MeSoFun Blog

Hopefully this isn't an annual rite of passage into fall. Cold fronts are usually windy. Minnesota farmers know that. Sailers know that. People with giant umbrellas attached to their patio furniture should know that. I saw the thing wiggling around. But really, what's the worst that could happen? It turns out patio umbrellas can lift up into the air above the glass and then crash back down on the table when the wind dies. That can happen. We won't be playing pegs on the porch or doing any more dump dinners this year. That's OK. The wind from the cold front was bringing chilly air. It was 58 degrees and windy on my walk to work. Oh well. That's a revelatory statement for me. I'm that guy. I'm the guy with Rayndaud's Syndrome, which means cold hands and feet for six months a year. I'm the guy that doesn't like Christmas so I spend a couple of months being annoyed by decorations and sales and hubub. But life's too short to get wrapped up in the ...

I am incapable of a normal smile. I did my dishes today. "Whoop-de-doo," you're thinking. Weird that my Dad never poses when it's picture time. Clearly my mother hasn't been visiting your place if you don't understand the novelty of doing your own dishes. Mom is a cleaner. It's her zen. She might even admit to that. Dishes don't hit the bottom of the sink with mom around. It's an adorable bonus to her visits. Mom likes to be useful. If all our guests did that, we'd be golden. I've lost the official count of how many visitors we've had since we moved into our house a year and a half ago. I'm confident we're in the 20s; we had 17 overnight groups in the first  year alone. This is the best possible time of year in Maine. The temperatures are in the 60s every day. The skies are blinding blue on a regular basis. And the tourists are mostly gone, except for the occasional gigantic cruise ship. There's parking on the street next to...