TrivialBob

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[trivialbob]

When making a frozen pizza (tonight: Home Run Inn) I need to remember the difference between AIR FRY and BAKE with my air fryer oven.

Good news: The smoke detector made me very aware of my mistake, and the house is still standing.

Good news: That pepperoni pizza looks fantastic. It's perfectly crispy, not burnt. Thankfully, the smoke detector went off several minutes before the air fryer oven's timer would have shut it all down like Chernobyl.

Good news: Ella (age 13) barely noticed the smoke detector shrieking. A few years ago, she would have had a nervous breakdown.

Good news: Sulley would have freaked out too, but he watched Ella and figured there was no need to panic. I'll let him continue to live with us.

Other news: Oliver retreated to the backyard when he heard me turn on the air fryer oven. He refuses to be bribed with pizza crusts to come back inside. Ella and Sulley might get fat taking up that slack.

There is no bad news. This afternoon I was at the brewery. Sometimes that means I get really hungry and burn my mouth on molten pizza sauce at home. Wisely, I set a kitchen timer after I took the crispy pizza out of the oven so I'd wait until it cooled.

It worked.

P.S. Oliver will stay in this spot all night unless I force him to come inside.

[trivialbob]

This morning I drove to a nearby landscaping company that sells black dirt, rock, and such and got a half yard of pulverized topsoil.

When Sheila and I were out of town a few weeks ago, Sulley dug a few holes under the backyard fence and escaped. Our dog sitter was excellent at handling that. She didn't alert us immediately, which I actually appreciated. We were too far away to deal with it, and she captured him after a few short chases. No point in making us worry when everything was dealt with successfully and now it's just a funny story to tell.

It was a wonderfully cool (54°F) morning. Perfect for doing yard work without being miserable.

I brought the dogs with me in my truck. When I pulled up to the gatehouse, I got out to talk to an employee because the dogs were barking. The employee was a great guy. He loved seeing the three dogs, all of whom jumped into the front seat to be closer to the guy they were barking at.

He told me where to park so he could fill the bed using a skid steer. He forgot to tell me something and walked back after I had started the truck.

I rolled down the window. The dogs went a bit nuts, loudly but not aggressively.

For a moment he must have thought I was going to yell at or even hit them. "Oh, oh, oh, hey, they're not bothering me at all. Man, it's cool!"

I simply turned to Ella (the loudest), rubbed her ears nicely, and said in a soothing voice, "Sweetie, it's okay. Shhh, he's okay. It's fine." Ella stopped barking and let out a little polite whimper. The other two quieted down as well.

The employee seemed relieved and happy that I hadn't overreacted. I'm pretty sure he would have given me the dirt (price: $13) for free if I'd let the dogs out so he could have petted them.

I've now filled all the holes in the yard. Later, I'll add grass seed and water, but it's warming up now and time for lunch (and maybe a nap).

[trivialbob]

I was up at the crack of dawn. Felt well-rested. Got laundry started before taking the dogs to the park. When we returned home, I made fresh coffee with Bourbeans beans that @littlerunnergurl had roasted and shipped to us. Good stuff.

After I hung the clean clothes and bedding outside on the clothesline (dry for free!), I finished loading the dishwasher. It's a small thing, adding a detergent pod that smells clean and pressing the Start button, but it brings me much satisfaction. The barely audible rush of hot water whispers, "That pod and I are getting these dishes really clean for you. Sit back and relax."

Then I ground more coffee beans and made another pour-over coffee. With good beans, I actually measure them using my kitchen scale before I grind them. Measuring ingredients also gives me satisfaction. Sheila eyeballs everything. I don't watch her cook.

Eventually, I got hungry and made a big breakfast with sausage, eggs, potatoes (tots, @justanothermiddleagedchick, tots!) and toast. Sadly, that delicious breakfast meant dirty dishes in the sink and not in the already running dishwasher. That made me a tiny bit sad, because I didn't get to enjoy a totally clean kitchen for long.

It's only 71°F/22°C today, with the forecast shows only a slight rise from that. We could finally open all the windows and get some fresh air in the house. Everything smells fresh.

[trivialbob]

My granddaughter Heather today, in what I called a "walker."

My daughter-in-law Michelle said, "Shhhh, the moms group online says it's a "jumper."

Rules are strict in the internet age.

[trivialbob]

This evening I took the dogs for another drive. With the high heat and smoky air, they hadn't been out of the house much. Sometimes a drive, without even stopping, makes them happy.

When I reached Minneapolis, I decided to stop at Lake Harriet so Ella could swim. She enjoys it; Oliver and Sulley don't care to get into the water.

Near where dogs swim is the Lake Harriet Elf House. A few decades ago, someone attached a little wooden door by a hollow opening at the base of a tree.

Over the years, many people have left trinkets, notes, and such by the door for Mr. Little Guy, the elf who resides there (and has a web site). Someone really got carried away since I last saw it and deposited a lot of glass beads. Seek the essence, children, not the clutter.

Sulley was very interested in all of it. Then I realized he just wanted to pee on everything. I did not let him pee on the Elf House or the trinkets.

Ella was really happy after her swim. Oliver was simply happy to go for a ride in my truck. Sulley ended up peeing on a lot of other things, just not the Elf House.

[trivialbob]

I just got off the phone.

The timer said the conversation lasted 30:02. Not thirty-point-two seconds. Thirty minutes and two seconds.

hat's likely the longest personal phone call I've had since about 1988. Back then, long-distance calls were priced by the minute, so we spoke quickly. Because I had college roommates, we had to parse the land-line phone bill each month to ensure everyone paid their fair share.

Sheila's been at the cabin all weekend. Her sister, niece, and some friends joined her. I stayed home. She isn't coming home until tomorrow evening. We started texting but realized it was going to be much easier to... actually speak to each other on the phone.

Tomorrow she's heading over to another part of Wisconsin where we used to keep our old camper. The local ATV club holds a huge, women-only ride once each summer. No men, no children, no pets. It's called the Girlie Ride.

We don't even have a side-by-side UTV right now. Sheila brought her EMT gear to last year's ride, when we had our own vehicle. Organizers appreciated that. This year, she asked if she could ride along with someone. Nope. Somebody is loaning her a Polaris so she can drive herself.

[trivialbob]

The Kids Are Alright

I rode my bike to the library to return two books and pick up another one on hold. By the time I got home, I felt like I needed some sugar.

From a local school fundraiser, I have a sheet of coupons to local restaurants. One of them is a Buy One Get One for a Blizzard at Dairy Queen. A Blizzard was perfect for me on this hot day, and I could save a second one for another time.

Inside, two 16- or 17-year-olds were working behind the counter, a girl and a boy. The girl took my order.

My experience with restaurant coupons seems to fall into the category of, "Wow! What the heck is a coupon?! I think I need a manager for this!"

Not today. The coupon was a reusable one. When I tried to hand it to the girl for her to see it, she smiled and said, "Yep, I already rang that in."

I asked for small Blizzards (mocha brownie and turtle pecan cluster). Then I pointed to the smallest of the four cups on display. You know where this is going, right? What I wanted was the mini cup, a size down from small.

The boy had been listening for the order and promptly started pouring ice cream for the first small Blizzard. The girl, seeing me point at the cup, said, "Oops."

I felt bad and told the kids they could just make small Blizzards.

Without missing a beat, they both said, "Nah, no problem. We can save it for the next small order. You can still get the mini size."

It was a small thing, but made me happy that they didn't roll their eyes or sigh just because the old man didn't know the Blizzard cup sizes.

[trivialbob]

Sulley may look terrified here, but he actually loves it when either of the two older dogs licks his ears.

[trivialbob]

Because of the oppressive heat, I spent little time outside but still got a lot done today.

The wildfire smoke in the air has markedly decreased. There was even a slight breeze today, clearing out things. The dogs and I went to the park early, before the heat really set in. They still didn't feel much like walking. They sniffed a few other dogs, and then we went back home after seeing no interesting planes scheduled to land.

I gave blood. The blood bank stepped up its snack game with Häagen-Dazs ice cream treats. They're the mini bars, but no one stopped me from taking a half-dozen! (Really, I only took one.)

My dad and I ran errands in the afternoon. He needed a new computer monitor, so we got one at Micro Center. I sure like that store.

He is recovering from cataract surgery. The two procedures went well, but his reading vision isn't perfect yet. When we were getting groceries, I picked out some reading glasses for him. I like the way they look on him.

Sheila and others are at the cabin this weekend. I stayed home with the dogs. I miss being able to float down the river on tubes like they're doing, but I'm enjoying my "me time." I washed all the bedding, then dried it outside on a clothesline. I love how crispy that makes the sheets feel.

As I settle in for the night now, I'm having a martini made with a Minnesota gin I'd not previously heard of. The dogs wanted to get out of the house, so we drove around for a bit, then stopped at a liquor store. This gin is made in Duluth and was reasonably priced.

I've had a few sips and like it. I'll finish the evening watching a little TV and some videos the kids sent us of granddaughter Heather. She's trying new foods and has some great expressions :)

[trivialbob]

Guest blog post, by Sheila!

Bob was so kind as to let me share my first day of "retirement" with all of you. I have zero desire to enter the Tumblrverse but as I wandered around the book fair last Saturday, I thought about all the things Bob would write about.

This was a great first day of not working. I rolled out of bed leisurely at 9am. I showered and got dressed and headed for the Minnesota State Fair Grounds for a "book fair for grownups."

The line of people was the VIP line. I paid an extra $10 (Bob avert your eyes) to get in an hour ahead of everyone which really meant nothing because it was still pretty crowded. By this time, it was 85 degrees outside when at promptly 11 am we were ushered into the grandstand area of the building. This was a large unairconditioned building. Thankfully an ice-cold beer was available as I browsed authors, book sellers and merchandise sellers. There were 240 total vendors.

The demographic for this event was about 97% women, 1% men who were forced to be there, 1% men who wanted to be there and 1% children. Don't even get me started on the children part of it, I was not expecting that. If something is billed as "adult" or in this case "grownup" I would have left my kids at home.

The wrapped books are "blind date with a book." I bought several as gifts and one for myself. I figured it's been about 36 years since I have had a blind date, so why not? I haven't opened mine yet because I want to wait until I am ready to read it. While I liked the added stickers and pen, what I appreciated most was the card attached to it with the Amazon and Goodreads ratings for the book.

Two of the book "stores" were mobile vendors, one a trailer and one some type of British vehicle that I believe gets taken by trailer. It reminded me a bit of the "bookmobile".

I lasted about an hour in the heat and crowd. When I returned to the parking lot where my car was sitting in the sun, the temperature according to the car was 109. Yep, time to go.

What I enjoyed the most about this experience was seeing that physical books are still alive and well. There was speculation some years ago that e-readers and audible books would make books and bookstore obsolete. This is clearly not the case, and I still will always choose to hold those bound papers with the pretty cover in my hand as opposed to a device.

Would I go again? No. I would much rather take my admission money, go to a small local bookstore and spend the money there.

[trivialbob]

Being retired is nice.

On Sunday, a friend (also recently retired) whom I met when our local brewery opened asked me if I'd join him Tuesday for a boat ride at his cabin in Wisconsin. It was nice being able to promptly reply, "Yep."

We packed a cooler of mostly water and a little bit of beer and set out on a pontoon boat. Because it was Tuesday, we were one of only two boats moving around the lake.

We checked out the houses and cabins. Some have full-time residents, while others are seasonal retreats (as is his cabin). The cabin has been owned by his wife's family for 80 years.

We saw a few bald eagles high in the air, as well as loons (which happen to be Minnesota's state bird) floating and swimming near us in the water.

We ate lunch at a bar and grill on the lake. It was pleasantly quiet, so we hung around talking for nearly two hours. My friend used to be a real estate appraiser and had stories about his job that I found interesting, sometimes horrifying, and even funny.

This bar and grill had the silverware wrapped in bags like I've seen in other bars around Wisconsin.

When it was time to come home, I was thoroughly relaxed. I lose track of my days sometimes, which is delightful. However, I because of that, I forgot I'd hit Minneapolis rush hour.

I took this picture while stopped in traffic. The cars in front of me had just started to move again. Since I didn't have anywhere to be, I didn't bother jockeying around or trying to pass anyone. It's rather nice not to get worked up about traffic. I hate gridlock as much as anyone, but knowing I didn't have to get home to sign on to work to check stupid work emails made it easier to deal with.

[trivialbob]

This morning, I'm binge-cleaning the house and garage.

We have a cordless Dyson pet model vacuum cleaner because of our dogs. It is good for light dirt and dust bunnies (or "dust Aussies" or "our new dog" as we call them here). It sees near-daily use. The battery no longer works in the MAX mode, but regular mode is fine.

I have a dedicated laundry room vacuum. It's an old Bissell upright and, of course, a pet model. The floor brush broke years ago, but I kept the removable canister and hose portion because they still work well. They are perfect cleaning basement stairs, nooks, and crannies as well as the dryer's lint trap when I'm feeling extra meticulous.

Then there's the battery-powered Riccar upright. This was a bit of a luxury purchase when we had more carpeting in the house. The battery lasts forever, and the machine really cleans rugs and collects dust well. Its only downside is that it requires disposable bags. The Dyson and Bissell just have plastic dustbins that are emptied after each use.

Finally, there is my vintage Craftsman wet/dry vacuum cleaner. Sheila's dad gave this to me when we got married. I guess it was part of her dowry. The Craftsman has held up remarkably well over the last 34 years, cleaning car interiors, everything in the garage, broken glass in the kitchen and on the patio, and occasional liquid spills. It is bulky to move around and has a long cord, but it's a beast of a vacuum cleaner.

All these machines have been in use today. Since I had them out, I started cleaning vacuum cleaners with other vacuum cleaners!

The Bissell, with a narrow crevice attachment, sucked dust out of the Dyson that wouldn't just shake free. Then, I used the powerful Craftsman to clean the parts of the Bissell and Riccar.

Lacking any more vacuum cleaners to continue this process, I finally poured the Craftsman's contents into a garbage bag.

[trivialbob]

Sheila put in her retirement notice.

She's worn out from working as an EMT, both physically and mentally. Little of the job is for actual emergencies.

Instead, they transport patients to emergency rooms by ambulance because the people mistakenly believe they get to cut to the front of the always long lines with their bruised toe.

Or no one in the household wants to get up and drive a significant other or grandparent to urgent care or a clinic. As a result, they dial 911 and an ambulance brings them to an ER. Someone has to stay home and feed the cat!

There are bariatric patients who are simply too large to be transported by family or nursing home staff. The fire department is usually dispatched to assist, as firefighters are needed to help lift the patients. This happens far more often that you might realize.

People call for ambulances for minor things all the time. It's a $2,000 taxi ride in the back of a truck. Yes, it really costs that much, mostly to taxpayers. No one can be turned away or discouraged from using emergency medical services for any reason.

Sheila grew tired of the wastefulness of it all, though she truly likes working when a job is interesting.

A former colleague from her days as a sheriff's detective years ago reached out recently. He had started a private investigations company and said he could use her help.

Last night she and I had planned to go out to dinner. Sheila got called, asking her to go to a different restaurant and watch someone.

So, we went to the other restaurant. In the parking lot, we both searched for a specific car and license plate. Sheila spotted it, confirming the subject was inside.

We got a table where Sheila could observe that person. She pretended to take a picture of me when she was really getting shots of the subject. I put on a good show by smiling very nicely for the camera and saying "cheese!"

[trivialbob]

After a good, long day of tubing down the river and swimming in the very clear and perfect temperature water, putting on clean, dry clothes feels amazing.

It's equal to when I was a young child, and my mom gave me clean pajamas, right of out the clothes dryer on a cold winter night, right after a bath.

[trivialbob]

Happy 4th of July!

It's not quite like the Bicentennial Spirit of '76 hoopla I remember from my childhood, but was still with a lot of friends and having a good time.

We all spent a good portion of the day out on the river and the lake on our friends' pontoon boat. There were many people out there we didn't know... until today. We made friends, swam, and chatted with all sorts of other boaters. Blessedly, I heard zero fireworks.

I loved the assortment of boats we saw. Expensive pontoon boats and cruisers, then some homemade-ish craft, including this one I saw with chain-link fence for a railing.

People and watercraft were decorated with stars and stripes, as were bikinis, swimsuits, and bartenders' tight tank tops at a lakeside bar we stopped at.

While boating, we saw a bald eagle swoop in and snatch a fish not far from us. 'Merica!

We also did our part to help with Wisconsin's aluminum recycling efforts, though no one got too silly.

[trivialbob]

When I was a kid...

Summer weather warnings came in four flavors: severe storm watches, severe storm warnings, tornado watches, and tornado warnings. If weather looked bad, we'd turn on the TV to see if our county was appearing in the scroll at the bottom of the screen to learn if we'd get the Wizard of Oz experience.

I often asked my mom which was worse, watch or warning, because I forgot. These days, I remember. A warning means the event has happened nearby and a watch just means conditions are ripe for it to occur.

This morning the weather forecast has a more nuanced message: There is a Marginal Severe Storm Risk for your location. I hope it gets downgraded to a slight contingency, because I have plans this afternoon.

[trivialbob]

Sheila and Ali came over to our place in Wisconsin yesterday. I joined them today, and Jack will join us tomorrow. Five dogs are here now. Thank goodness they all get along.

Tonight, the three of us ate dinner and played bingo at a bar we like.

The paper envelopes for silverware amused me. I had a burger and fries, and didn't need to unwrap mine. I wonder if they reuse unopened packets.

Bingo was a bit chaotic. For example, the caller didn't have a microphone, and his cadence was akin to an auctioneer's. It was still fun, especially when anyone called "Bingo!" and the rest of the bar started chanting, "Bullshit, bullshit!"

Red and white checkboard wax paper, plastic baskets, and a bingo dauber.

After each bingo there was a consolation round for a bar chip. I got one!

What is it good for?

Oh happiness!

Our bar tab didn't seem to match up to how much we ate and drank. I kept the free drink chip for another time. Sheila tipped the bartender well.

Sheila and me:

There's a bottle of Jack Daniel's Apple Whiskey in that picture. A woman seated near me ordered it with ginger ale; just hearing that made me want to brush my teeth.

Overall, it was a fun evening. We started a fire when we got back to the cabin and burned up a lot of sticks that had fallen from the trees.