Toad Lily

This little orchid-like flower is growing in my neighbor's yard. Beautiful little thing, isn't it? She ordered it through a catalog and it graces the shady part of her yard quite nicely. What a wonderful find! I have a huge elm tree in my yard that shades the entire backyard and half the house which is great to keep the place cool in the summer, but I find it terrible difficult in terms of variety for my garden.

It blooms in the Fall which, according to the Internet, may be the reason that local garden shops do have keep it in supply. There is something about wanting to feed people's spring craze and thus, the little toad lily is relegated to obscurity.

What a surprising range of color. There is the bright purple speckles not unlike a toad and then there is the bright yellow in the middle. Many people suggest planting it near the garden's path as the bloom is so tiny it can be easily overlooked. And truly when my neighbor lead me to the back of her garden I didn't even spot it until she pointed it out.

I begged a catalog from my neighbor and will be surely buying this little toad lily for my garden next year!

Toad Lily

This little orchid-like flower is growing in my neighbor's yard. Beautiful little thing, isn't it? She ordered it through a catalog and it graces the shady part of her yard quite nicely. What a wonderful find! I have a huge elm tree in my yard that shades the entire backyard and half the house which is great to keep the place cool in the summer, but I find it terrible difficult in terms of variety for my garden.

It blooms in the Fall which, according to the Internet, may be the reason that local garden shops do have keep it in supply. There is something about wanting to feed people's spring craze and thus, the little toad lily is relegated to obscurity.

What a surprising range of color. There is the bright purple speckles not unlike a toad and then there is the bright yellow in the middle. Many people suggest planting it near the garden's path as the bloom is so tiny it can be easily overlooked. And truly when my neighbor lead me to the back of her garden I didn't even spot it until she pointed it out.

I begged a catalog from my neighbor and will be surely buying this little toad lily for my garden next year!

September Color

I knew this month is the time for changes, but I didn't realize that the changes were already happening. The color is wonderful and is evidence of the very cool evenings. This photo was taken up at the Wisconsin land about 1 1/2 hours north of the Cities. The changes happen there much sooner in the year.

Changes. I came home and deactivated my facebook account. How's that for change? Strange how twenty-year old high school angst can follow one around in life. Why does it feel like the popular people get a second chance for their popularity in facebook and blogging? Jeez, I feel like an immature nerd.

September Color

I knew this month is the time for changes, but I didn't realize that the changes were already happening. The color is wonderful and is evidence of the very cool evenings. This photo was taken up at the Wisconsin land about 1 1/2 hours north of the Cities. The changes happen there much sooner in the year.

Changes. I came home and deactivated my facebook account. How's that for change? Strange how twenty-year old high school angst can follow one around in life. Why does it feel like the popular people get a second chance for their popularity in facebook and blogging? Jeez, I feel like an immature nerd.

Good, clean fun at the MN State Fair (and little bit of terror)!

First of all, let me start by saying, we took one of those free buses down to the Minnesota State Fair and the experience was great! We got on in a spot near our neighborhood, got dropped off about a block away from the Fair front gates, and had an easy trip back to the Jeep. What a deal! Free! I love free and I don't think we'll ever drive down to the Fair again. It was a fast and easy way to save a bit of money.

I hauled my big old SLR-D to the MN State Fair thinking I'd be shooting up a storm. I should have just brought my little point-n-shoot for all that I shot last night. I felt like the old grandpas that had their cameras hanging from their necks. Although to my credit, I did keep my camera in my bag, which I also happen to notice was ready to bust at the strap. Anyway, so there I am with my big old camera thinking I'd take pictures of all that we ate. But, I only got the one shot. And now that I look at it, the picture doesn't seem like a rousing endorsement of the Fair. In fact, it's so unappetizing that I'm going to spare you all of the larger version of this picture.

Nonetheless, it was Yuuummmmy! That's a combo of corn fritters and fried-green tomatoes. There was a lot more in that order, but unfortunately I totally forgot about taking a picture until I had eaten most of it. The corn fritters came with a dollop of sweetened butter on it which I could have done without, but the ranch side was delicious.

The Big D headed straight for the pronto pups. I did have a bite even though I'm not supposed to eat anything hot dog-related. We did good last night. We didn't overeat. He had another pronto pup and an ear of corn. I found the wild rice burgers later in the evening, then ate half of an elephant ear with butter and powdered sugar. We shared a huge, large, mongo-sized fresh-squeezed lemonade. It was also very good.

Later we got a chance to sample the deep-fried pickles because some older couple joined us on a bench outside the food building. They chatted us up and shared their pickles. After they left, we kept commenting to each other about our surprise at how nice everyone was and settled on the idea that it was because we interacted with sober people. Each and every last time we've been to the Fair, we've drank and that means we generally hung in the area where the drinkers and the drunks (two separate categories) lounged.

Good thing we walked a lot because that was a lot of calories.

We should have stuck to the walking but I got it into my head that I wanted to try the new sky ride. I was a little tired after exploring the Fine Arts building and we wanted to head back to the grandstand so we decided to take the chair lifts. Big mistake! BIG, BIG mistake!!

I started to have a panic attack the second it lifted us off the ground. I got sweaty and light-headed and felt like I was going to pass out, then slide in-between the railing to the ground below. I gripped the Big D's arm and begged him to grasp onto me tight so that I didn't fall.

Looking at the chairs behind us wasn't so bad.



Even looking below wasn't that bad at all.



But looking to the side at the other chair and people just about did me in.



[Hey! Wait just one minute! I see in these pictures that there is noone on these dang chairs! That should have been our sign to stay the heck away!]

The Big D is a skier and so is used to chair lifts. Me? Not so much. He suggested I cross my legs at my ankles and after I did that, I felt one hell of a lot better. It was a long ride, too! And although all the signs said that the ride does not stop to let passengers on and off, it did stop several times while we were in the air. At one point I noticed that the Big D was saying hello to a woman in a chair coming by us to our right and I glanced over at her in time to hear her say "hello, my friend, I'm scared out of my mind!" So, see! I wasn't the only one terrified on this ride.

We should have just stuck to the sky ride. It's a bit higher but at least there is a floor to put our feet on.



The only good thing to come out of that ride was that it took us over the Scamp exhibit. And that was fun to see these cute little trailers. We're thinking about buying one for our trips to Utah and we found that the they are within our budget. Whoo-hoo! That made the scary chair lift ride worth the trouble. But we did have to walk back towards where we had come from. Oh well, the walking was good because it was on the ground.



So those are all the pictures I took. Yep. That's it. There was a beautiful full moon right next to the space needle thingy. But no shots. I was a little deflated with shooting after seeing the entries to the State Fair photo contest. I was surprised at how many of the shots were centered, rather than within the "rule of thirds" framework. But, I suppose, that just means that I should enter a picture next year! I think I will, so long as no one forces me to go on that dang chair lift ride again!

Good, clean fun at the MN State Fair (and little bit of terror)!

First of all, let me start by saying, we took one of those free buses down to the Minnesota State Fair and the experience was great! We got on in a spot near our neighborhood, got dropped off about a block away from the Fair front gates, and had an easy trip back to the Jeep. What a deal! Free! I love free and I don't think we'll ever drive down to the Fair again. It was a fast and easy way to save a bit of money.

I hauled my big old SLR-D to the MN State Fair thinking I'd be shooting up a storm. I should have just brought my little point-n-shoot for all that I shot last night. I felt like the old grandpas that had their cameras hanging from their necks. Although to my credit, I did keep my camera in my bag, which I also happen to notice was ready to bust at the strap. Anyway, so there I am with my big old camera thinking I'd take pictures of all that we ate. But, I only got the one shot. And now that I look at it, the picture doesn't seem like a rousing endorsement of the Fair. In fact, it's so unappetizing that I'm going to spare you all of the larger version of this picture.

Nonetheless, it was Yuuummmmy! That's a combo of corn fritters and fried-green tomatoes. There was a lot more in that order, but unfortunately I totally forgot about taking a picture until I had eaten most of it. The corn fritters came with a dollop of sweetened butter on it which I could have done without, but the ranch side was delicious.

The Big D headed straight for the pronto pups. I did have a bite even though I'm not supposed to eat anything hot dog-related. We did good last night. We didn't overeat. He had another pronto pup and an ear of corn. I found the wild rice burgers later in the evening, then ate half of an elephant ear with butter and powdered sugar. We shared a huge, large, mongo-sized fresh-squeezed lemonade. It was also very good.

Later we got a chance to sample the deep-fried pickles because some older couple joined us on a bench outside the food building. They chatted us up and shared their pickles. After they left, we kept commenting to each other about our surprise at how nice everyone was and settled on the idea that it was because we interacted with sober people. Each and every last time we've been to the Fair, we've drank and that means we generally hung in the area where the drinkers and the drunks (two separate categories) lounged.

Good thing we walked a lot because that was a lot of calories.

We should have stuck to the walking but I got it into my head that I wanted to try the new sky ride. I was a little tired after exploring the Fine Arts building and we wanted to head back to the grandstand so we decided to take the chair lifts. Big mistake! BIG, BIG mistake!!

I started to have a panic attack the second it lifted us off the ground. I got sweaty and light-headed and felt like I was going to pass out, then slide in-between the railing to the ground below. I gripped the Big D's arm and begged him to grasp onto me tight so that I didn't fall.

Looking at the chairs behind us wasn't so bad.



Even looking below wasn't that bad at all.



But looking to the side at the other chair and people just about did me in.



[Hey! Wait just one minute! I see in these pictures that there is noone on these dang chairs! That should have been our sign to stay the heck away!]

The Big D is a skier and so is used to chair lifts. Me? Not so much. He suggested I cross my legs at my ankles and after I did that, I felt one hell of a lot better. It was a long ride, too! And although all the signs said that the ride does not stop to let passengers on and off, it did stop several times while we were in the air. At one point I noticed that the Big D was saying hello to a woman in a chair coming by us to our right and I glanced over at her in time to hear her say "hello, my friend, I'm scared out of my mind!" So, see! I wasn't the only one terrified on this ride.

We should have just stuck to the sky ride. It's a bit higher but at least there is a floor to put our feet on.



The only good thing to come out of that ride was that it took us over the Scamp exhibit. And that was fun to see these cute little trailers. We're thinking about buying one for our trips to Utah and we found that the they are within our budget. Whoo-hoo! That made the scary chair lift ride worth the trouble. But we did have to walk back towards where we had come from. Oh well, the walking was good because it was on the ground.



So those are all the pictures I took. Yep. That's it. There was a beautiful full moon right next to the space needle thingy. But no shots. I was a little deflated with shooting after seeing the entries to the State Fair photo contest. I was surprised at how many of the shots were centered, rather than within the "rule of thirds" framework. But, I suppose, that just means that I should enter a picture next year! I think I will, so long as no one forces me to go on that dang chair lift ride again!

Starfish

I was thinking about making a baby quilt. I've done this with a friend for the babies of her two sisters. But those quilting memories are intimately connected to drinking beer. And since I can only partake in alcohol consumption in my dreams, I can't bear the thought of quilting right now. In my quest to find a baby project, I stumbled upon a book of toy knitting projects at a store in my neighborhood: Crafty Planet. I have to admit that I often feel like I'm not cool enough to shop at this store. But I do like my crafts, so I go in anyway.

My first project from this book was this starfish. I bought bamboo toy stuffing which is naturally anti-bacterial. I finished the project last Friday. And that night, and every night since, the Big D has fallen asleep on his big chair with his head on this toy/pillow. I have enough yarn for another one, so, now I'll work one for Baby. And, I'm sure Baby will like it because his Daddy likes it and I can't wait to see the two of them napping together on their pillows. So cute!

Next project: Knitted Teddy Bear.