a drumroll for my blogroll, please
I’m building my blog slowly, savoring each new situation and choice.
It’s a genuine hoot being a neophyte in my golden years. I wanted
to build my blogroll slowly as I learned more about the craft and its
best practitioners. I hadn’t planned to start it this soon, but today’s
the day because I want to acknowledge the wonderful bump I got
yesterday from my mentor Kathy.
Kathy has been blogging (now at kitchenblogic) for ten years. I admire
her warts-and-all approach as she writes about her marriage, her cancer,
job layoffs, what have you. I don’t know if she actually writes about
warts, but she posted recently on tater tots and exercising at the Mall
of America. When I first considered trying this vibrant medium, I started
studying her blog. Then I started asking her questions. She graciously
took time away from braving the Minnesota winter to guide me.
Kathy and Jude are old buds. They met in 1979 or ’80 in Mankato, Minn.
They shared a bat-infested house. Actually, it was one bat which Kathy
used for tennis practice. Jude says Kathy was the social director of their
gang. I thought she once used the term “ringleader”, but she denies that.
Anyway, they got along famously until Kathy got into robbing liquor stores.
Jude married a Methodist minister who insisted that she only rob Baptist
discos. Jude and Kathy drifted apart when they went to different prisons.
But that was all bourbon and Holy Water under the bridge when they
reunited with some other old friends in Mankato during October ’03.
They hugged, cried, laughed and compared the tats they got in the pen.
That’s when I met Kathy. I liked her but we didn’t get to talk much. An
old friend of mine drove down from Fargo. Plus Kathy had that abrasive
ex-prisoner attitude that I find endearing in Jude but offputting from her.
So, Kathy, thank you a metric ton for the endorsement. I guess the years
have softened you since you stabbed me with a shank over that pork chop.
And, to answer your question, we live quite comfortably off the grid. We
have plenty of juice for our appliances and our satellite TV and internet.
We heat by wood and keep our central air-conditioning outside. When it
gets hot up here (high 20’s Celsius, mid-80’s Fahrenheit), we sit in the
maple tree swing with a refreshing beverage. Failing that, we swim in
the pond or go to the beach.
Comments are closed.
Anchor Struck 
Hi there! I’m visiting because Kathy said I had to, or else, and you know that ‘tude which can be rather…erm…intimidating. Which totally isn’t true, I’m visiting because I want to pick your brain about living off the grid. Since I’m a Brain Gerbil, I am a professional, and you needn’t worry about any side effects from the picking. I’m hoping that you understand the really hard stuff like how many hamsters does it take on a wheel to power my electric dryer, and can help me with a good hamster wheel design.
Oh, and I used to be known as casa-rosie over at D-land. Until I became a Brain Gerbil, that is. But they still call me Rosie. Nice to meetcha. Oh, and I’ve been to Mankato, that’s where Betsy, Tacy and Tib grew up.
That bat-infested house was something! And the tennis racket that I used on the bat was probably the same one that Jude forced me to play tennis with. God, how I hated tennis! Still do! I wasn’t good at it. The reason it worked well on the bat was because before I took a tennis racket to it, I sprayed that bat in the eyeballs with hairspray! I’d panicked! Let this be a lesson to you. Next time you go for my pork chop, you’re going to get hit with the AquaNet!
p.s. You have 10 Google Reader feed subscribers as of now. Not bad for a newbie!
I always wanted to live “off the grid” but now I like the creature comforts I find in the city. Glad you enjoy it!
And welcome to the blog world!
Hi Allen, welcome to this Internet thing. You’ve got a good start. I think you will enjoy the experience. I’ve been doing it since 1996 (and I’d guess that I’m about your age, maybe a year or so older). (Oh, and I’m another one who came to your sight from kitchenblogic.)
Heh! And I still fall victim to my fingers screwing up what my brain wants to write — such as “came to your sight from kitchenblogic” instead of “came to your site from kitchenblogic.”
*sigh*
Hi, Jim. I’ve just been told by thesacredpath how to respond to a comment just below the comment I want to respond to. You’re my test case. Thank you for checking out my blog early on. Your blog was recommended by Kathy
as a prime one to study. I hope you’ve been checking back as I sought an answer to blog protocol. Hopefully this will work and we can talk about old guy stuff in a more timely manner.
Way cool, Green Brother!
I have always enjoyed your writing style and it really shines here. One question, the pictures of your pets show each of them on their backs, is this a Canadian-thing?
Peace & love,
BB
Thanks, bro. The pics of the pets at leisure were not posed. Every sentient being in Canada is mellow. And you can’t pose a cat, anyhow. (FULL DISCLOSURE: BB is a longtime friend I consider family. He may be biased.)