Say What?

My mom's townhome in Lakeville went on the market a few days ago. It's had a few showings already this Easter weekend and I think it's priced right for a reasonably quick sale. The feedback has been so-so but the home is a little dated so that's to be expected. Otherwise, I think it shows really well. Here's a link to the listing. Winter made a strong comeback and dumped 9" (23 cm) of heavy, wet snow on us in Lakeville. Some parts of the metro were spared entirely from the storm as its path was well defined between the haves and the have-nots. We followed up the snow with temps well above freezing and we're mostly back to our brown, drab look again. Hopefully, I'll be back out at Crystal Lake Golf Course tomorrow to continue working on my short game. I'm still seeing my chiropractor/acupuncturist a few times a week to address my strained intercostal muscles and dislocated rib. I'm making progress but I'm not yet ready to swing the club ...

This blog entry finds me sitting by the fire with the pups at my side and Mandolin Orange on my UE Boom speakers while a snowstorm (possibly our biggest of the season) has turned our brown-world-struggling-to-turn-green into white. Lots of white. We've got high temps well above freezing for as far out as the long-range forecast peers and I could probably ignore the snow and allow it to eventually melt but I won't. I'm retired—remember? Although we've found a new home for Tammy's mom, Tammy is still working overtime trying to get several details ironed out with Dakota county. She's put a lot of work and worry into this and we're both looking forward to it being wrapped up. Being able to come and go as we please without having to coordinate between each other so one of us is always here with Elaine has been a nice change. Nicest of all though is the transition she's made to her new home. She's very content and isn't at all questioning the staff a...

We're empty-nesters once again. Tammy has been busy this past week assembling all of the puzzle pieces to have her mother (Elaine) placed into a nearby group home. A friend had just mentioned this particular home to us and how nice it would be if we could have her there but they seldom have openings. Fortunately for us all, we reached out to them at just the right time. We never expected the process to move so quickly but when this particular opening became available we jumped at the chance. We don't think we could've found a better place for Elaine and that's comforting to know. She'll be only 7 miles (11 km) away which will make it easy for us to see her as often as we'd like. A week ago we had no idea that this is where we'd be today. Tammy was in tears this morning at the thought of her mother in an unfamiliar place but there's much relief to be had in knowing that she'll be well cared for and that our lives have been freed up to begin doing ...

I've been listening to the Serial podcast on my walks. I'd first heard about it a year ago but never took the time to check it out until Rachel recently mentioned how good it is. She's right. It's compelling listening, much in the same way Making a Murderer is. I drove out to Golfworks Saturday morning to get a few things for my newly rekindled fascination with golf. Tammy was having several friends over so I took some extra time getting home and went a mile out of my way to revisit a neighborhood where I'd spent a year of my life in 1965 when I was 8 years old. I had written about my time there a while ago. I took some photos yesterday to go along with some of those memories I wrote of. We lived on the southeast corner of 66th Street and Lakeshore Drive in Richfield which is right in the middle of this map . The home we lived in was a small, one-story home that must've been bursting at the seams with 8 of us living there. The house, as well as several nei...

I've been down in our glass shop more than usual this past week and it's nice. I continue to work on small sun-catcher panels that measure about 10" x 4" (25 x 10 cm). They'd be much easier to make if they were a little larger but I enjoy the challenge of working with smaller pieces . I probably have about 10-12 hours of work into each one. Part of the fun is found in designing them. I'm using a program called DeltaCad that a friend told me about years ago. It's so much easier than using a pencil and paper. What can't be seen so well in the photo to the left is the German antique glass I used through the center of the panel. You can see it in the upper section but it runs the length of the panel and adds a nice touch. I hope to knock out at least a few more before the weather turns warmer and I close up shop until next winter. I'd love to think that with my extra free time I'll be able to dabble with this hobby throughout the year but I...