Lots of People, Lots of Good Food

We got a phone message last night saying "reunion" at Ted's mom's house tomorrow (Saturday)....yikes! No sweat, Ted woke up this morning and made a double batch of Oatmeal Raisin/Craisin cookies, and I made a large pan of Apple Bread Pudding with Carmel Sauce!!!! We were ready to leave and drive over to her house by 1 pm...not too bad for last minute notice.

It was nice to see Ted's mom Winnie. Winnie has been out of the hospital for about two weeks now. She's doing much better, however, she is fighting a bladder infection right now. Winnie forgets to drink water so that's the main reason for her frequent urinary infections.

Larry & Marie flew in from California so that was nice to visit with them. My sister-in-law is also a Library Director so I love hearing all about her library and activities....we always have a lot to talk about in the library world.

For such short notice, we had quite the feast tonight. My other sister-in-law, Ruth, made her famous spaghetti sauce so we served that over spaghetti noodles, with garlic bread, and salad. Of course we had our desserts too....lemon bundt cake, my apple bread budding, and chocolates from California.

What was really neat today was the fact that we had two great grandchildren present.....Bailey & Jade (John & Ruth's granddaughters). I forgot what it's like to have a one year old and a three year old around. The little girls were both very busy checking everything out. The Ludwig house was shaking and moving.

All in all it was a fun day.....a good day to be inside since it was cold and very windy outside. Subzero temps for tonight, woo hoo!!!!!

Do You Wanna Spin?

I just added another spin class at Anytime Fitness. I now teach spinning on Wednesday's and Friday's. Tonight was my first Friday class. I'm trying to gear my class for beginners who have never tried spinning before, or persons that have not involved themselves in much exercise. Getting fit takes time and lots of hard work. I admire any new person that tries my class, especially if they haven't really exercised for years. I did have one random woman come up to me right before class tonight and tell me that she wants to try my class next week. I asked her if she's ever tried a spin class before and she just looked at me and laughed...her answer was NO! I'm really glad I have some brave souls that are signing up for my class. Spinning is fun, especially when you do it with a group of people. It you're going to sweat, sweat with others!!!!

Another Way To Use Your Gnomes....

After hearing about all these areas of Wisconsin that received snow last week and then two days ago, I thought I better go outside and show you all how much we've gotten here at the Ludwig "shack." The best part about having gnomes around your yard, is that you can use them to gauge winter snow fall. You'll see a picture of "Timothy" here (still smiling!) among our latest snowfall. I heard my hometown in Southern Wisconsin received about three inches or more inches of snow, then just yesterday I heard Madison (our Capitol in Southern WI) got even more snow! You know this is exactly what happened last year....come on, geez. We, here in the Northern Wisconsin hardly got any snow. Those, in Southern Wisconsin got over 100 inches of snow last winter. I'm sure this is something that happens in weather history, but it's amazing that cities 300-400 miles south can have more snow than all of us here in the northwoods. Since we have a little dusting of snow, we may as well just get dumped on...that's my philosophy! I'm ready to get my cross-country skies out along with my snowshoes. Once the lake has a foot or more of good ice, it's a perfect place to use your snow gear. If you live in Northern Wisconsin, you have to adopt the right attitude about snow and cold, otherwise you'll never make it. Isn't that how it is in the great state of Alaska? You wanna talk snow....go to PAKART's blog. Now that's what I call snow. Go Alaska, yee ha.

Thanksgiving Dinner All Over Again

I had Thanksgiving dinner all over again! Actually, I went to a potluck tonight for my bible study group through church. We were all told to bring a dish to pass, and the church would provide the meat. When I walked into the church house, I couldn't believe the smells. The smell of the baked ham filled the whole house. Now my bible study group is just one of about six other groups. In my group we probably have around 15-18 regulars. Yes, there was lots of good food. These were some of our choices tonight:

* Baked Ham
* Real Homemade Cheesy Potatoes
* Scalloped Corn
* Seasoned Stuffing
* Cranberry Sauce
* Green Bean Casserole
* Potato Salad
* Sweet Potato Casserole
* Assorted Breads & Rolls
* Assorted Desserts (6 kinds)
Everything tasted so good...better than my Thanksgiving meal! What did I bring? I made my famous Heath Bar Cheesecake. My cheesecakes weigh about five pounds!!!

It's been a long day....full day at work, taught spinning class, and then off to the potluck. I finally got home by 9 pm tonight. I'm looking forward to bedtime tonight.

I Really Don't Need An Alarm Clock Anymore.......

By now, everyone knows I'm a lover of cats. I'm always amazed at each cats personality. I'm sure dogs are no different when it comes to personalities, but there's something about cats and how they adapt to their homes and owners. I now have this routine with my cat Annabelle. Beginning around 6 am, my cats starts trying to arouse me by meowing right next to our bed as she scratches alongside the mattress. Now mind you, she has no front claws, but can still make a loud scratching sound. If I don't respond, she leaps up on the bed right next to me. She then proceeds to lick my cheek, nose and yes, sometimes my lips...icky! I've learned to have a quick reflex of my left arm to swat her off the bed. Annabelle has learned that I'm not ready to wake up at 6 am, so she will come back to my bedside again at 6:30 am and then again at 6:45 am! When I finally do wake up, Annabelle will be all loving and sweet (more licks here and there), and will then gallop out to the kitchen to stand there at her cat bowl meowing for her morning food. Annabelle is pretty patient as she has learned that I make the pot of coffee first, then kitty is feed.....that's the number one rule at my house. Coffee first, cat feeding second!!!!!!! After kitty's tummy is full, she will then come and lay next to me as I check my morning email/blog. There's something about the warmth of the laptop that attracts kitty. Most mornings I have to pry her off the laptop keys since I cannot type with a fury animal covering the shift and tab keys. What would I do without my fluffy friend? I must admit, I'm attracted to all that fluff and fur. It comes down to two things....you are either a cat lover or a dog lover.

Christmas Tea Time!

Here is a picture of my dear friend Helen. Helen is my oldest library patron! Can you believe she is 92 years old? During the warm months, Helen visits my library via her electric scooter. Helen called me up today because she wanted to come to our "holiday tea" at the library but didn't have a ride. I was so happy she wanted to come, and I was able to go and pick her up at her apartment.

We had a normal turnout at our event tonight...a whole whoping 8 people, woo hoo! We have a local country shop in our village that does floral arrangements. My mom thought it would be a good idea to have flowers for the tea event so I ordered flowers for one table and then the shop owner surprised me today by making another arrangement as a "freebie." See the photo to the right.

We did have one mom that attended our event tonight. Her name is Karen and she is the mother to Kris who works for me. Karen and her husband are snowbirds in Arizonia, but live in Alaska during the summer months. They arrived a couple days ago to visit their daughter Kris. It was so nice to finally meet Karen, especially since she reads my blog!

I think all the women enjoyed themselves tonight. We started our program tonight with a special performance by the Colfax High School Chamber Choir, which consisted of ALL girls. My daughter Becca use to be in Chamber Choir so I have a special place in my heart for the kids that join the choir. After the singing, Jenny read a wonderful Christmas poem, which was followed by tea (raspberry & gingerbread tea) and treats. Lastly, everyone made a tea ornament before leaving. All in all it was a fun night and it made my little library come to life with Christmas cheer!

Puppy Chow Anyone?

So what did I make tonight? Puppy Chow! I haven't made that stuff since our kids were young. I wanted to have a special treat for the High School Chamber Choir because they will be singing tomorrow night at a special "holiday tea" that we are hosting at my library. I asked my daughter this weekend...."what would high school students really like for a treat." We both decided that even high school kids like a sweet snack. If you don't know what Puppy Chow is, it's chocolate coated chex cereal dusted in powdered sugar! It's so easy to make. You just melt chocolate chips with butter and peanut butter and pour hot chocolate mix over the chex cereal. The last step is to add the powdered sugar and coat/shake. Becca and Chris just love that stuff.....even now as they are much older!!!

Well, both kids left to go back to college....Becca had the furthest to drive (Duluth, MN), and Chris went back to UW-Stout. Now, the house is back to being quiet again. Before Becca left, we both went to church together this morning....what a special treat for me. We attended a new small church located in Menomonie. This church is very similar to Becca's church in Duluth. Center Point is a new contemporary Pentecostal church....check it out online: http://www.cpccv.org/ The church members were so warm and welcoming and the pastor's sermon was wonderful. Today's sermon focused on bible scripture from Nehemiah 8:1-12. This verse is all about having a hungry heart for God. If you have a couple minutes in your day, I encourage you to read this bible passage. I was inspired to really look at how do I desire to know God better, or where is my passion to want to know him better. Life is so busy sometimes, that we can easily be robbed of that passion. Isn't that sad? I love it when I can walk away from a sermon and focus on one challenge. I will keep this focus throughout the Christmas season and I hope you can to.