Other colors than white

It seems that it has been much longer than a week since I posted--no doubt that it is because the weeks are pretty full and very busy. Work is going well, but there is little slack time. I am usually there by 7AM or earlier and rarely leave before 6PM. But since I am an hourly employee that works out pretty well. Ha! I am betting that this pace will continue. One nice thing is that you can't work at school over the weekend, unless the school is open. While I have a master key, I have no way to enter after hours. That does help to keep it a bit saner.

Progress continues at my house/home. All the wood floor are down, and it looks nice. The long hallway towards the three bedrooms and the bath looks like a bowling alley. The painter is almost done, and it's been interesting. I am almost 50, and while some have trouble believing it, I have never painted a room nor have I even chosen a new color for any place I have ever lived. So its been fun. My living room is a "hint of morning pale light slight earl gray" or some such color, most of my kitchen "modest white" and the rest of it is "cayenne" red. Much better than the light mint green in the living room, or the wall paper in the kitchen. There will be more "before and after" pictures but you might get an idea with the two stove photos.

And it is getting more complete in other ways, too. I cooked for the first time (besides the microwave) and got to use my new stove. It was only Cous Cous but it was a meal of sorts and the stove does work. It is the little things, the simple things as the two pictures of windows show. They are two early morning shots--the wire is an antenna from my radio with a frosty window, the other is the bathroom window.

Meat Raffles and Other News...

I thought it might be easy to start a blog about a meat raffle but it is harder than I thought. But "here goes," as they say in the Midwest.

That is really what this is all about. I am a Midwesterner. Yep, I will admit it. Despite some wandering, I am among my people again, and it is kind of fun. I am rediscovering that there are cultural differences that do define the separate characteristics of this large group of people. I am most (and increasingly) aware that there are subtle and sometimes not so subtle differences among Midwesterners. I admit that I have been among people who have spoken derisively about Midwesterners and often placed a negative or pejorative adjective before the term. I will let you imagine what these qualifiers were. Mostly, though, they just lumped all Midwesterners together as one homogeneous blob. There is a real danger in that because if you do, you might miss a meat raffle.

Here is the concept. You go to a bar (of course) with friends and sit around sipping Leinies or some other adult beverage. Soon, a child (if the raffle helps support a youth cause, which many do) comes around with a tray with 30 numbers on it. You can purchase one of these numbers for a buck, and soon they call the lucky number. Winners take home a box of meat. Really. Sometimes it is a 10 pound box of wieners, or a box of hamburger patties or chicken breasts or, well, you get the idea. Ten minutes later, another Leinies, and then someone else comes by to offer you a chance of a lifetime. And so on and so on, apparently until there are no boxes of meat left in the vicinity. Or, until I spent all of my singles, eleven of them, on golden (red?) meaty chances. Alas, I went home meat-less and wiener-less. Hmmm...I'd best think about that last part.

I am not sure what I would have done if I had won. I told a friend that if I had won a ten pound box of wieners that I would have a three-to-four year supply at my present rate of wiener consumption. Even a box of bacon, patties, or pork chops would last longer than anyone might wish. No one won at my table, except perhaps the youth hockey leagues and the bar--you had to add the cost of the Leinies and bar food as part of the expenses, too.

But winning the "prize," wasn't really the point. Yes, apparently meat raffles are part of the culture in this corner of the Midwest. Who knew--I grew up 140 miles away and I never heard of this kind of a raffle. But far more of the culture, both the local and the regional culture was exposed by the process. By buying a ticket or 11, I helped a good cause, and I had a chance to sit with and share with new friends and learn a bit about them. I want to examine and explore and celebrate the culture of the area, as this is now my home. And if it takes a meat raffle to start doing it, well, who am I to argue?

Zen and the art of Ikea building...

As I have mentioned, I have been building Ikea furniture for my house, and in many ways, the experience is Zen-like. It starts with the concept of the whole company. Ikea provides semi-nice, semi-solid semi-stylish furniture at a semi-reasonable price. Lots of "semi's" but really it is perfectly adequate, simple, useful things. Really, what more do you need? Isn't it a principle that simple is better?

But the real fun is the process of putting it together, and once you do this you have to appreciate the genius of the company. The directions do not have a single word--your only guide is a series of simple pictograms. Perfectly adequate. You want to rail at them, and scream at them and say that it doesn't fit or that the holes are in the wrong place. However, after you study the directions again, it becomes painfully, embarrassingly clear that you reversed some piece or another and the error is yours. Just follow the step by step instructions. The rigid process is what we all need sometimes--no skipping steps, no extra pieces, no ambiguity, and no real decision making. You can't say, "I will skip page seven and come back to it later." And no one else can tell you to do it another better way, as there is no better way than to follow the instructions. You just can't--the path is clear to completion. If only life was always that simple, or even if was like this sometimes...

People have different views about the furniture and process. I know it is better, a lot better than the Sauder furniture made from particle board and spit. Some people find the assembly process frustrating while other find it very relaxing. One friend even eagerly volunteered to put it together, claiming it calmed him. I think I will give him a chance! A young couple I know laughed and laughed after an Ikea all nighter building their whole bedroom because at the end they had several extra pieces, though every door and drawer opened. A little mystery in their life, but no doubt something will fall off sometime because they didn't follow the process.

I don't know if I will have a house full of the stuff, but it meets some needs at this point. Including the need for just following the path.

Light, just different.

I have been thinking a great deal about taking photos in Minnesota as I am worried a bit about being perceived as a one-trick pony, a photographer who can only take photos off his deck or if there is a waterfall or a mountain in front of him. Saturday provided a nice opportunity to begin the process of documenting my new home, as it was a beautiful day for photos. Great light, wonderful frost on the trees, so nice you might almost forget that it was zero when I woke up.

Photography is obviously all about light, and there is light here, so I need to quit complaining and start photographing. Interestingly enough, in all those trips to Europe and beyond with students, and even the many trips by myself, I often remind others (and myself) that what you see and experience in a new place is not necessarily better or worse but simply different. I'd best heed that...this is different light and it shines on different things, but it is not necessarily better or worse. Just different, and still pretty good. At least it is something to start with as I rediscover the Midwest.

The broader scenic with the trees is near Collegeville, NW of St. Cloud. The frosted pine trees are near the Stearns' County offices. Interestingly, the larger vase in one of the previous posts was made by a friend's uncle, and this very good potter works with glazes that once fired look like crystals, and while more the vase is more colorful, the pine tree is actually is pretty similar to those patterns. The vertical is the alley by my house, and the horizontal of the branch and the open sign is of my "local." My local bakery, that is, which is but 63 steps from my front door. My mouth waters by the time I hit the last step, and my blood sugar starts spiking. It probably isn't as good as Meeks' in Defiance, another fine bakery that I frequented, but the pastries and donuts are literally as big as your head. More about my friends there, soon.

Wine rack worries...

So I went to Ikea, and one of the things I really wanted to buy was a wine rack of some sort. I accomplished this goal but was VERY disappointed to find out that it is virtually worthless for wine. It doesn't hold wine at all!!! I have no idea where I will find a wine wrack that will work...

Keep an eye on the vase--I will reference that in a bit...

Actually, wine is but one difference here--suffice it to say that the only sushi place is really a live bait shop and the liquor stores are somewhat lacking in Washington State Walter Clore wines. There are more "flavored" wines than shiraz's with a nice lingering oak and blackberry aftertaste. And for the being next to the cheesheads from Wisconsin, their cheese selection is a bit lacking. But I have not been to all the grocery stores in town, and there are actually quite a few. Hope lives, for now.

Hey, like the wall paper? I don't. It will soon be all gone and the walls scrubbed and painted a nice, well, painted a nice anything that isn't this wall paper.

Life in a new Zip cold...

This was my poor little car one evening when I finally left work. All I can say is brrr...

Living

I made it to Minnesota basically a week ago, just last weekend. Or a lifetime ago, I am not sure. I think that the challenges and changes have come in two areas, at work and at home. Since I am sitting at home, sipping wine and eating cheese and crackers right now, I will start there. A reminder as you read this—remember that I do like my apartment. I like it a lot. It is big, it is light, and it can be home and I feel that more and more every day. I just think that the journey to get it where I want it to be will be longer than I thought or perhaps hoped for—here are some reasons why.

I am living in the “old” downtown area or East St Cloud. The very early morning photo from above was shot from my dining area windo. The building was built in the late 20s or early 30s, so it is not a new building. Below me is a store, now a thrift store. The upstairs apartment was a purpose built apartment and until last year, the sole tenant was the original owner of the building. As amazing as it sounds, I am the first new renter for the apartment for at least 75 years. I don’t think that happens very often—the owners ran the store below and when the husband passed away, the wife of the owner continued to liver here until she went to a nursing home. The family sold the building a few years ago, but the deal was that she could live here rent free until she moved to a nursing home.

I think that this is a really cool story. However, for anyone who has moved into a space with the same decorator (or lack of one) for eight decades, you might imagine some challenges with the apartment. It is fundamentally solid—good water, heat, doors shut, and most of the windows open. It was neglected, though, and a bit dated. OK, REALLY dated. Check out the lights in one of the bedrooms in one of the pictures. Much of the carpet is original. Really. It is so like me, faded rose-colored flowers, with gray and black. It is pictured above in my living room. Anyone of a certain age has seen this carpet. At first I thought that it just needed a really good vacuum, but after filling several loads in my new vacuum, I tossed in the towel and had it cleaned. It is wool and the guy who cleaned it said that it had to be good carpet to last this long, but it is pretty faded and worn in spots. But it is very clean.

Actually, most of it is very clean right now. It has been Lisol’ed, 409’ed, Tilex’ed, and scrubbed almost everywhere, and it shows. Those who have been in previous domiciles of mine might actually be surprised. While I am not afraid to eat or walk most places in the apartment, it still needs a lot of work. The curtains are all down, and thank heavens. They were very good curtains, or at least they were when they were put up 50 years ago. That was the last time they were cleaned, too, as I discovered when I took them down. And what is up with all of the flowers and pink? The stove was new in 1960 according to the brochure, and I have seen six burner commercial stoves that are smaller--it measures just under 65 inches wide for an electric stove and oven. I bought a microwave and will live with that for now—that stove just scares me.

The kitchen, besides the stove needs some help. With lots of help, I was able to get to the point where I felt comfortable putting dishes in the cabinets. The wall paper, as mentioned before, is made to look like paneling which we know was a way to make paperboard and glue look like wood. So what is that? A fake of a fake? That simply has to go. But, in case you are decorating your house, I did find an extra “new” role of this wallpaper—if you want it, let me know. Quickly, please, as the trash is picked up on Tuesday. I don’t even know what to say about the ceiling, other than it will not be the same in a few weeks and it really is hard not to write your name on it with some comment...

These are the challenges but it is really pretty comfortable space. The windows, sans curtains, are pretty nice, and just need newer shades. All the shades work now so there is no danger of me showing my butt to Beudreux’s Bar, my nearest neigbor, but they are old. A bit of paint here and there will change things, and the landlord has agreed to put wood floors down, which will be great. Let me know if you want about 1200 sq feet of faded rose carpet, as that will soon be gone. The bathroom is unbelievable—I have to try and figure out a way to take photos of it as it defies imagination. Salmon and black ceramic tile, with matching tile on the floor, and flowered wallpaper of many colors on the walls. It actually looks better once the unmatching flowered curtains were down, as the flowers were clashing. It is so bad that you actually just look at it and wonder if the decorator was on crack or something stronger. You are instantly glad that you didn’t make these choices. Or that no one, thankfully, has made these same decorating choices for 50+ years. That said, it is kind of cute! Besides, I am looking pretty good in those pink fluorescent lights!

Despite all of this, it really is comfortable space. I bought furniture, which is pretty good since one apartment I lived without a couch for almost 18 months. And I like it—it is huge overstuffed “stuff” and it is furniture that you can live with. I am sad that it doesn't go with my going away prize of the zebra striped Snuggie, so I am throwing it out. I have a bed, or actually two of them (if anyone wants to come visit, hint hint) and I like my bed—it has good pillows and it is toasty warm, and you know it is the simple things that make you happy. I went to Ikea today, and bought a wine rack, a night stand, and a table for a lamp in my living room so my house looks like a LEGO disaster as I figure out how to put them together. But I did get to check out quickly in the very popular “I am single (male) and have to put together a whole house” check out line. There simply has to be a book or a sitcom about that place, its products, and the experience.

I told a friend a few days ago as I was whining about my (rapidly) diminishing bank accounts that it is different shopping for what I want to be my home as compared to shopping for simply a place to live. I have to buy stuff to just live, but I am aware that as I go to Kohls for bedding for a new bed or the endless trips to Target and as I find furniture, that I am buying for my home. I like that, and it is kind of fun.