Posts Tagged ‘birthday’
Really Me
I watched a movie last night about a person who went undercover, and the discomfort it created for me led me to realize how much I prefer being authentic. You can ask me a question about my life and I won’t have to make up an answer, I can tell you what really happened. Or at least, the version of what happened that my mind conjured up for storage in my memories. I fully admit to the fallibility of my perceptions.
If you were to ask me what happened in my life 34 years ago today however, I would have no problem recalling the beautiful blue sky and warm sunshine that broke a chain of much less lovely weather during the week prior. 
I remember feeling a bit disoriented by all that was going on around me, because much of it was all about me. It was also all about Cyndie, as that is the day we were married in the Noerenberg Garden park on the shore of Lake Minnetonka, in Wayzata, MN.
For too many of the ensuing years, I have been the target of much grief and good-natured ridicule from my wife for the time I sought clearance from her to go away for a weekend of mountain biking with friends, having not put two and two together to determine it would mean I would be gone over our anniversary. It was an innocent oversight, but not one a husband should ever make if he doesn’t want to hear about it over and over, for many years after.
If there is any matrimonial justice in the world, a wife who chose to schedule a week away with her friends on the far side of the country during her wedding anniversary weekend would be setting herself up for an equal number of years of grief from her husband, but I don’t think it works that way.
If you happen to read this today, my dear, Happy Anniversary!
Now, if someone asked me what happened 27 years ago today, I would also know exactly what happened in my life that day. Cyndie and I received the best anniversary present we could possibly imagine. Our son, Julian was born on our 7th anniversary. I like the fact that one of my favorite memories of that day, beyond seeing his face for the first time, involves our daughter, Elysa.
I had ventured from the hospital to pick her up and bring her to meet her brother. I bet Cyndie recalls who was taking care of her and what she was wearing, but those details, I didn’t retain. I remember that little 2-year-old girl in her car seat behind me, as I pulled up to a fast food drive-through menu to fill Cyndie’s one request. She needed a specific chicken sandwich from Arby’s that she couldn’t get from the hospital’s kitchen.
I had barely completed the sentence proclaiming my order for the sandwich to the faceless wall, when, without missing a beat, a tiny voice came from behind me… “And a coke!” Elysa knew what her mother would want.
Happy Birthday, Julian!
I’m so glad I don’t have to make any of this stuff up.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
The Twentysixth
On this day, many, many years ago, I was born. I wonder if I subconsciously knew what I was getting into at the time. In so many ways, I am still the little boy who was trying to figure out which way to go.
I haven’t ever noticed any maturation of my inner consciousness. In my mind, I have always been the same age, or ageless. I have a recollection of one day realizing that I was able to reach the Dixie Cup dispenser in the kitchen of my childhood, on my own, but that was strictly physical growth. It was a memorable milestone for me.
It meant I could drink milk whenever I wanted, because we also had a milk-can refrigerated cooler/dispenser with a heavy knob lever that pinched a rubber hose to control the flow of milk. Lifting that lever brought very cold milk that flowed so quickly it would create a froth on top.
Eventually I would be holding bowls of cereal under that hose and getting ice-cold milk on my Cocoa Crispies, or Sugar Puffs, or Cap’n Crunch. My sugar habit started way back then, back before the introduction of corn syrup. In the 1970s, things began to change in the food industry and my addiction was off to the races.
I consider myself lucky to have let my sweet tooth run free for so many years and not suffered outrageous weight gain. I have no idea whether it would be accurate to blame my prolonged high-sugar diet for my depression, asthma, arthritis, and belly fat, but more than one source I have read seems to implicate it as a potential cause for those afflictions, and more.
It makes sense to me that we are dealing with something we don’t completely understand, given the relative short span of our entire human history in which we’ve been consuming such dramatic amounts of sugar annually. Sugar was a rare luxury for most of the world until the 1800s when granulated sugar was invented.
I don’t believe our bodies have evolved enough in the last few generations to effectively deal with the onslaught of glucose that is altering the balance of enzymes and minerals which regulate bodily functions and deliver nutrition to our cells.
In many ways we are healthier than ever before, yet at the same time, we may be undermining the best of our health by the over-sweetening of the majority of packaged and prepared meals and snacks which we consume today.
I’m now closer to 60 than I am to 50 years old. This year I am working to undo the years of accumulated sugar consumption in hopes of reversing a trend toward diabetes and possibly clearing up a few other nagging ailments. It’s a little like being born all over again. It’s not the first time I have made a conscious decision to change course and start down a new path toward better health.
As always, I seek optimal health. It’s one of the best birthday gifts that I can give myself. Happy June 26th!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
New Camera
My camera of choice for most of the years I have been taking digital photographs has been a simple pocket camera. If I am remembering correctly, the first one was a gift from Cyndie’s parents, and it happened to be a Canon. Since I tend to stick with what works for me, each time I upgraded, I ended up with another Canon —the last one being the PowerShot S100. It has captured some great images for me in the last couple of years, but I have put it through some real abuse. Twice, I have needed to send it back to Canon to be cleaned so the lens would retract and the flash would spring up.
I almost always carry my camera in my pocket when I am working outside, and as a result, it gets heavy exposure to the silty dirt, sand, and dust that is constantly finding its way into my pockets. I only have so many pockets, and I have been known to accidentally stuff dirty or muddy trash I find into my left front pocket, even though I also sometimes put the camera there, too.
Alternatively, I will carry the camera in my back pocket, in hopes of protecting it better. Then I end up sitting on it, grinding in any dust or dirt that has accumulated. Now my S100 needs to go in for a third visit to be cleaned by the factory.
It took a while, but I finally came to the realization that I should look into a waterproof pocket camera if I want one that will operate in the rugged conditions in which I regularly find myself working. That thought conveniently arrived around the time of my birthday, and Cyndie scooped up the idea as her gift to me.
What she unknowingly bought me yesterday from National Camera Exchange happened to be a Nikon COOLPIX AW120. It doesn’t have as big a sensor as my Canon S100, but the rest of the features provide the robustness that I am seeking, so it will be worth it to me to accept any perceptible drop in image quality. I’m hoping you’ll find it difficult to tell the difference.
After I got the battery fully charged last night, I set out to get some test shots just as daylight was fading. Do you think it is going to be sufficient for my purposes? I’m feeling satisfied with it.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Latest News
Lest anyone be oblivious to the special significance of this day, let me make it known that June 4th happens to be Cyndie’s birthday! I can’t think of anything more appropriate to give her this year than a new riding saddle. It’s a complicated purchase, so I already told her my idea and she will begin the process of getting the horses measured to see if it will be possible to get one saddle that will fit more than one of our horses.
She has received a few tips on recommended retailers, so we will be visiting a couple of them as soon as we have the measurements. Looks like I better stop dragging my feet about getting the trails in order around here. There are still downed trees in two places obstructing our main perimeter trail through the woods. Just as important, I need to increase the height of clearance throughout all the trails, to make it safe for someone traveling on horseback.
Cyndie reported that the vet said we can start increasing the time we allow the horses to graze freely by a half-hour every other day, up to a max of about 5 hours per day. That’s great news. The horses received good reviews and were given whatever shots were due this time of year. In about a week they will have their feet checked and hooves trimmed by our farrier, neighbor George Walker.
Speaking of George, I stopped by to check on him on my way home from work yesterday, and discovered he was out cutting hay using three of his horses to pull a rig with a sickle bar mower. What a beautiful sight. I pulled over and he gave the horses a break while we chatted about things like the weather, his hay-field, if it was going to rain, how much hay he should cut in case it was going to rain, and whether or not it might rain.
Obviously, the biggest trick to cutting and baling hay is finding enough consecutive dry days to pull it off during the months of May and June when things are growing the fastest.
After that visit, I headed home to do some cutting of my own: I mowed our lawn. The grass was so thick, it looked like I had created windrows for baling!
If you can decipher it in this picture, the pine trees that suffered so much from dryness last fall, followed by the extremely harsh winter, are sprouting new growth, except for one. The one on the left that looks the most rust-colored is the one that tipped over last year. It didn’t survive. Next time I have the chainsaw out down there, he will get cut down.
We are looking forward to seeing the new growth pop open soon, to bring the trees a healthier glow. As you can tell by the image, everything else around them is bursting with green life.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Special Day
This day used to just be January 31st on the calendar, but a year ago someone came along and claimed it for her birthday, and in doing so, made my friend Katie a Momma. Little Lilia achieves the milestone of her first birthday today. Everybody send her love!
.
.
.
Delilah sends her love, too. (And a snowy-nose kiss.)
.
.
.
Happy 1st Birthday, Lilia! …Yah.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Birthday Celebration
Saturday night was our opportunity to celebrate Julian’s birthday, and the whole family –Cyndie, me, two kids, and two guests– convened in downtown Minneapolis, on Hennepin Avenue, at the restaurant, “Seven” for a world-class evening of great food and superb service in a wonderfully vibrant environment. The entertainment district was hopping on this beautiful September Saturday night. The weather brought back memories of 32-years ago, when Cyndie and I were up in northern Minnesota on our honeymoon. Ah, September in Minnesota. I love it!
We settled into our seats at the perfect table for us, in the back of the restaurant’s first floor, where Cyndie could tuck her large bag of presents out-of-the-way, opened our menus and discovered a wonderful surprise… They had personalized our menus for the occasion.
We had a fabulous dinner. It was a very fine way to celebrate. Happy 25th, again, Julian!
.
.
Grass Babies
A new crop of grass has sprouted on the bank where Cyndie was battling Delilah to get her off the new seed. We have been blessed with some rain in the last few days, which is a big sigh of relief, but far from enough water to end the stress our trees are suffering for the second year in a row. The grass seed is able to drink it up because it is so close to the surface. It is really nice to be growing something other than weeds around here for a change.
Speaking of babies, twenty-five years ago today, our youngest was born on the day of our 7th wedding anniversary. September 19th is a special day for us. Thirty-two years ago, the number had no particular significance beyond being the Saturday far enough in September to hopefully have some fall color, yet early enough to hold a fair chance of being pleasant weather for an outdoor ceremony. It was both. In 1988, our day became doubly special with the arrival of our son, Julian.
Happy Birthday, Julo, our other jwh!
Relative Something 