Rec Lab 2018

Tags

fun, Rec Lab

Another Rec Lab has come and gone and it was again, full of fun and lovely people, most of whom I only get to see once a year but who I love dearly.  The amazing thing this year was the cohesiveness of the entirety of Rec Lab.

Typically we have a Discussion Leader that talks about one thing, a Monday Night Celebration that is usually a theme of a different sort, and Fireside evening programs which are quite diverse as well.  But this year was somewhat magical in the way that Discussion Leader Connie Nunemaker’s talks, focused on Gardening and including our friends the pollinators, was carried through in the Monday Night Flower Power celebration and the Fireside talks which had a number of links to butterflies and stories from the beautiful garden of life.  Even the donated items for the Fundraising Auction were linked in many ways to gardens with plants and floral handmade items.

And Tea Time was fantastic with its garden theme.  Barb Benson outdid herself with an organized, well-planned, and beautiful set-up for each afternoon’s refreshments.  She included a focus on sustainability that I really loved: For every time you brought your own mug, you got an entry into the drawing – for one of her husband Jewitt’s artistic cards.  [And there must have been a lot of us participating since I didn’t win once! ;-)]  I am hopeful that Barb’s efforts will continue to guide the Tea Time committee well into the future… until someone comes up with an even better way of doing things, once again.

I was so happy that Connie Nunemaker agreed to speak for Rec Lab as she was a delight and a thrill for many who gushed about how much they enjoyed the Discussion.  She truly had something for everyone.  From soil science to flower bombs, the language of flowers to free plants for your garden, she led informative talks where everyone learned a little something.  One of the more interesting points was about rainfall and how one of the reasons it greens everything up is because, as rain falls, it gathers nitrogen from the air (which is about 80% nitrogen and 20% oxygen) and puts it into the soil.  Nitrogen is what makes plants greener.  So after a rainfall, everything looks to have greened up significantly for good reason!

But as is the case with any large event, there were shortcomings.  And these are a chance for us to learn, though I sometimes wish that I could learn more easily.

What I learned through my failures this year is that, instead of working on how to proactively prevent issues, I should focus on how to reactively deal with what I foresee as potential problems – though this year I failed on both counts for the main concern I had.  Maybe that’s why I got to hear from those hurt most in the debacle.  It’s a penance I’m willing to pay though I wish I’d had the foresight to prevent the issues in the first place.

I struggle with the concept of letting things happen as they will… simply “learning from them for next time”.  Some may feel that it is only through failing that we learn… or maybe that we learn best through failure.  I can agree with the latter but not the former.

My dad often said, “Experience is a dear school.  A fool will learn by no other.”  Perhaps it is because I heard this so often that I am the way I am… constantly looking to make things better, constantly evaluating and dreaming of the next best iteration, always looking for the group to discuss ideas in hopes that, together, we can avoid pitfalls and find our best success.

I’ve seen many groups come up with amazing solutions… things one person alone would have never developed so quickly.  I have always thought that was the purpose of a Board ~ to develop ideas as a group, to keep each other on task and on target, to assure we are moving forward as a full team for our best effort.  I’ve helped many groups, often with non-aligned end goals to find win-win solutions so I know it can work.  It was one of my favorite things to do as an engineer in the steel industry.  Perhaps it’s just that I lack the skillset to do that like I once could.  Maybe it’s me, maybe it’s Minnesota.

A friend recently shared with me, “Board work can be soul sucking.”  I can see through my experience on many boards that this is often true.  I have seen success stories and had many good experiences, but it seems that it’s often some of the most trying work I’ve done.  Maybe it’s because it’s voluntary work!

But I believe it’s more because I care too much.  Dan told me as I struggled this year:

Very few are capable of going ALL IN like you do. Many have fears that hold them back from a full commitment to something. Most Americans worry more about their own image.  When we let that go then we become empowered to truly help others.  You have a gift and the freedom to share that.  This scares those who cannot understand it.

Maybe.  In discussions prior to the spring Board meeting I had the encouragement of multiple Board members in bringing up my topic of concern.  However, when I brought the idea to the floor, I stood alone.  I was immediately accused of “stepping on the toes” of another committee.  I guess I thought we were all on the same team!  Instead of being seen as an idea to discuss as a Board, my idea was seen as an attack on multiple fronts.  And instead of fighting for it, I just let it die.  Being off-site for the meetings doesn’t allow as much personal interaction or reading of body language in the room.  Perhaps this is part of the reason I seem to lack the capability I once had in business, and even on other Boards.

And I do jump ALL IN.  But I’m finally learning that it just isn’t worth beating my head against the rock.  [It always seems to take me longer than others to learn this… I’m pretty tenacious.  Or maybe just not so smart…]

Another friend recently advised, “When you feel like you’re caring too much, think to yourself, how much will this matter in five years.”  I’ve revised this down to five months or even five weeks.  And sometimes, it’s only five days to realize that most of life is really irrelevant in the grand scheme.  In reality, it’s all just an experience here on Earth.

I believe I am finally at a place where I can let go this year, my last as a Rec Lab Board Member, and fully enjoy the event without becoming consumed with trying to assure we’re thinking of everything, avoiding all the pitfalls, making everything awesome!  I am doing well so far to not need to correct any typos in the minutes, to not need to address any actions during the meetings, to not feel a need to put in my two cents.  OK.  Let me be honest.   I FEEL the need to do these things.  I’m just deciding to not do them.  I’m letting things be as they are.  My input is not required.  Nothing is really critical enough to necessitate my involvement.  It’s an idea I contemplate frequently these days.

And I am hopeful that, at next year’s Rec Lab, I will not be a detriment to my friends and roommates – who BTW did a wonderful job of encouraging me and helping me through this year as I struggled.  I thank them for their caring compassion.  It meant the world.

For Rec Lab 2019, all I need to do is assure that the Art Show is prepped for displaying the created works next May.  [Sorry, Laura, I’m taking the easy gig this year!!  Though Discussion turned out to be pretty easy too so I hope you enjoy it instead.]

And there were plenty of things for which to be grateful and proud.

• Watching the fun at Monday’s celebration unfold was hilarious!!  All those women with low hanging balls!  And seeing the creativity of costumes was wonderful.
• Watching as so many people took time to care for others ~ helping them learn, sharing experience, and being creative ~ was inspiring.
• Hearing the Fireside stories was heartwarming, funny, and challenging.  Tina shared a story about assuring you don’t live life too quickly and instead enjoy the moments, even the tough ones, as they are often the ones that bring you closer to each other.

I guess my painful moments gave me a chance to let others care for me and I am so grateful that they were there for me.  And it allowed others to give me insights that helped me see where I need to go from here.  Though some of those insights were painful, they turned out to be the most informative and helpful.

It’s hard for me to take a back seat and “not care” (as I put it).  As with any experience, I am hopeful that the growing pains will bring good lessons that lead to improvement.  And, in all reality, most of the downfalls were not enough to ruin what is, by and large, a wonderful event at a happy place.

Here are some of my favorite things…

Redneck Life with Laura Burlis, Ann Hippensteel, and Jill Featherwolf (thanks, Jill!); my polymer clay time; June’s collaborative switch plate (this is the heart of Rec Lab to me – working together to create something beautiful); my upcycled thrift shop finds ($4); Tracy Gulliver’s “star” talk (love it when a first year attendee jumps right in to participate!); Laura, me & Lutz ~ Hippy Time;  Mother Nature – Connie Nunemaker (this year’s Discussion Leader); more of my polymer clay and Jill’s Owl – love him!; and me – Happy (jacket before photo).

I also loved Laura Burlis’ Glacier Trip presentation – FABULOUS!!  Another example of why we shouldn’t rush through things… she spent almost an hour on this – AFTER Fireside – and had a HUGE audience.  And my most favorite time is Art Show where we can see all the wonderful work from our week together.  Here’s a video.

I’m at Rec Lab!!!

Tags

Rec Lab

Taking the week off to thoroughly invest in Rec Lab.  See you all next week… hopefully with a report on all the fun I had, things I learned, people I saw, and clay art I made.

Rec Lab 2017 ~  Clay work and Instructor Laura Burlis

Update: This is the $2 jacket I picked up on the way to Rec Lab – hoping to decorate it in Jenifer Burlis-Freilich’s Upcycling Clothing class!!  (I can tell you it’s turned out great… you’ll see in next week’s blog.)  I also got a $2 olive colored shirt that I’m turning into quite the get-up.  I’ll be wearing it at the next Corey Medina and the Brothers show…. I’m really loving upcycling clothes.  But my first love of Polymer Clay is still taking a BIG part of each day at Lab…

See you next week!!

Rec Lab 2018 Prep

Tags

Rec Lab

It has been a whirlwind time since getting back from Indiana.  First I had to finish a book on Dan and my First Year at the Harn because a Shutterfly coupon I had was going to expire March 31st.  Then, I decided I’d made it so big that I should go ahead and use the 50% off coupon instead which had a deadline of April 2nd.

After getting that done, I could play a bit.  I headed over to Connie’s to work on tote bags we’re making for the Rec Lab auction.  Got partway through that work and then headed to Angie’s where she planned an Alcohol Ink on Tile craft day.

Now I thought this would be REALLY fun.  It turns out, it’s kind of frustrating.  There is NO CONTROL.  Just when you think it’s almost perfect, you add another drop and the whole thing turns to shit.

Don’t get me wrong, there are some really cool effects and Angie was pretty good at the perfect tile work.  She made flowers and landscapes and designs.  Meanwhile Connie made wonderful abstract flowers, rose, iris, etc.

Meanwhile, I was like a hippie clown on acid.  All my stuff was just rainbows of weirdness.  You can see Angie’s work in the top four left tiles below (and the far right solo one), Connie in the bottom four left corner tiles, and me in the line dropping down from the crazy alien fried egg thing.  I just kept adding stuff like an ink spritz, an alcohol spritz, another drop of ink.  Nothing really seemed to fall into place.

So… I started taxes.  Yes, I know, it was late.  But we had the Turbo Tax and I figured I could do it quick.  And you know what?!?  I DID!  It only took a couple days and it was SO MUCH easier than loop-de-looping through all those circular tax formulas in the book.  Now, let’s just hope we don’t get audited cause that program is kind of a black box…  Dan took a pic of me as I was immersed in the process.  I had two computers, three screens, a bunch of paper records, and two TV trays beside the desk.  And I survived.  Barely.

We had a Grant Writing class for a couple days and THEN I figured I could really start working on the Rec Lab preparations.  And what did I decide to do?  More alcohol inks.  (Yes, the tote bag I started at Connie’s is still awaiting a lining.)  I don’t know if it was that I thought I could make it work if I just tried harder or if I didn’t want to admit the project had bested me!

The second round of ink on tile went a bit better.  But I also realized that the clear coat spray had something in it (acetone, I think) that was causing the tiles to bleed as I coated them.  I had one only bleed halfway and I think this was because it was painted while not lying flat.  Half the tile remained as it had been originally painted, half turned into a tie-dye wash.  Weird.  But I decided this whole set could be a “Wake Up from the Blur/Party Until Blurry” coaster set.  You can just use them all the time if your a real alcoholic.  It’s like a progression of clear to blurry work it seems, or blurry to clear, depending on how you look at it.  But they still look kind of cool.  Who knows.  Maybe no one will bid on them.  But I’ve had a couple compliments so… we’ll see.

The new tiles I got are smaller as I thought I could make some little magnets out of them.  And they are turning out OK.  Here’s a Beach Bum set I made for the auction.

I also still have to get packed for Rec Lab.  It should be a fun year with my neighbor Connie coming as the Discussion Leader.  I’m hopeful she has an enjoyable time.  I am pumped up about the stuff she will present – something for almost anyone.

And I am really looking forward to seeing many of my Rec Lab friends as this is the one time of year I get to visit with some of them. And, of course I’m looking forward to the crafting.  And the food – Cheryl and the kitchen staff are pretty amazing at Camp Wapo.  Just hope it also decides to warm up a bit before we get there!!

I’ll see you in a couple weeks.  Next Monday is Rec Lab.  And I hope to have lots to show you from there after I return home.

Is Spring Here Yet?

Tags

Birthday

We’re in the middle of Third Winter here in the North Woods.  It just keeps staying cold.  And it’s April!!  But we see more snow in the forecast in the coming week…

We did get a brief respite from the cold with a trip to Indiana last month.  It was a Birthday Fest and we partied til we dropped.

But I’m getting ahead of myself…

Dan and I decided that we’d break up the trip by stopping in Wisconsin for a quick overnight on the way down and the way up.  This made the trip so much easier on the body.  But it also made it more enjoyable for the soul!

On the way down, we were going to stop in Eau Claire.  But I noticed on FB that Stewart Huff was going to be in Madison the very night we were travelling through!  SO AWESOME!!!  Wait.  You don’t know Stewart Huff?  Oh, Lord, you NEED to!

Dan and I met Stewart at the Indy Fringe in… heck, maybe 2011 or 2012.  Anyway, I think the show was titled Uncle Baby Daddy and we thought that sounded fun.  And boy, was it.  Stewart comes on stage and, when you’re living with the Yankee bias that I do, you hear his southern accent and think, “Uh-oh.  This might suck.”  But you stay and you realize… that he’s BRILLIANT!  [We tell him he is the Smartest Hillbilly we know.]  If you EVER get a chance to see him.  Go.  Do not hesitate.  Just Go.  Seriously.  GO.

So when I saw his Madison show coincided with our trip south through Wisconsin, we were ON IT.  I contacted the venue because you couldn’t get tickets online.  The response was basically that they are first come-first serve, day of the event. So I told the guy we were driving eight hours and REALLY needed to be at the show, if he could help us out… (plus, I mentioned that it was my birthday week – can’t hurt!) Well Al Rasho who runs the North Street Cabaret hooked us up.  He was super awesome and we will definitely go back to this venue if in Madison again.  They have a small space but they fill it with great drinks & fresh, local food (heck, it’s Madison, People), along with great entertainment.  Give them a try if you’re in the neighborhood.

The show opened with newcomer to comedy, Allie Lindsay and I have to tell you, a tag line in her show has become a tag line in Dan’s life.  She gave us a great gift with her fart jokes that night.  And Nick Hart was amazing too.  IN a short set, he conveyed a story that linked McFast McFood, cocaine, and scallions.  It was phenomenal.

Since the first show where we saw Stewart, I’ve had this thing of sharing treats with him.  We were snacking on Freaky Fritos as he prepped for the Indy show as I recall and we offered him some.  He loved them.  So now, every time we see him, I bring him treats.  For this trip, I made him an ice cream bucket of Freaky Fritos, or as we call it “Krack”.  He was stoked!  [“This is ALL for me?”  He was incredulous.]  And he made me feel so special.  Like, I don’t know how many people this dude must meet but he really remembered me and Dan.  At the end of the night, after an amazing show full of laughs and even a few tears – cause Stewart speaks from the heart – he’s super smart and makes you think about stuff, often in a compassionate way so, yes, I cried – he asked Al if he could have a few more minutes… to tell a story that he recalled was my favorite from our days in Indiana.  How nice is that???  And then he told the Penguin Story.  Perfect night.

On we head to Indiana and it was SO GREAT to see friends and family.  Even though we planned an extra long stay – a whole week – it was not long enough to see but a few folks.  But we really enjoyed the warm-up and the green grass.  And it was Birthday Fest!  First was Steph and Chris, then me, and then Rookie.

Fran and I started with Chris – which, of course, involved CRAFTING!

I so miss my Crafty Ladies – Jackie and Shayla joined us today too!! – so we made some cards with really shiny embossing powder embellishments.  Chris’ cards are always so much better than mine but I enjoyed learning the process and I very likely will be doing more embossing powder, now that I’ve hung out with it for a while.  Crafts are kind of like that.  When I get a taste of one, I like to hang with it for a while and play.  We also had a lovely meal at the IHOP (Near Ft. Ben on 56th) – nice staff and good food (except the chicken wraps – don’t get the chicken wraps).  I had the corned beef omelet and it was smashing.  BTW, if you’re GF, be sure you tell them NO PANCAKE BATTER in your eggs – this is a normal thing they do apparently at IHOP.

So Steph’s Birthday required a do-over due to stress and overwhelm on the first one, but… Hey, we’re up for another party any day!  For her second birthday, I made the Red Wattle Ham that Merry Gardens had given us and, WOW, was it delicious.  I told Farmer Randy, “It’s like a total different kind of food!”  It was melt in your mouth delicious and, as it was accompanied by organic mashed potatoes, also from MGF, it was a big hit with Steph.

The next birthday was ME!!  Dan had a BIG PLAN that he’d been working on for weeks.  He’d organized a team of people to contribute to a BIG birthday surprise for me and it was Wonderful.  I especially loved the card from Tommy.  Sometimes you wonder, as a parent of a grown child, just how much and what they might think of you.  Well, I felt super special after reading his card.  It was lovely.  And made me cry.

We had a beautiful sunny day to go to City Market where Dan got his hair cut at Jack’s Barber Shop – you simply MUST go for the cut-and-a-show.  Brenda is a RIOT and if you don’t gather a few laughs while you’re getting handsome (or beautiful, as the case may be), it’s your own damn fault.  We had a bite of lunch with Steph and then headed to Fran and Ed’s where we REALLY Enjoyed sitting on the warm, sunny porch!  So beautiful.  And such a nice thing to be in that space again – a place full of so many fun times and good memories.  One of the hardest things about leaving Indy was knowing it meant not seeing Fran and Ed every couple days…

But today was a HAPPY DAY!  We had cake – yummy GF cake – Fran, you are TOO GOOD to me!!  And GIFTS!  The man really outdid himself with his Team of Birthday.  He and Tom actually had a code name for this venture so they wouldn’t have me catch them in their planning – though I remained oblivious throughout.

Then the BIG Party happened.  Little Rookie turned Three!!  And it was a whole Boss Baby thing.  He looked dashing in his Boss Baby Suit and I hope he liked the Boss Baby and (brother) Tim puppets that Connie, Char and I made for him as much as I enjoyed making them for him.  That was a real project but the three of us made it happen and I think they turned out real nice.

We were also able to catch up with friends Jill and Markus and that was super fun.  Dan got to check off a Bucket List item as we ate at Wheatley’s.  It’s kind of funny about the name.  I ordered bacon and eggs there, as well as some hash browns that the serving lady advised against… “Everything we have has Gluten in it.  I wouldn’t risk it.”  […to which I replied, “even those eggs and bacon?  they have gluten?” Seriously lady… you’re ignorant.]  But seeing the Robinsons was wonderful and it was good to hear about how grown the kids are now.

I guess the birthdays do start to pile up faster each year now.  But it sure was nice to have such a great trip full of birthday fun.

Oh, the place we stayed on the way home was an AirBnB in Eau Claire that we HIGHLY recommend.  We were their second hosting and these two Tech School Instructors were great fun.  We chatted up the evening and Kristi noted that she thought, on seeing our names, that we might be their first lesbian couple! When I told Dan later (as he’d stayed in nap mode after all that driving, his response was, “I’m a lesbian.” 😀  So I guess they CAN say we were their first lesbian couple. Anyhow, their place is comfy & cozy, fun, and quiet.  We got a great deal being one of their first stays – less than $25 as I recall – but they are worth the visit no matter the cost.  Check them out.

See you next week!!!

 

So Lucky in Our Life

Tags

DIY, fun, local

So many blessings in the last couple months!  I don’t even know where to begin and I’m sure I will leave out several of the most wonderful things…  But I am starting to believe that some of the wonderfulness is because of our gratitude.  We are continually saying, “How lucky are we?!?”  It’s like good things just keep coming our way.  And I will keep giving thanks for it all, and hope it keeps delivering.

One of the first signs of spring are baby lambs and goats.  Our friends at Split Oak Farm have both.  Their lambs were rescued triplets from a local farm that keeps the best two of a litter and these sweeties are so small!  I never knew a lamb could be as little as a cat!  And this is at some days old.  I happened to be going for a visit with friend Connie who was helping Angie make an apron from an old linen tablecloth.  That tablecloth never looked so good as when they were finished.  A beautiful upcycle.  Anyhow, the lambs had arrived earlier that week and they were so adorable.  A few days later, Connie and I had a trip to town and so we stopped by the Farm on our way home.  Good thing!  Angie was just bringing out milk for the little lambs and we got to help!  We also got to see baby goats – four of them at the time – two new born and two a few days old, all adorbz!  Connie and I got to play farmer as we helped move two ewes to a birthing pen and relocate a momma and baby that had gotten into a wrong space.  Those goats are sneaky little devils!  All in all, I’m glad we don’t have livestock at our homestead… but I’m sure glad to have lots of farmer friends who do. 🙂

Another farmer couple, Jill & Randy at Merry Gardens Farm, are remodeling their kitchen and we (mostly Dan) are helping with the project.  They pay us good… in food!!  Every time we visit, we end up having a meal and it’s always, in part and sometimes almost in whole, harvest from their land.  We’ve had pork liver and onions, roasted potatoes, beets, and Brussels sprouts, pork chops, and Thai cabbage salad.  Yes, Thai food!!  Jill is an amazing cook and on a recent visit we had both the Thai cabbage salad and Thai noodles.  It was like a dream in rural Minnesota where most of the food tends toward the white and bland.  Her recipes for the two sauces were very similar – a mix of Liquid Aminos (GF soy sauce), garlic, peanut butter, chili sauce, oil and honey – but just different enough to give a nice contrast.  Oh, just yummy!!  And she also makes several varieties of mean tapioca pudding – my favorite.  We never leave their place hungry.

Winter at Merry Gardens is quiet in the fields but we also get to see baby piglets.  These Red Wattles are SO SWEET!! I just love their sleek ruddy coats and their sturdy little frames.  They are really manageable for the first couple weeks and then they are past the cuddle stage.  But they are still fun.  Their market pigs were cracking me up as they ran through the fields rearing up and taking off for no apparent reason.  And even the older sows and boars are wonderful.  Most of them are talkers and they are like little dogs the way they play with Jill when she steps into their pen.  They have some Mangalitsas which are like a velcro pig.  When they are little piglets, they look like sheep in their white fuzzy coats.  And maybe my favorite is Moses, the big boar who, when I call his name, comes running out to meet me like a big kid.  He has the best smile.  And he knows when I call his name I usually have food!  But his real buddy is Randy, as this video shows.  I don’t know who is cuter, Moses or Randy.  Merry Gardens Farm really love their pigs.

But it’s not all fun and games.  The market pigs require castration to prevent “boar taint”, an unfavorable smell or taste caused by the sex hormones testosterone and androstenone.  Though Randy had asked me to help last season, daughter Molly ended up being available.  But this season I got my chance to help.  It was a not difficult process and Randy made it very quick.  I had Danny film us and hope to eventually get a video posted for informational purposes.  Though it may take me a while because I realized it is much harder to watch (a requirement for video editing) than to do the actual castration.  In the moment, I was focused on trying to assure the pig was still for Randy’s process and comforted… as best I could.  Randy says it’s the hardest part of raising these guys.

Crafting has been magically happening in my life as well.  Neighbor Connie and I took a Craft Day to attend the Creative Spirit Fiber Festival and visit Anderson Fabric Outlet.  It was a wonderful event followed by a huge sale.  SO MUCH Creativity and Imagination!! My favorite gal at the fair was Lisa Jordan of Lil Fish Studio. You should check her out. She’s super fun. https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=193090157396798&ref=content_filter

And all that fiber watching ended up being a good inspiration for a project that came about due to Connie mentioning “making puppets”.  Turns out my friend Steph’s son Rook LOVES Boss Baby and I had the crazy idea that I would make him a puppet for one of the characters from the movie.  Steph said Tim was his favorite character but I knew I would have to also make a Boss Baby puppet too.  And we did!

How does the Fiber Festival factor in?  Well, when it came to hands and shoes, I decided felted wool might be the easiest option.  And it sure was… with Char’s help.  Char (of Char’s Yarn Basket just down the road from me) is an amazing artist and I knew she’d be able to help me with my project.  Sure enough, we got it done.  I believe my favorite parts of Tim are the jeans and shoes.  And his head is the best of the two puppets (Connie did the paper mache work on it).

All in all, we are truly blessed.  Even the icky stuff that seems to happen ends up having a positive impact – lessons learned, relationships strengthened.  I hope that you are feeling blessed in your life too!

C&C with C&A

Tags

DIY, fun

What a week of fun!!  Cooking and Crafting with Connie and Angie.

I am feeling so lucky in many of the new friends we have up here in the North Woods and two of the best are Connie and Angie.  Luckily for me, Connie lives close enough that we’re talking about biking to each other’s homes… once summer comes ’round again!  And even though Angie is farther away, she has cute bunnies and goats and the best cat ever, Helga, so I get there too.  Both of these ladies have something that I do not… a real kitchen with stoves, ovens, running water that doesn’t go into a bucket. 😀

But the other thing they have is a love of crafts.  We started the crafting venture with Wire-wrapped Pendants and now we’re on to Driftwood Art, which uses some of the same techniques.  While Connie focused more on the bead creations aspect, Angie and I both made a Driftwood piece.  And we all chatted and chillaxed and created.  Here’s our work: Angie’s, mine and two for Connie.

So much fun!  I am loving this creative outlet.  It is amazing to see where it all goes as it’s a natural process and came sometimes turn out different than you expect.

So this was the second day this week for creation at Connie’s as she and I had done cooking too.  We worked on a few Gluten Free (GF) recipes and had good luck with all though we thought we’d only had luck with about half.  So, we started with a GF Beet Chocolate Cake… I KNOW!  It sounds weird.  But it’s really good.  I wasn’t sure but I really ended up liking it a lot.  Even Danny liked it!  So.  One success.

We had some weirdness along the way like a hard boiled egg in with the regular ones.  But we tried three different cracker recipes with mixed results.  The Sesame Seed crackers were the best of the three – nice and flaky, crunchy and tasty.  The Corn Puffs did not really puff – and while these were the third favorite, they were too salty.  This lead to several ideas on how we could improve on the recipe and we plan to implement three of those ideas by making a few more batches for the Super Bowl Feast.  The least workable was an Almond Flour Flax Seed cracker which we didn’t use Almond Flour to make.  Yeah, maybe most of the problem.  The substitution flours were likely too absorbant and we ended up with a VERY crisp cracker.  Too dry.  But the spice blend was good and Dan declared them “good”.  So, we can claim 4 victories… of sorts!

We’ve got lots of crafting and cooking plans so I’ll keep you posted if we have more fantastic adventures to share with you all.  Hope you are having your own successful creative endeavors as well.

Rec Lab 2017… and We’re on the Radio!

Tags

DIY, fun, Rec Lab

Well, Rec Lab 2017 was another wonderful week of seeing people I love and making Polymer Clay art.  But a big thrill mid-week was listening to the Call of the Wild show about the Harn.  https://beta.prx.org/stories/203798  What a thrill to hear how Milt Lee made a beautiful show of the much longer time we spent interviewing and touring at the Harn back on April 7th.  In 8 minutes, he covers a lot about our place.

It sure was nice to have a piece of home during Rec Lab.  The week at Lab is SO FULL of activity that I had to listen to half the interview before Tuesday’s Write Your Bio session and the second half just after class.  The Write Your Bio Fireside presentation of stories written during this Creative Activity session was just beautiful.  One of my favorite parts was when Ann read her story about her Uncle Galen (a long time Rec Labber who is sweet and funny) and she became so overwhelmed that another classmate came up to finish the reading for her.  Mimi started out strong but within a couple sentences, she too became overwhelmed.  Both finished their portions of the reading in tears but it was one of the most beautiful moments when they hugged at the end of it.  It was a wonderful example of how the beauty of writing can not only help us retain our stories but also find connection with each other.  This seemed to be a strand of continuity throughout this week at Rec Lab.

Our opening night of Lab included a Fireside of Stories giving various perspectives on how Rec Lab has impacted our lives.  Among the speakers were Lynn and Rhoda who spoke on the origins of Rec Lab, Gretchen on how a class can affect you by reading an A-Z poem she wrote during a previous Lab, Jane on how being a great creative artist is not a requirement for attending Lab, Mike on how we receive help and offer help to each other, and Katherine on how we can find acceptance just where we are in our lives.  I think it was a beautiful representation of the many ways that Lab brings us joy.  Colleen’s Joy for the Journey theme for Fireside this year made for many lovely nights spent in contemplating our joy before we headed to bed.  Or… as a brief, quiet respite between dinner/dancing and MORE CRAFTING!  I spent most nights in the Polymer Clay room continuing to work on my projects.

One of my favorite projects this week was a Fairy Door made for friend Char’s new Yarn Basket shop.  This photo shows it prior to baking and before I got the “knitting needles” (two little straight pins donated by BJ) in place.  I loved the mixed color I got with the lavender and metallic blue clays, the wood grain effects I copied from an example on Pinterest, the sweet roses, and the little yarn balls as a door decoration which were a perfect addition for a Yarn Shop Fairy Door!

Laura Burlis is an excellent instructor and helps each of us learn new techniques that we can use to continue instruction with people when we head back home.  I’m looking forward to having some friends over to make some lovely little turtles, ladybugs and other fun charms.  This year many made fairy houses and little gnomes and wizards as well in Polymer Clay.  This class is so fun that we often have visitors who stay to watch our work or check out our progress through the week. You can read more about Laura here: http://lolaartistsmn.blogspot.com/2014/07/laura-burlis-turns-polymer-clay-into.html?m=1

The one project I didn’t bring home was a Bottle of Hope.  The Polymer Clay Guild Laura belongs to does a project where they gather empty chemo vials and decorate them with clay, returning them to the hospital for patients to take home to brighten their days.  I used my favorite colors to decorate a whimsical jar that I hope someone will love.  The photo with me and the bottle was taken with my instructor and friend, Laura.  I also included a photo of Gretchen who made a lovely gift for her friend Alan along with a beautiful fairy house.  Everyone’s projects turned out so lovely!

Here are some photos of Friends’ work (Jenny’s painting and Will’s Clay and costumes by Jami, Christine and Tina):

There were lots of new things this year at Lab and some were a great success and some I know will be improved even further in 2018.  We had a LOT of information on classes prior to arriving at Lab and, once at Lab, had lots of info on where/when classes would take place.  Our implementation of Craft Talk (in previous years we did a Craft Walk) was OK but we hopefully will make that better next year.  Opening Night “Northland Derby” was tremendous with amazing food, games and decorations.  And the theme made for a laugh-filled Closing Night presentation created by Laura Burlis with loads of improv by the many Labbers in the show.  This show is our chance to poke some fun at the new Instructors and Discussion Leaders for the year’s Lab.  I really loved the bit on Paul’s Fly Tying class by Mike and Russ and the sister act of June and Gail on the Nature Pendants (by Kim) and Nature Hikes (by Dianne).  Ryan brought levity with his documentarian role (his REAL LIFE job).  The Basket girls (Amy, Hailey & Heather) were hilarious as were Lutz, Nick and Jacob as the “Horses” on their brooms and vacuum cleaners.  But my faves were likely Tina and Jenny who depicted our Energy Discussion Leaders Tina Simonetta-Samuels and Christine Simonetta.  They had me rolling on the floor, as were Tina and Christine!  You can see more about the Eden Energy Medicine the Discussion Leaders shared here: http://www.innersource.net/innersource/

Funny things I learned this year at Lab:

• There is an uncanny a resemblance between Jane and Nancy. (Also between Linda and Anita and apparently between me and Krista and Heather…)
• Lots of people enjoy dressing as poop collectors. (There were 6 of us at the Derby party – no fancy hats for us!!  Poo Crew from Iowa, me, Alan and the Discussion Leaders all donned our worst and swept up the Chocolate Bit-o-Honey poops!)
• Earthworms are BAD. (They eat all the duff – leaf matter – leaving nothing to protect the little seedling trees!)

Our week ended with a display at Art Show.  I will say this was a quite nice part of the week.  This had little to do with it being my committee and more to do with the many hands that jumped in to make it wonderful and, of course, the stunning array of art presented in the show.  There were several folks who helped set up and host the event (Mary L, Jewitt, Hailey, Jenny, Mary R, Vanjie – and whomever I forgot in all the hustle!) and the music truly made us look professional with Harp by Jacob and Keyboards, Guitar, Violin and Singing by the Jam Session crew (Jean, Jewitt, Marti, Nancy and Rhoda).  Thanks to Marti for getting that all in place for the Show.  I was so tickled with how it all fell into place.  I hope to get a video up soon of the event but editing my footage is still in process.  Watch for a link in next week’s blog…

There is just never enough time to do all the crafts you’d like.  I spent most of my time in Polymer Clay with a couple days in Write Your Bio and Yoga.  I also got in a Nature Walk with Dianne that taught me much about spring flowers, birds and worms.  A Naturalist by training, she gives a professional take to this Creative Activity!  And I made one of the two Book Group sessions as books are a BIG love for me.  I only taught a one-session class on Vision Boards / Dream Pages, but with First Day and Bulletin Board work, as well as Art Show and Tech Support, it seemed I didn’t have time for as much Creative Activity as I’ve smashed into the week in the past.  I wish I’d been able to check out the Jam Sessions with Jewitt and Marti, the Loom Weaving with Hailey, Paper Crafts with Amy, Heather and Paula, Cooking with Gail, Caning with Kathy, Silverwork with Alan, and Woodworking with Gerry and Abby.  I LOVE lathes.  But there is the Notebook (done this year by Heidi and Katherine with photos by Paul) that gives details on all the Creative Activities so I hope to be able to try some of these things on my own.

I hope you too are busily creating as we make our way through Spring.  Us Minnesotans are mostly still just waiting for the snow to stop…

I’m at Rec Lab!!

Tags

Rec Lab

This week’s blog post is a review of some Rec Lab 2016 photos.  The theme was Mardi Gras.  Next week, I should have some great photos and stories from Rec Lab 2017.

 

Just had to add some pipeline updates.

While at the same time they are requesting refunds on tax valuation from the state, it appears they are increasing costs the state must pay:

And here’s an interesting letter I got this week regarding the Pipeline…  seems there is a loophole that needed fixed and I commend this Citizen for taking action, though it’s sad that the step is needed:

 

Happy Birthday to Me!

Tags

Freedom, fun

What a great week!  I have now embarked on my 49^th year and it was sure a sweet birthday.  I got lots of calls, including the official Birthday Song call from Mom and Tom and a lovely call from my brother Rob.  FB was full of happy wishes and it’s so nice to see all the wonderful people thinking of me, people I think of often as I see their posts on social media.  It’s amazing how big the Social Media world can be and while I’ve probably wasted more time than I should on Candy Crush, I really appreciate being able to connect with so many people all over the world.  And I got some nice cards (a handmade from Momma Chris – she’s the bestest!) and a few gifts too – 5 books (they know me!), some cash (always come in handy) and a couple adorable family photos.  I am feeling so loved.

I also began Knitting!  Mom brought me an afghan a couple months back that was in need of repair – she was sure that Char and I could fix it back to good.  It’s a beautiful melba peach color and I would love to have it whole again as it’s really pretty.  I actually ended up working on it with Bernis at Knitting Club, first taking off the ruined part back to one level, and now adding back a finishing edge.  It’s tough but I’m getting used to the process.  It will take some time but I can soon add Knitting to my list of crafts.  I will admit to trying to impress Dan Saturday evening and realizing I just could not be sure about how to start that next row… so the impressing will have to wait!  I’m sure with the strong encouragement from the Knitting Ladies, I’ll be getting the hang of it soon.

And I joined the Garden Club.  Got started with these folks at their March Seed Swap – another early birthday gift?  I will say YES.  I scored dozens of seeds and look forward to getting them planted as we start our gardens here at the Harn.  Met some really great folks here, including Jeff and Angie from Split Oak Farm who have invited me to come over and see their “kids” (baby goats!).  I plan to stop there often when I’m heading to Bagley as they are expecting baby pigs any time now as well.  Everyone was friendly and it was a fun way to spend an evening talking about plants and phenology.  What’s Phenology?  It is the study of cyclic and seasonal natural phenomena, especially in relation to climate and plant and animal life.  There were a bunch of great reports: lots of swan sightings (including Trumpeters); pussywillow, rhubarb sprout and crocus sightings; and my favorite first hearing and sighting of Sandhill Cranes.  My neighbor Connie (new Garden Club friend) and I both heard them – she is around the corner but her back yard and mine are closer than our driveways.  I got a lovely offer for some lily starts which I will surely be taking her up on this spring.  Oh, plus I met a Death Doula (Lorrie).  How cool is that!?!?  Can’t wait to spend some time with her.

I share this birthday week with some friends and Dan and I were able to gift one of them with a present on her big day.  The other I had gifted with her present weeks earlier but I will from now on be sure to give her a gift on or super close to her actual birthday as it’s really special to have the specific day recognized.  This year having so many wishes truly made my day special.

Dan and I are keeping busy with helping friends in the neighborhood and getting to know more of the locals.  It’s really feeling like “our town” the longer we’re here.  Only a few more days until he’s here for good!  I am enjoying getting settled and look forward to lots of fun the more people and plants we get to know.  We had the neighbor from around the corner stop by… his wife had said to him, “That driveway has been getting lots of use!” So he came by to introduce himself which made me happy, happy, happy as I’ve been meaning (for months) to take a walk over to their place.  It will be an easier decision to head their way now that I have a standing invite to visit.  They are home bodies like us.

I spent most of a day with Anne to look at possible cabins and that was a bunch of fun.  We hit every resale shop along the way and I scored BIG finding not only a couple good books I have wanted (Mists of Avalon, Lee! And Cutting for Stone, KP!) but also a new set of 8 ohm speakers for Dan ($3) and a replacement crock for my crock pot ($2.50).  I also scored a nice pair of new house shoes for Dan ($3) and some ribbons and fabric (of course).  Anne took me to her favorite place in Grand Rapids for lunch, Sammy’s.  https://sammyspizzagrandrapids.com/ and I took her to my favorite place (which she LOVED)… Aldi’s! https://www.aldi.us/  They have a brand new store in GR and it’s the biggest Aldi’s I’ve ever seen – yes, I think it’s even bigger than the St. Cloud one which was the biggest in the state.  Now if they will just get one put up here in Bemidji…  I truly see them as life savers because they bring affordable and quality food to the area.  I was talking with a couple in front of us in line who have been astounded at their food bill reduction, which really helps having 5 kids.

I will say, the best part of the trip with Anne was probably Nigig running from the house with her arms spread wide.  I thought she was so happy to see Gramma home and I was smiling big as we watched her approach. But at the last minute, she came to me!  I got the first Big Hug!!  Just made my heart burst!  I think to her I’m this lady that shows up unexpectedly but it tickles me that she’s so happy to see me when I visit!  Later I taught her how to swing herself on the porch swing and told her she is powerful.  I think that’s a pretty good trade.

We had a visitor from Mann Lake Bees [They’re having a big sale but it ends soon! https://www.mannlakeltd.com/]. Our friend Patrick showed us a couple good places for bees.  It was great walking the land with the warm sunshine!   We will need to put up an electric fence for the bears but I think we’re gonna start with bees this year. This will be a good fit as we don’t have anyone close by doing honey.  We have egg people, meat people, yarn people, and flower and veggie people, but no one we know for honey.  This will make a great product that we use a LOT and give us something to give for gifts.  I have friended a couple bee people here locally online and hope to learn a lot from everyone.  Patrick was interested in the Rocket Mass Heater so we gave him an explanation of them and had a fire and some conversation.

The highlight of my birthday week was Sunday evening.  I did a writing workshop with Jamie Lee (not Jamie Lee Curtis as I reported to Anne the day before…) at Farm by the Lake (https://www.facebook.com/farmbythelake/).  You can find out more about Jamie Lee here:

• www.jamieleeonline.com (blog)
• www.thebeadpeople.org
• www.patriciajamielee.com (consulting/training)
• www.manykites.com (publishing)

I was full of writing ideas by the time we wrapped up and I’ll have lots to practice as I continue to pursue my writing.  I may yet publish a book as Mom foresaw when I was young.

I was also able to get in a visit to new friends Jeff and Angie at Split Oak Farm in Bagley on the way home.  They gave me a tour of their sustainable farm with pigs, goats, chickens, turkeys, ducks and geese.  Oh, and cows (who we didn’t visit… next time!). Their goose eggs are HUGE!  And they just had baby goats so I got to hold the little girl and she was so soft and sweet.  I’m really looking forward to their little piglets which should be here any day! https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009080365262&hc_ref=SEARCH&fref=nf  They’re super fun and we had a great time chatting.  The only thing that would have made it better is if Dan was able to join us.  But that will happen soon, I’m sure.  He moves up here this week!!!

Surviving the Cold

Tags

books, local, Reading

Well, it’s been a cold week here at the Harn.

Hmmm… I feel a bit like Garrison Keillor.  How strange.

I have had the thought, “What was I thinking… coming to the Harn as winter comes on?!?”  But I am truly grateful.  We’re finding all the holes to plug so winter will be warmer than this chilly end of fall. With the past week of truly cold temps, it’s hard to believe that winter has yet to arrive.  And I’ve been able to, thus far, convince the critter trying to dig through the wall to cease and desist.  I’m guessing if I wasn’t here, he’d have chewed through and made himself at home inside the Harn.  He was chewing again Sunday, after an eleven-day hiatus, and I yelled and banged and he stopped.  Unfortunately, he was back today.  I hope I’m hearing each time he comes and that I someday will be able to determine his entry point to block it.  So far, there seems to be no entry from outside.  I can only assume he has residence in the attic or was stuck in the wall when I blocked the outside access.  If he’s in the attic, he needs to stay there!  Of course, if he’s in the attic, I may be fighting this chewing as an ongoing battle.

Several times this past weekend Dan reminded me, “it’s a dry cold!”  This was the coldest weekend of the year and, indeed, it was dry.  But that does not help but when it’s so bitter… -25°F.  You just do NOT want to stay outside for long.  It’s just f-ing cold!  I got a lovely heated bird bath from Fran and Ed last week and just getting it plugged in was enough to teach me about wet cold.  Snow melts when it touches your fingers and, once wet, the fingers are fair game for the death the cold air can bring.  No worries, my digits are fine.  But even without wetness, I have learned that I need to wear gloves when I go out and it’s below zero.  I can no longer live the lackadaisical way I did in Indiana, shunning a coat until well into January or February.  Minnesota North Woods, I’m learning, can deliver a deadly cold.  My comprehension of cold has been a bit of a shock.  But I now always assure I have boots, hat, coat, and gloves on or in the car.  I’m considering adding the snow pants to that inventory!  I did find snow pants as we unpacked and they are so toasty!

The week involved lots of fires and running the space heaters overnight but I’ve been able to stay warm so far.  We continue to plug leaks and I found a breeze coming in from the closet so this weekend we insulated the concrete slab in there (which we didn’t think to insulate from the rest of the slab which is in the cold garage…  Hindsight is amazingly brilliant!)  The floor insulation helps but it’s still only about 40F in there with this heavy cold so the breeze persisted.  It amazes me that a 20-degree temperature difference can create such a strong airflow at that entryway!  We closed off the room with another piece of insulation and that stops the breeze.  The pump room stays warm with the heat lamps so I’m feeling relieved that one of our plans appears to be working well.  And it does seem like we’ve seen the last of mice in that area so – winning!

We did entertain our first guests for a meal – Char and Wyatt!  Made a chicken and red lentil soup and some cornbread.  It was a simple meal but good to see them both.  They have been a huge blessing to me and Dan.  For me, it’s great to connect with Char for so many reasons.  She’s a knitter and has a yarn store – so it’s nice to have a crafty gal close by – and she raises her own food and I hope to learn much from her in the coming years.  Plus she’s just adorably funny and the sweetest gal you can know.  I think Dan and Wyatt are hitting it off too.  Wyatt did our concrete work in the garage and Dan reciprocated in part by helping Wyatt with his electrical work at their place.  And they are finding more in common as we go – turns out they are both album fans.  Yes, vinyl!  They both have turntables and record collections, and, though Dan’s is much smaller than Wyatt’s, I believe Dan will be expanding his collection.  They’re both good and handy guys so Char and I feel pretty lucky in our picks!

I was able to read a couple books this past week: Out of the Woods by Lynn Darling and Siddhartha by Herman Hesse.  I’ve now started The Monkey Wrench Gang by Edward Abbey – can’t believe I haven’t read any of his work until now!  What a character.  I love his description of State Police in his opening paragraphs as it reminds me of the officers at Standing Rock.

The proud tough sensitive flunkies of the rich and powerful.  Armed and dangerous.

As I watch Trump fill his cabinet, I fear, will continue to see the use of government forces in collusion with the goals of the rich and powerful.  And I have a foreboding sadness for those who voted for him in the hopes of finding a better life as I believe they will soon find the same disillusionment I felt when Sanders was ousted.  It’s a bitter pill to swallow and often makes you feel like swallowing many more bitter pills in hopes of ending it all.

Back at the Harn… I have continued putting up trim so the place is looking a bit more finished.  I was also able to get a laundry cabinet hung.  Almost had a major issue with this as I did not thoroughly plan the process before I got started.  I hung a board on the wall on which the top rail of the cabinet back would rest.  Then I put up the cabinet and put one screw in the bottom, not assuring I had a ladder at hand to reach the top screws… When I tried to let go of the cabinet to grab a chair or ladder, the top of the cabinet pulled away from the wall and off the rail.  I realized this before letting go but was left standing there holding the weight of the cabinet and unable to reach for something to get high enough to put in a top screw.  I looked about and ended up pulling over a box of books that was within reach.  I was able to stand on it to get a couple screws in the top rail.  Then I got the chair to finish the rest.  Lucky break!  Looks good and feels sturdy now.  The cabinet was a $30 find at the ReStore.  I decoupaged the exposed end and hung a picture on it and I think it looks pretty good.

I was able to get down to Alex for my U-Group meeting and it sure was nice to see so many people I love. 🙂  Got to see Momma and Tom and that was great too, though Mom had some disturbing news.  I was able to help her through it to a great degree and that felt good.  I think she was more concerned with how the news would affect me than she realized and, when I took it OK, that helped her relax about it quite a bit.  I will say that some things are just too strange to understand and you have to just let them be and not try too hard to unravel them as there is likely to be no comprehensible explanation.  It did help to talk with my good friends Steph & Lee about it and I am grateful that I have them.  They have lived through similar circumstance in their own lives and empathy is the greatest of soothers.  Of course Danny was his steadfast self in keeping me on track about it all.  In the end, I’m just moving on, doing my best to be myself and loving everyone.  I have a peace about it all.  While in town, I did get a chance to sneak by Cherry Street Books to see Shawn and KP and I stopped by ABE @ ATCC to spend a bit of time with Minerva which was delightful.  I have missed our ESL time each week and am hopeful that we’ll be able to connect on Skype sometime soon.  I gave her a book we can use to practice pronunciation and a bar of the homemade soap I made and she astounded me with a lovely red, white, and green beaded bracelet and a pair of earrings with Frida Kahlo on them!  That I would receive a gift depicting an artist is such an inspiration to me.

I had some mail delivered to the door – three packages!!  I was on the phone with Steph when the driveway alarm went off so I kept her on the phone as I wasn’t sure who it would be.  Was exciting to meet Chad, the fill-in mail dude, but when I checked the packages after getting off the phone with Steph several minutes later, I realized they were not for me!  The address wasn’t even close!  Actually, there were two different addresses for the same recipient.  Oh, geez.  Another round of weirdness with the Post Office.  I left the flag up with a note to let them know but have not seen them yet.  When I got to the mailbox today, the flag was down, more mail was in the box – this time for me! – and the note was gone.  I dropped off the packages when I headed south today.

So with all the recent cold, I am super happy to be in the 20’s this week.  It’s a heat wave!!  I’m thinking my buddy Plumbob (who moved to MN from IN a couple years before I did) may prove to be right in saying, “26 below ain’t as cold as you think!” as 20 now seems balmy. I needed to gather more wood for the stove so this heat wave came at a good time.  I like seeing a rack of wood that will keep me ahead in the heating game.  I have a wood stash closer to the mandoor to the Harn but my stockpile had gotten quite small!

With the warmer weather, I’ll be burning less but it’s nice to have the wood ready.  I’m guessing this load will get me into the new year.  I’m hoping so but I do plan to get out in the woods this week and gather more wood while the weather is nice.  That’s a nice way to get outside, get a bit of exercise, and also get some much needed work done.  I took a brief walk out the back yesterday and gathered a small handful of sticks for kindling as I went.

The best part of the recent work at the Harn was being able to get some big moving done and the craft room is starting to take shape.  It will be an ongoing job to unpack but I am feeling closer to being able to get crafting again and that will make winter much more productive.  Yippee!

So my Christmas is looking like it will be a happy one.  Though I feel I have done little along the way of presents, I am finding a joy in hearing the Christmas music on the radio – something in years past I would turn off quickly.  Not sure what this means…  but I hope all your Christmas dreams come true.  I believe we are going to have a white Christmas here… 8-12” deep!   Lucky will remain in his new favorite spot on the Rocket Mass Heater.