Camelot Crabapple Tree

The Camelot Crabapple tree is having its moment - the hummingbirds like it too. 

We have a dog park...in RED WING!

This will be our new hangout!

and his name is Arnold

While out on one of Red Wing's trails yesterday morning I encountered a beautiful black/brown (German Shepard mix?) dog from the Humane Society. My little dog Lily, a Tibetan terrier (20 lbs of fluff and chatter), did nothing to rattle the feathers of this big, gentle giant as she sauntered by. While talking to the Humane Society employee the two dogs gave each other the once over. Lily in her typical bow and play stance did everything to entice this fellow into misbehavior, but he kept still next to his owner; tail wagging and big, brown eyes smiling. (That last part might be my own imagination). I fell in love. If you know anyone that is looking for a magnificent rescue dog send them over to our Humane Society. This dog is worth a look!

Habitat for Humanity - July 2009

The Habitat house is about a block away from me on Pine street.
Kay and I are learning the tricks of the capentry trade.

Rick, Laura and Kay

Chief Sletten (Tim) is in charge of measuring and cutting.

The crew chief is a saint - he put up with our Abbott and Costello routine for 3 hours.

Kay gives the crew chief a laugh as she tries to figure out that drill.

We take instruction well.

Rick isn't the boss here - he is a greenhorn.

It's all about TEAM work!

Rick can't help himself - we let him think it's all about him.

Kay has that drill figured out.

Progressive garden party

Beautiful day for our 1st annual garden tour. we made four stops to tour the garden and have a bite to eat. The last stop was the local winery where we had a tour of the vineyard.

Daisy's are about to arrive

Pre-party - ready, set, go....
Everything is all set with minutes to spare.
I am woman, hear me roar! :)

What happens in the neighborhood, stays in the neighborhood...

The ladies gather around our token male.
Sara hosted a great party - what a fun neighborhood I live in!
Had you been driving by Pine street at the right moment,

you may have caught a glimpse of some interesting characters crossing the street.

Tonight we learned who among us would be the type to rob a bank or organize a rally.
Whose personality is most like a twinkie and who would order rainbow ice cream with sprinkles.
Also, who would be our lighthouse and who, if they were an exercise is a squat thrust.

I'll never tell.

We also learned the many uses of gold (non-toxic) spray paint
on wedding anniversaries.

Ask Yobaby.

I was merely taking notes for possible later use.

Our hostess Sara carved out all of the little squash candle holders - very festive!

A couple of sexy flash dancers!!

Apparently, there is a gang calling themselves the BT's of 3rd street lurking about our alleys.
I'm not surprised considering all the lovely ladies that live here.
No need to lock your doors or be afraid - they come in peace.

Sara and her little helpers - the house looked fantastic
all decked out for Halloween.

Yobaby tries to play the devil, be we know she is really our own neighborhood angel.
Yes, she is in costume. Check out the bunnie ears!

Thanks for a great night Sara - the red blood wine, desserts, and appetizers
were delicious, the conversation lively and fun (as usual) and the
atmostphere was the perfect setting for a cold, clear, spooky October night.

Merry Christmas from Red Wing, MN

Happy Halloween!

Old, dusty table...

An old, dusty table that was in our house when we were little, now looking

for a new home at the Dawnbreakers Kiwanis garage sale.

A little staging and maybe someone will want this in their home.
A couple of old Kiwanians find the table makes a great footstool.

Carpet Out - new discovery, hardwood floors!

Feb 07 snow storm

Thought I would share some pictures from the day.

Classes were cancelled at Augsburg so I was blessed with

an unplanned Sunday! "I watched 'Gone with the Wind'

which was on TV commercial free.

Lily loves the snow - so we were out in it a few times. Each
time she comes in she has to have a bath to get the snow out
of her long hair. That got old quick.

Christmas in Red Wing

Stacy Jo sits in front of her new name plate for her new desk
and office position at Midwest. (a gift from her Uncle Jay). She is also working on an
impossibly difficult puzzle. It was put away after everyone left.
(Click on any picture to enlarge)

Christmas began for me during ‘A Christmas Carol’ at the Guthrie on Saturday, December 23. The new Guthrie has great seats and view of the Mississippi. During this mild winter, and having just returned from balmy Florida, it took Dickens haunting ghosts of Christmas to draw me into the spirit of the holiday.

Lisa, Greg, Eli and Jacob arrived after a long (16 hour) car trip from Bozeman on Dec 23 to celebrate our first ‘Red Wing’ Christmas. Stacy moved in for the 4 day holiday and John, Jill and Jean arrived on the 24th. For the next 48 hours we watched movies, played games, took walks, went caroling in my neighborhood, ate, drank, laughed, played with Lily and simply hung out enjoying each others company.

Our Christmas feast began at 6pm Christmas Eve with a poem, an organic turkey and gluten-free bread, in addition to the staples of mashed potatoes, green beans and warm rolls. During dinner we practiced singing The Chipmunk Christmas Song…

Christmas, Christmas time is near,

Time for toys and time for cheer,

We've been good, but we can't last

Hurry Christmas, hurry fast,

Want a plane that loops the loop,

Me, I want a hula hoop,

We can hardly stand the wait,

Please Christmas, don't be late.

We had to get the lyrics just right so that we could serenade my neighbor ‘YoBaby’ who put luminary Christmas lights all up and down my sidewalk. After dinner we ran to her house next door, knocked on the door and when she saw us she screamed, ran away and came back with her camera, family members and a tray of cookies. We sang a couple of songs – haunting any Christmas ghosts that might have been lurking around the neighborhood and went back home to settle in for games and pumpkin pie.

Christmas Eve turned to Christmas morning without having gone to bed. (I did capture some of our evening in pictures - see other posts). We weren’t waiting for Santa Clause in this house so sleeping in Christmas morning was part of the plan.

We spent Christmas day watching movies, eating and taking naps. Two of our Christmas movies were ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ and ‘Finding Nemo’ both fun family movies. We also managed to watch ‘The Grinch’ and ‘Charlie Brown Christmas’ old holiday favorites.

It was a long car trip back to Montana for Lisa and Greg, a flight back to Florida for Jean and a flight back to Michigan for Eli and Jacob on December 26, 2006. All agreed we could have used one more day together to go out, see a movie, and maybe hit the Mall of America. The time went by so fast, but what a wonderful time it was. I’m so happy to have had my family at my new house in Red Wing for Christmas 2006!

Thank you all for coming and Happy New Year!!

Just me in...

I'm going to move. Tomorrow, there will be a ‘For Sale’ sign in front of my house and I'll be making an offer on a turn of the century home in Red Wing. I've gone through a metamorphosis in a relatively short time as I struggled and fought a fairly straightforward decision. It's not as if I morphed into a werewolf or anything. Rather an irrational, emotional woman afflicted with a racking dose of self doubt, wrapped in debilitating, old fashioned fear. For some reason I attached a move to Red Wing to an end of something instead of a beginning. It’s true; there is an end as I leave a little house behind. However, I’m simply moving 25 miles away and my Cannon Falls friends will continue to be just that.

I’ve been looking at my home from the perspective of a potential buyer. It’s a bit unnerving to know your bathroom, bedroom, reading material, refrigerator contents are left open to the scrutinizing eye of a stranger. In the middle of a home tour with my realtor in Red Wing, the phone rang suddenly, answering machine kicked on and we stood with our hands clasped over our mouth holding back laughter as a message was left. I made a note to self to turn mine off or down or something. Also, what to do about my dog? He wants to be in every picture I try to take for the realtor listing. Do people want to see a house that has a dog in the picture? What if it’s a kind of cute dog?