Miscellaneous Missives

I'm reading a book called The Wordy Shimpmates by Sarah Vowell (appropriate last name). Although I'm only on page 59, it reminds me of Lies My Teacher Told Me in an easier to read story. This may be completely untrue since I never really read (only perused) Lies My Teacher Told Me . Anyway, when Vowell was talking about the fact that "'From 1492 to 1650, contagions claimed as many as nine [Native] lives out of ten...'", she mentions the song "Ten Little Indians." Isn't it amazing that a childhood song can be so inappropriate and derisive? She mentioned that she could hear the melody in her head. Since I could not do the same, I went to Youtube. Watching the video, I was a bit dismayed. Certainly the days of depicting Native American Indians with little head bands and a single feather have passed. Do elementary students still think the Pilgrims and Indians sat down to a peaceful meal? This past weekend we were speaking of the Native Ame...

Today's Magers and Quinn blog talked about I Write Like . "The website analyzes your writing--using 'a Bayesian classifier, which is widely used to fight spam on the Internet' --and then tells you which author's writing style most closely matches your own." I felt the need to give it a try. I did it five times. Maybe I should have stopped after the first one, but I figured my blog entries are different depending on my purpose. The first three times I used blogs from July's blog challenge. The first time and third time I was like Cory Doctorow. Although I recognized the name, I had to look it up. He's the Boingboing.com guy. "a Canadian blogger, journalist, and science fiction author who serves as co-editor of the blog Boing Boing. He is an activist in favour of liberalising copyright laws and a proponent of the Creative Commons organisation, using some of their licences for his books. Some common themes of his work include digital rights...

The street that turns to my house has a no turn sign which means I need to go probably four blocks out of my way to go home. Three or four times a week I check behind to make sure I'm not going to cause traffic problems, and make the turn. This is illegal, and I do it often. As a matter of fact, and I'm not proud of this, I also drive without shoes, drive while texting, and occasional forget to wear my seat belt. These are all illegal. For those that know me it is difficult to believe since basically I am a rule follower. When one often breaks the rules, they should expect something problematic to happen. It's Karma. This morning I was on my way to a friend's house (with seat belt and shoes) to water her plants while she is in California. One would think this would bring loads of good Karma since it takes a while to drive to and from her house and to water the plants. The reality is when one does many bad things (see illegal list from above), it takes more than...

Zebra, Zero, Zilch, Zen, Zoo... Zoo- I do not like going to the zoo. It depresses me. Two years ago I invited my father's lady friend for Easter. My plan was to eat brunch at Figlio's mid afternoon after church. Instead she decided we should go to Como Park including the zoo. She and my father had fun. For me the zoo was a miserable experience. Zzzzz- I am one of the strange people who needs eight hours of sleep each night. If I don't get the sleep I need, I feel sick. Why can't I survive on six hours of sleep? It's definitely a good thing I didn't have children. On the same theme, "You snooze. You lose." At the end of the summer, when the ads start coming out for school supplies, I always hunt for the great deals on the items I need for school. One thing I like to have is extra folders for students. To be honest, I either give them away or sell them for 10¢. Today I found them for 9¢ at Walgreens. My other purchase was six boxes of Cray...

I love the summer berry picking. You pick locations are an awesome way to pick berries locally and somewhat inexpensive. For me it's actually somewhat relaxing to pick berries in the fields. My favorite location is Bauer Berry Farm . Unfortunately, they only have strawberries and blueberries. Typically, I go to Apple Jack Orchards to pick raspberries although they have a great bakery, I would like a better place to pick raspberries which should be ready in the next couple of weeks. Yoga- I appreciate yoga and have not practiced for awhile. One thing I don't appreciate about yoga is that it accentuates my lack of balance. It's true. I have no balance. Yogurt- I can only eat yogurt in smoothies. It must be a texture thing.

I love to ride roller coasters, and my favorite amusement park is Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. It is known as the Roller Coaster Capital of the World. When I first started going to Cedar Point, we would race across the park at closing time to ride Magnum XL-200 one more time. "The Magnum XL-200 is a landmark at Cedar Point. Built as the first coaster in the world to top 200 feet, the Magnum travels along the Cedar Point Beach and right along the shores of Lake Erie. In addition to the multiple hills, its 72-mph speed, a unique "pretzel" turn-around and three tunnels, you can see Canada from the top of the lift hill on a clear day!" from www.cedarpoint.com It wasn't long before Magnum XL-200 became boring, and Millennium Force became my favorite coaster (probably still is my favorite!). "It's a coaster so big and tall, we had to coin a new name for this type of steel scream machine - the Giga Coaster. Millennium Force is the park's star attract...

As I thought of the 'W' post, I had many ideas but really nothing to write about. Wish continued to come to mind, but does anyone care about my w ishes? A song that I find "catchy" has the refrain: "Can we pretend that airplanes In the night sky Are like shooting stars I could really use a wish right now (wish right now, wish right now) Can we pretend that airplanes In the night sky Are like shooting stars I could really use a wish right now (wish right now, wish right now)" My guess is up here on The Iron Range it may be easier to wish on shooting stars than airplanes... merely an observation. Today was full of life on the Iron Range. We went to the Ely Blueberry Festival and found w ild blueberries on the side of the road. The festival was full of eclectic arts and crafts although I only walked away with a book signed by the author. Who goes to an arts festival and only walks away with a book? I did pick up a couple cards of things of interest. We s...

I realize this is a lame entry for 'V', but I hope everyone takes eleven minutes to watch it (especially the last 3-4 minutes). Keith Olbermann spoke last night about the Sherrod debacle, but more importantly he talked about everyone's part. I am thankful that Keith Olbermann is vigilant. My favorite section comes towards the end: Sir, get a copy of the Michael Douglas movie "The American President." When you get to the line where he says "I was so busy keeping my job, I forgot to do my job" — hit the rewind button. Twenty times. "Fired up?" "Fired up?" Anybody? Anybody? I ♥ Keith Olbermann.

Unfortunate-- Today I am at the Minnesota Department of Education working on a data review panel for the MCA test. The day began with a brief informational session. Let me start by saying I would rather deal with mean people than stupid people. Today a gentleman asked a dumb question (Yes, there are dumb questions) that had already been addressed. Shortly after I overheard one person say, "I hope he's not on my panel." This concurred with my thoughts. When we separated into groups, he was put in a high school math group. " I kind of don't work in secondary. I should have been elementary," stated this guy. Need I say more? It is unfortunate that a professional educator doesn't feel qualified to do either panel. Unimpressed-- Last night a friend and I ate at The Cafeteria in Uptown. Both of us had heard excellent reviews and couldn't resist the rooftop seating. The menu was interesting while the food was average. Maybe the food on the lo...

Taco House-- One of my favorite places to eat is the Taco House in Milford (Okoboji), Iowa. I have been eating there ever since I can remember. When I was a teenager, I probably ate there four times a week either before of after hitting the beach (with my baby oil... see tanorexic). It seems everyone from the area feels the same about the Taco House. This year after forty some years in the same building and location, they added on to the seating area and removed the old sign. I miss that old sign. Often I've wondered if others, who do not live in the area, feel the same. Over the 4th of July, my dad's lady friend ate at this local establishment (probably to humor me). She agreed that the food was good. That's enough for me. It's one of the best! What makes it soooo great? I'd have to say it's mainly the hot sauce. Tanorexic-- I think the last two weeks has proved I am not tanorexic since I've been able to stay out of the sun for two weeks (well,...

One of my morning tasks was cleaning the linen closet. It seems I have more Benadryl than one "can shake a stick at" although I'm not sure that I will need to shake a stick at it anytime soon. Honestly, sometimes I'm a bit embarrassed at the things I think. It's better than when my dad says, "It ate its pigs" (meaning something died). "For Everyone Born, a place at the table, for everyone born, clean water and bread, a shelter, a space, a safe place for growing, for everyone born, a star overhead. And God will delight when we are creators of justice and joy, compassion and peace, yes God will delight when we are creators of justice, justice and joy." ~ Shirley Erena Murray, For Everyone Born Sacred Journey is the name of the church service I attend. After yesterday's service I knew that I would be writing about this service for 'S'. During the service yesterday communion was shared with out words, n...

Our retina, as I understand it, is like the little card in the camera that stores the pictures. I bought a new camera with an 18x zoom to take to DC for the inauguration. My old camera stays in my school bag, so I have it for unplanned adventures. The 18X zoom is a bit big to fit in my purse or school bag. Why I am talking about cameras? 1) My pride at fitting it into 'R'. 2) It also has to do with roller coasters (more, much more, to come with X is for...). Tree on top of Tiltawhirl in Arnolds Park near The Legend roller coaster. Boats on (or on the beach of) Lake Okoboji near Terrace Park. All three pictures taken from ExploreOkoboji.com. Last night a storm went through my home town (Okoboji/Arnolds Park). I only knew this because I couldn't sleep and was online talking to an intelligent, liberal (I guess that's redundant.) about the scary storm. She lives very close to Arnolds Park, home of The Legend roller coaster. Since she had major damage and was shaken...

Q is for... I really wish I knew the answer to this. Q is worth 10 points in Scrabble which I spend too much time playing online (Let me know if you want to play.). It has taught me Q is for qi, qua, suq although I don't know what any of these words mean. Q is also for quintessential. The quintessential activities of the summer should be lying in the sun, reading in the sun, and walking in the sun. Of course I haven't been able to do these things for the last week and a half, but I think I've done an awesome job staying out of the sun. Q is for quit. Other quintessential summer activities should be working out and going to the farmer's market. I will admit I have basically quit working out for the month of July (see L is for Lame and Lazy). The other activity I almost quit this morning was going to the farmers' market. Since I have a busy week starting Wednesday and will only be eating at home until then (four days), I almost didn't go this morning. ...

P!nk is one of my favorite artists. I appreciate the exclamation mark she inserts in her name. It fits with her music and lyrics. Sometimes I wish I had an 'I' in my name, so I too could add an exclamation mark. Plastic Surgeons- Since my dog bite in October of 2008, I have seen three plastic surgeons. The first one was a bit creepy while the second one seemed a bit "shady". I can't really give specific reasons, it's merely a feeling. Maybe it was his intention to take fat from another part of my body to put in the dog bit area, so it didn't dip in. I questioned this since I was certain it would eventually move. The third one who actually did my revision was professional and caring. I am glad I took the time to find the right doctor. Pews- I don't assign seats in my classroom because students typically sit in the same seat every day (all year) even though they could sit anywhere. The same is true in church and meetings. Basically I follow...

OPI is my absolute favorite nail polish. I realize how pathetic it is that I have actually blogged about OPI prior to the blog challenge. It's not only that the colors are awesome, the names are phenomenal. These are the favorites from my collection: *Down to my Last Penny *You don't know Jacques (one of my favorites) *Lucky Lucky Lavender (not really a favorite but my latest purchase) *Louvre Me, Louvre Me Not *Bronzed to Perfection *A Good Mandarin is Hard to Find (another of my favorites) *And This Little Piggy It must be a blast working for OPI and making up names for their polish!! They even have a Shrek line with Shrek names. I'm going to take a minute and check their website to see if there are employment opportunities.

As I have mentioned before, most of my news (NPR, BBC, MPR, Minnesota Independent News, Star Tribune, New York Times, etc.) comes from an aggregator (Google Reader). It allows me to scroll down the headlines and read the articles of interest. New links are added continuously, so I will admit there are many times when I merely look at the headlines. Sunday was one of these days. Later in the day a dear friend called. During the conversation I asked about her parents. She said they were doing well, but a bit of family drama arose when their house was broken into, and no one could reach them. It seems someone had targeted three houses in the neighborhood (Yankton, SD) looking for food. I admitted that if I was going to break into someone's house for food, it would indeed be the house I would target. She continued with the story about how he stayed, showered, and ate at a neighbor's house who was out of town. When the neighbor came home, he hollered, "Don't come ...

I guess it needs no comment.

How can we make love? It is making us-- Every second, Every minute, Every hour. ~Carole Bruce, The Beloved Sequence Yes, the title was a bit misleading, but I found it in my daily meditations and thought it was fitting. The entry started out with: "Life embraces living in a playful, creative process in which we are not the controlling agency, but rather a beloved partner. Once we glimpse the action of love in our lives, we can never again live with disrespect, complaint, or displeasure." For me, this is easier said than done, but I can continue to try to be a better person. Today would be a good day to make love with life. M- My first, middle and last name start with 'M' as does my brother's name. Growing up I thought this was insane (and often still do). Any time a teacher needed to pick an order for the class (seating charts, lines, etc.), I was stuck in the middle. The good news was that the middle of the alphabet in my class was mainly guys and a some...

I'm always amazed at the ease of working out once I'm in the habit. Likewise, I'm amazed at the ease of ignoring working out once I've stayed home from the gym for a week. Maybe it's because I'm l azy. Monday, June 28th was the last day I went to the gym. Since the doctor said I should be careful working out (sweat in open wound), I have a l ame excuse (with the emphasis on lame). Speaking of lame, I might go to Hulu.com and watch Big Brother tonight instead of working out. Laser- Have you ever felt the need to laser someone who was lying on their stomach? Have you ever confused your taser with a gun? Lay vs. Lie- I have to think carefully when using lay and lie. Even then I'm not sure I always get it correct. My guess is most people don't really know , so I'm safe. Light rail- It looks like the light rail is going to run parallel to the Greenway behind my house. I hope they don't rip out all of the trees, home to the wonderful birds ...

K is for Kitty Klaus Please click on the link to watch my video, K is for K itty K laus. I named him Kitty Klaus because he was a Christmas present, and I always called my previous cat Kitty Kat even though it wasn't his name. Kjerringsleppets- I belong to a book club at church called K jerringsleppets. The name comes from a book I have not read, but that the group is rereading for October, The Dance of the Dissident Daughter by Sue Monk Kidd. It seems that during the Winter Olympics in Norway there was a point in which skiers were to ski out of the Norwegian woods carrying lit torches. Only male skiers were supposed to do this which irritated the female skiers. The female skiers hid in the woods and skied in out of the trees anyway. It became an image of female empowerment and a symbol of strength and vitality. Kjerringsleppets is translated as "women on the loose". These were women who "improvised, surprised, and came uninvited." Although all women a...

July Blog Challenge starts with 'J'. Actually the challenge has been easier than I imagined, until today. How can 'J' be difficult? June, July, jig, jar, jam, jelly... In reality I have more 'J' names in my address book than any other. In fact one of my friends is one of four daughters whose names start with 'J', and her daughter also has a 'J' name. jet, Jambool, juke box, jovial, jolly... Can one jeer at a letter? jock, jocular, jest, Jeffrey Dahmer... oh the mind does interesting things while thinking about the letter 'J'. Juxtaposition is one of my favorite words although I'm not sure how to use it in a blog. Maybe the juxtaposition is the 'J' words that I thought of... the juxtaposition of Jambool and juke box or jest and Jeffery Dahmer. What's wrong with me?

Idea- Some ideas are good ideas and some not so good. Yesterday I had one of each. Actually the first one, the good one, was not my idea. Our school ordered calculators for the math MCA test. Each calculator was wrapped in a bubble wrap sleeve. Someone suggested using the sleeves to wrap Christmas ornaments. Since I couldn't work out or go in the sun, I chose to organize and re-wrap my holiday decorations. The second idea was mine. I am not allowed to go in the sun for two weeks. After two weeks I can apply sunscreen to the scar revision. Until then it can't see the sun. After spending the wonderful day inside I came up with an idea. Although I don't normally show my face on my blog, I thought this might be worth it. Of course I have decided against using the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles bandanna to block the sun.

Happiness- Charles Schultz has a book called Happiness is a Warm Puppy . Happiness is an idea for the letter of the day in the July Blog Challenge. Heavy Sleeper- I am not a heavy sleeper although it would be wonderful. Three years ago a couple friends and I went to LA to ride roller coasters. When the discussion of the previous night's earthquake came up at breakfast, I thought my friends were joking. They were relentless, so I went up to my room and checked the internet. It's true; I actually slept through an earthquake . Hijinks- Noun 1. hijinks - noisy and mischievous merrymaking (from www.freedictionary.com). I don't really have anything to say about hijinks, but it came to my mind as I was thinking of 'h' words. I found it more palatable than hygiene, hallowed ground, or healing.

Giving Tree- The Giving Tree is one of my favorite books. It still brings tears to my eyes when I read it. The movie of the giving tree below is read (narrated) by Shel Silversteen. Take ten minutes to watch it or go find the book on your shelves and read it. Galactic Pizza is one of my favorite pizza places. The pizza is fabulous. They use 100% electric cars to deliver their pizzas, and the pizza delivery people are dressed in super hero costumes. Renewable wind energy is used to power their pizza joint. Even the straws are made from a corn mixture (??) and not plastic. One of my favorite pizzas is the Second Harvest Heartland pizza. When one purchases this pizza, a dollar is given to the charity. July 7th (07/07) seems to be the day I take a g amble. Two years ago I signed on my new home. Today I had a procedure to remove the dog bite scar. The plastic surgeon is awesome. Before he started, he answered my list of ten questions including a question about flossing my tee...

Farmer's Market- I love the Midtown F armer's Market because all products sold must be produced in Minnesota or Wisconsin. Going to the market is a Saturday morning routine. Since I missed it on Saturday, I went this afternoon. For me the f armers market is more than the produce, I love the people. Flat Earth Brewing - Last night I shared a pizza and a pitcher of Angry Planet Pale Ale with a friend. The beer was from a local, St. Paul, brewer. I even did a F acebook quiz about which F lat Earth Brewing beer would best fit me. I'm not sure that it's real flattering. What Flat Earth Beer Are You? -- Belgian Pale Ale My Result: Belgian Pale Ale You're a Belgian Pale Ale. You've been around the block a few times. You're not easily swayed by gimmicks & hype. You enjoy the depth of flavor in this beer. You like your food and music to be a little more eclectic then others.

When I was trying to figure out my "E' words, I was having a difficult time, endearing, enthusiasm, energy, e tc. As I texted a friend, I realized one of my favorite things starts with 'E'... This should have been the first word in my mind since I always use it although not always correctly. Dot, dot, dot, however doesn't start with an 'E', so I had to go with ellipsis . It's the best because it let's people know there's stuff left out, stuff that still needs to be said... The e llipsis is awesome... way better than the e xclamation point! E ye drops- They are the horrible. When I need to use eye drops, thankfully not too often, it takes someone else to hold my eye open and put them in. It is something I absolutely am not able to by myself. I HATE eye drops. E dwards- Many know I spent a lot of time prior to the Iowa Caucus visiting Iowa and listening to the candidates. He spoke in E stherville, Iowa at Iowa Lakes Community College (many...

Damon Dotson- It's the Fourth of July and the best opportunity for partying and people watching in Okoboji. A friend, friend since high school, and I spent a short time in Arnolds Park doing some touristy things then we went to Okoboji Boat Works to watch the local kid turned big (somewhat big), Damon Dotson . I always enjoy watching and listening to him. As we enjoyed his music we also participated in watching and commenting on many of the people in attendance (teens to fifties?). Fun stuff! Dogs- This weekend has also given me the opportunity to hang out with my dad's dog, Nalo. I gave Nalo to my dad and named him. Nalo is an African name meaning lovable, and she is. Of the two pictures, the one with her tongue out is one of my favorites. The other picture was taken this morning; I think she knew I was leaving for the afternoon. Dog Bite- Almost two years ago I was bitten by a dog. It left a large scar on my face. Wednesday, I will have plastic surgery (plastic sur...

Yea! Today I get to "stand on my soapbox " as I blog about the letter C (Notice how I stayed, almost, away from saying 'C' word?). Cows - I am trying to be more aware of what I eat thanks to Michael Pollen and others like him. For example, when I eat meat, I prefer to eat buffalo or free range chicken or grass fed beef. Since I'm in Iowa, I went in search of a cow. When I asked my friend, who grew up on a farm, where I could find a cow, she said find a gravel road and drive. I was looking for something a bit more specific. My dad and another friend each sent me in a different direction, and I think it proves my point. Which cows do you think seems happier, the ones in the feed lot or the ones in the field? Which cows do you think are healthier? My first experience with a cow coincided with my first year of teaching. I was teaching in a small town (really, really small) in the middle of South Dakota (ranching country). Rudy (more later on P is for Pew.....

Who can say this man is not intelligent?

Life is sweet, sweet as strawberry wine And bitter too, like the seeds on the vine And you are that, you are more than sublime And bitter too, lovin' you, has been an experience ~ Pat Benatar B oji ( Okoboji ) is my hometown. I love the area and am b lessed to have wonderful friends that still live here. This weekend I will spend time with my friends and my dad in "The Lakes Area". Although I don't remember much of my childhood, I do remember driving around the lakes all summer playing Pat B enatar. A neighbor boy introduced me to her in junior high. Sing it with me, "Hit me with your best shot." What made me think about Pat Benatar today? A high school classmate owns a wonderful b ookstore . When I messaged her to find out if she had the sequel to The Sparrow , she asked if I had read Pat Benatar's memoir, Between a Heart and a Rock place . She remembered driving around in my car blasting Pat Benatar. Of course when I went to pick up Children ...

I thought about posting this morning and using anticipation since I was anticipating my first skydiving experience. Since I wanted to attach pictures, I changed to airplane although I also could have used altimeter which I has some difficulties reading. The '63 Cessna made me a bit nervous, but I wasn't freaked out. The training was super short which was nice. My main surprises shouldn't have been surprises. First I was surprised that it was cold to quite cold when they opened the plane door. Next I was surprised at the pressure. Yes, both of these should have been common sense, but I didn't really think about it. I checked the altimeter as I was supposed to and thought I should wait a minute or two before pulling the chute. Obviously I was mistaken since the instructor pulled it for me right after I checked. Actually I think I was somewhat calm about the entire situation because I knew I didn't really need to worry about it because the pro would handle th...