Camp and camp and camp

This past weekend Andy and I planned on going camping at the Rapidan Dam. On friday, they issued a tornado warning so we decided we should probably not go. Instead, we went shopping and got some things to take with the next day when we planned on leaving. When we got to Walmart, they told us they were gathering everyone in the electronics department because of the weather. There were "tornadic" storm cells all around us. We stayed at walmart for about 40 minutes. They handed out cookies and let us browse through books and magazines to kill time. We finally just left even though there were still supposed to be storms coming. The rest that were supposed to hit us that night missed, and we just got rain.

The next day we headed out to rapidan. Along the way we got to see all the damage the storms had done in the area. There were millions of fallen trees, branches, and some power lines. When we got to the dam, they told us they weren't open, so we decided to try Minneopa State Park. Trista and Andy (her bf, not my andy) came out and we played around the falls (which are apparently the second highest they've ever been according to a park lady), fished, and grilled supper. They headed home around 8:30 and then more storms decided to come. We were in another tornado warning, so we decided to go home (leaving all our stuff behind) and come back once they passed. We got back out at 10pm and basically just got ready for bed.

I decided Minneopa is a nice park, but not a place I care too much to camp at. We're going to try again to camp at Rapidan this weekend. The weather better not mess it up for us this time.

My plants were left out in the rain and did not fair so well. Wally (tomato plant) has been sick for quite some time. He's now passed away. Claire and Emit faced a lot of damage from the storm. We're keeping our fingers crossed that they make it through. The deifembachia (ignore horrible spelling error) is doing well. I don't know how much i've talked about this plant. I haven't named it yet, but should do so soon. I got the root system of this plant from a lady I work with. It was nothing but dirt in a pot when i got it, Now it has four sprouts, each of which will turn into a nice plant.

I realize i suck at blogging consistently. I'll try harder.

Last week I went on vacation to leech lake with my family. It was a pretty nice time. Mostly the vacation consists of fishing and more fishing. This time however, we also visited itasca state park to see the headwaters of the mississippi. We also climbed a 100ft fire tour that let you see a million miles in all directions. it was really neat and slightly scary for people who don't like heights.

I didn't have any spectacular catches, but i caught plenty of pan fish to keep the family fed. I even took a few fish off my own pole with my bare hands (usually i use a towel as a buffer or my dad takes them off for me). I even tried my hand at cleaning my own fish, but I still need a lot of practice....a sharper knife would have helped too.

I'll stop here for now and post some more picture from the trip soon, so I can reach my personal goal of two posts per month. ( a pathetic goal i know, but i'm still having trouble achieving it.)

bikes and plants and bikes and plants

I thought maybe I should do an update on my garden since it's getting to the point where it seems like they'll either make it or break it. Wally the tomato plant is looking pretty good and even has a couple blossoms on him already. My mom says I can look forward to some tomatoes within a month! I'm very pleased. It seemed like Claire and Emmit were not going to even be born. It took a couple weeks for them to even start to sprout, but I think it was just because it got so cold and rained so much. They are now doing very well. I'm hoping that they have lots of babies for me to eat.
Andy wants to make some pickles so hopefully we get enough to do that

It was ridiculously hot most of last week. Andy and I basically just laid around in the air conditioning because we've both been feeling sick. Our friend the squirrel was even too hot to do anything besides recline on the deck.

Today I took on a rather large endeavour for me. I decided to make a trip all by myself to Fairmont on my motorcycle. I planned on taking back roads so there would be less traffic. It was probably not the best idea to go since I haven't been feeling well, but I needed something to fill the day since Andy went to the cities and I didn't want to hang out with anyone and get them sick. I left around 9:45 and got to fairmont around 10:15. The ride seemed horrible. It was pretty windy and the roads i took were very bumpy. I didn't feel well at all , but hoped I'd get better since I usually feel the best by afternoon. It wasn't the case today. I got a hair cut and hung out at my dad's for awhile. Then I stopped in to visit my mom for a little bit after trying to have lunch with my dad ( I wasn't feeling well enough to eat) and then basically just headed back home. I left town a little before 3. The ride home was a lot more bearable. I took some different roads and had the wind at my back for a lot of the drive. I still had to take some of the bumpy roads, but overall, it was a lot more enjoyable. I was glad to get some practice driving on city streets that are a little less busy than Mankato too.

The day could have been a lot better, but it was nice to get out and know that I can ride ok on my own.

motor motor motor

It's been awhile since I've written, but it's because I've been so busy riding my MOTORCYCLE! Not really, but sort of. I took it out several times and just rode on some streets near my apartment that are very lightly traveled. I was a little nervous because for awhile my brake light wasn't working and my turn signals seemed to only work half the time. Fortunately, do to some sleuthing on my part and a little hands on education I was able to get my brake light to work. The turn signals are a different story, but it seems like they've been working for the last few rides without any issues.

Last Sunday I finally ventured out on the bike into the great unknown (except that i knew where i was going)... Andy and I rode to Red Jacket park where there are a couple trail systems that meet. (I've been there before and showed some pictures of the Le Sueur River before on this blog). Then we went a bit on highway 66. The total trip was about thirty miles. That night we made the same trip again just to get more practice. I wasn't feeling well on Monday so I didn't go out, but I took another ride on Tuesday with Andy. We went south on 22, west to 90, and south-east-ish on 16. We turned around where 16 meets up with 22 and did the reverse route home. That trip was also about 30 miles.

I'm still a little shaky on things--I'm not quick on taking turns, sometimes forget what gear I'm in, and have a little trouble always getting into first gear, but I'm feeling pretty good about it overall. I plan on getting out as often as possible though the wind seems to get in the way a lot (riding when it is really windy is scary and sometimes dangerous). The wind also seems to think it's amusing to blow my bike cover off and rip it which frustrates me to no end. I'll attempt to remember to get a picture of me on my bike so you can make fun of how alien i look in my helmet. :)

Plants and Plants and Plants

In light of the nice weather, I've begun a "garden." I don't have any actual space to plant so I've improvised. My mom bought me a tomato plant (who I've named Walter....which is also what I named my motorcycle, so the plant goes by Wally) to put on my patio and some cucumber seeds (who are collectively named Claire and Emmit). Theoretically the cucumber plants are close enough to the ground that they can just spill onto the deck as the vines get longer and produce millions of cucumbers. Andy and I plan on making pickles with a recipe that he got from his uncle, who I only know as "pickle uncle." I'm not exactly sure if the deck gets as much sunlight as the plants might prefer, but I'm hoping that things will work out for me.

I've also acquired a few new house plants. I got a wine colored oxalis (clover plant) from a greenhouse in Fairmont. I think she's a really pretty plant and she likes shade which is a bonus for everyone. I've named her Isabel.

A woman at work has a philodendron and she gave me a few pieces of it to bring home. I've been letting it grow roots in a glass of water and just yesterday potted it. I put in the bedroom next to Mary the fish (he's a boy fish and I did not name him). This plant I've just decided will be names (appropriately I think) Phil.


Lastly, another woman at work gave me a salvia plant (not the psychedelic kind). I've decided she will be named Sylvia. I need to go out and buy her a home. I think she will get to live on the deck with Wally, Emmit, and Clair.

A Dam Good Time... Damn it.

This weekend Andy and I went to the Rapidan Dam. We rode his bike out there and packed a nice picnic. We did some exploring on a neat little hiking path along the river. Probably not exactly encouraged by dam officials, but obviously frequented by many other people. The dam looks a bit different when the water level is down so much lower than the last time I was there. There is even a nice little sandy beach area along the bank that we stopped at along our hike. We also stopped to watch a few people pull some catfish out of the river. Does anyone know if there is anything to catch in the river besides catfish and carp? (which are both gross....along with all other fish.)

We had a nice lunch with chips and sandwiches, explored more, and then headed home. After our nice hike, we worked up enough energy to eat some delicious hamburgers on the grill. Today Meg is coming up to play. We are going to do a little shopping and have a nice picnic with some frisbee throwing and maybe some basketball.

This past Monday was Andy's 24th birthday. His school was nice enough to give him two tests to take that day. He also had class most of the day and didn't get home to celebrate until around seven. I made him a birthday cake on Friday so we could have more time over the weekend to eat it.....This is why his cake is partly gone in the picture. He wasn't allowed to "blow out his candles" until his actual birthday or his wish wouldn't work. We failed at actually consuming much of the cake...It was good (lemon with lemon frosting) but other things seemed to have more need-to-be-eaten urgency....Like the potato salad that I made him.

For his birthday present I made him a quilt. I finished it awhile ago, but had to keep it hidden. I also had to work on it in secret so it could be a surprise. It's about 70 x 60 and has a nice cuddly fleece backing. I almost got caught several times working on this because Andy would get home early from class or work, but in the end it still finished as the surprise that it started as. I ended up tying the blanket because I didn't have a chance to visit my aunt to get it machine quilted and I'm not good enough to do it on a regular machine. Andy didn't seem to care.