Maxima

A bunch of neighbors got together to play Bunco.  I had never played it before but had heard it was alot of fun.  We each pitched in 5 dollars.  There were 12 of us so a chance at winning $60.  There are 3 tables of 4 women each.  Your partner is across from you and we have to toss 3 dice.  It is a total game of luck since there is no way to control the number on the dice.  You get points for the numbers you roll.  When the head table gets 21 then the bell is rung and the winning partners at each table advance.  Then you switch partners so you get to be partners with everyone at least once. 

Oh did I mention it was just the ladies.  Girls night out.  These women have been playing Bunco together for 16 years.  Somebody moved to California, so I got invited to take the empty spot.

And the winner of the most Bunco’s got a new necklace.  Now she has to add something to the necklace and bring it to the next Bunco party.  Bunco is when you are trying to roll a certain number and you get three of them.  So, if you need a four on one of the three dice and you get four on all three dice…..that is a Bunco.  Here is the winner of the most Bunco’s.  hmmmm is she smiling because of the money or the empty wine glass????

Yesterday was our 6th anniversary.  The time has flown by and it seems like we are still in our first year instead of starting our 7th. At noon we headed for the Mall of America.  We rarely go there but they had advertised “The Worlds Largest Indoor Tulip Show” and we thought…….6 years ago we had no tulips, so today we will enjoy it with 40,000 tulips.  First we went to IKEA for coffee and cinnamon rolls.  I filled my cup three times but Blips found his not very delicious.  I think it was because I made it and probably put too much cream in it.  So, next time he has to make his own then he can enjoy it more.  We strolled thorough IKEA slowly looking at all the new and old things.  There were alot fewer shoppers than on a weekend.

Next we headed across the street to Mall of America to our wonderful tulip show.  We walked around for awhile but only saw about 50 tulips here and 75 tulips there.  We ran into a mini-donut stand so we shared a bag of tiny donuts.  mmmmmm just like the State Fair.  That’s not on my diet but calories don’t count on your anniversary.  We could not find the 40,000 tulips so we asked and were directed to a place that had about 400 tulips.  Noooooo, we want the 40,000 tulips.  Ok, then we began to catch on…..there are 40,000 tulips here but only 50 to 200 at a time.  We started to call it the World’s Largest Pathetic Indoor Tulip Show.  They thought they would distract us from the lack of tulips by cleaver designs.  We just wanted massive tulips. 

 

The clog was selling for $6,000.00

 

 

 

 

 

Here are 8 tulips hanging on a lamp post. wooo hooo But you can see the red hair better

 

 

 The mill was made out of carnations but was still cute.  Blips took the picture from the floor…..for some reason I thought I had to duck…..(see me scrunch my legs)

 

 

We had to just walk around and run into displays.  This western wagon was fun to run across.  And we did get our exercise for the day because you know how big the Mall of America is!  We ended up calling it The World’s Largest Pathetic Indoor Tulip Show.  We did see a couple other things that were interesting (besides the people). 

 

 

Here is a monkey made out of moss that you can hang in your garden to grow flowers or vines on.  It was only $160.00  (who buys these things???)

 

 

Moose…..be quiet, don’t move fast, back away very slowly and if he charges…run like the wind!

 

We stopped at a book store(library, hehehe) and read some books in a nice chair.  Then we went home and walked Mona in the woods.  You can do that at night when you have a bully pit.  That is what our neighbor boy calls her…..a bully pit.  About 7pm we drove to our favorite Mexican restaurant Boca Chica and Blips had his favorite red chile pork buritto.  I had mine…..shredded chicken taco salad with no halepeno and onion on the side.  It was a wonderful day and unlike those Blips’ coworkers said they have to take their wives to Hawaii for their anniversary.  I said….well, they must be very bad the whole year then.  We had a wonderful day even though it was not what we expected.

We started out the day with an omlet.  Keeping in mind that we are now including foods that only one of us can eat.  Here is our omlet…..any guesses what side is Blips and what side is Maxima?  Recognize any ingredients?

 

 

 

We later went to ‘the library’ which is also known as Borders Book Store.  It has a coffee shop where we start with coffee.  mmmmmm Then we find some comfy chairs and settle in with a couple books.  And YES, I am a redhead now.  It was not by planning ….the box said, Light Golden Brown.  It SHOULD have said ‘with a slight risk of red hair’!!! Blips likes it so I am going to keep it for awhile.

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday dear Nancy

Happy Birthday to you!

I got started 2 hours later than I wanted and ended up driving right into the storm.  After 40 minutes of driving, it started to snow and got worse every mile until I pulled into my mom’s parking lot.  55 people died in 9 states from the storm.  And as I write this, 300,000 homes/businesses are without power. Boy was I glad to be there.  Mom had a great chicken and broccoli hot dish waiting for me.  mmmmmm

The next day when I took her in to the clinic, I had to dig my car out from under the snow.  It had snowed about 8 inches from what was on the car and in the parking lot.  Here is a picture of the snow in the middle of the street.  I just stopped the car and took a picture so you could see how the streets looked.  And a snow bank way above my head.

Mom’s foot is good as new and I had a hard time making her stay in a chair.  It was nice to just spend some time together.  Before I left, I ran 4 errands for her and took out her garbage.  And she promised to stay home and off her feet for 3 days.

Today I am off to the land of illegal immigration (my home town) to take care of my mom.  She is having minor surgery on a foot.  She thought she would drive herself home after the procedure    Not

So, I am going to take care of her for a few days.  I will pamper her and cook for her and be good company while I make her sit around with her foot up for 3 days. There is no internet at mom’s so I will say in advance…………Stay well, stay safe, stay sane.

Today is the last warm day.  We have had 35 days in a row above average temperature but the cold Canadian wind is coming tonite.  Then it will be 10 degrees below average and tomorrow the wind chill will be between -20 and -40 below zero F.  In C that could even make a Dutch man put on a hat!

So today Mona and I went wandering the hills of dirt that used to be our rock pile(yes, they are mostly buried) to see if there were any on the edge we could rescue.  I let go of the leash because I was trying to roll a heavy one down the hill.  All of a sudden I hear a REE REE REE…..and I see Mona coming up from the tall grass with a fuzzy thing in her mouth.  REE REE REE and she gets a better grip….now it is a muffeled ree ree ree.  At first I thought it was a baby rabbit and I just hate it when she catches a rabbit.  She gave me a dirty look……I know that one……”this is mine, get your own!” kind of look.  But I did notice it was a mouse.  Ok, she can have a mouse for a pal.  She doesn’t kill them but just likes to keep them for a friend.  I thought if I walked her, then she would set it down to check on it and that is when I jerk her leash and it stays out of her mouth.  BUT apparently Mona has a good memory from when I did this trick before and she never lets the mouse down in the 6 blocks home.  I cracked up all the way home because here is a tail and two hind legs hanging out of her mouth all the way home.  This is the wrong day to not have the camera.  When we got home, I let her in the back yard and she did lay her pal down a few times and nudged it a few times like…..come on, aren’t you going to move?  She moved it a few times and sat next to it.  Then she put it in a safe place behind the evergreen trees where I never go. 

We played some socker, took down the Christmas lights(a two hour job) and picked up the dog poop(a one hour job).

Then I made curry egg salad on dark wheat bread for supper.  I used the curry we got in NL which was expensive and is very good.  mmmmmmm I am trying to get used to curry since Blips is trying to get used to garlic which I just love.  For the first 6 years we just ignored curry and garlic.  Neither of us ate either.  And we both miss it…..so we are trying things.

Now I need to put 3M plastic on the windows because of how cold it is going to be.  brrrrrrrr. 

Monday and Tuesday there was no mail so when I went to the box on Wednesday, I had a nice surprise.  We had three boxes and one special one from the old country.  I had to wait for Blips to get home so we could open it together.

Ohhhhhhhhhh some nice surprises.  First of all my mom had told me about a very nice card she got from Stellendam.  She was very impressed.  Ok, now I see why….it is really nice!  That must have come by pony express…..you sent it on the 13th and we get it Jan 3. 

Then the package of birthday and Christmas and New Years combined so we had alot of fun opening each package.  We made plans immediately to make oliebollen for Valentines Day.  And the cake-on-a-stick….well, I am sure it will not make it to state fair time!  I have already used my super super pen which I just love.  Blips was so excited about his book because it is kind-of a hacker story.  Well, I like mysteries so I asked Blips to read me the Dutch book. (he gave me a dirty look so I think the answer is no).  And some real dutch tulips…..I think they will last longer than the ones I can get here.  Thank you very much.  We had a great time and love everything we got.

Airport Battles Some Muslim Cabbies

By Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS - Officials at Minneapolis-St. Paul International airport are proposing stiffer penalties _ including suspension of an airport taxi license _ to Muslim cab drivers who refuse service to passengers toting alcohol or service dogs.      

Officials on Wednesday asked the Metropolitan Airport Commission for permission to hold public hearings on a proposal that would suspend the airport licenses of cab drivers who refuse service for reasons other than safety concerns. The penalties would also apply to drivers who refuse a fare because a trip is too short.

Drivers would have their airport licenses suspended 30 days for the first offense and revoked for two years after the second offense, according to the proposal.

“Our expectation is that if you’re going to be driving a taxi at the airport, you need to provide service to anybody who wants it,” commission spokesman Patrick Hogan said.

The commission is expected to vote Jan. 16 on the request for public hearings.

Airports Commissioner Bert McKasy said the issue raised by Muslim cab drivers who say that carrying alcohol or dogs, including those that help people with disabilities, violates religious beliefs is “unfortunate.”

“I think it’s pretty much the consensus of the commissioners and the staff that we have to provide good service to the public, and that’s pretty much the bottom line,” McKasy said.

Each month, about 100 people are denied cab service at the airport. Airport officials say that in recent months, the problem of service refusals for religious reasons has grown. About three-quarters of the 900 taxi drivers at the airport are Somali, many of them Muslim.

Hogan said the goal is to have a new policy in place by May 11, when airport taxi licenses come up for annual renewal.

“We want the drivers to know about the policy in advance, so that if they don’t think they can work under these conditions, they have the option of not renewing their license,” Hogan said.

Last year, the airports commission received a fatwa, or religious edict, from the Minnesota chapter of the Muslim American Society. The fatwa said “Islamic jurisprudence” prohibits taxi drivers from carrying passengers with alcohol, “because it involves cooperating in sin according to Islam.”

Eva Buzek, a flight attendant and Minneapolis resident, said she was recently refused service by five taxi drivers when she was carrying wine as she returned from a trip to France.

“In my book, when you choose to come to a different country, you make some choices,” said Buzek, a native of Poland. “I never expected everything to be the same way as in my homeland, and I adjusted. I never dreamed of imposing my beliefs on somebody else.”

But Hassan Mohamud, imam at Al-Taqwa Mosque of St. Paul and director of the Islamic Law Institute at the Muslim American Society of Minnesota, one of the largest Islamic organizations in the state, said asking Muslims to transport alcohol “is a violation of their faith. Muslims do not consume, carry, sell or buy alcohol, and Islam also considers the saliva of dogs to be unclean, he said.

Mohamud said he would ask airport officials to reconsider.

But many Somali taxi drivers don’t have a problem transporting passengers with alcohol and are worried about a backlash, said Omar Jamal, executive director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center. Jamal said he supports the tougher penalties.

“We tell the taxi drivers, if you don’t want to do this, change your job,” he said. “You are living in a country where alcohol is not viewed the way it is in your country.”

America says goodbye to President Gerald Ford today.  He was our 38th president.  He will be buried in Michigan where his presidential library is located.  Michigan is where he also was elected 13 times to serve in the US congress.  Rest in peace.

The weather report for New Years Eve was rain.  We decided to not do fireworks because of the weather.  Instead, the rain turned to snow at about 3pm.  At that time we were walking Mona and it was just beautiful as we were walking around the lake.  No one was there but us.  Later, the people on our street all get together at one house and bring food to snack on.  There was chili, B-B-Q meatballs, cookies, chips, broiled cheese/ham/tomato on french bread, chocolate dipped pretzels, cheese/crackers, red and green M&M’s, lots of champaigne, wine and somebody mixing champaigne and cranberry juice.  That was very nice!  We brought cream puffs.

One neighbor is a professional photographer.  He surprised us when he walked in carrying 4-5 framed works of his.  He said we all could take what we liked.  And he handed me the one picture that I had seen hanging in a show at Central Park.  I had called him to say how much I liked all of his work but especially the one with the pink window frame reflecting the fall leaves in the window.  He appreciated my comments so much, that he decided to share his photos with all of us.   Blips is the new owner of a building reflecting on the top of a car.  To me it looks upside down but then……it is  

We toasted at midnight to good friends and neighbors.  We were having such a good time that we did not go home until 2am.  It was a good night in the neighborhood. And I hope everyone reading this has a healthy and happy 2007!