Ok - we're back...it takes us so long to get unpacked and organized after vacation. Mostly I suppose, because we don't want to be finished with vacation. So over the weekend I did this:
Along with other miscellaneous unfinished projects. I got ideas for so many NEW projects while I was up in the beautiful northwoods, that I simply need to get going on the scraps and gifts, and quilts and house decor...

Here are a few pics from our trip:


golfing, mining, biking, ferries, camping, trees, rocks...what else can you ask for?

Look at what I did! Laminate samples make great cards for holding embroidery thread on vacation. We are getting ready to go camping/golfing/biking/hiking/touring the north woods in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Back next week with new pictures!

9.20.08

I was at the first annual Homes by Architects tour all weekend. My boss's house was part of it and since I helped design and draw it up when they remodeled, I was brought in as an expert. Everyone should work retail or as a waitress at some point in their lives, as I draw on these two experiences almost everyday. The quick thinking and fast talking, getting people you don't know to like you instantly, smiling, scheduling, running, cleaning...all things that I learned at my first jobs as sales person and waitress. Thank you Grand Marais yet again.

Tubes. Field trip to the steel yards today at work. I love raw materials. Raw steel has such a great color, wood a great touch, raw aluminum is so soft...

Another note of the day: (sort of related to materials)
the bridge is open!

Today is our 1 year anniversary. I kept thinking back on the day - its strange to remember exactly what I was doing at a specific time during the day one year ago. Of course the year, the day, life is always a blur, but I like the idea of snapshots of this life stuck in the head forever.

I'm a designer who appreciates clean lines and modern architecture. I am convinced that a new building should reflect the times we live in and not imitate the classical stylings of years past. Yet, in my heart, I'm a collector of the years past. Pieces of history call out to me, especially if they are personal. Jars from my grandmas basement, potato baskets from the garden, door plates from the old farm find a place in my heart and my home. My latest shopping trip with my sister highlighted this trait in both of us. We are unable to find beautiful objects in bins at IKEA or Target. Or at least, we can admire them, but if there is no history or memory of the collecting or making of an object, it really isn't perfect for us. So we collect and we make and we sew...adding to the precious treasures over many years. Its genetic...my grandma just gave up many treasures from many years...hopefully she still has the memories and now she has shared them with us.

Snowmobiles, quilting and barges? These are not really related, except to my weekend. On Sat. morning, my brother-in-law dropped the top package off at our house at 7:40 am. (the package wasn't a suprise, the timing was a little one...Brandon and I aren't the biggest morning people) We live in urban america and there is no snow on the ground, so it looked a bit funny.

The middle picture is my new project - Grandma's birthday/house warming gift (Carol Ann, don't tell her...unless she is reading my blog, then Happy Birthday Grandma!) She just sold all of her stuff, so she needs a bitty on the wall.

And I saw a barge today. I've never seen one in the journeys across the river. This one was really long and fast! I didn't know they were so speedy...always wonder where they are going - not to the ocean, becuase it was headed up the river. Bemidji maybe?

Our household turned into a den of political zelots the past two weeks...first the DNC in denver was just captivating, then John McCain pulled a rabbit out of his hat and it was pink, so we had to find out everything we could about this Tina Fey look alike, then the RNC came to our town. Along with Nader and Ron Paul. So now that the dust is settleing from the speaches and the protests and the streets are getting a good cleaning up after the 50,000+ visitors...I have to ask myself what the next 2 months will mean. What will the shakedown be and when will the dust really settle? +After 2 years of campagning, will the winner/loser of this marathon just start campagning all over again?

The first day of school was yesterday, but it didn't seem like a first day...too hot. Today however, was perfect back to school weather. I loved the first day of school. New books, pencils and trapper keepers, clothes, shoes, backpacks...
Back-to-school shopping was always an event.
2-1/2 hour trip to Duluth...go to the mall...get clothes...I don't like the clothes...too bad-you have today to get clothes...get clothes...go to target...get the list of stuff...open everything in the car...go home (2-1/2 hours)...get everything out of the car...show dad...done.

09.02.08

THE RNC IS IN TOWN!! Republicans wandering the streets, protesters holding signs, anarchists throwing bodily fluids, tour buses, delegates, black town cars, concerts and events...oh the fun of it all. I got told I look like Sarah Palin today in the grocery store by a lady who seemed a little tippy and was following me around. I do like her glasses...

First day of September - the lakes are really cold! Not what I was expecting after a bike ride to the beach in hot, windy weather, but it felt good. I should have realized on the way when I saw fallen leaves. This means FALL IS COMING!!! I love fall so much...can't wait to see it.

8.31.08

We went for a short bike ride on Sunday and ran into these rock sculptures - shiny rocks.

8.29.08

Labor Day weekend-Friday night we went for a walk to check out Kelly's new digs and get some movies. Its move-in weekend at the U, so we passed many U-hauls, frat boys and broken couches on the curb. Saw the new bridge too. Its pretty amazing that 1 year after the bridge fell, there is a new bridge...even more amazing that they've only been constructing for 9 months. I can't get projects done in 9 months!