Wednesday, September 25, 2013

f a l l

























 
 
 
 








isn't it just the best how you
don't think you ever want summer to end
and then fall just happens- slowly and
magically the color of the trees
starts to change and you see
pumpkins pop up on
neighbors porches.
apple cider appears on the end caps
at the grocers
and a sweatshirt feels good
with your shorts.
the cooler air feels so good and having
the windows open is
wonderful!
i love fall. it's my favorite season in fact.
 i cannot imagine living
anywhere without all 4 seasons.
 
and the new fall shows are starting on the telee,
PARENTHOOD is back!!!!
thursday nights- 9 p.m
woo hooooooooooo~
grab a plaid blanket and
 watch it with me why don't ya?
 
xo, b


Sunday, September 22, 2013

30 rocks

 
 
 
our little girl turned 30 this week.
 

 
how does life fly by so quickly?
how do you have a baby and then in a couple blinks
of an eye she is 30?
 
every year (yep all 30 of them) i have stood these
two side by side and taken their picture together on her
birthdays.
 
to see the whole lineup is amazing.
it's a trip down memory lane- a trip that
includes shockingly short shorts (and i'm talking about dale's not adria's),
knee high socks &
fuzzy perms.


what it also documents is their sweet relationship.
they quietly and playfully adore each other
 
 
 
 
the guys spent a rainy day at the lodge finishing
the inside of the shop so we can heat it.
 



i rather like these exposed beams and have to say that i will miss them-

 
 
 
 




 
 
 
 



 


 
 
while they were all out in the shop working, i was inside whipping up
the birthday celebration.
 
we celebrated adria & chris's 30th birthdays (2 weeks apart)
and seth turning 14.
 
my brother in law david turned 60 last weekend too and
we wished we could have been two places at one time so
we wouldn't have had to miss his surprise party.
(love you uncle dave)!

 

the birthday girl requested lasagna for dinner and angel food cake.
this was my quick attempt to make them all feel equally celebrated.
(in case you don't speak hunter language- that's a deer silhouette
on the top.)  use your imagination- work with me here! lol
 
 
 
 
 




 things got a little out of hand at the table when seth wouldn't stop pestering his
dad and his dad wouldn't stop snapping him with a balloon to get him back.
adria kept telling them to cut it out and then her big brother turned and
snapped HER with the balloon.  she yelled "that HURT"- and 
then tried to stab him with her butter knife.
i had to holler "stop it---all of you!!! the nearest medical facility
is 40 minutes away"!!!!!!!!!
 

*quick smooch from my big sweetie as he cleared the table- we had
all been laughing hysterically after the afore mentioned commotion.

 
 
 
sunday morning the sky cleared and adria
and seth were practicing shooting their bows.
when i went out to take their picture and hang with them a
bit i got a lesson.
 




 can i just tell you how hard pulling back a bow is?
it took alllllllll the power i had in my arthritic old bod to do it~
and i have a bruise the size of an orange on my arm from the string.
people that don't hunt have no idea how much work and
dedication goes into the sport!
 
 


well that's a wrap of the family birthday weekend up north.
 
 
it got long--- so thanks for sticking with me!
xo, b
 
 

 
 


Friday, September 20, 2013

our new garden at the lodge has been my
happy place this summer.
it was a bit of a slow start- and some things didn't do so well.
some things met with an unfortunate demise
when lars -trying to be helpful-
sprayed roundup around the fence and it drifted over into
the garden. holy toledo though it ended up
being a really wonderful gardening spot.
 
last weekend i spent about an hour picking things and then
another hour taking pictures of the bounty.
 
the miracle of tossing some tiny black seeds in the
ground and ending up with all of THIS will
never cease to amaze me.
*of all God's gifts to us (they're
 too numerous to count) flowers
may just be my favorite.
 



this rather unsightly rope above the
fence was an experiment. IT WORKED!!!
there have been no critters in the garden
other than maybe some birds.








  love sweet peas. here is the one and only blossom for the year.
I thought it deserved it's own picture-own vase-
and a chance to be on my blog.
 
 
 















 
there were oodles of bees. i just left them
alone and they just minded their own business too.
along with trying to tap our maple trees to make
syrup, maybe we should build some bee hives~
 
 




 this huge mass is TWO cherry tomato plants.
seriously!





























both the lettuce and the tomatoes for this salad were from the garden.
i also dug turnips with every intention of
cooking them- but i didn't end up doing it- so i left them
out for the critters to munch on.
 
deer like turnips-we like deer it's a win-win situation!










 
 
 
 
 
 


favorite photo
of the weekend.
 
want a bucket full of happiness?
 plant yourself some zinnias.







                       make the most of your weekend  dear ones~                                     
me and the bee signing off,
 
xo





Monday, September 16, 2013

mama's happy...

 
 
there's this teeny little town way out in the country
west of where i live called independence.
 
once a month several woman come together
in the old creamery there and blow me
away with their creativity, camaraderie and
imagination in re-purposing cool old things.
 
 
it's called:
 


and it does make me happy. every. single. time.
 
last friday they had their fall market, under the trees on the grounds
surrounding the store. it was a beautiful cool fall day and a girlfriend
and i took the scenic drive out there past bucolic horse farms and
rustic old barns. here's some of the fun from our day.
 
 
 
 
 

 
there was a dude playing guitar and singing and this pretty
woman (who was selling her decorated hoops) just quietly
and magically did her thing out there in the open~ it was beautiful
to watch -like ballet almost and she stopped long enough
to answer some of my questions about how to do more than
just hula with my hoop around my middle. she's just moved here
and teaches private lessons. girl could charm a snake, she was
that good. i admitted to being a closet hooper and she showed
me a few tips and techniques. i came right home and tried them.
ahhh- yeah- not easy, not even close. she made it look easy
and peaceful. it's a wonderful workout. i'll probably have to
stick to the old hip-sway hoola hoop around my waist for now.
 
 

 
loved the art work of a young guy named evan. i purchased a limited edition
print of the cow in the lower right. i grew up on a farm. we raised black
angus. this kind-cow face-spoke to me.
 
 
 
 
 

 
oh fall i love you! everything that was orange and gold and brown and
fallish just looked so welcoming after the hot humid summer here
in Minnesota.
 
 
someone very clever painted this botanical illustration of an
acorn on an old suitcase. I KNOW- who thinks up these
great ideas?
 
 
 



 
this funster walked by me and when i saw she was
carrying two rogue arms i asked her if i could take her
picture for my blog. she not only said "yes", she
totally got into it. she posed many different ways and i wasn't
the only one taking pictures by the time the hilarity was over. 
:  )
 
i wish i would have asked her what she planned to do with them.
*maybe just entertain at events?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
cindy and i had what i like to call
our own 
"independence day"
 
and it was great. i arrived home with a few new treasures
and a smile of contentment on my face.
 
how was your weekend?
has the weather cooled off where you live? i actually
wore jeans for the first time in months and it felt wonderful
to sleep under a quilt at the lodge.
i drank hot tea and gathered arms full of
zinnias and sunflowers from the garden-knowing
full well that it could freeze anytime now.
 
we celebrated the 30th birthdays of my daughter and the
love of her life chris, plus our grandsons.
more about that in the next post-but till then
 
 have a great day and throw open your windows!
 
xo, beth