Tree limb

This tree limb came down Saturday afternoon and it wasn't even that windy.  When the yard dries up a little we're going to clean that up.   We got plenty of rain yesterday and we were getting pretty dry so it's a good thing.  Dan's morning rescheduled game with Brainerd was cancelled and he is happy about that.  Two trips to Fergus for baseball today wasn't ideal and he was supposed to catch this morning which is pretty hard on his legs.

I had a nice picture of my pizza to post today but I managed to delete it somehow.   I used some fresh basil in my toppings and this morning I was checking out the Pioneer Woman's website and she made pizza with basil too.  She recommends using basil pesto as a base and did a comparison with fresh basil.  Her link is on my side if you feel like checking it out.

Have a great day!

Random photo's

Royce has been doing some taxidermy work on roosters for a gift shop in Hayward, Wisc.  They will charge $400 for these roosters!  It guess it's the French Country look.  I think a hen on eggs in a basket would be nice  for a country kitchen too.  
Here's a nice shot of Tim and Emily's fire pit.  We enjoyed sitting out here in front of the fire for about 30 mn before the lightening got too scary a few weeks ago.  
Emily, Morgan, Anna and Jackson enjoy a little picnic out on the lawn.  It was a very lovely day.
Eleanor and Caroline (3 yr old twins) missed the picnic but had a nice  a nap inside.  
Here's Ann &  Warren modeling Dan's Hawaiian shirt on his birthday in May.  Dan wanted to give this one away but I wouldn't let him. (Who knows if we'll ever get back to Hawaii again!) I found a nice red one for Warren at the BB shortly after this photo.  Hang loose, Warren!!! Hope to see you in your shirt on the 4th of July!

Cool, Rainy Day

Very wet, cool day here and windy too.  We have a huge oak tree limb down in the backyard to prove it.  Dan's games were cancelled today.  I put in my hours this afternoon at the Bargain Bazaar.  I picked up a cute little state (Washington)  plate for 50 cents.  It will go down in the cabin with the other little ones as opposed to the dinner plate sized, these are more dessert size.  When I showed the other ladies my treasure they just kind of looked at me like, okay...good for you.   I decided it was a good evening for making a homemade pizza, which I haven't done in ages. It turned out very good and I froze half of the dough so it will be even easier next time.

Dan now has two games on Sunday.  Not sure what I will do but I don't think I will be going to the games.  One is at 10am, the other at 8pm????  Dan's leg (tibia hematoma) is much better for those of you who have seen his large lump from a month ago.  Is it really worth it?   I don't think so but my opinion doesn't count for that much.

I found this photo on another blog and thought it looked like a yummy, easy appetizer-a grape or cherry tomato topped with mozzarella and basil.  I have a grape tomato plant growing in a container and I can't wait til I can start harvesting my little tomatoes!!

Screaming Woman

I am trying to copy the screaming woman shot so  that I can use it for my comment photo.  I found this new feature that takes 4 different shots at once.  Am I getting close?  Yes, it's a Friday night and we were going to take the boat out but there are whitecaps on the cabin side so we are just hanging out inside the house this evening and I am amusing myself by taking photo's of myself.  Dan thinks I'm weird.

Today, I was painting in the bunkhouse from 10-5, but it's done!  All the window and door trim is white.  I finished the remaining stain on the walls and the fence/gate is also done.  Tomorrow, I am going to set out a pile of FREE stuff and hope it disappears.  At noon I am going to work at the Bargain Bazaar with Shirley until 3.  Dan has a double header in Fergus all afternoon so that will keep him occupied.  Hope you have a great weekend!!

Movie Report

I give Sex and the City 5 out of 5 stars. Dan gave it 4/5.  Dan and I both enjoyed it very much but we have always been very loyal fans of the show.  I felt like I was at home watching it in my living room.  I thought the sad moments were very raw and I felt a little choked up especially when Samantha was feeding Carrie in Mexico and also when she ran out of the limo to confront big and Charlotte stopped Big from going after her.  Miranda should have said something to Carrie much earlier but their conflict on Valentines helped Miranda to come to her senses with Steve.  I loved it when they met on the Brooklyn Bridge.  

I felt frustrated that Carrie wouldn't take messages from Big, but like Nancy said, we needed to see him in some pain and they did a nice job with that.  They did a great job of balancing the sadness with humor.  For example, after Charlotte told Big to leave Carrie alone, she did a little constrained hobble in her bridesmaid dress into the limo. I also liked when Charlotte's water broke and she told Big that she had always been on his side and then she told him that she "cursed the day he was born." She had to get that in, it was lame and funny.  And then there's Samantha's new little dog....We will definitely buy the DVD when it comes out.  I need to watch it again just to see all the fashion/NYC shots.   The only thing that disappointed me was that we didn't get to see Carrie decorate that amazing penthouse apartment!!!

Sex and the City

I can't wait!  We are finally going to see this before it leaves town in Alex.  I know quite a few of you have seen it already and liked it, Nancy especially!  I didn't want to miss seeing it on the big screen and we'll probably get the DVD when it comes out to complement the entire HBO collection that we have.  

A note to all you  teachers, Target has teacher supplies out again in the dollar section.  This year they added word card charts and those are very handy and usually spendy.  They also have planners, gradebooks, stickers, bathroom passes, nametags, birthday stickers, pencils, etc... I found mine in Fergus, not sure if Alex has them yet.

Around the house

Carly & Horseshoes

Once I convinced Carly that the dogs were put away, she was very willing to play horseshoes with me.  Shari sent this photo that I totally forgot she took.  Thank you, Shari!   Isn't Carly's little gypsy dress cute?  Royce gave me this horseshoe set for my birthday last year.  Mom and Dad's huge yard is perfect for it, not to mention Bocce Ball and croquet if the balls don't get lost in the lush grass.
As Shari mentioned on her blog, this is the "new" skirt that I got at the Morris Salvation Army when Mom, Shari and I ran to town to hit some favorite shopping spots which includes Town & Country & Willies.   Now that Shari is hot for Pyrex & her figurines I don't even have to beg for a SA stop.  Ellen can do without it however and declined the 10 mile trip.  Anyway, we were about to leave totally empty handed when I spotted this skirt with  handkerchief prints all over it in my size exactly so that made it a worthwhile stop.  I like the way it flares at the bottom too.  $2 in case you were curious.

New Blog Alert

Sarah has begun a photography blog and is responsible for all the great photo's you see above.  I'm excited that she is doing this as it will be a fun way for us to view her photo's.  Many of you  are already aware that she possesses a lot of natural talent and if not, you just need to take a look HERE to see her blog.  I will also post a permanent link on my sidebar so you can check it out any time you're on my blog.  Enjoy!!

City Snapshots

Two weeks ago...

Last Friday....

We had a fun busy weekend.  It started on Friday with RENT.  Dan, Sarah and I went down that afternoon and had a fun time in Mpls and then over to St. Paul.  Got home around 2 am that evening! Dan has a couple good pictures on his phone that we need to get off so I can publish.

 On Saturday, we took off for Cyrus.  Shari, Royce and families were home and Paul had a fish fry (all walleye!) for all of us, Roger & Rose and some neighbors too.  It was a nice day.  Gracie is crawling all over and I neglected to take a picture all day!  Shari, maybe you can supply me with one or two? 

Sunday, we had Dan's BB game in the afternoon and Warren, Ann and Sarah attended and came to the cabin for supper.  We grilled in honor of Ann's upcoming birthday on Sunday.  Another lovely day.  We've had so much good weather lately although I think we could use a little rain here soon.  

I finally used my Kitchen Aid mixer last night.  I whipped up a batch of biscotti and boy was that ever slick.  I am going to enjoy having this thing.  I even made Dan watch so he could be equally impressed. The cranberry/almond/white chocolate biscotti turned out perfectly.  I think my hand mixer is going to become a little lonely in its drawer!

Vintage cookbooks

How many of you are familiar with this cooky book?  It was published in 1963 and my mom used hers quite often as it is now quite tattered and torn.  I ran across one at the Bargain Bazaar this spring and took some time to look it over with my morning coffee.  The pages in mine are in excellent shape but the front and back cover are warped from being stored in humid conditions is my guess.  Anyway, it was well worth the $1 I paid for it and I will continue to pick up any other copies that I run across as I think it's a great cookbook that has good nostalgic appeal.  BTW, the Bargain Bazaar is moving in a couple of months!!!  A building was donated to us, so no more rent!  More on that later.  Lots of work ahead though.

Bunkhouse progress

Well, you can see that I decided to just leave it natural and I'm glad that I did.   I applied a toner to the pine that brought out some nice color.  It's about 75% done, there's still a lot of trim that needs paint and I have to decide about the big front window treatment.    I used some curtain panels that I sewed around 10 years ago but didn't use anymore.  I hung onto them as I figured I would find a way to use them again.  The bed skirt took 3 panels.  I had the bedding already too, just stole it from an upstairs bedroom in the house.  We have a dresser and wicker trunk we need to get out of there, both are in pretty bad condition...Kris's pit perhaps???

Bad kitty.

Bunkhouse Decorating Dilemmas

The carpenters are finished with the bunkhouse.  Now, I have to paint and decorate.  I started painting windows and the bunks. I ran into Elbow and found the perfect red in their mistakes shelf for $6.  Unfortunately, there were no white mistakes.  I was planning to use red there and took it as a sign that there it was waiting for me in the perfect quart size even!  This morning Lyle and Bruce put the decorative end pieces on the bunks.  I drew the pattern on a board and they did the rest.  I stole the idea from a Pottery Barn magazine, they have great inspiration pictures.
My plan is to skirt the bottom bunk so we can hide lots of stuff underneath.  I'm not sure what to do with the walls now.  Originally, I planned to white wash and leave the ceiling natural.  Now I'm considering doing a toner on the walls and ceiling and keeping it natural and only using white on the door/window trim.  Do you think I should put red just above the bottom bunk and sides?  Would that be too much or really tie it all together?  I will wait for some of your comments.  I hope I get some.
I'm not quite finished with this window but you can see how it would look with natural pine.  Also notice the new electric units, the switch used to be up on the wall near the ceiling, you needed a stepladder to reach it!  I'm amazed at what electricians can do.  He was here for less than 3 hours and did lots more than what you see in this photo.  Did you notice the antler light fixture on the back wall?  I was excited to find that.  The ugly little trailer windows will be covered up with matching skirt fabric too.
Yes, there is a little rustic fireplace in the bunkhouse!  It was always full of stuff so you couldn't really see it.  I found that old picture at Kvils and I think it will be perfect there.
What is turning out to be a very spendy little fence/gate is almost completed.  The guys will come back tomorrow morning and it should only take about an hour more...I hope!  That's it, we've decided to leave the wellhouse alone and cross our fingers.  The plumber was able to contain all the water that was running out of the side so we're leaving it alone for now.

Matthew's Graduation Party

Matthew-a proud 2008 Shakopee graduate bound for UMD!

Great job, Matt!  Thanks for a great party and all the hard work Shelly!

Jimmer, we enjoyed our webcam experience with you.  

Are there any bars left? Dan wants to know...

Grandma & Grandpa with a handful of grandkids!

Grad party pictures

Ted, Darlene, Alex Nicole & Pam

Sam and Dan have good form!

What's so funny??!!!

Matthew & friends