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.

No title needed

A couple of weeks ago Skott was out of town covering a day route that went from Sauk Centre, MN to the Dakotas and back. While exploring the town of Sauk Centre after work one night he spied this fine dining establishment.
There are so many things wrong with this sign I don't even know where to begin!
Bon apetit!



p.s. He DIDN'T eat there :)

Congrads Skott!

Skott has always had an amazing eye for photography.
He took this random photo at work this past spring with his cell phone. Today he found out that the company wants to use it for their nationwide Christmas card!
Congrads babe!

A purchase I never dreamed of making

Never in my life did I EVER think I would buy....

a BABY (bicycle) STROLLER!

but alas, our poor rescue puppy mill Frenchie has developed an arthritic limp. And with Confuscious being 9 years old now, we decided this wouldn't be a bad investment. Eau Claire has a lot of great bike trails, plus we have a camping trip planned in a couple weeks south at a great biking/camping spot, so no doubt we will get our money's worth!

We actually had to seat belt them in to get them to stay put. Once they realized they couldn't get out they relaxed and enjoyed the ride.

Thankfully Skott towed the 50+ pounds of dog and trailer so I got the pleasure of seeing the looks on peoples faces when they expected to see kids in there and were instead met with this:

We biked down to the park across from the school and I worked on my tree identification for class. It was a lot of fun and we look forward to many more outings!