tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31028038234911069162024-02-06T22:55:53.578-06:00Believe...simplifyAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158552293122204249noreply@blogger.comBlogger324125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102803823491106916.post-2537230735200337812014-04-20T20:32:00.001-05:002014-04-20T20:36:47.431-05:00A walkabout with my Olloclip<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div>First post in a very long time. <div>I love Spring, new grass, new buds, old stuff still on the ground waiting to be cleaned up. The fresh clean smell after a rain, the heavy, warm smell of dirt, when I dig it up to plant something pretty. The warm heat of the sun on my skin, and the cool breeze that comes with the blowing wind. It's just the best season of the year for me, not too hot, not too cold. Ripe with possibilities, growth and life.</div><div>Take a look at a few things I found in my yard.</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM9WJptm8gGVcrr8gsmXByapsavkV09Itq3sg8_9hvQTngA6HPcr1LAwULYSJlO9KNs9-xj2fueJGkPWzpuWYUPwoYMi-I9AK-m0LMw7loPn5hSXDBuxl0RjMomSYhYwt4tFwEY7J4lfJL/s640/blogger-image-1490980523.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM9WJptm8gGVcrr8gsmXByapsavkV09Itq3sg8_9hvQTngA6HPcr1LAwULYSJlO9KNs9-xj2fueJGkPWzpuWYUPwoYMi-I9AK-m0LMw7loPn5hSXDBuxl0RjMomSYhYwt4tFwEY7J4lfJL/s640/blogger-image-1490980523.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4fENHL1WyC33UtmMY01kyRTGm-QMHS1VYocdO_r1bo5fGU764jQAqPcXKV296_inOtOMTPFCBRkcO9IMpWcd5HXRAd_hhQtqpQvoPNlEcGNZ7eNO3uiYWTvph_ZerEKhCLJ3haBuqAeju/s640/blogger-image--1952155053.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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I'd be even happier if you leave me a comment.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158552293122204249noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102803823491106916.post-12882843333628496712013-11-02T16:24:00.001-05:002013-11-02T16:26:01.949-05:00September...<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">have been totally neglecting my blog, which seems pretty much the norm right now. I've never been very good at it, which might have something to do with me not having many followers, and that's okay, really. </span></div><div>I thought I might try to do a post from my phone, and I'll just post my #projectlife365 month of September, let's see how this goes.</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiQ_bKnIEw1PwFSsHdj_UJRcMUZ5yfqrRRpuImkqwpOEDiI7YL2MPm0tqPowl85HMi2RbCTslPCjJbcfNrWJ_K8buFSrOp7nd6tGChMlHnra6YwmdVmgaifw7V4ehyRGBU3Clor1dgienI/s640/blogger-image--530504194.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiQ_bKnIEw1PwFSsHdj_UJRcMUZ5yfqrRRpuImkqwpOEDiI7YL2MPm0tqPowl85HMi2RbCTslPCjJbcfNrWJ_K8buFSrOp7nd6tGChMlHnra6YwmdVmgaifw7V4ehyRGBU3Clor1dgienI/s640/blogger-image--530504194.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>Okay?</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to stop by...I really appreciate it. I'd be even happier if you leave me a comment.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158552293122204249noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102803823491106916.post-14347900648213747092013-09-02T21:49:00.000-05:002013-09-02T21:49:33.331-05:00Linked 2013 - Everyday Life<div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Everyday life</span> around here is pretty ho-hum, I sort of feel like I have lost my purpose in life now that my kids have left home to live their own lives, even though Andy is back in Minnesota and living with us. I really can't say it counts, because he is only staying until he gets caught up a bit, he stays in the new room downstairs and I rarely ever see him because he works so late. Not nearly enough for me to do to fulfill my Mom purpose.<br />
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Since Annie died, it's been even worse, because I lost my walking buddy. I walk with my hubby, but he's perfectly able to walk on his own without needing any help from me.</div>
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I work four days a week, I do most all of the mundane housekeeping chores and I do 90% of the flower gardening and zero percent of the vegetable gardening (I have to leave <i>something </i>for my hubby to do, right??)...oh, oh, I'm probably in trouble now ;-D<br />
So, what have I been doing everyday that doesn't involve my job and homestead upkeep?? <br />
I have been taking pictures.<br />
I have been taking LOTS of pictures.<br />
I always have my phone with me, so I always gave a camera with me, and with Projectlife365 on Instagram, I take at least one new picture each day, (yeah, right, one a day hahahahahahahahaha)<br />
and I am <span style="font-size: large;"><i>loving</i></span> it...<br />
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Stop by the blogs of these lovelies and check out their days.<br />
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<a href="http://www.thekelleysbaby.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Amanda</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><a href="http://www.knudson3.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Carla</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><a href="http://www.creativelivingbyhanne.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Hanne</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><a href="http://heathermoll.typepad.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank"><wbr></wbr>Heather</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><a href="http://www.rhondasteed.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Rhonda</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> <a href="http://www.jenndispirito.com/blog/">Jenn</a></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><a href="http://www.tmorrisphotography.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Tracey</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> <a href="http://rachelannrunnalls.blogspot.ca/">Rachel</a> </span><wbr style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></wbr><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">and </span><a href="http://www.tracy-larsen.com/blog" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Tracy</a></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to stop by...I really appreciate it. I'd be even happier if you leave me a comment.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158552293122204249noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102803823491106916.post-62475037960031323782013-08-27T10:49:00.001-05:002013-08-27T10:56:24.943-05:00Little green things...<div>
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David and I took a drive to Wisconsin to get a load of wood from my sister's cabin, on one of the hottest days of the year, that is the way we do things around here!<br />
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Once we were done, we got our feet wet and washed the grime off. There were a ton of little bluegills swimming around and lots of lilly pads and lake gunk. (I hate the feeling of slimey lake gunk). My sister just happened to have a pair of water shoes by the door that just happened to be my size! </div>
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We were sitting on the dock and noticed movement on the sand...Frogs!! I love frogs! One of them was quite proficient at 'not moving a muscle' because I was able to get my iPhone within inches of him.</div>
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I tried to touch him, but that was just too much, he hopped off into the water. </div>
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We were planning to stay a few days, but with temps in the mid 90s and only cooling to mid 80s at night and high humidity...well, all I can say is, 'I'm a weenie!'</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to stop by...I really appreciate it. I'd be even happier if you leave me a comment.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158552293122204249noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102803823491106916.post-37756011759666179432013-07-25T23:42:00.001-05:002013-07-26T09:57:27.825-05:00Linked 2013 - Me...<div dir="ltr">
Before I attempt to say a few things about me, I would like to thank those of you that left condolences on my last post, they meant the world to me, and those of you that did not leave a comment, thank you too, I know who you are :-) <u>and if you haven't read it and you want a good cry... </u></div>
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This is a difficult post to write, I rarely ever talk about myself. I've heard that everyone likes to talk about themselves, but in my case, that would be wrong.</div>
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This is my second attempt at this post, so, here goes nothin'..<br />
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I was born April 18, 1956 in Minneapolis, MN, so yeah, that makes me old enough to be your mother! <br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">eatyourvegetables brushyourteethbeforebed sayyourprayers</span><br />
I'm an introvert - big time<br />
I sang in my highschool choir and now sing in my church choir<br />
I listen to music in my car, but I rarely listen to it at home<br />
I hum the <b>same</b> tune Every time I start working, or cleaning, or gardening...it.is.so.very.very.annoying, and I can't stop, I don't even know what I'm humming.<br />
These things make me giddy with excitement:<br />
Universal Studios<br />
The air show we saw in Chicago, three years </div>
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The hospital helicopter taking off or landing<br />
When rescue vehicles sound their sirens during our city parade<br />
Fireworks<br />
I love jeans and sweatshirt weather<br />
My signature style is a tank top under a short thin sweater with jeans or pants<br />
I love flip flops<br />
The house I live in used to be my grandparent's house. We remodeled it with a family room, second floor and a three season <u>porch</u><br />
I have lots of flowers to take care of<br />
I am Mom to Kira, Andrew and Ethan<br />
I am wife to David</div>
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I have one grandpup, one grandkitty, and a grandsnake <br />
My first tattoo was done when I was 49<br />
My kids think it's cool that I'm not computer illiterate<br />
I love to draw animal portraits in graphite and flowers in colored pencil<br />
Obsessed is probably an understatement when it comes to my camera(phone) and my Canon 7D *sigh<br />
I look at things differently since Instagram :-) <br />
Fibromyalgia has been my constant companion since 2002...what a stupid thing, no one knows how or why one gets it, but I constantly hurt in specific places<br />
I try very hard to eat gluten free because I've read that it could help with the pain, and it really does<br />
I also try to avoid high fructose corn syrup and ready made dinners<br />
Aspartame will never again touch my lips, or chocolate<br />
I love frozen coffee drinks, especially Dunn Bros. non-fat pumpkin icecremas<br />
I am obsessed with eventually making a tasty, crisp gluten free pizza crust <br />
The last time I had my hair highlighted was December 2011, my gray hair is actually coming in white, I like white<br />
My eyesight is horrible, I've worn glasses since 5th grade and my eyes are too dry to wear contacts anymore - damn<br />
I love action movies with lots of explosions<br />
I would love to be a special effects person, or a set designer or an architect<br />
I would Not be a medical lab tech if I had my life to live over, not a bad job, just not what I'm interested in<br />
I used to smoke<br />
One of my ears is double pierced<br />
I had braces<br />
I get monthly massages<br />
I had a drug during labor with Kira that pretty much knocked me out, I hated it<br />
My other two were natural, no drugs or epidurals or anything else<br />
I could be the woman that goes off on her own, squats behind a rock and has her baby<br />
At my hospital, they use both versed and fentanyl for a Colonoscopy, I found out the hard way that fentanyl makes me throw up<br />
I was given an anti nausea medication during my eye surgery after I told them the versed and fentanyl they were going to use makes me sick<br />
I've had a sleep <u>study</u><br />
I've had eight cats and eight dogs, two of the cats I still have<br />
I'm not sure how long I'll last without a dog<br />
I love soaking in my claw foot tub<br />
I love a good thunderstorm<br />
If we ever move, it will be to the country with open rolling hills where I can see beautiful sunrises, sunsets and watch thunderstorms roll in</div>
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I don't have a dishwasher</div>
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I try to go for a daily walk</div>
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When a greeting card makes me cry, I know it's the one to buy</div>
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I can't watch those ASPCA comercials, even with the sound muted</div>
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I cry watching the St. Jude Hospital show</div>
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I like dark colors, Kira calls them my comfort colors</div>
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I'm not a girly girl, nor have I ever been<br />
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Age is just a number...I do not feel my age (I may look it, but I don't feel it)<br />
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I've Linked up with the following talented ladies for a monthly post...<br />
click on their name and see who they are. <br />
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<a href="http://www.thekelleysbaby.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Amanda</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><a href="http://www.knudson3.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Carla</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><a href="http://www.creativelivingbyhanne.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Hanne</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><a href="http://heathermoll.typepad.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank"><wbr></wbr>Heather</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><a href="http://www.rhondasteed.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Rhonda</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> <a href="http://www.jenndispirito.com/blog/">Jenn</a></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><a href="http://www.tmorrisphotography.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Tracey</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> <a href="http://rachelannrunnalls.blogspot.ca/">Rachel</a> </span><wbr style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></wbr><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">and </span><a href="http://www.tracy-larsen.com/blog" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Tracy</a><br />
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<b><i>peace, love and happiness to all</i></b><br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to stop by...I really appreciate it. I'd be even happier if you leave me a comment.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158552293122204249noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102803823491106916.post-33497929926352527212013-07-17T12:48:00.003-05:002013-07-26T00:57:04.268-05:00Annie Belle<div dir="ltr">
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Tuesday, June 25, Kira had a bunch of friends over to eat, talk and play games before she headed back to Arizona and Annie was soaking up all the attention from these dog lovers. Wednesday, David drove me to work so Kira could use my car, and when he picked me up, he mentioned that he didn't think the Metacam we were giving Annie for arthritis was working very well because she didn't want to get up and go outside in the morning. <br />
When we got home, I noticed Annie was limping a bit and favoring her right leg, but I just figured she twisted it a little running after a squirrel (this has happened in the past). </div>
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Kira wanted to eat at <i>Pig Ate My Pizza </i>for dinner (where Andy works), so we all hopped into my car, which I hadn't driven much in the last week so Kira could, so as soon as I started backing out of the driveway, I could feel something wasn't right and after a few blocks of jerking and thunking as the car shifted, I knew it had to be the clutch. I've had several transmissions fail on me, but this was a little different and it smelled like a burning clutch (had one of those go out on me also). Well, we decided we had to turn around and see if we could make it back home when a msg popped up on my dashboard that said the transmission was overheating and I needed to wait 10 minutes for it to cool down. We sat and watched the msg count down, then Kira suggested they get out and push it home, as we were just a few blocks away. The msg finally said it was cool enough to try to drive and I was able to crawl home. I joked that when I was younger, if something happened with my car, one of my animals would get sick too. It never failed, car pukes, trip to the vet. Dog needs ear surgery, alternator dies. <br />
Anyway, we get David's truck and continued on to dinner, which was delicious and a lot of FUN.
We're now back home and Kira's friend is over to re-color her hair, so we're sitting in the family room, waiting for the color to set and Annie hobbles over to me, favoring her right leg. I start at her paw and work my way up trying to see if there is a specific sore spot and get no reaction out of her. </div>
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I get to her armpit and feel a little lump that I was sure was a wood tick...I don't do wood ticks...I call out, Daviddaviddavidwoodtick. He feels where I have my fingers, lays her down and plucks off what turns out to be a scab. Then we notice she has a half dollar size spot on her armpit that is missing all it's fur. I get a cloth to clean it with and as I was cleaning, it starts to bleed. My first thought was that a tumor had broken open, because the skin that should have been pink, was a dark red. We gave each other "that look", and decided that we would take her in first thing in the morning. </div>
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Thursday morning comes and Annie is still with us, but favoring her right leg even more, but still able to hobble out to go potty. She didn't want any breakfast, except for water. The vet office opens at 8:00 a.m., and when I called, I told them I needed to bring my dog in because she had an open sore on her armpit, of course the only appointment they had was at 4:00 p.m., so I asked if I could drop her off and they could look at her when they had time. We had to wait around for a tow truck for my car (the one that conveniently puked the evening before), so we weren't able to get her there until after 9:30 a.m. She hobbled her way into the office, onto the scale (she had lost a couple pounds since her visit 3 weeks ago) and then into the exam room. The tech took over from there, letting us know they would call when she was finished. What happened next is the first odd thing in a list of odd things that happened over the next few days. Annie<b> </b>loved people, she<b> always</b> went off with the techs or vet, it was as if I wasn't even in the room, they took hold of her leash and she followed along, wagging her tail all the way...only this time, the tech took Annie's leash and instead of following her, she turned toward us and moved to leave. I told her she needed to go with the tech, and I'd see her later, and we left. The way she turned to leave with us really stuck with me because it was so unusual for her, and I even repeated it to David, who had witnessed it, but I really wasn't too worried...yet. </div>
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We then drove to the Ford dealer my car had been towed to, got that all settled and my cell phone rang, it was the vet, asking for permission to take some xrays. There was a lot of bruising in her shoulder area and they thought maybe something had punctured her and was stuck. We said to go ahead. </div>
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This day happened to be Kira's last full day in Minnesota and we didn't feel like doing anything big, but we both wanted to see <i>Ironman</i> so after stopping for a coffee, we drove to AMC Theater in Maple Grove and were thoroughly entertained, so much so that I pretty much forgot that I gave the vet my cell phone number and had turned my phone off during the movie. The guilt just slammed down on me when I saw there was a message from them waiting for me. Thank goodness it said that she was ready to be picked up, and that is exactly what we did. <br />
I never did talk to the vet, only the tech and she told me they thought it was probably a spider bite and gave me some pain meds and antibiotics and said to make another appointment for a week to check on her. She didn't look any better and was really favoring her foot now, so Kira picked her up and carried her to the truck. <br />
Besides her full time zookeeper job at the Phoenix Zoo, Kira also works at PetCo and she suggested we stop at the one just down the block from the vet and she would use her discount to get some wet food for Annie to take her pills with. I really just wanted to get her home, but it made sense to stop now. Annie was very uncomfortable, trying to position herself better in the back seat of the truck, but Kira was in and out in no time and we were soon home. Kira carried her out of the truck, let her potty and carried her into the house, this is now about 5:15 p.m.<br />
Kira got her food ready, David gave her an antibiotic pill and laid her on a comforter in the family room while I started to make us some salad for dinner. At this time, I was blindly under the impression that she just needed the antibiotics and pain meds, not that she was in danger of dying, so I was chopping lettuce and talking to Kira, when we heard a cry from the family room...(the second odd thing to happen) we looked at each other and I said, "Annie doesn't cry, she rarely ever whines". It was an eerie sound. <br />
Kira brought her food and water to her, but she wouldn't eat or drink, so I got some ice cubes and fed them to her, she was really thirsty and greedily chewed them up.<br />
I didn't want to bug her and make her move too much, so I sat on the floor with her while I ate my salad. I noticed a streak of blood running down her leg, which should not have been happening, so I got the cleaning solution the vet gave me, and when I lifted her leg to clean the blood and sore, I noticed it was now the size of my palm and the spot that was bleeding was a new spot. I realized then that I was trying hard to ignore my initial gut feeling...this tissue was dying. The fur was gone on the sore and the skin was mottled black, blue, and dark red where it should have been pink. <br />
I asked David to move her to where I was sitting, because she was trying to get to me, (why I didn't move to her is beyond me, it just never occurred to me) so he laid her down next to me, on her sore side ( this didn't occur to him either). She was so uncomfortable, she tried to find a position that was better and ended up lifting her weight off her leg. Her leg started bleeding again, and she was half on me, so David got the solution. He was gently wiping down her leg, when he noticed her fur was coming off with the cotton ball. He ended up wiping off a section six inches long and nearly two inches wide. He then moved her to my other side to get her weight off her sore leg. I was petting her and talking to her and trying to calm her panting. She was being so good, then she let out another cry. OMG, what a sound that was. A combination of a dog whine and a child cry...I don't ever want to hear that sound again. I said "we have to take her to the emergency vet, this is not a spider bite, her fur is calling off, her skin is black, it's rotting:. This was about 7:30 p.m. and of course the vet is closed, so our only choice is the emergency vet, and anyone who has ever had to take their fur baby knows the first thing that goes through your mind is $$ signs. I feel bad thinking that way, but it's the truth and I'm not leaving it out. We had two choices, the Coon <u>Rapids</u> emergency vet or the University of Minnesota emergency vet...we chose U/MN, because if they didn't know what was wrong with her, nobody would. David called and told them what was going on and they asked how soon we could get there. <br />
The time must now be about 8:30 p.m. or so, I ease out from under Annie's head to get ready to go. </div>
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I stick the medication she was put on in a ziplock bag, grab my purse and her leash. I pick up my cell phone and notice the battery is on yellow, I ask David if he has a phone charger in his truck and the answer was "No"...my charger is in my car that is in the shop, I consider grabbing the wall charger but David had already taken Annie to the truck, so I end up leaving my phone (with it's camera) at home and run to the truck. The drive to the U/MN in St. Paul (about 18 miles) was a very quiet drive. I was in the back with her and she didn't move at all except for her panting. <br />
We drive up, park and as David is carrying her in, the doors magically open, the techs were waiting for us. They asked if she could walk and when we said no, they went for a cart, but decided to just let us just take her into the exam room. I gave the ziplock bag of meds I brought along to one of the techs while David laid Annie on the table. I joined them just as the vet was lifting up Annie's leg to get a look at the sore and I heard her say something like "oh, that's what I thought". On some level, that's pretty much all I needed to hear, but outwardly, I still had hope, I mean, she was just running around at Kira's party. </div>
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Annie was in their capable hands now, so we left the exam room to register and wait. Now is the third odd thing that happened, David was already out of the room and when I got to the door, I turned back to take another look, Annie had mustered up the energy to turn her head back and look at me, she looked right at me, right.at.me...and it just about killed me.<br />
While we were still registering, the vet came out and said she wanted to start fluids and draw blood and that we were looking at an additional $500, was that OK? I said "Yes, do it" to which David mumbled something about money. I waited until we were alone to jump all over that comment, even though I understood where he was coming from. We waited for probably 1/2 an hour before the vet came out and asked us to join her in a private room...oh-oh. She was so kind, she asked us to tell her what all had happened, then she told us what she knew. Annie had a raging infection, a temp of 107° (should be 99°) and necromizing fasciitis. I started crying and she asked if either of us had any medical knowledge and I could only nod my head yes. She explained that it is the same bacteria that causes strep throat and because of a scratch or bug bite, this bacteria got into her and took over, killing the healthy flesh. She explained that they could go in and try to remove the dead tissue, but it was an extensive surgery that most likely would involve more than one surgery and the amputation of her leg...oh, and it would cost between $7000 - $10,000. I just shook my head and said no, we were not going to do that. Possibly if she was younger and it was on her foot and not in her armpit, I might have considered it, but how much can be cut out and off and still allow one to live. Annie was in great pain and we needed to make a decision. I've been in this sucky position more than once, and the vets always have a look on their faces that project their feelings. The decision was an easy, difficult one. I most certainly did Not want to kill my dog, but I knew that to try and keep her alive, just for my sake, would have been horribly mean, so we decided to help her over the rainbow bridge. The vet's face relaxed with relief. We then had to decide on private cremation, another $200, group cremation which is free, but yuk, I didn't want that, and a necropsy, which would be free and might help them figure out why this happened to her. We figured that this was such a strange and rare thing to happen, that necropsy was the only way to go, if this had to happened to my furbaby, then we wanted it to possibly help another furbaby. She told us she thought we had made the best decision, then showed us to a quiet room while they got her ready. She kept say "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry" which did little at the time, but I'm greatful for now. <br />
They brought Annie in on a wagon, she was pretty much out of it because of additional pain meds, but we were able to talk to her, apologize to her, pet her, kiss her, take some pictures, cry and realize that we were being selfish in keeping her with us any longer. She was hurting, even drugged up like she was, the pain still came through. This was all so surreal, we were having a hard time grasping what was going on, it was all happening too fast.</div>
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We then decided we were ready, so I pushed the button and the vet came in. She had already explained what she was going to do, and this wasn't our first <u>time</u>, so we just held her and whispered love to her and...it was all over.<br />
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I'm so thankful for these vets that help our furbabies over the rainbow bridge, but it must tear at their heart each time they draw that pink fluid up into the syringe, and in Annie's case, the only other choice we had was to let her suffer, this was not something she would have recovered from, not even for $10,000.00. <br />
We stayed in the quiet room while they took her out and made a clay impression of her paw for us. She wasn't coming home with us so this was going to be the only thing we had. Thankfully, we didn't have to wait very long before they brought us her paw print. We got to the check out desk and I just left David to pay the bill, while I walked out to the truck to cry in private. I honestly don't remember what we said on the ride home, we were in shock, but I do remember we were almost home when I realized we had left the ziplock bag of medication there. We wanted it so we could maybe return it, we had only used one dose, but we weren't going to go back that night, tomorrow would be fine, and called them to let them know we would be back the next day. </div>
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Kira had stayed home to wash clothes and pack for her flight back to Arizona and she was waiting by the door when we walked in. Her eyes went from my face to down where Annie should have been, then back to my face. "What?????" was all she got out before we both started sobbing.<br />
The rest of the night was spent in disbelief, letting my boys know, googling <i><a href="http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/necrotizing-fasciitis-flesh-eating-bacteria-topic-overview">necrotizing fasciitis</a></i> crying and finally sleep.<br />
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Our plan for the next day was to go to the MN zoo then I would drop her off at the Humphrey terminal plus I had to pick up the medication. Kira thought I would have a better chance of finding the U/MN vet clinic if we went there first, instead of me trying to find it going backwards.<br />
(now happens odd thing #4) We get there with no problem and the first parking spot I see wasn't easy to get into because the car backing up was in my way, so I drove to the end of the lot and as I was pulling into the spot, I looked to my left and at the other end of the lot was a woman with two collies! I don't know how common collies are in other states, but they are not common in MN. I turned off the car, jumped out and found they walk fast, they were now directly behind me, so I went right up to the woman and said "Can I pet your collies?" She said "Of course." Being an introvert, this is not something I normally do, I tend to avoid people. <br />
The woman was very nice and the dogs were beautiful. One had the black saddle and the other looked just like Annie. Kira joined us and we chatted about collies, I told her about Annie, she told us the one that looked like Annie was her foster dog and she told me she's with MWCR Minnesota Wisconsin Collie Rescue, (this was the Rescue site I was looking at before I found Annie). She said there was always a need for foster parents, and we talked a bit about me possibly fostering...hmmm. The dark saddle dog had an appt for acupuncture so we parted ways, she walked towards the clinic, we walked towards the car, the Annie look-a-like followed us. <br />
I can not tell you how much better I felt after this. Kira and I both think it was Annie's doing, she wanted me to know she was OK, and to help me not hurt so bad. <br />
We happily went on to see the zoo and I dropped her off at the airport and I finally made it home, through the beginning of rush hour traffic and road construction, only taking me three times longer than it should have. <br />
Odd thing #5 happened Sunday night. I stayed up late and as I was settling down in bed, I was facing the center and I was saying a prayer for Annie, telling her again that I'm sorry and that I loved her and that I hoped she was OK, when she appeared in the room, behind me, next to the bed, I could hear her panting and knew she was smiling. Believe this or not, but she let me know that she was OK, she was in a good place, and she was happy. This just melted my heart, I was smiling ear to ear. <br />
I know she's moved on now, because I don't feel her anymore. I can think real hard and imagine her, but it isn't the same as that night.<br />
Life is moving on and I can talk about her without blubbering and I hope she will pop back for a bit when we're ready to find another furbaby.<br />
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R.I.P. </div>
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12/12/2003 - 06/27/2013</div>
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Annie Belle </div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to stop by...I really appreciate it. I'd be even happier if you leave me a comment.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158552293122204249noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102803823491106916.post-81186485822347488752013-07-02T22:29:00.002-05:002013-07-02T22:29:59.847-05:00Linked Rivers - June 2013I keep meaning to take a drive and get some pictures of the Mississippi River from a different location, but for some reason, life keeps getting busier when I actually have less to do...maybe it has something to do with getting OLDer. I'll try to convince David to leave the wood cutting (even though I really want him to clean that up) and go for a drive, do some sightseeing and have a picnic, heck, I'll even let him stop and fish!<br />
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The following pictures are near where I live and often walk. The river is still quite high from all the rain we've been having, but I noticed today that it has gone down about 8 inches since this last Thursday. It really doesn't take very long to recede when we go for a couple weeks with no rain.<br />
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These are Not Annie's paw prints...I have one of hers in plaster. One day I'll have another dog and we'll go walking by the river and leave our own paw/foot prints, but for now, I'll enjoy these.<br />
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Visit my friend <a href="http://www.creativelivingbyhanne.blogspot.com/">Hanne</a><br />
(she's all the way over the ocean in Italy!!!)<br />
We're doing a monthly river link-up.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to stop by...I really appreciate it. I'd be even happier if you leave me a comment.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158552293122204249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102803823491106916.post-53408508921917943272013-06-29T19:03:00.000-05:002013-06-29T19:03:23.374-05:00Linked 2013 - ReflectionPlease excuse me for not participating last month, my family life is pretty boring and my imagination was lacking (poor excuse, I know) and I'm late this month because my daughter was here for a visit this past week, then on our way to dinner Wednesday, the transmission on my car went out, and last and worst, that same evening we noticed that Annie (my collie) was still favoring her right leg...<br />
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and, I think I will leave Annie's story for a separate post.<br />
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I was thinking of reflecting about life, but right now that just takes too much concentration, and that is something that isn't working too well at the moment, so I've got the other reflection for you to view. <br />
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Stop by my friends blogs and see their reflections...</div>
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<a href="http://www.thekelleysbaby.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Amanda</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><a href="http://www.knudson3.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Carla</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><a href="http://www.creativelivingbyhanne.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Hanne</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><a href="http://heathermoll.typepad.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank"><wbr></wbr>Heather</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><a href="http://www.rhondasteed.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Rhonda</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> <a href="http://www.jenndispirito.com/blog/">Jenn</a></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><a href="http://www.tmorrisphotography.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Tracey</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> <a href="http://rachelannrunnalls.blogspot.ca/">Rachel</a> </span><wbr style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></wbr><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">and </span><a href="http://www.tracy-larsen.com/blog" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Tracy</a><br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to stop by...I really appreciate it. I'd be even happier if you leave me a comment.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158552293122204249noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102803823491106916.post-33114588046731670142013-06-05T01:11:00.001-05:002013-06-05T01:11:51.941-05:00Linked - Rivers MayWe finally got Spring here in Minnesota...it was a long time coming, and everything is all lush and green now. Of course it happens to be raining at least half of each week, which sort of helps with the lush and green part.<br />
I really shouldn't complain, because the weather can abruptly change and throw us into a drought, so I'll just be happy with the rain and gloom and depression that comes with the lack of sunshine.<br />
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anywho...I took my weekly river pictures with my phone<br />
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This is as high as the river got before it started to recede, but with all the rain, it came back up again.</div>
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I decided to move on down river and take some pictures from a place called Mill City Ruins, right in the city.</div>
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I love wandering around, looking at the river, the ruins and all the different architecture in the buildings and bridges. There is everything from very, very old and abandoned, to old and renovated and very new and modern. Even the bridges are of different architectural design. And I have to admit, people watching is fabulous, never a dull moment!</div>
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I took this one from the bridge, looking down at the water...you can just see the tip of my foot.<br />
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These are some of the buildings on the bank of the river. Above is the Guthrie Theater, which looks totally different than the original one, which was a few miles away.<br />
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Two shots of a ruin building and renovated condominiums...I would Love to live here, but it's just a tad bit pricey for me.</div>
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Above is the street side of the Guthrie Theater, and below is a cool reflection of the </div>
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Gold Medal Flour sign.</div>
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And a last one from a mile or so upriver, this is where the Mississippi River Rats practice their synchronized water skiing.</div>
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Stop on over at <a href="http://www.creativelivingbyhanne.blogspot.com/">Hanne's</a> blog, we're Linking up monthly to share "Our rivers" with you.</div>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to stop by...I really appreciate it. I'd be even happier if you leave me a comment.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158552293122204249noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102803823491106916.post-16075663734760725972013-05-01T21:52:00.000-05:002013-05-01T22:03:46.741-05:00Linked - Rivers AprilWow, April has come and gone already. Time seems to move so much faster the older I get.<br />
Because of our lovely Spring weather this year "snort" there still hasn't been much change in the Mississippi River, at least not where I live.<br />
It has been steadily rising, but not yet flooding any of the markers we watch.<br />
Our biggest marker for how high the river is getting is a fishing pier near Hwys 94/694<br />
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The water usually comes up over the top of the pier and floods the parking lot. yay I'm keeping track of it though, it's strange the things I find interesting and stimulating (I always liked going to the Emergency Department to draw blood when a trauma came in too).<br />
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I guess I never knew I could see three of the bridges from the walking path, maybe because there used to be a LOT more trees down here, more likely I'm just a lot more aware now that I'm taking pictures everyday.<br />
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This island used to be full of trees that were full of Heron nests...but no longer, some of the Herons relocated south and some relocated north to Coon Rapids. This rookery was so nice to watch because it was so close to the shore.<br />
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We decided to walk a different part of the river this week and went up to the Coon Rapids Dam. I don't think it's nearly as pretty up there, but then I don't live there, so I'm not partial to it. It's much flatter than by me, but it does have this dam, which was pretty cool and there are two Heron rookeries.</div>
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When I ran down to the river this last Sunday, in between spurts of rain, I saw these big puffy clouds and couldn't resist a few pictures of them.<br />
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Then there was this pretty rainbow...look how high the water is already. It will get higher, I will bet just about anything on it.<br />
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My friend<span style="color: #0b5394;"> </span><a href="http://www.creativelivingbyhanne.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Hanne</span></a> and I are doing a monthly Linked river post...stop by and see her river...she's in Italy!<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to stop by...I really appreciate it. I'd be even happier if you leave me a comment.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158552293122204249noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102803823491106916.post-51093693549394303852013-04-28T22:22:00.001-05:002013-04-28T22:22:41.391-05:00Linked - SimpleI thought this word would be easy, until I started to think of pictures to go with the word, that was when my mind sort of shut down. I couldn't get past the word Simple and just a tiny bit of an idea. I ended up taking a breath and thinking of things that gave me simple pleasure, then I was on a roll.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">sunsets</span><br />
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cherry and spoon with the minneapolis skyline<br />
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amazing sunset bursts on a drive home<br />
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rolling hills of St. Croix Vineyard<br />
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the Lowry bridge<br />
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flowers..anykind will do<br />
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big cats roaring...he was Not happy<br />
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eagles, I haven't been able to get a really good picture of my eagles in the wild, so this will have to do<br />
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gibbons, especially when they do their screaming call<br />
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sunrises, I see the most amazing sunrises from the parking ramp at work</div>
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Check out what Simple means to these fabulous ladies...they all got theirs done on time...not me though!</div>
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<a href="http://www.thekelleysbaby.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Amanda</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">, </span><a href="http://www.knudson3.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Carla</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">, </span><a href="http://www.creativelivingbyhanne.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Hanne</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">, </span><a href="http://heathermoll.typepad.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank"><wbr></wbr>Heather</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">, </span><a href="http://www.rhondasteed.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Rhonda</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">,</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><a href="http://www.jenndispiritophotography.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">J<wbr></wbr>enn</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">, </span><a href="http://www.tmorrisphotography.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Tracey</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><wbr style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></wbr><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">and </span><a href="http://www.tracy-larsen.com/blog" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Tracy</a><br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to stop by...I really appreciate it. I'd be even happier if you leave me a comment.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158552293122204249noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102803823491106916.post-60483571158396633112013-04-05T07:18:00.001-05:002013-04-05T07:23:55.122-05:00Walking...<div><p>A few more pictures by the river, taken with my phone.</p>
<br/><img src='http://lh4.ggpht.com/-uZNTw8hJriM/UV7CGYhYx6I/AAAAAAAAS74/77MZFmu0CEk/IMAG3907.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh5.ggpht.com/-Q1Wzrtj1yec/UV7CHFPuG_I/AAAAAAAAS8A/zlT_kHSbvT4/IMAG3902.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh6.ggpht.com/-IggfPbhiWRM/UV7CIV3CHNI/AAAAAAAAS8I/cySTiJ_JtrA/IMAG3901.png' /><br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMZAR2-w5xw5mOkXSmR2Xwao6U8nFSgP-paK9XTPnrk43dpnUAWhUo1ZMizXOd9NnWq7njb_Wx0sklgJ6lQNEv5W10DYBUrcf_Fxv39epphqZKAZwa8C07KY_XlRKwAlel83t1FRfkDStG/' /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to stop by...I really appreciate it. I'd be even happier if you leave me a comment.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158552293122204249noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102803823491106916.post-22590763205035354842013-04-03T06:12:00.000-05:002013-04-03T06:12:56.409-05:00Linked Rivers, Mississippi - Arno March 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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All of the following pictures were taken while on our nearly nightly walks by the river.<br />
The <a href="http://www.threeriversparks.org/parks/north-mississippi-park.aspx">Three River's Park District</a> has miles of paved bike and walking paths that I feel we are fortunate to be able to use. Years ago, before the construction of Hwy 94, there were private homes, and 2 hotels built on the steep banks of the Mississippi.<br />
I remember driving Lyndale every Sunday to and from church, and waiting for just the right moment to be able to see a small valley of Iris. We marveled over the beauty of all those flowers and who it was that grew and tenderly cared for them. We met Laura years later because of the garden we were trying to get started on our front bank. She was out for a walk, we were probably weeding and she stopped to say Hi and talk flowers and one thing led to another...we still have some of the Iris she gave us. When the homes were demolished, the planners chose to keep some plants and trees that were already established, and Laura had a Magnolia tree that was thoughtfully left in peace. Right now, it is once again loaded with little furry buds just waiting for the right time to burst open and reveal a beautiful white flower.<br />
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Native grasses were planted in place of one of the hotels (the scary one) and something I would call a water garden (my hubby and I were having a discussion about whether it was or not). My daughter and I saw tadpoles and frogs in the water there when it was just made, and I'm sure there still are, but now it's so established, it's hard to tell, and I for one do Not care for woodticks, so I'm not taking a chance of walking through the tall grass just to get a peek at a frog, nor do I want to pick a tick off Annie (after it's been on awhile and is huge and grey and disgusting).<br />
The grasses are gorgeous in the summer, but I think they have a lot to offer in the winter too.<br />
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The following are of two different sites taken on March 3, 2013</div>
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It's not very interesting in the late winter, nothing really is though at that time in Minnesota. The colors are brown, varying shades of brown, but still brown. Yawn!</div>
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I keep waiting for the huge ice chunks to float down, but I've only seen a few last week...I'm certain they will be showing up any time now (my husband disagrees with me).</div>
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We did have one really exciting thing happen, because neither of us remember seeing these here before, Trumpeter Swans! We took a little drive up to Monticello last year to see the swans that hang out by the power plant up there and that was amazing...there were soooo many, but my normally very bird aware hubby doesn't remember seeing any here either. We counter six in all and are assuming they were all pairs.</div>
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I do not have a very high powered telephoto lens yet and I apparently am unable to hold still enough to take a clear picture (great camera.great lens.too cold.dog leash on my arm.heart beats to hard...and that's all the excuses I can come up with)</div>
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They put in some storm drainage holding ponds, so after a good storm, we hightail it down to the park and see how much water is being held...ladies with small children...see what you have to look forward to when they have flown the coop??? Excitement! snort</div>
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My eagles! Yes, I have claimed them because I don't think anyone else could possibly get as excited as I do when I see them, even though I see people standing on the trail with their hand shading their eyes as they stare mesmerized by one soaring overhead. </div>
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We've seen at least two adults and two adolescents. </div>
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I was fortunate to have my camera with me this day instead of just my phone, and I was still a ways away when I spotted them, and I quickly turned on my camera, took off the lens cap and started to say a little prayer that they would stay put until I got at least one shot of them.</div>
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I got about 1/2 a mile further down and one of the youngsters soared right over my head. I am a slow reactor and as I first spotted him, instead of reading my camera, which I should have left on in the first place, I dropped my jaw and made giddy noises, but thankfully, I was able to get a few shots of him.</div>
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March 17, 2013</div>
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No noticeable change</div>
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Every evening at dinnertime, flocks and flocks of crows fly south. They remind me of swarms of locusts.</div>
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The following were from our Easter Sunday walk and it was SUNNY, such a nice change.<br />
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Our son Ethan has joint custody of Kilo, (he and a female friend of his used to be roomies and decided to get a rescue dog. Kilo lives with my son, but has regular visits with his Mom)<br />
Please ignore the nasty looking prong collar, I know this goes against manymanymanymany people, but we've been using them for ever and they Work! And we have never harmed one of our furballs.</div>
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This is as close as I was allowed to get to this Great Horned owl before he got irritated with me an flew off.</div>
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My friend <a href="http://www.creativelivingbyhanne.blogspot.com/">Hanne</a> and I both live and walk near rivers so we decided to do a linked series, hop on over and take a look at her first river installment.<br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to stop by...I really appreciate it. I'd be even happier if you leave me a comment.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158552293122204249noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102803823491106916.post-7996802567574590462013-03-29T21:51:00.001-05:002013-03-29T21:54:08.212-05:00Linked 2013 - (Furry) FacesIt's amazing the things animal lovers will put up with to share their space with furballs.<br />
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hair<br />
slobber<br />
bad breath<br />
drool<br />
snot<br />
sneezing<br />
weeping eyes<br />
cauliflower ears<br />
chronic ear infections<br />
growling<br />
litterbox cleaning<br />
sampling from the litter box<br />
poop pick-up<br />
emergency vet bills<br />
greyhound teeth (syndrome)<br />
cuddles<br />
warmth<br />
friendship<br />
walking buddy<br />
smiles<br />
kisses<br />
barking...nonstop<br />
incontinence<br />
puking<br />
hairballs<br />
garden digging<br />
dirt<br />
wet dog smell<br />
cat toenails - ouch<br />
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I can't remember a time when there wasn't at least one furball sharing my space, except for a short time when I lived in an apartment.<br />
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This is Annie Belle, an eight year old rough coat collie with one blue eye, one brown eye and a very long snout, longer than what is normal I think. She has this habit of staring at me, just like the picture above. Every evening, she sits in front of my husband and stares at him, while Oliver, our orange tabby with the snotty, sneezing nose, that showed up in our yard three years ago, lies on his chest. He likes to have his face nearly touching our face and he uses his paw to touch our face and mouth (the yucky part, because I Know where those paws have been). He absolutely will Not just quietly lay on my lap, that is simply way too far away from my face, and I won't put up with him being that close to my face, but my husband and sons will, so he doesn't pester me as much, and I don't mind, because that's just a little too much fur, a little too close.<br />
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These two have a very strange relationship, we think, for a cat and dog. They groom each other's faces and necks. Oliver uses his paw to get Annie's face into the position he wants, then proceeds to lick her snout. Annie uses her long snout to be able to get into the nooks and crannies of Oliver's neck, gently biting his neck. He rubs his face all over hers, and when they notice us watching them, the looks on their faces is just a little guilty, like they were caught doing something they weren't supposed to.<br />
Honestly, you'd have to see it to believe me. I've even felt a little uncomfortable at times.<br />
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Now, while Annie is officially My dog (got her for my 48th birthday), and my son considers Little-Bit, below, his cat, he's really mine. Every night he saunters over to me, meows in a certain way that means he wants to jump up on my lap and I automatically grab the blanket. I Always have a blanket on my lap when he wants to lay on me because he's been know to get startled and jump off quickly, using his toenails to help - Ouch!<br />
Bitty has a very expressive face, he'll have his eyes 1/2 closed and if one of us asks him a question, he'll nod at us us.<br />
He is sooo warm and sooo soft. I love the color of his nose and his long white whiskers, and I like to play with his ears as long as he'll let me.<br />
We just realized he is 13 years old, three years older than any of my furballs have ever lived.<br />
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Check out my friends view of Faces...<br />
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<a href="http://www.thekelleysbaby.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Amanda</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">, </span><a href="http://www.knudson3.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Carla</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">, </span><a href="http://www.creativelivingbyhanne.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Hanne</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">, </span><a href="http://heathermoll.typepad.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank"><wbr></wbr>Heather</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">, </span><a href="http://www.thedixonfamilynews.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Heidi</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">, </span><a href="http://www.jenndispiritophotography.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">J<wbr></wbr>enn</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">, </span><a href="http://www.kristinconk.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Kristin</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">, </span><a href="http://www.rhondasteed.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Rhonda</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">, </span><a href="http://www.tmorrisphotography.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Tracey</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><wbr style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></wbr><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">and </span><a href="http://www.tracy-larsen.com/blog" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Tracy</a><div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to stop by...I really appreciate it. I'd be even happier if you leave me a comment.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158552293122204249noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102803823491106916.post-80032747157832923972013-02-22T14:55:00.000-06:002013-02-22T14:55:34.715-06:00Linked 2013 - Comfort<span style="font-size: large;">Comfort</span> means different things to me at different times of the year..<br />
<br />
When I get home from work in the Spring or Fall, the first thing I want to do is get some fresh air.<br />
The clean air outside (certainly cleaner and fresher than the lab air) almost makes me giddy with<br />
excitement. I feel sooo good after filling my lungs with outside air, and no matter how bad a mood<br />
I may be in, after my walk, I feel much better.<br />
I quick change my clothes, make a pit stop, fill up my water bottle and put on my walking shoes.<br />
I call for Annie, stick a few dog treats in my pocket, clip on her leash, make sure my phone is in my pocket and we are off, down to the walking path by the Mississippi river.<br />
Annie gets bored with this routine, but she's walking with me, and I like the path better than the streets, it's pretty by the river, I don't have to worry about getting hit by a car, I feel safe, and I have a better chance at seeing my eagles (we have two adults and one youngster)<br />
I'm down here so often, I'm thinking of taking a weekly "from where I stand" photo of the same spot,<br />
to show the change the river goes through.<br />
The river changes even now, in February, two weeks ago, the river was almost completely iced over, last week it was almost completely clear and yesterday a lot of the ice was back again.<br />
I really never took much notice of the changes the river goes through, until Instagram allowed the Android market...and I got my pretty new Canon 7D, now it seems like all I see is light and color and mood.<br />
Thank you photographers for helping me to see the light!<br />
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During the summer, I usually wait till my hubs is off work and we've had dinner, then it's usually a little cooler<br />
to walk and I don't worry as much about Annie overheating. <br />
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During the winter, I only walk when it's not really cold and windy because the only part of my face that I can't cover, (the bridge of my nose where my glasses sit) gets too cold and I guess I'm just turning into a wimp with my old age. I also tend to read more in the winter and once I'm engrossed in a book, that's all I want to do. So unless there is some errand I have to do after work, once I get home, I let Annie out,<br />
change clothes, make a pit stop, make a cup of flavored coffee, let Annie in, stoke the fire, make sure I have my coffee, water, phone and book or tablet, sit in my chair, cover up with a blanket and read for an hour or so, until it's time to start dinner.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PBLliaUp1_w/USfSCYKVI6I/AAAAAAAARWE/gqeMeZzDax4/s1600/chair.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="486" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PBLliaUp1_w/USfSCYKVI6I/AAAAAAAARWE/gqeMeZzDax4/s640/chair.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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These things mean Comfort for me, see what Comfort means for these ladies...<br />
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<a href="http://www.justaminutelife.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Andrea</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">, </span><a href="http://www.thekelleysbaby.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Amanda</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">, </span><a href="http://www.knudson3.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Carla</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">, </span><a href="http://www.creativelivingbyhanne.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Hanne</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">, </span><a href="http://heathermoll.typepad.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank"><wbr></wbr>Heather</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">, </span><a href="http://www.thedixonfamilynews.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Heidi</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">, </span><a href="http://zeldamom.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Janet</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">, </span><a href="http://www.jeanyous.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Jean</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">, </span><a href="http://www.jenndispiritophotography.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">J<wbr></wbr>enn</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">, </span><a href="http://www.kristinconk.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Kristin</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">, </span><a href="http://www.rhondasteed.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Rhonda</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">, </span><a href="http://www.tmorrisphotography.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Tracey</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><wbr style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></wbr><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">and </span><a href="http://www.tracy-larsen.com/blog" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Tracy</a><br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to stop by...I really appreciate it. I'd be even happier if you leave me a comment.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158552293122204249noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102803823491106916.post-66568687286636522013-01-24T21:46:00.001-06:002013-01-24T21:59:08.898-06:00Linked 2013 - Freshfresh<br />
<br />
vegetables<br />
fruit<br />
flowers<br />
eggs - if i had chickens<br />
chickens - if we were allowed<br />
bread - grinding my own flours<br />
<br />
for the past few years, i've been planting herbs in a large pot that i sit out in the garden<br />
(they are extremely easy to grow) along with other vegetables and fruit.<br />
i can't wait to have fresh lettuce again, there's nothing like tearing off a handful of different<br />
lettuce leaves for a fresh salad...yum.<br />
once all the other vegetables have produced and are dying, i clean off the herb pot and bring<br />
it indoors for the winter, so i can then have fresh herbs for cooking until approximately april..<br />
they just won't last any longer than that, at least for me.<br />
<br />
well, this past summer, instead of planting herbs in a pot, we planted them directly into the ground<br />
great idea - they grew like weeds - but we ended up having nothing to bring indoors to savor over<br />
the long cold winter<br />
<br />
for me, january is a fresh new month of a fresh new year and i find myself cleaning and purging and<br />
simplifying my surroundings. i make plans for the much anticipated spring and summer, usually<br />
while soaking in the tub ( i do my best thinking and planning in the tub). i look for new recipes<br />
and call my son for help making those recipes taste good when i need inspiration, and i love<br />
to use fresh herbs in those recipes. i've usually been able to find already potted herbs at<br />
bachman's, the home depot or cub foods, so now that i've got the craving...<br />
you got it, there are NO potted herbs to be found, except for a few rosemary and sage.<br />
i bought one of the rosemary, don't want the sage and basil isn't out yet. i'm hoping there<br />
was a run on fresh basil and by next week, one of these places will have more in stock<br />
<br />
i could certainly plant them from seeds, but right now i want instant gratification<br />
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visit these ladies and get some fresh ideas...<br />
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<a href="http://www.justaminutelife.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Andrea</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">, </span><a href="http://www.thekelleysbaby.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Amanda</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">, </span><a href="http://www.knudson3.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Carla</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">, </span><a href="http://www.creativelivingbyhanne.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Hanne</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">, </span><a href="http://heathermoll.typepad.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank"><wbr></wbr>Heather</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">, </span><a href="http://www.thedixonfamilynews.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Heidi</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">, </span><a href="http://zeldamom.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Janet</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">, </span><a href="http://www.jeanyous.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Jean</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">, </span><a href="http://www.jenndispiritophotography.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">J<wbr></wbr>enn</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">, </span><a href="http://www.kristinconk.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Kristin</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">, </span><a href="http://www.rhondasteed.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Rhonda</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">, </span><a href="http://www.tmorrisphotography.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Tracey</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><wbr style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></wbr><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">and </span><a href="http://www.tracy-larsen.com/blog" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Tracy</a><br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to stop by...I really appreciate it. I'd be even happier if you leave me a comment.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158552293122204249noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102803823491106916.post-22705061645429850292013-01-07T21:13:00.002-06:002013-01-07T21:17:33.775-06:00Arise, shine...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
Sunday, January 6, 2013<br />
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Arise, shine, for your light has come,</div>
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and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you,</div>
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Arise, shine, for your light has come,</div>
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and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.</div>
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Arise, shine, for your light has come,</div>
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and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.</div>
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Arise, arise, and shine like the sun</div>
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and all nations shall come,</div>
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and all kings will be drawn</div>
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to the brightness of your rising.</div>
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The sun shall no longer be your light,</div>
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nor the brightness of the moon by night.</div>
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But the Lord shall be</div>
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your everlasting light,</div>
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your God will be your everlasting light.</div>
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Arise, shine, for your light has come,</div>
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and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.</div>
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Arise, arise, and shine,</div>
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and all nations shall come,</div>
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and all kings will be drawn</div>
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to the brightness of your rising.</div>
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Arise, shine for your light has come.</div>
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The song our choir sang today...<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to stop by...I really appreciate it. I'd be even happier if you leave me a comment.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158552293122204249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102803823491106916.post-22718971054759376192012-12-15T20:18:00.001-06:002012-12-15T20:23:48.902-06:00Holidazzle...Last evening, it was 34 degrees, very mild for December 15, and perfect for standing outside to watch a parade. Only normal winter clothing is needed, not snowsuits.<br />
<br />
I don't know if other states have parades in the winter months, although it isn't officially winter yet, a week yet to go, but there is snow on the ground, enough to have to shovel and snowblow, so I'm going to say it's winter, but we sure do...we have a winter carnival too!<br />
<br />
Each year, starting the day after Thanksgiving, to the the 23rd of December, Thursday through Sunday, Minneapolis has a winter parade down Nicollet Mall, from 12th Street to 4th Street, with illuminated floats and storybook characters. Each night, different people volunteer to bundle up in warm clothes and get fitted with an illuminated costume and depending what costume get, they will either be strapped into a harness on a float, or walking with others. There are marching bands in red and choirs with stars around their necks, way up high on a float. Santa always ends the parade, riding in his sleigh, waving and Ho Ho Hoing to the crowd.<br />
<br />
You might think people would be crazy to stand out for more than an hour in the cold and the down drafts from the tall buildings to watch a parade, but the Holidazzle draws a crowd of about 300,000 a year, and it's great business for all of the stores and restaurants.<br />
<br />
We are Minnesotan's...we live in the frozen tundra and we are a hearty bunch, don't cha know!<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to stop by...I really appreciate it. I'd be even happier if you leave me a comment.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158552293122204249noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102803823491106916.post-22801443847603373972012-11-24T16:35:00.000-06:002012-11-24T17:02:48.774-06:00Up early...I was blog hopping this morning, in between getting some chores done, and while at Nancy's blog <a href="http://www.aruraljournal.com/">http://www.aruraljournal.com</a>, she wrote that she had stopped by here <a href="http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/">http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com</a> and decided to give it a try, and I thought I would also.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Zeldamom's: The Simple Woman's Daybook</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Outside my window -</i></span><br />
The sun is just starting to rise, showing off with pink and orange streaks of beauty<br />
<br />
<i>I am thinking -</i><br />
I really need to get the rest of my windows cleaned so I can close them up for winter.<br />
Last week's weather was so beautiful, but not quite long enough for me to complete the job<br />
<br />
<i>In the kitchen -</i><br />
The dishes that were drying in the rack are all put away and fresh coffee has been made<br />
<br />
<i>I am wearing -</i><br />
Grey print knit pajama bottoms, a pale grey tank top and a brand new, soft grey Hane's zip up hoodie<br />
<br />
<i>I am creating -</i><br />
A colored pencil name drawing for a work friend's baby girl<br />
<br />
<i>I am going -</i><br />
Shopping today for a pretty sweater to wear with a black velvet dress I bought at the thrift store,<br />
a pot for a plant that needs help and a can opener to replace the one that just broke<br />
<br />
<i>I am wondering -</i><br />
Should I make door draft stoppers for Christmas gifts as long as I'm making a couple for myself?<br />
<br />
<i>I am reading -</i><br />
Nothing at the moment...I need to get this name drawing done first, once I start reading, I just don't<br />
want to stop<br />
<br />
<i>I am hoping -</i><br />
That I am able to get in a nice long walk and maybe see my eagle<br />
<br />
<i>I am looking forward to -</i><br />
Soaking in my claw foot tub<br />
<br />
<i>I am learning -</i><br />
To see light and form and how I want my photographs to look...and to realize that just because<br />
some bloggers have a lot of followers and get a bunch of comments, it does not mean I am less<br />
than they are (that's very difficult)<br />
<br />
<i>Around the house -</i><br />
Dust will be banished, carpets vacuumed, bathrooms rid of germs, laundry washed, dried, folded<br />
and put away<br />
<br />
<i>I am pondering -</i><br />
Why some bloggers participating in Linked 52 only comment on a few of their fellow participants<br />
posts and don't or won't take the time to visit and comment on all of them, even though they are<br />
all posted on time...<br />
<br />
<i>A favorite quote for today -</i><br />
In a world where YOU can be anything...Be Yourself!!!<br />
<br />
<i>One of my favorite things -</i><br />
I love to go for drives away from the city...old white farmhouses, red barns and silos, cows, sheep,<br />
chickens, buying fresh brown eggs, eating a picnic lunch in a park, talking, and most of all, open,<br />
rolling hills...sigh<br />
<br />
<i>A few plans for the rest of the week </i>(<span style="font-size: x-small;">I'll just say next week, seeing as how this is Saturday</span>) -<br />
Put up some Christmas decorations, take my mom to see the two blue lighted bridges here in Minneapolis, that she hasn't had a chance to see yet and play with my new camera<br />
<br />
<i>A peek into my day -</i><br />
<br />
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<link href="http://www.blenza.com/linkies/styles/default.css" media="all" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"></link><script src="http://www.blenza.com/linkies/loc_en.js"></script><script src="http://www.blenza.com/linkies/opt_defaults.js"></script><script src="http://www.blenza.com/linkies/misterlinky.js"></script><script src="http://www.blenza.com/linkies/autolink.php?mode=standard&owner=janetkayg&postid=24Nov2012a" type="text/javascript"></script><div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to stop by...I really appreciate it. I'd be even happier if you leave me a comment.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158552293122204249noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102803823491106916.post-85246756428742546542012-11-23T00:29:00.000-06:002012-11-23T00:31:13.293-06:00Linked 52 - Gathering<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Happy Thanksgiving</div>
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<br />
gathering...<br />
<br />
family, the one I was born into and the one that I helped make<br />
friends<br />
eating turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, broccoli, jello<br />
not eating stuffing, dinner rolls, green bean casserole<br />
mom's pumpkin chiffon pie and leaving the crust<br />
arguments, can't get away from them<br />
laughter, always lots of this<br />
talking, usually hogged by two<br />
gazing off into space after eating too much<br />
gabbing with my sister while washing dishes<br />
letting her know I'll take mom christmas shopping<br />
looking through the black friday ads<br />
taking turns talking to kira on the phone<br />
skyping with andy<br />
loving that my children are adults, yet missing how they were when they were little<br />
looking toward the future<br />
loving that my mother is still with us<br />
wonderful co-workers<br />
a pretty okay day at work<br />
gorgeous sunrise yesterday<br />
even more gorgeous sunset<br />
64 degrees and joggers in shorts on thanksgiving eve to 23 degrees and snow on thanksgiving night<br />
my sister not drinking<br />
all of us pulling together and not drinking with her<br />
a glass of wine when I got home<br />
son and his girl off to find some deals<br />
hubs starting a fire in the stove<br />
falling asleep on the sofa because of that fire<br />
all in all a wonderful thanksgiving 2012<br />
<br />
<i>Please leave me a comment...be sure to see what gathering means to them.</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<a href="http://jenndispiritophotography.com/" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Jenn</a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<a href="http://heathermoll.typepad.com/running_the_race" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Heather</a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<a href="http://www.tmorrisphotography.com/">Tracey</a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<a href="http://sdanddoublee.blogspot.com/">Stacey</a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<a href="http://kristinconk.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Kristin</a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<a href="http://www.thekelleysbaby.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Amanda</a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<a href="http://tracy-larsen.com/blog/" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Tracy</a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<a href="http://rhondasteed.com/">Rhonda</a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<a href="http://knudson3.blogspot.com/">Carla</a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<a href="http://justaddcolor.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Rose</a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<a href="http://thedixonfamilynews.blogspot.com/">Heidi</a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<a href="http://www.creativeliving-hanne.blogspot.com/">Hanne</a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<a href="http://heatherabbott.typepad.com/my_life/">Heather</a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<a href="http://jeanyous.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Jean</a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<a href="http://odetothis.blogspot.com/">Kristi</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.tmorrisphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/6936884377_d00b133d70_z-11-300x259.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" height="259" src="http://www.tmorrisphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/6936884377_d00b133d70_z-11-300x259.jpg" style="border-width: 0px;" title="6936884377_d00b133d70_z-1" width="300" /></a></div>
</div>
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to stop by...I really appreciate it. I'd be even happier if you leave me a comment.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158552293122204249noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102803823491106916.post-5884850663458130502012-11-15T23:53:00.000-06:002012-11-15T23:57:35.846-06:00Linked 52 - Music...<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: large;">Music </span>has been an important part of my life since 1st grade, where I can remember sitting on the small wooden bleachers inside of our small gymnasium and learning the words to Edelweiss. I loved that song, still do. <i>How can something that happened so long ago, seem like it was only yesterday?</i><br />
Throughout my school years I always sang in choir, even in high school where it was a choice. I stopped after graduation because I went on to a vocational school for medical technology, which didn't have a choir and I stopped going to my old church (they did chanting, not singing, and I wasn't interested in chanting) so I had a few years off before I started singing again. <br />
Soon after I found out I was pregnant with my daughter, the father of a good friend and co-worker died and his funeral took place at a small church a block from the hospital we worked at. My hubs and I both liked the church, it was the same religion my hubs grew up in and we felt very comfortable there. <br />
We started visiting on Sundays and soon joined the choir, I was once again happily singing. <br />
Kira made her appearance in September and in May, we chose to sing a song to each other at our wedding. <br />
The next day we had Kira baptised and dedicated a song to her. We dedicated a song to each of our boys at their baptisms also.<br />
Several years later, our bell choir was in dire need of new members, so my hubs decided to join them (I couldn't because of working every other weekend). They are a small but mighty group that makes beautiful music with beautiful, shiny gold bells.<br />
My hubs works with a man that plays bells with a group called Bells of the Lake http://bellsofthelakes.org so they naturally when they got around to talking bells, he invited us to one of their concerts, and all I can say is...Wow, they are amazing. We've been to a few concerts by Bells of the Lake, and if you live in Minnesota and have never been to see them, I suggest you do, they are superb. I just went to their website and I see they have fewer members than they used to, which means they each play even more bells than before. </div>
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It's like a choreographed dance between their arms and bells and hands turning music pages. Two people will share a music score and even share bells, so at times, a member will be playing three bells with their right hand and reach in front of the member on the left and grab a couple of her bells, ring them, put them back, turn the page and pick up her own bells. Very exciting!</div>
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I brought my camera to church last Sunday and was able to get some shots of our bells.</div>
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I also cornered Dan and got a couple of shots while he was warming up. He is an amazing musician, most people like his organ playing, which is wonderful, but I prefer his piano playing...I could listen to him play all day. The day he and our choir director Bonnie leave, well, I guess it's the day I leave too.</div>
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Stop and see what Music is like for these wonderful ladies....make sure you LEAVE A COMMENT too. </div>
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<a href="http://jenndispiritophotography.com/" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Jenn</a></div>
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<a href="http://heathermoll.typepad.com/running_the_race" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Heather</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.tmorrisphotography.com/">Tracey</a></div>
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<a href="http://sdanddoublee.blogspot.com/">Stacey</a></div>
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<a href="http://kristinconk.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Kristin</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.thekelleysbaby.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Amanda</a></div>
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<a href="http://knudson3.blogspot.com/">Carla</a></div>
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<a href="http://justaddcolor.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Rose</a></div>
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<a href="http://thedixonfamilynews.blogspot.com/">Heidi</a></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to stop by...I really appreciate it. I'd be even happier if you leave me a comment.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158552293122204249noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102803823491106916.post-53679398495017439832012-11-08T23:13:00.000-06:002012-11-08T23:13:51.275-06:00Linked 52 - Wind...<div class="header" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 2px; word-wrap: break-word;">
<h2 class="me" style="color: black; display: inline; font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
wind</h2>
<sup style="bottom: 1ex; font-size: 0.75em; height: 0px; line-height: 1; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="cursor: default;">1</span> </span></sup>  <span class="pronset"><span audio="http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/dictionary/audio/luna/W01/W0178100.mp3" default="http://dictionary.reference.com/audio.html/lunaWAV/W01/W0178100"><embed align="texttop" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain" flashvars="soundUrl=http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/dictionary/audio/luna/W01/W0178100.mp3" height="15" id="speaker" loop="false" menu="false" quality="high" salign="t" src="http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/d/g/speaker.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="17" wmode="transparent"></embed></span> <span class="show_spellpr" style="display: inline;"><span class="prondelim" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">[</span><span class="pg" style="display: inline; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; padding-right: 3px;">n. </span><span class="pron" style="display: inline; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">wind</span><span class="pron" style="display: inline; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">,</span> <span class="labset" style="display: inline;"><span class="ital-inline" style="display: inline; font-family: Georgia, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: italic;">Literary</span> </span><span class="pron" style="display: inline; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">wahynd</span><span class="pron" style="display: inline; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">;</span> <span class="pg" style="display: inline; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; padding-right: 3px;">v. </span><span class="pron" style="display: inline; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">wind</span><span class="prondelim" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">]</span> <a class="questionmark" href="http://dictionary.reference.com/help/luna/Spell_pron_key.html" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: url(http://static.sfdict.com/en/i/dictionary/newserp/Sprite_New.png); background-position: -176px -215px; background-repeat: repeat repeat; color: #333333; display: inline-block; font-size: small; height: 16px; position: relative; top: 2px; width: 16px;" target="_blank"></a> <span class="pron_toggle" style="display: inline;"><a alt="Toggle for IPA" class="pronlink" href="http://draft.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3102803823491106916" style="color: #999999; cursor: pointer; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11px; margin-left: 11px;" title="Click to show IPA">Show IPA</a></span></span></span></div>
<div class="body" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px; margin: 0em 0px 0em 0em; padding: 0px;">
<div class="pbk" style="font-size: small; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="pg" style="display: inline; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; padding-right: 3px;"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="cursor: default;">noun</span></span></span><br />
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<span class="dnindex" style="color: #7b7b7b; display: block; float: left; font-weight: bold; width: 28px;"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">1.</span></span></span><br />
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<span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="cursor: default;">air</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="cursor: default;">in</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="cursor: default;">natural</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="cursor: default;">motion,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="cursor: default;">as</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="cursor: default;">that</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">moving</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">horizontally</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">at</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">any</span><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="cursor: default;">velocity</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="cursor: default;">along</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">the</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">earth's</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="cursor: default;">surface:</span> </span><span class="ital-inline" style="display: inline; font-family: Georgia, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: italic;"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">A</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">gentle</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">wind</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">blew</span><span id="hotword" name="hotword">through</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">the</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="cursor: default;">valley.</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">High</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">winds</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="cursor: default;">were</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">forecast.</span></span></span></div>
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<div class="luna-Ent" style="background-image: none; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 5px;">
<span class="dnindex" style="color: #7b7b7b; display: block; float: left; font-weight: bold; width: 28px;"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">2.</span></span></span><br />
<div class="dndata" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 37px;">
<span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">a</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">gale;</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">storm;</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="cursor: default;">hurricane.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="luna-Ent" style="background-image: none; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 5px;">
<span class="dnindex" style="color: #7b7b7b; display: block; float: left; font-weight: bold; width: 28px;"><span id="hotword">3.</span></span><br />
<div class="dndata" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 37px;">
<span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">any</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">stream</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">of</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">air,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">as</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">that</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">produced</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="cursor: default;">by</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">a</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">bellows</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">or</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">fan.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="luna-Ent" style="background-image: none; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 5px;">
<span class="dnindex" style="color: #7b7b7b; display: block; float: left; font-weight: bold; width: 28px;"><span id="hotword">4.</span></span><br />
<div class="dndata" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 37px;">
<span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">air</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">that</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">is</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">blown</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">or</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">forced</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">to</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #0055bb; cursor: pointer;">produce</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="cursor: default;">a</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">musical</span> </span><a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sound" style="color: #333333;">sound</a><span id="hotword"> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">in</span><span id="hotword" name="hotword">singing</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">or</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">playing</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">an</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">instrument.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="luna-Ent" style="background-image: none; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 5px;">
<span class="dnindex" style="color: #7b7b7b; display: block; float: left; font-weight: bold; width: 28px;"><span id="hotword">5.</span></span><br />
<div class="dndata" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 37px;">
<a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/wind+instrument" style="color: #333333;">wind instrument.</a></div>
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It's been pretty mild here in Minnesota, with some rain, lots of clouds and a little bit of sun.</div>
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The temps have been in the 20 - 50 degree range, normal for November. Pretty much ho hum weather. Now I'm not complaining, because we still have a few things to do outside, and I really don't want snow yet, it just makes the season too long. </div>
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My hubs and I were talking about Hurricane Sandy and the devastation that resulted. People always talk about "the Big one" that will occur in California that will cause it to sink into the ocean. We have tornadoes, but not in the numbers and severity as those in Tornado Alley. Our Boundary Waters has yearly wildfires, but again, not like those seen in the mountain area west of here. The Hawaiian Islands have volcanoes. Other islands have Tsunamis. Minnesota doesn't have any kind of real severe weather system and we aren't in an earthquake zone, we can't have a Tsunami, we regularly have wildfires up north, several nasty storms along with or without tornadoes in the spring and summer, our winters vary from hardly measurable snow to full blown blizzards and depending on the snowfall for the season, we have some flooding in the spring.</div>
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So, when I saw that this weeks word was Wind, I was wondering what I was going to do.</div>
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I have to admit that I put it off until Wednesday, but I don't think it would have mattered, because I really don't remember there being any wind this week. (Actually, now that I really think hard about it, there was some wind, but I didn't take any pictures of it).</div>
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I did however take a few of Annie this summer where the wind is whipping about her fur.<br />
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<i>Does this happen to anyone else (that has a Droid and not iPhone) where the pictures you take with your phone are really pixelated when enlarged?? </i><br />
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This is my favorite and the only one that isn't all pixeled. I was taking a picture of the grass and she photo bombed the frame, but it's okay, because I like the way the Wind is blowing her fur.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j0b7fNfOilc/UJyMY3SUp4I/AAAAAAAAGPY/NeWaoxYNwaY/s1600/Annies+grass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j0b7fNfOilc/UJyMY3SUp4I/AAAAAAAAGPY/NeWaoxYNwaY/s640/Annies+grass.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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See how much Wind the rest had to deal with...</div>
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<div style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<a href="http://jenndispiritophotography.com/" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Jenn</a></div>
<div style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<a href="http://heathermoll.typepad.com/running_the_race" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Heather</a></div>
<div style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<a href="http://www.tmorrisphotography.com/">Tracey</a></div>
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<a href="http://sdanddoublee.blogspot.com/">Stacey</a></div>
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<a href="http://kristinconk.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Kristin</a></div>
<div style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<a href="http://www.thekelleysbaby.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Amanda</a></div>
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<a href="http://tracy-larsen.com/blog/" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Tracy</a></div>
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<a href="http://rhondasteed.com/">Rhonda</a></div>
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<a href="http://knudson3.blogspot.com/">Carla</a></div>
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<a href="http://justaddcolor.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Rose</a></div>
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<a href="http://thedixonfamilynews.blogspot.com/">Heidi</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.creativeliving-hanne.blogspot.com/">Hanne</a></div>
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<a href="http://heatherabbott.typepad.com/my_life/">Heather</a></div>
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<a href="http://jeanyous.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Jean</a></div>
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<a href="http://odetothis.blogspot.com/">Kristi</a><br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to stop by...I really appreciate it. I'd be even happier if you leave me a comment.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158552293122204249noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102803823491106916.post-2936103636301628402012-11-02T20:10:00.003-05:002012-11-08T23:09:41.747-06:00Linked 52 - Texture...<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Texture</span>, there were just too many choices for this word...</div>
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dead perennials</div>
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the rocks in the pond</div>
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tree bark</div>
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the seat fabric in my car</div>
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carpet</div>
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wood newels</div>
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lace curtains</div>
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annie's eyelashes</div>
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oliver's fur</div>
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little-bit's paw pads</div>
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green leaves</div>
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dry crunchy leaves</div>
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apples</div>
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pears from our tree</div>
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raspberries</div>
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the dry skin on my hands</div>
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This is what I finally decided on...</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8UKeJ-5ATgU/UJSuOsbWL2I/AAAAAAAAGL8/NhlDBzaeGRQ/s1600/IMG_0658.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8UKeJ-5ATgU/UJSuOsbWL2I/AAAAAAAAGL8/NhlDBzaeGRQ/s640/IMG_0658.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8DfkREicAA8/UJSuQWpH6FI/AAAAAAAAGMM/UP6ctlqE2OI/s1600/IMG_0661.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8DfkREicAA8/UJSuQWpH6FI/AAAAAAAAGMM/UP6ctlqE2OI/s640/IMG_0661.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">I love the colors too, the pear isn't quite ripe yet, it will develop a red blush when it's ready to eat, and will be delicious and juicy.</span><br />
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See what <span style="font-size: large;">Texture</span> looks like to the rest of the crew...<br />
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<a href="http://jenndispiritophotography.com/" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Jenn</a></div>
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<a href="http://heathermoll.typepad.com/running_the_race" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Heather</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.tmorrisphotography.com/">Tracey</a></div>
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<a href="http://sdanddoublee.blogspot.com/">Stacey</a></div>
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<a href="http://kristinconk.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Kristin</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.thekelleysbaby.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Amanda</a></div>
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<a href="http://tracy-larsen.com/blog/" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Tracy</a></div>
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<a href="http://rhondasteed.com/">Rhonda</a></div>
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<a href="http://knudson3.blogspot.com/">Carla</a></div>
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<a href="http://justaddcolor.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Rose</a></div>
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<a href="http://thedixonfamilynews.blogspot.com/">Heidi</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.creativeliving-hanne.blogspot.com/">Hanne</a></div>
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<a href="http://heatherabbott.typepad.com/my_life/">Heather</a></div>
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<a href="http://jeanyous.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Jean</a></div>
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<a href="http://odetothis.blogspot.com/">Kristi</a><br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to stop by...I really appreciate it. I'd be even happier if you leave me a comment.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158552293122204249noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102803823491106916.post-76781987759361473342012-10-31T22:55:00.001-05:002012-10-31T22:57:58.662-05:00Halloween and the letter S...We won't be handing out candy this year, we won't be taking small children door to door and I didn't put up any decorations, I didn't even buy any candy!<br />
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We usually get less than 15 little trick or treaters and because Halloween falls on a Wednesday this year, we won't even be home, we'll be at choir practice. Yes, choir practice on Halloween, Bonnie is such a slave driver (ha!) but she said she would understand if some of us didn't show up, but as my hubs and I really have no excuse Not to be there, I guess we'll go. I just really hate driving in the dark when I know there might be a kids on the side of the road.<br />
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I did take a few pictures that meet the Halloween theme, including the following one that I emailed to Karen at <a href="http://thisoldhousetoo.blogspot.com/">http://thisoldhousetoo.blogspot.com</a> to be part of a blog post along with 23 other people. We all take one picture during a certain hour of the day, email them to Karen and she will put them all together. My hour was midnight to 1:00 a.m. October 31.<br />
I can't wait to see what the other 23 people took pictures of, although I'm not sure if Karen even has power or not as she lives in Connecticut and was in direct line of Hurricane Sandy.<br />
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This is the one that will be in that blog post, in color, I changed it to black and white for this post.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WCr3jSj3gck/UJGweqqImaI/AAAAAAAAGIM/Fp6K_qrtl7Y/s1600/IMG_0626.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WCr3jSj3gck/UJGweqqImaI/AAAAAAAAGIM/Fp6K_qrtl7Y/s640/IMG_0626.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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These following are of my sons, my two sweet boys as they were getting ready for the Zombie Pub Crawl <a href="http://zombiepubcrawl.com/">http://zombiepubcrawl.com</a> They ended the night looking even more Zombie like.<br />
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When Andy first moved to Cincinnati, he and Ethan were not what I would call friends, in fact barely brothers. Their personalities are very, very different, even though they grew up in the same house, with the same parents, and given the same opportunities. So, when Ethan told me he was going to drive to Cincinnati to visit his brother, I just about fell over. Months later, he visited again, now they talk and text each other often. When Andy comes home to visit, he stays at Ethan's instead of staying in our new guest room. I feel a little sad about this, but I'm very happy that they get along now, and they are still just as different as they used to be.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W-euUQtaNvU/UJGw-sPrbxI/AAAAAAAAGIU/W_zUraOJu2s/s1600/IMG_0340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="438" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W-euUQtaNvU/UJGw-sPrbxI/AAAAAAAAGIU/W_zUraOJu2s/s640/IMG_0340.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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People at church would Always call them by each other's name, which drove them nuts. They don't look like each other, Ethan is 6 feet tall and solid, Andy is 5'7" and small (although he's at the gym several times a week, drinks supplements and protein and is very muscular).<br />
Ethan can talk to anyone, anywhere, anytime about anything. Andy can talk, but not simply for the sake of talking. Ethan is a free spirit and has a "don't worry about it" attitude, whereas Andy is more serious and very, very driven. Andy knows what he wants to do, and will research ways to make it happen.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vE1_A0VTjv8/UJGw_8JxbdI/AAAAAAAAGIc/qdMKh_QollY/s1600/IMG_0342.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="514" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vE1_A0VTjv8/UJGw_8JxbdI/AAAAAAAAGIc/qdMKh_QollY/s640/IMG_0342.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Ethan, above, looks like a Goettsch (my hub's family) and Andy, below, looks like a Shocinski (my dad's family).<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IjS7cO0uVZ0/UJGxAi-7IcI/AAAAAAAAGIk/ZefSrXkIaew/s1600/IMG_0350.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="476" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IjS7cO0uVZ0/UJGxAi-7IcI/AAAAAAAAGIk/ZefSrXkIaew/s640/IMG_0350.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I think it was a good thing that they were so different growing up, because that meant I couldn't treat them totally the same. I tried, as much as I could, but they needed me in different ways. Ethan is ADD and had all of the symptoms that goes along with this diagnosis, homework and school problems, getting in trouble at school, losing things, forgetting things, stubborn, argumentative. He also needed vision therapy because he was seeing double. I Knew he was attention deficit when he was in Kindergarten, and kept trying to get him tested, but without the help of teachers, it's hard to get doctors to believe. He was finally tested and found to have ADD in fourth grade. He charmed all of his teachers into thinking that he just needed to mature a little more which didn't do anything to benefit him. All of that charm turned out to be a big plus for him though as he can talk people into giving him things for free and doing things for him and giving him jobs. He does a lot of bartering, by fixing people's cars, and will be getting a full sleeve tattoo this way.<br />
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Andy taught himself to read at age four, did his homework without me harping at him, got good grades, saved his money if he wanted to buy something that we didn't want to spend our money on, never got in trouble at school, he was responsible, teachers loved him, he was neat and clean and had the same backpack all through high school. He would always say "Ethan gets everything, I don't get half the stuff he does". (that's why them getting along now kind of freaks me out a bit)<br />
He was never sick, never got strep throat, never got ear infections, he was good at everything he tried, artistic, coordinated. He does have bad eyes though (takes after my side).<br />
When I would complain to coworkers about my boys fighting and arguing and pretty much hating each other, they would assure me that when they got out of their teens, they would start to get along and be friends. I really didn't believe them, but geez, it turned out to be true. I'm so happy for that.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">they make me so proud...my little zombie boys...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I simply love them to pieces</span></div>
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And, just a little bit of color. I hope you all had a great Halloween, and to all of you that were in the path of the devastating Hurricane Sandy, my prayers go out to you. Until next year...</div>
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to stop by...I really appreciate it. I'd be even happier if you leave me a comment.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158552293122204249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102803823491106916.post-36608362137545956052012-10-27T00:40:00.003-05:002012-10-27T00:45:51.833-05:00Linked 52 - Memories...Nearly 20 years ago we took a camping trip to Custer State Park, South Dakota.<br />
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My grown children still talk about this vacation and the man with no thumb.<br />
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We loaded up the mini-van with our suitcases, games and snacks to keep from getting bored (no dvd players at that time, man would I have loved one of those) and all of our clothes. We attached our trailer and filled it full of everything else we thought we would need, and when you have three children and aren't used to "roughing it", you tend to bring along way more than you will ever need. I would someday like to take a hiking/camping trip with only the stuff we can carry on our backs...I might need to get on this, I'm not getting any younger. </div>
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I remember seeing miles of bright, yellow. sunflower heads all facing the sun, it was so gorgeous.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMDG9oVyQVUuU-SU5Mep-d13Db-DPSMOxbV89JRZKL50YB-txdoEUxPHzed1V14Y6v6YZj7XxxaT70vFeAuEufLVlyJRF9crjOfPKPWEOSmPaXKcH5UgE5HE0qN26leVLuRi-iArGNT5D5/s1600/IMG_0534.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMDG9oVyQVUuU-SU5Mep-d13Db-DPSMOxbV89JRZKL50YB-txdoEUxPHzed1V14Y6v6YZj7XxxaT70vFeAuEufLVlyJRF9crjOfPKPWEOSmPaXKcH5UgE5HE0qN26leVLuRi-iArGNT5D5/s640/IMG_0534.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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We drove through the Black Hills and the Badlands, and well, where there are hills to climb and children to do the climbing, the van practically stopped itself. We (they) climbed around for awhile and I tried to stay calm by taking pictures of them. Notice my husband is not in the picture with my kids...he is probably at the top by now (I do have one of him sitting at the top), because he is the instigator in semi-dangerous stunts. Maybe it's a guy thing!<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Cr1ZYsI7h1A/UItW4dmwvKI/AAAAAAAAGEs/2jxsCQeIeAg/s1600/IMG_0545.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Cr1ZYsI7h1A/UItW4dmwvKI/AAAAAAAAGEs/2jxsCQeIeAg/s640/IMG_0545.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Of course we stopped at Wall Drug and Mitchell Corn Palace. We have a picture of my hubby, the boys and me, taken by Kira. She didn't want to be in the picture...until we are in the car driving away, then came the tears because she didn't get to have her picture taken by the Corn Palace. Can anyone relate???<br />
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As we get close to the park, we see more and more bison, herds of bison just meandering in a field or across the road, and they are very large animals. Once we get to our campsite and start setting up camp, we hear from others that just the week before, a brother and sister were attacked by a lone bison called Ralph. Not sure if I believe that, but that's the story. What I do believe, is that the lone bison Ralph, that came through the campsite every night to sniff and snort and chew grass right outside of our tent, was absolutely HUGE. To this day, I have not seen a bigger bison than Ralph.<br />
I always get up at least once a night to run to the bathroom, and camping doesn't stop that, so it always happened that I woke up while Ralph was making his way through the campsite and David would tell me to run over there by myself, because Ralph wasn't going to do anything to me, and David always ended up getting up and going to the bathroom with me. What a sweetie, tsk.<br />
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But I got ahead of myself...<br />
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The day we got to the campsite, just after we got the tent set up and our equipment unloaded and while I was making spaghetti (because that is easy to make while camping) and all three kids were climbing up the steep, rocky side of the canyon-like campsite we were in, and just as I looked up from cooking and noticed what the heck they were doing, they started to come down the steep, rocky side, slowly at first, then faster as momentum caught them. Then...my youngest Ethan, who was 4 yrs old at the time, was going a little too fast for his feet, tripped over a rock and fell forward, on the right side of his head, his body going to the left which made his neck bend in a way that I thought for sure must have broken it. As I was standing there watching my baby fall on his head, I remember thinking, OMG, he broke his neck, my husband was running to his rescue. I have always been a slow reactor in any kind of situation, good or bad, whereas my husband it right there. It's a good thing we are as different as we are, because we cancel out each others negative traits.<br />
So, here I am thinking, what are we supposed to do now, I have dinner half done, we're camping in a different state, I don't know where a hospital is (notice I'm not dealing with my child). This makes me sound like a horrible person, I'm not, but that is how my mind works, I think odd things at inappropriate times.<br />
Our campsite neighbors are Not like me, thank goodness, because they took charge and told us where the hospital was and said they would take care of our dinner and watch our site.<br />
We piled into the van and drove the short distance to the Custer Hospital. We were put in a room and told that the doctor was at dinner, so it would be a bit of a wait. What??? No amount of whining, or demanding that he be called worked, so we waited. I stayed with my other two kids in the waiting room where we were entertained?? by a man also waiting to be seen until the doctor got there, then I left them to be entertained?? by the strange man again. He told them his story of why he was missing a thumb and about the saw and how they should be careful and I don't know what else, but they were both upset that we left them in the waiting room with this strange man. See, now they always have a strange story to tell.<br />
The doctor finally finished his dinner and was able to take a look at Ethan's head. He wasn't concerned in the least when I told him what happened, or the fact that his neck bent at such an ugly angle, and was not happy with me when I insisted on an x-ray of his head. As it turned out, nothing was broken and we left a short time later with eleven stitches, some Tylenol, and two semi-freaked from talking to a strange one thumbed man kids. Ethan wasn't in much pain, at that time, because of the Novocain used to numb the cut, but we all know that doesn't last very long.<br />
We drove in the dark, back to our campsite starving and wondering what we were going to eat at that time of night and were very happy to find out our neighbor had finished making our dinner, so we would have something to eat when we finally got back, cleaned up our campsite, and then invited us over for roasted marshmallows and s'mores. How nice was that of them?<br />
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We continued our vacation, Ethan had a sore neck and a headache and a lot of tears, but Tylenol took care of the worst of it and cuddling and seeing cool things took care of the rest (and a sore head didn't keep him from climbing right back up the hill, the other hill, the one without all the rocks) We saw the usual sights, Mt. Rushmore, the place with all the snakes and lizards and alligators, swam and played in the lake that was in the campground, pet the donkey that came to our car, out the open door of the van (geez, I can't believe I let them do this stuff).<br />
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And we had some of the best thunderstorms that I have ever seen. Being in sort of a valley, we could watch the storms through a natural V in the tree line, and one was a doozy. Once again we were eating dinner when the storm came, so we made a mad dash to clean things up and ran for the safety of our tent. Ha! We got in our sleeping bags and I got out the book I had been reading to them, the Borrowers and tried to keep my different voices while the thunder and lightening was all around us and the wind and rain was battering the tent. I had my Black Hills Gold cross I had bought a few days before in one hand and the book in the other while I was reading away like we were at home all snug and dry. It's hard work trying to stay calm so your children won't freak out, and I could tell by their faces that they were freaked, but they knew it was Not the right to time to give in react to that feeling. I was very proud of them. It continued to storm throughout the night and in the morning David and I both admitted we prayed most of the night that we would all be alive to see the morning.<br />
What a great vacation, so many, many memories and so much fun. Each of them have said, at different times, that we should go back there and camp again. That would be wonderful, but now that they are grown, it would be so different from what they remember, that I think they should wait until they have families of their own and make some new memories to compare with and add to the old ones. I would love to go back with my hubby though. We have been empty nesters long enough now that we are able to have fun without children, it's just different, calmer, quieter, less hectic...hmmm, maybe we should wait for the grandkids...<br />
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See what kind of Memories these ladies have...<br />
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<a href="http://jenndispiritophotography.com/" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Jenn</a></div>
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<a href="http://heathermoll.typepad.com/running_the_race" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Heather</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.tmorrisphotography.com/">Tracey</a></div>
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<a href="http://sdanddoublee.blogspot.com/">Stacey</a></div>
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<a href="http://kristinconk.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Kristin</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.thekelleysbaby.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Amanda</a></div>
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<a href="http://tracy-larsen.com/blog/" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Tracy</a></div>
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<a href="http://rhondasteed.com/">Rhonda</a></div>
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<a href="http://knudson3.blogspot.com/">Carla</a></div>
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<a href="http://justaddcolor.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Rose</a></div>
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<a href="http://thedixonfamilynews.blogspot.com/">Heidi</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.creativeliving-hanne.blogspot.com/">Hanne</a></div>
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<a href="http://heatherabbott.typepad.com/my_life/">Heather</a></div>
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<a href="http://jeanyous.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Jean</a></div>
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<a href="http://odetothis.blogspot.com/">Kristi</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.tmorrisphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/6936884377_d00b133d70_z-11-300x259.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" height="259" src="http://www.tmorrisphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/6936884377_d00b133d70_z-11-300x259.jpg" style="border-width: 0px;" title="6936884377_d00b133d70_z-1" width="300" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to stop by...I really appreciate it. I'd be even happier if you leave me a comment.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158552293122204249noreply@blogger.com5