SUMMERTIME AND THE LIVING IS STORMY

I have tried three times to post pictures of our storm last night, but Blogger doesn't want them!  Same camera, same computer, same me, but they won't load.  So I will just tell you about it.

We spent quite some time in the shelter late yesterday afternoon.  Us and everyone else from the campground.  I shared a small room with thick stone walls (thanks CCC!) with a mom and eight little kids.  I don't know if they were all her kids, but there were eight.  Ernie was in the big room with several other people, and two vans and a pickup truck were parked right alongside the shelter, the occupants ready to jump out and hide with us in the shelter.  The rest of the people were in the two restrooms.  By looking at the mud which I cleaned up later, most of them were in the showers and stalls of the sturdy stone building.

The hail pounded the roof and bounced off to the ground, covering the green grass with white jawbreaker sized ice balls.  Some of the hail was approaching golf ball size.  I have never seen such large hail!  The rain came down in sheets, quickly creating lakes in every little depression or low spot in the park.  It didn't last too long, thank goodness, and we had no damage.  There were a few small branches and lots of sticks and twigs and leaves scattered all over, and many new lakes,  but there was nothing serious.  Thank God. 

One young couple had been out in the canoe, and they paddled for shore when they saw the storm approaching.  Just as they hit the shore, the hail started.  They pulled the canoe up on shore, and a good Samaritan who was nearby gave them a ride up to the shelter.  They looked like drowned ducks, but they were safe.

Soon the storm was over, moving on southeast towards The Cities where they received torrential rains, and a lot of wind.  Southern Minnesota was under a tornado watch for hours, and there was quite a bit of damage, just one week and one day after tornadoes had devastated the same area.  My sister said her little town looked like a war zone and there was damage in the town where we live.  We here in our little park were so lucky.  Again.

And guess what?  It's raining!  There are severe T-storm warnings for the whole southern half of the state.  Again.  However, there is relief in sight.  The weather folks are saying that the next week should be dry, sunny, and beautiful!  Thank God!  All we have to do is get through tonight!

TUESDAY AND FRIDAY

Tuesday night was all about the pink and blue sunset, or as my grandpa used to say "sky blue pink."  Funny how the clouds and atmosphere make the difference from gold, to silver, to pink and blue.  I love sunsets, in case  you didn't notice!

Now today the skies are gray.  And dripping.  Actually, this first band is only thunder showers, nothing severe.  However, tonight we are under warnings for possible storms again.  I get nervous when we have these alerts because a trailer is not the place you want to be during severe weather.

Looks like we'll be full at the campground again this weekend, then on Monday two of my sisters and a brother-in-law will be coming for three days or so. And my brother and his wife plan to come over too.   Looking forward to having company.  Actually I'm probably looking forward to the garbage can supper  that brother-in-law Ike will be making for us!

The rain and thunder continue so I will sign off for now. 

WEEKEND PHOTOS NUMBER TWO

What's with the pictures on that last post?  They are all distorted!  They've been narrowed or something strange.  Let's try again.  The following are sunsets on two different evenings.  On Saturday night we went for a walk out to the point to watch the sunset.  The lake was like glass, a pair of loons were calling, and the girls were having fun in the trees and grass.  We don't know these people, but see how quiet the lake was, and how silently they dipped their paddles and skimmed along the water?

Miss Madison was posing for me.  I thought this one was pretty cute, don't you think?

And this is what we walked out to this point to see! 

Then last night, after the kids had gone back home, I went for a walk down to the dock.  The sky was very different from the night before, but still pretty.

I guess those two are pretty similar.......sorry about that.  I could remove it but I'll just leave it as is.

I think that little spot of gold in the middle is a little teaser of how beautiful heaven will be!

And thus the weekend came to a peaceful end.  At least it was peaceful until I got back to the trailer and someone was snoring like you wouldn't believe!  The campground was full this weekend again, and next weekend is looking the same.  Ernie has been working pretty hard, so I guess he has earned the right to snore.   Besides, I wear ear plugs at night!  Snore away honey!

Ear plugs didn't keep me from waking during the night as a big thunder and lightning storm rumbled on through.  The lightning was so continuous that I thought there was a car in our driveway with his lights pointing right in the trailer window.  And today is cloudy and drizzly.  Just what we wanted.  More rain.

WEEKEND PHOTOS NUMBER ONE

Okay all my dear peeps.  I made a special trip, of over 20 miles, to the closest large town where I knew I would find a nice strong signal at a coffee shop.  And here I am!  Planning to bore you with lots of photos!  So we might as well get started!

This is the teeny tiniest frog or toad that I have ever seen!  The girls found him and put him in a water bottle cap to show you how small he is! 

This is sweet Madison, the butterfly, snacking on some watermelon before sitting down to a dinner of meat, her favorite food in the world.  Meat.  Hot dogs, chicken, summer sausage, bacon, whatever......she loves meat!

 Jaden looking at the little rocks and shells along the lake shore................

 and a few feet away, unaware of her sister's pose, is Madison!

 Sweet Jaden, the snake whisperer.

 Heading out into the lake.................

swimming back to shore, and Madison's glasses are still on!

A GRAND WEEKEND

First of all, thanks for the thoughts and prayers on Thursday, the day a record number of tornadoes hit Minnesota, the count somewhere in the thirties, I believe.  We are all fine.  Three of our citizens lost their lives, and many are injured.  A couple of small towns were completely destroyed, and many scores of farm buildings and homes are completely missing.  We were so fortunate here at the park where we received a few drops of rain and a little wind from the cloudy skies.

We had a grand weekend, as in grandkids came to visit!  Lance and Tya came on Friday, with their two girls, Jaden and Madison.  Jaden is an almost teenager.....really a cutie that her dad should consider locking up shortly......she's going to be a heartbreaker!  And then there is Madison.  The only thing I can compare her to is a hummingbird.  Colorful, fast moving, darting here and there, always busy......oh my!  If she was to live with me for one week I would probably drop the forty pounds I'd like to take off!  She is in constant motion!

I'm going to try to post some pictures.  Let's see if it works.

Well, here is one picture and that's all you're getting today!  It took about 12 minutes to load to Blogger!  Tomorrow I will try to run into a coffee shop or some such place with a stronger signal  because I really want to show you some pictures!  This one is just a teaser......the girls are holding snakes!

MINNESOTA WEATHER

What a day for Minnesota weather!  There were severe weather warnings issued in 41 counties, from the far northwest corner of the state down to the southeast corner.  Numerous tornadoes have been recorded.  And sadly, there are two deaths reported in the west central part of the state.  We had nothing here at the campground, thank goodness.  Just a few drops of rain and some wind.  Down in the south central part of the state there are still tornadoes on ground and they say lots of damage.  My sister lives in that area.  And there are still warnings out in our home area where four of our  kids and another sister live.  And now they are saying Grand Forks had a tornado.  Another son lives there.  I'm going to have nightmares tonight.

THIRTEEN OUT OF SIXTEEN

Today is Wednesday, June 16.  Sixteen days into June already.  And of those sixteen days, thirteen have been rainy days!  Yes, you heard me.  Thirteen out of the last sixteen days have been rainy days.  Today was lovely.  blue sky, fluffy white clouds, warm temps, soft breeze.....a perfect early summer day to me.  So guess what's coming tomorrow?  Rain.  Again.  So it will be fourteen out of seventeen.....and then fifteen out of eighteen........ and then sixteen out of nineteen and on and on and on. Enough already!

CONFESSION IS GOOD FOR THE SOUL

Oh, my dear people, I do have a confession to make.  I have been unable to stay out of the fabric stores in this area, and I am almost to the point of being in serious trouble.  It all started with the big store, the Fabric Warehouse, two weeks ago.  I have been wanting to make a quilt with Civil War reproduction fabrics, and I've been carrying around a pattern called Simple Star, which was made just for the Civil War inspired fabrics.  Well, two weeks ago I bought the eight fabrics for the quilt.  They are kind of muted tans, reds, and blue prints.

Then last week we took half a day off and went to Alexandria, where I knew there were two quilt shops.  At the first one I was very good.  I bought a book of Schnibble quilt patterns that I've been looking for.  And some cutesy fabric for a pillowcase for a grandson, not too bad.  Then we went to the other quilt shop where I spied the exact fabric I needed to go with the charm packs of Frolic by Sandy Gervais, so I had to get that, and two more charm packs so I would be sure to have enough.

Well, then today I really did it up good.  I went back to the Fabric Warehouse and got the backing and binding for the triangle pieces quilt, Dessert Time Quilt, that is ready to be backed and quilted.  AND, I decided as long as I was there I might as well get the fabric for the backing, border, and binding of the Civil War quilt.

And this is how I justify my spending.  I figure that I'm way out here in the state park. miles from a coffee shop.  So, I've not had a good cup of coffee for two and a half weeks.  And I've not met any of my friends for lunch.  And I've saved all that money in gas that I usually spend running into town at least every other day.  Aw, shucks.  I guess those savings don't even put a dent in the amount I've spent on fabric.  I guess it's time to admit it.  I'm an addict.  A fabric addict.  I may have to go to meetings for  my addiction.

Hello, my name is Marge and I'm a fabric addict. 

BRENDA'S PURSE

You didn't think I'd leave home for a month without my Big Brother, did you?

Remember my last contest?  Brenda won a purse and she mentioned she liked browns.  I hope she also likes a bit of green and white mixed in with the browns.  This is for you Brenda.  Hope you like it!

Today we took the day off from our park sitting job.  We went to a town about 15 miles from here, and I did the laundry and bought groceries.  Now we are settling in for a weekend of rain.  Maybe heavy rain.  Our daughter Kari and her husband Mike  and the kiddos were planning to come for the weekend, but because of the all weekend long rain that is forecast, they decided not to come.  Bummer!  I haven't seen any grandkids for 2 weeks!  Wish someone would come visit!

INTRODUCING TILLIE

Please meet another of our new friends, Tillie.  Now Tillie is very shy and she didn't want to stick her head out too far.  Besides she was pretty busy.  After she had dug a deep hole, she was laboring to drop her eggs into the hole.  She then covered the eggs up with the dirt and left, trusting that in a few weeks her babies would hatch and find their way down to the lake where she lives.

However, this won't be happening.  Tillie won't be meeting her babies.  You see, where her eggs used to be, all buried beneath the dirt, there is nothing but a hole with some scraps of white rubbery shells.  Either a raccoon or a skunk found the nest and had a tasty snack.  We actually know of at least seven spots where turtles laid their eggs this past weekend, and we have found that five of them are now dug up and empty.  Isn't that sad?  Those aren't very good odds of survival, are they?
                                    
But I guess that is nature and how it works.  I haven't heard of a shortage of snapping turtles, so I don't think this is unusual, but it does seem sad.  Poor Tillie!

GRRRRRRRR

When we first arrived at our spot in the park, the cell connection was pretty good and I had no trouble talking to folks back home.  When I connected my computer, it was slow, but at least it worked.  Now things aren't going as well.  I've had to cut a couple of conversations short because of a bad connection, and I was dropped all together from two calls.  And now today Blogger isn't working right for me.  I've heard many have had a problem with Blogger today so I can't blame that problem on the phone connection!  I was able to read some blogs but couldn't comment or write my own post.  And the last few times I've tried to load photos, they sit there for at least ten minutes and won't load.  Of course I don't even know if this will even post.  Not happy!

However, we did have a wonderful weekend.  My sister Betsy and her husband Ross, and one of their sons came to visit for the weekend.  We had a very nice time, lots of good food and good conversations.  On Saturday Betsy and I went to a fun antique store and each came away with a treasure or two.

Now this next weekend, Kari and Mike and kids  are coming.  So that will be another good weekend.  My other two sisters are coming the last week of the month, right before we go off duty.  And with my brother being the park manager in this little park and a nearby large park, we will have seen all my siblings during our month here.  Isn't that neat?

I do have photos I want to share, so I will keep trying.  Maybe things will improve in the next few days.  If not, I will be heading to a coffee shop on our day off!

OUR NEW FRIENDS

We have some new friends that have started to visit us, many times a day.  They dive bomb in towards the feeder, sometimes stopping to sit on the perch, sometime just eating while still in flight, their teeny tiny wings beating thousands of times a minute, making a roar much louder than you would expect from a thumb sized bird.

Two at a time is becoming common, with a third one joining them a couple of times this afternoon.

My best spot was standing on top of the picnic table, camera pointed at the red feeder, and waiting for the precious little guys to appear.  It really didn't take too long before this little fellow appeared.  Don't you love hummingbirds?

JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT

Aren't Jack-in-the-pulpits just the coolest flowers?  Or is it even considered a flower?  Maybe it's only called a plant.  Anyhow, I think they are so neat.  I did have to attempt this shot several times due to the overgrowth of poison ivy surrounding the plant.  

NO MORE WORMS

Sorry about those worms.  Maybe this will make up for them.

THE REAL THING

Yesterday I said you had to use your imagination because I couldn't get pictures to load to Blogger.  Well, today you don't have to use your imagination.  Here is the real thing.  Ready?  Set?  Go!  Have a look at what we're seeing here.  This is the yellow wheel chock behind the trailer wheel.  Those ugly creatures show up really well against the yellow, don't you think?  Have I said that I despise those things?

Other than those unwelcome pests, things are going well.  We've been waiting until a bit after noon to clean the bathrooms and showers because they are so busy in the morning.  And we must be doing a good job because I've already been told twice by the campers that "you guys do a really good job.  The bathrooms are so nice and clean."  We aim to please!  Ernie has tackled some brush, and he's cleaned the shed, and the garbage/recycling area.  I've walked the roads and picked up trash and sold wood and ice.  So far we like our new home in the state park!

We are expecting rain today, possibly a thunderstorm.  They skies are gray and the temps have dropped considerably from the last two days.  Thank goodness.  90 is too hot for me!

USE YOUR IMAGINATION

You will have to use your imagination on this post because it takes f..o..r..e..v..e.r to load pictures to Blogger.  I had chosen a couple of pictures from this morning, but after 20 minutes of watching the little circle thingie go round and round and round on the first picture, I gave up.

The first picture I wanted to show you was of Ernie standing on the dock, looking for fish in the water.  All around him were little helicopters flying and dive bombing.  It was unbelievable!  There were hundreds of dragonflies in what looked like attack mode.  I snapped a picture, not thinking those tiny little things would show up, but I must have caught at least a dozen in the picture.  I'll try another time to see if I can show you the air attack.

I also took a picture of the tent caterpillars inching their way up and around the tire on the trailer.  They were  climbing on the yellow wheel chock where they really showed up well, black against the bright yellow.  Those things creep me out.  I know they don't hurt you, don't bite, don't sting, but they feel creepy crawly on your skin.  And hey, they must poop, don't they?  Probably on my head or arm or back.  Yuk!  I despise those things, and there are quite a few of them around right now.  And Ernie took my "inside the trailer broom" and swept the entrance to the shower/bathrooms!  Now I suppose I'll find them inside, too!

And then I snapped a shot of the view we have while sitting under the awning on the trailer.  It's woods.  Heavy woods.  With thousands of birds darting to and fro, back and forth, up and down, in and out.  Red flashes, bright blue flashes, and lots of yellow flashes.  The sun was shining through the spring green leaves, making for a colorful sight, and causing me to glance heavenward and utter a prayer of thanks to God for this beautiful world he created for us.  And there is not much that is more beautiful than Minnesota in early summer!   

I hope you all have a safe holiday.  Please drive carefully!

PRESENT AND READY TO WORK

We have arrived at our month long job in the state park.  We have a nice site, and the park is a lush green with the trees and poison ivy in full leaf.  When we stopped the truck and I opened the door, I was immediately aware that this is a great park for birding!  The birds were singing at the top of their teeny, tiny lungs!  They were darting here and there, enjoying the bright sunshine and nice, warm temperatures.  And I saw a flash of bright blue....... an indigo bunting I'm sure.  I'm sure we will have a great time here.  I snapped a couple of photos this evening and will see if there is enough of a signal to send one.  I'm connected through my phone, which is actually showing me no bars!  Hope I can get it to work for me!

PACKING AND OTHER IMPORTANT STUFF

Tomorrow morning at this time we hope to be on the road, heading to our month long "job" of living in a Minnesota State Park.  It's rough, I know.  We have to live in this quiet little park, miles from civilization, under the trees, with the wildlife, on a lake, in the middle of God's beautiful creation.  Hard work, but someone has to do it.

So, that means today we have to finish packing up.  But that means I have to do laundry before we can pack the clothes, right?  I have a lot of the food staples packed, but I need to do the fridge and freezer stuff.  I have to pick out the books I plan to read in June.  And the main thing, I have to pack my fabric!  The fabric for several purses I plan to make.  The fabric for a couple of table runners.  The 3/4 done quilt top and the fabric to finish that.  And several UFO's (UnFinished Objects) that I can hopefully complete.

On top of packing, there are a few other things that have to be done also.  Of utmost importance is the lunch date with two friends, Judy and Audrey.  I worked at the college with both of them.  Audrey is the receptionist, and Judy the dorm manager, but I call her the dorm mother because that's what she has been to hundreds of women over the past 19 school years.  Judy is retiring.  Audrey is still working.  (ha-ha!)  Then I have to give my sister, Lois, a ride to her haircut appointment this afternoon and maybe pick up a few groceries after she's done.

Then tonight is the college choir concert.  After graduation the choir goes on a 10 day choir tour and then gives what they call a Homecoming Concert when they return.  Eons ago, when I was a student at this college, I sang in the choir for four years.  We went on tour in the spring each year, and sang in such exotic spots as Illinois, Wisconsin, Nebraska and South Dakota.  We thought we were big stuff!  In the more recent years this choir has gone a bit further.  Like to Europe.  And other boring places like that.  Poor kids.  It was on a choir tour that I ate at my first McDonald's, and saw Mt. Rushmore for the first time.  And these kids have only seen things like the famous cathedrals of Europe.  I feel bad for them.  Not.

And here is the most exciting news of all!  Yesterday my wonderful, talented, techie grandson-in-law, Katie's husband Clayton, did my computer set up so I can get online through my phone if we have a phone signal at the park.  So, unless I mess things up, I will be posting photos from our little trailer in the little woods in the little state park.  I can't wait!

MY MINNESOTA

The new photo on my header is of the exact same road that the previous header photo was, only this one is now lush green in the May sunshine, whereas the other one was in April, right after the snow left us.  This is much prettier, don't you think?  We went out to the country, as opposed to our little town of 2000, last night and I took a few photos along the way. 

Another curvy, hilly road with the lush green growth of a Minnesota spring lining both sides.  I love this road!

A farmer's beautiful green pasture.

This is the grain elevator in the little town where my son and his family live.  Quaint, wouldn't you say?

A bright red barn surrounded by evergreens.

We returned home to the sun setting in the west.

As I walked back to the house, I looked up and shot this sight.  It looks like the moon has been cut right in half.

POTPOURRI

 No, the title of potpourri doesn't mean you're going to smell this post, although it may stink.....no, seriously, the number four meaning of potpourri is this:

4.  any mixture, esp. of unrelated objects, subjects, etc.

So be prepared.  This post is a bunch of unrelated stuff......

The first order of business is to wish my bloggy and IRL friend, Lisa, a happy 50th birthday!  Lisa hasn't posted very often recently, but I have talked to her, and she is okay.  She is dealing with a very ill dog, her wonderful Zoe, and that is weighing heavily on her.  Plus, she has a houseful of electricians and carpenters who are fashioning a brand new kitchen for her!  Hopefully she'll be putting her amazing photography skills to good use soon, and will post some photos of her new kitchen.  Hubby and I were privileged to stay with Scott and Lisa on our way back from Texas.  What fun to meet a blogging friend!

 I have something that probably very few of you have!  I have this box that is covered with Elvis photos!

Daughter Kari and her hubby Mike returned on Sunday from their quick trip to Alabama where Kari was the  speaker at a conference.  For fun on the return trip. they stopped at Graceland and after their tour, they purchased Elvis gifts for everyone.  Some got Elvis bobbleheads, Bean got an Elvis action figure (look out Barbies, uh?) and Latte got an Elvis and Marilyn puzzle.  What a fun, silly thing for them to do on their trip!

This is how I remember Elvis.  The young, innocent, country boy who loved his mama more than anything in the world.

I was quite the Elvis fan in my early teens, and now I have a box covered with his photos!  Kari suggested I use it for sewing stuff, scissors, seam rippers, marking pens, etc.  I think that's what I'll do.

Moving along to a totally unrelated subject, except for the sewing part, this is what I've been doing lately.

I made this table runner that I am completely embarrassed by!  Oh, the sewing is fine, but I tried my hand, with the help of my Big Brother, at machine quilting, and I discovered that I really need to practice!  The instructions say to just lower the feed dogs and position the piece to be quilted, lower the presser foot and take off, making graceful loops and jigs and jogs across the fabric.  Ya, sure.  Easier said than done!  I made only a few loops in the squares, and there is not a single decent loopy line.  I have more wiggles and bumps and mistakes than good parts.  Oh, well.  I am not ripping the quilting out.  It will remain as is and can be used as a comparison to later projects to see if I have learned anything!  Keep your fingers crossed that I do learn something!

And this is what I'm working on now.  I'm putting white borders on this quilt top, then a row of half squares, or rectangles of the quilt block fabrics, and then a row of narrow white binding on the edge.  I do love my new machine.  I'll just be glad when I can make it do what I know it can do.  It's me who can't do it!  Yet.

And, yes, Brenda.  I remember that I need to make the purse that you won in the blogiversary giveaway.  It's on the list.  And you remember that you will have to come to the park to pick it up, right?

The park.  That is my last piece of potpourri for today.  We are beginning to organize things to take along on our June job.  We are going to be campground hosts at this state park a couple of hours northwest of here.  We are really getting excited to get going.  Should be some great photo ops with the woods, trails, lakes and the rest of God's wonderful creation surrounding us.  Can't wait!