The Real Deal

State Government Shut Down Day 5 - The Real Deal
I should be going back to work today.  The new accounting system should be up and the new budget should be in place, but it's not and the real lay off has begun.  The Governor is setting up an advisory group made up of past politicians and current business leaders to discuss the impasse and suggest possible solutions.  Time to try SOMETHING new.

Mom at 87, Coral at 13, Watson at 11

A very nice Fourth of July - hope yours was too!  Somewhat productive as I planted the new herbs, watered and weeded some flower beds (mulch sure makes weeding easier), went to Menards for some more border fences, and painted the bathroom radiator.  We had a picnic with mom, and had real picnic weather for a change, warm and sunny.  Mom brought home made Salsa (Al's recipe) and her ever-good Potato Salad (her recipe),  I made Onion Burgers (Lipton's recipe) and we had Von Hanson's excellent hamburger buns - their burger and dog buns are the very best.  Ron picked up a small watermelon - they always feel like the Fourth Of July.  Cold Coronas hit the spot.

Mom and I reminisced over past Fourths, the ones spent up at the cabin on Rainy Lake when Al and Kris and I were kids and my grandparents were all still alive.  Those were great times and left me with wonderful memories.  Memories of fishing for walleyes, swimming off the dock in ice cold Rainy, trips to Sand Point Island for swimming and picnics, trips to Dry Weed Island for blueberry picking, walking to the frog swamp, picking pine cones, climbing the ranger tower and so many other adventures.  Also things like dodging horse flies, picking off wood ticks, swatting mosquitoes, breathing black flies, and being repulsed by leaches.  Annoying at the time, but all things that still make me smile.

As children we were fortunate that both sets of grandparents lived in the same small town, just half an hour from the cabin near International Falls.  Our summers always included weeks and weekends spent in Littlefork, and "up at the lake".  My dad and grandparents are gone now, the cabin was sold many years ago, and my brother lives in Costa Rica.  But I still have my memories of growing up in a extended family, in small town Mid-America in the 50s and 60s.  There wasn't a lot of money but there was lots of love, and family, and the childhood adventures that make memories that will always be a part of me.