Kids

All of the kids came home to visit this weekend! Jake had to work a long day at the Chinese restaurant, Katie needed to decompress a bit after her week of teaching kids science projects at summer camp, and Nick just wanted to relax in the cool of the basement. The rain finally stopped and the humidity went down, so I grabbed the opportunity to turn off the air conditioning and open up the windows for fresh air. The cats loved that.

Everybody went home today, and Bruce went fishing for catfish on the river with a buddy. I took advantage of the quiet and made another corsage, my new hobby. I'm thinking of opening an online shop, you just never know ...

And, the 4th of July is coming up soon, too. I'd better start thinking about the food. Of course.

Sweet Place

Grandma Gloria seems happy. You can see the contentment in her face, and she lights up at the staff when they tease her. She loves her sweets and she loves to get around. Sunrise has been a good move for her.

Wordless Wednesday

Cabin Supper

We had a beautiful Saturday evening at the cabin, and the fish were biting! The skies were gorgeous, and I even spotted a rainbow. I think it's good to take notice of rainbows although the photo of this one doesn't really do it justice. My contribution to the catch included 5 bass, 3 walleye, and 1 northern. I pan-fried the bass with a little Mrs. Dash, and we ate it with some macaroni and cheese. Yum!

Early Morning

The rain just keeps coming down. Things are wonderfully green, but I wonder how the ground can soak it all up. This morning I saw pictures in the paper of a massive mud slide by the hospital I used to work at, and a car submerged on the road I drive to the care center on. What will I find this morning as I drive in?

Hopefully things will dry out for a bit this weekend. We need to load up a trailer of Katie's things as she moves to her new place soon. Always something to do!

Homemade Veggie Burgers

Katie came home on the bus from Memphis, and I decided to surprise her by making some homemade (vegan) veggie burgers. The whole process turned out to be quite fun, and I learned a little bit about what works in the blender and what does not! The burgers were healthy, with black beans and pinto beans plus oats, grated carrots, and onion. Katie also brought home a bottle of special BBQ sauce to give to Bruce as a Father's Day present, and of course we had to use some on our burgers.

Trisitin loves it when his momma comes home, too. He's going to be moving back with Katie as soon as they get situated in their new place in Duluth. I will miss little boy, but I understand that he's a Duluth cat at heart.

As Aways, Gratitiude

I found this little gem on Facebook, and had to share. I think this is one of the best things we can do to improve the situation in our own lives. For me, it works.

Happy Father's Day!

After a stormy weekend, the weather finally cleared and we were able to have a Father's Day barbecue after all.

We had brats on the grill, and roasted corn on the cob in the oven (which was really easy to make and delicious), and of course rhubarb dessert and brownies. Mom brought the jello and brownies, and we tried out a new potato salad with baby reds and buttermilk ranch dressing.

Katie was still in Memphis, but she called to wish her dad a Happy Father's Day.

Once again, it was so nice for all of us to get together and as time goes on, I think more and more about how lucky and blessed I am to have all that I have. I love my family!

Lazy Days

The cats have been having lazy days, the rest of us are keeping busy.

Katie took the bus to Memphis to visit Anna. Actually, she took two buses, with a six hour layover in Chicago. She met a new friend on the bus (a middle aged lady?) and they were able to do a little exploring while they were waiting. I was relieved when I heard she got on the second bus and was on her way to Tennessee. (Once a mom, always a mom, I guess.)

Jake came home last night for a weekend visit, and we took him to the little Russian restaurant we like. He said he enjoyed the stroganoff, but not so much the borscht.

And tomorrow is Father's Day. If the weather cooperates, we'll grill. Otherwise we'll figure something else out. I'd like to roast corn on the cob in the husk, either on the grill or in the oven. Gotta try out new things once in awhile!

Wordless Wednesday

Weekend

It's been a full weekend. Both Katie and Jake came home for a little visit although at different times, and they ended up missing each other.

We drove up to the cabin for the day on Saturday, mostly to do yard work. Katie searched for agates and foraged for food, her new interests. She found some agates but no food worth eating. (I don't think I'd be good at foraging. It would be my luck to find a poisonous mushroom, eat it, and die. Best not to do this.)

Today we went to a graduation open house, and I made a berry salad to bring. I also made a huge bowl of tuna salad for lunches this week and grilled hot dogs for supper. Tristin drank the tuna water.

It was a pretty fun weekend, but I'm pooped! Back to the usual routine tomorrow.