm simply resigned to waiting it out. I did enjoy learning that customers often get quite angry when told bad news, and, not for the first time, was happy that I no longer have to deal with end-user temper tantrums.

January 29: the parts arrived about a week ago and Kyle the Repair Guy was here shortly after 8:00 a.m. this morning. He removed the microwave from its over-the-range location and took it apart on the kitchen table. After replacing the magnetron, the  appliance still didn't work. Kyle looked at the wiring and found what looked like a burned out plastic terminator for a couple of wires. I reluctantly let him out the door to get parts from his truck, and the whole thing was soon back together and in place. Water heating test was successful!

The good news: I have a better command of the cooking workstation and I really know how to integrate stovetop, oven and microwave.  And I'll never again take my microwave for granted.

Two Thousand Fourteen

I love the clean slate of a new year and the "taking stock" exercise of New Year's Eve. 2013 has offered the usual mixed bag of experiences, with perhaps a few more milestones.

Transitions
My friend and sister of my heart, Mary Jo Jasicki, lost her fight with metastatic kidney cancer on March 2. I had been dreading that day throughout February as Mary Jo's health declined, but felt relieved in the early days after her death, knowing that her suffering had ended. However, grief is very sneaky and I've often found myself feeling sad, especially on what would have been  Mary Jo's 61st birthday on December 26.  Her daughter Hillary gave me an ornament from the family Christmas tree, and the little bird is a poignant reminder of all the fun Mary Jo and I had during the seventeen years of our happy friendship. Oh, how I miss her!

I've now completed  almost nine months of retirement. I'm beginning to "settle into it", able to appreciate the absence of task lists and the daily frustrations of life as a working person. I'm occasionally the same "driven" self, but I also savor the gift of time -- to notice the simple things of life and to embrace new experiences. I've learned to run a lawnmower and do some easy gardening. For the first time ever, I planted summer flowers and fall bulbs, and I catch myself thinking about unfamiliar matters like garden design.

Bob turned 75 in June and we celebrated our thirtieth wedding anniversary later that month. I've lived in beautiful Minnesota almost half my life! Happy years.

Loved my annual junket to southern Ontario in August, where I enjoyed in-person updates with my sister, Marilyn, as well as Stratford and McGill friends. In September, I flew to Ottawa to attend a reunion of friends from my hometown of Temiscaming, Quebec. I felt rejuvenated, amazed that the years melted away in the joy of reminiscing and catching up after nearly half a century. It was one of the year's highlights.

Seeing the USA in our Chevrolet
For the first time last March, we extended our usual week in Florida to fourteen days, and liked the extra week enough to plan on a month in 2014. This will be my first road trip to Florida, drawing on lessons learned during driving vacations of the last decade, most recently in September. Our visit to the Grand Canyon was nothing short of awesome, and I especially enjoyed our return to Colorado, where the mountains deliver not only spectacular views, but also serenity in the fragrant pine forests.

Pretty good health
Bob's knee replacement was very successful and I'm now approaching the four-year anniversary of my first knee replacement in 2011. I'm so happy now to have pain free sleep and knee joint stability that I've never had before. My multiple sclerosis (MS) also seems to be in remission, a hypothesis validated by the results of an MRI in mid-December. Both Bob and I feel pretty good, not just "for our age", but good in general.

Friends and Family
I'm grateful for the family and good friends who make life fun and interesting. I include my long distance friends as I give thanks for the gifts you share with such joy and generosity. I wish you all good things and many rich blessings in the New Year.

Birder Credentials

I spent many years avoiding any association with the odd people who chase through swamps and forests after birds. Everything about birders made me laugh: the sensible shirts tucked into long pants, the sturdy shoes, safari hats, bug spray sticking out out of rucksacks and backpacks. They always seemed to travel with heavy binoculars, complicated cameras and a library of field guides. The total package reminded me of the many eccentrics I know and like, but I was damned sure I wasn't going to be one of them.

And then I picked up photography as a hobby, a few bird pictures found their way into my albums. The first subjects were shore birds in Florida, some of which were snowbirds from Minnesota. One thing led to another, and I signed up for a bird watching walking tour in Ixtapa, Mexico, where I had fallen in love with the sound of the chachalaca bird in the woods surrounding Las Brisas resort, a beautiful remote hotel on the Gulf of Mexico. Then my sister gave me an elaborate bird feeder and the rest is ... history.

The other day I went out after a snowstorm to haul bird food from the garage to the feeder. I was wearing a hat and scarf that concealed much of me, the part that didn't look crazy. I carried a white bucket full of seed and suet in one hand, and a long gardening trowel-like implement in the other. I used the trowels to ease one of the feeders off its hook for refilling.

A fashionably dressed dog walker with a handsome black lab passed by on the far side of the street. As the dog stopped for the usual reason, his companion watched me work at the feeder. I could picture myself, standing in my old jeans and work boots, hair an uncombed mess full of snow. working out of a bucket like a fishwife doing hard time. The pair moved on. I hoped -- vaguely -- that the man didn't know me.

Yesterday I headed out on a walk with my camera, hoping to take a few shots of holiday decorations in our Saint Paul neighborhood. I strayed off the sidewalk spotted a handsome red tailed hawk in a tall tree in the grounds of the Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity. I moved closer through the deep snow to see if I could get a better shot, and was soon the only figure in the middle of the woodsy property, watching the hawk fly off.

I traipsed through the snowy woods to Mississippi River Boulevard, but had to walk on the side of the road because I was afraid of falling head first in the snow if I attempted to climb the snowbank over to the path. I moved along as energetically as I could, well aware that I very much fit the birder profile: practical clothes, darkened transition lenses, camera case around my neck, camera in one hand.

I got to the path through the parking lot off Summit, and was soon gazing upward at what seemed to be a winter robin in a nearby tree. A young woman in a short red skirt and black jacket went by and looked quickly at me before she sped off on her walk. I felt just a little embarrassed.

Merry Christmas to All

Generations are numbered: children (2); grandchildren (3); great grandchildren: (4).

1.       Scott Hennessey  (2) and his granddaughter, Lanaya (4) who will be a kindergartner next fall.

2.       Mary Norman (2) visited in September from Fresno. We had lunch at McGovern’s on the patio.

3.       Jim Muñoz at Grand Old Day in June. We went to the parade with Jim and Sonia’s family, a little nervous because it was Bob’s first major outing after successful knee replacement surgery at the end of April. We had a great time!

4.       Sonia Muñoz (2) at McGovern’s, during Mary Norman’s visit.

5.       Bob and I spent a few weeks in Florida last March. My camera was on the end of a picnic table and I ran around to get myself in the time delayed shot. We’ll be back in St. Pete Beach for the entire month of March 2014.

6.       Bob and his three sons (2), John, Scott, and Chris. This photo was taken at the Nauti Hawg in Diamond Bluff last October. The beach was lined with vintage HydroStream boats.

7.       Trudy and John Hennessey (2) at my favorite restaurant, Luci Ancora for a celebration of my 63^rd birthday on August 10.

8.       Mary Norman (2) with her son Tyler (3), in Los Angeles for Tyler’s 17^th birthday weekend.

9.       Minou, our little Russian Blue cat, the real boss of the house.

10.   Chris Hennessey (2) on a late season St. Croix boat run. John Hennessey (2) is in the background.

11.   Ben Serwe and Dana Muñoz (3) will be married in Madison in July 2014. This picture was taken at Grand Old Day in June.

12.   Janet Schlichting (2) with her dad on Janet’s birthday in July. We had a great visit and very enjoyable lunch.

13.   Chris Hennessey (2) with his aunt, Marilyn Marshall, during Marilyn’s December visit to Minnesota.

14.   Scott Hennessey’s partner, Meggan Kerkenbush, with Kait Hennessey (3) and her twins, Kameron and Kamillah (4).

15.   We celebrated three big milestones in 2013, my April retirement from the State of Minnesota after 23 years, Bob’s 75^th birthday and our 30^th wedding anniversary. This early summer shot was taken outside Axel’s in Mendota Heights: Scott Hennessey (2), Meggan Kerkenbush, Trudy Hennessey, Mitchell Hennessey (3), John Hennessey (2), Adam Hennessey (3), Bob Hennessey.

16.   Adam Hennessey (3) drove Chris’ HydroStream on a chilly October afternoon on the St. Croix.

17.   During my sister Marilyn’s visit, we jumpstarted the holidays with a little family gathering. Will Kaphing (4) is pictured here with his mom and dad, Angie Muñoz-Kaphing (3) and Mike Kaphing.

18.   Kaitlyn Hennessey’s son Marcus (4) with John Hennessey (2) and Mitchell Hennessey (3).

19.   Tiffany Schlichting (4) with her grandparents, Mark and Janet Schlichting (2), on Mille Lacs.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Bob and Catherine

2013 Hennessey Christmas Tree

The Hennessey Christmas Tree

Since we bought an artificial tree about a decade ago, the tree looks similar every year, with its perfect shape and evenly spaced lights. The ornaments are pretty much the same too, though I add a few each Christmas, and lose a couple to breakage. The ritual itself -- this year a four-hour marathon during the Vikings-Bears football game -- becomes a little more emotional with the passage of time.



Bernard and Bianca from Rescuers Down Under

The ornament collection is eclectic. I've occasionally been tempted to do a "theme" tree (a color, or type of ornament) but I would miss my favorites too much: the handmade ones created by one of Bob's children before we were married, Chris' little boy creations, Santas, cats (especially the pretty Siamese from Katie Marshall several decades ago), colored glass balls bought at a pharmacy in 1983, an Avon wreath given to me by Bob's late sister Donna, the Griswold Family Christmas cardboard circle, sparkly Christmas barrettes that I discarded after I saw Catherine wearing one on National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, end-of-season items bought for 10% of their original inflated price.

I always look forward to Rescuers Down Under characters Bernard and Bianca, a long ago Burger King premium, and Rudolph and Clarice, Montgomery Ward's freebies with the purchase of Rudolph the Reindeer books oh so many ears ago. By the time I get this far, I'm usually feeling nostalgic and teary, especially if I've knocked back a glass or two of wine. This year, because of the football game, I was enjoying a Coors Light rather than wine, but the sense of sentimental proximity to the people associated with the ornaments.



Mary Jo's bird tops the tree this year

Rudolph and Clarice

I leave the treetop ornament for the very end. I don't have a "real" topper, so it changes every year -- a flower, a star, or an angel worthy of promotion to the top. This Christmas, the treetop is a little bird that once graced the tree of my good friend, Mary Jo Jasicki, who died last March. Mary Jo's daughter Hillary gave me the ornament about a month ago, knowing that her mother and I shared a love for birds.

Little Minou recognizes the tree and likes to rest under the branches. The year is unfolding as it should.



Chiropractic for Unbelievers

All my life I thought chiropractors were quacks. However, a few years ago I developed worsening upper back and shoulder pain on my left side after I changed jobs. For some reason, the position of the chair, work surface, keyboard and mouse seemed to combine to create a painful workstation and, soon, non-stop cramping from below my left shoulder all the way up to my ear.

On Good Friday 2012, I sat in church listening to the reading of the Passion, in so much pain that I absent mindedly picked up the Easter bulleting. An ad for Caron Chropractic caught my attention. I endured a painful Easter weekend and called the office on Monday. I could have had an appointment the same day, but my schedule was such that I had to wait until a few days later. I felt immediate relief after my first session and returned twice. Since then, I've returned for an "adjustment' three times, most recently for two sessions in October. Each appointment follows the same pattern.

Electrical Stimulation I think of the first treatment as the "electrocution phase" -- what the clinics calls electrical stimulation -- administered in a dimly lighted room with three or four treatment tables.  Electrodes dipped in gel are placed on two affected points. In my case, one is under my left shoulder blade and the other is high on my neck. I lie on a padded table, with a pillowed support under my knees. The assistant fires up the current. and I let her know when it's strong enough. I like it good, strong and hot. I love hot electrical vibrations outlining my shoulder blade, like a strong, narrow shower spray. I'm always sorry when the current stops and I have to get up from the table.

Adjustment The adjustment is done in a private treatment room on a chiropractic table. I lie on my stomach and  the chiropractor uses a combination of manual adjustments and gravity, as sections of the table drop away, by design. I find the adjustment somewhat painful, but it feels as though the right parts in my back are moving. I then lie on my back and my neck is twisted, somewhat noisily. The neck twists feel good but I'm soon sitting on the side of the table.

Activator This is the hammer phase, using the activator technique. The chiropractor uses the activator device to administer rapidly delivered blows to the affected area, causing cramps and muscle spasms to resolve. The literature on this one is mixed, but I like the pounding and feel very relaxed afterward.

I suspect that the success of chiropractic treatment is highest for ailments like mine, caused by repetitive stress and long hours of sitting or working in the same position. I would be less inclined to submit to an adjustment if I had denegerative disk disease or osteoporosis. For me, though, chiropractic care is a great addition to my health care arsenal.

Delayed Humor

Now that I'm retired, I clean a little every day rather than in a marathon session on Friday evening or Saturday morning. Last Sunday, I decided to touch up the upstairs bathroom before my shower.

A minute or so into my session, I grabbed the can of cleanser and the bottom immediately popped out. Most of a large ("20% more, free") can landed in a little green mountain between the toilet and the vanity. The rest sprayed on toilet, in the sink, on my nightie and  in my hair. The air was full of a light green dust and I soon smelled chlorine as I inhaled some of the residue.

There was so much to clean up that I immediately picked up a couple of handfuls and dumped them in the toilet, sink and bathtub. I swept most of the rest of it up into a large paper bag, and was working on the stubborn little deposits in various cracks when Bob arrived to survey the damage.

By this time I was whimpering, but my tears turned to sobs when he very sensibly got out the vacuum cleaner and easily removed any evidence of cleanser. Why hadn't I thought of that? I looked in the mirror and cried some more at the disheveled, crazy looking woman with tears running down her  dusty face.  Then I finished the cleaning job I'd begun forty-five minutes before, rinsed the cleaner off my feet and took a shower.

Bob's attempts at humor were rejected and we went on, more or less happily, with our day. This morning I did laugh a little when I opened a brand new can of cleanser, with a very solid bottom.

AARP Discount: Senior Driving Course

I have always avoided carrying my AARP membership card, not wanting it to appear with any prominence when I open my wallet. But what the hell, I'm never reluctant to "ask for the discount", so I put the card in my wallet. I used it on Wednesday when I showed up for my AARP senior driving class at the West Seventh Community Center.

Bob took the class when he was first eligible a number of years ago, but I was never willing to take a day off work, even for a 55+ discount. I recently learned that I could do the class online, but I though an "in person" class would be preferable: I am strong on knowledge but weak on real understanding.

I expected my classmates to be old ladies with thick glasses, and was somewhat surprised that many were younger than I am. And while I did indeed know a lot of the material, most students -- men and women -- obviously did a lot more driving that I do. And they're not afraid of freeways and unfamiliar routes either. So I did feel a little deflated after the first day.

I learned a lot more than expected: how to adjust my mirrors to compensate for the blind spot, the 3-second rule that hadn't made much sense before and, most useful to me, road signs. I hadn't realized that signs and color and shape coded (duh). There's a standard for road symbols in the United States and many of these are actually universal. Minnesota signs conform to the standards, and MNDOT has some easy to understand guidelines.

I've been trying to apply what I've learned, and find that I'm more aware of my surroundings. The real test will be to deliberately put myself in a challenging situation, like the exit from Highway 36 to Fairview in Roseville, where Bob so easily moved over to the far left lane, swiftly and in complete safety.

Embarrassed to admit that after thirty years, I realize that since I know how to get to Rosedale, I could be able to get anywhere in the city of Roseville. Double duh!

October Ritual

Bob backs the Corvette into the barn

The annual trip to storage in Isanti has been on my mind most of the week, knowing that I would be driving the Corvette for the first time and should practice a little, but no. I've been quite content to be the passenger, free to take pictures and enjoy the ride.

Bob got the boat and Vette ready yesterday and all I had to do this morning was drive the vehicle out of the garage. One of my main problems is that even after twenty years of making this same trip twice a year, I still can't remember the route, so I have to keep Bob in view to avoid getting hopelessly lost. I felt a little better today, though, in spite of the intermittent rain.

The first challenge is to get on busy I-94 about a mile from our house. Even at 8:00 a.m. on a Saturday, that damn freeway is full of cars going  ... where? The freeway entrance is followed by a quick exit to Highway 280, where traffic from the right merges fast and furious. The rain was increasing in intensity by the time we crossed the border into Roseville, and I felt so tempted to simply turn around and go home. Try again on a better day. That, however, was not an option and besides, I was getting used to the feel of the Corvette.

Fortunately, I had instructions in operating the windshield wipers because I really needed them. As the sky darkened, I expected my lights to go on, but they didn't, so I fumbled for the switch which was, thankfully, right next to the steering wheel.  By the time we turned off on County Road 7 near Andover, I was riding in luxurious comfort. That little car drives beautifully in every respect.

We glided into Anderson Berry Farm before 9:30 a.m. Bob parked the boat and then the Vette. After all these years, our relationship with the owners is relaxed and friendly. Storage day every October is reminder that winter is crowding in as yet another year flies by.

A few months from now, maybe during a winter thaw, Bob will start counting the weeks till the toys come home.

Promise of Spring

Hoping for one hundred beautiful tulips and daffodils in 2014
 

I've never been a gardener. In fact, apart from a few avocado bulbs planted in my kitchen 40 years ago, I'd never tried to grow anything until last summer, when Bob was recovering from surgery and unable to do his usual work in the garden. I filled six planters and two small flower beds under Bob's direction last spring, fully expecting failure in my modest, tentative efforts.

I was surprised when the flowers not only grew but flourished. I began to think, not for the first time, about trying my luck with a few spring bulbs. My sister Marilyn, an experienced and accomplished gardener, gave me a few simple directions for daffodils and tulips, that I would plant deep enough to avoid disturbance by the squirrels that own our property.

The first part of October was like summer, but the weather was a little chilly yesterday so I finally bought the bulbs, knowing that winter could begin anytime and I'd better get the job done. This morning, I set out my supplies and tools: the 56 tulips and 45 daffodils, fertilizer (instead of bone meal, because Menard's was sold out), an old shower curtain for the earth I would dig up, a large spade, an heavy fork-like tool about 5 inches wide that made me thing of a grappling iron, a bucket for weeds.

I attacked the first plot on the west side of the house with energetic enthusiasm and had soon shoveled a great deal of earth onto the shower curtain. I mapped out three triangles: one for daffodils, one for tulips, and a third triangle with both tulips and daffodils to create some unity in the space. Bob arrived just as I finished my second triangle. He observed that I had dug much deeper than the planned six inches, and returned with a tape measure to prove it. Too late. I was committed to the depth. I felt a little deflated, though, and a little tired as well.

I got almost half the bulbs in that area and covered them up with the earth on the shower curtain. On to the next section of garden, between the roses on the east side of the house. This time I didn't use the shower curtain. I had run out of steam and had only enough energy for four or five shallow  holes between the rose bushes, and to make matters worse I was getting very hot and my damp hair hung in strings over my eyes.

In my eagerness to get the job done, I now worked in in a careless and sloppy way. Since I really can't kneel down because of the knee surgeries, I leaned my head against the cool stucco and pawed my way down to the earth. I pricked my fingers with rose thorns and got a few of them caught in my hair. After burying a couple of handfuls of bulbs in the first hole, pointy side up, I stepped back to admire my work and stepped on the large fork leaning against the house. The handle bounced off the wall and hit my head with surprising force, making me feel like a candidate for Funniest Home Videos. I went on to the second hole, then stepped on the fork again, this time bopping myself into what felt like a near concussion.

The sun was shining brightly by the time I finally finished the planting, with each group of bulbs, tulips and daffodils in each hole, each one a little shallower than the one before. Finally at the end of the ordeal, I stole some earth from the day lilies to spread over the bulbs, in an attempt to compensate for the shallow beds. I watered the earth with the hose and managed to spray myself in the face, but fortunately the neighbors weren't in evidence.

The whole project took me over two hours and tonight, I feel unfamiliar aches in strange places. Marilyn tells me bulbs are very adaptable (idiot proof?), so I'm daring to hope for a small measure of success next April.

Seen a Brute Barrel Lid?

Fall clean-up is in full swing. We have an old oak in our yard that has delivered tons of acorns this year. As soon as they were edible, the squirrels took over the tree and began biting off small branches filled with acorns. Several times a day from early August until about ten days ago, I swept the deck and picked up the yard, filling barrels of leaves for the compost site. The squirrels got fat on the acorns, until only the caps were left on the grass.

By last weekend the last acorn had been eaten or buried for later consumption. I raked hundreds of pounds of acorn caps into three large barrels, and we hoisted them into the Traverse for a trip to the compost site. Since the load was heavy and somewhat damp after three days of persistent rain, our goal was to get in and out as quickly as possible. My job was to get the barrels back in the vehicle after Bob dumped them.

Not surprisingly, I fell short. Got the barrels back in but somehow missed the lid to a pricey Brute 44-gallon container. After we got home, I sprung into action to do some inside clean-up, and had a toilet brush in my hand when Bob came in from the garage, announcing mournfully that a lid was missing and he was returning to the composite site.

No luck. He spent the afternoon wondering whether the lid had been stolen or was simply buried under mounds of leaves and other lawn muck. I knew there would be no peace until we returned -- together -- for yet another look. Bob emerged from the garage with a heavy, rusted vintage spade, the kind you see gravediggers use in old movies.

Our neighbor asked if we were going to dig for gold. I almost said, "No, just a trip to the cemetery", but resisted the impulse. On to the compost site. As we approached, I commented that we could just ask the attendants, a man and woman in bright orange vests, if someone had turned in a garbage can lid. "Oh, I've already done that", said Bob. As we pulled up, the couple looked over with interest.

We were the only vehicle present, and the rain was beginning to fall again. Quite a bit more yard waste gad accumulated since our first visit several hours earlier. Bob opened the tailgate and lifted the shovel from the vehicle. He started in where I thought we had dumped our waste. The attendants were laughing merrily and I put my head down, fearing recognition.

Bob's efforts yielded nothing. My husband insisted that I scan the entire site for a propped up lid, waiting for reclamation by its rightful owner. Nothing. We concluded that our precious lid had been stolen. Several hours later, we were on our way to dinner when we passed the compost site once again. Bob was still looking for the lid, this time along the roadway.

In the week since the incident, Bob is still lamenting the loss of the lid. Somehow, though, life has gone on without any perceptible degradaion.

Managing a Chronic Health Condition

When friends occasionally ask me how my MS is doing, I think they're hoping for "great" or, at least, "fine", and that's what they get. I'm fairly sure that most are not interested in the day-to-day challenges of living with multiple sclerosis.

The routine is easier to manage since I retired. I often used to find myself totally out of energy early in the afternoon, and even the walk to the parking ramp was daunting, just because of couple of stairs and a skyway with a slight incline. I was sometimes so tired walking in the door that the prospect of making dinner seemed like an insurmountable task. Today, I can change the day's pace if I've undertaken too much and a 10-minute break helps revive me. The simple idea that I can manage my time has reduced my anxiety level.

I will soon reach the 10-year milestone. In the decade since my diagnosis, I've progressed from being furious most of the time to some measure of acceptance. The anxiety of dealing with this damn disease every day has taken its toll, but I've also learned a few useful lessons along the way:

• I'm lucky to have relapsing-remitting MS. It's treatable with one of the disease modifying drugs (in my case, interferon beta 1a, an IM injectable marketed as Avonex).
• For me, it seems to be best to minimize the number of drugs I use. For most of these 10 years, Avonex has been my only drug. I did experiment with a couple of medications for "MS fatigue", but they made me jumpy and didn't do anything for that debilitating lassitude that sometimes hits at inopportune times.
• Life is full of daily choices. I prefer to err on the side on "moderate risk" and go for the change-up. Keeps life interesting.

Cycle Therapy

I've ridden a bike all my life but unusual circumstances this summer have provided new insights. Bob's knee surgery has kept him from resuming his regular rides because of challenges getting on and off the bike. Instead, we've been riding around the neighborhood, never more than a mile or so from home on familiar streets.

Unexpected bonus: these little junkets have given me the opportunity to improve my own basic skills, always deficient but ignored until this summer. I didn't even notice the change until last week, when I realized that I could complete a circle or U-turn without putting my foot down. I can also start off on one push and stand up on the bike, easily stop and start without wobbling, get on and off without worrying too much about catching my foot -- very simple but important skills that weren't really up to par.

I've always been afraid of car traffic but find that my ability to see and hear cars has improved now that I'm more comfortable on the bike. And my own left knee, ten months out from total knee replacement surgery, seems to be better every day. Looking forward to being  more confident when Bob gets back to "real" riding soon.

Not a Merry Maid

Yesterday morning I decided to vacuum in the corners and under the beds, a mix of carpet (mostly) and wood flooring. I usually do only a quick job with the upright vacuum cleaner, neglecting the stairs and the upstairs because the machine is too heavy to carry up the stairs.

The Eureka vacuum with the hose and various accessories sits in Bob's closet, for the most part unused. I thought I'd have trouble putting together the pieces but, in fact, everything went together quite easily. I got a little cocky backing down the stairs and misjudged the bottom step for the landing, losing my balance and beginning a fall backward, perilously close to the window on the landing. Fortunately, I caught myself and disentangled my feet from the hose and cord and power cord. The cord came out of the outlet and I decided to plug the machine downstairs.

Bob noticed the commotion and showed me how to use the tools, one a small "sucker" that works well on stairs. Bob fired up his favorite supervisory role and I slugged through the vacuuming. Not signing up for any outside jobs.

If Football, then Fall

CDH Football Practice August 16, 2013

Nothing signals the approach of fall like the beginning of the football season. Late Friday morning, Bob was working with a customer at Cretin Derham Hall so I walked over to the CDH field to watch a practice. Most of the boys looked young and slight, so I guessed that I was looking at one of the junior teams, probably not the champion Raiders -- always contenders in their conference.

Voices raised for projection purposes; no yelling or abusive comments. So much mutual respect among coaches and players. I'm a fairly recent convert to football but it was easy for me to follow the offensive and defensive drills and mini trip through the playbook.

I left the practice at about noon, around lunch break. I felt uplifted, joyful and full of hope for the future. Good luck in 2013, CDH Raiders.

Faire mon Steinberg

"Grocery shopping" sounds so boring -- not the kind of thing I'd want to do on a regular basis. I still think of it as "faire mon Steinberg" -- what many women called grocery shopping back in the 1970s when we shopped at neighborhood Steinberg markets in Montreal.

The last time I was responsible for the task my primary focus making sure I had supplies for nutritious children's meals and school lunches. Bob took over the job sometime in the late nineties and I've always been somewhat critical and decidedly ungrateful.

When asked to contribute to the grocery list, I usually declined, knowing perfectly well that Bob wouldn't even know where to find hummus, goat cheese or farro. Turns out I am really good at targeted buying (a few ingredients for a specific recipe) or wandering through the farmer's market, buying until I my arms are full of delicious fruits and vegetables.

I realized over the first six weeks or so following Bob's surgery that I had to learn to shop for meals rather than simply pick up items that appealed to me. I gained new respect for the job Bob had done all those years.

Now I've got the best of the old and new worlds. Bob has resumed management of the grocery list but I go along and am the "go-fer" in the store, finding coupon items, specials and promotions. I also pick out my own favorite foods and drop them in the cart. I've become an expert at unloading; bagging, not so much -- that's Bob's job.

I now know where everything is in the fridge, a surprise benefit. I'll crack open that classic hummus container when I make lunch today.