oh my .....

 

dug the ATV out of the machine shed and took a Thanksgiving Day ride .... does the patch not look sad .... everything looks sad this time of year ...

it was cold and windy ....

 

 

the geese are moving up and heading south ... they were just honking like crazy Friday morning when I finally got moving (overslept)

 

 

hazy morning sun ..

 

 

mini jelly roll goodness arrived in my mailbox yesterday!  I actually attempted to work on Friday ... motivation was missing.

 

I went home to sew and the Bernina pooped out ... she's ready to deliver to the fix it shop ... and then my iPad died.  I believe there is no fix to it ... so I let my fingers to the shopping and will be able to pick up a new one when I deliver the Bernina to Mankato.   argh.

 

So I'll be crashing someone's wireless internet this afternoon and reloading all my favorite apps and books.  argh.

 

The good thing -- it was on sale and my old Bernina is in the basement and ready for action.

 

Happy Saturday!

 

Happy Thanksgiving

  Happy Thanksgiving Peeps!  ... I wanted to share one of my favorite pictures of the year ... Grace & Lucia (thru the magic of facebook creeping -- I found out their names) ... anyhow ....

  experiencing their joy at finding the perfect pumpkin at the market was a wonderful reminder to me to enjoy the little things in life -- and be thankful for those little things.  everytime I see this series of pictures .... I smile and am grateful.

Marie

 

and I got to tell you -- when I grow young again -- I want to wear polka dot leggings, a flowered jacket, neon sneakers and carry a sock monkey !!! 

 

birrrr

damn it's cold.

I spent part of Tuesday night "installing" more plastic window insulation kits ... they keep the aging/old/leaking window drafts to a manageable/tolerable breeze.  Two more to go and I'm done -- 13 windows covered ... I'm going to install Styrofoam sheets in the basement windows ... anything is better than nothing.

the pre-holiday planning has begun.  what a bunch of crap.  cook/eat/sleep.  I plan on sewing not sleeping (that would be after the cooking/cleaning and dishes).

so it rolls.
stay warm.

M
 

speeding red Ford truck

  was probably me.

   I left St. Paul's Church in Nicollet at 7:05 last night and arrived at St. Peter High School and was in the pool by 7:20 ... 12 miles in 15 minutes -- there wasn't a whole lot of traffic so it was "pedal to the metal" and well, I didn't miss to much of water aerobics.

   I had "pre-dressed" .. had the top 1/2 of the suit under my t-shirt and sweatshirt so I was ripping clothes on and off when I hit the locker room door ...

   The pool was wonderful -- warm and well, good for the mind and body. 

   Supper was a frappachino, a bag of baked potato chips and two advil ... I did snag a pizza at the bar afterwards -- which makes pizza for supper for the last 3 nights --  and of course there is lots of leftovers.

M



 

ahhhh the beginning of the work week

  I've tried to put a positive spin on Monday's for a while ... not working is it ....

Thursday -- Director Interviews for NCHS
Friday -- Feather Party/Meat Raffle/Supper with the elders
Saturday -- crafting all hours of the day and night
Sunday -- Haircut/Laundry/More Interviews

  Coming back to the office should have felt restful this morning.  Once the phone quit ringing I'm actually getting some projects done. 

   Slowly ...


Meeting in Nicollet -- then the POOL -- back to the pool for the season ...

M
 

Caution -- heavy crafting pictures

 

a lot of crafting Diva's...

scrap booking day at Johnson Hall

89 -- crafting zealots ..

 

 

our table mates from St. Paul & Mendota Heights ... their 11th event ....

not sure, but I won't be attending 11 of them

 

 

The Scrap Shack Diva ... selling stuff and promoting the Scrap Shack ..

it was 12 hours of crafting time with breaks for meals and snacks

I had a post lunch dash to the Shack for more supplies.

 

Nary a sewing machine in site ... not sure of these scrapbooker's have heard of a sewing machine ...

 

so I slept in, got my haircut, got the crap hauled back in the basement, dropped of the tables at the Shack .. dumped some squash ... unpacked my mail ... must be time for another nap.

 

I really need some time at the Bernina ... although not going to happen until Tuesday or Wednesday night ... action packed couple of days!

 

 

Hello Winter

   ready or not peeps ... winter is coming.

   not sure I'm ready for the cold however ... my truck said it was 12' when I was in line at McD's for breakfast ....

   I've been pretty good lately -- broke myself of my largest vice -- McD's iced coffee ... it used to be an everyday stop, then three times a week, down to once a week and about 3 weeks ago -- cold turkey -- no more for me.  I got one that was freeking awful -- so no more!

   Having the internal debate -- "turkey trot/fun run" on Thanksgiving.  2 miles ... start at Chamber and wander thru the park and back ...

M
 

Too much of this

 

yep, had this image appear before me last night ... the dang things don't look they just cross the road at all hours of the day and night.  

 

Needless to say my brakes worked well -- as did those of the idiot in the semi truck behind me that was following a bit closer than I liked.

 

Meeting week -- Tuesday morning, Tuesday night, Wednesday night, Thursday night ... aaahhhh 

 

12 hours of scrapbooking on Saturday ... let the fun begin (I'm hoping to take my sewing machine)

 

 

 

 

Wordless Wednesday

Big Winds

 

A shot of the Illinois tornado damage from facebook ... I'm going to assume it is real ... after all it came from the internet .... Tornado's always bring back the memories ... dang ....

 

 

a shot from our March 1998 tornado ... the clean up had already begun but the Catholic Church (lower right -- brick building) had yet to be demolished ...

 

Someday I will scan my pictures -- after all why rush -- it's going on 16 years ago -- every time a helicopter flies low it brings back the memories.

 

Hard to believe -- but we've come a long way !

 



okay

   Full moon Sunday ...

   I woke up at 4:30 with no covers on me ... shivering (very unusual -- ) turned on the TV while warming up ... "Life Below Zero"

... yep, I'm cold and shivering and watching idiots in Alaska on TV .... at 4:30 in the morning.  (the viewing selection wasn't very good)

  Then I proceeded to oversleep by 90 minutes ...

  Must have been the lazy weekend.  I should have been well rested -- I did very little -- I mean VERY little ....

  Yippee -- Skippy ... here's to a productive week!!

M

ps:  Scored on Ebay ... found another red jacket and WON  .... and much less than the $52 !!!!
 

Randomness .. ..

trust me ... there ain't a leaf left on the prairie .. the rain, the fog, the wind ... they all blew away ....

I did manage to mow the office lawn on Friday -- mowed the lawn on 11/15/13, I believe that is the latest I've ever mowed grass ... and it needed it .... Dad's been mowing and grinding up leaves at home for the last couple of weeks ... no trees at the office - just trash from the bar

 

1991 -- this is coming peeps ... still remember it well 10/31/1991 -- I made it home but my wheels were left at the neighbors my 1987 Bronco II  (the beer can on wheels) ... I ended up walking up the driveway in a skirt and pumps (actually dressed for work in those days)

 

 

Grammy, Brock and 4 of the other grandkids ... Wizard of Oz costumes for the fun run/kid dash ...

 

 

Saturday was a bust -- sewed, did a little laundry, did a little cooking, did a little shopping (our new Hometown Shopko is pretty spiffy), did a little reading and had a nap

 

 

The Ebay saga continues .... stay tuned it promises to be entertaining.

Ebay

 

Ebay is the bargin shoppers dream ... I have the above Coldwater Creek boiled wool jacket -- it is fabulous ... I've had it 7 years?  I bought it for Emily and Jason's wedding .. with black velvet pants, black suede shoes and a matching red velvet bag I looked fabulous !! 

 

 It is my one of my all time favorites ... however with the Christmas Tree on the back ... I generally only wear it between Thanksgiving and New Years Day ... I'm sure all of Saint Peter is tired of seeing me in it ... too bad ...

 

At any rate -- mine is getting a bit "worn" and well I kind of "outgrew" it ... (or it's more fitted than I like)  so I spotted it on Ebay and the description was one size larger ... SCORE !!! and the bidding began ... and rose and rose ... then I looked at the pictures closer .. the seller had the wrong size in the flipping description ... I was up to $50 (too much) on a jacket I already owned that didn't fit well .... arghh.

 

I was saved at the last minute -- someone wanted it $2 more than I ...

 

There is a lesson in here somewhere ...

 

a) lose weight so clothes fit better or

b) sell used boiled wool jackets for $52 on ebay.

 

 

Wake Up it's Friday!!!

 

winner winner chicken dinner .... Cousin Jan .... at Crafts Direct ... I was just the picker upper ... Tim Holz bundle of fat quarters ...

 

 

classic seminar picture .. tools of the moment ... note none of them appear to be used at this point ...

 

 

so at Gruber's ... I only bought a magazine and a spool of expensive thread -- but I kept the pen I that I used to sign the credit card receipt

 

The drive home from the lovely St Cloud was good -- got gas at the midpoint ... $2.94 .... $0.15 cheeper than home!!!!  Sunset was lovely -- my co-pilot was not in favor of me taking pictures with the phone and driving at the same time. 

 

Not sure what was up but normally there is no traffic once we are southbound out of Hutchinson ... and even less traffic eastbound out of Lafayette ... good grief it was a constant flow of vehicles... especially out of Lafayette ... even Norseland had traffic ... had 2 close encounters with deer ... both near Kimball .... I thought there would be more animals on the move ... thankfully not.

 

Happy Friday!

 

 

6 hours to go

hummm -- 16 hours of continuing education over a 2 day period ... yes, you shouldn't blog when you are out of town ... I'll be home shortly.  damn dull.

Thankfully I have the iPad for distraction and well, note taking ... an picture taking.  Yesterday's pictures on my cell phone are classics.

I shopped at the worlds largest craft store on Tuesday night -- bought Xmas card supplies and picked up facebook prize winnings for cousin Jan -- bought no fabric!!!

Last night, we (Mom is along for the ride) went to Grubers ... where again I bought no fabric.  I was a little disappointed -- the samples hanging on the walls were the same as two years ago ... especially the Kaffe Fassett's .. I did purchase an expensive spool of  thread and a magazine.

WalMart got most of my money ... bottled water, treats, book and magazine.

No good eats on this trip so far ... Taco Bell and Subway ...
6 more hours and I'm on the road ....

Blessings

   I was perusing my client list for mailing labels last night.  Dang peeps -- I am so fortunate .. at this time every year we get ready to mass mail out various reminders/notices/stuff and I get a bit overwhelmed by all the chaos.

  Favorite client, Lyman passed away on Friday and I just found out -- 6 hours after his funeral -- 90.  Veteran (navy), retired postman and well, damn good investor.  Robyn and I always got stock / investing tips from him ... he was a hoot.  Going to miss him. 

  I've been working my fingers to the bone the last 3 months -- not sure why but I never seemed to get caught up -- today, I think I've got it all under control.  So, I'm taking a deep breath and going to enjoy the next couple of days ....

Happy Tuesday
M


ps. and don't we love the 10' start to the morning .... this may be considered TMI (too much information) -- but my long underwear feels pretty toasty this morning.   I'm not ready for winter. 

purge

   as in the clothes closet ... yep, 3 large bags of summer stuff for the thrift shop.  There is a reason the revenues are up at the thrift shop ... I swear they smile when they see us coming. 

   project is done.  cold weather has arrived.  turtleneck and fleece sweater feel pretty good this morning.  I missed the memo about the snow ... too cold for it to melt ... dang.

   chai will warm me up. 

    cheers to Monday!

        M

productive night at S & B

 

yes, I violated my own rule --- 10 yards of Kona solids -- JoAnn's had a $4.99 yd sale ... all greens, greys and a splash of orange.  I have a project in mind and have been collecting greens.

 

 

At the Friday night stitch & bitch event -- I didn't sew, I cut and cut and cut ... layer cake sliced in 1/2

 

 

a packet of "Sherbert Pips" fat quarters cut into 7" squares ready to zip together ...

 

 

blue batiks cut into 2" strips -- and pink/orange batiks cut into 5" squares .... they actually look pretty good together

 

 

new lamp at the office -- kind of looks like a Hershey's kiss with a shade -- it's a "touch" lamp ... pat on/pat off ... fun .... 8" tall .....

 

 

and the date is off on the wildlife / cat shack camera ... but "pepe le pew" has returned .. damn can't seem to get rid of these critters ....

 

 



Cute Baby Alert ...

   

 

Elsie!  on the quilt I made is she not flippin' adorable ... that is one relaxed baby girl is it not?   If memory serves me correctly she's almost a month old.   She just missed being born on my birthday .....

 

and here is the quilt without Elsie ...

Leftovers from a layer cake added to some charms and yardage.  Really densely quilted it washed up all scrunchy and soft.

 

 

So tonight at Stitch and Bitch with the Scrapping Diva's ... I'm going to cut things out .... how's that for a plan ..... I did violate the "no fabric rule" ... JoAnn's had Kona cottons on sale .... it was irresistible ....

  I ordered treats from the baking Diva ... cranberry/wild rice bread, ciabatta bread, cinnamon rolls .... rumor has it there will be chili, lettuce salad, chicken salad (for the breads) .. and beverages available.  We may not get a lot of crafting done -- but we eat well! 

 

Happy Friday ....
Marie


ah Thursday

  next up is Friday ....

  I managed to work until 7:30 last night, sleeping in recliner by 8:15, move to bed and slept like a rock until the alarm when off which brought on more drama ... sometimes I just can't figure out how to shut the damn thing off fast enough .. and of course it is located on the other side of the bedroom.  Or I'd never get rolling.

 Second Friday is Scrap Shack Friday -- need to decide on a project or two ... might be the night to create some Christmas treats -- pincushions, rice bags, been thinking about a new tote bag for my crochet projects.  hummm the possibilities are endless.

 I'm going to leave my older Bernina up there with a kit of basic sewing supplies ... less stuff to drag around and well, it needs a home.  I've already left an ironing board and iron .. good thing I have a full size truck to haul all the stuff eh!

 Got gas for Bessie yesterday -- under $50 to fill the tank (insert huge smile) !!!

M

One word Wednesday

 

 

snow.



tuesday dilemma

  I'm not in the mood to work.  seriously.  I really am not in the mood to be here at the office and being my productive self.

  I worked until 8:30 last night (over productive) .... and took in most of the Voice on TV.   TV at the office is probably a good thing (at least in an Olympic year) ....

  I'm on window winterizing #3 ... and cleaning room #2 .... will need to actually work at some point in time this afternoon.

  I got up to toss a load of  laundry into the washing machine this morning -- and ended up at the Bernina for 1/2 hour ... 'tis the best way to start the day.

M

noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

this is sooooo wrong ... I have much to do before the white shit begins to fall from the sky ......

it had better melt quickly  -- remember

 



 

  11/13/10 and the crap never melted until April and we were not ready for it then either ... the plow truck got stuck in the yard ...

 

 

or April 16, 2013 this year when we got dumped on ... ( a mere 6 months ago) ...  no no  no

 

and Karen's was trying to open ....

argh .....

I want fall back (or at least a week of Indian Summer)

 

 

Diva

 

Sunday on the farm ....

the great white hunter (elder #1) ... downloaded 300 pictures off of his deer camera to my desktop computer .. not really necessary is it? ... not sure what he was up to or why he feels the need to save these pix.  the "deer cam" has been in the cat shack for a month -- all part of "critter control" ... getting old peeps, getting old.

 



 

my first and certainly not last carmel frappe from McDonald's ... pretty dang tasty ....

 

a hunk of panera bread left over from lunch ... microwaved to warm with a spot (okay a lot) of strawberry jam ... doesn't get much better ... and yes, I'm drinking out of two different beverages at the same time ...

 

 

first Christmas present of the season!   ha ... a new record for me, I've become the excellent gift card giver and well, this spoke to me ....

 

yes, a stream of dis-jointed pictures -- confused yet .... good -- it's that kind of confusing weekend.  I managed to do nothing yesterday --- well, almost nothing.  Went to Chris' funeral -- nice send off for a nice guy!  After that -- nothing and I mean nothing got done. 

 

So, this morning I bonded with the vacuum cleaner (sucky job) ... and elder #2 and I decided to go to Mankato for lunch -- hummm nothing spectacular there ... Panera .... hummmm ... I needed lamps for the office ... always need more lamps (yes, Mrs. H) ... Gordman's had some deals -- then Menards. 

 

Marie rule #1 -- avoid Menards on a Sunday afternoon.  $137 later -- 2 more lamps, light bulbs, paper towels (40 rolls), over sized Xmas ornaments, Halloween candy bars (on sale), plastic window kits and tape, amarlys bulbs, dish soap -- and a whole lotta old people in my way ... good thing I own a truck. 

 

I earned that frappe peeps ... truly ... then get home and the wind has ripped off part of the fascia on the house ... argh.

 

 

The colors of fall

 

We've got an "Autumn Flame" maple tree in the back yard ... always good for some color opportunities ... the sun had already set when I went out for these ... no flash just me and the cheap Nikon? Canon? not sure even sure of the brand (that's bad) ... lately it (the camera) seems to eat batteries ... it may be on it's last leg ... the cheep ones don't seem to last long!

 

 

Smokey, the lone female barn kitten, of this "season" felt the need to supervise.  She's fairly tame -- for a barn cat around here.  NO she is not coming to the office.

 

 

decorative windmill - not a functioning windmill -- keeps the squirrels on the move ...

 

The plan for Friday was to actually accomplish a project or two -- wrong again.  Crashed big time mid afternoon and slowly slid downhill after then --- hoping to work up the energy to sew was merely a dream .... I truly crashed at 8:30 ... and slept soundly until 6:30 ... I tell ya peeps -- I need a boost of energy -- the fatique end of this is the pits. 

Today is a family friends funeral -- after that I hope to be home and sewing or at least spending some time at the Bernina .... I've been dreaming up projects for a couple of weeks!  Seriously weeks !!!!

Happy Saturday ...

M


pssst.  Don't forget it is daylight savings weekend -- extra hour tomorrow ... just what I need an extra hour of sleep......


the BLOOM ....

  as in the blooming Corpse Flower ... Mom and I took it in ... it reeks .. but it's kind of cool  -- 7' tall and the "bloom" only lasts 8 - 10 hours.  we got there after supper and it was already wilting in on itself -- they (the greenhouse geeks) thought it would be history by morning ....

   I'm glad we took the time to go ....

 

the greenhouse guides made the comment it has been the most photographed bloom in the Valley today -- no doubt -- the cameras and phone cameras were clicking away ....

 

already spent side of the bloom

 

note the chick in the white jacket -- holding her nose ... it does smell like rotting flesh ....or so we were told -- after the skunk invasion of 2013 -- I've smelled worse.

 

LINK TO CORPSE FLOWER AT GAC

 

 

name this waterfall in Nicollet County -- better yet, spell it .... beyond my ability.