I actually like winter this year

February 15th with a bit it new light snow. Things are white and clean again this morning. I am still trying to figure out what it is about winter that I don't like; maybe as the months pass I will be reminded. Being one that always avoids the boring and normal, maybe this winter is just a different one, none boring and not normal and that is why I like it.

When I look at walkways and driveways that resemble canyons between the fields of snow, it makes me smile. The snow is so....... "unmolested" is the only word I can think of to describe that look. It is too deep for dogs and kids to randomly play in or walk through so most of it is utterly untouched. It is serene, linear, pure, peaceful, orderly, clean, there are more words that work but that is good enough for now.

Sure the cold is a pain sometimes but really it's no worse than the heat in the summer in other places. Here you can put on some warm clothes and go for a walk and stay completely comfortable, in the hot places there is only so much clothing you can take off and not get arrested, those summers can be unbearable, so I say I would prefer a climate that I can dress for rather than one that can't be accommodated no matter what you do other than staying inside.

I like winter...

What a summer, WOW

It has been one fantastic summer and it is not over yet. I can't ever remember a summer being this nice. We have had almost no bugs and almost no humidity. Lots and lots of sunny warm pleasant days.

Tonight we walked over to Bucca for dinner and stopped at a new neighborhood grocery, then walked the greenway back home.

It is almost a shame to have to sleep when it's this nice.

Moving and facebook

We did it, we moved. On the 26th floor in downtown Minneapolis the views are magnificent. Sure I miss the old house, it was a good place for a few years but it is time for something new, I was getting bored. Thankfully Howard was willing. Now for the task of finding a new home. I have always had this fantasy of living in the sky with a great view so we shall see if I actually like it now that we have it or if a house is the next step. I am really fond of those mid century modern houses, unfortunately they are mostly in the burbs and I don't think the burbs are ready for me. It will be fun to find out what is next....

An old friend of mine from Illinois found me on Face book last week. Most of the time it is great to hear from old friends, I say most of the time because it is not always. This time it was great.

The last year of my high school days a new family moved to my boring little town. This was a rare occasion there because there was really no reason for anyone to come there unless they had family and to move there was unheard of. With me being the curious one that I am, I had to find out what they were like. Did they have horns, speak funny, eat funny stuff, you know I wanted to know what were they like? Paula the daughter was in my class at school and I found out pretty quickly she fun and exciting, she had actually been someplace other than southern Illinois, what a concept, there was another world out there and real people lived in it. We became pretty good friends and had some good times together, and I think we also did some growing up together, not all times were good but we were friends and that was what mattered to me. Then, off she went back to Texas where she came from. After that, life just got in the way I guess. I did learn that I didn't have to stay in that little town and that real people live everywhere so I decided that I had to see it all. I did see Paula and her parents once a few years later, in the 70's but that was the end of it. I often thought about her and wondered what happened, what she was up to, maybe I had a little crush on her, I am not sure but we were only ever just friends. Now I find emailing with her is a great connection with a good part of my past. I am sure glad to have found her or her me. So Paula if you read this, I am happy to have you back in my life.

What a glorious summer this has been so far.

AAAHHHHHHHH Summer at Last

Here I sit in my office looking out the window at Lake Calhoun, white puffy clouds in a brilliant blue sky, temps in the low 70's, life is good.

After a winter of thinking would blow my brains out if it didn't end NOW, it finally did and I am once again a happy Minnesotan. How can anyone really live here without EST or an FL?

It doesn't get any better than this does it? A light breezes are rustling the leaves in the trees, the birds are crapping on everything, the flags are fluttering in the light breezes, the hard bodies are at the lake adding a few more wrinkles so later in life when they finally do take that dirt nap at least the body has some character, the ice cream stands are open, the hot dog cart is in the park by the lake and it's busy, gas prices are back to painfully normal, houses are selling again, theater season is still in full swing, parades are scheduled, breezy afternoons on the patio or deck are coming, reading a book or drinking a glass of wine with the windows open and the gentle breeze, so many festivals to look forward to, a nice light breeze will be here to cool us off on the warmer days, the are birds crapping on our cars so we have a reason to wash them again other than removing the snow buggers, we will be bike riding down all the trails and visiting Minnehaha Falls on a warm breezy evening, we can enjoy all the pretty flowers in the yards and on the patios, and.......well.............just the breeze


Oh yes EST is Electro Shock Therapy
FL=Frontal Lobotomy

Am I the only one?

Why does it all have to be so complicated?

Everything is password protected. This one requires 8 characters, that one can only have 6 and this one at least 7 but no more than 9, this one can have numbers and letters and this one can only have letters, then this one has only 4 letters or 4 numbers but not both, this one can have punctuation and this one can't, this one must have spaces and caps and it is cap sensitive. Now you have to change them all every 30 days or you get locked out.

I would love to start a movement that any company that requires specific numbers, letter or even numbers of characters on the passwords, gets "X'd" out of our lives. Let me decide what my password is if you are going to require them. We are slaves to machines. HAL I hear you....

I have five passwords to access my work computer if I want to see everything that is mine in the system. To access the Multiple Listing service I have to have a username which of course is only numbers, a PIN and a password but the best part is that password changes EVERYTIME I use it. I am not kidding, I have to carry around this sillly little fob and if I want to access MLS I have to punch this little thing and enter that password that is displayed on the screen. Of course I get the privledge of paying for that little piece of crap. Better yet, to access a house I want to show I have another device that I have to update by phone EVERYNIGHT, god forbid if I ever forget that thing at home in he cradle and need to show a house. Now after it is updated I need.........yes you guessed it, another password in that little device. Of course I have to have the garage code to get into the office parking garage 7.3.0.9 and the door code 7.3.0.9.9 [at least these two are not that difficult] to get into the building so I can use a key to get in the front door of the office and another key to get into my private office. Folks I have no gold in there, I am not sure what we are protecting. Of course to get my computer to the point that it will accept all the passwords [that have to be changed every thirty days] I have yet another passwords E

Each mortgage company, each credit card, each phone company, each utility and even to take a crap these days I need a password.

Am I the only one??

Let's all change our passwords to a nasty phrase [yes that one]

Winter and Broken Bones

What can I say? Living in Minnesota means winter.

Don't get me wrong here I love snow, don't mind the cold days that much really but I detest that slushy stuff in the garage all the time. Ishy poo!! [end of rant]

We are having a wonderful winter so far. We are getting snow every few days so it stays nice and white and pretty. After each snow we have a dip in temperature but the sun is shinning and after all that is much better than rain and gray right? It is sort of like living at a ski resort....and I am delusional too. Oh how I long for Honolulu, but that is not to be for now...

Joan fell on the ice the day after Christmas and broke her ankle, snapped that sucker in two. Ouch! Her sister Mary came to stay with her for a five days right after the fateful fall and surgery. Joan is more or less confined to her apartment for the time being, I would go nuts if I had to spend that much time at home sitting in a chair. Maybe I would become the best customer of QVC. LOL Her spirits are good most of the time, I guess that helps get thorough it all. I am glad we are at least close enough to relieve some of the boredom.

I don't know what Howard and I would have done with out Mary's help, so Mary if you are reading this THANKS!! Howard is as busy as a one armed paper hanger in a wind storm and I am up to my ass in alligators with work, so that help was WONDERFUL!!!

Today is Joan's birthday, it is one that ends with a zero, so it is a biggie. I have my annual Feng Shui meeting tonight that I have to attend to keep my certification so I can't join her for the birthday celebration this year. Everyone reading this, I hope you will send or have sent her birthday greetings.

Thanksgiving on Bank Street

This was Thanksgiving at our house or maybe I should say our neighborhood.

All is well in Minneapolis. I had a great time cooking Thanksgiving dinner again this year. I tried out some new recipe's this year. The ones I liked the most were the sweet potatoes and the pumpkin pie. I love pumpkin pie and I think I finally found the best recipe for it. I could eat the whole pie, I have not felt that way since I was a child. Still searching for that perfect way to make the cranberries, I just can't seem to get that one right, either they will not jell or they are boring. I want to put some zip in them somehow but I can't find the way to do that.

Howard of course made the Turkey, it was moist as usual even the breast, he is a master at that. Joan was our only guest this year for dinner, but she is always a fun and is willing to try my experiments so I was pleased when she like the yams.

My next door neighbor Dee, is 78 and has very very bad knees. She was a flight attendant and cruise director in her working life, so this woman has been all over the world flying first class, and eating at the captains table more times than she can count, she has lived a life of glamour.

My business partner says she looks like an aging movie star or beauty queen with her really long false eye lashes, perfect makeup, lots of jewelry, coiffed blond hair and she always dresses to the nines. As neighbors we had a tough start mainly because we didn't understand each other. We finally buried the hatchet, thanks to Howard and now we are best of friends.

Today at about 4PM she called and said "Jaarrrrry come over here now!!! and get this food and take it back to your house, I want it out of here." So what am I supposed to do? She is a funny cantankerous woman but I like her, most of my best friends are really strange in some way, so it is not unusual that I would like her. She is so real even when she tries so hard not to be.

Anyway, so I go over there and here she is sitting in the dining room, with three other people. All around 75-80, two of them with advanced Alzheimer's (not kidding here they really do) so they have no idea what day it is or where they are and Dee, true to herself has out ever dish in the house. She has all the silver chafing dishes out, the gold flatware, all the fine China, the candles are blazing away, she has out the Crystal and all the fine linens and here they sit with enough food for 25 people and no one is eating, they had too much champagne I think.

She had Turkey, Brussel Sprouts in mayonnaise and Parmesan cheese, Rutabaga, carrots and yams in honey sauce, baked corn casserole, Turkey dressing and stuffing, Cranberry sauce, Homemade rolls, Pumpkin pie (store bought) Green Bean casserole, on and on and on....she even marinated fruit and nuts in brandy and Grand Marnier for two weeks for this little party. She cooked for 2 days and no one will eat.

I laughed at her so hard my stomach hurt. She tried to get out of her chair to swat me but she was too tired so finally she could do nothing but laugh herself. She tries so hard to be a tough old broad (her words not mine) but she is so kind and tried so hard to do nice things for these folks and they just don't get it. It would not have killed them to go overboard a bit in their praise. It was a grand effort on her part to put this together. So what am I going to do? She is sitting there between almost crying and laughing and telling me to get this food out of her house. I tell her my fridge is full so I have no place for anything. I can't just leave her like that and I think to myself, how in the world is she going to even clean this up? With her knees it will take two days and she has already put two days into this endeavor. I can't imagine that she will be able to stand anymore. So I start putting stuff in Tupperware and cleaning up the mess.

She had used pots and pans over every surface of the kitchen. On top of that she has more pill bottles and mail and magazines and just stuff all over the place than my Mom and Dad had at their house. She is a shopper, so she goes to Costco and buys in bulk, can you imagine a 78 year old that lives alone, has almost no company, she has no family here and she buys walnuts in the 5 pound bags, two at a time? She has more Tupperware than anyone I have ever known, she could throw a Tupperware party and fill all the orders on the spot. Anyway on top of all this she has every dish dirty, sitting on top of it all.

With in minutes after I arrive the only other person who does not have Alzheimer's offers to take the two Alzheimer's patients either to their homes or back to their nursing homes. So I told Dee to sit in the chair and keep me company and I would clean up the mess. She plopped down in the chair and said "Jaarrryyy I need a drink, get me a vodka and sprite." She reminds me of Bette Davis now. I have to tell you she made my whole day. She sat there and chatted away as I cleaned up the dishes and put them all away.

She was so appreciative of what I did for her in just an hour it was all worth it.

So that was Thanksgiving here this year, how was yours?

28 days of rehab

We basically made it, but not completely. On day 27 we both had a glass of red wine with an approved dinner.....it was disappointing unfortunately.
On day 28, our last day, we fell not only off the wagon but completely under it and we were run over by each of the four wheels, three times and then the horses came back and stomped on us a few times just for good measure. We had glorious pizza with extra cheese, real meat, gluten wheat.........It was lovely...

Something different

What the heck are we going to do in this country? Everything is in a shambles after 8 years of Republican rule. Can anyone really clean this mess up? I sure hope so.....

I was looking at some graphs today of deficits, poverty, job creation, and economic growth. How can the Republicans still call themselves the fiscally responsible party? They are worse than AIG at managing money. They have not been fiscally responsible since at least before Reagan. Ravi Batra a professor from Southern Methodist University is brilliant.
Anyone that cares to should look at his web site.
www.ravibatra.com
Click on the Obama and McCain link, very interesting information.

One thing I found interesting is that small businesses had their self employment taxes raised so much by Reagan and no talks about that. The only folks that got a tax cut from his policies were the upper income folks. The rest of us got screwed. Especially the union and hourly workers.

More later. Now I need rest.

Another great meal on the cleanse

This was a pretty good one too, again marinated chicken breast, sliced tomatoes, steamed rice with un-refined coconut oil (Dr Ratte says use it liberally, I think I know what that means) and brussel sprouts.

Notice the drink is always filtered water, no tap water for this diet.

I am getting accustomed to tea now. I drink a lot more of that than I ever did Coffee, maybe it is the warmness that I like. The "Good Earth" Sweet Spice tea is my favorite.

Trying to do a little catch up here so there are two posts in a row and maybe just one more yet tonight. Depending.......

Howard says he has lost 8 pounds now, I wonder if I have. I have not had the time to go to the gym all week and we don't have a nasty scale here at home, so I can only guess. Weight loss was not a goal of this, feeling better was but I am not sure that is working. With out my meditation I think Howard would have kicked me to the curb yesterday, wow was I a bitch.

If I had to succeed at one thing

I am glad it was to make it this far on the Cleanse...............

I intended to blog on a daily basis, at the request of Joan, but alas, I fell short. I even took pictures of the food we were able to eat now and then but, they are still in the camera. So here goes....

This would have been about day 6 I think, see I did have good intentions...

This is one of the first meals that I took a picture of. It was actually scrumptious, marinated chicken breast, Green Beans one of my favorites and a small green salad with approved dressing.

Howard had a hard time with the dressing, I have never seen such a face since I gave 2 year old Cassie a drink of my scotch and water. But she has the good sense to ask for more as soon as the pucker was off her face. That was easy baby sitting for sure.

Over all we are making it and we are now on day 22, 6 more to go and only 12 more "powders" we have to get down. Then it is off to SA for dog.

Day 5, still pretty easy

Howard says he lost 3 pounds so far, I am not sure I have lost any, I am eating too much in anticipation of the temptations. My weight varies from 2-3 pounds daily anyway...

I know myself and I am not capable of denying myself the occasional hot dog unless I am not the least bit hungry. Running around all day almost everyday with no set schedule makes eating and planning when and what to eat a challenge. I tend to allow myself to get to the starvation feeling before I make getting something to eat a priority. Then of course it is what ever is close and lots of it, so that means hot dogs or burgers or some other junk food at the gas station. I also have an uncanny way of persuading myself that this once is just once and in the bigger scheme of things "no big deal," in this detox/cleanse, just once is a big deal and I have to keep reminding myself of that.

Last night I made Pineapple Fried rice, well the version that is acceptable on this cleanse. No soy sauce....changed it a bit and I think the rice was a bit mushy. Not sure what caused that except maybe I used too much oil. I will try again tonight to see if I can make it more like real fried rice.

I have much more energy now. Last night after spending the entire morning in a continuing education class, looking at 15 homes in 4 hours and meeting with a potential client until 8PM, I had the energy to cook and clean the kitchen, put some stuff away in the living room and do a load or two of laundry and of course check www.electoral-vote.com to see how my man is doing today. I slept really well and feel good this morning too.

Overall.....so far, I highly recommend this.

I keep remembering the story of the guy who moved to the snow country for the first time in his life and thought how fun it was going to be, then day by day with more snow and more headaches he finally snapped and was hauled off to the funny farm. I wonder if that will be me in the second week, let alone the third and fourth...

PS

Today I met with Julie Delene and Lisa McCue to "Feng Shui" a listing that I have in St Paul. It is one of those lofts that all the 20 somethings are in love with at the moment.

Julie said at least 10 times, maybe more, "It is so cold." It was hilarious, over and over she said in so many different ways, "It is so cold." Anyway, finally after we closed some of the blinds and did a few adjustments with Chinese coins and blue tape I have to admit it did feel much much better. Why am I surprised when Feng Shui works? We did the tracing of the nine stars ceremony to set the intention of color in the space and to shift the energy toward the new buyer. Oh where is that new buyer....

We were going to stop at Camp and have a drink but Julie does not drink at all anymore and I can't at the moment so Lisa said, fugetaboatit (notice how I added the Minnesota at the end of Jersey?) I am not drinking alone. I am so funny.....ha ha

I will report on how the Feng Shui worked in a couple of weeks.

Just had to write about this...

Day 3...... Not so bad

Yesterday there was no way I was going to write anything, it most likely would have made the machine melt down. All I wanted all day was a hot dog....





Today is fine. We had our weekly meeting at the office and of course there is always a ton of junk food. I love the huge, dripping with frosting sweet rolls that are all gooey and cinnamony, but I was able to resist completely with very little problem. As Blanche would say "A personal triumph." We had a HUGE breakfast of cream of rice, like cream of wheat only with rice. They called it Rice Grits, I guess we just went back south. I added a banana in each big bowl, Blueberries and Raspberries and then I added the powder to that, it was toooooo much. I ate all of it because I had to and I wanted some courage for the meeting and temptations. Now I know the only way to take the powder is to mix it with juice or in a smoothie.


Tonight we had a scrumptious dinner of grilled chicken breasts, organic green beans and a small lettuce salad with sliced tomato (with no dressing of course, they all have soy.) Now the water is next, I need to drink more more more....

Now to sit a bit, check the news stations to see what McCain and Palin are up to today, how can they have any self respect at all left? They are calling her a Diva and now today something else, I can't remember what it was. They are worse then Bush and Cheney I think. I say we need to go for the brass ring of 60.... Maybe then we can get something done.

Stock market up almost 1000 today, I say sell because it will go down tomorrow.

McCain called for Sen. Stevens to resign.....oh puuulllllease, then why did Palin not resign when she was found guilty of abuse of power and corruption? OOOOPPPs, well that is okay, she can shoot moose so we give her a pass. This is not the change we need, it is more of the McSame.

TTFN

28 days to Perfection...LOL

Since I am sure anyone reading this is also reading Howard's blog I will make this short.

No problem so far. I kind of like the powder stuff that we have to take and the thought of eating totally healthy for 28 days is sort of cool. I love the trail mix that I made this morning, this will be easy.
One down 27 to go.

It was gonna happen sooner or later

This may not come as a surprise to anyone reading this but it is time to come clean here. I am bit outspoken at times and have a difficult time keeping my thoughts to myself, even when I should.
Now I haved said it and I am sticking to it. What has that ever gotten me before? NOTHING. Now it seems I have been "published" on more than one continent for my latest transgression. I am not quite Paris or Britney yet but I am working on it.

This is what happened.

A week or so ago I received a call from a reporter from the Associated Press asking me what I thought of the new 35W bridge in Minneapolis. WELL, if you don't want to know, don't ask right?

I guess he called because my good friend Diane Hofstede was able to extend an invitation to me to be a part of the original bridge design charette, where there was a lot of press writing down our comments and deliberations. Now we did not get the option of total design, only selection of options, so it was fun and interesting and we spent a day selecting the color of the bridge, one of three styles for the pillars to hold the thing up, and the guardrails to keep idiots from going over the edge. Of course I made a few outrageous comments during the charette that was picked up by the local press and so Mr. AP had my number....

Back to the story. I chatted with this guy for about 30 minutes telling him what I thought of the new design, the process and the outcome in general. Of course in 30 minutes I had a lot of good things to say but being who I am, I had to say a few outrageous things too!

So I am now quoted in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Denver Post, International Herald Tribune (My favorite newspaper by the way so I am very please about this one), Seattle PI, The Guardian, Boston Globe and of course the Strib. Not sure about the New York Times. I could list the others like Fargo, St Cloud, La Crosse, Tulsa etc., but you get the point.

So what was the comment?

"We had an opportunity to build a signature bridge and didn't take it. They chose an average bridge and we got an average bridge." Of course the mayor had to take the opposite view and I must now be on his "list."

For me this is not at all outrageous is it? But I am now published. LOL

Should I call Paris or Britney for advice on how to handle the paparazzi???

Sarah Palin

Yes of course I had to comment on this....

I find it shocking that the Republicans now find teenage pregnancy not only acceptable but something to celebrate. This is not an abortion issue, this is a personal responsibility issue.

Granted teenage pregnancy happens everyday and most who are honest about that experience will not say it is a good thing. I am not trying to judge pregnant teens. Of course I am a liberal so, I have zero issue with this, but how can the Republican's all of a sudden find this all okay??? I figure we all have done things as teenagers that we wish we hadn't, but come on, should we encourage teenage pregnancy?

Are they now saying that it is "cool" for teens to get pregnant?

If McCain and Palin are elected, what parent could possibly tell their teenager to wait until you are mature enough to understand the consequences before you decide to have sex? I can hear it now, "Well the VP's daughter didn't and it was not only okay but cool, I want to be like her." Then the parental "if everyone else was jumping off the cliff would you follow?"

If they are elected, teenage pregnancy will skyrocket. Is this the moral leadership the Republicans offer now? Family Values and all that.

Does anyone remember Dan Quail's comments about Murphy Brown and the unwed mother thing?

No more on the Palin's at the moment.

The Great South West Journey

It sure has been a wonderful month. On June 20th John and Mary arrived for a little vacation. Other than seeing the normal Minneapolis and St Paul sights, we went to the North Shore for two days. Mary and John were a hoot to travel with. John sure likes taking pictures and thank the Universe that he brought to cameras with him on that jaunt. I left my battery plugged into the wall at home, now that was a good place for it don't you think? The sights and sounds of the north woods are not to be missed, not to mention Betty's Pies. The weather was great, nice and cool with bright sunshine, just like Minnesota should be. There are reasons we live here and days like those are some of them. John and Mary left on the 26th at 10AM and at 4PM the Bracker girls from Germany arrived for three weeks. We had a few days with them in the cities to get them acclimated to the time change and America. We also needed a little time for them to get acclimated to us and us to them. Their comments from the first few days "everything is so big" and after three weeks in the U.S. "I am surprised at how awful your roads are." On the 1st of July Jana, Saskia and I flew to Denver for the start of the southwest adventure. We rented the Queen Mary (most everyone else knows it as a Chevy Tahoe) for the journey, wow does that thing suck the gas.. We spent our first three days at the dude ranch, yes I went horse back ridding in complete cowboy drag, boots, hat, western shirt the works. Then Sara Wedul (an old friend that now lives in Denver) joined us for the remainder of the journey. We went to Santa Fe to the Opera, *disappointing* but we loved Santa Fe, the UFO convention in Roswell NM *a little lame actually*, then Carlsbad Caverns *amazing*, The White Sands National Monument, *one of the surprises of the trip for everyone but me, wonderful place*, Gila Cliff Dwellings near Silver City NM, *Cool and not extensive and not touristy at all*, then the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert *Very very cool*. Think this is enough? At this point we are about at the half way mark. We visited some of the sights on old Route 66 *how can you not love that?*, stayed in two 50's style mom and pop motels *I like luxury*, walked around the towns, bought souvenirs, ate in diners and took a ton of pictures. Had a flat tire on the Q.M. that we had to change at 114 degrees, yes 114 degrees and we are all still alive to talk about it. Then off to the Grand Canyon, now that was a sight this old road warrior was completely impressed with but the heat, for God's sake who in their right minds would want to live in that. Dry heat.....PULLLEEEZZZZ. An oven is dry heat too but I am not moving in anytime soon, but I digress... by this time we are all in need of a break and some luxury (especially me) so off to Lost Wages we go. Now I say luxury right, put that together with Las Vegas and does that make you think of the Wynn? It did me. We checked in, what an amazing place that was, the light fixtures were amazing enough to warrant, oh.. say 25 pictures. We all had corner rooms with great views of all the new construction going on there. That is one amazing city, is there no end to the money? The pool area was wonderful and we spent the afternoon in water sipping Mojito's. That evening we went to see "O" the Cirque show at the Bellagio. http://youtube.com/watch?v=O0_KUwpqdE8 Again amazing but tomorrow is a new day so off to Zion National Park *worth the drive* and then Arches *I was so tired I had to sleep in the car while Sara took pictures and did some walking around but again HOT. Of course this was not busy enough for us so we had to add an early morning white water rafting trip to the mix. That was great but we were all so exhausted that I am not sure any of us enjoyed the rest of the drive back to Denver. I had to stay awake and Sara, thank the universe for her, kept me awake so I could navigate the Queen Mary back into port safely. We spent the night with Sara in her home in Denver and the next day we came back to Minneapolis for some much-deserved rest. When time and energy permits I will get into why one should be very careful of the traditional American Motel's these days.

What a sad sad day!!!

Just when I was getting to know Howard's brother-in-law David, he is gone. How is that possible? How are the Ramsdales going to cope? One thing I hope all of you Ramsdales know is you made his short time on this earth, a joyful one. Other than more time, what more can a person ask?

I know from experience that when loved ones leave so unexpectedly, it is especially hard to say goodbye.

I sit here thinking that I have something more to say but I can hardly see the screen or keyboard to type it is all so blurry, is that what life is, a blur?

I am thinking of all of you.

I am at it again, here goes

What can I say, I finally get two messages on email about my entries so now I have changed my settings so anyone can comment directly on my blog.

March 30, 2008 and it is still winter, I guess we are paying for the last few years of almost no winter, this year it has been more like the winters I remember when I first moved here in the early 70's. Then it was fun, now it is an annoyance. But there are worse things and a wonderful summer is coming. After this a few bugs and a little humidity will be a welcomed change.


I keep hearing the comments about how hard it is to meet people here and of course, being who I am, I have a theory and lots of comments. This shall be my rant of the week.

Minnesotans are wonderful, warm and sincere folks but they don't understand what it is like to be NEW and after all why should I try to change them, when they have built a society I want to be a part of for whatever reason. It is amazing to me how many natives here that I know still have the same friends they had in kindergarten. I guess it shows one thing, people here make friends for life. Friends here are not discardable.

But still, how about us new folks? We are capable of that as well, just give us a chance, but that is another topic for another "rant."

I have basically been here over 25 years and I am still sort of a newcomer. Those of us that are new have learned that over the years we make friends with other folks that are new here too. I really think this is the reason the "Minnesota Miracle" is quickly slipping away.

Minnesota used to be a place that literally embraced it's community in its entirety and genuinely cared about each other. Sure there were racial issues like everywhere and that is not to excuse it but everyone had to learn and some still are. Social programs were great for those that needed them and they really were not abused that much. Sure sometimes they were but heck, what isn't? The schools were fantastic, consistently in the top 3 even in the inner cities. Roads were always well maintained in the summer and winter (at least we didn't have bridges falling down into rivers. The streets were basically safe for kids and everyone really. The jobs were well paying, you really could live the good life on average wages here as an average citizen. It was cold but there was a pride in surviving yet another blizzard. It was not cause for complaint but cause for pride.

With the lack of interaction between the locals and new comers, the new comers have not been educated about the benefits of taking care of the least among us and enjoying what we have here. Some of the new comers come from places with less taxes, less government "interference" and less kindness. Since they come here and really like the place for the great society that was built, they want to being with them the parts of the place they left that just so happened to be in direct conflict with what is here and what caused this place to be what it is keeps them here in the first place.

Selfishness was not the norm here, generosity was. Sure we paid more taxes for "good schools" and "good roads" and "safe streets" and "plentiful libraries with extended hours" and "forward thinking planning" and "great parks systems" and "clean water and air." Even the corporations headquartered and founded in Minnesota are different. They mostly believe in giving back to the community that is loyal to them. Target for example, they have always had a policy of giving 5% of pre-tax profits directly back to the community in the form of support for the arts, parks and education and countless other community endeavours. Can you say that about WalMart, or Halliburton, or Mobile Exxon, or even Macy's or how about Nordstrom's, a great company but do they give back? The others don't do this because they were not part of the Minnesota culture when they were founded and they don't "get" the benefits of this kind of philanthropy.

Any of you reading this, please, the next time you have an actual conversation with someone from Minnesota, ask them how many good friends they have that are not natives, not just friends but good friends. Then ask them to think about it for a minute and then tell you why. What a great place to start a conversation that could actually lead to something more than a general "hello how are you?" If you already have the habit of putting Minnesota down because Minnesotans are passive aggressive, or cold or unfriendly, or the weather is so freaking cold, or what ever the complaint is, stop it. This is no way to make friends. No one wants to hear you complain. If you don't like it, the US is temporarily a free country and you are free to move about the country. Mississippi has low taxes, warm winters low government interference and the welfare spending is very low, they would love more residents I am sure. No matter what the locals complain about, remember it is like family, I can call my sister a bitch and have many times, but you better not.

My experience here has been wonderful almost all the time. I do have great friends and some are locals, not many but some. Sure I hate the long winters, but you know what, I have lived in California and Washington and Ohio and Iowa and Puerto Rico and Illinois and Indiana and I will tell you something you all know and may have forgotten, no place is perfect but there are many many things worse than cold weather and the new comers that have not figured out what makes this place tick are bringing those things with them.

Vickie, Happy Birthday a day late!! Ruthie, I can't wait to read your comments.

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