ridiculously rhubarb

 

 

while 4-wheeling past the old garden last weekend, i noticed that the rhubarb was

blooming/going to seed. "wait a minute I thought, i haven't even picked any of

this yet- or made one delicious muffin or a crisp!" 

 

*have you ever noticed how ridiculously gorgeous the blossoms

are though? i picked some and put them in a vase and they

were beautiful and exotic looking.

 

 



 

 

back i went with my trusty knife and cut some for muffins

 

 

 

 

who knew coffee could look this good?

 

 

 

 

 

i always use my grama irene's rhubarb muffin recipe. if you'd like it- message me,

***in fact will you do me a huge favor? if you read my blog would you take the

time to become a follower. it's not that hard- you just have to set up a

google account (if you don't have one). it makes it easy to leave

me a comment and lets me know you care. although i only have 29 registered

followers, a lot of days 100 or more people read my blog.

i already love ya- but you officially following would really make my day!

thank you , thank you!

 

 

so on another note- we had the pleasure of dog sitting for our

neighbors yellow lab while they went on a motorcycle trip last sat. and sun.

 

 

their dog is abe- on the right- that's duke on the left.

they are 3 days apart in age. my hubbie was one happy dude

with a dog tucked in each armpit all weekend. don't tell him

i posted this, but he even slept with both of them. woodticks and all.

(ummm....yuck-i don't think so and no i was not in that bed with them).

 

 

 

i brought up this little tea towel from milan mn.

the town both lars and i grew up in.

 

if you're not 100% Norwegian (like lars)-

you only kind of fit in there. just kidding

 

i am 0% scandinavian and my  straight up- 100% norsk father in law and i used to love

to tease each other about that.

i'd buy him things that made fun of norweigians and he loved it.

the two best were the baseball cap that he couldn't wait to wear to town that said:

"i'm norwegian, but i'm taking pills for it",

and a book that was titled the norwegian book of knowledge... it was

blank inside.

milan was a great place to grow up, and it will always

be very special to me.

 

i'm off to clean up my studio table now,

 

xo, beth

 

 

night sky

                                                          blogger chelsea thom has inspired me to learn to shoot
                                                                    with my nikon on manual instead of automatic.
                                        this is the beautiful sky off my deck last night. I was practicing and
                                     the sun was setting and it was the perfect combination of magical. 

                                                                        
                                                                                                


                                                                                                                xo, beth

for those of you who know me- really know me- you also know that i am the world's pickiest eater. well used to be anyway. as a child i didn't like any vegetables except corn and raw carrots- the only fruit i would eat was mandarin oranges and maybe a raspberry or strawberry here and there.  meats pretty much grossed me out- no gristle or chicken skin for me please... when I think back on what I ate, i survived on a lot of potatoes, (potato chips!!), 
cheese, carbohydrates and sweets. since i've grown up- (which was just a couple years ago)-I have gotten better and i'm slowly but surely making better choices and treating my body better.  ***it took long enough-sheesh.

 

 

 

there is a wonderful food co-op where I live and here's some of what I

bought there yesterday. i follow the blog of doctor

laura koniver- www.intuitionphysician.com .

i love her holistic, natural advice for health and well being.

she suggests that women should not be putting fluoride in their

bodies when we are grown up. it depletes calcium from our bones i guess.

 i'm going to try her tooth whitening

suggestion of using a coconut oil rinse, swishing your mouth

with hydrogen peroxide and then brushing with straight-up

 baking soda.  (did it last night for the first time).

who doesn't want whiter teeth?  :  )

i was a whole lot afraid to put a scoop of coconut oil in my mouth

(remember-picky eater here) but it tasted like i was eating

a mounds candy bar. BONUS

check out her blog if you want the whole story on what to do to get

the best results.

 

i also want to tell you about a fab book that's just out

by shauna niequist called bread and wine.

 

 

each chapter of her book tells a story of family, her love of cooking and

bringing people to the table.

then it ends with a recipe.

i thought the gluten free blueberry crisp sounded so good i tried making

it last night.

 

here is the recipe:

 

blueberry crisp

 

4 cups blueberries (or almost any fruit)

 

crust topping:

1 cup old fashioned oats

1/2 cup raw unsalted pecans or almonds -chopped

1/2 cup almond meal ( that's what's in the bag in my photo)

1/4 maple syrup

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 tsp. salt (opt.)

 

put your fruit in an 8x8 in. pan (i sprayed mine first)

then mix all topping ingredients together and crumble over the top

bake at 350 for 35-40 min. till bubbly and topping is brown.

 

4-6 servings

 

*this was so quick to throw together. shauna suggests serving it up warm with a scoop of

vanilla yogurt for breakfast- or with a little ice cream for dessert.

it is relatively healthy too. yumm

i can't wait to try it with a mixture of rhubarb and raspberries

 

oh and the tea in the picture? it's almost always part of my bedtime routine.

it's such a soothing way to end my day- usually i'm the only one still up and i make a cup

and sip it slowly. it's so "english" and kind of feels like

doing a few yoga poses does- like you're honoring your

well being.

 

 have you tried anything new lately that is nurturing and healthy?

I may be a little late to the party, but better late that never right~

 

xo, beth

 

 

graduation

 

invest in the human family. invest in people.

build a little community of those you love and who love you.

                                                                                           mitch albom, tuesdays with morrie


last fri. night we celebrated my godson aaron's graduation from high school. he's a football player/farmer/hunter/fisher/ big ol' teddy bear of a guy. I don't get to see him as often as i'd like, so getting to serve up the ice cream for root beer floats across the table from him gave me the chance to soak him in.  it was fun to watch him interact with his many guests. my conclusion is that he's grown up real swell. :  ) 

* he's funny and polite and still a little boy in my eyes.  when he was a little boy, he had a head full of curly blonde hair.

this is where aaron grew up. i spent a major chunk of my childhood on this farm too. it was his grama and grampa's and they are my aunt and uncle. after my mom died, my mom's sister dar and her hubbie clayton stepped in and welcomed my sis and i into their family and my aunt dar's three boys are like brothers to me. I LOVE THOSE GUYS!!!! although they are all big manly men now-   i can tease them and remind them that i once changed their diapers and read them bedtime stories. i've tattled on them and cooked them supper. I've paired their socks and watched them grow up and become parents too.

                                               this is aaron. isn't he handsome? little kids LOVE him.

                                     pretty young girls lined up for root beer and seemed to like him too...

                                 my sister and i are his godmothers so we had to mug on him a bit.

               i don't know what the story is behind this cardboard likeness of aaron- but we
                                                              had some fun with it.

          this is his grandma, my aunt dar.

                                                   we got all gooey from making the rootbeer floats so
                                                               sister tried to wash aaron up a bit. he fought a
                                                                             good fight, but in the end- she prevailed.

                                                  towards the end of the evening they launched many of
                                                         these beautiful sky lanterns....it was magical.

               
                                                             here's aarons' mom and dad at the end of successful
                                                                         party for their youngest. tired but happy.
                                                                      they'll be empty nesters now- (knock when you stop by).
                                                                   

                                                                                         good job raising up your son guys-
                                                                                              he's going to do great out in the
                                                                                                   big world. i just know it.


                                                                          watching young people grow up and start
                                                                             their adult lives is so fun. they are full of
                                                                                hopes and dreams- a whole world of
                                                                              possibilities out there waiting for them.
                                                                                  God bless you on your journey aaron.



                                                                         hoping the sun makes an appearance this
                                                                                  weekend - it's art on the lake time
                                                                                        in excelsior mn and usually it's so
                                                                                 hot there the vendors and shoppers alike
                                                                              pretty much just want to run stick their
                                                                                        heads in lake Minnetonka to cool off!


                                                                                                  ta ta for now, beth
                                                                                 
                                                                     

thursdays~ yard sales

 

 

 

 where i come from, thursdays are yard sale days.

 

when the first signs go up on corners in the spring, my heart

kinda skips a beat. not even kidding. it's like a rush of

pure unadulterated joy- oh the possibilities-! you just never know

what unclaimed goods may be waiting when you drive up and park.

 

i even keep a special small purse between the seats of the jeep.

it's small, has some cash in it if i'm lucky- burt's bees and some kleenex.

 

ready, set. go~

 

girlfriend cannot be burdened with the usual big satchel when she's got

digging to do. the purse strap goes across my body leaving me hands-free.

 

last weekend on the way to put flowers on our momma's grave my sis and

i saw a sign that said estate sale.

my jeep doesn't even ask me. it just knows to turn in.

 

the sale was at a beautiful old farmstead. the out buildings were

tattered, paint chipped and beautiful. the house was even better and the sale was

in the house. it was one of those old limestone brick beauties that

are about 150 years old. (whyyyyy did i not take some pics)?

we got to tour the house and it's so sad....they are going to bulldoze it down!

around here it would be on the historical register- but out in western

minnesota i guess no one wants to pay to heat it.  :  (

it has no insulation at all. just two layers of brick.

i think there should be rescue societies for these grand old homes.

like the ones they have for big trees, or horses

 

my one lone purchase was this beautiful bowl. (75 cents)

 

i love it and will remember the fun dawn and i had walking around that

old place oohing and ahhing, every time i use it.

 

have a great thursday friends,

 

 

 

xo, beth

 

 

housewives on horseback

a few weeks ago, our local newspaper featured a riding stable near my home. i wasted no time calling my friend mary who's a horse lover, and asking her if she'd go with me to ride sometime soon. i read pioneer woman's blog- how hard can horseback riding be? that ree drummond chick rides- and she takes great photographs while she rides too. about 14 years ago, while on vacation in the rocky mountains our family went on a trail ride and i managed to stay on a horse for about 2 hours. i was pumped! i could not wait to try it again!  well, coordinating our schedules can be tough so when mary texted me sat. and said "let's go riding tomorrow" i was in!

       don't laugh- my cowboy hat and boots were at the cabin.

i did scare up a belt with a fairly big buckle. doesn't that

count for something?

 

mary and i both packed in some carbs, slapped on some sunscreen, put our chapstick in our pockets and we were ready.

 

 

 

 

our wrangler's name was courtney and before choosing a horse for us

she asked how much experience we'd each had. i was the lone ranger in the group who had to admit that i'd been on a horse less than 5 times in my life. no biggie right? umm hmmm.

 

that Courtney, she's a seasoned rider. in fact we were the 3rd or 4th group she'd taken out that day.

(girlfriend must have been wearing some pads to cushion her tailbone).

she began the ride down thru a big old gravel pit. i yelled up to mary that

i was going to pretend we were in the middle of a desert in arizona - not midwestern minnesota.

my trusty stead "sassy" wanted to hug the steep edge of the slippery slope that fell away into the ravine, but Courtney reassured me that sassy did not want to slide down into the ravine anymore than i did, and not to worry.

 

 

all was going well until courtney turned around and asked the group if we'd like to pick up
the pace a little. no one spoke -including horrified me. so we cantered. WE CANTERED!!! on 4 separate occasions. have you cantered lately? well- it's tues. now and I haven't taken an ibuprofen yet this morning. i may have to though. seriously.

back at the ranch

the horse on the right was mary's beautiful bam-bam

 

 

 

 

i will ride again at the river valley ranch, but~

when the wrangler asks if we should pick up the pace

i plan to whip out my megaphone and make sure she

hears me yell NOOOOOOOOOOO!

 

 aging cowgirl wanna-be's have got to speak up.

 

 

xo, beth

 

 

 

last weekend my brother and his wife mary (love her) spent some time

up north with us. they always bring rain with them -(what's that all about?) :  )

but we woke up Saturday to blue skies and for the rest of

the memorial weekend-although no one whipped out their shorts-

we were able to be outside working and playing.

 

we always seem to do more work than we think we're

going to---the boys love a good project.

 

here is a rare shot of some resting going on.

 

 

                                                     the smoker in the background was full to capacity
                                                            with a turkey and ribs that lars cooked for our
                                                                                                   supper. (umm... yumm)

                                    eric and cole were busy for hours on their projects- painting a wood
                                       stove that will heat our shop next winter and stripping the bark from

                                     pine logs to make a lofted bed.

 

 

now---once in a while i get to be the foreman of a project and here's what made

 this girl smile from ear to ear. we moved the garden from about a quarter mile away

from the cabin- to right up behind it! check out that fabulous new/old tractor and tiller.

i tease that that's what the fam bought me for mother's day.

the guys looked and looked and LOOKED for a tractor and we finally found one &

though she may be small-she is mighty and man have we put it to good use already.

 

 

next i got busy planting and on monday morning the boys took down

fencing from the previous garden and moved it up to the new one.

(man am i lucky to have two strapping sons).

 

 

it's all fenced in now and hopefully duke will not be able to jump in and mess

with my peace!

 

grow little seeds, grow!!!

 

 

all weekend the birds were just crazy busy eating at our feeders. can you count how

many red breasted grosbeaks are feeding here?  (kind of a where's waldo deal)

look closely-there are 6.

 

 

 

there's always going to be a healthy competition that involves shooting guns when these hunters get together.

this is my sister in law-the huntress. girlfriend can take down a deer with a bow and arrow-clean it herself and fry it up in a pan. i'm not kidding either. she is a hunter/funster.

 

 me on the other hand -not so much. i always beg off and use the excuse that

someone needs to be the photographer or we wouldn't have these kodak memories.

 well-i stepped up this time and decided that i would put in some earplugs,

stretch out my trigger finger and give it a try!

 

 

i didn't hit the target-but i have to admit that i THOUGHT i was going to- it was fun

to join in for a change. (do not even for one minute think that i will be freezing my butt off

in a cold dark deer stand come fall though) shooting at a target in the distance is as

far as i will go.)

 

here's what it looks like when you DO hit the target- way to go cole!

 

 just love these organic eggs that my brother's neighbor gives them.
they always bring some to the cabin when they come.

 

 

                                  there's always a few light blue ones that are just too pretty to eat.

 

 

                                                       * it was such a fun weekend- hope yours was too.

 

                                                                                xo, beth