living the life of love and patience

2013-10-11T13:09:00.002-05:00

More of the kittens

2012-07-05T12:42:00.000-05:00

I just LOVE these blue sparkly eyes on him!

Seriously...a picture of me poopin'?

Kittens in the Wood Pile

2012-07-02T15:16:00.000-05:00

So on the 27th of June - our little cat, Tigger had 3 baby kittens! Oh, they are cute! 3 little tiger striped babies! She is being such a good mamma! After not sure what to do with her 1st batch of kittens a few months ago and losing all 6 from that batch, I was worried how she would do this time. But she is definitly surprising me on how good she is!

BUT, the next evening while my husband was going through one of the wood piles, he found a few more surprises! We used to have this stray cat who sorta ended up permanent. We suspected she had babies but never did see her bring them out. She disappeared about 2 weeks ago and kind of forgot about her kittens being we never saw any sign of them & we were suspecting that they should be about a month or more old.

Low and behold, in the exact wood pile we thought they would be in, my husband had heard some meowing and then this is what he found. A very pretty white fluffy bunny looking kitten with bright blue eyes and 2 orange kittens! They were a little timid at first, but after some coaxing with some canned cat food, I was able to "rescue" them and put them in the shed with the other kittens! But man, they are sure cute!

Peek-A-Boo!

"If you get any closer, we won't come out!!"

I looked at a reference book and I am making an educated guess that the white one and the bigger orange one are males and the little orange one (the one peaking out of the logs by itself) is a female. We've come up with Bunny for the white one and Chubby for the boy orange...just not sure what to call the girl one yet. And as for Tigger's kittens, I am guess ing all boys, but its a little harder to tell with them. We'll wait until they are a little bigger and can tell for sure what they are before we come up with a name!

Any suggestions for the girl orange one?

Nature's Best

2012-06-26T14:43:00.001-05:00

I just love all the natural beauty that summer has to offer. There is so much peace and simplicity in some of these things and it makes me stop and think. Stop and thank God for all that I have and that I am able to experience all that he has to offer every day. I am blessed to be able to enjoy the following beauty's and I hope that you can enjoy them to...and remember to stop and smell the roses...or lily's, or iris's or chive's...and be great full for all the good in your life!

Happy Summer!

Scalloped Potatoes & Bacon

2012-04-03T10:41:00.000-05:00

I'm trying to think of new or uncommon ways to use up our potatoes from last fall's harvest (which really, isn't too hard to do). We do ALOT of mashed potatoes and fried potatoes with bacon and onions, but sometimes I want to do something different. Scalloped potato dishes aren't an uncommon food in general, it's just something we don't hardley make (honestyly, I remember only 1 other time before this)! I found a recipe...and of course, had to modify cause I didn't have all the ingredients on hand. Here is what I came up with...and they were actually pretty good!

4 cups potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup bacon, cooked
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 12oz can evaporated milk
1 can cream of celery soup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix potatoes, garlic, cheese and bacon in 9x13 greased baking dish. In a seperate bowl, mix the cream, milk and soup. Pour over potate mix and bake for about 1 hour, or until potatoes are tender, stiring occasionaly. And BadaBing...you have some nummy potatoes that make a complete meal (or mostly...could use a pretty green veggie to go with these!)

Zebra Cookies

2012-03-29T10:56:00.007-05:00

These were soo fun to make! I got the idea from, where else, but Pinterest! We have a surprise 30th birthday party that I wanted to make cookies for and I thought these would be fun to make...and I was right!! Super easy, too! Just take your favorite peanut butter cookie recipe and add food coloring (the gel kind). And instead of rolling the cookies in white sugar, roll them in the coordinating colored sugar and BaDaBiNg!!! And then as soon as they are done baking, plop a Hershey's Hug into the middle and let them cool completely (if you move them before they are set, your hug will start to run...oh so fun! Here is the pin that inspired me! I so cannot wait to make these in a rainbow of colors next time! Yea!

Bedroom Make-Over

2012-02-19T17:37:00.000-06:00

Paint Bedroom Project = FINISHED

These pictures are not very good, but it at least gets you an idea. I really need to find our real camera (or some how convince Hubby I need my own - DSLR!)

Yes - I MADE those little shelves myself! I was nervous about using the nail gun because of a previous incident from my teenage years, but I did it! And they cost literally nothing! I pulled some scrap wood from pile of wood for the wood stove in my husbands shop and chopped 'em and nailed 'em to my liking...slap on a coat of paint (which I guess I did pay for, but I had it for the walls already - and even that was cheap) and PRESTO CHANGO - Shelves for the bedroom! GO ME!!

Giveaway Funky Junk Interiors is having a Home Depot Giveaway

2012-02-16T09:42:00.004-06:00

Go here and read how to enter for a chance at a $50 Home Depot gift card

Winter 2011-2012 Project List

2012-02-15T16:20:00.007-06:00

Way back last fall, I started thinking of a bunch of projects I wanted to around the house during the cold winter months when I couldn't be outside. Needless to say, it's been so mild, that it was hard to get into the "winter" mode and get my projects done. But I have finally started...and have even FINISHED a few of them! Here's what I have...

~~Paint our bedroom~~

Finish our wedding scrap book

Paint cream cans (which I am actually really liking them as they are...so this may not get done)

Meet weight-loss goal (I gotta LONG way to go on this...this has REALLY proven to be a battle...but I WILL get there...for SURE by bow hunting season!)

Organize our office

~~Create a new filing system~~

Paint spare bedroom on main level

Gather information and organize papers for opening a day care (if we decide to pursue this route)

Go Christmas shopping with mom (we never made it "Christmas" shopping, but have a shopping weekend planned in a couple weeks *SMILES* that I will count)

~~Have a Christmas baking day with my brother~~ (or LONG weekend)

Draw up garden plans for summer

Re-Organize upstairs closests & toys

Re-Organize the pantry

Organize and sort thru stuff to put on a garage sale

~~Make venison jerkey~~

Organize recipies (IN PROGRESS)

~~Organize and label stuff in the freezers~~

Start a BUNCH of annual flowers for spring (with this mild weather, it's hard not to start them TOO soon)

Make an assortment of greeting cards

Clean & polish all wood work in the house

Go sledding (this one is looking sorta out of the question...but I'm TOTALLY okay with that)

~~Start/Finish our honeymoon scrap book~~ (I cheated - I did a photo book on Shutterfly...but hey, IT'S DONE)

Make new curtains for the whole house (yikes...winter will be done before we know it...and I don't even know what colors I want for the rooms)

Make shelves for the Barbie room so the dolls don't all have to sit on the floor

~~Aquire a summer purse~~ (I've done that...and then some!)

Make decorative wreaths for all seasons (which has ALSO turned into a cross for all seasons...and the more I think about how I'm going to do each season, I find that I want one for each month...)~~fall wreath and cross,~~ ~~winter cross,~~ ~~Christmas wreath,~~ ~~Valentine wreath and cross~~

~~Do a puzzle with my hubby~~ (it just needs to be glued together and hung in the garage now)

I think I may have overdone it on this list, but I'm feeling a little more motivated lately and just maybe will have ALOT of these done by spring...maybe next years list won't be SOO big!

♫♪Deck the Halls♪♫

2011-12-14T07:31:00.019-06:00

Yea for Christmas time! I LOVE the holidays: The music, the lights, the decorations, the feeling you get when you give a gift, the magic and the sparkle (this is the only time of year that it is totally okay for grown adults - with no children - to decorate their home with GLITTER)! Here is some pics of my decorations. Not worthy of a magazine cover, but fun to share!

There are stockings hung on nearly every door!

Most of the deer are sporting their holiday spirits!

Mr Elk and Mr Deer are adorned in their holiday gear!

Mistletoe!

This year, I got to decorate the porch in - what else - but PINK & SPARKLES!!!

Being the porch is our "John Deere" room, all the little tractors each got a bow!

The air plane, too!

All the plants got some type of pink, sparkly adornment too!

Windows are all trimmed with pink and silver sparkly ornaments!

AND THE TREE....Ahh, I'm IN LOVE

And even the light fixtures!

Mr Snowman that sits on my kitchen counter!

The red/snowflake garden in the entry way

My "snowflake" cross. I made a leaf cross for fall and really liked it, now I want one for all seasons...and this is the winter one!

The yarn-wrapped vase I made with some foilage from the gardens (yes, there is glitter on the flowers, why wouldn't there be?!)

The mantel...garland is a tish crooked, I see, but oh well!

The painted candle sticks with pine cones

We got these for a wedding present and I LOVE them. They were hanging from the mantel originally, but fell down and this is where they sit. I don't know if they'll make it back up or not! He he!

Barbie and her snow babies!

MY MR MOOSE!!!!!!!!!!! We got this on our anniversary trip to Grand Marais. Barney said my eyes lite up like a kid in a candy store when I saw this. Nothing better than 2 of my favorite things in 1 -- Moose and GLITTER!

This poor plant...I hope it makes it through the holidays! Not sure if this is the best thing for it, but I like it!

My christmas fabric flower wreat that I made! I made one for fall too and also felt that one wreath for each season would be fun!

My table and center piece. All the left over ornaments that didn't make it somewhere else went here along with some candles and a few pine cones.

Ahh, the SNOW! So far, this seems to be all we'll be seing for snow this year! Cotton balls stung onto fishing line and (of course) sprayed with glitter! Fun!

Our wedding cake topper/first ornament as a married couple!

The little "normal" tree in the kitchen!

Like I said, there are so many reasons to love this time of year, but we must not forget the real meaning of Christmas~~Jesus. May you all have a Merry & Blessed Christmas!

Deer Hunting

2011-11-17T09:54:00.008-06:00

Now that the "deer hunting season" is over...I thought I would share this year's story:

This year, Barney decided that he wanted his own stand so we can "cover more area". I was hesitant about sitting in my stand ALL DAY by myself, but decided it would be fine as long as he walked me to my stand in the morning, walked me out of the woods at night and would still gut and drag my deer. He agreed so I went. Opening morning, about 8 am, I had a 4-point buck come walking up one of my shooting lanes. Pulled the gun up, watched him, waited for a decent shot. This deer was nothing spectacular...probably last years fawn...but none the less, the last few years, it's a rare thing to see ANY deer so I figured if I had a decent shot I would take it. I watched him for about 15 minutes before he came into a different lane and gave me a good shot. Took the shot (I like to shoot in the neck so they drop and I don't have to worry about tracking and finding)...he dropped. After I knew he was dead and not going anywhere, I sent Barney a message and told him I got one...yada yada yada. It was about 8:15 now. Barney said that if I see any more deer I couldn't shoot it unless it was a 6-point or bigger (oh, and he also entered us in the "big buck contest" so that was another reason I had to shoot a bigger one). I honestly didn't think I would see much more for deer, but low and behold, about 9:00 another buck, roughly the same size as the one I shot, was hanging out by me. I quick sent Barney a message to make sure I couldn't shoot another one the same size...and while waiting for his reply, I coulda had like 3 different shots on this one...but in the end I didn't get permission to so off he went! Then I was sitting and hangin out some more...eating peanuts, getting the heater goin, watching squirrels, etc...when I happened to glance into a lane that we NEVER see deer in and what do you know, MONSTER BUCK comes strutin' through...Grr. This one I knew was big enough to shoot...heck, he was a wall mounter! I didn't have much time and I knew I only had 1 shot at this buck. I quick scrambled to position myself for the perfect shot on the perfect deer. He came into my sights and I shot for the neck (same theroy as before) and off he ran. I was pissed. I was nearly swearing (which I hardley do anyway). This had to be at least an 8-pointer and it was a thick, massive rack...GRRR!!! I still get mad! Barney knew it was me that shot and immediatly text me to see what I shot this time...I told him and he said in about 20 minutes I should go down to double check for any blood or fur or sign that I DID hit him. This was about 9:40. So I waited, still swearing at myself and thinking of all the things I could have or should have done different, Mad that Barney wasn't in the stand with me cause we would have seen it with both of us in there... 20 or so minutes go by and I make a quick look thru all the lanes for any deer before I go investigate for signs from the big deer. What do ya know...ANOTHER deer starts walking up another lane...I knew it was a buck...nothing big again, but I wanted to get a closer look to see how many points were on it...if it had at least 6 I was going to shoot. As I was waiting for it to come through another lane I was just sensing something else was going on...I felt eyes on me...quick turned around to find a doe right next to my stand watching me. She hoped off after i saw her and then I went back to looking to see how big this other buck was. Fortunatly for his sake, he never did come back out and I never did see what he was. It was about 10:15 now and I finally went down to look for signs that I hit the big one. Looked for about 15 minutes and saw absolutely NO SIGN that I hit it. So back to the stand I went to wait for Barney to come help me take care of the deer I did get. Once he came, we went and looked for about 2 more hours for signs but we didn't find ANYTHING. And the rest of that day, all of Sunday and the 1/2 day on Monday that we were hunting I didn't see any thing else...AT ALL (besides a red squirrel, an owl and some birds). I thought I'd see all kinds after seeing 5 in the first 2 hours. AND it got VERY boring...especially sitting in the stand alone. I brought some magazines with, but I couldn't get into reading any of them...I definitly needed an actual book! I played with the camera one of those afternoons and took a bunch of silly shots. I took several naps (curled up on the floor of my stand). And ran the battery dead on my phone from texting family and friends. Was I ever glad when Barney said we could start packing stuff up to go home! Barney didn't get a deer this year either...at least not rifle hunting. He did get one with the bow, but this is year #3 that he's gotten skunked rifle hunting. He even hunted at home every night and the second weekend once we got back and had no luck. At least we will save some for next year! Here is some pics of my hunting experience this year:

Here's my deer laying in where I shot it. Hard to see but it's the white spot in the middle of the lane Barney gutting out my deer ♥ that he does that for me!

The gut pile!

The "monster" himself.

Me and my deer

And here is where all the "bored" pictures start...
My deer call with 2 of the shooting lanes in the backround
One of my shooting lanes and I some how got the picture to look super dark and scary!

A couple other shooting lane shots

More shooting lanes...yes there is alot of them...10 to be exact!

Playing with the macro setting on the camera - heater pictures! LOL

Really bored! Pink finger nail polish!

Also took pic of my eye! This one, if you look close enough, you can see reflection of the rest of the stand/woods in my eye...kinda cool!

And I made PINK CAMO with the color swap feature on my camera! Only if they actually made it like this and it was actually legal to hunt with it!

Squash

2011-10-25T10:39:00.003-05:00

Apparently squash is supposed to be good for you. My aunt kept trying to tell me we should try it. I remember not being a fan of it as a kid, but I thought I would give it another shot. Barney was kinda the same way. My aunt brought me 2 of them. I made one for supper last. 2 to 0 vote...squash is gross. End of story.

Fall Crafts

2011-10-18T10:33:00.004-05:00

Here are some of the crafts I have made this fall. Fall decorations are something that I was lacking in my decoration inventory for the house so I thought I needed to do something about it. I had a REALLY crafty brain one week and found all kinds of project ideas and then got the supplies and WHALA....this is what we got!

This is not the best picture, but here is the wreath I made with hand-made fabric flowers. I want to make a wreath of some type for all the different seasons and this is the first on my list! And I've got all kinds of ideas for other seasons floating in my head now too!

This cute little pumpkin I picked up at the craft store in the clearance section. Part of it was kind of broken so I got all the flowers and decorations to help cover up the broken parts. It turned out pretty cute and was also super simple to make! I'm thinking after the season is over and pumpkins like this are on clearance I'm gonna pick up a few more to decorate for next year!

When I saw this project idea I thought that it was super cute and SIMPLE! I figured I could whip it together lickity split. NOTE TO THE NEXT PERSON WANTING TO TRY THIS: Stick with larger eyes if you can! I didn't get too many of the larger sized eyes and all those little ones took alot of time and patience!

I LOVE making fabric flowers! They were perfect for the wreath and as I was making them I was thinking of all kinds other ways to use them: headbands, necklaces, clips for purses, pins for coats, other decorations, gift wrapping, and the list goes on and on. I am now on the hunt for scrap material of any color and pattern! Slightly time consuming when I first started, but so much fun, especially when you see the end product!

This idea just came out of no where kinda. All these leaves were used as table decorations at my cousins wedding in September and I noticed how colorful and STURDY they were. When they started cleaning the tables that night, they were just going to throw them away, so I made sure to collect as many as I could. It took me a few weeks to decide what exactly I was going to do with the leaves. I finally decided I wanted to make the cross, just didn't know how I wanted it to look. So I just told Barney to make me a cross some how and that is what I got! I love it though! Now where to put it...

This was another fun one! Wood letters, scrap book paper, decoupage and embellishments: Super easy and Super cute! This one too gave me a bunch of ideas for different holidays!!

And that is what I've been making this fall! I'm looking forward to making decorations for seasons to come now too! Decorations mean so much more if there is a story or an experience behind them!

Wowza...it's been a LONG time!

2011-10-14T09:44:00.007-05:00

So these past few months that I haven't done any update you could say we were a little busy with things at home...and I just hadn't felt like updating! We finished our wedding season (5 weddings over the course of 5 months - 1 each month from May to September - PERFECT way to do wedding season!). They were all so much fun and I am happy for each couple! Unfortunately we were slacking with the picture taking most of the summer and haven't really gotten any updated pics of what we've been up to or any of the weddings we went to.

This one we took after Matt's wedding once we got home...

We have finished up the gardening season and the canning season (AMEN)!! We canned pickles, pickled beans, apple pie in a jar, apple butter, pizza sauce and bruschetta style salsa. I still have to freeze some pumpkin but right now the pumpkins are in use as decorations and for sale...so whatever I don't sell I will freeze (unless its alot - then the deer will eat too!
Here's a few of the pumpkins we got!
We do still have potatoes and carrots to dig and popcorn to harvest, but other than that it's all done! And we have all kinds of new ideas for next year already! Kind of excited for that!

We also celebrated our 1st Anniversary in August! Looking back it FLEW by...but I still remember that day and am so much more in love with my husband now than I ever have been!
Looking forward to many many many more years of wedded bliss!

For our anniversary, we took a mini trip to Grand Marais to celebrate. We had a 4 day weekend and really enjoyed our time just relaxing and taking in the scenery...and plenty of food too!

We had decided before we got married that each year for our anniversary we will go on a little trip somewhere...just to get away, relax and reflect on the past year and what's to come! I chose this years location and Barney said he's choosing next years...I'm curious to see what he'll come up with...or when he asks for my help! Either way, I'm looking forward to it!

Now I have just been crafting fall decorations and preparing for the fall and winter festivities! Hunting is right around the corner, then my brother and I have a weekend set in November that we will be doing all of our Christmas baking, then its Turkey day and I am hosting Thanksgiving with my family...ubberly excited about that!! Then December rolls around and I CAN FINALLY DECORATE FOR CHRISTMAS!!! Any way! I really enjoy this time of year! And I promise not to go this long again without updating!!!

Where To Go Wednesday

2011-07-06T08:00:00.000-05:00

What's it like to put a country gal in a big city? One way to find out! I would love to see New York City some day! I definitly feel I would totally be okay with just going once...and not for too long...too many people! But I definitly want to see all the sites someday!

Time Square

Shea Stadium

Statue of Liberty

I MUST see a Broadway Show sometime in my lifetime!

Ground Zero

Central Park

Time Square

How can you go to NYC and not see the Radio City Rockettes?

Must Have Monday: 1st Barbie Edition

2011-07-04T11:50:00.001-05:00

I started collecting Barbies, oh...about 9th grade or so (so that makes it about 13 years...yikes!) I had kind of put collecting them and keeping up to date on what's out there for dolls for a while being they were in storage from moving here and there...but once Barney & I moved into our new home, there was room for me to have a whole room just for them. Once I started pulling them out of the totes...I was instantly hooked again! I have re-activated my Barbie Collector Membership and am recieving catalogs again! Yea! A few of the first dolls I had were from the Classic Ballet Series. I have all but 1 of those dolls (Barbie as Juliet) but here are some other ballet dolls that I am fascinated by! So pretty! There are ALOT of dolls on my wish list, so I will have more than one edition of this!

Prima Ballerina Barbie

Elina Barbie

Barbie as Juliet

Classic Grace Barbie

Litghter Than Air Barbie

Swan Lake Barbie

Where To Go Wednesday

2011-06-29T08:00:00.000-05:00

Aahh...The beautiful Hawaii

Must Have Monday: Book Edition

2011-06-27T12:00:00.000-05:00

I only started reading avidly about a year ago...before then the only books I would read were cook books and the bible here and there. I got hooked on reading while working out at the gym. I borrowed a few of my gramma's Nicholas Sparks books and was hooked...and had nice long owrkouts at the gym. The rest is history. I'm addicted! Here are a few books on my TO READ list...obviously you can tell I'm a HUGE Nicholas Sparks fan...and the Nora Roberts ones...I've heard there good, so I would be interested in giving her books a try...

Where To Go Wednesday

2011-06-22T08:00:00.000-05:00

Up Next: Alaska

Weekend with the Boys

2011-06-20T19:32:00.007-05:00

Here are some pics from when the little boys were here for the weekend. We went and watched the parade in Little Falls and got lots of candy to send home, we played at "Gryffin's Park" at our hose, went for a quick 4-wheeler ride, got Easter eggs in the Barbie "fishing" net, played with tractors, went to church and went to see the animals at the zoo!

Must Have Monday: Garden Edition

2011-06-20T14:23:00.009-05:00

I LOVE this time of year...when all the flowers start to bloom!!! And I am SOO blessed to have some gorgeous flowers at our new house...BUT...I always want more!! And I am VERY partial to pink flowers...and I don't have a TON of pink in my current gardens...so here is my gardening wish list...flowers, tools and what-not!!

I LOVE peonies - and even though they are not PINK, these beautiful white ones would have a home in my gardens!

I do have some very beautiful pink tulips...but not a bunch...

Some of my garden tools are in tough shape...and some of the above are not even in my garden tool artillery...so this set would make a great replacement!

We currently do not have a little walk behind tiller...just the big one to attach to the lawn mower. With the size of our vegetable garden...and all the flower garden stuff I have dreamed up, a walk behind tiller is a MUST! We are currently on the look out for one of these!

I REALLY would like a big, healthy pink rose bush in the middle of one of my flower gardens!

So pretty!

What's a beautiful flower garden without a pond? I have seen many beautiful flower gardens without ponds, but there is something about a pond in a flower garden that is so tranquilizing...in a good way!

Pink daisies...simply beautiful!

I have some Gerbs like these...that I managed to winter in the house and are looking AMAZING now that they are out in the sun and have some beautiful flowers blooming!

Pink Peonies

(above & below)

These two are just way too cute...I could definitely make a home for them!

Pink tiger lilies...I LOVE tiger lilies when I was a kid...they were always orange though...but these pink ones would suit my pink garden and bring back childhood memories!

More pink lilies!!

I have a few irises...I'm usually NOT a fan of the flower just cause the coloring is usually kinda not my style...but these...these would do!!!

I have just the perfect spot for a large water fountain like this! The previous owners at our house have this HUGE perennial garden in the middle of our circle driveway and a little spot just for this...even equipped with electrical outlets! Just add a few spot lights and BAM! GoRgEoUs!!

More simply beautiful pink daisies!

Where To Go Wednesday

2011-06-15T10:22:00.007-05:00

I like to dream of going to see wonderful places around the world...so I thought I would share those places with all of you who follow this:

Paris, France
Who DOESN'T want to see this place?

What We've Been Up To

2011-06-13T10:40:00.003-05:00

Been a while since I've updated...been keeping really busy at home! I don't have any pics...but I REALLY need to get better at that! Lately we have been spending ALOT of time outside! Which is alright by me! With the new house and large yard and garden, we have been doing alot of work trying to keep things up! We have all of our garden planted...I believe. We are planning on planting more of some stuff we already have planted, just to keep the harvest going longer. We still have a TON of room left in it, however, so I think I should plant more pumpkins to take up the rest of that space! We planted sweet corn, raspberries, blueberries, onions, potatoes, leeks, beans, peas, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, celery, brussel sprouts, pumpkins, cucumbers, pickles, gourds, flowers (to try and take up room!), popcorn, tomatoes, peppers, watermelons and some herbs (basil, rosemary, parsley, sage, thyme & cilantro). Wow!! Hopefully we have decent produce this year! With the late start and the cooler weather we've been having we better start/keep saying our prayers! We are also putting a wood burning furnace in our house (fuel is WAY TOO expensive) so we've been working on cutting, splitting, sawing and stacking wood to get ready for the winter! I find that I am kind of enjoying doing all that wood work with Barney! It's good bonding time! And the yard...mowing that takes a good evenings worth of time to mow that...but I love the huge yard so I am not complaining too much! We've also been busy with softball once a week and trying to get in a little socializing here and there too! I would like to go fishing a little more, but I've already gone more than last year with the 1 time we went out (we actually did do a lot of sucker fishing earlier)!! There is alot of summer left yet, I hope! With all we've got going on, I must say, the inside housework has been slacking a little, but I guess that is to be expected! Oh well! This coming weekend, we are taking both my little nephews, Gavyn and Gryffin! We have a few fun things planned for them and are really excited to see them and hang out with them! Hopefully one of these days I can take some pics of the different stuff we've been up to...just to find that camera now...

What I Learned/Experienced While Planting Trees

2011-05-11T15:30:00.003-05:00

Well...it's done...almost...1494 trees are planted...just a handful left to plant up by the house some day (personally, I'd be okay if they died before we plant them!). And I must admit, I am TOTALLY okay if I never have to plant another tree again!! It was rough, but I guess I did survive! Here's what I learned and experienced:

It doesn't matter how many tracors you have or how big or small they are, when the ground is wet and soft they ALL get stuck! The first night, we hardly made it out to where we were going to plant and the big tractor pulling the tree planter got stuck. So we went to get the other tractor we have at our place to pull it out and even before we could hook it up to the big tractor...that one got stuck. Next option: hope we have enough chains to hook the truck up to the big tractor from the highway and pull it out going across the road and hope that there is abig enough break in traffic to do so - success. After we finally got the first 2 tractors stuck we got going planting trees (by this time the neighbor decided to come see what we were up to). We got a row and a half done and the tractor got stuck again...then the pull tractor got stuck as well...then the neighbor got his tractor...and got that stuck too...3 tractors stuck at once! We finally managed to get them all out, then decided to call it a night...at least, for the next day, we knew where we could and couldn't go!

Skunks like grassy knolls! About mid-day on Saturday, while walking back to our pile of tools and extra clothes and trees, etc., I happend to notice a friendly little skunk who decided she wanted to check things out on top of the little grassy knonll! I wasn't too fond of that idea...next great idea: go back and get my .22 and wait for it to come out of its hole on top of the hill and take care of it. While Barney and his dad planted some trees by hand...I was on guard for our fragrent friend - no such luck. In the 1/2 hour I was waiting for her, she never did come back out...and I was getting sleepy sitting in the sun. So back to work I went and the skunk STILL is living!

It's woodtick season! Once we started planting trees by hand I was constantly picking wood ticks off Barney & his dad & myself. And we apparently didn't get them all either because we keep finding them in the bathroom crawling out of the dirty clothes basket. Tuesday evening we found 7 crawling on the clothes pile...and they STILL randomly make appreances...ewe!

I am out of shape! Sitting crouched over, stretching between my legs to stick the tree in the ground really took a toll on me. I was pretty stiff after sitting in that thing doing that thing for half a day! OWIE! And then with walking all over an dbending down sticking flags in the ground I was pretty sore and stiff Sunday!

1500 trees is A LOT of trees.

MN weather is WeIrD!! Saturday morning we went out and we had jeans and sweatshirts on. When we came in to eat around 11, we were FREEZING! And it was looking like rain. So I put on some long johns, got out my winter/waterproof coat, put on another sweatshirt and grabbed a stocking cap as well...oh and left my sunglasses inside, too! Needless to say, about an hour back at it, the sun popped out and I had to shed layers. By the end of the day I was in a cut off t-shirt and short pants (yes, with my cowboy boots too...can you say, Sexy?! lol) and what do you know - SUNBURNT a little on the shoulders. And of course it happened a day after I was lecturing Barney for not wearing sunscreen at work...

We have poison ivey SOMEWHERE in our woods or swamp! Barney ended up with poison ivy and is now on steriods to take care of that problem. Yuk!

Prickly Ash is NOT something pleasant to have growing in your woods! My legs (from wearing short pants) are all cut and scrapped up from walking and driving the 4-wheeler through this crap. We are DEFINITLY going to be getting rid of that crap!

There IS something that would drive me to drink! By the end of the day on Saturday I was SOOO exhausted and sore! We decided to go to the bar for pizza for supper...and I told Barney I was even going to drink!!! I NEVER say that! And once we were there, I even had some of his drink instead of him finishing mine!!

My husband has a tremendous amount of stamina! As sore and tired as I was from working sun up to sun down on Saturday, I was about floored when we came home from eating and he says to me "I could probably go for a jog yet!" WHAT?!?! I am so thankful that he is in shape and can work hard! If it were up to me to have to work like that, we would starve! I wish I could have half as much energy he has!!

Tree Planting Weekend

2011-05-06T10:08:00.002-05:00

Starting tonight...and hopefully ending tomorrow night...Barney & I are planting our 1500 trees for the deer! We're hoping in time all these trees will be a "Haven" for the deer population around us and thus, make it easier for us to feed our family! That sounds like we live in poverty, ha! No, really though...we want to increase the size and population of our deer herd at our place which in turn can make for some wonderful deer hunting! We have 500 black spruce, 500 white pine and 500 tamarac trees to plant. We ordered them through the DNR and we are also getting a tree planter for the weekend to make things go a little smoother! From how I'm picturing this operation to go, some how the tree planter gets hooked up to one of our tractors and one drives the tractor (Barney) and the other (Me) sits on the tree planter. The tree planter has a divet in the front that will make a hole in the ground, I will drop the tree in the hole and then the tree planter has something on the back that packs it back down...we will see how this works. Then we'll have to go behind and flag all the trees so we can see where they're at. Hopefully it goes half way decent! Hopefully I'll have some pictures to share by Sunday! Wish us luck and hope for good weather!

living the life of love and patience

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**Giveaway** Funky Junk Interiors is having a Home Depot Giveaway

Winter 2011-2012 Project List

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Deer Hunting

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Tree Planting Weekend

Giveaway Funky Junk Interiors is having a Home Depot Giveaway