Snow globe kind of day

shortly before 8:00am the snow began .. the pix from the cabin cam was cool

and 90 minutes later - it was a snow globe .

the wind is picking up as I type 

I brought work home yesterday and made a list of stuff to get done today ... so far ... I'm on track :)  sorta ...  1/2 the furniture is put together .. I'll finish the other 1/2 in the morning and then start the relocation process ...

I'll need to go to town and shovel -- here's hoping the neighbor cleans it off with his atv ... hoping ... I need to shovel at home too ... I did venture out to feed the cats twice and have regularly been adding trash/recycling to my truck ( in the garage )  --  porch got vac'd .. and most of my homework is done -- need to pick up more tomorrow ... 

 

black / gray / white Friday

I'm repurposing old pix -- it's that kind of day 

post dinner yesterday I swapped vehicles -- ruby went to the shop ... needs a bath and an oil change and it might be easier to fetch her from the shop than the cold storage -- it doesn't matter .. 

the truck came to the house garage .. avoiding a long, cold walk in the morning is okay ...

I'm really not in the mood to work ...

the weather forecast is for snow -- quite a bit of snow .. so ... 

   I've loaded the truck with

1    boxes of furniture to assemble

            stand up desk

            credenza

            rolling storage cart

            chair

2    Engagement letters to label and stamp

3    Groceries (2nd store this week) .. headed back to HyVee for prescriptions (mom's)

4    Laundry .. it piles up around here.

5    Real homework - tax planning and client stuff

a    I've managed to tidy a bit -- there's a lot of shit to tidy

b    the phone hasn't rang 

c    dishes washed, plants watered - trash to the curbie -- will move them to the garage

        ahead of the snowmagedden.

Friday - Saturday Project List

1    put the furniture together 

2    get it located

3    vac porch and basement

4    walk

5    engagement letters done - ready for next bunch

6    print packet mailing labels

7    homework -- the real stuff

8    shovel at home

9    tidy the sewing room

10   dig out the finished scarves for the fence

11    clean upstairs

12    prep cook for the week ...

 

thanksgiving

 

November -- the month to give thanks .. I am so thankful, grateful and blessed -- it's been a rough fall -- but projects are getting done, keeping up at the office (sort of) and the sun is shining -- it promises to be a beautiful day -- a beautiful 25' day .... 

summer pix from the lake -- those sunsets are the best 

As the week progressed -- I am so glad we went to the cabin last weekend and spent some time -- it was a nice weather weekend, a nice project weekend -- and it's always good to close out the season with an enjoyable stay .. 

my next project -- today/tomorrow - is to relocate Ruby -- she's got prime parking in the house garage .. needs to move to the shop for the winter .. I've been driving the jeep on bad weather days but -- the truck awaits me ... I've got stuff to haul home from the office .. and then one more office project is done

I had Kate install window kits -- I prepped she taped and did the ladder work -- my knee is acting up and ladder/bad knee is never a good combo -- not to mention the dizzies lately -- stress brings on dizzies .. so the job got done -- the "kitchen" window and I'm debating on the front picture window ... need to seal off the fireplace yet .. the bags of shredded paper got removed when that damn bird flew down the chimney and needed to be rescued .. (all in a day of 3rd street) 

so we roll ....

happy thanksgiving

and the end for 2025

I loaded up Mom and all her "stuff" and we went to the cabin yesterday and spent the night ... it was a beautiful weekend for a spot of lake time.   I had homework with me, I loaded up the tablet with books for her to read.   Book, TV and tea and she's a happy woman.

The neighbor was getting a new roof on Saturday -- it was a bit noisy -- but not as bad as I thought it would be ... my plans for yardwork got put on hold -- I didn't need an audience of roofers ..

sunsets never disappoint out there

today was dedicated to cleaning -- bed got stripped, floors got cleaned, fridge and freezer got emptied out .. ditto cupboards -- all the dishes got washed and stashed 

I "grouped" the flower pots and took the bird bath apart -- no leaves or mowing -- I should have but by then I was tired -- I didn't sleep well

the swing is stashed under the dock -- kind of weird and kind of cool at the same time.  It was a calm day on the water

see you in the Spring, cabin ... 

Starring at the lake has become my "me" time -- since late September I've really missed it -- we all need that one thing or place that ground us, calms us, puts life into perspective, the cabin and the lake is my space -- even if I'm working or reading.  I need to find that "place" during the busy times in my life or something that works to "destress / decompress."  

lately, I'm tired, crabby, testy, tired.  It's been a rough fall but I've learned a lot.    

 

supper road trip

 

the dranttels, gansens, and petersons had a supper road trip for supper last night .. The Thunder Bar in downtown Good Thunder Minnesota -- in addition to the 8 of us, the entire surrounding Good Thunder community was dining.  It was a crowd .. 

good food and good company

remember the salad bar days -- well they still have one .. 

I have to admit -- I was lost, a passenger in the back seat for a 30 minute drive .. lost in Blue Earth County -- we probably need to go back in the daylight just to see where we were ...

just call me a hoarder^

I noticed the deskpad in the cave was from 2024 .. so I brought one home from the office -- one from the file room desk .. 

I brought two home . and then I noticed upstairs desk was from 2019

argh.  reduce, reuse & recycle !!!!

   Another day in the life ... 20 minute meeting for TDS .. 20 minutes and 17 of us from the 9 county area .. I had scheduled my follow up dentist appointment for after the meeting.  Which I had assumed would be at least an hour ... so I had some time to burn.  I opted for the big HyVee .. which in 30 minutes I scored 4 bags and $75 of groceries.  The big HyVee has so much more than our "little" HyVee .. my treats -- freshly sliced sourdough, raspberries on sale!, mom's granola bars, shaved turkey, hunks of real cheese, salad kits, cookies and ripped up dried up bread for egg bake.  I've been super hungry for egg bake and I think I'll make some this weekend.  I don't know why, but I'm hungry for it.  

  My overpriced software got released on Tuesday night and we struck unable to print out of our planner software -- no printing to paper, to document mgmt or to a pdf file.  Evidently the big $$$ didn't cover the cost of actually sharing the finished product.

  The dentist is happy with my titanium rod and it's healing nicely -- next up is more fillings in January and the "crowning of the rod" in March.  It cost as much as a tiara ... just saying.

  Tomorrow is Friday and I'm really ready for Friday ... the endless project list needs to get whittled down over the weekend.  

   

I'm too old

 

just another entertaining week in my life ...

Monday -- clients, county, nose is dripping

Tuesday -- clients, irate county ee's, nose is really dripping

Wednesday -- county, clients --- and can't print a damn thing from my software

    so tonight I start googling why -- because the overpriced crap tells us nothing

    the crowdstrike outage.  WTH  and the damn nose is dripping out of control

looking for good things ...

   I sent flowers to special people

   I got my hair cut and Lori makes me beautiful

   Drugs for the drippy nose seem to be working

   Window kits are on the front room, green room, my office and the bathroom

   Laundry is done, garbage got picked up .. it didn't snow 

I'm going to make an iced coffee, head upstairs and read my book ... 

It's the best I can do this evening

Tomorrow is a new day 

and it will be better 

weekend warrior - November version

carla is never wrong!!!

Today's adventures

Dishes

Laundry

Vac Basement

Vac Porch

Start the roomba 

make lunch

more dishes

chop leaves with the lawn mower

   dirty job -

   mowed part of the lawn

dump flower pots in the woods

   aka: free composting

zip around on the atv

park truck in the shop

make supper

more dishes

laundry

and I did a 4 office projects 

 - mnpr

 - tax plannng

 - rec/je for 2 clients

 - drafted notes for year end

 - answered emails

surfed the internet

shopped the internet

   thank you kohls 40% off 

   thank you lands end 50% off

   thank you Amazon - gotta love coffee and cleaning supplies

what I didn't get done --

   the plan was to vac and wash all the vehicles .. 

   will need to be a night job this week ..

At least I didn't have to clean the upstairs  

this is leaf chopping -- only --- I have a front mount zero turn -- dirty dirty job .. at times it was tough to see thru the dust ... but they chopped up really well ... no raking needed, well no raking is going to happen --

my bed and my book are calling ... enough for one day

(coffee and a cookie too)

 

Weekends ..

   weekends -- saturday and sunday when normal people don't work -- I'm not normal .. I did start late however .. 9:30 .. and I drove Ruby -- she misses me a lot - it's a mutual feeling.  Less than 500 miles this year .. that is bad ... 

    another stop at the grocery store on the homebound commute .. always the grocery store.  where bread seemed to be an elusive commodity.  my next adventure was to replicate a soup I had last week .. EPIC failure .. I'll stick to getting it at the restaurant .. argh..  epic fail.

    tomorrow is tatertot hotdish -- that I can do !  

    my home work and I are sitting in the cave -- working away .. it was a treat not to have to clean house this morning -- the little things in life.  

we don't get sunsets at the farm -- but the ring catches them at the lake and they are always perfect  --  need my daily dose of sunrise/sunset 35 days and 3 hours until the days get longer -- we got it don't we 

 

the week ....

71' today -- today I dumped 4 of my frozen hanging baskets -- I let the petunias and 2 ferns freeze .. the bird of paradise and others came indoors for the winter .. 

71'  I should have been chopping leaves with the lawnmower -- instead I was busy solving the tax problems of the world ... always issues ..  and trying to clean my office

never in my life would I have thought I could stand on the front sidewalk and see the northern lights over the machine sheds ... it was the coolest thing ever

and looking north from Joyce's to the house 

out in the middle of the combined bean field - me, snacks, coffee, camera and chirpy coyotes ... I could see them with "the naked eye" .. it was surreal 

more sidewalk shots .. if this trend keeps up, I'm going to need to invest in a better camera -- I took 180 pictures with my phone .. it was unreal, beautiful, hard to describe ... I'm probably being overly dramatic .. but sometimes God gives us a treat and well, I really appreciated this treat.

This week was more dentist -- the last of the cleaning, drama filled county meetings, mom's had PT and OT at home and got to go on a couple of excursions (doctor, chiro, grocery store, DQ) ... and I (we) hired a cleaning service to deep clean the house -- Wednesday afternoon, 2 cleaning ladies showed up and went to work -- it is always good to smell pine sol when walking in the door -- we weren't sure what to expect ... but it looks good -- so good that I signed up for monthly cleaning -- at least thru the end of tax season -- one less thing on my full plate of projects.  

I spent the day looking for something in my office .. eventually found it and then kept on sorting, scanning, cleaning, purging all that shit.  

Next week is a rolling busy shit show of tax planning -- and the endless questions on the OBBB .. again, it codifies most of the existing code moving forward and drops all the energy credits.  believe me the elusive epstein files are more exciting

 TGIF  ..   off to my book 

I did fire up dad's tablet and Kate loaded a couple of apps for mom to try out -- she's currently reading a book on it .. must be okay she's quietly in the chair zipping thru the newest Allen Eskens -- another small miracle ... mom = technology .. might get her to use a cell phone next !

 

NORTHERN LIGHTS

     Yes, the NORTHERN LIGHTS were spectacular ... from 6:30pm on ... 

      I saw them  ..... without the camera .... simply awesome ... 

     177 pictures later ... :)

full moon

full moon shots from Wednesday -- finally go them to upload

contradicted nicely with the snow/snirt/rain that was falling today

I  made it to the office -- eventually

struggled with a couple projects 

packed up -- then went to grocery store and Dollar General

human food and cat food 

priorities

been working on and off in the cave 

I have a list

knocking off the projects 

will need to go back to the office tomorrow

need to winterize the windows - vac the floors - empty the trash

all the things the boss does on a regular basis

maybe wash the truck

maybe take a drive 

maybe

maybe

maybe

actually ate food tonight -- or tried to eat food

jaw is a little tender today .. back on the Advil/Aleeve rotation

 

    Fatigue -- noun, verb, adjective.  I think all 3 fit into my life tonight.  

    I just finished 16 hours of continuing education (over 2 days), started the day cleaning house at 5:00am .. PT, OT and the HHC nurse were due in for their initial assessments -- so I cleaned or tidied up a bit.  

    Patient seems to be okay, just okay .. tired .. likes her own recliner, bed and bathroom.  Likes her daily shower and hair wash.  The little things in life.

    Caregiver ( or one of the caregivers ) is fatigued.  Sitting for 16 hours and staring at a screen has that affect -- my cave office is straightened up, all caught up on laundry, and I attempted to organize the sewing space a bit.  Made up a bunch of photo cards - we use them at the office for various notes and things.  I did crochet most of a scarf and I ripped the hem out of a pair of pants that need hemming, ditto the waistband on another pair - twisted elastic on that pair.    

   I'm going to pack up my stuff for morning at the office and then head upstairs to my book and bed.  Seems like a plan. 

 

well ..

rider down!!!!!

only on 3rd Street

i also uploaded a picture of my spiffy new dental implant - titanium rod -- which cost more than my first car -- literally by the time I'm done it will be more than the 1980 Mustang

and they (the oral surgeon) might have stretched the truth when he said it was a painless procedure with the proper numbing -- said numbing is still wearing off -- after mid procedure they had to add more .. antibiotics for a week and no chewing on the right side for two weeks ....

hello, pudding, soup and liquid lunches 

it could be worse .. 

mom is home too -- sleeping soundly on her own bed .. I haven't talked to her yet .. sleep is good and now I'm going to take a nap as well

 

 

the gales of November

  hold on to your whatever, she was one windy day.  leaves be flying ... 

  I have to admit going back to the office might be a rest break .. today's activities 
  

4:30 -- rise and shine surf the www
6:00 -- laundry -- stripped another bed .. 
7:00 -- vac'ing -- more laundry -- maytag was out of balance ... argh

             toss junk from middle room / office / future den / load truck with goodwill

             feed those damn cats

nap, shower, body rework

10:00 leave for Mankato  -- truck loaded with yesterday's clothing purge, plus I added more to it

          get gas first -- damn thing was dinging for fuel

11:00 first in line at Goodwill -- becoming a trend

          Office Max -- $150 later -- and I could carry it out of the store

12:00 arrive at cabin -- whitecaps ...

          load up canned goods and snacks to come home -- 6 plastic grocery bags 

                   we like our snacks :)

          clean out freezer -- more stuff for home

12:45 stop at office and drop off Office Maxx stuff and trash to curbie

1:00 -- home - unload truck -- nosh on HyVee take out Chinese 

1:30 -- start streaming self study webinar

3:00 -- head to BLC to check on Mom ( on SxS  ) visit with neighbors on the field road

            watched PT in action -- learned a few tricks and tips the weekend therapist is cool

5:00 -- fed the livestock

            load recycling in truck for tomorrow -- move ferns into the porch for winter

5:15 -- surfed the www -- local law enforcement happenings .. 

next up -- find the roomba, back up my homework, plan my life for November, take a shower and read my book ...

run the dishwasher ... make the beds, fold the clothes .. 

at some point I need to sit on my tush for the weekend ..

sunset at the lake via the camera -- 

this variety of geranium or color was "watermelon" .. seemed appropriate ... she's hanging in there, 1/2 the plant was froze ... 

the gales of November ....

 

and November is

   closet cleaning month --- 

   I am a clothes hoarder -- I like clothes ... lots of clothes -- but the crazy thing is I wear a select few favorites over and over again.  It's a problem.  Not that this is an excuse, but I have a very small closet -- the smallest one in the house -- so I flip summer / winter clothes in November/April -- and in between if I see something I like I buy it - that damn internet makes it easy, to easy.   Bad Marie.  Today, I purged summer -- only one tub went into storage and one bin of summer shoes 

   So there's more bags for the thrift shop -- I haven't sorted thru the summer dress rack (that's downstairs - I bag them up and store on a hanging rack for winter) and I need to dash out to the cabin and retrieve what's out there .. not much -- once this project is done I can move on to other things  

   Yesterday, I hired a cleaning service to deep clean the house.  It was Mom's idea and once I warmed to it - action happened.  Katie has a friend that owns a residential cleaning service.  I have to admit, my conversation with them was really detailed -- and pleasant -- and less expensive than I thought -- it's not a big house but scrubbing baseboards, walls, appliances, cleaning windows was not on my October agenda.  

   Now that I've had a rest break -- time for a shower, laundry sorting, garbage hauling and loading thrift shop shit in the truck.  Then to work for more of the same ... it is time to winterize the office -- said cleaning service may arrive there also .. 

   okay, the boss called -- needed McDonald's delivered the BLC because lunch was "awful" .. evidently 1/2 her dining partners thought the same and none of them ate the nasty looking chicken sandwich -- so I left work and delivered a 4a w/a large unsweetened iced tea .. 

   seriously, I cannot make this shit up ....