it's all about the creative

You may remember last fall, when I posted about the fun I had at the inaugural Creative Connection event, held in Minneapolis:
http://ohfercute.blogspot.com/2010/09/creative-diary-day-one.html  If you are so inclined, I actually blogged about it for several days, just do a search for "creative" on my sidebar if you really want to read all of the posts.

This year it's going to be held in my very own backyard, and I am longing to go!

http://www.thecreativeconnectionevent.com/

Problem is, I can't figure out which day, as I want to do EVERYTHING, and lately I have had a hard time making decisions.

At last year's event, which I attended with my dear friend Tracy, I connected with Paula, who then invited me to be a part of her holiday boutique.  So in addition to learning new skills, meeting fabulous talented women, having a great meal, and getting a creative confidence boost, I made connections too!

Can you see why I can't wait to go this year?

fishin'

No, I have not fallen off the face of the earth.

I have several good excuses for my absence.  If you wish to read them, here they are.

If not, scroll down to the bolded sentence and go from there!

1. I still have no internet on my laptop, therefore I cannot blog whenever and wherever I want.  I am one of those people who likes to write in unusual places.

2.  I HATE my husband's keyboard, it takes me forever to type something correctly.  Ergonomics be damned.

3.  My hubby's computer is in our dark office, which is the hottest (and messiest) room in our house.

4.  It's summer, for crying out loud!  I can write when it's snowing and blowing and 10 degrees outside.

July has been full of family and fishing and oppressive heat.  THIS is the good stuff (well, not the heat part...):

We went to Bemidji for the fourth of July, for the first time in several years. We were blessed with perfect weather and Heather was an excellent hostess, as always.  I loved staying at her house on the hill, enjoying the cool breezes on her patio, picking wildflowers in the field next to her house, and checking out her fabulous garden.  I just love that girl.

We were able to go trout fishing, which is something I had not done since I was a young girl.  My nephew Kaleb let us use his small boat, which was the only way we were able to get onto the tiny Lake, whose name shall not be mentioned here, to preserve it for future trout fishing.

I love the anticipation of getting ready to go.  No need to stop at the bait shop for fresh minnows or leeches, rainbow trout like salmon eggs and corn, suspended from miniature marshmallows.  My dad reminisced, while we were fishing, that it used to be the only time he had to bring extra bait, as the kids would eat it all.

The lake is small, completely undeveloped, and serene.We whistled the theme to "The Andy Griffith Show" as our boat glided across the jeweled waters.

And we caught fish, oh yes we did.  Beautiful rainbow trout.

And still had time for pictures.

Even a brief rainstorm didn't send us to shore.

And we were able to go multiple times over the weekend, as the weather gods smiled down on us.

My dad smoked some of the fish, and one day we enjoyed it for lunch with ice cold beer, our fishing tans warm on our bodies, big smiles on our faces.  I can't wait to grill up the fish I brought home, an edible reminder of perfect summer hours spent with family.

firefly summer

Holy cow, I'm away from blogging for a week and they go and change it all on me. I feel like I have been away more like a year!  Summer is full of so much that it is sometimes hard to discipline myself to sit in front of a computer screen long enough to tell a story.

I think it was the fireflies, zipping through the yard at my sister's house when we were there.  They completely transformed me, into this person who just wants to relax in a boat, stretch out my legs to the warm sun, and wait for a pretty rainbow trout to jump on my hook.  Or sit back, in a comfy adirondack chair on a shady porch, with a sweating glass of iced tea and magazines to read.

"It goes so fast" they whispered to me, as they flitted through the tall grass in the field next to her house.  I wanted to grab a canning jar, and catch some, and set them on the nightstand next to my bed.

Even though I am back in the heart of the city, and have no fireflies to think about catching, their tiny thoughts still call to me, telling me to slow down, enjoy the moment, and soak in all that summer has to offer.  So if you don't see much in the way of blogging, know that I am just off enjoying July.

My hubby must have been influenced by the fireflies too-here's a little something he made to show how gorgeous the night sky can be when you are away from city lights.  Enjoy!

had a great time....

...wish we were still there!

Mike and Charlie cooperated for the camera on the patio at Chase on the Lake, on the shore of Leech Lake.  We had stopped there for dinner on our way 'up north' on Thursday night.

More pictures and stories to follow...