Monday: Small Town Tranquility and Road Work

A tranquil small town Monday afternoon: Sauk Centre style.

The house has stopped shuddering - for the moment. A road crew has been outside for most of the afternoon, laying another inch of asphalt on the west side of Ash Street. It's offered me the opportunity of watching road-building technology at work.

But Giol, #1 daughter's rabbit, didn't seem to like the noise and vibration. And my wife had me close a window. She said that odors from the tar were getting in, and she's probably right. With my sense of smell, it wasn't at all obvious.



Friday morning, #1 daughter got her raft out of storage, put it on her car, and had it inflated at a gas station. Then, leaving it upside-down on the car roof, she sat inside the tube and patched leaks. She'd gotten a leak kit at Fleet Supply.

Friday afternoon, soon after lunch, #1 daughter headed off to use her raft. Around 4:00, I started wondering where she was. Making a long story short, I called her a couple of times (she had prudently brought her cell phone along), gotten acquainted with three or four young men who were fishing on the 12th Street bridge over the Sauk River, let my wife know what was going on, and parked the van near that bridge.

Meanwhile, #1 daughter was drifting down the Sauk River, watching great blue herons, running into a beaver lodge - literally - and enjoying the passing revue of nature's wonders.

About that beaver lodge: she'd maneuvered around it without incident. Once she was past it, though, she discovered a spot where the current ran in reverse: and got a much closer look at the lodge than she'd planned.

#1 daughter told me that she'd planned to pole back to the Conservation Park, below the dam, where she'd started out. Then, she discovered that the river bottom was too muddy. Her paddles went into the mud just fine: but getting them out meant pulling about as much as she'd pushed. Net movement of the raft, therefore, was just about zero.

Back to the 12th Street bridge: I'd talked with the young men, so they were on the lookout for #1 daughter. Two of them brought the raft up to the street for her. They were quite impressed with the raft. I understand they were talking about building one or two for themselves, so they could fish closer to the river.

Leaving the raft there, I drove #1 daughter back to her car, and eventually we got her, the raft, and me, back for supper.

More must have happened that day, but I can't seem to remember. Actually, I do remember a sort of whirl of research, writing posts, and wracking my mind for something amusing to write for one blog.

Saturday was more of the same for me. Except that I grilled burgers - always a treat - and ate lunch with my wife in a tent that's rigged in the back yard. Quite a few small insects have found their way inside, and try flying out: through the tent's translucent top. They make a sound like a light rain, even - or especially - when the sun's out. Happily, they leave the food alone.

My wife would have taken her nap out there, except she didn't find a sleeping bag. The ground's a trifle cool to relax on. Maybe next weekend.


Eucharistic procession heading out from Our Lady of the Angels church.

I missed grilling Sunday. The two Catholic churches in town had a procession from one to the other and back: and I spent most of the noon hour taking photos.

My daughter spent the afternoon and evening at friends of ours, a bit under ten miles east of town. She went there to do a CutCo demonstration, and stayed to catch up. They hadn't gotten together for quite a while. Some of the family's sons are planning to go into farming, which means finding ways to save enough money. They've got a dairy farm: I found out that milk prices at their end have gone down as prices on the shelf have gone up. The milk on their table is produced on-site: which helps.

Sunday evening, a bit late, #1 daughter and I watched another episode of "Bleach," a cartoon series we both enjoy.

Which brings me up to today. #1 daughter was out on a sales call this morning and has another set up for this evening, my wife's been working on #2 daughter's wedding dress, #3 daughter's been writing - there's a lot of that going around in the family - and I had a few words with my son on the phone. He spoke at much greater length with my wife. He's still having a good time at the farm: chopping wood and doing chores as well as getting to know his new laptop.

A Fine Couple of Days, Pulled Back Muscle Aside

Friday whizzed by. I researched and wrote posts, did a bit of organizing, and was hurrying toward the living room when a muscle in my lower back decided to act up.

I suppose it's from the moderately heavy lifting I did on Tuesday, delayed a bit.

I bent over, to stretch the muscle: which I think kept the discomfort from getting worse. It meant that I spent several minutes appreciating the floor: but that's okay; it's a rather nice-looking floor.

Time, stretching, a bit of light exercise, and tonic water seem to be helping. I'm still walking quite carefully, though.

My son got most of the yard mowed today: it was a beautiful, bright blue May day here. I grilled burgers for lunch, with #1 daughter and her rabbit for company. Giol likes dandelion blossoms, which I don't mind one bit: he's a sort of low-tech weeder.

My wife and #3 daughter found a rummage sale with several boxes of sheet music today. I'm told they went through the collection carefully, and got a few choice pieces.

I did more research and writing today, watched two videos with #1 daughter, read Garfield and sang with my son, and that brings me up to the present.

That Was a Nice Weekend: Damp, But Nice

It was snowing at about 9:10 this morning. Which was a change of pace. Yesterday featured "October's bright blue weather." Actually, what was happening this morning was more snizzle than snow: a sort of snowy drizzle?

I've grilled lunch twice this weekend: always a pleasure. The wind today made the grill hard to light. We've got a new grill now, with a U-push-it lighter: I think the button is connected to a spring-loaded flint and steel inside.

Each time I tried to light it with that built-in lighter, it didn't light. I suppose the wind was blowing the LP gas away. I used up about a half-dozen matches, trying that approach, then decided to try the built-in lighter one more time. With a click and a soft "whoomp," the flames emerged, and I could start grilling.

Two paragraphs devoted to how I got a grill lit today. That wasn't the only significant thing that happened.

I've talked with my son several times, mostly when he came over to see what I was doing. #3 daughter has been writing some more, and my wife is looking forward to seeing High School Musical 3. It arrived in the movie theater on Friday.

We got a call from #2 daughter this evening. My wife and the rest of the at-home family were at Soo Bahk Do when the phone rang, so she talked a little with me. Then the folks returned home, and the conversation continued between my wife and #2 daughter.

I gather that #2 daughter wanted some advice on how to deal with her young man. Good thing my wife got home when she did.

All in all, it's been a relaxing weekend.

Saturday: It's been a Good Day

There isn't all that much more to report: #1 daughter, my son, and I had supper here, watched a little television, and then it was time for her to go back and feed her rabbit.

The wind's been blowing vigorously all day. It started out from the south, then rather abruptly slewed around to the west, and stayed there: about 25 or 30 miles an hour, with gusts near 40. My son loved it: he could throw his ball over the garage, and have it land by the shed out back. Once it wound up on the other side of the old willow.

Friday's storms dropped 0.88 inch hail on Belgrade, I read. When the three of us went to church today, we saw a good-sized branch that had gotten blown down - it was a bit over six inches across. That was some weather we had. The rain is deeply appreciated.

Friday: June Sostice, and the Weekend's Eve

I'm actually writing this Saturday morning, as heavy equipment shakes by the house.

#1 daughter's landlord arrived, at last, to let her in. She called me to let me know that she was okay. Asked what had taken him so many hours, he replied, "I'm not going there." I suspect that he hadn't been having a good day.

Friday was the longest day of the year here, the June Solstice: Summer Solstice, for those of us who live in the northern hemisphere. I understand that there was a big get-together at Stonehenge, over where England is now.

I went out to Fitness Guru for exercise, and #2 daughter came home for a weekend visit.

#2 daughter told me that she and the rest of the custodial staff cleaned seven floors of a dorm that had hosted wrestlers. She found mud in the back of a desk drawer. It had dried, which made things easier. But: mud?!

The other notable event at this household was that, at about 10:20 in the evening, we noticed that we had no water pressure at all. None. Negative pressure, in fact. After my wife had told me of the situation, and was calling a string of people about it, I went over to the kitchen sink and opened the faucet.

The idea was that water would come out of the faucet, and into the cup that I held under it. What actually happened was that I heard a slurping sound as air entered the faucet.

I'd gone out to make sure that we were still plugged into the city's water supply. The Ash Street Project contractor has us connected to a flexible hose, and getting water through our outside faucet. I haven't checked, but my guess is that everyone along Ash Street south has been, or will be, hooked up like that.


Quite a good idea, actually.

Someone came to check quite promptly, apparently. I heard a truck, or something with a heavy-duty motor, outside: and by 11:45 we had running water again.

Saturday: Backyard Grilling, Kids and Computers

The Ash Street Project reached our house this morning. A 'street-chewer' went back and forth, slicing up the pavement and dropping dirt in its place, while another machine with a scoop smoothed out the dirt's surface.

I was as excited about our son, but I think he had more fun. He exchanged a few words with one of the drivers during a break, and told me that he was very friendly. "This is so cool!" is the way our son summed up having the street work in front of our house.

My wife and #3 daughter were out, getting groceries and visiting the Sauk Centre Grandpa, when the street work started here. Happily, they were able to get back into the driveway.

Despite the weather forecast, Sauk Centre didn't have wild weather today. I understand there was a tornado watch near Brainerd, and more severe thunderstorms south and east of here: and I don't mind missing the excitement, or Brainerd's 3/4 inch hail.

Back here in Sauk Centre, I had clear skies for grilling lunch. And, did a pretty good job with the burgers. I also, while walking around the back yard, encountered my first mosquito of summer.

I set up the webcam in a north window so that people could see through it again, swept the three main rooms on the first floors, and found out that I've still got problems with one bit of software. Oh, well: there's probably a way around that last point.

Saturday: It's Been a Good Day

Our son was out again today, shoveling: including the area in front of the grill. That was a nice surprise, when I went out to grill burgers for lunch.

I had company while I was out there. Quite a number of birds were in the trees and bushes, keeping at a discreet distance, but quite audible.

There wasn't all that much unusual to report today, aside from a Currier-and-Ives-style coating of snow in mid-April. I talked a little with our son, #3 daughter, and my wife. #1 daughter called: she's got what sounds like a cold. My wife gave her good advice: including 'don't come to Sauk Centre tomorrow.' I'll miss having her around, but it's a good idea. #2 daughter called, too, and had a good talk with my wife about college, boys, and whatever else those two talk about. I even had a few words with her, myself.

Supper, evening routines, and the reading of Garfield followed. Our son and I finished the Garfield book we'd been reading, so we'll be starting another tomorrow.

All in all, a good day.

Friday: Getting Caught Up

Wednesday and Thursday of this week were one of my less well-organized periods. Thursday wasn't particularly outstanding, except that my wife, our son and #3 daughter had a test at Soo Bahk Do class in the evening. We don't know how that turned out, yet.

My wife declared a moratorium on painting the living room walls. She's still sorting through some of the clutter that accumulated there, though. Quite a bit of it seems to be mine.

The exercise place I go to, Fitness Guru (odd name, good place), had a sign up on the bulletin board. A family is trying to get a very favorite toy back:


I hope that toy gets back to its owner.

We've been getting calls from #1 daughter and #2 daughter more often than usual. That Ave Maria Singles website seems to have been a good idea. Both are carrying on correspondence with guys they met there.

Meanwhile, our son is looking forward to a four-day vacation. Between Martin Luther King Day on Monday, and the end of a quarter, they have Monday and Tuesday off. I suspect that the school system has some sort of meeting planned: they don't always take MLK day off.

Our son told us that he hasn't gotten grades for last quarter, and may not for this quarter, either. The school is having computer trouble. They've been changing the system, and this time got buggy software.

Flags were up this afternoon, downtown, to be ready for Martin Luther King day on Monday.

I grew up across the river from Fargo, North Dakota, in the Red River Valley of the North, so central Minnesota is "down south" for me. This afternoon, I felt right at home here, weather-wise. A brisk wind, about 20 mph, blew out of the west, emphasizing the sub-zero temperature. That's sub-zero Fahrenheit.

My wife had called #2 daughter, urging her not to try driving up to see my father this afternoon. Good idea. They're both up in the Red River Valley, and her car isn't as robust as it could be.


This was an invigorating day, even by my standards.

By the time I was heading home today, the sun had set, and the thermometer was exploring the lower part of its scale. Frost was forming on the door frame of the building I was in.


That door frame is as cold as it looks.

Now that I've read some pages of a "Garfield" comic to our son, there's not much left to get done before the weekend.

I'm looking forward to grilling burgers tomorrow. If all goes well, I may talk my wife into letting me grill all four days of our son's four-day weekend.

End-of-the-Weekend Report

Today was quite a bit like yesterday, plus going to church.

The rain has continued, and is welcome. I know: this is 'just talking about the weather,' but during a drought, rain is more important than usual.

The lawn of someone I talked with last week was so dry, the weeds were withering. Here in town, our weeds had been doing okay, but now the grass is starting to get green, too. Which means that it'll soon need mowing.

I've been told there was some excitement near our home recently. Someone I knew was arrested for stealing from the Alexandria Wal-Mart. And apparently he'd been living in a house near ours. It was a rental place, and the last two sets of tenants had lifestyles that encouraged the police to visit at intervals.

I'm not making excuses: if he's guilty, he must deal with the consequences. Still, it's a sad day for the guy and his family. I also hope that the stolen property was recovered.

Small town America is a wonderful place to live, but it's not paradise. Still, I'd rather live here.