November Updates

Happy Holiday Season!  It's hard to believe we are entering another winter of freezing temperatures ALREADY.  Didn't we just kick off the summer?  What happened to August and September?

This was the snow level on Thanksgiving.  We have a couple more inches now and it is currently snowing.  It's 10 degrees outside and the overnight low was -8.  I am officially a shut-in now.  I have no need to feel -8 degrees.  Our next cabin reservations are in December for ice fishing.  While November has been an easy month of doing what we want all day....ABC's, the Hokey Pokey, playing outside when the sun comes out.....I'll be forced to leave the house and clean some cabins.  It's good to have guests.  This will be my mantra as I psyche myself up to get out the door.  It's good to have guests!  It's good to have guests!

This is Andie playing in the first snow.  Literally, this is all she did.  She doesn't know she is able to walk in the snow and pretty much stands in one place waiting to be picked up.  I suppose the 10 pounds of warm clothes may feel a bit constricting.  But it's so cute!

Deer season came and went.  We had to wear orange vests when we were out running to avoid being shot.  Rick actually took 2 whole days off to hunt.  He enjoys being able to go hunting right out in the back yard.   I've been asked if I will be hunting sometime soon.  Answer: No.  Nope.  No way.

We had a great Thanksgiving!  Nikki organized a Turkey Trot in the morning.  I can't remember the temperature, but it was below freezing and there was a slight breeze.  Little chilly, but we had fun.

Runners on the road, and the walkers are up toward the left.  We went to Big Rick's in the afternoon for Thanksgiving dinner.  We had a nice gathering of family and friends.  Lots of laughs and good food.

The new cabin is coming right along.  It has a partial roof now too.  But it may be awhile before you see it on the blog since I'd have to go outside to take a picture.  That is a level of dedication I cannot commit to at this time.

Tyson watching for pirates.  It's a concern and he has taken on the task of watchman.

Before the snow when Andie was able to motor around in her winter garb.  She may turn out to be just like me.  A sunshine girl not impressed with cold weather and snow, desiring a warmer climate. But I heard on the news the other day that people in tropical climates have a shorter average lifespan by 7 years from various environmental factors.  Check back with me in a month to see if I care about having my life stretched out by 7 years after a few weeks of Minnesota winter.

Halloween

We did a  few fun things for Halloween this year, the first time we've done anything since having kids. The first was a costume party at the one-room schoolhouse.  The students made invitations and included all the little kids in their party. Lots of great snacks and some fun games.

Here they are posing for the group photo.  This is a cropped version since  I don't know the parents of 2 girls in the picture, I better not post their little faces on the internet.  The hunter and the pirate shall remain nameless as well, just in case.  But the monkey and the fire chief are mine, and I give permission.

There were quite a few games at the party.  This is Musical Chairs.  A concept that Tyson can't quite grasp, as you can see him sitting in a chair that has already been taken out of the circle.  This didn't happen just one time, but repeatedly.  He hits his head a lot, what can I say.

Trick or Treating at the Angle is bountiful, to say the least.  We only went to 5 houses, but we came home with about 10 pounds of candy.  Since it's a small community some treats were very personalized.  Susan gave Andie some animal crackers since she can't have candy.  Grammy Nancy gave her a sweet little stuffed monkey for the same reason.  So thoughtful.   The picture is the 4 cousins at Al & Linnea's house while making the rounds.  This is a fun house for all to T or T.  The kids got hoards of candy, while the Mommies and Daddies got whiskey drinks.  TREAT!

And last stop of the night is the bar, naturally.  Jerry loves the kids and always has gifts for them.  So we would never leave him out of the fun.  That's Michelle doing the honors of handing out the goods.

Andie just went straight to the ATM machine (on the right)  for her T or T.  Smart little baby.  If you can't eat candy, might as well have cash.

Nikki, me and Bonny at the Monster Mash 5K Dash in Warroad.  We won 2nd place as a group for our costumes.  There were only about 25 other super heroes there.  But we arrived before the rest and got a jump on impressing the judges. It was a brisk 23 degrees or so that morning.  All the more encouraging to run fast.  Wearing a tutu also gives you a little extra pizzazz and hop to your step.

Nikki took first place in our age group (no surprise), but adding to the excitement, I took 2nd behind her and Bonny took 3rd in her age bracket.  We had quite a celebration when they announced the medal winners.  Apparently we also caused a little ruckus at US customs when we came in that morning because we were in "disguise" and Bonny has a new car, so we had no real license plate number.  Alarms were going off and officers were preparing for trouble, we could see them all standing up as we pulled in to the booth. Although we thought they were just checking out the crazy people dressed as the Justice League. Luckily we knew the agent checking us in and all officers were told to stand down.  Just another day in the life of your average Angle women.

Addition to the Reverse Bucket List:
1.  Breastfeed a baby while icefishing.
2.  Attend a Tupperware party in a bar on a Friday afternoon.
3.  Watch the sunrise over the lake that I live on.
4.  TAKE OUR SMALL CHILDREN TRICK-OR-TREATING IN A BAR.

World Vision

Yesterday Tyson and I were looking through a "World Vision Gift Catalog".  This is an organization that works with communities of poverty worldwide.  You pick out gifts to donate such as chickens to lay eggs, oxen to plow a field, Bibles, medicine, school supplies etc.  So I told him we were going to pick a gift to send to a needy family for Christmas.  First he chose a donkey for their travel, then he thought Bibles would be best, then we were on to school supplies.  After that we came across an article on Orphans.  I explained that an orphan means the child has lost his parents and we could send clothing or medicine, something like that to help. His response was, "Maybe we should send him a donkey so he can go look for his mom and dad."

Season 2, Episode 1

Due to a little nudging (some blog comments, personal emails, text messages, phone calls and 2 death threats) I agree to continue writing the blog.  This means that I will set a goal of 1 blog a week, but don't get disgruntled if it takes longer. Although I have plenty of time on my hands, I am having trouble sitting down to do it.  Thank you for all of your nice comments and making me feel important.  BUT--- when I am droning on and on about poopy toilets again or all the attention has gone to my head and my ego has outgrown the square footage of our house, just remember you asked for it.  You  brought it on yourself.  It's your own damn fault.

Also, due to high demand, I promise to interview Brian.  Soon.  As I've mentioned before, he is an elusive creature and I just have to catch him.

I owe an apology to Big Rick as I did not post anything about his birthday on October 24th.  Rude.  He, of all people, deserves to be blogged about and wished many Happy Birthdays to come.  Tyson gave him an 8-pack of mini Sprite's and some beef jerky.  But somehow I don't think that covers it.  I will interview him as well and get some history of Young's Bay on a few posts.  It's been my intention all along, just never did it.

There you have it.  My commitments typed out for the world to see and keep me honest.  I'll accept donations in check or small bills chocolate for my hard work.

Thank you,
The Editor

One Year

October 30th marked the one-year anniversary of our arrival to the Northwest Angle.  We have been official Minnesota residents for an entire year now.  How the time flies and how it does not.  Since all this craziness started, somewhere around June 2011, we have had some stress and some tears.  Some sadness and happiness.  Major life events and teeny tiny moments of realization.  In that year and a half we have experienced changes on the work front that started the talk of moving, welcomed a baby girl, put our sweet dog to sleep, watched the progression of my mother's illness, quit our jobs, sold our house, moved to Minnesota, adjusted to a lifestyle that I never knew existed, said a final farewell to my mom (my third trip between Minnesota and Washington during that time span) and dealt with the ups and downs of leaving my beloved home behind.  In the last year I have learned some things about life, about myself, about life's ebbs and flows.  Here is a list of some of those things.  Some Angle related and some about the bigger picture.  Some things I've known, but needed reminding.  Just some observations about life....From This Angle.

• The Northern Lights are worth getting up at 1:00am to see.
• I have given directions to my house here one time.  Everyone knows where I live.
• Lonely is a state of mind.  Sometimes you have to change your state.
• I have a quick gag reflex for kitchen sink drains and poopy toilets. 
• Very kind people live up here in the woods.
• Seeing a happy husband and spending time with my kids are worth every second of homesickness.
• Circumstances can change your life in the span of 24 hours.  The scariest decision can bring the happiness you've only heard from other people but haven't found.
• All women should join a Bookclub and a Bible Study.  Anyone who disagrees hasn't found the right women or the power of prayer.
• Mileage is not the end of true friendship, it is the proof.
• Dinner is called "Supper" way up here in the north.  Although if you are Tyson, it is called "Lunch", and so is every meal you eat. 
• Hot Dish.  In Washington, we call this a casserole.  Here it is called hot dish and it can contain anything.  The biggest hit in Northern Minnesota is the Tater Tot Hot Dish. It's known as TTHD at the schools.  This festival of calories entails ground burger, cream of mushroom soup, milk,  frozen vegetables, and tater tots all layered up and baked in the oven.  You want to see my family go to town on dinner, you serve up the TTHD.
• There is no one like your mother.  Be this good or bad, it is a fact.  We take things for granted in this life and mothers are on the top of that list.  Make sure you aren't topping your list like that.
• If there is more than 2 of something---can it, pickle it, or freeze it.
• When I ask where a town is located, 9 times out of 10, the person will say "South".  You can imagine my surprise-- based on my latitudinal coordinates.
• Fish scales stick to kitchen sinks really well and don't care to budge.
• If you need something for your house or clothing related, make it.
• If you hate birds, this may not be the place for you.  They are large in size and in number,
• 32 degrees in Minnesota feels warmer than 32 degrees in Washington.  The difference is that Washington doesn't go much below 32 degrees for very long.  Minnesota likes to dip it down low for a LONG period of time.
• One can survive without WalMart or Target. 
• You could even go so far as to say one could survive without a coffee shop or espresso machine.  But you won't hear it from me.
• You can miss someone the exact same amount in 1 month as you can in 12 months.  Missing someone  doesn't change based on segments of time.
• I am still the new girl around  here, based on not knowing how things work and what animal made that poop.  But I'm not sure I can be called the new girl on the block anymore otherwise.  I think it may be time to wrap up the blog and move on to another form of creativity.  Obviously that would likely be sewing or canning or bird watching.  
• I have enjoyed writing the blog for all of you.  Thank you for reading it and saying such nice things.  The people of the Angle have followed it all along and made sweet comments, even though my writing may sound ignorant to them.  You've made a new girl feel right at home.  
• I'm not ready to say my "home" is still Washington or that it is now Minnesota.  I will always include both if someone asks me.  My heart resides in both.