Just some very pretty rooms...

My latest obsession...

Old hangers with fabric or yarn, if you find some of this variety, and they are 50 cents or less, I will buy them from you. I really love them and often find them at the Salvation Army in Fergus. Someone else must love them too as I don't find them as often or maybe I just bought them all. :) The pictures in this post are not mine, but are very similar.

Stormy Day

Another stormy day in Minnesota-perfect for staying under the cozy blankets or baking something yummy. Tonight we are having the salmon chowder that Royce and family gave us at Christmas. I think Mom and Dad are having theirs tonight too. It seems like the perfect kind of day to have it.

I have tomorrow off as a comp day for parent teacher conferences.

Nancy and kids, Mom and Dad left last night to avoid the storm instead of going this morning. Good to know that everyone is home safe. Kind of a lazy day around here, could be more of the same tomorrow except that Dan will be working so no internet for me. It's not a bad thing.

Good night-stay warm!

Saturday Skiing at Andes

Joey and Sophie are just learning how to ski! Nancy and the kids came up on Friday and we spent Saturday on the slopes. It was a beautiful day to ski and have fun with the kids. They are doing just great.

Sophie & Joey

I haven't taken many pictures with my new Droid phone camera but I can send them via email now, one step at a time. I'm pleased with the image quality and very pleased that it's easy to store them with my other images on the computer. The view is great at the top of the hill. You can see that Sophie and Joey had a fun day by the smiles on their faces.

Nancy and the kids all decked out in their ski-wear.

Another lovely view.

Happy Valentine's Weekend!

We didn't have our party today, like the 6th grade did, we're waiting until the REAL day on Monday. My students planned another fun party. It's our last official class party. Our last conference was just wrapped up this past Monday. It's nice to have them done with.
I love these old fashioned cookies, what are they called?? I have these little pastry bags, purchased about 200 or more at a rummage sale many years ago. I rarely see them. Does anyone know where I can purchase them when I run out?

This little wall collage is just my cup of tea!

Vintage cookbooks, garlic?, and rosemary in a hobnail cup-sigh.....

Ice "Damns"

Here's an educational post for all of you. We are battling ice damns at our house. I know that's not how it's spelled, but it should be. Last weekend's warm temp's brought water dripping into our house in two different locations. On Sunday morning, we must have shoveled 2 tons of snow off the north side of the house where most of our issues seem to be. Last night, I purchased a roof rake and even though it was almost $50, Dan thought it was worth the money, and a safer option too I suppose. Tonight after school, we chipped away at the ice and removed quite a bit. With warmer temp's ahead of us, we're trying to stay ahead of the game.

I think that if we ever build a house (doubtful) it will have a metal roof!

Avocado Mask

Tonight I used an avocado in my lettuce salad and noticed there was still some very dark green pulp clinging to the skin. Instead of tossing it out, I was able to scoop out about a tablespoon that was moist and suitable for mask material. You don't need to waste an entire avocado for a mask. Last summer I had one that was beyond eating and it was WAY more than I needed. So back to my mask, I put the green pulp in my hand and added about 1/2 tsp of olive oil, squished it all together and then massaged it all over my face. I did use it on my eye area because it's supposed to reduce wrinkles, so why not. It is a mask for dry skin, perfect for winter skin. Even my normally oily skin is quite dry this winter. I could feel some tingling while it was drying and after about 20 mn removed it with warm water and a cloth. Apply toner if you have it and then your favorite moisturizer. Your skin will feel very soft and look great for a couple of days.

Click HERE to read about the healthy skin benefits of an avocado including information on making a mask and other stuff.

Before & After Hutch

If you click on the photo's you can see the difference.

There's not a huge difference but I feel like this hutch no longer screams 1990's to me. It was white-washed pine and a few coats of paint covered up the knots. They might eventually bleed through but hopefully not. I don't miss those rusty knots. After the picture, I took the knick-knacks off again as the paint isn't ready for that. I think I'm going to do an overhaul of the inside too, maybe add some books and take out the red accents, more of a natural look I'm thinking. I'm happy with the way it turned out, it was a good day for this project. It is VERY windy over here, coming straight from the south where we're exposed. Hopefully the winds are bringing the warm south temp's.

We have a teacher's inservice tomorrow so there won't be a 2 hour delay. The year is officially half over. Kind of hard to believe.

Painting

Today's the day...I'm finally painting the hutch. Nothing too daring however, just a creamy white that I happened to have in the basement. It's Swiss Coffee from Home Depot. I originally bought it for the wainscot but it was not white enough so I used some to paint the inside of the new closet and had about 1/2 gallon left. I'm using a small foam roller and it's going fast-two coats and one to go then a little trim work. I'm thinking of changing the knobs too. Pottery Barn has some nice ones in their new catalog, and Fleet Farm has that are quite similar. I was surprised by the nice collection that FF had. I'll post an after when I'm finished, maybe today?!

My other project is entering and posting grades. The quarter ended on Friday and we have til noon tomorrow to get them entered. It's nice to be able to do it at home. Dan is looking forward to football this afternoon, so that's our day. Hope you are staying warm, sounds like better temps are just around the corner.

Burning lots of candles here today and the fireplace has been going non-stop. Hope you are all avoiding the wind and snow outside. It's really whipping up out there and I'll be surprised if we're not 2 hours late, although now I've probably jinxed it. Nothing like starting Monday off by sleeping it a little bit, especially in January!
Here's a Pottery Barn pillow that I like and have thoughts of replicating with my calendar pictures. Birds were big last spring with PB, this spring looks like butterflies. I'm into both.
I've admired some collage art at gift stores combined with quotes. Here's my imitation. The 4-6 inch plaques had ugly pictures on them so I just glued over the top of them, they came from the SA for 50 cents each. I still have one left. I have some copies of family pictures I'd like to play with too.
I took pity on this rather tacky Christmas bird (50 cents) at the Bargain Bazaar a couple of weeks ago. She's starting to grow on me because someone put a lot of effort into gluing all her sequins on both sides. She clings to a plastic branch and I actually like the colors in her tail feathers. I stuck her in the tree and she looked at home there with the vintage ornaments. She must be a partridge.

Soup Days

These cold January days call for hearty soups on the stove. Today, I will share my favorite with you. I used to make it all the time when we were first married. I made it again today and it's called Hobo Soup in the Trinity Cookbook on page 260. It's from our neighbor on the farm, Margaret Kjeldahl who passed away a couple of years ago. She was such a nice lady. Linda Hansen's recipe is on the same page and almost the same.

Hobo Soup

1 lb hamburger (I use 1/2 or less)

1 cup chopped onion (I use 1/2)

1 cup tomatoes (canned or fresh)

3 cups water

1 c carrots

1 c celery

1/4 tsp basil

1/4 tsp thyme

1 bay leaf

1 c diced potatoes

1 c chopped cabbage (I often skip as I don't usually have)

1/4 cup rice white or brown, add more if you like it thick

3 tsp salt (I add 2 tsp pepper too)

Brown hamburger and onion. Add other ingredients and cook until vegetables are tender 30 mn or so. Linda says that it freezes well too. I love it for leftovers as it just gets tastier. It seems like a healthy soup, uses ingredients you probably have and it's so easy.

Congratulations!!!!

My friend Becky became a grandmother today! Little Jacob is one lucky little boy. Congrat's to your entire family, Becky!!!

Natural Decorating

The moss shown below was scraped from the oak trees here in October. Charice, I will be sure to get some to Sean this spring. Even if I have to send a bag with Dan to Mpls now that the three of you all work downtown. I could probably make a killing selling it in a little boutique down there. :)
These matted frames came from a half price box at the Fergus Salvation Army. I had to cut the backing off to take out the faded photographs that someone else once treasured. After the discount they were $1.20 each. I put two old Cavellini calendar pictures in the frames instead and I actually like how the frames are a little distressed. I know that the bottom one is sideways but I think it looks a little more interesting that way. I think they have a Pottery Barn look to them at a tiny fraction of the cost.

This thermos bag came from a rummage sale up in Hibbing two years ago. That day of rummaging was definitely in my top 5 of sale days. Shari, Mom, Carly and I had a very fun morning. There are two nice matching thermoses inside too!

Big Kitty enjoys birdwatching, in this case, it was a big red squirrel!

Annette gave me some fun bird pictures. Sets like these were used in schools in the 60's I'd guess. This one is my favorite and it fits perfectly in the matted SA frame I got for 90 cents the other day. The glass was cracked, which I didn't notice til I got home, so I will have to get that somewhere.

Here's the second pair of gloves I did a little accent knitting for. I like the yarn I used here so am working on another pair at the moment.
Last weekend I experimented with some night pictures and they turned out pretty good. I think the reflection of white snow helped in comparison with the summer night pictures I've taken.
We have quite a bit of snow, but not as much as they have down in Jackson or even in the cities so it could be worse.

Today, our school dismissed at 12:15 due to blowing snow and drifting on the roads. It was kind of nice to get an early start on the weekend. I came home and did some cleaning and put a few Christmas items away. We have pretty much been hermits for the last 8 days. I venture out to work but that's been about it. Tomorrow we hope to go out and get some groceries and other supplies. This could be a seriously LONG winter.