Hackers

Friends have reported to me that some fringe religious group has hacked this blog. It has been happening off and on for years. If it happens to you just log off and on again and you should access my wit and wisdom...of, maybe drivel. :)

Thinking about Laos.

"During the Vietnam war, the United Sates flew 580,000 bombing runs over Laos--an average of one every eight minutes for nine years. Today, Laotians live and die among 80 million unexploded munitions....Up to 30% of the bombs that were dropped did not detonate on impact and they remain volatile in the soil today.
....While munitions fell in hundreds of shapes, sizes and varieties, perhaps the most pernicious were the 'bombies'. More than 270 million of these cluster sub munitions were crammed into casings that opened in midair, scattering weapons across the land. They look like toys--yellow, green, brown, round like softballs or shaped like pineapples. Kids find them in the fields; villagers find them in the forest....Almost every day a Laotian is killed or maimed by unexploded ordinance.
....It could take centuries and $16 billion to clear Laos. The U.S. government donates about $3 million a year for bomb clearance here though it spent more than $2 million a day ($17 million in today's dollars) on the bombing themselves."
Quoted from January/February SIERRA Magazine pp 21-22.

Al's note: Laos is the approximate size of Minnnesota.

PS: It takes 1.5 million barrels of oil to make the plastic water bottles used in the United States in one year. January/February SIERRA Magazine p. 34

Latest re: Thailand

This should be an adventure! On previous teaching trips to Thailand I've been housed with other volunteers. Last year my (our) house was in the compound of a family and was rented from them. That gave me a chance to get acquainted with a Thai family. It was an extended family of three generations. We're still in touch via email and I'll visit them when I'm there this year.
Housing this year will be a new adventure. I will be living with a family which will give me a great opportunity to see how Thai live. It will also be helpful in my feeble attempt to learn to speak Thai. Two weeks of room and board will cost $45.00.

Thailand plans.

Time for an update on my travel plans. As Joanne considers options for treatment of her back we decided that I'd take a shorter annual trip to Thailand and be back in time to give 24/7 care if she does have surgery. I did have plans to spend four weeks teaching from mid-January to mid-February. But, a shorter, earlier trip with a couple of weeks of teaching will allow me to keep my local Thai contacts current.
Therefore, I will leave for Thailand January 5, and return on the 23rd. During those days telephone calls to Joanne would be appreciated. We are very glad that we have settled into the condo. The Skyway is a wonderful asset allowing for people contact and provide numerous services without having to go outside.

Here's the deal!

On Thursday, with Lisa in tow, Joanne met with the neurosurgeon who did her back surgery. He reports that the tests show that the lower part of her fusion did not take. The screws are loose and that is why she can't stand straight and causes the pain down her leg. So far she is not experiencing weakness in the leg but it is increasingly painful. It bothers her particularly when she lies down.

A surgery to reattach the screws would be complicated by the osteoporosis in her spine. Other options for treatment seem very limited, however, we are researching other therapies. Before she decides on a course of action she will see an orthopedic surgeon. The first time the neurosurgeon is avaiable for surgery is January 24. The surgeon also prescribed a removable brace which she will wear before surgery and for a minimum of three months after.

I was scheduled to be in Thailand teaching English from January 13, until February 14. Those plans have been cancelled. If she can handle the brace alone I will make a quick trip leaving January 5, and returning before the 24th. That will allow me to maintain my people contacts at the school and in the community.

Joanne has bravely faced the pain for over a year and it is extremely disappointing that she may need to have another extensive surgery with a long period of recuperation. It would be wonderful if there was another effective option for treatment. We know of none but we are searching.

Reflections During a Snowstorm

There they were at 6am in the teeth of the snowstorm busily clearing the side walks and steps of the old Federal Bldg. And this is on a Saturday when the building will not open until 8am Monday. It's an unlikely crew of middle aged guys who look like they should be behind a desk.
Nicollet Mall has some pedestrian traffic mid-day during a snow storm. The people disembarking from the light rail were wishing their suitcases were equipped with skis instead of wheels. Sidewalks are plowed long before streets. Somali taxi drivers equipped with rear wheel driven cars quickly learn about winter driving.
It's now about 1:30 pm and I'm guessing we've gotten about a foot of snow with more to come. Visibility is under two blocks. Trygve loves being out in it! The Curmudgeonette loves being inside.
Trygve and I (5pm) just took another walking tour around town. Unusual sights included cross country skiers on Marquette and also on 6th street. There is a bus stuck on Nicollet Mall just off Washington. Wind is up and temperature is down, 18f; bracing!

Mai-Evy and Trygve.

Decadent and really sad!

The curmudgeonette said "I'm tired of turkey and hungry for a pot roast sandwich." So we took the elevator from the 15th floor to the skyway, crossed 3rd street in skyway to the 330 building, took the elevator to the first floor and entered The Old Pub. I thought "how decadent!" to have such great place within such easy reach.
Here we were sitting at a table eating our favorite pot roast sandwich kibitzing with the waitress when she delivered the devastating news "The Old Pub is closing Dec. 23." :( I guess we didn't eat there often enough.

Only one complaint!

When, as often happens, we're asked how we like living in our down town condo my typical response is "we should have done it ten years ago." That must mean we like it and I wonder if it's changing my attitude toward winter.
Hot weather is my favorite. However, I'm finding that I mind the cold less this year and am impatient about getting rain instead of snow in late December. Could that change of attitude have to do with living in a condo attached to the Skyway? I do know that I very glad not to have to shovel that heavy wet snow we got a few weeks ago. Trygve, the wonder dog, does get me outdoors.
Thailand and teaching are in my plans for January so I can get my fix of tropical weather.

Skywalk community!

Today on my noon stroll through the Skywalk I saw two acquaintances both of whom are working in bank building across the street from my condo. D is an employee of the bank and G is working there on an eighteen month contract. This answered the question in the back of my mind, "how long will I walk the Skyway before I see someone I know?"

What a difficult life!

The Skyway is full of eateries most of which are open only mid-day. My plan is to try as many as I can so plan not to eat at the same place twice. However, this creates a dilemma. What if, as happened today when I ate at Bamboo Shoot, I find a place I really like? There are so many places from which to choose I won't live long enough to get back to the Bamboo Shoot. The fact that I don't eat in Skyway exacerbates the problem.
You can see from this dilemma that I indeed have a difficult life.

Buddies!

Eight year old Kjell and one year old Trygve are becoming buddies. There were a few altercations at first but now it is fun to see Trygve inspire Kjell to participate in some play. With his long legs and youthful vigor Trygve is much faster than Kjell. They give the impression of enjoying each other's company. Kjell seems to have adjusted to condo life as well as Trygve did. Trygve has learned much from hunting with Kjell. It is fun to dog sit Kjell...he's such a good dog.

The big buck.

Last year I saw an exceptionally large buck with impressive antlers on my land. It's the land with the native grasses some of which are seven feet tall and the corn I raise as a food plot for wildlife. This fall I saw him again, or I should say, I saw his antlers because that was all I could see above the grass. It made me glad that he was still there.
I am an avid hunter but have my reservations about trophy hunting. The natural order is that the predators prey on the weak and vulnerable. When hunters go after only the trophy buck they violate that order. Trophy hunting is about the ego of the hunter and I don't find that attractive.
While I was hunting pheasants yesterday and today I deliberately avoided the fields where I have seen this large buck. Deer season opens Saturday and I'm hoping that he'll just stay in that wonderful cover and live another year. There is sufficient food, water and cover so he'll not need to leave. However, it is the rutting season and deer do move around allot during that time.
Today I spotted him in a field about two miles away from the fields I left undisturbed. I do hope he is back in the safety of that cover when deer season opens on Saturday.

First Snow of the Season

Guess where my snow boots are? They're in our storage locker in the garage and the garage is off limits until Monday due to renovations. Ya then...and it looks like we have about of heavy wet snow.
The snow looks particularly nice from the the 15th floor. At times the street wasn't visible. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.....
The U of MN Gopher Women played their first game today beating U of Northern IL by 21 points. I went to watch, parked free in the church lot and was handed a free ticket as the door so to keep up my free spending ways I bought a hot dog for $3.50.

A dog in the elevator.

Some back into the corner and try to avoid eye contact acting as if Trygve will disappear if they become invisible. Others acknowledge me but studiously avoid Trygve. Still others engage me in conversation about Trygve while giving him a pat or petting him a bit. But the ones who really amuse me are those who carry on a whole conversation with Trygve while totally ignoring me.
These seem to be the four different reactions I observe from people with whom we share elevator rides. And...Trygve's response? he's simply amused by them all.

From our latest trip to Chicago.

More Slow Reading.

I just finished rereading INFIDEL by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. I first read it over a year ago and now our book club is going to discuss it. It was even better on second reading and I think a very important book.
There are a couple of observations I'd make about the book. First, it is a very interesting story of her life including her time in the Dutch Parliament. Second, I think she's right about the necessity of immigrant communities living by the laws of the western societies in which they settle. She makes a powerful argument that Dutch toleration of fundamentalist Muslim practices violated the very values of Dutch society. The effect of that toleration was the continued isolation of those Muslim communities and the oppression of Muslim women.

Life Downtown #4

Frequently little things happen that remind me why I'm glad we moved downtown. Case in point #1, the grocery store/deli two Skyway blocks away. Case in point #2, our polling place is in neighboring condo tower three blocks away.

Life Downtown #3

Re: The Skyway. People walk fast. I set a comfortable pace of about 3 miles per hour. Seldom do I pass anyone and almost everyone passes me.
Observation: It appears to me that fashion boots are in. I have many pairs of boots but they don't pass muster as fashion boots except when I'm hunting.

Life Downtown #2

Minneapolis has a network of second story walkways called the 'Skyway'. The Skyway runs through our condo building on the 2nd floor. It is one of the features that attracted us to this place.
I like to pick a place, e.g., for example Barnes & Noble Bookstore which about 9 blocks from the condo and navigate my way to it. Sometime the Skyway is nothing more than an enclosed, elevated sidewalk. Other places it is filled with shops and eating places. Some of the Skyway runs through stores; Macy's and Sak's Fifth Ave for example. At other places it runs through banks, office buildings like the IDS Tower and government buildings.

Life Downtown #1

All visitors to our 15th floor condo gravitate to the sliding glass doors to our deck and the view NW to the horizon. We too, sitting at our table, find ourselves turning to gaze out that door. Both day and night the vista attracts.
On the horizon we can see North Memorial Hospital, where I made countless visits over years. The hospital is in Robbinsdale, a first ring suburb on the NW border of Minneapolis. It was built there because the founding doctor didn't like the deal offered by Minneapolis.
There is a water tower by the hospital. At night it is guarded by a red light that blinks on and off. When I look off to the horizon and see that blinking light a palpable sense of calm comes over me. I wonder why? Why is that blinking light so comforting? I don't know but I observe...

Refugee Nation

Friend, Kathy B, invited us to see REFUGEE NATION at the Intermedia Arts Center tonight. It's a three person stage show of the Lao experience of war and being refugees. Very well done. A very interesting book besides Yang's THE LATE HOME COMER is Dervla Murphy's ONE FOOT IN LAOS. She rode a bike all over Laos.
Factoid: The US dropped a plane load of bombs on Laos every 8 minutes, 24 hours a day for nine years for a total of 260 million tons. Laos is about the size of Minnesota.

Trygve's such a leader!

Trygve, the wonder dog is such a leader. Yesterday he took me over the Stone Arch Bridge to St. Anthony Main. Today, not to be out done, he led me to the new bridge...the 35 W one that replaced the one that collapsed. However, I think it was all a plot on his part because we came back through Farmer's Market. I think it was the smell of elbeskiever frying that attracted him.
We must be moved in because we had our first over night guest. Linda, from Williston, ND, got the honor. She's in town for her niece's wedding and went with us to the Guthrie Thursday.
At the Guthrie we saw the stage adaption of Louise Erdrich's book 'The Master Butcher's Singing Club.' I enjoyed both the book and the play. I thought the play was a good adaptation of the book. It's nice to live withing walking distance of the Guthrie.

That's why we moved downtown!

Several times a day little things happen and I think "that's why we moved downtown. Take Saturday night for example. We have tickets to the Minnesota Orchestra and there was a concert Saturday evening. From our condo we walked two blocks to Nicollet Mall to catch the free bus. (It runs Nicollet Mallfrom Washington Ave. to the convention center every ten minutes during the day and every twenty five minutes at night.) We got off near Orchestra Hall, had dinner and then went to the concert. After the concert we left Orchestra Hall and caught the free bus just outside the Hall and rode home.
We not only saved the $9.00 parking fee we decided that we enjoyed the concert more when we did not have to drive. That's why we moved downtown.

Still alive!

On Thursday, 9/30, 8 men in two trucks made quick work of emptying our house. It took them only an hour and a half to load and slightly longer to unload. The condo had reserved an elevator for their use so that worked well. Everything came through in good shape.
Now it is Tues. evening and we have the kitchen and both bedrooms quite settled. We've also made some progress in the rest of the area. The number of boxes left is dwindling. That's a good thing because space is filling.
We took time off yesterday to close on our house which had a couple of minor wrinkles. Susan, one of the buyers, had an expired drivers license. According to the terms of the Patriot Act buyers must have a valid id and an expired drivers license doesn't qualify. We felt sorry for her. They had closed on the house they sold in the morning, loaded their stuff, were closing on ours and then moving in all on the same day. She had to go get her license renewed to finish signing the papers.
Before we got home we were called back because a typo was found in on the deed. Susan uses her maiden name plus her husbands name but doesn't hyphenate it. The deed had it with a hyphen so the document had to be retyped and resigned.
We decided that we had done our grief work because all we felt at closing was elation. We couldn't have picked a better couple to buy our house. He, like Joanne, is a Concordia grad. They have a three year old boy, Gavin. So, for the first time, there will be a child living in the house.
I'll likely post more regularly now. I have some downtown stories to tell.

Many thanks for all the expressions of support, concern and well wishes. We feel blessed by your concern.

Hard to keep up!

Moving is a lot of work! How's that for stating the obvious? Almost everything is packed. On Thursday, 9/30 5 men and 2 trucks are scheduled to appear at our house at 7:30am to schlep our stuff to the condo. We console ourselves that unpacking will be easier. At least we'll be on the downhill side.
Our contractor assures us the condo will be ready for occupancy in the next day or two. That means the all new floors, kitchen cabinets and counter tops, all new appliances, new shower, new vanities in the bathrooms, all woodwork, walk in closet with built ins, new opening from kitchen to great room, door closed off to den, new shelving, and everything painted will be complete. All than in just over 30 days! Yes...it did need some work. :)
We took this weekend off and are in Chicago where we got to babysit last night when Mai-Evy's
parents went out.

Grassland

Three years ago I was able to enroll some of my land into the Federal Conservation Reserve Program. Native grasses; Big Blue Stem, Switch grass and Side Oats Gamma were planted. The subsequent years have been very wet and idea for starting grass plantings. Now the Big Blue Stem is taller than I am. The Switch Grass is about 4 feet tall and the Side Oats Gamma about 3 feet.

In addition to soil preservation it makes wonderful wildlife cover. Many varieties of birds and mammals use it. There are also many butterflies and especially Monarchs who use the Milkweed for their larva.

It is one this land that I plant 6 acres of corn each year for winter food plots for wildlife. The last two years I sprayed much of the corn with Roundup which has given good control of the thistles. Therefore, I did not have to spray it this year because the other weeds do not spread on the wind like thistle seeds do. I cultivated it twice which was sufficient for the corn but left many weeds. With the abundant rainfall, at least double the average, the corn has grown well and so have the weeds. Any self respecting farmer would be ashamed to have such a field. But I'm delighted because my goal is wildlife cover. The corn and weed mixture; fox tail, wild sunflowers, rag weed, pig weed, etc., make wonderful habitat full of food that will feed the critters all winter.

In addition to the corn I also planted six acres of trees. They, too, have benefited from the abundant moisture and are growing rapidly. The varieties were chosen to provide winter cover and food for wildlife.

I'll enclose some pictures of the prairie grass.

Learnings

Ah so many details around moving. I thought that changing addresses online would be sooooooo easy! Wrong. It turns out that it is much easier to do by snail mail than online. The online process requires a password and much more rigmarole.
The house passed inspection with three small things to correct. Therefore we are still on schedule with plans to move on September 30, and close on this house on Oct. 4. Our contractor tells us the condo updates will be done on time.
I had pack almost two thirds of our stuff to stage our house. So I decided to pack the rest and only hire movers. Now I'm almost done packing, however, there are problems with that. During a hot spell I packed all our cold weather clothes forgetting that September can be cold. We had tickets to Prairie Home Companion at the State Fair on a cold evening. God show!

Offer accepted!

A few moments ago we accepted an offer on our house so, pending all the stuff like inspection and closing, it's sold! A young family with a three year old came to our open house a week ago Sunday and then came back twice with their realtor. Yesterday, while we were in SDak they made an offer. We responded tonight with a counter, they countered, we countered and they accepted.
I've had a persistent hunch that it would sell at the right time. They asked for a Oct. 4, closing which is perfect for us. We plan to move to the condo on Sept. 29 and don't have to make a mortgage payment on it until Oct. 1. As soon as the inspection is complete we can "live" in our house again.
The house was on the market about six weeks which is shorter than the average 90 days in this area. The hardest part about leaving? It's leaving our neighbors. However, we will get so see them via the book club.

That's done!

Effective yesterday we are the proud owners of two home mortgages. Yes, we signed the papers for the 15th floor condo in downtown Minneapolis (corner of Washington & 2nd Ave S.) You can find our building online under "Crossings". After signing we made our first trip via the underground parking garage. There are not many steps between the parking place and our unit though a several story elevator ride.

Our contractor starts work on the updates on Monday. Updates include all new; woodwork, flooring, kitchen, plus painting, bathroom updating, construction of a walk-in closet off the master bedroom and a few other things. She tells us it will all be done in 30 days. Therefore, we are making plans to move in the last week of September.

Slow reading.

"In an era when people consume words like fast food and flit from Web site to the next, a slow reading movement is starting to catch on. Two old strategies are being renewed: reading aloud and memorization, to help students truly "taste" the words. Lindsay Waters, executive humanities editor at Harvard University Press, called for a "revolution in reading" in 2007. "Instead of rushing by works so fast that we don't even muss up our hair, we should tarry, attend to the sensuousness of reading, allow ourselves to enter the experience of words," he wrote. The slow reading movement is calling for a closer connection between information and readers, said John Miedema, who published SLOW READING in 2009. (AP) Quoted in the July 27, 2010 CHRISTIAN CENTURY p. 9.
I'm not about to start memorizing because it is clearly not my gift. However, I've had a reading experience lately that makes me think that there is something to this idea of slow reading. Here's what happened.
About a year ago Joanne and gathered our neighbors and began a book club. It's been a grand experience. One of the saddest parts of our impending move is leaving these neighbors. But, I digress.
I read several of the chosen books weeks before our discussion. To refresh my memory for our club meeting I went back and reread the books. Seldom, if ever, have a read a book twice within a few months. I discovered that, while I remembered the main facets of the book, I had quickly forgotten much of the detail. Reading it a second time was almost as enjoyable as the first.
It certainly is significant that they were all very good books; OUT STEALING HORSES, THE BOOK THIEF, THE LATE HOME COMER and now I'm rereading HALF BROKE HORSES. Perhaps I should make a practice of reading the book club selections twice; early and late. Does that qualify as "slow reading?" What would happen if I read a book three times?

Most Peaceful Countries

The July 27, 2010 CHRISTIAN CENTURY has a little blurb about the ranking of countries by a peace index from the Global Peace Index 2010/Institute for Economics and Peace. I was surprised by number one, New Zealand, but only because it's not a country that comes to my mind often. The index measures domestic and international peace and conflict.
The top ten most peaceful in order are New Zealand, Iceland, Japan, Austria, Norway (#5 you gotta be kidding?) Ireland, Denmark, Luxembourg, Finland and Sweden. The least peaceful in descending order are Russia, Israel, Pakistan, Sudan, Afghanistan, Somalia and Iraq. United States? number 85 of 149.

For Sale

Here's the picture. Aren't they cute? A 1951 JD A tractor and a Massey Harris three bottom plow. For you a special deal!

For Sale

Well, yes, our house is still for sale and we even lowered the price but that's not what I'm thinking of now. I've decided to sell my 1951 John Deere A tractor. To prepare for that I'm going to SD tomorrow so I can wash it and take new pics. Anyone interested in some green and yellow?
Perhaps I'll post a pic when I get back.

Filling in the gaps!

There are some things that everyone in America seems to know but I don't. One of those gaps in my education was filled Wednesday when we attended "A Street Car Named Desire" by Tennessee Williams at the Guthrie Theater. I thought that the performance was stellar even though a local critic panned it in the paper. For sixty years I've heard about the movie/play and now at last I've seen it.
Oh, yes, and the Guthrie is just six blocks from our new condo!

Movement on moving!

It appears that we are set for a August 20, closing on the condo. Updating should be done in thirty days after that so we anticipate moving in mid-September. Tomorrow our contractor is bringing her suggestions and estimates for updating so we can keep the process moving.

We had a showing of our house today and another open house to which two parties came. I was about to return but saw a Jaguar parked in the driveway so kept going. I hoped that there was a person of substance who wants to buy our house. Turns out that they were just slumming.

I'll attach pictures of two views from the condo.

Purchase Agreement Accepted!

This morning we visited the condo we hope to buy. The son of the owners was there and he told me that our purchase agreement has been signed. :) The closing date is August 20. We'll do the updating after that so are hoping to move in on or around Sept. 20. :)
Our contractor who will do the updating was with us so she did measurements and heard what we want done. She will have her estimates to us soon and plans to begin work as soon as we have closed.
We are excited to know where we are going and that focus helps us emotionally while we wait for our house to sell.

Recommended reading.

After our book club discussion last night of THE LATEHOMECOMER: A HMONG FAMILY MEMOIR by Kao Kalia Yang I decided to give it another plug here. It's a powerful sotry very well told.

Open House

So...seven parties came to our open house today, where are the offers?

We made an offer!

We've been waiting to see a particular condo in the building downtown in which we want to live. A few months ago our friends, Carol and Hillary, bought one on the 12th floor. We were invited to their house warming and were very impressed with the building, location, floor plan and it's connection to the sky way.
Carol and Hillary, being the community building types they are, sponsored a "17 stack" party. All of the condos ending in 17...517, 617, all the way to the top at 1917,..have the same floor plan and they are called "17 stack". At the party they discovered that two would be coming up for sale...517 & 1517.
We've looked at 517 twice and really like it. However, we were hoping to see 1517 before we were forced to make an offer on 517. Today was the day we got to see 1517 (15th floor). It has views to the east, north and west.
It has been vacant 6 months since the owners moved to an assisted living facility. Today we met their two sons at the condo. We had a very positive conversation with them and learned that they now have power of attorney and are ready to sell. When we asked the price we were pleased to hear that it was significantly less than we'd anticipated. So we made an official offer to purchase and expect to have a response in a few days.
The condo needs a lot of work. It's not been updated in the 20 years they lived there. One of the owners used a motorized wheel chair and that took a toll on the walls, doors and woodwork. Possession date will be negotiated around the renovation work.
The condo building is called The Crossings and is not new...it was built in 1981. It is at Washington and 2nd Ave. S. so it's right downtown. It is three blocks to the river, one to the library and three blocks to the light rail stop and I don't care how far it is to Twins Stadium.
So that's our news for the day!

Life in Limboland!

"Where are the toothpicks, stamps, place mats, etc. etc.?" And so it goes living in a "staged" house. We always have to be ready for a showing but no one is coming to look. I could use some patience and I WANT IT RIGHT NOW!
We're looking forward to seeing a condo that we've heard about for weeks and finally can see Saturday morning. It helps to have that to look forward to while we wait for some movement on our house. Knowing where we are going would be a psychological boost!
Yes...we know, we are really fortunate that our problems are so minor and so we remain filled with gratitude for life's blessings.

Thistles as tall as the tractor!

The thistles are mowed. My friend, Don, told me about seeing a painting of wheat field at the Hermitage in Russia. In the middle of the painting was one thistle. What kind of thistle was it? Why, a Russian Thistle of course!
Mowing the thistles caused me some emotional dissonance. On the one hand, these thistles are a declared noxious weed and it is good riddance. On the other hand, their destruction (perhaps that's too strong a word because mowing only keeps them from going to seed but doesn't kill them) involves mowing habitat that I've created for wildlife. I hope I didn't mow over any birds nests.
At least I made the barn swallows happy. The mowing roused clouds of insects and a flock of barn swallows appeared swerving, darting and consuming their fill. All of this is further proof that a person can never do just one thing. Life is web and what touches any part has consequences for good or ill.

Horror Movie

My brother, the late Richard (Dick) Negstad, used to say "If Alfred Hitchcock wanted to make a REAL horror movie he should use thistles not birds!" He think he's right. The new generation of Musk Thistles are almost as big as a house and.....well anyway I'm off to SDak to mow them down. Someone asked me if mowing them killed them and I truthfully said "No, it only annoys them." But the County Weed Board will be after me if I don't do it.

A morning well spent!

Our friends, Carol and Hillary, who live in the building downtown we're considering. invited us down for the morning. We went to Spoonriver for brunch and then the Mill City Farmer's market all of which is five blocks from where they live. If we had any doubts about moving downtown the morning went a long way to assuaging them.
It was a beautiful sunny day with slight breeze. Sitting outside at Spoonriver made me thing that living in this often frozen tundra land is not always bad. Temperatures in the 80s allowed be outside with neither jacket nor sweater. It verged on being too hot for Joanne but kindly remained in the five degree mutual comfort zone we share.
Now there is some movement regarding the 15th floor condo in which we're interested. I'm feeling a bit like a child waiting for Christmas....won't it ever happen??

Waiting

The house is now listed with MLS and so we wait. That shouldn't be so hard except that it is for persons who like control. Waiting is the ultimate loss of control. I don't want to wait. I want it now...or at least to know when? how? etc. Waiting is an act of trust and trusting is hard.
But we wait and we try to trust and live as if our house was always spotless and lived in without looking like it is lived in.

I'm back!

Longing for the old days when plays were staged and houses were sold didn't help me a bit. But our house will be listed today and I don't know what to do with myself now that I don't have boxes to pack. I am an excellent packer even if I say so myself but the idea of living in a house as if we aren't is not my idea of a good time. Enough whining...now that we're at this point I intend to blog more regularly.

We has a great weekend in SDak. My niece, Susan, married Kirk on Friday night. It was a 20s themed wedding. Susan's stepfather, Judeen and I officiated. Joanne found the old fashioned clergy daisy collars at church archives so we dressed the part. Our garb went nicely with Joanne's flapper dress so I'll post a pic.

I also/preached presided at the combined church and 4th of July celebration in town. The church was filled with Negstads and Berghs. My friend, 95 year old Walter Olson, told me a I did "a pretty good job then."

On Sunday Wayne & Angie Negstad, who farm the Negstad homestead, invited the family to celebrate 125 years since my grandfather, Lars Negstad, began homesteading. They also invited my mother's side, Bergh, so there over 100 people on a glorious day on the world's prettiest farm.

Lars, Melissa and Mai-Evy stayed with Joanne and me in our little Sinai house. It's a good thing I got the A/C fixed before they came. It was a warm, sticky weekend.

Oh yes...in case you haven't heard, we're looking for a condo in downtown Minneapolis.

From our latest trip to Chicago.

Mai-Evy dealing.

Making her second annual appearance at the Congress Hotel strike...now in its 8th year.

In her special chair from grandma.

Mai-Evy and the curmudgeon.

She's on the verge of walking.

More Mai-Evy pics.

Mai-Evy's first birthday.

Inspiring, profound, eloquent....

When Kao Kalia Yang, author of THE LATEHOMECOMER, spoke tonight I was mesmerized. She talked for an hour but I could have listened all night. Pearls of wisdom simply flow from her lips. How can a thirty year old be so asute? Examples: "Education is where caring and curiosity meet." "America is a country because we care for each other." Now I'm going to read the book again.

Want to hear her? Check her website for coming engagements. http://www.yaokaliayang.com/

Mai-Evy came for Easter!

It began in 1959.

On September 18, 1959 I reported to the USMC Boot Camp in San Diego. Ed and I were members of the same platoon there and housed in the same Quonset hut. Our friendship really began on the bus ride home for our first leave at the end of boot camp. The next step in our military training was Infantry Training Regiment on Camp Pendleton. Apparently they didn't want to start that four week training until after Christmas so we were all sent on leave whether we wanted it or not.
Ed was (and is) from Calamus, IA. near Davenport so we rode the bus together for two days on our way home. At Omaha, NB. and Ed went east and I north to SD. That long bus trip gave us the leisure we never had in Boot Camp to get acquainted. We've been frinds ever since.
We met again in Infantry Training Regiment and then were assigned to the same infantry company on Camp Pendleton for the next eighteen months. Not only were we in the same company but we were both clerks in the office, had upper and lower bunks in the squad bay and wall lockers side by side.
In June, 1961 we were sent to Asia and the same living, working arrangements existed for us until we rotated back to the states in 1962. My three year enlistment was completed and I was discharged. Ed served his remaining year at Treasure Island, San Francisco.
Two weeks ago Ed, his wife Mary Jane, Joanne and I met in San Diego to relive old memories. That will be the subject of my next blog.

About travel.

"When you travel to places new to you, you understand more, and you fear less." Rick Steves quoted in the Feb. 9, 2010, CHRISTIAN CENTURY. To which I'd say, "Maybe" and I think Rick is suggesting it as an ideal, not reality for everyone, because he goes on to say "The system encourages you to be a tourist, because the system is an economic engine. You are led to believe that you need to be a consumer, that you need a fancy hotel, that you need to take a fancy tour. You will go home having done some predictable things--just what the advertisers told you would happen....You could go to Africa and take in all the finest golf courses and come home having learned nothing. Or you could go to Africa and drink tea with local people, help them out in different ways and gain empathy for them. You'd come home changed. That's being a traveler. Travelers and pilgrims are people who are connecting, learning, challenging themselves and not doing what is predictable"

Fishing Trip!

Fisherman on the Mekong at sunset.

The wonder dog!

Trygve and Derek May.

Trygve, the wonder dog!

Here's a picture of Trygve, the wonder dog. He came to us Thursday and he was born 9/29/09 and is adjusting well to life with us. He's bonded to Joanne so I'm going to ask her to pick up after him. :)

Thailand pics.

4th grade Wat Salapoon.

5th grade Wat Salapoon.

5th graders posing, Wat Klong.

Chinese New Year's celebration.

Morning assembly at Wat Klong.