1956

I stole another great idea from Red Shoe Ramblings - thanks, Deb! The idea is to do a Google image search with your birth year and choose pictures that represent what life was like at that time. I have to admit I cheated a bit because I couldn't find any interesting movies in the image search, nor could I find an image of one event I wanted to include. Anyway, here it is. You can click to see it larger.


Fortune cookie of the day:
Forbidden fruit creates many jams.

Hunter's Moon

Last night the full moon rose before sunset, and it was still fairly high when I walked before sunrise this morning. The photo is actually from August - it wasn't light enough this morning until the end of my walk.

I really dread the next 3 months when I have to walk in the dark on at least one of my walks - either before work or after. And for a while, probably both. By the time we go off daylight savings next weekend, it will be getting dark on my drive home. Right now I really dislike living so far north. Today our sunrise is at 7:43 and sunset at 6:11. In Washington, DC, sunrise is at 7:29 and sunset at 6:15. In Miami, it's 7:26 and 6:44. So DC has about 18 minutes more sunlight, and Miami has about 50. Even the 18 is enough to be noticeable. And it's not even solstice yet. Guess I'd never make it in the arctic, huh? We do have a little advantage in the summer, when it stays light noticeably later.

Have a great weekend, and enjoy what light you have!

Fortune cookie of the day:
Don't let the past and useless details choke your existence.

Book meme

I've never done a meme before, but DebR inspired me. Although I have to say a lot of my answers are pretty much echoes of hers....

1. Hardcover or paperback, and why?

I usually choose paperback since it is the only way I can afford the massive number of books I buy. It also makes it easier to store them, since I rarely get rid of any, and carry them in my purse for those few minutes when I can steal reading time. But I really prefer hardcover - the feel, the paper, and definitely the larger print - though I still need to wear my glasses to read them. And I loathe the invention of the trade paperback...

2. If I were to own a book shop I would call it...

I'd come up with a corny name like Magic Carpet Books. Then I'd ask my husband to think of one and he'd come up with pun-ny names like In a Bind. Eventually he'd probably find one I liked and I'd use that. Unless Tattered Cover wants to give me a Minneapolis franchise, and then I'd just use their name. I REALLY miss Tattered Cover.

3. My favorite quote from a book (mention the title) is...

"Favorite" is tough for me, since I know that after I post this I will be kicking myself for forgetting that quote - oh and that one! I should have said that one! I actually keep a list of quotes I like, but I keep forgetting to add to it. And most of the quotes there are from movies. Besides, it doesn't include the great Shakespeare quotes -- but most of those I can remember right now are depressing. So I'll use this one because at least it makes me laugh...

"Most psychiatrists don't like to work with teenagers because it's often too difficult to distinguish between normal adolescence and pathological illness." Debra Borden, Lucky Me

4. The author (alive or deceased) I would love to have lunch with would be ...

Living: J.K. Rowling. I would love to discuss all of the Harry Potter books, but most of all I'd love to find out what other ideas she has.
Deceased: I probably would have said Jane Austen, but since I don't want this post to be a repeat of Deb's.... I think I'll pick Dorothy Sayers. I think she must have had a very interesting mind.

5. If I was going to a deserted island and could only bring one book, except from the SAS survival guide, it would be...

Like Deb, I would take the Complete Novels of Jane Austen. Unless I could find the Complete Harry Potter (more pages to read, if nothing else). But the print would have to be so small on that one that I wouldn't be able to read it, even WITH my glasses.

Come to think of it, I do own a one-volume set of Shakespeare's works. Maybe I should choose that for the sheer variety from comedy to tragedy. And it includes some plays I have never read since I expect them to be boring. And his poems as well.

Yes, I have trouble picking just one. That is so typical of me (sorry Karis...).

6. I would love someone to invent a bookish gadget that...

Allows you to access and read any book, any time, anywhere, and is no bigger than a paperback book.

7. The smell of an old book reminds me of...

Curling up in a window seat so I can enjoy both the book and the view (and also perhaps some privacy). Ok, so I never actually did that. In fact I've never had a window seat. But I imagine if I had, that is what the smell would remind me of.

8. If I could be the lead character in a book (mention the title), it would be...

Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter series. She's terrifically smart, brave, has way more energy than I've ever had, AND SHE CAN DO MAGIC. Ok, she's not technically the lead character, but it's better to be the sidekick than the one on whom all the malevolence is focused.

9. The most overestimated book of all time is...

I hate to say anything is the most of all time. Let's just say the book that comes to mind is The Sound and The Fury by William Faulkner. My husband loves Faulkner and got me to read this when we were dating. I thought it sounded interesting because of the Shakespeare-quote connection (I was pretty obsessed with Shakespeare at the time). I don't remember much about it, but I remember I hated it. And I think I may have tried another Faulkner novel before I gave up on him. Which made me a little sad as he is one of "the great Southern authors" and once taught at my alma mater.

By the way, to go off topic a bit - you may have heard of the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. I found this website where you can download a spreadsheet, indicate which ones you have read, and even calculate how many of them you need to read each year in order to complete the list, based on your age and average life expectancy. I don't agree with all of the picks, of course, and do not intend to read them all -- but it is still very interesting. So far I have read only 110 - a terrible record for a former English major!

10. I hate it when a book...

Leaves me hanging without a definite resolution. If I really like the characters, I want to KNOW what happened to them, invite them over again sometime, meet their friends and kids...


Here's another photo from my Lake Harriet walk. (You can click to see it larger.)

Fortune cookie of the day:
You are about to receive a big compliment.

Sail away to fairyland

I saw this car parked near the Lake Harriet bandshell and just had to take a photo. The writing on the front says "You sail away to fairyland along this track of light." Through the windshield you can just make out the ubiquitous "Bug" flowers and also the tiny little fairies spread out on the dashboard.


Fortune cookie of the day:
Do it because you love it

Come sit with me

More from Centennial Lakes. We hoped for a while that our office would move to a building here - right behind this chair, I think. so that is my seat waiting for me. Unfortunately, it will be a long wait. The bosses wouldn't pony up the higher rent, so we are stuck in the same old office for another 2 years. Ah well, I can still visit my seat.

I actually tried to post this a couple of days ago, but Blogger's photo upload wasn't working. Since I took this picture it has been raining pretty much every day, nearly all day long. Tomorrow is supposed to be nicer - I'm really looking forward to seeing the sun.

Had a great dinner last night with the whole family plus significant others. Russ made veggie lasagna and garlic bread, I made chocolate sauce. Good food and conversation.

Fortune cookie of the day:
Take calculated risks. That is quite different from being rash.

Self-Portrait with Dog

Yesterday Bravo and I went to Centennial Lakes Park. It's small, but quite a nice park for such an urban setting - nestled amid office buildings, shops and condos. I may do a whole week of Park pictures...

I understand that mazes like this one are the new thing - very meditative and new age. I may have to come back and walk this one sometime - without the dog. Somehow I don't think he would get the whole meditation thing.


Fortune cookie of the day:
You will soon have your moment of glory.

Random thoughts on recent events

I haven't posted much for a while, so here are just some random thoughts I had on recent local news events. The first couple are depressing, but then there are some lighter, more personal notes at the end.

1. I told people a couple of weeks ago about the news article on a cross that had been burned into the lawn at the house of a black man in the northern suburbs. Yes, into, not on - rather than a wooden cross planted on the lawn and set on fire, this was the shape of a cross burned into the grass. Ok, I thought that was a little odd at the time, but I hadn't kept up on cross-burning techniques - maybe this was the new way? A couple days later, the article in the paper said the man was now accused of doing it himself. Allegedly, he told some inmate friends of his that he planned on doing something like that to gain sympathy and maybe money. And one of them ratted him out. If you can't trust your prison friends, who can you trust?

2. A very sad incident occurred across the border in Wisconsin last weekend. A 20-year-old sheriff's deputy shot several people to death, apparently when he went to a party looking for his ex-girlfriend and she was no longer interested in him. The youngest victim was 14, most were 18-20. There were articles about how 20 is too young to be in law enforcement. While I do agree that seems a little young, I think the bigger problem, which didn't seem to get quite as much press, was the fact that he had not been required to undergo a psychological evaluation before hiring. Yeah, why check on the mental stability of a person who is going to carry a gun and be a figure of authority? Isn't it a waste of time and money? (Minnesota does require a psychological evaluation, though.)

3. The headline a few days ago said that Minnesota had turned down Federal money earmarked for bridge repair. Oh my god! A state whose bridges are in such sad shape that THEY FALL DOWN did not accept free money to repair them??? Well, not exactly. If you actually read the article, it sounds like there were a couple of mutually exclusive pots of money that the state could have accepted. Instead of the bridge repair funds (which had restrictions such as they couldn't be used to replace a bridge, only repair it), the state accepted other money that did not have such restrictions. They may not have made the wisest use of the money they did accept, but I still think the headline was irresponsible.

4. On a lighter note, my co-worker and her husband were on Fox news the other night. They had the local gas company come to winterize their furnace, and the news asked if they could tape it for a spot on preparing for winter. The funny thing was, while the repairman was filmed working on their furnace, he talked about the odd things he had pulled out of furnaces - pounds of walnuts, chipmunks, easter eggs. But the way they cut it, sounded like he was getting all this from my co-worker's furnace!

5. Agility was great this week! There was a very complicated course, and I was sure it would be hard to keep Bravo on the right path as he had to change directions quickly, ignoring obstacles right in front of him to go for the ones I asked him to take. But he did really well, seldom taking the wrong path. I was so proud!!!

6. It is still dark when I walk in the morning, though I have moved back the time so it does get light before I'm done. This morning as I passed the end of Bush Lake Beach, I heard a sound like a wave breaking. When I looked around, I realized we had flushed a flock of geese (or maybe ducks - it was too dark to tell) and they had all slipped into the water at the same time. A little further on, I heard another flock landing on the water with a similar wave-like sound. And then a flock of ducks (it was lighter this time) that had more of the many-wings-flapping sound. I don't know, it just caught my attention and I liked hearing it.

Have a great weekend!

Fortune cookie of the day:
Your problems just become your stepping stone. Catch the moment.

Of Cat and Dog

This morning as I was walking Bravo before sunrise, he suddenly veered away into the middle of the road to avoid something ahead of him. I peered into the dark and eventually realized that there was a cat standing in the gutter, back arched in warning. Yes, my 70-lb dog was afraid of a cat. Once he had made a wide circle around this scary critter, Bravo turned back to check, and she appeared to be following us. So he would run ahead, then turn again and kind of growl at her (but it was really more like his little talking noise than a fierce growl). This went on for a distance of 3 or 4 houses. Eventually we got far enough ahead, or she lost interest in scaring the big dog, or something, and we continued our walk.

So Bravo is afraid of cats, but he loves college students. We went to Beloit last weekend, and I think he believed that all the petting he got from the Beloit students was worth the 6 hours in the crate to get there. We had so many students come up to us, ask to pet him, and talk about how they missed their dogs. At least one girl said we made her day. Karis and I took him on a couple of long walks, he got to visit the farmers' market, and even snuck into her dorm room once. He thought the hotel room was a little strange, but all in all he did quite well with new experiences.

The weather was beautiful, and I very much enjoyed visiting Beloit and meeting some of Karis' friends there. But most of all, it was great to see my daughter again. I'm really glad she gets a fall break, and will be home in about 10 days.

We did have a strange incident where we couldn't call each others' cell phones, and so couldn't find each other for about an hour. That happened again on Tuesday when I went to pick up someone at work from the airport - she finally had to use a pay phone to reach me. I'm not sure what was going on...

Fortune cookie of the day:
Take some time and really listen to your own inner wisdom.