A bed of Roses!

Well the wonderful Holiday weekend is over but not without some creativity around the homestead. For several years, we've had a dirt flower bed in front of our house which until now we've had no real plans to renovate. We took a little trip to our local nursery where we've never been before to look for some flowers for the pots we put out every year. Well DW was ecstatic to find all the varieties of plants & flowers. We both decided that we could spruce up the front beds which had more moss than dirt we think! Here's a before shot.



While browsing the grounds of "TURTLE CREEK NURSERY" in Owatonna, MN. We found this rosy red mulch we thought would really "POP" the flower bed. We decided to buy enough bags to fill it in & see if our thoughts would actually work out as we had envisioned. Well, we were both pleasantly surprised at how well it was looking.
We had miscalculated, however, on how many bags we would actually need so DW ran back to the nursery just as quick as she could to pick up the remaining bags that were needed as the nursery was to close in 20 minutes. DW returned with a smile on her face & we finished spreading the mulch. We were so happy with the final outcome! Wonders never cease to amaze us about our creativity at times.


Now it's on to the next project! WooHoo.

Duck Duck Grey Duck!

Well, it's not the game we were playing today, it's the visitors that unexpectedly stopped by to take a pit stop on our freshly mowed lawn. We were amazed to see them in the area as we are not close to the river in town where the ducks hang out. Our neighbors, Catherine & Michael, were out & had seen them also. We said they are so gorgeous & Catherine stated that they are trying to build a nest in the new landscaping they put in last year. Apparently last night they had made a mess of the landscaping by trying to build a nest. Our neighbors don't want them. We can understand the reasons why, nobody wants a pond full of fecal matter & we ALL know how much crap a duck can dish out on one scale or another.

DH had stepped closer to try and get a much better picture & they actually waddled towards the camera and settled on the lawn as if they knew they were about to be Internet celebrities. They were so cute together. We wish they could stay! I asked Catherine if I should grab some bread and feed them? She sternly replied NO! No sooner had I asked and her little dog Cricket chased them away. Oh well, to appreciate seeing something we all take for granted made both of us smile and reflect on the day we went to the river & fed the ducks.............. The joys of Summer!

Mmmmm Basghetti

Yet another incredible fun filled weekend. It started Friday night when we met DW's family at the local bowling alley for a friendly game of throw your ball down an oily wooden lane & pray the pins fall over so you're not the laughing stock of the family. DW actually won the first game by bowling rather well I must admit. Granted, Bella, our niece had the bumpers up to make it more fair for her. I didn't rub that in with DW because she was really proud of her score. I know my limitations & rubbing DW the wrong way, well let's just say I know my limitations. LOL! Way to go sweetie. We ended the bowling & headed to the local Pizza Ranch for some Pizza & all the fixens. Later our friend Karen came over and we headed downtown for a couple of drinks & listened to a band. We noticed right away when we walked in to the bar that our age is beginning to show. MANY, MANY youngsters out & they were all drunk. We didn't feel comfortable in the middle of things and headed to the back to get away from the noise & the macho youngster attitudes. Once we were in the back we had a very enjoyable evening laughing and chatting. Saturday morning, DH decided that the homemade Spaghetti (Basghetti) recipe his family has passed down through the generations had to be made & our friends should come over to enjoy it with us. DW didn't disagree & off we went to the local Hy-Vee for all the ingredients. DH started preparing and DW made sure the house was in tip-top shape. It looked great. Craig & Kate as well as Karen & Dave came over to enjoy. DH only made a single batch so we were limited to how many we could ask.
The last time DH made a double batch was when he asked DW to marry him & 13 people were crowded into our living room waiting for the proposal. No big announcement for this dinner!
Craig & Kate brought a couple of bottles of wine to sip with our meal. Karen & Dave also brought a bottle. We had a few bottles left from our wedding that we've been saving for a special occasion.
This was the night to enjoy them . Dinner was done & we sat, talked & laughed about everything under the sun while enjoying the wonderful flavors of wine. 6 bottles later

everyone was very relaxed & full! It was a very enjoyable evening.
Quick note about Sunday: we had 4 adult dogs and five little 2 lb puppies careening around the house! It was hysterical! The puppies and their parents belong to Karen and Dave and they generously brought the whole family over to hang out for the afternoon for our regular Sunday brunch.

After brunch, DH and Dave opened the hood on DH's Imperial and puttered around with the spark plugs hoping to make the car run so we could all take a leisurely cruise around town. After 1 trip to Napa for a new spark plug, the engine started but we ran out time for the cruise. We had a date with our new nephew, DH's brother's new son. Our nephew is home from the hospital and one of the most adorable babies ever! Lots of red hair and a very angelic face. DW already told the new parents to schedule us both for regular babysitting sessions.

Puppies, Puppies, Everywhere

Well yet another weekend comes to an end. Not without our weekly breakfast meeting with Karen & Dave. We had a wonderful time. It has been 3 weeks since we've been out to their farm. The last time there, their two dogs Blanche & Petit, two adorable Maltese had 5 puppies. We were able to see them but unable to pick them up till they had their shots. Well today we had a welcome fit for any dog lover. Puppies, Puppies, EVERYWHERE! They were gallivanting all over the living room, DH & DW were ecstatic to see how much the little guys and gals have grown! DH didn't waste any time and was in the middle of the ruckus.
These little guys and gals were so adorable that DH & DW joked that the newly purchased purse should've been bigger to allow us to creatively remove them & take them home with us. "Evil grins" DW & Karen thought it would be funny to try and take a picture of all the Puppies (5 total). Everyone laughed because that would be a feat which would seem impossible. Dave & DH were VERY impressed because they nailed it on the first photo. So cute!!
The girls thought they nailed that task so easy they would try to get the proud parents in the photo as well. Of course that didn't go as well as planned, but still an impressive attempt.
DW took many photos & we wish we could post them all for you to see. Here is a few more to enjoy.

Don't you just want to pick them up and let them lick you all over? Wow they are so cute! We got our puppy fix out of our system & it was back to the task at hand. Breakfast. Nummy! We had asked Dave to start cracken the egg's & boy did we get a sight no artist could paint.
We laughed hysterically!
This is Dave on crack. (say no to drugs) Our appetites were all BUTT gone at this point.... LOL! During the preparation of our breakfast, Karen had asked Dave to prepare the table & Dave wanted to add a leaf to the table to allow all of the breakfast goodies to be within our reach. He tried to pull the table apart to add the leaf & for whatever reason, it wasn't working. DW thought she might be able to help. They tried to get it fixed but to no avail. We finally sat down and enjoyed another wonderful breakfast with these two great friends of ours. We wish they would move to Arizona with us. We know we will have many breakfasts together with them & our other close friends and family in the warm Arizona sun in the future. We can't wait!
The last time we were at Dave & Karen's farm, Dave took DH to the barn to show him around. It was a cold and blustery day but they sucked it up and made the short distance from the house to the barn. Dave has an incredible wood shop in the barn & showed off his Adirondack chairs he has been building. Very nice. DH was impressed! Dave also showed him the upper portion of the barn which in it's farming days was a storage space for the harvested hay. Now it houses a basketball hoop & some local birds finding refuge in the open & spacious real estate.

I had told DW how cool it was & today being much warmer then the last time we were there allowed the four of us to check it out. We all think a future barn dance with our friends would be great fun. We will work on that idea for the future. Here's to another wonderful weekend! Oh how fast they fly by. We hope everyone has a great week. Thanks D&K! We love you guys.


TnA

Indulgence

Last Thursday, DW, attended a "Purse Party" hosted by a co-worker. I was told you just walk in like at an open house, pick what you want to buy, pay for it and leave. No presentation or demonstration. I'd never heard of something like this! I decided to check it out with 2 good friends. We went into the house with our game faces on, half expecting to do battle with another over a purse we "had to have"! But everyone maintained their composure and no there were no fisticuffs! Good thing too because we left our hockey sticks, billy clubs and helmets at home! When we first arrived, there were 10 or so people already in the living room and purses galore covering every surface, scattered on the couches, floor, side tables! Coco Chanel, Coach, Kate Spade and so many more! And there were about 50 different styles of wallets on the dining room table! It was a first come, first serve style party. You just grabbed any and all purses that you thought you "might" like then made your way to pay, narrowing down your selection as you went. Here is a picture of my one and only purchase! I had promised DH that I would not go overboard, but it would have been easy to do!

Breakfast of Champions

Late Sunday afternoon was a treat. Our close friends Karen & Dave and of course DW & DH, have decided that it would be great to get together on Sunday afternoons at 1:00 for a late breakfast. We decided that every other week we alternate our homes to create the feast. This Sunday, Karen was the only one available because Dave had to travel to the cities for the WILD hockey game. So preparation started at 5:00 p.m., a little later than we were used too. Karen took video of the kitchen antics to show Dave how much fun we had cooking without him. We joked that he had to eat the ground up who knows ingredient Hot dogs at Excel hockey arena. Karen even opened the oven and recorded a short video with sound effects including "Mmmm, Oh nummy, Mmmmm bacon, Ohhhh what's that, blueberry waffles, is that Sausage I'm seeing?" We laughed hysterically as she played the video back. DW & DH have yet to hear Dave's reply to Karen's short, yet impressive short video clip. Might be something worth posting on Utube.com! We will have to convince Karen to post it there. We will keep you posted. It was a great feast & wonderful conversation as usual. We love these two GREAT people. We enjoy every minute we spend with them. We hope in the future that our other close friends will hear how much fun we're having and join us as well. At one of our Breakfast gatherings, Dave showed off his crepe making ability with a little display of creative trickery that didn't quite work as well as he had hoped.
Still all the breakfast goodies we have made have made DW & DH so grateful for ALL the close friends we have. We look forward to MANY more late afternoon delights.

Lawn Lump Destroyer

Spring is finally here we believe. (THANK GOD!) With it comes the beginning of lawn chores. At work on Friday, DH & a co-worker were discussing how lumpy the lawns are this spring. Last year DH & Jim (DH's co-worker) borrowed a lawn roller from another co-worker to knock down the lumps. This year Jim had mentioned his dad's friend had just purchased one and that we could probably borrow it. Jim did some checking & was able to borrow it. On Saturday afternoon, Jim & his dad showed up with a 4-wheeler & lawn roller. We had to fill the metal drum full of water which took about 10 minutes to fill completely. Jim took the first swag at the front lawn and rolled most of it himself. Jim's dad thought perhaps he needed to make sure Jim did it correctly & rolled the complete front yard again himself.
We think he was trying to show off a little. He is such a great guy. DH hopped on the 4-wheeler and finished the backyard himself. The lawn turned out fabulous! In wrapping up the lawn rolling adventure, the final hoorah was the draining of the roller itself. They pulled the plug and the water just trickled out. It seems that an extra breath hole to allow air to force the water out was not designed in this roller. Jim, being the Engineering thinking type, had brought an air hose connector that when pressurized inside the roller, forced the water out like a jet engine! DH was really impressed at this process. After the roller had been drained and Jim and his dad had left, DH had time to think of why that worked & realized the amount of air forced into the roller forced the water out at a much faster rate. DH thought it was pretty cool.