I've been working on Katie's quilt for 2 years and 2 months and I finally finished it to give her for Christmas this year. I really like it and I think she does too. I think I might have to make myself a quilt next.
I hope everyone who reads this blog had a very nice Christmas! Erik and I were fortunate to be able to spend Christmas with family and we had a wonderful time with them. We survived driving in the winter snow storm that blew through over the past 4 days. We most definitely had a white Christmas!
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
Appreciate the simple everyday things in life
This weekend Erik and I watched the movie Up and then tonight I finished the book firefly lane by Kristin Hannah both stories had the message to enjoy and appreciate the simple everyday things in life. Too often I can get wrapped up on what is going on next week or wishing to change something about myself and don't slow down and enjoy today, these were both reminders to be thankful for all that I have.
Happy Winter Solstice!
Happy Winter Solstice!Sunday, December 20, 2009
BoBear
Our beloved BoBear got sick last week and we had to say goodbye. It was hard on everyone in our family as Bo has been a wonderful member of our family. Here are some pictures of him over that past few years.
He always looked a little goofy after getting his hair cut, like he all of a sudden lost a bunch of weight, but definitely the haircut was needed for the summer months.
Katie made him sit for this picture. He was always so willing and make each of us happy. He loved being outside too. He often ventured into the pastures and to the neighbors and, more than we liked, into the park across the street.
Bo looking out the porch window at the going-ons of the outside world, as he loved to check things out for us. He was always the first in the barn to protect us from what ever was inside be it a stray cat or raccoon.
A winter version of our pup. Bo's full name is Bodega, but he was called many nicknames including Bo, BoBear, Bo-somes, Bo-bos and others. Mostly Bo and BoBear. He got the name BoBear because he sometimes resembled a bear with his furry black coat.
Bo was a dog that was always there for you. He seemed to know when you needed a friend. He was always so excited when any of us walked in the door by wiggling his whole body and jumping up. It was always so wonderful to be greeted with such enthusiasm. I will miss that greatly!
Bo helped us in the garden and in the kitchen. He loved his fruits and veggies. He often ate the cores of apples and bits of carrot from Mom when she was in the kitchen. One time he stole a carrot right out of my Grandma's bag and started munching away on it. He loved broccoli too - the only thing I had to watch after picking it from the garden.
He was always such a happy dog! He will be missed greatly as he added so much to our lives!
He always looked a little goofy after getting his hair cut, like he all of a sudden lost a bunch of weight, but definitely the haircut was needed for the summer months.
Katie made him sit for this picture. He was always so willing and make each of us happy. He loved being outside too. He often ventured into the pastures and to the neighbors and, more than we liked, into the park across the street.
Bo looking out the porch window at the going-ons of the outside world, as he loved to check things out for us. He was always the first in the barn to protect us from what ever was inside be it a stray cat or raccoon.
A winter version of our pup. Bo's full name is Bodega, but he was called many nicknames including Bo, BoBear, Bo-somes, Bo-bos and others. Mostly Bo and BoBear. He got the name BoBear because he sometimes resembled a bear with his furry black coat.
Bo was a dog that was always there for you. He seemed to know when you needed a friend. He was always so excited when any of us walked in the door by wiggling his whole body and jumping up. It was always so wonderful to be greeted with such enthusiasm. I will miss that greatly!
Bo helped us in the garden and in the kitchen. He loved his fruits and veggies. He often ate the cores of apples and bits of carrot from Mom when she was in the kitchen. One time he stole a carrot right out of my Grandma's bag and started munching away on it. He loved broccoli too - the only thing I had to watch after picking it from the garden.
He was always such a happy dog! He will be missed greatly as he added so much to our lives!Saturday, December 5, 2009
So... I discontinued doing the photo of the day (aka I quit). I will still of course post pictures, and maybe more frequently than that of the 1 month sabbatical from my blog that I was on.
Anyhoo... I feel as though I've been busy, but happily busy. I've been working out a bunch - going to BodyPump at the Y and a group cycle class. I like them both a lot. I feel like I'm getting a great workout and it is motivating seeing other people working hard. I think I've always felt that way in any type of work environment, whether it is in my career, school, or other such as working out... seeing others working hard is very motivating for me - maybe it is contagious, but, then again maybe only for some people, because we all know some people who can't work hard for anything.
Erik and I are looking at houses. We aren't quite ready to buy, but we are looking and figuring out what we like and dislike.
We are ready for Christmas... except presents. Our little borrowed Christmas tree is up and decorated along with the other decorations. We've been on the search for stockings that we like... we haven't really found any, but it fun looking, might be more fun than actually getting some.
Last night we got together with Erik's family to make lefse.
Rolling out the potato balls (thinner the better)
Lefse onto the grill
Supervising the lefse cooking
Most of the action, minus one grill
Don't flip too much or it will dry out
Picture break
How long have we been at this? 4 hours?
15 pounds of potatoes = 11 inches of lefse
Anyhoo... I feel as though I've been busy, but happily busy. I've been working out a bunch - going to BodyPump at the Y and a group cycle class. I like them both a lot. I feel like I'm getting a great workout and it is motivating seeing other people working hard. I think I've always felt that way in any type of work environment, whether it is in my career, school, or other such as working out... seeing others working hard is very motivating for me - maybe it is contagious, but, then again maybe only for some people, because we all know some people who can't work hard for anything.
Erik and I are looking at houses. We aren't quite ready to buy, but we are looking and figuring out what we like and dislike.
We are ready for Christmas... except presents. Our little borrowed Christmas tree is up and decorated along with the other decorations. We've been on the search for stockings that we like... we haven't really found any, but it fun looking, might be more fun than actually getting some.
Last night we got together with Erik's family to make lefse.
Rolling out the potato balls (thinner the better)
Lefse onto the grill
Supervising the lefse cooking
Most of the action, minus one grill
Don't flip too much or it will dry out
Picture break
How long have we been at this? 4 hours?
15 pounds of potatoes = 11 inches of lefseQuite a process and a mess at the end, but well worth all the effort and a great tradition!
Friday, November 6, 2009
Afton State Park
Thursday we went to Afton State Park for a work retreat. I snapped a few pictures over our lunch break. I also played with changing a couple of the pictures into black and white.
River Point
River Point
Lovely Fall Trail
Lovely Fall Trail
Ladybug
River's edge
Frosty Morning
River Point
River Point
Lovely Fall Trail
Lovely Fall Trail
Ladybug
River's edge
Frosty MorningNext Project
I picked up my sewing area and now I'm ready for the next project. Actually it is a continuation of a project I started 2 years ago... my sister's quilt. So I found a place to rent time on a longarm quilting machine and tomorrow... Katie's quilt is getting quilted! Yay! I have some prep work to do on it yet. I pulled out all my safety pins from when I thought I was going to quilt it myself (ha) and now I need to trim all my threads better this time around. I'm very excited that I'm getting so close to having it done!
Unpinning the Pinned, November 4, 2009
Ready for the next project, November 3, 2009Monday, November 2, 2009
Wishing to be outside
Wishing to be outside, November 2, 2009How is it already November? I feel like I just started this photo project with Katie. Today is my 86th day of photo of the day. The sun was shining today! It seemed like a nice, windy autumn day. I didn't make it outside very much, except the drive to and from work. I ended up working from home most of the day due to a cough I just can't quite get rid of, but I really wanted to go play outside! Then I was googling Minnesota Nature Photography and came across some beautiful pictures. I think I have a long way to go to make it up to the caliber of photographers I found. Some people just have an eye for it (right brained people) and have worked in the business for 20 years. I am fairly decidedly a left brained person and have not been taking photos for 20 years... I mean maybe I have I guess but not quality photos for 20 years. I was taking pictures of my cat when I was 7. I guess I still do that today too, but it is different, yes?
Not that I needed a test to tell me this, but...
Brain Lateralization Test Results |
| Right Brain (22%) The right hemisphere is the visual, figurative, artistic, and intuitive side of the brain. Left Brain (78%) The left hemisphere is the logical, articulate, assertive, and practical side of the brain |
personality tests by similarminds.com
"Left brain dominant individuals are more orderly, literal, articulate, and to the point. They are good at understanding directions and anything that is explicit and logical. They can have trouble comprehending emotions and abstract concepts, they can feel lost when things are not clear, doubting anything that is not stated and proven.
"Right brain dominant individuals are more visual and intuitive. They are better at summarizing multiple points, picking up on what's not said, visualizing things, and making things up. They can lack attention to detail, directness, organization, and the ability to explain their ideas verbally, leaving them unable to communicate effectively."
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Sunday, November 1, 2009
WeatheredThings you should not do while under the weather (aka so much mucuous making it is disgusting) include staying up til midnight to finish a costume, participating in a 5K on a chilly windy day, and going for a hike in search of some inspiration for some photos (I needed to take a picture of something besides a costume! 7 of the last 8 photos of the day have revolved around costume making) But I would not trade any of it for sitting on my butt and sleeping, although the sleeping sound pretty darn good right now.
I made Erik and I each a costume for this Halloween. Erik was Max from Where the Wild Things Are and I was the Queen of Hearts. I struggled with making my costume, but all in all I think it turned out pretty well. You can't see all of the detail in the picture of us at the 5K, maybe I will have to take one more picture of it. We participated in the Monster Dash 5K for Team Ortho around Lake Harriet. There were so many people there! They also had a half marathon and 10 mile run too. It was a good time. Katie and Erik both ran. Katie ran her best 5k yet. That is so cool! I walked with Erik's Mom. It was nice to have someone to walk with. I wish I could have run, but with this cold walking was plenty. After the race, Katie, Erik and I went to lunch and had cake. Unfortunately, we did not do anything else cool for the rest of the day. We did hand out some candy to some little little kids. That was fun to see them so excited and it was nice to have trick-or-treaters. Erik and I watched Dracula on tv and called it a night.
It has been fairly uneventful around here lately. Between being sick, making costumes, and work, there hasn't been a whole lot of time. I'm hoping once I'm feeling better I can cook some good autumn food and enjoy doing somethings. I missed peak fall colors while being sick. It is pretty much over now and most leaves are off the trees. The oaks and some yellow leaved trees are still hanging on to their leaves. I'm sort of bummed I missed it. I love the bright yellow leaves against the dark branches. The leaves will change again next year. I guess I'll have to wait to enjoy them until then and make sure not to schedule getting sick then!
I ran some errands this morning. I was disgusted at B&N return policy. I even had a receipt! So I've got a book I'm not really interested in reading, but oh well. Maybe I'll donate it... that'd be the smart thing to do. After my errands I ran over to the nature center and tried to find a bit of color yet. I didn't exactly find what I was looking for but I think that is okay, because I liked what I ended up with.
The Barn
Colorful leaf
End of the season
Green roofHappy Halloween
Monster Dash 5K, October 31, 2009Katie - Operation
Me - Queen of Hearts
Erik - Max, from Where the Wild Things Are
Finishing touches, October 30, 2009
What a mess!, October 29, 2009
Collar for the costume, October 28, 2009
Thank goodness for magic erasers!, October 27, 2009
Frustrating Pattern, October 26, 2009
Playing, October 25, 2009Sunday, October 25, 2009
So I've been a little absent, but so has my head. Erik and I both caught something and have been down for the count. I have continued to take a photo a day, but I was sick enough to rinse out my ice cream bowl in the bathroom sink instead of the kitchen sink, so I wasn't too interested in taking time to go find a good photographic subject. I'm still struggling with a sore throat with an upcoming presentation tomorrow.
Costume In-progress, October 24, 2009
Future Fetteccini companion of a crab, artichoke cream sauce, October 23, 2009
Learning to Quilt, October 22, 2009
Serenading away the sickness that prevailed, October 21, 2009
Inspiration for future backyard, October 20, 2009
Finally finished baby quilt, October 19, 2009
Roasted root vegetables and balsamic glazed salmon, October 18, 2009
I-35 in no-where Iowa, October 17, 2009
Future Fetteccini companion of a crab, artichoke cream sauce, October 23, 2009
Learning to Quilt, October 22, 2009
Serenading away the sickness that prevailed, October 21, 2009
Inspiration for future backyard, October 20, 2009
Finally finished baby quilt, October 19, 2009
Roasted root vegetables and balsamic glazed salmon, October 18, 2009
I-35 in no-where Iowa, October 17, 2009
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