May 25 Birthday Bash

I've started a new blog (click here, or first link on the right) for Grandma Wood's extended family to keep in contact about what's happening with the reunion/birthday party next May. I'm hoping you'll help me keep it useful, so please let me know either what you'd like to see on it, or any changes I can make to it.

rug part II

OK, as promised here are the three rug swatches on my floor. I took these at 4:30 today with some sun shining in. You probably can't tell too much from these, but those of you who haven't seen my furniture yet, might get some idea of what I've been talking about. What do you think?

How to tell if you're mom's favorite

A friend at work sent this to me. I think we all know who's who...

Rug

I think I may have found a rug I like, but need some opinions. I have a "welcome to the neighborhood" coupon from Pottery Barn and ordered 3 swatches. 2 of them came yesterday, and it looks like the third will come tomorrow. Once I get all three, I'll take pictures of them on the floor so you can get a sense of what they look like in my living room, but I'm leaning towards the "leaf" pattern (click here to see the pottery barn description/more pictures). It's the dark brown one, and at least in yesterday's end of the day light, it made the chairs in my living room look more brown and less green, and stood out nicely against all the colors in the floor. The "fern chenille" swatch that came, was nice, but the green border kind of blends into the floor color, making both of them look a bit washed out, but it does go nicely with the green of the chairs. I'm including pictures of all three so you can see what I'm looking at. I'm also open for other suggestions. Thanks!

"leaf" wool

"fern" chenille

"jarrett" wool

Honesdale PA

OK, I just think this is the funniest thing. Don't the Williamsons live very close to the Schrute Farms B&B? See the trip advisor comments here. Has anyone been to the "number one beet-related agrotourism destination in Northeastern Pennsylvania" I'd love to hear of your experience.

Happy Birthday Dad

Yesterday was Dad's birthday, and to celebrate he and Mom started a blog. See "Olympic View" under my links on the right. I appreciate my dad more than I can say. He's always been a constant in a sometimes topsy-turvy world. I've always known that he is right there for any questions I have on anything from what to do when I flush a sock to what to do when I'm questioning the role of baptism in the modern church. (I worked hard to get a sprinkling/dunking/immersion joke in there, but nothing came. Feel free to leave your efforts in the comments) We all know he has great people skills and truly thrives on being around people, both old friends and new acquaintences. It's a gift that was not passed down to me, but I have been able to learn from him how to approach people and situations with an open heart and an open mind. I can not remember a time that Dad has spoken a judgemental word against anyone. Something very hard to do in a family like ours where most of us drop sarcastic remarks like leaves in fall. I know we sometimes joke that he "doesn't get it", but as I've gotten older, I've realized that it's a good thing not to "get" some of the biting remarks that have come out of my mouth, and an even better thing not to try to one-up those remarks for the sake of a laugh.

I also really appreciate Dad's technical skills, from carpenter to electrician, painting, field work, to dry walling, to car repair, he does it all. His artistic take on Christmas lights have become the stuff of legend in our family. I took this shot last year when I helped Dad put up the lights on the big evergreen trees outside the house. I think it captures the feelings of excitement and joy he feels, and the chaos and slight trepidation I was feeling too.

OK, I've blabbered on too long. I just wanted to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!! Thanks for all you do every day.

kids

Just some pictures of the kids that TC took this summer. Thought you might like to see some. I see I made JAC look a bit jaundiced. He's not really quite that color.

Blustery Day

P.S. I have a picture to add, but for whatever reason the site isn't letting me add pictures right now. I'll try again later.

P.P.S.Can a post script (or post post script) come at the beginning of an entry, if I really typed it in after writing everything else, i.e. post my scripting? I guess it depends on if script means writing or the letter. Probably the letter, any of you who've taken latin who can help me out here?

U.P.S. (ultimate post script) It's letting me add pictures now, but still wondering about the whole positioning of P.S., so I'll leave these in there.

I picked a dreadful day to walk to work today. It's a cold, rainy, terribly windy day. I stepped out onto my street and it wasn't really raining, but by the time I got to the school yard (1/2 a block away) it was. I had my umbrella with me, but it was actually more dangerous to have it up as the wind kept whipping it all over the place, I was sure it was going to smack me in the face as I tried to use it as a shield in front of me.

Anyway, it made me think about the long Minnesota winter ahead of me and the fun of May in Montana to come. Hope you all got Helen's e-mail. I'll put a link to the Duvall Inn here

http://www.lewistown.net/~duvalinn/

The price sounds right, and it would be nice to do something in Lewistown. I'm sorry I've fallen down on my task of organizing things. I'm really looking forward to spending time in Montana with Grandma and all the rest of you who I haven't seen for too long a time.

Can any of you Montanists tell me if there will still be snow in the Judith Mountains in May? I think it would add nicely to the games of Scum I have planned. Lester, you thought holding an ice cube in your hand was bad, just wait till May... (Although I have to admit, it really can't get much worse than making Nettie drink the results, or was it Erma or maybe even Aunt BJ, I can't remember). Although maybe a sloppy, sloshy, muddy mountain holds as many possibilities.

Anyway, feel free to comment here if you have any opinions about the Duvall Inn, Lewistown, or Scum.

Also NB has an interesting challenge on his site (3Cs under "links" on my page). I'm looking forward to seeing all the results we come up with.

Big News

Natey Boy and Frankie have joined the blogging world. I've put a link to their site (3 Cs) on the right. I think you'll all be interested in their first post.

Big Girl Bed

I've been wanting a real bed for a long time, so on the trip to IKEA on Tuesday, I picked up a queen size bed just for me. Dad and I have been painting this week, and just got the second coat on this morning. We put the bed together this afternoon, and here's how my room looks now. No decorations yet, but I love the color and the size. (the brown is actually a bit darker/deeper than the picture shows) I have plenty of room for any visitors. I'd love to see you soon.

Red Wing - Frontenac

We took a trip to Red Wing and Frontenac State Park yesterday. A beautiful, but cold fall day. Here are some quick shots I took.

Mom's favorite thing at the bakery

Red Wing had a couple of shoes, so we had to pose

The family at Frontenac. JAC was sleeping, otherwise he would be there too.

Dad and JAC