Now I know that where I live isn't the edge of the world, but you can see it from here. After last night, I'm truly beginning to wonder about that. I think we may be closer to the edge of the world than I thought.
Just a few miles away from where I live there is an area called the Black Swamp. It's kind of a spooky area, heavily wooded on the edges, full of cat tails and sloughs. It's rumored that strange things have come out of there at times, but mostly I think those reports come from guys who have been out road-tripping late at night after helping to close down The Watering Hole.
Now I do know that it is home to wildlife that you wouldn't expect to live in such a populated area. Several years ago when Ole was topping sugar beets for Farmer Neighbor Dave, he was working during the wee hours of the night, cutting tops on a field that was located on the edge of the Black Swamp. Out of the night and the tall grass came a moose family - Big Daddy with very large antlers, Mama without antlers, and Baby Moose trotting along behind. Now moose are notorious for having very bad eye sight and definitely have an "attitude" that you don't want to tangle with. Fortunately, Ole was in the cab of a very large tractor because as the tractor was going down the row, Papa Moose decided that he was going to stop this invader, stood in front of it and challenged it. As the tractor came closer Papa Moose finally backed down, but that could have been a very scary moment.
We've also had a black bear wandering around the neighborhood lately. I haven't personally seen it, but a couple of farmers down the road have just within the last few weeks.
Last night was one of those nice crisp, clear nights here; a night to sleep with your windows open and snuggle down in your feather comforter with your kitties. Something woke me up about 4 o'clock this morning, a sound that didn't belong there, know what I mean? You get used to certain sounds at night and they don't wake you, but if something odd occurs, your subconscious jogs you awake. I heard something howling, then quiet and then it would howl again. It was a really spooky howl - long and erie.
At first I thought it was coming from the Sled Dog Man's house. One of our neighbors that lives about a half mile from us raises and trains Huskies. Anybody that's ever owned a Husky knows that they don't bark - they howl. We had one a number of years ago that would sit on the back deck at night, especially when the moon was full, and howl to the point where you thought his heart was breaking. But that's another story. The Sled Dog Man's dogs don't usually make much noise except at 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. when he goes out to feed them. You can tell time by his schedule.
Anyway, I was able to determine that this howling was not coming from the direction where the Huskies live. It was coming from the opposite direction and was much closer. After this had gone on for awhile I got up to see if I could see anything in the backyard. After all, we live on the bank of a river and there's all kinds of wild life in our neighborhood. I looked out the patio door and although it was hard to see because the moon wasn't real bright, I noticed movement on the far corner of our property. Then whatever it was sat down again, pointed his head toward the sky and let go with another loud, lonesome howl calling to his buddies that within a few minutes answered back.
I have heard within the last couple of years that Minnesota Timber Wolves (no - not the basketball team, you sillies) have been spotted in the Black Swamp. I guess it's a good thing we keep Simon and Lucy in at night. I'm sure that kitties probably taste like chicken to timber wolves.
THE ADVENTURES OF OLE & LENA A Stud & and Hot Dish
Monday, September 29, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
I designed a new kitchen wall covering
I'm in my creative phase of life, I guess. Today I was busy designing a new kitchen wall covering. It wasn't paint and it wasn't wallpaper - it was au naturale and extremely original if I do say so myself.
You see, I was reading Crazy Aunt Purl's webpage the other day, and she gave out this most wonderful sounding recipe for Black Bean Soup with Cilantro Lime Sour Cream. I decided that it sounded so yummy that I was going to try it. So this morning I quick ran to town to get the ingredients that I didn't have on hand intending to come home, stir it up and stick it in the crockpot. Well, one thing led to another with phone calls and other obligations so I didn't get it started until about 3 o'clock this afternoon. Well, naturally, it wasn't going to get done in the crockpot with that late a start, so I opted for the shortcut method and put it in a dutch oven to simmer for a couple of hours. It was smelling delicious as time went on.
Well, the DEstructions said that once all the vegies were cooked sufficiently it should be put in a blender and blended smooth batch by batch and returned to the dutch oven. Now if I had had my wits about me (and sometimes I wonder if I have any of those at all) I would have realized that it should have been cooled before it was put into the blender.
Take my word for it, Folks, don't ever put hot soup in a blender and turn it on to puree!! Guess what happens - the cover blows off the blender and you've got hot soup flying all over your kitchen. And it's so hot and flying so fast that you can't get close enough to the blender to turn it off!!
Ole was just reaching the top of the stairs when I had this fiasco going on. I won't repeat what he said - it wouldn't be nice. He came tearing into the kitchen, yanked the plug out of the wall, grabbed my arm that was covered in hot soup and stuck it under the cold water. Owie - it hurt a lot.
Once he got my arm plastered with aloe gel with lidocaine in it we started wiping down the walls and cupboards. Good thing I haven't done my fall house cleaning yet. And there was just enough soup left for Ole, Lovely Daughter and Lars to make a meal. By that time I wasn't really interested in eating it.
Everyone said it was really tasty, though. So next time I make it I'll not be in such a hurry. I promise.
You see, I was reading Crazy Aunt Purl's webpage the other day, and she gave out this most wonderful sounding recipe for Black Bean Soup with Cilantro Lime Sour Cream. I decided that it sounded so yummy that I was going to try it. So this morning I quick ran to town to get the ingredients that I didn't have on hand intending to come home, stir it up and stick it in the crockpot. Well, one thing led to another with phone calls and other obligations so I didn't get it started until about 3 o'clock this afternoon. Well, naturally, it wasn't going to get done in the crockpot with that late a start, so I opted for the shortcut method and put it in a dutch oven to simmer for a couple of hours. It was smelling delicious as time went on.
Well, the DEstructions said that once all the vegies were cooked sufficiently it should be put in a blender and blended smooth batch by batch and returned to the dutch oven. Now if I had had my wits about me (and sometimes I wonder if I have any of those at all) I would have realized that it should have been cooled before it was put into the blender.
Take my word for it, Folks, don't ever put hot soup in a blender and turn it on to puree!! Guess what happens - the cover blows off the blender and you've got hot soup flying all over your kitchen. And it's so hot and flying so fast that you can't get close enough to the blender to turn it off!!
Ole was just reaching the top of the stairs when I had this fiasco going on. I won't repeat what he said - it wouldn't be nice. He came tearing into the kitchen, yanked the plug out of the wall, grabbed my arm that was covered in hot soup and stuck it under the cold water. Owie - it hurt a lot.
Once he got my arm plastered with aloe gel with lidocaine in it we started wiping down the walls and cupboards. Good thing I haven't done my fall house cleaning yet. And there was just enough soup left for Ole, Lovely Daughter and Lars to make a meal. By that time I wasn't really interested in eating it.
Everyone said it was really tasty, though. So next time I make it I'll not be in such a hurry. I promise.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Ole's Black Eye
Okay. I guess it's time that the truth comes out, huh? Ole got himself a great big shiner the night before the wedding - and there wasn't even any alcohol involved!! Or at least very little. We had both decided that this was not the time to imbibe. We both had too many things to keep track of and do and needed to keep our old age brain cells intact in order to handle everything. Got that now?
Friday night we hosted the groom's dinner at our house and it was a huge success. Lots of food and comaraderie, plus a bit of Ole's homemade wine for all those that cared to imbibe. It was Ole's job to keep the fire going in the fire pit. That's where the problem arose.
The fire pit is made up of decorative concrete blocks surrounding the fire pit. We have six adirondack chairs surrounding the fire pit set on a concrete foundation. As you know, the front legs on the adirondack chairs stick out in the front. As Ole was walking around the fire pit to get to the firewood stack, he caught his leg on the front leg of one of the chairs, tripped and went down onto the edge of the decorative concrete blocks. He's extremely fortunate that all he hit was his cheek and not his eyeball. But nevertheless, the next morning his cheek was swollen along with being black and blue and green. I made him sit on the davenport and put ice on his cheek for the entire morning. It helped the swelling, but not the ugly color.
May got to the church and saw his eye and about freaked out. She went home and got all her makeup and managed to hide the worst of the discoloration. So Ole looked pretty good for the pictures, but by the end of the evening all his makeup had either worn off or had been smeared on whomever he danced with, and he was looking a bit on the "discolored" side. But by that time nobody cared anyway!
Here's a few more pictures (if you're not tired of looking yet). They're in no particular order because I'm too tired to fight with that tonight. So just take them for what they're worth, K?
Friday night we hosted the groom's dinner at our house and it was a huge success. Lots of food and comaraderie, plus a bit of Ole's homemade wine for all those that cared to imbibe. It was Ole's job to keep the fire going in the fire pit. That's where the problem arose.
The fire pit is made up of decorative concrete blocks surrounding the fire pit. We have six adirondack chairs surrounding the fire pit set on a concrete foundation. As you know, the front legs on the adirondack chairs stick out in the front. As Ole was walking around the fire pit to get to the firewood stack, he caught his leg on the front leg of one of the chairs, tripped and went down onto the edge of the decorative concrete blocks. He's extremely fortunate that all he hit was his cheek and not his eyeball. But nevertheless, the next morning his cheek was swollen along with being black and blue and green. I made him sit on the davenport and put ice on his cheek for the entire morning. It helped the swelling, but not the ugly color.
May got to the church and saw his eye and about freaked out. She went home and got all her makeup and managed to hide the worst of the discoloration. So Ole looked pretty good for the pictures, but by the end of the evening all his makeup had either worn off or had been smeared on whomever he danced with, and he was looking a bit on the "discolored" side. But by that time nobody cared anyway!
Here's a few more pictures (if you're not tired of looking yet). They're in no particular order because I'm too tired to fight with that tonight. So just take them for what they're worth, K?
Here's some of the flower arrangements that May designed.
Here's Ole and I coming out of the church at the end of the rehearsal on Friday night. Cute couple, huh?
Kissing the bride at the end of the ceremony.
Mother in Law and Son in Law
Father walking the bride down the aisle.
Beautiful bride in our back yard.
Robert wanted chocolate cupcakes instead of a cake. He got them.
I thought the bridal table turned out so pretty.
I put Big Brother on the plane this afternoon - and I cried. I miss him so much. I do so wish we lived closer. He lives in New Mexico and that's a long ways from Minnesota. We're the only two left in our generation of our family, and he's such a wonderful person - I miss him terribly. BTW, he and May hit it off - there were definitely "sparks." I'll post pictures at a later time.
I'm still in recovery mode. I've been sleeping about 11 or 12 hours a night since the wedding and taking a nap of a minimum of an hour or longer every day. I hope that all the stress is over now and that all of us can return to our normal lives.
More pictures tomorrow - or are you tired of seeing pictures yet?
Love Lena
BTW, Yes, Meggie Lou, the outdoor pictures were taken in my backyard.
PS: See the new picture at the bottom of the page.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Just a few Preliminaries
They're married!! We're all in the process of coming down now. Tired - all of us. Ole and I went to bed last night at 9:30 and didn't wake up until 8:30 this morning. We needed it.
Everything went off without a hitch. Perfect with one exception - Ole got a black eye, but that's a story for another day.
Big Brother did all the photography, so here's a few preliminaries.
Everything went off without a hitch. Perfect with one exception - Ole got a black eye, but that's a story for another day.
Big Brother did all the photography, so here's a few preliminaries.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Things I have to do today
I'm off to the grocery store, and probably won't be writing much here until after the wedding. But there is an entry over in Sky Blue Waters. Same password.
Talk to you later!!
Love Lena
Talk to you later!!
Love Lena
Monday, September 15, 2008
Shades of Green Acres
Reading another Blogger's entry this morning - a fellow Upper Midwesterner that also grew up on a farm - she was talking about birds and animals that they had on the farm. Her entry brought to mind some of the things that I remember about being "little" on the farm. I wish I had time to go through some old pictures that I have and post them for you as I'm sure you'd get a chuckle out of them. But I just don't this morning. I shouldn't even be taking the time to write this entry, but sometimes you just need to do fun, relaxing things, and that's where I'm at today.
I was only about 4 when we moved off the farm, which was located in central North Dakota, so I don't remember a lot, but some things are very vivid.
My mother used to raise chickens, not only to eat and to have fresh eggs, but she sold chickens and eggs too. You've heard of "egg money" I'm sure. Times were tough back then. I'm older than dirt, you know, so I can legitimately say the words "Back in MY day." Anyway, egg money was frequently used to buy groceries, staples that you didn't grow in your garden or on your farm. At least that's what my Mom used to tell me.
My mother had this flock of chickens and of course every flock of chickens had to have a rooster or two. Mom had one that truly thought he was the Cock of the Walk and tried to prove it to me every time I would go outside. It's difficult for a 4 year old to intimidate a big rooster that's coming at you full force with spurs on his feet and loaded for bear because he thinks you're coming after his harem or to pick his prospective young. This one would have been a good candidate for one of those fighting chicken rings!
One day my Mother had just had enough of this overbearing monster and thought she would fix him good. She was taking some hens to town to sell and grabbed him too. It was time for one of the younger roosters to take over being King of the Hill and she was tired of me not going out to play because of this dumb bird. I vividly remember all those chickens riding in the cages in the back of the pickup truck clucking and cackling with feathers blowing out all the way to town. We got to town, made the transaction, I got an ice cream cone and after finishing our shopping we went home.
I remember being so excited to be able to go outside and play without being attacked by this mean old rooster. When we got home I hopped out of the car and who should come around the corner where he had been laying in wait for me? You guessed it - that mean old rooster. Mom had grabbed the wrong one! Needless to say, she got ahold of him somehow by the feet, wings flapping, all kinds of crowing and screeching coming out of his throat and put him in a crate. The next day my Dad took him to town and I didn't have to deal with old crower anymore. I bet he was a stringy old thing when he came out of someone's cooking pot!
My Dad also raised pigs. They were the ones that were pink in the front and back and black in the middle. I don't have the foggiest idea what breed they were - I wasn't into that kind of stuff when I was 4. Pigs alway have large litters and one spring there were little piglets running all over. The pig pen was such that the momma pigs and daddy pigs couldn't get out, but the piglets could squeeze through the rails and ran all over the farm for fun. They really were cute and quite friendly unlike the parent pigs who could get pretty mean.
By the time they were a few months old they were the perfect size for riding bareback. I had one in particular that didn't mind at all, in fact I kind of think he/she enjoyed it. This little guy would follow me around the farm. One day Big Brother and I decided to play cowboys and indians and he showed me how to hop on the pig. From that day forward I rode regularly. One night we had a heavy rainstorm and the next day there were a lot of puddles in the yard. Well, you know that pigs love to root around and roll in the mud and that's exactly what my pig buddy did after I hopped on. He headed for the best mud puddle he could find and lay down, me with him, and we rolled in the mud. Needless to say my Mother wasn't too happy with me that day and that kind of put an end to my pig riding.
Mom also raised ducks. One spring there was a batch of ducks that hatched and then the mother either disappeared or died or something. I don't remember. All the ducks in that batch did their duck things with the exception of one. I don't know if the other ducks ostrasized him or what, but the little duckling took to hanging around the back door. It didn't take long before he became my pet. Baby ducklings are so cute when they're all fuzzy and yellow, but that stage doesn't last long. Pretty soon this duckling turned into a full grown duck and got too heavy for me to carry around. That's when he decided to latch onto my pant legs and lay down on the ground. He had figured out that if you were trying to walk with this "ball and chain" attached to your leg, you would soon pick him up and carry him. He would do this to everyone, even strangers that came into our yard. I don't remember what happened to him but I do remember how cute he was, even as a big duck.
Well, that's my story for today - now I must get busy. Lots of cleaning and wedding stuff to accomplish today. Lovely Daughter and I have finished the place cards, have begun the programs, but I haven't finished cleaning yet. Will hopefully accomplish that today. May will be here shortly to finish the alterations on the dress for Lars' mother (it's so beautiful).
Love Lena
I was only about 4 when we moved off the farm, which was located in central North Dakota, so I don't remember a lot, but some things are very vivid.
My mother used to raise chickens, not only to eat and to have fresh eggs, but she sold chickens and eggs too. You've heard of "egg money" I'm sure. Times were tough back then. I'm older than dirt, you know, so I can legitimately say the words "Back in MY day." Anyway, egg money was frequently used to buy groceries, staples that you didn't grow in your garden or on your farm. At least that's what my Mom used to tell me.
My mother had this flock of chickens and of course every flock of chickens had to have a rooster or two. Mom had one that truly thought he was the Cock of the Walk and tried to prove it to me every time I would go outside. It's difficult for a 4 year old to intimidate a big rooster that's coming at you full force with spurs on his feet and loaded for bear because he thinks you're coming after his harem or to pick his prospective young. This one would have been a good candidate for one of those fighting chicken rings!
One day my Mother had just had enough of this overbearing monster and thought she would fix him good. She was taking some hens to town to sell and grabbed him too. It was time for one of the younger roosters to take over being King of the Hill and she was tired of me not going out to play because of this dumb bird. I vividly remember all those chickens riding in the cages in the back of the pickup truck clucking and cackling with feathers blowing out all the way to town. We got to town, made the transaction, I got an ice cream cone and after finishing our shopping we went home.
I remember being so excited to be able to go outside and play without being attacked by this mean old rooster. When we got home I hopped out of the car and who should come around the corner where he had been laying in wait for me? You guessed it - that mean old rooster. Mom had grabbed the wrong one! Needless to say, she got ahold of him somehow by the feet, wings flapping, all kinds of crowing and screeching coming out of his throat and put him in a crate. The next day my Dad took him to town and I didn't have to deal with old crower anymore. I bet he was a stringy old thing when he came out of someone's cooking pot!
My Dad also raised pigs. They were the ones that were pink in the front and back and black in the middle. I don't have the foggiest idea what breed they were - I wasn't into that kind of stuff when I was 4. Pigs alway have large litters and one spring there were little piglets running all over. The pig pen was such that the momma pigs and daddy pigs couldn't get out, but the piglets could squeeze through the rails and ran all over the farm for fun. They really were cute and quite friendly unlike the parent pigs who could get pretty mean.
By the time they were a few months old they were the perfect size for riding bareback. I had one in particular that didn't mind at all, in fact I kind of think he/she enjoyed it. This little guy would follow me around the farm. One day Big Brother and I decided to play cowboys and indians and he showed me how to hop on the pig. From that day forward I rode regularly. One night we had a heavy rainstorm and the next day there were a lot of puddles in the yard. Well, you know that pigs love to root around and roll in the mud and that's exactly what my pig buddy did after I hopped on. He headed for the best mud puddle he could find and lay down, me with him, and we rolled in the mud. Needless to say my Mother wasn't too happy with me that day and that kind of put an end to my pig riding.
Mom also raised ducks. One spring there was a batch of ducks that hatched and then the mother either disappeared or died or something. I don't remember. All the ducks in that batch did their duck things with the exception of one. I don't know if the other ducks ostrasized him or what, but the little duckling took to hanging around the back door. It didn't take long before he became my pet. Baby ducklings are so cute when they're all fuzzy and yellow, but that stage doesn't last long. Pretty soon this duckling turned into a full grown duck and got too heavy for me to carry around. That's when he decided to latch onto my pant legs and lay down on the ground. He had figured out that if you were trying to walk with this "ball and chain" attached to your leg, you would soon pick him up and carry him. He would do this to everyone, even strangers that came into our yard. I don't remember what happened to him but I do remember how cute he was, even as a big duck.
Well, that's my story for today - now I must get busy. Lots of cleaning and wedding stuff to accomplish today. Lovely Daughter and I have finished the place cards, have begun the programs, but I haven't finished cleaning yet. Will hopefully accomplish that today. May will be here shortly to finish the alterations on the dress for Lars' mother (it's so beautiful).
Love Lena
Friday, September 12, 2008
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Today's Fashion Show - or - Wedding Dressing
My friend, May, went shopping yesterday. She and Carol are the best bargain finders. I NEVER find good bargains when I go out shopping, but then maybe it has to do with the fact that I don't like to shop - not even for new clothes. I HATE trying things on in the dressings rooms, so as a result, if I'm going to buy something I hold it up, if it looks like it's going to fit I take it home, try it on, and you guessed it, I usually have to take it back.
To tell you how much I don't like shopping, I haven't been in our big mall for over three years until yesterday when I had to take Ole out to the men's formal wear shop and get him fitted for a tux. Good Gravy - it cost over $100 to rent a tux these days. May, who lived in NYC at one point told me that was a drop in the bucket compared to NYC prices.
So anyway, May went out to our big mall yesterday and was cruising around at one of our upper Midwest chains and truly found the bargain rack. Lars' mother has MS and is in a wheelchair so it's up to Lars and Lovely Daughter to find her something to wear for the wedding, which they haven't had time to do yet. May came across the most beautiful periwinkle blue organza dress with beading on the front - and get this - it was on the sale rack for $10!!! May looked and looked before she found what the problem was with it. Two little beads on the front of the dress were loose and ready to fall of. Her quick artistry with a needle and thread will put that back in shape in no time. So she brought it home not knowing whether Lovely Daughter, Lars and his mother would even like it. I told her if they don't I would love to take it. I don't know where I'll wear it ever, but a girl can never have too many beaded organza gowns, you know.
So the mother of the groom is all taken care of. Someone, I think Lovely Daughter, was going to find a pair of ballet style slippers for her to wear, and she's set. I feel so badly for Lars' mother - she's in a wheelchair and is at the point where she's lost the ability to speak and can't write to communicate because her arms don't work anymore either.
Okay - then there's MOB (mother of the bride). Some days I feel like a member of the MOB if you know what I mean. But anyway - that's another story.
Did I tell you that I hate shopping? I did say that didn't I? I hate shopping so much that I looked on the Internet to buy my MOB dress. (Al Capone would like my dress, I know he would.) It wasn't any bargain dollar wise, but at least I didn't have to traipse all over the maul and try clothes on and take them off and then try something else on. I hate shopping, did I tell you that?
So here's what I found - I ordered it and hallelujah - it fits perfectly.
The dress is covered with bugle beads, front and back and all around. It sparkles. I wish I could tell you that's my body in that dress but it's not. See how honest I am? If I hadn't said anything you would have thought, "My she's lost a lot of weight." But - it's some model in that dress with a skinny body. Not my fluffy one.
Then I went in search of earrings and found these on Ebay. I wanted something sparkly, but I'm not a long, dangle earring kind of person. Although it doesn't look like it in the pictures, the color matches perfectly to my dress.
And then there's the most important part of the wedding - the bride in her wedding gown. Here's ANOTHER bargain. My Lovely Daughter is a bargain shopper too, bless her heart. Just remember, she didn't inherit that gene from me. I hate to shop - did I tell you that?
She found this on a close out sale for $300 a number of months ago. It was last year's model. But who cares? She loved it, tried it on and it fit. When she tried it on now it needed altering but not because she had gained weight. She had to have it taken in. Now she looks like that skinny model in MY dress. Darn skinny people anyway.
To tell you how much I don't like shopping, I haven't been in our big mall for over three years until yesterday when I had to take Ole out to the men's formal wear shop and get him fitted for a tux. Good Gravy - it cost over $100 to rent a tux these days. May, who lived in NYC at one point told me that was a drop in the bucket compared to NYC prices.
So anyway, May went out to our big mall yesterday and was cruising around at one of our upper Midwest chains and truly found the bargain rack. Lars' mother has MS and is in a wheelchair so it's up to Lars and Lovely Daughter to find her something to wear for the wedding, which they haven't had time to do yet. May came across the most beautiful periwinkle blue organza dress with beading on the front - and get this - it was on the sale rack for $10!!! May looked and looked before she found what the problem was with it. Two little beads on the front of the dress were loose and ready to fall of. Her quick artistry with a needle and thread will put that back in shape in no time. So she brought it home not knowing whether Lovely Daughter, Lars and his mother would even like it. I told her if they don't I would love to take it. I don't know where I'll wear it ever, but a girl can never have too many beaded organza gowns, you know.
So the mother of the groom is all taken care of. Someone, I think Lovely Daughter, was going to find a pair of ballet style slippers for her to wear, and she's set. I feel so badly for Lars' mother - she's in a wheelchair and is at the point where she's lost the ability to speak and can't write to communicate because her arms don't work anymore either.
Okay - then there's MOB (mother of the bride). Some days I feel like a member of the MOB if you know what I mean. But anyway - that's another story.
Did I tell you that I hate shopping? I did say that didn't I? I hate shopping so much that I looked on the Internet to buy my MOB dress. (Al Capone would like my dress, I know he would.) It wasn't any bargain dollar wise, but at least I didn't have to traipse all over the maul and try clothes on and take them off and then try something else on. I hate shopping, did I tell you that?
So here's what I found - I ordered it and hallelujah - it fits perfectly.
The dress is covered with bugle beads, front and back and all around. It sparkles. I wish I could tell you that's my body in that dress but it's not. See how honest I am? If I hadn't said anything you would have thought, "My she's lost a lot of weight." But - it's some model in that dress with a skinny body. Not my fluffy one.
Then I went in search of earrings and found these on Ebay. I wanted something sparkly, but I'm not a long, dangle earring kind of person. Although it doesn't look like it in the pictures, the color matches perfectly to my dress.
And then there's the most important part of the wedding - the bride in her wedding gown. Here's ANOTHER bargain. My Lovely Daughter is a bargain shopper too, bless her heart. Just remember, she didn't inherit that gene from me. I hate to shop - did I tell you that?
She found this on a close out sale for $300 a number of months ago. It was last year's model. But who cares? She loved it, tried it on and it fit. When she tried it on now it needed altering but not because she had gained weight. She had to have it taken in. Now she looks like that skinny model in MY dress. Darn skinny people anyway.
And here's the back:
And here's the front:
And here's the back again (as though you smart people out there couldn't figure that out.)
So there you have it - today's fashion show. Hope you enjoyed it.
Now, I've got to get to work cause Lord knows I've got a ton of stuff to do.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
A Very Sincere Plea
Dear Readers,
I originally posted here but decided to move this entry to my private blog.
http://skybluewaters.wordpress.com/
Same password as yesterday.
PS: Check out the picture way down on the bottom.
I originally posted here but decided to move this entry to my private blog.
http://skybluewaters.wordpress.com/
Same password as yesterday.
PS: Check out the picture way down on the bottom.
OLE'S NYLONS
There's another private entry over at Sky Blue Waters under my new password. If you haven't gotten it from me yet, just send me an email. And again, sorry for the inconvenience. Hopefully I won't have to change it again because it's a pain for me and for my readers.
I do have some news about Ole's leg. He saw the surgeon again last Thursday and things are looking a bit better. Better to the point where he's scheduled for surgery to have the vein removed so it won't cause anymore problems. The untra-sound guy ran all his tests and told us that the vein isn't working at all. The surface veins, which this is, have a series of valves which are supposed to open and close and pump the blood back up to the heart. Ole's valves don't work, and unfortunately a shot of WD40 won't help in this case. The surgeon told us that apparently another vein somewhere in his leg is beginning to take over because the swelling has gone way down and the color is improving. So he's scheduled for surgery on October 3.
The surgery will consist of a series of small, short incisions and then he'll use a tool about the size of a small pen and just suck that baby right out. Liposuction of the veins. Ole wanted to know how many pounds lighter he would be, but I guess that doesn't apply to this procedure. Darn.
They're going to ultrasound his other leg at that time to check the blood flow and make sure everything is working properly. If it's not they'll be able to laser that leg to prevent any future problems.
Just got the hospital bill - comes to over $10,000. Yikes. And all of that for the lousy care he got from Indian Lady Doctor. We got a survey in the mail the other day that they wanted filled out about his hospital stay. Boy, did I give that woman the What For. I hope that she'll suffer some kind of consequences, but I highly doubt it. You know how things like that go - right into File 13.
One thing you should see - and then again maybe not - is Ole in is "nylons." He's got those orthopedic compression socks that he's got to wear all the time. They're black and they're so sexy. And every once in awhile he has to drop his jeans and pull his "nylons" up because they bunch up. I told him now he knows what we women go through when we have to wear pantyhose (snicker). I was going to buy him a red garter when we were in Sturgis, but I couldn't find one big enough. Oh, well, he'll just have to pull and tug just like we do when we have to wear those darn things.
I do have some news about Ole's leg. He saw the surgeon again last Thursday and things are looking a bit better. Better to the point where he's scheduled for surgery to have the vein removed so it won't cause anymore problems. The untra-sound guy ran all his tests and told us that the vein isn't working at all. The surface veins, which this is, have a series of valves which are supposed to open and close and pump the blood back up to the heart. Ole's valves don't work, and unfortunately a shot of WD40 won't help in this case. The surgeon told us that apparently another vein somewhere in his leg is beginning to take over because the swelling has gone way down and the color is improving. So he's scheduled for surgery on October 3.
The surgery will consist of a series of small, short incisions and then he'll use a tool about the size of a small pen and just suck that baby right out. Liposuction of the veins. Ole wanted to know how many pounds lighter he would be, but I guess that doesn't apply to this procedure. Darn.
They're going to ultrasound his other leg at that time to check the blood flow and make sure everything is working properly. If it's not they'll be able to laser that leg to prevent any future problems.
Just got the hospital bill - comes to over $10,000. Yikes. And all of that for the lousy care he got from Indian Lady Doctor. We got a survey in the mail the other day that they wanted filled out about his hospital stay. Boy, did I give that woman the What For. I hope that she'll suffer some kind of consequences, but I highly doubt it. You know how things like that go - right into File 13.
One thing you should see - and then again maybe not - is Ole in is "nylons." He's got those orthopedic compression socks that he's got to wear all the time. They're black and they're so sexy. And every once in awhile he has to drop his jeans and pull his "nylons" up because they bunch up. I told him now he knows what we women go through when we have to wear pantyhose (snicker). I was going to buy him a red garter when we were in Sturgis, but I couldn't find one big enough. Oh, well, he'll just have to pull and tug just like we do when we have to wear those darn things.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Jane Rides Again
Again, a private post. It's at http://skybluewaters.wordpress.com/2008/09/08/jane-rides-again/#respond but I had to change the password so you'll have to email me again. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Love Lena
Love Lena
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
I'm madder than a wet hen
Can you hear me cackle? Take a look at my private entry.
http://skybluewaters.wordpress.com/
Password is the same.
http://skybluewaters.wordpress.com/
Password is the same.
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