Just checking in again after a 2 month hiatus. Life happens but blogging doesn’t. :)

Last time I posted Mini-me and I had just gotten back from our cabin adventure. We were trying to get in as much as we could while she was job searching and I had the impending back to school dates looming ahead.

I was happy to get something canned this summer since my garden wasn’t super prolific this year. I was able to harvest enough hot peppers to make some cowboy candy aka candied jalapenos. I don’t need to make very much as I’m the only one who really enjoys it.

I’ve also been slowly working on using the supplies that I have accumulated. It does no one any good sitting collecting dust. I used the better part of a paper pad from my stash to create gift sets of blank notecards. It’s always nice to have some gifts on hand…and bonus that they are handmade!

Mini-me suggested that we go to the MN state fair on opening day this year. I’ve rarely turn her down when she wants to go somewhere since she tends to be a bit of a homebody. Wowsers was it busy! That day set an attendance record with 138,875 people!

We couldn’t leave without getting a bucket of these! We didn’t eat them all there. Only enough to jam the lid on the bucket after using some elite tetris skills. I froze cookies in small batches to enjoy for the future. In fact, I ate the last two cookies today.

On the bus ride to the fair, Mini-me got a phone call that she got the job she’d interviewed for a couple days previous. This was amazing news! Now she needed to find a place to live in and start work in 12 days. Yikes! It was a whirlwind… She is an admissions counselor for her alma mater. So cool! The only trouble she had was trying to find someplace to live in a small town at the beginning of the academic year. Everything is scooped up! However, between her heavy travel schedule on the college fair circuit and some temporary housing, it all worked out and she got an apartment after a couple weeks.

I had fun finding some furniture for her like this amazing vintage table and chairs at a garage sale!

Her place isn’t ideal but it’ll do for now. She’s hoping to get a roommate since she has a 3 bedroom all to herself. Again…that was all that was available!

So now we are really empty nesters. It’s so strange converting your children’s rooms to another use because its even more sad walking past an empty room. The smallest bedroom has become a sewing room, craft room. And now we have a guest room as well. So strange.

Another good update was that my most recent scans show no recurrence of lymphoma! Remission is a wonderful word!

I continue to walk in the morning before school as much as I can. The sunrise over the new parking lot pavement is lovely.

Last week was only three days which was great. I travelled to see Mini-me for a bit. I’m soaking up all the moments I can since I know they are fewer and farther between. Unfortunately my breaks from K-12 school only mean a busy time for her since that’s when people want to visit the university.

We went out a couple times in the brief time I was there. This place had really awesome coffee and a darn good Reuben sandwich. Eat local.

I’ll leave you with Marvin enjoying the “new” vintage quilt on the spare bed. I brought the comforter up to Mini-me so I’d have some blankets on the airbed. :)

Today had me back to work with an early meeting. No walk before school. :(

Mini-me and I went on our “annual” girls trip last week. We really try to do one each year. This year we were able to stay at my cousin’s cabin in what is sometimes referred to as “lake country”. I grew up at this cabin…it’s a huge part of my childhood. I love being able to share it with my daughter.

The area had gotten significant rain the day before so the gravel road we took in the cabin was not a good choice. We made it but it was not a fun drive. The mud and gravel was really caked up under the van.

We had a good laugh later after the adrenaline wore off about on our Montana girls trip where we really did get stuck in the mud.

When we arrived the lake was like glass…virtually no wind. We immediately changed into our swimsuits to get as much time in the water as possible knowing that the weather wasn’t supposed to hold out for us.

We had a great time on the standup paddle boards. Neither one of us fell into the water. We left our glasses on shore just in case though and wore lifejackets.

Because of all the rain we’ve had this summer the lake is really high…as you can see we had to wade out about knee deep to get onto the dock.  As I waded into the water I noticed all the minnows swimming in the shallows just like when I was a kid. So many memories.

A campfire reheated hotdog was a perfect end to our first day.

Our second day was a rainy one. We decided to drive into town. Mini-me was interested in a used book store which happened to be on the same block as a couple antique stores. We both found some treasures.

After eating lunch at a favorite place alongside a lake, we stopped by 22 Northmen to pick up a 4 pack of my favorite summer beer.

I brought a bag of crafting supplies since we knew the weather wasn’t going to be perfect. I’ve been on a card making kick lately.

I managed to create 20 blank cards ready for sentiments. I love working with scraps and challenging myself to use what I have on hand.

The following day was very windy. Also not great to water sports so we decided to go hiking. Inspiration Peak isn’t too far from the cabin, so that was our destination.

The hike is fairly short but steep. The view was gorgeous.

Since it was still early, we checked out surrounding area map for another destination. We found a state park we’d never been to before.  We did a bit more hiking there before returning to the cabin to enjoy a relaxing afternoon.

We had a wonderful time quietly enjoying each others company. I’m so thankful my cousin let us use the cabin.

Today has boring household chores on the agenda as well as some shopping for interview clothes for Mini-me. She has a second interview on Thursday…this one is in person.

I’m not going to sugar coat it…this post is going to be all over the place. Kind of like my brain some days.

My neighbor, who is a prolific card maker, inspired me to get back at it. The first chore is cutting, scoring and folding the cardstock. Once I had a nice stack I began looking through my scraps and envelopes. An orange one caught my eye…a Shutterfly envelope. Inside I found a stack of photos perfect for cards. I know I originally ordered them for that purpose but they got set aside and therefore forgotten.

In a short time I had this pile of blank photo cards completed.

This is one of my favorite photos. I created this arrangement exclusively from my yard into a handmade pottery piece I picked up at a garage sale.

Independence day was a rainy day here so both the parade and fireworks were cancelled. The city made the decision to reschedule the fireworks until July 12th.

We are lucky enough to be able to walk a few houses down to the top of a cul-de-sac to view the show. The mosquitos were fierce but it was still a good time.

My garden is continuing to produce which makes me so happy. I grilled the yellow squash on Sunday with our meal. It was delish!

I’m also working on some coffee dyeing. It’s really hot but humid. I’m hoping the sun will overpower the humidity when it comes to drying these stacked pages. I have lots of different stencils and plastic pieces mixed in the stack to hopefully create some cool patterns. I’ll share my results at a later date.

What are you doing today?

Nothing beats summer in Minnesota if you ask me. It’s the reason we put up with the harsh winters.

I’ve been trying to get myself back on track with walking in the morning. I like to do it as early as possible but some mornings I can’t seem to get the lead out.

I’m so fortunate to have beautiful and well maintained places to walk. Just around the bend of the above photo I spotted a place where the fairies live. :)

It was so cute. I’m glad the park service let it stay there.

As I continued on my walk I got to our city center park which hosts a carnival and street dance the 3rd of July. Everyone was working hard to get things set up for the afternoon. Mini-me and I went up for a little while and hung out with our neighbors. It’s always a good time.

Yesterday Mini-me and I walked at the MN Landscape Arboretum. They have a nice 3 mile walking trail that we enjoy. There are benches of varying ages throughout the walk to rest or contemplate.

My garden is doing quite well. I’ve harvested 2 cucumbers and 2 jalapenos so far.

I’m hoping the tomatoes will begin to ripen soon.