Lily's Idea

Here's a little bit that came from Lily the other day.  She was noticing that my flannel pj pants were getting pretty tattered.  She told me I should ask Grandma to make me a new pair.  I told her it was a good idea and that I'd consider that.  Then she asked if she could have my pants when I get my new ones.  They are really in bad shape so I said that they'd be headed for the trash.  She insisted saying that she wanted them in case she makes a quilt someday.  Interesting...very interesting!

BLIZZARD!!

Okay, it's not quite a blizzard, but it's fun to see the snow and wind!  I have a camera with me today, but with issues.  I hope it's only the battery.  As I look out the window where I'm working, I see drifts right outside that look to be three fee tall.  We haven't had much snow, really,l but the wind is whipping!  There is a lot of bare space, but where the wind has obstacles, the drifts are building!

I hope I can pick up the other camera battery later today...

Happy New Year!

As our winter struggles to get into full swing, our calendar has already switched to 2012.  This is our fifth winter in Minnesota, but very different from the past few.  The first four seemed to be made from a mold - snow cover started within about a week after Thanksgiving and lasting through late February or into March.  This year's warmer weather and lack of moisture is quite different.

But for the record, I want SNOW!

Happy New Year to all!

Getting Back At It

There are many things to get back at...procrastinated, multiple, many, numerous interests and distractions.  I guess blogging is one of them, but many blogs I follow have lapses.  But in my opinion, writing is important.  In this day of abbreviated text habits that are finding a place in many forms of written language, it's important to keep up with basic English skills before they are totally lost.  That is assuming these skills were in my possession at one time.

Speaking of misplaced interest, I started "running" again.  Yes, it's in quotes for a reason.  Yesterday went well, but I was surprised that it was only 2.2 miles.  No wonder I didn't feel dead after the run.  But today, I decided I would just go a route and not worry about time or length.  It was 3.1 miles and it felt at least that long, plus the 2.2 from yesterday!  But the good news is that I got my lazy butt outside to do it.

It was a beautiful day to be out, too.  Being a school and work day, it was relatively quiet, until I realized it was the first Wednesday of the month and it was 1:00 PM.  So, my peace was shattered for a few minutes while the tornado siren went off.  As I ran further, I entered a gravel part of a road where the grasshoppers were very numerous.  They frantically hopped and flew out of my way.  They obviously have a bit of a brain in that small head.  One did accidentally land on me, but I felt it's rear legs pushing off almost instantaneously.  I'm sure it was the smell that drove him away!

The rest of the "run" was more of a sight-seeing adventure.  It was nice to get out in the town.  I think that was something I had missed.  For the almost-four years that we have lived here, I have been running in most months.  When I started running here, I really knew none of the residents of the houses here.  But now, it's kinda fun to look around as I go and see people's houses, yards and gardens.  It feels more like home.

So, I've been running two days in a row and might need to take tomorrow off.  But if I can continue some regular running, maybe it will become more running than not, and I can actually call myself a runner again!  Maybe I can also call myself a blogger, or dare I try "writer?"

Tomatoes!

=It seems like it has taken a long time for the tomatoes to really start ripening.  I've gathered a few here and there since the end of June, but not a lot.  But now - wow!

It was an odd spring for many reasons, not just the weather.  I started some seeds, but ended up being gifted better seedlings.  I planted those, gave away a few of mine and wondered why I bought all those seeds.  The plants grew crazily and I was a bit worried at first, wondering if I'd get only foliage and little or no fruit.  I guess I really don't need to worry about that now.  I believe I am at the start of being overwhelmed with tomatoes.

I labeled my plants when I planted - when Mom and I planted, that is.  But I will need to work hard to really know what each variety is, since the plants are too big to get to the little stake in the ground near the base of the plant!  (Note to self:  draw a diagram noting the location of each variety.  This will be easier to identify tomatoes as they ripen!)

And what should I do with all these tomatoes?  Eat, can, eat, make salsa, eat, make juice, etc.  I may even try my hand at canning a home made Bloody Mary mix.  We'll see about that!

What a Spring!

And here is May, already!  We've had some hints of warm weather, but it's hard to believe that summer is just around the corner.  The kids are winding down the school year, gardening is getting started, and our schedule for the summer seems to be filling up!

Our girls are getting ready to end the school year.  It's been a challenge keeping up with them - our organization has slipped and we seem to be a bit more frantic now.  But we'll make one more effort in order to reach the end!

Gardening is finally getting started.  I planted some cool-weather crops several weeks ago, but everything seems to be very slow getting going.  I will be calling a person to 'till up part of my backyard to add to our garden space.  Also, we'll be putting in some garden at a property about a block away - I think that will be where the pumpkins and watermelon will go.

And our summer schedule is filling.  We have Girl Scout camp, vacation Bible school, BWCA trip for me (hopefully), family vacation, Fit Families demonstration, Root River Power Association, Ag Days, Garden Club flower bed maintenance, in addition to our personal garden and home maintenance.  And we need to go fishing.

So, there seems to be a lot going on now.  All this while I am recovering from a bout of pneumonia.  It was only a mild case, but I still DON'T recommend this to anyone!  So, don't do it!

New Form of Watercolor

Okay, I don't REALLY know that this is a new form of watercolor, but it's pretty neat.  The girls must be experiencing Spring Fever, too.  They were very excited to see that the snow had melted enough that they could get into our small garage.  That's where the sidewalk chalk lived for the winter and they were anxious to use it. 

And even with the driveway wet, they had a blast!

And the driveway was not the only thing that was colored!  Unfortunately, since it was Sunday night, I did not have time to wash the jackets prior to school.