almostacoffeewizard

[almostacoffeewizard]

Indoor gardening update

I haven’t been talking about plants much lately, but that doesn’t mean that nothing is happening. I was surprised over the Memorial Day weekend when Kathryn brought over a plant for me to “save.” I guess I’m making progress if even the family are starting to see that this planty-y stuff has had good results. So, a little plant that her daughter gave her for mother’s day that wasn’t getting any…

[almostacoffeewizard]

The kingdom of heaven

I’m not going to make this a sermon, but I am going to say that I have changed my attitude about the national political scene. No, I don’t think it’s any better than I thought before, but I have accepted that there were errors in my thinking. For those who are actually followers of Jesus we were taught to pray for God’s kingdom on earth. You know. “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as…

[almostacoffeewizard]

Dusty

I have no relationship with dust. I rarely get out a duster. I don’t chalk that up to being a poor housekeeper just being ambivalent about a job that is never finished when there are so many jobs that can be tackled once and put to bed forever! Houses are full of things that gather dust.— Jack Kerouac — There are certain inevitabilities in life. Some things you can do nothing about, no matter…

[almostacoffeewizard]

AI is gonna kill us all

I recently read a news article about Memphis which examined the “problem” created by the draw on electric energy created by an X data hub. We all know that AI takes huge resources to function. All those sources it wants to search for information to fulfill all the stupid queries that mindless cellphone users are asking. If I have it right, the Memphis utlility services have had to install some 17…

[almostacoffeewizard]

A good piece of pie

There’s a little place in Osseo Wisconsin called Norske Nook. It’s been around for a while, since 1973, and I’ve been going there almost that long — as one of my jobs had me calling on truck repair shops all over Northern Wisconsin. It started out as a small town dive where farmers could get a break in their day and grab a hot meal that they didn’t have to cook. And they did great business. In…

[almostacoffeewizard]

Ritual: celebrate or dread

How do you feel about ritual? One understands the ritual of some social settings. Church, for example, “works” much better when people all know what happens, and when, so that they are sitting, or standing, or singing all at the same time. But there are a lot of circumstances where groups and families seem to feel that events need to be ritualized. I have always had mixed feelings about casual…

[almostacoffeewizard]

How many offices does a doctor need?

My annual eye exam happened last friday. All is well and no prescription changes requiring new glasses. As we were ready to leave the office I made my appointment for next year and I got to thinking, just how many offices does a doctor need. When we were first married doctors and lawyers weren’t allowed to advertise for new business. The world sort of thought that professional people ought not…

[almostacoffeewizard]

Memories in Objects

This is an old bread board. I say “bread” but it was my grand father’s, then my father’s and now it’s mine. Three generations have used it to knead bread, and to knead the dough for pierogi’s and pasta. I now use it occasionally to prep vegetables but I try to keep meat and dairy off of it for fear of contamination. I know my dad never put anything but dough on the board. It’s funny the…

[almostacoffeewizard]

I’m not a romantic

I’m not sure I really want to say “I am not a romantic” in every sense of the word, but I certainly do understand and appreciate the gist of this Anita Brookner quotation. Too much emphasis is too often placed on the trivial and not enough on the substantive. Every year thousands and millions of couples marry and in this country at least about half of them end up in divorce courts at some point.…

[almostacoffeewizard]

The Corpse of Previous Owners

Ok — so that sounds more gruesome than it should, but I feel like I just “got rid” of the remains of the previous owners. They had, at one time 15-20 properties all spread out within a few miles of our current home. Over 6 or 7 years they divested themselves of the lot, with our home being the last of the properties to be sold. Over the time that they had real estate this property was always…

[almostacoffeewizard]

What does a “good” yard need?

This is our first spring in this house as owner/occupants. Last spring didn’t really count as we were in and out so much splitting time between here and Lake Delton. We have been watching the spring sprouts with interest. Grape Hyacinths and Bleeding Hearts and Daffodils have made their colorful appearance. a “couple” tulips are thinking about doing something but planted where they are between…

[almostacoffeewizard]

The shrinking U.S.

I think that the trend with lumber is pretty indicative of the path of United States history. Wherever you look, the country is shrinking. In esteem, in progress, in creativity, in … well, you name it. In the 80’s I had was dealer development manager for a diesel engine manufacturer. One week I was out in the field — near Eau Claire — when a bad storm came through. Not only were hundreds of…

[almostacoffeewizard]

Rice Cooker Rice Pudding

This is a tale of an idea gone wrong. I should have known better, and perhaps my bad idea resulted in a smart side effect, but here goes. I’ve been wanting to make rice pudding for a while now. I hardly ever make desserts because they usually end up being more finished product that two of us can or should be eating, so I wait for restaurants or holiday for my dessert. But rice pudding and bread…

[almostacoffeewizard]

Where is the Sun? It’s all about geometry and geography

I think I finally figured out what it is about this house that bugs me. Of all the places we lived it has never been the “look” of the house that has been the deciding factor about living there/purchasing or not. I think that every house we’ve lived in has been about the physical layout of rooms and the direction of the sun. In this house the sun is mostly in the wrong place — except for the…

[almostacoffeewizard]

Creeping Decline

As we age we face the reality that part of “us” just don’t work like they used to. I hear a lot of talk about people struggling with this or that recent dis-ability, but rarely do we hear a discussion about the way in which decline creeps up on us. I’m not writing this because anything marked has happened recently — and that’s the point. Every day there are a thousand little actions that take…

[almostacoffeewizard]

Who speaks for the trees

[almostacoffeewizard]

Let us forget

We’re not talking about forgiveness here. Forgiveness is tough. But even tougher is forgetting. Getting past the point where we hold on to hurts to the point that we are willing to forget even the memory of them. That is monumental I don’t know that I have done a very good job of this in my life. I try. But I know that there are hurts and missed loves that still bother me long after the…