This is a good day

I have in a tin bucket -
new baby carrots
yellow baby potatoes
and the sweetest onions I have ever smelt

I am listening to my wee one #2 and 3 make themselves a salad
with the lettuce they picked themselves. They are excited - pretending they are farmers.

I love gardening. Maybe I should pretend I am a farmer too.

I am about to mix a drink and make supper.
Maybe I should pretend I am a chef.

I have just finished hours of shoveling - filling back in a ditch that provided a spot for the electrical cord to go for my/our new lamp posts that now line the driveway.
Maybe I should pretend I am a handy-man (no need to pretend here)

This is a good day.

The Next Great Collaberative-International Novel

A few weeks ago, on a Monday I blew off my to do list and instead did something for myself. It wasn't earth shattering -but it was cheaper and took about as much time as therapy. Today I didn't have time to take the whole morning to myself, however I had 15 minutes. I decided to make those 15 minutes count. I took 1 minute to stop and watch this Blue Jay stomp around listening for breakfast to wriggle in the grass (after yesterdays rain the grass is greening-slowly!)
I took 5 minutes to grab this super yummy "Uptown Scone" from the uptown coffeehouse. I did compromise and grabbed the day old one for 1/2 price. I slowed long enough to enjoy some of our local art on the way to ....
Grab my favorite cup of coffee in town. This lovely biodegradable cup of fair trade organic coffee is only $1. I used the remaining 7 minutes (2 minutes driving time in between places) to enjoy a few sips while looking at this lovely mural depicting some of our own local towns people. (Do you notice the sun shining? The wind was gusting ~20mph....but take what I can get huh?!) It was a lovely 15 minutes.

Then it was off again to run three of the wee ones to their appointment and back to school again, a few more errands and then home to help someone load up a dock, etc......

Alright moving on to the plan for the day---->

Yesterday I had a silly idea to have a continuing story through your comments....
Here is the story we ended up with after much participation and collaboration from all my great blog friends and guests! Settle in for the unedited - comment created - story of

Mystery in Blogatopia

The e-mail on her Blackberry (that's for you Adam) had arrived just as Jasmine was slipping on her favorite jacket. It was the news she had been waiting for. Without a second thought she headed straight for the airfield.

As Jasmine settled down for the long journey ahead she thought of the contents of the e-mail. A fantastic mystery. You will not believe it !" the voice had said. Jasmine wasn't sure what lay ahead for her when she arrived at the island. The next few hours would soon tell ................

The trip to the airport was uneventful. Jasmine boarded the plane and found her seat. Sitting next to her was a man with his face turned towards the window. He looked familiar. Just then he turned and Jasmine almost screamed!

She realized it was an old flame from years past. When they decided to part ways, it was difficult on both of them. He had dreams of going off to Harvard and she to Northwestern. She wonders what to say to him, yet she can't get her mind off the e-mail.

She suddenly felt very queasy.

queasy at the thought of their past together. Did he remember that summer at the lake? What was she thinking? How could he forget?

She had been trying everyday to forget that horrible summer. She knew she should say something - but what? Jasmine gathered her strength, looked him straight in the eyes and said.....

"I still can't forget, I'm consumed by thoughts of what could have been, what should have been. I'm laden with guilt, I love my life, but can't escape the longing. And you, do you ever think of me?" He looks down and replies...

"Sometimes," he said. She was hoping for a better answer.
"Most of the times I dream about you," he said with a hesitant smile

"but the problem is that most of my dreams involve a plane crash. and here we are, on a plane..."

Moments before take off her blackberry vibrated to life again... another message- the mystery, she had almost forgotten.

You wouldn't believe what just happened here! Apparently, your crazy aunt was kicked out of your mom's home. Jasmine's heart began to beat fast...could her mom finally know the truth about her aunt?

Here she is on a plane knowing her last vivid dream was about a plane crash. She is sitting next to HIM, and her phone is not letting her forget about....

her crazy Aunt! Will her Mom understand that her Aunt just had to kill him? Before he killed her? The island held all the answers! Wait why is Havard Man going there? "Why are you going to the island?" I ask. "I got an e-mail from an old friend saying she needed my help" said he.

As she sat thinking about her own cryptic email she had received, the plane prepared for departure. The take-off was smooth, and they were at altitude in a short amount of time. Beginning to relax now, she turned toward Harvard man and as she opened her mouth the plane lurched all of a sudden...

Her seat belt was already off and she went straight up in to the air and landed in Harvard Mans lap! " Well," he said "Couldn't wait to get your hands on me, could you!" Jasmine was angered by the comment and so she ...

jumped off his lap back into her own seat and motioned for the airsteward to bring her a drink. She needed to collect her thoughts. The message on her phone brought her back to the present. As the steward handed a drink to her, she once again hears the ring of her phone. She opens it and reads the new message...

An envelope will be waiting for you when you land. In it you will find a map. You will need to make it to the cabin by sunset - and make sure no one is following you.

What will she find waiting for her at the cabin...does she dare go alone? As she mulls over her options she notices Havard Man pull out his blackberry. She pretends to reach into her bag so she can see the message on the screen.....

An envelope will be waiting...

Jasmine kept to herself during the remainder of the flight and besides Harvard Man had fallen asleep! The plane landed on the little island smoothly. When it came to a full stop Jasmine jumped out of her seat and proceeded down the aisle, She wanted a head start to get the map!In the tiny airport she asked if there was a package for her. The agent handed her a envelope with her name on it. Ripping it open she found....

directions to an outside eatery where she was to speak to a man called Fabin who would give her the map. She had to tell him the secret password. The password was....

"Evolution" Harvard Man said walking up behind Jasmine. Fabin reached out to hand Harvard Man the map. Jasmine snatched it out of Fabin's hand and ran as fast her stiletto heels wound carry her. She hoped into a cab and yelled for the driver to go. As he pulled away from the curb her stomach lurched as she realized she only had 3/4's of the map.

Looking behind her she saw Harvard Man waving the other fourth of the map at her from the curb....

She was so frustrated. He was always doing things like that to her - popping into her life at all the wrong times.

She had to think. What should she do next? She looked down at her phone - no reception. She asked the driver if he had a mobile - he handed her his I Phone and she called

her therapist. This is no time to go solo she thought as she popped her antidepressant into her mouth. Washing it down with a sip of luke-warm water from the bottle she'd bought on the plane, she hollered at the cabdriver, "Watch out!"

There in front of the cab was Harvard Man, riding a motorcycle he had quickly 'borrowed' from the eatery owner. The cab screeched to a stop and as the driver got out to yell at Harvard Man, Harvard Man jumped behind the wheel and sped away leaving the cab driver standing in the middle of the street. Harvard Man smiled lazily at Jasmine in the rear view mirror and said, "I think you will be needing the other part of this map...and me." Splashing her warm water at the back of Harvard Man's head, Jasmine replied...

"Let me out of this cab. Why are you even here - this has nothing to do with you!" Havard Man's eyes met hers through the rear view mirror as he said

"The man your aunt murdered was my.......

business partner of my law firm. When the police told me the name of the woman that murdered him, I knew it was your Aunt. Now, someone is obviously getting both of us out on this island together. For some reason. We'll need to start out on this map. At the same time, their Blackberry's go off and another text message appears. It reads.....

Now that I have you both together we can start your journey to the cabin. Keep going on this road until you find

a Donkey Farm. Turn left at the farm until you see a log cabin set back in the trees. It is here that I will meet the two of you to explain!
Love, your crazy Aunt!

Not happy with how it ended? Give me a quick continuation with an end in the comment box.

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Thank you Lorac for ending this in a manner where I wasn't stuck here trying to find a quick enough end.

Well there you go - mystery, romance, and cell phones - what more could one want from a story?!

Thanks for playing along - that was fun to watch it unfold yesterday.

Micro environments with a Macro Lense

It
is
a
clear
blue
sky
day













Come
with
us
down
the
Bog
Walk
Trail

















Where
there
are
micro
environments











Which
can
be
enjoyed
with
a
macro
lense







The
only
place
exotic
(for MN)
species
like
the
pitcher
plant
can
be
found





And
the
imagination
can
soar


















"Wook mama, it's a fairy tool (stool)"

~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~

I took each and every one of you with me when I was on my walk. Thinking what would be fun for you to see. This helped me notice the little things and to enjoy the beauty so much more. Thank you all for coming with me...it was lovely.

I'm Out of Here!

Today:

High 74
Mostly sunny. Scattered showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Highs in the mid 70s. South winds 10 to 20 mph. Chance of precipitation 30 percent.

Friday
High 49
Cloudy with a 40 percent chance of rain showers.
Highs 45 to 50. North winds 10 to 20 mph.

To Dearest:
With this forecast I am not going to hang around the house today. When you arrive home the dishes may not be done, the laundry will still be unfinished. It will absolutely not be folded and definitely not put away. (So when you are looking for pants tomorrow morning let me direct you to the laundry basket in the wash room)

I am grabbing the jogging stroller, my camera, a picnic lunch, and my friend from Nellymom blog, and we are headed to the state park.

When you ask what I did today
I am going to say:
I lived.
I enjoyed.
What I wanted to.

I am out of here!

~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~

Side note: Dearest will not care that I skipped out to the park he will however be jealous. As he is stuck trying to beat algebraic equations into 15 year old heads....