Snow fun!

With six inches of new fluffy snow and a beautiful sunny and warm day (high of about 15º) we decided to try our luck at sledding. The hills in west Mandan were the perfect spot. Corey picked out a steep area to sled down, which worked perfectly because there was a paved walking trail near it that we could walk up to get back to the top of the hill. It was a very steep hill which made for some crazy wipeouts. The best sled was Grandpa's old toboggan, which easily fit Caitlyn, Corey and I all together. 

My mom (ReNay) was our photographer, stationed at the bottom. The sledders included Corey, Caitlyn, my dad (Don) and me. Grandma, Grandpa and Ronda stopped by to check out the action and make sure we weren't getting too crazy. Dad was the best sledder, going the farthest and wiping out the least. Caitlyn and I topped the wipeout charts ... apparently I had a hard time keeping my feet in the sled - I guess I got scared.

I made a video of some of the best photos and action sequences. I'm rather surprised that we all ended the day without any serious injuries.

enjoy :)

More snow and new fabric.

Yesterday Joann's fabric store marked down their (already reduced) clearance fabric by 50 percent. Which means that the fabric I was looking at that was normally $8-9 per yard was now only $1.50 per yard. For someone who is a fabric junkie, this is a big deal. Not saying I am or anything. That's beside the point. 

So I happened to be in the store ... and figured I'd browse the racks. Wow did I find a lot nice fabric. I piled my cart high and headed to the cutting table. I think I got the best cutter in the store. I bought no less than 1/2 yard of most of the fabric and 1 yard of the ones I really liked. The fabric cutter lady (my hero) noticed that many of the bolts of fabric were almost gone, so if there was less that one yard remaining after my cut, she gave it to me for an additional 50 percent off (that would be 75 cents per yard!!!). Yes, that deserved three exclamation points.

So here is my pile of new fabric - all for under 35 bucks (including one new spool of thread). Awesome. Also in the photo are a few of my Christmas gifts - a new 24x36 inch rotary cutting board, Quilts of Gee's Bend book, and Retro Stitching embroidery pattern book. Time to get sewing!

I should also mention that I do prefer quilt shop fabric over Joann's Fabric and Craft store fabric, but I just couldn't pass up this deal. The fabric is not quilt shop quality but I was impressed with it's softness and color. I think it will hold up quite nicely.

I've been trying to not write too much about the weather, but I just have to. We got another 5 inches of snow last night. We woke up to the soft hum of snow blowers this morning. We don't own one and our neighbors know that, so they offered to clear our driveway and sidewalks for us. how fortunate we are to have such kind neighbors. 

Since snow blowers are made for large, straight, flat areas, Corey shoveled off our porch and walk way to the porch. Much more manageable than the drive way!

With the new snowfall, we're thinking today would be a great day for sledding.

Merry Christmas!

Starting tomorrow morning we'll be in a two-day whirlwind of family Christmas celebrations, yummy food, games, gifts and memory-making.

Actually we've been in a whirlwind of fun already for a week ... starting with my parents visiting and staying with us last weekend and then Corey's Aunt stayed with us last night before her flight back home to Washington. It was great to have so many special guests in one week to the Hager Hotel. And to answer your question Dad, we don't honor Hilton Honors points. In food news, my uncle Bob served up some unbelievably good ribs on Sunday night. I'll see if I can bribe him for the recipe so I can post it here.

Congratulations to my good friends, Jessica and Justin and their new baby boy, Connor born on Friday - and thanks, Jessica for the phone call today :) always fun to catch up with long-distance friends. 

I'll return to the blog world on Friday with lots of photos and Christmas updates. We might go pheasant hunting this weekend - a first for me. I think that will yield some great blog-worthy material. ha.

4 days 'till Christmas!

Are you ready?

We are!

We made it out to look at Christmas lights. Caitlyn, Chaz, Corey, me, Mom and Dad all piled into my car and we made the trek around town. It was chilly and our windows kept frosting over but it was so much fun.

We've been enjoying Holiday Nog ... kept cold the good 'ol North Dakota way – stuck in a snow bank out the back door.

Cookies are baked and decorated.

Snow keeps falling.

Gifts are under the tree.

Christmas parties are in full swing.

Parents are in town (Grandma Katy arrives Tuesday).

I've been a busy bee finishing up my homemade gifts (will be blogged after Christmas).

Only two days of work are between us and Christmas.

Let the fun begin!

Not quite a blizzard but really darn cold.

We didn't quite get a blizzard, but we did get lots of wind, some snow and very cold temperatures. It's currently minus 12 ... but with the wind, that makes it negative 40 (wind chill). burrr. I've been told that frostbite can occur in a matter of minutes - so my new mittens will be getting lots of use.

I only ventured out twice today - once to go grocery shopping but it felt like we were going snowmobiling and once because someone wanted to test drive my car. Who does that? test drive a car when it's negative 40?! It went well though, it got through the snow and wind like a champ, and I think there is a good chance I may sell it tomorrow.

The video above was taken near Jamestown, ND, just about 100 miles east of here. We didn't get that much snow, but it looks very similar around here.

I learned a neat trick for testing if it is below zero degrees fahrenheit. Breathe in through your nose. If you can feel the insides of your nose freezing, it's below zero. Now, I realize this might not seem like the most fun or comfortable thing to do, but it's actually the most natural way to breathe when it's this cold. The reason this works is that our bodies (and snot) are made up of salt water (I'm sure there is a more technical term, but "salt water" makes sense to me). The salt water in our bodies is very close to the ocean's salt water content, which freezes at zero degrees. So, if you get that "yowza" freezing feeling in your nose ... it's below zero. Neat, hunh? 

We're wayyyyy beyond the whole freezing booger trick today. This is the kind of cold that makes your teeth hurt when you go outside. The kind that makes your car radio not work. The kind that makes you dread Monday – not because you don't want to be at work, but because you don't want to leave the house.

Signed and sealed.

Some of my best memories of Christmas as a child are receiving packages in the mail from grandparents and aunts and uncles. Since we grew up in California and all our family lived in North Dakota and Montana, we received lots of packages from the UPS man. 

Over the years, Caitlyn and I developed the skill of scent identification. We could easily identify who the package was from by the scent. It was amazing how comforting it was to get a "Grandma Rene" scented package - they smelled just like her house! Or one from Grandma Katy - it always smelled just like her. 

It's hard to believe it's time for ME to be sending packages. This year we sent two boxes. I had so much fun wrapping each gift, tying a bow ... and then strategically packing each box, and sealing with tape. The not too fun part was bringing both boxes to the post office today – it was quite icy and very cold. But I guess that's all part of the gift giving process.

I don't know where to start.

I have been away from blogging for a few days and I have so much to catch up on I don't know where to start.

I'll start with today.

Today, the University of Mary (where I work) announced the next president of the university to be Father James Shea. At 33 years old, he is believed to be the youngest university president in the America. The last time the university announced a new president, was a full THREE YEARS before I was born. Wow! I'm considering this a once in a lifetime (so far) event. Such exciting times, indeed! check out the Bismarck Tribune story here.

Also today (this evening), Corey and I and two friends of ours are going to see A Christmas Story at the Dakota Stage here is Bismarck. I'll post a review after the show but I'm almost positive it will provide lots of laughs - how could it not?!

In other "show" news, Corey and I are going to see The Nutcracker ballet one week from today. Neither of us have ever seen the show (and I've never seen a ballet!) and we're both really looking forward to it.

Lots of baby news! Congratulations to Josh and Renee and their new baby boy born this week (they are now a very adorable family of five). My good high school buddy Jessica is due in just seven days with their second child, and I wish her and her family all the best with the delivery. My cousin Gina is also due any day with their second. Wow, such fun news. I can't wait to see baby photos!

We've got most of our Christmas shopping done and I went on a gift wrapping marathon last night, so most of the gifts are wrapped and under the tree. I just love this time of year. Speaking of that - we keep getting an inch or so of snow about every day, so it's definitely looking wintery and white here. And it has gotten quite chilly - only about 12 this morning.

I know there is more to write but it will have to wait ... we're off to the show ...

Our tree has a skirt.

This evening I put the finishing touches on the tree skirt. It's so darn stinking cute - I just love how it looks under our tree. I had so much fun making it and using many of my scraps in the process. It is fun looking at the pieces of red and green fabric and remembering which quilt I used it in and how long ago it was. Some of the fabric I used in high school. The binding (tiny outer border) red dotted fabric was used for the backing of Jesse and Megan's wedding quilt just a few months ago. 

Here's a close up of the stitching ... I'm still learning how to stipple (free motion curvy designed) quilt, so this is by no means perfect.

Recognize the red dotted fabric?

How about some red plaid fabric (also from Jesse and Megan's wedding quilt)?

The day after.

On Thanksgiving day, I bought a newspaper so I could browse though all the black friday advertisements. I'm much more of a shopper than a buyer, so I really get a kick out of flipping through all the inserts.

Corey has been thinking about buying a blu-ray DVD player for a few months and our current DVD player is in the process of dying, so Corey researched who had the best deals on blu-ray players. Before too long, we realized that WalMart was having a huge sale on them. I'm not one to pay full price for something if I can get a better deal on it somewhere else, so I started recruiting someone to accompany me to WalMart at 4 am the next morning. Lucky for me, my buddy Maria was up to the challenge. She'd never been to a black friday shopping event before, so she thought it sounded fun (what was she thinking?! haha). Since we were going to be up and out anyway, we decided to also stop at Herbergers (a department store in the mall) to get some new silverware.

I actually woke up before my alarm – I think I was pretty excited. So out we went at 4 am, Friday morning to WalMart. The store is open 24-hours a day, so we didn't have to wait outside (yay!). But to make it a bit more fair and to build up the whole "black friday" hoopla, WalMart wrapped the pallets of sale items with black plastic and lined them up along the middle of all the main walkways through the store.

When we arrived (at about 4:15 am) there was a small crowd already in the store, with groups of people gathered around their plastic-wrapped pallet items. But by the minute, more and more and more people arrived and quickly grew the gatherings to a mass of bargain shoppers. At this point I questioned why I was not in bed asleep.

After a bit of eavesdropping, Maria and I realized that we were fortunate to be two of only a few people looking to score a cheap Blu-Ray player. Most of the folks around us were looking to buy a large flat-screen TV. Piece of cake, I thought, we'll let the folks up front get their player, we'll stand back and wait, then when it's our turn, I'll grab on of the 40 of so players and then make our way to the cash registers.

At 5 am sharp, every Walmart employee was called to their "station" to cut the black plastic off the pallets. With that, people started getting crazy. Apparently quite a few of the folks around us (who I thought were just shopping for TVs) decided they wanted blu-ray DVD players too – and not just one – these people were grabbing two, three and four at a time. As I'm "sitting back and waiting for my turn" I notice the pile of boxes is getting lower and lower so I watch for a break and I sneak in and grab one. Yay! I got one!

... Then for the journey to the front of the store. Through the mass of people, highway of shopping carts piled high with goodies, shoppers trying to move huge big-screen TVs, and coffee spilled on the floor, we somehow made it to the front of the store in one piece. I made a quick detour to the cough and cold medicine for Corey (he's sick) and then we got in line.

We had fun watching what everyone was buying ... toys, lots of big screen TVs, and lots and lots and lots of DVDs. Some people were buying 20 to 30 DVDs. I began thinking I missed out on some great deals. Turns out we did - many were $2. crazy! We did get one that someone abandoned on the gum rack - awesome.

We're proud to say we survived our WalMart black friday adventure and scored a $129 blu-ray player and $2 DVD.

Our new Blu-ray DVD player:

Herbergers was much less interesting, so I'll keep it short and just say that we got what we went for, plus two nice bed pillows for under $15 and three rolls of Christmas wrapping paper for 75% off.

My top five favorite Christmas albums

To kick off Christmas music season (for me that's almost year-round) ... here are my top six favorite Christmas music albums. I tried to keep the list to five but just couldn't do it.

My number one requirement – can't sound like it's going to "go out of style" next year.

Here are my six favorite Christmas albums (in no particular order):

Christmas at Rao's: A Celebration of Family, Friends and Holiday Spirit (compilation)

This little gem only makes the list because it contains one if my favorites, Dominick the Donkey. The remainder of the album is just so-so.

Slack Key Christmas (compilation)

Hawaiian Christmas tunes - I purchased this on our honeymoon almost exactly one year ago today. Mele Kalikimaka anyone? (all instrumental)

Mistletoe and Meriment (compilation)

Another album full of good ol' fun Christmas classics. This one even has The Beach Boy's Little Saint Nick.

A Charlie Brown Christmas, Vince Guaraldi Trio

I don't even own the whole album, only two songs – Christmastime is Here and Linus and Lucy – but those two would be worth the cost of a while album. The songs remind me of the "Charlie Brown on Ice," Christmas show in Santa Rosa.

Christmas With the Rat Pack (compilation)

I like every single one of the songs on this album. Great stuff.

Die Schönsten Deutsche Weihnachtsleider, Offenbacher Kinderchor

German children's church choir. I won't be karaoke-ing to this anytime soon but it's a beautiful album.

Honorable mention:

Billboard Greatest Christmas Hits: 1935-1954 (compilation)

Lawrence Welk: 22 Merry Christmas Favorites

Christmas Celebration, Manheim Steemroller

I'm always looking to add to my collection ... what are your favorite Christmas albums?

Here are some links to purchase the CDs on Amazon:

I realize this is early ... but ...

Yes, my tree is up. Yes, I'm happy as a clam about it. Here's how it went down. I decided to take the plunge and invest in an artificial tree this year - for a few reasons, primarily the fire hazard that are real trees and the mess. So anyway, off tree shopping went. I quickly got frustrated and confused to I turned to google and stumbled upon a nice artificial tree seller called Balsam Hill. Their clearance area and free shipping lured me in and viola! a few day later we had a very large box of Christmas tree (seven feet of Christmas tree to be exact) on our porch. After about an hour or two of fluffing, we have a very lovely tree in our living room :) I couldn't be happier. It's so bright and festive.

Corey, however, thinks it's still a wee bit early to be having a lit Christmas tree on display, so we made a deal that I'll leave the lights turned off until Thanksgiving – at which time it will be lit in full beautiful wonderfulness for all to see. hurray!

Also in Christmas tree news, yesterday I finished quilting the tree skirt I've been working on. This is turning out to be one of my favorite quilting projects yet – primarily because it's small and I don't get sick of it before I finish it. Here it is – I had to "try it on" the tree before sewing on the outer edge (binding). The pattern is from here.

I'm so darn excited for Thanksgiving and Christmas, they are definitely my two favorite holidays. Later this week I'll share my list of favorite Christmas CDs and evergreen potpourri. I'm joking. Well, on second thought ...

Stay tuned.

Our tree:

Mittens from grandma

I'm the proud new owner of two pairs of beautiful toasty warm mittens - made by my very own Grandma Katy. Thanks grandma!

Work in progress: tree skirt

I'm working on this.

So far I have completed this:

The red and green squares are made entirely of scraps from my scrap pile(s). It's neat to make a quilt (tree skirt) out of scraps that could have ended up in the garbage.

And in the process I created this fun mess of trimmings:

A new recipe and snow totals

Total rain fall = almost one inch
Total snow fall = over 9 inches
Total muscle soreness from shoveling the ice and snow = priceless

food that heals the body: Pumpkin Spice chocolate Chip Muffins

Sooooo good. yum. I maze one batch of these this morning (so I could give a few to my neighbor for helping us clear our driveway) and then I ate a few and brought a few to work and poof, I'm already down to four. I might have to make another batch soon. Get the (SUPER EASY) recipe here. I've been slowly moving my recipes over from the "old" site. They will now live at this site. Once the page is more complete I'll post a nice big link on this Bison Girl Blog site.

enjoy.

I'm already off work for today ... nice short snow day of work :)

First snow

If all goes as forecasted, we're in for one heck of a storm. We are in a blizzard warning but I guess you could call the weather right now, the "calm before the storm." We had some drizzly rain today and some fog ... but whoa is that going to change. Here's our forecast (late afternoon would be right now):

The tricky thing about this forecast is the rain/snow part. Rain on the ground will freeze if it gets too cold, which then will be ice. ack! ice. I hate driving on ice. Looks like I'm in for an interesting drive to work tomorrow. If we do get lots of snow (6-12 inches are forecasted) I promise I will take lots of photos, so check back. I can't wait to see what kind of weather I wake up to tomorrow.

If we do get all that snow and if it's really windy, we'll be in a blizzard. I've never been in a blizzard. If all goes right ... or I guess wrong, this could get interesting.

200 things

Which of these 200 things have you done? These make you think about life a bit. Some are unimportant, some are miracles in their simplicity. Some make you sad, some make you smile and many will bring back a memory of a time or moment you had forgotten.

This is not a "bucket list" ... just a list of 200 memories and happenings, some of which I have experienced (slept under the stars), some that I'd like to do someday (watch a meteor shower) and some that I have no desire to do (hold a tarantula).

Just a bit of fun and distraction on this election day.

1. Touched an iceberg
2. Slept under the stars
3. Been a part of a hockey fight
4. Changed a baby’s diaper
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Swam with wild dolphins
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a tarantula
10. Said “I love you” and meant it
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Stayed up all night long and watched the sun rise
15. Seen the Northern Lights
16. Gone to a huge sports game
17. Walked the stairs to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
19. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
20. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Bet on a winning horse
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Taken an ice cold bath
28. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Ridden a roller coaster
31. Hit a home run
32. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
33. Adopted an accent for fun
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Felt very happy about your life, even for just a moment
36. Loved your job 90% of the time
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Watched wild whales
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Gone on a midnight walk on the beach
41. Gone sky diving
42. Visited Ireland
43. Ever bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited India
45. Bench-pressed your own weight
46. Milked a cow
47. Alphabetized your personal files
48. Ever worn a superhero costume
49. Sung karaoke
50. Lounged around in bed all day
51. Gone scuba diving
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Done something you should regret, but don’t
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Been in a movie
60. Gone without food for 3 days
61. Made cookies from scratch
62. Won first prize in a costume contest
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Been in a combat zone
65. Spoken more than one language fluently
66. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone
67. Bounced a check
68. Read - and understood - your credit report
69. As an adult, played with a favorite childhood toy
70. Found out something significant that your ancestors did
71. Called or written your Congress person
72. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
73. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
74. Helped an animal give birth
75. Been fired or laid off from a job
76. Won money
77. Broken a bone
78. Ridden a motorcycle
79. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph
80. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
81. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
82. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
83. Eaten sushi
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read The Bible cover to cover
86. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
87. Gotten someone fired for their actions
88. Gone back to school
89. Changed your name
90. Caught a fly in the air with your bare hands
91. Eaten fried green tomatoes
92. Read The Iliad
93. Taught yourself an art from scratch
94. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
95. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
96. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
97. Been elected to public office
98. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
99. Had to visit someone in the hospital
100. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
101. Had a booth at a street fair
102. Dyed your hair
103. Been a DJ
104. Rocked a baby to sleep
105. Ever dropped a cat from a high place to see if it really lands on all four
106. Mowed a lawn
107. Made a showman
108. Rode the subway
109. Worn a mood ring
110. Ridden a horse
111. Carved an animal from a piece of wood or bar of soap
112. Cooked something and someone asked for the recipe
113. Buried a child
114. Gone to a Broadway (or equivalent to your country) play
115. Been inside the pyramids
116. Shot a basketball into a basket
117. Danced at a disco
118. Played in a band
119. Shot a bird
120. Gone to an arboretum
121. Tutored someone
122. Ridden a train
123. Brought an old fad back into style
124. Eaten caviar
125. Let a salesman talk you into something you didn’t need
126. Ridden a giraffe or elephant
127. Published a book
128. Pieced a quilt
129. Lived in an historic place
130. Acted in a play or performed on a stage
131. Asked for a raise
132. Made a hole-in-one
133. Gone deep sea fishing
134. Gone roller skating
135. Run a marathon
136. Learned to surf
137. Invented something
138. Flown first class
139. Spent the night in a 5-star luxury suite
140. Flown in a helicopter
141. Visited Africa
142. Sang a solo
143. Gone spelunking
144. Learned how to take a compliment
145. Written a love-story
146. Seen Michelangelo’s David
147. Had your portrait painted
148. Written a fan letter
149. Spent the night in something haunted
150. Owned a St. Bernard or Great Dane
151. Ran away
152. Learned to juggle
153. Been a boss
154. Sat on a jury
155. Lied about your weight
156. Gone on a diet
157. Found an arrowhead or a gold nugget
158. Written a poem
159. Carried your lunch in a lunchbox
160. Gotten food poisoning
161. Gone on a service, humanitarian or religious mission
162. Hiked the Grand Canyon
163. Sat on a park bench and fed the ducks
164. Gone to the opera
165. Gotten a letter from someone famous
166. Worn knickers
167. Ridden in a limousine
168. Attended the Olympics
169. Can hula or waltz
170. Read a half dozen Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys books
171. Been stuck in an elevator
172. Had a revelatory dream
173. Thought you might crash in an airplane
174. Had a song dedicated to you on the radio or at a concert
175. Saved someone’s life
176. Eaten raw whale
177. Know how to tat, smock or do needlepoint
178. Laughed till your side hurt
179. Straddled the equator
180. Taken a photograph of something other than people that is worth framing
181. Gone to a Shakespeare Festival
182. Sent a message in a bottle
183. Spent the night in a hostel
184. Been a cashier
185. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
186. Won a trophy
187. Donated blood or plasma
188. Built a camp fire
189. Kept a blog
190. Had hives
191. Worn custom made shoes or boots
192. Made a PowerPoint presentation
193. Taken a Hunter’s Safety Course
194. Served at a soup kitchen
195. Conquered the Rubik’s cube
196. Know CPR
197. Ridden in or owned a convertible
198. Found a long lost friend
199. Helped solve a crime
200. Shopped at a garage sale

Halloween eve

Pumpkins? check.

Carve the pumpkins? check.

Candy? check.

Halloween sugar cookies and popcorn balls? check. check. (thanks Grandma Irene)

Yep! We're ready for Halloween!

Be sure to take my candy survey (look up top, to the right).

I'll post the finished jack-o-lanterns tomorrow.

The start of something fabulous

This is my collection of fabulous Hawaiian prints. My mom picked them out and bought them for me a few years ago in Hawaii, I think she'd make a great quilter - check out these great fabrics! This one is my favorite:

I like how it's tropical and vintagey but not too loud.

Show and Tell

Show and tell day!

This quilt was on display where I work as part of a "The Other Work We Love," gallery display. I also was showing an apron and another, larger quilt.

It occurred to me that I haven't ever shown this quilt on my blog before. 

Here's the story:

This quilt was finished quite a few years ago - in 2005. I Made it with old family photos from my mom's mom's side. In fact, the center photo is one of my great grandparent's wedding photos - Helen and Carl Hoesel. It's one of my favorite photos - ever. I made this quilt for my grandma the summer of our annual family reunion. The blue represents the sky, the green the prairie and the photos make up the horizon – rolling just like the North Dakota prairie where they settled, a long time ago.

I'm starting anew quilt tonight! It's so darn exciting for me. I may even post a work in progress photo soon.

(click on photos to view them larger)

Neat stuff

Corey's grandpa Andy gave me a walking stick. This isn't just any walking stick! He hand-sanded the wood (many times) and varnished it himself. He also attached a metal plate toward the top (I chose the bison). It is very beautiful – I love all the knots and twists and turns in the wood. Thanks, grandpa Andy!

Here's what I worked on today - my grandma Katy's quilt. It's so pretty - lots of fall colors!

Milk ... it does a body good

I despise milk. I'll drink chocolate milk every now and then but I avoid white milk at all costs. I'll consume it if it's in food but I've never been the type to sit down and drink a tall glass of milk. I have milk in my cereal every morning ... but I use the spoon to strain the milk out of each bite. Yep, that's how much I avoid milk. ack. yuck.

So it was pure luck that the sample dude in the grocery store lured me to try a small taste of chocolate milk. I was pleasantly surprised at at the tastyness of it. I was even more impressed when he said the milk was from his farm, from his cows just a few miles east of town. How cool is that?! I was gosh darn impressed, I even sampled the white milk. I got it down without gagging - I was impressed with myself ... and the milk. It actually tasted good. 

The packaging is quite charming too. "Bessy's Best - Milked and bottled fresh at Bessy's family farm in Sterling, ND"

Have you seen this milk in your local grocery store? I'm curious ... let me know.

I should also mention that it is a "Pride of Dakota" product - made in North Dakota.

Boston Treasures

Like any vacation we've been on, Corey and I came home with some awesome souvenirs from Boston. In addition to the countless memories and thousands (yes, I said thousands) of photographs, we brought back some treasures in our suitcases. Above, from left: real Italian extra virgin olive oil from Boston's North End (little Italy); from the Harvard bookstore, "Make Way for Ducklings" children's book based in Boston; Corey's Red Sox game program; "The 100 Best Vacations to Enrich Your Life" book from the Boston Science Museum gift shop; "American Revolution" book (this one is Corey's) also from the Harvard bookstore; Boston Baked Beans (a 'welcome' gift from Jesse and Megan); Boston Duck Tour ticket stub; Red Sox ALCS game 5 (home game 3) ticket stub. 

What fun! I also bought a Boston Christmas ornament for our tree (below).

Boston Photos - Take II

Here's a link to our Boston Photos (the same ones that appear on the "old" site - but should be easier to view and comment on images). Look in the upper right hand corner for the "slideshow" button, then sit back and enjoy.

click here. (must be a "friend or family" member on Flickr)