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Posts tagged ‘Art’

A Blog in a Pod


This blog comes to you live from Girl’s Weekend!

(Well, ok…great plans…it’s now 3 days after girls weekend.)

Welcome to the lobby of the Radisson Blu Hotel in Bloomington, Minnesota.

Can you say FANTASTIC?

Just look at the architecture of this place.

It’s modern, almost futuristic, definitely fun, and gorgeous!

Check out this little slide show. Read more

My…Best…Project…Ever!!!


I first saw pieces of furniture covered in vintage afghans at an antique store in Minneapolis, MN called Hunt and Gather Antiques.

(If you haven’t been there…GO!  It’s wonderful! They have absolutely EVERYTHING you could want and more!)

The afghan covered furniture pieces were fantastic!  I knew I had to try it! Read more

Farmers Market Fun!


I love summertime here in Northern Minnesota!

Sunshine after a long winter, beautiful open lakes, sunrises and sunsets that glow the most beautiful colors.  There’s fishing, camping, hiking…the Dorothy Molter Museum, the International Wolf Center, the North American Bear Center…wonderful restaurants, fabulous shopping, and amazing spas.  There’s bird-watching, loon-calling, and amazing Northern Lights picture-taking.  But one weekly event stands above all others…

The Farmers and Artists Market Read more

A Clear Head and a Good Heart


My daughter Sam is in the Studio Arts program in college and this is one of her recent creations.  Isn’t it AMAZING!?!

Little did she know that when she gave it to me it was incredibly significant to what I was going through.

I’d been having some health issues and the doctors had decided that I needed a stress-echocardiogram to look for heart damage and a brain/inner ear MRI to look for a tumor.  Needless to say we didn’t want to tell the kids until we had definite answers…positive or negative.

I was scared to death.

I cried as I showed my husband the print and he nodded, knowing just what I was thinking.

He accompanied me to the tests and the doctor visits after, thank God, because I was a mess.  I’d always been the caregiver – dealing with doctors on behalf of parents, kids, other loved ones, and friends.  But this…this was about me, and I knew I couldn’t do it alone.

Once we received the news that everything was good, we felt like a huge weight was lifted.  We didn’t have all the answers we needed, but we sure had some fantastic negative results!

We did receive one answer (to the loud hum, aka tinnitus, and hearing and off-balance issues I was having):  Meniere’s Syndrome in my left ear.  It’s a health issue diagnosed by elimination…meaning there’s no one test that can diagnose it.  It brings with it random episodes of Vertigo, a feeling of being off-balance, and sometimes permanent hearing loss.  My hearing loss is permanent, but only moderate/severe to mild (I can’t hear low sounds but I can hear high-pitched sounds).   It can be progressive but doesn’t cause full hearing loss, and it doesn’t usually affect the other ear.  A hearing aid should help, which I hope to get this week.   So if you see me walking around a store and I’m wobbly, remember I’m not drunk, it’s just the Meniere’s!

I’ve learned one thing from all this:  if you have tinnitus in just one ear – get to an ENT or Audiologist right away! I’d been having the loud hum off and on for probably a year, but just figured ‘everyone gets tinnitus, don’t they?’.  Wrong answer.

My other health issues will have to wait until April when we go to the Mayo Clinic for some specialized testing.  In the meantime I’m just hanging out…writing a little, getting myself a new look (see the new profile photo), and reading a lot of books…and once in a while watching those crazy babies who sit and snuggle with me!

Life is good…I don’t have heart disease or a brain tumor!

Patty O

ps…Back to Sam’s art…now we can relax and have her print as a reminder of just how blessed we are.  It will soon be framed and in a place of honor on our wall.

pps…Notice I didn’t say an empty head.  I have too many friends that would have far too much fun with that. 🙂

Temp -33 and a Snowflake Tree to Warm My Heart


Well, if you haven’t heard, it’s been cold here in Minnesota. It’s been REALLY cold up here in Northern Minnesota – this morning we had -33 with a wind chill that brought it down to -50! Did it stop me from running errands? Oh no…hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to PT I go!

Sunday, I finally put away all the Christmas decorations…it only took 7 hours with my daughters help :)! My wonderful, incredible, patient husband brings the bins up from the basement…and carries them down when they’re full!

I decided to do something a little different this year with our Christmas tree. Last year we left the lights on and put the tree on the deck – it was beautiful through the patio doors, especially when it snows! This year we pulled all the ornaments off but kept (and added) snowflake ornaments and we kept it in the living room…it’ll be on the deck when it starts shedding its needles!

Isn’t it beautiful? It almost makes the cold temps outside bearable…almost.

Stay warm everyone! No matter where you’re reading this!

Patty O

Choosing Excellence

We try our best making daily decisions and yet sometimes....... Join my journey in learning how to "choose excellence" in this beautiful, full life. The Valley of Shadow of Death, Israel 2014, Psalm 23:4

The Poem Explorations of Mr. Creery

Perhaps, I like this life.

Weavings of a Wayfaring Woman

Prose, Poetry, and Musings of a Bush Teacher

Margaret and Helen

Best Friends for Sixty Years and Counting...

Blog of an Artist

Creative Design, home decor, travel and Inspiration

𝐹𝑖𝑔𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐼𝑡 𝑂𝑢𝑡...

𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙩 𝙖 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚.

Bristles & Thread

Home sweet functional home.

An Odd Fashioned Girl

Tiny budget. Big ideas.

Diary of an Aesthete

Follow the Journey ☩𓀙𓃦☉

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