today

making this cake............ a long-time favorite and hopefully a winner for our "Valentine's Day bake-off" at work tomorrow. I figure if I lose I can blame it on the fact that some people don't like coconut.

I also tried cross-country skiing for the first time. I think we have found a winner! I always wondered what winter sport I could claim for my own as down-hill skiing doesn't mix well with Coumadin - maybe I have found it. I am going again on Wednesday. (If I can move tomorrow.)

I have been in a mood to purge. I have little piles of "stuff" all over the house that i need to take to the Goodwill. (or I might save them for a yard sale with Christa this summer.)

Now I need to go cuddle with my sick little boy who is resting on the couch. Hopefully he is feeling better tomorrow as we have a big pile of Valentine's we need to hand out!

snowed in

A day for creativity and contemplation.

Pardon my random blog thoughts today.

So yes, we are snowed in, not just because of the snow, but Aidan is sick. I am actually thrilled he is sick on the weekend because between the snow and Aidan I can excuse myself from all social functions, errand running, etc. I hadn't really been in the mood to "create" this season but after last weekends Crafternoon I am again feeling inspired, so a weekend in is just what I needed!

Aidan must be feeling it too, even in his flushed cheek/feverish state he is busy coloring and creating.

Since I was snowed in I thought it would be a good chance to finish up the little gifts I wanted to give the nurses I work with. Now, I manage 44 nurses. Why I got it into my head to make them all a bag of homemade hot cocoa mix I will never understand. Not to mention, there are a few people who work closely supporting my nurses and a few other nurses who I don't manage but they work closely with us as well........ I didn't want to leave them out. Why do my ideas always end up being more work and money than I had planned???? My intent was to show them all that they are appreciated - if it wasn't for the good work they do I wouldn't have a job - so I wanted to write them all a little thank-you and give them a token of my appreciation. However, the treat bags I ordered were a lot bigger than I pictured them in my head, so even though I only filled the bags half-way I ran out of cocoa mix.

So far I have made 50 bags of hot cocoa, and I am still about 20 short. (Aidan wanted to give some to his teachers as well, and I am still missing a whole department's worth!)

This is the view from my front door. A kind neighbor came over last night and helped James snow blow out the end of our driveway. (note to self, buy a snowblower when they clearance out next spring!)

This picture was supposed to be on the top. I have not seen this much snow in years, many years. The last time I remember this much snow was in 1988. (I am sure the Midwest has had that much, but for many years we lived in PA and MO so I may have missed out.) I just have a vivid image in my mind of shoveling our sidewalks with my dad on January 12, 1988. My dad had a big, blue puffy jacket and the snow was higher than his waist. I was the "big helper" so I was able to shovel with him while my little brother stayed indoors. My dad silently shoveled and wept. My sister had died the night before in the midst of a blizzard. When we woke up on the 12th the sun was shining bright- all was serene, and we were blanketed in the fresh white that sparkled in the sun. No one could really visit us that day, the roads were snowed over. So we just stayed home, the 4 of us, and shoveled and prepared for the busyness of the days ahead.

Snowed in.

A day for creativity and contemplation.

Today

Blizzarding.

We have received a foot of snow thus far, with more expected to fall throughout the night.

I braved the roads this am because I had a hair appointment that I did.not.want.to.miss.

Maybe wasn't a good plan..... while the roads were

somewhat safe at 7:00 am, three hours later I could barely make it home. The visibility was so bad I seriously debated just getting a hotel in Maple Grove. (12 miles from my home.) But I had a sick little boy at home who needed me............ and he also needed some "Jewish Penicillin." (Little does he know I made the "authentic kind," complete with parsnips, turnips, leeks, lots of onion and garlic.)

I kind of played hookie one day this week and betwen naps I caught the show "The Doctors." They were giving lots of tips on how to avoid colds or feel better when you have one and Chicken Soup and Gargling Salt Water were both on the list. I have a hard time admitting this, but those are both things my Dad always recommended.............. he also gave us blackberry brandy but can you believe the Dr.'s didn't condone that one?

So James shoveled twice, while I worked on Christmas gifts, made soup and watched Christmas movies with Aidan.

You know, I think I wouldn't mind having a blizzard once a week!

Photo here.

did i ever tell you

about the day Aidan and I visited "the farm?"

of course i didn't. I have hardly kept up with my blog this year.

well, we did.

we went to Gale Woods farm in Minnetrista last fall and spent a delightful day there. we watched a sheep-herding competition. (okay- I admit - that was actually pretty boring.....) we watched some national sheep-shearing-competition-winners do their thing. Aidan played on the hay bales and made apple cider.

On our way home we stopped at "Mamma's Happy" in Mound where I found a perfect little end table for my living room. The shop was conveniently located next to an old-fashioned hardware store and so we picked up some birdseed, mums, pumpkins, fabric, candy, a goldfish, some overalls, children's toys, dishes, fake flowers and a gerbil.

Just kidding.

But if you ever want to visit an old-time hardware store you should head out to Mound. That place was literally packed from floor to ceiling.

I would love to say I am done with fall pictures but I may have a few more....... at this rate I will be finishing up Christmas in July!

A Quiet Weekend

Braved the No-Coast in a snowstorm. It was a brilliant plan as there weren't as many shoppers to contend with. We even had a table to eat at! And the best part is that I finished up the rest of my Christmas shopping.

We ate Trader Joe's Pumpkin waffles for breakfast (made in my Grandpop's old waffle maker!) And be sure and snatch some mandarin oranges if you are out grocery shopping. Sometimes called satsuma's they are so much better than clementines and I love them so much I ordered some online direct from a grower in California because the stores here are running low. That is one of the reasons I love the Internet...... If they work out you all may be getting them next year for Christmas.

And I am excited to meet Jessica at Crafternoon today. I am a little nervous, I have only read her blog and she seems a little too talented for the likes of me to hang with. (Her husband took the pictures for Darlene's party, will post those later, they turned out fabulous!)

I am trying these cookies for the swap. I have never made Christmas cookies with whole wheat but her recipes haven't failed me yet.

How's your weekend?

Fourth of July Weekend

Our entire weekend was rather low-key. We didn't do a whole lot.

I stood up a few of my friends to spend time with James and Aidan. (Sorry)

We went to the farmers market, went bike-riding, grilled in our backyard, napped on the couch, James and Aidan went to a Twins game and we swam, and swam and swam. We chose to forgo the fireworks this year, instead we just did a few at home. Aidan had never seen smoke bombs before and judging by his excitement you would have thought we'd spent a million dollars.

(p.s. the yellow pictures are taken in the Dowling Studio at the Guthrie. Aidan wanted to show it to James.)

(someone didn't want his photo taken.)

Future Nerds Of America

Well, Kind of. Is it okay to call your own child a nerd?




He isn't one yet but he is well on his way. It seems almost every Saturday James finds some sort of science fair for him and Aidan to attend, and the two of them hang out for the day and then come home and tell me about circuits and pulleys and trebuchet's........ all of my favorite subjects.





This last weekend they went to a Mad Science fair at the Edina Community Center and Aidan told me he learned that the Chinese were the first group of people to make paper. Cool, huh? I suppose I should check out Wikipedia to see if he has his facts right, but I need to get this blogpost wrapped up.

Thanks for taking great pictures this time James!

So very late...........

A few weeks ago we had a bunch of neighbors over for a grown-up night.

ahhh........ as much as I love Aidan, it seems we just don't have enough of those. I think we have cancelled every date we have had the past few months because someone always seems to be sick! But enough of that - this is the post about the one time we did have an adult night and the lovely neighbors we shared the evening with.

I switched all my photos to black and white except these first few because of some bad red-eye problems. Besides the colored ones feature a gift from one of my favorite aunts - which was a basketful of amazing French linens! I frequently slip photos of the linens onto my blog so she can be assured I am enjoying them!

I saw these pies here. Try them. I used roll out dough and some sour cherry-vanilla bean jam I made from our cherries last summer. Like I said - try them. Forget making pies- they are the way to go!

Linens.

Neighbors holding a baby. Babies are always welcome at a grown-up night out.

Is this real or fake? You decide.











The morning after. Someone let her child stay up after the party and watch more Olympics. It's history, right????

I did something I never do, and that is why I took pictures to show you. Instead of staying up all night to clean up the house and kitchen I let it wait until the morning. Really! James was mighty surprised as I am sure my mom is reading this. That is why I decided to prove it with photos.

Yep. I even left food out. I had to throw some away which reinforced the necessity of my usual clean-freak behavior.

Yep - chairs stayed in the middle of the room half the day.

I left for church with the kitchen looking like this. Unbelievable.

Here is where we watched the Olympics until the wee hours of the morning. Probably not my smartest move for a frequently sick child, but like I said before- they are like watching history in the making. And now he wants to be a snow-boarder.

So that is that.

The next neighborhood parties will be outside in the fresh air. Oh - I can't wait for spring to come.