WILLOW WAY KNITTING

Snow Day!!!

2009-12-09T19:54:00.014-06:00

It started yesterday. The predictions were for lots of snow. I hoped they were wrong. But it was not to be. 15 inches at last report. We kept a close watch on this happy garden guy in the front of the house, watching as the snow accumulated up all around him. Poor guy!!

Sophie has been pouting all day because she didn't get to go on either of her field walks. She won't even look at me. Maybe tomorrow Sophie......

Sumo loves to go out and eat the snow. I have been thankful for his sake that the snow has held off as long as it has. It is going to be hard for him to navigate these deep drifts. I think it is safe to say that his walks in the back field have come to a halt, at least for now.

K took this picture of our winter wonderland out the back window. It is pretty and certainly does get one in the Christmas spirit!! For Steve, it was his first SNOW DAY that he has had since we moved here 14+ years ago!!! Pretty crazy!! It was fun to have him around all day.

Since it has been a few weeks since my last post, I will do a quick 'catch up' of what we have been up to. We had a great Thanksgiving day. K invited some good friends to spend a few days with us, which was so fun. I love these two!!! And am happy to be their American 'mom' while they are studying here in the U.S.

We played games; ate turkey; went 'Black Friday' shopping; and played more games!! R & M were around Thanksgiving day, but A & CB were at her folks. We'll get to see more of them over the Christmas break.

This past weekend, K and I made a quick trip to Chicago for a 'girls weekend' with Sheri and her knitting daughter. Shopping; knitting; catching up and eating at fun restaurants are all important components of a girls weekend. We found a GREAT pizza place to have Chicago style pizza. Very yummy! They even ship over 250,000 pizzas a year all over the states!!!

Breakfast is one of my favorite meals to eat out, and we found a GREAT breakfast place just a stone's throw from our hotel. These are my yummy yummy crepes that I had. I think I may have to make crepes some time this weekend!

We stayed right by the IKEA store and took K there for the first time. I LOVE this store and made many very fun purchases! Several things for our living room which we are in the process of redoing. Sure would love to have an IKEA store closer to home!!!!

In knitting news, I have finished the first of CB's mitt and hope to cast on the second one later this week. I just can't say enough about this pattern. My friend Sheri has mentioned it so much on her blog that the gal who wrote the pattern made it available on a blog post as well as on ravelry. You can get the free pattern here.

I also started an alpaca tubular scarf with some yarn that Sheri gave me when we were in Chicago. These are probably the warmest scarves on the planet!!!! You cast on 70 stitches onto a size 5 - 16" circular needle and then just knit away. I am striping mine, changing colors every 5 rows. When it is as long as you want, you seam the ends; add some fringe and enjoy it's incredible warmth!!!!

Until Next Time....

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling......

2009-11-24T10:22:00.009-06:00

It is lefse season here at our house!! Today I have 6 batches that I am going to try and get rolled out and packaged for our Distinctive Design Open House this Sunday! I LOVE the way this makes the house smell. Smells like Christmas..... (For my recipe and step by step instructions on how to make lefse, see this post.)

There is nothing yummier than a piece of lefse hot off the grill with a little butter on it. I confess that sometimes I even have dreams about it. Today that dream will probably come true several times! Yum!!

K will be at the Open House selling cupcakes from her 'As You Wish' Bakery. This order went out this morning and looked so good. I wonder if they would have noticed one missing.....

I am happy to report that Sumo no longer has bad breath. We are all thankful. I had suspected it was because his teeth needed to be cleaned, but was afraid to have him put under general anesthetic at his age.... They had to keep him at the vet for quite awhile as he had a very hard time coming around - but all is well now and he has minty fresh breath!! (Well, not minty maybe, but better than it was!!!) He got a thumbs up from the vet for being in pretty good shape for an old man, and I was told it is probably the 2x daily walks in the back field that are keeping him going. He is down 30 pounds from when he was in his prime, but it is probably better for him with his arthritis.

Sophie hated having him gone and kept looking for him in his usual sleeping spots. What a happy reunion when he returned!! (Happy for her, anyways. I think Sumo rather enjoyed a little time away from her enthusiasm!)

I finished another pair of 100% cotton fingerless gloves for K. They turned out so soft, which is nice. (The other cotton ones I have made for her are just a little stiff...) I used this yarn from KnitPicks. One skein was all it took, so they are very reasonable to make. I am totally addicted to this pattern and have a gazillion more I want to make!

I have already cast on another pair. I want to make a pair for both M and CB. I wonder if they can guess who these are for? The purple will give it away, I am sure!!!

Time to roll out more lefse.

Until Next Time....

Knitting and Chocolate Dipping....

2009-11-11T12:08:00.014-06:00

I enjoy both...knitting and chocolate dipping!! And today has already had a little of both!!! We started with big marshmallows to make snowmen on a stick. (We dipped the two bottom layers and put a plain marshmallow on top for the head...)

Still working on the best ways to decorate the little guys. I think a red licorice scarf would be cute and maybe some pretzel arms. We have also tried dipping the head marshmallow in white chocolate which also works well.

And, of course, one needs to dip mini-marshmallows to create snowman poop. These are very dangerous to have laying around however. They are so yummy!!!!!

If you haven't tried this chocolate yet for dipping, I HIGHLY recommend it!! It is THE BEST dipping chocolate ever. It is a available now for a limited time at Sam's Club. Definitely worth stocking up on! (I bought 85 pounds worth if that gives you any idea how much we like it!!)

I won't tell you how much of the snowman poop I have already consumed today. It's just not something I want to confess to!

In knitting news, I am still working on the fingerless mitts. I finished the yummy blue ones and I LOVE how they turned out. And although these will soon be on their way to China, I have enough to make myself a matching pair!!! (Steve just wanted reassurance that I won't need a new coat to go with them..... hmmmm, do you suppose I have a bit of a coat issue???) Some of asked what yarn this is, it is Fiesta Boomerang.

As it turns out, my friends daughter in China has two teammates that she is there with, so I am knitting fast and furious to get 3 pair ready to send by this Thursday. Here is the first mitt of the 3rd pair. (I am half way done with the second mitt as well, so I should be able to have them ready!!) I am totally addicted to this pattern. Totally. (This is also Fiesta Boomerang)

I felt bad about the condition of Sophie's toys after my last post, so I broke down and bought her a couple of new ones. I don't know why. This one already has rips in it and stuffing is laying all over the house. Not sure I will ever learn.

Oh, and the fresh breath rinse and mints are doing NOTHING for Sumo's bad breath. Sigh. It was worth a shot.

Until Next Time....

Four Things....

2009-11-04T14:31:00.010-06:00

that make me laugh, when they should probably make me cry....

1. Our current Loopy Ewe water bottle situation. These are by far my favorite water bottles and I used them all the time. My sweet husband, however, was too efficient in doing the dishes the other day and put the two blue ones in the dishwasher. NOT a good idea. I probably should throw them away (and I will be ordering more when they are back in stock) but it makes me laugh to look at them. Not sure why......

2. The concrete evidence of mice in the house. Yes, these dissected cupcakes clearly indicate the presence of mice. Mice in the form of humans who decide it's ok to eat just the part of an existing cupcake that sounds good at the moment...... So sad. (Note: the piece of chocolate and remaining buttercream disappeared shortly after this photo was taken. I don't think the fact that I am the only one home necessarily implies that I am guilty.....)

3. The items that I had to purchase yesterday for Sumo. Yes you see correctly. Doggy breath mints and mouth wash to add to his water. The reality is Sumo's breath smells like dead fish. No kidding!!! And when he starts to pant, it about knocks you out. It's suppose to take a few days for these items to take effect. I will keep you posted!!! In the meantime, I am just thankful that Sumo has never been one to lick!!

4. The state of Sophie's toys. Yes, these are her toys. At one time they were new and cute and many of them had squeakers that actually worked!! Now it is just a collection of strings; monkey limbs; duck heads etc... She still seems to like them, so I guess that is all that matters.

In knitting news, I finished K's mitts and am very happy how they turned out. They are 100% cotton and not quite as soft as some of the others I have made, but they will be kinder to her skin. I have to say that I am in love with this pattern!! (Link takes you to Ravelry, where the pattern is)

In fact, I have already started another pair!! This one is for a friend's daughter who is currently living in China. I'm loving the feel and color of this yarn and am glad there is enough to make at least 2 pair, as I have a feeling I will want some for myself!!!

Oh, and Sophie wants to show you her 1 toy that still looks pretty much like it did when we gave it to her. A raggedy rope that she loves to play tug-of-war and keep-away with. It definitely has signs of 'Sophie-wear', but it is hanging in there!!!

Until Next Time....

So Long October....

2009-10-31T21:04:00.010-05:00

Wow! Last day of October. I can't say that I am sorry to see it leave. It was a cold, rainy month. I am hoping that November is going to be nicer!!! It did make for a few nice days to curl up and do a little knitting, however. I got these mitts done and I LOVE them!!

I decided that a scarf would go well with the, so decided to finally tackle the Irish Hiking Scarf which I have wanted to do since I started knitting. It's hard to see the cables in the yarn, but there are three of them across the scarf. I thought it would match the above mitts nicely. Hopefully I will get it done in a few weeks.

I also have swapped a knitting project with K. I am very excited. I purchased this yummy Baby Twist Alpaca from The Loopy Ewe and K is going to knit me one of those tubular scarfs that transition from one color to the other. I think it is my favorite scarf of all time. I thought the light purple/charcoal gray would be a beautiful combination!

In exchange, I am knitting her a pair of fingerless mitts like the ones I just finished out of 100% cotton. (Wool is not kind to her sensitive skin!!) I have had to restart these a couple of times, but I think I finally got it right. It will be a good project to work on during the Vikings - Packers game tomorrow!!! (GO VIKINGS!!!)

I have been doing some large group cooking these past few weeks. We host a Marriage Course at our church and we provide a candlelit meal for the couples before the session. Tonight was Week 4 of 7. Penne was the main dish. I tried something new and cooked it (4 batches) totally in my roaster. It worked great!!!! I love my roaster.

I had some fun shopping on Etsy a few weeks ago. I found someone who did custom aprons and hats. I couldn't resist and ordered K some aprons and a hat for her business. She was thrilled. Now I want a hat for myself!!!!

I will leave you with this picture of her chocolate-dipped peanut butter cookie. (Just to be kind of mean!!) They are very very yummy. If you are in the neighborhood stop on by and we'll give you a sample!!

Here's to a sunny, warm November!!! We can only hope!

Until Next Time...

Knitting again.....

2009-10-21T08:33:00.011-05:00

It's true. I actually have been doing some knitting. I won't say that my knitting mojo is back, exactly... but I have been doing a little each day and am enjoying seeing some progress...even if they are little things!!!! The one I am most excited about is this fingerless glove that Sheri mentioned on her blog. It was exactly what I was looking for. I still have to finish the thumb (oh, and the second glove), but I will be starting that today. The yarn is some I got at The Fold. There is enough to do several pairs and a scarf and maybe a fun hat....

I also cast on a felted bowl out of some wool I had in my stash. I am hoping to get several of these knit up for an upcoming event at my neighbors house... we will see. My mind is thinking of all the fun fingerless gloves I want to make for Christmas gifts...

And I have some felted coasters on the needles and a lot of additional colors I want to make up into coasters for a fun set. Like I said, nothing to amazing, but all fun.

Sophie continues to grow and keep us laughing with her quirky ways. Definitely the weirdest lab I have ever known.. but in a good way. She INSISTS on her morning and evening field walks, which are a good thing. I think the best thing they do is keep Sumo moving.....

Sumo is moving slow, but he is moving! He does at least one lap around the field both morning and night and even makes attempts at running. Thanks for hanging in there, old man!

I'm pretty sure that Sophie would be lost without him!!! She is very protective of him on the one hand, but can bowl him over with her enthusiasm on the other.

Cakes, cupcakes, cake balls and cookies are still being produced by the dozens in our kitchen. Makes for a yummy smelling house! Here are a couple of cakes that K took to a tailgating party last weekend. As a Hawkeye fan, it kind of killed her to make these, but you do what you have to do!!!!

She also made some fun cake balls that surrounded the football cake. I think it was enjoyed by all. I'm pretty sure the next ones she makes will be black and gold though!

It's another cloudy day. We have had lots of those lately!!! Sunshine seems to be in short supply. At least it's warm out. And hey, there are cupcakes on the counter... how bad can life be?

Until Next Time....

Monday...

2009-10-05T08:19:00.016-05:00

Well, it is Monday again and I am looking back and realizing that much has happened since my last post.

First, however, I must put a plug out there for my football team, the Minnesota Vikings!!! Tonight is a BIG GAME - going against the Packers with Brett Favre facing the green and yellow in purple. I know his return to football is controversial, but the guy just loves to play, so I say let him play!! And if he's wearing purple, then I will be cheering for him! And as Sophie demonstrates, we will be cheering against the Packers. Sorry Packer fans!

Sumo really won't be doing much cheering at all. This is pretty much the position he will be in. In fact, he is often in this position if you stop by. He may get up to greet you, but more than likely not. That's ok. Sophie greets enough for the two of them!

The last few weeks have been very busy for K with the article about her 'As You Wish' Bakery business coming out in the paper. If you haven't visited her website, you should!! Just click here. Steve and K have been working hard getting it set up. The incredible pictures are possible because of the incredible light box our friend Paul made for K. Sorry we haven't figured out how to make the cupcakes come out of your computer screen!
(Visit her blog here).

Steve celebrated a birthday last week. I surprised him with a little utility trailer that he has wanted. He really liked it. I'm glad. Tools, trailers and trucks. They're guy things, I guess...

We headed to Des Moines to see WICKED to celebrate his birthday. Unfortunately at the last moment he got called to an emergency and wasn't able to go. Very disappointing!! We still had a good time, and I promised him we'd head to Chicago sometime and see it again.

To celebrate we had dinner at a local Irish pub where R & M's friend is the chef. It was very yummy!!! We will definitely be going back!

This past weekend, Steve and I made the 7 hour drive to see my folks in Western Minnesota. Had a great visit, but forgot to get my camera out often enough! We did take a few pictures when we went out to my brothers place. The first was of these beautiful horses that belong to my cousin.

Steve took the liberty of sitting in my brothers Smart car. These things are so cute. Both he and his girlfriend have one.

And I got to meet their sweet little poodle puppy, Millie. What a doll! They are planning on breeding Golden Doodles in the near future. I wonder if Sophie will want a play mate by then? They may be too cute to resist!!!!!

Back home now and ready for another week.

Until Next Time....

14 days......

2009-09-24T06:52:00.010-05:00

Yes, I think that it is official... this has been the longest stretch that I have gone without posting. It's not that things haven't been happening... it is just that too much has been happening and I have had to put some things (including blogging) on the back burner. So, I will attempt to give a brief summary of the past few weeks - not necessarily in chronological order......

First off, let me reassure you that life has still been filled with cupcakes!! And lots of them. Here are some of the mini-cupcakes that K made for a women's retreat that we cooked for this past weekend. They were a big hit!! There was even rumored to be contests happening as to who could eat the most mini's before noon. I participated and was in the running for first place!!!

It was a pleasure and a joy to spend a whole weekend with some wonderful women at a neat retreat center tucked away on 100 acres of rolling hills and pasture in the center of Iowa. It was especially fun for me as K, M and CB were all able to come and spend the weekend.

I think the hit of all of our cooking, however, were the mini-cupcakes; cake balls and warm homemade cookies that K provided. She was quite busy in the days before the retreat getting them all made. And it looks like she is going to stay quite busy! Yesterday her 'As You Wish' Bakery was featured in our local paper!!!! Check it out here. The orders started coming in pretty quickly. We are busy getting a website; brochure and price list ready... hopefully in the next day or two. Feel free to reach into your computer screen and help yourself to one of these Decadent Chocolate Chip mini cupcakes!!!!

But we haven't just been baking! We are in the process of doing some redecorating! The first room to get a facelift was the upstairs bathroom. Here is the before....

And the after:

We still have some finishing touches to put on it, but it is on it's way to being complete!

Also in the past 14 days, was a quick trip to Chicago to be with our friends Paul and Sheri. Sheri and I's destination was Stitches Midwest, which was full of fibery fun as well as running into several women from my knitting circle of friends!!! Steve and Paul headed downtown and enjoyed the beautiful parks; fountains etc... I do think that Chicago is one of my favorite cities. I love that it is only 4.5 hours away... an easy weekend destination!!

Since the camera was with Steve, I didn't get any pictures at Stitches, but we have lots of the guys downtown. About half of his pictures seem to be pictures of themselves taking pictures of themselves in this Cloud Gate structure. Must be fun photographically!!!

Well, I know several of you are wondering if there will EVER be knitting content on my blog again.. after all, it is titled 'Willow Way Knitting'.. and I ask you not to give up!!! Life is starting to settle into a routine and I think I will be getting my pointy sticks out again soon.... so stay tuned!

Until Next Time....

Morning Meet and Greet....

2009-09-10T14:06:00.011-05:00

Morning comes early here at our house. I'm a morning person, so that suits me fine!! I am usually up before the sun spending some nice quiet time reading and journaling and starting in on the first pot of coffee for the day. I LOVE my mornings!!! I don't know about you, but I have a favorite mug for my morning java. This is it. I love the polka dots and it holds just the right amount.

Mugs are actually something that I LOVE to collect. I especially like the Starbuck City and Country mugs. I collect them whenever we travel, and it is the perfect souvenir. And it is fun when the kids bring me them home from their travels as well. These are two I got this summer. The Wales one from R and M and the Jordan one from K.

Sophie humors me in the morning and stays contently in her area until I am ready for the next part of the morning..... our walk in the back field!! We have done this morning and evening for over a year and Sophie still gets as excited as if it were her first time!! I adore her enthusiasm for life!!!

She runs to greet the sun...

She cautiously greets the cows that live in the field to the West of us.... Heaven forbid they are still laying down happily chewing their cud! Sophie will bark until she gets them up on their feet. It's time to start the day, after all!!!

Then it's over to the East pasture fence where the llamas greet her cautiously. There will come a day when she will get spit on. It hasn't happened yet, but I think the writing is on the wall.... When it does happen it will entail a bath, that is for sure!

Sumo tags along most mornings, but sticks to the paths and leaves the meeting and greeting to his younger counterpart. These cooler mornings are heavenly to him, and sometimes he even breaks into his version of a run. Through it all, I do believe he is smiling!

Sophie does pause now and then just long enough to plan out her next mad dash.

When the walk is over, we saunter back to the house and I pour another cup of coffee and look to see if there are any of K's cupcakes needing 'sampling'. Here is her new creation from yesterday - Chocolate Peanut butter cupcake with chocolate buttercream frosting and a mini reeses peanut butter cup. Yeah... they are as yummy as they look!! Come on over! I am happy to share both coffee and cupcake. You can even join us on a field walk if you'd like!!!

Until Next Time...

One Year.......

2009-09-01T08:38:00.014-05:00

Well, today is the one year anniversary of the arrival of that adorable golden bundle of energy we named Sophie. And life hasn't quite been the same since!!!! She was so cute back then. Sigh.

Sumo tried to warn us about the hazards of getting a puppy. I remember his looks of 'What WERE you thinking?????' We still get those looks from him a year later. Often with reason!!

Like yesterday when she got the top off of the puppy safe package container on the front step and destroyed the mail inside. I wasn't so mad about the credit card bill she ripped to shreds (pretty sure I'm exempt from having to pay it now!!!) but I was a little mad about one of CB's text books that came.

Her life was spared, however, by her good fortune that the calendar I had ordered from my friend Claudia in Germany had come registered mail and was NOT left in the puppy package box. Never was I so happy to make a trip to the post office to pick up a package!! I hate to think what would have happened to her had she shredded this!!! It was so fun to get this after hearing Claudia and her husband Andreas talk about the idea of it at the Spring Fling in April. It is a calendar of Claudia's AMAZING yarn strategically placed on the male models. (Her husband is one of the models!) All of the proceeds go to charity..... If you are interested in one, you can purchase it from Claudia here. But be warned - if you are offended by bare b*tts, you may not be interested. But it is done in good taste and the calendar is wonderful!!

We had a great weekend and got to make a quick trip to see A in his new apartment. Lunch at Hickory Park is always a treat as well!!

K made an incredible birthday cake over the weekend for a 60th birthday party. It was 3 tiered and covered with amazing flowers. (That she had made with homemade gumpaste). It was breath taking.

She also got a request for a cupcake that was coffee flavored with a hint of toffee. After researching recipes and combining ideas, she came up with these. The frosting is an espresso buttercream that is unbelievable. I couldn't stop eating it!! She is trying to decide what to call them. Head over to her blog and cast your vote: As You Wish

With some leftover fondant and frosting, I succeeded in decorating my first fondant cake. A football!! I was really excited how it turned out. I think I see more of these in my future....

Until Next Time...

Cousins, Corn and Cupcakes, Oh My!

2009-08-26T15:44:00.014-05:00

This past weekend we had a mini reunion for Steve's family here at our house. Everyone was able to make it except R & M who had a wedding they were in out of town. It was great to have everyone together and the weather was fabulous!! Steve enjoyed giving rides to his niece's 4 children. (I think he may even have enjoyed it more than they did!!!)

We got to have a great bonfire on the new pit we put in late last fall. Hoping to see many more as the weather gets cooler and Fall arrives. I just LOVE a good bonfire complete with gourmet smores!!! (Smores with the traditional graham crackers; chocolate and marshmallows - just add strawberries; Andes Mints; bananas; etc...!) Yum!

And since this was an Iowa reunion, we had to have sweet corn!!! It's amazing how quickly 2 dozen can get shucked with this many hands!!!

Had other yummy food as well. For lunch we had one of my favorite sandwiches, The Savory Sandwich Ring. This is an easy sandwich to fix and always a hit!!!!

K has been busy with her baking business. She is fine tuning her cupcakes and they are incredible, if I have to say so myself!

My personal favorite are these almond cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting. They are heavenly. I dream about them. I eat them for breakfast. I may have to set a rule that they can not be in the house.

These decadent chocolate chip cupcakes with chocolate buttercream frosting and mini oreos are Steve's favorite. I am pretty sure he could set a world record in cupcake eating if given the chance!!!!

The chai cupcake with chai spice buttercream frosting is a favorite of all. In this picture you see my very important role in the cupcake preparation. The placing of the little 'extras'. It is a very important job. I do confess to sticking some of the bears head first into the frosting. I think it's more realistic of what a bear would actually do given the chance to attack the cupcake.

Finally, a peek at the tray that K created for the teacher's lounge at the elementary school that M teaches at. Cake balls surrounded by her special chocolate chip cookies - some of them dipped in chocolate with sprinkles. I guess the word 'divine' came up by some of those who got to eat from the tray!!!

Until Next Time.....

Monday again.....

2009-08-17T06:32:00.012-05:00

Wow! Where does time go? Has it really been over 3 years since I started blogging? (My first post was August 7th of 2006! Crazy!!) It has also been over 10 days since my last post, but it seems like I posted just yesterday. Time is truly a funny thing!! It's also interesting how my blog has evolved. It started TOTALLY as a knitting blog (hence the name) but has turned into more of a journal about life - including family stories; favorite recipes, and yes, even some occasional knitting. (Which I hope to resume again soon!!!!) Maybe today I will knit. Maybe.

We had a busy weekend!!!! It was one of those 'divide and conquer' weekends where we headed in different directions and wished we could be in two places at one time!! Steve, along with A & CB headed to Chicago to pick up R & M!!! I cannot begin to tell you how great it is to have them home again!!! They also picked up some dear friends of R & M's who had flown in for a wedding last night.

K & I headed north to Minneapolis for the wedding shower of my niece. It was great to be among family for the day and celebrate my niece's up coming wedding. One of the things us aunts did was bring our head pieces/veils from our weddings and had her model them and try to guess who they belonged to. This was the hat that I wore over 26 years ago when Steve and I married. I thought it looked kind of cute on her!!!

We also delivered a 50th birthday cake to my brother Brad that K had made for him. Unfortunately I was not feeling well and so we had to take off before his birthday celebration. A very Happy Birthday to my older brother!!!! :-)!!

When we got home, K immediately started work dipping 250 cake balls for the wedding we went to Sunday evening. They turned out beautifully and were a huge hit at the wedding! (Steve confessed later to eating 6 of them!!)

R and M were pretty awake and had a great time at the wedding, even though they hadn't been home yet for even 24 hours. The bride has been a friend of R's for years and I know they were excited to be able to be home in time to attend. I still can't believe they're home!!

A and CB enjoyed the wedding and were taking mental notes for their wedding which is now only 9 months away. It was a beautiful outdoor wedding and I absolutely loved it.

There was dancing on the deck. Steve and I tried to remember some of the steps from our dancing lessons. Pretty sure we may need to take a refresher course before too long!!

It was so wonderful to see K & M have some time together at the wedding as well. We have all missed them so much this summer. I feel so incredibly blessed by the children God has given me. Life is good!

One of the final shots of the evening was the famous pyramid that R's group of friends has done at every wedding. (Ok, I didn't get a shot of the actual pyramid.. but will post one when I do!) This is the shot before the pyramid. It is an incredible group of friends and I love them all dearly!! So happy for each of them, but sure miss having them hanging out. (hint hint) Come visit soon!!!

And, of course, no blog post would be complete without some Sophie story. She has decided that she is also a 'papasan chair' dog as well. Ok, but this is it, family!!! I don't want to catch her up on couches, chairs or beds. I know that she is cute, but don't spoil her, for Pete's sake!!!

Until Next Time....

Little Bit Of Everything......

2009-08-06T09:38:00.011-05:00

It is hard to believe that we are into August. For one thing we have had the coolest summer that I can ever remember. I keep waiting for it to get unbearably hot and humid, and it just hasn't happened yet. I'm not complaining. It just seems strange.

K and I took a quick weekend trip down to St. Louis and had a great time. Took K down to see The Cupcakery. We have had these cupcakes the last two years at the Spring Fling and they are incredible. What a treat to get one in between Flings!!!

We also did some shopping. Well, Sheri and I shopped while J & K went to the 'Build A Bear' workshop and made these bears. K named hers 'Isaiah' and he has become a special friend.

And we ate well, which is always the case when we go for a visit. Sheri always has THE BEST salad recipes. She made this one for us and it was incredible. I think I had at least 3 helpings. She added cooked chicken to it and a little extra of the oil/vinegar combo. (Check out the Pioneer Woman's website.. FULL of great recipes!!)

Got word from R & M that they have finished their time in Uganda and are now in England for 10 days. They had an incredible time in Africa working with orphans and the local churches.

They posted some photos on Facebook, so I decided to share a few here. I will definitely have them do some guest posts on their return.

We have really missed them this summer and look forward to them coming home next weekend!!

We have REALLY been enjoying having CB living with us this summer and having her and A around much of the time. They are both busy with work, but we catch what time we can. And they have been very helpful with eating some of the 'samples' that K has been producing as she moves forward with her business. She now even has a website!!! Check it out here. She has named her business 'As You Wish.... Custom Oven Creations'. Yummy stuff.

Sophie is her usual cute, pathetic self. One of her many quirks is jumping into ANY car that has a door open or hatch open and sitting there. I think that she has figured out that it is the car that takes us away, and perhaps if she just stays in there, we won't be able to leave her. I think that is what she thinks, anyways!

And she will wait!!!! Here she is an hour later. Still waiting. Steve finally felt sorry for her and made her get out. Now she is sitting at my feet while I update my blog. She's a funny girl. We love her!!!

Until Next Time....

Took The Plunge....

2009-07-31T05:40:00.014-05:00

Well, for those that know me well, it is no secret that I have always wanted a tattoo. I don't know why. Just something inside of me. But I didn't just want to get any old tattoo. I wanted it to have meaning. I knew someday that it would come to me. And it did.

26.2. Those are numbers that mean something to me. It is the number of miles in a marathon, which I have now 'run' two of. (The word 'run' being used lightly here....). But on Monday, when I went for my tattoo, it was 26 years 2 months from the day we got married - a marriage marathon. All done with my wonderful husband and best friend and I thank him for running beside me all of those miles and all of these years. I don't plan on 'running' any more marathons with my feet, but am hoping for at least one more 'marriage marathon'!!!

K is in the process of starting a baking business. "As You Wish" custom cakes, pastries etc... She's doing a lot of baking and is starting to get orders, which is exciting. She got her first cake order for a friend's adult son who is a huge Harry Potter fan. This is what she came up with... The Sorting Hat. It turned out amazing.

I thought I would share just a few of the other 'samples' that she has been creating as she learns the ins and outs of fondant; frosting; flowers etc..

Marbled with white roses.

Sunflower with large chocolate chips for seeds.... Mmmmmm...

Little baby cakes for fun.

Whimsical cupcakes. The turtle was my favorite. But the Prince Charming frog had his appeal! (Oh, and the cow and pig had awful cute backsides!!!)

I even got to create my own plate of fun cupcakes!!! It's like being a kid again playing with playdough!!!! (Only you get to EAT it!!) Yum!

Well, K and I are off to St. Louis to visit friends. While there, K is also going to be taking a class at the Viking Cooking School. Stay tuned......

Until Next Time.....

It's Offcial!

2009-07-26T05:22:00.009-05:00

It's official. I'm another year older. And I'm ok with that! Old. Young. They are just words. I know I don't 'feel' as old as I am; and those around me would certainly verify that I don't 'act' as old as I am. (I choose not to ask them what age I do act like.....). Bottom line is, I feel good.

K made me this wonderful M&M birthday cake! The fondant M&M's and M&M bag are so adorable! She made a confetti cake and frosted it with my favorite 7-minute frosting (which she did not even know was my favorite) and covered it with M&M's. Yum. I wish I could share a piece with all of you!!

We had what we are now referring to as 'A Bayfield Day'. The weather was gorgeous (sunny and 78 degrees) and we had no agenda. We relaxed; played games; read; layed in the hammock; ate etc.... It was perfect. (Although no one saw fit to actually let me WIN a game, which I think is quite rude on someone's birthday!!) Still a fun day. Steve and Sophie enjoyed some time on the lounge chairs. Steve was borrowing my birthday present. (A Kindle from Amazon.. which I LOVE!!) I think he is going to put one on his birthday list now!!

Had sweet corn for the first time this season. It was so yummy. There is just nothing like good ole Iowa sweet corn!!! A and K got it all husked and ready for dinner. Under Sophies supervision, of course!!

Sophie ended the day with a romp through the creek in our back field. She loves to bury her face in the muck at the bottom. This picture was taken with a flash, so doesn't show the extent of the mud on her face. It was pretty much covered. And she still looks cute!!

But muddy puppies are not allowed in the house, no matter how cute they are and so we had to get the hose out for a late night bath. Not one of Sophie's favorite activities!! I don't think her brain is capable of making the connection of ' if you get muddy, you get a bath'. It's just the way it is!

In the baking world, K has been cooking up a storm. She made several of these almond pastries the other day and is working on perfecting her recipe, as well as trying different fillings etc.. Let's just say that our house has been smelling VERY good lately!! Good thing we have good friends and family who LOVE to receive her 'samples'. I would hate to think what would happen if it all stayed here...... (Well, I KNOW what would happen! I would eat it all!!)

Looks like it is going to be another beautiful day. Gee, maybe another 'Bayfield Day'. That would be ok by me!

Until Next Time.....

Bayfield - A Place Of Perfect Peace (And Yummy Sweet Potato Fries)....

2009-07-23T06:07:00.017-05:00

For the past 5 days, Steve and I (along with some dear friends) have been tucked away in Bayfield Wisconsin (a tiny town of 611), having the most relaxing vacation of our life!! Everything about it EXCEEDED our expectations, which is hard to do anymore. Steve and I had been to Bayfield over 27 years ago and had fallen in love with the town then. When my brother and his wife went there last year for vacation, I just knew I had to go back. Little has changed in the town. And I fell in love all over again. And when I said 'tucked away', I meant it. Here is a picture of our cottage which was barely visible from our car. It was perfect. Not a clock in the place and no sounds or lights from anywhere around. Perfect Peace.

And the funny thing is, look at the road that it was on. Yep. Sophie Lane. This sign would always make me think of her and wonder what kind of trouble she was getting into back home. (And she certainly had her naughty moments while we were gone!!!). I think she was quite upset with me for leaving home and not taking her with!

EVERY meal that we had was amazing. One of the highlights for me were the sweet potato fries that we found at Maggies. Oh my, were they yummy!!! (Everything else there was yummy as well - especially the burgers!!!) We usually only ate out one meal a day, which was plenty. But we did make several visits to the local bakery/ice cream store. Just saying.

For the most part, our trip was meant to be a time away to renew and reenergize. And we did plenty of that. We also had some fun!! One of the highlights was going out sailing on Lake Superior.
Here are the four of us ready to set sail!!!!

It was one of those rides that you can choose to just relax and enjoy the ride; or you can help in every aspect of the sailing. We all chose to help. Our captain was great and quickly taught us the ropes and had us sailing away!!

I loved being able to steer the boat and had a great wind for going about as fast as the boat could go! (I LOVE speed!!!) I got it up to 6.4 knots. Steve didn't quite get that high and blames it on the wind. And I have to admit, there is an element of truth to what he says. I did have great wind. The bottom line, however, is that I was faster.

Steve and I also got tickets and went to the Big Top Chautauqua for a show. It was a blast!! We had heard about it for years from our dear neighbors who use to travel to Bayfield every year. I can't tell you how many times we thought of them while we were there!!!

And remember the part about ice cream cones and bakery (and I didn't mention the best part - SALT WATER TAFFY!!), this is the home of all of that. We spent maybe too much time not only in this shop; but thinking about this shop and all of the yumminess inside. Let's just say we ordered several baked goods to pick up on our way out of town so we could have it to 'share'. (Ok, so we could continue to enjoy it ourselves!!!) And I refuse to confess to how much salt water taffy I brought home.

We also did a little shopping in the shops downtown. There are several wonderful shops. Not too many; not too few. Just enough. Full of unique and fun things and each shop has it's own flavor. It's not like you start to see the same thing shop after shop. One of my 'surprise' finds was this wonderful yarn store above one of the shops. I didn't even know that it was there. It had great yarn and lots of yummy seating that, if I would have had the time, I would loved to have curled up and knit away.

Berries being in season was another delightful surprise! We had fresh raspberries everyday. On our way out of town, we stopped and picked up some to bring home with us. (Again to 'share'.) We bought them right from the gal that was out in the bushes picking them to sell on the street corner in town that day (where we had usually picked them up).

And home we came. It was time. We were rested and refreshed and ready to return. (LOVE being back home with the kids and the dogs... even if Sophie is naughty!!). I do know, however, that I will have times that I look on this picture (which is now my screensaver) and take a quick mental trip back to the place of perfect peace.

Until Next Time...

Cake 101

2009-07-15T22:10:00.009-05:00

K has always LOVED being in the kitchen and has always wanted to pursue cake decorating; baking; etc... She did some research and has taught herself how to make fondant and use it to decorate cakes; cake balls etc...

She found a picture of a whimsical cake online that she wanted to make and so she got started. She made 3 circular almond cakes and then proceeded to teach herself how to make fondant. She got to play with lots of bright colors. The fondant actually reminds me of an edible playdough!!

So, after lots of coloring; kneading; rolling; and circle cutting of the fondant, she had created this happy cake!!! Just in time to celebrate her birthday tomorrow!! Happy Birthday K!!! (Thanks for making your own cake!!!!!)

I spent part of the day cleaning out the refrigerator. It had gotten fairly neglected over these past couple of weeks. (Found several 'science experiments' as we like to call them....) I also found these 3 containers of sour cream. (All pretty much full). Now the funny thing is, none of us really LIKE sour cream!! Their existence is still a bit of a mystery to me!

Also spent a bit of time on the hammock today with Sophie. (Was trying to catch up on a little sleep after going to the midnight showing of Harry Potter last night!). Sophie has learned that she needs a person on the hammock to make it possible to be on there. Quite the entertainment watching her attempt to get on the hammock by herself. Probably could win some kind of award on some funny video show.

We have had some beautiful sunny days here recently and hope they continue. I love to feel the warmth on my face.

Until Next Time....

Life Is Not Always Easy....

2009-07-13T05:49:00.007-05:00

That is just one of the truths that I have learned over the years. Sometimes life is hard. But I have also learned the incredible truth that God is good. It doesn't always FEEL good, however!!!

We have been walking through a difficult few weeks. (Hence the blogging absence - Well, that and the fact that our internet provider informed us they can no longer provide service for us unless a couple of large trees come down on the property down the road. This probably would have happened in the storm that hit our town Friday had we been located a mile North of where we are).

But we are coming through on the other side. Through it all, Sophie has been a source of laughter and licks. (Laughter ALWAYS appreciated; licks not so much!!) She has decided she is a hammock dog. It took a bit for her to get the hang of it, but once she did, she was hooked!!

She let K know how much she appreciated helping her transition from 'non-hammock' dog to 'hammock dog'. Oh yeah, can't you just feel the love?

Sophie is also busy keeping watch over Sumo, who is almost aging before our eyes. We've spent more time just loving on him; brushing him and taking him on an occasional walk up the road. (Still one of the highlights of his life).

It's corn season in more ways than one. I am looking forward to my first sweet corn of the season, as I was unable to eat any last year due to the absence of my front tooth. I can't wait for my first bite!!! It is also nearing the beginning of 'detasseling' season. If you are not from Iowa (or another state that grows corn), detasseling is the thrilling work of walking up rows of corn and pulling the tassels off the top of the stalks. Yep. It's not real exciting, but it pays well, and for A that is important as he has not been able to land a summer job. Will keep him busy for the next 3-4 weeks.
Well, gotta run. Busy day.

Until Next Time...

Disconnected....

2009-06-28T18:19:00.015-05:00

Well, our internet provider has been having major problems and we have been without internet for several days. It has been quite eye opening to me how much I have come to rely on it for so many things! In some ways it is good to have to take a forced 'fast' so to speak from it all! But I do hope they get us up and running this week!!!

This past weekend has been Sturgis Falls days... our towns yearly celebration. It's one of my favorite events of the year. I love going downtown, listening to music, seeing friends and eating all kinds of yummy junk food!! The last few years we have also been taking the llamas and walking in the parade.

K wasn't able to come home for it, but her llama, Sebastian, was along and was the lead llama! The girl next door had done an incredible job getting all the llamas groomed and ready for the big day! A lot of work!!

The theme of the celebration was 'Dancing in the Streets', so we had the llamas doing the 'Llama Llimbo' during the parade!! Played limbo music and would have the llamas duck and walk under a pole. It was very cute. The crowd always LOVES the llamas!!!

The hardest part of the day is always the waiting as you have to get there early to get lined up etc.. This shot cracked me up of the Baridons as it looked as though they were waiting to catch a bus. Good luck getting a bus driver to let you take those llamas on the bus with you!!

Shortly after getting home from the parade, CB arrived home from her second week of counseling at our church camp. She brought along 4 students from Bethany Bible College in New Brunswick who had been at camp with her as counselors and needed a place to stay for the night before they headed to Michigan. What a neat group of kids! Loved having them. I just LOVE a house full of kids and the noise and laughter that it fills the home with!!

Well, lastly a bit of knitting news!! I have joined Sheri's Girasole KAL (Knit A Long) and am well into chart D. For those not familiar with knitting or this pattern, the Girasole is a round afghan with a beautiful lace pattern. I keep telling Steve that if I succeed in knitting this successfully, I will feel like a 'real' knitter!! So far, so good. I do think I am going to learn how to put in a life line, however, just to be on the safe side.

Well, the next post will be written by K on her recent trip to Amman. Stay tuned!!

Until Next Time...

I'm Still Here....

2009-06-22T11:42:00.010-05:00

So, I realize that it has been over a week since my last post and there are a myriad of reasons for it!! First off being the total crash of my desktop computer. Fortunately, the hard drive is still in tact, so no information was lost. It did, however, leave me computer-less for almost a week! We finally made the trip to the Apple Store in Des Moines and picked up my new toy. It's pretty sweet!

We have also been in the middle of the comings and goings of our kids! K and SC returned from Amman Jordan last week and had an incredible time. When the dust settles, they promise to do a guest post or two and share with all of you about their trip! R & M have left for their 2 month mission trip to Uganda. I'm so jealous of all of these incredible trips that our kids have been taking, but excited that they have these opportunities!!

M's parents came to town to pick the kids up and take them home for a few days before they flew off on their adventure. It is always wonderful to see them! I am so incredibly thankful for the families that our children have and will be marrying into. They are all wonderful!!!

This past week Steve had several days off which we spent enjoying the kids, but also cleaning out rooms; closets; the barn etc... It feels good, but is not overly exciting!! We did get some games of ladder golf in, which is fun!

Sophie LOVES LOVES LOVES having all of the kids around! (I'm not so sure that they are always as crazy about her....) She is growing up some and mellowing out, but she is still very much a puppy!! Hard to believe she will be a year old soon!

Sumo is still hanging on. He is content to hang inside most days. He is always up for a short walk down the road, but can't make it too far. He's happiest when Sophie is not bugging him, which she seems to be doing less and less. I think if he could talk, he would say life is good!

And Sophie really does adore him. She just shows it in weird ways sometimes!

Well, I am hoping that I am going to be able to cast on my Girasole today. That is the plan. We'll see how it goes.

Until Next Time....

WWKIP Day!

2009-06-13T16:08:00.015-05:00

Yes, today is World Wide Knit In Public Day!!! So, how many of you were out there knitting in public? I went downtown for a bit and knit in front of the Crazy Girl Yarn Shop with Leslie, the owner. It was a little chilly, actually, hence the lap blanket and felted hat on Leslie!! It also happened to be sidewalk sale day in town, so there were lots of people walking by making comments about the 'crazy knitters'! Success!!

Made another quick trip to MPLS this past week for another graduation open house. This time R & M came with and were actually put to work slicing the buns for the yummy sandwiches.

Enjoyed beautiful weather sitting out by my friends pool. The time went far too quickly and we had to pack it up and head back home. I am thankful though that it is a doable day trip. For years we lived so far away that it would have been impossible to have made it to events like these.

The cake balls that we made for this open house (A and I dipped over 350 cake balls the day before we left!!) were a big hit. We brought a few home, but they are already history. I thought I would share the recipe here, even though you can google cake balls and find the recipe right on line.

Cake Balls

1 cake mix
½ - 1 can prepared frosting
Melting chocolate*

1. Prepare cake mix according to directions in a 9 X 13 pan. Let cool.
2. Crumble cake into a large bowl. Add ½ to 1 can of prepared frosting.
(The more frosting you add, the creamier the texture; if you add less, the
cakier the texture)
3. Refrigerate mixture for 2-3 hours.
4. Using a small cookie scoop, form balls with the mixture and place on
wax paper on a cookie sheet. I like to ﬁrmly pack the mixture into the
scoop with my hand.
5. Place in freezer for several hours or overnight. (Or until needed)
6. Melt chocolate. Take out 15-20 cake balls at a time (The colder the cake ball the better!) and dip each ball in the chocolate and let drain and place on wax paper. (I use two forks to lift ball out of chocolate and let drain)
7. Drizzle with opposite type chocolate if desired
8. Trim excess chocolate around base and place in mini paper cupcake holder.

Examples of combinations you could try:

White cake mix and mint chocolate chip icing - Dipped in chocolate confectioners coating.• French vanilla cake with white chocolate almond icing. – Dipped in chocolate confectioners coating.• Red velvet with cream cheese icing and vanilla confectioners coating. • Red velvet with cream cheese icing dipped into milk chocolate coating.• Chocolate cake, milk chocolate icing, dipped into chocolate bark. • Lemon cake with lemon frosting and dip them in whit chocolate. • Lemon cake mixed in white chocolate chips and lemon frosting, dipped in white chocolate. • Spice cake with cream cheese frosting and coated them with white chocolate coating. • Cherry chip cake mix and cream cheese frosting dipped in white chocolate.• Fudge cake, mixed in peppermint chips and fudge frosting. Dip in dark chocolate. • Chocolate fudge cake mix and coconut pecan frosting dipped into chocolate.• Chocolate cake, butter cream icing, and dark chocolate coating.• Chocolate cake/chocolate icing and dipped into raspberry/chocolate chips are melted with a bit of oil.• German chocolate cake mix with coconut pecan frosting & dipped in melted semi sweet chocolate chips. • Strawberry with vanilla frosting, dipped in chocolate. • Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting

*I like Ghiradelli’s dipping and candy making chocolate, but it is seasonal. Wiltons makes a good dipping chocolate – which can be found in cake decorating aisles at Walmart; Michaels etc… (With the Wiltons I mix the light and dark chocolate wafers 50/50 when melting)

Nothing says I love you more than a nice big tray of cake balls. Well, that may be exaggerating, but I guarantee you will be popular if you show up some place with a tray of these!!

Until Next Time....

Here Llama Llama.....

2009-06-08T19:38:00.012-05:00

I was in the middle of making cookies this morning when I got the phone call..... It was my neighbor calling to let me know that a gate had accidentally been left open and all of the llamas were out and heading Northeast. I threw on my boots and called A who jumped on the 4-wheeler and we were off.

The biggest problem was with all of the rain lately, the fields were very muddy and we were not able to drive even the 4-wheeler into them. So everything had to be done on foot. After well over an hour, several llamas had been caught and haltered and the parade back home had begun. (Usually if you can halter 3-4 of the 'key' llamas, the rest will follow)

It was quite the adventure and just about all the llamas behaved and followed the herd back to the pasture. All but K's llama Sebastian. He decided to hang back and enjoy his freedom a while longer. But in the end we prevailed, and all of the llamas were tucked safely back into their pasture with all of the gates checked and rechecked to make sure they were latched.

Here is my friend and neighbor Marilyn who joined in the pursuit of the llamas. (Her children own several of the llamas that we were chasing!) At one point she had to choose between loosing her shoes in the mud or letting go of the llama she was holding. She chose the llama and walked the rest of the way barefoot and carrying her now mud-encased shoes. Yuck!

A group shot of the llama rescuers seemed in order. K's llama, Sebastian, is the llama on the left next to A. He's promised to be a good llama from now on.

I got home to a slip saying that our mailman had tried to deliver a registered package, so I hopped in the car and headed to the post office to see what it could be. I was thinking it might be the final installment of the Wollmeise Sock club and it was!! I think these are my favorite colors yet!! And the sock pattern was written by my new friend Maria who I met at the Spring Fling. Of course there is always a small package of gummy bears that I always rip open and eat right away. I love them!! I am excited to go to Germany in 2010 to visit Claudia, Andreas, Dani and Maria (Steve has said we could! Sheri, you and Paul are coming too, right?)

I also got a fun package of yarn from The Loopy Ewe this week. Sheri has started a KAL (Knit-A-Long) making the Girasole shawl/blanket pattern. I ordered the amazingly soft Eco-Alpaca to make the blanket out of. I am way excited (and nervous) to start it. It will be a real stretch for my knitting ability, I think.

Have been enjoying a few quick trips here and there in the past few weeks. A couple of my dear friends have sons graduating from high school this year, so we are making quick dashes up to Minneapolis to attend their open houses. A and CB joined us last weekend and R and M will be coming with us this Thursday. These are the last to graduate from the Triple R gang (three families and all of our last names begin with R, so we have called ourselves the "Triple R Gang"). Hmmm, that makes us all empty nesters now and I see some fun traveling in the upcoming years, right guys?

Sophie and Sumo continue to hold down the fort at home. Sumo is aging rapidly and no longer goes with us on our field walks. He still gets along quite well as long as Sophie isn't pestering him! Sophie tries to be respectful and even waits her turn to drink from our fancy water bucket. Sigh. She is still getting over not being able to help 'herd' the llamas this morning! Boy, now that would have been an adventure!!!! Maybe next time.....

Until Next Time...

His Story/Her Story

2009-06-04T17:13:00.025-05:00

Hello to all of my mom's blog readers! It is time for another guest post from A, and this time, I'll be joined by CB as well! This post is on the recent trip I made to Spain to visit CB during her last week studying in Spain. It all started during a conversation I was having with CB on Skype in February. I had been playing with the idea of visiting her, and I finally decided to do it. So, I bought the tickets for my trip to Spain. Then, as we continued to talk, CB suggested we go to Paris since I had taken 4 years of French in high school. I had always wanted to go to Paris, so of course, I agreed, and we had tickets for Paris soon after.

My first flight took off at 1:25 pm on May 17th, and then, after stops in Boston and Madrid, I finally made it to CB in Oviedo at 9:50am (which, to me, felt more like 2:50 due to the time difference, but it was enough to make me very tired). So, after grabbing a bite to eat with CB, I went to the host family of her friend, T, who allowed me to stay with him. I immediately collapsed, and slept for 5 hours. I woke up for a few hours before going right back to bed.

The next day, CB took me on a tour of the city, and we spent quite a bit of time in a park, where there were several peacocks, ducks, turtles, and other birds that were all very pretty. CB had a final that she had to take, so we went to her campus, where she finished her schoolwork fo the semester. The rest of the day was spent in the apartment that CB stayed at during her stay in Spain. Her host mom made Spanish tortillas for dinner, which were very delicious.

Then, on Wednesday, we got up early and went to the bus station, where we caught a bus to the airport. This was the part of trip that I had been waiting for: Paris! We had a bit of a layover in Barcelona, but we arrived in Paris at about 5pm, which gave us plenty of time to find the hostel where we stayed for the two nights that we were there. It was a nice little hostel, and we got into a 4-person room. The first night, we had a roommate from Brazil stay with us and we got to talk to her.

After dropping our stuff off at the hostel, we went to the Arc de Triomphe. It was quite a sight, right in the center of a turn-about with 12 road branching out from it. We went over and saw all the cool carvings on the Arc, as well as the tomb of the Unknown Soldier which is right under it. Then we climbed up the stairs to the top of the Arc, where we had a lovely view of the Eiffel Tower, as well as the rest of the city. We were up at the top when the sun went down, and then, at 10pm, the Eiffel Tower had a light show! It was beautiful. It lasted 5 minutes, after which, we decided to call it a day and headed back to the hostel.

The next morning, we headed out to the first of our two major stops for the day, and that was the Notre Dame Cathedral. We waited in line for quite a while, but the wait was made fun by a man who wore a mask and scared passers-by. Very entertaining. When we got to the top, we got to see the bell made famous by The Hunchback of Notre Dame. So, of course, I felt the need to make an appropriate pose.

The next stop is the ever-famous Eiffel Tower! No trip to Paris is complete without going to see this awesome monument. We bought our tickets and walked up several flights of stairs to the second level of the tower before catching a lift up to the very top. The view was absolutely stunning! And now is when the story gets really exciting. Because it is here that I brought about the workings of my evil scheme: to propose in Paris! Yes, that's right, I had bought the ring in April and had devised a scheme to propose on top of the Eiffel Tower during our trip to Paris! Things didn't go exactly as planned, but when the moment of truth came, I was down on one knee, and said those four little words, "Will you marry me?" After receiving an excited "Yes!", I was back on my feet with a grin on my face, and I was officially engaged!

For those of you who are curious as to why things didn't go exactly as planned, here's the scoop. When I was in Argentina, I had bought CB a necklace that came in a little penguin that was just like a ring box, so I had planned on using that when I proposed, but it was unfortunately broken during CB's stay in Spain and fell apart in my pocket. I had also planned on having someone taking our picture while I proposed, but we couldn't find any native English speakers to take our picture, and the guy we did give our camera to didn't know how to work a camera very well, so that was out. But in the end, she still said "Yes", so all's well that ends well.

And if that wasn't a big enough of a surprise for her, I had my parents waiting for us at the airport in Chicago, which she wasn't expecting (she had thought that I was going to drive her to her parent's place), and then, when we stopped for dinner on the way home, her family was waiting for her there! It was a wonderful way to finish off the trip. Here is a picture of us all at the restaurant celebrating our engagement. And now, to tell you her version of the story, is CB.

Here is one of my first pictures with the soon to be infamous Eiffel Tower. At this point I was just so happy to be in Paris with A. This was actually my second visit to Paris while I was in Europe, and I didn't get to go on top of the Arc de Triomphe my first time so I was doubly excited! Little did I know...

Ah yes on top of Notre Dame. In just a few short minutes I would hear the story of a girl we met at Notre Dame about her engagement and how she still had no idea what was happening. I thought come on he was down on one knee! How could you not figure out he was proposing? Of course I wasn't even thinking that A would be proposing to me at our very next stop.

This is one of my favorite pictures because this was taken before we even got in line to climb the Eiffel Tower. I just laugh now because at the very top A would get down on one knee and say the four words I'd been praying that he would say to me one day, "Will you marry me?" God is good.

A thought this would be a great picture to have. The significance behind this photo is that A and I had agreed that we would wait to say, "I love you," until we were engaged.

Here I am as we're leaving the hostel showing off my engagement ring! Quick rewind: So we get to the top and are going around taking in the view. Normally A likes to take his time, so I thought since we were taking a while, A must be taking in the view and really soaking it up. I briefly turned away from him to catch another glimpse at the Arc de Triomphe and by the time I turned around he was down on one knee asking me to marry him. Going back to that other girl, so very clear, but what is my first response, "What?!?...YES!" Now there wasn't much pause in between those two, but I still had to pinch myself to check if I was really awake.

And that's our story, and we're sticking to it.

May 27th.....

2009-05-27T07:52:00.008-05:00

This is an important date for me! It's our anniversary! So I want to thank Steve for 26 wonderful years. (Well, most of them have been wonderful... some were harder than others!!!) But life is good and I am looking forward to the next 26 years, Lord willing!!

We had a very fun weekend in Chicago! One of the first stops we made was to The Fold. I have heard so much about this place that I just had to check it out for myself! I'm so glad I did!

I didn't buy much. A few skeins of Blue Mountain Socks that Rock and a skein of Twisted. I wish I had been ready to purchase some fun roving because there was a TON, but I need some more time behind the wheel to appreciate different fibers, I think. Next Time!

In the car I kept plugging away on my lengthwise Feather and Fan Scarf. I LOVE doing this scarf lengthwise!! 418 stitches is a long row, but the 3 plain rows are great mindless knitting. The pattern row takes a little concentration and I have to say, every time I do it and come out right I feel like doing a little dance. I see lots of these scarves in my future!!

The highlight of the weekend was picking up A and CB at the airport! So fun to hear all of their stories in the car as we drove to Peoria to meet up with her family. But per your requests, I am going to have them do a guest post on their trip when they get back to our house! (A did such a great job on his Antartica post so I think you'll enjoy his post on this trip as well!)

A fun surprise at the airport was a quick visit from Sheri's son who was leaving in a few hours for a backpacking trip around Europe. Lucky guy! To say I was jealous is an understatement! Good thing I didn't have my passport on me or I might have been tempted to tag along!

And I did some baking!! I was shocked when I checked my recipe blog and realized that I had never posted the recipe for our favorite caramel bars. I almost feel the need to apologize for not having done this sooner!!!! These are so yummy and are always a hit! Enjoy!

Caramel Bars

3/4 cup melted butter
1/3 cup evaporated milk
German chocolate cake mix
50 caramels
1/3 cup evaporated milk
12 ounce bag chocolate chips

1. Mix ﬁrst 3 ingredients together.
2. Pat 1/2 of the mixture into a 9 X 13 pan.
3. Unwrap caramels. Melt with 1/3 cup evaporated milk.
4. Pour caramel mixture over top of cake mix in pan.
5. Sprinkle with 12 oz. of chocolate chips.
6. Spread remained cake mix over top of chocolate chips. *
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
8. Cool on the counter and then in the fridge to help the chocolate and caramel set.

* This is easier said then done. It won't exactly 'spread'. I find it easiest to take a small handful and flatten in out in my palms and then lay it on top of the chocolate chips.

Until Next Time...

World Travelers.....

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Those are two words that describe our kids these days!!! I am so amazed at the incredible opportunities our kids have had to see the world. My only wish is that I could go with them on their adventures!!!

Right now this is the view that A has!! That's right!! He's in Paris! He left Sunday for Spain to visit his girlfriend CB (who has been studying there all semester). They spent a few days in Spain and then flew to Paris for a few days. They will then head back to Spain, pack up CB's things and come home together! I LOVED Paris when we were there a few years ago and hope to go back someday.

K and her fiance are in the Middle East on a group trip. I got an email from her today and they actually floated in the Dead Sea today. It's hard for me to even wrap my mind around the amazing things that they are seeing and experiencing. I'm hoping they are taking LOTS of pictures. I've asked her to do a guest blog post when she comes home!!

In just a few short weeks, R and M will take off for the summer in Africa!! They are going with Africa Inland Mission as team leaders to work in an orphanage to relieve the regular orphanage workers for awhile. M has been there a couple of times before and is excited to share her love of the country and the people with R. Again, I so wish I was going with, but will be happy to live vicariously through their experiences.

Steve and I do have a trip to Wisconsin planned for mid-July which is pretty exciting. Won't need our passports, however....

Not much new on the knitting or baking front. I have my garden in and have been busy working on computer projects. I hope to sneak some knitting and cooking time over the weekend, so hopefully will have more to share next week.

Until Next Time....