We got special mail last week.
I have been to this place on Lake Superior…it makes me want to go back when it warms up a bit! I love the idea of painting on rocks.
I found a good place to display it.
It fit perfectly leaning against the Border Collie that sits on the dining room window sill.
Far Guy got a book all about trains.
What fun to get stuff in the mail. Thank you Larry! It is wonderful to have such talented generous blog friends!
I did not go to the winter craft retreat for the weekend but I did go over and visit a little and to work on a project yesterday. Far Guy was watching High School Hockey on TV and Chance kept him company while I was gone.
While I was there Jen gave a demonstration on Alcohol Inks. Very interesting and beautiful designs can be made.
The ink is put on special paper called Yupo.
Jen put drops of paint on the special paper and then a bit of alcohol and then gently blew on the paper.
It is messy…and the designs can change as they dry. Jen put plastic down on the table before she began. Jen will use the paper in her card making.
Jen had a special die that I used for my project… May Baskets. The baskets are all cut out and I will put them together in the next few weeks… I like playing with paper. These are small baskets…they will hold some jelly beans or maybe some gum. The girls suggested that they would hold cash quite nicely.
It was a relaxing couple of hours. It is fun to see what everyone was working on. There were scrapbookers and card makers…and Jamie was doing business book work. Sometimes there are gals that sew…and some that work on electronic scrapbooking. There are no restrictions you can bring what ever craft/busy work you want to work on for the weekend. I will go again in the Fall and work on Christmas Cards.
I cooked, Far Guy played sous chef. Two crock pots of chili almost disapeared. My brothers and their brides and my parents came for supper. Mom made Apricot Crisp and Cherry Crisp.
I had my doubts about the flat bread, cause my yeast is a little old and I forgot exactly how many cups of flour I had used…must of been okay as the bread was delicious.
The recipe for the flat bread came from my niece Megan. The original recipe is larger and makes six loaves…three loaves is plenty for us.
Flat Bread
3 cups milk
1 package rapid rise yeast activated in 1/4 cup warm water
6 cups flour (sometimes I use half white flour and half wheat flour)
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
4 Tablespoons melted shortening or olive oil
1. Warm the milk, the old recipe says scald the milk. (If the milk is straight from the cow you might have to do that) I just warm it a little in a pan on the stove.
2. I put the 1/4 cup of hot water in my mixing bowl and then add a package of yeast. If you don’t have packets use 2 1/4 teaspoons of other yeast. ( I buy yeast in a brown jar and keep it in the fridge.) I gently stir the yeast a bit to dissolve the yeast and make bubbles.
3. Add warm milk and olive oil.
4. Add sugar, salt and flour.
5. Knead for five minutes with a mixer with a dough hook or by yourself…hard work.
6. Divide dough into thirds. Put a bit of olive oil on a couple of cookie sheets. I form the ovals in my hands or on a bread board, flipping the dough back and forth. Flatten dough onto the cookie sheet and prick with a fork. Cover with a towel in a warm place to rise.
7. Bake at 325 degrees until golden brown (about 25 minutes), when it comes out of the oven put some butter on the top.
Enjoy!
I love the smell of bread baking. Far Guy must too when he got up from his nap he said “Are we having fresh bread with peanut butter for lunch?” Hint Hint!
We had a frosty morning.
Far Guy said “When snow falls we say it is snowing, when frost falls out of the trees we should say it is frosting.”
The blue sky was a beautiful background for the frost. We had frosting for awhile as the frost fell out of the trees. It was a chilly morning yesterday –4 F or –20 C eh! Perhaps that was the last of the below zero mornings for the winter…one can hope.
What a difference a day or two makes and some sunshine.
March 5th after Winter Storm Quinn
March 6. Great minds think alike. We got out the monster of a snowblower. It is self propel and a bugger to steer, but it does have R and that gets me out of some situations! We got a pathway made for the walk, and another for Chance and one to the bird feeders oh yes and the sauna. I shoveled some. Shoveling was hard work because the snow was so heavy.
March 7. We have a clear walkway again. I can wear my crocs with socks to walk the dog. I hope we have a few days with no new snow.
We stay busy…doing what I am not sure. Laundry and a bit of cleaning. One night She who sees Robins first (My sister in law who lives next door) made her famous Pizza that Far Guy really enjoys…it has lots of stuff on it (peppers,olives etc…) she also makes a plain pepperoni for me. It was good to get out of the house. Last night we had a surprise visitor…our youngest daughter Jen stopped for a visit….came to check up on the aging! Chance loves her and was thrilled with her visit…we were too!
We had a dilly of a snowstorm. It began with rain then it turned to sleet and then snow. The sleet made music on the windows.
We had 10 inches of snow at the snowstick before the storm, now we have 19 inches at the snowstick. This was such a heavy snow I am sure it sunk sank decreased in measurement some…I will guess we had 12+ inches of snow.
Here Chance is walking in a tire track on the way to the mail box. (She who sees Robins first went to work, or my other baby brother went out.) Our drive way had no tire track and it was hard walking…just lifting our boots that high was an effort. We made a path and the return trip was easier. The old Border Collie kept laying down to clean off the pads of his feet.
Toward evening my other baby brother and nephew came to plow us out.
The shoveling began and will continue. We are supposed to get more snow through Tuesday. If one had energy after shoveling this would be snowball fight snow or maybe even a snowman.
Sunday afternoon we played cards with the neighbors. We have not had company in a long time. It was good to see them.
We played the card game Golf and waited for it to start raining…but the rain held off until evening. I heard on facebook that thunder and lightening may be headed this way. Poor Chance will have to hide.
We are in a Winter Storm Warning until Tuesday morning. We are supposed to get rain, ice and snow. Hope it is not too much ice.
There were 10 inches of snow at the snowstick just before dark last night.
Jen and Andy and the boys gave Far Guy Hockey Tickets “on the glass” for Christmas. For those of you that don’t know… “on the glass” is in the first row. Jen and her Dad had a blast! ( Both really enjoy Hockey) North Dakota vs St Cloud
Far Guy took a selfie
Weeks ago Far Guy was certain he would not be able to go. We all encouraged him that he would be strong enough to go…and he was.
We drove up North on Friday afternoon. After supper of loaded baked potatoes and salad Andy dropped them off at the arena so they wouldn’t have to walk very far.
I kept Adam company…he had all four of his wisdom teeth extracted on Friday morning. He was doing quite well, not much pain so we watched a bunch of Forged in Fire episodes. Chance enjoyed seeing Miney and Little Elvis…but he growled at poor old kitty Chaucer. We drove back home after the game..it was late…the last 50 miles we didn’t meet another car on the road.
Before the game photo. Oh yes North Dakota ( now the Fighting Hawks used to be the Sioux and for Sioux Fans Sioux Forever!) lost in overtime 4-3.
For some reason we don’t see the Red Headed Woodpecker…who remembers Woody the Woodpecker he had a red head too?
We have Pileated Woodpeckers, Red Bellied Woodpeckers, Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers and assorted Sapsuckers and the beautiful Common Flicker.
We are in the breeding range of the Red Headed Woodpecker but not the wintering over area.
Anyways…my Dad made me one for Christmas. He was busy in his garage/shop…cutting sanding and painting.
Far Guy put it up on one of the poles of the wood/tractor shed this week. As you can see we still have plenty of snow.
One day I went outside and my Valentine’s Day Flag was gone. We looked around…the wind had been blowing. It is red for Gosh Sakes and should stick out like a sore thumb. We may find it when the snow melts.
Then I wondered was it really the wind…or some deer that wanted a flag snack. I saw no hoof prints. The sign you see on the door says “Please don’t wear perfume or aftershave in my home as they make it difficult for me to breathe.” Mostly it is a sign that people ignore…
I decided to put the wolf flag up for awhile.
We went out for lunch yesterday! Our first time out for lunch in about two months, it was good to get out. It was 38F or 3C eh! Chance enjoyed the outing too…but no french fries for him…he staged a little protest at suppertime…when his french fries were missing and replaced with rice…a little pumpkin persuaded him to finish his meal…silly dog that has humans wrapped around his paws.
We are still taking it easy, not much is accomplished…some cleaning and cooking and walks to the mailbox. Other than trips to the Clinic and to the grocery store we have been staying home and away from germy and perfumy people. Far Guy is back to walking 5,000 steps and working his way to 6,000. The dog is fair game and accompanies him on the walks outside. I took one day off of walking because I was stiff and sore…but I am back to walking again.
Yesterday Far Guy sharpened a bunch of woodcarving knives for me. He is working on a carving that will be a gift for a friend. I am working on my little bark houses.
We have had warmer weather and sunshine! Chance does not like walking through that water in the walk so he takes a short cut through the snowbank.
The snowbanks are shrinking! Remember to get your Snow Stick Guess in here. The contest ends at 9PM tonight.
Far Guy thinks he should be feeling better than he is, but then he has little to no patience and he had a real tough month. He still has a cough but I am hopeful that it will be gone in a few more days as his month is up.
I am more than happy to turn the calendar today…one month closer to spring and no snow.
My cousin Chuckie still has a cart filled with flowers in his yard in the summertime.
I think the donkey and cart pattern was originally Uncle Wilberts.
My parents had two of these carts filled with flowers out in front of their house at the resort. My Mother used to plant Geraniums in hers too.
It was fun to see, I had almost forgotten about them.
Every bottle of regular soda we had in the house was flat…only the non sugar kind had any fizz. The pantry was cleaned out.
After X amount of time pancake syrup grows mold on the top even if it is stored in the fridge. Cleaning out the fridge is now on my list of things to do. One nasty discovery may lead to another and expiration dates will be checked.
The walk to the mailbox is getting slick. Especially the gradual decline to the actual mailbox…I discovered that the newly fallen snow at the edge of the road made a soft spot to land. Chance came over to see what was the matter and Far Guy wanted me to get up right away…well I needed just a moment to figure out if anything important was broken. Nothing was… but I am a tad stiff and sore.
Chance likes the black sunflower seeds and if left to his own devices will stand under the bird feeder and eat them…probably another source of his recent bout with pancretitis. He cannot be trusted alone outside. He knows he is not supposed to eat them…but apparently he has forgotten in his old age.
The phone rang. Far Guy said “It’s for you so you might as well answer it.” He cannot stand to let the machine get it…
It was a fellow with a foreign accent. He asked “You were having problems with Windows 10 how are you doing now ?” I replied “Fine” “So no problems?” “Nope I threw it in the garbage!” “What?” “ Garbage…G A R B A G E where it belonged.” “What did you do with it?” “I threw it in the trash TRASHH.” click
A fine howdy ya do that was…at least he could have thanked me for my time and said goodbye…but just click…where were his manners? I suppose he just wanted to fix my computer over the phone and charge my credit card. ( I still have Windows 7…and hope it lasts a bit longer…Far Guy has Windows 10.)
Far Guy was laughing the entire time…next time he is answering it. Since we don’t have caller id on our land line it is anybodies guess who is calling us…the next time the phone rang Far Guy answered it and it was my other baby brother.
Other than phone calls our biggest entertainment is the snow and old movies on TCM. I watched a really good one called The Search.
Seems we are stuck in a snow pattern. We got another four inches of snow. The last snow was fluffy and settled…we had 11 inches at the stick before snow #3
Now we are waiting for the next system to come through today which will be snow #4 this week.
We finally had to make a grocery/bank/post office run to town. Far Guy went along…it was his first venture out in a long time. His step count is improving everyday.
We are all set to stay home until it is time to go to town for a blood test sometime next week.
Our morning walk with Chance.
Yesterday a whole bunch of Wild Turkeys visited our feeders. I counted 14 of them…all females or young males cause they had no beards.
Several of them came real close to the window. The old Border Collie was sleeping so he didn’t even notice.
A very brave or hungry squirrel tried chasing them away…they ignored the interruption.
One thing we noticed the little Redpolls would not visit the feeders while the turkeys were here. The turkeys scratched around in the snow. I rapped on the window and scared all but one away…Far Guy finally hollered out the window…but that Turkey must have been deaf or mildly confused….he/she took its time wandering away.
Our days are quiet, every afternoon we all settle down for a nap…good thing too as we were up very late watching the USA vs Canada Women’s Olympic Hockey Wednesday Night/early Thursday morning…what an exciting game! If you saw the awards ceremony you couldn’t helped but be moved the way the whole team locked arms and swayed back and forth while singing The National Anthem. Impressive.
