OK, let’s see… it’s been a while, and this naturey/homesteady blog has certainly been trending toward travel reports lately. But that’s what feels worthy of posting right now, so here goes one more! Next post will be more chicken-centric, I suspect.
Trip tidbits and thoughts:
We drove down to Winona (without air conditioning) in rather record heat last Thursday. Traveled over the now-famous tragic 35W bridge. Thankfully, all was stable while we were there, but it’s odd to have so consciously noticed the construction project that later was so much in the news. I’m not in that area very often anymore; hard to fathom such an event.
We had a lovely rehearsal dinner Friday night at a country club (!) and stayed in the air-conditioned Holiday Inn. I experienced TV for a couple hours; very weird. WF hid under the covers. I’m often surprised at how much I DO recognize in my once-a-year or so visits to TV-land, but this time it didn’t feel as familiar. Just a totally different world!
The next day was a hot one, but we were able to visit some museums and experience a bit of Winona. We’re such history nerds. I was excited to breeze through the Watkins museum; not because I use their stuff, but to glimpse some everyday, ephemeral products from long ago. It’s not the normal stuff you see in museums. And sad to think back to the day when being female needed a “remedy”, probably containing toxic/scary compounds to boot! I’m going back to 1912 for a couple days pretty soon; Lighthouse Days, you know. I don’t think my character would have used the Female Remedy, but you never know!
The wedding (of WF’s kindergarten and after-college friend and the best man at OUR wedding) was a very nice event. WF’s parents were there as well, and we had a good visit. Great local food at the reception, too! The only sad part is that the new couple have already moved to Korea, and not sure when we’ll see them again. She’s been teaching there for the past year, and had a local tailor make her dress. I never thought I would be interested in wedding dresses, but ever since our wedding and my history costume forays, I notice (and admire) such things. Lovely, eh?
The next day we got up early, traveled up the Mississippi (sadly, by car and in a rush) to get me back to Edina for a Reiki class. It wasn’t lightning-bolt material for me, but I’m intrigued by the concept and hope to pursue it more. We are all healers in some way; we just need to remember our own power. Maybe more details on that later…
Then, continuing the whirlwind, we headed into Wisconsin to visit some friends who moved to a rolling piece of raw land this spring. They are living in a tent with a 3.5 yr old and a dog. They were pouring footings for a new sauna/cabin right before we got there. Ah, the TRUE homestead life! I envy the “simple” life and hands-on projects, but they are also very tough, adventurous people; cooking and living outdoors in the heat and bugs every day. A different world, as well! When I was younger, I thought I’d find myself in a life like that someday, but now I feel rather old and cubicle-bound, so who knows? It’s enough for me just to keep up with our currently-built house and the never-ending projects that go along with that. But fun to visit and tent out for a while.
Finally home last Sunday, to a nice, HOT house and unfortunately an elderly cat with issues. Bill-dude really seemed to be going downhill, and I had to talk to the vet this past week about a possible final visit (gulp). I’m trying to be tuned in to his needs and respect that it might be his time to go; he IS after all, nearly 18 and has health issues. But after all that dire talk, he started getting better on about Wednesday, and today I had to shoo him off the counter! Friends who planned to come pay their respects found him running to greet them yesterday, so it’s not just me who thinks he’s better. So, Mr. Bill is on his 20th life or something of the sort. We’ll see where this goes; always an adventure!
OK, now I feel caught up. It really was a nice trip to lots of different worlds. It’s always hard to get OUT of the house and make sure the housesitter, cats and chickens have everything they need. I was short on sleep and about ready to swear off the whole travel thing before we left, but it was worth it. Now I’m trying to motivate myself for some decluttering or other projects this weekend; wish me luck! Oh, and yes, more chicken content coming up!
Trip tidbits and thoughts:
We drove down to Winona (without air conditioning) in rather record heat last Thursday. Traveled over the now-famous tragic 35W bridge. Thankfully, all was stable while we were there, but it’s odd to have so consciously noticed the construction project that later was so much in the news. I’m not in that area very often anymore; hard to fathom such an event.
We had a lovely rehearsal dinner Friday night at a country club (!) and stayed in the air-conditioned Holiday Inn. I experienced TV for a couple hours; very weird. WF hid under the covers. I’m often surprised at how much I DO recognize in my once-a-year or so visits to TV-land, but this time it didn’t feel as familiar. Just a totally different world!
The next day was a hot one, but we were able to visit some museums and experience a bit of Winona. We’re such history nerds. I was excited to breeze through the Watkins museum; not because I use their stuff, but to glimpse some everyday, ephemeral products from long ago. It’s not the normal stuff you see in museums. And sad to think back to the day when being female needed a “remedy”, probably containing toxic/scary compounds to boot! I’m going back to 1912 for a couple days pretty soon; Lighthouse Days, you know. I don’t think my character would have used the Female Remedy, but you never know!
The wedding (of WF’s kindergarten and after-college friend and the best man at OUR wedding) was a very nice event. WF’s parents were there as well, and we had a good visit. Great local food at the reception, too! The only sad part is that the new couple have already moved to Korea, and not sure when we’ll see them again. She’s been teaching there for the past year, and had a local tailor make her dress. I never thought I would be interested in wedding dresses, but ever since our wedding and my history costume forays, I notice (and admire) such things. Lovely, eh?
The next day we got up early, traveled up the Mississippi (sadly, by car and in a rush) to get me back to Edina for a Reiki class. It wasn’t lightning-bolt material for me, but I’m intrigued by the concept and hope to pursue it more. We are all healers in some way; we just need to remember our own power. Maybe more details on that later…
Then, continuing the whirlwind, we headed into Wisconsin to visit some friends who moved to a rolling piece of raw land this spring. They are living in a tent with a 3.5 yr old and a dog. They were pouring footings for a new sauna/cabin right before we got there. Ah, the TRUE homestead life! I envy the “simple” life and hands-on projects, but they are also very tough, adventurous people; cooking and living outdoors in the heat and bugs every day. A different world, as well! When I was younger, I thought I’d find myself in a life like that someday, but now I feel rather old and cubicle-bound, so who knows? It’s enough for me just to keep up with our currently-built house and the never-ending projects that go along with that. But fun to visit and tent out for a while.
Finally home last Sunday, to a nice, HOT house and unfortunately an elderly cat with issues. Bill-dude really seemed to be going downhill, and I had to talk to the vet this past week about a possible final visit (gulp). I’m trying to be tuned in to his needs and respect that it might be his time to go; he IS after all, nearly 18 and has health issues. But after all that dire talk, he started getting better on about Wednesday, and today I had to shoo him off the counter! Friends who planned to come pay their respects found him running to greet them yesterday, so it’s not just me who thinks he’s better. So, Mr. Bill is on his 20th life or something of the sort. We’ll see where this goes; always an adventure!
OK, now I feel caught up. It really was a nice trip to lots of different worlds. It’s always hard to get OUT of the house and make sure the housesitter, cats and chickens have everything they need. I was short on sleep and about ready to swear off the whole travel thing before we left, but it was worth it. Now I’m trying to motivate myself for some decluttering or other projects this weekend; wish me luck! Oh, and yes, more chicken content coming up!
1 comment:
This is a fascinating post! It could not have been expressed better.
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