Yes We Did

And a very proud time it was. I really had not given a whole lot of thought to the historical event that yesterday's inauguration was until I witnessed it on TV. President (oh how good that sounds!) Obama in my opinion was the person that gave us hope, the person for the job. Of course I know that he is black but I just didn't really think in those terms until I watched what it meant to other black folks and it hit me like a ton of bricks! Absolutely incredible all the way around! My friend Mary and I watched the inauguration together and both of us shed a tear here and there.

Watching history unfoldThey are a great pair. She will certainly be a strong and level headed first lady.These were the best words ever....President Barack Obama
Our new leaders
And the old boarding their helicopterBoth Mary and I did a heartfelt goodbye wave as they flew away...the sighs of relief were certainly audible!
I am not sure how I caught this but it is pretty cool don't ya think Mary?I think I snapped the two pictures one right after the other and one transposed itself on the other making a nice snapshot of the new watching the old fly away!!!!

While in the StP area I had my quarterly oncology appointment. All of my blood work was good, had a nice chat with the doc and on my way I went...see you again in four months!

And there was time spent with Julia and her dad. Kel was in Orlando for work so it was the three of us. Julia has changed a ton in just a few weeks. She is babbling and laughing almost constantly. She makes the strangest noise deep in her throat...I swear she will be talking in no time flat!


She now enjoys being on her feet although she needs help and this is one of her favorite places to be
Julia and Daddy having fun

Even I Am Bored With This Weather

And I am the one that loves snow and winter! When it doesn't get above zero for days and one can't go out to even take a short walk...the days get long. It is interesting though that the dogs don't want to go out to pee BUT they beg to go for a walk.

In an attempt to make them happy David and I take them for rides around the cold tundra (I know, pretty pathetic huh?). I actually got a few pictures today of something other than cold snow.

The dam at Federal Dam. Hard to see but there is water running from Leech Lake through the dam.
I spotted this deer on the roadside. We spooked him so couldn't get a good shot but it does show how deep the snow is. I do worry about the wildlife in this weather as it is not easy to find food under all of the snow.And a grouse in the ditch. We have tons of these up here. This guy is lucky that he is light enough to sit on top of the snow.So I have been wanting to buy an overnight hobo type bag and have been looking forever. After searching in stores and on the net and finding nothing that suited me unless I was willing to pay way too much money I decided to attempt to make my own. David designed the pattern and I put it together. What a team huh? Here it is and I love it if I do say so myself!

The empty bag
And jam packed stuffed full!It is made out of a heavy broadcloth type of material and is fully lined with the same type of cloth. It is large enough to fit everything one would need for a weekend tripI stepped out of the box in making this weekender and rather than buying handles to put on the bag I used a canvas type belt that I found at our local thrift store, cut it in two and sewed it together to make two handles.

To 'close' the bag I used a stretchy necklace that I found at Walmart for less than a dollar and a button found at Walmart (however I could have found one at the thrift store that I liked just as well). The 'necklace' loops over the top of the bag and wraps around the button, closing the top of the bag. To define and 'sturdy up' the bottom of the bag David found a thin piece of clear plastic in the garage. I put this between the outside fabric and the lining. did I mention that I found the fabric on sale at Walmart for under $5 a yard and I used about three yards. a pretty inexpensive weekender and fun to make! I do surprise myself sometimes!

A walk in the Northwoods

David the dogs and I

Sharing the trail

With a gal skiing by
We stumbled upon

An impression in the snow

What could have made it

Does anyone know?

Back home that same night

We looked out the window

To capture this sight

I know I know...I will never make a poet.

It is really quite beautiful up here this year with more snow than they have had in a few years I am sure. The snow is soft and fluffy and makes for great snowshoeing. It is a lot of work trudging through the woods in them but it's peaceful and fun to get off of the beaten path. David and I take a walk everyday that the weather permits. Nope he doesn't have snowshoes. I am just lucky to get him out walking this time of year much less with showshoes!

We spent the past couple of days with family and friends in southern MN. We missed Ry, Jen and Abigail as well as Rachel, Melvin and Dezbah and we thought and talked about them often.

Kelly and Lenny were kind enough to have us out for a Christmas celebration. Great food, lots of laughs and time spent with Julia...I had the pleasure of babysitting while Len and Kel went out for a night on the town and one morning while Len worked and Kel ran errands. Even though Julia is teething she was a joy. Hey Rach...any helpful hints to ease the teething misery?

David and I spent an evening with our friend Jess, had breakfast with Mikey and Jan and visited with our friend Mary. It is always good to see our friends when we go back south as we do miss them.

The weekend in pictures-

Watching the Vikings actually winIs she wondering if that glass of wine is for her?Although she is to young to know what it is, she certainly looks excited to open her presentContemplating or sucking the thumb???Sleeping peacefully after a long day...of grandma babysitting!
Daddy and Julia, mirror imageJulia is not the only photogenic face in that house...Tigger is quite handsome and loves the camera
We had coffee with my aunts Sandy and Etta and Sandy's grand daughter MarissaMarissa kept Julia cooing and smiling for 1 1/2 hours! She will be a fabulous babysitter when she gets a bit older.
Finishing with a beautiful sunrise
And sunset

A Very Different Holiday

This is the first year ever that I have not had a Christmas tree, or decorated the house for Christmas or had any family at the house for either Christmas Eve or Day.

Justin, Kelly and Julia are in Michigan with Kel's family where it has not stopped snowing since they arrived three days ago. Lenny does report that it is 30 degrees or so however. Julia is having a white, warm first Christmas.



Rachel, Melvin and Dezbah are in our old area, Mankato celebrating with Rachel's mom and her family.


Ry, Jen and Abigail are in Corpus where it is a balmy 70 degrees.....I think I remember that Ryan's tradition is to play golf on Christmas...smarty pants Ry!
And of course my dad and David's family are in the Mankato/Stp area as well. Perhaps one day we will be able to gather our entire family (no easy task as the kids are all over the US) together in our new home for Christmas.

I spent the day baking cookies, singing Christmas carols and wrapping a few presents that have yet to be given. David and I took a walk in the woods with the dogs and I mastered my snowshoes only falling down twice. They are one heck of a work out!

Where ever you are and whoever you may be with we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

I love This Weather

It has been snowing since before 7am this morning and it is now 3:30pm. It is falling softly with nice big flakes. There is no wind and it is 15 degrees above zero. These are the kind of days that as a kid I dreamed of.

The snow is deep enough to bury Peeko if he isn't in Tackla's already walked path

A fragile snowflakeNow if I could only figure out how to work my garage sale $10 snowshoes I would be a happy camper. You are not supposed to sink to the ground with snowshoes on are you...Ryan, you are an old snowboarder do you know?

We Came Home To This...

During our trip the weather was certainly not as nice as we had hoped it would be however when we finally reached our home in northern MN we found over 2 feet of snow and below zero temps. David had to walk up the driveway (carrying Peeko as the snow was too deep for him to go through...Tackla loves it and plows her way without difficulty)...anyway....he walked up the driveway, got the bobcat and plowed the driveway so that he could drive the truck up it. It took him 2 1/2 hours to clear the snow. I think this snow is beautiful but it could be a tad warmer...above zero would be good.
Because it was too cold to do anything else yesterday we took a drive to see what we could see
A winter wonderland on a northern MN back road
Look out for the open ice.
Chrissy remember this...
Well this is what it looks like in December...this December anyway

Prior to making the four hour journey home (we had spent more than enough time in the truck for one day) we spent the night at the 'Leonard Hotel'.

Here are Oscar, Tigger, Julia and Kelly. She's got quite a bundle there.
Julia has changed a ton in only three weeks. Here she is enjoying sitting up. Soon she will be doing so on her own.
And Daddy reading a Charlie Brown book...precious....
So... David is already wondering where we will be next winter. Somewhere warm I am betting. Mikey and Jan are you ready for us?

Dorothy, Toto, The Lion and The Good Witch of The West

Yup we are in Kansas and it is damned cold! Thank goodness we are in a hotel(Mary, it does not have a hot tub though). Last night was the very last night that we will spend in the camper this trip....we stopped in some danged town about 300 miles south of here. When we pulled in it was 63 degrees and very windy. We set up camp, got in the camper and hunkered in....the wind blew like crazy. (Mikey we talked about you...figured since it was so cold and windy you and David should be fishing!) The Wizard of Oz is what it felt like and I was sure we were going to be blown away. We woke up this morning to continued wind gales and cold cold cold-27 degrees. We are currently attempting to avoid the snow and freezing rain on our route home. Oh home...to 6-12 inches of snow and more cold...but it will be home.
OK now our travels and a few pictures-
The Caves of Sonora Texas were awesome. I took 60 plus pictures but will share only a few-
This is an active cave in other words it continues to make formations. The caves are warm in fact in some spots it is 80 degrees with lots of humidity. The tour takes almost two hours to walk through the cave and the pathways are quite narrow.
One formation...David thought it looked like two bears hugging
Worms??These two formations were a drip away from joining in 1948 and 60 years later they are still a drip away. Gives you some idea of how slowly they 'grow'.This is an interesting and very worth it place to go. If you ever get the chance I recommend it.

From Sonora on to New Mexico. We found a state park in the sand dunes. I loved it...Loi and David not so much. Peeko wasn't too thrilled either as there was no grass or trees for him to go potty on. It was quite the chore to get him to do anything while there!
The windmill is used to pump water. These are seen all over where we traveled.While traveling through New Mexico we all wondered just how the folks that live outside of a town survive. The towns are miles and miles apart and the houses/ranches are miles and miles from each other. How do they manage groceries, how do they get their mail (we didn't see any mailboxes) etc etc.

I did get one decent picture of the terrain...
And antelope ...Today we traveled through Oklahoma and onto Kansas and the wind continued to blow as the temperature dropped. Tomorrow we hope to get to Sioux City Iowa. Loi sister lives there and she would like to stop and visit. Then home the next day...if the weather will allow.

By the way, any guesses on who Dorothy is who the Lion is and who the Good witch would be??? Toto goes without saying, or does it?

Isn't She A Beauty Queen

I couldn't resist. Len and Kel sent these pictures from home and I just had to share....she is a beauty queen!

Sorry the pictures are small. I was unable to resize them without messing with the pixels.

We survived the brutal cold, hail, sleet, rain and snow last night. Today we are off to the Caves Of Sorona where it will continue to be cold until hopefully tomorrow.