State Softball 2007

Every year, hubby's softball team goes to the state tournament.

Hubby usually plays 3rd base.


He always manages to end up in the dirt.

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Thank goodness one of us has some athletic talent. At least our children have a chance of being coordinated. They're not going to get it from me!

Visitors

We had some visitors this summer--my aunt L and her husband J.

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It was so nice to have family come and visit!!

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Dad's Horses

My dad has two horses, Sven and Bonnie.

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Here comes Bonnie, after I called for her at the fence.

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She may look like a regular horse, but the only thing full-sized about Bonnie is her attitude.

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See, here she is next to Sven. She's a mini!

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Sven is a Norwegian fjord horse. Here he is, sizing me up. Do I pass?

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These two are buddies.

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And, not to be left out, there's Maggie, their dog.

I love when dogs reach middle age. Maggie's finally past the manic stage of puppyhood. She's a sweetheart now. She loves to be petted, and she gets full-on hugs from my nieces and nephew.

Why I Love My Garden, By Prairie Bride, Age 30

Despite our lack of rain and HOT weather, my flowers are surviving. Tough little buggers. I can't take any credit for them. I usually forget to go water them in the evenings,

and it's been weeks since it rained.

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This is why I love my garden:
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1.) All of the plants are perennials, except for the

climbing vine, God bless 'em.

Perennials rule.

They come up every year, with very little maintenance once they're established.

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2.) The previous owner, who planted the garden, had the foresight to plant flowers that bloom at different times.
I almost always have something in bloom, all summer long.

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These magenta and yellow ones are my favorites.

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I even tried to get an artsy shot with a bee hovering near one of the plants.
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But then the bee started hovering around me and my brightly colored shirt,

which is when I spastically waved my hands in the air

and said to the bee (out loud, not realizing I was within earshot of the neighbors),

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I am not a flower!!

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I'm so cool.

Sissy's house

My big sis and her hubby are building a house outside of our hometown.

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This is the back of the house, and the walkout basement.

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Kuchen

I have discovered this dessert, kuchen (pronounced "koo-gen") since living here.

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I first had it at our niece's baptism a few months ago. It was made by one of the relatives.

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Oh, what is that? I asked. That's kuchen. Duh. they replied.

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Okay, they didn't really say Duh. They're much nicer than that.

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I tried it, and it was good. It's shaped like a pie, and has a cakey crust, and a custard middle. And it sometimes has fruit in it, like the apricot version above.

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Apparently it's German.

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As I was walking through the grocery store this week, there it was:

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Grandma's Kuchen. In the freezer section.

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This is one tradition I may have to adopt as my own.

Oh, Canada

Hubby and I went to Winnipeg, Manitoba for a little mini-vacation.

It was a good trip!

The locals were really, really nice.

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We went to the Assiniboine Zoo, which was much bigger than we expected.

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We saw elk...

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...and cheetahs...

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...and camels...

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...and prairie dogs...

...and many other animals, too.

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We saw a sculpture garden...

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...and the Esplanade Riel, which is a walkway across the river, with a restaurant in the middle.

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But there was one thing we really couldn't get used to.

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Apparently, in Winnipeg, you can drive in the parking lane, unless there's a car parked there.

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We'd be driving, and then, we'd have to move over because there was a car parked there. Or the people in that lane would suddenly need to pull over.It was so strange!

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Other than that, we had a really nice time in Winnipeg.