Carried Away

We were coming home from town at night with my parents, the trees in the woods just beyond our road were all lit up a vibrant red. They face to the west. I thought it would be a perfect element to have in a book. I said to myself,”Ooo, foreshadowing.” Then a few days later I was thinking about the Amish. That day we had been to the Amish settlement about 45 minutes from our house. We’ve been there many times in the last couple of years. It’s one of those places that a lot of people know about, but it’s only by word of mouth that you really find out about it. It’s not like they do a lot of advertising. Essentially, it’s one road that we drive on. We’ve been to a lot of the shops there and my husband thinks that the guys who built our barn are from this area (or nearby Dalton) and some of the wood used could’ve come from the rustic mill on the road. It’s Barry Road. Which I find slightly amusing because it always reminds me of Barry Manilow or some geeky guy. I knew a guy n...

Once upon a time I had a dream of becoming a lounge singer. I love to sing and I thought that my voice was unusual enough and good enough to make a go of it. For now, let’s ignore the fact that I’m not the best at memorizing songs and the chances of me making a living at this were remote. Don’t ask me to explain why I think smokey Chicago blues bars are romantic. It seemed reasonable. This nugget of a notion must have started when I was in Treble Choir in High School. 2nd Soprano, sometimes the Alto – how come they rarely get the melody? I should have been turned off of singing altogether given the scaring that took place at our concerts. Imagine singing “Fame” and “Bye Bye Birdie” in a lemon polyester dress that was knee-length with a sweetheart neckline. When was that fashionable? Never. Nor was the set of lime-colored dresses that matched. Just in case you’re wondering, we did have dance moves. I’ll leave that up to your imagination. Our choir teacher was a little loopy and so wer...

My husband had an aunt who died this year.  Her name was Aunt Pat.  She was in her 70's, sharp as a tack, liked to laugh, play dice, cards, sudoku, crosswords, swear a little and enjoyed her life even though it hadn't been easy.  She was married and had one son who eventually married and had a daughter, whom Pat loved to share her baking tips with.  Pat's husband had died in a tragic accident before her eyes.  In some ways it might have been the best as he wasn't the most kind husband to Pat.  And she was about the easiest person to be nice to that I've ever met.  My husband always had a special place in his heart for her as she helped him get a job - she would do anything for you if she could.  She's one of these people that has come into my life and I didn't need to know her life story - she and I had a connection.  She had such a great sense of humor - she was bawdy.  Anyone who knows me knows that this is rig...

I was thinking about favorite songs. What are my favorite songs? What are other peoples’ favorite songs? You can tell a lot about a person. But it’s sort of like poetry for me – meanings are sometimes elusive. Claire de Lune This is my “if you were stranded on an island” song. If I had only one song that I had to listen to every day all day, this would be it. I discovered it when I saw the movie “Frankie and Johnny” with Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer. Great romantic comedy. Equally as great soundtrack. This song is complex, yet not too complex and beautiful, relaxing. I saw a pianist play it recently at a funeral of a friend of mine’s brother (he took his own life). It was beautiful to watch and bittersweet to listen to. Her brother loved music, this must have been one of his favorites too. Iris My jam! It’s by the Goo Goo Dolls. They were dubbed an 80’s punk band, but I don’t really consider this punk music. This song is so great – the lyrics are what I feel about 90% of the t...

My family and I decided nothing spells Summer like a visit to the County Fair to see the Demolition Derby. We first made our way to the animal tents. I'm always concerned that someone is going to have an allergy attack given the festival of dust, hay, hair, and who knows what else. But it went well and we saw cows, pigs, rabbits (warning: do not stick your fingers in the cages), chickens, ducks - you get the picture. A couple of " Awwww " moments and it was time to catch a bite to eat. We stopped at the 4H food tent to take part in the Wisconsin tradition of either a brat or grilled cheese. A happy helping of cholesterol was had by all. Next stop, Demolition Derby starting at 1 p.m. It was a beautiful August day, warm sun, especially with the vast amounts of concrete present at the grandstands. I felt like an ant under a magnifying glass. (Note to self - pack water bottles for almost every event.) The kids were melting and this was complicated by the fact that we couldn...

* Name has been changed to protect the not-so-innocent We went to my parents’ house for the weekend of the 4th of July. There was a reunion of sorts that took place on Saturday. It’s cousins from my dad’s side and then just random other people that know the cousins. Most of the 30 people that attended were retired (or at least that age bracket). Besides my mom coming down with a nasty bladder infection (TMI alert!), things went quite well. The weather cooperated and everyone had a good time. Including Bob the Felon. My mom let us know in the morning that cousin Nancy was bringing her son, Bob the Felon. I love it that he has a title, as it were. The only thing is, I’m not sure he knows. I asked how he became a felon and I was told it had to do with a switchblade and drugs. Ooooooo. Oh, and he’s never held a job in his life. Which blows my mind. How could you go through life (he’s in his 40’s) and not have a job?? Maybe it’s all part of his persona, his legendary status. Nanc...

Required knowledge before reading: A basic understanding of Bill Murray's character in "Caddyshack". We've had our share of critters on the ranch. First it was the ground squirrels (I call them chipmunks) that dig holes in our yard. My husband flushed them out (literally) with water and a shotgun. We got lucky with a couple of skunks in that they didn't spray before their lives ended. Especially since my daughter was at my husband's side when this took place. The latest Critter War is against the woodchucks. Last weekend we went for a drive by of an Ostrich farm not far from our house. An unfortunate (female) woodchuck ran in front of our car. After we viewed the ostriches, we headed back to view the fallen. Picture the kids cranked out the window exclaiming how big her teeth are and my hubby noticing that it's a female because it has tits (he grew up on a farm). Just think, we could've had woodchuck stew that night! We have had a couple of sight...