Category Archives: Something About Nothing Column

Something About Nothing-Vacationing in Albert Lea

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English: Albert Lea Lake from Myre-Big Island ...

English: Albert Lea Lake from Myre-Big Island State Park, Minnesota, USA (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

by Julie Seedorf ©August  2012

I vacationed in Albert Lea for two weeks. Technically it wasn’t a vacation as I commuted back and forth to my home to work but it felt as if I were on vacation. The purpose of the vacation was to cat sit our two grand kitties. I never understood the purpose of traveling from town to a lake home every night during the summer as some people I knew did. I now understand the reasoning behind their decisions.

Our little vacation in Albert Lea was a time away from the phone in the evenings. I could relax and read a book and not see all the projects or house cleaning staring me in the face as it did at home. Plus I had the purring of two cute kitties to wake me up in the morning. Plus I decided to take it easy on the cooking for those two weeks.

It was fun living in a larger community for a couple of weeks. I visited the Farmer’s Market and my taste buds fell in love with the scones and bread from the K and K Bakery. I met a talented artist that makes hand-crafted jewelry. Her business name is as lovely as she is Lovely’s By Laura. Her designs caught my eye and I know I am going to be one of her customers in the future. The produce selection was outstanding and there were many talented people sharing their products. I was surprised that I also could buy gluten free products at this Farmers Market. Of course since I was cat sitting I had to buy cat toys and the Farmer’s Market could cover that need too.

My friends, kids and grandchildren all know that usually I can be seen with a coffee cup in my hand. Of course I had to visit the new store in Albert Lea, Prairie Winds Coffee. One of my favorite pastimes is to visit coffee houses and check out their coffee. I wasn’t disappointed. I loved the ambiance of the building and the coffee and the aroma satisfied my coffee cravings.

Shopping also had to be on my list of things to do on my vacation. As I was checking out Northbridge Mall I stopped at Grandma’s Kitchen and had the best maid rite I have had since I was a kid in the 50’s. It tasted like the maid rites I used to order at a little diner in my home town of Wells. While I was there I noticed the Pork Tenderloin on the menu. The owner assured me it lived up to the D’s Drive In pork tenderloins that used to be served in Albert Lea. I will check that out in the future.

I was in heaven. I could choose from so many eating establishments over the two weeks and I did. There were so many choices I can’t name them all.

Since my son in Iowa is a Hy-Vee employee of 18 years working for PDI as buyer I knew I must check out the Hy-Vee store. There is always a helpful smile in every aisle. I chose the natural and organic foods section.  These were foods I normally could not get in my local food market.  I found rice chips with varying seasonings, organic cereals and sauces and more. I found products and juices to try and were new to me. It was a healthy grocery shopping trip.

The Albert Lea Tribune office was also on my list to visit. I took the time to stop in and meet with the editor Tim Engstrom. I had only met Tim once six or so years ago so I thought it was time to see if I remembered what he looked like. I hate it when you reconnect with someone you haven’t seen in years and they don’t age. It must mean they live a life well lived. Tim is one of those people.  It was great visiting with him and getting a tour of the paper.

Each day I had the blessing of driving by the lake since it was only a block from where we were staying.  I could stop, take a breath, take in the beauty and be thankful that for two weeks I had those views every day.

We take our communities for granted. We focus on what our communities don’t offer and fail to see what they do offer daily. We fail to see what we are lucky to have in our communities. This time around I didn’t make it on the Pelican Breeze or to the Freeborn County Fair. I didn’t make it to some hiking trails or community theater. There wasn’t time to check out the numerous churches in the area or the specialty shops. I will save those for another cat sitting vacation.

I can’t end this without talking about my grand kitties. I also had time to write so I documented my visit with my grand kitties for their parents in The Cat Chronicles. You can read it on my blog at justalittlefluff.com. It is not a great literary work just a fun piece from the perspective of a cat.  It was a joy watching those kitties each day. I miss them waking me up in the morning with a paw on my arm or a kiss on my nose. I miss the purring in the middle of the night and the unconditional love they gave us while we were vacationing in their house. What more could I want from a vacation?

The Eyes Have It – Something About Nothing

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The eyes have it. The eyes have it might refer to a 1945 animated Disney movie starring Donald Duck and Pluto. The eyes have it might refer to the first of the Lord Darcy series by Randall Garrett. The eyes have it might refer to a short story by Ruskin Bond. The eyes have it might refer to a short story by Phillip K. Dick.  The eyes have it might refer to an episode of the television series Charmed. The eyes have it might refer to an episode of Lois and Clark from the Superman Series. The eyes have it might refer to a science fiction novel by Rose Estes. At least those are the things the Wikipedia lists for the eyes have it.

Actually, the idiom is: The ayes have it.

When I say the eyes have it I am referring to the statement women’s eyes make depending on the makeup that they are wearing on their eyes. I am obsessed right now with women’s eyes. I know they say that the eyes are the window to the soul.  By gazing into someone’s eyes we can usually tell if they are happy, sad, confused, mad or afraid.  What does the makeup that we women wear on our eyes say about us?

If you gaze at the makeup or no makeup on my eyes on any given day they will tell you they are confused. My eyes are confused about the makeup they should be wearing.

I have old droopy eyes. I have never been in favor of plastic surgery but I discovered that if I hold my lids up on my eyes I can see better. Maybe that is why some people nip and tuck. I don’t think my droopy eyes could be misconstrued as bedroom eyes.

I remember as a teenager first wearing makeup. I wasn’t confused, I was excited. At that age we were over confident that makeup looked great no matter how over made up we were. We had makeup to choose from but our choices were more limited than today. There were three colors of mascara and eyeliner, black, black/brown and brown. It wasn’t too difficult to decide what color liner and mascara to use.

Without eye makeup I have no eyes. I have always had blonde hair and blonde eye lashes. Recently someone was talking about the new style of lining inside the eyes with black eyeliner. A friend that is my age and I remarked that it was our style back in our day when we first started wearing makeup. It felt normal to go back to that style although I suppose no 62 year old lady should have cat’s eyes.

I am confused and not because I am blonde. I haven’t been big on makeup the last year. I decided maybe a little makeup would make my droopy eyes look better. I didn’t have a problem deciding on eyeliner and eye shadow but when I turned to choose mascara I walked the aisles in confusion. When did they develop so many choices?

Do I want the superextend extreme mascara, the Superextend waterproof mascara, the Supershock mascara or the Supershock extend mascara? Those were the choices my latest Avon book gave me. I checked the websites.  I found 24 hours mascara, resistant mousse mascara, fusion water resistant mascara, volume blasting mascara; eye brightening mascara and the list can go on.

I was curious about L’Oreal’s False Fiber lashes mascara that came up in a Google Search so I clicked on the link.  False fiber lashes is a break though in fiber mascara technology. According to the website it creates a unique blend of short rayon and nylon fibers.  This is the same fiber used in false eyelashes so using this mascara makes lashes to appear fuller, longer, curled and sculpted with a high gloss finish. I love to use high gloss finish on my painting projects. I guess my lashes will shine and be as durable as my painting projects.

The more I looked the more confused I became. I decided to choose my mascara in a very scientific way. I closed my eyes and chanted “I choose, I choose, I choose, it is youse. “ I then turned around three times, pointed over my shoulder and low and behold there it was. I made my choice for mascara.

The next time you see me, look into my eyes. See if you see sadness, happiness, quirkiness. Look into my eye because they are the window to my soul. That is you will see those emotions if you can get past the pink and purple curly double stranded fiber curlicue mascara that now enhances my eyes.  That is the secret to eye makeup. If we wear thick enough, quirky enough color you will never get past the lashes to look into our soul to see the happiness, sadness, madness or whatever emotion we want to hide.

The beauty of a woman must be seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides.  Audrey Hepburn

by Julie Seedorf © August2012

Community Theaters Rock!

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Judy Garland was born on June 10, 1922 in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. I imagine her parents and the residents of Grand Rapids had no idea the impact that tiny little girl would have on America’s film history. I wonder if Judy Garland herself in her later years had imagined that when she made the movie Wizard of Oz it would live on in the generations to come.
I knew who Judy Garland was because The Wizard of Oz was made in 1939 and I was the first generation after my parents to view the iconic film which was re-released in the theater. Later on it was always on television at Easter so my kids could experience the magic of Dorothy, Toto, the Tin Man, The Cowardly Lion, The Scarecrow and of course the Wicked Witch and the Glinda the Good Witch. We also cannot forget the great Oz.
Many movie icons are not known by future generations. My kids know who John Wayne is because their dad is a John Wayne fan. My grandchildren have no idea who Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable or who Sandra Dee and Troy Donahue are. My grandchildren know who the Three Stooges are because it is being brought back in film. My grandchildren know who Judy Garland is because Judy was Dorothy.
A couple of weekends ago I had the pleasure along with my daughter –in-law and granddaughter to attend The River Valley Theatre Company’s production of the Wizard of Oz in Shakopee, Minnesota.
I was ready for the usual version. I hadn’t seen the advertisements and although I love live shows and musicals I have seen the Wizard of Oz many times. Occasionally when I see something many times I get a little bored. However this time I was wowed.
This was River Valley Theatre Company’s version of the Wizard of Oz. This was the steam punk setting. Things were out of the ordinary. Dorothy had gold sparkly boots instead of red slippers. Steam punk incorporated elements of science fiction and fantasy. It incorporated fictional brass and steam machines found in the works of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells.
This version was exciting, toe tapping and hand clapping. The costumes were out of this world. Everybody was sparkly and colorful and the wicked witch’s costume of black leather, spandex and corsets was awesome. My granddaughter will forever remember this version of the Wizard of Oz. This version made me want to go back again and again. No longer did I think I may doze off because I had seen Dorothy make it back to Kansas many times. What could possibly be different? Dorothy made it home but with a few twists.
Why am I writing about my awesome experience at a community theatre? We never know what in today’s world will still be passed on to the generations that come after us. We never know what is going to influence the culture of our grandchildren and great grandchildren. We never know what might influence the culture even beyond them. What icons will still be remembered 100 years from now? If we knew something would be remembered long after it was presented would we change as a culture what we put before our society today? How do we want to be remembered? How do we want our actions to affect the future?
I also want to praise and complement community theatre companies that aren’t afraid to change and use their vision of a production to inspire all of us. The creativity used in creating a twist in theatre to change the humdrum of what we are used to should be applauded.

SOMETHING ABOUT NOTHING
by Julie Seedorf © July 2012