FABULOUS PLAYGROUND

Have you ever seen anything like this playground?

This past weekend we went to Grand Forks to see our grandson, Sammy and his parents.  It was a bit windy and chilly, but we did take Sammy to this awesome playground. 

Which way should I go, grandma?

Maybe to the swings?

Cute little house.

Even grandpa has to check it out!

Nope, not the slide.

What's down here?

Another little place to hide.

It goes on and on...........

This dragon greets you by the entrance.

Boy, if I was a kid I sure would have a lot of fun on this playground.  Just as we were leaving, about 6 families, each with several kids, came.  It was fun to see the kids all scamper off to different areas of the playground, and there was plenty of room for all.

BUILDING THINGS

Last week I took my 9 year old granddaughter to the park, and after she played on,

 and posed on,

 every single piece of playground equipment, we walked around the little pond in the park.  It was still mostly frozen,

 
although the geese did find a little water to practice their swim strokes.

They would not be able to walk on the ice this week.  It is gone!  Ice has gone out on the little lakes around our area.  It sure seems like spring.  My iris are up, my day lilies are up, and a couple of other things that I can't identify yet are up.  The little greenhouse on the patio is housing scores of tiny little green seedlings, too.  We are waiting for the other shoe to drop.  I can't believe spring is here so early, so I do expect a good old snow storm before it really is here to stay.

Doesn't this look good?  I made a wonderful orange flavored chicken veggie dish last week.  Served over rice it fed us for two wonderful nights.

But I have been busy with things other than taking granddaughters to the park and cooking dinner.  I have been involved in a construction project.  This project didn't involve a trip to Home Depot or Lowe's, though.  Instead I bought my materials at my local quilt shop, and I have been busy building.

First I laid out the walls.

Then I hung the doors

The roofs came next,

then the sky background.  I am now sewing each little house block together.  Aren't they fun?  This is the Schnibbles pattern, Full House.  I love it!  I'll be sure to post a photo of the finished project.

Off to get the taxes done.

WISDOM FROM MY DAD

I think I have shared this with you before, but it should be repeated often.  I read something on a friends blog post today that jarred my memory and I've been thinking of my dad, and his wisdom ever since.  I'm a preacher's kid, and I was privileged to have my dad instruct me in confirmation class.

This little saying was one of the little extra things we were to learn from him in addition to the Catechism and Bible studies.  I don't know if these are his original words, or if they came from somewhere else, but I do know I have remembered them since I learned them in 7th grade. 

Do not say what you do not want to be saying when Jesus comes.
Do not do what you do not want to be doing when Jesus comes.
And do not go where you do not want to be found when Jesus comes.

Oh, yes, I have at times forgotten to put those words into practice.  I've sinned much!  But because of His Grace, I have been forgiven.  And that is the most important thing I learned from my dad!  Jesus loves me and died for me.  And the older I get, the more I appreciate this Grace.  What a beautiful word!  Grace.

 

HAPPY ST. URHO'S DAY!

And I'll bet there are very few of you who know who St. Urho is!  According to my sources, this is the story:

The legend of St. Urho originated in Northern Minnesota in the 1950s. However, there are differing opinions as to whether it began with the fables created by Sulo Havumaki of Bemidji, or the tongue-in-cheek tales told by Richard Mattson of Virginia. Either way, the legend has grown among North Americans of Finnish descent to the point where St. Urho is known and celebrated across the United States and Canada, and even in Finland.

St. Urho's Day is celebrated on March 16th, the day prior to the better known feast of some minor saint from Ireland, who was alleged to have driven the snakes from that island.

The legend of St. Urho says he chased the grasshoppers out of ancient Finland, thus saving the grape crop and the jobs of Finnish vineyard workers. He did this by uttering the phrase: "Heinäsirkka, heinäsirkka, mene täältä hiiteen" (roughly translated: "Grasshopper, grasshopper, go to Hell!"). His feast is celebrated by wearing the colors Royal Purple and Nile Green. St. Urho is nearly always represented with grapes and grasshoppers as part of the picture.

And now you know the rest of the story.

This educational moment is coming to you from Minnesota, where the temperature outside this afternoon hit 80 degrees, and our little greenhouse was sweltering in 104 degree heat.  Maybe this story is all nonsense, caused by fried brains!  But I doubt it.  I believe in St. Urho.  And I don't have a single drop of Finish blood.

MINNESOTA WARMING

This is Minnesota, folks.  You know, Minnesota?  The land of snow and cold?  The land of below zero?  The frozen north?  This is our forecast for next week. 

There is only one word to describe this. 

Unbelievable.  Absolutely unbelievable.

IS IT OCTOBER OR IS IT MARCH?

Well, I do know for sure that it is March because it is a special granddaughter's birthday today.  Happy 14th  birthday, Jaden!

After the time changes to daylight saving time this weekend, the sunrises will be an hour later.  I'll have my coffee gone by the time the sun comes up!

 

 This morning the sky was pinky, purply, orangy, yellowy.....And very pretty.

 

 This afternoon we went out to the nature center just west of town and took a little hike.  I think these pictures look like October 8, not March 8.

 There was no snow in sight.  The color was pretty blah, except for some green moss on the bottoms of the trees.

 I love the bare, twisted sumac plants.  Soon they will be greening up.

 I saw one beautiful bit of color, but didn't have my camera out at the time.  This cardinal was closer, and sitting in the bright sunshine, his brilliant red breast almost glowing in the light.  I grabbed the camera and he flew to a more distant tree and turned his back on me.  That wasn't nice, was it?

 And these two guys also turned their backs on me and flipped their fluffy white tails in the air and ran off.

TOMATOES AND PEPPERS AND BEANS, OH MY!

No, my staycation did not turn fatal!  Wow, I don't think I have ever gone this long without posting.  It's just been so normal around here, nothing out of the ordinary to post about, that I have kind of neglected this blog.   But we had something exceptional happen yesterday so now I have something to say.

And I will say it nice and loud!  Shout it from the rooftops!  It was 64 degrees yesterday!  March 6th in Minnesota, it was 64 degrees!  What a lovely day it was.  We had bright sun and light breezes and balmy temps.  And guess what it made me think about?

Time to get those seeds picked out and purchased or ordered.  And guess what we did yesterday in celebration of the warm temps?  We did some construction!

Our new structure is built of metal shelving and plastic wrapping......

It has 6 nice shelves.....

It sits next to the patio door on the south patio, is right in front of an electric outlet, the water faucet is right there behind the air conditioner, and it gets full sun.  Now we have to figure out when we can start to use it!

And I washed sheets in anticipation of a good night of sleep, which didn't happen.  As usual.

And my pretty blue Prius in again a bright shiny blue instead of a dingy grey.

The forecast for today is not as exciting as the numbers are on their way down.  However, by the weekend it will be 50's again, and next week will boast 50's and 60's.  And, an occasional 70 in the way southwest part of the state.

Come on spring!