Summer Orientation

For three weeks every summer, we conduct orientation for the new freshmen students. Here I am with Susie, she's my Orientation Assistant this summer. I must have done something good because she is THE BEST, most FABULOUS, WONDERFUL assistant! Thanks for all you do Susie! This is the last week of orientation and we'll be celebrating Thursday night by going out for dinner with the other advisors and assistants - yahoo! 11 Days down, 4 more to go.......

Delicious Herbs

This year I'm trying to grow more yummy stuff, here's the dill, cilantro and basil. I made some guacamole with the fresh cilantro and it was great!

Chives and more basil:

Tomato

Summer is another word for.................

I love the warmer weather because when it's summer, that's another word for "grillin" in my vocabulary. Today we had some wild salmon - I grilled it with some dill I'm growin'.

Then I served it with some bok choy (Chinese cabbage) I got at the farmer's market. It was broke da' mout awesome (which means delicious)! My friend Jodi is convinced I should write a book with recipes for the grill and call it "grillin' for girls."

Yummy Food

I had a great weekend; I worked in the yard most of Saturday then went shopping on Sunday with my friend, Jodi. We hit the Asian grocery store and look what I got......kim chee! YEAH! All I need to do is cook a pot of rice and there's dinner (for me anyway, I guess Todd will eat a burrito). This brand is good; I've had better, but hey, I'm in the midwest - this is what I can get so this beggar won't be too choosy.

How Many Bikes?

How many bikes does one person need? The answer depends on who you ask. Todd has three and he recently put up some hooks so we could get them off the floor. He loves doing this sort of thing and as Todd's father says about the garage, "everything is in it's place and every place has it's thing."

Bike #1 - the mountain bike for uneven terrain.

Bike #2 - the road bike for long distances and speed (watch out Lance and the Tour de France).

Bike #3 - the commuter bike that gets Todd to Starbucks, school, and home.

Desperate times!

Desperate times call for desperate measures when it comes to certain things in life, like Kim's rice supply. Back in April I ran out of rice - OH MY! And I wasn't going to be able to get to the Asian grocery store in Minneapolis for a while so I broke down and paid way too much for this 5 lb. bag of rice at the grocery store. I'll have to make it last until I get to Minneapolis to buy the 50 lb. bag at a good price. Those of you who grew up in Hawaii understand my predicament.

Critters

I love Wisconsin because of all the creatures (plants and animals) around me. Looks like we have a new critter who's decided our home is a good one. This is the window at the front of the house, on first glance, nothing special.

But what's this stuff under the fake shutter?

The bat pooped; he or she is kinda cute!

Spring Planting

Memorial Day weekend was great -beautiful weather. Mom and Dad visited on Sunday and Monday. We had fun shopping at Klinger Fram Market in Chippewa Falls - I always get into trouble there with all the wonderful plants.

Mom and I planting the begonias.

Dad, Mom and Todd.

Signs of Spring

I love my yard and one of my favorite things are the lilac bushes. They began blooming before we left on the BWCAW trip and I thought I'd miss the peak. Luckily when we returned I got to enjoy them for a few days - wish I could send the smell via this post - it's wonderful! You have to enjoy these while you can because they don't last long.



Although the lilacs are no longer in bloom, I love to look out at the bushes at night to see one or two fire flies flying around them. It looks like little specks of light blinking at you.

BWCAW - Day 5

A leisurely morning, no rush because we had plenty of time to get to the portage at 1 p.m. for our tow back. We did the first 100 rod portage into Frog Lake and checked out the one campsite on there - kind of small and not so nice. We would have fished but if we caught anything we'd have to haul it over the second 100 rod portage into Birch Lake. We canoed west and a little north, stopping on a very small island on the Canadian side to have lunch. Here's our tow - he was right on time.


Misty and I enjoying the boat ride.


Todd in the front of the boat.


Misty decided to join him.

After 5 days of running around like a maniac, someone was ready to go home. Here she is, waiting in the car while we took showers and organized the gear.

Napping on the 5 hour drive home; using her "monster" as a pillow.