A Couple of Pictures of the Schells' Brewery

We enjoyed going through the gift shop at the Schells Brewery which was decorated for Christmas....very festive. They were giving tours and offering a taste of beer also. We did enjoy our day in New Ulm but were a little disappointed in the Holiday Inn and Otto's Restaurant. The rooms are not as nice as we remembered at the hotel and the meat was a little tough. The whole German atmosphere was still nice but everything else was not up to par.

A Little German Town Called New Ulm

Just wanted to let you know that we are in New Ulm tonight. My uncle passed away and his funeral is tomorrow at springfield so we decided to drive down to New Ulm and stay overnight and go on to the funeral tomorrow. He was a wonderful uncle and lived a very long life....into his 90's. His wife passed away 6 years ago so he has been in a nursing home since then. We will head up north after the funeral.

Tonight Bill and I will eat at Otto's Restaurant at the Holiday Inn and partake in some good German food and wine. I will not eat hassenpheffer (not sure of the spelling) which is rabbit. No way!

We even went over to the Schell's Brewery this afternoon and also checked out the stores on main street. I'll be downloading some pictures another day that I took today.

I hope everyone had a very nice Thanksgiving. We sure did!

Grateful & Thankful

On this Thanksgiving day I find myself giving thanks for my good friends and how grateful I am to have met them and spent some crazy fun time together on God's green earth.

We will be going "over the river and through the woods" not to Grandmother's house but to Elk River to share our meal with Renee and family. I'm bringing the grandkids favorites...baked corn and green bean casserole. Will pop them in the oven soon. Have a special day with family and friends!

The Monday Before Thanksgiving

I'm thankful for many things, one of which is my good health. I will have to watch what I eat this Thanksgiving though and try and get in a walk after the meal.

When I think back on my childhood, I can smell Mom's fresh dinner rolls baking and also the baked corn. She went to so much work to make a wonderful meal and at that time I didn't appreciate all she did. I really do now. She didn't have a dishwasher either so it made things a little harder for her. We always saved the wishbone and fought over who got to pull it apart and make a wish. She made the best pumpkin pie...it wasn't real spicy like many of the pumpkin pies I've eaten lately. Well, I'm just reminiscing about Thanksgivings Past. Hope you all have a great one!

A New Home For The Rhino

While Diane and I were out looking at a craft show the other day, I found a lonely little rhino that I just knew would love a new home...and I knew just the home he could go to. So, I picked him up and next time I see Anne, he will go home with her. He is a cute little guy but does lean a little to the right although he stands up just fine.

Diane and I found many great things at the craft sale (too many I'm afraid) and it was a fun day. Christmas is coming you know. I decided to put up my Charlie Brown Christmas tree today before the Vikings game. It's a pitiful little tree, but I still love it. I just noticed it also leans a little - only to the left. :-)

Beautiful Saturday

What a gorgeous day it is today...thank you, Lord! I'm looking forward to visiting with Gerri and Marcie later today. We will pick up some dessert before heading over there. Something chocolate I think.

Diane and I are thinking of going to the movie, "Couples Retreat" first. It's supposed to be pretty funny and I like Vince Vaughan so why not go.

Just finished vacuuming...which I love doing...not. That vacuum weighs a ton and I'm always stepping on the cord. I need a lightweight vacuum in my old age. Anybody have any suggestions?

I hope everyone else is enjoying this lovely day.

Christmas Came Early to Cottage Grove

Diane and I went over to Kathy & Jim's today to get our hair done by Jen and to visit with all of them. We were happy to see the house beautifully decorated for Christmas. Here is a tiny video of our day.

Birds Aplenty in North Dakota

Here is a picture that Bill sent me yesterday from North Dakota. He is up there hunting birds. Yesterday he got his buck so he is happy. I'm glad he is up there having fun doing what he likes to do after all the stress he has gone through in the last few months. It makes me feel good too.

A Gathering Of The Pearls

I was invited to join a gathering of "The Pearls" today (sorry that Mitzi was missing) and thanks to Joan for showing us a lovely spot to gather - Como Park. These girls have been friends since living together in Minneapolis and Hawaii many years ago. Diane and I drove over to the pavilion to meet Lynn and Shirley for a cup of coffee before walking around Como Lake. We had our eyes out for Joan but have since learned that she was there much earlier than us...at sunrise. We then went through the Conservatory to see the plants and flowers (which really had bloomed since we were there with JB) and then on to the Zoo where the animals were inside and we could really see them up close. I was able to get a few close ups of the monkeys, apes (one who was really relaxed and sleeping spread-eagled) and also the orangutans. Here is a tiny movie of our visit to Como Park. If you can't view this in your email....click on the Sassy Sissy's Blog link at the bottom of the email and you will go directly to my blog and should be able to view the video there.

Another Nice Fall Day

This picture was taken by Bill while he was out hunting up by Lostwood in North Dakota. I just love this tree....it has so much character. All by itself out on the prairie...lonely little tree.

Our Trip Down to Mayo Clinic

As many of my blog buddies know, Bill and I went to Mayo Clinic this week to find out about Bill's prostate Cancer. We were quite apprehensive about the outcome but were very relieved to hear that his cancer cells had shrunk thanks to the hormone shot and he has many options open to him in regard to treatment. He has decided to do "active surveillance" where he will have his PSA tested 4 times a year to see if the cancer starts growing again. If it does, at that time he will decide what course he wants to take...removal or radiation. He is truly blessed to receive this news and knows it. To keep from thinking about what he was going through during all his tests, I took my trusty camera along and took a few pictures for a tiny movie. Mayo Clinic is the place to go for your health needs....there are approximately 1,000 "new" patients a day and it runs like clockwork. I saw a rhino on the wall and thought of you, Anne so had to take a picture of it....very colorful.

Hi From Mayo Clinic

Hi Blog Buddies,

I'm sitting in the waiting room while Bill is in having an ultrasound. Things really do run smoothly down here. He has already had a couple of other tests this morning. Will be glad to find out what the doctor says on Friday when we talk to him.

Sad to hear about my niece having depression again but am glad she is in the hospital getting good care. Wish I was closer to visit her.

Take care,
Jane

Dinner with Family

Last night we were able to get together for dinner with our daughter and her family. It happens few and far between so we were happy to see them (Nikki was at Marquette so will have to wait to see her at Thanksgiving).

We had meetings to go to today and errands to run so it has been a busy day. We leave early tomorrow for Bill's appointment at Mayo. He will be relieved when that is over with.

A Walk Through the Conservatory - Feeling Groovy

Here is the last of my mini-series from our weekend with JB. What a fun time we had looking at the beautiful flowers. Enjoy! If you aren't able to open the video within the email alert, click on Sassy Sissy's Blog link at the bottom of the email and it will take you to my blog....you should be able to see it there.

The Very Hyper Sloth

We came upon the Sloth who is normally doing what he is named for....nothing. Today he was scratching and scratching and scratching. Very strange indeed.

Our Trip to the Jungle....umm, I mean the Zoo

After walking around Como Lake, we made our way to Como Zoo where there were many exotic creatures....see for yourself.

A Visit to JB's & A Walk Around Como Park

What a fun time we had last night at JB's visiting with friends I hadn't seen in a long time and then walking around Como Lake this morning. It was a beautiful day. Thanks, JB!!

Back to the Old Computer

Well, yesterday I decided to try and use my desktop computer again. I brought it into a computer fixer-upper company up nort' instead of Worst Buy. They charge considerably less and seem to have fixed it. It was quite fun trying to remember where to plug the cords in again even if they are color coded (there were a couple that weren't). The date and time did not automatically reset though so had to go in and change that...it's been 3 months since I used it. Maybe that had something to do with why I didn't get an email of JB's last blog entry and the date was goofy on it when I went in to read it. Who knows??

I watched Project Runway last night and saw our local boy get booted off...too bad cause I liked him. Poor kid was heartbroken.

Somewhere Over The Rainbow - All About Me

While cleaning today I came across some very old pictures and so the tiny movie is me being self-indulgent....it's all about me.

Cleaning Day

Well, it is cleaning day today and I'm not looking forward to it. It has to be done though. I'd rather be having coffee with friends. Also, going to the store to buy ingredients for chili. Love chili....and it loves me and tends to stick around on my thighs! Oh well, at this age everything is sticking around...my metabolism rate must be zero. That's what exercise is for. :-(

Hope everyone else is having a good Wednesday. Here is a picture I saw on the internet and hope you like it too...so cute.

Latest Picture of Poker Queens & Video

Just a little video of our latest night of Poker Queens.