Bon Apétite

Garden Spinach Ricotta Ravioli from Hello Fresh.

I boiled too vigorously,  so some of the Ravioli split. Added more tomatoes too. Needs more seasoning, But tasty.

Peace☮

The Covid-19 news is not good for Wisconsin or Barron County.

Be safe 😷

The Plank

 Not all song birds like to sit on a feeder, some prefer to sit on the ground, so I added a plank to my bird feeder community for that purpose.  I spread seeds on the plant and the bird come.  Today is an especially busy day at the plank.

Who doesn't love a BlueJay

Chickadee-dee-dee

Black Capped Chickadee

Pine Siskins and friends at The Plank

Downy Woodpecker, welcome back my friend

Pine Siskins, just a hint of yellow on the wing

Pine Siskin, sweet little bird

Female Purple Finch

Purple Finch Female, she didn't get any of the purple though

Purple finch, male

Male Purple Finch

Rose Breasted Nuthatch, only here occasionally

Rose Breasted Nuthatch

Rose Breasted Nuthatch, yes I like this little guy

Diversity at The Plank feeder

Tufted Titmouse

Tufted Titmouse

Tufted Titmouse

White Breasted Nuthatch

It is such peaceful entertainment to see my feathered friends at the feeder.

It's good healing after a brutal experience last night trying to watch our democracy in action in the form of a candidate debate.  What we saw instead was the persona of a drunken, abusive stepfather ranting and threatening the candidate.  Truly disturbing.

Thank you birds for this moment of peace.

☮

Another tasty Hello Fresh meal tonight

This 'Herby Chicken on Lemony Spaghetti' from HF was good, but I think because of my lack of ability to smell, the 'herby-ness' aromas were lost on me.  I did like the idea of zucchini mixed with lemon, sour creme and spaghetti noodles. 

And serving size was huge.

It was easy to make, but I won't put it in my '♥️favorites♥️' list.

I do enjoy making these recipes,  they take you through the steps so that everything is ready at the right time. 

Peace ☮

Fall Photos, 200 days of self quarantine

 I am thinking the leaves won't last too much longer if the forecast is correct.  I took a few photos in the yard today and ran into 2 bumblebees and one worm of some variety who made my photo shoot more interesting.

Covid-19 Cases overview, 200 days of Safer at Home

Barron County

Total cases 487 +10

Recovered -

Deaths 4 +0

Wisconsin

Total cases 122K +2,249

Recovered -

Deaths 1,291 +0

United States

Total cases 7.14M +37,332

Recovered -

Deaths 205K +267

Worldwide

Total cases 33.2M

Recovered 23M

Deaths 999K

Time

I am often times mystified by the relative passing of time.  That was quick, seems like forever ago,  or where did that year or 2 go.  

So, 2 years ago I was glued to the Kavanaugh hearings.  I still believe the testimony of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. 

Last year at this time Impeachment hearings were ongoing in the House of Representatives.  The Articles of Impeachment charged against Donald Trump were Abuse of Power, Obstruction of Congress..

The final vote was 232 - 196, primarily splitting along party lines.  

Republican Senator voting guilty on the Abuse of Power charge was Mitt Romney. No Republican Senators  voted for guilty of the Obstruction of Congress charge.   The Senate acquitted Trump on both charges on 2.5.2020.

March 12 , 2020 was the last public outing for me. 199 days since Emily and I rode to the basketball game together, we learned of the pending shutdowns as we drove home.

And here we are today, mired in an election that has been maligned by the incumbant; is laced with protest and violence & is all mixed up in policing procedures and racial injustice.

37 more days until election day. Voting is in full swing already; early voting, vote by mail & absentee ballots are happening across the country. I am voting absentee tomorrow.  When we will know the outcome remains to be seen.  Counting of all the paper ballots will take time. I'm hoping for a landslide vote at the polls on 11.3.2020, it would make it easier to cope while we wait for the official count. 

I hope the next 6 weeks fly by.

E Nelvin Botten

Stanwood, Washington

May 9, 1929 – Sep 16, 2020 (Age 91)

E. Nelvin Botten, beloved husband to Jeanne (Bjornton), brother to twin Joyce Strand (Robert), father to Jeffrey Botten (Toni Burton) and Tamara Riggs (Craig) and grandfather to Sam, Daylen, Micah, Megan and great grandfather to five, passed away at age 91 on Wednesday September 16th, 2020 at Tamara’s house in Stanwood, WA after a short battle with cancer.

Nelvin (Aka Mel) was born 5/9/29 in Arlington, WA to Einar N. and Thelma (Peterson) Botten and graduated from Ballard High School in 1947. He then attended Augsburg College in Minneapolis, MN where he met and married Jeanne who was in the same choral club and they remained married almost 70 years, until his death!

He worked for many years in the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) in Everett, WA. He loved playing golf well into his 80s and also loved salmon fishing and in later years came to love trout fishing as well. He and Jeanne were charter members of Atonement Lutheran Church in Arlington, WA for 20 years. They spent many weeks a year traveling on cruise lines and snow birding near Palm Springs. With his father, Einar, Nelvin cruised the Norway coastline to the Arctic Circle. Many regular family reunions were held with his extended family of cousins.

He is survived by his wife Jeanne, twin sister Joyce, children Jeffrey and Tamara and many grandkids, nieces and nephews. In Lieu of flowers the family suggests donations to the American Cancer Society or a charity of your choice. Due to Covid-19 concerns, no memorial service will be held at this time. Please share memories on the guest book from Gilbertson Funeral Home; www.gilbertsonfh.com.

Uncle Nel Botten
(Jeanne and my mother, Pauline, were sisters.)

Fall-ish Mail Call

 It is always nice to get mail.

Today I had 2 nice surprises in the mailbox.

First, a wedding announcement from friends Malia & Byron, you saw the table topper I sewed for them a few weeks ago.  What an idyllic location for a wedding, and nice that they also live there.

And second, a package from Colorado.  

Roche stitched me up a nice stash of fall colored dish cloths.

The old ones were ready for the rag bag, perfect timing.

I took a few Fall-ish photos today in my yard.

East side of my property, rainbow of colors.

This big Maple is just perfect this year, love the red.

The view as you turn on to 17th, that's my driveway.  Nice assortment of color.

I thought this grass was Timothy, but Google says it is not.
I don't know what it is, but the heads are soft as silk and very intricate.
I just love it.  I need to get this to grow in the ditch instead of in my flower bed.

We had severe storms forecasted tonight, but they slid around me. I heard that there was water standing in Rice Lake.  I suppose there will be many more leaves off the trees by morning.

So it goes.

Firecracker Meatballs

Back to Hello Fresh tonight.  I made the rice in my Instant Pot, which makes perfect rice every time.  This was a delicious recipe,  spicy & filling, and really simple.  I have dinner ready for another day as well. 

Bon appétit!

Peace ☮

A Little Peace of Quiet

It is peaceful in the sewing room, my mind stays on the sewing and away from the insanity that is our current state of the union.

 Today I sewed up a few pocket prayer hearts.  If you know me, you probably also know that praying isn't really my thing.  So, I made up these little hearts and changed the instructions just a bit to fit my thoughts on connecting and caring.  

The whole time I was sewing, Hops was snoring away in her spot by the closet doors.  Like I said, it is peaceful in the sewing room.

I found the sewing instructions on YouTube.

Shabby Fabrics is the web page, here is the link.

I simplified a little in that I skipped the batting, sandwiched my fabrics, then 

drew on the heart shape and then trimmed off the excess fabric.

Then it is just a matter of turning it and doing a little topstitching, and wallah!

It makes for a sweet little pocket on the back, or the front.  I guess it could be either.

Here is one of my finished hearts.

I used one for a Confirmation gift, and one for a Sympathy card.

I think it will be nice to have a few of these on hand and they come together fast, and I can use up scraps.

I enjoy the Peace of Quiet that comes with sewing.

A little color

 I am starting to see quite a bit of color around the area whenever I leave the house and also, in my yard like these pictures.

This maple gets really red.

I like Ash Trees, they turn yellow and then drop their leaves all on the same day.

💻💻💻

My laptop has been acting up a bit on reboot, it sticks and doesn't complete the cycle.  Today I contacted the tech support that I paid for when I bought the machine and now after 4 hours of their work, they think it is fixed.  I guess I'll find out in the morning.

🗹

I got my absentee ballot in the mail, I can't wait to fill it out and get it mailed.

Vote!