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    T Tuesday: the last day and then some edition

    At my school the last day is grade level field trips. I went with 7th grade to Nickelodeon Universe at Mall of America. Nothing like setting 6 bus loads of kids free at the mall (and that was just from our school).

    We walked in under this beautiful and interactive art installation.

    There was a rope attached with a sign that read “Pull rope to help her fly“.  The kids had fun helping her flap her wings. Here’s a little news clip about it if you’d like to see more including a video of it in motion.

    I went on 3 rides during our time at the mall. The first was the worst…hard on the body…very jerky, spinny and not for the feint of heart. The second was also pretty scary but not so hard on the body.

    All those teal twists and turns made me scream a few times much the the glee of the students.

    This was the view from the Ferris wheel…nice and slow with a great view of the park.

    Over the weekend I did some outdoor sprucing up. I stitched up some new buntings for my gardens…

    FYI…My glass of water is just out of frame on the step in adherence with T stands for Tuesday.

    And refreshed some metal garden art…

    I used several cans of spray paint to brighten up the flower. I’m not sure I love it but it’s so much better than before!

    This little sign really needed help and a 3D element. I had two of these metal flowers. They have a metal pin out from the back. I used a tie tack back and a washer to hold it on the sign. IT hangs from a shepherds hook along the front walk.

    Today I took Mini-me to take her drivers test…and she passed!! Then I sent her to Target on an errand.

    Woot! She did great. She is so happy…so am I! Now she can drive herself to work and school and volleyball and well you get the picture…

    Tuesday morning we are getting a new roof put on the house. I know…super exciting. I’ve got all kinds of busy work to do in the house while the nail guns are hammering.

    What are you doing today?
  • Around home - Art - Blog - Crafts - Creativity - Outdoors

    T Tuesday: washi confession edition

    Last week I learned that having a washi obsession isn’t exactly front page news…and that it might be fun to share our collections.  Ok Eileen…you ready to share too?! 

    Mini-me organized the tapes for me. I love how they look but have no patience to make it happen. Lucky for me she loves to both craft and organize. My paint drawer often gets a makeover as well. 🙂

    This set of blue tapes I love!! A couple of them look like sun prints and one like shibori.

    My black tapes get used a lot. They give that pop on a page or card that just helps me say “DONE”.

    I love this bin as well. Bright yellows, orange. pink and red.

    The polka dots in this bin have gotten a lot of use. I love polka dots! Did you notice the tape with the coffee cup and beans? I’m sure you’ll see that one again in a salute to T stands for Tuesday.

    This last bin is random. Ones that didn’t physically fit or were just too colorful to categorize.

    I guess it wasn’t quite as shameful as I thought. Mini-me likes to use washi in her smash book and also in her notes for school. I use it pretty much anywhere. If fact I’m putting together a new journal. More of a junk journal/smash book type idea. I plan to do more writing on a personal level. I’m not sure how much of it I will share here after I start using it to journal. 

    I’m using random papers from my stash but keeping them in a Fall color scheme. I’m all about Fall right now. It is my favorite season.

    I survived my first week of school. I had very tired feet a couple of days but have since toughened up. As expected I was able to accomplish way more while working than I ever thought I could.  Like starting the above journal. Learning at least 60 kids names and faces in 4 days. Paint and reupholster a vanity bench for Mini-me. Paint 2 shelves and candelabra….also Mini-me(I’ll have to share those projects later). Work 2.5 hours of concessions at a volleyball game after working all day.

    Oh yeah and pull up my gardens.

    after collecting my last harvest of the season.

    Welp…now I’m tired…after recalling all those things.

    What are you doing today?

  • Around home - Blog - Kitchen - Outdoors

    T Tuesday: outdoor goodness edition

    The summer is flying by. I’m so thankful to be enjoying some of it outdoors. My garden is thriving with the abundant rain, heat and humidity.

    This is the first year I’ve had any luck with cucumbers…they are nearly taking over the garden!!  So far I’ve picked only two. I’m hoping there will be many more for all the space the vines are taking up. My green beans are producing like crazy. Unfortunately I bought the wrong seeds. These are the ones with a bit of a texture on the bean..sort of like a peach. Blech….we like to eat our green beans raw from the garden. The texture just doesn’t work for me. I’ll be making these into canned spicy beans.

    My yellow pear tomatoes are big but not producing much. Makes me kind of sad. Hopefully they are just a little slow this year.

    We have been getting our weekly CSA box in addition to our garden. We are really enjoying this again this year. So many fresh veggies. I’ve even done a bit of juicing. Trying to use the veggies in a different way. 

    This was beet, carrot, apple and ginger. It was SO GOOD!!!!!!

    And pretty too! Speaking of pretty…did you spy my freshly stained deck rails? They were so bad…basically down to raw wood. It was a couple labor intensive mornings. I’d have to stop each day when the temp climbed over 90°F.

    The great outdoors has so much to offer us. I’ve heard it said and couldn’t agree more that Minnesotans are all about spending as much time outside as possible. We endure extremes in temperature and several different kinds of weather in one day isn’t uncommon. 

    As you can see by my crazy tan lines…I spend a bit of time walking in my sandals. LOL  Marvin even gets to occasionally visits to the great outdoors under close supervision. And yes, he really is that big…no trick of the lens. FYI—I wear a size US 9 (40 EU).

    Tuesday holds a visit to my friend in her “new” house. I’m super excited to see it and her!!

    What are you doing today?