The Advent Tree: A Year in the Making

Over a year ago I began a lovely project with my friend Kristine. I think I'm finally finished. Today it went up on the wall. As pictured, the kids hadn't yet visited to hang day one of the Advent Season.

Stay tuned for the end of the month when all of the handmade tree ornaments are on the tree. Merry Christmas season to you. With our dusting of snow these past few days and the shiver-inducing weater, it's beginning to look alot like.....

Thankful for friends

Last week I got to go out for the evening with two great friends Sarah and Kerry. We met for dinner before catching the Weepies concert at The Cedar Cultural Center. The concert was AMAZING and we all sat in awe at the beautiful, enchanting sounds coming from the stage. Maybe it was the good, local and strong beer we had with dinner, but I thought it was the best live concert I've seen in years. If you don't know this band, consider this your invitation.

Thank you to the Weepies for your music, and thank you to Sarah and Kerry. You keep me inspired daily!

Happy Halloween

The Shadow Ninja, Witch and Anakin Skywalker are all in bed after a warm evening of trick or treating. I'm coming down off of my sugar rush. Must get to bed. Maybe just one more Almond Joy? They won't notice if I sneak another one, will they?
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And you? What's your favorite thing to score from their loot bags? Special Dark is my other fave!

Another Birthday cake for Krista

Every year when we celebrate my sister's birthday at our monthly family soup night, I get the honor of making her cake. For the past several years I have made the cakes on the cover of Country Living magazine. I wasn't too inspired by the cupcakes on the October issue this year, so I went back to my all-time favorite recipe from a few years ago, just tweaking it a bit. Here's the spooky spider-webby outcome. Happy Birthday, Krista!

Off to Stillwater

Last weekend we were joined by in-town and out-of-town college friends for a beautiful fall day. Kevin and Julie came up from Des Moines with their kids and asked to take a little road trip from the big cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. We joined them and Jenn, Charley and their daughter on an excursion to Axdahl's pumpkin patch and market and then to beautiful historic Stillwater.

If you've never been to Stillwater before, please add it to your "must-visit" list, any time of the year. Antique stores, crafty gift shops, restaurants galore, the St. Croix River, an ice cream store just steps away from the water!

We hadn't yet visited the Teddy Bear park and were quite impressed with it. It was tough to figure out exactly which part of the day was the best part for the kids: pumpkin patch fun, Teddy Bear park, or walking with our ice cream cones down to the flooded river and watching the historic lift bridge let the waiting boats pass by. Have you ever seen light posts that are supposed to be lining a sidewalk.... submerged in a river?

Bringing in the Crop

We have had a lovely fall in Minnesota this year. Usually by now all of the tender plants have long since wilted or been zapped by bitter overnight frosts. This year our tomato plants and impatiens are still blooming-- or at least for those people who have continued to water them. Mine grow in spite of a lack of regular watering, weeding or much tending. We've been busy watching the turkeys run around the neighborhood, right?
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Last week we began to bring in the carrots that the kids planted in June. Though we religiously plant them each year, ours have never had much success beyond being finger-sized orbs of orange goodness. Perhaps a child's pinky would be a more appropriate size guage for what we've grown up until now. This week we've been hauling in some downright chunky, albeit short and squat beauties. Our vegetable garden area has dappled sun and prevents us from having a truly marvelous garden, but we have fun with the mixed results. Pea sized brussel sprouts? Bring it on!

Feeling Fall

While the Vikings played today, I got a chance to be outside by myself. Usually I have many little bodies and paws surrounding me to play with and chase and inevitably spend my time making mental lists of all the things I'd like to accomplish. Today was just the day I had been hoping for. With the kids inside with Daddy, I grabbed my rake, bags and trimmer and got to work.

To do:
-cut down/dead head flowers
-empty wilted flower boxes
-rake and bag
-clean up firewood/branch pile
-dig up weeds in the south garden
-pick last tomatoes for counter ripening
-check for remaining carrots
-dig out canna bulbs
-put away hose for the season

I did all but the last two and I feel wonderful. Dragging the firepit to the driveway in the front where I was working, I managed to both fill the neighborhood with the tell-tale fall smell of burning wood and deal with the overflowing pile of accumulated sticks that I trip over every day when I exit the van. I alternated between raking and stoking the fire, pulling dead plants and breaking sticks over my knee. My list is not quite as inspiring as Martha's to-do list is every month in Living magazine, but for a working mom, I'm rather satsified.

The kids joined me later when they grew bored of the game and learned of the fire. I even coaxed Louise in her party dress to join me with the raking. Gus was most at home tending the fire, trying to wave sticks with a fiery end in the air when my back was turned. Carl was happy to help with the leaf bagging process, especially once he figured out that s'mores were a possibility once the work was finished.

Not so many apples

We went apple picking on Sunday with my siblings and their families as well as two of our childhood friends' families. We've lost track of how many years these five family groups have been gathering to pick apples together, but know that every year, as the kids age, it just keeps getting better! Because the spring came early in Minnesota this year, the apples peaked early too. We've always had luck this first weekend in October, but this year was a bust. At least we were apple to pick a few in the orchard (shh!) and bought the rest in their store.
Carl and Maddie were busy speaking Spanish to eachother and eating their apples. Note Carl's new glasses!

Even sweet baby Cooper got in on the apple action!

A month!?!

I'm back at work teaching Spanish and have been quite absent here. It has been difficult adjusting to the challenges of not having complete freedom over my days and my time. It feels wonderful to have an audience again, a group of co-workers and colleagues and a sense of independence and professionalism. But there are many, many things I miss. Reading the entire newspaper, having more than one cup of coffee with breakfast in the morning, squeezing my kids whenever, wherever and as much as I wanted, planning and cooking meals at a leisurely pace, baking, crafting, lollygagging. Need I say more? I'm fine. We're managing. But I sure do miss my stay-at-home- mom self.

I'll be trying to catch up on the last month in photos here. Check back to see if I can keep up again. How's your fall?

Lulu and Luna

Our nieces from Charlotte visit every summer with their family and I try to find time to sneak away with them for a little craft time. Ron's sisters are both very good at making time for each niece and nephew, so I've joined them in this tradition. This year I had promised Ingrid and Annika that we would make stuffed animals or dolls or something they could hold. Last year we made tote bags.
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After seeing the cute dolls on Black Apple when she appeared on Martha (thanks to Layla, who brought this to my attention!), I decided these dolls would be just perfect to make with the girls.
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The girls dug through my fabric stash and found remnants of my past projects to integrate into their dolls. As a team, we ironed, traced, cut out, sewed, turned right side out, stuffed and sewed Lulu and Luna together. Such fun!
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Ingrid and Annika got to spend time with their other auntie later that evening and made a trip to Michael's Crafts to work on making faces and accessorizing them.

Still Blooming

I planted a bunch of seeds in my cedar planters that my Dad made last year. The planters are lovely... long and custom designed for our patio. The idea was to plant enough tall beauties to slightly disguise the fact that we have a chain link fence in our back yard.

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The flowers are doing well despite me. The soil is crumbly and dry, the leaves are getting wilty and cringe when they see me. I've been a terrible flower mom this summer. I'm too lazy to pull the hose all the way around the house. Isn't that awful? (In my defense.... one of our spigots is broken and awaiting repair, the one that is closer and more convenient to the patio... but still, flowers NEED water!) Every year I make mental notes as the summer progresses.... plan more nasturtiums, fertilize, remember to water. Maybe this year is the year that I actually transcribe the reams of mental notes onto paper.

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Does anyone else out there keep a garden journal? What are your hopes for next year?

Wild for Turkeys

There's a family of turkeys that has been hanging out in our neighborhood for the past month or so. Although I haven't gotten up close to inspect, it would appear that it is a Momma turkey and her five babies. They showed up one day in our back yard, in the fenced-in part where our dog likes to hang out. Gus spotted them from the window and shouted, "Mom, there's a pack of wild turkeys in our yard! Cool!"
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We've watched them from the windows, followed them around the neighborhood taking their pictures and once or twice, I've caught Gus chasing them with a squirt gun or a stick. I've tried in instill in the kids a sense of awe for their beauty, a curiosity for a "pack" of turkeys in an urban neighborhood. But yet, last week Gus said to me, "Mom, can I go get a knife and stab one?"
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Well, at least he asked. I think they'd out run him any day.

Harvest Time

We did a bit of harvesting this week. The carrots were planted this year, but planted a little too closely. They're a bit stubby, but perfect for little kid hands. The potatoes were planted last year and mysteriously showed up again this year. The kids and I imagined an alien potato hovering under the dirt all winter long, waiting and waiting for the spring and warm sun to return.

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We are well underway here in the back-to-school process. I am back at teacher's meetings this week for the first time in three years, preparing to teach Spanish part-time. As a result, the boys were at camp full-days this week and Louise began her half-day preschool. Monday afternoon was a bit testy: all three of them on a new schedule, the realization that I wouldn't be getting them ready in the morning any more, the frustration with an early bed time. Kids are resilient so I knew they would be fine. The one I was most worried about? Me. With five days under my belt now, I see that I'll be fine. All my worries? Not quite gone, but I'll give you an update next week after the kids show up.

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And you? How is your back-to-school transition going?

A little time away....

We went away for our 10th anniversary this weekend to a lovely place in the country called A Journey Inn. It is an eco-friendly Bed & Breakfast located on 66 acres of prairie and woods with winding paths throughout the property. We left on Saturday afternoon on a leisurely drive and arrived in the nearby artsty town of Maiden Rock, Wisconsin in time to visit a funky gallery owned by my friend's mom called Secret Heart Gallery. I had tried to visit it a while back when Janet and I visited Seed Savers in IA, but we arrived after hours and missed it. What a place! Ron and I found a few goodies to bring home to decorate our ever-expanding collection of Mexican-themed art in the upstairs hallway. I can't get enough of Frida!

Back at the inn, we enjoyed our stroll down the plush (and too buggy for being outside without bug spray) mowed paths through the woods and restored prairie. We dream of someday moving to our farm and maybe even turning the old house into a retreat center of sorts, so this place helped us to imagine what our lives could look like in ten years. The construction of A Journey Inn is very eco-minded and simple, with dramatic views of the nearby rolling hills and bluffs, as well as filled with thoughtful details like a walk-in shower, plush organic cotton towels, low VOC paints and a delightful organic brunch in the morning. The brunch is served at 11:00, with coffee and toast available for early risers (or coffee in bed fans, like me!).

We stayed on the 2nd floor and thought the view was amazing!

Our cucumber salad this morning featured house-grown cukes and tomatoes and was sprinkled with calendula flower petals and garnished with a nasturtium leaf. So beautiful!

For dinner we went to Norton's Downtown in Red Wing, MN. The restaurant is owned by a local MN musician and has been on our "must visit" list for years. Mmmm.

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We returned home 24 hours later feeling refreshed, well-rested and happily in love. And tomorrow... I return to work.

Happy 10th Anniversary to Us!

Ten years ago today... it was a beautiful 73 degree day. We were married in South Minneapolis, then proceeded to Uptown Lunds in our wedding clothes (where we met) for a little stroll and then to the reception at the Nicollet Island Pavillion. We've been busy... a house, a dog, three kids, a farm, lots of travel, and so much fun. I love you, Ronny!

We celebrated with a quick dinner at Pizza Luce but the real celebration will be this weekend when we take a little getaway to a Bed and Breakfast out of town. I can't wait!