New Clothes/Hurrah for Target

I worked in Sioux City today. My normal routine is to grab a cup of coffee and drink it as I drive down. No reason to change that this morning either. But by the time I was half way there i had coffee all over the front of my shirt. Boy whata mess that makes. And how embarrassing. No way was I going to walk into that office with a coffee stained shirt on. Good thing I'm driving alone as I'm sitting there in the drivers seat discussing with myself what to do (big thought cloud here) It's not even 9 in the morning. Who will be open? Aha! I know, I'll stop at Kohl's. They're not too far off the track to the library....(brilliant light bulb shining overhead) I'm really not too crazy, I promise. But what I actually did was stop at Target (way closer) and picked out two shirts and a pair of shorts. I did a quick change thing in the truck and I looked great! Well, as great as I'm gonna get buying clothes from Target. Plus I have a couple extra things to try on when i get home.
It was an expensive day at work....

Summer is Too Short!

So, we're not quite done with the roofing project yet, but we are making much progress! All the old shingles are off both the house and the garage. What's more...they are cleaned up and in the dumpster. Huge job. Thank you Ivan and Lauren G! What a huge job. Now to find the time between camping, family visits, work and well, every other project that we have to get it done. All that's left is putting the shingles, and gutters back on. (I think I must be missing a step or two because that sure seems waaaaay too easy for a Kroesche)

Then, we have to paint the house.

Then here's my next project:

Reasons to love Camping!

Ok So here's the real reasons why I love camping: Other people love to go along. It's fun to show them new places and watch them enjoy it too.
The food is always abundant and easy. There's not too much fuss or muss, or if there is it's all outside anyway.

I can't think of anything much better than cooking over a campfire. I' m not crazy about hot dogs, but there are a ton of other things to put on a stick and cook over a fire. Easy too1

We have a new camper and it is perfectly lovely not only to sleep in, but to sit around. See how much fun this group is having around our coolest camper yet?
And this picture? Well, it almost speaks for itself. The scenery is too lovely to put into words. A change of scenery is always good. It refreshes and renews. I think I'll go back again!

Bikers Extrodinare!

Hey look what we did this weekend! It was our first camping trip and we headed over to a favorite spot: The Root River Bike Trail in SE Minnesota. The trail is a 40 mile + paved bike trail. We have been doing this for several years and have gone with lots of different people. This year we lost our campground reservation because of the flooding in the area so we tried a new spot. The campground was only ok, but we did get to bike from a new perspective. We biked from Preston to Lanesboro, a 10 mile ride one way. It was beautiful. The weather cooperated. We checked out Lanesboro, then biked the 10 miles back again. Because we rode on Friday night too, we probably did about 28-30 mi. in the days that we were there. (and please note, that I am the only one with a bike helmet on!) For the first time in recent memory, we did not canoe. We were a bit discombobulated because we weren't in our usual location so we didn't know river conditions, or outfitters to rent from, blah blah blah. So we just biked. We won't go a whole summer without canoeing, however. I promise. We'll get that in somewhere along the line, even if we have to go to a new river to do it on! Then, never fear, I have more pictures to show you of this trip, but I'll save that for tomorrow.

Ah Summer

The Farmers Market has started up again. It's been going a few weeks, and though there aren't all that many vendors up there you can still get some delicious stuff. Just take a peek at what I've been buying 2 days a week for a couple of weeks! And this cool "going green" to the Market bag was a gift from my sewing, creative friend Amy. She gave it to me just so I could bring strawberries home from the market! I think this short 'strawberry' period is one of the best of the summer! I hunted around for a recipe on how to freeze strawberries and found a pretty good one on the internet (of course) You just wash the berries, take off the tops, and spread them on a sheet, pat them dry then quick freeze them. After a couple of hours you can takethem off the sheets and put them in bags for the freezer to be used on a cold winter day when you're just longing for that sweet taste of home grown strawberries. MmmM!

Back Yard Barb B Que

Hey tonight we had our...well, i think it's the second bar b que of the season on our deck. The deck is just the all time best place to be on a warm summer evening. No wind. Not too many annoying bugs and lots of food. Brats and hamburgers and salads and Wow, there was ice cream dessert! Then we all sat around in our camping chairs and talked and talked and talked... about learning english as a second language. Gas prices.. the remodelling in our houses.. babies that are due ... gas efficient cars .. copper robberies ... good camping spots .. our kids .. And I met a couple of the people Ron works with that i didn't know.

Let me just say it was a very nice evening. Our deck helps me to be the perfect hostess!

There is no other name under Heaven

Isaiah was telling me on my visit to his house yesterday, what it takes to get to heaven. The first step, he informed me, was to ask Jesus for forgiveness of my sins. "Grandma, do you sin?"

"Sad to say Isaiah, yes I do."

"I sin a lot." he told me.

I had to laugh at that one. The spankings he's gotten probably keeps that pretty clear in his mind. I however, haven't had a spanking since I was, well, it's been awhile. So How do I know about that sin? It's pretty easy to slip into the thought that I'm an 'ok' person, after all. I haven't murdered anyone lately....

But I have ignored them.

Thought really ugly thoughts about them while I was driving behind their slow moving vehicle.

said unkind things

held on to an unforgiving spirit

been proud

enjoyed gossip

let jealousy overwhelm me...

Yes. I guess I'm not such a great person after all. Those 7 deadly sins, (Pride. Envy. Wrath, Gluttony,Lust, Sloth and Greed)Yup, I own them all. Thanks for the reminder Isaiah. At least I know they have been taken care of at the cross..now I just need to make a small trip to the foot of that cross.