Feb 29th

Well well, what happened to Feb?? It's going out with a bang! We have according to Gordon about 15 inches of snow, I'm not quite so sure if that's true, but it's alot of snow out there! My van is covered, buried under white pretty snow! I wish I had waged a bet with someone that this was going to happen before spring showed up, but I didn't! I'm baking a whole chicken with stuffing, making mashed potatoes with a side salad for dinner(noon), it smells heavenly in the kitchen! Cleaning and baking are on my agenda today. I cleaned out the front hall closet, did minor vaccumming of dust bunnies on the floor, no back and forth movement, and now the purge of the bins that haven't been opened since the last time I cleaned the closet begins(no clue when that was)! Blessings and hugs!!

lemon tea cookies

Last week, Gordon and I went to Sam's in Duluth to pick a few items. While, there I saw Meyer Lemons and bought the pack of them. They are quite a bit different than regular lemons as they aren't as sour, almost sweet! So, with a just few left, I thought I would make some cookies with the juice from them. I saw a recipe in this cookbook I have read through once and just tweeked it for me! Lemon Tea cookies: 2 sticks of softened butter, 3/4 cup of powdered sugar, 1/4 cup of lemon juice, 1 3/4 cups of flour, 1/2 cup of corn starch. Mix the flour, corn starch, powdered sugar together, in a mixing bowl mix the lemon juice and butter till creamy. Add the dry ingredients. I tasted the dough at this point and added 1/4 cup of sugar more for sweeting or you could cut back on the lemon juice. Roll the dough on wax paper into a log and place in refrig for one hour. Slice and bake at 350 for 12 minutes. They are really good at this point, but the main recipe called for a frosting which I will skip! Blessings and hugs!!!

Sunday

Boy, was I tired today from the party yesterday! I took a nap this afternoon and feel pretty good now!! Yesterday, my back was in rough shape, but ice really helps and some Advil/Tylenol! Our daughter and son were responsible for the party with their spouses along for the ride! Erika did a wonderful job in the decorations/ food/ flowers/ and set up plus clean up was easy, thanks Dale and Roxie! Our Bible study group made sure I wasn't in the kitchen too much, but of course, that's were I wanted to be plus visit with everyone! Here's a few more pics from yesterday! Blessings!

Anniversary party

We celebrate 40 yrs of marriage today! We had a party and lots of food, fun and laughs! We have the best friends, some from the beginning when we moved here, some from the middle years, and some from recently! What a great group! Our kids gave us a weekend at Chanhassen Dinner theater, what a beautiful and thoughtful gift! I thought for sure it was a X-box or Wii, but a weekend away is great! Here are some pics from today! Blessings!

Wednesday

Being that today is Wednesday, I thought I would say something profound! I'm still thinking on that one! LOL :)!! It was 3 weeks yesterday since my back surgery. I feel pretty great! A few twinges of pain, but nothing long lasting like before. Gordon and I walked the store yesterday, people stopped me and said I look pretty good, my coloring is better! Isn't pain funny, I didn't think that my skin coloring was off, but apparently it was! I've been reading alot of books on my tablet and paperback.
I'm still cleaning and now at a stand still, I would like to move a few pieces of furniture, but hesitate to ask Gordon because what if I don't like it there and need to move it again, I will get some sighing and that's not good! There is so much I would like to do before I go back to work, but it's not going to get done just because it's not! I would love to paint 3 rooms and rearrange some furniture! But I will wait till my back is stronger and then I can help Gordon move stuff!
Saturday is our 40th anniversary, it's ruby in the realm of gift giving, but I don't see a ruby coming my way! We usually don't give each other a gift except for dinner out! Well, that's all from the not so frozen north these days! Blessings!

birthday bash all day

Well, the day is winding down and it's been a fun ride all day! Started with Gordon forgetting that today is the actual day, all I could is laugh, thought he was covered since he came home with flowers yesterday, what a guy!!!! Went to church and one of my best girls forgot, but later called and the other one has completely forgot, so much for my best girls(LOL! love you girls)!! Had coffee with my favorite son-in-law and daughter in Siren at the Squirrel(the chatting squirrel). We laughed, drank some really good coffee and laughed some more, walked around and hugged goodbye! It was a fun day! I have the greatest friends, really I do. One of them, Christine, gave me a chicken for my birthday gift. She recently found out how much I love chickens, but Gordon has said no to any live chickens(the coyotes, weasels, or raccoons would eat them all), so she got this hand blown one from

a local store that I saw and loved! Thanks Christine!!! Love you all, Earlene

my birthday

Today I'm (drum roll please!!!!) 60. WOW, to say that out loud is overwhelming, to say the least! I love my birthday because my parents made such a big deal out of it! I now make a big deal out of it, it's so much fun to tell my family how many days it will be until my birthday, that I want pie not cake and on it goes!! So, here's to many more years serving the Lord and my family!!! Blessings and hugs! Love you all, Earlene P. S. the flowers are from Gordon

Valentine's Day

I hope everyone is enjoying the day which one of my favorites! I think it is a favorite because my birthday is just a few days away! Gordon and I went to the China House for lunch as a treat, so there was no cooking for me, YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I however, made him some brownies for dessert for tonight to go with his ice cream later! We have exchanged gifts and cards in years past, but lately we just hug each other and say "I love you", which means more to me than ever! I'm still cleaning and I will be tackling the hall closet tomorrow. I did the hutch yesterday, which took all day! Blessings!

pantry done!

Well, the pantry looks so much better than it did! 2 garbage bags later, what a waste of money and energy always looking through everything to find something! I am so glad I did it and can check it off my to-do list of things to get done before I go back to work! Hoping you had a wonderful Sunday! And yes, I did pay a price for cleaning, but with a couple of Advil, my back is okay!

Blessings!

cleaning

I'm cleaning my pantry which has made me rethink many things over the past 3 days! I've thrown out most the spices that were probably so outdated and lost their spice! I have found outdated canned goods, pie crust mixes, cereal, and on it goes! I'm not embarassed, maybe I should be, but it just had to be done! I'm moving the spices to a new spot as I had them over the stove in a cabinet, but that's not the best spot for them! So, it has become the spot for my large Le Creust stock pot, it fits just perfect! I am thinking about getting an over the door spice rack holder if I can find on, probably on line somewhere! I will photo the end results! The photo of the table is what hasn't found a home yet in the pantry

meals

We have the greatest friends! Thye have been bringing over meals every few days so I don't have to stand in the kitchen and cook something! The meals have been very good!! Ham, potato salad, baked beans, salads, desserts and lots of dinner rolls! We thank God for them and their kindness at this time! Someday I will have to have a party to thank them! Blessings!

books I'm reading

Today I thought I would share a few books that I'm reading while recovering from surgery! One is from Molly Wizenberg and it's very witty, cute, written well with great recipes in it to go along with her life with food and her wonderful blog, Orangette. I would recommend it if you like to read about life and food! The second one is a great book about being more comfortable in your own home and sharing it with others! The author, Karen Ehman is a great writer and makes you feel like she is your best friend trying to help you out when you need help, but doesn't make you feel inadequate if serving others is hard for you! I love being home, but I want my home to be a welcomed stop for friends, so they can feel that stopping by is okay by me! So, stop by for coffee and a chat! Blessings!

flowers

I received flowers from my sister Sandy and her husband Bob on Thursday. They are so pretty and make me smile! I'm moving at the pace of a snail and he's winning sometimes! I keep telling myself to stand tall and no leaning to one side like before, so it's alot to think of when I get up from the chair. I lay down alot with ice packs and have not taken any meds since I got home except for Advil as needed! I am reading 3 books and have downloaded 10 or so onto the kindle for later when I can get back on my bike, it helps make the time fly by! Thanks for the prayers and phone calls! Blessings!

I'm home

I got home yesterday from the hospital around 2p.m. We stopped off in Rice Lake for KFC! It's what I wanted to eat! People are bringing food in for us and Gordon is so happy as the pies are coming!! He does have a sweet tooth! So, thanks for the prayers and good words you have sent via cards or calls!Blessings!