Off the treadmill

Finally, back to the blog. I thought I was lax in not posting for a few days earlier this month. And now here it's been two weeks. But I shall plead having good reasons, namely in the form of socialization and particularly wedding planning, that have kept me running on the scheduled-to-the-hilt treadmill. This isn't just an ordinary treadmill, but a turbo powered model. And it's sitting on the edge of Palisade Head. (For the untraveled, this is a 300-foot sheer cliff towering above the icy waters of Lake Superior. If the fall doesn't kill you, the frigid lake surely will.) So this is how it's been for the last couple of weeks: Run on the treadmill of work and commitments, and don't stop, or it's over the edge you go. There, certain death waits, because your wife-to-be won't stand for you falling behind on your Important Pre-Wedding To Do list.

It doesn't help when it's irritably boiling hot outdoors. Seems like it was near 90 degrees for a week straight. We were saved by a cold front that rippled through on Tuesday. The wind picked up out of the northwest and swept the heat and humidity back to the south. The last two mornings I have awoken to a chilly room and the sound of rustling leaves outside. Almost like early fall. Fantastic. The Canadian cold front and the cool "exhaust" that follows it after a summer heat wave are one of the best experiences of summer.

Anyway, here's rundown update:

Thursday, June 14 - Standard Heating and Air Conditioning sent an air conditioner life-support technician out to the house. I expected to come home from work, let him in, and watch him work his magic in short order. Oh, but the news wasn't good. He explained most expertly that the system had a coolant leak - one so severe that there was hardly any freon left in the system. Freon, of course, is what gives the air conditioner its coldness...so no R-22, no cold air. This explains why I'd run the system for 24 hours to find that the house had actually gotten warmer. And the news got worse: A freon leak is the equivalent of advanced, malignant cancer that has spread to the brain, heart, lungs and extremities: We're talking weeks, not months. Leaks are usually in a worst-case-scenario location - although it would cost nearly $300 to locate and even then, probably wouldn't be a simple fix. The technician was able to perform a tune-up to get the AC running temporarily, but the end diagnosis was grim: Given the age of the system, and the likelihood that other components would fail in the next five years, replacement was undoubtedly the best option. Today's systems are built to be replaced, not repaired. With these glad tidings, thus began my three-day weekend.

Friday-Sunday, June 15-17 - Took work off on Friday. Just for fun. Jenni and I went to St. Cloud to house-sit for my dad and Jamie, who were in Wyoming. The house-sitting gig is a good one; hang out at home, water the grass and mow the lawn, and enjoy the surrounding woods and big-screen TV. We also ventured out for a 30-mile bike ride on the Lake Wobegon Trail, riding from Avon to Albany to Holdingford and back. My friend Kristen used to work across the street from Albany's landmark Kraft cheese plant, so I related to Jenni Kristen's experiences of coming out to her car after work to fine small bits of cheese dust coating her car, not unlike a light coating of orange snow. One memorable day the plant suffered a malfunction and large chunks of cheese went blowing out of its stacks, causing the Kraft folks to send a clean-up crew out to Railroad Avenue and sweep/shovel/wipe of the clods of cheddar that had decorated downtown. A good episode for Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon, if anything. Leaving the cheese factory behind, we pedaled past picturesque farmland, shady forests, and fragrant meadows underneath the expansive prairie sky. (We also biked past a flock of sheep; Jenni baaa-ed. My response: "No pets!")

Monday, June 18 - New fish came home! My aquarium hit the up-and-running-for-a-month mark, so I brought a sample of water to PetCo and got the green light on water quality. Time to add a few residents to the tank! I brought home two albino corydora catfish and three vibrant neon tetras.The corys are a type of catfish; by scouring the bottom, rocks, and plants looking for food, they keep the tank clean. The neons are pure eye candy. Their iridescence, flashing electric blue and red, makes me smile every time I enter the dining room.

Tuesday, June 19 - Had another wedding meeting this day. We sat down with our church's musical director to figure out songs for the ceremony. I thought this was going to be long and difficult and almost didn't go. But Jenni prodded gently, so along I went. Actually, it was enjoyable. The musical director had good suggestions, and I rescued our opening hymn from a somber-sounding "Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee" (sung to "Ode to Joy") to something more contemporary and cheery ("Gather Us In," a song I'm sure Catholic readers know well). Marriage is about compromise, but sometimes you have to stick to your guns. (Jenni still got her "Ode to Joy" music in a delightful arrangement that will be our processional.)

The rest of the week - It flew by. Jenni's friends Kay and Jake joined us for dinner on Wednesday. We've entered that stage of grown-up-ness where we often hang with couples, and more and more of them are married. Not that I mind, because Jake and Kay are loads of fun. They returned the favor by having us over on Saturday evening for steaks. And mutual friends Amy and Brodie joined us. Our group of six then romped around the yard until dark playing bocce ball. The women won; luck was on their side.

Also brought more new fish home on Saturday. Two gold dust mollies - small fish aptly named for their color - are adding another burst of color to the tank. And two more neons joined the mix. The neons are a shoaling fish, meaning they are happiest in a school, and preferably at least five, thank you. The new neons immediately joined up with the fledgling school, and the new group seems happier now that they are a more legitimate size.

This week's free time has been devoted largely to wedding prep, getting invitations ready to go out the door. I used Adobe InDesign - purchased for our computer with Jenni's educational discount at Minnesota State University Mankato - to design a whiz-bang invitation insert with a top-notch map. Finally, I am contributing. I was most pleased with the result.

Now, as this week is drawing to a close, I have to get install crew from Standard Heating scheduled. A superbly knowledgeable and helpful guy name Zack came out to to the homestead last Friday to give me the official estimate on a new air conditioning system. Ouch. These things aren't cheap. So ironic that a week after I get a raise, I learn that it will be all spent - and then some - on keeping the house cool. But the upside is that we will have a brand-new system, expertly installed, that is more energy efficient and comes with a five-year warranty.

My only consolation is that the current system is old enough and cheap enough that we would likely have to replace it anyway before we sell the house. So there it is. Some things you just don't wait on.

More fish coming home tomorrow!