good day planned

yesterday was a good day (a good week, actually!))

i went home - my mom and i visited my aunt in brookings all afternoon. my cousin stopped by after work, and i figured out that the four of us are pretty good together. it was fun.

i also got a chance to pick apples with the family. um, should i say, i got to WATCH my family pick apples. boy oh boy, those apples were up there pretty high. i don't really like heights. so as my dad lifted my mom and i up in the tractor bucket to pick, i pretty much decided to hang onto the side of the tractor, while my mom bravely picked the apples for me to take home. I probably have a bushel or so of them, they look SO AWESOME! apple butter, here i come!

and then, as i headed out the driveway for home, i got to see the reason why we all like living here in SD, another beautiful sunset.

have a great weekend everybody!

what am i going to do when i'm not doing this?

I went outside this morning for a trip around the yard, these little guys are the most striking flowers right now. i am going to "redo" my pots on the steps this weekend, get a couple of pumpkins and maybe another aster like this.

i am kind of nervous about the upcoming months though. every year older i am, winter is longer and harder. this year, i've tried to battle it early on. i have a crock pot now, and grow lights in the basement and i have taken up knitting again.

but for the life of me, i cannot figure out what i'm going to blog about for the next six months, if i cannot go outside!!

does this mean i'm an addict?

so i have been pretty busy lately. about all i have really had time for in the past 2 or 3 weeks is eating, sleeping and making brochures. it's all good, but what does a girl do when she's got a little free time?

meanwhile, my friend kirsten asked me for a favor. when she was in rapid city earlier this month, she bought some cross stitch bookmark templates for $1.87 (set of 2). since they don't have hobby lobby's in minnesota (i know, that is crazy!!) i told her i would go pick some up for her this week, it would be fun.

well, that little errand WAS fun. $113 worth of fun to be exact. it was like i had never been let loose in a store before! not only hobby lobby, but also shopko which is practically in the same building :)

ha ha ha. i guess maybe it IS a good thing that i don't leave the house much anymore :)

recipe for relaxation

Ahhhh. finally, a good relaxing day. yeah, i know. it's a tuesday. i guess that just goes to show you (or me) that relaxation is not necessarily about weekends, or vacation, or down time. it is a tuesday, and a normal workday at that, but it was so good for me deep down inside. i figured out some essential ingredients for the kind of day we all need more of - thought it might be good to share.

1) beautiful scenery - yep. had that. it was nearly 80 degrees today, there was alot of gorgeous fall weather and landscape. i got to take a short roadtrip, it feels good to hit the open road. my destination? where else but SIOUX CITY...yep, you heard me right. sioux city is dang pretty this time of year folks, they have rolling hills and pretty neighborhoods and peaceful sounds. i like it there, who knew?

2) great community - i spent the day with a diverse group of midwesterners. well, let me rephrase that. i spent the day with alot of nice white people of all ages, and both sexes. it was sioux city after all. but seriously, this was just a great group, very kind and willing to pitch in and a couple of the cutest kids you ever saw thrown in the mix. good stuff.

3) loved ones - well, loved ONE. i spent the day with one of my bestest friends. you can't beat spending the day with one of your favorite people in the world, if you want it to be a great day. we talked, and worked some, and wolfed down a happy meal at lunchtime, and just you know...it was easy. thanks, c!

4) okay, also had the ABSENCE OF AN INGREDIENT OR TWO. no cell phones. no email. no voice mail. ahhhhhhhhh. i'm sure somewhere those things existed, but not in my world. not on this day. i liked that.

5) most important element? GOD hanging out with us. He had to be there, the day was perfect. the people were great. the work seemed effortless. the feeling i am left with is .... peace.

That's it. Five great ingredients to a wonderful day. Serves one.

:)

Alive and Well

I had a friend email me yesterday and ask if i was okay, because i have skipped a few days blogging (thanks for checking, D!)

So i guess i'll break a vow to not talk about work much, and tell you about what i have been up to!

i have been doing a few things for the pro-life camp as God leads. and He has been leading! some interesting things have come my way. This is the first thing, a campaign to go on every reservation in south dakota declaring that children are sacred. this is a commonly held belief in native american culture, so this stuff is just a "reminder." I liked it better before they removed the scripture associated with the artwork - “Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.” Psalm 127:4-5
anyway, i am so pleased and honored i got to do this, especially since i cannot draw a stick man, so my honey did the drawing for me and i think it's beautiful :))

now off to a great weekend everyone!

happiness in a tube

Nope, i haven't been eating cookie dough straight from the fridge again. this time, i'm talking fluorescent tubes. this weekend, i decided i wasn't willing that all of my summertime plants should perish.

so, i went to menards and bought a big grow light. i installed it in the basement, which was a double-edged sword, because that means i have to CLEAN the basement. I have no idea if these things even work, i spent alot less $$ than greenhouse lights cost, but these 48 inchers are called "grow lux" lights.

I think i'm going to buy one more. no, i am not really needing to save that many plants. but i am thinking that it might be nice to have a nice warm spot to plant MYSELF in a couple of months!!

happy tuesday.

soup and sweaters

I met a dear friend for coffee yesterday, she is moving to another state and we needed to catch up and keep up our friendship before she leaves.

i am so lucky to have such wonderful girlfriends. some of them are fellow designers, some are longtime, "knew you when" friends, some are church friends, some are friends of friend friends, but they are all very special to me.

this friend and i "play barbies" when we get together...see, we are both designers and that is a very different kind of friendship. mostly we talk about things that are pretty and sparkly and visual. we can do this for hours. husbands and boyfriends don't seem to get this kind of stuff, but that doesn't stop us for one minute.

yesterday, as the late afternoon sun came streaming into the coffee shop, and we both had shared all kinds of creative and yet to be created projects, we looked out the window at the Lord's glory, the pretty fall weather. My friend smiled and said "oh, sweaters!" and i chimed in with "oh yes, and soup!"

lucky for us, beautiful things can be found almost everywhere. i went home and made soup while wearing my turtleneck, dear, in honor of us :)) have a beautiful week!

mystery solved

okay, i had to dig around on the internet, but i was successful in finding out about my moth. he's a white-lined sphinx moth, also called a hummingbird moth! I guess they are found in lots of different habitats, and usually seen after a lot of rain! See my august 28th post for my first sighting.

these photos (not mine!) show what all the excitement is about. beautiful!

One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. Psalm 27:4

fall friends

I wish that fall lasted alot longer than it does. it's an odd thing for a gardener to admit, but i feel like it's just a time to enjoy the yard, not necessarily work in it.

plus, there is a bunch of activity. it seems like creatures abound, from squirrels going crazy getting ready for winter, to cats on watch for birds and bunnies in the back yard.

plus, there are the smaller creatures. i bent down to pull a weed and came out with this little furry moth. i think he's the same one i photographed a while ago, that i thought was a bird at first! i wish i could have shown his wingspan, he is a very modern color palette! pink and brown, very very pretty. the thing was, he was afraid and sort of "froze up" and would not let go of my hand! i even brought him inside while i grabbed my camera. I gently sat him down in a flower pot to snap this shot, and noticed he was making a curious little "crying" sound...

then, suddenly, off he went! very neat.

the bees have been here all along, but are REALLY rocking on the sedum plants! yesterday i counted eight of them on one plant! must be good stuff :)

happy weekend all.

what kind of writer are you?

http://www.blogthings.com/whattypeofwritershouldyoubequiz/

ps, i'm a poet, but i don't write poetry. hmmmm.

happy thursday!

wow, it's been a busy busy time! that's why i need photos like this, to remind me that i still have a lot of things to experience in this life yet. i will not consider life complete til i hold one of these little dudes and get a really close look :)

hope that everyone can get outside for a bit today and enjoy our glorious fall!

can you see me now?

look what i just saw hanging (literally!) in the sunshine of my garden.

guess i'm not the only one who is happy that the sun is back again :))

LCDs are for sissies

So, i had a little trouble with the clock by my bed this morning. it's a cool vintage model called "big ben." i rarely use the alarm part, because #1 i rarely need to get up early and #2 i have always had an internal clock that tells me when i absolutely need to get up.

it was still dark out when i awoke to the sound of Been wretching right below my bed (getting to be a 17+ year old cat doesn't come without issues) and i grabbed ole ben, held him to my nose and saw that it was 6:10. time to get up anyway, so i took care of been, made coffee and sat down for my morning computer ritual.

i was sailing right along, til i looked at my computer clock and it says 3:10. that's AM, my friends. what the heck am i doing at 3:10 am drinking coffee and surfing the net, i asked myself?

after a bit of brilliant sherlock holmes-style thinking, i figured it out. ben said it was 6:10, or maybe it said 2:30 and i just got the hands mixed up...and it only took me 40 minutes to figure it out!

still, i am not willing to admit that digital clocks have anything on ben and i. only thing is, i hope he tells me i can take a nap pretty soon.

thought for the day

i need to work on my humility some, so this made me laugh.

I know that I know that I know

Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands. Deuteronomy 7:9

Wow. what an awesome weekend. i have been tired here for awhile, just all of the running around and stuff. but for a few hours yesterday, i was renewed and refilled, along with 6,700 other women who got to attend the Beth Moore conference at the arena.

thanks Kirst, for telling me about Beth Moore. she is a wonderful speaker. i have to admit that she was not the thing that got me going. i was there friday night, and it was good, clean entertainment. even tho i had a good time, i was secretly waiting for some of this hecticness to be over, to retreat to my little house, to be alone for awhile.

even saturday when i got up, i was still pretty unmotivated. yes, i was meeting some girls for lunch that i really really want to spend time with, but otherwise, not much motivation. the thing is, i know better. when God is involved, even when 6,700 people are going to be looking at Him for some attention, He doesn't forget about YOU. and He knew exactly how i was feeling.

long story short. He sent me EXACTLY the right woman to pray with, with EXACTLY the same situation that i have been feeling in my heart for about a week. that's God 101. He knows how to tell you something, go over it with you in review, and then throw it in once or twice more so you don't forget it :)

i was so blessed by Him this weekend. i love Him more and more every single day. i am sitting here today in thankfulness and awe and wonder for who He is and what He has done for me.

praise be to you, Lord!

Great yellow hunters

Uh oh, looks like another death in the family just happened. a minute ago i looked outside my window to find this site, Loco hauling off a rabbit that is almost bigger than him! He is my crazy boy kitty that comes to visit every day. now i know why. he keeps watch underneath my sunflowers, for bunny action in the garden.

i tried not to think about the fact that the bunny was still alive in this shot, but i guess i think that survival of the fittest is the way nature was designed.

the very best part of the whole deal is kitty #2. i have never ever seen him WITH Loco - but obviously they know each other. Notice that he was watching the whole scene very carefully from about 3 paces behind :)) bet he's hoping there are leftovers.

wha-lah

well, i got the armoire together fairly well. about 5 hours for this "fun and rewarding project." you know you're in bad shape, though, when you feel like you just ran a triathalon after you ASSEMBLED a piece of furniture. doh.

actually, it wasn't too bad. the doors are still kind of wonky, but i think they sort of look better than the ones in the store. maybe i could get a part time job as a display assembler at Target, now i have skills.

the 21-page instruction guide was easy to understand. i only have one leftover part, and the thing stands there just fine :) the tv fits with about 1/16" to spare, of course, the thought of getting a bigger tv sprang to mind immediately.

plus, i want to decorate AROUND the armoire now, everything is slightly "off"

oh my. it never ends. but for now, do-it-yourselfers rule.

ahhh. a nice slow start

finally, a nice relaxing day. even the weekend was kind of hectic, and yesterday i was out of the office most of the day, so it's nice to be home today. 8:57 and i'm still "playing" by making pictures of beener on the computer and reading gardening blogs!! santino and andrae are very active this morning too, must be the weather.

last night i got my Target armoire in the mail. wow. those boxes it came in were pretty small. i counted all of the pieces of wood, and it looks like everything is there, so tonight comes the task of fitting it all together. the box states "this will be a fun and rewarding project!"

i kind of think the fact that they have to encourage you on the box, means it's going to be a pain in the butt to assemble :)

anyway, it will be nice to finally cover up the kmart tv from 1995. i'm not exactly a techno wizard, but hey, it still works just fine.

wish me luck!

where's andrae?

you probably had to be there, but i finally got some inspiration to name my bettas. both of them are slightly flamboyant, very dramatically beautiful and more than a little anti social. just like bettas are supposed to be.

so, they kind of remind me of project runway. last season i got addicted to watching all the crazy designers, as they made amazing clothing and also made everyone in their paths mad at them. creative people seem to have trouble making friends, i've noticed.

anyway, back to the fish. the bright blue one is Santino, he was my absolute fave designer on the show. very talented and quite a show off. not shy at all.

and who else to go with Santino but Andrae, also very talented, but a little less "out there" - so i named the red/blue fish after him. The joke of the show was that Tim Gunn, the show's "teacher/mentor" had a crush on Andrae, and was always asking where he was. i about peed in my pants when Santino did his impression of Tim, in a very "fashionista" voice asking "where's andrae" and sneaking off for a tryst with him at Red Lobster.

ha ha. good times. i hope the fish don't mind the new names, but really, i think they are quite fitting.

yum yum yum

okay, here i go again with the amazing inventions.

yesterday i went to visit my folks for awhile, mom and dad have the most prolific set of apple trees ever. this year, the apples are a bit smaller than usual (hot weather?) but still, the branches are just loaded.

so, i took a few home to play with :)

i was going thru my canning books last night - WHAT TO MAKE? let's see, i love apple butter, apple sauce, apple jam, apple crisp, dried apples and apple pie in a jar. that's just for starters.

then i remembered that a number of years ago, i bought this gizmo at my friend's pampered chef party that was supposed to peel apples fast. i also remember where it is, because last summer phillip made me take all "unnecessary" kitchen items to the basement, so he had room to actually cook!

so, here's the deal. this thing MADE MY DAY...and it's really almost too soon for that, but wow, it is magic. basically, you just hook it up to the kitchen counter, stab an apple onto the thing, and turn a crank. not only does it peel the apple, it also cores AND slices the apple into perfect rings!!!!!! fun. yes, it's fun to use this contraption. the biggest trouble is getting the core off the "sticker" when you are done, but a butter knife seems to work pretty well.

so, i now have a big pot of applesauce brewing on the stove, and lots of day left to enjoy!!

thanks Kirsten, i want 2 more of these for my mom and my aunt :))

fall color

even tho the day is kind of drab, the garden has spots of wonderful color. it seems like the fall colors are the most intense, saturated colors...not sure why.

enjoy the glorious long weekend!
b