Lovely Thunder

Yesterday was the postcard perfect day here in lake country - sunny, warm, with a little breeze to cool you down.  One of those days you save in your memory banks for the dreary winter days to come.

Today, it's raining, and that's perfect too.  The thunder is that gentle, off-in-the-distance kind that doesn't scare the bejeezus out of you, and isn't accompanied by bright flashes of lightning.  It's the kind of day made for baking frittatas (spinach, bacon, cheese in the oven) and doing nothing much.  The air smells sweet, and my garden appreciates the moisture as much as I do.

Grace the cat is happy, laying on her bed with her eyes half-lidded and her chin on the edge of the chair.  She got some catnip earlier, which made her alternate between rolling in the stuff and climbing into my lap to thank me.  I think she loves Minnesota as much as I do.

On the home selling/building front, I close on my 5 acres of woods next Friday.  Finally, something is going right.  My house in Texas has been under contract twice now, and both have fallen through.  It doesn't look like building is going to start until close to August, so I'm starting to wonder where I'm going to live over the winter if my house isn't ready for occupancy by the time the snow flies.

But all of that is just noise in the background, while I listen to the rain and the lovely thunder.  That frittata is gonna taste even better today!

Strange Courting Rituals

In my quest to build a house, I've worked with many people, including a very nice young lady at the tile and flooring place here in town.  My second visit there, she asked if I was married - I said "no, never have been; no kids".  She asked if I might be interested in going on a blind date with her father-in-law then?

I'm trying to adapt to my new home and get to know as many people as possible in the community, so I said "sure, why not".

Later that day she called to ask me if she could give him my phone number, which I agreed to.  That very night he called, much to the amusement of my family members sitting in the kitchen taking my turns at the board game while I chatted with him.  He promised to call another day to set up a dinner date.

This afternoon he called again.  This region has a very strange courting/mating ritual that I am unfamilar with.  I'm used to meeting someone for coffee/a drink/dinner at a neutral place, or meeting with mutual friends.  But this guy?  He has extra sunfish that he caught that he wants me to have, and wants to come by my camper to deliver them.

So is it a courting ritual to give a girl a fish on the first date?  Is this a Minnesota thing?  I'm so confused!