grape juice

We have a grape vine on a trellis in front of our house and also one along the fence in our driveway. The vine in the driveway gets picked clean by critters but they seem to miss the one up front. Last summer we didn't do anything with the grapes. This summer, the grape vine went crazy and actually destroyed the trellis under the weight of all the fruit.

I went out last Sunday afternoon to "hurry and pick the grapes". Three plastic bags later... this is what I hd soaking in the kitchen sink:

I didn't have the first clue as to what to do with them so I put them in a strainer and smashed them with a big ladle. Two hours later, this is my reward:

The entire time I kept thinking.... "there has got to be a better way to do this....".
It did smell wonderful though! -and tastes amazing.

Admist all the drying foliage popped this little beauty: a random late bloomer in my wildflower garden.

not a leaky window

I went into the bedroom to open the blinds before leaving for school. I almost panicked when I saw this puddle of "water" on the floor. It was huge! My first thought was that the window (or roof) was leaking.

But if you can tell from this picture, it was just Confuscious drooling. He is developing a bit of a drool problem in his old age. He loves to sleep on this ottoman under the window. I guess it's a good thing his head WAS hanging off the edge a little with that much drool.

this just struck me as funny

Maybe I am just in a bizarre mood today but I actually laughed out loud when I was walking to school and saw all the city snowplows and sanding trucks scooping and hauling LEAVES.
This is one of the many gigantic piles in the school parking lot:

It's alive!

I have had this hibiscus for at least seven years. I am amazed it is still alive considering the fact that we always seem to move in the dead of winter when it's either raining or snowing. It used to bloom all the time and often had several blooms on it at once. It was a gift from Skott to remind me of our trips to Hawaii.

But this plant hasn't been happy since we left Tacoma in 2004. The entire time we lived in Glenns Ferry, ID it only bloomed once, and that was as we were boxing it up to move to Wisconsin. It never bloomed the year we were in Chetek despite lots of sunlight and repotting. And it got really sick when we moved to Eau Claire and lost most of it's leaves last winter. I had another hibiscus similar to this one that suffered a swift, mysterious death when we lived in Chetek (coincidentally following a visit from some guests. Hmmm....).

I really wanted to keep this one alive and tried everything to coax a bloom out of it. It tried earlier this summer with two buds. They got going but fell off the plant before they were able to open up.
Then a third bud made it!

What a welcoming sight with winter right around the corner!

(I could muster up a philosophical analogy right now but this post is probably already long enough)

Big giant cones

Skott was a little embarrassed of the picture I posted of him, so I promised to post equally embarrassing ones of myself to even the score.

This is what happens when I am left to my own devices after spending too many hours in trees lab:

This semester I am taking a Trees/Shrubs class that is really tough! So far we have learned 93 species of native trees and shrubs. Challenging, but atleast we went out and identified live. The rest of the semester we are learning native and non-native trees, about 30-40 per week. Identification tools consist of dried out specimens on cards (you can actually see them along the wall in the background), and all these different cones.

Now, when the prof was lecturing, he was really emphasizing how big the cones are on some trees. I thought, yah, ok they are big. What, like the size of my hand....

Then I walked into lab.

These are some GIANT CONES!

too bad I haven't studied enough to tell you what trees they are from, eh? haha

Getting silly

While the dogs slept peacefully....

Skott got a little silly!

I'd like to blame it on all the hours he has been putting in lately, but .... He is always trying to find ways to make me smile. I was trying to get him to pose for a caller id picture for my phone. Well, this is what comes up now when he calls or texts.

I am happy after 12 years we can still get silly and laugh together!

One of those days

... One of those pink checkered vans days.


love my crazy shoes
love being alive
love my family


feeling nostalgic and reflective tonight. hoping skott and i have a long life ahead of us filled with many more adventures.