The Return of Winter

Just when our snow is about gone and we are actually being duped into thinking of spring - here it comes again. We are supposed to have more snow today than has fallen in the last 44 days. Oh well - we are in Minnesota after all. They are forecasting snow to begin about 10 am and continue until the wee hours of Friday morning.

I am on my way to the office early this morning and my plan is to leave after my noon meeting to come home and be cozy at home. It is really nice to watch the snowfall - from my own warm living room - not from the driver's seat of my car.

I will post some photos later.....if you are in the path of the storm, stay warm. Have a terrific day.

R.I.P.

82 days ago I got my IPhone - oh how I love that phone. This is my first phone to have a web browser, email and all the bells and whistles. It did not take me long to get really attached to my phone. It is so slick - I can take photos and email them instantly, I can check email, get directions, and even play games, "Wurdle" is my favorite.

Last Friday night I went to have a pedicure. Ahhhhh, it was so terrific, cold and snowy outside and here I was inside watching the flakes swirl by my feet in a hot, hot tub of scented water with a heated massage chair cradling my body. What a nice pampering experience. I grabbed my phone to give my Mother a quick call and then sat back, relaxed and ready to enjoy this treat.

At some point, Mai Lee asked me to look at my right toe and when I picked up my foot - I heard a big splash and and an "oh no!" from Mai Lee. Yes, that's right - my IPhone had been on my lap. Mai Lee fished it out of the tub - it was only submerged for a couple of seconds. That was enough.

I brought the phone home and put it in a bowl of white rice having heard the rice will soak up moisture. The next morning the phone worked - OMG, I was so grateful. I got in my car to drive to Pilates - by the time I got there the phone was dead.

After trips to the Apple Store (where the nice guy told me that people have brought in their laptops after running them through the dishwasher - "it was dirty!") and trips to the AT & T store and trips home to plug into ITunes - I finally had to purchase a new IPhone. So I am back on line with my phone. In all the years I have had a cell phone never have I injured it until now with the most expensive phone I have ever purchased. I shall certainly be more careful in the future.

What an expensive pedicure!!

New Adventures

My business partner and I have shared a dream for the past 5 years and finally its time has come. We have opened a business incubator as a way to share the surplus we have generated over the past five years of our partnership in Dendros.

I have worked all evening on the initial website for the incubator - it is just a first stab to get something up there. If you are interested in learning more click here to take a peek. This new entity is a nonprofit organization.

We do not necessarily think that what the world needs is more nonprofits! However, we do hope our new organization can offer a home to entrepreneurs and groups with ideas and/or projects that have a chance of solving local challenges facing our neighborhoods and communities. We do not want those ideas to get lost in the contraction of the nonprofit sector that has just begun. It is our contribution to community-building and sustainability.

Happy Thursday - it has been a long day (almost Friday) and it time for sleep. More about our work in future posts. Talk to you soon...........

My Friend V

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!

As you all know, for some time I have been seeing my friend "V" who lives in Seattle. I haven't said much about V - until today.

V was my high school sweetheart - my boyfriend and more. Quite by accident, we reconnected a couple of years after Tom died. I had not seen him for over a quarter of a century when he came to St. Paul in mid-2007 for a visit.

During this time he has been a loving friend, a huge support and a patient man. We have found that we have very compatible interests and values - such as, we both eat healthy, like to exercise (or at least do it as a necessary evil), love to read, are of the liberal persuasion politically, value social justice and enjoy good wine and cheese to name but a few of our commonalities.

I found the photo strip, which is in the previous post a couple of months ago - it was taken in 1964 - they are photos of V and I. (Sorry for any confusion - I never dreamed that anyone would have thought they were of Tom and I because of the 11 year age difference between us.) I was stunned when I found the photo strip, in a box of old mementos, I remember when they were taken but didn't remember I still had them. I was 18 and he was 20 years old when those photos were taken - the exuberance of youth shines forth!

So here we are - 47 years after meeting - sharing ourselves, taking little steps together and seeing where things go from here. There is more to come and I will save it for another time.

May your day be filled with warmth and joy - whether your loved one is by your side or in your memories............Blessings to each of you.

When We Were YOUNG

Sustaining Ourselves in the Times Ahead

This is a time like none we have ever seen. In the past few months I have begun a new practice - one that I highly recommend. I have expanded my pantry and am storing additional staple food. It is food that I like and that I eat - it is not just to be squirreled away. I eat from the expanded pantry and replenish it as needed.

Make no mistake - it is all food with a long shelf life - grains, beans, rice, pasta, noodles, canned salmon, canned fruit and tomatoes along with pasta sauce, peanut butter and powdered milk. None of us knows what may lie ahead. Be prepared. I think having a supply of food and water on hand in case we have an interruption in the supply chain or a natural emergency (look at the folks in Kentucky without power right now).

I dried a fair amount of tomatoes and zucchini this summer and put up pickles and pesto. It is so neat to use my own food. I intend to can even more food this summer.

Localization - eating from our local foodsheds, supporting local economies by purchasing from local business, keeping our hard earned money in our communities - all are going to be key in the months ahead. I am by no means a "survivalist" nor am I building a bomb shelter in the backyard. I just think it is prudent in this uncertain time to be more self-reliant and to be vigilant about helping your neighbors - for it is in-community that we will thrive.

The photo is sunset over the Mississippi River taken from the Science Museum of Minnesota on January 24.

Sustaining that is the key word. Store a bit of surplus for yourself and for a neighbor too. There are some great websites about this topic if you are interested I can post some links. Talk with you soon......................