Tim and Mina

Tim and Mina
Originally uploaded by benjamil

Tim's got a soft spot for our old cat, Mina. And she in turn is
becoming more cuddly as she gets older (and as the weather gets
colder). At 14, she's downright friendly...unless it's meal time, in
which case, she's only got eyes for her dish and people she can
cajole to get near it.

Poodle Show

Ha, check out these great photos Jim & Cindy sent.
click here to see the complete slide show.

Love these!

Whitest Christmas

What started out as a white Christmas got even more ridiculously pretty when the snow started falling this afternoon. We got a good 3"-4" of the fluffiest snow, and it turned our already good day perfect. So we spent the day by the fire, enjoyed some leftover 3-fish stew from Christmas Eve, followed by ham dinner (baked potatoes, Waldorf salad, and brussels sprouts).

Our deliberately small gift exchange included socks, arm gaiters (for warmth), and a lunchable thermos. We were very happy with our "little" gifts.

As for gifts given, we shared a lot of toffee, as usual, and some yummy new fruit cookies called "Jingle Bells."

Hope your day was merry and bright, too!

2007 Charlie Smith Banquet

This is always a real treat for me. It seems that this event is something people are begin to look forward too; we have about one hundred and fifty regulars and about one hundred newbies. The Award winners are a big draw as well as the entertainment...and of course me.


Carlisles Honored with 2007 Charlie Award

Another year’s worth of advocacy celebrated at annual banquet

by Jordan Selbo, Staff Writer; Photos by Nancy Sopkowiak

This year’s Charlie Smith Community Awards Banquet found friends old and new gathering for a warm night of celebration and connection on Friday, November 2. From the opening reception’s jovial chatter to the last moonlit goodbyes, those in attendance at Black Bear Crossings in Como Park once again enjoyed this annual event, as the intimate atmosphere of a capacity crowd allowed the chance to both solidify and reminisce on old friendships while also making new ones.

After opening remarks by Access Press Board Chair Mike Chevrette and Executive Director Tim Benjamin, guests enjoyed a turkey dinner and the continued jazzy stylings of pianist Larry McDonough. Two departing board members, JoAnn Cardenas Enos and Mary Kay Kennedy, were then recognized for their outstanding service over the years, both using their exits to elicit smiles rather than tears with jokes and sincere thanks.


The evening’s apex came with the awarding of the Charlie Smith Community Award to Jim and Claudia Carlisle, two longtime members and advocates of the disability community. Through the speakers who chose to introduce them, their legacy was clearly on display. While being admired for their shared tenacity and lifelong activism, it was evident from the frequent laughter that this couple also values humor as a tool in overcoming adversity. With an ultimate legacy of spreading inspiration and awareness to anyone they’ve come into contact with, the award winning couple reminded us all exactly why and how we continue the struggle, and if we’re lucky, continue it with a smile.

Off to Pittsburgh

This pretty, hard-working city is where several generations of my mom's family lived, here in the crook of the Allegheny Mountains.

I'm going for the second time ever, for a conference. In my free time, I'm going to look up old addresses, old facts about the people whose looks, habits, genes, strengths, and foibles I--and all my sisters and brothers, nieces and nephews--inherited and took out west.

Highway Rollers

Cindy and Jim, who've been visiting for a couple weeks (hurrah!), traded in their rolling house today for a model that won't be so vulnerable to the wind. It also has these cool pop-out sides, so that when they're setting up camp, then can have a wider vehicle.

If you haven't been inside one of these amazing mobile homes, check 'em out, and imagine being young retirees with time and your own home on wheels to take you wherever you want to go.

And while you're at it, imagine (it might help!) that gas is well under $3 a gallon.

State Fair Rollers

Like father, like son. Can't get enough state fair.This was a couple hours before heat exhaustion set in for the entire senior set (Tim, Lynda, Fred, Cindy, and Jim).

It was a great day, though. Might have been better if we'd started out in the cool of the morning.

Dad got us a magic dog rake--the Furminator de-shedding tool--that works wonders on Feivel's coat. And we saw goats and chickens and art and had some cool drinks. After that, it's hard to remember!

Looking for a dog beach

You'd think it'd be easy in the Land of 10,000 Lakes to go jump in one with your dog. But not so easy if you don't own some access. Here's a map I've made for myself to go look for some walk-in access near, but not actually in, the beach areas.

Ramsey County Park Beaches:

View Larger Map

Fred Benjamin of White Bear Lake

Dad and Lynda went out to the "ancestral home" today in White Bear Lake. This beautiful house is where Dad spent part of his childhood, when, during the Depression, his family lived with his grandparents. The house looks out over the big lake, and sits on the corner of the main street. Dad remembers so much of life in those days and in that house. He was in high school and he worked at a local grocery. Grandpa Benjamin had gorgeous formal gardens in the back of the house. There are pictures of them online at Minnesota Historical Society. Dad remembers their beauty, but also the hard work that went into keeping them that way.

Blowin' in the Wind

At 3:15 or so on Saturday morning, I woke up in a storm (don't always, by any means). Lots of lightning, but windows closed, so all was well. As I began to drift off again, the wind hit the house with the force of an object. The house--not just the windows--shook. Up I got, and then realized the electricity was out. I went to Tim, who was awake also and fully aware that the electricity was out, because his bi-pap machine had started beeping. We discussed a what-if-tornado plan (head to the inside hallway, close the doors, and pray).

Then I went to the windows and watched an incredible storm--or what I could see of it. There was a blackout effect, without light and with rain slamming against the windows.

Suddenly, as the rain subsided, I could see a new "fence" outside in the back, near our deck. Turned out it was the neighbors' trampoline, which had traveled over 3 fences and an apple tree to land upside down in our driveway.

But that was not the worst. The worst was TREES. In every block for as far as I could walk, at least 2 or 3 trees down, broken, smashed by wind or burnt by lightning. You never saw anything like it. I hope.

The electricity came on three days later, and after we cleaned up spoiled food in the refrigerator, and got Tim home from the hotel where he stayed for two nights, all was well and peaceful again.

Mom

Phyllis Ann Laughlin
June 13, 1924 - July 15, 2007

We will miss her so.

Pioneer Press notice.

What's blooming

Well, I should have captured pictures of the glorious peonies. Now that the first real heat wave has hit, they're really going to be goners. All of a sudden, we're looking very mediterranean around here.

Here's butterfly milkweed, which I'm fascinated to find that Native Americans called pleurisy, because they chewed it to help with lung complaints. (Information courtesy of the Lady Bird Johnson Native Plant Information Network):

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Asclepias tuberosa L.

Butterfly milkweed, Butterfly weed, Butterfly-weed, Orange milkweed

Asclepiadaceae (Milkweed Family)

USDA Symbol: astu

USDA Native Status: Native to U.S.

This bushy, 1 1/2-2 ft. perennial is prized for its large, flat-topped clusters of bright-orange flowers. An abundance of stiff, lance-shaped foliage provides a dark-green backdrop for the showy flower heads.

This showy plant is frequently grown from seed in home gardens. Its brilliant flowers attract butterflies. Because its tough root was chewed by the Indians as a cure for pleurisy and other pulmonary ailments, Butterfly Weed was given its other common name, Pleurisy Root. Although it is sometimes called Orange Milkweed, this species has no milky sap.

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It's planted in with blue sage, stella de oro daylilies, coreopsis, and...hm...other things.








Looking from that garden toward the house, you can see the penstemon in full bloom, with a canna about to pop right behind them.

And on the side of the house, the ever-popular (among themselves) perennial geraniums are blooming, all pink and frilly.

Back home!

Tim and Lynda at Carol's memorial on May 19. Lynda had just arrived home from California, and Minnesota looked remarkably like the West coast (i.e., sunny) on this beautiful May afternoon.

Spring in our Steps

I always count October 6 as a good dependable date for fall color, and May 6 for spring. I may have to change that May date. Man, look at how bee-yu-tee-full Como Park was as Feivel and I sauntered around this morning!

Makes me want to NOT leave town. Imagine not wanting to head west (to Phoenix, no less--where it's not even TOO hot yet)! But my niece, Kim, is graduating (with highest honors) from Arizona State, and I do want to be there for that grand occasion!

I'll have these pictures to remind me of the fleeting glamor of midwest spring.

Spring at Como

We're heading for 70 degrees today. Here's how clear and pretty Lake Como was on this early spring morning (between 6:30 and 7:00), as Feivel and I went walking.

Feivel's Two!

Here's Feivel now, on his birthday (3/19), and a year ago with Pippa, then two years ago at 10 weeks with Pippa. He's going to stop growing soon. We hope.

March Blew In

...like a lion, more or less. Although she left our house looking like a big fluffy lamb, hm?

Where's Missy?

Feivel searches in vain for his little neighbor friend, Missy the Sheltie. Is she burrowed somewhere under the 18"-20" of snow?

Keeps on Comin'

Last night's view from the front door:



And this afternoon's:

Snow at Last!

More snow overnight than we've had all winter. Looks great, doesn't it? I thought so as I snapped these photos of other people clearing our driveway. Ok, I did make them some hot chocolate while I enjoyed the warmth inside. Hope you're warm and dry!

TV Tim

After a long absence meaning a quiet, and even restful, few months, here's something newsworthy.

Tim was on cable access TV last night on a program called Disability Viewpoints. The subject is Access Press, and he gets to talk about the paper's history, present, and future.

Click here to enjoy the video.

Letterman's people were calling all morning.