Baby, it's cold outside...

So glad the kids don't have school today!! 

We can stay in and stay warm.

Although the cold is doing it's best to try to get in...

That is ice on the inside of the front door. I even made a draft stop but the cold is persistent.

Anybody needs me...I'll be under a blanket, drinking tea.

 

Wish Jar

No, this isn't a work of art...
it's just something I did quickly to cover a hot cocoa container. I may pretty it up more...or not.

I read about a great way to painlessly save for Christmas all year long and thought....hmmm...

We have our 20th wedding anniversary coming up in a little over 15 months. We've always talked about going someplace special for each of our "big number" anniversaries but never have. Mostly because we had little kids at the time. Now that they are older, I think it's time.

So I've decided that every $5 bill that crosses my path goes directly through the slot I cut in the lid. I'm not going to look, count, or in anyway keep track until it's time to open it to pay for our trip.


Mr. G is on board the our savings plan. We are both excited to see how much we can save. Since cash isn't a commodity we use a lot, it could be slow going. When I told my mom about what we were doing and she sweetly slipped me the $5 bills she had on hand.

What do you think of our plan??

 

Still here...

Just trying to claw my way back to the functional world again. 

Isn't it amazing how strong yet fragile we are as humans. Something microscopic can take us out of commission for days.

I've had a "flu-like" virus. 

The kind that makes you feel like a wet noodle. The kind that makes the 10 step walk to the bathroom and back to bed seem like a 10 mile hike.  

Mr. G  stayed home from work to look after me when my fever was 103°F.  He also made me Jell-O when I mentioned that it sounded good. That may not sound like a big deal to you but it certainly was to me. As the kids would say, "Dad is not a cooker".  Makes me smile.

 

Wordless Wednesday

It's school time....

Excuse the interuption

I got a new computer and didn't realized the extent of stuff that I left on the old one!!!

 Yikes! 

You think that you write a comprehensive list and then you open Photoshop and realize....crud....you didn't think of anything crucial to blogging or digital art at all!! I don't even have my Papyrus font I like to use as my watermark. GRRR!!!! 

 I even had stuff to show you but things are just too messed up right now.

Instead I'll share with you something I found written by Little J a couple years ago.

I keep this photo at the ready in my files for anytime I need a pick me up.

Be back soon...hopefully...

Did someone say Roadtrip?!?

So my neighbor calls me Saturday morning and asks me to go on an adventure. She also had invited another neighbor on her adventure west. Shockingly, both of us said yes with 45 minutes notice...grabbed our kids and left.

Here's the back of the van after our travels.... back country gravel roads are very dry and dusty right now.

We drove about 2 hours west of here to her sisters farm. They were having an anniversary party and it's always "the more, the merrier" for their huge family.

Shortly after we got there it was decided that a few of us should go visit a brand new winery about 5 miles away....more gravel roads...

I sampled this wine and decide to buy a bottle so Mr. G could enjoy it as well since he was off on his own adventure for the day in another direction.  It's called Rockin' Coyote after all the coyote in the area that come out to serinade each night.

All the kids had a blast running and jumping across round bails of hay that were neatly set in rows. There were a few mis-steps but no injuries...only laughs.

After the eating and running off the calories we went on a hayride.

A whole gaggle of kids and a handful of adults hopped on a hayrack behind this tractor driven by the eldest son of our hosts.

It honestly was the longest hayride I've ever been on.....

We travelled around a "section"....

Later we found out a "section" is about a 5 mile fun but dusty trip....

We saw lots of crops...some horses...and the MN River Valley just below this farm.

My 90-some yr old uncle lives about 12 miles upriver of here. Such a beautiful area....

On the way home I wanted to drive through the town my dad spent his early years in. I thought I'd be able to pick out my Grandpa's church without a doubt.
Time has really aged it. It was kind of sad.
I didn't even stop to take a picture myself because I was so sure I must be mistaken.
I was the last baby my Grandpa ever baptized...and also his last grandchild. I have the baptizmal bowl from the fount that we all were baptized from. It's one of my treasures.

Here's a photo I found on Flickr from 2009.

All in all it was a fun spur of the moment 250 mile roundtrip adventure!!! I wish we had time to do more since we were in that "neck of the woods"...or prairie as the case may have been but there is always next time....





 

Don't look now...

Mom's organizing. 

I'm quickly learning that she does this from time to time and it gets pretty crazy. 

Stuff here, there and everywhere. 

She doesn't like it when I get to nosey but what else is a kitty to do. So many new things, new smells, things to bat around....a plethora of exciting things to get into.

The kids are staying clear for fear they'll be put to work as well.

I guess mom will be back for tea and other stuff later. She's been playing with bottle caps and then yesterday pulled an old book apart. Not sure what is going on but hey, I'm still new here.

Time for another nap...all this typing has me worn out.

~Gracie

Meet Gracie...

We adopted her yesterday.

All we planned to do on Saturday was pick up some more fish for the tank and we ended up applying to adopt a cat.

Crazy how things work sometimes.

She's almost 2 yrs old. She had the name Grace but we thought Gracie sounded a bit cuter.

Both myself and J have cat allergies but only to certain cats.

We had J pet the cat then rub his hands on his face. In the past, if he's allergic, he'd start sneezing and getting itchy eyes almost immediately. 

No reaction.

I also didn't have any reaction.

It was meant to be.

She has very pretty markings.

This is what she's been doing most of today...

basking in the sun, watching the birds and bugs fly around.

Pretty simple life...

The really strange thing was, in the adjoining cages there were cats named Halle and Tika....not very common names!! I have a cousin named Tika. It would have been just to strange to take that pair home...plus if they were anything like Tika and I, they'd have gotten into a lot of mischief. :) 

 

It's so nice!!!!

I have no art to share...just my giddiness over the nice weather! 

It's 81°F in Minnesota on March 16th!!! 

The funny part is that there is still ice on the lakes around here. Obviously not safe to be on but ice none the less.

Have a wonderful weekend!

I know I'm going to be enjoying the great outdoors while it lasts...being Minnesota...it could snow next week. :)

 

Did you miss me?

Over the past couple weeks our family tried to squeeze as much time out of what was left of summer as possible. We ended up doing and seeing things that we hadn't ever as a family even though they are right around the cities. Stay-cationing, I believe is the hip term for that these days.
I'll only highlight a few...



The kids and I helped herd these sheep at a working farm that's part of the local park system. It was quite funny...we were just there for a walk and to buy some produce and eggs when they asked if we could help. When do city kids get the chance to do something like that?!?

We stopped by beautiful Minnehaha Falls Park on our way to a museum one Saturday. Neither of us had been there since we were kids ourselves. It's so beautiful that we have it on our list to see once more of the leaves start to change.




















After a walk around the falls area we went to a one of a kind military museum that is sadly scheduled to close at the end of the month.   It really awesome to walk around all of those old vehicles...peek inside...






Of course, I took hundreds of pictures of a multitude of subjects in a multitude of other places but I won't bore you with them all.  I just wanted to say hello and that I'm back online...no thanks to our cable company who kept me offline for 5 days longer than I expected.  GRRR!

Next time I'll show you some new art...

Every once in a while...

...I feel very domestic. 

As in old school... starting from scratch with all basic ingredients. 

Today was one of those days.

I was inspired by this blog post by Krista to try making butter. 

Into the mixer goes the heavy whipping cream...

Several minutes of high speed mixing brought me to here...

Notice the solids separated from the liquid....that liquid would be buttermilk. Cool huh!

 

 

 

After draining the buttermilk off and "washing" the butter...see Krista's recipe...

  I ended up with this nice ball of butter.

Remember the buttermilk I mentioned earlier... 

Oh yeah..pancakes for lunch baby!

During the midst of all that mixing I made a batch of salsa or maybe it would be pica de gallo depending on how you want to look at it.

Aren't veggies beautiful!?!

Wee Bit Wednesday

{one} how many times have you been a bridesmaid/maid of honor?I was a junior bridesmaid when I was 8, if that counts.
{two} what’s the last thing your do before you fall asleep at night?

Usually read or watch a little tv.

{three} you just won your dream vacation, all expenses paid. where are you going?Somewhere tropical, secluded with a spa.
{four} what is your favorite outdoor activity?I love hiking, especially around Lake Superior but we don't do that often.  Going for walks around here is always pleasant.
{five} as a child, what did you want to “be when you grew up”? did you end up there?I always wanted to be a mom...and I am. I'm lucky to be at home full-time. My parents had "higher aspirations " for me....'be a doctor like you uncle and grandpa.'  That was their dream...not mine.
{six} what are 3 things your dream home would have that you don’t currently have?A craft room/studio, 3 car garage and a mudroom.
{seven} what’s for dinner tonight?Leftovers
{eight} if someone stopped by your house unannounced on a typical Saturday night, what would they find you doing?

Either on our deck or watching a movie on DVD...weather dependent.

{nine} what’s your average monthly water bill?About $27 nine months of the year. During summer it's close to $40 when we water the lawn.
{ten} what do you do to relax?

Talk on the phone, read or make art

Blogger commenting issue

Since there seems to be some goofy issue with the embedded comment form, I'm temporally changing back to the old pop-up form. Don't be alarmed...I did this on purpose. I miss hearing from you...

Wee Bit Wednesday

{one} what’s the worst date you’ve ever been on?Sadie Hawkins dance...my friends told me to call a friend of their boyfriends so we could triple date. Blind date for Sadie Hawkins....UGH! He was 14...I was 16...embarrassing at the time.

{two} if you could be any other person for one day, who would it be?

Wow...this is hard! I think I'd like to be Lindsey Vonn. 

I'd love to ski sometime...something I can't do and would really like to do, 

plus she's very athletic and likely looks awesome in any old thing she throws on.

{three} what is your favorite kind of cheese?Brie

{four} do you remember your 1st grade teacher?Oh my goodness..I was just talking about my 1st grade teacher today! Mrs. Sloe...or maybe is it Miss Sloe. She was pretty young.

{five} who is the first person you call when you have a bad day?Sandy...she's always there to lend an ear

{six} were you ever in a school talent show?

Nope...I'm Norwegian...my part of that tree is artsy not rhythmic.

{seven} who is your favorite fictional character?Jack Sparrow as portrayed by Johnny Depp

{eight} can you open your eyes underwater?

I can't see either way so there's no point.

{nine} do you look at the keyboard when you type?

I do a mix...glancing back and forth

{ten} when was the last time you took a nap?A couple weeks ago. Had gotten about 4 hours of sleep total in two nights. Slept for a couple hours...it was glorious!

Wee Bit Wednesday

{one} do you watch the history channel? if so, what’s your favorite program?Yes... we watch American Pickers and Pawn Stars as well as historical documentaries.
{two} what is your favorite thing to do on a rainy day?Make art, sew. crochet...play games with the family if they're home.  {three} what does your dream house look like?Log House that feels secluded but is still close to all my errands.
{four} what state were you born in?Minnesota
{five} do you have a change jar? if so, what do you use it for when it gets full?Yep...we have a growler and I hope to use the $ for a vacation.
{six} what’s the first website you look at when you get on the computer?My gmail, then Accuweather.
{seven} what is your favorite breakfast?Eggs over-easy with toast and hash browns.
{eight} what’s the most memorable trip you’ve ever taken?That's hard...  As a parent...last summer to Wisconsin Dells...loved making those memories with them.As an adult...hubby and I went to through the Badlands and Black Hills of South Dakota.As a kid...a fly-in fishing trip in Canada for a week.
{nine} do you prefer your coffee black or with cream/milk/sugar?

I drink it black but I would prefer to have creamer in it but my waistline disagrees.

 

{ten} have you ever done a professional photo shoot?Senior pictures, if that countsandMy mom took me to Glamor Shots when I was 18 or 19. Hubby still has one of those photos in his office.

Wee Bit Wednesday on Thursday

{one} have you ever been stuck in an elevator?Um...no. I'd be a basket case.

{two} have you ever ridden on an elephant?YES!!  At the MN Renaissance Festival about... Well...lets just say a long time ago.

{three} have you ever met a well known celebrity?A couple people I went to high school with are semi-famous now...but they were just typical kids back then.

{four} do you have any food allergies?Yes...chocolate....doesn't stop me though. I just sneeze my head off for a minute or two then its all good. :)

{five} do you know how to sew?Yes...I wing it most of the time though...I'm not good with patterns and instructions.

{six} did you get an allowance when you were young?No. I did start getting paid when I mowed our couple acres of yard though...of course, my payment was directly deposited into my SAVINGS ACCOUNT.

{seven} how often do you fill up your gas tank?Maybe once a month...I don't drive much.

{eight} have you ever been stung by a jelly fish?Um ..no...I don't really care for the ocean. Too many things that can eat you in there.

{nine} have you ever been robbed?It's funny...a long time ago, my VW rabbit was broken into...everything from the glovebox was on the front seat...they took NOTHING...I guess I didn't have anything good.

{ten} what is the worst haircut you’ve ever had?Hmmm...it would either be that haircut my cousin gave me when I was 4 and she was 5.She tied me to a chair....seriously. We stuffed my hair into a Kleenex box...yeah, like that would hide it.Or maybe the time I thought I could give myself a haircut. You see, my mom was a beautician so I figured I could do it. Yeah...not so much... I went I to get it fixed and said that a "friend" did it. I couldn't confess that I'd been so dumb.  

Lions and Tigers and Bears...oh my!

Ok...so, no lion... I'm not sure that there is one at our zoo. But we didn't make it through the whole thing. We were tired and the weather wasn't nearly as warm as promised.


How about Wolves, Tigers and Bears... oh my! 

The bear on the tree just cracks me up!!!