Weekend Getaway: Minnesota

Hello, hello!

I hope this finds you and yours well and staying as warm as possible!

This weekend, I took a fairly spontaneous trip to Minnesota (St. Paul area) to visit a dear friend from college.  She has had so many new and exciting things happen in her life in the recent past, and I decided to just make the trip up there to see/experience it all first hand!

So, after teaching lessons Friday evening (got done at 6:30), I headed out - armed with Google and AAA maps (no GPS for this girl), a road trip care package from my brother (complete with our favorite road trip snacks and a mix CD), Nicholas Sparks' newest book on CD (from the library), and a double-shot vanilla cappuccino smoothie from Scooter's.

The drive went really well and pretty fast, both going and coming back.  Since it was mostly dark both times, I didn't see too many sites on the road (not that there were many to be seen, anyway).  On the way out, though, I was driving through Iowa and saw a bunch of red lights blinking in unison across the horizon.  At first, I thought it was an airport, but couldn't figure out which one, because I was in the middle of nowhere...in Iowa.  I don't know how it finally occurred to me that they were the windmills, but that's what they were!  There were soooo many, though, and it was kind-of creepy to only see all those hundreds of red lights blinking simultaneously out there in the distance.

After arriving a little after 2 a.m., we proceeded to have a most lovely weekend together!  And as my mother's daughter, I documented it with pictures.  ☺

Saturday's brunch at The Good Earth included salmon with potato hash and poached eggs and pumpkin pancakes with applesauce and dried cranberries.  All the food here is made from organic and mostly local ingredients.

 Then, we made a trip to St. Olaf college where my friend did part of her master's program and where my cousin is a senior!

(for all you relatives out there...)

What a stunningly beautiful chapel!  (This is one of many windows there - pictures don't do it justice)

My cousin works at a cafe on campus where my friend used to go with other grad students a lot (though they hadn't met till now), and he made us drinks before we left.  This was my Pumpkin Spice Latte.)

A picture on the campus of Luther Seminary (where she also attended).

A delicious meal was prepared for us by my friend's thoughtful and talented boyfriend.  After supper, the night continued with lots of great conversation and a came of Scattergories.

One of the "new and exciting" things I went to experience was a litter of 7 kittens.  Need I say more...?  ☺

For now, their names are Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, and Ti.

Such a good (and young!) mama kitty.

Her sweet dog, Rondo, is pretty great, too!  I got to experience giving him a bath before I left on Sunday.

Since my friend is a (talented, organized, amazing) music/worship director, I took my trumpet and was able to participate in Sunday's All Saint's Day service.  It was so great to see her in her element (and hear her play organ!!), and also such a blessing to be able to be part of it all.

Afterward, we ate at a cafe that doubles as a bike shop - pretty cool...and also yummy!

A lot of people thought I was a little crazy for making this trip alone, but I really didn't think twice about it.  I figured there is no time like the present (and it was the only weekend between now and Christmas - when the kittens would be finding new homes - that worked), so I just went...and I'm so glad I did!  It was a really wonderful trip, and I feel like I got to do and see everything I wanted to.  Of course, there are lots of touristy things we didn't take time to do or see, but that doesn't matter - it's the real and meaningful "attractions" that matter most.  ☺

Also - I never shared my Halloween costume with you all!  I was originally going to dress up as something completely different (an idea I'm saving for next year, so not sharing now), but then I found this priceless sweatshirt-turned-cat-cardigan at Goodwill, and couldn't not be the Crazy Cat Lady.

That's all, folks!  Hope you have an exceptional week!

Home without a kitten or a Minnesotan accent,

Kensy

Favorites of the day:

having student evaluations done!

This is what Charlie's doing right now.

It's the most wonderful time of the year (in my opinion)!

Happy September!

Most of you probably know that fall is my favorite time of year - I love the weather, the smells, the activities...everything!  I just finished putting out fall decorations and got out the fall candles.  My electric blanket is also on my bed and ready for open windows on crisp, cool nights.  (The only thing I'm not ready for is the end of flip-flop season...but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.)

The end of August brought some pretty quality kiddo stories and a couple other really fun activities I'd like to share with you:

We sang a song at church called "Praise Like Fireworks" (check it out here) a couple weeks ago.  The band leader asked around for some help with the song, and our Sunday school class was volunteered.  So, at the end of the service, the band started playing/singing this song, and about halfway through, we went on stage with sparklers to sing and dance and praise Him with fireworks!  It was such a fun, unique experience...and cool to be up there feeling the energy of everyone else worshiping.

While having some special time with the 5-yr.-old I nanny for while his sister was at school (his classes hadn't started, yet), he brought up a couple interesting topics:

-He was talking about various kinds of snakes and snake bites and was speculating as to how much blood is lost due to a snake bite.  Then, he said, "You know, snakes and guns are the same...because snakes cause blood and guns cause blood...so, they're the same."  I couldn't argue with that.

-I was wearing dangley (I don't think that's actually a word) earrings that day, and he noticed the end of the long post was touching my neck.  He asked, "Doesn't that hurt you?"  I assured him it didn't and let him feel that it wasn't very sharp.  Then, he asked, "Were you born with holes in your ears?"  I shook my head and he asked, "Well, how do people get pierced ears?"  Needless to say, I was able to offer more explanation to this question than the conversation about snake bites.

One of my first grade piano students broke his arm a few months ago.  When I was explaining a new song I assigned at his lesson last night, he said, "I should probably wait a couple weeks to play this - I don't want to break my arm again."  I asked what he meant, and he explained, "Well, it says to play it forte, and I don't want to play too loud and break my arm again.  I should probably just wait to play it."  I still assigned the song, and we agreed that he'd just play "forte" carefully.

This past weekend was sooo very wonderful!  My best friend from home came to visit, and we treated ourselves to a day at the spa (including a facial, a massage, and pedicures).  Neither of us had done something like that before, and it was fun to do so together...and it was very relaxing and refreshing for us two teachers!  My family was also in town, so I got to spend some quality time with them.  They stayed with my aunt and uncle, and their neighbor cat had kittens a few weeks ago (and they've basically adopted my aunt and uncle's front porch as their home).  The already awesome weekend was made even more great by these four, precious, tame, playful baby kitties:

This is completely unrelated, but someone posted this video an elderly man made after his wife passed away, and it's definitely worth watching!  Click here to watch.

Okey dokey - that's all for now!

I hope you all have a lovely rest of the week and enjoy the weekend!

Thanks for reading,

Kensy

Favorites of the day:

iced coffee (homemade)

not having to plan meals for the week (thanks to leftovers from Mom and a pretty great aunt)

witnessing budding relationships

God's ceaseless and abundant love

Charlie's Latest Obsession...and other short stories

Hello, hello!  Hope your week is going well - mine is!

Just a few things to share:

First of all, I made this for supper tonight, and it was delicious!

The recipe can be found here.

Secondly, I have a quick story from subbing yesterday:

The jr.-high girl who asked me if I had a boyfriend last time I was there asked yesterday, "Has your knight in shining armor found you, yet?"  I laughed and said, "No, but it's ok."  She exclaimed, "What?!  No, it's not!  What's wrong with the guys you meet?  Seriously...(exasperated sigh)"  I have to say it boosted my self-esteem a bit (and put a smile on my face), even coming from a sweet seventh-grade girl.  : )

Additionally (thank you, 16 years of school, for teaching me how/when to use transitions), I have some Charlie-isms to share.  I feel like a crazy cat lady/helicopter parent, but I also know that many of you enjoy hearing about/seeing my little one.  Those of you who don't can just stop reading right now.  : ) 

As I was rearranging some craft supplies, Charlie decided one of my drawers should be dedicated to him.  I let him stay for a little bit, but in the end, I needed the drawer for other things. I promised him the next box that comes to the coop.

Here is a series of "playing in the sink" pictures.  It's still one of his favorite things to do.  I'm convinced he doesn't drink out of his designated water dish, so he can save his thirst for the faucet.

Finally, Charlie's latest obsession.  I don't know if I should really share this, but I'm going to, anyway:

So, the drain cover on our shower comes off pretty easily...as in, Charlie has discovered he can take it off all by himself.  He has also discovered the fascinating abyss of the drainpipe.  After he pulled out the human hair ball (not pictured), he is content to stick his paw down as far as he can and clean all the other gunk off the sides of the pipe.  I assume he's trying to help me out with the cleaning, but he hasn't quite figured out how to finish the job.  Instead, he leaves all the residue he finds on the floor of the shower.

This is how I found him...peering down the drain. 

See what I mean about the lack of follow-through?

Now that I've filled you in on one of the dirty little secrets of the coop (pun intended), feel free to share any of the gross/dusty/sticky/stinky discoveries at your house!  You all have hair balls and other gunk in your drains - you just don't have a curious kitty to bring them to the surface.  No judging allowed.  : )

As usual, thanks for reading!

TTFN - ta ta for now,

-Kensy

Favorites of the day:

having an evening at home

Lacey's cookies (find them at your nearest Trader Joe's - also a favorite)

Long time, no write!

Holy cow!  I just realized it’s been almost 2 weeks since my last post.  I’m so sorry for being such a slacker…I really don’t know where the time has gone!

Things have been pretty status quo here, except for the weather.  Many of you are probably aware of this, but those of you not in Lincoln should know that last week we had 70-degree weather, wore skirts and flip-flops, and played outside without jackets.  A couple days ago, however, we had a blizzard…literally…and not the kind from DQ.  It took me over an hour to get home the other night (which is more than twice as long as usual).  Praise the Lord for safe travels…and for the hope of spring!

Last weekend, my best friend from home came to visit (and meet Charlie for the first time)!  We had a great weekend of quality time, good food, long chats, and lots of fun!  For one of our breakfasts, we made my favorite oatmeal pancakes.  Here is the recipe (you should really try them!):

2 c. milk

1 ½ c. instant oatmeal, uncooked

1 c. flour

2 ½ T. sugar

2 ½ tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

2 eggs

½ c. oil

Pour milk over oatmeal and set aside for 5 minutes.  Sift dry ingredients and stir them into the oatmeal.  Beat in the eggs and oil.  Drop onto a hot greased griddle, and cook until bubbles cover the surface.  Turn and cook the other side until golden brown.

Charlie’s doing great!  Ornery as ever, but we love him.  : )  Here he is in the process of chewing through the string on his scratching post ball (he succeeded, and there is no longer a fun ball hanging from the post):

I have some challenges for you for the week:

-find joy in the little things, and share that joy with those around you

-call/write/e-mail someone who’s been on your mind lately (sounds cliché, but really…do it this time)

-share this blog with someone you think may enjoy reading (you could share one of the more interesting posts, if you want)

I'd love to hear about the outcome of any of these!  Feel free to share in a comment (anonymously or otherwise)!

That’s all for now!  Hope you have a lovely rest of the weekend and thanks for reading!

Love,

Kensy

Favorites of the day:

hand-me-down stamping and craft supplies

game nights (we played through the entire deck of Taboo cards last night!)

being comfortable driving on these crazy snow-packed/icy roads

A word from the king of the coop

Greetings everyone,  


It's me, Charlie.  Happy snow day!  I'm enjoying mine here with my favorite coopmates.  I've been watching Kensy on her computer lately, and noticed that she hasn't been writing much about me in this blog.  So, I decided to help her out a little bit and do it myself.


I think you've heard about my love of empty pop boxes.  Well, you may not know that I like to be picked up and carried/spun/swung around in them.  Seriously.  If I'm dumped out of one, I'll just get in again in hopes of getting a ride.

My coopmates also just built me this awesome tunnel.  Here I am before...

...and after.  So fun!

I also like to play fetch sometimes.  Granted, I rarely bring my ball directly back to the thrower, but I will take it to the same special place every time with the hope that it will be thrown again.

My most recent favorite spot to be is above the kitchen cabinets and sink.

Another thing I like to do: lick water out of the sink and shower.  Maybe you've heard about that already, but I love it enough for it to be mentioned again.

Here I am lounging on the cat house I inherited from Kensy's family's previous cats.  I've heard that none of them ever really liked it.  I relax on it on occasion, but I mostly use it as a step up to the windowsill above it...

...and then I can be found like this, or hanging with both paws out.  I get in trouble for this one.

One last thing I like to do: play peek-a-boo/hide-and-seek.  I love it when someone hides from me and I get to sneak up on them.  Don't worry - I don't attack with claws, just a playful tap.

As you can probably gather, all of this playing really wears me out.  So, I can be found in this spot many times during the day:

Thanks for reading!  I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible - visitors are always welcome.  : )


Love,
Charlie

Favorites of the day:

my jingle ball (the green one - I can't find the orange one...)

looking out the window at the snow

cuddling

Dr. Pepper kitty

After spending the day "all 'coop'ed up" as my boss put it, Charlie and I got creative with our means of entertainment.  I know all kitties like boxes, but I just have to share these pictures of Charlie's experience with a Dr. Pepper box.  Initially, he wasn't too thrilled about it, but then I opened the other end, so he could see through it.  This is what followed: 

He took a running leap into it and slid probably 3 feet before the wall brought him and the box to a halt.

He proceeded to try to back out of the box. 
Notice the paw coming through the handle hole in the top of the box.

Once he got out, he turned around and dove in the other way.

Maybe some of you have seen the "yogurt box cat" video...?  If not, here's a link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPzNl6NKAG0

Charlie is obviously not as big as that kitty, and his box wasn't as small, but I'd say he had a similar experience.  : )

Hope this finds you warm and cozy!

-Kensy

Favorites of the day:

snow days!

my uncle for scooping the driveway

Getting to know you...(I just sang it in my head - feel free to do the same!)

Happy Saturday, everyone!  Hope this finds you well and ready for some winter weather!

Just thought I'd update you on the newest resident in the coop.  He's doing very well, learning quickly, and being everything I'd hoped for in a kitty.  : )  He's currently situating himself on my lap (takes him awhile to get comfortable sometimes), and purring non-stop.

As we've spent more time together, I've discovered some strange obsessions/habits of Charlie's:

• He likes to sit in the shower (I don't have a tub/shower combo - just a shower...so there isn't a tall ledge to jump over).  I think he likes to be hidden by the shower curtain...and he likes to play hide-and-seek in and around the curtain.  But I also think he likes to watch/listen to/monitor any dripping water.
• Sometimes he just digs in his litter box just for fun.
• He likes to hide under rugs.  (This is not unusual for kitties, I know).
• I don't know if most cats like to watch water coming out of a faucet (I've heard of a few that do), but Charlie definitely does.  Last night, he was "helping" me brush my teeth, and discovered the miracle of running water.  I was able to capture the moment, however, I can't get the video to upload.  Bummer!  You'll just have to picture him batting at the stream of water, getting confussed, trying to drink it, and getting his face and paws soaking wet in the process.  This is how I found him a little bit later:

Needless to say, I think the squirt-with-water discipline system we're currently on may soon prove to be ineffective...

There's really not much else to share...oh wait!  Yes, there is:

Due to Christmas/New Year's vacation, I didn't see the kiddos I teach at the studio for close to 3 weeks.  Yesterday evening, we had our first CMA class (Children's Music Academy - the group piano class for 4/5-yr.-olds and their parent I teach) since the break.  The first little girl to arrive ran in and into my arms for a hug exclaiming, "Miss Kensy!!!  I missed you!!!  I LOVE you, Miss Kensy!!!!"  Then, one of my piano students gave me a thank you note for her Christmas gift.  In it, she deemed me "the best piano teacher in the whole universe."  Just one of the many reasons I love what I do.  : )

Ok, that's all for real this time. 

Stay warm,
Kensy

Favorites of the day:

game nights

having a clean car (on the outside; I usually keep the interior pretty tidy) - I know it won't last long, but it feels so great!