tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1150297160203637742024-03-08T05:33:53.372-06:00Poultry & ProseStories from a free-range writer on a five-acre idea farmSusan Mariclehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776606889123545370noreply@blogger.comBlogger174125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-115029716020363774.post-58526685454754859882014-07-19T08:09:00.000-05:002014-07-19T21:30:34.124-05:00Ruminating in the Pasture<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;">From August 2009:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWv8AEdrlPI4O2mtKrrKoQpDs78NyUYGkKgL08TuWHVY3FSkNcsBM2sgiOFq8hfxMwA2TEryU_-R5ADSzzn18sJh46JeAQULDQLQnJJtTSfCE0MDCJnaqt3Li8hJ-v3bBfJ38_Pxsjx9I/s1600/chick.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWv8AEdrlPI4O2mtKrrKoQpDs78NyUYGkKgL08TuWHVY3FSkNcsBM2sgiOFq8hfxMwA2TEryU_-R5ADSzzn18sJh46JeAQULDQLQnJJtTSfCE0MDCJnaqt3Li8hJ-v3bBfJ38_Pxsjx9I/s1600/chick.JPG" height="116" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our 1950s Sears incubator.<br />
Our neighbor had better luck with it<br />
than we had.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;">Growth
is occurring despite the drought, and it’s encouraging. The barn swallow chicks
have left their nest and are flying in figure eights overhead. The young roosters
are crowing with the tentativeness of someone still learning how to operate the
sound equipment. Over in Duquette, our neighbor Dennis had 100% success in hatching
out chicken eggs using our 1950s Sears incubator.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I
was on vacation last week, if anyone wondered why I was in town so frequently.
Since vacation is about doing exactly what you want to do, no matter how
mundane the activity, I cleared the milkweeds from our back pasture. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I’ve been
feeling guilty since admitting that the pasture was lost to milkweeds: an
invasive plant that monarch butterflies love but is toxic to livestock. To give
up on the pasture was the same as giving up on any long-term goal I might have
in life. So with a week off from work and Wyatt away at camp, there was no time
like the present.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjuybACaRgrp5ZsuEyNH1whJ1yW9i191snlWe4t1u35VXMDoJnXG0vwj5r5Z_J1jFNYgcBPX9yoDZjWx99afFFWntp2W3lVsHyUMkjKNJ2LPtsNYEwVbtSNPKrS7N0sDaqqbc32z_cDuY/s1600/Molly.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjuybACaRgrp5ZsuEyNH1whJ1yW9i191snlWe4t1u35VXMDoJnXG0vwj5r5Z_J1jFNYgcBPX9yoDZjWx99afFFWntp2W3lVsHyUMkjKNJ2LPtsNYEwVbtSNPKrS7N0sDaqqbc32z_cDuY/s1600/Molly.JPG" height="180" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Molly, pre-milkweed days.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I
studied the two-acre parcel of overgrown pasture, wondering how and where I
should start. Wyatt has seen <a href="http://poultryandprose.blogspot.com/2010/09/lessons-in-trust-from-molly-goat.html" target="_blank">Molly</a>, our tiniest pygmy goat, jump straight up on
all fours so she could see over the weeds. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I started with damage control,
removing all plants in sight that had sprouted seed pods and were ready to
propagate. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Next came the milkweeds which had caterpillars on the leaves, the
caterpillars safely transplanted to canning jars which Mike had prepared. Next
up, the milkweeds with seed pods directly outside of the pasture, ready to send
in their unwelcome reinforcements.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Eventually,
my line of vision cleared so I could see milkweeds with seed pods in the center
of the pasture. I made my way toward them, pulling out smaller plants along the
way. </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">It was work that was deliberate, repetitive, and methodical—and thoroughly
rewarding. Feeling a whopper of a root race through the dirt and seeing the
pile of pulled weeds grow larger were tangible benchmarks of accomplishment. </span></blockquote>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;">My
friend <a href="http://www.ecrac.org/artists/david-spohn" target="_blank">David Spohn</a>, who is an artist and author of children’s books, has worked
many diverse jobs such as a pig farmer and a day laborer. One of those jobs
involved unloading a boxcar filled with lumber of random sizes and lengths. He
worked with two older men, who gloated over the fact that they got this college
kid to unload the entire car by himself. But Dave tells me that those days of
sorting and stacking resulted in the most satisfying series of illustrations he
had created to date.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
Spending the week removing milkweeds made me think of migrant workers who pick
produce for a living, and the idea that immigrants “do the jobs that Americans
won’t do.” I’m not sure if it’s true, but a lot of people think it is. Even
mainstream newscasters have repeated that statement as fact. I’d pick milkweeds
for a living. For $20 an hour, yes, but not for $2 an hour. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The
immigration question reminds me of a time back in the early 1960s when I wasn’t
much more than five years old. (I know, I’m really dating myself.) Alabama
governor and segregationist George Wallace was in the news. The word going around
was that Wallace would, using the vernacular of the time, send the coloreds
back to Africa. In our blue-collar suburban Detroit neighborhood, the black man
was the boogeyman. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I
remember a group of friends and I racing from door to door to spread the news: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Didja hear what George Wallace is gonna do?</i>
Why this was important to children who had never met a person of color, how the
people in question felt about the move, and how Wallace planned to implement
the move, none of this mattered. We just took the news and ran with it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">An
informed public is never a bad thing. The next time you hear an idea that you
question, including ideas from sources you trust, question it. Is that idea
true? How do you know it’s true? Can you give an example to prove it? </span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">By Saturday afternoon, I surveyed my work with satisfaction. The pasture was no
more than gray, dusty soil and patches of brownish-green stubble. But not one milkweed
could be found. With regular attention it will stay that way. Despite the sad
condition of the grass the goats had no trouble finding browse, and Molly could
keep her flockmates in sight without jumping. Inside the house, monarch
chrysalises hung from the lids inside two canning jars. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhznaAEEz48NLzli_HvaNpYm_qzCzneWr3u2fpiR6Wr9B7VpkuIcNnPYUHfJfAFm5X3Tgk8FzAEi-gAfTvgJ_7Mv62WME4fJ4jDQ-tK-dvdz8xtYbP6O_vFnrtTAvuwrfsX33vDKgrcSlM/s1600/RainbowBarnColor+1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhznaAEEz48NLzli_HvaNpYm_qzCzneWr3u2fpiR6Wr9B7VpkuIcNnPYUHfJfAFm5X3Tgk8FzAEi-gAfTvgJ_7Mv62WME4fJ4jDQ-tK-dvdz8xtYbP6O_vFnrtTAvuwrfsX33vDKgrcSlM/s1600/RainbowBarnColor+1.jpeg" height="320" width="225" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Pulling
weeds isn’t the kind of vacation activity that you can wow your coworkers with
on Monday morning. But accomplishing this seemingly hopeless task gave me hope
for greater goals and greener tomorrows. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><i>The original version of this post was published in the <a href="http://www.askovamerican.com/" target="_blank">Askov American</a> and appears here with their permission. </i></span></div>
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Susan Mariclehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776606889123545370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-115029716020363774.post-16614630425255567442013-12-02T15:38:00.003-06:002014-07-19T21:31:30.003-05:00The Poverty Blues: or, Why YourBlues Ain't Necessarily Like Mine<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOpV_xfU7LPx3n0Iack2ab1BWsKxg-VZdKfohIYkSFdK43cAN817s1LTcCW0d6RwGbXa_Xa7S56NS1CTVw2c5jn-7mz2WXPOdI4EmnfHh2Zk7T2L8tJZ4sWMkMhyYoAN1s1Ehr8jKk5ss/s1600/bluecrayons.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOpV_xfU7LPx3n0Iack2ab1BWsKxg-VZdKfohIYkSFdK43cAN817s1LTcCW0d6RwGbXa_Xa7S56NS1CTVw2c5jn-7mz2WXPOdI4EmnfHh2Zk7T2L8tJZ4sWMkMhyYoAN1s1Ehr8jKk5ss/s320/bluecrayons.jpeg" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image from www.vivaboo.com: Blue Wins Out As The<br />
Most Popular Crayon and Colored Pencil.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Open up a 120-crayon box of Crayolas – you know, the deluxe
kind with the built-in sharpener – and you’ll find over 40 shades of blue.
There’s Cornflower and Indigo and Midnight Blue and Navy Blue and Wild Blue
Yonder, and of course, just plain old Blue.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This analogy comes to mind after reading the responses to a
post by Linda Tirado, a/k/a <a href="https://twitter.com/KillerMartinis">KillerMartinis</a>. Unless you’ve been living under a
rock or have gone off the grid, Linda wrote a post in </span><a href="http://gawker.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Gawker</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
about </span><a href="http://killermartinis.kinja.com/why-i-make-terrible-decisions-or-poverty-thoughts-1450123558/1469687530/@maxread"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">what
it’s like to live at the poverty level.</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Why people make bad decisions, the
connection between poverty and mental health, the loss of ability to think long
term. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The post went absolutely viral, with the most surprised
person of all being the author. Readers wanted more. They asked how they could
help. After receiving offers of cash, Tirado set up a </span><a href="http://www.gofundme.com/59yrak"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">gofundme account</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> so she could take
care of needed surgery and expand her poverty thoughts into a book.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Many of the commenters have lauded her for having the guts
to speak up about a taboo topic. For giving voice to struggles they face daily.
And for her clear, Studs Terkel–style of writing. Others decried her as being a
fraud for setting up a gofundme account and having a <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=42108291&authType=NAME_SEARCH&authToken=tmB0&locale=en_US&srchid=1607859651386020240069&srchindex=1&srchtotal=14&trk=vsrp_people_res_name&trkInfo=VSRPsearchId%3A1607859651386020240069%2CVSRPtargetId%3A42108291%2CVSRPcmpt%3Aprimary">LinkedIn profile</a> and for
being an alumna of an illustrious private school.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A Reader’s Digest version of those comments:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">You had this planned all along.</span></i></li>
<li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">You wouldn’t be poor if you didn’t smoke cigarettes.</span></i></li>
<li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">You can’t be poor if you attended Cranbrook.</span></i></li>
<li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There are people who are poorer than you.</span></i></li>
<li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For someone who works and goes to school, you sure spend a
lot of time on the internet.</span></i></li>
<li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">You’re a fraud and a shyster (and words so foul I won’t
repeat them here).</span></i></li>
</ul>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The gist of many comments: anger because what Tirado called
poverty didn’t match the commenter’s definition of poverty. But there are as
many shades of poverty as there are shades of blue. To some, the definition of
poverty is settling for a $2,000 refrigerator instead of a $3,000 refrigerator.
To others, it means buying your refrigerator from Craigslist. To still others,
it means living in a refrigerator box.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It’s not easy to define
poverty and even harder to write about it -- to put yourself out there and to
face the judgmental comments you’ll get. But Linda Tirado has pulled it off,
starting a conversation that’s long past due. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hand-Mouth-Living-Bootstrap-America/dp/0399171983/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1404484736&sr=8-1&keywords=hand+to+mouth+linda+tirado" target="_blank">Her book</a>, which many believed would not materialize, is due for release this fall. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><i>Related Posts</i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://poultryandprose.blogspot.com/2012/02/hot-damn-i-have-health-insurance.html"><i>Hot Damn. I Have Health Insurance. </i></a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://poultryandprose.blogspot.com/2012/02/what-does-being-responsible-mean-anyway.html"><i>What Does Being "Responsible" Mean?</i></a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://poultryandprose.blogspot.com/2011/07/titanic-and-economy-we-sink-or-swim.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>Titanic and the Economy</i></span></a></span><br />
</span><!--EndFragment--></div>
Susan Mariclehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776606889123545370noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-115029716020363774.post-61285576440083959152013-10-29T20:17:00.000-05:002013-10-29T20:19:00.963-05:00The Haunted House and Mrs. Haines<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div style="font: 12.8px Georgia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Every neighborhood had a haunted house when I grew up. In order to be haunted, a house had to meet these requirements:</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.8px Georgia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font: 10.4px Georgia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It had to be a fair distance from you, whether "distance" meant across town or down the block. It had to be much larger or much smaller than the other houses on the block. It had to be shabbier than the other houses on the block. And the owner had to be more reclusive than the other owners on the block.</span></div>
<div style="font: 10.4px Georgia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font: 10.4px Georgia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In my neighborhood, a blue-collar suburb of Detroit, the haunted house was big and white with peeling paint and a blue shingled roof and a sagging gray porch. Kids dared each other to go up and ring the bell, then run away.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">People who managed to catch a glimpse of the owner said her name was Mrs. Haines. She was young and wore pedal pushers and had long strawberry blonde hair. Thinking back, she was quite lovely. The other moms on the block were nice people, but "willowy free spirit" doesn't describe any of them. It did Mrs. Haines.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I never did see a Mr. Haines. Maybe he worked nights. Maybe Mrs. Haines was a widow or divorcée. In the early 1960s both were rare in our neighborhood. It was another reason why we saw her as mysterious.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">There aren't any haunted houses today. Kids have it drummed into them not to ring strangers' doorbells and to respect other people. No argument, both are good things. But I have to wonder how much imagination is stifled in the process. Kids can read about haunted houses in </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Goosebumps</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. Or go to Halloween extravaganzas at amusement parks, the ticket prices scaring the bejabbers out of their parents. But prepaid, prefabricated fright isn't as powerful as the fright that children conjure in their own imagination.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Today I would probably be the Mrs. Haines if I lived on a city block. House smaller than others, no shortage of things to be fixed, making excursions to town only rarely.</span><br />
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<div style="font: 10.4px Georgia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I don't know the circumstances of Mrs. Haines's life, but she still haunts me today. I hope the silly behavior of neighborhood children didn't haunt her.</span></div>
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Susan Mariclehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776606889123545370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-115029716020363774.post-33449201367037424582013-04-14T18:59:00.000-05:002013-12-03T20:23:09.829-06:00Frugal Foodies Will Favor This Frosty Cake<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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This weekend I had a chance to try out a cake I’d wanted to
try for a long time. A Frosty Snowberry Cake, from a 1950s-era Pillsbury
Bake-Off book. The “snowberries” are actually cubes of jellied cranberry sauce
that are folded into the batter. The ingredients were the most basic of
staples: flour, sugar, egg whites, shortening, and baking powder. By a happy
coincidence, I even had the ingredients that I don’t have every day: light corn
syrup and cream of tartar for the boiled frosting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vintage kitchen implements that have gone unused in the time
we’ve been here were finally pressed into service. A glass double boiler. Cake
pans with metal slider releases.</div>
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Cakes seemed healthier in the 1950s than they are today. No
pudding in the mix. No preservatives to give the cake the longevity of Twinkies.
My son Wyatt said the cake was “chewy.” I think he meant “bready.” The cake
didn’t quite look like the picture shown here, as cakes that come out of our $99
oven tend to look like the Metrodome after it collapsed. However, it scored
major points for satisfaction. The cranberry sauce gave the cake the taste and
texture of a jelly roll. I didn’t have food coloring to tint the frosting pink,
so I added a pinch of raspberry Jell-O instead. It did the job just fine. </div>
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Here’s the recipe for <a href="http://www.food.com/recipe/frosty-snow-berry-cake-388560">Frosty
Snow-berry Cake</a>, which was the Senior Winner in the 1953 Pillsbury
Bake-Off. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mrs. Marguerite Marks of
Camden, New Jersey did herself proud!</div>
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<b>Related Posts</b><br />
<a href="http://www.poultryandprose.blogspot.com/2011/07/turn-bargain-berries-into-drinkable.html" target="_blank">Turn Bargain Berries Into Drinkable Berries</a><br />
<a href="http://www.poultryandprose.blogspot.com/2011/03/ice-station-zucchini.html" target="_blank">Ice Station Zucchini</a><br />
<a href="http://www.poultryandprose.blogspot.com/2011/03/ford-housewives-first-frugalistas.html" target="_blank">The Ford Housewives: The First Frugalistas</a></div>
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Susan Mariclehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776606889123545370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-115029716020363774.post-34252061396971360882013-03-01T06:32:00.000-06:002013-04-15T08:54:11.074-05:00The Next Step for Poultry & Prose<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Anyone who has regularly followed this blog has already
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I will no longer be writing Poultry & Prose.</div>
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I now live on 15 acres and the poultry are no more. So the
title “Poultry & Prose, Stories from a free-range writer on a five-acre
idea farm,” no longer fits.</div>
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Add to that, I didn’t renew my custom domain and have been
unable to preview anything in Blogger. Not to mention I feel like I need a
shower after seeing the names of Russian and Ukrainian porno sites that have
taken over my stats. </div>
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During a Sunday afternoon when an electrical repair left us
without power for three hours, I turned on my battery-powered Macbook and went
through the contents of my<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Blog
Stuff” folder. Duplicate images and beginnings of posts that went nowhere, I
trashed. But in amidst the content were a few posts that I considered to be
really good, three months or even three years later. </div>
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Those, I will be posting as my last entries on Poultry &
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After that, until I decide whether or not to start a new
blog, I will be guest posting wherever bloggers would welcome my opinion on
politics or the economy or whatever else comes to mind.</div>
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So, I hope you enjoy these last few posts. Since I can’t
preview, please forgive any typos that may appear in the copy. And thank you,
dear readers, for reading!</div>
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Susan Mariclehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776606889123545370noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-115029716020363774.post-4752048074254684972012-07-16T13:32:00.000-05:002013-12-03T19:33:21.512-06:00MinnesotaCare: a Model for Obamacare?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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As an advocate of single-payer health coverage, I like
<a href="http://www.dhs.state.mn.us/main/idcplg?IdcService=GET_DYNAMIC_CONVERSION&RevisionSelectionMethod=LatestReleased&dDocName=id_006255" target="_blank">MinnesotaCare</a>. It has a few glitches, but once they’re identified and fixed the
program could be the model for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, otherwise
known as Obamacare. (“Obamacare” is a term I’ve come to embrace. A
one-of-a-kind program shouldn’t be known by an acronym, ACA, that is shared by
millions of other organizations.)</div>
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After being on MinnesotaCare for several months, these are
the benefits and challenges I’ve identified:</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The benefits<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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• <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">MinnesotaCare
is single payer. </i>One insurance provider covers medical, vision, and dental
claims. I’m not crazy about the idea of a health insurance exchange, a central
concept of Obamacare. Buying health insurance isn’t the same as window-shopping
at the Mall of America for a flirty party dress and pair of peep-toe pumps.
Shopping for health insurance isn’t fun – it’s tedious and frustrating. </div>
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• <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Premium payments are
based on a sliding scale.</i> No matter how much money you make, you feel you
pay too much for health insurance. In the long journey to create Obamacare,
details came into focus as policymakers drilled down. Through focus groups and
listening sessions, they discovered that $400 a month for health insurance was
beyond the reach of many American families. There is no short-form answer for
determining MinnesotaCare premiums, as you can see from <a href="http://www.dhs.state.mn.us/main/idcplg?IdcService=GET_DYNAMIC_CONVERSION&RevisionSelectionMethod=LatestReleased&dDocName=id_052537">this
schedule</a>. But you can still qualify with an annual income as high as
$52,512 – which isn’t that much when you think about it. </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The opportunities<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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• <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sweeten the
reimbursement rates. </i>Health insurance is useless if medical providers won’t
accept it. The MinnesotaCare provider I chose is <a href="http://www.mnscha.org/">South Country Health Alliance</a>. While I’ve had
no problem using South Country for medical, prescription and vision claims, I
have yet to find a dentist in southeast Minnesota who accepts it. (I’m on a
couple of waiting lists that stretch several weeks out.) I don’t know if nonparticipation
is because of South Country in specific or MinnesotaCare in general. If
providers don’t accept Obamacare because of what it is (or who created it), opponents
will say, “See, it doesn’t work.” We need to find a way to make sure it does
work.</div>
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• <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Make it easier
for customers (and providers) to ask questions. </i>When you call the
MinnesotaCare information line, you get a recording suggesting that you call on
Thursday or Friday because of the high volume of calls. If you have a question
on Monday, and need to schedule an appointment now to avoid a long waiting
list, you don’t want to wait until Thursday or Friday. And the backlog I’m
talking about is just for MinnesotaCare. Can you imagine the questions people
will have about Obamacare coverage? Even if there’s an email address where you
can leave your question and a representative will get back to you, you feel
that you’ve done <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">something</i>. </div>
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• <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Remove income
as an eligibility requirement</i>. <a href="http://www.poultryandprose.com/2012/02/hot-damn-i-have-health-insurance.html">Awhile
back I wrote about</a> how I was too affluent as a Pine County resident to
qualify for MinnesotaCare, but became eligible when I moved to Dodge County.
Can you imagine if a similar yardstick were used for public school eligibility?
“I’m sorry, but you’re too smart to qualify”? Public school is there for all
who wish to use it, regardless of means level. You’re not forced to use public
schools. You’re mandated to use <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">a</i>
school, but it doesn’t have to be a public one. If you’d rather have your kids attend
a private school, go forth and God love you. </div>
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MinnesotaCare isn’t Cadillac coverage care, as I discovered <a href="http://www.poultryandprose.com/2012/04/youre-old-lady-now-or-drawing-line-on.html">when
I bought my latest pair of glasses</a>. Still, less-than-Cadillac coverage is
fine if you didn’t have a car in the first place. As President Obama has frequently said, if you’re happy with your private insurance coverage, you can
keep it. But if you need insurance and can’t get it, you have an outlet. And
Minnesota’s very own MinnesotaCare could be the model for it.</div>
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<b>Related Posts</b></div>
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<a href="http://poultryandprose.blogspot.com/2012/02/hot-damn-i-have-health-insurance.html" target="_blank">Hot Damn. I Have Health Insurance</a></div>
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<a href="http://poultryandprose.blogspot.com/2012/04/youre-old-lady-now-or-drawing-line-on.html" target="_blank">You’re an Old Lady Now: or, Drawing the Line on Bifocals</a><br />
<a href="http://poultryandprose.blogspot.com/2012/02/give-up-my-pharmacist-never.html" target="_blank">Give Up My Pharmacist? Never!</a><br />
<a href="http://poultryandprose.blogspot.com/2011/09/when-health-insurance-is-no-health.html" target="_blank">When Health Insurance Is No Health Insurance</a></div>
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Susan Mariclehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776606889123545370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-115029716020363774.post-694728579752261472012-07-10T09:44:00.000-05:002013-12-03T19:59:57.321-06:00When Is a Pond Not a Pond?When It's a Gravel Pit<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
When you hear the words "gravel pit," chances are you think of Fred Flintstone operating a brontosaurus bulldozer and excavating boulders from a dry, dusty quarry. That's what I think of, anyway.<br />
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So people probably wonder why I call the pond near our house a gravel pit. That's what Mike and his parents call it. So that's what I call it.<br />
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<b>The Story of the Gravel Pit</b><br />
The pond started out as a Flintstone-like gravel pit. In the 1980s, contractors who were rebuilding State Highway 56 asked residents if they'd be willing to sell fill in order to provide a base for the road. Mike's parents, who lived on 40 acres at the time, obliged. Gravel was dug out from a five-acre area. The excavation went below the water table, creating a spring-fed gravel pit.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSLNqcES6NFHgRe1dKer_uyGLG_Jt1YAyKWq_q_LIW1xF6BM3RYPS6yRhNGqqFEuQU3XyTFlFftQycRR6zk_9U4VRNF1og51Pwf667CNibN5nLKP9Pve9eUMWVYth1ib6bJVtgv8efVo8/s1600/SpringFedGravelPit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSLNqcES6NFHgRe1dKer_uyGLG_Jt1YAyKWq_q_LIW1xF6BM3RYPS6yRhNGqqFEuQU3XyTFlFftQycRR6zk_9U4VRNF1og51Pwf667CNibN5nLKP9Pve9eUMWVYth1ib6bJVtgv8efVo8/s400/SpringFedGravelPit.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The spring-fed gravel pit near our house.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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If you go wading in the water off the main beach, you'll follow a long, long slope where the water gradually gets knee high, then chest high, then shoulder high. That's the driveway where the trucks entered the pit to collect gravel and sand. But at any moment, the water depth can plunge to 15 feet. One old-school fisherman says some parts of the gravel pit are 65 feet deep. But the jury is still out on that one.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh99fucQZI2Z2YIL3N1NaZTRRQuJ6QwNWlwCgWu9HVWp4KfgqSrx-VtH9ZP3d2hty9ZQFmOq8eS-_v2TA3BbAA-rwHgZ2LEHNUfkuJg-7iKT67zCKw35lCgkAl54R2TFu3gDhJhRWvW7xs/s1600/DogOnBluff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh99fucQZI2Z2YIL3N1NaZTRRQuJ6QwNWlwCgWu9HVWp4KfgqSrx-VtH9ZP3d2hty9ZQFmOq8eS-_v2TA3BbAA-rwHgZ2LEHNUfkuJg-7iKT67zCKw35lCgkAl54R2TFu3gDhJhRWvW7xs/s320/DogOnBluff.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If Jerry can make it to the top <br />
of the bluff, he's in good shape.</td></tr>
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The topsoil that was taken off the sand and gravel was bulldozed and bermed into a 25-foot-high bluff. It provides a "Rocky"-type workout for my dog Jerry. If he can make it all the way up to the top, he's in good shape. Lately he's able to make it up only halfway, as he's been out of commission for a couple of weeks. He stepped on a piece of glass on a secluded trail at the pit and cut an artery in his foot. So I confine his romps to the main beach.<br />
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<b>The Gravel Pit Changes Owners</b><br />
Locals still refer to the gravel pit as "Maricles' Pond," even though the land changed hands some 30 years ago. Mike's parents sold 25 acres of their land to the DNR for $9,000 -- a decent price back in the day. The DNR was interested in turning the land into a WMA, or <a href="http://www.blogger.com/WMA%20link:%20http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/wmas/description.html" target="_blank">Wildlife Management Area</a>, a place to preserve wildlife and provide public access to fishing and hunting. Mike's parents sold because the gravel pit had become a headache: loud parties, drug deals, dangerous characters. Also, the DNR pointed out that Mike's parents would be liable for any injuries.<br />
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And when you mix beer and bodies of water, an accident is waiting happen.<br />
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Shortly after the sale a guy backed his pickup to the water's edge, dove off the truck bed into the water, and hit his head on a rock. He was temporarily paralyzed. Mike's parents would have been on the hook had they still owned the land.<br />
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<b>The Gravel Pit Gets Trashed</b><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq5W9GJSGRKtz-1-4vdTS2JSx2dpGxJ8a2dWECCr6C7kCdZ7ednjPPTIINSI02RR6cHS29GkAtRM1mjshGbLRLgtU2NiBhBdG4xDcF7jjW1QR-hY8GxRr8O9z9sNkTwHqe1bc1765h12U/s1600/DSC01112.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq5W9GJSGRKtz-1-4vdTS2JSx2dpGxJ8a2dWECCr6C7kCdZ7ednjPPTIINSI02RR6cHS29GkAtRM1mjshGbLRLgtU2NiBhBdG4xDcF7jjW1QR-hY8GxRr8O9z9sNkTwHqe1bc1765h12U/s320/DSC01112.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Members of Triton High School E.A.R.T.H.:<br />
Environmental Awareness and Responsibility at Triton High.<br />
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Broken glass and empty cans aren't the only things partiers leave behind. Over the years, people have used the WMA as an unceremonious dumping ground for flat-screen TVs and computer monitors. In June, students from Triton High School's <a href="http://www.triton.k12.mn.us/se3bin/clientgenie.cgi?schoolname=school243&statusFlag=goGenie&geniesite=348" target="_blank">E.A.R.T.H. Patrol </a> collected 12 bags of trash and a truckload of old electronics. On a recent hot dry day, a woman who brought her dog for a swim noticed the fire pit was smoldering. She doused the fire pit, then disposed of the bag of trash I had picked up. So there is hope.<br />
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<b>Maricles' Pond Is Minnesota's Pond</b><br />
The 25 acres of land no longer belongs to our family, but technically it does. It belongs to all Minnesotans. And we all have an obligation to preserve it. If I ever win the lottery, I'll buy back the land from the DNR. Until then, when I drive on State Highway 56, I'm satisfied knowing that our gravel is providing the foundation.<br />
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<b>Related Posts</b><br />
<a href="http://www.poultryandprose.blogspot.com/2012/05/triton-teens-take-out-trash.html" target="_blank">Triton Teens Take Out Trash</a><br />
<a href="http://www.poultryandprose.blogspot.com/2011/10/dont-bogart-that-wma-dude.html" target="_blank">Don't Bogart that WMA, Dude</a>!<br />
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Susan Mariclehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776606889123545370noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-115029716020363774.post-28464685139428524862012-06-29T17:02:00.002-05:002012-06-29T17:02:58.285-05:00The Anorexic Economy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Everyone’s heard about how Marilyn Monroe’s size 14 of the
1950s would be considered plus size today. But you don’t have to go back that
far. The perfect sizes of the 1980s and 90s are today’s portly sizes. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8NaOIl3hUcte6UU8UwHBQh8KZa3gV0tMh6nZf82SYO_p-28DBI0rUYl8t0zrM7fvF5P0J3KvGUUOBGAWOLSW1QbjCSeGcpluCdr4w-tezSuJxHsLDTMpSRg0AHvlAsVABhKezH5SiOCc/s1600/CourtneyNow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_zGR3XBIWndJjjvALL94UV1gKPEMwfWXOztDcKSk5e_Caj86NT5mJu30eGF2GaffUnGK0cewz0nOnMtYKU1LEMaKwOCqX-9r1EMJdARd-_-SpxhGgmaQtC0dWYc3v4_Y6TThOZnn6Xno/s1600/CourtneyThen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Look at actress Courtney Thorne-Smith, today (left) and from the 1980s (right). Today she's a spokesperson for the Atkins weight loss plan. In the 1980s she played a Laker Girl named Kimberly on </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">L.A. Law. </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yesterday's chipmunk cheeks are today's chubby cheeks. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I drive my son Wyatt around, the car radio is tuned to
the local pop music station. At one time, weight-loss products were advertised
twice a year: after Christmas and before the beach season. Now, they’re
advertised 365 days a year. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the commercials made me do a double take.
The announcer talked about how she was once a size nine. After taking this
particular fat-burning protein powder, she is now a size three. <i>Size three. </i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The last time I tried to lose weight, size nine was my </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">target</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> size. And now it’s a plus size? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoeqLAn2hzTd0YutU0vL-NX8lRR6l81oMoCFPhGmZ4gwIdnKHnLpSlCk_tRh8yGxFWddXBz6W8_kRI0iGAL0EajOTDBzsSVlTQXwzDm6pflXxJDRAkTypZp2elfugINLr_cngHJIJfQME/s1600/Marilyn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc_QljZoQrc2HjxqcsbUrIY91jHzEy8vaYAkKornvVFR-WCD74c6VImFA2CxGKfR9r-CBpaSXRcI_B6r_nnKxb8vPpuzgxjuvHMPE_x8SITVaUjiEsli409unYFJkxHmNSO0l8NC1p6x0/s1600/Adele.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc_QljZoQrc2HjxqcsbUrIY91jHzEy8vaYAkKornvVFR-WCD74c6VImFA2CxGKfR9r-CBpaSXRcI_B6r_nnKxb8vPpuzgxjuvHMPE_x8SITVaUjiEsli409unYFJkxHmNSO0l8NC1p6x0/s1600/Adele.jpeg" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can’t help but compare how the ideal body size and the
ideal workforce size are both shrinking. Absolutely, shedding pounds can be
good to a point. You feel better, you’re healthier, and you can accomplish more
because you have more energy. But when you’ve shrunk so much that you start
shedding muscle and your body can no longer function the way it should, it’s past
time to rethink your plan. Ask anyone in the thinned workforce who’s trying to
do the jobs of three or four people. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Food for thought as our anorexic, schizophrenic economy
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i><b>Image sources:</b> Courtney Thorne-Smith: </i></span><a href="http://sitcomsonline.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>sitcomsonline.com</i></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i> and </i></span><a href="http://article.wn.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>article.wn.com</i></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>. Marilyn Monroe: </i></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://makems.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>makems.com</i></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>. Adele: </i></span></span><a href="http://last.fm/music/Adele"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>last.fm/music/Adele</i></span></a></div>
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</div>Susan Mariclehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776606889123545370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-115029716020363774.post-7439409087817696552012-06-12T21:43:00.000-05:002013-12-03T20:01:17.178-06:00God's Eye Is on the Sparrow -- and Also the Killdeer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 19px;">My husband Mike has a penchant for bringing home orphaned or <a href="http://www.poultryandprose.com/2011/04/jerrys-kids.html" target="_blank">abandoned animals</a>. When he and my son Wyatt came in with a closed cardboard box, and Wyatt asked, "Guess what's inside?," I couldn't.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Inside the box was a baby <a href="http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/killdeer/id" target="_blank">killdeer</a>. Mike explained he and Wyatt saw the chick standing alone on the road after a hawk had swooped through. The parents weren't around so Wyatt picked it up. "Let's call him Larry," Wyatt suggested.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"Why Larry?," I asked.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;">"Larry Bird," my basketball enthusiast son explained.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;">Killdeer are plentiful here in southeast Minnesota. Mike was familiar with the breed. They wouldn't eat grain, but instead needed live insects or worms. Mike turned on the garden hose and ran water into the parched soil. No worms appeared. And the bird refused to eat the insects Mike caught for him. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;">"You probably should have left him on the road," I said.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;">"I know. But I'm an old softie," Mike admitted. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 19px;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 19px;">He persuaded Larry to swallow a few mouthfuls of water. Then Mike prepared a hot water bottle for Larry's box. The bird spent the night in my studio, away from curious cats.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The next day we contacted <a href="http://www.co.olmsted.mn.us/pw/parks/oxbowpark/Pages/AboutOxbowPark.aspx" target="_blank">Oxbow Park</a> in Olmsted County, a wildlife manager at <a href="http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/rice_lake/index.html" target="_blank">Rice Lake State Park</a>, and a person with the <a href="http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/heritage/factsheets/wildlife-rochester.html" target="_blank">Rochester DNR</a>. They all suggested the same thing: try to get a killdeer family to adopt the chick. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Mike and I got into his truck and slowly drove around. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 19px;">After awhile we found a spot where a couple of killdeer circled. Mike took Larry and placed him on the ground, as killdeer spend most of their time there. We drove down the road a ways so we could watch if the adult killdeer accepted him. They didn't.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;">"I don't know if Larry could keep up if someone did adopt him," Mike said.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;">We went back to the cornfield to retrieve Larry. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 19px;">I
held the bird in my cupped hands to warm him. Protruding bones felt like bumps all over his body. He was as fragile as an empty walnut shell. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“I
don’t think he’s going to make it,” I said, as Mike continued driving.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We
passed a barn, a cornfield, and a farmhouse with a fundamentalist warning
posted above the mailbox. I read the sign. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“Jesus
is coming. Are you ready?,” I asked Larry.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“His
eye is on the sparrow. But not on the killdeer,” Mike remarked.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We
circled the block. Usually, killdeer mates dart back and forth anywhere you
care to look. Today, none could be found. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Mike
and I thought about the options for Larry. A swift bullet through the heart? A
quick twist of the neck? We didn't have the heart for any of them. "We'll probably end up putting him through college," I said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Back at home, we mixed up a batch of sugar water. Mike held Larry’s beak to the cup and he drank several mouthfuls. Larry’s
lethargy gave way to a sugar high. Later in the day, Mike figured out how to
feed him worms. He pureed them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“In
my blender?,” I asked warily.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“No,
I used a small canning jar. The blender blades fit in the bottom of the jar.” I
didn’t ask any more questions after that.<br /> </span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Despite my initial trepidation, I looked forward to sharing stories about Larry as he grew and feathered out.
Releasing him in a few weeks when he could survive on his own. Singing “Born Free” as
he circled the skies and came back to visit us.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The
next morning was 10 degrees cooler than the previous morning. Mike opened the
box. “Larry’s dead,” he said. We were both silent. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“At
least I tried. I didn’t just leave him there. He got an extra day,” Mike said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">He got an extra day, all
right. An extra day of safety and comfort, because an old softie stopped on the
road and couldn’t pass by. And for Mike and me, our biggest worry for a few hours wasn't money -- but keeping a chick alive.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 19px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 19px;">Maybe God’s eye was on the killdeer, after all. </span></div>
Susan Mariclehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776606889123545370noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-115029716020363774.post-77066544054289805582012-05-24T07:27:00.000-05:002013-12-03T20:02:02.242-06:00Triton Teens Take Out Trash<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Students from Triton High School came out yesterday to clean up the littered DNR land near our house. The students are members of E.A.R.T.H, or Environmental Awareness and Responsibility at Triton High. E.A.R.T.H. adviser Allison Horejsi said the land cleanup was a way to branch out beyond the school and get involved in the community. The students cleared out bottles, cans, computer monitors, and flat-screen TVs. Here's what the fire pit at the gravel pit looked like, before and after the E.A.R.T.H. cleanup:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxcTMiz5MQsuJsFHI2Gg6bHZFajLfK0aelQeZ_UylYQC1Ckg6VeidiDI0-sc8ZVWRiAQIOWhkvjH-SUm7f4VcX1D6iczzPJKkVbNEsdupuT9ikNTwxX8UCneEe3lLUQD-eqSegC8HBXdE/s1600/WMA_Before.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxcTMiz5MQsuJsFHI2Gg6bHZFajLfK0aelQeZ_UylYQC1Ckg6VeidiDI0-sc8ZVWRiAQIOWhkvjH-SUm7f4VcX1D6iczzPJKkVbNEsdupuT9ikNTwxX8UCneEe3lLUQD-eqSegC8HBXdE/s320/WMA_Before.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiynJ4vPB1f0uHSWt5k32pSaSKLvvIbJFP6Snh6NCwrD-z-r-LrRGvj5rLgy5_QAvqZYQ5LIRJfs4TvY95ampm9v6LeEJ1LeT0eHc55dxmd0RIiV1HlmXP-GpWMZQCirc0yFzgDKcGURso/s1600/E.A.R.T.H.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2M4g0HgHruPfn9gt8Xhz70kGutgWFxxXZL-ql7sZG-CBSnBfNxsC4zFq5X-G2CID8But5JRIdjYhHV3t8TBfv9WleRxg2Whu3eYif7yeUzCrA1OWQEgLhf4v_BuJBoDfZTbWHBuIYGUs/s1600/WMA_After.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2M4g0HgHruPfn9gt8Xhz70kGutgWFxxXZL-ql7sZG-CBSnBfNxsC4zFq5X-G2CID8But5JRIdjYhHV3t8TBfv9WleRxg2Whu3eYif7yeUzCrA1OWQEgLhf4v_BuJBoDfZTbWHBuIYGUs/s320/WMA_After.jpg" width="240" /></a><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiynJ4vPB1f0uHSWt5k32pSaSKLvvIbJFP6Snh6NCwrD-z-r-LrRGvj5rLgy5_QAvqZYQ5LIRJfs4TvY95ampm9v6LeEJ1LeT0eHc55dxmd0RIiV1HlmXP-GpWMZQCirc0yFzgDKcGURso/s400/E.A.R.T.H.JPG" width="400" /><br />
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Triton High School is located in Dodge Center and serves the three southeast Minnesota communities of Claremont, Dodge Center, and West Concord. Thank you to Ellery, Mikayla, Thor, Jacob, Amanda, Emily, Devin, Bradley, Gabby, Matthew, Eliseo, and Ms. Horejsi. Also thank you to Rochester stations KTTC and KAAL for covering the cleanup! <a href="http://kaaltv.com/article/stories/S2630747.shtml?cat=10151">Watch the KAAL video here.</a> </div>
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<b>Related Posts:</b></div>
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<a href="http://www.poultryandprose.blogspot.com/2011/10/dont-bogart-that-wma-dude.html" target="_blank">Don't Bogart That WMA, Dude!</a></div>
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Susan Mariclehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776606889123545370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-115029716020363774.post-70117045905558386632012-05-11T09:48:00.000-05:002013-12-03T20:03:03.231-06:00The Little Post Office thatRoared: and Was Heard<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-sUG4qyBONjFO6YdZ7iNLgBr149Xj-3FAHb0VBiCk3IEZKuBysh28epJQPW-qpqWto9Y6PYwgsVPF0Q2tecGErBmXt5ZIsuVpuOwy6iyYfbDny3TgmlByBWvB-GaeAOI4SV-4djCkCGM/s1600/DSC00723.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-sUG4qyBONjFO6YdZ7iNLgBr149Xj-3FAHb0VBiCk3IEZKuBysh28epJQPW-qpqWto9Y6PYwgsVPF0Q2tecGErBmXt5ZIsuVpuOwy6iyYfbDny3TgmlByBWvB-GaeAOI4SV-4djCkCGM/s320/DSC00723.JPG" width="320" /></a><b><i>Author's note:</i></b><i> This post has been corrected to read that the Bruno post office is not closing, but is staying open with decreased hours. I apologize for the error. </i><br />
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It isn't every day that the town of Kerrick, Minnesota is mentioned on National Public Radio. <a href="http://www.npr.org/2012/05/10/152445450/small-post-offices-spared-by-postal-service">But there it was in the news</a>, the east-central Minnesota town of sixty-plus residents. Yesterday the Postmaster General reversed his decision about closing rural post offices. And small towns like Kerrick and Bruno are celebrating.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVAB8WQlDRgMZ4Cd8Mm7oIsWXy2exySrosBLdJTQMzgOKjquJpwMvYT_FfF4qqGVgcwtWhKAaovZ5Vb5btF9rmVo8JPKjZh6m_ML2Zqt-QU0V2eIfaM4VM9MtRKk5-fPT5V1vRASjwZpE/s1600/DSC00735.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVAB8WQlDRgMZ4Cd8Mm7oIsWXy2exySrosBLdJTQMzgOKjquJpwMvYT_FfF4qqGVgcwtWhKAaovZ5Vb5btF9rmVo8JPKjZh6m_ML2Zqt-QU0V2eIfaM4VM9MtRKk5-fPT5V1vRASjwZpE/s200/DSC00735.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
The victory isn't a complete one. The Bruno and Kerrick post offices will stay open for four hours instead of the hoped-for six. But they will still be a wellness checkpoint for seniors who gather there every morning.<br />
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The preservation of rural post offices is a classic David-and-Goliath story. If little towns like Kerrick and Bruno can make the Postmaster General reverse a decision, no obstacle is too big or no opponent too formidable.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhPtVImC7pq7zwBrEeqEI_CRGjHgCWt2LIJyofp_sWAO4x9w0f4vIOa_IQ3oV9INoWMTxFP-U4bXfT6Nq3rzogqFlfZQHvKEQUrrYhZPyTzNJePlk4vV98C9gmUFGbpuBjkxE7MNTUGoo/s1600/DSC00730.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhPtVImC7pq7zwBrEeqEI_CRGjHgCWt2LIJyofp_sWAO4x9w0f4vIOa_IQ3oV9INoWMTxFP-U4bXfT6Nq3rzogqFlfZQHvKEQUrrYhZPyTzNJePlk4vV98C9gmUFGbpuBjkxE7MNTUGoo/s320/DSC00730.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Terri Stadin, Kerrick's "Post Officer-in-Charge."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
People say they value things like small-town living, tight-knit communities, and the ability for older adults to live at home rather than nursing facilities. Keeping rural post offices open accomplishes all three, at a cost of one percent of the post office budget, according to Debra Stadin, who organized a petition drive to save the Kerrick post office.<br />
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To generate revenue, perhaps the post office could partner with a company like Studio 56 to create tabletop collectibles of rural post offices. I can picture the Kerrick post office displayed on a mantel.<br />
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<a href="http://www.npr.org/2012/05/10/152445450/small-post-offices-spared-by-postal-service">Listen to the NPR story here</a>. Follow the blog <a href="http://whitepines.blogspot.com/">sand creek almanac</a> by Deb Sewell of Bruno for stories of the good life in east central Minnesota -- made even better by the preservation of rural post offices.<br />
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<b>Related Posts</b><br />
<a href="http://www.poultryandprose.blogspot.com/2011/07/address-unknown-small-town-post-office.html" target="_blank">The Small-Town Post Office: Address Unknown?</a><br />
<a href="http://www.poultryandprose.blogspot.com/2011/11/little-post-office-that-roared.html" target="_blank">The Little Post Office That Roared</a><br />
<a href="http://www.poultryandprose.blogspot.com/2011/07/angel-in-us-post-office.html" target="_blank">An Angel in the U.S. Post Office</a><br />
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Susan Mariclehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776606889123545370noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-115029716020363774.post-86136113573449967682012-05-10T08:44:00.000-05:002012-05-11T09:50:20.686-05:00Here’s a Way for the Vikings to Give Back<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I work as a support person for adults who have developmental
disabilities. There’s one guy whose bedroom is basically a shrine to the
Minnesota Vikings: pennants, purple and gold bedspread and pillows, a Minnesota
Vikings blanket. During my training the facilitator said that many residents, or
consumers as they’re called, are huge Vikings fans.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As amendments are traded back and forth in order to get the
Vikings their new stadium, I’d like to propose one.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Public service for the Vikings. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Have them work with consumers who have developmental
disabilities. Visit a group home, either a public or private residence. Hold an
autograph session at the new stadium. Have a day when adults or children with
developmental disabilities can watch the game for a reduced price.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of my responsibilities as a DSP, or Direct Support
Professional, is to advocate for consumers when they’re out in the community:
making sure they get the respect and service that any other person gets. During my training the facilitator shared a story about an event that happened a few years ago. A
Minnesota Vikings star (the name escapes me) had an autograph session at the
Mall of America, and a DSP brought a consumer to get an autograph. They waited
in the long line. When it was their turn, the consumer was thoroughly excited
to meet his idol.</span></div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He doesn’t need an
autograph. He can’t even read, </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the Viking star said.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The DSP swiftly, firmly, and politely informed the Viking that his assumption was disrespectful. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I hope I can be equally
effective advocate for developmentally disabled individuals. And I hope the
Vikings consider giving back to an audience that unconditionally wants them to
stay.</span>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>These opinions are my own and are not intended to speak for anyone else.</i></span></div>Susan Mariclehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776606889123545370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-115029716020363774.post-64496567907668455002012-04-17T07:27:00.001-05:002012-04-17T07:27:59.827-05:00You're an Old Lady Now: Or, Drawing the Line on Bifocals<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3_fl9NgrVtkG90q7DP257j23tuvJxfCcJcPmaouuZ_m6ShX87-Oz6QK7M9Esm4aGJ2i2Z3EjbmeL93p0JUlo7vG6mZzEseioHk9Eh2dGpjWW_640z14mASIV3H6_VsOAVn5WgOA8PVuM/s1600/angry_old_lady_with_cane%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3_fl9NgrVtkG90q7DP257j23tuvJxfCcJcPmaouuZ_m6ShX87-Oz6QK7M9Esm4aGJ2i2Z3EjbmeL93p0JUlo7vG6mZzEseioHk9Eh2dGpjWW_640z14mASIV3H6_VsOAVn5WgOA8PVuM/s200/angry_old_lady_with_cane%5B1%5D.jpg" width="190" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I found this image on Doris the Great's<br />
delightful blog <a href="http://newfie-girl.blogspot.com/2012/01/war-horse.html">Aging Disgracefully</a>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I recently found out that my
state-provided health insurance program, <a href="http://www.poultryandprose.com/2012/02/hot-damn-i-have-health-insurance.html">MinnesotaCare</a>, doesn’t cover
progressive-lens eyeglasses, otherwise known as lineless bifocals. If you’re
over 50 you probably wear bifocals, or in my case trifocals, to
combine near vision and distance vision in one pair of glasses.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's not because of vanity that I refuse to wear lined bifocals. I refuse to wear them for reasons of effectiveness
and safety.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Several years ago I wore my
one and only pair of lined bifocals. I was amazed at the number of activities
that involve near and far vision. Scanning an entire grocery aisle while locating a specific product. Wending your way through a berry patch while trying
to find the ripest fruit. Even walking downstairs becomes hazardous. I’m
surprised that lined bifocals are even made anymore. Lined bifocals, in my
mind, are comparable to an old infant car seat that was taken off the market
for safety reasons. I also compare lined bifocals to another item that women
over 50 will remember.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You're a Young Lady Now</span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Back in the 1960s, each of
the girls in my sixth-grade class received a plain white envelope from the school nurse. Inside was a mimeographed notice inviting us to view
a very special filmstrip. Tommy Brooks asked me what was inside the envelope; I showed him. He never showed me his when the boys received their
notice to view their own very special filmstrip. But I never thought to ask.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGzQUD_uJxZcJSj_t2KJU8fevSPXwpOqlW_pkkN3L823ZY9ZungwRwNQr9RkV3g_qHvr8m4Akw3LKZuFQIWXxTHdCXNgUpdg8mKUr2g221zYU5py0LXCx6fDExZqjobmyUfg58qNibF1Q/s1600/your61a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGzQUD_uJxZcJSj_t2KJU8fevSPXwpOqlW_pkkN3L823ZY9ZungwRwNQr9RkV3g_qHvr8m4Akw3LKZuFQIWXxTHdCXNgUpdg8mKUr2g221zYU5py0LXCx6fDExZqjobmyUfg58qNibF1Q/s320/your61a.jpg" width="235" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cover from the 1960s-era booklet,<br />
located at the "odd, funny and<br />
well-researched Web site," <a href="http://www.mum.org/">www.mum.org</a>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyway, the filmstrip was
about menstruation, the life-changing event that each of us pubescent girls would experience. When the film ended, each girl received
a booklet called </span><a href="http://www.mum.org/youre61.htm"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“You’re a Young Lady Now”</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and a pink plastic pouch dotted with rosebuds. Inside the pouch, a sanitary belt and pad. That, I didn't show to Tommy Brooks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">According to the <a href="http://www.mum.org/">Museum of Menstruation and Women's Health</a> (now, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">there's</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> a name), the sanitary belt was first created in about
1945. From the museum's Web site:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tabs from a disposable menstrual pad </span></i><span style="color: #0000f6;"><a href="http://www.mum.org/beltclass.htm"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">snaked through the buckles </span></i></a></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">of this American menstrual napkin belt,
worn around the waist; it's probably from the 1940s. Disposable pads gradually
replaced washable pads in America in the 1920s and 1930s. Catalogs and
stores of the time, and until the early 1970s, sold dozens of models. Adhesive
pads appeared in the 1970s, almost killing the belt-and-tabbed-pad industry.</span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Like the archaic sanitary belt, lined bifocals are more primitive, more
clunky, less effective, and less safe. (We're talking </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">metal buckles</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.)
I'm surprised the belt-and-tabbed-pad industry, as MUM puts it, exists at all. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">People will say I shouldn’t complain about MinnesotaCare coverage. Their
tax dollars pay for my healthcare, they’ll say. But nowhere in the Constitution are we guaranteed the freedom to pay only for
things we agree with. Otherwise, there’d be 282 Republicans in the U.S. Congress whose healthcare payments I’d cut off. Their Gubernatorial counterpart, Jan Brewer of Arizona, recently signed the mother of all anti-abortion bills: </span><a href="http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/880920/jan_brewer_signs_%22life_begins_at_menstruation%22_bill%2C_the_most_draconian_anti-abortion_law_so_far/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Life Begins at Menstruation</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm an Old Lady Now<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Who knows, perhaps lined bifocals will be the next "geek chic" fashion trend. But until then, I'm drawing the line. What has been your experience with lined bifocals? Old ladies and young, please share!</span></div>
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</div>Susan Mariclehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776606889123545370noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-115029716020363774.post-19221535957795233692012-04-13T12:35:00.000-05:002013-12-03T20:04:28.460-06:00The Original Necco Wafers Are Back!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">An unknown blogger who commented on an old post brought me the best news I’ve heard in a long time:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>The original Necco Wafers are back!</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The blogger's comment on <a href="http://www.poultryandprose.com/2010/08/font-of-information-about-necco-wafers.html" target="_blank">this post</a> reads:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"And the old packaging is back too!"</td></tr>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Oh man, Susan... I was TICKED when they changed the formula. Part of the 2009 change was to drop the green wafers. Horror! As a native New Englander, I grew up with all the Necco products (Gotta love the Skybar!) I still eat a half a roll of Necco's a day! I cut the roll in half and eat half one day; the other half the next. The GOOD news is that Necco has finally responded to customer pressure (and a sharp drop in sales) and has returned to the former recipe! And the old packaging is back too!</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Making Necco Wafers healthier by eliminating artificial colors and flavors was a laudable goal. But chances are, if you’re an advocate of healthy eating, you’re not eating candy in the first place – not even a candy as benign as the 165-year-old rolled wafers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Actually, the original-recipe Neccos have been back since October 2011: back when I was unpacking and sorting and hunting for lost stuff. I couldn’t find the identity of the blogger who commented on my Necco Wafers post, so I Googled “original Necco Wafers are back” and found this <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2011/10/26/141732915/customer-outrage-forces-necco-to-put-artificial-ingredients-back-into-wafers">NPR article.</a> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A <a href="http://articles.boston.com/2011-10-25/business/30320949_1_artificial-dyes-chocolate-underbelly-clark-bar">boston.com article</a> about the iconic New England product was shared over 350 times.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Thank you, Unknown Blogger, for your comment -- and to typography designer <a href="http://www.ms-studio.com/" target="_blank">Mark Simonson</a> for being a font of knowledge about the Necco Wafers lettering. N</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;">atural-recipe Necco Wafers have joined the category of New Coke, McDonald’s Arch Deluxe, and Crystal Pepsi: ideas that seemed good at the time, but ultimately bombed. What others can you add to the list? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.poultryandprose.blogspot.com/2010/08/font-of-information-about-necco-wafers.html" target="_blank">A Font of Information about Necco Wafers</a></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.poultryandprose.blogspot.com/2011/10/hey-who-moved-my-noxzema.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hey, Who Moved My Noxzema?</span></a></div>
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Susan Mariclehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776606889123545370noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-115029716020363774.post-78522547712447108352012-03-17T08:40:00.000-05:002013-12-03T20:05:37.263-06:00Our Cupboards Are Bare No More<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The final coat of paint is on our kitchen cupboards.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCPkzNZg3hM_J804RHesCF0Fj_Khxn-xhXgsEMSnO9jABg7G_x1cCRgGG8AzJftMZqUQtpqJ75PVWDmd9ji9J2iLTfgwGi2mJTTpJfL9_RjHFOaD0-NbYXVw3RyKLmLzJh250YAkoWkZc/s1600/DSC01034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCPkzNZg3hM_J804RHesCF0Fj_Khxn-xhXgsEMSnO9jABg7G_x1cCRgGG8AzJftMZqUQtpqJ75PVWDmd9ji9J2iLTfgwGi2mJTTpJfL9_RjHFOaD0-NbYXVw3RyKLmLzJh250YAkoWkZc/s320/DSC01034.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
They're no longer bare like this,<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHm8b32ZtXAz9cRXMik7OBh-BoMwO3cYa3EeNUlfaF3sv6oKt58tufD7pANnjW4QM9P0BmX5cmoLZq6kfAR2rYF4U2Htav6szQuTDjdOD7MafD19wsn9x5V771WaUlloHJc_K3ye5ALRg/s1600/DSC01073.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHm8b32ZtXAz9cRXMik7OBh-BoMwO3cYa3EeNUlfaF3sv6oKt58tufD7pANnjW4QM9P0BmX5cmoLZq6kfAR2rYF4U2Htav6szQuTDjdOD7MafD19wsn9x5V771WaUlloHJc_K3ye5ALRg/s400/DSC01073.jpg" width="300" /></a><br />
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but painted in a high-gloss oil base.<br />
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I painted the whole room myself. Mike would come in and point out where a second coat was needed or a spot was missed.<br />
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Like that bare baseboard at the bottom.<br />
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As it did for the walls, the cupboard color palette evolved. At first I thought of doing the trim in yellow, even going so far as to paint the trim of the cupboards above the sink. But I realized how bright the wall was going to be. So I switched to red, to complement the <a href="http://www.poultryandprose.com/2011/09/right-foot-red-meet-twister-carpet.html" target="_blank">Twister carpet</a>.<br />
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One of these days we'll be back up in Bruno. I want to stop at the thrift store because they have the largest collection of curtains I've ever seen. I can visualize the curtains I want, a red and yellow and brown lava lamp–type print. But the poultry valance will do for now.<br />
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And to think the kitchen started like this...<br />
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<b>Related Posts</b><br />
<a href="http://www.poultryandprose.blogspot.com/2012/01/sunny-outlook-for-2012.html" target="_blank">A Sunny Outlook for 2012</a><br />
<a href="http://www.poultryandprose.blogspot.com/2011/09/right-foot-red-meet-twister-carpet.html" target="_blank">Right Food Red: Meet the Twister Carpet</a><br />
<a href="http://www.poultryandprose.blogspot.com/2011/09/accio-bobvilatas-old-house-remodelers.html#uds-search-results" target="_blank">Accio Bob Vilatas: the Old House Remodeler's Magic Spell</a><br />
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Susan Mariclehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776606889123545370noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-115029716020363774.post-7311412618634209682012-03-01T09:20:00.000-06:002013-12-03T20:06:38.320-06:00No Gold Bullion in This Basement, Jim<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Olzt-_VkPEsd06qQhrt7_CP980mVIdOVR86JhHqfrAAeFjQwsYhG17Df5smO9LYkp_qWn5aNLv1qddp65JuASRrfrBqW4b-kTnW1R48z_gbVxTLm3oYqm5is8BQ2r-qZUje0voZdexw/s1600/GoldBullion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Olzt-_VkPEsd06qQhrt7_CP980mVIdOVR86JhHqfrAAeFjQwsYhG17Df5smO9LYkp_qWn5aNLv1qddp65JuASRrfrBqW4b-kTnW1R48z_gbVxTLm3oYqm5is8BQ2r-qZUje0voZdexw/s320/GoldBullion.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
The afterglow from the <a href="http://www.minnpost.com/minnesota-blog-cabin/2012/02/hot-damn-%E2%80%94-i-have-health-insurance" target="_blank">buzz of getting health insurance</a> hadn't even worn off yet. The next thing I knew: I had to fill out a survey of our family's means after six months of our son receiving health insurance through Medical Assistance.<br />
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Republicans believe that anyone on public assistance is abusing it: <a href="http://www.minnpost.com/braublog/2011/03/minnesota-public-radio-attacks-kstps-welfare-waste-series-whos-right" target="_blank">spending food support dollars at liquor stores</a>, <a href="http://mncampaignreport.com/showQuickHit.do?quickHitId=1323" target="_blank">unemployment dollars for drugs</a>, or riches squirreled away in order to get healthcare. In 2010 Minnesota State Representative <a href="http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/members/members.asp?id=10002" target="_blank">Jim Abeler</a> made this observation about people who would qualify for the Medical Assistance (MA) provision:<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>“I want to remind you who is going to get into this program. And this follows a national plan that was adopted this year with great duress at the federal level. And there is no asset limit. And there is no residency requirement. And so that means the person moves in with a whole basement full of gold bullion or a nice boat or a car and they’re going to get medical assistance and you’re going to pay half of it."</i></span></span><br />
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The video from <a href="http://www.theuptake.org/" target="_blank">The UpTake</a> is below, which includes a response from DFL Representative <a href="http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/members/members.asp?id=10791" target="_blank">Paul Thissen</a>:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="302" src="http://blip.tv/play/hrI9gd7_FwI.html?p=1" width="480"></iframe><embed src="http://a.blip.tv/api.swf#hrI9gd7_FwI" style="display: none;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed><br />
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"We don't have gold bullion. We don't even have chicken bouillon," said my husband Mike.<br />
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This 2010 video is relevant today because Representative Abeler chairs the House Health and Human Services Finance Committee. I am grateful for the health coverage our family is receiving. But I'd also like to point out to Representative Abeler: People who for whatever reason depend on medical support aren't doing it because it's fun. They're not living it up. They're not hiding investments in an offshore root cellar. And they want to be off medical support as soon as possible.<br />
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<b>Related Posts</b><br />
<a href="http://www.poultryandprose.blogspot.com/2012/02/hot-damn-i-have-health-insurance.html" target="_blank">Hot Damn. I Have Health Insurance.</a><br />
<a href="http://www.poultryandprose.blogspot.com/2012/02/moments-like-these-are-what-uptake-does.html" target="_blank">Moments Like These Are What The UpTake Does Best</a><br />
<a href="http://www.poultryandprose.blogspot.com/2011/03/living-on-economic-edge.html" target="_blank">Living on the Economic Edge</a></div>
Susan Mariclehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776606889123545370noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-115029716020363774.post-61505305536651270112012-02-27T19:33:00.001-06:002013-12-03T20:07:17.603-06:00Give Up My Pharmacist? Never!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tom Sengupta, owner of Schneider Drug in Minneapolis.</td></tr>
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When deciding on a health plan, most people choose the plan that lets them keep their doctor or dentist. My choice was determined by whether I could keep my pharmacist: Tom Sengupta, owner of Schneider Drug in Minneapolis.<br />
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In the past 15 years I've lived in Minneapolis, in east central Minnesota, and in southeast Minnesota. I've been a customer of Schneider Drug for the entire time, the last 11 years by mail. Comparatively, I'm a newbie; some of Tom's customers have been coming to his store for over 40 years.<br />
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It's been difficult for medical and insurance professionals to understand why I visit a pharmacist who is 70 miles away. A specialist at Olmsted Clinic in Rochester asked if I wanted to switch pharmacists, and was probably surprised at my defiant "No!"<br />
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I checked with an insurance specialist about whether Schneider Drug was a participating pharmacy. "You live in Dodge Center?," the person asked.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A cornerstone of Minneapolis's<br />
Prospect Park neighborhood. </td></tr>
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"Yes."<br />
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"And Schneider Drug is in Minneapolis?"<br />
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"Yes."<br />
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"Is it a compound pharmacy?"<br />
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"I don't know what that is," I admitted.<br />
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"A pharmacy where they make the medications," the insurance specialist explained.<br />
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"No. It's just a store where they give excellent customer service."<br />
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"Oh."<br />
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<b>An Ask-Your-Pharmacist Type of Pharmacist</b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You won't find toys like these<br />
in a big-box drug store.</td></tr>
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I discovered Schneider Drug in 1996, when I worked in the Prospect Park neighborhood of Minneapolis. I was pregnant, needed to buy maternity vitamins, and wanted to find a store within walking distance. Schneider Drug fit the bill, with the added benefit of having a retro 1960s feel. Years later, when I'd come in with my son Wyatt, Tom would give him pennies for the gumball machine or a special price on a small toy. Whenever Mike and I were unsure of which cold medicine to purchase, we'd say, "Let's ask Tom." When the best purchase was no purchase, Tom would say so. He'd remind me of when blood tests were due, or explain when formulary (brand name) drugs could be safely replaced by generic drugs.<br />
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<b>The Politics of Healthcare</b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A young Hubert H. Humphrey helped<br />
out at Schneider Drug before Tom owned it.</td></tr>
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If you’re a person whose shopping decisions are guided by progressive values, you probably already know about Schneider Drug -- a store where a young Hubert H. Humphrey sometimes helped out at, according to Liz Riggs in <a href="http://www.bridgelandnews.org/7397" target="_blank">this fascinating article</a>. Tom Sengupta is an advocate for universal health care and regularly holds town hall meetings. Back in the 1990s, visiting politicians would ask U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone about health care in Minnesota. Wellstone would tell them, “Ya gotta talk to Tom.” A Wellstone! sign is still prominent in Tom's store.<br />
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In 2004, Democratic Presidential candidate Bill Bradley phoned Sengupta while Tom was waiting on a customer. Sengupta apologized and said he had to put Bradley on hold; the candidate understood. The idea of the less-than-dynamic Bradley on hold makes me chuckle. But it's absolutely indicative of Tom's customer-first work ethic. </div>
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One time back in the 1990s I had forgotten to call in my refill, and Schneider Drug was closed. So I stopped at the Target pharmacy on Broadway in north Minneapolis, where I lived. I showed the pharmacist the empty bottle so he knew where the prescription had been previously filled.<br />
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"Schneider Drug. Are they still open?," the Target pharmacist asked.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihIDJ8qyeokoQCk-l3KSwtszzNM6mougZ6NZKnbPlCfx4o1ryP5bKlO5Ol6iMkJMFRyPP_ia-9Ei_C40Gt5VSf1uvbay6ExInVi6nwzO6RyTZ8BLqQKUsTncCfj4Jx7rq-UGWew5nU2U0/s1600/DSC00868.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihIDJ8qyeokoQCk-l3KSwtszzNM6mougZ6NZKnbPlCfx4o1ryP5bKlO5Ol6iMkJMFRyPP_ia-9Ei_C40Gt5VSf1uvbay6ExInVi6nwzO6RyTZ8BLqQKUsTncCfj4Jx7rq-UGWew5nU2U0/s320/DSC00868.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paul Wellstone's politics are alive at Schneider Drug.</td></tr>
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The next time I was in Tom's store, I mentioned the exchange at Target. As I left the store with my purchase, Tom called after me, "You tell Target we're still here. And we're going to be here for a long time." It was the only time I saw that gentle man's ire up.<br />
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The Broadway Target closed in 2003. Schneider Drug is still going strong.<br />
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<b>My Pharmacist? You Bet!</b><br />
I try to avoid referring to service professionals as "my mechanic" or my this or that because they're not possessions. But with Tom Sengupta, I make an exception. Someday Tom will retire. Someday I will have an emergency and will need a same-day prescription. When that day comes, I'll find a local pharmacy. Until then, Tom Sengupta of Schneider Drug is my pharmacist.<br />
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Read Liz Riggs' <a href="http://www.bridgelandnews.org/" target="_blank">Bridgeland News</a> article about Schneider Drug <a href="http://www.bridgelandnews.org/7397" target="_blank">here</a>. And listen to an NPR story by Michael May below:<br />
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<embed allowfullscreen="true" base="http://www.npr.org" height="386" src="http://www.npr.org/v2/?i=11211900&m=11211901&t=audio" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" wmode="opaque"></embed><br />
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<b>Related Posts</b><br />
<a href="http://www.poultryandprose.blogspot.com/2011/10/stepping-out-on-my-mechanic.html" target="_blank">Stepping Out on My Mechanic</a><br />
<a href="http://poultryandprose.blogspot.com/2012/02/hot-damn-i-have-health-insurance.html" target="_blank">Hot Damn! I Have Health Insurance.</a><br />
<a href="http://www.poultryandprose.blogspot.com/2011/07/address-unknown-small-town-post-office.html" target="_blank">The Small-Town Post Office: Address Unknown?</a><br />
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Susan Mariclehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776606889123545370noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-115029716020363774.post-91871978472396347242012-02-25T10:37:00.000-06:002013-12-03T20:07:55.519-06:00Tell Cravaack "Chip, Ahoy"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I <a href="http://www.poultryandprose.com/2011/06/liberal-tea-party-just-dream.html" target="_blank">recently wrote with begrudging admiration</a> about the Tea Party's ability to brand themselves. The symbolism of a tea bag works on multiple levels: it combines history, patriotism (the American Revolution), the modern-day tax anathema, and cost efficiency (it's easy to stick in an envelope and mail to voice your displeasure).<br />
<br />
Here's an idea to voice your displeasure with Tea Party Republican <a href="http://cravaack.house.gov/" target="_blank">Chip Cravaack</a>, who represents Minnesota's U.S. House District.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Chips Ahoy® is a registered trademark of Nabisco®,<br />
which is a brand of Kraft Foods. </span></td></tr>
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Buy a snack pack of Nabisco® Chips Ahoy!® Chocolate Chip Cookies, available at any convenience store or vending machine. It'll run you a buck and change. Stick the packet in one of those padded mailers for sending audiocassettes. And send to this address:<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><strong>Congressman Chip Cravaack</strong><br />
508 Cannon House Office Building<br />
Washington, DC 20515</span><br />
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According to <a href="http://answers.com/">answers.com</a>, "ahoy" is a nautical word that sailors use to hail passing ships. It can mean "hey" or "look around you." A package of Chips Ahoy cookies sent to Chip Cravaack would send the message, "Hey, Chip! Look out, because we're not going to be so complacent this year. You're a ship passing through the U.S. House."<br />
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Chip Cravaack pulled off the upset of 2008 when he defeated longtime Democratic representative <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Oberstar" target="_blank">Jim Oberstar</a>. Since then, Cravaack has come under fire <a href="http://www.mnprogressiveproject.com/diary/11033/why-wont-chip-cravaack-provide-the-proof-of-how-many-days-he-spends-in-minnesota" target="_blank">for not being responsive to constituents</a> and <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/08/25/1010500/-Tea-party-Rep-Cravaack-gets-union-disability-payments" target="_blank">enjoying union benefits</a> while trying to deny benefits to others. </div>
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The cookies might get thrown away. But if Cravaack's office gets inundated with hundreds or thousands of packets of cookies, Cravaack's people may try to turn a negative into a positive: like donating the cookies to a D.C. daycare center. That's okay, because the kids will get a treat, even if Cravaack gets the credit. But he'll be duly put on notice. Especially if you write on the back of the mailer, "Chip, Ahoy! Watch out for November!"<br />
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</b><br />
<b>Related Posts</b><br />
<a href="http://www.poultryandprose.blogspot.com/2011/06/liberal-tea-party-just-dream.html" target="_blank">A Liberal Tea Party: Just a Dream?</a></div>
Susan Mariclehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776606889123545370noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-115029716020363774.post-31970619538421179642012-02-24T10:16:00.006-06:002012-02-24T17:40:45.242-06:00What Does Being "Responsible" Mean?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I hate the word “responsible.”</span><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Not because I consider myself an irresponsible person.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But because the word “responsible” is unclear and subjective, without a universal definition.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In a recent weekly address, President Obama used the word "responsible" nine times. Here’s an excerpt from the </span><a href="http://www.theuptake.org/2012/02/04/obamas-fair-fix-for-responsible-homeowners/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">transcript</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, provided by </span><a href="http://www.theuptake.org/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The UpTake</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">: (boldface mine)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="color: #262626;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Right now, there are more than 10 million homeowners in this country who, because of a decline in home prices that is no fault of their own, owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth. Now, it is wrong for anyone to suggest that the only option for struggling, </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">responsible</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> homeowners is to sit and wait for the housing market to hit bottom. I don’t accept that. None of us should.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="color: #262626;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">That’s why we launched a plan a couple years ago that’s helped nearly one million </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">responsible</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> homeowners refinance their mortgages and save an average of $300 on their payments each month. Now, I’ll be the first to admit it didn’t help as many folks as we’d hoped. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t keep trying.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="color: #262626;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">That’s why I’m sending Congress a plan that will give every </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">responsible</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> homeowner the chance to save about $3,000 a year on their mortgages by refinancing at historically low rates. No more red tape. No more endless forms. And a small fee on the largest financial institutions will make sure it doesn’t add a dime to the deficit.</span></span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Homeowners are considered irresponsible for refinancing in order to pay off credit card debt. But is it irresponsible when the accumulated debt is to pay for an urgent care visit? A new well pump when the old one gives out? New brakes for the truck?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For many people, the conversation will end right here with the admonishment, “Well, you should have had savings. You should have planned in advance.” <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Star Tribune has a </span><a href="http://www.startribune.com/local/minneapolis/138719604.html?page=1&c=y" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">story</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> about a south Minneapolis couple who opened their 875 square-foot house to a succession of relatives who faced job loss, divorce, untenable student debt. The article mentioned conflicts over relatives who drank beer, tenants who were grateful because they were able to have a roof over their heads for their family and dog and cat.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I can just hear the commenters. “If they didn’t drink beer, if they got rid of the dog and cat, they wouldn’t be in that situation.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Life isn’t always pretty. The solutions to problems aren’t always tidy and the people who need help aren’t always perfect. How much effort, how many blue-ribbon task forces, and how much money will it take to parse out responsible homeowners from irresponsible homeowners? <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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</div></div>Susan Mariclehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776606889123545370noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-115029716020363774.post-14425690964353051602012-02-23T13:04:00.000-06:002012-02-24T08:41:30.972-06:00Hot Damn. I Have Health Insurance.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">A round of binge surgeries for the house, barkeep.<br />
<br />
Of course I jest. But former Republican Presidential candidate (and Minnesota Governor) Tim Pawlenty wasn't kidding when he <a href="http://www.npr.org/2011/01/11/132815702/pawlenty-touts-minnesotas-lessons-on-health-care" target="_blank">compared healthcare to an open bar</a>. When healthcare, like booze, is free, you imbibe more, Pawlenty says.<br />
<br />
My health insurance, which will be provided through MinnesotaCare, isn't free. It costs $59 a month. Currently I am uninsured and pay $50 a month for a maintenance prescription. So to pay nine bucks more a month and have health coverage, has me positively giddy. No binge surgeries are planned, but I'm meeting the dentist and optometrist for Happy Hour.<br />
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Children under 18 are covered under MA, but their parents aren't. When health coverage is provided to parents, they are able to better care for their children, but that's just my opinion.<br />
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<b>The $10,000 Doughnut Hole</b><br />
Qualifying for MinnesotaCare came as a total surprise because Mike and I had applied twice when we lived in Pine County. The median income for a family in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_County,_Minnesota" target="_blank">Pine County</a> is $44,058. In <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_County,_Minnesota" target="_blank">Dodge Count</a>y, it's $54,261. Our family was in the $10,000 doughnut hole.<br />
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Though health insurance wasn't the reason for our move from Pine County to Dodge County, it's an unintended benefit: our entire family is now covered. A popular meme <a href="http://www.theuptake.org/2012/02/22/class-warfare-could-kill-poor-people/" target="_blank">that's being disputed</a> is people move to Minnesota for the benefits. I guess having health insurance puts our family in that category. We moved from Point A to Point B, and now have a benefit that we didn't have in Point A.<br />
<br />
In a me-first society, I move to better myself and my family. Everyone else moves to sponge off others. In a me-first society, I get benefits. Everyone else gets entitlements. Benefits for me, entitlements for thee.<br />
<br />
I'm thrilled that our family will have health insurance. But I won't be satisfied until healthcare is available to all -- without having to move from Point A to Point B.<br />
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</div>Susan Mariclehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776606889123545370noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-115029716020363774.post-91988000368148033652012-02-20T07:40:00.000-06:002012-02-24T08:44:05.571-06:00Moments Like These Are What The UpTake Does Best<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Livestream video is the process of turning on a video camera, whether operated onsite or offsite, and letting it run, run, run to capture live events as they happen in a stream-of-consciousness way.</span><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Watching, or monitoring, livestream footage has been compared to watching paint dry. But every now and then you come across a moment that’s comparable to someone throwing a pot of spaghetti sauce against that freshly painted wall.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Moments like this.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The UpTake captured this exchange between Minnesota State Representatives Sarah Anderson and Jim Davnie, capturing a geography flub by the head of state redistricting. And the moment has been picked up from <a href="http://www.bluestemprairie.com/bluestemprairie/2012/02/geography-lesson-mngop-house-redistricting-guru-worries-about-rochester.html" target="_blank">progressive blog</a> to <a href="http://www.mnprogressiveproject.com/diary/10992/from-the-archives-rep-sarah-anderson-rextremist-at-the-legislature" target="_blank">progressive blog</a> ever since. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"></span></span><br />
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</span></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If you don’t have time to monitor hours of livestreamed video, see the highlights by following <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/uptakemn" target="_blank">@uptakemn</a>. Informed voters count on their coverage, and The UpTake counts on <a href="http://givemn.razoo.com/story/Uptake" target="_blank">donor support</a>. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A $25 donation will buy The UpTake almost five hours of tape. And who knows how many spaghetti-sauce-against-the-wall moments will occur in those five hours? </span><br />
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</div>Susan Mariclehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776606889123545370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-115029716020363774.post-15128080737306963492012-02-03T07:42:00.000-06:002012-02-24T08:44:05.570-06:00Yet Another Reason Why Voter ID Is a Bad Idea<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">Blogger <a href="http://thecuckingstool.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Aaron Klemz</a> does a <a href="http://thecuckingstool.blogspot.com/2012/02/voter-id-amendment-is-pig-in-poke.html" target="_blank">thorough job</a> listing the concerns, or what Republican State Senator Scott Newman considered “red herrings,” about Voter ID.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">But let’s say, for the sake of argument, Voter ID is needed. Voter fraud is rampant, felons are swinging elections, and sticking on Constitutional amendments like so many Post-it notes is a good thing.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>How many of us look like our photos on our ID?</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Speaking for myself, my weight goes up and my weight goes down. I wear my hair long and I wear my hair short. What if I, or any other voter for that matter, don’t look identical to the photo on the ID?</li>
<li>What if the person who verifies voters against their IDs is a person who believes “They all look alike” about population X, Y or Z? How will that person recognize if the voter isn’t the person on the ID?</li>
<li>What will the legal ramifications be if someone who has legitimate voter ID is denied the opportunity to vote? </li>
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<div class="MsoNormal">I imagine the response to my photo question would be, anyone who is that undisciplined and erratic shouldn’t be allowed to vote.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">It could be the next step, folks.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><i>Follow </i><a href="http://twitter.com/aaronklemz" target="_blank"><i>@aaronklemz</i></a><i> and </i><a href="http://twitter.com/uptakemn" target="_blank"><i>@uptakemn</i></a><i> for coverage<br />
of the Minnesota State Legislature. </i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div></div>Susan Mariclehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776606889123545370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-115029716020363774.post-80402745215620950922012-02-01T12:48:00.000-06:002014-07-03T09:06:51.443-05:00The Caninization of Jerry: Our Rescue Dog Becomes a Dog<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jerry, then.</td></tr>
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Groundhog Day is the day we chose as the birthday for Jerry, our rescue dog who came into our lives as a malnourished, neglected pup in fall 2010.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jerry, now.</td></tr>
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Two years later, he seems more like a dog and less like an injured soul. We call it the caninization of Jerry.</div>
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Like any dog, when he hears the words “do you want to” or “go,” he cocks his head expectantly and waits with bright eyes to hear the rest of the question. He also gets excited when I bag up the recyclables because he knows that means a trip to town.</div>
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Jerry looks like a chocolate Lab, but in reality he's a Weimaraner/Chesapeake cross. And like any Weimaraner, Jerry loves to roll in smelly things, such as the swamp that’s near the gravel pit or anything dead on the road. One day he found a half-dead garter snake and finished it off, afterwards anointing himself with the remains. Later that day he slept and woofed, his paws twitching in imaginary chase, undoubtedly dreaming that he was slaying the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kb7T9oK0tF8" target="_blank">Basilisk</a>.<br />
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Like any country dog, he has faced perils and will continue to face them. Last fall as Jerry splashed in the creek, he stepped into a raccoon trap. (There were no physical injuries, thankfully, but he was pretty shaken up. So was I.) Another country peril is skunks. In the past skunks have come up to the patio door, so an encounter with a skunk isn’t a question of “if,” but “when.” Three bottles of skunk removal shampoo are waiting on a shelf in the mud room for that inevitable day.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steps like these are<br />
no problem for Jerry.</td></tr>
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Jerry has come a long way in his caninization. When he first came to us he weighed 61 pounds. At his last veterinary checkup he weighed 73 pounds, which the vet said was “just perfect.” At our Bruno house he never climbed a staircase. Now he bounds up and down them with ease. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He won't do that again.<br />
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In the past two years Jerry has tangled with a porcupine, run headfirst into a tree, and <a href="http://poultryandprose.blogspot.com/2011/07/dogs-beavers-and-water-dont-mix.html" target="_blank">swum after a beaver</a>. And he's managed to come away an older, if not wiser, dog. As Jerry has progressed in his journey, so have I. </div>
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I was at the kitchen table filling out paperwork for community college and job retraining, feeling wistful and uncertain about the future. I began singing Diana Ross’s 1970s hit “<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOH6SzDX3l4" target="_blank">Do You Know Where You’re Going To</a>.” Immediately, Jerry cocked his head and looked expectantly at me.</div>
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What a great way to live: not knowing what the future holds, but knowing it’s gotta be something good. </div>
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Has your pet made the journey from rescue dog to just plain dog? What have you heard along the way? I’d love to hear your story about your pet’s caninization. Please share it in a comment below!</div>
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Susan Mariclehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776606889123545370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-115029716020363774.post-52378133465781662472012-01-05T09:39:00.000-06:002012-01-05T09:39:58.179-06:00A Name from the Past Creates a Brighter Future for Many<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Back in the 1980s, when I lived in the Detroit area, I met a guy named Craig Newmark. The venue was a barbecue where the guests were comic book artists and computer geeks. I remember that he worked at <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2008/05/12/a-look-back-at-eds-from-ross-perot-to-cowboys-herding-cats/" target="_blank">EDS</a>, the company founded by Ross Perot. He was soft-spoken and had a self-deprecating sense of humor.<br />
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Fast forward 20 years to a company called Craigslist and a series on National Public Radio called <a href="http://www.npr.org/series/4538138/this-i-believe" target="_blank">'This I Believe.' </a> The announcer introduced the day's speaker: the founder of Craigslist, Craig Newmark. <br />
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<i>That's not a common name,</i> I thought. <i>I wonder if it's the same Craig Newmark.</i><br />
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I heard the voice and realized it was. Who knew?<br />
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Craig Newmark is a person who has touched millions of lives through social media and his foundation, <a href="http://craigconnects.org/" target="_blank">craigconnects</a>. Right now he wants to donate $10,000 to <a href="http://www.kiva.org/" target="_blank">Kiva</a>, the nonprofit that empowers people around the world by making microloans of $25.<a href="https://www.facebook.com/craignewmark?sk=questions" target="_blank"> He's asking people on his Facebook page</a> to choose an area: housing, education, food or services. If you'd enjoy helping someone spend $10,000, cast your decision today.<br />
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Take a moment to listen to Craig's This I Believe essay, entitled <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9567979" target="_blank">"That Golden Rule Thing</a>."<br />
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Also, have you met a person who went on to become famous? Share your "Who Knew?" moment in a comment.<br />
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</div>Susan Mariclehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776606889123545370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-115029716020363774.post-77406175783661250972012-01-03T09:23:00.000-06:002013-12-03T20:30:19.781-06:00A Sunny Outlook for 2012<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-rMgQ2xlv-zzrhyphenhyphenewjmTayRvChp0ZbU1RjCyf7COVkaImoM-NX93wCIap5uKWa49nsc9z1h4pfiUm9wjcZPbI4czn1aXk3NSd-7hNuD1RG91F9g1ZQ0_Keyx6Mi54VYY1Biq6P2eFkAw/s1600/DSC00889.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwGP0UljA3l4FviUSd1uHikQGNEuwbXVAVUEM_-YPFlNnEjBhO88dg0rAQVgxQycR6Ck629bX3gCeowJdT8RCSnQ6HzsbVSLXdLhF1bVnvjoDNnXV7_G-CRltQ5HlmElYelZmd8zdcEPA/s1600/SunnyOutlook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br />
</a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwGP0UljA3l4FviUSd1uHikQGNEuwbXVAVUEM_-YPFlNnEjBhO88dg0rAQVgxQycR6Ck629bX3gCeowJdT8RCSnQ6HzsbVSLXdLhF1bVnvjoDNnXV7_G-CRltQ5HlmElYelZmd8zdcEPA/s1600/SunnyOutlook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwGP0UljA3l4FviUSd1uHikQGNEuwbXVAVUEM_-YPFlNnEjBhO88dg0rAQVgxQycR6Ck629bX3gCeowJdT8RCSnQ6HzsbVSLXdLhF1bVnvjoDNnXV7_G-CRltQ5HlmElYelZmd8zdcEPA/s320/SunnyOutlook.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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If 2012 isn’t sunnier moneywise, then by God it’s going to be sunnier colorwise.</div>
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We're painting the kitchen walls a bright, bright yellow. The original color was a thirty-year-old beige. Our first idea for a wall color was bright, bright white. But with the white refrigerator, white storage cupboard and a white paneled wall where a makeshift closet once was, the room has more than enough white. And the red 70s-era Twister carpet called for an equally bold wall color. And the color that called to me -- loudly -- was yellow. </div>
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I started low on the color swatch strip with Playful Lemon Spritz, then inched up to Delightful Canary. And by the time Mike and I checked out at Menard's, we had ascended the color summit to Pineapple.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEOgagauDufyjhF1F3pShSPp5HHwda-OcQvK94Iaugxy_49q8IVVBlM7f3rzjaAgT8c4S-16aINhZKCumptVlFnTTuTdEU3wriCP8aEo332s6QApg2-rasbXgIAyP-AWFO0rzrlpGAV6E/s1600/KnickKnacks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEOgagauDufyjhF1F3pShSPp5HHwda-OcQvK94Iaugxy_49q8IVVBlM7f3rzjaAgT8c4S-16aINhZKCumptVlFnTTuTdEU3wriCP8aEo332s6QApg2-rasbXgIAyP-AWFO0rzrlpGAV6E/s320/KnickKnacks.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<b>Fun with Knick-Knacks</b><br />
Making a room your own with knick-knacks is always fun, especially when you have yellow as a backdrop. Both of these belonged to my grandma: cocktail glasses with silverplated stems and a sugar-and-creamer set made in occupied Japan.<br />
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The sunny outlook in our kitchen continues to the barnwood wall with this 1930s poster. Sunshine Biscuits was a brand name belonging to the Loose-Wiles Biscuit Company. According to this <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loose-Wiles_Biscuit_Company" target="_blank">Wikipedia article</a>, in 1912 Loose-Wiles was the nation's second-largest manufacturer of crackers. The company had a brand called Sunshine Biscuits that they never registered. To keep other companies from using the name, Loose-Wiles was forced to change its name to the Sunshine Biscuit Company in 1946. <br />
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Sunshine sounds a lot more appetizing than Loose-Wiles, in my opinion.<br />
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Downsizing means living more affordably, but hey, you've got to have fun along the way. We've continued working on the kitchen as time and funds allow. We still have a long way to go, but it's amazing how far we've come. The photos you see here are "before" and "after."<br />
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Susan Mariclehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776606889123545370noreply@blogger.com2