http://nil17.com Ruminations on my life... Fri, 20 Jan 2012 04:59:40 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://nil17.com/2011/10/princess-in-blue/ http://nil17.com/2011/10/princess-in-blue/#comments Mon, 10 Oct 2011 18:21:54 +0000 Nil17 http://nil17.com/?p=2137     Here are some photos of our little princess in the doll dress I bought her.  She’s growing so much  & yet she’s still so tiny.  I’m thankful that she is such an easy baby & very good for her momma.          

]]> http://nil17.com/2011/10/princess-in-blue/feed/ 1 http://nil17.com/2011/06/arrowhead-park-visit/ http://nil17.com/2011/06/arrowhead-park-visit/#comments Fri, 24 Jun 2011 15:42:21 +0000 Nil17 http://nil17.com/?p=1884 Arrowhead Park, which is near our house, for a walk.  The waterfowl area is well-kept & fairly clean considering all the birds.  The paths are perfect for strollers and easily navigated.  We walked around the quarry & up to [...]]]> I took these photos on Father’s Day.  We had taken a little jaunt to Arrowhead Park, which is near our house, for a walk.  The waterfowl area is well-kept & fairly clean considering all the birds.  The paths are perfect for strollers and easily navigated.  We walked around the quarry & up to a beautifully shaded picnic area which includes modern restroom facilities.  There is a barn from the 1880s that is being restored near the picnic area.  It will be interesting to see what the barn will be used for once the restoration is complete.

]]> http://nil17.com/2011/06/arrowhead-park-visit/feed/ 0 http://nil17.com/2010/11/falls-park/ http://nil17.com/2010/11/falls-park/#comments Sat, 13 Nov 2010 03:39:42 +0000 Nil17 http://nil17.com/?p=1492 Falls Park in Sioux Falls over the weekend.  Here are some of the photos that I took.  It was cool but so nice to be outside enjoying the last of the nice weather before winter arrives. We spent a little while in Falls Park in Sioux Falls over the weekend.  Here are some of the photos that I took.  It was cool but so nice to be outside enjoying the last of the nice weather before winter arrives.

]]> http://nil17.com/2010/11/falls-park/feed/ 1 http://nil17.com/2010/09/sunrise-a-pictorial/ http://nil17.com/2010/09/sunrise-a-pictorial/#comments Tue, 07 Sep 2010 23:08:58 +0000 Nil17 http://nil17.com/?p=1380 I am a notorious night owl/insomniac.  This tends to be a bit of a huge problem with an infant around.  Lately it hasn’t been too bad but this past weekend I had a night where I absolutely could not sleep.  I read all night & Abe woke up early so we decided to take a load of stuff over to the new house.  As we were leaving the sun was just beginning to rise so I snapped a few photos. I was so fantastic to be out in the fresh morning air enjoying the fact that we will so be living in the country.

]]> http://nil17.com/2010/09/sunrise-a-pictorial/feed/ 0 http://nil17.com/2010/08/family-reunion-2010/ http://nil17.com/2010/08/family-reunion-2010/#comments Tue, 24 Aug 2010 21:21:03 +0000 Nil17 http://nil17.com/?p=1329 New Ulm, MN.  We’ve had the Lee family (my maternal grandmother & her brothers et al) reunion as long as I can remember.  I talked about it in this post. We haven’t gone in the past few years as it was a long [...]]]> This past weekend we attended my family reunion in New Ulm, MN.  We’ve had the Lee family (my maternal grandmother & her brothers et al) reunion as long as I can remember.  I talked about it in this post. We haven’t gone in the past few years as it was a long trip for a few short hours.  This year we are closer & we were anxious to show off Magnus to the extended family.  There weren’t many people in attendance & unfortunately it appears that this will be the last year we have the reunion.  I’m saddened by this…so many of my childhood summer memories are tied up with this event.  I would love for my child (and my nieces/nephews) to have a similar experience.  However, the family circle has drifted to all corners of the country & a yearly reunion just isn’t feasible.  It remains to be seen what will happen. In the meantime I got a few pictures that I really want to share from this year.

]]> http://nil17.com/2010/08/family-reunion-2010/feed/ 1 http://nil17.com/2010/08/country-summer/ http://nil17.com/2010/08/country-summer/#comments Fri, 13 Aug 2010 18:41:19 +0000 Nil17 http://nil17.com/?p=1286 There have been very few posts on here lately & they have pretty much been serious & a bit depressing. I won’t apologize for that because I’m hella depressed. However I have not forgotten to notice the beauty around me. Though I haven’t been outside much this summer I have managed to take pictures while traveling to & from the doctor’s office. Out here my scenery is comprised of extensive corn & soybean fields covered in a bright blue bowl filled with puffy clouds. Summer here is hot & humid during the day; the nights are hot, humid & stormy. Many nights I have woken to fierce lightning & thunder rocking my house. When the rain starts drumming on the house & lawn I roll over, snuggle deeper into the covers and slide into slumber again. Anyway, here are some of the pictures I’ve captured this summer….

]]> http://nil17.com/2010/08/country-summer/feed/ 3 http://nil17.com/2010/04/and-into-the-west-a-sunset/ http://nil17.com/2010/04/and-into-the-west-a-sunset/#comments Fri, 09 Apr 2010 23:01:03 +0000 Nil17 http://nil17.com/?p=1182 These are just random pictures I’ve taken of the area around our new home.  One thing I can say about living on the prairie is that when there is a sunset (or sunrise) I don’t have to worry about finding a clear shot.  It’s easy to avoid an ill-placed tree in the wide open plains.  I miss the giant conifers that guarded our house up north.  When the weather was raging somehow I always felt safe & sheltered by those massive green giants.  Out here I feel exposed & isolated…something with which I used to feel comfortable.  After living in the dense forests of northern Minnesota I’ve lost that feeling of comfort & belonging that I acquired as a child.  Anyway here are a few photos I took while riding home one day (I think it was Easter Sunday).

]]> http://nil17.com/2010/04/and-into-the-west-a-sunset/feed/ 0 http://nil17.com/2010/03/some-scenery-a-little-football/ http://nil17.com/2010/03/some-scenery-a-little-football/#comments Mon, 29 Mar 2010 21:15:15 +0000 Nil17 http://nil17.com/?p=1159 This past weekend (from Saturday night to Sunday night) we had the opportunity to play host to Hubby’s brother Greg & Greg’s friend Michael.  It’s always good to have Greg visit & now that we live so much closer it is a lot easier for him to make a trip up.  The guys got to our house about midnight on Sunday morning & we decided to head into Sioux Falls so they could check out Senor Weiner. (You can see what I said about them in a previous post.)  This time the experience was only slightly better than the first one.  They seem to have improved their service & they guys were okay with their meals.  It was a late night & we all crashed once we got back home. Sunday morning I got up & made breakfast.  With my new, large kitchen I decided to try something new & made chorizo, scrambled eggs & got all the fixings out for some burritos.  Based on the rate at which they disappeared I’d say they were a hit.  I had some too & am glad I tried them.  I’m not very adventurous with food right now as I don’t know how Baby will react.  Anyway after cleaning up the kitchen a bit we got ready & headed into Sioux Falls. It was a gorgeous spring day & we spent time at Falls Park enjoying the sun & taking photos of the waterfalls.  After spending a nice time at the park we headed over to the Arena & watched our first ever arena football game.  The Sioux Falls Storm are the local arena team & have won the championship 4 of the last 5 years.  It was fun & funny to watch how into the game the fans were.  There were people tail-gating in the parking lot a couple hours before the game (we stopped to pick up tickets at the box office) & there were lots of people all decked out in team gear.  It’s definitely something we will be checking out more as tickets are pretty reasonable & it’s a fun way to spend a couple hours on a lazy Sunday. Here are some of the photos from our day out.

]]> http://nil17.com/2010/03/some-scenery-a-little-football/feed/ 0 http://nil17.com/2010/02/baby-pictures/ http://nil17.com/2010/02/baby-pictures/#comments Wed, 24 Feb 2010 22:04:14 +0000 Nil17 http://nil17.com/?p=1129 Here are the ultrasound pictures of Baby.  I must say that the pictures are quite blurry ‘cuz the little one was moving around like crazy.  One of the most active times so far….except for when I play music.  Seems this one likes to dance just like the rest of the family.  Of course we also found out that Baby is just as camera-shy as I am….as soon as the tech went to try for a pic of the little face Baby flipped right over & faced my back. Seeing Baby was wonderful & everything looks great so we are feeling very happy about that!  July 6th (or so…never really know for sure) is the due date so that means no travel/parties for the 4th this year.  We are looking forward to all the years to come though & are praying that the remaining months of pregnancy go well.

]]> http://nil17.com/2010/02/baby-pictures/feed/ 2 http://nil17.com/2010/02/feeling-summer-in-the-winter/ http://nil17.com/2010/02/feeling-summer-in-the-winter/#comments Mon, 15 Feb 2010 20:38:45 +0000 Nil17 http://nil17.com/?p=1110 Sertoma Butterfly House.  It’s a very cool place to [...]]]> This past weekend we were lucky enough to welcome visitors to our new house here in South Dakota.  It was fantastic to see Pete, Anne and the boys.  There was lots of laughter & some adventure.  One of the things we did was visit the Sertoma Butterfly House.  It’s a very cool place to check out & it is also a fabulous place to feel a little bit of summer in the middle of winter.  The viewing house is kept at 86° with 80% humidity.  It is filled with amazing tropical butterflies that flit around & occasionally catch a ride on the visitors.  Check out the pictures I managed to snag with my phone’s camera.  I definitely want to go back sometime with my good digital camera & see what I can capture.

]]> http://nil17.com/2010/02/feeling-summer-in-the-winter/feed/ 0