Happy Leap Year



We awoke to Leap Day with a Winter Wonderland look outside our windows this morning.  Tough going for drivers, despite the beauty of it all, though.  News stations reporting 73 crashes this morning and 139 vehicles off the roads.  We started off last evening with rain, then ice pellets, then ice, and finally snow.  We got anywhere from 4 to 7.5 inches of the white fluff out here in our area.  I was getting ready to head out the door at 8:30 a.m. when DH called and told me not to leave the house if I didn't have to....it took him 50 minutes to get to work, in what otherwise would have been a 20 minute drive at the most.  I called my friend who I share an hour of time with on Wed mornings and she was already out and about and warned me to stay put.  The roads ARE bad.  So here I sit LOL.

One baby reported having been born on this Leap Year Day here in Minneapolis.  Wonder when the birthday celebrations of the off years will be for that little.  I have one friend whose grandbaby was a Leap Year babe.  She is 12 years old today -- hope she is celebrating specially today.

Well stay cozy and have a great day!!  I am going to curl up with a hot cup of caffee and do some knitting, hopefully, with a missed episode of 'Apprentice' playing in the background!

Ta Ta





Friday's Here

I found this beautiful picture of the Bayfield harbor on the Bayfield WI post on FaceBook this morning.  I see there is a little ice floating on the waters....nothing like usual though.  I guess everyone has experienced a mildness in the season of Winter this year.  I haven't been back to Bayfield since my dear sister, Cindy, came for a visit.  Such fun memories of our time there....good food, laughter, reading, internetting, relaxing.............ahhhh!  There have been some fun activities going on in Bayfield though,  dog sledding, Blue Moon Ball, Book Across the Bay Ski Race - I miss this every year-we have friends that are just wild about it.  Here is a picture I found of it from the site:

Book Across The Bay Ski Race (www.batb.org)



Anyway the next big event will be Bayfield's Winter Festival.  They have all sorts of fun activities taking place...I am most interested in the Candlelight Walk on the Brownstone Trail (the trail from town to our Condo), the Freeze Your Glass Off the Deck Party @ the Bayfield Inn's outdoor deck, (umm Cindy - dear sister - and I did this on our porch while in Bayfield, Freeze Your Wine Glass Off the Porch), and the Polar Plunge---yes, people will actually dip into that normally cold water!!!

Well, not sure if I will make it up there or not......humfph!!

Well, yes, it IS Friday.  DH and I are invited to a wedding on Saturday so that will be the event of the weekend.  Darling grand girl Em, will be at a dance convention this weekend and will be competing with her solo and small group numbers.  I wish I could go watch....always so much fun.

Son, Steve, has had an offer on his house - let the house hunting begin!!  YAY for them.

DH will be entrenched into his wrestling activities through tomorrow sometime (thus the reason we are missing the actual wedding ceremony and just receptioning it).

And I - I will be knitting, as the teacher in my knitting class is pushing me to finish a project. (vest I am working on)

So, that my dear peeps, is it for now.

I am enjoying a chai latte creamer in my caffe this morning, not as good as  *Starbucks*, but will do.

Wish you were here to share a cuppa......

 

Weekend Coming Up!

Yep, the end is in sight for DH's coaching season!!  The big Individual Team Regions is this weekend, hosted by T-G High School.  That means not only coaching the team, but setting up the gymnasium for the bit Tournament which will begin tomorrow.  Good Luck to the team!!  OH, did I forget to mention this is for wrestling??  LOL

A sunny day today surely helps to put a smile on one's face!!  And the warm temps don't bother either.

I am drinking a dose of Airbourne....was around sniffly people yesterday!  Also, this is the first day of the week that I am home, with nowhere to go, so am busy catching up on the daily doldrums of laundry, dishes, cleaning, you know the schtick!! 

I am looking forward to going to my first ever, knitting retreat, tomorrow.  I have picked out some yarn and a pattern to make a vest.  It is rumored to be an easy project so I am excited to begin.  I hope it is a freindly group at the LYS (local yarn shop) and it will be a fun day.

That is all for today.  Enjoyed some coffee creamer in my kaffee this morn - a great start for the day.



HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

Hello Peeps!  I have this beautiful video of flowers to share with you.  What a fitting thing to give you for Valentine's Day, my Love's.  I hope you enjoy.  (You must pause my playlist to listen to the video's music).

<http://player.vimeo.com/video/27920977?title=0&%3bbyline=0&%3bportrait=0href=>  

Time Passages





 Oh Yeah.....it is still winter!!   Although our weather, for the most part, has seemed differently mild this 2012 year, the temperatures do dip down ever so infrequently to remind us -- YES it is still winter in MN!!  No snow though.....very dry, which translates to drought?

OK......settle back with a little cuppa, there is so much to blog about since the last post.

Two weeks ago today, my blogpost title would have read "HEARTBROKEN".   My dear sister, Cindy, took flight back to Ohio.  I had such a great, great visit with her.  I often times wonder....do people realize what peace and pure happiness they bring to one's life when they pop in?  LOL 
She gave me opportunity to do all those things I long to do with someone....
1) Go to Starbucks and use their WiFi , just sit with that fabulous cuppa LATTE and enjoy the commotion of the environment going on around you, in your fav coffeehouse, and just be alone in the moment with the internet and someone with whom you love their company!
2) Go to Bayfield in the dead of winter, and just be.  Alone, with nothing to do, nowhere to be and just do whatever moves you.  AHHHH.....did you catch the feeling?  We had so much fun masking in cucumber, laughing, conversing, lunching (fantabulous foods, both in taste and presentation) and yes,
making a few trips to the local coffeehouse!  We were served LATTE'S in big cups with LATTE ART! no less.  And reading.....on our trip home Cindy read to me, a wonderful story 'Nothing Daunted The Unexpected Education of Two Society Girls in the West'.  So great a story--two girls heading out to parts unsettled to taste adventure!
3)  Exercise at the Y - that would be a ZUMBA class to be specific :-)
4) Shopping at 'Bibelot', 'General Store', 'Shoppes at Arbor Lake'....and a special outing to Cafe Latte for a a celebatory lunch and cake (specialty of theirs)....  ahhh, heaven.
Oh I could go on and on but, you get the picture, so much fun.

It was with a heavy heart I bid her "Goodye in haste...."  as she darted to the baggage check, curbside, at the airport....in the cold.  I miss her.

The next two weeks have flown by, as most days always do.  My dear daughter, Amy, came to the rescue as she so sweetly always does - finding things to do that would require us to spend time out doing  something LOL.
There was grocery shopping to do and all the normal things that we mundanely do day to day.  Got the car serviced, some lab work done, and then a Dr appt follow-up, (which all called for a mother - daughter outing for lunch-NOT the grocery shopping and normal daily grind activities)

I have been debating strongly about purchasing a Juicer......and I am still debating.  The particular one I would want has $$$$ attached to the ultimate decision of purchase.  Oh, there are cheaper models, but I like the Hurom, it has such great reviews.  Oh course, DH chimed in to go ahead and get it if that is what I want.....and then he says "Well, you would have to BUY a lot of fruit and stuff you know"!
LOL....ummm, YEAH!!!!

I survived a day of watching the two little boy littles yesterday.  They are busy and full of energy and life.  Makes me ponder...in days gone by, was I ever that vivacious in daily life??  Oh yes, I was.  I loved being a kid....up until about 12,  I THINK lol.  I also, am in the middle of a Star Wars series (for lack of the right word!) with the Jordan littles.  We are watching the first 3 episodes, one movie a night.  Luke and Emily are in character...Luke Skywalker, and Princess Leia.  The first night, I was a Storm Trooper and Amy was a character from the bar scene in Star Wars-A New Hope.  Following the movie we all donned our light sabers and tagged each other with them -- sneaking in the dark, swords flashing ....10 tags and you are OUT!

Well, here we are on another Sunday...beginning a new week.  Time to say "ta ta" for now....
just a peak into where the time has gone.

Just a P.S. note:
I did go listen to an author speak at the library last weekend.  He came from 'UP NORTH', near Grand Rapids, out in the woods.  Was so interesting to listen to.  I came to the realization that I will never author a book.....there are sooooo many steps to go through.  Outlines, etc etc.
And something from another author that spoke to our Book Club came to mind.
How do you write everyday?  .....BOC, she says.....It requires BUTT ON CHAIR.
Something I could use in penning this blog perhaps!!!
TA TA !
Oh and ..  Too bad about the news of the passing of Whitney Houston.....only 48.  Such a talented singer whose life became twisted with alcohol and drugs.