Sharp Shooter

This is what my brother gave my mom for her birthday. It's a BB gun. She lives in the country, okay? She has a lot of varmints that like to destroy things. We're just trying to be proactive.

This is one side of my mom's yard. Notice the beautiful red apples hanging from the tree, just wainting to be eaten... or shot at.

Guess who nailed an apple on her first shot?

Weekend at Home

Last weekend I went to my mom's house. All of my siblings were there, too. We played a lot of Boggle (our favorite game) and ate nonstop. Here are a few peeks at the highlights:

I love rural Wisconsin.

Yep, we did the 10 for $10 deal.

Elsworth and Lia's sweet dog, Libby, in her mummy costume

A little trip to the apple orchard

I have adored this cabin at the orchard for basically my entire life. You can look in the windows and it's set up like a real old house, with furniture and accessories and everything.

My mom!

I Love My Husband

Last night, our across-the-street neighbors came over for dinner. We made Brazilian Black Bean Stew, the same meal I made for Karl on our very first date. The food was delicious, the company was fantastic, but the best part came after the neighbors had gone home and the kitchen had been cleaned up. We could have plunked down and watched The Office, as usual. It was tempting. But at Karl's suggestion, we got out our instruments and played a few songs together. Just your typical lineup: You Are My Sunshine, She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain, Careless Love, those kinds of songs. Karl is so patient and tolerated my millions of requests to change every song to multiple keys (I'm learning how to change keys in my banjo class). It was so nice just to be doing something together, to take the time to interact. I recommend it.

Ten on Ten: October

• Making pumpkin cookies (again!)


• Chimney cleaning by my multi-talented husband, looking forward to many cozy fires this winter


• Karl's contribution to our seasonal decorations


• Let the raking begin!


• Karl got to go canoeing at Devil's Lake... I got to go to work. Not fair. But I'm glad one of us got to go.


• From the bike path on my way to a meeting on campus (repeat x 5-- it was so beautiful)

Read more Ten on Ten here!

Cutest Wedding Ever

Our friends Angie and Brett got married yesterday! The wedding was outdoors at a park in Madison. Everything was just gorgeous.

They had a woodland theme... so great. Perfect for fall. Here's their arbor, on the edge of the lake where they said their vows.

Perched at the top of the arbor were these little friends.

The musicians! Love that banjo!

Angie walking down the hill to the ceremony with her dad. Her dress was beautiful! It actually made me want to get married again so I could wear a dress like that. And boots.

Angie and I know each other through our knitting group. What a great bunch! Do you see Stacy's needles poking out of her red and white purse?

The Gomers (a local live karaoke band) played at the reception, and the knitters really rocked the house. I mean, not this knitter specifically, but Stacy, Kate, Anna and Pixie all belted out rockstar-quality tunes on stage. Karl and I did sing one song but it was so embarassing I don't even want to talk about it. I have some seriously self-confident friends.

We had so much fun! Angie's woodland touches were darling (hand-felted wool acorns, anyone? How about invitations with owls on them?), and of course the reception had us all laughing and dancing. Can we do it again next weekend?

Presto Pesto Chicken

Karl and I have been enjoying a recipe from this cookbook for pesto chicken and sweet potatoes. It's pretty amazing: combine three ingredients in the morning, and enjoy an actual meal in the evening. By "actual meal," I mean something other than granola bars and bagels. In the cookbook, the author gives instructions on how to make your own pesto, but here is my quick and easy version of the recipe:

Pesto Chicken and Sweet Potatoes

You'll need:

Chicken breasts (2 or 4, or I suppose any number as long as everything fits in the slow cooker)

Pesto (any kind)

Sweet potatoes (how many do you want to eat? That's how many you should put in. Again, I think any number is fine as long as they fit in the slow cooker).

A piece of aluminum foil or parchment paper about as big as your slow cooker (a little bit bigger. It doesn't have to be exact. Just tear off a piece and as long as it covers the slow cooker, you're all set).

Assemble and cook:

Put the chicken in the bottom of the slow cooker. Spoon a big dollop of pesto onto each piece. Cover the chicken with the aluminum foil (just lay it on there. It doesn't have to be perfect). Pierce the sweet potatoes with a fork and put them on top of the aluminum foil. Put the cover on your slow cooker and cook on low for 6-7 hours.

Then enjoy your meat-and-potatoes dinner!

Today

Today I am...

• Hoping my husband feels lots better in time for his finals


• Going for a lunchtime walk in the gorgeous sunshine


• Riding my bike home! There won't be many more opportunities to do that this year


• Looking forward to chili for dinner


• Ready for my banjo class... I've been practicing all week!


• Loving the fall colors (no I did not take that photo... I borrowed it from here)


• Hosting 'tween knitting club at the library


• A little overwhelmed with millions of work projects


• A little overwhelmed with millions of home projects


• Thinking that hot tea might be a nice pick-me-up this afternoon