Weekend Travels

 Hello! What a buys couple weeks it's been. 

My husband and I made a trip to the MN Science Museum two weekends ago and to Medora last weekend. The trip to the Science Museum was mostly work related as my husband wanted to visit as he works at the Gateway to Science Center as the Gallery Supervisor. We both had a blast exploring the museum.

 The main galleries were fun, and it seems they are always adding new things! Above is a photo of part of the exhibit on light.

 This is also part of the light exhibit, where colors from light are refracted and "shadowed" onto the wall. 

The traveling exhibit was about the Maya and they had so many neat things it was hard to choose just a few photos to share!

 The towers had information on them (these are dates) and while they had great exhibits explaining how the language/calendar system works, it was so neat to see the information outline/overlaid, then the English translation also added.

 The had information on many aspects of Mayan life, including what people wore. This hands on exhibit allows you to create patterns similar to those used by the Maya in their clothing, using blocks.

 There were many artifacts on display, especially pottery and other clay objects from ancient Mayan life. This is a vase with the Maize god on it, related to the ancient Mayan creation story.

 You can to piece a vase back together, like an archaeologist.

No matter what all they add, this is still my favorite! There is a computer which measures seismic activity around the world and the vibrations are translated into the many tubes hanging in the cafeteria, which produce different sounds based on the data.

MEDORA

 Our weekend in Medora was rainy, so I did not take my camera out and about with us. However, when we drove the loop in the Theodore National Park, we saw lots of wildlife, so I was able to get lots of photos without getting my camera wet.

 We saw a bison herd, and as Bison are one of my husband's favorite animals I had to take any many photos as I could.

 I'm not going to lie, it was a bit intimidating, having such a large animal within 10 or so yards of the car.

 We also saw three different groups of wild horses. They were all a bit farther from the road, but if you look closely you'll see them.

 After driving through the park, we ate at the Pitchfork Fondue, and saw a large storm pass through while we waited for our food. It rained so hard, it was a sheet of gray in the distance. The lightning was beautiful against the backdrop of the Badlands, and we could feel the thunder in the ground.

 After supper we saw the Medora Musical. It was a fun evening, including a performance by the featured group, "Zuma Zuma." They are acrobats, fire eaters, and contortionists. It was amazing and a little unnerving to watch them.

Lastly, we played golf at Bully Pulpit. It was an amazing course. Mostly, the scenery was amazing. The back nine holes are gorgeous and a little terrifying as for three of them you're actually up in the Badlands, not just playing in the basin. I had a great time golfing with just my hubby, even though he is a lot better golfer than me. :-)

Summer Twilight (I Can't Believe It's Almost Through)

Hello, Hello!
It's been a busy summer so far. My husband went back to school to become a GIS technician, and he started working at the Gateway to Science Center as the Gallery Supervisor. So he has been VERY busy.
My sister had foot surgery at the beginning of the summer so it was fun to have her around and spend time with her once she could be up and about. We made a few meals together, so a couple movies, and just hung out. All of which we don't get to do very often since we've not lived in the same place for so long. It was a fun time. :-)
We also spent a weekend at the lake cabin of a friend, on a bay of Lake Sakakawea. The water was chilly, but the squirt fight with the kiddos was fun, so it made it worth the while. We also got to play some games with our friends, which is always a blast. Thanks for hosting us, Schuey!
We did the usual 4th of July shenanigans, including sending dangerous chemical concoctions into the sky to explode (my favorite part of the 4th of July) in honor of our country's founding.(We did have one flip and shoot towards the house and the neighbor's horse pasture. Thankfully both are alright, and no animals were harmed as the horses were in the stable. Note so self, wear sneakers next time I light off fireworks, much easier to run in than flip-flops when something goes awry...)
What else have we been up to....

Oh, the dam!
My in-laws have a ranch outside of town. There used to be a little trickle of crick on their property...Now there is more of a pond, followed by a larger crick, as we helped build a dam for it. My husband and his friend ran the heavy machinery, I got to use the chainsaw (sorry, no pictures; I know, they really dropped the ball on that), and my Father in Law was the work foreman. We used some old telephone poles to build the dam then filled it in with mud to help stop it up. It was great fun! Maybe I'm in the wrong field...

We had a family get together, as my sister in law took a job in AK (good excuse to plan a trip, right?) and we wanted to spend time together before she moved. We thought we should take a couple family photos before she left. (The dogs are their french griffons.)

 Other than that I've been doing the usual to keep busy. I wove a few hats on my loom. I made a birthday banner for my nephew (I did not expect the delight I received from an excited 7 year old just to have his own birthday banner). And I picked Juneberries and Nan King Cherries with my Mother in Law. So far I've made Juneberry pie (I big hit with my family) and Juneberry preserves (good on pancakes or in a sandwich).
The cherries are in the freezer until the chokecherries are ripe, as my dad and I plan to process them at the same time since they will be similar in processing techniques. Why make two messes when we can make one big one, right?
Well, that's all for now. Enjoy summer, don't get eaten alive by the mosquito population, and stay hydrated!

P.S. Just an update an Alice, our friends' cat: She still likes to play in the huge tree in their yard and generally enjoys driving them crazy (in a good way, they assure me). They just put her out in her tree when she's got too much energy to be in the house and she wiles away the time climbing up and down; In case you were all as enamored with her antics as I am.

To MT and Back

 Hello!

We are back from a much needed, but much too short, vacation. We drove to Eureka, MT for a graduation, which was Friday afternoon. Then we spent the rest of the weekend hanging out with friends before driving all the way back. 

The friends we stayed with have chickens. This is the one M just had to show me. She's got some character, doesn't she?

This is what about half the chickens look like. The rest look like farm raised chickens, white with yellow beaks. The roosters were too skittish for photos.

 This is "The Res," or reservoir, technically. In the spring you can walk clear out to where the town that was flooded out when the res was built rests. Not much left, just some odds and ends and railroad tracks. The glaciers fill in the res in late spring, so we were not able to go that far. The water was pretty much up to the normal shoreline.

 Our friends recently got a new kitten, Alice. She is a little different, as in she runs in circles when she is scared or excited. She also climbed a large tree, and I was not sure she was going to make it down. Though after she did the first time, she went back for more climbing.

 Alice wasn't really sure what to think of the water. She is fearless in many cases, not when it comes to water, apparently.

Just enjoying the view.

Alice testing the waters.

My husband and I enjoying the view.

 Hello, Hello! Yes, it's once again been almost FOREVER. I'm sorry. I finally accomplished a few things I wanted to share AND I actually remembered to take photos of them.

 So firstly, here is the timeless "Dr Who" bag I made for my husband, for our anniversary. Which was in July. Oops. Sorry, Honey. At least it's awesomeness makes up for its lateness. :-)

 The "Dr Who" fabric is from the only company I could find that has Dr Who prints, Spoonflower.com.

 The rest is from my mother-in-laws stash, and looks great, if I do say so myself, with the Dr Who fabric.

 I was trying to catch the retro essence of Tom Baker, the 4th Dr, as he is one of my husband's favorites Drs. second only to #10, David Tennant.

 This project was just a resizing of a shirt. Teefury.com did a one day print of this and my husband sent away for it for my Christmas gift. However, it came in a size much too large me. So it's been resized and I can wear it for more than just pjs now. I'm one happy lady about that!

 This is for the "Whovian" who started it all, watching and exposing his kids to Dr Who, my dad. His Bday is today:

Happy Birthday, Dad!

There have been a few other craft projects I have finished and wanted to share, but didn't get photos of:

1. Duct Tape Dum-Dum sucker flowers. My sister-in-law's college did a production of "Ave Q." So it was only fitting they have a window box for of flower-suckers" "It sucks to be me..." They were a huge hit with the cast, who are all engineers. :-)

2. I crocheted a few scarves and sent them off to a few elderly relatives this winter. They loved them, and though my crochet skills leave a little to be desired, they will at least keep them warm in body and spirit.

3. I am also now the proud owner of a Cameo Silhouette cutting machine. I've made many paper goodies for people, including lovely mother's day peony corsages for my grandmas. I've used it so much in fact, it seems I'm in need of a new blade. Yikes!

 4. I crocheted three baby blankets as gifts. Two pink ones and a green one. I'm not sure they've been mailed yet, so that all's better say for now. :-)

I'm sure there have been a few others that are slipping my mind right now. I just can't sit still, I have to at least be doing something with my hands!

Well, off to Dad's bday supper. I hope you are all doing well and enjoying Spring.