Naturally Optimistic

We had a “party” on Saturday night. It was a combination Halloween get-together and birthday get together (Steve’s a Halloween Baby). Yes, it was more of a get together not really a party. We only invited a few people….sort of last minute but we got some positive response so that seemed fine. I spent the day making a pumpkin cheesecake (my first cheesecake!), sausage puffs, seasoned oyster crackers; I had also purchased chips & salsa, dry roasted peanuts-candy corn-Halloween M&M’s and Steve bought 3 kinds of beer and fixin’s for Appletinis. We put up a few decorations – some spider webs, spiders, knick knacks, candles, pumpkins and colored lights. We donned Halloween costumes – he was the Pilsbury Doughboy (hysterical!) and I was the Devil Lady (old standby). And then we waited. … … No one came. Well, that is one way to make your self-esteem plummet. I felt bad for me because I had gone to the trouble of getting food & drink ready and making the house look nice & spooky...

I’m always a bit harried when I’m going into a Paul McCartney concert. I want to find my seat NOW, I want to get settled before the lights dim. I want to have my beer in hand and I want to relax before the wave of energy and emotion hits me. This time was no different. I know, logically, that the BIG ACT doesn’t go on stage until well after the ticketed start time, but this doesn’t matter. What if this one time he went on right at 8? So, we hurried in, found our seats – which happened to be dead in the middle of an aisle and I relaxed and we got our beers. The pre-show entertainment was very cool, I thought. A DJ came out and mixed various Paul McCartney, Beatles and other music. It was fantastic. The ‘older’ crowd around me was confused by this and I could hear whispers of ‘when is the real show going to start?” I thought it was great. We had cool, hip, lively music being mixed for us live and there were images of Paul’s paintings on the huge video screens. Relax…it’s coming…. Paul st...

A review of the FUCKING FANTASTIC PAUL MCCARTNEY concert coming tomorrow. I am still basking....

Another migraine. Ugh. I'm starting to get a wee bit worried actually. This was almost all aura which was annoying. Oh and the part where it felt like my temples had a vice on them. That wasn't really too fun. I came home from work early and crashed for almost 2 hours! That is unusal for me (I daydream about napping mid-day all the time but rarely actually do it.). I spent the rest of the afternoon couching it and knitting and now I'm off to work on the film trailer. Hopefully the computer won't freak out my eyes. And I made a pot roast today. Yum. I could smell it even before I walked through the door. God bless the crock pot.

My Anniversary piece is here .

Another week wrapped up. Wheeee! I can't imagine how one afternoon can take SO LONG and yet the whole month of October seems to be disappearing at a quicksand rate. What's up with that? Pictures of 'the hair' coming soon - Steve has the camera as he uses it at work and I haven't gotten a pic taken yet. Maybe tomorrow when I'm dolled up for the party. Did I just say 'dolled up?' My mother must've momentarily inhabited my body. Thanks for the notes about my Dad. I appreciate it. He really is probably the coolest person I have ever met in my life. He's amazing. He's the Zen Master (and he probably doesn't even know what Zen is - therefore he can be a true zen master). He's young (58) and this happened when he was 57 without warning. Good health, no problems. Weird. Here's a note. If you ever get an extreme headache - one that feels like a blast of icy cold hair blasting your face GO TO THE ER. That's what happened to him. Out o...

I got my hair cut last night. It was looking all scraggly again and since I allow myself 2 haircuts a year (what is my problem?) I figured it was time. Plus I’m going to see my parents this weekend and the future in-laws and I want to look “pretty” for that. I was going to get long layers and bangs, to keep the length and also to not have too much of a change. But instead I chopped it again. It’s cute, I think….swoopy bangs that go from one side to the other and short/spikey in back. I’m not sure if Steve likes it. I can’t quite tell. I think he wishes it was longer. I also changed the color. I bought Navajo Caramel Brown (do those words even go together?). It turned out a bit reddish which I wasn’t really going for but perhaps that’s because some of the blonde from March is still hanging around. I have no idea. The only problem I’m having right now is thinking about upcoming HAT SEASON. Short hair looks like crap in hats.. It looks like you’re bald or something. How am I sup...

It was a normal Tuesday. I had spent the morning at work doing what I usually do which included lots of emails and surfing the web. I went home for lunch. So far, so good. My phone rang. That was odd. It’s rare that my phone ever rings. Steve is usually the only one who calls and I was with him. I looked at the caller ID. My aunt. Huh. Oh god. It must be my grandparents! Something’s happened to one of them. Little did I know it would hit much closer to home. I remember answering the phone and hearing the words “your dad is sick. They flew him to Rochester. Your mother wants you to come as soon as possible.” I felt the breath suck out of me. I felt my knees go to water and a sense of being crushed. I instantly was sobbing and trying to comprehend what she was saying and asking her what happened. I remember Steve’s face as he came around the corner wondering what news could cause me so much pain. The look on his face, him holding me, more tears and questioning of my aunt all swirled and ...

...5 days to engagement party ...9 days to Paul McCartney concert ...17 days to first Newton's Disease screening ...19 days to second Newton's Disease screening ...26 days to wedding dress shopping & ...26 days to my best friend's baby shower! ...340 days til my wedding... busy busy busy!

A busy weekend yet again... Yesterday we drove up to Grand Marais, Mn - about 110 miles north/east of Duluth on Lake Superior. Steve had a couple of job related activities and I went along for the ride. We also went a ways up the Gunflint Trail which is spectacular, as always. The leaves were past-peak but it was beautiful nonetheless. On the way back to Duluth we stopped and hiked Oberg Mountain. For those of you who live where there are REAL mountains, it would probably make you chuckle that Oberg Mountain is 1,555 feet tall. Ah well. We take what we can get here in MN. It was incredible. The hike loops the top of the mountain offering incredible panoramic views of Lake Superior, the forest everywhere , Moose Mountain (Lutsen skiing for those of you familiar with the area), Leveaux Mountain and Oberg Lake and MORE trees to the west. We watched a spectacular sunset followed by an equally impressive moonrise. It was fanstastic. Then off to Lutsen Resort for dinner. I have been harborin...

One of my favorite shots from my NEW FINISHED FILM 'Newton's Disease' 

I often read the headlines with lightening speed on the Yahoo homepage and sometimes I read two at once and combine them and go.... huh? So, I've decided to make it into a game. Play along at home! It's fun!! The Rules: Combine two headlines from your favorite news source. You have to use at least 2 words from each headline. And voila! Funny news. My faves from Friday: Prosthetic dog testicle angers Vatican . Palestinian Police give Bush more War Funds Senate votes to ponder future after Katrina California school plan[s] sexual theme park. Singapore jails sexiest woman. DC police evacuate U.S. economy. Singapore jails bloggers found in Iraq since April.

Yesterday we threw off the burden of housework and house projects and decided to bask in what may very well be one of the last nice days of the year. We took a 2 hour drive to Ely, Minnesota which is, in all aspects of the idea, in the middle of nowhere . It's a charming town filled with little storefronts on the two main streets offering mostly outfitters wares and a few assorted cafes and bars. It is on the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness so business is brisk in the summer but slows considerably in the winter. The grocery stores (there are two) close at 4pm on Sundays. There is one movie theatre which plays one movie. There is no mall. The closest thing to a discount department store is a Pamida combined with a Hardware Hank across the street. I love it. It reminds me of Northern Exposure to a degree and I have romantic ideas about living there. However, in reality I need Target. I need Cub. I need to see plays and movies. I need to have options when I eat an...

Yellow, Green and Blue. 

Beavers at work! 

Dry falls going into Bass Lake. 

Autumn reflections on Bass Lake. 

Gardening can be scary. These are my "carrots" which I harvested the other day (soaking in the sink). Um, they don't quite look like carrots I usually eat....hmmm.... 

AND ! I just got back from Happy Hour so I'm SUPER SUPER CHATTY and will gladly chat with anyone who is here....which is no one. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! BUT a Paul McCartney song just started playing ( Jenny Wren - if you havne't checked out his new album - do so!! it really is great...and I'm not just saying that because I'm a huge fan. Okay, maybe I am but check it out anyway because it is really really good.)

Okay - in order to be more specific about the kind of iTunes help I need here are the last 25 artists that were played from my iTunes library that aren't Paul McCartney. Paul McCartney is a given, non-negotiable and his concert a mere 19 days away (i've seen him 3 other times, but never in St. Paul and never in 2005). Coldplay Pink Floyd Gear Daddies Wilco Wheat Jet The Killers Joss Stone U2 Paul McCartney (okay, I couldn't resist!) Jill Sobule Weezer Counting Crows The Replacements Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers Damien Rice Amos Lee Liz Phair The Postal Service Tori Amos Badly Drawn Boy Travis Starsailor okay that's 23 that's all I have without duplicates (I lie, some of them are dupes and I had to go back a bit farther. But you get the idea....right?!?). These are of course not in order of how much I like them (duh, PM would be on top otherwise, yes, I'm slightly obsessed, I know)....but I do like them all and more but hopefully that's a snapshot.......

My good friend SO just gave me an iTunes gift certificate as a belated b-day present (yay! I love belated b-day presents!!). The problem is...my head is not in the game right now. I don't even know what I want.... So, dear internet, I'm asking for song suggestions... Fire Away!

The view looking to the south side of the basement. Thank god for pallets! 

View from the sump pump on Monday, er, ah Tuesday morning. 

Happy 300th post to me! And it's STILL RAINING. Hmph. Steve stayed up with the sump pump last night until about 4am. I went back to bed around 2:30. I couldn't do anything anyway except hope the rain would stop. Right now it's "holding" (meaning no more water is coming in....) but the radar looks horrible ( check it ou t zip code 55806) so I'm not sure how much longer we will be without 'new' water. *sigh* At least the sewer problem has stopped. Ugh. I love a good storm, but this is ridiculous!!

It's 1:07am. I am up out of bed because it's been POURING RAIN for the last 3 hours. The thunder and lightening have been great but the fact that my basement is flooding is SO NOT GREAT. We have everything on pallets or tables or whatever but it won't matter before long. And the sewer has started to back up. I'm tired and now stressed and have to deal with a nasty situation. Steve went to his Dad's about 15 minutes ago to nab a portable sump pump. This is just awful. :-( *sigh*