Old Friends, Olive Garden and a Visit with the Tootsie Sister

I have a very good friend from my high school days that I have told some stories about before here in past episodes of our Solid Rock Minnesota Podcast and Blog. She is a friend that goes back to our teenage years, when we attended an all girls Catholic High School together. We have many great stories about Catholic school and the nuns. We graduated together way back when.  After High School we were the first ever women to work at gates at the Minnesota State Fair together for about 20 years (that is how we got the name the “Tootsie Sisters”), and we were in each other's weddings over 40 years ago. And through all we have been through together in the span of 50 years or so, we only manage to see each other in person maybe 1-2 times a year. Try as we may, but time, family commitments and life just seem to keep plowing down the road and keeping us from making time to physically get together. But yesterday that finally changed and I was able to meet up with my old friend the Tootsie Sister for a long overdue in person visit at Olive Garden. That has become our spot to meet up over the years, just because it is a halfway point from our houses…and we both can indulge in salad, breadsticks and pasta that someone else serves us.

It was a few weeks ago when I got a text from my friend saying it was time to try again to get together. We had made previous plans to go kayaking last Summer, but Covid, work schedules, and tornadoes kept it from happening. And so here it was a year since our last visit and we made definite plans to meet up at Olive Garden and catch up on life. 

Saturday morning came and I was up early, ready to get stuff done before I left for the Cities to drive down to Olive garden. I was excited to finally get together. It is always a good time when we get together. We can get caught up on things going on in our lives, our kids and spouses and have some good laughs at ourselves as we grow older.

11:30 came and we both pulled up to Olive Garden at the same time and after a few bear hugs and the discussion if we needed masks or not, we masked up and went and got our table. As we were walking in, my friend let me know she had had a cold, but went and got tested for Covid. The test was negative, but she still had a bit of a tickly cough she was dealing with. Jackets off, masks off, water delivered, the conversation began. The waitress came by and got our orders for the salad, soup and breadsticks and we went back to filling each other in on family and life the past year. 

While she was talking she kind of swallowed wrong and began coughing. You know that feeling when the tickle in your throat won’t stop and you just start hacking away like your lung is going to pop out of your mouth any second and land in your salad? As much as she tried to hide the hacking cough, she couldn’t. 

In this age of “any cough is Covid”, people around us began to stare, a few with not too appreciative glances. It is so crazy these days when a person sneezes, coughs or sniffles in public, a wide path is made and people scatter away like field mice when the barn cat shows up. My poor friend, after trying to stifle her cough, turning beet red and not getting any relief, decided to run to the bathroom for a few seconds. When she came back she was fine, but was feeling pretty self-conscious as people kept glancing over at us. Our waitress pretty much stayed clear of us the rest of the visit too. 

I told my friend we needed to finish up and go out to the car and finish our visit. Although it was sunny, the wind was blowing and it was about 12 above. We got in her car, turned on the heated seats and blower and continued our visit for the next 45 minutes with no worries of people staring at us.

We talked about so many things and there were new conversations for us…Social Security and Medicare…401K’s and when is a good time to call it quits from the job and retire. We agreed her time is getting close for her to retire. There was a slight pause in the conversation as we both watched people going in and out of  Olive Garden. In that moment of silence, sitting in her car with the heated seats, I realized as I looked at my friend, the Tootsie Sister, and she looked at me. We both just laughed out loud as we said at the same time, “God we are getting old!”. After 50 years together this friendship only grows deeper as our lives grow older. Until next time my Tootsie Sister!

For Previous Tootsie Sister Stories got to 

12-18-20 The Tootsie Sisters

3-7-21 Tootsie Sister on Ice

Catching Up, A Little at a TIme

We have spent many mornings either on the phone or at the financial investors office the past 5 weeks trying to get all of our finances in order so we can officially say we are retired. It is hard to imagine that after many decades of planning, of sometimes making decisions between a gallon of gas or a gallon of milk, we finally are getting to reap the benefits of an income without going down the road to work. It is a weird feeling just having money go into the bank accounts like the paychecks used to go in. It almost feels illegal. 

It has been a little over a month now since my Best Half retired and no longer has to get up at 4 AM and travel 50 miles one way to work each day. Many have asked us how it is going and if we are adjusting. So I thought maybe a little update was in order.

Week one left us both a little dazed after many get-togethers and retirement parties for him at the clinics he worked at. His last week of work was spent finishing things he had going at the clinics and then saying his good-byes to coworkers and supervisors alike. For 38 years he worked at these clinics with many of these people. His very last drive up North and back home on his last day left him a bit reflective…and a little freaked out too. The wondering if he made the right decision to retire a year earlier than he had planned. 

For the first week many hours were spent quietly processing his decision and beginning to adjust to a new sleep schedule. The first few days he finally stayed up past 9 PM and woke up about 8 AM. When the third morning came and it was getting a little past 8 AM, I suggested we maybe needed to get on a little earlier wake up than after 8AM. Afterall, there’s things to do, places to go and people to see. So week one was pretty much a quiet week of letting him kind of process all the changes that have come with retiring. Phase one of retirement as we call it.

Week 2 of retirement passed with him up and at it by 7 or 7:30 every morning. He really did have things to do and places to go and people to see. The garage furnace was turned on and he spent a good part of his days out there reorganizing his space and tools and such. And he spent time finishing up fixing things that got kind of set aside when he was working full time. We now have a well organized garage that 2 vehicles could easily fit in if we wanted. But I really have never seen a Minnesota garage that cars were actually parked in. It’s usually the more important items like boats, and snowmobiles or the snowthrower or ATV with the plow. But he now has space, “his space” that he can work on things like the snowblower and the vehicles. The Jeep, van, truck and Big Eddie all have washer fluid filled and all the levels of oil, brake fluid, and antifreeze are where they should be. And I usually have a list of things needing his attention. So for me, his retirement has so far been awesome, because things are getting done that he never had time for when working. 

Week 3 was spent going down the road to the neighbors house a few times a day to take care of their German Shepherd while they were down at Mayo doing medical things for a few days during the week. Annie, the dog, and my Best Half had fun playing Frisbee and chatting together. It was a good thing for him to do as he has always been a little scared of other dogs. When he was a little guy, he was attacked by a Collie and had stitches in his head and face in which he still has scars. So Annie did a good deed by being his buddy that week. The only problem was that his girl, Zoe our Lab, got Annie’s scent on him and was a little more clingy to him. 

And finally in the past few weeks, I do believe he is settling into retirement and beginning to enjoy the lifestyle of not having to go up and down the road to work daily. He has developed a sort of routine which involves getting many things done around the house he has wanted to do, getting into his hobbies like rock polishing, jewelry making with the rocks, and running errands without me. We have discovered that as long as I hate shopping so much, he will take on that responsibility. Sometimes I go with and just sit out in the Jeep watching the people and reading. Sometimes I will go in and shop with him, but I love the fact that I no longer will have to go into stores and shop. Yes, I hate shopping that much. 

While we both have hobbies and things we like to do separately, it has been so much fun being able to drop what we are doing and take a drive, or do a project together, like the Christmas baking. Of course that involves me baking and him taste testing the stuff coming out of the oven. He calls it quality control. It has been fun to be spontaneous with our plans. 

Each morning after he feeds the dogs  and I do my Tai Chi stretches we meet up at the kitchen table for breakfast and chat about the day ahead. It may be about the weather for the day and some news we have read online or just chit chat . It has become a habit of ours this past month, the two of us just doing some catching up, a little at a time. We haven’t really been at the breakfast table together over the last 38 years. I think we both are getting into this retirement journey we have set out on. That day in the financial planner’s office when we were rolling over the finances and setting up stuff, we just looked at each other in excitement and absolute amazement…we did it…we are retired!

Be A Better Friend

To quote Paul Wellstone, " We all do better when we all do better". Such a simple statement with such a powerful message. Let's all work at being a better friend to those around us and hope it circles the globe.

I want to wish a Happy New Year to everyone that has become a part of the Solid Rock Minnesota podcast and blog group. Believe it or not we are starting our second year doing the weekly podcast and blog. It just doesn’t seem that long ago I was trying to record my trembling voice and playing it back only to hear my “up North” Minnesota voice. And wondering who on earth would want to listen to this podcast of stories, music and odds and ends from Minnesota? I was scared enough not to tell a soul I knew about it. It would just be for myself and maybe a few strangers that may happen upon it and listen for a few seconds and turn it off.  

It wasn’t until several months into doing a weekly podcast that my family and friends found out that I was doing a podcast. Yes, as I have admitted before, I was a closet podcaster. That was until the sister of my very dear friend, the Tootsie Sister, outed me to one of my cousins. And my cousin in turn outed me to the whole family. There are only a few things that will travel faster than our family sending out news about another family member. 

As a result of a request to do a blog so that our deaf and hearing impaired friends and family could be included in the stories, the blog was created. And here we are today with over 5000 listeners and more than 1500 blog readers! 

I am truly and totally amazed at the response from people nationwide and worldwide that have become weekly listeners or blog readers following Solid Rock Minnesota. You all have been so kind and encouraging this past year. There are those family and friends that I have known for a lifetime and then there are those that I have come to meet through Solid Rock Minnesota. To all of you, your comments and encouragement are never unnoticed. 

I was sitting playing my guitar the other day and started thinking about the past year. So much is going on around the world and close to home in our own communities. I started thinking of the New Year and ways to make it a better year than last year. And honestly, I don’t have any magical words of wisdom other than to just keep putting one foot in front of the other and do the best we are capable of doing. For me, I decided I am going to try hard to keep encouraging and building friendships and relationships with those around me. Old friends and new friends.

Thanks to all of you for your encouragement and continuing to listen to and be a part  of the Solid Rock Minnesota podcast and blog. 

To listen to the song go to our website and scroll down to the podcast.

This is a song I wrote called “Be A Better Friend”. 

Be A Better Friend

Life can seem hard in this crazy world

And sometimes I just pay the cost

I think about all the life that I've  lived

And then I don’t seem so lost

CHORUS:

I’m going to live my life one day at a time

God Lord willing and the time don’t end

I’m going to sing my songs, and love my dogs,

And be a better friend

I’m going to spend the day, do the best that I can

Looking for the good all around

I’m going to take the time to help someone

Going to plant my feet on solid ground...

It’s time to save this world one day at a time

It’s time we love someone we may hate

For the time will come, we may stand alone

Let’s do it before it’s too late...

music and words by Susan McAuliffe

Ice Fishing in Minnesota

The lakes are all starting to freeze over and the highways and roads are beginning to be dotted with ice houses pulled by trucks, SUV’s and cars setting out to find their spots on the 10,000 Minnesota lakes. It is fun to watch all the variations of ice houses traveling the countryside. 

There are the smaller 1-2 person ones that look more like outhouses you’d find out behind the cabin. In between the small and gigantic ones are the ones that someone made from a camper or maybe a pop-up trailer. Each one was made and decorated to their own styles. They may have Swedish flags or Viking colors of purple and gold. Although this year those Viking colors may be getting repainted. 

And then there are the ice castles tooling down the road being pulled by big ¾ ton trucks. These are the ones that people decided a few years ago should be used for summer camping too. Afterall, you may as well get your money’s worth and use it year round. You will always find several ice castles parked up next to the electricity in a state park campground spot. To me they always look a bit out of place at the campgrounds. They look like they are missing the snow and frozen lake.

No matter the style of ice house a person has, this is the time of year where people will load them up and take them to a lake. They will haul them out on the frozen lake with their vehicle in hopes of getting the best spot on the lake. Many Minnesota lakes will become little individual new towns with roads and streets leading up and down the lake. Some will even have ice houses out on the lake doubling as a bait store or a little grocery store selling snacks and frozen pizzas. A few years ago we were out driving on Mille Lacs lake and found the corners of the new streets with actual street signs.There were several hundred ice houses of various kinds in rows lined up and down these “streets” on the lake. 

Fishing in Minnesota is more or less a rite of passage and most Minnesotans have tried their hand at fishing by the time they are about 8 or 10 years old. Many much earlier in life. Of those who fish the open waters here in Minnesota, there are many Minnesotans that also ice fish. Or at least will give it a try at some point or another in their lives. Many are successful...and then there are those like me.

While I am more of an open water fisherman, I have tried my hand at ice fishing several times over the years. And in all honesty I have yet to find the thrill of ice fishing versus open water fishing. But it could be, for me at least, it was all in the manner and timing of when I did the ice fishing. 

My first attempt at ice fishing was to bring our 12 year old son onto the lake to try ice fishing. Over the years he was my fishing buddy from the time he was about 3 years old. We would take the row boat out and fill the stringers with fish. In his pre-teen years when there were more arguments brewing due to teenage angst, fishing was the one thing we could do together and not have it end in an argument. It was a life saver for those few years as he was finding his way into adulthood. The attempt to go ice fishing ended with the whole family driving the 1 ton van, we called Lucille, out onto the lake and getting stuck in a drift of snow. While my son and I drilled the hole with the cheap KMART hand auger we had, the others were digging the van out of the snow. It was well below zero and there was a good wind blowing from what seemed like all directions.

We got the hole drilled and decided one hole was all we had the energy for. If ever needing an aerobic winter workout, grab a hand ice auger. My son dropped his line and after frostbite hit my cheeks, toes and fingertips, he finally caught a 3 inch perch. The others were all in the van and snuggled up together under blankets while I stood by my son as he caught his perch. He brought it up out of the little 6 inch drilled hole and with excitement threw it back in the water and baited his hook. I was afraid we were in for another long wait for another small fish. Finally when I could no longer feel my hands that were tucked under my armpits for warmth, I suggested we go get some hot chocolate and warm up. And so the first ice fishing expedition ended with all of us in Lucille heading back to land.

That was the beginning of what I consider pure torture fishing. Ice fishing is always freezing cold, a wind blowing in your face no matter which way you turn to get out of it, and a tiny hole where the fish have to come to you versus being able to cast a line multiple times in order to find where the fish are lurking.

I have gone ice fishing out in the open without any ice house and I have also gone out ice fishing in a small portable ice house and also a canvas winter tent with a potbelly stove in it. And guess what? I never caught a fish and I still froze to the point of not feeling my feet or hands. Maybe, just maybe an ice castle would do the trick and make it a fun event. But the way my luck runs with ice fishing, we would be at the only spot on the lake where the fish were not hanging out. 

I must say, I admire people who have great warm ice houses and get out there on the frozen lakes and fish...and actually catch fish. I even envy you because you get to keep fishing while us wimps that only open water fish are on the sidelines hearing the fish stories for the next several months.

At least for now, I will just watch all the ice houses pass by me on the roads and maybe take a day and drive the streets and roads on MIlle Lacs Lake. But even that I will wait on, since the temps have climbed into the 30’s the past week. Right now the ice houses are lined up and waiting to get on the lakes once it refreezes.

Christmas, Covid and Cabin Fever

It is hard to believe that this week is already Christmas week. I feel like I am just getting finished putting the leftover turkey in the freezer from Thanksgiving. But here it is getting almost to the end of December. We have snow on the ground, and temps have already dipped into the below zero readings a few times in the past few weeks. And of course it is dark by 4:30-5:00 pm now. I never quite know what I dislike worst in winter, the extreme cold or the early darkness over everything in the late afternoon. It remains a toss up for me. I do know that the combination of the two does make me a little crazy at times and longing once again for Summer. And knowing it will be a good 5 month wait for warm sunshiny days with more than 7-8 hours of daylight, let’s just say I find it unbearable at times. And those around me sometimes get to feel my restlessness.

There is a term, “Cabin Fever”, many Minnesotans are familiar with. Defined in an article in Medical News Today it states it is  “the psychological symptoms that a person may experience when they are confined to their home for extended periods. Such symptoms may include feelings of restlessness, irritability, and loneliness.” 

Last year’s Covid lockdown during the winter saw many people experiencing cabin fever at rapid rates. But it wasn’t so much the weather keeping people shut in, it was that many things were closed and many people tried to follow guidelines to stay put and not spread the Covid virus. It was a year of Cabin Fever of magnitude proportions for many.

While this year, we are still at odds with Covid and it is rearing its ugly head and running rampant here in the North Country, it is nowhere near the fear level it was last year at this time. Many have been vaccinated and gotten their boosters. And many have had Covid and now have the antibodies in their bloodstream. There are also those who just have decided to take their chances and continue with life as it was pre-Covid. I am not here to judge anyone’s Covid decisions. Me and my Best Half chose the vaccination route for us, while some of the family chose the non-vaccination route and eventually got Covid and now have the immunities in their system. In the beginning it was a topic of hot debate in our household. Having several family members who worked or are working in the medical field gave cause for some intelligent and important conversations on the pros and cons. But, just like trying to convince someone on Facebook to see your opinion and point, so it goes trying to convince others to see things your way in person. It rarely happens. And that is where we have left it in our family. We all have our facts and opinions we live by, but it just may not coincide with the thoughts of those other family members.. And that is OK for now. 

But back to Cabin Fever. Usually around New Year’s day, the tree is taken down, lights and decorations are put away and we are chalking up another Merry Christmas for the books. A week or two will go by pretty uneventfully as the New Year is upon us. And then it happens...4:30 will come and it is night time. It is around -25 below, there is crunchy snow on the ground, and it hits me. I look out the window in the darkness, see the snow on the ground, and feel the cold air coming through the door jam. It’s here...cabin fever. And it takes all I’ve got to drive those restless feelings away. Those desires to take a bike ride, load up the kayak and go fishing, even a longing to mow the lawn and clean the chicken coop wrestles up into this restlessness. I have cabin fever.

Attempts to bundle up and go outside and take a walk or go get the mail are met with snot running into my scarf, my eyelashes frosting up with ice crystals on the ends of them, and my nostrils eventually sticking together because the snot is starting to freeze inside my nose. A walk down to the mailbox is more like moments of survival from a Bear Grylls episode. And 9 times out of 10, I manage to slip and take a dive in the driveway. After 20 minutes outside in -25 below temps and trying to enjoy the outdoors and rid myself of the restlessness, I am ready to go inside and hunker down again. Instead of curbing cabin fever by going outside, it more or less will intensify those feelings of restlessness to do something outdoors. I start to feel like one of our dogs pacing back and forth through the house. Together the 3 of us will aimlessly wear a path walking the length of the house.

This year I am hoping that about the time cabin fever arrives at our house, we will be packing and planning for a road trip South of here. As the Better Half has said, “We will drive as far south as we can and hang a right to Texas.”. This is our first time ever that we will be able to take a winter vacation and not have to be back home in time to go back to work. We can stay as long as we decide to stay South. A whole new concept in our traveling agenda. Here’s hoping there are no new mandates with cross country traveling that will keep us here during cabin fever season. But if it happens, just know this woman will be the one outdoors riding her bike in -25 below weather.

Minnesota Senior Safe Driver Course: Keep 'Er Movin'

Our insurance agent reached out to us several years ago about signing up and taking a Seniors Safe Driver class online. It would save us a few hundred dollars each year in premiums just by taking this 8 hour online course. While it was a great idea, I have to admit, I never signed us up for it. Life was pretty busy with both of us working. And besides it was kind of a reminder we were getting old and soon would be qualifying for all the senior discounts. And we’d become those old people drivers that I always get behind up on the highway going 45 mph. You know the ones that are on their way to the Perkin’s dinner special that starts at 4PM. I didn’t want to identify with that. That was about 10 years ago.

About 2 months ago, our insurance agent, well really the son-in-law of our now semi-retired agent, reached out to us regarding taking the online Senior Driver class. We were once again told we could save money each year with our premiums and it could all be done in 8 hours online. Being retired, I really didn’t have much of an excuse regarding being too busy. While retirement has been extremely busy, it isn’t hard to juggle the schedule around like it used to be when working.

So I went online and signed up and paid the $25 fee to take the class. The content downloaded and I grabbed a mug of tea and sat down to start the class. I figured I could get it done in maybe 3-4 hours just skimming over all the content and taking the quiz. I got my Kindle to finish a book while I sat there, and got my phone so I could text with people. I need to state a disclaimer here: while I am not a distracted driver, I am most definitely a distracted student. I need to be doing a few things at once while being spoken to in a lecture. My A.D.D will kick in full force with anybody or anything talking at me for more than about 15 minutes. 

I sat down and began to open up the course. It was paced out in different sessions, lessons and topics. Each lesson was about 78 screenshots long with a narrator with a voice pleasant enough. Each lesson had to be done in order and a quiz taken before being able to move on to the next session. The course was set up to make sure the person could do nothing else but sit in front of the laptop while it ran. Not only could you not skip ahead or fast forward anything, but you had to hit the next button about every 10-15 seconds to move on or it would just stop and go to a screen saver.

So I seriously could not do anything else without completely stopping and switching back to watching the course and hitting the next button. The first session has taken me about 2 weeks to plow through slowly and finally finish. The session is probably 30 minutes long if done studiously like it is intended. But I had to keep stopping and taking stuff out of the oven, let the dogs outside, straighten out my yarn stash, and let the dogs back in. I lost interest in the first 10 minutes so saved it and closed it for a rainy cold day.

About a week later on a cold snowy day, I pulled up the class on my laptop, I grabbed a mug of tea once again and sat out in the recliner to focus on only the course. I was about 5 minutes into it and had finally finished Session 1. It was time for the quiz for that session. The instructions will tell you that you need to score 100% in order to move on to the next session. That seemed kind of passive aggressive, who has ever heard of needing to score 100% on a quiz? Fortunately I got 100% the first time. I could go on to Session 2. When I first sat down I was hoping to get through at least 3 sessions. 

When I woke up from dozing off and wiped the drool from the corner of my mouth, I realized I had only gotten through 3 pages of Session 2. I went back to the menu to see how many sessions there were total and where I was. I looked at the screen and then did a double take. There were 7 (BEEP) sessions and quizes to go to complete this course. In my brain, I imagined making a 2022 New Year’s Resolution to be done with the course by maybe June. It was going to be well into the new year before making even a dent in this course. 

And then it came to me...My Best Half is now retired. He has extra free time on his hands. I can give him the job of saving us $300 a year just by sitting at the kitchen table and drinking coffee and watching a few videos and powerpoint. I spun it with a little Catholic guilt from my 12 years of Catholic school. I told him how for the past 42 years I have paid the bills and kept the house functioning, even while working for several years. This would be his chance to pitch in with some of the more mundane things that have to be done. A chance to help with the not so glamorous chores of the house. Afterall, he’s retired now.

I may have spun it just right, because he said yes to doing this online course and to get it done in a timely fashion. It was either the little bit of Catholic nun in me or the option of sitting around drinking coffee and doing a job at the kitchen table that got him to agree. Of course I didn’t let him in on the way the course is set up so that you can’t do anything else. So time will tell how well it works for him doing it.

As for me, I am hopefully off the hook. I figure worst case scenario if neither of us can do it, we have one of the grandkids sit at the laptop with a major bowl of ice cream and all the toppings and let them keep hitting the next button until it is time to take the quiz. Somehow we need to get through this course, be it me, my Best Half or the 5 year old grandson. Somehow we need to  “keep ‘er movin’.”

Time Will Be Our Friend

We made it to December! The long countdown to my Best Half’s retirement has finally happened. He is officially retired. It was an exciting week of clinic parties and cards and hugs and well wishes for a happy life after 38 years at the same company. And one by one all his co-workers jokingly turned him over to me to spend all of our future days together. And I gladly accepted. My Best Half is also my Best Friend that I’ve grown up with. We married when I was 21 and he was 22, over 42 years ago. We literally became adults together, And here we are still together after all these years. I wrote this song a few months ago when he was talking about retiring. I started thinking about how the years have honestly flown by day by day. About how I can see us starting to age some. At first thought it kind of scared me to think of getting older, but then I realized that I need to make time my friend so I don’t freak out about this aging stuff. Because it is definitely not for the faint of heart. Each day together is truly a blessing we get to share. This song is for all of us who have someone, a Best Haf, or a Best Friend. May time be our friend as we grow old and take care of each other.

Too listen to the song go to the Solid Rock Minnesota podcast on Pandora, Amazon, Apple, iHeart radio or any of the many platforms out there. 

Time Will Be Our Friend

Do you think of me sometimes

At the setting of the sun?

I know I think of you

In everything I do 

Time keeps moving on

Will you love me 

When I grow old

Will you still hold my hand?

Will you walk with me into the sunset

And look back on the years gone by?

Well I know we move a little slower

And we hold each other up

All  the years that pass

All the memories filled with love.

As I look into your eyes

And I see the age in your hair

Ill keep loving you in everything I do

And time will be our friend