there's no place like gnome.

Dave and I have discovered gold. Gold in the form of lovely seasonal produce — spaghetti squash. We’re obsessed.

We go through a couple a week so we went to our local produce market place last weekend to stock up. We bought six spaghetti squashes. And then yesterday I bought a couple more at Aldi. (For only 43 cents a pound!) We’re like squirrels, stockpiling for winter.

We’re on a kick where we don’t incorporate carbs into our evening meals. Hello, spaghetti squash and its perfect base for pretty much anything. Spaghetti squash lasagna. Spaghetti squash with marinara, ground turkey, and cheese. Spaghetti squash with leftover barbecue from the confirmation family night. On the menu this weekend: chicken bacon ranch spaghetti squash casserole.  Maybe sometime we’ll try spaghetti squash pizza crust or spaghetti squash hash browns.

Here’s the other piece that makes me love spaghetti squash so much more: it’s SO easy to cook in the Instant Pot. If I had to roast the squash in the oven, I probably would not be such an exuberant fan. (Roasting for nearly an hour, probably chopping a finger trying to cut it in half beforehand, blood, etc. no thanks.) Enter the Instant Pot. Poke a few holes in the squash. Put it in the Instant Pot (raised up from the bottom; I use a little metal trivet thing) with a bit of water. It’s done in 30 minutes (15 – 18 minutes at actual pressure, depending on the size of the squash) and I still have all of my fingers.

Spaghetti squash can do no wrong in our books. We’ve already determined that next year the garden will have dedicated space for this fall/winter veggie.

Since the wedding is in the not-too-distant past, do you know what that means? I get to sew for fun again. No more napkins for me for a long while!

I finished up a baby quilt for a new boy named Brecken last week. Brecken, born to my cousin, Mike, and his wife, Jennie, is bound to be an adventurer in the making. No doubt he’ll be out among the trees and at the cabin in no time.

And so his quilt is one of trees with a border/backing fabric full of outdoors-i-ness. It’s off in the mail soon, hopefully to be enjoyed and loved and used.

(Did you notice? Now that I have a live-in husband, I have a live-in quilt holder-upper.)

Next up? Finishing a quilt that’s been in the works for a year or so. A version of this. It’s taking me forever because it is pushing my sewing abilities to the brink! There’s also a jelly roll rug in my future, another baby quilt, and sewing for the fall craft shows. Let’s just say there is no lack of projects in this girl’s sewing room. (I’m sure there never will be.)

A new thing for now. In high school, it would have been considered an old thing.

I’m playing in a pit for a musical.

It’s true.

A couple weeks ago, it popped up in my newsfeed. The Blooming Prairie High School was looking for people – high school students and adults alike – to play in the pit for their fall musical, The Wizard of Oz.

Now, sure, I have a flute. The last time I seriously picked it up was, err, early college. I pulled it out again and the fingerings are surprisingly (mostly) still living in my fingers. And so yesterday I went to the first practice. And even though it was sight-reading music that was way too hard at this moment in time, I had fun. And think I’m going to practice and stick with it.

An opportunity to be involved in the community and meet some new people. This new thing will be good … and hard … and require practice and a chunk of time … but, ultimately, good.  #bandgeekatheart

It’s been a while friends. Lots has happened. It’s been so long that I’ve pondered again and again what my first post back should be.

Mushrooms.

So Dave and I are married now. Two months and counting. And being married and finally living together means that we tackle tasks together. Like removing stinky, disgusting mushrooms from the garden.

Last week, I’d noticed some egg-like things appearing in the front garden. They were weird, alien looking. At first, I hesitated to get too close because, obviously, what if they were snake eggs? (Do snakes have eggs? If they do, do they even look like that? Why are they in my mulch? All good and VALID questions from the gal who had a run in with a snake while on the mower a couple weeks ago. Now everything outside is snake related.)

But then, yesterday or so, the eggs hatched into mushrooms. (Phew. Not snake eggs.) Dirty mushrooms. Mushrooms known for their likeness to something male AND for their disgusting smell. I noticed a couple yesterday … and then more this morning … and even more this afternoon. These mushrooms – stinkhorns – can “hatch” in less than an hour. An hour! Mother Nature, you are amazing … and humorously disgusting. Thank you for my first stinkhorn experience.

And so Dave and I, the happily now-married couple, spent time this afternoon removing these lovelies from the garden. Dave shoveled; I held open the trash bag. (All online advice told us that they need to go in a bag and in the trash. Yes, sir.)

Yes, marriage! Boo, stinky mushrooms!

I’ll be back with more; promise.

Father, forgive me, for it has been nearly three months since my last blog post.

What brings me back?  It’s been a day of excitement – the eh kind and the great kind.

I dropped this guy off at the vet this morning to get *whispers* neutered. No more romps with the neighbor dog for him. (That’s another story.). He’s a little out of it and sleepy but he’ll get lots of extra treats in the next couple days.

I tried out my new Chacos for the day. I’m so ready for sandals all day, every day.  I also got a new pair of Chaco flips (My most favorite, everyday summer sandals. Yes, they’re expensive. But they’re comfy and will last for years. Unless your puppy chews them. Like Emmett did to my favorite pair last summer. Hence the new pair.)

Dave and I had a lunch date. We ate at our favorite downtown Mexican restaurant but before that, we walked across the street to the government center to get our MARRIAGE LICENSE. It’s real, people. On a related note, invites went in the mail today. A big task to check off the list.

What else is happening in life? I’ve been grateful to be showered with love TWICE in the last couple weeks – a fun, lovely shower at home in Wisconsin and a wonderful shower thrown by the women at church.

We’re getting the camper out tomorrow.  We’re not taking it anywhere quite yet but getting it ready. We have reservations at a primitive campground just south of Austin for Memorial Day Weekend and we have a floor to fix. (The cold weather this winter warped and tore it somehow. But it’s okay. We were planning to replace it anyways.)

So there you are. A blog update. Maybe more will come in the next weeks or maybe you’ll have to wait in suspense another three months. *shrugging woman emoji*

We need some furniture for the wedding.  You know, outside living rooms and such. (It’s a thing. Google and Pinterest will show you.)

I scored these three chairs at our local Habitat resale store. They were each $5. But – wait for it – they were each various levels of ‘on sale’ so I scored all three for about $8.50.

Dave made them sturdy (glue and stuff) and then painted them. Dave is awfully talented at spray painting, if that’s a thing.

I spent an hour at Joann fabrics trying to find the perfect bolt. Next, I cut. Dave stapled.

Voila. (The other chair is a twin with the dark gray.  The fabric has sparkles. SPARKLES.)

I could not have done such a good job on my own.

#teameffort #likeourmarriagetobe #amiright?

Left: I LOVE wrapping presents. Like super duper love.**  Think about it. It’s giving gifts. LOVE. It’s paper. LOVE. It can be creative. LOVE. It makes sense that I love it. As I finished wrapping this past weekend, I lamented that I didn’t have any more to wrap. (I also super duper love that wrapping paper I found at Joann’s. I-bought-three-rolls love it.)

Middle left: I played bingo on Thursday night for a cancer group fundraiser in Blooming Prairie.

Middle right: Weekend lounging.  Like you do.

Right: I had some work done on my car on Friday morning and so I took this cross-stitch – which I started over a year ago! – with me. I proceeded to come home from the shop and sit on my butt for hours and finish it. (While watching all Hulu had to offer of The Librarians – a totally predictable show about magic and special librarians and with just the right amount of corny that I watched them all.)

** Perhaps part of this comes from when I was younger and tried my darnedest – absolute darnedest – to get out of stripping tobacco. If my hands could be spared in the strip house, I’d be offered to my mother as gift-wrapper.  Loved it.

When we first got engaged, I scoffed at the idea of engagement photos. We won’t do that, I said. Well, this past Sunday, we did that. I think I saw so many of my friends’ wonderful engagement photos that suddenly I wanted in. I was nervous as all get-out and worried there wouldn’t be a winner in the whole bunch. I was wrong, of course. We took the photos at my house and even dragged my ugly/awesome, free, estate-sale couch outside to share in the fun.

This next one is one of my favorites because it’s pretty perfectly us. The caption would be something like this: Lindsay just said or did something ridiculous and so she buries her head in Dave’s chest in embarrassment, confusion, or something of the sort.  Dave laughs at or with (depending upon the situation) and comforts best he can.  Yup.  Us.

Plus: good hair day, right? (Not without extra effort.)

I write from Ann Arbor, MI. A hotel room. My suitcase is packed and I’ll be leaving soon, excited to get back, unpack my sewing machine, and dig into projects.

I’ve spent the last two days in a hotel ballroom with 130 other modern quilters. We’ve learned from four different teachers – BIG deals in the modern quilting world. Everything from sewing curves, to tiny foundation paper piecing, to appliqué techniques, and the art of a disappearing block.  We were divided into quadrants and the teachers shifted with each three hour class period.

It has been wonderful.  The women around me were super fun.  A couple were local to MI, the two gals down the table were from St.Paul,  and one had even flown in from New Zealand.  It was awesome to be with people who understood that quilts are not blankets.  NOT blankets. One woman told the appalling story of creating a intricate quilt for her son using video game characters … and she came home one day to find him wrapped up in a fleece blanket instead. Unacceptable!  These are my people. They understand.

The free-form appliqué was my least favorite class, but I still walked away with new skills and appreciation. The tiny foundation paper piecing was by far my favorite and the most terrifying to start (It was our group’s first class!) – the square above measures in at 4.5”. I also – for the first time – made flying geese. (A common quilting technique.) I’d just never done it … and now I’m in love.

I’m coming away realizing that I am capable of more than I thought I was and with the itch to start quilting again. My sewing life has been more dedicated to dog collars and sewing booth goods of late.  It’s time to quilt. And make a sew-together bag. EVERYONE had them; I have the pattern but have been scared. It’s time.

I feel like we have some catching up to do.

I’ve written about my craft show adventure.  But some other things have happened in the last two months.

I visited Las Vegas for the first time and can confidently say I don’t need to go back anytime too soon. Dave, his work colleague, Becca, and I traveled together; Dave and Becca attended a conference while we were there and I was along for the ride.  Notables: hiking Red Rock Canyon; the fact that it was cooler in Las Vegas than it was in MN that particular week; time by the pool with a good book; exploring Container Park; sharing in Dave’s-kid-in-a-candy-store attitude while visiting the Pinball Hall of Fame.

Dave and I have been spending mucho-time in the basement of the parsonage sprucing it up.  We’ll need the space when he moves in next year.  (*cough* pinball machines *cough*) We had to clear out old (moldy) cabinets and ceiling tiles, pressure wash moldy walls, paint and paint some more, scrape the floor, paint some more … but good news!  We’re done and it looks awesome. I no longer am terrified of finding dead mice or ugly spiders when I do laundry.  Victory!

Mama Leanne came to visit. She helped me do fall yard work, cleaned my kitchen (Thanks, Mom!), and took me shopping … for wedding dresses. (Ohhh!  Ahhh!) I think I have found one that will be comfortable (utmost priority) and practical and pretty and – added bonus – it has pockets.

Way back when, I told you about a sewing retreat I signed up for – Glamp Stitchalot. It’s almost here, people!  I’ve learned that a couple (or all) of the projects are completely out of my league but, hey, I’m going to learn. And meet new quilting friends. And glamp in a swanky Sheraton for three nights. And I’m super excited about it.  (Usually events like this freak the-introvert-in-me completely out. I will know no one. I will spend three days with these people – eating with them, sewing next to them, conversing with them. That’s a lot for me. A LOT. But I’m so not freaking out. I’m too excited about the fabric and the quilty people and the stitching!)

As an aside, a tree fell onto my compost bin.  That’s fun.