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



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

 

 



 

 

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

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