Monday, November 30, 2009

Freckled Belle Larson: 01/13/2004 - 11/30/2009





our beloved and beautiful lil dog, belle, was hit by a car and killed today.
we miss her terribly already.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

the circle of life...

yesterday was a sad day on the farm. one of the feeder cows died. not that i knew that at first. here's how "the chat" with my hubs went:
"UUUHHH, WHY IS YOUR DAD DRAGGING A COW WITH THE SKID LOADER??!!" i shrieked as i looked out the kitchen window. seriously, was not expecting that. i was just filling up my coffee pot with water. i just wanted a hot, fresh cup o' joe.
"Is it dead?" hubs asks. all calmly and monotony.
"UUHHH, NO! IT IS BOUNCING AND MOVING...AND..." i shriek in reply.
"No it's not. If Dad is dragging it, it's dead," he replies. again all calmly. and all monotony. at this point i realize that my hubs has not even looked up from his laptop. did not even seem bothered by this exchange of words.
but dead the cow was. is.
all dead.
and being dragged by it's hind leg in a chain to the end of the lane.
all bloated. legs in the air. and d-e-a-d.
at the end of the lane. waiting for the rendering truck to come and get it. the rendering truck is the farm equivalent of the hearse from the morgue. for $30 bucks, a guy and a truck come and pick up the dead animal and take it away. making sure the carcass is not used to make dog food, or cat food, or people food. or glue. well, unless it's a horse. they are still made into glue i think.
that's the skid loader.
here's couple of that dead cow's friends. they were all very sad. are very sad.
do you think there is grief therapy for bovine? i should google that...
it was probably the copious amount of pain pills i am popping that made me all sad about this poor, dead cow. i mean, i understand the farm. i grew up on a farm. i have watched "the lion king". i "get" the circle of life. i still bawled when mufasa died. poor lil simba. i bawled when my first cat, fluffy, got smushed by a car on the gravel road. i spent an entire afternoon bawling and calling for my dog duke (who looked almost like lassie...) until dad came home and told me he was dead.
but, any death makes me think of my mom. and my big kitter oliver. any death. except for when spiders die...
anyways...
r.i.p poor cow.
(i am certain it was in her honor last night that we had pepperoni and sausage, not beef, on our pizza.)

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

kernels of thanksgiving...

my 4-yr-old brought this home from school the other day:

the legend of the five kernels
- the first kernel reminds us of the autumn beauty around us
- the second kernel reminds us of our love for each other
- the third kernel reminds us of God's love and care for us
- the fourth kernel reminds us of our friends - especially our native american brothers
- the fifth kernel reminds us that we are a free people

we each have a kernel that is near and dear to who and what we are...be thankful!

and, because, in each day one must have a bit of humor...i now give you vintage adam sandler, from 17 years ago (possibly a bit inappropriate in parts, but...post it i will):

http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977917644&grpId=3659174697244816

happy thanksgiving to each of you!

Friday, November 20, 2009

photo prints and mcmamma!

use this link to check out the photo print that i did for mcmamma:
and, then go to my uppercase living website and find out more! call or email me with questions and i'll help YOU get YOUR own photo made into some amazing vinyl!

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

we will not be having a "blue christmas" this year...

karl has celebrated christmas in "the blue house" 9 years.

i have celebrated christmas in "the blue house" for 6 years.

belle has celebrated christmas in "the blue house" for 5 years.

wren has celebrated christmas in "the blue house" for 4 years.

linnea has celebrated christmas in "the blue house" for 3 years.

and, puddy has celebrated christmas in "the blue house" just once.

we are nearly done packing. nearly done loading up all of our possessions.
nearly done here at "the blue house".
the only home that me, my pets, my kids & i have known since each of us became an official larson.
not sure what moniker our new house will have...and although we are looking forward to calling it and making it our home...we are all a bit sad to leave "the blue house".

Sunday, November 15, 2009

belated merry halloween photos...

** due to some technical difficulties (i.e. our computer refused to read the photo card. ahem...NOT a good thing!) i am late, late, LATE to share these. please accept my apologies and understand that i tried very, very, very hard not to say bad words to or about the computer. although i did not succeed, i did try.
i love this photo! albeit fuzzy & blurry...i adore how the girls are looking at the daddy! this is right before they headed out to "trick-or-treat"...the daddy as an ISU football fan and lil miss muffitt and snow white. he was in good company, huh?!?!
lil miss muffitt with her curds & whey and that darned spider (at her pre-school gathering...).

lil miss muffitt at home with that darned spider!
snow white and lil miss muffitt
this is what snow white wears under that beautiful princess dress. definitely very dancer-looking!
after visiting all the neighbors the little trick-or-treaters were ready to just hand out some candy!
snow white walking to the car, er, CARRIAGE, after dropping off lil miss muffitt at school.
snow white and her dog, doggy-woggy. somehow we managed to totally change up the original story, but no one seemed to care. in fact, i think some people we encountered were glad that cruella was nowhere in sight!
besides....could YOU resist THIS face when asked if doggy-woggy could come along? i think not! i obviously could not...
belated, but still genuine...
MERRY HALLOWEEN!

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

dancey-dance, fancey-pants

To dance is to be out of yourself. Larger,
more beautiful,
more powerful.
~Agnes De Mille

Saturday, November 7, 2009

giraff-a-mo

(PLEASE NOTE: if you are offended by partial giraff-a-mo nudity, please do not read this post!)
giraff-a-mo is a good "buddy carrier"...
yes, giraff-a-mo is wearing underpants...

yes, my daughters are not only CUTE, but CREATIVE and FUNNY, too!


Wednesday, November 4, 2009

tell me...

tell me i'm clever,
tell me i'm kind,
tell me i'm talented,
tell me i'm cute,
tell me i'm senstive,graceful and wise,
tell me i'm perfect . . .
. . .but tell me the truth.
-Shel Silverstein


Monday, November 2, 2009

good-bye blue house...UPDATED!

UPDATE:
passed Inspector and Radon Test with flying colors! good job "blue house"! just the assessor on tuesday and then...i think this is really, really happening?!?!?!


the papers were signed thursday at 10:12pm.





the inspector came saturday.





assessor sometime this week.





looks like our days in "the blue house" are numbered.





tuseday, november 24th it becomes someone else's blue house.





karl built a yellow/tan house 9 years ago. way before a wife. a cat. a dog. a daughter. another daughter. another cat. it was all nearly "bachelor beige". then he met me. and, according to a few close friends, i added some "color" to his life. not sure how they mean that....ahem.





but in the past 6 years many colors have been added to our house. our lives.





and now we have new colors to explore...as we search for our new home.





so...it is nearly time to say good-bye to "the blue house"...i think we shall miss you!