Minnesota Suburbs Are Getting Tougher

This yard has a helpful tip, beware of pirates.

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I Got My New Toy From Woot

The warning label on the electronic device included "do not ship or store near radioactive fields". Where the heck do they ship, Chernobyl?

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Cabin Daylilies and A Hollow Tree Trunk

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More Wildlife

I was taking a bath this morning and saw something float by, it was a wood tick swimming towards my toes. I felt inspired to share some more attractive wildlife that my husband photographed last weekend at the cabin.
We drive around looking for deer on the backroads at dusk. This evening 21 deer were spotted but this one posed the best.



Three wild turkeys.











When we arrive the hummingbirds thump on the window glass if we haven't put out the feeders.

They don't fly into the glass but actually seem to knock for our attention and we drop everything to run and give them sugar water.

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It's Wildlife Week

I was talking to my daughter through her window—spotted movement—and let out an eep!

Nissa responded by instantly shutting her window. She still hasn't forgiven me for sliding the dried out, flat goldfish under her door. An eep followed by Niissaaa puts her on her guard.

This sweet frog was in the flowers outside her window. Sitting, he was about 3.5-4" long. He is the largest frog we've ever seen at the house.

He thought he was invisible so after taking some photos with the zoom lens we left him to enjoy his frogy thoughts.

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Zelda Is Off The Menu

We were on the porch, the dogs were nearby on their leads and I spotted a red tailed hawk flying overhead.

We saw it fly past and start circling low over the dogs. This photo of a hawk is from Wikipedia since my first thought was the dogs not the camera on the table next to us.

The hawk was less than 20 feet away and since I've seen one take a squirrel from the yard I wasn't taking any chances with a 5 pound Lhsapoo.

The disappointed hawk went to a birch tree, made the oddest raspy noise and left for better hunting locations.

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Wedding Party recreates blissful boogie on the Today Show - JK Wedding Entrance Dance

I thoroughly enjoyed this the first time and was skeptical of a recreation but they rocked. The handstand groomsman danced even better and they look like they had a great time. Congratulations!

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A Visit To Como Park Zoo

I think we were looking for a parking spot a little too long. My daughter folded this origami flower from Arby's coupon fliers.

She's never done origami so I was impressed she came up with this with no pattern to follow.






























The perfect lawn Flamingo.












The turtles decided what to be for Halloween, landscape rocks.









I'd love to see the printer's face who was assigned to make the "Butterfly droppings are called frass." signs



















I told my daughter "Here's your boyfriend." She had never played that game since she is obviously more socially sensitive than me. I never get tired of the you are the dorkiest mom on the planet look, I have to work hard to retain the crown.

I wanted to take a picture of the kid with the sign on his back saying "if lost please call xxx xxx xxxx" but I was afraid the mom would think I was a child snatching deviant. I thought it was funny and a good idea since I had to leash my eldest; she was an extraordinary escape artist that would use clothes racks in stores as cover before she bolted.

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Lovely Water Lilies at Como Park

The giant lily pads look serene on top but they are fierce underneath.

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When Rock Paper Scissors Fail

My dogs have been getting a lot of woodticks lately and my daughter found one that was missed. We did rock, paper, scissors—she picked scissors—I was paper. Ugh!

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Shameless Mom Moment

Nissa got back her Sociology paper. She received 110 points out of 100 and her instructor asked for a copy of her paper. She has a talent for writing that public school almost extinguished so it's very nice to see her doing so well.

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The JK Wedding Entrance Dance Video Looks So Joyous

I would love to get remarried just so I could do this. What a fun wedding!

The song is Forever by Chris Brown and it's available on iTunes.

Update - Wow, when I posted this the view count on You Tube was about 29,000 and as of 10:00 tonight it's at almost 500,000. I admit 3 of the views would be me. 24 hours from when I first saw the video the number of views is 1.3 million

The St Paul couple will be on the Today show this morning (7/24) and the dance will be recreated on the Today show (7/25)

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Stop Me Before I Woot Again

I had fought the siren call of the Woot Off but... I have a vacation video of us swimming with dolphins and I can't get it converted to DVD since I don't a have a release from the resort in Mexico. The Pinnacle video transfer widget seemed like a good solution.

Most of the VHS movies that we really like we've already replaced with DVDs but there are still a few I could convert. After that, eBay.

Damn—253 people raved about the bacon salt—this is the last item! Mmmm, bacon.

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Pretty Flowers At The Cabin

One of my favorite things is how there is always something in bloom, fields of daisies, lady slippers tucked into the woods, daylilies, and a bunch of flowers that are still incognito.

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Tiny Mystery Nest

My husband found this nest in our Northern Minnesota woods and it's about 2" in diameter. He thinks it's a Hummingbird nest but I think it's too big. I think it might be a Red-eyed Vireo nest but I'm stumped what would make such a petite nest.

The forest is mixed with pine and deciduous trees and we are near water. We have a nice variety of wild life and the area is very private so it would be a good location for a skittish mom.

The outside of the nest is covered with lichens and spider's webs, the inside has a lining of pine needles

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Cabin Entertainment

We call activities such as watching the hummingbirds, looking for deer, and hiking in the woods cabin entertainment and the secret cooking ingredient is butter.






























Marilyn and Zelda looking for deer. Yes, we have a firm grip on them so they are in no danger of falling out the window.












































Home again. Zelda climbed over my bags to take a nap in my office chair.

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Zelda and Marilyn In Their Lifejackets

We're taking the Marilyn and Zelda out on the sailboat so we tried on their doggy life jackets to make sure they still fit. The jackets have rescue handles across the back so that you can scoop them up like luggage.

We used to have a 5 pound peekapoo that would jump in the lake to catch perch so we're firm believers in life jackets for pets. Scout was a good swimmer but tired quickly in cold water. Don't worry, Scout was never hurt in the water; she died last year from old age.

I bought the life jackets online several years ago, they are fabric covered with clip and Velcro closures. Mine are XXS and XS and I think they cost about $50 or $60 for both including shipping.













Zelda field testing her life jacket. We clipped a lead on her since we were close to a road with traffic. She adores swimming and will jump into any body of water including lakes, ponds, swimming pools and occupied bathtubs.

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Fireworks and Western Spaghetti by PES

These are very entertaining examples of stop motion animation.

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The Zucchini Are Coming

I love plants that offer so much with so little effort on my part, I am such a lazy gardener.



Orange Zucchini Marmalade Recipe

I got this recipe from my Grandfather's girlfriend, Adleine.

combine the following and cook 3 minutes in a saucepan

3 cups peeled and shredded zucchini
1 cup drained crushed pineapple
1 package unsweetened orange Kool-Aid
1 orange sliced thin

***

add and boil one minute

1 package Sure Gel

***

add and boil 3-4 minutes

4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon butter (the butter is to keep the jam from foaming)

***

Put hot jelly in sterilized jars and seal or simply put it a container in your refrigerator and make popovers. I prefer the later method.

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Smart Car

I haven't seen many of these cute little cars on the road yet but the license plate Walnut 1 is very funny.

The size reminds me of my first car, a Karmann Ghia by Volkswagen. The windshield washer fluid ran off the air pressure in the spare tire. The back seat folded down for a surprisingly spacious trunk and it was a joy to drive.

My Ghia looked the same as the one in the photo except it was green. I have photos of the car but they are Kodak prints in an album that I never converted to digital. I should scan my albums since it would be nice to have a backup.

When the Ghia died I held a wake. I wish now I had kept it and had it repaired but I was in college and couldn't justify spending more on repairs than I did for the car.

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Your Body Has A Mind of Its Own or Stupid People Tricks

Sit in a chair.
Lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles.
While doing this, draw the number 6 in the air with your right hand.
Your foot will change direction; you can't prevent it.

The photo is this morning's sunrise.

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Auto Repair for 4 Cents = 3 Pennies + Duct Tape

My daughter's car has been chiming for a little over 2 years. It constantly made the "you left your keys in the ignition dummy" noise. She took it to a mechanic who thought it he repaired but it but the noise started again the next day. The mechanic said it was an electrical issue and would cost several hundred dollars to find and repair so we've just lived with the beeping.

Today my husband tracked down the problem; a switch was partially broken and he closed the connection by duct taping 3 pennies to the door. My DH said "To bad all repairs aren't that easy." I'm a little afraid since the cabin needs a new roof

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The Cherries Are Ripe & Cherry Tree Haiku

The birds left us a nice crop of cherries this year. We used to net the tree, they flew under—I hung CDs shiny side out to scare them away, they sang to them—I gave up and decided they were bird food, they started eating only half the cherries. Now if I could only get the bunnies to stop eating the peas...

scarlet orbs swaying
gently tug a luscious fruit
spat stones carpeting

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Daylily Haiku

I know many gardeners disparage the common daylily but I'm a fan. They happily volunteer to expand to other areas, suffer abuse graciously, are unbelievably hardy, and the foliage looks attractive after the flowers are done blooming.

I'm not a snob, pretty flowers that grow like weeds are always welcome.

coyly unfolding
come hither stamens thrusting
golden promises

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5 Things I Know For Sure

You are responsible for your own happiness. If you are not happy on your own, no one can ever do that for you.

You can't change anyone, only the way you respond to them.

It's hard to live in the moment but it's important to try.

Be grateful for what you have; not discontent about what you still don't have.

Never stop being curious. Learning is a lifelong journey not something that ends with a diploma.

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Fucking Austria

This is a real town in Austria. A family photo taken here would make for an interesting Christmas card; it beats the kids in front of the fireplace with the dog.

I found this photo on the web.

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Beck - Clap Hands

This is awesome and looks like a lot of fun!

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How to Cope With Death

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Box Elder Bug Convention

We cut down our Box Elder Tree years ago in a vain attempt to control the box elder bugs. The front yard was full of them today and there were large clusters of the bugs near the bushes.

I read that you can get rid of them with laundry detergent but I haven't tried it.

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