A Golden Opportunity

a new warm spring-feeling day lead us to a nearby asian grocery store... we stopped in...and our jaws dropped in amazement. fresh produce and herbs, an aquarium of fish, aisles of mouth-watering sauces, treats, and grains, and a multitude of frozen vegetables, animals and animal parts including fish (millions of kinds), whole hens and geese, many cow organs, and crab legs.



Jon's favorite item was REAL rice wine vinegar for about a dollar. Susan's favorite: big bag of sea salt for 5 bucks. And the duo's together-favorite: Hello Panda chocolate-filled mini cookies. (We also noticed the nice thing about the sweets is they're made with raw ingredients including cane sugar)!

The bundle of groceries at a regular corporate grocery store would have cost, we're guessing, $130. This trip, it cost us a whopping FIFTY dollars, plus we got advice on the mangos for free from the nice check-out lady.

We are SOOOOOO shopping there from now on!!!

random things happen...

bratty napoleon has survived another month without being sequestered or killed. the 3 cats can now eat together peacefully. the rest of the day... fights. napoleon is seeking help through psychopharmaceuticals for his aggressive attitude.


the mississippi river from our neighbourhood looking toward downtown minneapolis was viewed on one of susan and margie's walks.


margie enjoys walking the tracks and watching for birds on these walks; however she has learned not to chase flying objects while on the leash because her mother will put her in the kennel straightaway.


she also enjoys hopping through the snowy weeds along the bank of Shingle Creek during late winter walks.


After a looooooooong and difficult day at work, Susan came home to a clean house (ALL the piles of dishes done, ALL laundry washed, dried, folded, and put away, etc.) and the bedroom rearranged in the way she had been talking about. This was the best anniversary gift ever. 4 years!

the new cat

on my way home from a long day at school,
i stopped to pick up some dog food. in the store
there was a tiny little black cat in a cage. i grabbed
an oversized bag of dog food, walked over to
the cat cage and stuck my hand through the bars
to say hello. he stared at me with severe depression.
i read that he was rescued from the roadside at only
4 weeks old after his mother and siblings had been
killed by a car. he then had an owner for 6
years but couldn't go with her when she moved.
he then spent a couple weeks in foster care and
made his way toward adoption, wanting a forever
home. well, i couldn't take it ... and adopted him
(with cat-allergy jon's permission).



Leonardo Xavier Rutherford.




Leo settled in very quickly, begged for milk
and didn't get any more when it gave him diarrhea,
and made jon his new buddy, following him around
and turning jon into a cat lover.



Leo is the nicest cat ever born. Jon now hates our
other cats (more than before) compared to Leo who
has had a crap life, gets attacked by our other animals,
and refuses to protect or retaliate with violence, using
his claws only for playing with toys. what a good cat.

...now, how do we get rid of the other ones!?

Thanks giving & receiving

Susan & Raisa went into a post-turkey stupor. Well, that's what they'll tell you
about this photo, but the real story is their faces were portrayals of boredom
from listening to the boys arogantly ranting about their retro Nintendo Anticipation
skillz...




Brenden adoringly objectified Jon after losing to him at Blades of Steel.
Jon is his eternal idol.




At home, the cats caught a delicious dinner for their thankxgiving meal.
But with the economy as poor as it is, Jon and Susan partook of the feline
gift for their evening snack... Mmmm, tasty!

A Retrospective

Thanksgiving ... a time to remember our slaughtered ancestors...

and a time to remember family ...

and LOOK how cute we were!!!



Liz Heath after Rick's birth 1961




Dad & Rick Heath at the lake 1961




Heath boys ready for church 1965




Liz Heath at Halloween 1969




Heath family Christmas 1979




Benjamin Thomas 1981




Susie Heath on back yard swing 1982




Susan Marie (aka Punky Brewster) 1982







Susie & Benji Heath in Mississippi 1984


...If Jon would ever let himself be photographed, we could post some of his old photos.
(*hint hint* Jon's family!) But as he himself said in protest at having his school photo
taken for his elementary school yearbook, "You don't need a picture of me, you already
know what i look like!" Sooooooooooo Jon.

Asian Sunday Dinner

Shiitake & Tatake !!!



This Sunday evening, we gathered around the geeked out table of nerd games
to partake in Jon's Iron Chef Challenge-winning Chilled Beef Tatake
and Susan's (stolen recipe) Asperagus-shiitake seasame stirfry. Now, one of my
least favorite things is half-cooked (or as fancy people call it "medium rare") meat,
nor do i like cold meat when not in the middle of two pieces of bread with mustard
and all the veggie fixings... But, i ate the CRAP out of this beef tenderloin marinaded
for hours. It was truly tender and flavor-bursting. Compliments to the chef!

Anyone can cook!

Flaming Fall

The best part of the year is when the leaves unmask and reveal their true colors.

Sweaters, fires in fireplaces, crisp blue skies, red crunchy apples, pumkin spice candles...

Here are some snapshots of our Lind-Bohanon neighborhood:

Look how red this bush is!

A bouquet of red maple leaves.

My favorite ... Fall. The beginning of the best time of year and all the best holidays.

And smells.