I’ve Been Meaning to Ask…

What is this? It's in a birch tree in our front yard.


Theories (in no particular order):
1) The sac is filled with what will eventually be a bajillion baby spiders.

2) A caterpillar made a wish and said “hey, supersize me!”

3) Beneath the silk, there is a writhing ball of centipedes.

4) Some bird is decorating early for Halloween.

5) There is a huge nest of worms in there, which will soon die and be littered all over the lawn.

6) It’s an alien pod of some sort.

What’s your vote? Can anyone provide an actual explanation?

Riders on the Storm

Well, this week started off with a bang, literally. We had quite a storm lastnight that came to a head around 1:30AM, complete with extremely loud cracks of thunder that almost made me jump right out of bed. The lightning occurred simultaneously, so the storm was upon us, and by the sound of it you’d think it was literally camped out on our roof. The electricity flickered a couple of times, then shut off completely. The thunder passed but the rain poured down for quite a few more minutes. In the meantime I traveled downstairs to retrieve my cell phone so I had some kind of alarm, just in case. I then made the obligatory visit to the bathroom, and out the window witnessed the downpour and the eerie pinkish cast of the nighttime sky.

I returned to bed but found it difficult to sleep without the breeze and the gentle hum of the fan. Just as I was about to finally fall sleep I experienced a tremendous itch at the base of my right thumb, and upon inspection by the blue light of the cell phone, discovered I had been bitten by something. Great. Nothing I love more than knowing there is some kind of bug in my bed. Normally under such circumstances I would go sleep in the other room, before I start getting visions of centipedes crawling all over my body in my sleep. But the comfort of my own personal space heater was appealing on this stormy night, and besides, he could serve as a back-up alarm clock in case the cell phone didn’t work. So I shook out the pillows, hopefully depositing the offender somewhere off the bed.

The rain stopped and all was silent, except for Husband, whose snoring was particularly raucous lastnight (in his defense, we’ve both been fighting colds). I forget how much the fan drowns it out! The rain started up again and I finally fell asleep. The last time I looked at my phone it was 2:47AM. I awoke at 6:05, about 5 minutes ahead of the alarm, and still we had no electricity. So I showered and dressed in the darkness, and tried to air-dry my hair as best as possible (needless to say as you can expect, I am looking quite foxy today). I called the electric company and they said our whole neighborhood was out, and they are usually back up and running within a 4-hour timeframe, but by then about 5 hours had passed, and she had been given no inclination of when service might be restored. So I hope we don’t return home from work today to a warm house and a bunch of rotten food.

Happy Monday.

Update: Looks like the electricity came back on around 8AM this morning, about 40 minutes after I left for work! Everything is back to normal, didn't have to throw anything out.

Summer Slips Away

We started out the weekend by ditching an overnight camping trip (too many reasons to list here), and opting to have Jacquie and Alex over to our house instead. Given the recent chilly weather, Husband decided he wanted to make his first chili of the season. He is famous for his chili, and this was no exception. So we filled our bellies and had a wonderful time just sitting around chatting and laughing, largely fueled by conversations like this:

[talking about the Minnesota Vikings]
Husband: "...second back-up quarterback is 'Typhus' something..."
Alex: "Typhus, that's nice. An infectious disease."
Brandon: "He should be on defense."
Alex: "Yeah, tackled by Typhus..."

[speaking of infectious diseases...]
Husband: "Is the flu as big of a deal down there [in Florida] as it is up here?"
Alex: "A little, but not as much, because in the winter we can be outside more...when you guys are inside just...touching each other."
Husband: "That's why it's good to live here, man!"

As we laughed into the night, the talk of football and more "chili dates" filled our heads with the promise of crisp autumn afternoons, falling leaves and college football. Summer is almost over!

Saturday we attended a party celebrating our friend Gretchen's 30th birthday, and the recent completion of her 4-year degree. It was a great time and a beautiful evening to sit around the bonfire and chat with friends. Again, the cool evening and talk of the kids going back to school had us thinking of summer's end.

Today is a lazy day...hope everyone is enjoying their last days of summer!

Straight Down I-35

This past weekend I drove down to Des Moines for my annual state fair trip. Each year my college girlfriends and I get together for lunch and playtime with the kiddos. It's great fun to see all the kids in one place, and see how much they've grown. We missed Dana and her family this year (her kids were sick), but will hopefully see them soon.

Part of this whole reunion is, of course, a trip to the Iowa State Fair on Saturday night. Just the ladies. We drink, we eat, we talk, we walk through a few buildings, we people watch, and we seek out some kind of free entertainment. This year was no exception. Highlights were the "Hillbilly Homebrew;" pork chop on a stick and a delicious frozen banana treat called a Monkey Tail; conversations about giving birth spurned by a walk through an animal building where a mama cow was doing just that very thing; outstanding mullet and crazy t-shirt sightings; and then came the main attraction...lucky (?) for us...one of the free concerts that night was 1980s sensation Loverboy.

It started out kind of rough, we didn't know any of the songs. As my friend Amy A. said, "well, at least we're still too young for something!" But soon we began to recognize some of the songs, maybe when they hit the late 80s repertoire? "Hot Girls in Love" had us singing along (it may not sound familiar right away, but you probably know it). By "Turn Me Loose" we were standing on the bleachers and feeling the Loverboy love. Whether it was the music or the 32oz. margarita, no one can be sure. Regardless, they closed out the show with "Workin' for the Weekend," and we felt satisfied. An encore including "Lovin' Every Minute of It" (which I had no idea was their song) capped it off. Surprisingly, the lead singer, despite "looking like a punchline waiting to happen" (thanks Amy V.) could still really sing. It was an experience.

Sunday before heading home I did some shopping and had lunch with my little bro, Justin. I also stopped by his new apartment and met his pretty new cat, Paisley. It was a very nice end to the trip. But really, it's pretty hard to top Loverboy.

Seriously?

I am continually amazed by my stepson. I vary between incredulity and hilarity, comfort and confusion. Brandon has been staying with us since Tuesday night, which is highly unusual since he's usually at his mom's during the week. We haven't even hit the weekend yet, and I've got a couple of gems for you...

#1

Brandon's been spending a lot of time alone during the day, because we have to like, work. So I asked him if he could find some time to do a chore that I requested of him a few weeks ago, which involved going through some clothes and sorting out what doesn't fit. I did a preliminary sort and put the questionable items in the very bottom drawer to make it easy for him. My main motivation for this request was to make some additional room, because I'm tired of seeing the stacks of clean clothes on top of the dresser or on the floor. The secondary motivation is that we're getting close to pants season, and we can't have the kid walking around in highwaters, now can we?

I don't pretend to have this good of a memory, so the following is paraphrased from lastnight when I got home:

"Did you sort through your clothes today?"

After a look kind of like this he said, "Uh, I'll do it right now." (runs upstairs, returns 10 minutes later)

After grilling him about where he put the discards, I said:

"Now, did you put the other clothes back in the drawer?"

"Yes I did. They're even still feld."

"They're what?"

"They're still feld, I kept them feld!"

"You mean folded?"

"Yeah, whatever! I know everyone says folded but that's wrong! It's feld." (FYI I did confirm the spelling)

Now that's one I haven't heard before.

#2

Anyone familiar with Homestyle Bakes? Comes in a box, usually has noodles and a couple of cans of sauce and veggies to throw in a dish and bake. So easy the kid can make them, doesn't taste terrible, and has been known to feed all three of us modestly on any given night. At least that's what I remember.

I came home from work today, and noticed that Brandon had made a bake for lunch. I knew this because per usual, the dirty dish was still on top of the stove. The unusual thing was there was not much left in the dish. In fact, nothing left in the dish.

HE ATE THE WHOLE THING. Himself. For lunch. 9x9 dish, 2-3 inches deep.

Where does he put it? Me thinks a(nother) growth spurt is impending. Let's hope for some filling out instead of just UP.

Happy Birthday, Dear Blog

Hey, I just realized that I've been blogging for over a year! My first blog was on August 1, 2006.

I figure it's time for a check-in. Who reads this thing? Leave me a comment - and remember you don't have to sign in to do it. Just click comment, click "other" and enter your name, or remain anonymous. Time to come out of the woodwork!

Island Invasion

Well, we're back from our little vacation to Lake Vermilion, and it was great. Although we didn't catch many fish (I personally only brought in one very small bass), we had a wonderful time out on the water and around the campfire. It was relaxing to get back to nature and just hang out with Husband and our friend Lowell.
Each year we go up to Lake Vermilion we camp on an island in the middle of the eastern part of the lake. One benefit of this is we don't have to worry much about bears, wolves, raccoons, etc. (although a deer did swim out one year and scare the heck out of me). This year was no different, except we did have to deal with critters of another sort.

Friday night before going to bed, Lowell grabbed our bag of groceries and put it in his tent in case of rain. The next morning he had a tale to tell.

In the middle of the night he heard noises, like something running across the roof of the tent. He thought they were just bugs, but when shining the flashlight on the ceiling, he saw four tiny feet and a white belly. A mouse! Soon joined by another...until there were two mice running all over his tent, up between the rain fly and the walls and ceiling of the actual tent. Unable to sleep for fear of them getting inside, he did what he could to get them to go away, including punching at the tent to get them off. It was a bit humid that night, and Lowell made the comment that it smelled like a bakery in the tent. I guess the mice were hungry! Needless to say, he didn't get much sleep. I did hear some weird noises that night from our tent, but had no idea that it was Lowell punching his tent to get rid of mice! The mice made another appearance Saturday night in our woodpile, and beneath Husband's chair around the fire.

I know what you're thinking...how did the mice get on the island? (FYI this is a very small island) No idea. Do mice swim? Did they make it all the way across the frozen water in the winter without getting picked off by a hawk? It seems more likely that they were brought on somehow. It may be tied to the exorbitant amount of garbage that previous island-goers left behind. Grr.

Another challenge we faced this trip were the bugs. As soon as we arrived and started walking around, we realized we were stirring up hoards of flying bugs that were hanging out in the trees. They left us alone when we were in the middle around the campfire, so we didn't think much of it. Saturday morning, however, around 5:30AM, we awoke to a massive hum. It was these bugs, orchestrating a symphony of simultaneous buzzing. It dissipated as the morning went on, and we went about our business. Saturday evening, when we returned to the island around dusk, the buzz was astoundingly loud, and you could see huge clouds of these things hovering near the tops of the trees. It was kind of freaky, and it seemed there were more of them than the day before. Anywhere we walked, there they were, and we were constantly brushing them off. Winding along the path to the "bathroom" was sort of a Hitchcockian experience, walking through the trees, stirring them up with the drone in your ears...you had to try not to think about it to stay sane. Not to mention protecting the "assets" while tending to business!

This morning around dawn again, the hum was crazy, like the troops were gathering for an attack. It died down again as the morning went on (or did we just get used to it?) I wish I could adequately describe lying there in the tent, listening to it...and also listening to the bugs dropping onto the tent. When we emerged, they were everywhere...the boat was covered, tents were covered. I have no idea what they were, but our guess is some version of mayfly that just happened to be in crazy mode the few days we were there.

Overall it was very relaxing, despite the critters. A definite highlight was the amazing night sky...I went out to sit in the boat to get a full view, and I swear I could see everything. The Milky Way was clear as day. I saw no meteors even thought it was supposed to be prime time, but then again, my watching was cut short...by a bat. Which flew approximately 3 feet above my head.

Critters.

Am I On Vacation Yet?

Technically, I think so. But I'm too tired to be excited yet!

It's been a long week, to say the least. Lots of work and not enough getting ready for the trip. Luckily Husband packed most of the camping gear today.

I did get to do something fun on Tuesday night, I went out to dinner with friends and saw "Sicko." I know Michael Moore is one-sided...but it's a very intriguing side. You should see it.

We leave in the morning...it's time for bed. Have a great weekend!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HUSBAND!

I am celebrating by watching "VH1's 40 Greatest Metal Songs" in his honor. He is taking a nap. Tonight we'll have some of his favorite things for dinner (meatloaf, red potatoes, corn on the cob, and apple crisp pizza), and Jacquie is coming over to keep me company while the boys spend the night on the computer. Low-key, just the way he likes it.

What will the next year bring? Can't wait to see! Love you!

Mindboggle

The collapse of the bridge has sent everyone into a bit of a tailspin…it's been a crazy, melancholy day. Through it all, I’m happy to report that all of our local family and friends are fine, and all of our co-workers accounted for. I thank everyone again for your calls of concern; your outreach and sensitivity have been amazing.

As you have all probably heard, the recovery efforts continue with some difficulty. There are still 20-30 people that have not been found. The scene is absolutely horrific, like something out of a big budget movie. I only caught a glimpse of the big...hole...in person, and it made my stomach turn. I know there have been a ton of photos in the media, but two co-workers of mine were in vicinity of the bridge about 20 minutes after it happened, and captured some other photos that are pretty intense. It looks like something out of a disaster movie…I cannot imagine what it would have been like to be sitting there in rush hour, trying to get home, or perhaps heading to the Twins game, and having the bridge fall out from under you.

Makes you think about not taking things for granted, eh?

Being a transportation professional, this also has me thinking a lot about what I do, and politics, and many other things...more thoughts to come, but for tonight…it’s just good to be home. We are safe and we feel so loved, and we pray that the recovery efforts are 100% successful, so all of these families may have the closure they desire and deserve.

WE ARE OK

In reference to the I-35w bridge collapse in downtown Minneapolis - we luckily rarely use that stretch of interstate. We are all fine; I haven't been able to reach Josh but they live on the east side of St. Paul, so I doubt they'd have any occasion to be in the area. It's a horrible situation; thanks to all for the calls of concern.

Update - talked to Josh - he and Abbey are fine and glued to the TV like the rest of us.