Today Was My Mother's Day

Sleeping bag + softness = a comfortable cat!

The summary of today was windy, cold and cloudy.  Even the spring flowers looked chilly!  Woke up this morning and the house was only 56 degrees.....burrrrr.

I've spent most of my day indoors doing house chores &  laundry.  Our daughter came to visit us today so it was nice chatting with her.  Becca even brought me a treat from the Baker's Wife (bakery), how sweet.  The Son came over as well to do a little auto service on Becca's car.

By late afternoon the skies finally began to open up with cold sunshine.  Becca and I decided to drive to the other side of the lake for a little thrift sale shopping, something I NEVER do.  Learned a few thrift sale tactics today due to a smart daughter.  At the end of the day, always offer a lower price for an item since most people just want to get rid of their stuff.   It worked!  Got a bunch of big stuffed animals for my public library at a very cheap price. 

You're never too old to learn something new!

Oh by the way, check out my "turtle recipes" for tonight's dinner recipe.......White Chili  

Next Week..........

My Dad

Got the low-down on my dad last night.  Plans are I will drive south to my parents house on Monday afternoon, and Tuesday morning I will drive my folks to Madison so my dad can have an Angiogram procedure at the hospital.  I'm feeling positive that the procedure will work and dad can come home later on Tuesday.  If things are a little more complicated, I will stay longer until my parents are situated.

Can you believe it was only 39 degrees today?  Lots of rain all day long.  It was one of those days where you didn't even want to be outside.  Headed to the fitness center after work for my weight training workout.  The gym was dead....only one other person working out.  I think everyone else just wanted to stay home too.

Just looking forward to sunshine tomorrow.

Cool Trail Ride

Bike man and I headed to the Red Cedar Trail after I was done with work today.  With rain clouds teasing us from the West, we didn't waste anytime.  Because of time limitations, we could only ride about 23 miles.  It did feel good to be on the bike.

As usual the river was beautiful.  Saw people out this afternoon fishing along our route.

I couldn't resist......had to stop and take a picture of a Trillium.  Actually, Trillium's were everywhere along the river.  Saw lots of Marsh Marigolds too.  Despite the cool temps today, our ride was good.  Was a little chilly at the end of our ride and the rain drops started just as we were leaving the parking lot.  Good timing!

I Think Spring Took a Time Out.....Seriously!

The Son made a quick cedar birdhouse over the weekend.  Of course I had to add the little birdie touch for the photo!  Hopefully he will make more birdhouses so I can put them all around the yard.  The Wren"s love those houses.

What a cold & windy day.  I actually saw people wearing winter coats today.  One lady walked into the libray this afternoon wearing her winter coat and ear muffs!  When I left work this afternoon it began to rain, so I ended up just going to the fitness center for a weight training workout.  The weather seems to be going backwards, but that's how it goes when you live in the midwest.  So can you believe the weatherman is calling for rain and snow on Friday night?  Would you believe I talked to my other sister that lives in Jacksonville Florida and they are dealing with 80-90's?  Crazy, that's all I can say.

You Can Never Have Too Many

Look what showed up at my door this afternoon!  My sister Lynn is so thoughtful.  She knows me well......I'm sure being my twin sister has something to do with knowing me well!  Thanks Lynnie.  Oh, and thanks for the homemade candles too.

Got home early this afternoon from work and boy was that nice.  Waited for Bike man to arrive home so we could go take a spin on our bikes, but unfortunately the rain clouds moved in so I missed my window of opportunity.  I knew we had a chance for rain/storms, but they developed quicker than I anticipated. No sweat, there will be more summer-like days ahead.

Be sure to check my "turtle recipes" since I posted my delicious swiss brownie recipe.  I have to make a confession.  You see, I promised I baked those delicious brownies for my two cyclist friends that biked over the weekend in extremely windy conditions......then I went and served them to our Sunday guests.  To make matters worse, I never dedicated those brownies before we ate them....geez Lis. I think my two cyclist friends caught my mistake.....Oops!  Sorry guys.  

A Very, Very Long Day

Magic Mama......Organic Hip Hop

I drove to work this morning and before I stepped out of my vehicle in the parking lot I said, "shoot Lis"!!!!!!  I arrived at work by 9 am, but then it dawned on me that I had to work until 8:30 pm tonight because of a children's program......what was I thinking?   Why was I getting to work so early if I had to stay late tonight?  Oh well, I ended up working eleven and a half hours today, so will take tomorrow afternoon off.  If the storms and rain hold off, maybe I can spend the afternoon doing a bike ride.  Whoa....did I say bike ride?  What's that?

I think Ruby ran away......she doesn't think I love her anymore.  I'm sorry!

Where Did the Weekend Go?

We had special guests today.  Trisha (our son's girlfriend) told us her parents were coming to visit this weekend, so I invited them to come on over for lunch.  It was cool and windy this morning, but we still were able to enjoy our meal outdoors in the mid-day sun.  What was my menu?   Marinated Pork Loin, Grilled Pineaple, Cheesy Potatoes, Cauliflower salad, and homemade Swiss Brownies. 

After our guests left, Chris and I got involved in our next house project.  We spent several hours preparing our cedar planking by applying polyurethane.  The Son found it easiest to spray the polyurethane on each cedar piece.  My job was to help stack each piece while it dried.

  

For several hours I walked back and forth, back and forth....hauling more cedar planking to be sprayed.  By late tonight, I was exhausted.  So if you are wondering what all the cedar planking is for, we are trying to finish working on our bedroom project.  All of our walls in the bedroom will be cedar.....big project, but it will be nice when it's all done.

Yesterday was also a full day.  Bike man and I went to a stream monitoring training session which lasted most of the day.  It's been one busy weekend and I'm glad I can go to bed tonight!  I'm still waiting to hear from my parents on my dad's heart condition.  If the Cardiologist hasn't called by now, I thinking my dad must not be in extreme danger as previously thought.  I still plan on driving my folks to Madison if my dad needs surgery in the next week or two.  

In the meantime, I will try to fit in my biking as best as I can....my body, mind and soul needs it!