Blueberry pickin'

This weekend, my nephew, Jake, and The Nyquist's came to the cabin and we went blueberry picking in nearby General Andrews State Forest. There were so many blueberries in one patch that all we could do was sit in the middle of them all and pick away. It was a blast. Just when you thought you had enough and should go home, you'd see another bush full of berries and start picking again. With all those yummy, free blueberries around it was hard to stop. We filled a few containers with fresh, wild blueberries. Heidi made us blueberry pancakes for breakfast. I chose a different route. I filled an empty bottle with berries, added a cup of sugar, then filled it up with vodka. I had picked some wild raspberries the day before and did the same with those. Raspberry and Blueberry Cordial! Now I'm supposed to wait six months before it's ready to use. I'll be able to bust it out during the holidays this year. (PS.. I only made it two days before I tasted the raspberry, but haven't broke into the blueberry yet. )

Sharing a Sunset

One of my very, very favorite things to do is to watch the sunset at the cabin. Whenever I can, I stop whatever I'm doing and head toward the lake. Over the years I've probably watched hundreds of them but I never get tired of it. Usually the wind and waves have settled down for the evening and everything feels. . . calmer. Tonight, it was just me and the sunset, so I thought I'd share. You can tell by the glow of this bench that it's a great place to catch the last rays of the day. (The people at my last job gave me a gift certificate as a going away present and I used it to buy this bench. I've thought of them many times as I sit and enjoy the days here.) Going . . . (This is the view from the bench. Steve added 20' more feet of dock making it 84" in length but it didn't gain much in depth for the pontoon.) Going . . . (If you start your sunset viewing on the beach, you can watch the sunset and then quickly climb the stairs to the mid-deck...where at that elevation the sun will still be up. After the sunset on the mid-deck, run quickly up to the top of the hill for the third and final sunset of the night. Steve and I have done the triple sunset this year. We're such dorks and I'm sure if the neighbors are watching, they think we're nuts! Also, it's not what I'd call RELAXING!)
Gone. And then there's the afterglow. When there are clouds, the colors seem to hang around forever. Like I said...I never get tired of it! Hope you had a great day!

Moving again?

Not too far this time...just down into the basement. Steve's mom was over yesterday and we moved a bunch of stuff into the basement storeroom. There will be plenty of room to store most of our things in there once we get some shelving up. There is still one end of the basement piled high with all kinds of things I need to go through and organize into bins such as scrapbooking and crafts, decorating stuff, christmas things, etc. After moving some things out of the main basement area, we rearranged what was left of the space into a livingroom/bedroom/kitchen/office style one room living area. If it sounds"cozy"...well, it really is. I haven't got the kitchen area set up yet, but downstairs there is a drain for a sink so I may be able to ditch the slop pail soon. I think I'm getting spoiled!
Today's plan is to head over to the cabin (it's awesome that it is only 16 miles away now!) to meet up with Mom and Dad. I'm going to help them get their camper ready for the season and it's a sure bet that we'll have time for a bon fire and a few Blatz. Patty, my new up-north neighbor, long time friend and "twisted sister", is going to come over and hang out with us too! It should be a fun day of rest and relaxation!

On my way to the outhouse...

...this morning, I heard loud squaking/squealing noices coming from behind one of the out buildings. I thought it was either a baby crow getting fed or some other animal getting eaten. Just as those two thoughts were passing through my head, I heard the growling. It was coming from an animal standing at the edge of the woods looking at me. I'm guessing it was about 40 feet away from where I stood. It probably thought I was going to take it's recently acquired snack. I'm not sure if it was a grey fox or a coyote. Once I was safely in the outhouse, I stood up on the seat and looked through the vents as it was still watching me. If I would've had my camera, I could've gotten a picture of it---but I don't think I need to start bringing my camera to the Johnny with me!This is a grey fox. I had one as a pet when I was a kid so I now what they look like but that was a long time ago. This is a coyote. I haven't seen one before so I'm not sure how big they get. The animal I saw was the size of a small dog/large cat.
After looking at these pictures more closely, I'm leaning towards it being a grey fox. I seem to remember the coloring in the face - maybe a little raccoon like. Also it was pretty small but then again it did have a very distinct black tip on it's tail like the coyote but grey fox also have black on their tail. I'm not really sure which one it was so I guess I'll keep my eyes peeled for future sightings.

Another week comes and goes!

I thought I'd make a list of everything I did this week because it just seemed so busy...again. I'd like to start with Monday but I'll be damned if I can remember what the hell I did. I know I was at Jenny and Nolan's...I think. See what happens when you don't keep track of these things. Just another day lost I guess. I must have been sitting around eating bon bons again! No, I remember going grocery shopping, laundry, and mowing the yard on Monday. On Tuesday I drove to Danube for a visit and met Heidi and Paul's neighbors at a little pot luck party they had at their house. Everyone was very nice. I love the different salads people come up with for these things. I'm not much for making them myself so it's always a treat for me. I spent Wednesday just hanging out in Danube. Of course Tanner and I had our 2 hour snuggle nap in the easy chair...he naps and I snuggle him! I also watched him (and Sleepless in Seattle...love that movie!) in the evening while Heidi played golf and Paul and Steve installed central air at Hotel Nyquist. On Thursday I hit the road for East Bethel to play Bunko. I took the scenic route, stopping at Fleet Farm (bought me some kickin' cowboy boots) then hit the second hand shops in Elk River for THE FIND OF THE DAY...hot pink pleather pants. What would I need them for you ask? To make chaps for the Flamingo Rodeo party at Countryfest of course!! I gave a big WOO HOO right in the middle of the Salvation Army when I spotted them. To top it off, at the dollar store I found flamingo foam hats and glasses, flamingo plates and napkins, bags of hot pink shot glasses and inflatable flamingos. Yee haw! After all that, I barely made it home in time for bunko. Marcy and I went out for a drink after Bunko and I didn't get to bed until two a.m. Luckily I was D.D. so I didn't drink, therefore, no hangover to deal with. Oh yeah...at the bar I ran into Nolan and his neighbor. We laughed at a really drunk guy and a bachelorette party as they tried to pole dance. Yes...Route 65 Bar has a stripper pole on the dance floor...classy!
So it's finally Friday...and it's really crazy how much stuff you can fit into one day. I spent my morning cleaning and doing laundry, getting supper in the fridge, packing up our things and starting out for Barnum. (I'm really going to stay up there now...for real...that's where I live now...it's official!! But first on my way to Barnum, I stopped at Lowe's to finalize and purchace my kitchen cabinets and I stopped in Bethel to check out Cassie's garage sale/fundraiser. Now I'm here in Barnum...and they lived happily ever after. The end.

My most memorable moment of the week: On Thursday as I was on a quest for used cowboy boots, I stopped at a little store in Buffalo Lake called Buffalo Bill's. It turned out to be a second hand store selling a lot of denim stuff, boots, belts, etc. The lights were mostly turned off when I went in so the lady who was working turned them on for me. She told me she was busy getting things cleaned up before her daughter got home. "She could be here any time. I haven't seen her for almost two years...she's in the military...she's been in Iraq." I clapped my hand together and told her how excited I was for her. She was beaming. She's popped into my head a few times over the last couple of days. I imagine their reunion was wonderful!

I'm Back!

It's been a long time since I've been on line. I feel totally disconnected! It's been so busy that taking time to blog or even getting on Facebook seemed like more stress than it was worth. At the moment, Steve and I are staying with Jenny and Nolan until we finally go up north for good. I think we'll be out of here this weekend. We have a graduation to go to on Saturday, and then it's up to the lake for a day or two. After that, Steve has some work down in Heidi and Paul's neck of the woods so I guess I'll be hitting the road again next week. (Steve working there is really just an excuse for a Tanner fix!) After that, "going home" will mean going to Barnum. (so weird!) Oh that's right, I have Bunko next Thursday so I'll be around for that too!

So what have I been doing? My latest adventure has been planning my kitchen for the house in Barnum. I've decided to get cupboards ordered from Menards or Lowes. Actually I've already decided to get them at Lowes because they match whatever deal I can get at Menards...and Cassie works there...and they're really nice to me. It's taken me several trips to both stores to get a plan that's just right. Now that I have both companies comparing apples to apples...I'll get the best deal. Some people have suggested getting custom made cabinets from a local cabinet maker but for me, the extra money (and time) doesn't seem worth it. Seriously, for as often as I actually cook, I'll never wear out a set of cabinets in my lifetime...and I really love the kitchen plan I have for the new house. The only thing I have left to purchase is my range.

Besides the cabinet thing, I've just been chuggin' along...trying to keep up with the business paperwork, still getting the last of our stuff out of our old house, would like to get over to Sadie and Mike's to help finish up the kitchen remodel, planning for countryfest, on and on and on it goes! Gotta love it!

Closing today!

Today we are closing on the sale of our house. It's the final step in what has been a relatively easy process. I think it was nice to sell to someone we know so there was no pressure to get all of our stuff out at any set date. We still will continue to get the rest of the garage and polebarn emptied this week. Steve and I will be in the Anoka area until Memorial weekend, continuing to work on Sadie and Mike's house. Several people have asked me if I'm sad about leaving the house Steve and I built and raised out family in and I can honestly say that I'm not. The house is just boards and bricks like any other building. It's the memories of all the great times I had raising my family there that I'll own forever...no matter where I live. I'm hoping to build more great memories with my ever expanding family at our next home. I can only hope that the new owners and their kids in our old house - and Sadie, Mike and the kids in my Mom and Dad's house - have as great a life on Blackfoot Street as I had for the past 41 years!
This past weekend we hauled another load up north to the "new " place in Barnum. I'm using quotes because it's not really new-in fact it's quite a sight. We call it "The Burned-out House" if that gives you any clue as to it's current beauty. Before we bought it, someone tried to burn it down but only succeeded in filling it with smoke. We gutted it and it is now down to stud walls and isulation. The plumbing was disconected when we added an attached garage last year, so my bathroom is a port-o-potty at the moment. My kitchen stove is a propane camping burner and my kitchen sink is a dishpan and a 5 gallon pail. When I want to take a shower I just heat up a bucket of water on my burner, haul it outside and ladle it over me while I stand on the pallet next to the Johnny! It sounds ridiculous but I really think it's kind of funny and if you know me at all...you know how frickin' fancy I am! Sitting right in the middle of the construction zone is my Select Comfort bed which I am looking forward to most when we finally move up here. I continue to see it how it will be not how it really is - probably a defence mechanism to keep me from going insane! I'm sitting in what will be the sunroom as I type this and noticing that it's starting to feel more like home to me - the first time I really felt that way. Thinking about all the projects and months of work ahead of us, I feel very excited and can't wait to get started!

Busy, busy, BUSY!!!

Well, where to start? Last weekend, Steve and I took the rest of our belongings up north to store at the Barnum house. That's not realy true. We still have to empty out the garage, polebarn, and move the office of Steve's business! Meanwhile, the new owners of our house have moved in and are getting settled. We will be spending the next week and a half living out of suitcases at Sadie and Mike's new house while we renovate the kitchen before we "officially" move up north and they move in ...all of which needs to happen by Memorial weekend at the end of the month. Whew! In the mean time we are trying to run the business from a folding table in the middle of a construction site! I can do this...I can do this...I CAN DO THIS! It's only for a couple more weeks, and Sadie's kitchen will be fabulous when we're finished! Once I get up north to my dandylion/mosquito farm, I'll probably start missing all this mayhem... but maybe not right away!
ps...Weigh-in Wednesday has been postponed until further notice...my scale is missing...it disappeared about the same time I had that dream about eating a giant Thin Mint cookie...I remember waking up feeling bloated yet strangely empowered!

Reminiscing...

Bye, Bye Blackfoot! I haven't talked about it much for fear that I would jinks it, but after a great 26+ year run, we've sold our house. It's been a busy time trying to finish all the unfinished projects and there are plenty of them! I have a couple before pictures of our latest project- the laundryroom- but I don't have the after pictures yet so more on that later. It should be done in a couple of days. Earlier this week the appraiser from the buyers bank was here inspecting the place (measuring,taking notes, taking pictures, asking questions). I've been trying to look at our home objectively but it's hard when you've been at a place so long - and built it yourself. After the inspector left, I took my own pictures standing where he had stood so I could try to seewhat he was seeing. (There's a pile of trim boards hiding behind the chairs just waiting for us to install!) (notice the partial crown moulding - yet to be finished)
Overall, I think it looks pretty good all cleaned up. We've also been working at sprucing up the yard. Bricklayers came on Sunday to finish the brickwork that was started many, many years ago and it looks great. New mulch was added to the trees and swingset area just to freshen it up a bit. I remember when Steve and I bought the supplies to build the swingset for our little kids. We gathered up all the junk metal and a couple junker cars that had collected in our sandburr filled yard of the ninteen hundred and eighties. We dropped all of it off at the junkyard and took the money to Menards for supplies. Gone was the "Pinto-bomb" wood sided station wagon decorating our landscape and in it's place was the swingset. It got a facelift a couple of years ago to make it more Grandkid friendly and now it's the first place they go running to when they come visit. We'll be leaving it here for the next owners who have a little boy and another baby on the way - many more years of fun just waiting to happen!

Dilworth, MN (right next door to Moorhead,MN)

What's in Dilworth?....Some of the best cousins ever. My cousin Tami and her husband Jeff celebrated their 25th anniversary on Saturday. Cassie and I made the trek to the Dilworth VFW to join in the surprise - which by the way was a surprising success! Tami had NO idea their would be about 100 people waiting for them! Here's Tami with her new coffee maker - unfortunately most of the pictures I got of her were with her eyes closed!This is Becky and Tami watching a video of "The Jeff and Tami Years." They later wowed the crowd with their rendition of "Sisters" from the movie "A White Christmas." They couldn't remember all the words so they just made them up as they went along.

Aunt Margie was excited to see Cassie. She told us the story of how she watched Cassie when Mom was hit by the train. That was in 1965 or 1966 so Cassie was just a toddler. It was great to visit with all the cousins and I'm looking forward to seeing them again in May when we make a trip up there to put flowers on the family graves in the area. Of course on that trip we'll make some time to sing karaoke at Tami's - always a blast!

The basement dweller's (baby chick's) left Paul and Heidi's for the farm ending the pleasant chirping heard through the air ducts. Paul bought a few chick's for the kids to play with over the Easter weekend and on Saturday they were all given a bath with Tanner's baby bath soap so they would smell fresh and clean. It was nice of Paul to think of something fun for the kids. I especially love the toilet paper holder turned chicken feeder...leave it to Paul! It was great weather for everyone to spend time outside. Jada and Niya stayed busy scootering up and down the sidewalk in front of the house. Get a load of Jada's, "I SAID... I want you to go on a walk with me!" , face!

Are we there yet?

Whew! A thirteen hour driving marathon is not my idea of a great time...but we finally arrived in Malvern, Arkansas last night. I did the driving while Steve worked on the phone and the computer. It was a very productive day for him with his personal chauffeur at the wheel. He had to take the truck with him today but tomorrow I'll be able to drive him to work so I'll have my own wheels to do some exploring. Malvern is very near Hot Springs so I think I'll head in that direction. So...what to do today? First - workout. Second - swimming. Third - work while watching HGTV(LOVE IT!) I'm heading out for a walk this afternoon - 84 and Sunny in Malvern!
I lost a day somewhere this week and realized it was the Tuesday I spent exploring Eau Claire. I found an AWESOME antique store called "Antique Emporium" in the old downtown part of town. It was more like a museum than a store. Tons to look at! If you are in the market for anything stuffed-as in previous living things-this is the store for you. Seriously hundreds of anythings -alligator, badger, calf, birds, wild bore, any head with antlers - a HAMMERHEAD SHARK FOR CRYIN' OUT LOUD!! I controlled myself on the dead animals and purchased a beautiful vase - it looks like water and the color reminds me of the ocean. I'd show you a picture but its packed in the truck for now.
One more thing...Eau claire is full of one way streets so if you're driving around gawking at some beautiful old houses and some nice young girl yells, "MAAM! This is a one way!", you should turn around quickly and be glad no one in town knows you - that's what I did.

Sausage Making Party

It was a great time on Friday and Saturday getting together with family and friends to make deer sausage. Actually, there was a little time spent making sausage and a lot of time spent just hanging out and having fun. Some of the days events included: Frisbee, football (first the football got stuck in the tree and then Ashley got stuck in the tree), sharky-larkey, cribbage(Grandpa kicked everyone's butt!), and bon fire. Our friend Dan came over with a massive leaf sucker machine and cleaned up the whole yard (AWESOME!). After I went to bed, I heard a lot of people running around in the dark playing a late night game of Sardines! The party continues today as we finish up smoking and wrapping the sausage.

Welcome Tanner!

What a wonderful few days it's been! Watching your children have children is quite something. It's a happy time for our whole family and we're very excited for Paul and Heidi. Tanner is a great baby - a real mellow fellow - but with his layed back parents, I wouldn't expect him to be any different.

After many hours of labor, Heidi was getting worn out and frustrated, but she regrouped and finish the delivery with calm, concentrated effort. . . and then there was JOY!

Warm Hands Warm Heart

As I was researching some relaxation techniques, I came across this and thought it was very interesting. I ended up trying this out. I'll tell you the results at the end, but first the relaxation part:

Supposedly, you can learn how to warm your hands with your brain by directing your thoughts to warming images like putting your hand in front of a fire. The image I used was sitting on a hay bail around a crackling bon fire and picturing the colorful flames and me holding my palms out towards it( the more vivid the images the better). My thoughts even wandered toward my knees getting too hot like they tend to do when you're by a firepit. When you do this your body is supposed to go into a relaxed state. I tried this right before I went to sleep and my usually cold hands turned nice and toasty warm - tingly almost. Interesting!

Now, what to do with these warm hands you ask? How about using them to build closeness and trust in your relationships! Whoa...really? Sounds like magic hands to me. Try this experiment- I did. As you hold your partner's (or your child's hand) imagine warm, loving energy going from your hand into theirs. Each time you exhale, send warm and intentional thoughts of love and gratitude. If you do this regularily, you will see positive results in your relationship. When I tried this experiment on Steve (and I make it a rule never to tell the guinea pig they're being experimented on) he mentioned THREE times that my hands were super warm. After a couple of minutes he just started blabbing about his day and how it went, etc. This is the guy who normally would have come home from 16 hour day too tired to do more than shower and hit the hay with a one word mumbled conversation of "nite". Granted, the experiment results could have been affected by the fact that I was busy concentrating on my new magic hands and not talking his ear off about my day. Either way, I'm going to try this a few more times, if for no other reason than to see if I can mess with my dear hubby's mind!

Changing of the Guard

Today I went to town with Mom and Dad, aka Grandma and Grandpa Huesmann, to pick out the spices and order the pork for making this year's deer sausage. Our family has been getting together to grind, mix, stuff, smoke and package our own venison sausage since before the beginning of time. When my sisters and brother were young, we could help mix the spices into the meat. This is still a favorite of the grandkids. As you got older, you could start catching the sausage as it came off the stuffer, or tie the ends together to make the rings. Cranking the stuffer has always been left to the strong armed boys of the family. If you team up a smooth cranker with a good catcher, followed by a fast tier - well it just runs like a well oiled machine. After all that busy work is done, it's time to hang the sausage in the smoker, crack open a beer, and wait.( The smoker is an old refrigerator with some oven controls mounted on it to regulate the heat. We've named it "The Smokin' Stovinator".)

Dad has felt, for the last couple of years now, that it was time to pass the responsibility on to the next generation. ( You know I didn't think much about it until just now as I'm typing this but I'm getting a little misty.) It's the end of an era in our family really...but all things change...time marches on ...(sigh)

Of course Mom and Dad will both be here this year right in the thick of things, sharing the knowledge, the work, the laughs and the beer. Between the kids, grandkids, and now even the great-grandkids helping out, it will take all of us to fill their shoes and carry on this great family tradition.

The 2009 photos above shows Mom and Lindsey adding that "special" ingredient - Blatz Light - that makes our sausage the very best!

Moderation

Let me get the complaining out of the way right away and be done with it.
Caffeine withdrawal is not fun. - Yesterday I cut down to 4 cups throughout the day to manage the whopper headache I was having from not having my usual pot and a half of coffee. There - I'm done!

Why am I doing this coffee reduction? First of all, common sense tells me that no one needs that much coffee every day. I've also been having some trouble sleeping so it seemed like a logical place to start. This morning I've had 1-1/2 cups so far - I'll see how today goes - headache is much less today! My goal is "Everthing in Moderation" and there are a lot of "everythings" I need to moderate - I decided to start with coffee.

10 Reasons to limit caffeine: (according to "Change Your Brain, Change Your Body"**)
1. Restricts blood flow to the brain( leads to premature aging)
2. Dehydrates the brain (slower thinking)
3. Interferes with sleep
4. Addictive in high amounts(withdrawal=headache,fatigue,irritability)
5. Can accelerate heart rate and raise blood pressure.
6. Can make you jittery and nervous.
7. Increases muscle tension.
8. Can cause upset stomach.
9. Elevates markers for inflamation and heart disease(just 2 cups)
10. Interferes with fertility

Pretty sure all apply to me accept #10 of course. There are some good things that caffeine can do for you too so I'm not eliminating it, just takin' it down a notch!

**Update on the new book I got: It's not a light read, that's for sure. It focuses on the physiology of the brain (not your mind -although they can't really be separated)and how certain chemicals and behaviors can hurt or enhance the physical functioning of your brain then in turn how that affects your body. Taking it a step further - how to change your behaviors that give you the body you have by changing the chemicals in your brain( through a variety of ways like food, exercise, stress reduction, etc.) I love this kind of stuff but it might not be everyones cup-o-cappuccino!

It's a Great Day!

Very excited to get this book today. This guy was on PBS last night and he was so interesting, I was inspired to get this. It was either that or donate $365 to PBS and get it and some other stuff for free. Don't get me wrong, I love PBS but I gotta have some limits. Anyway, I can't wait to start reading it.

Also, while I was out and about, I had lunch with some wonderful ladies, Nola and Chrissy, who I love dearly. We had lunch at "Mongo's" at Arbor Lakes - very nice and you get to pick out your own food before they cook it so it's great when you're trying to watch the waist. I laughed all of my mascara off while we were catching up! Also... like the cherry on top of my delicious sunae of a day, I'm getting picked up by another awesome lady, Brenda, to go to Bunko tonight. If I get the most bunko's and win a prize...well I just don't know what I'll do! I don't think life could get much better today!