Minnesota Winter

60 above zero:
Floridians turn on the heat.
People in Minnesota plant gardens.

50 above zero:
Californians shiver uncontrollably.
People in Duluth sunbathe.

40 above zero:
Italian & English cars won't start.
People in Minnesota drive with the windows down.

32 above zero:
Distilled water freezes.
The water in Bemidji gets thicker.

20 above zero:
Floridians don coats, thermal underwear, gloves, wool hats.
People in Minnesota throw on a flannel shirt.

15 above zero:
New York landlords finally turn up the heat.
People in Minnesota have the last cookout before it gets cold.

Zero:
People in Miami all die.
Minnesotans close the windows.

10 below zero:
Californians fly away to Mexico.
People in Minnesota get out their winter coats.

25 below zero:
Hollywood disintegrates.
The Girl Scouts in Minnesota are selling cookies door to door.

40 below zero:
Washington DC runs out of hot air.
People in Minnesota let the dogs sleep indoors.

100 below zero:
Santa Claus abandons the North Pole.
Minnesotans get upset because they can't start the Mini-Van.

460 below zero:
ALL atomic motion stops (absolute zero on the Kelvin scale.)
People in Minnesota start saying..."Cold 'nuff fer ya?"

500 below zero:
Hell freezes over.
Minnesota public schools will open 2 hours late.

February Book Recommendations

As most of you know, I am a voracious reader. This year, I am going to try to make each month have a different category for the books that I read, and then I will recommend the best books for that category.

I read a wide variety of books as I believe that all Christians should be well-versed in modern culture (as long as not sinful) so that we can relate to people. Paul was well-versed in the many places that he went so that he could talk to all people and compare/contrast their beliefs with Christ.

This month's theme was: Teen Age Fiction. I have been enjoying it more than I dreamed as there are many thought-provoking books out there for young people. So, if looking for an enjoyable read, here are the two that I highly enjoyed this month.

"The Adoration of Jenna Fox" by Mary E Pearson
I loved this book. It is a story of a 17 year old girl who has just awoken from a year-long coma. There were many sentences that just grapped me as there were so much truth in them. Jenna's social skills are non-existant, and she does many inappropriate social actions, but her heart is so appropriate.
"I am an oaf. My timing is off. But I had to get it out. Some things you have to tell, no matter how stupid they may sound. Some things you can't save for later. There might not be a later."

"Life as We Knew It" by Susan Beth Pfeffer
This book has won many awards, which it justly deserves. It is a story of when a meteor hits the moon, and the results on earth are told by a high school girl's diary.

Eventful Day

My mother got out of the hospital yesterday. My sister Laverna, who is a hospice nurse, had went to Wyoming to stay with Mom the first week that Mom is home. We were uncertain that Mom was really ready to go home, but Laverna says Mom was doing well there. Mom will have therapy at home five days a week, home health care coming in, meals on wheels, etc.. Though she has a “lifeline”, we still feel it is best that Mom not be alone for a few weeks, so I will probably be going to Wyoming for another week and work from Mom’s house.

Also, my beloved hubby made it home yesterday. Twelve days is a long time to be separate! His left hand is healing, though he can not use his left hand for a lot of activities. He broke his ring finger and sprained the other three fingers on that hand. He can’t drive his car as it is a manual, and if it snows, he can’t shovel snow! Sigh!

I had thought spring was here as on Tuesday it was 40 degrees. Within 36 hours, it had dropped 56 degrees, counting windchill (-16). I love living in MN except it seems like February will never end.

And to make yesterday even more special, my dear friend from my teens, Jeanne Eck, stopped by last evening. Jeanne and five of her children, who live in Kansas, were going to Wisconsin for a winter weekend. We had a great time visiting, and Kristina always immensely enjoys the children. Pictures of her and Alea doing their “monkey” face – and with some of Jeanne’s children.

Logan

We decided to have Logan train to be a therapy dog, so that he can go do visitations at hospitals, nursing homes, etc.. Tonight, Logan passed the first 6 weeks obedience class. Yippee!!! However, he still has issues when he is around other dogs. All of the commands that he does so wonderfully at home takes a lot of work when there are other dogs around. He has another 6 weeks obedience class that he must take and pass, and then the therapy course and then pass therapy test. Still a long road ahead, but the first step is complete. Good for Logan (and Chris who usually does most of the training. :) )

My Book Club Dinner / Chris Accident

Every year, when it is my time to host my book club, I fix a formal dinner for the ladies. I usually take a day off and spend the day cleaning/cooking/baking for the event. Today was another successful dinner -- even though a sweeper broke, the grill wouldn't start (so went from Grilled Mahi Mahi to Baked), and the garbage disposal broke. (I need my hubby home!!!) I had salad, strawberries, homemade rolls, Mahi Mahi (fixed 1/2 mango chipolte and lemon merinade for other half), aspargus with orange sauce, baked potatoes, mini strawberry cheesecakes, mini chocolate cheesecakes, and hummingbird cake.

We were ending our evening together when Kristina brought me the cell phone. It was our niece in Georgia. Both of Alison's girls (Alison is Chris's sister) go to University of Georgia, and had come to Atlanta to have dinner with their uncle since he was there on a business trip. When he showed up for dinner, he had had a wreck when cycling with some people in Atlanta after work, and his hand was in bad shape. They took him to hospital, and then I was called. He is not seriously injured (Thank you, God) but last that I talked to him, he was debating with doctor on cast versus splint. Chris is wanting to make sure he can still cycle. ;(

And then people wonder why I pray for boredom!!!

First Afternoon with Chris Gone

Chris left for 12 days for a business trip to Atlanta, and I hope things start going better. First, Kristina messed up her PC again, and I could not fix it. I finally told her that she had to hire the teenage PC guru in the neighborhood. (Good news, he fixed it in an hour. But I admit my ego is a little bruised. :) )

Then I have a dinner party planned Thursday for my book club, so I decided to wash the couch cushion coverings. One of them had to be sewed when it came out of the dryer, and another lost its zipper. I hope that I can get the same size zipper and fix it.

If that wasn’t enough, well, since Chris is gone, I needed to take Logan to his obedience class to be a therapy dog. I started backing the van out of the driveway, and driveway was very slippery, so I ended up with van stuck in snow bank on one side of the driveway. Kristina and I started shoveling snow bank, and I managed to drive to get van unstuck, but Kristina was shouting at me. I asked her what was wrong, and she was afraid I was going to tip the van over. Since it seemed possible and I had been a little intimidated also, I left van there. Since van was not on driveway anymore but off in snow drift on side, I decided to take the car. However, since driveway was pure ice in places, I told Kristina not to get in until I made it out of the driveway. Well, I didn’t make it out. I had it in neutral, but it hit the ice and starting spinning. Thankfully, I didn’t hit the van, but I had to leave the car stuck on the ice as I don’t think that I could get it out without hitting the van.

So, Logan didn’t make it to class, and I have two vehicles stuck! UGH!!!! My neighbor said he would help me get them out in morning. I gave up on trying to be productive anymore today. :)

Kristina with Glasses

I got back home from WY with Kristina clamoring that she had been telling me for awhile that she needed glasses, and the school tested her and that she was right. So, I took her today, and she got her first pair of glasses. I let her pick it out for herself, and here she is…