Six - fourteen - fifty

What do those numbers have in common?

It's the latest weather forecast - winter storm warning:
6 - 14 inches of the white stuff
up to 50 mph winds
overnight temps below zero...........
Get the shovels ready!

Restful Holiday

Thanksgiving holiday is also when we celebrate our anniversary - 2009 makes 7 years. We headed to northern Minnesota and rented a studio at Bluefin Bay. We love this place; it's along the north shore of lake superior. This is the sunrise we'd be greeted by.

Todd enjoying his coffee and Misty looking out at the lake.

We took a couple of long hikes in the forest. Here we are at one of the falls. The hikes were great - fresh air, exercise, saw a couple of grouse, and Misty loved chasing the squirrels.

The rest of the time we lounged in front the fireplace, when Misty and her racoon weren't hogging the space.

A Ton of Food

I made a ton of food.......or so I thought. Two times the corn bread recipe, 50+ mozzarella sticks, 3 lbs of pasta salad, 5 lbs of garlic mased potato, 40 pieces of fried chicken, 3 loaves of banana bread.

Enough for 14 hungry college students, just enough. The good news is we didn't have a ton of left overs, a bit of mashed potato and a few pieces of fried chicken, and banana bread.

Who were these hungry fiends? Todd's class. And the chef? Well, let's just say she spent 3 evenings cooking, though truth be told, the fried chicken was purchased (thank goodness).

Very Special Treat

Todd was at school and the Geography club was holding a fundraiser by selling food.

He stopped by and got this "pastie" for Misty.

Why didn't he eat it? Well.....it's special. Misty has been going after squirrels ever since we got her. She's managed to get a couple, she just goes for the kill then relishes in her accomplishment. She finally got to eat one! Yup, that's right, you read it hear first boys and girls, this pastie was made from squirrel meat. Needless to say....."Misty, it's all your's!"

Raking Season

We've had a couple of cold snaps, a lot of rain and some wind. What does this all add up to? It means pine needles and leaves are all over...........LOTS of them. Hence, raking season. We had 40 bags! Two of our kind neighbors let us put 10 bags in each of their driveways - that saved us a $40 charge - the garbage haulers take 10 bags free and charge $2 for each bag over that.

Misty enjoyed her time outside..........she was supervising and I'm happy the supervisor didn't run away..............she likes to chase down "furry burritos" in the neigborhood. She's just being vigilant in case there are terrorist squirrels and rabbits lurking.

Happy Halloween

A post from Misty.................here I am in all my cuteness; ready for the trick or treaters. I like to bark when I hear the door bell - need to protect the house and my humans.

Don't look at me like that; I'm a "dog squirrel." Haven't you ever seen one before? Geez, quit staring like that.

Help...........I can't see.

Now I'm hungry. Happy halloween everyone!

Busy Life?

Sorry for the lack of posts. Being gone a week put me behind at work and it took two more weeks to actually catch-up...........sort of. Days are going by quick because this is what my weekdays are like:
8 a.m. - noon, student appointments each half hour.
noon - 12:15 inhale lunch
12:15 - 1:00 answer e-mails
1:00 - 4:00 student appointments (still two per hour)
4:00 - 4:30 prepare for the next day and answer e-mails


This has been going on since Oct. 19th and won't abate until Thanksgiving; this is the only way I can fit my 250 advisees in.

Life is busy but good; thankful I have a job, thankful I love my job, thankful for good health insurance coverage. Lookin' forward to Thanksgiving.

Malasadas

I was recently home to visit my grams; while there cousin Todd came over for a visit; I picked up a half dozen, Leonard's malasadas to munch on. YUM! Miles - doesn't it look delicious?

26.2

Marathon weekend - Todd participated in the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon this past Sunday, here he is getting ready, 6:45 a.m.


Mile 11.5, go Todd, go!


Here he is at about 14.5 miles, still lookin' good.

Todd's mom waiting to cheer him on at mile 23.

Here he is, still smilin'. At mile 23 there was a small hill and by this time, some people looked like they were going to collapse and many were walking.

At the finish, the capitol in St. Paul, with his medal! WOW!

When it rains.............

When there's enough moisture, you get mushrooms. This one was quite large and pretty; except for the bits of pine needls on it.

The side view is even better. I knew it wouldn't last long; in a few days, it got knocked over - I'm pretty sure it was Misty.