Nice Warm Day

Here's a quick snapshot out the front window that was taken the other day. My husband took some time to rake the leaves out of this part of the front yard. How amazing that after just a few days of warm weather to melt the snow that we have so much green foliage showing up now. This ground cover is what was hidden under all those leaves.

My friend said she and her husband stopped at one of the local garden centers to check on availability of new garden plants. Apparently there's not a whole lot in stock just yet. As soon as I get some plants and flowers I'm going to make up this big clay pot in the front. I'll be checking out my garden books and magazines for ideas over the next several days.

Here the yard looks so good after it was raked. It didn't take long with all the wind we've been getting to have more leaves blow in. Looks like my hubby will wait a while before he gets out there again. It's been pretty breezy lately and we're forecast to get rain over the next few days.

It was such a beautiful sun-shiny day outside today! I was out a few times. Took the dogs out for a good walk. I was out a couple times just to enjoy the day. I went to visit a friend for a short time, walked the dog, then went for a Mocha Frappuccino. When I got home I took another walk with all three dogs. Thus I had a fun visit with a friend, got some exercise to stretch my legs and a yummy, frothy drink to top it off. I'd say it was a perfect day!

Later in the afternoon I had an opportunity to gather together some of my machine embroidery designs and do a little sorting and organizing. I have some projects in mind, and wanted to locate the designs I want to work on. The other day I picked up some pleather (that's faux leather - if you didn't know - the artificial plastic leather) and also some real leather. I will be doing some pillows as a sample test-run of a few machine embroidery designs. I want to eventually put the designs on a jeans jacket. The pillows are my practice run to make sure I have the machine applique technique down and catch on to any 'surprises' in the way the designs are digitized before I commit to the actual jacket. I looked around a little bit at the mall for a jeans jacket and didn't find one I wanted to spend money on. I may go check out our local farm and ranch store tomorrow to find out their price on a jacket.

While I was at the mall I stopped at the RCC Western store. When we were there last weekent I fell in love with a pair of cowboy boots I saw. They've been on my mind ever since I saw them. I hesitate to pay the price that's marked, but I do really like them. I just might consider it a good investment if we spend much time on my husband's motorcycle this summer. They would protect my feet and ankles a lot better than the tennis shoes I've been wearing lately. I'll be giving it some thought.

Meanwhile, after much requesting from my dear hubby, I took a ride on the bike with him today. He kept insisting it would be less bumpy (from the potholes this spring) on a motorcycle than in the car. After our ride and a few serious bumps, I'd say it just isn't so. It was still pretty bumpy. Perhaps it's just too soon after the surgery to give a good objective opinion on this. My vote right now says it is just as bumpy, if not more so. Although it was a fun ride (we saw two wild deer along River Road coming back into town) I think I'll wait a few more weeks before I take another ride. A few serious bumps made me feel really tired out from that ride. I came home, took some Motrin and then settled into my easy chair for the rest of the evening.

Pillow pattern

I designed and wrote instructions for a pillow class we are currently offering at the store. This is an image of that pillow. I plan to offer the pattern on my website one day in the future. In the meantime this first one was used in class today.
The dogs went on a walk with me a few days ago. We ventured out on the walkways at the capital grounds. It looks as though the new sidewalks are finished over there, but there are still signs up saying they are closed. We just kept to the older sidewalks. I am looking forward to taking a different route on our walks once the sidewalks are opened.

Cool Outdoor Fun

We took the boat out today for a little fall fishing expedition. It seemed cool and inviting outdoors while we were driving out to the lake. Once we got out on the water it felt pretty cold. We were each bundled in layers, but the overcast, cloudy day, cool temps and wind combined to make it pretty chilly. Later as we were hauling the boat out of the water the sun broke through the clouds and it warmed up considerably. This rainbow trout is what I caught while standing on the dock while the boat was being tied down and readied to head out. You can see by the tape measure it is approx. 18"-19" in length. That's a nice catch!

The other two fish pictured here next to my rainbow trout were caught while we were out on the lake. We had a few other fish that were too small and were thrown back. We might not have kept these two smaller ones, but they didn't look like they would survive if thrown back. These are all good eating fish, but we were really hoping to catch more of the large mouth bass we caught last time we fished this lake. The only bass we caught were tiny ones. They were thrown back to grow bigger for next year.

This may have been our last trip to the lake for this year. We're waiting to see what the weather looks like next weekend. We may make one more fishing trip if it's nice. Hunting season's upon us so the call of the wide open fields means the end of fishing and the start of something different. All that walking when pheasant season opens is good exercise. I may just tag along this year for the benefit of all that walking.

I love this fall weather we are experiencing here on the northern plains. We pulled the window air conditioners out of the windows for winter storage some time ago. There were a few warmer days that required running a fan, but now it feels like cool air conditioning again. Plus, an extra bonus, it's natural air that helps to save on energy costs and better to air out the house. The leaves are turning color more, but most are hanging onto their branches yet. We pulled the last of the vegetables from the garden and need to pull up, till under or cut back the plant growth around the yard. Some of that yardwork has already been done, but still plenty to do before the snow comes. It looks like it's time to winterize now.

Working on Website

Lately I have been working on creating my new website. I'll post a link once I get it uploaded, but it might be awhile. I have in mind several more pages of info and photos that still need to be worked out. But you'll definitely get first notice, and a link, here at my blog. I want to make sure I have all the testing done and the bugs out before uploading. I have yet to find a hosting site to work with, so need to scout out a few of those as well.

I finally named my favorite cloth elf doll. She goes by the name, Elsie. This also happens to be the name of one of my aunts. I like the name, and I like it for this doll. She is the mascot for my website and is the "voice" to show my web visitors around.

I've been getting in a lot of walking with the dogs lately. Mr. B says he can really see the difference in our little chihuahua, Sugar. She seems to have slimmed down quite a bit. This is a good thing. The vet said she needed to drop a pound. Our other little guy, Sparky, is still the skinny one. But now Sugar can make it up and down the steps a bit easier than before. Mr. B is happy about Ginger looking a little thinner as well. I overheard a 'conversation' he had with her the other day about how she looks like she's getting ready for hunting this fall. In previous years it took her a few trips out into the field to be in shape and energetic for walking all those tree rows while pheasant hunting. This year I think she'll be the one waiting for the humans to catch up as they get used to all the walking.

A few days ago I took Ginger to the Tom O'Leary golf course here in Bismarck for an extended period of walking. Earlier that day all three of the dogs came with me for a shorter walk around the neighborhood, but it was just Ginger and I for this longer, extended walk. We both got pretty tired out. It was a long walk. I have to say my feet and ankles were pretty sore the next day, and Ginger seemed to move a bit slower, too. I am not sure of the distance walking the sidewalks and paved perimeter of the course, but there are lots of ups and down with the rolling hills of the terrain. I ran out of breath for parts of the walk and had to slow down. We probably won't make that one of our usually outings, but it's a fun challenge from time-to-time.

We've been heading outdoors most everyday after the heat of the day starts to cool down. All I have to do is mention the word 'walk' and the dogs get excited. They're like having kids around, listening to everything we say. If I mention the work 'walk' they know what we're talking about. Ginger has even been known to go over to the hook where I hang the leashes and jiggle them around at the mention of the word 'walk'. We've taken to spelling it out at times like we had to spell C-A-N-D-Y for the kids when they were little. Sometimes they seem so much like kids, those dogs make me laugh!

What's for Supper Tonight?

Tonight's supper is my quick and easy taco recipe. I'm working on putting together a website for one of my classes that features 'Mom's Home Cooking' and this is one of the feature items. I took step-by-step photos tonight for that site. Once it's up and running I'll post a link for anyone interested.

The taco meat is rolled up here in two of the smaller size tortilla shells. We like to heat a cast iron pan and warm the tortillas prior to rolling them. It gives them just a bit of an extra toasty taste and heating them makes it easier to roll them without tearing the tortilla.

A variation on using the taco meat in a different context is to spoon it over tortilla chips, add a bit of cheese and microwave for 40 seconds for the cheese to melt. Yummy! This option has a bit more salt because of the chips, but is a tasty, filling alternative. I love the combination of the crunch of the chip, the gooey cheese and the spicey taste of taco meat.

When putting my info for the website together it occurred to me to get some photos of what's in my cupboard. Here's shot number one. Notice my inclusion of this inexpensive plastic revolving tray. I used to struggle with getting to all my spices before I came up with this idea. Now, just a little spin of the tray reveals all my spice choices. There's less chance the spices will get stale and old, forgotten in the back of the cupboard when they are all visible.

Here's view two after spinning the rotating tray. There's a huge difference in accessing my spices now. And I find I don't make the mistake of buying duplicate spices because I didn't see them hiding in the back.

Okay, it's off to walk the dogs after supper now. We had rainy weather all morning and afternoon. Seems to have cleared up enough to get outdoors a while before I settle down to working on homework for my classes again.

Eh? What'd you say?

It was another noisy day here with breaking up cement, but (yeah) it's done. Yeah! My husband has the steps completely demolished and the evidence is scattered all about. Tomorrow he'll concentrate on collecting and hauling away the remainder of the rubble.

He's still got his work cut out with building a new wood deck platform and steps. At this point we are taking the dogs in and out the front door. Now Ginger doesn't seems to want to readily jump that height since she sees the little ones going in and out the front door.

I decided to get away for awhile this afternoon and took all three dogs on about an hour long walk up and down and throughout the neighborhood. They seemed to love it. I really enjoyed the walk, and the mostly sunny day. It's still seems cool and breezy to me, so I was bundled up warm in a sweater. We all got tired out from the walk and the dogs laid down and slept afterward, even through the noise. I took a few pictures of the rubble, but will post them later this afternoon.

I've been up working of my studies for this week. Busy, busy, busy with school work. We have only three weeks left. Yeah! I can't wait to be finished this semester. I am looking forward to taking the summer off. I want to be able to review more in depth on the HTML coding and learn my Dreamweaver program more thoroughly before I start up again in the fall. But I know it will seem a lot less hectic than it does right now. Hopefully I'll have time to work on a business plan and get some other things taken care of - like finishing the sorting, organizing and purging I started some time ago. So many plans, I can't wait for more time to commit to them.

And of course once the new back steps are done Pat and I will likely celebrate with a nice week boating and fishing. I hope the weather cooperates and we get a really nice, warm sunny day at that time.

Making Noise on Memorial Day

"Rat-tat-tat," goes the jackhammer. "Crunch, crunch, crunch," goes the rubble. And there she goes. Bye-bye to the broken steps!

Beginning last Friday my husband started work to remove our cracked and broken back steps. It is slow going, but he's making progress. We had rain and thunderstorms Saturday. This left him unable to work outdoors. Instead we spent some time together, went to see the new Narnia movie, and relaxed a bit before I started in on my homework again.


This is the view I woke up to this morning from our back door. It's too big a drop off for me and the chihuahuas, but Ginger makes the leap in fine form.


I took the dogs on a long walk this afternoon to get away from the noise awhile. We enjoyed our little reprieve, basked in the cool breeze, and met another little dog friend along the way. She was a cute little Yorkie who ran away from her mama about half of a block to come greet and meet us.


While we walked, Patrick kept chipping away at the back steps. As shown here, they are more than three-quarters gone now.

Word around here is when we replace the front steps, we're building a new deck over top of the old. My dear, hard working sweetheart says, "This is the last time I'm doing this!"

While I was out and about with the camera I got a few shots of the lilacs. They smell so good right now. I absolutely love this time of year when they bloom.



These are in the back yard hiding the neighbors behind us and giving us a nice tall backdrop to enclose our yard. They are very tall, at least eight or nine feet in height.


Here is a close-up of the pale violet color. Just gorgeous, and they smell so wonderful. I do not know that much about plants and flowers, but one can easily see the front and back lilacs are of two different varieties.


There is one lilac bush in the front yard. It was quite large when we moved here. We trimmed some from around the bottom because it wanted to keep spreading further out. Now it has grown so tall it seems more like a very bushy tree. This is a shot above my head, so you can tell they are very tall. They go up over the corner of the house.


This front yard lilac is located near the front bedroom window. When that window is open we have the scent of fresh spring lilacs on that side of the house. What a blessing to enjoy beauty along with the fresh scent of lilac.

Flowers and Sweets

The flowers are my husband's, not mine. A "Get Well" sentiment from last week. But I can happily appreciate them as much as anyone. He put them in the center of the kitchen table for just a touch of beauty to brighten up the room and bring some fresh, spring color indoors. I have to agree with Meg Ryan's character in You've Got Mail, daisies do make me happy! :)

I had a craving for one of those big, deluxe cupcakes today so I decided to take a walk to a nearby grocery store to get one. My husband, good sport that he is, accompanied me. We took all three dogs just to get them out of the house. They were well behaved (for the most part) as we ambled on over to the store. We took turns going inside so one of us could stay with the dogs outside. It was so disappointing to get inside to discover they only had one cupcake left, and someone had managed to poke a couple big holes in it with their finger. I didn't want that one! So I settled for the next best thing. They had a couple of these mini cakes - chocolate. They're small, maybe six inches in diameter, at most. It was moist and tasty so I can't complain even though I had my heart set on a cupcake. But, looking on the bright side, now I have some left over for tomorrow. --Yummy!

There's really not a whole lot to write about for today. It was pretty low key. I got some homework done, I had not one, but two walks - one walk was a loop around the mall since it is cool and rainy, and the other with the dogs so they could stretch their legs. I have to say they are doing so much better on leashes now than when we started. Sugar seems to be taking to it like a younger pup lately. She's getting old, so I don't want to push her, but there were several times today she was running up ahead of me along side Sparky. She occasionally trips and stumbles, not sure what that's all about . . . age or something else? I'm happy to see them enjoying their outings!

Color in my life

I love color in my life. This is a sampling of new thread racks I purchased recently. I managed to get these sorted at least - Yeah! I am making some progress on my sewing studio. You'll notice these are an assortment of brands, but I have the most of Madeira brand threads, probably because that is what we sold where I used to work. I like this brand. At some point when I run out of some of the others I'll probably end up switching to all Madeira.

It's a little thing to have these all sorted and lined up by color, but it makes me feel good to look at that wall of threads and see ORDER! I'll keep plugging away on more of this room little by little. I sneak in sorting and organizing mini sessions between other things (like waiting for my printer to finish a task, between taking the dogs for a walk and starting some homework, etc). I figure 5-10 minutes here and there will add up. Plus I can look at areas of the room and see progress. It gives me hope that this will eventually all get accomplished!

I took all three dogs out for a walk today. We did not get snow that was in the forecast. It hit a bit further north. We got a little rain scattered about. There was still a feel of dampness in the air. That along with the wind lead me to go back to wearing my wool jacket and leather gloves on our walk. Quite a lot of other dogs and their owners were hitting the sidewalks today as well. We came upon many and every single one of them Sugar and sometimes Sparky had to be vocal and bark at them. She needs to be socialized more to wean her away from that behavior. With all the barking and protesting she was doing it was not such a peaceful walk. I think they were as glad as I was to get out of the house. They seemed pleased with their outing. I'm walking them around ever larger areas as we go. I want to get them used to walking and work up to a good long walk by the middle of summer. It's a matter of pacing ourselves a bit now so they can build up their stamina, especially Sugar. She the oldest one and had been used to being stationary the most. Maybe by mid-summer she'll be used to walking as well as seeing other people and other dogs and cut out all the noise.

Lost my mind

Sometimes I think I've lost my mind. Maybe it's just lack of sleep. The other day I thought the website I uploaded was gone. It was just gone from the google line up. Apparently the order was rearranged and didn't show up like it had before. I was still able to see the site.

Jeepers, I'm driving myself nuts! I most definitely need some Sewing Therapy.

I did manage to get out and take a long walk with the dogs on Saturday. That was a blessing because it was such a nice sunny day. Windy, but sunny.

The little dogs crack me up sometimes. We've got two chihuahuas (Sugar and Sparky) and a larger hunting dog (Ginger) who is a mixed breed border collie and black lab. She's really smart! The two little ones are real characters at times. The little guy, Sparky is such a pip. He throws a tantrum if the leash is pulling too hard. The funny thing is, I can be standing still and he'll pull against it and go into this wild tantrum and start squealing while he spins circles. I'm hoping one day he'll make the connection to realize he's the one doing the pulling and tugging that gets him riled up. Meanwhile, he makes me chuckle.

I actually took two walks today. Once around several blocks with all three dogs. We go at a pretty slow pace for the chihuahua's short little legs. Then they stayed home and I went out again a little further, and quicker pace, with Ginger. I think she got pretty tired out. She laid around the rest of the evening. When we left she was pretty high energy; when we came home she was pretty low energy. She and I are trying to walk off some excess weight so it does us both good.