Bon Voyage, Badger!

Our favorite Badger has resumed his world wide tour! He is now in the capable hands of the U.S. Postal Service (we hope and pray). The colder weather has definitely put him in sleeping mode and I think his cozy, padded envelope, with snazzy blue stripes, will be a warm place to take a long nap on the way to Heather's house in Indiana.

 

 

I was very remiss during Badger's visit. I forgot that he likes to have a red cotton handkerchief to put over his face while he naps. Maybe Heather can find one for him? (These two illustrations are from my own treasured copy of The Wind in the Willows.)

I actually did a little more knitting on my baby afghan squares yesterday. I now have 6-1/2 of the 9 squares I need. Adele may be a teenager before I finish this project. 

I just wanted to post this quickly so everyone would be aware that Badger is on the move again. Maybe he'll arrive at Heather's in time for Thanksgiving! Have fun with him! :)

 

Shalom and Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

 



On the Road Again...

Well, Mr. Badger has had quite a relaxing time of reading, knitting, drawing and indulging in hours of quiet introspection while sipping mugs of tea in the northwoods. It seemed that fall would go on forever with moderate temperatures (for Minnesota) and drizzly rain. But then...

 

 we awoke to this! Gusty winds and snow...

 The sudden wintry weather seems to have had a soporific effect on Mr. Badger. He's growing groggy and longs to curl up in a warm spot...perhaps a nice padded mailing envelope?

 I will miss his quiet companionship. He's almost like a member of the family!

 But we both agree it's time for him to resume his travels. He's snuggled up to a nice cup of hot chocolate which will fortify him for the next leg of his journey. Thank you for the visit, Badger! You know the true meaning of hygge and I will endeavor to continue living that lifestyle. :)

 I hope to get Badger's things organized and his traveling envelope packed and ready to go in the next day or two. He will take off for the magical land of Indiana to visit Heather at Blackberry Ramblings for the holidays. I look forward to reading of his adventures there. Have fun, Heather! :)

We've had so much rain lately that we haven't seen much of the sun. Here's a pretty sunrise from a few days ago.

It looks like winter's finally making its appearance. Take care out there if you have snow and ice. Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Shalom!

Various afflictions...

Ha! Poor me! It seems I'm being ganged up on by those evil twins, Chest Cold and Hives. Quite the combination! My, no wait, THE cold (I don't want to take ownership of it) seems to be running it's course and is getting better. Other than the freaky coughing fits I had at work today.

I'm still trying to pin down the culprit that's causing the hives. I think my polyester bed sheets are numero uno. I've had hives for about 3 days, and they were worse this morning. I just started sleeping on these sheets a few days ago, hence my suspicions. The hives had pretty much cleared up by the time I got off work, but I'm getting some itching again since returning home. Polyester in my clothing? I'm going to try wearing more cotton. This is a new allergy to me. (And the bed sheets are "going away", obviously.)

We're having strong winds and occasional light snow flurries. A good day to be at home reading and doing art. Badger has been practicing his pen and ink skills. He did two renditions of the Wild Wood. The shrieking wind and snow outside reminded him of a special visit he had with Mole and Ratty in his cozy burrow.

Did I mention that my son Jordan is coming for a visit? He'll be flying up our way on November 30 and will stay until the following Friday. I'm going to play hooky from work and spend lots of time with him. We (daughter Micah and myself) are very excited! We will take her van full of us and the grand girls and pick him up in Minneapolis. It's quite a drive, but she's much braver than me.

I think I will make this short and sweet. Off to cook up some soup for our supper. Stay warm and cozy everyone! Hygge's the word! :)

Shalom!

Hodge-Podge!

Another fairly gloomy November day...but a day off! 

Badger and I decided to do some organizing of the stuff that travels with him in his envelope spaceship. The postcard collection was in disarray, so we got them in order. The next hostess in line can easily add her postcard to the end of the queue, as they say in the UK. :) 

 

 

The nosey neighbors watched through the window.

 

Badger visited while I did a little doodling in the traveling book.

 

He admired his portrait...

 

I think it's finished, but you never know about these things.

 

Random! I found this on Pinterest. Now I could live in this!

 

Very snug (except for the gas can?)!

 

After much plopping down and rearranging Micah got this shot of the three girls. Audrey's smile had gotten a little frozen by then. lol. Still a good shot of the three of them.

And some new shots of Starry...

 

...and Nathan! :)

 

Here we have Adele the pink poodle, Hazel the Spiderman and Audrey the Batman-with-a-braid. Someone congratulated Micah for being so open-minded as to let her girls wear "boy" costumes. Heck, she just thought the padded muscle shirts would keep them warmer! You can fit lots of layers under there. This is Minnesota, folks! :)

Micah is sporting a cowl that I arm-knitted. Yay! One project I actually finished!

 

There has been some discussion about why some of us bloggers are "no-reply comment" bloggers. I had no idea why I was, so I went searching for answers. I came across this conversation on the Forums. It was written 3 years ago, but seems to be an answer of sorts. So, if you're interested in this topic, please check it out here....no-reply comment blogger


I couldn't help sharing this brief video. My son, Jordan, is not only the worship leader at Open Door Church in Burleson, Texas, but is also recruited to do some fun videos like this one. Deacon J...that's my Jordan! Enjoy! :)


And now, off to do some reading and enjoying the rest of my evening. Hygge to everyone!

And shalom.

Badger happenings...

Thanks to my awesome readers who asked if this...

...was really MY larder! I'm touched that you believe me to be so awesome as to have such a larder. Nay, I must confess, I Googled "hobbit larder" to find this fine example. I wanted Badger to have something more in keeping with his habits and tastes than my boring little pantry. In this alternate universe I like to call The Wind in the Willows World Wide Tour, anything is possible, if we just think it up!

The wind is whistling around the house and slushy snow is falling outside. Badger and I are enjoying an evening of hygge. I asked if he would consider posing for his portrait. He thought it would pass the time pleasantly. Here's the rough sketch. I'll update as watercolors are added.

After some sketching, tea was made and we sat before a roaring fire reading and knitting. As I continued the saga of Jane Eyre, Badger was clicking away on his double pointed knitting needles, producing a pair of thick, woolen socks. I must have him teach me how to do this!

(from the internet)

My work schedule has made it difficult to entertain Badger as I would like to. He, however, has been the ideal guest and has managed to see some of the sights himself during my work day. The second day he was here he hiked into my small town of Nevis and was quite impressed with our Tiger Muskie statue.

(This statue is actually here in Nevis. The pic, however, is from the internet.)

 He continued on down the trail to the town of Akeley, a five mile jaunt, and visited our very impressive Paul Bunyan statue. He cajoled two children into posing on Paul's boot so we could see how BIG he is. We seem to be enamored of giant statues in this neck of the woods. This British badger seems to think nothing of a 10 mile walk! He said he found it quite invigorating!

(Yes, he's actually 5 miles down the road. Internet photo.)

My house is back on the market at a reduced price. I actually had a realtor show it yesterday. That's the first showing all summer. I have no idea what the result of that showing was, but I'm thinking I'd better get a little serious about looking into housing alternatives, just in case. Badger and I have been making a list of things I need to find out about apartments in the area. This could be exciting, if I keep the right frame of mind. I'll be working on that. If things get too exciting, too quickly, I may need to put Badger on a bus to his next destination. We'll see how things develop. I don't want him getting lost in the confusion. :) Meanwhile, we'll enjoy staying warm away from the cold, sloppy weather. I finally have two days off! Hoorah!

Stay warm! God bless and shalom!

A soggy day...

Today a fine rain drizzles down upon my little patch of ground. I'm so glad that yesterday was fine and fair, for my friend Badger. But wait...I left you last time staring at an unopened package!

No fear. I opened the package soon after I posted and Badger and I had a delightful first meeting. He's my kind of people! Polite and very down-to-earth. (Is that a pun when applied to a badger?)

After a tour of the house (It was dark outside, so no thought of going out, though he, being a creature of the night, might have liked to.) we enjoyed a small before-bedtime snack. I knew right away what he would prefer. A favorite of mine as well, coincidentally... (This was accompanied by hot chocolate and pumpkin bars!)

 

We munched and talked for quite some time, but I, unfortunately, had to go to work the next morning, so to bed I must go. (Did any of you have this problem?) I showed Badger to the guest room, but he seemed a little hesitant. I asked what was the matter and he said that he would feel slightly lost in the large bed. Oh! After a bit of thought we came up with a very snug solution.

Up bright and early the next morning! Badger was seriously jet-lagged from his trip over the big pond, so I let him sleep in. I felt so guilty having to rush off to work, but it occurred to me that he is, after all, a GROWN badger and could probably shift very well for himself. I left him a note, inviting him to help himself to anything in the larder...

 

I also suggested that we have a very nice hiking trail running alongside the property and he might want to enjoy the sunshine and have a nice walk. Upon returning home I found that he had taken my suggestion, had packed a little lunch, and had explored the trail as well as the woods behind my house.

 

 

He regaled me with stories of his explorations. His nose quivered with delight as he told me of the scent of badgers in the vicinity. He had even discovered several burrows. I told him that our badgers' holes were probably not as snug and well-stocked as his own. "Yes," he replied. "There's nothing that compares with home." He sounded a little wistful, but assured me that he meant to enjoy his journey, knowing that his snug burrow awaited him at the end of the road.

After a filling supper, I took my guest outside to introduce him to...(dum, dum, DUM)...the Ancient Swamp Willows of Nevis, MN. Though they are ancient, and pretty much falling down, he loved them instantly and had to have a climb. (No badgers don't really climb trees. He needed a little boost.)

I've misplaced my photo of Mole, Rat and Toad playing in that very same tree, so I showed him this painting instead. He thought it was rather cool that they had all shared this same experience!

 

Well, Badger went off to the study to write in his journal, so in other news...

 

I've been reading through my binders of old emails from mom. She has one binder entitled "Warm Fuzzies" which contains "only letters that supply special 'landmarks' or 'warm fuzzies', etc. that I like to read on cozy rainy days." There are many hand-written letters in this binder, going back many years. I was very smitten with a letter from one of her friends. I loved how this woman had created her own ingenious stationary using dried flowers encased in a wax paper-like material. Isn't this cute?

 

 

It has a Victorian feeling to it, don't you think?

Well, I'm going to cease and desist for now. A slight cold still hangs on and fogs my brain, so I'll find some very un-cerebral activities to entertain myself. Badger is enjoying doing his own thing and is now poring over my bookshelves in search of a good rainy-day-read. Like I said, my kind of people!

Farewell, from the north woods of Minnesota!

Shalom to all.

The badger has landed! The badger has landed!

At least, I think there's a badger in this package?

I just arrived home from work and am feeling achy and less than wonderful, so I may savor the moment. Let the suspense build. Like Christmas morning. :) Meanwhile, Mr. Badger is imprisoned in this parcel, wondering where in the world he is! Don't worry. I'll open the package soon. I just wanted everyone to know it arrived safely.

Yes, Glenn. We're playing again. The Wind in the Willows Tour rides again! This time Mr. Badger is our guest. What sort of fun can we dream up for him? Stay tuned for further adventures! Wah-hoo!

Later!

Shalom.

Wind in the Willows inspiration!

Thought I'd do a little sketch in honor of Pom's copy of Wind in the Willows, which is finally winging its way home after a long journey!

This is the first drawing I've done in a while. It was fun!

Looking forward to seeing what you have up your sleeve for the next adventure, Pom! Also, can't wait to see what everyone did with the book!

I just had to save this cute sticker off of your last package, Pom. She is now decorating the back of the little book that I sketched Badger in. :)

We had a snow day today. No school and we did a lot of digging out. It was kind of a nice change of pace!

Shalom and goodnight!

Mags...you commissioned this painting! :)

I hope the tree is recognizable as a tree! I can see now why "only God can make a tree"! We can only "represent" one. :) And I think Toad must have gone on a diet, lol!

Hope you enjoy it! Are the boys still with you?

Shalom my friends!