the remaking of a kitchen

after the game we met kari, brian, kelsey, brennan and bennet for pizza. a good time was had by all.....which can be proven by how very close brian came to smiling! the buffet is evil, but we survived nicely and enjoyed each bite! afterwards we needed to take a few pictures.....the kids had to pose for their individual shots. good ones i thought!

Labels: fun, kids, pizza

patrick took this picture of us being the ultimate fans.....it was nice to feel that things were getting back to normal in lincoln. who knows what will happen eventually, but for that day it felt really good.

Labels: fans, football

i still have more photos to post from last weekend, but this needs to be said. we are getting more snow....it really isn't sticking to the ground here, but there is a lot in the air. this is an official protest.....we are sick of this bleeping winter! get over it already!!!

Labels: more snow

something unique to the nebraska spring game is the welcoming of kids and parents onto the field at halftime. to start with adults in the stadium and on the field take a pledge to help kids avoid drugs, alcohol and cigarettes, and then the kids take a similar pledge. bo led the pledge for the adults and 2 former players led the one for the kids. i think the kids just love getting to go on the field, and it usually takes repeated messages to get them all OFF the field for the second half. kari called me on the phone during that time and i asked if she was on the field, and she said "are you kidding? that would be really crazy." i think she is right!
our friends dave and lea met us before the game and gave us tickets for baseball games on saturday and sunday. patrick and his friend jeff used them after the spring game, and as i mentioned, we used them sunday. a great treat.

we just returned from the spring game weekend in lincoln. it was a full and busy weekend, with the game a highlight! there were amazing lines of people with general admission tickets waiting to be admitted to the stadium. the attendance was flashed up on the big display sign as 80,149 - that would be for a scrimage. amazing. it felt good to actually want to be there again, to want to be a part of the whole thing after four depressing years. there were a lot of symbolic things, the one being a triple option on the first play of the game, in honor of tom osborne. that was wrecked by a defensive player blocking the pass, but hey, after last years' defensive play it was a bit of a celebration!
it was hard to say what the situation will be next year. in general, i just have to say that it FEELS better. the defense was running to the ball, and looked like they knew what they were doing, and felt good about it. they looked like a team. there were mistakes and that's to be expected. it's a new system, and there are a lot of guys who haven't played previously. sadly, some of them have been around for 4 years, and their main problem may have been the lack of stars bestowed on them by the rating gurus. one of those guys was the one making the fantastic block on the first play! they are so glad to finally have a chance. this group of coaches made it clear that every one was starting out fresh. it didn't make any difference what they'd done in the past, they had to perform now and would be graded on that.
one thing that i'd not seen previously was the presence of several coaches on the field during the game. they were in the backfield, obviously observing, and some times calling out directions to players. they always seem to be teaching. this group seems to realize that these are student athletes and they need to be taught how to play the game.....it's a lot different than playing in high school!

Labels: new system, spring game

another lovely day today, although they did mention the possibility of rain before it ends. i guess we can still use the moisture, we are down about an inch on average, but man the sunshine is so welcome!
i met friends for lunch in st paul today. i was nervous about finding the place, and for some reason assumed we were meeting at 11:30, so i found it easily and was the first arrival. fifteen minutes later i called one of the women, and she thought it was at noon....anyway, there were 5 of us and it was fun, and i had some time to ponder creative thoughts before they all arrived. we all laughed and told stories and i think this may turn into a monthly gathering. yea!
when i got home i wandered the garden wondering if there just might be a surprise bloom now that the snow is finally gone. i found these that i think are grape hyacinths coming up in the middle of some irish moss in the rock garden. very tiny and sweet, and a joy to see something blooming after the gray gray gray of this endless winter. :)

Labels: grape hyacinths, rock garden, winter

today was a nice day. i know that shouldn't sound amazing, but we were in great need of just a nice day. it's the middle of april, and the sun shined, and it did not rain or snow. don did some raking, cleared some of the accumulated winter junk from the yard. more to do, but what a start!
i went to a great decisions at the library....latin america this time. the presenter is from mexico and travels to most latin american countries on business, so has a good feel for what is happening. i always learn so much from him. this time his wife attended too.....she was pretty excited as she hadn't heard him speak for this type of event. his wife teaches spanish in a couple of suburban community centers and several of her students were in attendance. she is a very warm person and says so many of the students become friends....reminded me of the pottery classes of old. :) i ended up sitting with marianna and enjoyed visiting with her. i am considering signing up for a class.....it's just over the walking bridge. nice location.
tonight we decided to go to chevy's for dinner. after driving in various circles, we found it and then discovered that it is closed......they built another building in front of it, tore off the outer decor and trashed the parking lot. how sad. we ended up at ruby tuesday's which was ok, but not chevy's.
tomorrow it is supposed to be 70! a little hard to imagine, but i think i can handle it.

Labels: 70, latin america

this is ridiculous....we are getting snow again! i talked to a friend in florida today and he said, but surely the tulips are blooming. NOT. the grass isn't even green for sure. i am really tired of this weather.....it is the longest winter evahhhhhhhhh.

Labels: snow, winter

i mentioned earlier that i purchased seeds etc to make the dakota bread i had at cafe latte. well, today i decided to just do it.....it's just out of the oven and it looks good, so we hope it tastes just as good!
i kneaded it for 20 minutes and then added the seeds and kneaded them in as directed. that part was interesting. the seeds kept forming pockets in the dough so it took quite a bit of elbow grease to get them really worked in and part of the whole. i checked the cafe's website and they call it black hills dakota bread. this was certainly more complex than any other bread i've made, but it was fun and easy to do. i have to confess that i checked out the kitchenaid mixers when i went shopping for a pizza stone this afternoon. the woman who wondered if i needed help was great....she even owns one, and listed its advantages. i told her i was concerned about the weight of the mixer so she drug out an unopened box and i was able to lift it from the floor. i think the problem would be lifting it from the counter, but the heavier mixers have a neat feature...you can raise and lower the mixing bowl, so that would help. i am thinking that it might become sculpture and just rest in all its majesty on the counter.
this is all just talk so far....i enjoyed kneading today more than i counted on....thank you new found muscles!! :) it was much easier than ever before....i have struggled in with past kneading experiences. this was nice.

Labels: dakota bread, kneading, seeds

i returned to my body flow class at the y today. i found out that not attending for several weeks, well maybe more than several weeks does make a difference. i was able to keep up for the most part, but there were some things that were just going to happen. like stretching into doing the splits....NOT in my lifetime with this bod! i did the alternative which was lying on my back with one leg in the air and stretching toward the splits in that position. it did feel good to be back and i won't miss so many classes in a row in the future. one interesting thing is that my balance seems to have improved....i know that creativity happens whether you are working at it or not, but i was surprised that balance happens when you're not looking too!
thursday is studio strength and i'm looking forward to that. i've missed most of march in that class, but i have done a few things with bands at home....it will still be hard this first time back.

Labels: strength class, yoga

oh my goodness. i went shopping for groceries today and hit 3 different stores. the co-op for various herbs, seeds and nuts, oh, and some dried figs. then to byerly's because i had a coupon for some olive oil at a terrific deal. i felt i had to buy something else and wandered to the cheese area and chose a little treat for us. it's the point reyes original blue cheese from farmstead cheese company. it is so unbelievably good, creamy, bluey and just the right texture. yes, i do like it a lot. this makes me KNOW that i need to investigate the local artisanal cheese makers, in the two states and buy some of theirs soon.
oh, i also went to the local grocery and got some salmon and asparagus for our dinner, and a loaf of bread is in the oven. i plan to use the seeds etc from the co-op to make dakota bread - something i discovered the last time i ate at cafe latte'. it was so nutty, seedy and fiberously delicious i googled a recipe and found one. it's up next!

Labels: asparagus, blue cheese, bread making, salmon

di di called yesterday to say that she and erika made it to the cities and she wondered if i could meet them today at a kids play area. she would be staying with kara and her family and kara's son was invited to a birthday party there. so today i drove to a northeastern (i think) suburb and found this place where there were 2 gazillion kids and parents....mostly parents ignoring the kids as they ran screaming and giggling around the play area. there were things to climb in that led to slides, balls to jump and roll in and other delicious things. erika had a good time....mostly getting about 1/4 of the way up into something just so she couldn't be reached by di di. but boy did she have a terrific time....the big grin was in evidence, flashing each time another child came near. it is irresistable! she fooled us all by climbing up several levels and then creeping thru a raised tunnel and swooshing down a circular slide. the really good thing to her was trying to climb up the slide and fortunately she never met a pair of feet coming down. the one pic is of erika lying in the bottom of the lowest layer before she proceeded up to the top and slid down. the next is di di inside a screen trying to get a good shot....you can see erika in the background. the next is di di getting some good photos. erika also showed us her sommersault skills and freaked us out as she turned a couple on one of the half floored things meant for climbing. eek
along with di and kara, was their friend anita who drove down from duluth to see the southern visitors. anita went to college with the other two, but i hadn't met her previously. she works hard trying to keep the northern lakes pristine, preventing nasty chemicals and farmyard effluence from spoiling the natural beauty and purity. i felt honored to be included in a bit of their reunion.
i got to talk to kara a bit and tell her of my multiple antibiotic experiences this year and she told me which place to call to get in to see her. i will do that next week for sure.
it was a fun day, but i am out of shape for the yelling and screaming and blowing of noisemakers by all the kids at the multiple parties happening simultaneously!!

Labels: di di, erika

i. am. not. coughing.
the last two mornings i've awakened, gotten up and wandered around for half the day before i coughed. then i simply coughed and got it over with....no frantic coughing, choking, trying to catch my breath. no embarrassing myself in public or private places with near apoplexy. sigh. finally. the absence of the cough feels amazingly good.
i finished reading a book today and walked to the library to return it. i didn't do anything fancy, didn't walk really really fast, didn't go over the pedestrian bridges, just walked there and back. it felt deliciously normal. i didn't cough, didn't get short of breath, just enjoyed the weather. it was a blue sky with a few floaty white clouds and the temp was 60. not all the snow is gone, but it is definitely leaving.
when i got home i sat down with a diet cherry coke to reflect on health, and noticed the sky getting GRAY.....the wind picking up and sudden rain splashing against the windows. some kind of rogue rain thing going through the cities and it took away the gorgeous day and the blue sky, but not till i had my walk. the rain lasted 35 or so minutes, the sky cleared and all was well except the temp was about 50. i didn't even care.

Labels: health, library, walk