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I got a, well, shall we say ODD piece of mail today!
I mean, I know that grad school is making me old before my time and all...
...I mean, I've got the gray hair to prove it.
BUT!?
FULLY eligible?
... life over 50??
FIFTY?
You, coulda fooled me!
Huh.
Maybe I'm eligible in dog years.
Yeah, that must be it.
I'm almost speechless, but it is really too ironic to make me speechless.
Plus, I'm starting to wonder...
... just what kind of discounts can I get?
Posted by danielle at 11:26 PM | Comments (14) | TrackBack
One day, a couple of weeks ago, I was sitting at the dining room table and I saw a fluttering motion out of the corner of my eye. When I turned my head to look, I saw a black-capped chickadee. I noticed that it seemed to be looking into the windows as if to say "I'm out here, just like I was last winter. Where's the food? I just know there used to be food here. I mean, sure all the houses look a lot alike and all, but this one has the 3 conifers out here that I like to rest in."
Which got me wondering if our house layout here in Minnesota would be more conducive to a bird feeder than the one in MA. I started envisioning something that would hang off of the deck somehow so that it would be near enough for me to actually see the birds and to easily keep it filled without having to trek through the yard and the snow.
Now about this time of year, my parents ask for my Christmas wish-list. This would be the same wish-list that gets passed along to my seestor and my in-laws. And from years past, I've learned to not make any impulse purchases in Sept/Oct/Nov but to 'save' those things for my wish-list. And guess what item is perfect for the wish-list? You got it, a bird feeder!
I mentioned this to HB's parents while they were here visiting for Thanksgiving, and HB's dad looked at the deck and discussed the logistics/placement of a feeder with me. And when they all came back from their shopping adventure at the Mall of America yesterday they gave me my Christmas present early!
This is my view of it from the dining room table.
Yay!
It is made entirely of cedar. And the screws look like they are treated or something so that they won't rust.
Isn't it neat how the shepard's hook clamps onto the railing? I was hoping for something that wouldn't require permanent holes or anything in the wood of the deck, so this is perfect!
It was pretty late yesterday when we got it set up, and I wondered how long it would take the birds to find it. Everyone said "Not long." I sure hoped not.
This morning when I started to wake up, I thought "Oooo! I wonder if there are any birds out there yet?! I'd better get up and see."
Well, there weren't any as I was boiling water or brewing my tea. None when I was cutting the bread or making my first piece of toast. But when I got to the second piece, I got my first bird visitors!
And guess what! One of them was the black-capped chickadee.
I took these pics through the sliding glass window, 'cause it is cold, yo. And well, I didn't want to scare them off and stand there with the door open forever while I was waiting for them to come back just so that I could get a pic without the glass.
chickadee and finch (I think)
Guess I'm going to need to put a bird book on that wish list, huh?
I expect that I'll be taking lots of bird pics this year.
I can't wait!
Posted by danielle at 12:03 PM | Comments (12) | TrackBack
I've never been a big fan of the pumpkin. Now, I'll be the first to state that they are rather lovely as a fall decoration or as a means to satisfy my need to hollow out fruit, carve it into an odd design, and plop a candle inside, as a turnip lantern substitute.
But turn it into a pie? bleck.
See!? Even the pumpkin says "bleck! don't make me into pie!" This is assuming you are wearing your imagination caps and can envision the stem as a nose.
Where was I? Oh right.
No. Even though eating pumpkin pie may be a holiday tradition, I prefer to fulfill my holiday dessert calorie intake another way.
That would be the chocolate silk andes mint pie. It may not look as pretty in the pic as I had hoped, but let me tell you, with a little heated chocolate fudge sauce drizzled on top. *smacks lips* Can't be beat.
Best eaten with a spoon, of course (one of my personal preferences that I mentioned on Squirl's blog recently).
I know someone who needs a piece of pie right now. If you are in the mood for a funny story, go read how Sara spent her Thanksgiving evening.
Posted by danielle at 09:56 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
I hope your holiday is filled with friends, family, thankfulness and joy!
Posted by danielle at 11:26 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
On the day after the Texas Seestor's wedding to Trainwreck, we all headed out to Trainwreck's parents' place for a scrumptious brunch. Trainwreck's mom really outdid herself baking and cooking and preparing a fabulous array of food. It was just terrific!
We took a lot of pictures that day, and because so many of the ones that I like are of animals or don't show people's faces, I can post them here publicly. Consequently, I'm going to highlight a few each day.
This was the first that I'd ever been out to his parents' land/farm/ranchette. So, part of the joy of visiting was getting to see the sheep, dogs, and the guard llama that I'd heard so much about.
Yes, you heard me right, the Guard LLama.
See, he guards the sheep and protects them from coyotes or other predators.
He is rather oddly proportioned, but appears to be very smart, and is always watching.
"I am watching you."
The sheep were being baaaaaaaaaa shful. But were lured out with hay.
That might be the sheep that provides the prize-winning wool. Trainwreck would probably know.
- to be continued -
Posted by danielle at 10:26 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
I took these pics while I was in Texas. They were on a table in the entry-way at Texas Seestor's house. So, one morning, I carried them outside into the sun for a photoshoot.
I like the petals in this photo.
And the anthers on top of the stamens remind me of little fuzzy fairy slippers. Especially the one at 12 o'clock.
Tiny green fairy leg, pointed up toward the sky, ending in a little brown fuzzy slipper.
In this one, I like the white glistening fuzz and the green base of the pistil.
Here is the original photo from which that one is cropped.
I think that lowest petal (at 6 o'clock) looks like it could be a spoon.
Morning dew anyone?
I took all pics with Dee-Dee, my Nikon D-70.
Posted by danielle at 08:38 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
I had lunch today with Amber and Jonah.
The food was terrific, and the company was even better. It was a delightful way to spend my lunch hour.
Jonah was sooooo excited when he saw Amber's burrito, but by the time I got my camera out, I missed the shot. He got this 'deer in the headlights' look at my camera. So, I set it back down and we went back to eating.
Then he got distracted by this toy and I popped off one shot.
But to get him to smile, I realized I just had to be more entertaining and shake his blue toy with one hand while taking the pic with the other. Just like I do with the Girlie.
And next time, I'll remember to hold it over my head to get him to 'look' at the camera.
*grin*
Posted by danielle at 10:34 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
I got my first MN snow last night, and it is our official first snow in our new house
This is part of the view as I ate breakfast.
I can actually appreciate the beauty of it too.
Why? Well, because it is the first one of the season. And the first one is always prettier than the 50th one, as you might imagine.
But you want to know the REAL reason why I don't mind the snow?
No scraping for me!!!!!
And yes, that is a multiple exclamation point statement of Glee! Glee, I say!
I'd take a picture of me spinning around ala the intro to the Sound of Music it makes me so happy, but well, that would be difficult and perhaps just a touch excessive.
Happiness is:
Sitting inside a warm cozy house on a cold snowy day, knowing that
A) you don't have anywhere outside the house that you have to go
B) if you do decide to go somewhere, you don't have to freeze your patoootie off scraping the car.
very happy.
Posted by danielle at 10:30 AM | Comments (10) | TrackBack
This was inspired by Amber's post who blogged about a certain incident this weekend.
Basically, she and I, along with Andy and Jonah visited a church together for the first time on Sunday. The people we spoke to after the service were really friendly and nice and everything was going well. I quickly realized that I am Much more comfortable being chatty with Amber by my side.
And then we went to coffee hour. At that point, it was just Amber and I, because Andy was back with Jonah waiting for him to crawl and catch up (I think).
And this lady, who was also VISITING, I might add and as such, you'd think might be on her best (i.e. cautious) behavior was talking to us.
And she asked if Amber was my daughter!
!
Now, I know that I have gray in my hair, and yes, Amber has a youthful appearance, but ???!
I think the shocked look and dropped jaws must've given us away. Of course, at that point, everyone nervously laughs and tries to brush it off, but you just KNOW that conversation is going to be awkward from then on. Ugh.
You know, I didn't mind it So Much, when a couple of years ago, I was at a scientific meeting and someone asked me if I was a professor or a post-doc. Because well, I _am_ a bit older than the average graduate student and I was wearing a wool jacket and looked a little dressier than the average student.
However, when I was at Texas Seestor's wedding, someone asked if I was the older sister. (and she is 3 years older than me)
*sigh*
That little mistake at her wedding, combined with this lady at church makes me think several things
1) my gray hair is becoming waaaaaaaaaaaaaay more prominent
2) the extra weight I am carrying is also making me look older than I am *sigh*
3) the tired look/circles under my eyes from getting this dang degree are also not helping
I don't even show my BIG gray spot. Cause I part my hair on the other side. I wonder what they'd say then?
Is Amber your grand-daughter?
---
My thought, is that when we visit churches, we need to wear nametags that say
Hi, my name is
Danielle and I am
Amber's ---->
FRIEND
She can wear one that says the opposite, and we can stand on the correct side of each other.
And then, just wait to see their faces when we tell them we met ONLINE!
mwahhhh ha ha ha ha!
Cause, you know, the internet *tsk tsk* is just no place to meet friends.
*grin*
Posted by danielle at 10:08 AM | Comments (10) | TrackBack
I have created another Flickr slideshow of pics from Friday's events. I fear that it will not be terribly interesting to all of my dear blogging friends who visit so regularly, although if you are a trooper and decide to look at it, at least it will go by quickly. ;-) These are the kind of pics that are mostly only interesting if you were there, because they are almost all shots of family and friends.
There are a few that you might find interesting, like these Red Boots!
Now, who hasn't watched Footloose and wished for a pair of RED Boots!?
Also, there are 2 pics where I need some help. We went to a German restaurant, and HB & I and then Texas Sister & Trainwreck posed behind one of those cut out things.
And I just cannot figure out what the heck the German guy is holding in his left hand. Ideas?
Posted by danielle at 09:37 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
One of the nice things about visiting friends is getting to visit their pets.
While we were in Texas, HB and I stayed with Texas Seestor's very close friends, since her home was a bit filled up with other guests. It was wonderful to get a chance to visit with them a bit more than usual. It was also wonderful to get to spend some time with the doggie members of their family.
And OH! were they happy to see us! It didn't take the doggies long to figure out that we lurve doggies.
One of them, Happy
latched onto HB's willingness to throw a tennis ball over and over and over and over again. He was so dang cute about it too; how could HB resist?
Here is Happy, without his tennis ball.
The other one, Gus,
realized that I was a sucker for petting doggies.
Nothin' quite like a nice belly rub, huh?
Well, except maybe if you have some food stashed away in a bag somewhere for him to find.
I tell you, Gus's nose was always working.
I laughed that he ought to be one of those dogs they use at Customs to look for food, because, I tell you what, if you've got food or any kind of scented product on you or in a bag, he will FIND IT. I was warned with various (rather funny) stories. And then I witnessed his interest in my back-pack. Of course, I paused and tried to remember if I had any food in there or not. I decided that if anything, there might be residual nuts or candy from when I've carried stuff in zip-lock bags on previous trips. But I zipped up my bag, just to be safe. And moved it into the bedroom and kept the door to our bedroom shut.
On the day I was packing, I let them hang out with me for a while. They seemed sad to see us go. And I was sad to leave them, so I figured we could spend that last bit of time together. No sooner did I go in the bathroom to pack up my toiletries but Gus nudged his way into the bottom of my back-pack to help himself to the pretzels in a zip-lock bag that I'd forgotten about. Little stinker. ;-)
Actually, they are both little stinkers. It didn't take them any time at all to wrap their little paws around my heart with their antics and unconditional love and kisses.
Posted by danielle at 08:46 PM | Comments (10) | TrackBack
I'm not sure if I've mentioned it, but part of what made our vacation to Texas so special is that a lot of family and friends flew in early and came from all across the country to celebrate Texas Seestor and Trainwreck's wedding. There were people from Indiana, Michigan, Florida, Colorado, Kentucky, and Minneeeesoter (us), and her Texas neighbors. It was really quite a gathering!
We hung around her house some and visited and played.
And of course, everyone wanted to see Max, the speedmeister bunny.
Since many people had never been to that part of Texas and wanted to get a taste for it, Texas Seestor & Mom (along with Dad who helped figure out transportation details) organized some outings for all of us.
The first slideshow that I've made for our outings is here.
These are some of my favorite artsy photos that I took while out and about. They are in the slideshow, but I wanted to post them here too.
Have you ever seen such crazy looking pumpkins? I think that the Cinderella pumpkins really do look like they could turn into Cinderella's carriage with the wave of a wand and a Bibbity-bobbity-boo!
And they were next to fairy-tale pumpkins (also in the pic) and ghost pumpkins (not shown).
We laughed how it was probably some sort of grower's mistake and the marketting department brainstormed up this idea on how to sell them by giving them fancy names....
;-)
We also went to a local park with natural springs, lots of pretty trees, and a train.
They just don't have trees like this in New England or in Minnesota.
We had excellent, and when I say Excellent, I mean Excellent Bar-B-Q for supper and a whole lot of fun.
That's me entering the outhouse after HB.
;-)
jes kiddin'
'beans and cornbread - berrnt berrrnt' <-- inside joke.
Posted by danielle at 10:42 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
I have put a bunch (66) of photos on Flickr from Texas Seestor's marriage to Trainwreck.
Since there are so many, the best way to view them is to look at the slideshow.
Most of the pics are marked "private" so that only family and friends can see them. So, I'm not sure what will happen if you aren't yet marked as a friend and try to view the slideshow. I've tried to catch everyone who regularly comes here to comment and move everyone to be considered a 'friend' Flickr contact. But if I missed you, or if you don't have a Flickr account, leave a comment here or email me (danielle at danielleblog dot com) and I'll invite you.
Edited to add: If you click that slideshow link, you may only see the 9 public photos, even if you are normally marked as a friend. It looks like you may have to login to Flickr your normal way, find my pics via your contact list (or recent pics) and then manuveur around to see the slideshow. Sorry about that unexpected set of steps. I guess this whole private/public thing is trickier than I realized.
This especially applies to any family or friends who know Texas Seestor or Trainwreck and want to see the photos!
I'll post more later, we are off to get our MN driver's licenses and plates! yippeee, I say! ;-)
Posted by danielle at 11:46 AM | Comments (9) | TrackBack
I haven't had time to upload any pictures to Flickr other than these.
But isn't he the cutest!
And he LOVES cheerios!
Look at that leeetle tongue!
And those chubby cheeks!
soooo cute.
He is all about the post-it notes.
My what beeeeg ears you have, Max!
This is Max in his hidey/sleepy tube. Isn't he just preeeeeeeeeeecious?
:-)
See you around!
Happy Friday everyone!
Posted by danielle at 10:30 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
...the more they stay the same.
Once again, I have a little helper.
Note that she hasn't wanted to lay on me like this for a while.
But come to think of it, I haven't been sitting on the couch with the blanket much lately.
Oh, and try not to stare at the mess I've made around me. It is all part of the creative process, yeahhhhh, that's it.
Posted by danielle at 02:59 PM | Comments (9) | TrackBack