Snow

Not sure I feel quite the same as Anne Sexton, though it does look kind of pretty ... that is, until the recycling needs to go out and your boots fill up with the stuff while you're trying to clear a space for all that evidence of over-consumption.

Anne Sexton—The Awful Rowing Toward God. © Houghton Mifflin, 1975.

Snow,
blessed snow,
comes out of the sky
like bleached flies.
The ground is no longer naked.
The ground has on its clothes.
The trees poke out of sheets
and each branch wears the sock of God.

There is hope.
There is hope everywhere.
I bite it.
Someone once said:
Don't bite till you know
if it's bread or stone.
What I bite is all bread,
rising, yeasty as a cloud.

There is hope.
There is hope everywhere.
Today God gives milk
and I have the pail.

Snowing

Time to quit, but not before a weather update.

Dec 2007	Temperature	Humidity	Sunrise	Sunset
Tues 25	30.4 F (-0.9 C)	92%	7:50 am	4:36 pm

Windchill is a few degrees colder ... about -4.0 C ... so not too bad, as long as you're inside!

Christmas decorations

Only made it as far as a wreath on the front door this year ... no tree ... no lights – almost bah humbug, but more to do with being busy than not feeling inclined. My friend Rina bought me the wreath and I managed to hang it up a week or so after receiving it which I thought was pretty good!

Louie

I've been a bit slack both with camera and with blogging – making the most of a few days off to catch up. A pic of my very laid-back housemate Louie and his dog Chip.

Gunflint Lodge 'Canoeing 101'

Week 2—Gunflint Lodge, Grand Marais

Our canoe expedition is a worthy candidate for a dedicated post. Up to this point, we had been experiencing Minnesota at its November best - grey and gloomy a la Robert Frost. So, after one cabin-bound day (and in spite of the fact that our cabin could have housed a small houseparty and had almost more than all the comforts of home) we decided to brave the cold, wet and gloom and take advantage of all of the activity options that were included in our package. Undeterred by the absence of anyone else thinking that this would be a good idea, we vested up - Graeme et al deciding to take their shoes off so they wouldn't get wet - and paddled off into the mist. Jane and I (and Fin and Tutu who, shivering from the onset, knew this was a bad idea) took off in third position and this handicap thwarted all attempts to catch up with either Graeme and Claire or Catriona and Nathan. I'm not sure whether it was wind or current or a combination (a question for someone of Bill Peirson's ilk) but the gap between us widened as quickly as the shore receded uncomfortably into the distance.

After five minutes or so (which seemed like an hour) Jane and I made one of those Thompson decisions that require no conversation and made an about turn to head back to the shore. We then set out along the foreshore to scout for the rest of the party. Not able to sight them, we stepped up our pace and returned to the boatshed, ready to raise the alarm. Thankfully, we saw Graeme and Claire coming down to join us. They had headed into shore, dragged their canoe up through someone's property, abandoned it and thumbed a ride back to the lodge.

Not so Catriona and Nathan. We dropped Claire and Jane back at our cabin from whence Fin immediately escaped - just to raise the dramatic tone of the afternoon a little further - and then Graeme and I went in search of Catriona and Nathan. We drove slowly up the road which ran parallel to the shore, separated by a bushy, steep strip of land populated with the odd cabin. Graeme decided to try to walk through what proved inpenetrable scrub to the shoreline, while I continued to drive along the road. After driving for a mile or two and not seeing anyone, I turned around and headed back, picking up Graeme along the way. We were thinking about our next course of action when we saw a bedraggled Catriona and Nathan hobble up to the roadway.

Back to the cabin to restore body heat, nurse wounded feet and be thoroughly satisfied with entertainment comprising jigsaws, videos and the hot tub (next door)

Thompsons' excellent adventure REDUX

Also via USPS came two CDs with over six hundred photos from our October holiday. A fine opportunity for another piece of fruitcake and a cuppa ... and a plentiful collection from which to select a few 'highlights'. San Francisco was fantastic. Loved every minute, even the endless walking (up and down ... and up) when caught unawares by the demand for the trolleys. Great ferry trip on the bay en route to Alcatraz; cycling across the Golden Gate a definite highlight. From San Francisco a BIG road trip via Yosemite and Death Valley to the Grand Canyon - also spectacular.

Week 1—West Coast roadtrip

Vegas was a sensory overload, concurrently exciting and depressing. Saw this tiger and just felt sad. Couldn't figure out who was in the cage - him, or us.

Three Musketeers

Tutu and Chip's general modus operandi - while Tutu looks on.

USPS Christmas Eve

After shovelling and then carefully defrosting my tingling hands by holding them (while wincing) under running water, I settled in for the morning, tending to end-of-year purging activities ... cleaning up the hard drive, sorting through and tossing paperwork etc, along with the normal w/end activities. Pleasantly interrupted by the postman, first checking whether I was home before delivering a very timely Christmas present from Jane. Fin and Tutu were most interested in the aroma which was released after I'd battled with aluminium foil and many layers of glad wrap ... but there was no way. Savoured my first piece over a cuppa and thoughts of 108.

Escape artist preventative

This one's for Jill. Tutu seems to be the one with the wanderlust ... maybe she thinks she'll get a better deal elsewhere! Once I'd covered the escape avenues with the plastic netting ... I still caught her over there trying to muzzle her way under!

Hans Brinker

Went to retire late on Saturday and noticed a 'puddle' on the floor near the bed. Suspected Fin or Tutu but thought it was a strange location ... yes ... they have been known to wee inside. Further investigation revealed a sodden mattress where the window air conditioner had been steadily dripping due to being in overdrive all day to combat the oppressive heat.

Further investigation the next morning revealed that the drainage hole was secured with a plug!!! Now ... what purpose could this possibly serve? Preventing miniature mice from entering the a/c? Removed it and voila ... problem solved. I'll keep you posted about the miniature mice.

Don't sit under the apple tree

Fin takes great delight in jumping for apples. The tree is full of them at the moment. I haven't had a chance to do much with them myself. They're OK for eating - no bugs etc, but at the moment, apart from Fin, they're being enjoyed by the local squirrel population.

Visit from home

Jill Williams 'dropped' in for the weekend after holidaying with her sister's family in Canada. We had a lovely weekend, though her flight was delayed 12 hours and by the time I met her at 2.00 am last Saturday morning, we were both ready for a sleep-in!

We had a fairly low-key weekend. It was raining off and on Saturday. We walked to Birchwood and had breakfast, then went for a drive and stocked up on some groceries. We then walked to the Longfellow Grill for an early dinner and walked back along the river.

After church on Sunday we drove down to Stillwater which was fun as I hadn't been there before. Very much like Berry with the same mixture of antique and bric-a-brac shops, some tacky, some nice. We made it home in time to squeeze in an early session of the Bourne Ultimatum. I had Monday afternoon off and arrived home to find Jill recovering on the cane lounge after having cornered Fin and Tutu in the back lane, following Tutu's escape (Fin also got out after Jill took off after Tutu). Of course Fin and Tutu were none the worse for wear, though Jill had some unexpected weightlifting practice trying to get them back home! It was a busy couple of days but really nice to catch up on all that's been happening over the past couple of years for both of us.

Moving Day at 132 Orlin Ave

Closing a week early had some advantages. I spent the next week moving what seemed like endless loads of boxes in the Subaru on my way home from work each day, in preparation for Garrett and Martin to come and help with the big / heavy stuff the following Saturday.

Fortunately, my back held out - I should have worn a pedometer, my feet were aching by the end of moving day; it would have been interesting to know how many miles they had trod!

I downsized the truck that I'd hired to a cargo van as I was a little nervous about driving it. It meant two trips using both the van and Garrett's ute. After they'd moved all of the furniture, they also helped move the washing machine and dryer from the garage down to the basement - a painful operation to watch, involving removing two doors and then easing the beasts a step at a time to their new home.

Closing Day - Friday 20 July

Today was closing day. It was brought forward a week so that the lender could have everything organized in this financial year. Fortunately, Samantha was happy to do this, though it meant that she was still in the middle of packing and moving. The actual closing ended up a bit of an anti-climax as I signed all of the necessary paperwork last night, so spent the morning working from home and then went over to 2905 after lunch. Samantha, Karl and Samantha's dad Merle had a lot left to do. So I went and bought a round of iced-tea (people drink that here ... a lot!) and then helped out a bit until my friends Katie and Marie arrived with a bottle of wine to help me celebrate!

Pics are Karl and Merle packing the truck; Karl, Samantha (and Lucy) and Merle; and Katie, me, Samantha and Marie.

Preoccupation

I've been rather preoccupied the past couple of months. My lease here at Orlin Ave finishes at the end of July, so I've been thinking for a while whether I would renew, or look to buy something. The market here is very good at the moment, so I've taken the plunge and signed the agreement for this place last week.

It's a 1925 one and a half storey with a great fenced yard that Fin and Tutu should enjoy. It belonged to a work colleague who has recently married and will be moving interstate. Whilst it's an old place, it's in pretty good nick, so I should be able to 'just' move in. I'm also in the process of lining up a room-mate to help me through the first 12 months or so with the mortgage and think that I have a possible there - more news when that's certain. Moving date is 27 July and I'll take the following week off to unpack / recover from the shock! Here's the Google maps link and a couple of pics from the realtor.

Time for a cuppa

It's been a while, taking the opportunity of Memorial Day w/end to do some catching up. This will gross you out, but Fin is very partial to a cuppa ...

Bruce and butterscotch pie

Rainy Sunday afternoon spent writing a few emails, doing a little paperwork, lapping the block with the dogs a few times inbetween showers. A couple of weeks ago, I went on a whim to see Bruce Cockburn play at a fundraiser for the Cedar Cultural Center. As a venue, I can't think of what I could compare it to back in Australia – very low-key, folding-chair-type place, though with beer on tap and paper-plated thai curry, both of which could be taken inside (my kind of place). I called on the day (a school-night too – impressing myself with my spontaneity) after I saw it advertised on a website I happened upon. It was general admission, so I turned up early and got a great seat, fairly close to the front. I was thankful that the concert started at 7.30 pm (unlike Alexi Murdoch a couple of weeks before – who didn't come on until midnight!). Guess they were catering for the demographic (I think I discovered where all the 50+ yr old hippies hang out).

He's put on a few pounds since I last saw him in Sydney at the Basement (was it '96?!), but his performance was perfect and the setlist was a great mix of old and new. Only just resisted buying his instrumental album after hearing Jerusalem Poker. Found Dust and Diesel on YouTube.

Felt quite homesick yesterday, cheered up by a phonecall from Jackie B. I had tried to cheer myself up earlier by attempting Mum's butterscotch pie recipe sans Mum's butterscotch pie recipe. I found a substitute on the web and until I can compare it with Mum's, will refuse all blame, though it did have merangue ... I still can't quite get the hang of merangue!

Arboretum

On Saturday I went to the Minnesota Arboretum to see an exhibition of orchids. It's similar to our botanical gardens at Mt Tomah in Sydney. The orchids were beautiful - amazing plants, taking years to cultivate. I was surprised to see the pink rock orchid from Australia that I had in the backyard at Newtown (present from Bill and Ruth that somehow survived my flatting years). The pics aren't great but thought it would make a change from Fin and Tutu. I've no idea what type the orchid in the third picture is!

The grounds cover about 1,000 acres with lots of trails throughout. I'll have to go back in the summer months so I can see what was covered with snow! I've managed to avoid domestics this weekend and am about to get ready to go to a charity dinner for We Can Ride with Rina and Pete, so time to take the doglets for a quick bolt around the block and get organised.

Taylor the Latte Boy

Heard this on a repeat of Prairie Home Companion today ... and, of course, many versions available on YouTube.

Speaking of YouTube, a great clip that I was forwarded recently - 'Where the hell is Matt' he was paid for this!

Winter storm-warning

-10 C, but feels quite warm in the sun! The days are thankfully getting longer with the sun rising just before 7.00 am and setting around 6.00 pm. This will change next week with daylight saving - in the US it's changing this year; beginning second Sunday in March (11th) and lasting until first Sunday in November (4th). So as of next week, the time difference will be 16 hours instead of 17, until daylight saving finishes in Australia and then it will drop another hour to 15 hours.

The last few days have been pretty exciting with all the snow. It has blown right in onto the front porch and, before the landlord shovelled, the steps were indiscernable.

I took an early-mark from work on Thursday so I could get home before the 'rush-hour' traffic and the onset of the snow which fell for most of the night. After a mostly snow-free season, the storm is very newsworthy as it brings a lot of moisture, so there's endless reports on the radio about the exact measurements and levels etc, along with stories of stranded motorists ignoring interstate road closures (and associated heavy fines) and subsequently having to be rescued. Up at Lake Superior, there have been big 'ice-mountains' formed by water breaking through the surface somehow (sounds like Kiama blowhole!). There's a slide-show on the MPR website with pics from around the state.

I drove in to work on Friday - observing (and thankfully avoiding the effects of) some interesting driving behaviour on the way - as it dawned on some drivers that the nature of the road conditions might require less speed than normal, bringing about the classicly Minnesotan, signal-less, response (ie sudden deccelaration with no concept of surrounding traffic!).

It's Saturday morning and I just took the dogs for a quick walk around the block. In spite of the sun, it's a bit chilly. The snow-ploughing has left huge banks of snow between the footpath and the street - a little hard to negotiate in places. On the way home from work last night I helped push a little VW through the intersection shown in the photo with the Melbourne St sign (just down the road from me) - made me glad that I chose an all-wheel drive. The truck belongs to the next-door neighbour ... makes me glad to pay extra for the remote-controlled garage!

Snowstorm

It's been a while since I wrote. This weekend we finally saw some decent snow after a drought for most of the season. Awoke this morning to the sound of the snow-blowers hard at work. Fin and Tutu struggled to do their business with dignity, sinking up to their girth as soon as they stepped out.