tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341619512012-01-29T21:06:39.271-06:00With a fox, in my socks, on the rocks, always outside the box. I yam Pam. Pam I yam.Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.comBlogger511100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-10762532685699878832011-08-28T14:32:00.000-05:002011-08-28T14:32:35.650-05:00

Anyone still out there? :-)

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-63329488765028414172009-09-23T11:52:00.005-05:002011-07-07T16:59:07.628-05:00

…La la, how the life goes on!   I’m still waiting for things to settle down around here. I started this blog at the end of 2006 while I was taking time off to deal with a health issue. If I knew then what I know now, I think I would have actually enjoyed that time.   I won’t bore you with all the dreary details, but the longest running stress (that isn’t over yet) is that out of the last 21

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-72595000190701193712008-10-07T07:52:00.004-05:002011-07-06T19:26:52.998-05:00

I was gone but now I’m not. I wish I could impress you by telling you that I spent the last six months on an arduous journey of personal discovery or on a mission doing some great humanitarian work, but I have been right here doing this and that, things and stuff.  Some days were more things oriented, and other days it was all about stuff. Mostly, though, I just tried to maintain a healthy

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-71782723517915224042008-04-07T18:47:00.005-05:002011-07-08T18:57:35.070-05:00

Well, it’s been a whole ‘nother month-plus since my last real post. You know, the kind with lots of words. Sometimes I wonder if we’re each born with a quota of words and maybe I’ve used all of mine up already. Dang. I guess I will be forced to post in the form of interpretive dance from here on out… For a while I was overwhelmed after all the chaos of settling my Grandma’s affairs, getting Liz

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-31872573802686671812008-03-24T19:03:00.004-05:002011-07-06T19:32:11.264-05:00

We've got a pretty good sledding hill right in our back yard. Hit the play button to see the action and hear some great giggles.

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-60045949293768822008-02-24T14:37:00.007-06:002011-07-08T19:14:15.892-05:00

When my lovely daughter Lizzie was about 14 or 15, she was having boy troubles one day.  In a moment of high drama, she burst into tears, threw herself face-down onto her bed and declared that she was “just an old hag!”  Anyone who has mothered a teenage girl knows that boys are only one of the many triggers for high drama.  Hair, shoes, acne, big brothers, parents, homework, full moons, etc.,

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-59031742280117621712008-02-14T13:27:00.002-06:002008-02-14T13:49:26.254-06:00

This one's for Cherie. (I love you anyway.)

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-69679978203798784832008-02-02T19:55:00.005-06:002011-07-08T20:36:58.926-05:00

It's Groundhog Day and I'm poking my head out of my burrow.  There are shadows all around, but I'm going to try to come out of the warmth and safety of hibernation a little more frequently, knowing that longer, brighter, warmer days are ahead. To update you on the most important things: Joe's dad is a model patient and, though they won't know for another 4 months or so if his heart will return

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-32455251485725121732007-10-28T20:04:00.002-05:002011-07-09T15:16:44.991-05:00

Wouldn’t it be fun if every once in a while life was like a musical and you knew precisely what you should be doing next because everyone around you suddenly broke into song? Everyone would know the words, of course, as well as all the moves to the complicated yet perfectly choreographed dance that would accompany the song. Or maybe just a little background music now and then to provide a little

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-50513194942443972892007-10-17T09:11:00.001-05:002007-10-17T09:22:32.055-05:00

Self, do NOT try to boil an egg in the microwave.(Boom!)There was a time when I knew that. But this morning I guess I forgot.*sigh*

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-5384041133448445602007-10-10T15:26:00.000-05:002007-10-13T21:03:48.964-05:00

There oughta be a law.This morning I was innocently doing my grocery shopping and I turned down the chip aisle, heading straight for the Doritos. Suddenly, I was gasping, coughing, and my eyes began to water. I had just walked into someone else’s fart cloud.There were three or four people further down the aisle in front of me, none of whom were looking particularly guilty. Worse, there were two

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-81413040332937430482007-09-09T20:04:00.001-05:002011-07-09T15:25:55.588-05:00

We leave for Paradise in 4 days. I can’t remember when I have been this excited for something. Every cell in my body is jumping and buzzing with anticipation. I wake up every morning and feel kind of like I might implode or spontaneously combust out of sheer excitement. The first week after we dropped Lizzie off at school I just sort of shut down physically and mentally. It went beyond missing

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-14254143292886097402007-09-04T18:03:00.000-05:002007-09-04T18:17:30.510-05:00

It wasn't pretty, but it's done. The goodbyes have been said and Liz is safely ensconced in her new college surroundings.For the first time in over 23 years, I am a mom without kids to interact with daily. Liz will be fine. And so will her parents. But dang, that was hard.

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-76343401976029843692007-08-08T21:54:00.001-05:002011-07-09T15:36:02.115-05:00

But not in public and never in a crowd. A few of you have suggested for our upcoming vacation that I forego the swimsuit altogether and go to the beach in my altogether. As carefree and fun as that sounds, the only thing worse to me than the idea of being naked in public is the thought of being naked in public in a crowd. Obviously, there are plenty of people in the world who prefer the nude

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-36967389108441325222007-08-07T16:14:00.001-05:002011-07-09T15:38:54.907-05:00

On the heels of dropping our youngest off at college in a few weeks, Joe and I are heading to Hawaii. Just the two of us. We consider it a belated 25th anniversary gift to each other, as well as a grand way to initiate ourselves into the realm of empty-nesters. It will be a welcome retreat from one of the most exhausting years we’ve ever had, and it will also serve as a brief procrastinatory tool

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-50990861711101772312007-07-31T12:11:00.002-05:002011-07-09T15:45:51.013-05:00

Today is our 25th wedding anniversary. He is in Boston and I am here. *sigh* Happy Anniversary, Baby! Hurry up and come home! ***** It's been a crazy busy summer around here... My parents are packing up to leave tomorrow morning after a wonderul 2-week visit here with us. We buried Nana's ashes last week and I am almost finished settling her affairs. (A great deal of energy was expended on

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-47809869381609549362007-07-01T20:05:00.000-05:002007-07-02T08:00:00.732-05:00

Thank you to all who have left such kind comments on the passing of my grandma, or passed comments on to me through Joe. Your words are comforting and I treasure them and you for taking the time to express them.And thank you, Cherie, for the beautiful tribute you put on your blog. I don’t know what could have been more perfect than to watch a little girl sing so purely the song that has come to

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-52375905252400568492007-06-26T21:18:00.000-05:002007-07-12T06:52:55.796-05:00

My Nana died today. I am honored to have been by her side during the process. And that’s what dying is, a living, breathing process.A nurse from the assisted living facility called me yesterday morning to tell me that they thought the end was near. Anyone who has stayed by the side of one going through the dying process knows that “near” can mean anything from 10 minutes to 10 days to 10 weeks,

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-29252102142447060412007-06-07T14:01:00.000-05:002007-06-12T20:54:40.320-05:00

It was a dark and stormy night…No, really it was. Sideways rain, lots of lightning, big thunder, cows flying through the air. No, there weren’t really any cows flying through the air, but the tornado sirens went off and I've seen The Wizard of Oz and Twister, so it could have happened. The sirens sound in our town whenever there is a severe thunderstorm warning and if we ever do have a tornado, I

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-49649991392283843832007-05-09T08:17:00.001-05:002011-07-09T16:18:41.200-05:00

If a bee gets into the house and nobody is home but Pam, does she make any sound? That question was answered yesterday with a resounding shriek. Well, several actually. I was home alone, sitting on the sofa in the family room, minding my own business when I became aware of a very large bee hitting the window. The wrong side of the window. Arming myself with a shoe, I bravely, yet cautiously

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-47039242463862793172007-05-08T11:39:00.000-05:002007-06-07T14:51:54.690-05:00

Today my parents are celebrating their 54th wedding anniversary. They met when they were 12 and my dad says he can still remember what my mom was wearing that day. They went on their first “date” in the 7th grade, which consisted of walking to the movie theater to see “Gallant Bess,” followed by a soda at the neighborhood drugstore. (That was the same drugstore where I met my husband many years

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-42416806600032901982007-05-02T17:18:00.000-05:002007-08-21T19:18:43.463-05:00

I’ve been tagged by Joan to come up with 10 interesting habits or facts about myself in a friendly game of Freeze Tag and then tag 10 other people who have not been tagged yet. So ready or not, here's my list:1) I lived in 4 different states and one American Territory and went to 7 different schools before graduating from high school.2) I once lived in Pago Pago, American Samoa. (That would be

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-13618004973795962342007-04-23T10:08:00.000-05:002007-08-21T14:11:57.252-05:00

A couple of weeks ago when Joe and I were leaving the bank, I saw a duck. We see ducks and geese all over the place around here, so it’s not like it was the first time I’d ever seen one. But this duck was just sitting there in a little grassy spot at the edge of the parking lot. An odd place for a duck. Maybe it was an odd duck. Or maybe it was hurt.“Look!” I said to Joe. “A duck! Wait a minute,

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-72499178478173090852007-03-28T13:11:00.000-05:002007-06-07T14:55:25.509-05:00

Have you heard about Sally Field's friend? You know, the one who has to set aside time every week to take a pill to fight osteoporosis. That poor woman. I can only imagine the chaos and upheaval this has caused in her life. I mean, think of it: Every. Single. Week. She has to take a pill. And she has to set aside time to do this. That must be one honkin' huge pill...Well, I need to go now. It's

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-89923028212550447182007-03-26T16:28:00.001-05:002009-11-03T18:45:34.653-06:00

Yesterday I got a bee in my bonnet and decided something MUST be done about the basement. This happens every once in a while and what it amounts to is shoving things around and rearranging the clutter. But each time we do it, more things get sorted and tossed and little by little, the space is becoming less chaotic. Liz came down to help and one of the projects we tackled was to sort piles of

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-5380820845311328022007-03-24T17:24:00.000-05:002007-06-07T14:57:13.346-05:00

Earlier this week I got on the scale and discovered that somewhere during the course of these last 3 weeks I lost 4 pounds. I am the kind of person who gains weight from thinking about food, looking at food and smelling food, so this was sort of a nice surprise. But this means I must re-assess things and come up with a new name. Montana Fanny had a nice ring to it – it sounded almost heroic. But

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-15312909031182737832007-03-18T17:37:00.000-05:002007-06-07T15:35:56.767-05:00

Nothing rounds out a good old fashioned pity party like throwing a good old fashioned temper tantrum.Yesterday was the day I was determined to get out of the house. I NEEDED to get out of the house. So Joe and I decided on three stores we would go to, all of which are located in the same area and none of which would require power shopping. First we stopped at Office Max because he needed to pick

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-42966910592765577512007-03-17T10:25:00.000-05:002007-06-07T15:36:48.896-05:00

The author of this blog is still breathless and tired and out of sorts. It makes her very crabby to still (after 2-plus weeks) feel like she needs to rest after doing taxing and vigorous activities such as getting dressed or trying to cook a meal.Blah, blah, blah. Waaa, waaa, waaa.She will be back when she has something nice to say. But in the meantime she is going to have a good old-fashioned

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-88874557804121620632007-03-10T14:46:00.000-06:002007-06-30T06:46:29.151-05:00

I fought valiantly against the respiratory crud that first Liz and then Joe got. I washed my hands every 30 seconds and walked through the house holding them like a surgeon waiting to be gloved. I ate Cold-Eeze lozenges like candy. I took my vitamins. I drank my juice. I never inhaled when they exhaled. I followed Liz and Joe around the house with Lysol and Clorox wipes, sanitizing their trail of

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-6675067355375380752007-03-06T21:09:00.000-06:002007-06-07T15:37:55.567-05:00

Tomorrow is the 5th anniversary of one of those scary phone calls that every parent dreads. Peter was a senior in high school and Liz was a 7th grader. On their way home from the high school basketball tournament about 85 miles away it began snowing and sleeting, the road conditions deteriorated rapidly and he lost control of the van. The van met up with a tree and the tree won. It was a horrible

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-59051551764814711942007-03-03T20:06:00.000-06:002007-06-07T15:38:19.813-05:00

Although they are not identical, the street lamp at the edge of our front yard took on a magical look as night fell during our most recent snowstorm. I couldn't help but look for Mr. Tumnus or Aslan to come walking through the trees.

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-58183204270760153512007-03-01T10:43:00.002-06:002011-07-09T20:00:48.672-05:00

Have you noticed lately that television ads are leaving less and less to the imagination? Some ads feature actors and actresses who look earnestly into the camera while they describe a dreadful or embarrassing symptom they used to suffer from until they took Such-and-Such. Sometimes a man or woman wearing a white coat and stethoscope will appear and point to charts and diagrams to add credence to

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-81454014880326794172007-02-26T20:51:00.000-06:002007-06-07T15:40:06.391-05:00

Liz is 18. She’s an adult. She reminds me of this often.But now she is sick. Five days ago it was the stomach flu. Now she is pink and feverish and lethargic and has a cough that racks her whole body and leaves her weak.She normally bounces through the house full of energy and words and smiles, but today she was just a sad little lump of Lizzie, bundled under a blanket.She let me tuck her into

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-55776150706352559202007-02-19T19:01:00.000-06:002007-06-07T15:40:28.830-05:00

A few nights ago our doorbell rang. It was 8:45. Who rings your doorbell at 8:45 pm? Maybe one of the neighbors needed help! Opening the door revealed a very earnest young woman, bundled from head to toe against the cold 12-degree night.I tried not to show my irritation with having been intruded upon -- an irritation I feel whenever I am intruded upon by phone or at the door by someone trying to

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-29815128231592046312007-02-17T14:51:00.002-06:002011-07-09T20:15:07.940-05:00

I have another theory about why my head is so empty lately. Static electricity. The words are there, but they are getting fried before I can do anything with them. My mom tells me that when I was a baby I managed to crawl behind the television and touch the plug while clutching a slobbered-on key chain in my drooly little hand. There was a big shock that made me cry and a few hours later, turned

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-57880861424019042082007-02-10T14:54:00.000-06:002007-06-07T15:41:13.218-05:00

When my oldest brother Jeff was in junior high, he hung out with a kid named Eric. One day Jeff and Eric decided, for lack of anything better to do, to weigh their heads. Lo and behold, they reported that Eric’s head didn’t weigh anything!I think about that often, especially when I’m feeling sort of empty-headed, as I am now. Where normally there are words bouncing around my brain trying to

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-81136101981211999312007-02-03T13:04:00.000-06:002007-06-07T15:42:19.942-05:00

This is what we woke up to this morning -- 7 below 0 with a wind chill factor of 35 to 40 below. Today's high: -1. But don't worry, tomorrow we are supposed to warm up to a high of 0!The beach is calling...

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-41947725367983762242007-01-29T18:23:00.000-06:002007-10-01T19:39:25.389-05:00

The more things change, the more they stay the same.My daughter, a senior in high school, is taking an Art History course this semester and as they look through photographs of some of the famous paintings done through the ages, she is noticing a peculiar theme... a theme that is as old as time..."Pastoral Concert" Titian c1509-10 Let's start with Titian's "Pastoral Concert." Here we have two

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-45514510840458709022007-01-23T10:27:00.001-06:002011-07-09T20:37:00.491-05:00

At our house a common question is, “What?” Usually this is asked when one of us comes into the room in the middle of a conversation being had by others. It’s not always asked out of nosiness, but rather out of utter confusion, having heard something astonishing that wasn’t actually spoken. We call these, “Whose cat died?” moments based on an incident that occurred when I was a girl. I walked

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-52250900916357344272007-01-15T15:13:00.000-06:002007-06-07T15:49:08.355-05:00

This is how January is supposed to look in Minnesota. We got 6 or 7 inches of snow last night!This is the mountain that is our backyard... we need to get some sleds!There's Joe, using the snowblower for the first time this winter.

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-88775497144858409952007-01-12T14:33:00.005-06:002011-07-09T21:32:56.402-05:00

Dictionary: feng shui Pronunciation: [fuhng shwey] –noun the Chinese art or practice of creating harmonious surroundings that enhance the balance of yin and yang, as in arranging furniture or determining the location of a house. For Christmas, as a gag gift, Peter found a small book, “Feng Shui, Dos & Taboos” in his stocking… He now sends me regular tips to make my life easier, or at the very

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-1165439494683525232006-12-06T15:08:00.000-06:002007-06-08T12:10:53.079-05:00

(*warning* another long, mushy, sentimental, family rambling...) December 7th. Pearl Harbor Day. A day that will live in infancy. That’s what we said about December 7, 1988, the day Lizzie was born. Having had such a rough pregnancy with Peter, we waited a bit to have Lizzie. The thought of chasing after a toddler or changing diapers while being pregnant, i.e., exhausted, nauseous and as big as a

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-1164150678881308032006-11-21T17:04:00.000-06:002007-06-07T15:49:28.703-05:00

Even though I spent the last 20 years telling my kids not to give in to peer-pressure, today I did what everyone else in this country is doing. Yes, I turned into a lemming and I followed the crowd. Right into the store where we all bought turkeys. At least the lemmings weren’t jumping off a cliff today. Whew!Feeling wild and kooky and not wanting to be a complete follower, I bought a “free range

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-1163555316712385012006-11-14T19:35:00.001-06:002011-07-10T18:48:49.229-05:00

…Wakin’ up is hard to do! (Especially when you've got Neil Sedaka singing in your head...) And some days it just doesn’t happen, no matter how much coffee I drink. Thankfully, at this point in time I have the luxury of moving kind of slow. Having quit my part-time job back in August to concentrate on getting well, I have more time and less pressure to be anywhere or do anything. I’m getting

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-1163205464868102852006-11-10T17:18:00.000-06:002007-06-07T15:56:52.240-05:00

I can't seem to get seashells out of my system... It's my parents' fault. When I was a young girl, they moved us to Pago Pago and then Honolulu. From Honolulu we moved to Oregon, so the Pacific Ocean was still nearby. Now, through some unfortunate catastrophic cosmic glitch, here I sit in Minnesota... For the first few years after we moved here, I had a recurring dream that while driving through

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-1162696961955724152006-11-04T21:02:00.000-06:002007-06-07T15:52:20.023-05:00

(*warning* another long, mushy, sentimental, family rambling...)Twenty-three years ago today I became a mom! I was just shy of my 23rd birthday – In fact, on the day that he was born, I was 46 days younger than Peter is today. Boggles the mind…November 4th, 1983 was an amazing day. Anyone who has kids knows that it is simply impossible to compare anything to the day your first child is born. To

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-1161815879985417362006-10-25T17:30:00.000-05:002007-06-07T15:52:53.240-05:00

To Cherie, who once told me of sheep getting whacked on the head with a board when gentle prodding didn’t work… For all those life lessons we have learned after many “Whack!-Baaa!” moments… And for all the “Whack!-Baaa!” moments still to come… May we continue to surrender and grow and may we require fewer whacks along the way. We are the founding sisters of a special, but not so elite group, for

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-1161652915833031962006-10-23T20:13:00.000-05:002007-06-07T15:53:11.789-05:00

It’s a chilly Monday night here in Minnesota. We have a fire going in the fireplace, Joe and I are nestled together on the couch, and I’m asking myself that age old question: Am I ready for some football? Well, ready or not, the game is about to begin. It's the Giants vs. Cowboys. We are Vikings fans, as most good Minnesotans are. Oh, you meet the occasional rogue Minnesotan who pledges their

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-1161465593362388842006-10-21T16:06:00.001-05:002011-07-10T19:01:26.268-05:00

Two months ago we were still dealing with hot, sweaty, 90-some-degree days, running the air conditioner nonstop, and being chased off the deck by thirsty mosquitoes or angry desperate yellow jackets. Now the trees are almost naked, the temps have been cold enough for flurries, and we are officially ready for winter. The lawn has been mowed one last time, the yard has been cleaned up, and the

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-1159073771859279052006-09-23T23:47:00.003-05:002011-08-12T21:05:16.121-05:00

Fall fell last night with a thud. It is cool, gray and rainy today... the perfect day to tackle a few projects around the house that we’ve been putting off. Looming largest on the list of things to do is to pack up our son’s room so we can turn it into something other than our son’s room. He got married last spring and left a lot of stuff behind — trophies, baseballs, CDs, roller blades, clothes

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34161951.post-1158440938719017092006-09-16T16:06:00.001-05:002011-07-10T19:11:31.833-05:00

I was born with too many words and a train of thought that rarely travels in a straight line. The goal may be to get from point A to point D, with logical and predictable stops at points B and C along the way. But I usually find myself hopelessly lost at point Q or point Y with no idea how I ended up there and no trail of bread crumbs to follow my way back to where I began. Ironically, I have no

Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17849049336673963342noreply@blogger.com0