Easter

Hope you all had a nice Easter. We did! We spent time in Cyrus and Sisseton. It was nice to see so much family all in one weekend. I have some pictures that I will post later, haven't downloaded them from my camera yet. Today would have been nice to have off too but Dan and I both had work today. It's been awhile since I've had a full week of school. They're talking about 6 inches of snow again tomorrow so who knows....will we have another snow day? I hope not, an hour late or out early is fine but this is getting ridiculous.
The little arrangement in the photo is on the dining room table. Kris gave me the antique chick planter a few years ago. I think it's so cute. The glass dome is one of 4 that I currently have sitting out. I've been using them for a couple of years now but recently have noticed lots of stores with them. I think they look nice with natural or vintage items displayed inside. If you see a cheese dome in a thrift store that's all you need. Usually they're 99 cents. This one is not a cheese dome. I picked up a tiny one last week that I just love, about the size of a cup.

A New Bird

I have a new bird to add to our Sandy Point Bird List. It's a Fox Sparrow. We have several of them digging around in the seeds and dirt next to the side of the house. They're just passing through on their migratory route up to Canada. I hope they survive this snow and cold...poor little things!

Bird Cakes

Here's a recipe supplied by Shari for your hungry spring birds.

1 pkg corn cake mix
1 cup mixed bird seed
1 extra egg

Prepare the corn cakes as directed, stir in the extra egg and one cup of bird seed. I added a few tablespoons of chopped walnuts and dried cranberries for good measure. Bake in muffin tins or an 8x8 pan and cut into desired size. Bake as directed on the mix and cool completely.

I made this recipe a couple of months ago and the birds really did seem to like it. I'm thinking about making another batch this afternoon. Thanks, Shari!!

School's Closed!

And this is why...
Backyard view
And here's a view from the front.

It's still coming down pretty hard. We currently have about 5 inches. Most of the schools in the area are closed including Fergus and Alexandria. I think this might be the first April snow day I've ever experienced. Ann, Jen, what are you going to do with your day? Jen, I'm just guessing that you have a snow day too. I think I'm going to watch some HGTV and Food Channel. I have cupcakes to make for a cakewalk and maybe I'll do a little spring decor around the house if I get inspired by HGTV.

Twins' Opener

Twins win!!! 7-4 over Baltimore! What a great opener and it looks like Justin Morneau is going to be just fine. Usually, I don't watch a lot of sports unless Dan is around but it just seemed like the thing to do this evening. It's better than worrying about the snowstorm that is heading our way. There was some buzz at school today about another potential snow day, which I don't even want to think about since we'd just have to pay for it in June. I think I'll just enter the world of denial and hit the hay early with my new May Country Living magazine. I'd rather dream of gardening than snow.

April Fools Day!

Thanks Jen, for sending a perfect picture for my post today. I planned to show a snow photo but this is better. At least Courtney and Eric are making the most of it! It started snowing here mid-morning and is still going fairly strong at 4pm. Thankfully, it's not accumulating like it is at the Heaths. It must be their elevation. :) They live high up in the hills of Sisseton overlooking the river valley.
This weather really is quite depressing but what can you do besides patiently wait it out. Things can change dramatically during a Mn spring and this is a fine example of that. At least it gives us all something to talk about besides American Idol!!
Mom and I spent the day shopping in St. Cloud yesterday. We had a fun day despite the cold and heavy rain. We found some pretty primroses at Home Depot. I think everyone else in central Mn decided to shop in St. Cloud too. It was a pretty busy place.

IDOL Chatter

Last week I swore off American Idol after being a faithful watcher for the past 4 years. I just think it's a rather dull season and I can't stand the fact that Sanjaya still remains! He wasn't even in the bottom three tonight...unbelievable. I don't blame him, it's his voters who need their heads(or ears) checked. Last night, I missed the first 20 mn but caught the final 7. (I can't just go cold turkey!) Chris Sligh was voted off tonight and I wasn't surprised. At first, I thought he had the potential to go a long ways but the more I heard of him the less I liked him. He's still 100% better than Sanjaya! My favorite is Melinda~ Love her voice and personality.

Great Blue Heron

Now I know it' s spring! This morning on my drive to school, a Great Blue Heron, flew over the marsh at the end of Golf Course Road. I see them all summer, especially when kayaking along the shoreline. I can only get about 5o feet from them and they swoop away on their gigantic wings. They often perch on overhanging branches or at the end of quiet docks waiting for their next meal. Seeing the heron this morning was like seeing an old friend....a nice start to the day.

Summer Dreamin'

The kind of weather we had today is the kind that gets you thinking about setting up the porch and deck. Here's the deck from last summer. As long as the mosquitoes aren't out in force, it's one my favorite summer spots. We didn't get 80 here like the cities, but must have hit the mid 60's. By the time I got home from school it was only 55. We had a workshop today so it was a fairly easy day compared to teaching. A couple of co-workers and I took advantage of the nice weather and walked to get lunch. It was nice to get the fresh air and exercise.
On a gardening note, yesterday I saw evidence of the first perennial poking out of the ground. It was an Autumn Joy sedum on the south side of the house, one of my hardy stand-bys that seems to grow anywhere. I can't wait to get out there and start raking and poking around but it will be at least a couple of weeks....patience....patience.

The Cabin

Many of you already know that we bought a little cabin just down the hill from our house. We closed in November, so we've had all winter to make plans. I plan to post a lot of pictures this spring showing the transformation of the cabin into something that looks a little more like a cottage. We had a couple of nice weeks in November where we were able to do a lot of yard work so it's nice to have that ready to go. Yesterday was the first day that we actually worked inside of the cabin so that was pretty fun. Dan moved the old fridge and stove so work can start in there. We're having the cupboards refaced and we'll paint them. We're also putting in a new kitchen floor. The rest of the cabin has some kind of wood flooring that we have yet to identify. Here's a picture of kitchen cabinets I took this winter. It was hard to get a good shot as it's a fairly small space but it gives you an idea of what we started with.

Anybody care for a slice of watermelon?? The darling gas stove was almost totally rusted out so we had to replace that. We're going to put a lot of white wainscoat in this room to open it up and we're ripping out the upper middle cabinets to have 2 open shelves. The counter is in good shape and should go with our decorating plan so we're planning on leaving it alone. I like the porcelain sink too. We found a new faucet that we're hoping will not be to difficult to install.

Exterior plans call for a new roof/gutter, pergola, window boxes, some shutters and lots of flowers. We're thinking of being daring and putting in a red roof-light green exterior-white trim with some red accents. A tan roof would be our second safe option. What do you think????

First Robin of 2007

I spotted my first robin on Friday, March 23rd at school outside our classroom window. The kids were excited and they had fun identifying the birds devouring the fruit tree just off to the side of our room. They were cedar waxwings and there were tons of them. The third graders let us use their classroom to view them as they were right in front of their window. I have a big wall of Mn birds in my classroom right now and lots of bird books. The fourth graders have actually been reading them and showing me birds that they've seen. In the morning, I've been setting out coloring pictures/information about the birds that are returning to Mn so they'll be able to identify them when they see them. We did the kingfisher the other day and they were amazed that we actually have those birds in Mn. They are pretty exotic looking I guess! This is a fun time of year for bird watchers.

I Love SF

Dan is working in San Francisco this week. I wish that I could go along with him more often. The last time was the summer of 2004 when Nancy and I both tagged along. Part of the problem is that he doesn't seem to travel there in the summer anymore and that's when it's easiest for me to go along of course. Shari and Mom have gone along with us before and I met Carol W there once when she was living in CA. I have so many good memories of this city. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the 2004 trip.

Ah.....Spring

Here are some pictures of the good things to come. We're still a good couple of months away from anything like this but it's nice to think about especially on a cold, WINDY day like today. The wind is really whipping up a storm out there this evening. I hate it when it's this windy and it seems like we've had so much of it. I hope it dies down soon or at least brings us some warmer weather. Aren't you getting tired of your sweaters?

Happy Birthday, Shari!

Here's another cute couple for you...

Happy 30th Birthday, Shari!!! ;)