Some Fished & Some Shopped

This was today's catch....a Northern caught right out front from our house on Tainter Lake. Chris was the one that caught this fish, while Ted kept getting bites, but no fish. Becca and I missed all the fun today since we decided to do a little shopping. Since our daughter is now student teaching in Duluth, MN, we decided she needed a little help in the clothing world. College clothes just don't suit the teacher image, so we decided to help her out by buying some clothes for Becca. Because of our struggling economy, we were able to find a few some good deals at the mall today. Becca and I were both tired by late afternoon so we just ended our shopping trip....shopping is hard, now I know why I don't do it very often!

A Princess Wedding

My librarian friend, Colleen, got married today to Allen in Balsam Lake, WI at the Polk County courthouse. When Colleen walked into the courthouse today, she looked just like a princess with her long red sequined evening gown, worn with a white fur jacket. Her headpiece was made of small dried greenery. She was an absolutely beautiful bride, and her smile was nothing like I've seen before. Colleen was so happy today, as was her new husband Allen.

You see, these two knew each other years ago when they both were teachers. Allen told me he always remembered Colleen's cheery attitude and nice smile. About a year ago Colleen and Allen began dating after not seeing one another for many years. Both Allen and Colleen have children from pervious marriages...the picture above right are Colleen's daughters. I am so happy that my dear friend can now share her life with her best friend. I was standing there this afternoon thinking to myself....wow, this is like a fairytale that every girl dreams about.

Lastly, I had to take a picture of the table settings at the reception. Now only a librarian would think to put a book next to each name tag!!! Each book represented the personality of the person sitting there at the table. Actually, each book was a weeded book from her library's collection, so we all got to take our books home with us. My book was a book about beading and making jewelry. Only a librarian would think to give away a book to each of her guests...how cool is that?

Try Our Relaxed Style of Thanksgving Dinner

Ah yes, Thanksgiving dinner at the Ludwig house. You see, we don't bother with proper dinnerware or fancy glasses. We're from that "other" side of the Ludwig family that doesn't bother with traditions. In fact, we're all quite relaxed when it comes to eating!

This is what we call relaxed eating style. We also don't worry about passing germs among ourselves...we're family! Who needs eating utensils. No silverware means no extra dish washing involved. Pretty smart right?

Now, I have to admit sometimes we eat bigger portions than we really should. Becca was contemplating another tablespoon of butter, and I was trying to open my mouth wide enough to shovel in that last bit of glazed sweet potatoes. Wow, everything tasted so good. The best part was, we were all stress-free and really, really enjoyed our family Thanksgiving dinner.

We're a Family Again - Yippee!

I'm so happy...my babies are both home together. We are a family again! Becca hasn't been home since the first week of June so this is a real treat for her dad and me. Thankfully Chris comes home for weekend visits and that really helps my family blues. When the kids left for college I felt like a little part of me was lost because I couldn't have those spontanious conversations any longer with my kids. If I had something really exciting to share, I ended up bombarding my husband with tons of information about my work day, or what happened when I went to a meeting, blah, blah, blah. After four years I'm use to being patient when it comes to how or when I can talk to the kids. I'm finally juggling both kids busy school schedules and try to squeeze in a quick five minute conversation, especially Becca who has lots of part-times jobs and spends a lot of time at church functions or her college classes. I'm just thankful for times like this when both kids are home and we can laugh and have a goofy time. Becca and Chris don't know what they are in for however. Their momma has turned into a photo buff and will take pictures all day long if the opportunity knocks. I still need to practice my whistle, hee, hee (that's a Grandpa Curnow thing)!!!!!!!!!

What are you thankful for in your life?

Hey, hey, hey.....guess who got a turkey today? My staff member Jenny was working with me at the library and that same guy came in tonight right before we closed. He took one look at Jenny and said, "did you get a turkey"? Jenny said "no." He darted out of the library to his car to go get a candy turkey. At that point I thought I was going to wet my pants with laughter. So Kris, if you are reading this....Jenny got TURKEYED TODAY!!!!!!!!! Sorry Kellie, you missed out on all the fun. Hummmm, I wonder if Jenny will eat her turkey like someone I know!

Would You Eat This Turkey?

It's amazing what library patrons bring into the library to share with the staff. Right before we were closing the library tonight, this local male patron walks into the library and handed me two edible turkey's....one for me and one for my new employee. Hummm, I didn't know guys make this kind of stuff! I graciously said thank you to this man, as he explained how he made his own chocolate frosting to put the turkey together. He was so excited when he talked about making these turkeys....I think he really enjoyed making them. Now in my mind, I thought this is nice but I'm not actually going to eat that turkey. The candy turkey would make a nice conversation item on the dining room table. Well, I just read the blog post of my new employee and guess what she did? She ATE THE TURKEY! Geez Louise, you're not suppose to eat the turkey. I definitely wouldn't trust that chocolate covered cherry! Maybe I'll call my new employee tomorrow to make sure she didn't get sick.

Ice Fishing Replaces Bicycling

I'm sure you are wondering what this contraption is all about! This is the beginning of Chris's ice shack. I took this picture last weekend, but it still isn't complete as you can see. The "boys" decided to wrap the shack in a tarp to keep the snow out while they continue to work on it. I've never seen an ice shack quite like this one. Chris constructed it really tall, but very narrow so it looks funny. When Chris comes home for his Thanksgiving break from college, he promised me this shack would be totally put together. I would say there is enough room for two people to fish, but three would be a crowd! I guess Chris is planning on taking the shack to Lake Menomon in Menomonie where he is going to college. Nothing like going to your college classes and then ending your day by ice fishing.....only in Northwest Wisconsin! Some of the best fish are caught during the winter months. Ice fishing is a "normal" activity around our house from December through March. Once the fire pit is moved down on the ice, I don't mind hanging out around the fire while the boys go ice fishing. Hot dogs/brats cooked around the outdoor fire is the ultimate in winter fun. There's nothing like a good roasted hot dog on a subzero day! Yes Aunt Krissy, I do wear my snowsuit, long johns, my neck turtle, wool hat, choppers with liners, wool socks and my Sorrel boots!!!!!

Chris was showing me the inside of his new ice shack.........pretty nice.

Never Trust a Rooster

The lake looked so pretty this afternoon with the sun shining and a temperature around 33 degrees. If you noticed, the light snow fall is gone and the lake ice will stay totally clear if it doesn't snow. Remember my picture yesterday, well all the snow melted off so now the lake will be beautiful for ice skating. I don't skate but other people around the lake do, so if it doesn't snow soon we will see people out ice skating all over the lake. That actually happened about two years ago and people could skate on beautiful clear ice until the first week of January and then it finally snowed. Last year we had our first significant snowfall the first week of December so I never saw anyone out ice skating. We'll see what happens this year.

Never trust a Rooster, they might be nice to look at, but those darn things will take off and attack your legs if you are not prepared. I had to take this picture really, really fast this morning!!!!! I'm on "doggy, bunny & rooster" duty this weekend for a guy I know from church. He lives about 2 miles down the road from our house, so it works out nicely that I can feed his animals when he's gone for deer hunting season. The only drawback is that he added to his animal list this year by getting a rooster. I found out the rooster has started acting naughty lately and this morning when I went to feed the animals, that darn rooster kept walking towards me. Ted said I made the mistake of looking at it and that only makes the matter worse because a rooster will feel threatened. I have to admit I was really feeling scared like the rooster was stalking my every move. For some reason the rooster didn't do that yesterday so I was certain it was on the "attack" mode today. At one point the rooster got so close to me that I almost jumped in the doggy kennel...I'm sure he was going for my leg! Tomorrow is my last day to feed the animals so I will go there before work. I will go there with CONFIDENCE....and a big stick, hee, hee!