25 Years together…

No, not us. We haven’t even known each other that long. And my parents have been married longer than that (thankfully)… It was my aunt and uncle who celebrated their 25th anniversary this past weekend!

Congratulations Tante and Onkel (UR)!

Mom found her bridesmaid dress the day before and called Margaret to see if she was going to bring her wedding dress. Apparently the ladies didn’t think they could still fit into their respective dresses, so they pseudo-modeled for the camera.

In order to save both my mother and aunt a lot of work, my parents hosted the party and had it catered (Mrs B’s Catering, Bangor). The food was excellent – and there was plenty for everyone … the brothers didn’t even have to fight over who got more meatballs! Mrs B’s did a great job of decorating the tables too! I oogled the “giant doily” on the punch table.

If you’re wondering about the ladders ‘n such in the background – my parents had the food and several tables set up in the garage. They didn’t think they could fit close to 40 people inside the house. As it turned out, we had a full crowd and all the tables, inside and out were used for the luncheon.

Mom’s lilies even bloomed with perfect timing for the party (gotcha Margaret!)

It was a gorgeous day – the sun was shining most of the day, and even though it “spitted” occasionally, it was never enough to drive people inside.

It was great to have family join us that we haven’t seen for quite a while – and to also see those we have seen recently. Gotta have these happy occasions for excuses to get together!

My big job for the day was the cakes. The sheet cake was purchased, but I made the traditional Norwegian wedding cake (kransekake) – my first attempt! My cousin Dana brought lots of krumkake for us to eat as well – carrying on her mother’s tradition. I find it hard to imagine that anyone went home hungry that day!

You can see the rest of the pictures from the party on Picasa.

More details on the cake (and the recipe) can be found on my other blog Mish Mashmie concerning the Kransekake.

July square

I might as well post this now since I have a feeling this will be my last FO (finished object) for the month of July.  Apparently I only know how to complete projects when I have a deadline LOOMING.

 

This is another square tested for SmoothFox.  I’ve tested several of her patterns before and really enjoy them.

This pattern is called Fox’s Flower Power Nbr 4 Petals.  I don’t believe she has it for sale yet, but I will try and update when she does.

I’ve been working with several crochet projects where I have to keep the tension tight (amigurumi/toys and doilies), so I took this opportunity to crochet loosely.  I think I over-achieved.  This was so loose, I didn’t even finish the final round and I was almost at 12”.

Now back to regularly scheduled crochet projects…

AAADD

I don’t often forward emails I get from others, but this one hit so close to home, I thought it was hilarious. 

The Original version:  AAADD original

And here's my version:  This is my excuse why housework doesn’t get done!

I go to get a Pepsi from the refrigerator before cleaning.
The kitchen's quite a mess. I'll start with the kitchen then!

Dishes need to be washed,
But there are clean dishes in the dishwasher.
I go to put dishes away and discover old bananas on the counter.
Maybe I should make banana bread before I wash dishes.

I get the bread recipe out
and realize there are lots of recipes that need to be organized.
Maybe today would be a good day to scan them into the computer
so I don't have loose papers lying around.
At least I can take them upstairs so they're near the computer.

Then I see all the dust bunnies in the stairwell.
Well, let's rethink this.  Cleaning is more important than baking.
And everyone knows you you start with dusting when cleaning.
Let's go find my dust cloths.

As I pass our bedroom,
I realize the sheets need to be changed.
I go in to pull the sheets off
and realize I should organize all the dirty laundry.
But first I need laundry baskets.

I go to the laundry room
and find the baskets are full of clean clothes.
They need to be folded first.
I fold the laundry and put a new load in the washer.
Now there are towels to deliver to the bathrooms.

In our bathrooom...
Oh, look how wilted those plants are!
I should probably water them.

I go find the watering can and rehydrate a few plants.
Then I start dead-heading and pulling dead leaves off.
Well, I can't walk around with a large fist full of dead leaves,
so I have to go put them in the garbage can.

I go back to the kitchen
and realize the garbage can is full.
Time to take out the garbage.
Once outside, I realize my vegetables need watering as well.

I turn on the garden hose and start to water.
Here comes Chuck, the mailman.
I'll go get the mail!

Shucks! Nothin' but bills.
Well, maybe I should just pay them right away to get them done.
But there's only one check left.

I go back upstairs to the office
and find several pairs of Dave's reading glasses.
He'll be looking for those later.

I take a pair of glasses downstairs.
In the family room are piles of papers.
I'll need to organize those before dusting.
Maybe instead of stacking those magazines, I should read them.

I sit down to read
and decide to turn on the computer for later.
I might want to check my email at some point.

Hours later ...
Dave tells me it's time for bed.
But we can't sleep until the clothes are put away.
And the bed is remade.

I guess I'll clean tomorrow...

Puppies and dolls

I think we’re running a canine boarding house.  We (mainly Dave) have been taking care of four dogs since mid-last week.  Charlie is one of course – but he’s no trouble (for us anyway).

A friend’s father passed away last week so we’ve watched their dog for a full week while they dealt with arrangements, funeral, and everything that goes along with that.  No word when she’ll be picked up.  [just after I posted, her “parents” came]

Last Thursday we also started watching our neighbor’s two puppies while they are in Texas going through the paperwork and bureaucracy of trying to adopt their new son.  At least the puppies are staying at their own house – they have invisible fencing, so we just need to play with them a bit, shut them up for the night, and then put the collars back on so they can run around during the day.  But I just heard today that they think they’re going to be delayed and won’t make it back tomorrow.  So our care-taking continues.

Meanwhile, I FINALLY finished a project!  Yea!  I offered to test a “Basic Doll” pattern for someone on Ravelry (pattern is available for free courteous of Maggie –on Ravelry). I sewed the arms on “wrong” and they’re a little low, so I might have to re-sew them a bit higher.

 

 

I also think BD (basic doll) looks a little weird as-is, so I may have to make some clothing, hair, or other accessories for him/her.  I think he/she does look better with Kay’s hat (that didn’t fit).

 

 

 

Dave and I have started our summer preserving.  We spent a few nights picking wild black raspberries in our yard, and Dave made up two small batches of jam.  Yum!  I still need to make jam with the red raspberries we picked last summer! 

Recently I picked up some bell peppers that were on sale.  We don’t use peppers often so they’re normally purchased only for a specific recipe.  But I’d rather buy on-sale items.  We put our handy-dandy vacuum sealer to work again, after I chopped and semi-froze the peppers ahead of time.  Don’t they look pretty? 

While prepping the peppers, we discovered our vacuum sealer is getting a might temperamental.  Might have to purchase another one before venison season.  It seems we’ve been wearing them out about every three years.  Not sure how economical that makes it.

40’s just a number, right?

Somebody in our household just had a major birthday this week.  I figure it’s all down hill from here.  I completely missed the fact that our table at the restaurant already had flowers and a 40th balloon! (Dave stopped by earlier to deliver them)  But that obliviousness is nothing new (as Dave loves to tease me).  A day later, I had an incident where I walked upstairs, put something down in one room, and then promptly forgot the real reason I went upstairs.  Sigh. 

We had a very nice dinner out with my family – thanks to Dad!  I chose Red Lobster this year – crab legs are one of my fav foods!  Day before we had ribs at home, and it sounds like we might go out with friends later this week.  I love birthdays!

Our July 4th weekend was pretty good too.  We didn’t go camping this year (numerous reasons), but it seemed we had plenty to do.  On Friday, Dave decided we needed more trees in our front yard – so now there’s a paper birch and two plum trees.  Saturday was the big 4th celebration in town, so we went down just for a little bit to get a chicken dinner.

On Sunday, we drove to Skumsrud Heritage Farm in Coon Valley.  They were having a Chocolate Soiree and Art Fair.  I haven’t been to Skumsrud in ages!  It’s neat to see the old buildings – mostly farm, but there’s a schoolhouse too.

 

We had a nice “conversation” with the local cattle too.  They were curious about us, so we “talked” … (maybe you had to be there). 

 

 

There was a separate “Always on a Sunday” program at Norskedalen about Norwegian baking.  She had samples for us to try too.  Her sandbakkles were better than I’ve had in a long time, but Tante Margaret makes better Kranskekake.

 

We became members this spring, but unfortunately we haven’t been able to attend any functions until this weekend.

The view around there is very serene – bluffs, trees, and grassy fields.  No traffic noise to be heard – just the birds singing.

 

 

     

 

Even with the Sunday program, there weren’t many people at the nature center, so we took our time wandering down one of the paths. It looks quite a bit different than it did back in February!

 

 

They have even more old buildings at Norskedalen. I think that roof needs a mowing!!

 

 

 

It would be great to walk more of the trails some day.  If you’d like to see more pictures of our trip, you can see them in my Picasa album.