330:365 Cranberry relish

This is my cousin Lora's recipe for cranberry relish.  I was going to make this when I was in Fargo earlier in the week and called Lora while I was on my way to the grocery store to get the ingredients that I would need.  I am such an airhead, that I got everything that I needed, except the cranberries.  So I stopped in Bismarck on my way home and picked up the cranberries to make the relish.  I'm so glad that I did, so that I could make a turkey sandwich with cranberry relish for the dressing.  Yummo!!  You can find the recipe here, on Lora's blog.  It's simple and delicious.

329:365 Clock

My day got away from me today, as I woke up at 2:00 and finally decided just to get up and go at 2:30.  Yep, it's Black Friday.  I was out the door by 3:00 am and shopping at 3:30.  I shopped until about 9:30 then headed home and unloaded my purchases, then went down for a nap.  The rest of the day was really laid back and relaxing.

328:365 Shed on the prairie

I pass this shed every time I drive home from Bismarck and every time I think one day I will have to stop and get a photo.  Well, today was the day.  I was on my way home from Bismarck as the sun was coming up and the colors were perfect, so I had to stop.  And no, I did not spend the night in Bismarck.  I went down early to get some early bird specials and to get the paper for my Black Friday shopping.  The papers in Wilton did not have about half the ads that they should have, so I drove to Bismarck to get a "real" paper. Hahahaha, I know, I'm a fool, but Black Friday is the only day that I actually enjoy shopping and I'm usually done by 8:00 in the morning.  So there is about a three hour window all year that I can say I had fun spending my money.

327:365 Flintstone car

My kids had a car like this when they were little and it was well used.  This car started out with Brandy's kids and has been passed down to Payton.  He uses it every time that I am here.  This one is well loved and well used also.

326:365 Holiday Parade

Julie, Lilly and Gabriel met Payton and I to go to the Holiday Parade in Fargo.  There were lots of fire trucks and police cars as well as lots of nice floats.  They threw out candy too.  It was a beautiful night, as it had been in the 40's during the day and the wind was not blowing.  We had lots of fun.

325:365 Playing on the floor

Derek and Payton playing on the floor.  Derek had new carpet installed last week, so it is a lot easier and more fun to get down on the floor to play and roll around.

324:365 Sparrow

I saw this sparrow sitting on the shopping cart as I was backing out of my space at the store today.  He's a cute little bugger, isn't he?



323:365 Fake Flower

Yep, this flower is fake alright.  I'm just playing around with some lighting and different effects.  I like it.

322:365 Turkey Veggie Tray

Here's another item that I found on Pinterest.  Did I mention yet that I am obsessed?  I am threatening everyone that this is going to be my Thanksgiving dinner.  I had to practice today.

321:365 Rolo Pretzels

Have you seen pinterest?  I have to admit that I am obsessed.  You can pin anything that interests you onto your boards for future reference.  I have decided that I need to also be making some of these projects, and not just pinning them though. =D  This is actually a combination of two different projects that I had seen, and they were yummy.  

320:365 New Toy

Jeff doesn't use the computer, but someone told him about this thing that you could just swipe your finger across to get on the internet and find information and he was interested.  Well, Brandy found a used iPad and I said yes right away.  Since then, I have not been home to teach Jeff how to use it and of course I've had it with me anyway. Maybe next week I'll be able to show him how it works.

319:365 First Snow

We had our first real snow today.  I'm sure that it will melt, but it was cold enough to stick around for a while.  I'm not sure that I'm ready for this yet.

318:365 ND Skies

I'm home again, in Wilton.  I went for a walk this evening and enjoyed the brisk, fresh air and the ND skies.

317:365 Another sunset in Mesa

Larry, Gina and I went out to dinner tonight, then went for a drive afterwards.  Arizona has some of the most beautiful sunsets!

316:365 Karlyn & JoDee

My sisters.  They're the best. 

315:365 Happy 70th Mom - 11-11-11

Mom said that she didn't want any more surprises, but we were able to pull off the surprise party that we had planned for her.  Mom lives in a very nice little area, with lots of good friends, and Donna was so helpful in pulling this off.  We met for cake and ice cream and had a good time.

314:365 SURPRISE!!

It's my mom's 70th birthday this year and my sisters and I went to Yuma to surprise her.  JoDee and I had walked in on her card party earlier in the day and needless to say, she was absolutely shocked.  There was not a dry eye in the house.  Here, we are at a restaurant and Karlyn walked up and surprised her again.  It was fun.  I wasn't sure that we would be able to pull this off, but I think by the look on her face it was genuine surprise.  Yay for us!  As we were leaving the restaurant, mom told me no more surprises, that she couldn't handle it.  I told her not to worry, none of the grandkids were going to show up, it was just the three of us.

313:365 Bee

JoDee had an appointment this afternoon, so I went for a walk and passed this bush that was full of bees.  I went home and got Gary, then we had our own mini photoshoot with the bees.  It was getting late in the day and I didn't have my camera settings just right, but that's how we learn, right??

312:365 Gina & Dana

Gina, Dana, JoDee and I all met for lunch today.  It's so nice to get to spend time with family!!

311:365 Sunset in Mesa

I love sunsets!  This was captured from Gina and Larry's back yard, overlooking the golf course. 

310:365 Man Camp, Alexander, ND

Taken from the road while traveling 65 mph (Jeff was driving though).  This is just one of many man camps that have been erected throughout the oil region in northwest ND. 

309:365 The game within the game

Jeff and I went up to Cartwright for the weekend.  The Fairview Warriors football team was playing in a playoff game and we went to town for the afternoon to watch the game.  Jeffrey doesn't watch the game, instead he joins the other boys to have a game of their own.  Notice the size of the other boys, yet Jeffrey gets right in there with them to enjoy the game.

308:365 X marks the moon

The clouds had broken up a bit by the time that we pulled over, but they made a nice X to mark the moon.  This was taken at Brandy's house in Cartwright.

307:365 Mountain Ash Tree

I had to google this tree and I hope that I got it right.  It's called a Mountain Ash Tree and has red berries during the summer that turn to a bright orange in the fall.  I've always loved these trees.  Derek says that they make a real mess in the yard in the fall though.

306:365 Fall Leaves

This is the tree in Derek's front yard.  I'll say it again, we are having a really beautiful fall here in the Midwest.

305:365 Tree

This tree caught my attention when I was taking Payton to daycare.  I had to pull over to get a photo.

304:365 Halloween

Payton was a little pirate for Halloween.  He didn't want to wear the costume, but we did get him to put on the pants and the hat.  There was a really cute little jacket, but he wouldn't wear it.  He had fun though, once he figured out what it was all about.

303:365 Jeff

Jeff after a hunt.  He must not have been successful on this trip.  I don't see any birds.

302:365 Fall Leaf

We have had such a beautiful fall this year.  I am loving all the colors!!

301:365 Papers

I'm trying to do a little bit of decorating in my house and bought these papers to cover up some wood letters to hang up with some photos.  They turned out very nice and are up on the wall.  Now I need to get some photos for the frames and I will be in business.

300:365 Daily Walk

This is Jeff out for his daily walk. He has both of the dogs with him, but they are off investigating something.  I love all the fall colors.

299:365 Early Halloween =D

We had early trick-or-treaters here to visit tonight.  The good witch of the north, a little lion, a prairie girl, Dorothy and a zebra princess were here.  Aren't they all just too cute?!?  Good thing that I knew ahead of time that they were going to be here, so I made sure to have some candy for them.

298:365 Bracelet

This is a bracelet that I've made.  It's made with pearl beads, wrapped around a leather cord with a vintage button. 

297:365 Ukranian Eggs

These are what we call Ukranian Eggs.  I know that there is another name for them, but for the life of me I can not come up with it right now.  A couple of them were gifts from my grandmother, and a couple were given to me when she passed.  I had not noticed the crack in this egg until I saw it in the photograph. 

296:365 Cousins

This is Macy, Eva and Jeffrey.  Kristy and her family are here visiting and Brandy came home for the weekend to visit.  It's fun to see the kids play together and get to know each other.