Christmas Cuties

Here's a cute Christmas picture of all the Larson grandchildren. Yes, that is Dan in the background too. This lively little foursome will be a group of 5 next summer as Royce and Lynn are expecting a baby in early August!! Their ages in this photo are 9, 4, 2 and 4. Sorry, Ellen, but technically you were 9 in this photo. She's 10 now.

A Peek...

into my living room. It's a narrow room with two focal points on opposite sides so it's a challenge to come up with furniture arrangements. I have the bay window view on one side and the fireplace on the opposite. With the chair and sofa facing each other you can see both so it seems like the best solution. The table is a favorite find from Ron's Warehouse. It was in a fire so I didn't feel bad about painting it. I purchased it for $40 and it originally sold for $400. Fun.

Happy Birthday, Darlene!

Wishing my wonderful mother-in-law a happy birthday! Hope you had a good day at school and that everyone enjoyed your bars. You must have had recess inside today. I can't change the weather but I can post a pretty spring picture just for you! Stay warm and enjoy the rest of your day.

Miss Shadow

Yes, I know I am a very beautiful kitty.

My oh My...Sweet Potato Fries!

We are trying to eat this vegetable more often at our house. The first time, I just popped it in the oven like a baked potato and we ate it with butter, salt and pepper. Very yummy! This afternoon, for a snack, I tried them as fries. After skinning and chopping, I tossed them with a T of olive oil, salt & pepper and baked them in a convection oven at 400 for about 20 mn. I thought they were very good with ketchup and Dan likes his plain. If you google sweet potato fries you will get lots of seasoning ideas. Some add taco or southwestern seasoning and I bet that would be good. Next time, I will spray the cookie sheet too as they were pretty sticky.

On the road to Millerville...

On the way to a baseball game last summer we drove through some gorgeous countryside and came upon these beautiful workhorses. I made Dan pull over, ran up the hill, snapped the picture and it's one of my favorite animal photo's. I enjoy taking pictures of the countryside and rural life. I'll share some more later...I have a large collection.

Fun with Chicken Pot Pie

You know January in Minnesota is a slow month when you are posting photo's of last Sunday's dinner. Amanda, you will recognize this dish! I used to use a biscuit mix for my crust but lately I've been using a ready made pie crust. Since I used an oval dish, I had a portion to cut off and use for decorative accents. This is the most effort I have ever put into it. Do you think pie crust has less calories when it's placed over vegetables????

The answer is....

The highest elevation in Minnesota is located at the peak of Eagle Mountain in Superior National Forest near Lutsen, elevation 2,301 feet. Interestingly enough, the lowest point in Mn is only 15 miles away at Lake Superior checking in at 607 feet. There's your geography lesson for the day.

Seven Sisters

Joel & Amanda came up last Sunday afternoon and suggested that we take a hike up the Seven Sisters. I was game and the three of us were able to convince Dan to take a break from football and join us. I've driven by the hills many times as it's less than 10 miles away, so it was fun to actually climb up them. I did a google search and found that the 7 hills were indeed formed by glaciers. The highest point is 200 ft above Lake Christina. There are many rare plants on the hills. I'd like to go back in the spring or summer to check them out. Inspiration Peak is located directly behind us in this photo and has the honor of being the second highest point in Mn at 1,725 ft. Do you know where the highest point is located???

Happy Birthday, Ellen!!!

Happy 10th Birthday, Ellen!!! I love this picture of you and Nancy at Christmas this year. I found this old picture of you too. It still seems like you should be around that age! You must have been around 5 or so wearing Nancy's old dress. You are a very special niece to me. I hope you have a fun party on Friday.
Love you!!! Laurie

Fancy Apron

Lately, I have been doing a LOT more reading about sewing projects than actually doing them. This afternoon, I decided it was time to change that. I've been admiring some of the cute aprons people are showing on their blogs so I decided to make one with some fabric I had on hand. I plan to make some more but I think I will use some cute dish towels or placemats to save a little time. The only problem with this apron is that I don't want to get it dirty.

Thrift Find

Here is an old wool jacket that I found for $1.00 at the Alex thrift store. The quilted lining is in perfect shape and after tacking down the bottom of the zipper, the rest of the jacket is too. I found this in September and have been wearing it a lot, not into town yet. It's perfect for bird chores and cleaning up around the yard. I think it's 20-30 years old judging by the label. Anyway, I love it!!

Snowflakes

We had a lesson on making these snowflakes at both the Larson and Smith Family Christmas. Here's a picture of Miranda and Courtney with their finished results.

Happy New Year!

Happy 2007!!

I hope it will bring you lots of

happiness and good health.

We had a good start with a

beautiful sunny day. My parents

came over in the afternoon. I made

wild rice soup and sandwiches.

Dad saw his very first cardinal today.

It was a bright red male. He hung

around for about 5 mn and that was it. They're fairly rare in this area so it's a

treat to see them.

It's back to school for me tomorrow.

Christmas break sure went fast!