Christmas day we drove to Minneapolis and took a long walk around the snow covered lake.

Todd, his mom and dad, Misty, Mort, & Flynn. We encountered a lot of slush and the pups were sufficiently wet but had a grand time anyway.

Misty made herself compfy on Jessica's lap while Josie hammed it up for the camera. Thanks Matt & Jess for a fabulous Christmas meal and place to bunk.

Happy Birthday Jen!

Best sis ever ~ love ya'!

Merry Christmas! Love you all!

Birthday Celebration

Todd's parents visited us in Eau Claire the past couple days and we really enjoyed their stay. Dad's birthday was Dec. 17th so we went out for a belated celebration at Manny's.

We got a pitcher of margarita - it was yummy! It was happy hour so half price - even better!

Holiday Spirit

The holiday spirit is alive and well in Eau Claire - that's one of the many things I love about this town; people are very generous and kind. This year, I'm helped to organize a gift giving program for children of non-traditional students at the university. We had many willing and enthusiastic gift givers who had fun shopping.

After matching the gift requests with gift givers, shopping commenced, then we sorted the gifts, and now distributing them to the families. The library is allowing us to use one of their work areas to do this. It's a lot of fun and warms your heart on these cold Wisconsin days.

Digging Out

Winter wonderland.................

It's cold, even with my wool coat on - do I go any further?

The weight of the snow made the lower pine branches touch the ground.

Thank goodness we have the BEST neighbors in the world. They let us use their snow thrower. Todd did their driveway in about 40 minutes, ours took double that.

Is Misty spoiled? Of course. Since Todd had the snow thrower, he made cleared a path for Misty to go potty. What service!

Weather in the World

While we're under a blizzard warning, Hawaii is having some wave action. Would love to be home to see the power of mother nature but wouldn't want to fight the traffic to see it. Waves were supposed to reach 30 - 50 feet; can you even imagine that?

Scary stuff! Doesn't this make you wonder about all the sea critters.............are they getting pounded or have they sought safe refuge?

picture credit: DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
A big shout out to Wisconsin's Governor Doyle! He made a smart move closing state offices and UW system campuses. It's silly to be out on the road in these conditions - he probably saved a few lives. Enjoy the free snow day!

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).