Cher Shots

Back Then

2012-01-27T11:48:00.004-06:00

~ when I was just a kid; we used to walk down through the rocky field stopping to play on the big whale rock that sat just before the creek. Then wandering down the old 'corduroy road' another name for the old trail through the woods made up of wooden poles laid in place wherever needed to get vehicles, tractors and such across the swampy spots. The poles are nearly all rotted away now but that is the trail still used to this day to access my sisters place through the land from our old homestead where Mom still lives. Anyways ~ back to my story - We used to walk down to visit Grandpa and Grandma O. who lived just beyond where my sister now lives. Back then when my legs were even shorter than they are now (I can only imagine my sister's snickering as they read this) that seemed like a long walk. Now its a breeze, even for me! Well Grandpa and Grandma had two old Adirondack chairs and when I spotted them as we ended the trail, I knew we were there! We made it to Grandpa and Grandma's!

As I was surfing the net and saw this picture - it bought back a flood of memories of those wonderful visits. Oh how I miss those summer days and even more so ~ Oh how I miss them!

SnowDay

2012-01-23T20:20:00.001-06:00

Hand feeding the birds!

Heavy Snowfall

New insulation layer of snow!

8 new inches accumulated

on our bare deck

Hands and Knees Playing ~

2012-01-21T20:53:00.000-06:00

My son just exchanged this little story with me and I thought it was so darned cute that I just had to share. First I must say that I love the fact that he gets down on his hands and knees and actually spends TIME playing with his son. Not in front of the television or playing endless hours of electronic games, but good old fashioned hands and knees playing. He just shared this exchange with me:

My Son: "The kitchen is officially closed due to the railroad coming through and kitchen wide town construction. Including a barn yard, space station, parking garage, hospital, race track, sea world, two separate rail yards, a port, an airport and zoo. The 5 yr. Old mayor has ordered out for pizza because I don't have a permit to cook in his town !!!!!!"

Me: "that grandson of mine sure does remind me of his daddy! lol"

My Son: "Ha, not only is he mayor he has also taken the roles of sheriff, vet, doctor, pilot, fireman, race car driver, ship captain, conductor and everything else that I wanted to be. Making me a mere tax payer !!!!! Sure do love working for the man."

Getting organized ~

2012-01-19T12:10:00.000-06:00

I've had loads of lids crammed in a container for too long ... so when I spotted a CD rack at the Goodwill store and it jumped out at me saying "I could be the answer to your lid problem!" I grabbed it. And it is! Who'd a thunk it?!

2012-01-12T22:16:00.003-06:00

How do people function without it?

I would be lost.

I'm Baaaacccckkk!

2012-01-11T11:16:00.001-06:00

Wow ~ can it really be possible that I last posted in mid-December? We went to visit the kids over the holidays and I then stayed on for a few extra weeks to help out after my daughters surgery. All is well, she's on the mend and I'm happy to be home. I think it's true, no matter how much I love my family and friends, whenever I go visiting somewhere and then return home; as I enter my own house I catch myself thinking "there's no place like home!"

Our load of love!

Our Loves

2011-12-18T23:15:00.004-06:00

Cookies! Cookies!

2011-12-16T12:46:00.001-06:00

It's cookie baking day! Over the river and through the snow to the Grand loves house we go ... and our sleigh will be loaded down with lots of gifts and baked goods. So today is cookie baking day at our house. And gift wrapping time this evening. We are heading out a week early to spend extra time with our little loves so they can get some 'baking with Grandma' done. I feel like Mrs. Claus with all my little elves as helpers. It's so cute, they all grab their little aprons and take their spots on the kitchen stools as they wait for their kitchen assignments. They love baking and I love teaching them. They take close note of the little secrets of cooking and every year I see the advances in their techniques. They look like a little assembly line when it comes to decorating the cookies etc. Today I'm baking cut out sugar cookies in several shapes and gingerbread boys and girls. It's a time saver having them pre-baked and ready for decorating. That enables us time for baking other cookies and candies. I foresee a lot of smiles and sticky fingers in my near future!

Pictures are of some of the sweets I baked last Christmas.

Our Special Guest

2011-12-12T22:53:00.007-06:00

We have an overnight guest with us. His name is Dave Wickerham, world renown organist. We had the honor of meeting Dave about 5 years ago when he performed on the pipe organ in our small town in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. He is a good friend of our former neighbor and when we heard he would be stopping on his way through town we offered our guest room for the night. Much to our surprise and great pleasure, he accepted. We've had a wonderful time visiting with Dave. He had just done a couple of performances in the Chicago area and he said it was nice to just relax. I wish he were staying longer as the time flew by too fast. It was our pleasure welcoming him into our home.

Yup, that's Dave beside me in our dining room!

If you ever have the opportunity to hear this man play, do it! You will not believe your ears!

Snowman

2011-12-10T11:31:00.001-06:00

... now tell me, isn't this the cutest snowman? I think this is the neatest idea. I hope we have some 'packy' snow while we are visiting our Grand loves over Christmas. I think they would get a kick out of watching Grandma making a snowman ~ let alone an upside down one! And snow angels, can't wait! Pictures to follow, weather permitting!

A to Z's of Christmas

2011-12-07T14:26:00.002-06:00

Mel over at Up North with Mel did an A to Z Christmas list on her blog and ended with "So what's your A to Z;s of Christmas?" Well now, being that she is my sister - that sounds like a challenge - so here goes:

A to Z's of Christmas

a - adoration

b - birth

c - Christ

d - decorations

e - eggnog

f - family

g - gingerbread

h - holly

i - icicles

j - Jesus

k - Kris Kringle

l - love

m - mistletoe

n - noel

o - ornaments

p - poinsettia

q - quilt

r - reindeer

s - Santa

t - tinsel

u - unwrapping

v - visitors

w - wreaths

x - xmas

y - yule log

z - zzzz - a long winter's nap

footnote: x is a Greek symbol for Christ - but please note that I personally prefer to use the word CHRIST in Christmas

Nov 11, 2011 – Explanation of the origin and use of the abbreviation xmas. ... an unknown (since the Greek letter chi, [C,c] which looks like the English letter x, is the symbol ... 1) Using an "X" to replace Christ's name in Christmas - i.e. Xmas

So tell me, what is does your A to Z Christmas list look like?

~ It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas ~

2011-12-06T22:36:00.004-06:00

To Tickle your Funny-bone!

2011-12-05T20:24:00.000-06:00

I found this while surfing the net and got a chuckle and thought others might find it humorous as well.

I'm assuming by the title of this story the assignment was to put a 'sticker' on the page and then to write a story about it.

UPDATE on Bling! Bling!

2011-12-02T12:01:00.003-06:00

I've had a few inquiries as to the

meaning of 'bling bling'

I hope this helps:

World English Dictionary

bling-bling or bling

— *adj*
1.	slang flashy; ostentatious; glitzy

— n
2.	ostentatious jewellery

Shh...

2011-11-29T13:15:00.003-06:00

I've been at it again

making up some

whimsical pictures

for my grand-loves

for Christmas.

'Hush' is the word.

2011-11-26T22:12:00.001-06:00

Christmas is nearly here so once again I decided to find a seasonal background! ~ Then I came across this perfect picture while surfing the net ~ and well, you know me -I just had to share. ~ Once I get over this latest lazy spell I've been stuck in ~ I will start to pull out some holiday decorations ~ piece by piece until the next snowflakes fall ~ that means baking ~ I don't know why but I love to bake Christmas cookies when it's snowing! ~ And I'm finally into stage one of shopping ~ I'm beginning to 'think' about it. ~ Shopping is not one of my favorite things to do. ~ Personally, I think gifts should come from the heart and be given when ever one feels like gifting. ~ But we do love seeing those happy faces on the Grand-loves as they open their gifts from Grandpa and Grandma! ~ And the hugs ~ well, they're just 'priceless!' ~ How are you all doing on your Christmas to-do lists? ~

Christmas is Coming

2011-11-25T19:33:00.000-06:00

All of a sudden

Christmas is coming!

I guess I should do a

little shopping,

creating and baking!

This is one of the tins of cookies

I baked up last year.

Organization

2011-11-20T19:38:00.002-06:00

I've been surfing the web again. There are so many cool sites out there and I just happened to pop across one that has a pic of a really neat craft center. The kind that a woman can really dream about!

Now tell me, wouldn't you just love to be that organized? I sure would.

Check out her blog:

http://inmyownstyle.com/2010/06/my-studioffice-part-2.html

2011-11-19T21:12:00.001-06:00

We may not be Shrek & Fiona but there are times when we feel like we live in a land far far away! Now is one of those times. When we moved down from Alaska it was to be closer to family and friends. Sometimes I think 2 hours away is still a land too far far away.
My sister hasn't been feeling well and I wish I were close enough to make her a kettle of homemade chicken soup. When my Dad was in and out of the hospital I also felt too far removed. When the Grand kids are sick, or my own children are under the weather, I wish I were a bit closer.
But on the flip side, because we are very content in keeping to ourselves for the most part, and we have very good hygiene habits; I think we stay healthier throughout the winter. We always carry hand sanitizers in our car and use it immediately after leaving a store, clinic, restaurant etc. We wash our milk jugs and the tops of cans before opening. Little steps that some may think extreme but we feel its a bonus in keeping ourselves healthy. I understand that we can still get sick just by breathing in shared air and that some germs are inevitable however; we boost our bodies with supplements to help in that department as well. It never hurts to try and help yourself, so that's what we try to do.
As the snow is falling outside my window, I wish you all a warm and healthy winter from a land far far away.

Sweet Inspiration

2011-11-16T11:54:00.005-06:00

I've been inspired by my sweet sister Mel over at UpNorthWithMel. We both used to do digital scrap booking but as usual I fell behind. She shared a few pages that she had done and once again was my inspiration. She has a way of doing that to me ~ gotta love her! Now please hush - ssshhh - as some of these may be used as part of a Christmas project. So here's just a sampling of what I've been working on.

Happy Dance!

2011-11-15T23:38:00.001-06:00

I did it, I did it ~ and all by myself too! Those who have been following me know my frustration with computer problems for the past several months. Well - never let it be said that I'm not persistent! I didn't give up and it finally paid off. Well not really but enough to take care of my griping about it.
You see all this time I was having issues with trying to go in and visit your blogs. I would have to highlight the title of each one in blogger and then copy and paste them into a new search box. Very frustrating to say the least because I love checking in on so many of you. Anyways, every time I tried to update my Internet Explorer; for some reason it wouldn't finish. No matter what I did, even after removing older versions. SOOOO tonight I downloaded the Google Chrome and everything works like a charm.
Don't ask ~ just know that I'm doing the happy dance! Believe me it's been bugging me for months and months so this is a big deal. Thanks for hanging in there with me.

2011-11-14T23:58:00.002-06:00

Squash Pecan Pie

~ all calories magically removed ~

I love that wand!

Crafting Cogs Engaged

2011-11-11T09:47:00.001-06:00

Although it's long over due, my crafting cogs are engaging. With the wonders of blog world and internet surfing as inspiration; the wheels are slowly slipping back into gear. And just in time for the holidays too!

To ease them back into movement I started with an couple of old baby blankets that are no longer of use ~ I say this with sad heart as my Grand loves have outgrown them. So Grandma decided to put them to use for herself. I picked up some material at the Good Will store to use for covering them. So for the total price of a buck a piece I have two little lap robes to take the chill off our upcoming winter nights. They will be just big enough to lay across the lap for that tiny bit of extra warmth.

Update Snow Pictures

2011-11-09T15:35:00.000-06:00

and there is no end in sight!

It's snowing! It's SNOWING!

2011-11-09T12:23:00.001-06:00

Green Gate Garden put to rest

or as Thom likes to call it -

his cemetary for people that pissed him off!

Just kidding!!!

Hello

2011-11-08T22:36:00.000-06:00

As I was out trying to find myself

I discovered a few things about me

Things about my likes and dislikes

I like old and I like new

I like rustic and I like lace

I like food and health

I like glass and bubbles

I like gowns and I like jeans

I like nature and I like fake

but not as much as natural

photo from the net

I like the usual and I like unique

I like soft and I like hard

I like comfort and I like challenge

I like what I discovered about me

How about you?

Patience and Persistance

2011-11-03T21:46:00.001-05:00

Sometimes life tosses a few kinks our way. Although I've been working on it, my patience is running low and as persistant as what I've been, I may have to 'hire' someone to get my laptop back in tip top form. I hate the thought but my patience is being tested. But I'd like to thank those of you who are sitting in the sidelines waiting for my dribble of wit and what little humor I may have left.

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T13:17:00.002-05:00

Halloween Tricksters

2011-10-29T22:11:00.000-05:00

These are pics of three of our Grand-loves dressed up for Halloween parties.

Summer as

Wednesday Addams

from the Addams Family

Sydney as little

Cindy Lou Who

from

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

and

Taylor's impression of

Captian Jack Sparrow

from the movie

Pirates of the Caribbean

Who stole my bandana? Argh!

2011-10-28T00:43:00.002-05:00

2011-10-25T13:13:00.004-05:00

I'm just warming up for the weekend!

Frustrated !!!

2011-10-24T19:37:00.001-05:00

I am soooo frustrated with whatever is going on with my laptop !!!! For months and months I've had trouble with links and I would have to right click, copy shortcut then paste it into my search box to follow any of your blogs. Well this morning I was once again trying to figure out just what went wrong all those months ago and I somehow got the links to work. Yippee! Right??? WRONG ~ I'm still having problems getting any hyperlinks on your blogs to open when I click them. Not just in blogspot on anywhere, and I'm really getting ticked and needed to vent.
AND as you can plainly see I'm also trying to change my background with very very little success. When I go into the design, it won't let me change my html or add a new gadget. I'm about to blow a gasket here!!!!! Okay, so I needed to vent. Thanks for letting me waste your time.

2011-10-19T11:50:00.001-05:00

Maybe, just maybe these plants will

survive to see another summer outside!

Home Again, Home Again

2011-10-17T12:09:00.004-05:00

I've just spent the past 3 weeks visiting with my three kids and our six grand-loves. Although we only live two and half hours away from them, (thank God they all live within 15 miles of each other) it seems we all get busy with our own lives and it's hard to spend as much time with them on weekend visits as I like; so this time I stayed for a bit longer, loving every bit of it. But now I'm home again, home again, jiggety jig! Which brings to mind - do you ever wonder where certain sayings come from? Well this one comes from a Mother Goose nursery rhyme:

To market, to market, to buy a fat pig,

Home again, home again, jiggety-jig.

To market, to market, to buy a fat hog,

Home again, home again, jiggety-jog.

To market, to market, to buy a plum bun,
Home again, home again, market is done.

Okay, so maybe I didn't go and buy a fat pig or a hog or a plum bun but I did go the the Warren's Cranberry Fest with my daughters and some of their friends and I did buy 15 pounds of cranberries. Although Warrens is a small town in Wisconsin with a population of only 300 some folks; the festival draws in over 100,000 people. They have close to 1,000 arts and crafts vendors and over 100 food vendors. People as far as the eye can see and lots of laughs when you take this journey with family and friends. But oh my aching feet after walking for nearly 8 hours straight checking out the booths along the main street and tucked into the side streets along a 3 plus mile trek.

All of my kids and grand-loves also spent some time at a corn maze, took a hay ride and enjoyed the animals at the Zoromski's Homestead Farm which is just a few miles from my oldest daughters home. Make sure you check out the tab for the 12 acre corn maze as it is AMAZING!

Before leaving we celebrated our only Grandson's upcoming 5th birhtday with a party. In the picture he is licking the frosting off a dinosaur's leg. The weather was great and we all had a super fun time.

It was a wonderful three weeks spending family time and individual time with all of them ~ and now I'm counting the days until Christmas!

2011-10-04T07:21:00.005-05:00

I had the greatest time visiting the

Zoromski Homestead Farm

with all my kids and grand-loves!

Poor little Sloane was frightened when Grandma joined them on the rocker and it actually 'rocked' just a little. It took me by surprise as well but she was not one bit impressed.

My grandson Sean prefered to have his picture taken with his dad.

This is my oldest daughter with her four girls and her extended family of day care children.

and the corn maze!! We only did a small portion of the 12 acre maze because some of the kids were under the age of three. Some still in strollers.

As you can tell by the smile on Sloane's face ~ we all enjoyed the animals. Lamas, chickens, baby pigs, goats, kittens, rabbits etc.

and the kids loved the Hay Maze!

Please click the link to the farm at the beginning of this post. Make sure to click the Corn Maze tab. It blows my mind how they can do this ~ and a portion of the profits go to a good cause!

2011-10-02T21:48:00.001-05:00

To those of you who may think I'm

missing in action:

I just can't get off of my rocker!!

Sharing a Recipe

2011-09-22T20:45:00.000-05:00

I've had requests for the

Apple Pie in a Jar

recipe so here it is:

Apple Pie in a Jar

Peel and slice apples into clean jars. Have syrup ready to pour on as you fill them up. (Option: peel and slice apples into water with lemon juice added to stop the apples from darkening then drain and fill jars)

Syrup:

4 c sugar 1 c cornstarch 2 tsp. cinnamon 1/4 tsp. nutmeg 1 tsp. salt 8 c water

Bring to a boil.

Add 3 tbsp. lemon juice to syrup after removing it from heat. Pour over jars of apples, clean rim, seal and process 20-25 minutes in hot water bath method.

One jar makes one pie.

Fill pastry pie shell and bake at 400º F for 30-35 min.

I'm Done; or Am I ?

2011-09-21T13:38:00.001-05:00

I honestly 'thought'

that I was done canning

for the year

But ... that was before

making 8 half pints of apple butter

21 pints of plums

& 14 quarts of apple pie filling

But what would you do

if someone gave you some plums

and a neighbor offered some apples

We cooked them up, sauced them

and made some crock pot apple butter

then we found some more apples

and a friend had just shared

a recipe with me for

Apple-Pie-in-a-Jar

So tell me what would you do?

End of Summer Chores

2011-09-18T21:03:00.001-05:00

The end of summer means

bringing in some of the plants

we hope to keep going

until next spring.

and herbs

and the rack to hold them

and sorting through

tomatoes and plums

and doing yet another batch of canning

once you thought you were done

who would have thought we still

had that many vegetables left ?!

2011-09-16T19:52:00.001-05:00

I believe I may have reached the

end of my canning for the season!

Canned Carrots and Pickled Vegetable Mix

Refrigerator Pickles

and now to keep up with the tomatoes as

they ripen, if we can't keep up - I think I'll freeze them

Cherry tomatoes ripening every day

but somehow we manage to eat them as fast as they turn red

Yummy!

Thrifty Finds

2011-09-13T11:09:00.000-05:00

I get tickled when I find a good deal

like this rolling kitchen cart

for only twenty dollars

go ahead - price them - I got a deal

with six inlaid tiles

Mother Earth's

"Capturing Earth's goodness since 1861"

and a 'fall-ish' storage box

for only a hundred pennies

and a harvest basket

for ony two hundred pennies

2011-09-11T14:21:00.000-05:00

I haven't been posting much lately

because I've been

keeping myself busy

preparing for winter

Ah...

2011-09-08T00:35:00.001-05:00

Every so often

I need to recharge

my soul

I often do that

through nature

this time it was along the south shores

of Lake Superior

where nature itself puts on a smile

and the sound of the waves
dissolves all stress

a place where I can

recapture a balance

through the power of prayer

and the beauty of nature

I feel refreshed.

We started our weekend with a trip back home, visiting with family as we gathered in the comfort of 'Mom's' living room. The following morning we met up with some of Thom's family who made the trip 'up north' where they spent time in a cabin on a small lake. After fishing was checked off their list, we all pitched in and had a 'pot-luck' supper of fresh tomatoes, corn and cucumbers, hamburgers and good old Wisconsin bratwurst on the grill. Dessert of homemade peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies from yours truely.

Then we shared stories and laughs over a few drinks around the campfire. Have you ever laughed so much that your cheeks hurt?

The sunset came on so fast that we almost missed it. But thank heavens for the click of a camera to capture it forever.

On our way home we stopped at a wayside

to stretch our legs

and look at the size of this tree!

It towers over the others which are full sized.

It was breath-taking against that true blue sky!

I love the contrast of the greens found in the woods

and too soon we were on our way home

Change ~

2011-09-01T11:06:00.001-05:00

September ...

a pause, for summer to say

an awkward and lingering

good-by

and for autumn,
sitting on a hilltop,
a jug of fresh cider

in one hand,

a bunch of wild purple asters

in the other,

waiting to say hello.

New York Times

Apple Butter

2011-08-28T10:55:00.002-05:00

"In an orchard

there should be

enough to eat,

enough to lay up,

enough to be stolen,

and enough to rot

upon the ground."

Samuel Madden

We picked enough to 'lay up'

some apple butter & some dried apples

they required very little sugar

added along with

cinnamon and nutmeg

cooking in the crock pot all day

until it becomes a delicious

apple butter

the dehydrator worked its magic

and with time

these apples became tasty treats

Apples

2011-08-25T09:17:00.000-05:00

apple picking time

means baking apple strudel

and apple crisp

and a bowl of fresh

Fresh & Colorful

2011-08-23T17:02:00.000-05:00

I love when fresh fruit

is in season

even if I have to buy it at a store

hand picked garden fresh tomatoes

and cucumber sandwiches

from a new picking

vegetable palooza

topped with fresh herbs

and some chunked kielbasa

roasted on the grill

and a little corn on the cob

to finish off our vegetable laden meal

2011-08-22T10:29:00.000-05:00

The rewards of gardening!

and more coming soon!

Monarch Butterfly About to Emerge

2011-08-19T20:25:00.003-05:00

(click on pictures to enlarge)

Our good friends have a monarch

butterfly about to emerge

she called to see if I wanted to take

some pics and of course I did

its hanging off their

topsy turvy planter

Note the changes in the

following two pictures

the colors in the wings are showing

the emerging seemed to slow down

so we wandered around the yard

I'm still snapping pics of course

I love the ducks on this fountain

and the old wagon wheel topped

with the vintage window box

and as we strolled along ...

she found a new chrysalis

hanging on the garage wall

and the remains of last years

hanging on the house

after an hour of waiting, I headed home

Enjoy the remainder of the summer

the bees sure are!

Tomorrow I will check the progress on the butterfly.

For Your Enjoyment:

2011-08-16T11:16:00.002-05:00

Old Advertisements:

some are funny

but others

just make

you shake your

head in disbelief!

2011-08-14T11:35:00.001-05:00

Thom and I took a hour and a half walk yesterday. We started out by cutting across the lawn to check out the neighbors grapes. He now lives in Florida so we watch over the place for him. The grapes are getting out of control, that along with the lack of rain this summer have caused the grapes to decrease in size and abundance. With so much foilage you'd think it would be loaded with grapes; but not so. There are very few this year.

The plums seemed to be doing well this year. I can't wait for them to ripen. They are so sweet, almost as sweet am! lol

The beginning of our nature trail walk takes us past a few medows. We heard the sand hill cranes take off just before we came around the corner. I guess they heard us as well.

Dragonflies were flying around as if they had a full mission sent from head-quarters. I was able to capture this little fella as the big ones kept on moving about.

A couple of moths decided to land on the trail right in front of my feet. I guess this is how the little ones are made! They didn't seem to need any privacy so I snapped the camera! Or maybe they were just wrestling!

Although we didn't see much of birds or animals on this particular walk, the dragonflies, moths and butterflies were all over the place.

The apples along the route aren't quite ready yet, I'd say about a month away from ripe. But the dew berries were ripening. They are like a bramble blackberry. They grow close to the ground and vine about.

We picked enough for a couple of fresh home-made dewberry turn-overs for breakfast. Sorry no pictures because they went directly from the oven to our stomachs. But take my word for it, they were delicious!

Then we headed down the road which took us from one end of 'the loop' to the other - back to home-sweet-home.

Holy Moly!!!

2011-08-13T12:07:00.000-05:00

I had a birthday yesterday

and along with it came

a major 'hot flash'

and no - it wasn't caused

by the candles!!!

Click the link for a short funny

but not so funny video!

""HOT FLASHES""

Canning from the "Green Gate Garden "

2011-08-11T14:41:00.001-05:00

There is nothing better than

fresh garden produce

but in those cold winter months

home canned goods

makes the body just as happy

along with some home grown herbs

late bloomers put a smile

on my face

Green Gate Garden

2011-08-09T17:41:00.001-05:00

Fresh from the garden

Herbs, tomatoes, a pepper and

a handful of beans before the raindrops fell

enough to make a great spaghetti sauce

with some spinach on the side

along with some garlic herb bread

and swiss chard for the freezer

Hometown Celebrations

2011-08-08T13:38:00.002-05:00

Most small towns

celebrate with an annual

'hometown celebration.'

Our hometown of

Park Falls, Wisconsin

celebrates the festivity called

"Flambeau Rama."

(click above link to see the list of events)

My Grandson in the middle with my

sister's grand loves ready for

the frog jumping contest!

Grand loves and cousins watching the parade

Puppy Dog hugs for our Granddaughter

Grandson running from a clown

Dad teaching son that clowns are NOT scary!

Showing off her candy bag ~ lots to share!

Our future mode of transportation?

Enjoying Our Back Yard

2011-08-02T22:13:00.000-05:00

We sure enjoy watching

the deer in our

back yard

The does have bought

their fawns to our yard

every year since we've moved here.

Momma teaching her

babies what to eat

and this is why

we have a fenced in garden

they can have all the clover they

want that is hidden in the grass

but we're eating lettuce

and spinach and peas and

carrots and beets

and swiss chard

and ...

I'm so Blue ...

2011-08-01T10:07:00.007-05:00

I've shared this post over at

"House in the Roses"

click link below

to check out her super blog:

Show off your Cottage Monday

P.S. I have been leaving comments on blogs but for some unknown reason they are not showing up! If anyone has the fix to this problem - please share!

2011-07-28T09:28:00.000-05:00

Nature without learning

is a blind thing,

and learning

without nature

an imperfect thing.

Plutarch

2011-07-25T17:33:00.000-05:00

Several times a day

I walk past this wonderful

reminder ~ and thank God!

A Little Summer Humor

2011-07-24T09:23:00.002-05:00

2011-07-21T20:03:00.002-05:00

What was I Thinking??

2011-07-20T07:20:00.000-05:00

I laid in bed until 4:30 then I asked myself (yes folks -sometimes I talk to myself) "what am laying here for?" I've already been awake for at least a half an hour. It seems I work harder in my dreams than in real life lately. Last night I was packing (again!)

and I don't know where I'm going! But I was packing none the less ... and packing and packing box after box after box!!! Argh ... enough already!

I don't know what's going on; but Thom and I have both been dreaming about moving again. Although we both love our house - neither of us has ever felt at home here. I just wonder what this is all about, seeing how neither of us knows where we want to end up ~ other than heaven. And we're not quite ready for that trip yet! And just the thought of selling stuff and moving has me totally exhausted!

Spanish Rice

2011-07-19T16:44:00.002-05:00

With this heat hanging on

I hate using the oven

or steaming up the kitchen.

And seeing how I've made

sandwiches and salads

for the past week or two

we were getting hungry for a

'hot' meal.

So I made some homemade

Spanish Rice

a fast and easy stove-top meal!

I browned ground beef then added

chopped onions, celery, green

and red peppers.

Add a can of tomato sauce,

diced tomatoes and mushrooms.

Add dry rice and water per servings desired.

Season as desired.

(I used paprika, chili pepper,

cayenne pepper, onion powder,

a dash of salt and pepper,

basil and oragano.)

Bring to a boil, stir, then cover

and set on simmer for 15 minutes

without peeking.

The little prarie garden

2011-07-18T16:25:00.005-05:00

A few weeks ago my husband mowed the lawn. It's been so hot since that it is now drying to a crisp. At the time I told him that I would mow inside the little

picket fence. But then I noticed the daisies were about to open, and I do love daisies so I let it go.

I told him that I was going for the the 'prarie garden' look. Do you think he believed me? lol

As I was typing this entry the skies

opened up and we are having

a wonderful, much needed rain!

~ Thanks be to God. ~

Yummy ~ Fresh Produce

2011-07-16T09:37:00.003-05:00

spinach & radishes

A little evening glow

2011-07-14T23:09:00.001-05:00

Its All in the Spelling

2011-07-14T10:17:00.000-05:00

I posted these two pictures

on facebook and

my dear husband comments:

"Dear God, I'm married to a hoer!"

In which I replied:

"Thanks for spelling that right!"

Our deer friend stopped by today!

2011-07-13T18:55:00.001-05:00

I thought maybe

she'd take a ride on the swing

but - no, she was too busy eating!

and this is why

the garden has a fence around it

it's bad enough they try to sneak

the lily blossoms

and they sometimes succeed!

Grab Your Sunglasses

2011-07-12T20:39:00.000-05:00

A daylily extravaganza

is going on at our place!

Do Nothing Day

2011-07-09T16:31:00.005-05:00

Today is a kind of

do nothing day

Okay, so maybe I baked a

Rhubarb Cake

I'm just plain feeling
lazy

and I don't even feel

guilty

and tonight

~Wine ~ 

Triple Layer Chocolate Cake

2011-07-07T17:42:00.002-05:00

Do you ever get a craving

for chocolate cake?

My craving came just in time

for my daughters

and granddaughters

to join in the pleasure

of eating it

It was a sad day when

the last crumb disappeared

Just ask the grand-loves.

2011-07-06T11:53:00.000-05:00

Cousins enjoying the Fourth of July

Fawn's Kiss

2011-07-05T20:56:00.003-05:00

or is that little fella

just trying to sneak

some of

his mom's food?

Busy Busy

2011-07-01T11:20:00.003-05:00

I've been missing in action

~ ~ ~ ~

Our oldest three grand loves

have been spending the week.

~ enough said ~

click on photos to enlarge

2011-06-21T13:55:00.003-05:00

I like the idea that Lynn

came up with for

'Tuesday Ten'

over at

Under the Table and Dreaming.

So I thought I'd give it a try

~ Here are my 10 random things ~

Our Grand love who without saying

a word screams Summer-fun!

~ Me ~

the luckiest kid in the world!

A wall tapestry find! Love it!

Sorry Sis, you still can't have it.

My dream greenhouse found online!

Our Fuscia from a few years ago.

I was blessed with the opportunity to

live in North Pole

and to breath in that fresh

Alaskan air

and to watch my husband

'dipping' for salmon

I adore the young spirit of

my husbands Aunt

'may she never grow old'

and our niece catching the sunset in Ireland!

Naming Animals

2011-06-19T23:24:00.001-05:00

Do you name wild animals?
We call this little fella Otto. You see we have a friend named Otto who's nickname is 'Chip.' And seeing how he is a little 'chipmunk' we decided to name him Otto.

2011-06-18T23:59:00.001-05:00

DAD

Loved & Missed 
by many

Back in the Apron

2011-06-18T19:43:00.001-05:00

I baked two pies today.

~ Rhubarb Custard ~

and

~ Shepherd's Pie ~

2011-06-16T22:54:00.000-05:00

My geraniums have some 'filling out'

to do yet but I just had to share

what a great deal I found

earlier this spring!

TWO 16" cocoa fiber baskets with frames

for ninety nine cents each!

Wrecks gone wild!

2011-06-14T21:19:00.000-05:00

This little garden sits on the backside of our lawn. It edges up to the wild property beyond. When we first moved here I had some plants given to me but no place to put them. So I tucked them into this area as we were working on flower beds, garden, yard work in general. Then I started rescuing broken but still cute enough to look at pieces. I tucked tree branches through the holes in the benches to keep them in from blowing over in the wind. The little bench in the front is on its last legs but so far so good. And I just added an old cracked planter and transformed it into a bird bath with a gold pan we bought with us when we moved down from Alaska.

And wouldn't you know it, all the plants I tucked away in there temporarily started growing and sending up babies. So it became a little sweet spot in the yard and now I don't have the heart to move any of it. It catches my eye from every window on the backside of the house.

The Green Gate Garden

2011-06-13T12:59:00.004-05:00

Another project has been checked off our to-do list! The garden is completely planted and now its the waiting game to see how it turns out! Last summer's weather was perfect for our gardens - and I'm hoping the same for this year. If not, we do have four rain barrells set up and ready for back-up. What started out as one single raised bed has expanded into four raised beds in a 20 ' x 30' fenced in garden. That lasted for a year then we added a quick extension with a few temporary posts and wiring for 'just a few more' plants. So with some getting down and dirty and a bit of blood, sweat and tears (oh wait - there were no tears) we've now got ourselves a pretty nice little set up. Of course we still pick up some produce from local sellers in the fall like potatoes, pumpkins etc. After all - we are just small time gardeners! Oh! ~ one more thing, this year I did what's known as companion planting. Certain plants benefit others with pest control, flavor, production etc.

Pickled!

2011-06-11T23:54:00.002-05:00

Do you like pickled beets?

Hey wait a minute ~

those aren't pickled beets!

But have you ever saved the juice
from the pickled beets

to make quick pickled eggs?

My man loves them

yours might too!

2011-06-09T13:10:00.002-05:00

Cheesecake Crepes

But to be honest - I made up the name!

As I used a crepe recipe but

I concocted the filling myself.

Crepes:

Mix together

3 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup water

3 tblsp. melted butter

1 cup flour

1 tblsp. sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

Brush small fry pan or crepe pan with small about of butter and/or olive oil and heat. Add just enough batter to cover bottom of pan tilting pan to distribute evenly. Cook, turning once until delicately golden on both sides. Keep warm in oven until ready to fill.

* If you find the batter too thick just add a few more drops of milk to the remaining batter before using.

Filling:

8 ounces of riccotta cheese

one egg beaten

3 tblsp flour

8 ounces cream cheese

Mix by hand so the cheese doesn't break down too soft, leaving small chunks of cream cheese pieces to melt in your mouth.

Fill crepes, cover with canned pie filling of your choosing. Heat in pre-heated oven @ 350 degrees until heated through. Approximately 15 - 20 minutes.

Glaze:

Combine a small amount of sour cream added to powdered sugar to make glaze.

Enjoy!

Thank you Ali for the invite
to link this post with:
Sweet Tooth Friday

Garden 2011

2011-06-08T12:12:00.001-05:00

I'm happy to announce that the

garden is finally planted.

and now comes the waiting game ...

for the little sprouts to appear

and grow ~

and grow!

Nesting

2011-06-04T22:30:00.002-05:00

All four of the

bluebird houses

we built

a few years ago

are in use!

We have two sets of

tree swallows

nesting

one pair of bluebirds

and a pair of house wrens

I noticed that just like us

they each have their own

unique way of keeping house!

We have also found

the robins and sparrows

nesting in the trees

throughout the yard.

Now to find those tiny

little hummingbird nests.

I've joined up with this weeks Sunday Showcase Party at:

Under the Table and Dreaming

I Love Rocks

2011-06-04T00:12:00.000-05:00

I love rocks.

From my childhood on

I had to touch them, admire them,

love them. And now I have

rock gardens,

with even more rocks

in my rock gardens.

Overkill ~ I think not!

this is one of my favorites

it reminds me of a shell

Last springs' rock gardens

My Dad loved rocks too ~

He split the rock with the stripes for me.

They are my absolute favorites!

Sitting Poolside

2011-05-31T22:27:00.000-05:00

It was so warm out today

that the chickadees decided to go poolside

Sometimes I wish I were a bird! 

2011-05-30T13:22:00.001-05:00

Remembering our
True American Heroes!

please click on link

Memorial Day

Mr. Bluebird

2011-05-28T11:58:00.002-05:00

Here I am ~ sitting pretty

Can you see me now?

or how about now?

now don't go straining your eyes

but I'm still here!

Distractions!

2011-05-26T10:40:00.001-05:00

I find that since I recieved my new camera, I can easily become distracted from whatever I am doing. There is a connection you know - like when I'm weeding the flowerbed and I see insects mating. I have no idea what kind of insects these are but they decided to the the nasty on the side of our tarp so of course this is the perfect opportunity for a camera shot! I'm becoming obsessed. Stop me!! I dare ya - I double dare ya!

Zoom Zoom Zoom

2011-05-24T20:48:00.001-05:00

Have you ever had a

hummingbird

whiz by you ?

~Zoom ~

~ zoom ~

And have you ever

tried to capture it

with your camera?

Try!

Good Morning!

2011-05-23T10:20:00.003-05:00

Sourdough Corn Muffins

I love my sourdogh pot

This sourdough is over 130 years old

and it makes the best goodies

Besides muffins I've used it

for baking breads,

cakes, cookies, bisquits etc,

etc... the list goes on

2011-05-20T22:03:00.000-05:00

this cheeky little fellow stopped by

to remind me that the
deck needs to be re-stained

and this little fella stopped

just to brighten my day

the sedum are spreading

thanks to sunshine

and dewdrops

sparkling like little gems

Apologies In Order

2011-05-19T09:25:00.000-05:00

If I haven't been by to visit your blog or to leave comments please accept my apologies. I had a major computer crash on my desktop computer and some kind of glitch is going on with my laptop. The old computer is completely shot ~ my computer guru said it's just too old to bother with anymore and I concur. As for the laptop, we're still trying to figure out why it won't let me connect to all links. I'm frustrated but I'm doing my best to get back on track. In the mean time please keep visiting and I will keep on trying to get to your sites. Believe me, this is driving me nuts! I hate hackers and it seems like they are lying in the weeds with new viruses and trojans everywhere. My guru said he's had several complaints the past few weeks regardless of how good your anti virus program is. So beware!

2011-05-18T11:39:00.001-05:00