FInancial Advisor Extraordinaire

Maybe some of you wonder what life is like at my office each day (actually probably none of you do but I'm going to tell you anyways so listen up!). Last Wednesday I had a very important meeting (i.e. person who has a lot of $$) at 3pm. My fabulous assistant Julie had spent the better part of the morning preparing the paperwork for this meeting. Around 2:40pm I reached for my water glass and clumsily dumped its entire contents on my paperwork pile. In a panic, I grabbed the top few sheets and shook them off before the water soaked further through the 8" pile. Worriedly, I walked out to Julie's desk and asked her to re-print the damaged pages. Even before I finished my sentence, I noticed the printer repair man dissecting the innards of our printer. I guess the printer had s#*t the bed and he was trying to get it up and running. I convinced him to put the machine back together with lightening speed so that Julie could re-print the pages. Exasperated, I went back to my office and collapsed in my chair. Apparently, in my absence, the chair had neatly soaked up all the water as it ran off my desk. So now, I am soaked as well. Actually, my back and behind are soaked. So here I go off to my important meeting with a crinkled proposal and a half drenched business suit. Thank goodness Jon's photography business is doing well!

Mess of dogs

What happens when you combine 3 dogs who have been confined to a small space all day and who know they are about to go for a walk with a home that's 700 square feet and a bathroom under construction? Craziness. That's my friend Moriah in the picture trying to make Billy and Stella smile for the camera. As usual, Aspen is front and center.

Duluth Deep Freeze

Early December brought cold temperatures and one of those unique moments where the lake is actually warm. I love the steam off the lake this time of year. I wonder if this ship wasn't one of the last to come in to port this year. The cold also brought lots of frost to Jon's face this past weekend. We went skiing under the lights at Lester, or more accurately, under the lack of lights. I had read a trail report indicating that several lights were out. I didn't quite understand how exciting that would be until I was flying down the hill, trying to stay between the large, dark objects on either side of me while simultaneously wiping freezing sweat from my eyes. Like my old downhill ski coach used to tell me, "Abra, if you never fall it means you're not pushing yourself hard enough." Maybe he was right...

Peruvian Duds for Felicity

Several years ago I volunteered as an English teacher in a Peruvian village. For 3 months I stayed with the most wonderful host family and we have kept in contact since I left in 2004. When I told them that my sister was expecting a baby, they insisted on making some gifts for the new arrival. About 3 months into Jessie's pregnancy they asked if it was a boy or a girl. I told them it was still unknown. They were feeling pressed for time so I suggested they make something yellow or green so that it could be appropriate for either sex. What I didn't expect was 2 complete handmade outfits! Last week the package arrived filled with the most beautiful, handmade, traditional Peruvian clothes. These people practically live hand-to-mouth but have such giving hearts! Why is it that the ones who have the least so often give the most? I suppose we can all learn from their generosity. Thank you to the Sanabria family of Cochas Grande!

First snowfall of 2007!

Hooray! Winter is off to a good start. I just wanted to share some pictures of our snowy weekend grouse hunting and skiing at the golf course in Red Wing. Both were unsuccessful but it was so much fun to play in the white stuff!

Wild game feed

Last weekend Jon cooked up a sampling of his kill from hunting season. Our wonderful friends in Duluth provided the venue and brought yummy fixings to add to the feast. Pictured on the right are grouse cooked in a mushroom cream sauce, duck breast wrapped in bacon, venison roast, and pheasant cooked with onion in the crockpot. Nice work Jon and thanks to all of our Duluth friends for joining us!

Winterer's Gathering Drama

This past weekend we headed up the shore for the annual Winterer's Gathering at the North House Folk School in Grand Marais. Better known by my father as the "hippie fest". This weekend was filled with interesting drama. But before I get into that, take a look at the first snowfall of the year on the Onion River. Beautiful.

Ok, so the drama has two parts and involves both the dogs. Friday evening Aspen tried to commit suicide...again. For those of you who don't know Aspen's history, her other suicide attempts have involved ripping her chest wide open on barbed wire and getting attacked by an angry nest of hornets; not to mention her chronic drinking problem or her attempt at blindness (conjunctivitis). This time she got more creative by drinking anti-freeze out of the toilet. This was followed by a stumbling and falling-all-over-herself act that convinced both Jon and I that she was heading for kidney failure. In reality, she was exhausted from running around on 160 acres with 2 other dogs. The emergency vet in Duluth didn't help matters when she told me that stumbling is the first sign of poisoning and that Aspen had 6 hours to live. It took Leah's cool head to point out that the "pink" anti-freeze Aspen drank was quite different from the "neon green" toxic stuff we put in our cars. At that point, Jon called our veterinarian in Hastings who confirmed that we had nothing to worry about. The "pink stuff" is actually approved by the FDA as safe. Apparently we all should be drinking it. I'll spare you any further details, but just imagine Abra thinking her dog is dying in the next 6 hours...not good.

I will worn you ahead of time, the second drama is disgusting and the weak of stomach should not read on. Sasha has long enjoyed escaping the confinement of her lease and heading into the woods for a tasty treat. Usually she comes back with a mouse, rabbit, squirrel, or other rodent. This time she, along with all the others hunters in Cook County last weekend, went for bigger and better things...deer. Sasha found a decomposing deer near the farm and filled up on it. We didn't realize this until several hours later when she vomitted in the back of Jon's van. If I had to guess, I'd say it was about 5 lbs of intestines, raw meat, bone, and hair. If that wasn't bad enough, she did this twice. I should be buying stock in whoever makes Resolve at this point.

Ah, but we love our dogs....

Cold, dark winter nights

Jon and I have been wondering how we will pass the long, dark winter that is upon us. Especially, if Red Wing remains snow-less, as it was last year. Our current solution...Scrabble. We cracked out the board last night and used every single letter except "Q", as you can see by the photo. We're hoping it's a sign of more brilliant vocabulary!

Rachel and Jace visit!

The deer hunting widows once again united over deer opener. This year we had a handsome boy join us! Jace is 8 months old and a real cutie. In our estimation, we have about 5 more years of deer openers with him before he'll be joining his Dad. Aspen and Jace enjoyed eachothers company. Aspen licked excess baby food from his face and Jace followed Aspen around the house with his new crawling skills. We even got out for a hike at Frontenac State Park. The green fleece blob in the photo is Jace sleeping in the carrier. Thank you to Rachel and Jace for a great weekend!

Relaxation

Hunting pals relax after a long day out in the woods

Duck Hunting 101

Yesterday I got a taste of what Jon has been doing 3-4 mornings a week. Here is my interpretation. The alarm goes off at 4:45am. Next I force my tired body into lots of layers including long-underwear, fleece, and various styles of camouflage. I stumble to the kitchen and get my first dose of coffee, pull on knee high rubber boots, and jump in the car. Fifteen minutes later I am knee-high in the Mississippi fighting with a 14' boat in a fierce northwest wind. I squeeze into the front of the boat next to 2 dozen duck and geese decoys, leftover feathers from not-so-lucky guests, and boxes of bullets. We bounce across the open water. I yell at Jon when the waves come overboard and spray my still half-asleep body. Jon laughs at this situation (the nerve!). Once we get to our "spot", I start unwinding the decoy cords while Jon strategically places each of them in front of our blind. We shove the boat into the weeds and throw Jon's homemade blind canopy over us. For the first time, we can relax. We position the life jackets on the floor of the boat and take a 20 minute nap together (Jon's version of romance in a duck boat). At 7am our guns are loaded. By now I have had my second dose of coffee and am feeling alert enough to hold a loaded weapon. At 7:05am Jon is cursing the hunters across the channel who are illegally shooting before 7:15am (1/2 hour before sunrise). For the next 2 hours we shoot at ducks within range as they head down the Mississippi, on their way to greener winter pastures. I miss every duck I aim at; the ducks are lucky that I am holding a gun. At one point, I unload three shells at a flock and the third shot nearly propels me overboard. Jon's camouflage canopy is the only thing that keeps me out of the Hell Diver's Club (Jon's name for folks who go swimming during the hunting season). By 9am we have had enough. I complete the above process in reverse, minus the napping on the life jackets and call it a day...all before 10am!

Felicity one week bigger

Its tough being little!

New arrival

This first entry is an important one. My sister gave birth to her first child. Felicity Grace Hudson was born on Tuesday, October 9th at 12:41pm. She is a whopping 4lb 11oz and 17" long. What a cutie! I've included a picture to make sure you all agree with me on that. Best wishes to Jessie and Dan as they embark on their first year of parenting. They'll do great!