Wild Fever September 27, 2008

Wild Fever has started again!  It gets worse and worse every year.  Since their inaugural season I have stayed away from listening to preseason games.  I have kept it to just checking the scores the next day.  But every year it seems to grow longer from their last games in April or May to their first games in early October.  I start to get the itch.  I can’t help it… I have green blood.

     This year it was much too debilitating.  Wednesday found me frantically trying to find an internet radio station that was broadcasting the game.  Though it was not a particularily exciting game ( second period was way too sloppy) it was like a soothing balm.  They won, and I am a much more relaxed individual.  There are a few more preseason games and I will listen to them, but the itchiness probably won’t be back until the Wild opener.  That’s when you really need to watch out- because then it gets contagious!

                        

                                                      LETS GO WILD!!

Highlight Reel Sept.20th-26th

Saturday- Took in the boat races in Little Falls and then Jeff and I went to the movies

Sunday- Zach came back from Huntersville (see Huntersville Happenings post)

Monday- Boy Scout Basics meeting

Tuesday- Played “35” or “70” with my mom and aunt and uncle and later visited my cousin Janeen

Wednesday- My oldest came home to cook me supper, listened to the first Minnesota Wild preseason game on the internet (Yes, I’m obsessed)

Thursday-nothing of interest

Friday- was at a CPR recertification with the Boy Scouts

Huntersville Happenings September 22, 2008

Our Boy Scout troop just got back from a weekend campout in Huntersville.  They had so much fun and I’m so thankful for opportunities like this for our youth.  How many boys this age can say they went camping, canoeing, and fishing all in the same weekend.  They didn’t catch any fish to mention but they did catch clams and crawfish which they cooked and ate.  They swam in the cold waters of the river and thet had fun evenings around the campifire.                                                                                                                                                          The reason I mention all this really,  is to give credit to the Assistant Scoutmasters who took time out of their busy schedules to take them.  We have such an awesome group of parents and leaders from the Scoutmaster down that give so much of their time and talent to this wonderful organization and this great group of kids.  They are building so many memories and experiences for these boys and for that I am truly grateful.

Highlight Reel September 13th-19th September 19, 2008

Saturday-  Zach and I went rummage saleing in the rain and then went to Matty’s for lunch.  Zach made supper again (Smoked turkey drumsticks, cheesy potatoes, peas, and magic bars) and we played a noisy game of Mexican Train.  **click on recipes tab for the cheesy potatoes recipe.

Sunday-  Catechism started today.  I have a big class of 15 this year which should present quite a challenge.  Zach and I made homemade mozzarella cheese today which was a lot of fun.  **click on recipes tab for the mozzarella cheese recipe.

Monday-  Boy scout meeting tonight, a refresher on gun safety.

Tuesday- Had lunch with my grandma and grandpa and went to the Tri-Parish Council meeting tonight.  I was nominated for secretary but respectfully declined.

Wednesday-  Brought a birthday party to my friend Karen (see It was a Red Hat Day blog)

Thursday- Couldn’t hook with Janeen ‘cuz I locked my keys in my car at Culvers (looooong story)

Friday- packed up my son to send him to Huntersville for the weekend with the Boy Scouts.  I had to miss out because I teach Sunday morning.

It was a Red Hat Day September 18, 2008

     My dear friend Karen likes to have fun.  She always said that when she retired she was going to join the Red Hat Society just to get out and have a good time.  A few months before retirement Karen had a heart attack at work.  She has been in the hospital off and on ever since.  She has had a leg amputated and has undergone chemotherapy and radiation for cancer.  So it’s no wonder she has never found the “time” to join the Society.  Tuesday, September 16th was Karen’s birthday.  On Wednesday two other co-workers (and longtime friend’s of Karen’s) and I went to her house to celebrate her birthday.  We decided to bring the Red Hat Society to her.  Bernice, Lori and I donned purple shirts and red hats with purple flowers, feathers and beads and surprised her with gifts, flowers and cake.  She was thrilled and laughed with glee at our ridiculous get-ups.  We made sure she had a red hat too and we even included a purple scarf for her.  After a meal of crab legs, shrimp and salads (we really do it up!) we relaxed with cake and tea sipped from antique English china tea cups.  It was a ton of fun for all involved as I’m sure you can see from the smiles on our faces.  Even her dog hammed it up with a feather stolen from my red boa.  This party was a memory I will cherish forever and I hope Karen will too.

 

I’m a Cheesehead! September 14, 2008

     I am a cheesehead and no that does not mean I am a Packer’s fan.  I love cheese.  Recently I finished a book by Barbara Kingsolver titled Animal Vegetable, Miracle.  Excellent book!  The book tracks the family’s progress through a year living on what they produced, raised, or could buy locally.  One of the chapters dealt with making homemade cheese.  I was flabbergasted.  A normal everyday person can make cheese at home?!!

Sign me up!

I went to the website listed in the book www.cheesemaking.com and ordered the ingredients to make homemade mozzarella cheese.  I actually prefer cheddars and colbys but these harder cheeses require more ingredients and more expensive equipment like cheese presses and such.  I ordered my kit and 3 days later it was waiting on my doorstep.  So today Zach and I got everything together for our first attempt at making cheese.  It’s easy the book said.  It takes only 1/2 hour it emphasized.  Well, they don’t know me.  I thought surely it will take me several attempts and several hours to get anything even resembling what I buy at the supermarket.  But less then a half hour later after pulling the cheese like taffy until it was shiny Zach and I put our first pound of mozzarella in the fridge to firm up.

     An hour later we sat down for supper and the ball of mozzarella sat on the cheese board like a crown jewel.  With anticipation we sliced into it.  It was nice and firm and sliced like cheese but how would it taste?  The overall consensus was that it was fabulous and tasted just like CHEESE!  Zach and I had a lot of fun with our cheesemaking venture and since the kit makes 30 batches we will definitely be doing it again.

Highlight Reel September 6th-12th September 13, 2008

Saturday- Spent the day at the 3rd annual Catechetical Assembly in Duluth.  Enjoyed the day and the company very much.

 

Sunday- the guys went to the outdoor expo in Pequot Lakes and I headed to St Cloud to find red hats for an upcoming birthday party which I’m sure I will blog about later.  Stay tuned…

 

Monday-  we started the 2008-2009 Boy Scout season this year with a rousing game of Boy Scout Trivia Baseball.  Our Scoutmaster Dan was just as surprised as I was about the information they DIDNT know.  Guess we’ll be doing some brushing up this year!

 

Tuesday-  Finished the audio book by Barbara Kingsolver titled Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.  LOVED the book!  I found it very interesting and the chapter on turkey sex was just hilarious.  Attended our Book Club meeting tonight at Choppers.  We always have a great time discussing the books we choose!

 

Wednesday- kind of a drizzly stay at home kind of night…so we did!  We rented What Happens in Vegas.  Fun movie.  One of those movies you can just be entertained with, no thinking required.

 

Thursday-  Janeen and I walked tonight.  Yay!!  We’re on a roll!  Three nights this week.  Then we watched another movie-Baby Mama.  This one wasn’t quite as good.  Two movies in two nights is more then I’ve watched all summer long!

Friday- Janeen and I walked again.  My ankle is feeling much better so we did the 3 mile route.  Zach found a snapping turtle but it wasn’t big enough to eat (we don’t eat them my uncle does) so my uncle Jerry let it go at the public access.

Raindrops keep falling on my head September 11, 2008

This morning I woke up to a nice gentle thunderstorm (if thunderstorms can be called gentle).  There were no loud thunder boomers- just some flashes of lightning and a nice hard rain.  We needed the rain all summer.  Though it’s a little late we welcome it none the less.                                                                                 I have always loved a nice thunderstorm.  When I was a girl I would sit out in the breezeway of my parent’s house and watch the lightning just like I was watching fireworks.  “oooh look at that one!” I would say when a nice one would reach it’s jagged limbs to the ground.  I haven’t changed much.  I still sit out and watch the storms.  But now I do it under my covered deck on the swing with my children.

     My children have inherited my love of the rain.  When they were younger they used to wait for the “special rain”.  This was the rain that usually only came once a year or so.  The kind of rain that was a nice soaking rain but not a pounding rain.  The kind of rain that was accompanied by sunshine making the raindrops sparkle.  When it would start to rain my boys would ask “is this the special rain mama?”.  No, I would answer.  And they would wait patiently for the next one.  After careful observation of each rainfall when I would finally pronounce that this time it was indeed the special rain they would strip down to their Barney underoos and run around outside slipping on the wet grass and raising their faces with open mouths to catch the rain on their tongues.  I miss seeing their little wet bodies dancing in the rain.  I miss their giggles when they’d slip and fall on their bottoms.  And I miss the towel hugs I would give them when they’d finally come inside.  My children are growing up.  I know they won’t be stripping down to their underwear anymore to dance in the rain, but I hope someday when their children ask “is this the special rain daddy?” they will look at the sky carefully, pronounce that it was a very special rain and grab a towel to hug them with when they come back in.

Duluth Diocesan Catechetical Assembly September 9, 2008

     Saturday, September 6th I had the pleasure of going to the 3rd annual catechetical assembly at the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth Minnesota.  Brian Pizzalato and his staff  have done a first class job on this every year.  This year’s speaker was Father Mitch Pacwa, founder of Ignatius Productions and host on EWTN  Global Catholic Network.  His topic was St Paul: Lessons on Engaging the Culture.  Father Pacwa spent a good portion of the day delving into 2 Corinthians and giving us insight into the kind of people Paul was addressing, their culture and how we can apply what Paul was teaching to the culture we are living in today.  There were also several vendor booths to visit during our breaks.  Catholic Customs of Duluth always sets up a really nice booth with some excellent Catholic books and gifts to choose from.  I always spend a good portion of my money there!  After the assembly we celebrated mass with Bishop Schnurr.  The Duluth Schola added to the Mass with Gregorian chants that were simply beautiful. Next year’s speaker will be Christopher West with the theme Introduction to the Theology of the Body.  I would encourage everyone who has not attended the Catechetical Assembly to seriously consider it for 2009.  It was a day well spent!

You’re exercising what muscle? September 3, 2008

My cousin Janeen and I like to walk. We also like to talk. With crazy summer schedules the last few weeks we have not been able to connect on a night we can both walk. Some weeks we have been really good; walking maybe 4 out of 5 nights. Lately? Not so much. Tonight we agreed when we started we could probably only make it 2 miles since it’s been a while since we had walked. But then we got to talking. Our mouths moved faster then our feet did and soon we had done 2.5 miles. Our feet felt it or mouths didn’t. Since we hadn’t near touched the surface on what we had to catch up on we agreed that we should probably meet same time same place tomorrow. To walk of course!