Memorial day

It was a good, long weekend.


Friday: Arrived at cabin in the early evening. Dinner. Brewer's game on TV. Relax time. Jennie and the girls arrived late.

Saturday: Breakfast at Koni K's. Relaxing on the deck while Dad, Mom and the girls went fishing on the boat. Jennie worked a bit. Go-cart. Some rain. Monopoly. Ice Cream. Camp fire which got rained out.

Sunday: Breakfast at Koni K's. Beach. Mom and Dad's 40th wedding anniversary.

Monday: 4 wheeler rides. Spotted porcupine in tree. Fishing. Then home.

because dog pictures are always good

Jordy has learned the "sleep on shoes" technique from Jackson.

Rain!

Finally I have a rain barrel. And it is already full, thanks to storms yesterday. H's Kindergarten class decorated it.

re-decorating...

Finally the Mpls Marathon poster was hung. It looks superb.

Mother's Day weekend

It was a good one. Busy.

Friday 5/11
Arrived back in Fdl. Jackson and I chilled out until everyone else got home.

Saturday 5/12 - Picture day!
We arranged for family pictures, which took place at Mom and Dads. The weather was good. Not too hot, nice sunlight. Lots of photos were taken. We all played outside for a while after that. Sydney was quite a helper. She assisted Mom and Betty in making not one, but TWO pies.

After lunch, we met up with Karen B at Lakeside park so the kids could have some play time.

In the evening, we headed over to the cousins. Lots of soccer, washers, volleyball and all around fun.

Sunday 5/13 - Mother's day
Another sunny, warm day. Bocce ball, lunch with the family and then a long drive home.

long run. in pictures.

I often dread the long run. Once I get going though, it is pretty good. Mostly because I realize how fortunate I am to have great running trails and such right out my back door. It is a great city. I love it.

Here is what it looked like on Friday -- 11 miles.

The trail is less of a trail and more of a bank here.

Still on the trail - heading downhill, dodging roots.

Construction at Lyndale bridge.

Oh, the Lyndale hill. It doesn't look that menacing here, but it never fails to offer a challenge - on foot or bike.

One of the water fountains that kept me going. ....this is Lake Harriet. I can't tell you how much I was looking forward to the water stop at Portland (about 9 miles in)

I think this explains itself. Or maybe not.

Lentil goodness

I made this lentil, sausage, mushroom concoction. It was so super tasty.

I based the recipe on one from leitesculinaria.com. I cut the recipe in half, which made more than enough. I also added some stuff and deleted some stuff. Here is my version, as I remember it:

Warm Lentil Goodness "Salad"

1/2 cup brown lentils
2 cups vegetable stock

Cover lentils with stock in small pot. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until desired tenderness ~ 35 minutes. Drain and set aside.

2 Tbsp butter (the good stuff, if you have it)
1 package of mushrooms, quartered

Saute mushrooms in butter. Remove from pan and set aside.

Olive oil
Bacon drippings
4 pearl onions, chopped
1 Tbsp minced garlic
Salt and pepper
3 slices cooked bacon, chopped
1 chicken andouille sausage, chopped

Heat swig of olive oil and bacon drippings over medium high heat. Saute onion until transparent (or caramelized if you like). Add garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Add bacon and sausage; cook 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and toss together for a bit. Add this mixture to the lentils and mix well.

Drizzle with (2 Tbsp?) balsamic vinegar.

Enjoy!