hello!

 

i've got so much catching up to do that i don't
even know were to start

 so i'm just going to jump in and attempt to get
caught up.

 

two weeks ago my aunt and uncle drove north

to visit us at the cabin. they hadn't been there

yet and we were all soooo excited to see them.

 

they brought us all kinds of treats, homemade

pickles, some really cool dried pods that dar grew that

resembled tiny orange pumpkins, a big old

plate of swedish cookies using my grandma's

recipe and then there was this beautiful

wreath that my talented aunt made for

our front door. (dar worked as a florist

for many years.)

 

*a wreath dripping with real bittersweet,

now that's my love language.   :  )

 

 

 

 

 how cute are these two? kenny and dar. dar is my mom's sister and like a

mother to me. *side note. dar does not color her hair. she is 20 years

my senior. what's that all about? mine has been turning

gray since i was in my early 30's!

we had a little lunch...gave them a tour and then just hung out for a while

before eating again. that's what we do. 

 

 

love her...

 

 

a stick and a wood burner. perfect entertainment

for our grandson. seth loves to burn cool "hunter

type" things on walking sticks.

 

 

 

speaking of love, duke loves kenzie, our daughter and her boyfriend's dog.

he loves her so much that he's a bit of a pain. adria can only watch his

unwanted advances for so long and then she can't stand it and she takes pity on kenzie. last weekend she came up with this ingenious

doggie gate. duke looks sad don't you think?

what was really funny, was that kenzie was small enough that she

could crawl under one of the chairs to get back over and

play with duke some more. duke however could not, so he had

to wait patiently/pathetically for her to crawl under and it would

start all over again.

 

 

 

 

kenzie was safe here in the big chair with ad.

 

 

by the time we left the lodge on sunday there were 4 inches of snow on the ground~

it was beautiful, but i don't think it lasted and that's o.k. with us. there's plenty of

time for that!

 

 

 

my heart was happy after having family come and visit.

it was just a perfect weekend~

 

xo, beth

oh...p.s.

we've been boo'd!
has your neighborhood ever done this?
it's really fun- a goodie bag full of all these amazing
things showed up on my doorstep one morning.
 then you pass it on.
you choose another neighbor and make
a care package for them.
how fun is that???
it's like a may basket in october.
*thanks so much to my secret boo-er!


*my poor hubbie has been suffering since last
thursday with a stubborn kidney stone.
this has included a trip to the dr. on fri.
a trip to the emergency room in the middle of the night
on sunday and lots of pain pills.
darn thing still hasn't passed.
doctors compare passing a stone to giving birth.
that's one miserable labor and delivery.

:   (

 

 

 

 



quick before the snow comes~

 

 

 

 

I took these pictures right behind our home two weeks ago. 

this is a wildlife area called kerber pond park

and it's SO beautiful there in the fall.

There is a pond in the middle and a rugged walking

path that goes around it.

 

all this gorgeousness (is that a word?)

was on one afternoon's walk around that pond.

 

 

 

at the end of my walk i sat awhile on this bench.

this is the bench our neighborhood bought and had installed

in memory of a wonderful friend who died in 2011.

 

we chose this site for mike's bench

because we knew he'd approve and that it

would provide a great resting place with a gorgeous view

out over the ravine. it is a peaceful place.

 when I rest here i remember mikey

 with love and I can almost hear his laugh echo across the way.
(i loved his laugh!)

 

 

this weekend i'm going work my butt off and get my potted plants
 cleaned up

and my fountain drained for the year. i'll

put away all the garden art and cushions from the deck.

i'm going to get ready for the changing of the seasons,

because it's here my friends. we have some busy weekends
ahead and a new baby on the way to our
family that I want to race to see so I need to get my work
done so i'll be ready when the snow comes.

 another beautiful fall

(my favorite time of year) is about to wrap up but

wasn't it was a great one?

 

 

xo

p.s. I like winter too- even more so now that i have snowshoes.

stay little just a little while longer...

this is my little friend hj.

 

 

 

he's smart, charming and

 gentle.

 

 and he has this face,
this precious, precious little face.

 

 

 

 

and these little feet

and this silly giggle

 

we met at the arboretum last week to play and take pictures. 

it was fun to watch him eat animal crackers...

and mooshy pickles.  (long story)    : )

 

 

and try to nibble his daddy's ear.

 

 

 this is grandma dee dee. (isn't she beautiful?)

she knows how to make crowns from

maple leaves- using only maple leaves!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 come on~~ who looks this adorable when they're sad?

 

 

 

and now to wrap it up....here's that precious little happy face again.

 

 

 

have a happy week~ the kind that makes your fingers curl!

 

xo

 

 

 



it seems like this is going to be the peak weekend for

gorgeous fall leaves in my neck of the woods- there's

snow in the forecast too.

 

i can hardly tear myself away from the view

out my window this morning...       just    so    beautiful~

 

 

we'll be up north at the lodge for the weekend and my

dear aunt and uncle are coming to see

our "happy place" for the

first time. i need to get up there

asap and make sure the bathroom is clean,

vacuum up 1200 asian

beetles (i haven't been there for a couple weeks)

 and get some pumpkin bread baking!

so excited....because she's my surrogate mom,

i know she'll notice every little thing

we've done to make this place our

own and make me feel like a daughter probably feels 

 from a mother's stamp of approval .

 

 

i want to walk in the woods and gather pretty

things off the ground, bundle up and

 drink warm beverages-  i'm going to scarf down some honey
crisp apples dipped in caramel

and hopefully have at least one bonfire.

there's a new book loaded on my nook

and bags of groceries by the door

to bring.

 

i have a hefty list of things i need

to do before we leave this afternoon though
so i'm off... 

 

 

hope you find time to do
some things you love this weekend too-
DO NOT waste the whole weekend on chores-
remember folks- the snow is coming!!!!
get outside while you can.

:   )

xo

 

 

 



chocolate cake brings on labor~

 

 

friday evening I stopped at my friends house

to see their little grandson who was

visiting from chicago. great grandma mary had

just arrived from iowa too and she doesn't get to

come to Minnesota all that often. she was also

here to see her little great grandson.

 

if everything worked out like she hoped, the next little grandbaby

would also be born while she was here, as our friend's

oldest daughter was past her due date.

 

keely - (who you've seen photos of on my blog),

was more than excited to see her grandma- and wasted no

time telling her that she'd woken up the day before

craving grandma's chocolate cake.

 

if you know grandmothers, you know that's about all

the coaxing any of them would need to spring into action and fulfill

wishes-right?

 

so although sweet little mary who's 83, didn't have her own

recipe along, cindy helped her find one that was similar and

she set to work...taking the task very seriously- with the hope

that her handiwork would be the catalyst to

bring on labor!!!

 

 

 

 

it was fun to watch mark helping his momma.

*i think he secretly knew i might blog about her- and he wanted in on the action. :  )

 

 

i'd love to know how many cakes these capable hands have made.

 

 



three generations together in the kitchen

 

oh wait... make that 4~ baby jack sat contentedly watching the process...

that was not his bottle on the counter by the way.

so, between jack sitting on the baby bump (his little cousin) and that delicious chocolate cake we enjoyed later

in the evening...it worked!

a little baby has been born,

another little boy.

 

oh the JOY!

 

i felt so warm in that kitchen on friday night. this is a family

that truly treasures each other and just getting to soak

up the goodness of watching a grandmother

so eager to please and help and nourish her family

made my heart swell with love.

congratulations friends- i can't wait to meet your new grandson!

 

 

 

xo, beth

 

 

 

 

 



o.k. scout's honor~ this is the last time

i'll write about my garden this summer.

 

it was still just so beautiful last weekend

 i couldn't resist the photos.

 

this is nature showing off.

usually i don't care for show offs-but for this i'll make an exception.

 this pretty red oak grows right next to the garden.

 we waited all summer for this. these sweet corn ears

looked so small i almost didn't pick them.

glad i did though, they were delicious!

 leaves that looked like art in the birdbath~

 i found these mushrooms in the deep dark woods.

don't they look like something from a children's fairytale?

 

i did some research~ they are "poisonous"

(and used in some counties as a mild inebriate).



the project of the weekend was building a lean to off of the chicken coop.

we'll use it to stack wood under. last winter we had one wood stove,

this winter there will be two. we're going to need a whole

lot of wood to keep 2 stoves fed.

 the boys took apart

an old goat hutch and reused the tin to make it.

 reduce, reuse, recycle.

we're all about it.

 

 

ta-dah!

 

it rained most of the weekend, but not enough to keep us in the cabin.

 eric and i hauled and stacked this first batch of wood.

he's fun to do projects with.  he's always

willing to help me with stuff when i ask.

(love that boy).

 

i got a new vacuum and cleaned house for most of the day today.

i also made a pot of my favorite soup, did laundry, ran to the grocery store

and took a walk around the pond behind our house.

 

it was just a simple, good day.

 

xo, beth