Doggone Winter

Winter seems especially cold this year and it's getting old. 

So, on the ONE day that a melt started (as you can see on the grid)I got my camera out of storage.  The other significant thing that happened that day is that I slipped on a patch of ice camera in hand....down flat I went on my belly.  I was fine and I nervously laughed after knowing the the lens did not hit the pavement (just my elbow).  Geez!

 Winter snow makes such lovely backdrop

 And its always fun to add a snow overlay

 Fur trimmed hoods are the best!

 A puppy almost as white as the snow is the perfect prop

 Thank you Oscar for licking my face when I was down for a count : )
                                                                                  ~Love, Gramsie

2017 in review

2017 in review

Random tiny moments by the month.

January

I never thought I'd be watching the Presidental Inauguration of Donald Trump!

Henry in Plum City Wisconsin.  We visited the first one room school on one very cold January Day.

Plum School below zero.

 The discovery of the most beautiful renovated school.  My new favorite.

February

Celebrating with Maddie for her completion of her Masters program.

 Beautiful winter outdoor portraits of my favorite two models.

And indoor portraits with a live teddy bear.

March

 Enjoying the cabin in Webster Wisconsin with favorite local beers.

 Crex Meadows!

Long lens workout.

 Turtle in the middle of the road, in March?

APRIL

The creating and making of the Green Ribbon with Ruby and Lily.

May

Camping in southern Minnesota.

I discover the ease of iMovie and begin making Henry clips for Henry's Playlist on YouTube.

June

Learning how to tie up the train with Adrienne...for Maddie's wedding day.

JULY

Watching my two favorite guys fish.




August

The excitement of entering my schoolhouse photographs in the state fair.



September

66th street redo upsets the neighborhood.




October

I got to see the fall colors this year!





November

Cutting down our Christmas Tree.



December

Found this at an antique store!  Great fun to read.

 The bitter cold.

Millie all visited out on Christmas Eve.

Schools of the New Ulm Area

Sunday early in the morning, we headed down to New Ulm, MN   The weather has been mild and warm for December. An hour into the drive I realized why we never head southwest of the Cities.  Flat prairie land for miles, but the silence lead to good conversation about the family farm and the hard work of our forefathers.  Every dozen of acres a grove of trees sprouted out from the prairie.  Smack in the middle of these groves we'd see the worn and weathered family farms many of them appearing tired and  abandoned.  We found several one-room schools for our collection.  All were repurposed, except for the last one which was repurposed  for Henry's new farm friends.

44.366630  -94.401640 

School number 1287 looked like it was being used for storage.

 44.373296,-94.468864

School Number 1274 was converted to a home.

44.342462,-94.522476 

School 186 was a beautiful example of a one room school.  It was beautifully restored and was a residence.  My guess was that it was a two room school.

 I know there was a sign out front of this school and it read "Essig Town Hall"  but I cannot find it on Google maps and the GPS tracker on my camera was not on.  The building had all windows on the backside, typical of school houses.

44.354316, -94.590175 

Town of Milford School Number 181

Converted into a residence and looks like it's ready for another renovation.

30001 Co Hwy 27, Sleepy Eye, MN 56085

The home was being wored on by the owner.  Look by the ladder.

Quail Trapp School

44.225516, -94.746650

Henry greeting Quail Trapp's residents

The Dog

When Lily was three or four she always talked about how MUCH she wanted a dog.  I have pictures of her loving Charlie the first dog of the family. She's was known to give french kisses to Henry and Charlie and she asked for a dog everyday.  The summer of 2016 one week before school started the Awad family caved and bought a beautiful white puppy.  They named him Oscar.

Oscar is the main attraction for Lily 

So much love!

 Merry Christmas 2016

November 2017

And tonight I received this in a text.  I can't wait to see what she comes up with next!

The Gales of November II

The Gales of November DID greet us on Friday, November 10th.  The wind was blustery and the clouds hung low threatening inclement weather.  The temperature was hovering right around the freezing point of 32°.  We had companions this trip, Urklegrew and Frederich..a little German couple shown below.

Urklegrew and Frederich

A stop at Zups in Silver Bay for the famous potato sausage. Dinner of white fish from Kendalls all prepared in an electric skillet with grade AAA butter.  It was delicious.

Toasty fires and great local beer, Castle Danger Brewery aided in our cozy cabin atmosphere.

Urklegrew and Frederich enjoying their Castle Danger beer by the fire ; )

 Great shot along highway 61

 Probably the last time we'll see the Colonial.

Another great visit to the north shore Henry in tow.