Say What?

It's been a relaxing week off from work for me but not necessarily by choice. The weather was so hot and humid that it made being outside a little much at times so I cooled my heels inside for much of the week and practiced life as a retired air traffic controller.  I did really well, too. Speaking of heat, we actually did make it to the studio two days this week but found very few others willing to stand in front of 2200 degree glory holes. Tammy is quite the trooper I have to say. I don't think most hot-flash-experiencing-menopausal-women would put up with that kind of heat in an un-airconditioned space. It gets a little warm. Michael, the founder of Foci, stopped by our bench and asked us if we'd be willing to consider putting in some time at the Renaissance Festival this fall at the glassblowing exhibit Foci will be hosting. Seriously...us? I told him that the only way we could consider something like that would maybe be in a supporting role but not as the actual p

We spent a few hours at Foci Thursday afternoon working with some larger diameter pipes than we're used to. The biggest difference other than the size of the gathers is the amount of heat radiating off the glass onto your arm. Kevlar arm sleeves for protection become a must at this point. My focus is still on bowls and tumblers with the occasional vase that results from a tumbler gone bad. I could easily spend the next couple of months working on just these forms striving for consistency but I suspect Steve will encourage me to push myself and try other stuff. I'm thankful for his promptings. A couple days of heavy rain recently have left us with some nearly unbearable humidity levels the likes of which fog up your glasses when leaving the comfort of whatever airconditioned space you've sought shelter in. I was running an errand Friday afternoon and had to double-back to catch this video of some rain runoff. It never seems to fail that the week of the Sonshine Music

Rachel's Facebook status recently was "Tragus time. Ahhhhhhh...." I had no idea what she was referring to until I got a text from her with a photo saying "LOOK AT MY EAR!!!!!!!"   I liked it but Tammy didn't appear to share in her excitement. I think it was simply her motherly default mode kicking in as she poo-pooed Rachel for having it done. But truth be told, I think she was actually suppressing thoughts of liking it . She'll be 20 next month so there isn't much we can say about these sorts of things. Plus, she used her own money from her job at the flower shop. Had it been a piercing that left a gaping hole in her earlobe I'm quite sure we'd have had more to say. Lakeville's Pan-o-Prog (Panorama of Progress) is over for another year. As usual, we made it into town Friday night for Cruise Night. It's always a good time. The show kicked off with a fly-over by Miss Mitchell , a WW2 B25 bomber. (That experience seems very tempti

I seldom mention politics in my blog because I don't like going negative here. There's enough of that out there already. I will admit to being a recovering conservative, vowing never to touch that stuff again! There was a time not long ago when the Republican party owned me for my pro-life vote but I got tired of being a pawn for them and voted for Obama in 2008. I make no apologies. I know I turned a few heads in our neighborhood at the time. Has Obama been a disappoint to me? Yes, sometimes, like when he caved to Republican pressure and sent an additional 30,000 troops into Afghanistan. But still, he was the only logical choice for me in 2008 and he looks to be again in 2012. We've got some serious money problems here in the U.S. and we can no longer afford the role of top-cop for the world. It's way past time to reign in our military and focus on our own shores and the problems we face here and now. And that takes money. I penned a letter to my congressman this

I went through the drive-thru at McDonald's on my way to work last week and ordered two cheeseburgers and a large light lemonade. I paid at the first window then proceeded to the next window for my order. The woman there handed me a bag and wished me a good day. I asked her about the lemonade I'd ordered and she responded, "oh, we're out of lemonade".  "Okay, then do I get a refund?" I asked. She replied, "Yes, I can do that." I drove away wondering why it was that I needed to say anything at all? A few days ago Tammy, Rachel, and I were at Mall of America kicking around. We settled on Ruby Tuesday's for dinner and placed our orders. When the food arrived Tammy mentioned that the order she and Rachel were sharing didn't come with the cheesy breadsticks it was supposed to. The waiter apologized and said they were out of them but he made no offer of a discounted price or a substitution. Okay—so what's changed? Am I expecting too m

I've been enjoying some much needed time off from work this week; always a somewhat dangerous thing for me to do at this stage of my career because I keep finding myself considering ways to actually retire and make this vacation permanent.  But if I left now I'd likely have to restructure some debt and I'd rather not do that. In two years, I can walk away and not have to worry so it would be foolish to quit now when the finish line is just ahead. I began the first few hours of my vacation on my bike working on a Lakeville to Fairbault to Kenyon loop with the possibility of a Wanamingo kicker depending on how I felt. There's something extra sweet about being on my bike during a time of the week when I'm normally at work. I allowed myself to imagine for just a brief moment what I was missing out on. I was back to focusing on the ride in less than 5 seconds. It was a beautiful day with temps in the mid-70s and a manageable breeze. I had no worries and I was thinki