Are you feeling a bit wonky lately? Like for the last 4 weeks? You know how we always blame the full moon when things are out of alignment? Someone just explained the astrological concept of Mercury Retrograde to me over the weekend and it was an "AHA" moment.
For the last month it seems like I've had a short fuse. Work has been stressful, but I have lost perspective if it is beyond the realm of whatever normal is. Jeff and I get irritable over parking spots and phone messages. I am screaming at cars that idle at a green light. For some reason, there has been no time for gardens, blogs or baking. Technology at work has been archaic with phones and modems constantly on the fritz. Even a calming attempt at yoga in the park became an hour of over-stimulation and frustration. What the hell is up!?
Well, this cosmic situation known as Mercury Retrograde occurs when the planet's orbit hovers nearer the sun while other planet's paths continue as normal. For anyone observing the paths, during this time it gives the illusion of moving in reverse against the normal travel. How this translates to our behavioral patterns is this; Mercury is the planet of communication. So during this time warp, daily life as we know it is out of sync. And this is not a few days - it is from June 7th - July 2nd, an entire month! Mercury is a prankster and looks at this whole period as a Karmic joke. Beware of travel plans with delays. Back up hard drives because your laptop may take a nose dive. You will likely forget that special birthday gift or overdue books that need to return to the library. As I read about this phenomenon - I found that it especially hits hard on Virgos like myself that have Mercury as a ruling planet. We crave order and it is not to be found. Just great!
The clue to sanity during this period is to reflect and think spiritually during the flux. Allow yourself to be malleable to change and different patterns. Double check all information since clarity is not intact. Reminisce with old friends and try to find those old connections. Hibernate and work on that closet or basement project - which gave me much satisfaction a week back. Hold on, only a few more days left to this horrible cycle and life should return to normal at the top of the month.
Not that my opinion means anything in the grand scheme. But it is an annual tradition I look forward to with at least a bit of knowledge and insight.
First off - there was really no element of surprise. I called the winners before any of them walked on stage. For all the talk of a banner year and tight races - I thought the results were predictable to a tee which steals from some of the excitement of the ceremony.
But where I really found a lacking was in the production of the show. I love that our local Ivey Awards are a bit irreverent and more about a party than trophies. But I was most dismayed at the shameless economics of the show at the cost of content. I love Sting, Jennifer Hudson and could care less about Gloria Estefan, but they had no business doing numbers and shout outs to shows that are not even written or produced in NY yet! Why did we not get to see a number from Bridges of Madison County or Big Fish which sadly did not get the endorsements. Aladdin and Rocky were serviceable, but not the shows that really hold my interest. I get that a big production number likely guarantees more ticket sales. I just find it sad that it does not always equate to quality entertainment.
Hugh Jackman is charming as hell and manages to keep the proceedings festive. But what was the Music Man rap and how does that have any placement in the current season? And why do the poor technical awards get relegated to commercials breaks? I adore Jason Robert Brown who won not one, but two awards for both his score and orchestrations and gave a wonderful speech - that is only found a YouTube. Isn't that what makes a great Broadway musical - the score? I give the whole jumbled mess and letter C and feel bad for the great and talented actors that did not get ample attention paid.
This travelogue is from a few weeks back over Memorial day weekend. Jeff & I took our summer vacation earlier and made a short jaunt up to the Northern Shore. Duluth is a favorite destination always as it remind me of my Lake Erie home - maybe just a bit more rustic and quaint. Rarely does it disappoint.
It was a gorgeous weekend of sunshine despite what some of the pics might show. With ice still flowing in off the central waters and colliding with the shoreline, on film it resembles outtakes of Titanic. One could definitely feel the arctic chill coming off the surface. Waylon was more than happy to jump in and wrestle an iceberg or two - brave soul he!
There are always trails galore and I am amazed to stumble onto new parks with each visit. This trip was the gorges of Chester Park which were majestic and tranquil within the heart of the city. Probably the greatest meal we have ever had was a little joint on the West Side of town called the Duluth Grill. Better organic and local foods you will be hard pressed to find. Plenty of miles walked and smiles on our weary if not rested faces.
How many times over the last decade do I pull into a Home Depot, see a sea of orange around me and yet not one person that can help me? Or peruse among miles of shelving for the one needle in a haystack that they don't stock? I have so much better luck at Frattalones or my neighborhood store and thank God for that.
Yesterday's experience almost raises the inane to a new level. Problem # 1. This spring to replace my dead and sadly missed Pagoda Dogwood, I happened to see a North Star Cherry tree that looked like both a great fit and deal, so I made an impulse buy to fill the hole in the ground. Mind you this was only a month ago. But for some reason, I am guessing bad stock or else poor storage conditions, it started dying back before it really even got a chance to birth. I get this; some times bad things happen to good plants and had my receipt to make an exchange. Now the insanity begins. It was important to replace now, because waiting til later in the year means a lack of stock and thus a whole year of tree growth lost. So I called the Richfield store where I had purchased it where I assumed none were left. However, I was mistaken in thinking that they could direct me to ANY other Metro store that had a single tree on the floor. Most garden stores would have an inventory and and a computer system to direct customers for a replacement. Not Home Depot. Something about different distributors and each store on its own. Do they not keep track of supply and demand so they can note a profit margin and when more stock is needed? I was told I had to manually look up contact information and call each store individually where some poor Joe on a walkie would walk to the back of the garden center and reply they had nothing left. What a chore and lack of customer service there. However, I did find a store in Fridley that did have ONE left and they were kind enough to set it aside if I could pick it up later the same day.
Problem # 2. I also had some small shrubs I got last year (again at a great bargain) that did not make the winter. You get what you pay for! So scrambling out the door I grabbed what product tags I had from last year even though I could not find the receipt. The cherry tree was an easy deal. The other plants - not so much. As I walked in with my dead plants and item tags, no one quite knew which of the lines to direct me to or had the skills to help. Finally I was sent to a manager that could use my credit card to access former purchases. After 15 minutes of "fiddling" we figured out that he was not finding it because I had bought the other items at the St Louis Park store and he told me their system can only locate items bought in house. So I chucked it up to a loss and went ahead with the cherry tree. Until the fabulous checkout help Amini noticed my predicament and said that the other customer service desk can pull up any purchases throughout any store. I left Jeff in line at one end and walked back to the other where, after a very long wait, I was met by a jolly young fellow - the only one at the counter - who told me he didn't have authorization to look up customer receipts. I am still trying to figure what special badge is needed to do this? So he called a supervisor that took another very long 15 minutes to report. Mind you the store is about to close and virtually empty. And lo and behold, who should come up but the same geezer that told me he was not able to search outside transactions per store. Wouldn't it have saved us all a lot of time to have just shut up and done the task for good customer service in the first place???? So although we did no find exact product matches on 1 of the dead items, Amini was great at using the old (and even outdated receipt - it was days past the year guarantee) to give me credit for new replacement plants.
Please remind me never to shop at this chain again. Why do people love it so?
I have been on hiatus for almost a month now. Not planned, but somehow the chores of work and hours in the garden seemed to take a priority over virtual life while the blog and other email became victims of neglect. Not that things haven't been vibrant and full. So to jump start, with the onset of summer vacation and classrooms vacating - I decided to revisit my New Year's Resolutions from 6 mos back and give myself an evaluation. It is NOT GOOD. I think I would be held back for a do-over if it was actually being measured for credit. Here are the grades:
Twitter - A = Surprisingly, this is the one that held the most credibility. The goal was to use the outlet to make a voice heard once a day to champion a cause, political statement or just a friendly pat on the back. I keep my following small but check in regularly. Big shout outs to @AmyPoehlerSmartGirls for doing good, @SidewalkDog for a wealth of knowledge and @BetteMidler & @theTweetOfGod for making me laugh daily.
Letters - B = the goal was to keep hand written correspondence as part of my ritual, especially to older relatives and distant friends. It takes an effort to get a stamp on and sent, but I've been good on letters to Grandma, holiday cards and just sent out a small batch of postcards - so I pass.
Baking - B- = I had started out great, but as temps have been warming up, I am spending more time outside and less in the kitchen. Some cookie recipes have been great like the chocolate s'more bars. One failed in the peanut-butter pull aparts (which did not rise), but I am a usual victor at breads and just finished a mean strawberry rhubarb pie. If I included times the grill & firepit have been fired up this season it would catapult me to an A.
Scanning Pics - C = I always have good intentions on the #tbt scans and posts to Facebook. I go in batches of scanning and then forget to follow up and actually post them. But I am overwhelmed by the albums and boxes of old photos that stir up memories. With each posting they do the task of reconnecting to old friends and moments nearly forgotten.
* now the list takes a horrible turn into failure. Perhaps my NY expectations are too high and should set the bar lower with less to accomplish.
Books - D = This one I don't understand, since I loved to read through high school. Maybe it is just too time consuming and I can't part with the extra minutes. The goal was a single book a month. I finished Edna Ferber's Showboat after a solid 3 mos, then something else that has already slipped my mind. Currently on Augusten Burroghs Dry! (which is amusing) and a memoir of the Greenwich Village music scene. But 2 books in 6 mos is a failure!
Basement - D- = The goal was to take the winter months and gut out the hording that has amassed downstairs and finish a few house projects. I did dig through boxes last week because I needed to remember where the summer shorts ended up and the fans had been boxed. There were maybe 2 days where I actually donned sweats and sorted out junk, but the bags remain at the bottom of the stairs where I trip over them with each load of laundry.
Wellness - D = I am good at my evening sit-ups and my back surely appreciates the extra crunches when working the garden. But otherwise, all the good intentions of eating breakfast and time outs at work to just sit for 5 minutes are wasted. It is usually 5PM and I realize I have not left my desk or computer for hours at a time. I did take a Lakeside Yoga class last night and it was a brutal and pleasant reminder that this needs to be a priority.
Vacation - D = And this would be a fail if not for the Memorial Day weekend Jeff & I just returned from in Duluth which was wonderful. I did a judging weekend in Dayton OH which was a gracious day with old friends in a slightly spring climate, but did not constitue a vacation. But what about the promised trip to Europe or even Florida like I have vowed every year for the past decade??
Game Nights - F = Epic Fail! Invitations went out for the 1st in Jan. and when we couldn't agree on the right night to connect, the whole project halted right there. Jeff & I played a couple of games of Clue at my behest but this one died major!
Happy Hour - F = Also a failure. I think one with an old colleague. The emails go out and dates make it on the calendar only to be cancelled. Why do we not allow ourselves time? This week I did have a Margarita with friends in the neighborhood, so possible a late season turn around.
