Christmas Shopping

Last Friday it dawned on me that I'd better get it in gear and get my Christmas shopping done! While I had picked up a few things prior to that, I had much more shopping to do. I bought a few things when I was in Rochester on Friday, but last night I did something never done before by me - I cyber-shopped! I felt guilty that I wasn't giving business to the neighborhood shops, but being under a time crunch, I had to get over that feeling and move on. In about two hours I completed what I had set out to do. Yep, we're in a new era, or at least it's new for me.

Rest in Peace, Peppi

It's with sadness that I write today. Peppi died unexpectedly just after my breakfast today. He was fine when I uncovered him this morning. I talked and sang to him while I was eating - he was eating, too. Then while washing up my dishes, I heard his wings flapping against the cage. I went in to see if some how he was caught, but found him on the floor of his cage. His eyes were closed. And he was gone. I will miss him.

Sweets

Why do some foods go "out of style"? The foods I'm thinking about right now are candies. I just ate a packages of Chuckles, sugar-coated jellie candies in assorted flavors which are cherry, lemon, orange, licorice, and lime. I bought them a few weeks ago at a small confectionary in Niswa, MN. They were as good as I remembered. I also bought a package of Mallo Cup - two chocolate cups filled with a whipped marshmallow creme center. I'll save these for another time. I asked if the store had Black Jack Taffy. They had none.

When I was a kid, I liked a candy bar made by Pearson's - 7-Up Bar. I loved 6 of the seven sections - I didn't like the orange jelly.

A Tree Glows in Bloomington

This morning I heard a news story of a Bloomington man and wife with a 53 foot oak tree on their property. Since 2001, it has been their gift to the community to decorate that tree with thousands of lights. Apparently it can be seen for miles - and also happens to be visible to all who fly into the twin cities toward the north/south runway at Minneapolis*Saint Paul International Airport. Tonight I decided to drive that way to see it for myself. It is awesome!! You owe it to yourself to see it!

I tried to take a photo of the tree, but one needs a better camera than I have for it to turn out. To see the newspaper article (with photo), click here.

Good-bye, Autumn!

We have had the most beautiful autumn - warm temperatures, beautiful colors, gorgeous blue skies, long-lasting flowers. Unfortunately for us, it has come to an abrupt end. I woke up this morning to this! Our six month (plus) winter begins! Ugh!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Marshall!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Marshall! I sure wish I could be there to hug you, sing to you, and go to your birthday party. I hope you have a very fun time, sweetheart! Enjoy your birthday cake. I'll look forward to seeing pictures. Grandma loves you!

Frivolity

It's dangerous to be away from the office on a 17 day cruise to the Mediterranean. Look what may be waiting for you when you return! This is my co-worker's desk space - and for a joke, we pretended to use his office for a break room in his absence. He returned today and was visiting outside his office with me and a friend. Suddenly he glanced into his cubicle and exclaimed, "What in the world is this?!" Then he laughed. He knows we missed him!

Happy Veterans' Day

Today has been declared Veterans' Day. It is a day when our nation remembers those who have served in our military and those who are currently in active duty. My mind automatically goes to my son, Hans, and to my brother, Jerry. I am so proud of both of these men. Jerry served in the US Navy for 21 years. I believe it was his model that inspired Hans to join the ranks. Hans has been in the Navy nearly every year since graduating from high school. Thank you for your service and your sacrifices. Way to go! I'm also proud of my cousin, Nathan, who is in his first year in the Navy.

Others in our family who have served are: Uncle Allan, Wayne, Keith, Pudge, Chad, Charlie, Pete, Ken, and Ryan. Thank you for your service!

Dear Friends

Our Red Hat Sewciety traveled to Fergus Falls today to have lunch with Joanie, who was one of our members, but retired from our office in May and moved there with her husband to their new apartment which is built on their daughter's acreage. Construction began several months before their move and so we were curious to see everything. What a nice place!

Joanie fixed a delicious lunch of salad, chicken/broccoli/cheese filled crepes with pumpkin pie for dessert. We had a good time of visiting and catching up.

The drive up and back was very nice. I hadn't been up that direction since Heidi moved away from Grand Forks, ND. I had forgotten how pretty it is around St. Cloud and Alexandria. Another thing that surprised me was some of the similarity to Germany - - small towns with gorgeous, big churches and tall steeples.

Apparently the Fergus Falls area had a big snow storm a couple of weeks ago. I hadn't heard that. Today we saw remaining snow in the ditches and on some of the banks! I'm sure not ready for that.

It was good day spent with friends.

Procrastinating

I've been putting it off for a couple of weeks now, but with the days clicking off the calendar and "you know what" coming soon, I must get on it - - the laborious task of swapping out my summer clothes for my winter clothes. This is one of the most dreaded jobs for me. I guess each year I just hope they'll magically swap themselves. Maybe I'll get it done this weekend. Maybe. I wouldn't have this conundrum if I had a closet like this one!