Tag: minnesota

No More Rain, PLEASE

· 1 Comment ·

I live in Minnesota which is the land of 10,000 lakes.  There has to be at least another 10,000 lakes being made with all the rain we have gotten this spring/summer.  It is absolutely nuts the rain that has been coming.  This isn’t a little spring shower either this is like 3 inches of rain in a short time numerous times a week, where roads flood, basements are flooded and my garden is underwater.  I had such high hopes for my garden, it was to be my stress reliever, family activity, and a place to get in tuned with my thoughts and conversation with the Lord.  Well if I had a raft and maybe planted rice that would be happening.  I went out to the garden this morning and it is still surrounded by standing water, like a world convention for the mosquitos.  My plot amazing is not underwater but I couldn’t get to it.  My soil looked like a mud stew.  I had weeds/corn/other plants up but can’t tell what is what from standing 20 feet away.  I did notice in the midst of a mess my tomato plants look very sickly BUT I do have yellow buds on them.  Maybe just maybe it will dry up and I will get at least one nice tomato for a BLT.  That is my new goal.  I went from canning all the tomato sauce, salsa, spaghetti sauce one could fathom to a BLT.  Kinda sad but gotta adjust those dreams once in a while.  When life doesn’t go the way you want it to go just yell PLOT TWIST.  That is how we get from a full pantry to a BLT.  I really shouldn’t be complaining in other parts of the state they are uses boats to get to their houses.  A major medical facility in the Twin Cities had their foundation compromised when the earth under it just collapsed.  Streets are being washed away and cars are being stuck in water up their windows.  It is a crazy spring.  

I guess I just needed to vent that enough water is enough water.  I sure hope this has taken us out of the drought.  I do have to end with a positive note in the weather.  Last week we had bad weather again, I know a shocker.  We live in Swift County and their were 10 count them 10 tornados around the town.  I heard right from the chef of polices mouth that they were out tracking and chasing the weather and one of the tornadoes was 1/2 mile wide at the top.  Our town isn’t more then 2 miles across this twister could demolish the town.  The Chef of Police is a godly man and was praying out loud to please spare our town.  Please go around town.  He watched as this tornado went right over our town and right over our house and right over the plant my husband was working in and never touched down once while in town.  That is a miracle of all miracles.  Why our town was sparred I don’t know but I am thankful that our family was together at supper time and no one or no damage was done.  

So lets just have a wonderful summer, unsure that will happen since we have rain this whole week in the forecast.  Oh well maybe we will need to just start planting rice.  

Advertisement

Who am I…according to a quiz

· Leave a comment ·

If you don’t live under a rock and visit Facebook with any regularity you have seen quiz after quiz lately.  I have fun doing these quizzes and then having my husband do these quizzes and laughing about our results.

If I were to live my life by these quizzes I need to make a lot of changes, I am doing so many things wrong.  First I live in the wrong state.  As we have 1 degree right now with blowing snow I have a hard time debating this quiz.  One quiz I took said I should be living in the city of Portland.  My husband also got this result so maybe it is the correct answer.  I sure could get out of this horrible cold tundra.  I usually love Minnesota but right now it is getting me a little down.  I also got a quiz that said I should live in Kansas.  That wouldn’t be to bad.  Middle of the country and looks a lot like here.  Something to think of if life here gets too horrible.  I am sure these short quizzes with pick which song you like best knows the best for me.  Does the sarcasm come through.

Next I am a child of the 60’s according to one quiz.  I am going to agree with this one.  I come off as very conservative but if I could let some of this shyness go yes a child of the 60’s would be it.  I love the music of that era and the free-ness of it also.  I love the message of love yourself and others no matter who they are.  Isn’t that what we are called to do? Love our neighbors.  So I will play my 60’s music and teach my daughter how to make simple long hippie skirts like I did in college and try to pass it on to someone.  She might be a hard nut to crack.  Been around her dad, love him dearly, to long.  He is NOT a 60’s child at all.

Next is my career.  I should think long and hard about these results.  I was told I should be a writer.  I like that idea and when I was very young I wanted to write for a newspaper when I became an adult so again not so far off.  I went to college for Communicative Disorders and psychology.  I then worked at a maximum security prison for ten years before moving to the prairie.  I have done little jobs here and there but the main one is being a substitute teacher.  I enjoy it and I like seeing the kids grow and mature, well some of them.  I do want more and I think that is normal to want more.  I have thought about trying to do something in my field without getting that masters degree.  I have thought about getting a masters and I have thought about writing for a small town newspaper just like when I was a young girl.  So many question come up when taking a simple Facebook quiz.

The last one I am going to touch on is a quiz I had our whole family take this weekend.  It was what side of the brain are you?  Are you a left brain thinker so more logical and thought out or right brain which is spontaneous and creative.  I have this in the bag I thought I am the right brain.  I love trying to be crafty and create something.  Was I wrong!!! I got 91% left brain.  For some reason this crushed me.  Am I not creative? I am not spontaneous at all?  My husband got 50-50 which I thought was a joke.  He is not creative at all (I say that in love).  My daughter and son were also almost equal but with more going to the right brain side.  Wow these results really bothered me.  Was I so order driven and logical?  We talked about these results all weekend and I think they were correct.  I am left brain.  I love searching Pinterest for craft ideas.  The thing I noticed is I look at a craft and in my head it is what do I need, how do I set this up, when is the best time to try this.  Holy cow I think of order and logic in terms of creating, not just create.  Any health crisis that has come to my family I do more research then the FBI.  Any school meeting, IEP meeting etc…I seem to almost know more about the subject then the other members present.  I crave knowledge and information.  I research something every single day.  I think having 91% left brain is an OK thing.  We need all kinds to make the world go round.

Now do I believe that a simple quiz on Facebook can tell me about my life and how to live my life?  Probably not but it sure makes you think about the decisions I have made and my future that has not been written yet.

My ADD Mind

· Leave a comment ·

Image                                              It is another snow day out here on the prairies of Minnesota.  When I was young if we had a snow day it was like hell had froze over.  My school district did not close for anything.  If we did end up with a snow day the joke was that the superintendent’s garage door was froze shut.  Out here going on our 7th year I have learned if there is wind you are stuck.  The drift that form on the roads are just huge and make it impassable.  My kids will be raised with this weather so I hope they learn to respect it and know its power.  

When we have a day with the kids home I swear my mind turns to ADD brain.  It jumps from one topic to another and I don’t know if anything really gets down in a full manner since I am already on the next task or activity.  We did clean up the clutter that was around.  I vacuumed and got the few dishes done that were in the sink.  Boy I would like a dishwasher someday.  I cooked up some italian sausage and have that in the slow cooker with some of my home canned sauce.  Just jumping from one task to another not really taking the full time on one task that it deserves.  My mind drifts in thinking also of past events and future events.  Problems of the day and praises of the past.  A day like today is a good one for music.  I love my Pandora radio.  I have many stations set up but days like today I am partial to Rusted Root, makes me think of warmer temps. I also am enjoying Indigo Girls, Eva Cassidy, and some Paul Simon, and some smattering of Pearl Jam.  My music choices vary so much but today these are what are making me happy. My iPod is plugged into my speaker and they are going strong and loud.  

Music brings me all over my mind. It will bring back a memory for high school and college.  It will bring back a memory of a trip I may have taken or a special friend that has crossed my path.  I wonder what is the music of my future will be? Will it still be these groups I enjoy to listen on a day like today or will it be other groups and song?.  What will be the problems of the future and the praises of the past?  Music is really a journey into a soul.  Sure seems like that today.  I love hearing the music, the melody to the bass line.  So on my ADD brain I had to share this week.  I find myself testing my hearing all the time. She the transition- music, hearing.  I may notice I can’t hear the TV and radio at the volume I could before.  So I knew the UPS truck would be coming a couple days ago and I was going to really test myself if I could tell when he came.  I have a loss at low frequencies and I think that affects me hearing the truck pull up.  I was sitting no more then 2 feet from the door and I was thinking I am going to really listen for that truck should be coming soon.  At that moment there was a pounding at the door just 24 inches from me.  It happened to be the UPS guy.  Guess I failed that test and didn’t hear the truck.  Oh well I will just enjoy my music at this time and not be concerned I am at the top of the volume range.  

Well I better try to get to some of the more not so fun tasks I have on my list complete.  I would really like to go through the kids clothes and try to organize that mess.  Enjoy your day!!

Arctic Vortex

· Leave a comment ·

We have been stuck in this black hole of crazy cold that has been referred to the ARCTIC VORTEX.  Don’t you just hear a loud announcers voice saying the ARCTIC VORTEX.  This cold has been unsettling for me.  I am not sure why but I lost sleep over this cold.  I just sat at night thinking about animals, and people that are stuck in this cold.  I closed my eyes and just prayed and prayed for these individuals.  From our mailman, to someone who is homeless, to a dog or cat that is outside and prayed for them.  We have two rabbits that were out in our garage.  They were out of the wind and in a pile of hay but I couldn’t get them out of my mind.  I needed them safe and warm.  I went out at midnight the other night threw them in a shopping bag and brought them inside.  I hope they know I saved their lives.  I honestly don’t think they care but I did.

The kids missed yesterday from school.  The Minnesota governor called off all school for the state.  Boy these kids needed to get back to school today.  My son was actually bouncing off the walls.  He was climbing on the couch and then trying to leap across the living room and land in a chair.  Yeah we need school, better structure and OT again.  He actually woke up at 2am this morning to start getting ready for school.  I am sure he will be a joy when he gets home today.  School was 2 hours late today and my daughter must have asked me every 5 minutes if they cancelled it yet.  My gosh girl you can hear the phone better then me…have they called to cancel NO SO GET READY TO GO.

So I hope the cold is lifting.  When I drove by the bank yesterday morning it was -24.  Today it was 0 that is an improvement in my book.  I hope it starts making a upper slope to real numbers and maybe even some double digits I heard by the end of the week.  That would be just awesome and make my week.

Some facts I heard about Minnesota yesterday, Antarctica was warmer then us and the planet Mars was warmer then us.  Why do we live here.  I can’t see myself moving but it is a question I will ask myself every year.

Where ever you may live I hope and pray the weather improves and we get out of this black hole of the ARCTIC VORTEX.

FLAT

· Leave a comment ·

ImageI Live in the land of flat.  In the prairie lands of Minnesota.  There are times when seeing flat all the times gets old and we want more.  I came from a valley so we had deep hills and high points all around us.  It has a beautiful river and the greenery around just amazes the eyes.  I go home and I see flat.  We need to find the beauty in all situations and settings of life.  I have learned to love the prairie.  Being able to see miles at a time with nothing blocking the view is something to be marveled.  Seeing a rainbow stretching through the sky and you can see the point of connection with our earth so breathtaking.  One thing I love out here on the prairie that I didn’t have in the valley in native prairie grasses.  These grasses can grow upwards of 6 feet and just sway at will with the wind. The night sky is so large it is looking straight into the heavens.   It is a land of the flat but it is a land of beauty and God created this beauty for us to behold.  Image