The best Columbus Day ever!

It didn't think about Columbus sailing the ocean blue in 1492 one single time yesterday, but I still had the best Columbus Day ever! The kids had a regular school day... Fergus Falls school district does not observe Columbus Day. Steve had a regular work day... MSCTC doesn't observe Columbus Day either. Lucky me... banks observe Columbus day, so I had the day off! I don't think there has ever been a holiday where I was the only one in my family who had the day off. And I made the most of my "free day"! Here is what I did...

• I skipped my 6:00 AM Body Blast class at the Y, so that I could sleep in until 7:30 AM.
• I visited with the girls while they ate breakfast.
• I went for a 4 mile run and enjoyed all the fall foliage.
• I drove to Perham with Lori and we went to Sorella's spa, where I splurged with a facial and Lori enjoyed a pedicure.
• We browsed through an amazing quilt shop.
• We enjoyed a leisurely lunch at the Gathering Grounds... grilled ham & cheese with mushrooms and asparagus on corbetta bread with honey mustard dipping sauce... in a word... DELICIOUS!

• I made it home in time to meet the girls getting off the bus.
• I relaxed and watched Oprah while the girls did their homework.
• Steve made a wonderful supper of grilled montecristo sandwiches with homemade strawberry dipping sauce.
  
• OK - one not fun thing was the flu shots that we got after supper, but everything before that made it the Best Columbus Day ever!

What did you do for Columbus day?

Brick oven Zzah

My cousin Brett made his famous "Zzah" (aka pizza) for us in a brick oven on Friday night. Everything from the crust to the sauce is made from scratch and it is amazing! And to make it even more delicious, he cooked it in a brick oven for the first time.

Brett is the chef wearing the bib-overalls; my dad is in in bright orange, my mom in light orange, Angelique is in green and Steve has his arms folded behind him.
The brick oven Brett used is at the "Vine House", which is the rental property that was purchased last month by 2X4 Property Management LLC. 2x4 Property Management is a joint venture between my parents (2 Sell's ) and us (4 Lindgren's). Brett came earlier this week to do some finish carpentry and was mesmerized by the brick oven on the patio. So, despite the rain, Brett hatched a plan with my parents and came to Fergus Falls on Friday to do some more work on the "Vine House". Brett fired up the oven around 3:00 PM in the afternoon and by 6:00 PM, we were eating his famous "Zzah". OMG, it was good! The brickoven does something totally amazing to the crust. There were only 6 of us and we ate almost 4 pizzas! Talk about full tummies. Thank you, Brett!!

"Old Style" communication

I played with this circa 1935 Smith & Corona typewriter when I was a kid. I recently asked my parents if I could have it and it has been so much fun! I have it setting on a small table by the front door and the kids have been typing little messages on it for the past several weeks. I think this is what Facebook may have looked like 70+ years ago!
I love hearing the 'peck, peck' sound of the manual typewriter and the 'ding' of the bell warning that you have almost reached your margin. My only rule to the kids was that no negative messages can be typed on it.
One of the first things that Abby noticed was that there is no exclamation point key. Of course, with Abby, she likes to add a lot of emotion and enthusiasm to the statements she types.
Here are some snippets of things typed in the past few weeks...
"I have no homework. And I had a good day."
"Gradma and granpa are here."
"sorryif can't, spell every thing. Love angelique"
"My brithday is on the 28th. Abby and I and other peopple are fixing a house, today."
"Kippy finished her homework. That's all for now. Love the Lindgren girls"
"I just changed the paper. love Abby."
"This thing is cool."
"Happy birthday Angelique. I like cheese. Love Abby"
"I like chocalate. Love AbbyL"
"Today I have homework."
"It;s cold outside. and Brette came today."

A game of Blog Tag

Well, I've been tagged by my friend Lori. So I am answering this listing of questions and hopefully I won't freak anyone out with some of my quirks!

I am...Renae Marie Sell-Lindgren... just plain “Nae” to my friends.

I miss... my grandma Ruth. She was a very wise woman who taught me a lot about life.

I think... that I have the most wonderful family and friends. Love them all!

I love... to try adventurous activities like cliff diving, skydiving, scuba … and there are plenty other adventures I want to try like bungee jumping & BASE diving.

I know... that I am married to my soul-mate. He is my every thing! I have told my girls that if they decide to get married, then they absolutely have to find a husband who is as wonderful as their dad.

I want... to win the lottery. I have fantasies about what I would do with millions and millions of $, but I have never actually bought a lotto ticket.

I search... for scrapbooking supplies. I have a ton and I still want more! It’s a problem.

I wish... I wasn’t allergic to dogs so I could have one. I want to be able to go for morning runs with a dog as my companion, plus my girls would absolutely love to have a dog as a pet.

I hate... country music…so much so that it makes me gnash my teeth if I am ever forced to listen to it. Funny thing is… I love Johnny Cash. I know – I am a paradox.

I am scared of... cancer.

I fear... Steve getting into a motorcycle accident.

I am always... spelling words wrong. I totally depend on spell-check. My husband has even corrected my grocery list before – which doesn’t make me feel too happy. How in the heck did I ace spelling in school? Oh yeah, I memorized the list and after taking the test, I promptly forgot it all.

I hear... voices talking to me in my head… Just kidding!

I don't always... wash fruit or vegetables before I eat them. I try to remember, but I think the fact that I grew up on the farm and we didn’t spray our fresh produce with noxious chemicals that had to be scrubbed off has something to do with it. Plus, I subscribe to this thought process… “That which doesn’t kill us, makes us stronger.”

I wonder… what the next 20 years will bring. What will my girls be like as adults? What will Steve & I be doing for our careers – hopefully preparing to retire!

I care... immensely about my family.

I regret... not continuing on with piano lessons and becoming a more accomplished pianist. I quit after 5 years of lessons.

I believe... in God, the Father Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord.

I danced... the jitter-bug at the Guelph Centennial this past summer with Steve.

I write... about random topics in my blog.

I win... the prize for number of times I have locked my keys in my vehicle.

I lose... my purse all the time! I like to leave it in restaurants, at church or some place else equally dumb.

I never... could be a hunter. Can’t stand to hurt animals… BTW, rodents don’t count as animals in my book.

I listen... to the advice of my friends and family. Their opinions mean a lot to me even if I don’t agree, I always value it.

I can be found... either taking pictures or editing pictures on my computer. I really want to become a better photographer.

Family fun at Itaska

On Saturday we spent the day at Itaska State Park with Russ & Kristy's family enjoying the gorgeous Fall foliage. The weather was perfect - cool and crisp with no wind and no clouds! We biked, checked out the Mississippi Headwaters, romped in the leaves, hiked and geocached.
The kids scrambled across the headwaters a number of times. Abby was a little more tentative and asked for help from a very nice lady while I snapped away with my camera. I'm so helpful!I went nuts taking pictures of the trees and leaves.
Nixin thought the log chair near the old timers cabin, which I called the "thinking chair", was great because he is in love with Blue's Clues.
Of course, there were leaf wars too.
We ended our fantastic day at an amazing German restaurant in Park Rapids called Schwarzwald Restaurant. We ate here once before and for the past year have talked about the rinderbraten, homemade noodles with gravy and the sauerkraut.

God bless our soldiers!

My brother, Russ, served in the Gulf War in Iraq as a tank driver in the Army 1st Calvary. In his honor, my folks purchased a flag for the Veterans Walk of Flags in Fergus Falls. Flag # 1447 recently flew for the first time on September 19th, POW/MIA Day. It is an extremely impressive site to see almost 1500 flags out on display!

So a big solute and thank you to all our soldiers and especially to Army SPC Russell C Sell, Gulf War Vet.

There are 11 days each year the Walk of Flags are put up in the parks around town and I look forward to seeing Russ' flag among them.

Cute? No - it's EVIL!!

I know what you are thinking... "awww, look at that cute deer", but don't let those spots fool you. It is pure evil! Check out the handiwork that "bambi" has been lavishing on my tender young plants & flowers. This flowerbed was just newly created in early August. I planted dwarf's goat's beard, various hosta's, coral bells, phlox, astilbe, roses & chelone. The plants were beginning to flower and flourish.

Now look what that evil creature has done! Hosta plants are nearly gone...
The beautiful hot pink flowers of the chelone are no more...

I am wondering if anything will be left after a few more nights of "bambi" dining on my plants! I complained to my knight-in-shining-armor and since he couldn't shot-gun the evil creature, he did the next best thing and peed all over my flowerbed. Seriously! He said it would repel the deer, but I think he just wanted to have an excuse to go outside. Now I'll have to think twice about picking any of my flowers!
For those of you in the know, is there any hope for my plants? Will they come back after the brutal attack?