Sanity Break

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April 15th. It’s tax day. 

Not only is tax day gloomy enough reason for a day, but the weather is foul too. It is mid-April and we are still knee deep in snow/ice, the temperatures are hovering around 32 degrees and an added misery is a stiff wind, overcast skies and the utter atrocity of having to wear Ugg boots past April 1st not for fashion, but for warmth. 

Considering it has been weeks upon weeks of this torture I should be about on the verge of losing my sanity, suffering from what I’m sure the pioneers felt after months of seemingly endless long cold winters, cabin fever. But my dear sweet husband took me up north for a couple of blessed nights to the North Shore of Lake Superior. 

I’ve mentioned before my trips up north (here), and how they are tonic to my soul. That open water of the lake reminiscent of my beloved pacific NW ocean, the elevated topography that harkens to the summers of my youth in the high desert of Central Oregon, both are a salve to the irritation of being landlocked in a fairly flat part of the state. Sensing I was at my wits end with the winter from Narnia, we drove through a windstorm that gave stiff competition the storm of Dorothy’s. Instead of arriving in Oz, we pulled into Two Harbors, MN to a storm blowing across the lake that made it roar no less forcefully than a true ocean would. We unpacked our things in to our little condo, pulled out our books and settled in to enjoy reading and watching the storm rage. 

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The next day we drove in to the town and walked out to the harbor light house, being treated to a sight like below. Mind you, this is April 15th. By now the ice houses are suppose to be off the lakes, people are putting in their lake house boat docks, the grown thawed and spring plantings are being put in. Ummmm, yeah, not so much this year. 

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We walked past a floating hunk of ice similar to what I envisioned Rudolph the Reindeer and his buddies rode to escape the Abominable beast. As we got to the base of the harbor light house, this is what greeted us:

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Across the way, was an impressive view of the reason this little tiny town exists, barge loading for coal and taconite shipping. 

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The skies cleared not long after I took this photograph. We drove around the sleepy little town, up in to the hills, down along the waterfront, then finally back to the condo to settle in for more reading till dinner. 

We woke the next morning to eye blinding sunshine. The lake was calm and smooth as glass. The geese were milling about on the still snow covered ground, the males preening and caterwauling to the females, obviously enjoying the glorious break in the weather also. I sat in the window, tucked in to a leather chair reading, basking in the warmth of the sun through the window and gazing at that glorious sight. 

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Alas. All fun must come to an end, and after having a light breakfast, we headed home, making a short detour to Canal Park in Duluth. I love Canal Park and my husband loves to check out what is new in the Duluth Trading Company store. We parked down by the shipping entrance, since it’s always fun to see the barges coming and going through the canal, watching the lift bridge rise and fall. To our utter amazement, this is what greeted our eyes!

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Normally that is all water. Where I am standing, there should be a good drop to the lake surface, but instead, the ice was piled in boulder like fashion as high as I am tall and as far as the eye could see. No shipping traffic coming and going through here, but in the far distance one could see the barges anchored, awaiting passage. Our eyes, unaccustomed as they have grown to light this winter, were blinded by the radiance from the sun and snow. It’s obvious that the camera on my phone felt the same way also! I guess all that wind drove all the floating ice from the lake directly to here. I guess that is the power of 50 mph winds!

After enjoying a lovely morning on the northern shore of the lake, it was time to head back to reality, and reality was awaiting us as we drove over the cliff side of Duluth in to the interior of the state. We crossed that natural barrier and drove right back in to snowy-slush mixed with freezing rain. 

As I sit, pecking away at the keyboard, I stare out at the iceberg I call my backyard. Once again I return to the consequences of living at the feet of the North Pole. Once again, I return to muddling through. 

 

 

Muddling Through

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When I woke up this morning, it was actually 28. Mind you, the date on the calendar is April 2, and yet the temp has barely topped 43 degrees for months. This is the life of someone living on the Great Plains of the upper midwest. It is a life of extremes that most cannot quite understand unless they have lived it.

I have many friends who are natives, and love it here. My daughters, who have basically been raised here, love it here. I however, was raised and lived all my life on the west coast of the country, am not a fan. I mean, in all my years on the west coast, I can honestly say I never heard nor saw someone doing this as April approached:

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Yes, that is grilling in the snow. This is a more positive view compared to a couple weeks ago, since we had one of our ‘balmy’ days and the snow had melted enough for us to actually GET to the grill! We decided it was cause for celebration, it was above 32 degrees and so the meat would actually cook!

Yes, Minnesota is land of extremes. Summers are beautiful I won’t lie. They are green, lush and by August, dry. This is the land of lakes, and we have plenty. Ironically, I’m not really a lake person, but I do love the river. While the lakes are silty, murky and have lots of vegetation, the St. Croix is beautiful. By late summer it’s warm, clean and slow running. No slimy weeds in your toes or little fishes like Sunnies to bite at your moles. My girls love to take a gaggle of girls, head to the beach to hang out and tan. One of my favorite family summer traditions is to pack a picnic lunch, and paddle the canoes from Taylors Falls down the river a few miles, ending up where shuttle bus takes us back to the car. It’s a lovely way to spend 4-5 hours on a hot and steamy June day off.

The heat here starts in June and doesn’t really let up until mid-September. While we have -20 in the deepest part of winter (Just for reference, that is cold enough to freeze the snot in your nose. Cold enough to vaporize a cup of hot water thrown in the air) , we reach nearly 100 at times in the summer. It’s a steamy heat due to all the water we have, so with heat index, it is over 100 at times. So, come August, another favorite family summertime tradition is to go up to the North Shore of Lake Superior. It allows us to escape the heat for a brief week. Not only is is cooler up there, but the scenery is breathtaking. Being that far north, you cannot see to the other side of the lake. It reminds this coastal girl of the ocean. It is my guaranteed once a year sanity break from being land bound. That far north, you sit on the slopes of the Iron Range. Tall pines, birch, elevation that produces rivers, streams and fun climbing trails all remind me of my beloved Central Oregon and the high desert around the Three Sisters Mountains. Staring out my window and looking at this:

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makes me pine for summer up north (Grand Marais) where we enjoy this:

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Sigh. When spring consists of snow, snow and more snow, it’s hard to envision and recall the warmth and green of summer. Right now, the forecast is for yet another couple days of cold, with the hope of warming by weekend. Sadly, all that warmth will bring is mud. Lots and lots of mucky, muddy, soggy ground that will result in lots of work to keep clean. Spring brings rain, which on the still frozen ground, results in flooding. Spring water and warmth, brings the mosquitoes, which are big enough to be semi-laughingly be referred to as the state bird. Spring brings the humidity. But at least with the arrival of spring, I know that summer is not far behind.

We had our first snowfall here mid-October. It’s now April 2. I won’t lie, my patience for winter to be over is waning. My fingers itch to be out in the garden. My body is restless to be in something other than turtlenecks and sweaters. My dog yearns to be taken for long walks in the farm fields. It’s a feel of expectation and anticipation. It’s a sense of impatience that grows stronger with each passing day. I know that once the thermometer hits 50, I will go from impatient toe tapping to frenzied activity, so I guess during this transition, I’ll have to settle for muddling through.

Cold Kicker Tonic, and Friendship

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Today, I am doing something new. I am highlighting someone else’s blog. (Photo comes from Keeper of the Home)

We have a lot of talented, creative, well-informed citizen ‘journalist-bloggers’ (you say potato, I say po-TAH-to, who is limit the definition of journalist nowadays!) out there on the internet who are sharing a incredible wealth of information, tips, tricks, resources and knowledge to what amounts now as ‘the world’. All the information that we used to have to go and dig for in the bowels of a library is at our fingertips, in the comfort of our homes. Heck, we can sit in our PJ’s or sweats and fill our minds with a cup of coffee at hand. For me personally, that has been a blessing. I’ve always had a sensitivity to the florescent lighting in those buildings and so I shun them like the plague.

Todays blog highlight is called “Keeper of the Home” and you can go here (**Or see below for the recipe**) to find the Cold Kicker Remedy I am referring to.

This recipe came from my ‘grocery store friend’. Back when I was blessed enough to live on the east side of the bay area (oh, I long for the weather and scenery there) and I met my friend Jamie. My girls were runts back then, 2&4, when we moved from Oregon to California. It was an awesome home in the suburbs of Concord. I had on my property a Meyers Lemon tree, a pomegranate and grapefruit tree. We lived on a cul-de-sac at the foot of beautiful hills (deemed mountains, here in the midwestern flatlands ), mesquite trees from which I’d collect the pods to smoke meat on the grill, incredible farmers markets that were chockfull of heirloom produce, and sigh…..the weather. As I sit here staring out at the never-ending white wasteland of Minnesota, knowing there is still yet another 2 full months of winter-like weather, I long for that more temperate climate and abundant varieties of produce.

Back to the story.

For those who have no experience of living on the West Coast, it is particularly appealing for its’ transient, mobile and flexible communities. People migrate up and down the coast for jobs and family. I was born in California, my family moved to Oregon when I was 6, but my relatives lived back in southern CA and also up in Washington State. We put a lot of miles on the cars, driving up and down the coast to visit relatives, friends and vacation. I grew up thinking nothing of a 16 hour drive to have Christmas with my cousins. In college, I had many friends from up and down the coastline whom we’d visit. I think you get the point: We are mobile. As such, there is a spontaneity and openness in people I’ve not found here in the midwest. When you meet someone, and if you like them, you make friends. You invite them in to your home. You connect, because you never know how long they may stay in your area.

That is how I met my friend Jamie in the grocery store. I was with my girls, one in the cart and one at my hip, feeling at that time overwhelmed by the simple task of grocery shopping with 2 littles. Don’t get me wrong, my girls were angels compared to some of the behavior kids get away with nowadays. But I’ve always had high expectations for good behavior from my kids and more so back then.  Roaming from aisle to aisle I kept passing a woman with 4 kids and 2 shopping carts. Her oldest, a boy, pushed one cart with the youngest a boy; her oldest daughter was at her side, while the 2nd daughter sat in the shopping cart seat. She was going through the aisle calmly and orderly, kids quiet, well-mannered and well-behaved. I stopped dead in my tracks and complimented her on what an inspiration I thought she was! (We mom’s really do need positive feedback to keep us trudging through the day!)

We chatted for a bit, then she moved on, and a I finished up my shopping. We were destined to become friends, because there she was right behind me in the check out line! We got to chatting more, and exchanged both emails and phone numbers. Over the course of the next 6-9 months, we chatted via email as her 4 kids all went consecutively through the infection, incubation and scabbing of chicken pox. Finally, about 7-9 months after meeting in the grocery, we got together. I remember seeing her and laughing to myself that my mental image of her had changed in the course of time!

We have remained friends since sharing recipes and our lives back and forth over the distance. She sent this recipe to me quite awhile back, but it was this winter season that I actually used this tonic. We have had a bad winter here in MN. Lots of people have been coming down with the flu, and all other sorts of buggy nasties. I, however, have been dosing myself with this natural tonic, and have remained illness free. I’ve felt a couple of times that initial grunge that precedes an illness, but with a daily dosing, have never come down with anything.

Homeopathic remedies do work. I know we live in a world that is blessed by anti-biotics, but those are abused by the medical profession and I worry about the over-prescribing of them. When it’s not a bacterial infection (which most aren’t) there is not need for antibiotics.  Seems to me, an ounce of prevention is well worth the investment if we are to prevent anti-biotic resistance from becoming an issue.

This tonic taken straight is not for the faint of heart. Personally, I’ve grown to love the taste. It reminds me of a wonderfully spiced artisan vinegar. You can use it in a vinaigrette if that is the only way you can get it in. For me, I put a couple tablespoons in a shot glass, down it, and follow it with water. For those who have acid reflux, this really does help. I know it’s counter intuitive, but it does help. Starting the day with something acid forces our normally acid system to stop producing acid. It helps balance your gut out.

Since I am in need of a fresh batch, this recipe is out and ready to share. This time I am contemplating adding Tumeric, for its’ anti-oxidant properties. Brew yourself up a quart and then let me know what you think.
See the link above to read the entire recipe.

COLD KICKER TONIC

  • 1/4 c. ginger root, freshly grated
  • 1/4 c. onion, freshly chopped
  • 1/4 c. fresh rosemary, chopped
  • 1/4 c. fresh sage leaves, chopped
  • 1/4 c. grated horseradish
  • 4 cloves of garlic (you can up it to 6, if you feel adventurous)
  • 2 Tbsp. ground cayenne pepper
  • organic apple cider vinegar to cover