Snowshoeing at Kruger

There is a beautiful state forest in the bluffs outside of Wabasha called Kruger. My parents, Jon, and I decided to visit and do some snowshoeing. I have really grown to love the bluffs in Southeast Minnesota. We hiked to an overlook with a great view of the Zumbro River valley. As we were hiking I started thinking that after more than 2 years I can finally say that I feel as "at home" here in SE MN as I did back in Duluth. It's a nice feeling...

Christmas Day!

Nothing celebrates Christmas like ice skating...


Dylan and Gretchen












Jon and I will be heading to Vancouver in 2010.

Yahoo!

Jon and I made it out for our first ski of the year today at the Mississippi National Ski Trails. This is a great little trail system in the City of Red Wing. The trail weaves its way through the bluffs along the Mississippi River. In summer its home to hikers and mountain bikers. In the winter it's used by x-country skiers and snowshoers. The tracks were windswept, the temperature was -8 degrees, the windchill was -30, but we had a blast. We stopped 3 times to thaw out poor little Aspen's feet...her new booties are already on order. I would have taken some pictures but the camera froze. Hooray for winter!

Wild Game Feed 2008

Yesterday we had the 2nd annual wild game feed with some friends in Duluth, MN. Overall its safe to call it a success. Jon and Jere were the master chefs. Leah was the interior decorator/cleaner. I was the assistant to all three. The menu included comprehensively stuffed squash, potato & porcini with mushrooms, orange grouse, red wine marinaded duck breasts, croc pot pheasant, grouse kiev, jalapeno pepper and cheese stuffed duck breasts, and winter salad. We washed it down with brownies and ice cream. We would have sampled roasted pheasant but it fell on the floor right before it was time to serve it...whoops. I know I've said this a thousand times but our Duluth friends are so great. Thanks for another good time. Next year we'll hope for some goose and venison to add to the spread.


Jon, Bob, Leah and Sasha - notice she's licking her lips



Some of the folks who joined us - Leah had such a beautiful centerpiece!

November

November has been one gloomy month! I feel like we haven't seen the sun more than a few minutes since Halloween. So sad! However, we have managed to have some adventures. Check on the pics.


Jon turned 32 on Halloween. Here is the birthday boy with my great-great grandfather's pipes



Jon's birthday party at King's Bar in Miesville



The fabulous sushi restaurant where we dined on Beth's 30th birthday party. Notice our sexy prom dresses from days past. Beth and I have been friends since the 7th grade. She is the one in the bright red dress.



The sushi boat



Teaching Felicity about the stock market

Laziness

Hooray for Leah and Jere! They made the trip to the Bluff country to hang out with us this weekend. We spent at least 75% of the time sitting in the living room, alternating between beer and coffee, solving all the worlds problems. The other 25% of the time we spent going for a hike in Frontenac State Park, extreme bowling at Treasure Island casino, and planning a trip to the Porcupine Mountains this winter. Three cheers for winter!

Summers really over

Harvesting my brussels sprouts signaled the end of the garden. Aspen has now turned the garden into her playground. She is happily digging holes all over. I figure that's less tilling for me in the spring. This year was my first year trying a vegetable garden and I was pretty happy with the results. Red potatoes, lettuce, tomatoes, zucchini, brussel sprouts, and strawberries worked beautifully. The spinach and green beans never really made it past the infancy stage. The onions were overtaken by the tomatoes - I'll have to leave more room next year. And broccoli...what a frustrating vegetable! Timing the harvest was so difficult. I suppose I can declare the first year a success. Next year will be even better!

Sunset in the Swamp

I know that many of my blog entries this time of year involve a firearm. This could give you the impression that I am a hunter. The truth is I am not a member of the NRA, nor am I a very good shot. However, I married a hunter. And not just an average hunter...I married Jon Loye. This is a man who spent most of last summer designing and building the blind you see in the pictures. While average hunters were paging through the Cabela's catalog to pick out a blind; Jon was out in the swamp cutting grass, dragging it home, drying it on our deck, and assembling it into a blind. The average hunter was buying the latest mechanical duck decoys; Jon was spending hours practicing and perfecting his duck call. He is a true hunter and in my opinion, a dying breed. He believes that a good hunter is a conservationist and an environmentalist. He believes the animals should have a fair chance. He hunts on foot and in canoe, rather than on ATVs. He follows the law and curses the hunters who are shooting 5 minutes after sundown. He's a true sportsmen who's taught me everything I know about the sport.

The 3rd generation...we start 'em young at Edward Jones!

Coming up on Dancing With The Stars

Grouse hunting comes to an end

As you can see from the Hunting Tally on the right, Jon and I had a pretty good grouse season. Nothing can beat a walk in the woods with your sweetheart, the best grouse dog around, and the changing leaves. Grouse hunting has become a great way for us to enjoy the Fall together. Thankfully, Jon still takes me along even though I miss most of the birds and have a way of getting overly excited when we jump a bird. Here are some pictures of the weekend up at Jon's cabin near Grand Rapids, Minnesota.

Girl's Weekend 2008

The Hovgaard/Hudson women continued the tradition of girl time while the men in our lives duck hunted. This year we had a new addition to the party - Felicity Grace. She made the weekend so interesting! My back was sore from walking her all over the place. You parents out there might remember the stage where crawling is boring but walking while holding the fingers of some poor bent over adult is lots of fun. We visited the pumpkin patch and the mall. We even successfully had dinner at a restaurant with Felicity. Most of all we enjoyed each-others company and reconnected as family and friends. I look forward to next year.

Inner thoughts

Its been awhile since I've blogged. It seems that there has been a lot going on yet I haven't been in the mood to write. The stock market has been interesting of late. My clients are (rightfully) nervous and the conversations I'm having with them can be emotionally draining. Still, it's in times like these that my advice is so valuable to them and I know that in the long-run all of this will make me a better financial advisor and probably a stronger person as well. Another thing I've been struggling with is an irregular heartbeat that I've had for quite awhile but suddenly it has decided to rear its ugly head on a more regular basis. I'm finally going to be able to see the cardiologist this week. I hope to learn that it is benign and all my worrying has been for nothing. If it turns out to be harmless, then it will mainly be a mental battle to convince myself that nothing dangerous is happening when my heart acts up. I'm confident I can manage it. I look forward to my consultation and getting more definitive answers. A blessing came this weekend when I spontaneous read a book I had heard about called Tree Spirited Woman. It is written by a Minnesota author and was just the sort of medicine I needed. Meanwhile, I've been wishing my life were as simple as Aspen's.

Grouse Opener 2008

Hunting season has officially began. Our opening day was a wash out (literally). But we braved the rain and mud to walk the trails in search of grouse. Aspen did her best but wasn't able to find any birds. Either way, it was fun to watch her zipping around the woods. If we have any luck at all, we'll have the 2nd annual wild game feed in Duluth on Thanksgiving weekend. Those of you up there, wish us luck and mark your calendars!

Obama's got moves!

One last hooray

Our one last hooray took place at Swan Lake on the Iron Range of Minnesota. We hadn't been to Jon's cabin all summer. We spent 4 laid back days watching the dogs play in Swan Lake and biking the Mesaba Trail through old mining towns. As I sit here writing this at 8pm it is already dark and a cool breezy is blowing through the window. Fall is on the way.

Camping with Rachel and Jace

Rachel, Jace, and I spent last weekend camped along the Namekagon River in NW Wisconsin. We passed the time "fishing" the Namekagon, which involves Jace sticking his pole in the river. We played with toys in the tent, built a campfire, went for walks, visited the zoo in Hayward, and chased Jace around the campground. No visit to rural WI would be complete without drunkards. Ours arrived at the campground around 10pm Saturday evening. After a run-in with the park ranger, many cans of cheap beer, and a fight that left one of them sleeping in the car, they finally tired out around 2am and went bed. Jace woke up screaming around 4am - that was our sweet revenge. Thanks for the good times - next year we'll have Jace and Rachel's newborn - just kidding.

BWCA with Leah and Jere

We were able to break away for a quick trip to the BWCA in mid-August. I was reminded why I don't usually travel up there during the peak season. The campsites were packed and there were lots of groups traveling the lakes. Not exactly wilderness. But Leah and Jere came through (as they always do) with good humor, boxed wine, and good conversation. Thanks for the laughs...next year we're going in October!

Check out my new blog

I've setup a new blog specifically dedicated to anti-slavery efforts. It is a work in progress, but check it out when you have time.
http://helpendslavery.blogspot.com

Spirit Lake, Iowa

For those of you who are geographically challenged, Spirit Lake is in the northwest corner of Iowa. Surrounded by cornfields and rolling hills, its a pleasant corner of the world with lakes and cabins. We traveled there with our friends Beth and John. Beth and I have been friends since the 7th grade. We share a lot of things in common: love of biking, skiing, adventuring around the world and we both married boys named John/Jon. I am blessed to call her a friend of 18 years. Here's to many more adventures!

Scandinavia

Well Scandinavia treated us well. It's easy to see the Scandinavian blood in Minnesotans. We found Norway and Denmark to be quant, friendly, and beautiful countries. However they were a bit more expensive than what we are used to back home. $12 beers sent Jon and I into temporary detox. Check out the slideshow on the right side of the blog for some pictures. We started by flying to Kirkenes, Norway. If you pull out a map, you'll see that this is about as far north as you can get in Europe. It's actually further north than Barrow, Alaska and above the 71st parallel. And boy was it cold up there! Good thing we threw in hats and gloves at the last minute. From there we boarded the Norwegian coastal ferry and spent 6 days making 34 ports of call. Some of the cities were quite large but most were just tiny outposts on the Norwegian coastline. It was a very relaxing 6 days filled with reading, playing cards, and getting off the ship to explore. We finally arrived in Bergen, which is where the Edward Jones portion of the trip began. Bergen is the 2nd largest city in Norway and probably the most scenic. We did some hiking here and went on a fjord tour. After spending a few days there, it was off to Denmark, the birthplace of my great-grandfather. In 1913 at the age of 18 he boarded a ship from Copenhagen headed for Ellis Island. Before we left on this trip, I had done some research and found the ship manifesto from that day in 1913 when he arrived in the US. According to the log he was headed to Omaha, Nebraska to meet a cousin and he had $50 in his pocket. Amazing. While we didn't get to the town of his birth, it was neat to walk the 300 year old cobblestone streets of Copenhagen and think that he might have walked those same streets. Copenhagen was a very refreshing city as there are more bikes on the roads than cars and they generate a whooping 20% of their energy needs from wind (more than any other country in the world). They are also the happiest country in the world and are supposedly the world's fastest walkers. It might have something to do with the fact that they drink an average of 4 cups of coffee per day for each man, woman, child, and infant in the country. We have a lot to learn from this small Scandinavian country. I know I've been inspired to walk/bike more, drink more coffee, and smile more often.

Gardening Update

I want to report on the ups and downs of gardening. First lets get the "downs" out of the way. Some type of green, worm-like creature has invaded the broccoli (thanks to Julie for pointing this out). Jon and I have been diligently removing worms and eggs and it now appears that they have become tired of our efforts and moved on to another garden. Secondly, we headed to Grand Rapids for the weekend and returned to find that the broccoli had flowered! Help! Is this normal? Should I have harvested it last week? If I whack off the flowering heads will more grow back or is that it for this year? (Julie and Alison, I need you to weigh in on this). Finally, Aspen has discovered that the garden is a short-cut to other interesting parts of the backyard and has created a nice little trail through the onions. Arghhh!
On to the "ups". I made my first lettuce salad from my garden complete with the first strawberries I was able to harvest. That was really cool and rewarding. The tomato plants are huge...I can't wait until I have ripe tomatoes. It looks like one zucchini plant came up from the dozen or so seeds I planted. If I do it right, it should produce Jon's favorite vegetable. Finally, a couple of spinach plants seemed to have survived (I thought they were all dead). I should be able to mix a few leaves in with the lettuce for variety. That's all for now...

Re-shaping

My niece is about 1/2 way through a skeletal reconstructive program (hence the helmet). Because she was born a little early, her head was a bit softer than normal. Sleeping on her back led to the back of her head being flattened. The helmet is meant to reshape her head while her bones are still malleable. It hasn't changed her happy-go-lucky attitude or made her any less cute. If all goes well, the helmet will be gone by the end of August. Hooray!

Summertime

We've finally been in Red Wing long enough to have some decent plants and a garden going. I'm proud of the work Jon and I have put into the yard, which was quite neglected when we moved in. Sometimes I wish it was summer year-round. Oh wait, then I would miss the -20 degree weather and snowshoveling ;)