Not much happening this fall?

The blog has been quiet for awhile. How is everyone? Enjoying fall? Watching the turbulent stock market and the political races? Keeping busy getting things done before winter hits? Canning tomatoes? Squeezing in school conferences, field trips, and homework assignments?

From our corner, the answer is a continuous yes. We have had a beautiful fall and it promises to continue that way. We were part of a fundraiser for the church building fund, termed the Fall Festival and Pig Roast. The weather was perfect. Wagon rides were a bit nippy, but half the sky was clear and filled with the stars. A bon fire kept people warm. A pole shed served as the dining hall and farmer's market. It was a fun and profitable evening.

We have been including Wayne in our lives as much as possible, but have been doing that long distance. He went to Peurto Rico on the first of September. He came home last weekend for two days and is back there now. If he makes it home in time, he will come with us to Leah and Jeremy's wedding. He needs to be in Colorado next week. We are very thankful for cell phones, digital photos and computers. They help shrink the distance between us. In today's economy, we are very thankful that he has a job (even one he enjoys). His travels bring geography to life for the kids. They track his travels on a big wall map and learn a bit about those areas through his pictures and stories.

Steven planted a garden in a raised bed he built. After the spring hail storm, he needed to replant it. It was worth it. We have been eating delicious tomatoes and cucumbers. I even canned a few pints! Maybe next year, the garden will expand. He enjoys that kind of thing. This past weekend we brought pumpkins home from an apple orchard. Steven cut some up and made homemade pumpkin pie from the fresh pumpkin. Pretty awesome!

Fall also brings a few more bugs, but so far, we have been pretty healthy. Laura needed antibiotics for an ear infection and Debbie needed a course of steroids to try kick a bout of asthma. We can't get by without the normal stomach things and cold things here and there. I won't complain...

Enough blabbing. Time to get some work done before calling it a day. Enjoy the fall!
-b

Keep your Fingers Crossed

Have an interview today. After 10 years and about 20 applications later, I have an interview with the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) panel today at 11. It is the air traffic control building one block from our house. It is down to me and 2 others. Now I normally do not get nervous for interviews but I am a bit anxious and nervous for this one....I hear the interview process with the panel is "intense"!! Wish me luck!
I will let you know how it goes
Farmington Jo

Another addition

Prior to Shawn and I getting married, my insistence was "no pigs". Well, it has been only a little over 6 years and guess what we have on Admiral Acres :)We went to Mahtowa yesterday to get some pigs. They had 400 pigs there - UGH did that barn stink. Shawn explains to the seller:
Shawn: "When we got married, Heather insisted on no pigs".
Seller: "Did you finally get warn down to agreeing?"
Me: "No, I had home raised pork and store bought pork and there is no question, we needed pigs".

Shawn's vehicle smelled horrific the whole way home. He had to help load them and, Thanks to Jen, the smell has finally lessened on his hands with her great idea of vinegar, water, and vanilla. It still didn't kill the smell completely, but at least we could sleep at night :)

I have to admit the pigs are cute. I don't think I want 400 of them though! I wouldn't mind getting a few sows and a boar and having some little piglets to raise... I must be losing it :)

My First Bull

Here are a few pics of Frans' elk... he just got home, so will take more pics tomorrow. Shot at about 46 yards.

Hmmm....link to blog post

http://kuoppalas.blogspot.com/search?q=Tristan

I have no idea where in the world I posted this but it did say the Kuoppala's blog.
So the above link is what I posted.....

If anyone figures out what I did, let me know! LK and T.

Tristan Trims like Daddy

Well, the year is flying by and there's always something new at our house. One constant is that I always have something new to giggle at or laugh at with our lil man! so is that a constant or a new? you get my point...don't you? T was trying to get my attention over and over again one calm Saturday morning....saying something....finally I looked to see what he was saying...he had Shelby's paws in his hand saying "I trimming Shelby!" (just like Daddy does with the horses.) Then moved on to the back paw...."I trim back feet." How adorable. The pics are just random cuteness he portrays on any given day. Of particular interest is when he charges his plastic cell phone on Mommy's landline charger. Haha! What a character!

Others, blowing his train whistle and hangin' out being goofy in the back of mom's truck!

I'm running to the Commando Trailers headquarters tomorrow morning to have Charlie work his majical welding wonders on the Dahl woodstove. Because of the demand in woodstoves as alternative sources of energy, they are all backordered in the state to Mid December and Early January. There is a really nice one that the guy never used made by Central Boiler called "The Classic" the classic thing about it is that it is $8000.00 Whoa! Yikes.....need to save a few more pennies for that bugger! Anyhew. I could list the endless things mi vida loca provides, but trying to maintain a simple, sane life and enjoy and appreciate the little joys life has to offer. Family, friends and good times. : )

Another AK week flies right on by ....

Jari came home on Wednesday! After being gone 3 1/2 weeks, we were more than ready to see him again. Hard to believe that the kids had started school since he left. Time flies. He's home now until September 28th. I would have never thought that we'd be living like this. Nothing is forever tho', so we just take it each 3 weeks at a time.

We have been enjoying having Blayde with us. He has been able to do some hiking and see Hatcher's Pass. Has managed to get in some roofing on the shed with Shane, running around with Amber, and tonite got to experience the packaging of caribou.

We welcomed Ross & Denise Hillukka & family to town on Wednesday. They just moved up ehre with 8 kiddos. We are thrilled to have them here. They came over here for dinner on Friday evening and then we were joined by a few others. Makes our home feel a little cozy ... good for building new friendships!

Demetra, the puppy, is quite cute and sometimes a royal pain in the tush. We have never done the puppy training thing before and totally confused her. Bought those puppy pooping pads for her. Put one upstairs and one downstairs ... then she thought that she needed to go both places. It is getting much better. She and the kitten play like crazy. Duke has taken on "daddy" role. Won't let her go down the driveway. Quite fun to watch.

Speaking of Duke ... he is in hog heaven tonite. Kevin came home with a caribou which he and Shane processed today in the mud room. I think Duke is going to lay out in the grass until morning just gnawing on that bone. (Good thing he doesn't know there are more where that one came from!) My freezer is smiling ... and so am I. Why I bought all this bread tonite at the store is a bit beyond me ... hmmm ... don't know where that's going to go.

Jari has been busy with projects since coming home. Have the doggy door in. The silly thing has 2 pieces and Duke sort of bumps a part of it off when he goes through. So ... Jari add an entry way on the outside of the house for the dog door. Yippee! The rabbits got a new house today. Now he's working on the basement. The wiring here stinks. Blow the GFI in the bathroom and the lights in the mudroom go out. A little at a time and it will be all redone ... and make sense. So, in between playing with wires, removing walls and cupboards, and anything else that needs doing down there .... we need a chicken coop. Paid $3.09 a dozen for eggs this evening at Fred Meyer. They certainly weren't on sale and I needed them regardless. I think I need several chickens ... no, I know I do. Heather, I need to know if your chickens lay eggs all winter long and what I need to do to ensure that they do ... lights, heat etc.

Anna is going on a field trip tomorrow. After seeing so many permission slips come through the house for field trips to a Cultural Arts type of thing, am thrilled that she actually has to pack along waders to go on this one ... gotta love science class!

Fall is here, but you'd never know it. My confused tomato plants are still blooming and starting new itty bitty tomatoes. May have a BLT by Christmas at this rate. The weather has been a bit on the wet side, but today gave us beautiful sunshine. Take a nap on the couch on the deck with a blanket and catch some rays kind of day. Absolutely beautiful!!

P.S. If you read this before I get pictures added .... I'll be back. My hubby is sitting at the computer that has all the photos on it right now.

We are off again!

Hope to leave at 6 a.m. for Hasscib Lake Camp. Might be foggy around Duluth. Retirees Camp
ends at noon on Sunday and then we hope to get as far as Grand Rapids, Mich. Next day to
Gerald R. Ford Museum and then on to Lansing for capitol No. 38. Call our on-star if you need
to get hold of us. Mary Ellen did return my call this evening, left a message, they plan on being
home so our last visiting spot will be Abercrombies before heading home. Arrival home? dk

Ranger

Life on the 'Range...

A beautiful rainbow

And the newest addition to Admiral Acres.... Ranger.

Using up more gas

To Rockford church last night for Johnson-Karvonen wedding. Today to the Minnesota Zoo.
Took lots of pictures, walked 2.26 miles. Enjoyed subs there. Heard last evening that Ivan was
off so went to 500 Main and took more pictures. That beautiful yellow siding is gone! Almost
drove past! There was another siding underneath. Garage has been painted. House will be also. Next to Hampton. Got to see Amanda and Cody before Tanya picked them up for the
weekend. Charlie was home as were Jade and Cole. Machelle working. Charlie showed the
machine that does that cutting on wood of pictures. Showed some nice ones. Then to
Wannamingo to see Jen's new apartment. Nice. Enjoyed supper there and short visit. Home
at 11 p.m. To Duluth tomorrow for my 55th class reunion and then plan is to go see Glady. dk

FARMINGTON JO UPDATE

Turning 50 has not slowed me down....only when it comes to this blogging thing, I know I am a slow poke!!!

Kids have been back in school since August 25 so we are getting back to a normal routine (whatever normal is these days). Tanner is going to Dakota County Vo Tech this year for his senior year-taking Graphic Arts. He only goes to the Farmington school till 11:30 then he spends the rest of the day at Vo Tech then goes directly to work after that (still doing the landscape thing until the snow flies). Mitchell is loving 4th grade however he is not so sure about his homework load, he has about 2 hours of homework every night, seems like a lot to me but it has been years since I was in school (smiles). Dave worked 82 hours the week before last (that's more than I work in 2 weeks) but says they should be slowing way down and soon. The housing decline has taken it's toll on a lot of builders this year. Dave says they may even close down early this fall instead of waiting until Novemeber. He has been working on seeding and spraying all of the fields so his work load was huge and he had some deadlines to meet. We did decide to take a long weekend over Labor day and go fishing. He needed the rest! Weather was beautiful and fishing was good.

HEY HEATHER AND SHAWN....CONGRATS!!!!! We are so very happy for you! We need a baby shower......gee, who is a good planner???? Heather but she can't plan her own shower. We will have to work on this over the winter and plan for a spring shower. Elizabeth, Lauire, Jen... I will help!!! (smiles) I know there is a lot of time to prepare but I am so darn excited!!!!

Nothing as exciting at this end, work stays steady for me, looks like I will stay busy over the winter at least. We have picked up a few projects here and there and my boss is going to open up another business so that will add to my work load which is a GOOD thing.

Dave, my sister Robin and my neighbor planned a 50th birthday party for me, there was around 90 people here throughout the day. It was quite exciting! I think every neighbor in a two block radius was here plus I saw some old friends that I had not seen in years. Tanner made me a video that made me cry and my sister had poster boards full of pictures from a fifty year span from when I was a baby up to now....very special day! Of course they had to play the "over the hill" stuff on me all day long but I loved every minute!

Have a good week everyone!

Farmington Jo

P.S. Hey Anita and Jari what do you think of Palin????

Happy Birthday

I'm just writing a note to myself on here:

Happy Birthday to me,
Happy Birthday to me,
Happy Birthday dear Heather,
Happy Birthday to me! :) :) :)

Not a very exciting birthday. Just got out of a meeting with state auditors and later tonight, Shawn has to go and look at a job so probably a non-existent birthday bash.

Anita's week in a nutshell

It's been a busy one again. A good busy ... a fun one.

Last Sunday we took a jaunt to Anchorage. Stopped in at the hospital to visit Lisa (Schwab) Wuollet who was in premature labor and has been camped in the hospital for awhile. Things are looking good and she may be able to come home in about a week ... as long as she does NOTHING. Hmmm.

Monday, after a shift at work, we went to the State Fair. Was dreading going. My mind had Arizona State Fair images dancing around in it. Decided after going here that next year I'll plan an entire day to spend there. Fun! Feels like several county fairs all rolled up in one. Missed seeing the gigantic vegies and didn't bring a camera. Next year will be a must.

Tuesday ... a trip to Walmart. Have a love/hate relationship with that place. Hate the register part of the deal. Sinuses were bugging me big time.

Wednesday to Bible Class in the evening. Now the throat has a scratch that keeps me coughing. Drinking water like I'll never see it again to help the coffee induced dehydration that is causing sinus issues.

Thursday I felt like crud and went to work anyway. Hit the floor running and didn't stop 'til I left. Earned every penny and tried not to breathe on too many folks. Came home and crashed for a while. Then the nose started dripping ... fast dripping ... quick, grap a roll of paper towel dripping! Beyond miserable. Called in sick for Friday.

Friday I slept in ... was semi conscious when the kids left for school. Nap in the afternoon ... and didn't feel too bad. Faucet had shut off and altho' my head felt like I'd been kicked ... not bad. Went visiting in the evening. :)

Saturday was absolutely gorgeous around here. Brock vacuumed out vehicles ... and I washed them. Anything to be outside. Finally braved a look at the pea plants. Not only had slugs done their job ... so did the moose. Pulled the rest of them out. Sat outside with a camera for awhile snapping some pictures. Pulled more weeds. Cleaned out rhubarb and did a wee bit of yardwork. Read an ENTIRE book. :) In the evening we went to Amber & Ryan's for Ryan's birthday party.

Today, Sunday, was a lazy one. Perfect. I did pick zucchini today and made bread and muffins. Was on kitchen committee at church this evening. Then we went to a bonfire. Home again and it's nearly midnight. I really should be going to bed. I'm getting there ... slowly.

Tomorrow I am going to try and go blueberry picking. Hoping to find something. A cup of them if nothing else. A lot more ... we eat a lot of ice cream around here and I have oodles of buckets ... would be awesome. Maybe I'd even learn to make some pie!

You all have a safe Labor Day and enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Guess Who I Saw!

One of the joints was leaking so we went to Lauries yesterday. It was a quick fix but couldn't
talk anyone through it on the phone. I was going to do some weeding but was a little too warm
for me. Pa pulled some. Brought my scrapbook for Laurie to look at and I brought my quilt
embroidery to do there and en route. A quick stop at Heather and Shawns. Norman and
Charlotte had just left. Stopped at L&M in Hibbing and Pa got a pair of boots with a gift ctf.
Took out my embroidery but I must have left my hoop at Lauries. Pa suggested we turn around but I said no. We go right by the new Super Walmart in Grand Rapids so I suggested we stop there. I should have known they wouldn't have an embroidery hoop as I knew they didn't carry
the floss. Used the restroom and commented to a lady about the cute sink for kids. Never
have seen a low one in a store restroom. She said they have them in elementary schools. She
looked familiar; asked are you from Cherry? She said no, but I teach there and live in Hibbing.
She said I looked familiar. Introduced my self and she did the same. Bev Cackoski! She said she
had A through J. Also is in contact at Christmas with Becky and has seen Elizabeth's name in
the paper in Eveleth news. Told her I do a newsletter everyday and will mention that I saw her.
She said to tell everyone "hello" from her. Got to Brainerd half hour before Haps was over.
Visiting were Barb Lever, Sara Aho and two of her nieces, Kathy and Jonathan's girls. They had
been biking on trails in Brainerd. Barb said she had seen Sarah in the hospital; a little girl in so
much pain. Pauline Lahti had an extra embroidery hoop so don't have to buy one. :) dk

Unwelcomed Visitors

Wednesday evening we had a group of young people over for a going away party for Lasse-Matti, our Finn boy. One of the girls had a flat tire, so decided to spend the night in the trailer with Denise. Around 2:45 a.m. they woke up to the sound of someone trying to open the locked door. Soon lights shone around the trailer and more noises were heard on the side. The girls were quite afraid and started calling our cell phones and finally the house phone. Meanwhile, one of them yelled in their loudest masculine voice. They heard someone drop to the ground, footsteps, then a car pulled away. When I got into the trailer I saw the blinds above the table were crooked. They hadn't been. I pulled them back and found no screen. We called the cops and waited outside the trailer with Brian on one side and us on the other. When the cops got there, we went around to look and found the cut screen you see in the picture. Someone had been trying to get in! In the morning we found they had gone through some of the vehicles as well, taking CDs and a CD player. They only went into unlocked cars. Down the street, another camper trailer had been broken into as well. Someone took off with a cooler of beer and more CDs. From various signs, it looks like our unwelcome visitors may have been young kids who wonder the neighborhood and who I have often said need parents. They cut through our yard often, so they know not to be afraid of Duchess who was barking during their visit. ....Regardless, it made for a sleepless night. Thankfully neither of the girls were hurt, and nothing major was taken.

Our friends came visiting again ...

This first picture was taken the last time they came to visit ... July 20th.










Yesterday they were back again, a month older. Amazing how much they have grown and the color has changed. They didn't get as much "nursing" time this time around.

They hung around for a while and when I thought they were gone, I put Duke outside. Ooops. He chased them away for awhile. They came back and eventually found the gardens, little as they are.

Mom Moose headed for the flowers.

My pea plants may be full of slugs and need a good debugging, but am hoping to harvest a few peas ... was time to send them away ... so I sent Duke out.

Treat time for a job well done. :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MACHELLE

Happy Birthday Machelle -- Hope you enjoy your day. dk

My life lately ....

Jari is up on the North Slope and went to view the Arctic Ocean this evening ... and I got a photo via cell phone. (What did we do before technology?!) 30F up there this evening.

So this week while he's been gone ...

Got the "mud room" cleaned. Where do I put 5 pair of Jari's shoes/boots? Add everyone elses to the mix and oh my. Have been internet surfing for ideas ... will see what I finally come up with!

I really didn't mean to hit the rhubarb plants yesterday, but wandered out that way and started picking. Cleaned out 3 or 4 of the small bushes and 1 of the big ones. Picked what looked decent and pitched the rest. While I was cleaning I felt what I thought felt like a raindrop. Hmm. No rain. Have you ever had that drip feeling? Hate to say it, but reminded me of milk overflow way back when. Certainly can't be that. It just kept sort of nagging while I picked rhubarb ... and I just kept kind of puzzling. Finally came in and looked inside the shirt to see what it was that was driving me crazy. A SLUG. Now how on earth did a slug manage to fly down my shirt??? Do they jump? From rhubarb and rotting rhubarb leaves to down my shirt? Yuck. They really do feel like wet stuff tho' ... and I froze 18 cups of chopped rhubarb tonite.

Saturday morning Jari & I snuck out about 5:30 a.m. and went fishing. My first time AK fishing!! Now I am no good at it. Nearly everytime I go fishing I manage to break a kids rod. No change there! Somehow I broke the tip off Brock's. Still don't have the reel it in technique down ... my silver salmon ended up on someone else's plate ... but it was fun! Jari brought home some dinner. Hoping we can go again when he comes home in a week and a half. Would really like to get some more salmon and smoke some of it.

Kids are back in school. It started Monday and we'll get in the routine of this before long ... I keep hoping. Bus comes at 6:30 in the morning which means my eyelids should be opening about 5:30. Let's hope tomorrow morning has me a bit brighter eyed a bit earlier!

Ta ta for now!

-a

Michigan and National Night Out

The pictures are a little out of order, but. . .

Many laughs were shared the first weekend of August! I went to Thomson Hill Reststop near Duluth Friday night and slept in the car. I knew that if I would leave in the morning there would be no possible way I would make it on time. I was able to view the sun coming up over Lake Superior and see professional photographers snapping breathtaking views of the sun. At nine, Saturday morning, I met Mother, Isa, and Heather at Carol's house in Esko where we took off to Michigan. Anita called shortly after we had arrived and stated that her and Jeanette Woullet were eating at the diner down the road. We quickly went to join them. After they hit the road, the four of us went to check out "Da Yooper" Store. Didn't even think about the camera when going out for dinner, so Heather snapped away on Isa's. I simply could not pass up the opportunity to buy a beautiful Native American doll! She now lies on the top shelf in Wanamingo with the dream catcher catching her dreams before they fall to the next shelf! When we returned we played scrabble. When they returned, we sat outside the room and visited, drank coffee, and ate popcorn. After the confirmation exercise we headed home. While killing time for Anita and her ride to catch up to us, we stopped in Oulu. Since Mom and Isa opted to take off, they left Heather to hitchiking! When nearing Superior, Mom kept asking where the Humpback (?) was. Were we to look for a whale? What was it? A building? Niether of our parents would answer us, they only shook their head. When they pointed out what it was, we laughed! It's a ship! Fun times at Perkins, with Anita instructing Pete how to hug his mother! :)

Monday was work and Tuesday was back to the Range. I pulled into the community building parking lot a little after 5pm for National Night Out. Enjoyed visiting with people and meeting those who have lived in the area for years, just never knew who they were! Heather even encouraged "the youngest attendees" to go for a ride in the new truck. Leaving there I hightailed it to Eveleth. I was able to meet some of Elizabeth's neighbors and then spent a couple hours visiting with her. Extremely tired driving back and needed to pull over a few times to sleep, but it was all worth it! Tonz of fun!

jen

Lindula addition

Here's a glimpse of what I did today.... Had the first pictures of our baby taken.

Shawn and I are adding to Admiral Acres!

No additional goats, cows, ....., we are going for a human baby! The latest and greatest addition is due to arrive around March 15th