Posts

Can We Talk?

Image
Our curling league is done for the season. I hope to join league play again next winter and improve on my budding but limited skills.  I woke up this morning and reached for my phone on the nightstand to read Heather Cox Richardson's most recent update—an update that usually lands in my inbox just after drifting off to sleep for the night. It's how most of my mornings begin. In another era, it wouldn't be this way. I wouldn't have to spend even one second of my day worrying about the direction many in our country would like to lead us or force us to go. But that's no longer the country we live in.  Read Heather's most recent update here . It's not just the direction of our country under a Republican administration led by an authoritarian-curious kleptocrat that worries me, but that far too many people seem oblivious to what that will mean, or that some may even welcome it. I've spent my life free from such worry, always so sure that nothing would or coul

Projects, Politics, and Pedaling

Image
I blinked and February was gone! I have a confession: I've been watching an embarrassingly large amount of curling videos on YouTube. Now that I understand some of the strategies (there's still much that goes over my head), I find it fascinating to watch.  I've been experiencing excessive knee pain lately. I know that curling doesn't help the matter but this began before I ever joined a curling league. I'm concerned it may possibly be related to the statin (Rosuvastatin, aka Crestor) I've been taking to manage my cholesterol level. There are reports of the kind of pain I'm experiencing as a side effect of the drug. My right knee has been a problem for me since high school when I tore the meniscus in it (twice in two months) but I've managed to keep it mostly healthy through exercise (and arthroscopic surgery in 1991). But back in December, before curling was ever a thing for me, I developed aggravating knee pain in my right knee that limited how hard I

The Future is Upon Us (Maybe)

Image
I can now ✅ curling off of my bucket list. I joined a curling league at Dakota Curling Club in downtown Lakeville across the street from B52s. Like almost everyone else, I've seen the sport featured in the Olympics every four years and have been somewhat intrigued by it. So when friend and neighbor Rebecca put out an announcement looking for people to join a novice-level curling league, I didn't hesitate to add my name.  I was a little worried about my knees allowing me to get down into the proper position to push off from the 'hack' to slide the 40 lb stone down the ice but it wasn't the problem for me that I was expecting it to be. However, I did overdo it on Sunday night when the facility was open for two hours during the Super Bowl for anyone who wanted to come in and practice. I figured I threw 70 stones in my time there. The next morning both of my knees were cussing at me. They hurt! I suck at moderation. Another curler (with 15 years of experience) who was

Please, Make it Make Sense

Image
After today our snow will be nearly gone as our mild winter continues. My phone's WeatherBug app shows us to be well above freezing for daytime high temps for the 10-day outlook. Even the nighttime lows are at or above freezing, all thanks to El Niño . This ocean temperature phenomenon typically results in warmer and dryer than normal conditions for the Upper Midwest, which is exactly what we've been experiencing.  Charlie would've loved this mild weather for our walks together. I'm still missing my little buddy and think about him often.  I was hoping to be seeking out some gravel roads to ride today but I've been sidelined until at least Friday after a procedure yesterday to drain a rather large cyst on my right knee. The cyst developed two weeks ago after pushing myself too hard on my indoor trainer with some climbing challenges I participated in on the Rouvy online platform I use for indoor riding. I should have eased back into training after my Covid infection

Does the End Justify the Means?

Image
I was in Mr. Don Chase's World Affairs class in 10th grade at Bloomington Jefferson High School in the '72-'73 school year. I was the quiet one, very seldom adding much to the discussion (like so many other classes of mine). Much of what we talked about held little interest for me at the time, but I do recall a question Mr. Chase posed to the class one day: Does the end justify the means? I can't recall the context for his question, if there was one, but it piqued my interest and it's a question that has stayed with me throughout my adult life—perhaps for a time such as now. I've written in my blog numerous times about my disappointment with Christian conservatives and their cozying up to Trump in a most hypocritical way to advance their political agenda while undermining what I always felt was the main goal of evangelicals: to make disciples of men and advance God's kingdom. From a moral standpoint, it would seem that the end falls very short of justifying

Welcome to the World, Clifford!

Image
Thursday Evening We are grandparents! Clifford Henry Seisler surprised us all when he made his appearance nearly 3 months early on December 11th, weighing in at 2 lbs 13 oz. It was an exciting time but also a concerning time as Rachel's pregnancy was only 28 weeks along. He's been in the NICU and will be there for a little while longer. It won't be until early March before Rachel and Drew can take him home and introduce him to PJ. Medical science is amazing! What will Clifford witness in his life and how will the world change over his lifetime? When he's Tammy's and my age the year will be 2089; not far from the turn of the next century. Tammy and I have mostly stayed close to home since Cliff's arrival. We made the 75-minute drive to see him the day after he was born but then Tammy went back a couple days later and picked up a Covid infection (at the hospital we're assuming) and brought it home to me. She's in the clear now and will be going to see them

Goodbye, Sweet Boy

Image
Thursday Evening We had to put our precious boy Charlie down today. What follows is mostly for me as a way of memorializing him and how much he meant to us.   Our home feels so empty tonight. There's no little Charlie to greet us as we come home and we dearly miss that. His absence is deafening. Everywhere I look I reflexively expect to see him in his usual places but he's gone. His health began to worry us a couple of weeks ago when he lost his appetite, something he'd never had an issue with before. He loved his food and his treats. We took him to the vet on Wednesday morning to see if there was something that could be addressed to help him be his normal self again. The doctor did her exam, focusing mostly on his bloated stomach, something that had very recently become noticeable. She said she needed a sample of the fluid in his belly to know how best to proceed. We waited while she took him back to the lab.  She returned to the room ten minutes later and I could tell by