Spring Thaw?

Contrary to what the image in my new March header may lead you to believe, winter in Minnesota appears to be on its way out of town. At least it has felt that way for the past couple of weeks as we've had glorious sunny days in the mid 40s (okay, not every day, but at least a few!) and the snow has begun its retreat that brings on puddles and muddy shoes. I was actually surprised I never felt fed up with winter this year, perhaps due to all of our outdoor play and skiing adventures? But that doesn't mean I am not rejoicing as spring begins to creep back into our world. You would think that after 26 years I could remember the patterns of the changing seasons, but every year, without fail, I realize I have forgotten that spring and warmth really do come - we do not live in an eternal winter (although sometimes I wonder what life as a Narnian would be like, haha). I obviously know in my mind that spring arrives, and summer too, but it's that immediate, everyday part of my mind that forgets -- that you don't always have to bundle up to battle old man winter, wonder if your car will start as it grumbles and coughs at your "wake-up" attempt, and sleep with socks on to avoid the curled-toe morning walk to the bathroom. And I could go on, as could you. Here are some hopeful signs of spring on its way:

- the ice in our driveway, front steps, and roof has melted.

- the icicles, which grew to great lengths at the beginning of the thaw, have fallen like daggers and shattered on the ground (see photos below). The first day one fell we were inside the house and the noise was so sudden and loud I called to Evan thinking he had fallen!

- the squirrels are ravishing and stealing from the bird feeder! I like the squirrels most of the year and get a kick watching them, but the first time I saw a squirrel hanging upside down from our little bird feeder it was so offensive and wrong I ran out there and took the feeder down! We have since tried many tricks in getting food past the squirrels, but alas, nothing has worked. We tried a different feeder that we thought could fool the squirrels, and we even tried one of those shields that goes above the feeder with the purpose of deflecting the squirrels and sending them to the ground (muahahah). There are two squirrels who frequent our feeder. One I consider a normal squirrel who cannot get by this protective shield. The other is Super Squirrel for nothing stops him; he sidesteps this shield like he was born to invade feeders, and makes a point of sending some food down to the earth-bound squirrel below. They work as a team, these two. And by mid-day, the contents of our feeder are stashed away in their little squirrel nests. Although I like to pretend the unruly and hungry squirrels are a sign of the end of a long winter and spring on the horizon, I wouldn't be surprised if they continued this routine throughout the summer. Those little buggers.

- Our little mounds of dirt around the house are no longer snow covered and will be sprouting with little tulips any day... ok, well not any day just yet. But it will be exciting to see a bit of color in our yard whenever they do peak up from the soil.

- Evan is done coaching basketball! Wahoo! Now spring can really begin. He has a blast coaching the freshman girls, but it is nice to see him before 6 or 7pm (when he leaves the house at 6am or earlier!) and not having to cook dinner by myself -- or at all ; )

As the days continue to grow longer we will see more and more signs of spring on its ways. Here are a few photos of our amazing icicle artwork we had "displayed" in our backyard for a few weeks:


More icicles -- Winter chimes (similar fall photo!) -- Bunny or squirrel tracks?

Our beautiful bird feeder before the squirrels took interest (Xmas gift from the Piersons) and a cardinal and friend enjoying a snack!
Winter at 6032. Let's hope this is a fond farewell for the season!

Snowy Adventures Up North

"What is beautiful is a joy for all seasons"

Oscar Wilde

I received that quote on a card from my grandma Haze earlier this winter and have had it sitting on a shelf in my dining room ever since. It's a nice reminder when looking out the window at the huge pile of snow in our driveway, or feeling the draft coming up through the floorboards. Sometimes it is hard to enjoy all that winter has to offer because of the many challenges it presents - both physical and mental. If you remember my post from last year you'll know that I take this time to focus in and work on making my own warmth and brightness. But it is also a good time just to bundle up and get out there because when everyone else cringes at the winter world around them and you decide to embrace the frozen tundra and howling wind -- that's when the best adventures begin.

Over Valentine's Day weekend Evan and I drove up north to visit Karrin at Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center in Finland, MN where she is working as a naturalist. Mike, her boyfriend, is currently working at nearby Lutsen Ski Resort, so we were able to enjoy the weekend with him as well. What a treat to hike up Marshall Mountain (it looked different last August and October. Here's an old post!). We also learned about the Center and all the lessons Karrin teaches (we even went in an igloo!), did some star gazing (we don't have stars like that in the cities!), and spent a day skiing down the mountains of Lutsen against the backdrop of beautiful Lake Superior.

It has taken my dad and I a long time to figure out how to post high quality slideshows with audio on my blog without spending a fortune, but finally -- here's the first one! You might want to wait until your computer has rendered it a little (the red bar goes across a bit) before trying to watch the whole thing. I have it set so that older computers can view, but if you have a newer computer (with an intel chip) you can watch it at 1080p - HD! Just click the arrow next to 360p or 480p along the bar at the bottom and select 1080p (this option isn't available until after you hit play). Let me know if you have any problems. Turn up your volume and enjoy!

You can view these photos individually at my shutterfly website.

Salmon from Solveig

Actually, this recipe comes from my mom's cousin, but Salmon from Solveig just sounded too good to pass up. Besides, it really has become my mom's recipe over the past couple years, as she's served it up for many occasions, and it often is the centerpiece at someone's last-meal-at-home dinner (before heading off to college, back to Minnesota, or traveling around the world). It is best on the grill, but we've made it in the oven a few times and that works too (and is much easier in the winter!). This is by no means a healthy salmon recipe as it is accompanied by generous amounts of butter, but it sure is tasty!

Makes a lot (enough for one full fish). When I make it for two I usually third the recipe, and even then I sometimes have some sauce left over.

Marinade:

2 sticks butter
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 T mustard
1 T worcestershire sauce
1 T lemon juice
a little pepper
titch of sugar (that's what the recipe says!)

Directions (for oven):

1. First melt the butter in a medium glass bowl, then add the remaining ingredients and stir well. Place salmon fillets in a medium glass baking dish (or larger dish for more fish) and cover with the marinade. Marinate in the refrigerator for about 1 hour, turning occasionally. I usually don't have time to marinate the fillets and it turns out ok -- probably not as flavorful, but still good.

2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees

3. Place fillets in aluminum foil, cover with marinade, and seal. Place sealed salmon in the glass dish, and bake 35 to 45 minutes, until easily flaked with a fork. Watch to make sure it doesn't burn (butter burns easily).

If using a grill, put salmon on aluminum foil and make sure it doesn't burn!

Enjoy!

I will have to post our other salmon recipe later -- also from my mom's cousin! That one is more of a cajun rub with some spicy mustard sauce. Yum! E prefers this first recipe while I am in favor of the second. But they both are good!

New Header!

As you may have noticed, the Tales of E and C has a new header! I came across this blog today and was so inspired by what I saw I couldn't wait to sit down and try it out for myself. Although I do love playing with Photoshop Elements, it is nice to have an easier and quicker alternative. I plan on changing my header monthly (because it is so much fun!) so make sure you check back to see what else I create! If you have your own blog go check out the tutorial and try it out for yourself!

Spontaneous Bathroom Tile Demolition

At first glance as you pass by our cozy bathroom you will probably be impressed by the glass tiles accenting the shower walls. If you've been witness to the hideous purple that used to adorn the surrounding walls, you will likely notice they are now dressed in a new shade of beige (technically "toasted wheat"). And if you pause for a moment with a critical eye you might get a chuckle over the shower head and water spout placement (let's just say we could have an NBA player over without a problem).

And if you pause to look at all that, you'll maybe -- just maybe -- forget to look down at the floor. At least that is our hope.

In recent weeks we've noticed a few critical pieces to our bathroom have suddenly decided to become uncooperative. First we have our toilet which is now gradually filling a small ice cream pail with water. Apparently this toilet is high maintenance -- it begs for attention with a constant drip-drip after every flush until we go in and manually shut her up. Nothing beats the double-flush quirk. But that isn't new. If you've been to our house perhaps you've realized that this crazy toilet will flush once, and then almost as an afterthought, it swallows up the water and flushes again. Although we like the looks of our vanity, we've noticed the base is a bit soggy in places -- and vanity shopping is fun! The laminate flooring has begun to peel up in places, and near the tub it is really quite soggy. We've always assumed we'd replace that floor at some point, but now that the toilet and vanity need to retire as well, we figure we might as well jump in.

And jump in we did. Sunday afternoon. Evan decided to peel up a tile just to see how easy it would be. Well, removing the first layer of flooring went relatively smoothly. It was only once we realized there was another older layer of flooring below, that we began to face problems. After a trip to Home Depot and a new tile remover in hand, we went at it again, only to realize the flooring would not come up (even with the suggested warm water). Since it was 8pm we decided to cut our losses and cover the sticky green/yellow flooring with some cardboard. Which is how it sits right now... and will remain for a few weeks until we have time to get at it once more.

So if you come over to the Pierson house please admire our tiling work, our shower curtain, even the little rock collection. Just promise you won't look down : )

Belated Blogging

The final weeks of 2009 were filled with such a flurry of activity I nearly forgot to write them into the Tales of E & C! So now, to fully end the 2009 chapter of our blog ...

We celebrated Evan's 26th Birthday on November 3rd with one of his favorite home-cooked dinners (Balsamic Chicken with peas and corn), funfetti cake, and a scavenger hunt that involved gathering clues via Video Chat, text message, and by deciphering many of Carolyn's encrypted and rhyming notes!

We were blessed to have some visitors to share our first Thanksgiving in our new house.

My parents and Kirsten flew out for a week-long stay and Karrin drove down from Wolf Ridge (about an hour north of Duluth) -- Sarah is overseas for the semester (I think she was in Hong Kong for T-day); We enjoyed a T-day run around Lake Harriet,

a tasty meal,

and a lot of Tim Tams (I'll have to link to a video of a TimTam Slam later).

Evan was able to drive down to be with his family for their noon meal and then gallop on back up here for our evening meal.

I sure think he had his fill of turkey by the end of the day!

We then were off to Green Lake in Spicer, MN to spend the weekend with some extended relatives. We enjoyed many silly games,

Zip-Zip-Bong

heads or tails

played ladder-toss

(Evan and my cousin Erin won!),

some of us went in the water! : O

Crazy Water-Nut Kirst!

While the rest of us stayed on land.

We enjoyed the peacefulness of Green Lake,

and we laughed,

and we laughed,

and we laughed.

Then began December, one of my favorite months of the year. Here are a few reasons why I consider this the Most Wonderful Time of the Year:

The second annual Pierson Cookie Bake was a success! Check out some of our goodies:

My 26th birthday was celebrated with some of my favorite things (and people!). Karrin was visiting as her flight to NJ was cancelled and delayed by a couple of days due to a big snow storm out east. We enjoyed a scrumptious breakfast of pumpkin waffles (I LOVE breakfast!), spent the day sending off Christmas cards and walking around the festive streets of Edina, then went out to dinner at The Good Earth before a little ice skating adventure at Centennial Lakes. Turns out it is pretty hard to skate on an un-groomed, natural outdoor rink!

And finally, one of my favorite places and mornings of the entire year ...

Christmas post to follow shortly -- I just have to process 200 photos first!

**Thanks to Kirst and Dadster for some of these photos -- I honestly can't remember which were mine!

Driving a Tractor 101

Tractor chairs and compartments aren't really designed for two people.

But we decided to try it out anyway! Actually, we've been riding double in the tractor since our dating days, only then it was Evan behind the wheel. For some reason we just love those tractor rides. E even said he had considered proposing out there! (I think he was joking?) Here's a peak at my first tractor driving experience! (I meant to include this with my previous post)

Here's the infamous manure-spreading duo: Our manly machine: Out in the field about to start spreading manure:

Watch these smart ladies ... I am always impressed at how they remember where to go:

Bambi at the Farm

How does a cow end up with the name Bambi, you may ask? Being a descendent of Evan's original cow BonBon, this new calf had to have a name starting with the letter B (that is the naming scheme at SapaSka Farms). But what about the name Bambi is particularly fitting for this calf? Well, I can remember part of that childhood movie when Bambi's legs get tied up when he is skating across some ice. Later, Bambi's father stands above him in the forest, saying "Get up, Bambi, get up." You see, this new calf has some trouble untying those new legs and standing on its own two feet. When she was in the womb her front legs were twisted, causing severe weakness and instability in her front legs and wrists. Unlike most calves who walk within a few hours of their birth, this calf hobbles around on bent legs and spends the rest of her time lying down. Evan assured me they have seen this before at their farm and the calf will outgrow it -- she just needs time to strengthen her legs and wrists.

Evan and I visited the farm the other weekend to meet his new calf Bambi. What a cutie!

Halloween!

Evan and I enjoyed staying home on Halloween and passing out candy to the lil' trick-or-treaters. It was our first halloween where we could enjoy this tradition (or at least this end of it), as our apartment left us disappointed on Hallow's Eve these past two years. We were excited to have roughly 30 or 40 guests stop by! (I think. Evan knows the exact number). Enough to gobble most of our candy but not so many that we had to run to the store again.

We had been delinquent in our pumpkin carving this year so Halloween night we went at it, carving a face out of the pumpkin that had been sitting on our steps, ripening, for most of fall. ... And ripen it had. I do believe that was the first ROTTEN pumpkin I have ever carved! What a slimy halloween treat for us ; ) Needless to say, we forwent the pumpkin-seed roasting part of the tradition! We actually had two pumpkins but since we were pressed for time we decided to team up -- E carved the left side, I did the right. I think they turned out pretty similar actually.

No halloween is complete without a little costume fun! So Evan and I both gave ourselves just about three minutes to come up with costumes. As you can see below, I was a cowgirl. Evan was either some sort of god or a pimp. Perhaps next year we'll have to work longer on our costumes, but I think we did pretty well for just throwing things together!

Enjoy the photos below!

Wolf Ridge!

This is a long-overdue post! During a week in mid October my mom flew out to Minnesota to visit Evan and I, and then the three of us took a weekend trip up to Duluth and then Finland, Minnesota where Karrin is working as a Naturalist at Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center. You may remember when Kirsten and I dropped her off earlier this August (two photos in collage are from that trip). It was great seeing Karrin in her new home, hearing tid-bits of nature lessons from her growing repertoire (identifying trees, handling birds, reenacting French explorers!), and sharing in her excitement of the great outdoors. We went on many little hikes (we weren't there long enough to tackle anything major), visited a teepee (we wanted to sleep in one but it was realllyyyy cold), and even completed the Ropes Course -- without falling! Although we were there just about a week or two after peak leaf-season, it was still beautiful. Enjoy some of my photos below, and then head on over to my picasa album for a full view.

Golden light near Gooseberry Falls

Colors near Gooseberry Falls

Gooseberry Falls

Karrin conquers the Ropes Course!

E & C in Duluth

Who's that Indian in my tee-pee?