Cabin Fever and Eggs

 We were feeling a bit antsy on Sunday afternoon, the weather was sunny but the wind was chilly...at any rate it was much warmer than it was a year ago.    We took the car out for gas and a wash.  Gas is $3.39 a gallon.   Far Guy needed a new saw to help him out with his latest project so we headed over to Harbor Freight to purchase one.  Then we went to Red Lobster for an early supper.   The food was delicious...and I am certain I will have seafood dreams (very vivid off the wall dreams).

Jen and Andy were headed to a Super Bowl party...Far Guy will play with his new saw and I will crochet as we are not football fans. 

As for the price of eggs.  They were $5.39 a dozen the last time I bought them.   I must be a terrible shopper as there are some things I do not pay attention to prices...bread, milk, butter, bananas, apples and oranges....we need them every week so we buy them.  

Granny Marigold is paying $3.88 for a dozen eggs in Canada.  Linda Reeder paid $4.50 for 18 eggs in Washington so that works out to be $3.00 a dozen. 

 

I worked on the Grands photo albums...2014 is all done!  I am making progress on a few of my projects.  I am watching an old program from 2003  Joe Millionaire while I crochet.  Yup that is me 20 years behind the times. 

Far Side

Flowers of Summer

Seem a long way off this winter.  It snowed again….and probably not the last time this winter/spring either.  The muddy rutts are now frozen rutts.  The days are longer but with the wind and the wind chills way below zero it seems that spring is never going to come…and summer well that is just a distant memory.

I took this photo last summer at The Dead Beaver Area.  We just happened by there at the right time.

Even though the days are longer we have not begun our evening drives, Chance misses them…I do too but there is just snow out there.  In April snow loses it’s magic…

I am still winter/spring cleaning kitchen cupboards.  I had a good day and got a few more done the count is 21 out of 28.  When I get them done I must spend a whole day washing everything in the open cupboards…and weeding out some of the extra dishes…it is a project for sure. I would rather winter/spring clean with the windows open but that won’t be happening anytime soon.

Cold

Still cold.  It might warm up a bit on Sunday afternoon.

Chance is real bored, he wants to go for his ride…I cannot blame him.  He hasn’t been for a ride since Wednesday. 

I put away downstairs Christmas except for the Nativity set…I wasn’t ready to put that away yet.  The Christmas totes were gone through…we have a few Christmas decorations that belonged to Far Guy’s Mom…they found their way into a pretty box with a note explaining them.  So I explored the Christmas Totes….vacuumed their area and put them back. Dusted too if that counts.   A bunch of odd ball stuff was piled up to mark for a rummage sale.

The Shiny Brite tree is still up, I am not ready to put that away yet either.

Far Guy worked on his latest flower carving and it is awesome.  I will photograph it soon…before and after painting.

Chance slept…chased his treat ball around, pestered someone to play ball (I did) and he tried to lead us to his treat drawer many times…his restricted diet must be boring for him.    When I was cooking supper he was a pain…underfoot and insistant that he was hungry “NOW.”

I hope to make some more of these funky bead creations over the winter.  This one still looks good but it has faded a bit.  I bought some heavier copper wire which might work better.

Hope you all are staying warm. It was turdy below zero here.

Cabin Fever

We have  not been out of the yard for many days.  Cabin Fever will get you.   We decided to go for a drive.  Far Guy was antsy…as was Chance and we all enjoyed a drive over to Shell Lake.

There are a few fish houses out there…way out there.

Shell River winding its way out of Shell Lake headed for the Smoky Hills.

The roads over there are very icy.  I didn’t venture too far away from the car.

The moon was out as we headed for home.

I have been working on many projects.  My desk is still full.  The advice I got from Jen was “ When sorting if you hold something in your hand and it gives you pleasure then keep it…if not THROW IT OUT!”  Good advice and I have been trying it…sometimes I am just a miserable failure at tossing “stuff” out.

Road Trip

Cabin Fever got the best of us, we admit it, our four walls were getting mighty boring.  We didn’t go far. Just headed to a few antique shops that we hadn’t been to since last summer. Our weather turned cold with a raw wind so although it looked nice outside it wasn’t.

On the way we saw.

A bottle sculpture outside one of my favorite shops.  They remember me there. “Hey I remember you, you are the old lady that writes a blog about old photos.”  Yessiree that would be me.  I like this shop, old photos are a dollar each.  I came out with just a few!  Some great mystery photos too!

Water tower painted like a bobber.

A street sign that shares the name of a friend.

As we passed Airplane Hanger Row over in the ritzy part of the State I noticed this unique part of a plane…I wonder what they use it for? It is on a trailer.  Maybe it is a playhouse for grandkids or maybe they pull it in parades. 

We ended up in another little town that hasn’t quite awakened from winter yet.  Most shops there open May 1st but three nice shops were open and we had a fun afternoon walking around and enjoyed breakfast for dinner/supper.  Far Guy had eggs with the works and I had a blueberry hotcake big as a plate. Traffic in that little tourist trap is horrid, although some of the shops were closed everyone that had a car was in town….and it isn’t even summer yet.

We moseyed on home, the traffic got less and less, calmer and quieter.

Day Trip

We took a short day trip on Wednesday.  It was cloudy and gloomy.

Headed west and then south to a few antique shops that we had not been to since last spring.

We saw this cute haybale snowman.  The snow is dirty and the fields are getting bare south of us.

I had good luck finding some interesting old photos at least they are interesting to me.  One was kind of sad, it was a elderly woman’s trip to Hamilton Montana in 1969, she took photos of downtown, the railroad depot, the fairgrounds and views of streets and mountains.  They are all color photos and not the kind I collect so I will do some research and find the local Historical Museum in that area and mail it off.  I cannot believe that someone would sell it…but then I bought it so there you go… supply and demand.

Hamilton Montana 1969 Photos

The lady had quite a common name, I think I found her obituary but one never really knows for sure. As most little old ladies do it is marked with her name and the address of a Nursing Home. It was probably part of an Estate and has more value/meaning going to a museum than relatives.

I found many old photos (1880-1940) with names, not that I needed anymore but they were calling my name.  I had several interesting conversations with people in the antique shops…and you know the saying that if you talk to some one long enough you will have a person in common…I met a fellow that was a classmate of a gal in Park Rapids (former church organist), he used to have a crush on her in high school back in Beardsley Minnesota…so much so that he named his daughter after her, not sure what his wife thought of that but she was busy shopping whilst he was talking to me.

Far Guy found this F-16A Block 15 Air Defence Jet Fighter it even has The Happy Hooligans banner on the tail.  I think it needs some weapons …so some will be carved and painted.

On the way home it was late afternoon we found a place to walk Chance and stopped at a Mexican Resturaunt …there are two Mexican places in that little town, one is purple and one is rust colored we probably stopped at the wrong one, my other baby brother said they had the best Mexican food ever…people in the parking lot said the food was good…but we didn’t think so.  What I ordered  Far Guy couldn’t even eat…and he eats a lot of weird food. AND no Chance didn’t get any of it, hardly fit for a dog.

SnoBear

Have you ever seen a SnoBear?

I had not.  So when I saw one in a parking lot, I naturally had to get a photo.  I wondered what does a SnoBear do anyways?

I wondered if it was some kind of snow machine that gave elderly citizens  a chance to get out on the trails.  It was heated or appeared to be.  I wondered how many people could have a ride at once.

My wondering was interrupted by the owner, he said “I bet you have never seen one like this before?”   No I had not.  I made my guess and he laughed.  Turns out he is from the little village of Eagle Bend and purchased this vehicle second hand.  He asked if I would like to see inside?  Well of course I would!  He was a very nice gentleman, either that or he was used to old lady gawkers with cameras.

It is a fish house, he had been fishing over on Leech Lake.  This vehicle/fancy fish house is on a track and it can raise and lower itself by 14 inches.  Some models have bunks, so you can catch a nap or fish all night!  I didn’t see bunks in this one, it had two captains chairs.

He was off to a new fishing spot!

Minnesota’s winters are way too long for many people.

Happy St. Urho’s Day 2014!

We attended the St. Urho’s Parade in Menahga yesterday.

That is St. Urho  with the pitchfork.

He kilt all the grasshoppers and the grapes were saved!

Today is the day that Finlanders all over Minnesota celebrate Saint Urho's battle with the pesky grasshoppers that threatened the grape crop. He chased the grasshoppers waving a pitchfork hollering "Heinasirkka, heinasirkka, menetaalta hiiten"...Grasshopper, grasshopper get the hell out of here.

Chance kept one eye on this dog for a long time…until he disappeared down the street.
The King and Queen waved and all was well, candy was tossed into the streets.

The nytes and the ladies of St. Urho are always fun to photograph! Just incase you are wondering the colors of the day are green and purple…the color of grapes.



Where can you wander around town in your underwear and a cape and be greeted with a smile…well in Menahga Minnesota of course every year on the 16th of March.
The parade lasted about seven minutes this year!

Sleigh Parade

Oh it was cold, the wind was raw.  We found a great spot to park, I could lean up against the car for shelter from the wind and take some photos.  Chance enjoyed the whole parade from the backseat.

The Sheriff’s Mounted Posse

The first sleigh was on wheels and full of people.

An old box sleigh.  This sleigh would have hauled lots of freight.

You can see that everyone was bundled up and you can see the horses breath in the photos. This is a small Bob-Runner Sleigh.

This little horse was not real happy.  His driver kept encouraging him. A custom made sleigh of some sort.

If this gentleman would have had a full beard…he could have been Santa in a one horse open sleigh. This is a Speeding Sleigh or better known as a Cutter.

Double runner sleigh or Bob-Runner Sleigh.

Small horses pulling a Cutter Sleigh.

An even smaller team..and best dressed!  They had Rock n Roll music too!

A very pretty sleigh driver.  I think her sleigh usually hauls milk cans.

I thought this was pretty cute!

That was it, the entire parade took less than 10 minutes to go by us. These people and animals were all troopers, traveling from all over to be in the sleigh parade in Hubbard Minnesota for the Annual Sleigh Festival.

It was a fun very cold February afternoon.  I am not a sleigh expert, so if I have miss named a sleigh I apologize!

Outhouse

Some days we just have to get out of the house.  One day we managed to travel about 20 miles into the boonies to an estate sale.  It was located just off a forest service road…or the end of one.  Much of the land had been clear cut.  It must have been a beautiful forest one day and will be again …in time.  Finally after meeting several cars on a barely one lane two track road we arrived. 

The estate sale had lots of “guy stuff.”  I bought an blue speckled enamel pot with a lid…nothing special.  We visited with the folks there.  I tried on a Shotgun for size..Far Guy laughed when I shouldered the gun…the barrel was way too long for me.

They had a new fangled outhouse complete with a vent.  I asked if I could take a photo and they said “Yes, but be sure to get a photo of the inside too!”

A cushioned seat with a view.  The windows had screens, fancy smancy.   There were even curtain rods for curtains. It was a fine out house.

I grew up using an outhouse, we didn’t get an indoor bathroom until I was in the third grade.  This one looks like the Taj Mahal of outhouses:)

 

The Bored Border Collie

Nothing worse than a bored Border Collie.  Chance has been in a funk.  Miney was here for one day and since then he seems lonely and bored.

He loves to go for rides..so we do that.  He loves to play ball but quits..I think the ice and ice crystals are hard on his feet.  He plays a bit and then he quits.  He has done that before when it has been icy in the spring.  If we get some fluffy snow perhaps he will play ball again outside.

We play ball in the house.  We have discovered a new game..which he really likes.  I take him into the kitchen and put him in  a “sit stay” and leave him there. Then I take his favorite ball and hide it in the living room.  I hide it under pillows, in the crock near the fireplace, inside the old boiler that holds magazines, hidden under the stuffed Sheltie in a basket, under blankets.  He finds it in short order when I call him to “Come” and then tell him to “Search”..then we repeat until he is tired of that game.

The evening that Adam, Jen and Miney were here, Adam liked playing the search game with Chance.  He tried to involve Miney but her “sit stay” needs some work. 

During the evening Chance roots around in his old enamel toy pan looking for what I am not sure but he drags his toys all over the house.  I have found that stepping on one ball isn’t so bad, but I wouldn’t want to step on two of them.

He watches the squirrels..Far Guy puts corn on the ground for them..sometimes he will lay in front of the door outside and just watch the squirrels..sometimes he chases them away..and sometimes he lets them eat.  Perhaps it is entertainment for him.

He quietly watches the turkeys from inside..the turkeys seem to know when he is in the house. After 15 to 20 minutes he has had it watching and barks at them so they run away.

Far Guy and Chance walk through the woods everyday..sometimes I walk with them..they even walk on the rainy icy days.  When a Border Collie is ready for his walk..he is ready for his walk:)

Chance: Just Ducky

Hi!  It is I the most handsome Border Collie in Minnesota.  Here to entertain you.  Far Side says that I have cabin fever just like her. 

She and Far Guy were in the hardware store one day..she didn’t need anything but Far Guy had a list..so she wandered around.  There was a display of slingshot animals.  She hollered at the cashier who wasn’t busy “ How do these things work?”  Well from that point on she was sold..of course she had to try them all out in the aisle..frogs, cows, monkeys and they all made noises as they hit the floor and skidded to a stop.  Far Guy found her there pondering which one I would like best.  The duck sling shot is a little different..it has one spot for your finger..under the little ducks chin.  It flew across the store quite a ways and quack quacked when it hit the floor! Far Side was sold.   Seven dollars worth of winter entertainment.

She should have taken a photo of it before it got all slobbery.  I cannot have it all the time..it lives on top of the refrigerator..because someone said “Perhaps we should not let him chew it to smithereens in just one day.”

Me and my duck.

The ducks quacks..and quacks..

After awhile..I just want to lay down and chew on it to stop the quacking..so what does Far Side do? 

Who is the cute one here?

I think I liked him better on my head..

Oh Far Guy..could you come into the kitchen and save me..

After a bit, she put the duck and the camera away.  She brushed me..every square inch of my body..I am even more handsome now:)