We will miss seeing the Grandboys. They came over for supper last night to say goodbye...their Mom made a great supper; chicken, spaetzle, salad, stuffed mushrooms and popovers. The boys both enjoyed the home cooked meal!
Noah
They both made a trip upstairs to see their parents new closet...that used to be Adam's computer room.
Adam
I caught them on the way down for a photo!
Far Side
We have enough white cold stuff... it was -13 F yesterday morning. That is -25 C eh. Not fun the end of March. It looks like all the snowy cold weather will follow us into April with a big storm next week.
Just what we need more white on white.
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For many days this winter Jen was busy cutting strips of fabric. Every once in awhile she would say "Lets go to Joannes I need more fabric" so off we would go and she would be busy a few more days.
Her sewing room is upstairs...she took over that room for sewing the day Adam moved out to his own apartment. I rarely go up there...she needs her own space sometimes and I am no help when it comes to sewing. Her Dad helped her cut strips of fabric one day.
Finally she shared her project.
Here you can see that it is strips of fabric.
Art and fabric come together for a masterpiece!
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Little Elvis is thirteen years old now. He is my constant companion. He can hear a little and see a little...he is elderly and sleeps a lot so we get along just fine.
He moves when I move...his nose must still be pretty good because I can rarely sneak away. In the night time if I get up to go to the bathroom he follows me and then goes to get a drink of water and is ready to settle back down again when I return.
He and Sadie get along mostly, she is very jealous of him and will nose him out of the way. He does run and bark with her outside.
I will miss him when we go back to the woods.
Far Side
I bought some yarn for the new great grand babies blanket. I have had fun buying her some cute little outfits over the winter.
Karina will arrive sometime in July and the nickname I will give her is most likely Ree. Her big brother and big sister are very excited. In fact they could not keep her name a secret...one day they told me it was a K name but they couldn't remember what it was...ask Mom.
I will make one more run by Hobby Lobby for some water color pencils...it will be a busy week organizing "stuff" to pack up and take with us to our home in the woods later this week.
Far Guy has three appointments this week and I have an errand or two or three.
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It is my baby brothers birthday today. He is 69 years old. I was just 2 1/2 years old when he was born.
I ran across this photo when I was sorting through photos this winter.
We were at the flag raising at the Vietnam Memorial up on the prairie in August of 2012.
My baby brother was in the Navy.
Happy Birthday Carey!
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We recently updated our Advance Health Care Directives. We also had Power of Attorney and our Wills updated ( to replace a Will drawn up in 1991 so it was about time). It was something I had hoped to accomplish over the Winter. Our Lawyer is a really nice guy and recommends a legal check up every five years.
Now to get the New Advanced Health Care Directives to the Clinic and Hospitals that we frequent.
I am also working to renew our Passports...Jen says we are going on a Cruise next March. Something to look forward to!
Spring is still elusive up here and some sub zero weather is headed this way. Maybe the last hurrah of Winter...I can always hope.
A bit of Spring time on my desk...boxes. One of my favorite things to collect!
So pretty all stacked up!
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I frogged ( term for ripping out yarn) part of Winter Wonderland that I was not pleased with.
Before...
After...
I like it much better!
Each section is a different pattern. I cannot see myself finishing this project anytime soon as I have other projects that are calling my name.
Far Side
I am making progress on the Grandchildrens photo albums. I will be caught up through 2022 this weekend. It has been a long project. I still have some early photos of all of them at home. I will need to scan and fuss with them.
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Many good and some funny memories going down memory lane with this project.
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Morning visitor.
There is not much room in the bed when Sadie shows up. I was watching the news and she wanted me up and about. Sometimes she will snuggle a bit...but not yesterday.
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My footwear is not the only thing mixed up. Any shoe will do.
I wanted to show you what Spring looks like here and grabbed my slipper, couldn't find the matching slipper so I grabbed one of Far Guys old shoes that he gave Sadie...at least they were opposite feet.
Spring missed the memo that it was time to arrive. I took this photo yesterday about an hour after Spring officially arrived. Spring is bringing us a couple more inches of snow this week. Spring does not care that we are tired of snow. Spring is mixed up.
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Sunday was catch up time with crafting friends that live just 20 miles away. Debbie fixed a very nice lunch and her craft room is just perfect to work in. Debbie is Sarah's Mom and I met Sarah about 12 years ago she is one of Jen's crafty friends. We have been on many Craft Retreats together.
I took along stamped cards to watercolor. We all worked on cards in some shape or form.
It was a good outing! I have not been watercoloring at all this winter so that was a good activity for me to do.
Sounds like we are in for another wintery week. On the main highway out of town there are 6 foot high snow drifts from the wind last week.
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May Baskets! I decided on a pattern and began cutting out parts.
I got quite a bit done yesterday ...all the basket parts are cut out and will be assembled at home. I was making good progress and then had a mechanical failure that Far Guy helped me with...I needed someone with stronger fingers to wrench on an allen wrench. In the meantime I lost/misplaced/threw away the smallest round die that cut out the shiny do hickies in the upper left...simple circles...I probably have a similar die at home so I put this project away for now.
Far Side
I get to see the Great Grands and three of the Grands on the nights that we clean at the Air B & B. It is a great cleaning crew. Since I clean the kitchen the two Great Grands sit by the counter in the kitchen and have snacks. Snacks are not allowed elsewhere in the house. They are getting used to my rules. ( When they run out of snacks a spoonful of peanut butter keeps them busy.)
One night when they were visiting here, I had them in the kitchen sitting by the counter eating bananas and fruit snacks ...and chocolate milk.
Hey Mikey wanted to leave the kitchen with his snack...I told him "NO" he asked "Why can't I go?" I replied "Because I have rules and I am a mean old Grandma" ....he agreed and stayed to finish his snack. He proceeded to tell Far Guy that I had too many rules and was a mean Grandma...and Far Guy said "Well I love her!" Hey Mikey said "WHY?"
Both of the Great Grands are getting used to me and call me Grandma now. It has been fun to see them nearly every week.
Cee Cee is almost potty trained now! They are both growing like weeds.
Big brother helping little sister open her birthday gifts.
Far Side
Someone loves to steal my slippers, she is a thief with sad eyes...because she knows they are not hers. She just likes to retrieve them.
She gives herself away every time she steals them...she wags her tail...whop whop whop on anything she passes and she sounds off with a low throaty growl...a sure sign that she has something...this week it was a ball of painters tape from the project Andy was working on, Jen's mittens, another cardboard box...and the most exciting of all she retrieved a pair of scissors and took them to Far Guy.
After all in dog years she is probably a teenager...persistent and demanding sometimes.
She and I have an ongoing fight about the patio door...if I am in the kitchen she will put her paw on the patio door to let me know that she would like to go out...I ask her to sit...if she does I let her out the door and if she refuses I don't let her out...she has a perfectly good doggie door elsewhere that she can use. Sometimes if looks could kill...I would be dead...cause she can give me "the look."
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Since we are Up North for the Winter we miss the St Urho's Day parade. It was held last Saturday when the weather was horrid here...we didn't even think about traveling.
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If you are not familiar with St. Urho...legend has it that he chased the grasshoppers out of Finland when they began eating the grapes.
"Heinasirkka, heinasirkka, menetaalta hiiten" Grasshopper, grasshopper get the hell out of here.
Far Side
I enjoyed using Jen's die cutter so much, I ordered myself one...mine is smaller than hers.
I am having fun playing with designs for cards.
I got the desk partially straightened up....only to begin another project!
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I finished! I have the photos now!
A photo inside.
A photo outside.
The back is not as pretty as the front but still acceptable. I will block this project when I get back home and then it will join the other projects I have finished to give away someday.
Back to the Winter Wonderland Mosaic Crochet project now.
Far Side
Notes: 3.5 Crochet Hook, Stylecraft Special DK in Lipstick and Cream. The pattern is from Juniper and Oakes. It took about 4 months from start to finish.
It finally stopped snowing. We have enough.
The kids should have a snow stick!
My desk in the craft room.
I need to get this mess organized this week...I cannot work on anything without moving something.
Sunday evening...everyone is watching the Hockey game and I can tell just by the cheering what is happening...I will now join them for a few minutes...they all enjoy Hockey much more than I do.
Far Side
It snowed and snowed. Andy and Jen moved lots of snow...must be way over 8 inches of new snow and it is blowing around. It is a blizzard.
I worked on cards and my Nordic Afghan was finished shortly before supper!! Yeah me! I will take a photo of it when it stops snowing.
Far Guy woodcarved.
Andy tore a hole in the wall upstairs made a doorway and put up shitrock and made the old opening into a wall...I suspect that custom cabinets will fill a huge walk in closet and this is just step one.
Jen sewed on her newest project.
One more day of windy crappy weather...the blizzard might be over by noon on Sunday.
How about a photo that is partially Springy as we remember that only the clocks are springing ahead.
Remember to change the batteries in your smoke alarms...I don't care if you say your batteries are not dead yet...spend the money on batteries...you are worth it.
Far Side
Cee Cee our Great Granddaughter celebrated her third birthday yesterday. How can she be three already?
We had a party!
Cee Cee loves Minnie Mouse.
Great Auntie Jen made her a Minnie Mouse Apron.
The scarf I made her a long time ago ended up in her gift bag along with a Barbie and some clothing!
A monster quilt from Great Auntie Jen and Great Uncle Andy. Jen made a quilt for Hey Mikey also so he wouldn't feel left out.
We had pizza and cake and ice cream. It was a good evening with family. Andy visited by phone as he had a prior commitment, Adam had to work but Noah joined us.
Far Side
Thursday's Infusion went okay only one stick but the IV bag had a slow leak. If it isn't one thing it is another.
We went to Hobby Lobby after Far Guy was done, he needed a piece of basswood for carving and I needed wanted some yarn. I had quite a list...I decided on the May Basket design and needed paper etc, and I needed some do dads for cards.
Far Guy, Little Elvis and I had a nap in the afternoon. In the evening I cleaned the kitchen at Jen and Andy's Air B&B...we had quite a crew... Jen, Andy, Noah, Adam, Maddie and me. It is all ready for the next group.
We are supposed to have a Winter Storm starting on Thursday night into Friday and possibly Saturday.
We all have enough projects to keep us busy!
Here is Jen's latest project...she has a completed flimsy.
She has been working on this robot quilt since October. Well done Jen! She sews much better than I ever did.
Far Side
The roads were great on the way down to our place in the woods. Lots of snow there, June our snowbank is huge. It began to snow during the night and the next morning the roads were a sloppy slick mess. We visited our accountant for our taxes and went to the bank. Stopped by to visit with my Mom and we all went out to lunch with my other baby brother and she who sees robins first.
Good to see family. Mom is adjusting to life without my Dad, it is hard for her. It was afternoon before we left.
The roads were wet but good until we got 20 miles from our winter home...then it was slow going.
The space between the two fronts was blue sky!
We made it back safe and sound. We were thankful that the whole drive was not icy.
Sadie and Little Elvis were happy to see us...Andy and Jen were busy in the kitchen cooking something Oriental ... a salad...with a sauce...rice with bacon and corn...and meat, ginger, red peppers, water chestnuts...it was quite good!
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This is the scene by my feet. Little Elvis is usually there, but Sadie joined him as Andy is stacking wood, Jen is getting her hair cut, Far Guy is woodcarving and I am alone in the office...so tag I am it...the safe place.
Sadie makes us smile. She is a happy mostly well adjusted dog. Her favorite person is Andy. They go for long walks everyday when possible. She still needs work on walking on the lead...the gentle leader works great and she walks nicely when it is on.
She retrieves "stuff" my slippers, any sock she can get ahold of, Far Guys Stocking Hat, shoes...she brings the newly found object to you and with throaty noises announces that she has something. Oh yes pieces of fabric from Jen's sewing room and sticks from outside and chunks of snow. My slippers end up back in the office under my desk for the next time...she doesn't chew them up she just retrieves them. They are the same slippers that she used to fall asleep in when she was little.
December 2021
Her latest trick is to push her ball under Jen's chair...and then make noise until Jen gets up, moves the chair and retrieves the ball...it is quite a game.
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See what damage a Golden Retriever can do to a cardboard box while everyone else is watching the Hockey game.
She sure had fun. She is something else!
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My Nordic Afghan border is taking a long time to finish. Round and Round I go!
I am working on some cards but nothing is finished, I am just busy making parts that will eventually be cards...ordered some supplies.
Can you believe I had to order refill pages for the Grands albums? That means there are 300 photos in their albums already. As they are getting older I take less photos of them so I should be good for awhile! 2019 has been completed.
I am a painting and flower/leaf consultant to Far Guy.
In the meantime I keep one eye on Far Guy, I clean a bit, do laundry and cook occasionally...and pet the dogs.
Far Side
Gluten Free Apple Pancake it is whats for supper!
Recipe from Jen
Preheat oven to 425 degrees
Put 2 or 3 sliced Granny Smith Apples, 4 tablespoons butter, 1/4 cup of sugar and 2 plus teaspoons cinnamon into a cast iron or oven proof skillet and cook 5 -7 minutes until the apples are soft.
In a bowl combine 3 room temperature eggs and 1/2 cup room temperature milk...beat then add 1/4 teaspoon or more vanilla and 1/2 cup gluten free flour...mix. Pour over the apples and bake at 425 for 20 minutes. Flip upside down to serve.
This recipe serves three or four people. The plate the apple pancake is sitting on in the photo is a huge platter.
At home I have a 12 inch cast iron skillet, at Jens she has a large oven proof fry pan. I have made this recipe with regular flour and it works fine. I have also made a double batch and put part of it in a large 9 X 13 baking dish as long as the inside of the dish is coated with butter.
Hint: You can make the eggs room temperature by covering them in hot water and a small baggie can hold the milk in a container of hot water.
Leftovers are great warmed up. Most everyone puts syrup on their serving...I do not.
Three of us pretty much finished this pancake off there was a little left over and Sadie got a taste.
Far Side
This month we discussed Northwest Angle by William Kent Kruger. A great read I give it a 10! It has enough adventure and mystery on The Lake of The Woods to keep your interest.
Minnesota author and a believable book about people in Minnesota.
Far Side
Far Guy is working on a flower project ...a huge bouquet of wildflowers. It is a work in progress.
Some painting has begun. All the flowers get Gesso ...the white stuff. Jen painted a few flowers and I painted a coneflower.
As you can see my Nordic Mosaic project is nearby...so I can keep Far Guy company.
Far Guy is feeling better today. He started taking his allergy meds again. Not sure if that made the difference or not but I am thankful he is better!
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The latest snow storm stayed South of us. I went to the grocery store and worked on some cards. I have some new "stuff and things" to try out. I have not made many cards this winter.
I watched the last season of The Great British Baking Show...it is great entertainment while I work on the border of the Nordic Mosaic afghan. The border is slow going.
Far Guy has a huge project going on ...woodcarving...I should take some photos so you can be impressed too. Far Guy has been feeling a bit under the weather...short of breath...not sure if he has something brewing or not...time will tell. He had a long nap yesterday.
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