Lazy birthdays...

The leaves are turning yellow on our poor tall willows separating our "yard" from our neighbors. That means one of two things: 1. Someones running around with spray paint and painting all the willows, or 2. Fall has hit us, and fell, hard.

I guess one good thing about Fall time around here is everyone gets all hunt crazy. As home to the largest Caribou Herd in the WORLD (I don't know, but I'd like to think so...), we all anxiously wait for the "caribou to cross."

Even though we technically can just go get meat whenever we want in the winter, people still can't stop themselves from catching that hunting fever.

This year we have several (and I mean SEVERAL) hunters staying in our B&B. (Which technically isn't a B&B I guess, since I don't cook breakfast for all of them. And I don't because I like to sleep when I can, and they all get up at the butt crack of dawn (6am) and I am NOT getting up that early to cook!) So, they're on their own, and Dean gave them a good discount. Especially since there are like seven give or take on any given day. Some even sleep in the shop!

Anyway, I have a different view of "the Camo Clan" this year, maybe because I have first hand interactions with them. We've had author's, Cabelas cameramen, Hunting shows, and regular people who just want to experience a Caribou/Moose/Bear hunt. Regular guys who come up and stare at the gravel roads, one grocery store and outrageous price of gas as four kids drive by them on a 4-wheeler, who can't be over 9 years old. They're full of questions. Questions I'm happy to answer.



And they love watching Dean tinker. He is a master tinker-er. He learned from his dad. He loves to just do "stuff."

It was his birthday yesterday (Happy Birthday babe!), and we were supposed to be at camp, but thanks to cruddy weather, we're still here. So, I did what any other great wife would do. I left him alone all day to tinker.



He managed to conjure up a stainless steel fridge from a dump pile (his friend actually found it and called), rip out the insides and the elements up top and when I got home in the afternoon after sewing with my friends there was a pretty awesome smell in the air.



A smokeouse. With salmon in it. Yowza! Heck with the weather! That was a birthday present for all of us. The smell, I can't explain. He even managed to place a temperature gauge in the door so he could "maintain perfect hot smoking temperature."



So, now we have batches and batches of fish to smoke, and either vacuum seal or can.



Oh, and I did do what any great wife would do and made a huge dinner. If anyone knows my husband, he is simply a Meat and Potatoes kind of guy. So guess what we had? Yup, t-bone steaks and high calorie, great tasting mashed potatoes. (While T-bone isn't my favorite, cause its beef, it is one of Dean's favorites and we had Caribou Rib Eyes the night before!) Oh, and THE most decadent, ooey, gooey, smelly, warm, nutty German Chocolate cake with Pecan Coconut "frosting". And by using "frosting" in the most loose form possible, because it was just THAT good. I mean, I hate chocolate cake and I ate TWO pieces! (Maybe its cause I'm a good cook!? haha...maybe not.) And his favorite baby showed up which made his day even better than the new pair of XtraTuffs he got to help blow out the candle. (only 37 candles short!) Rounding off the lazy birthday with a movie was absolutely perfect in our book.



And continuing on with National Sewing Month, after hotcakes this morning, I managed to download and print This Pattern from Made for the kiddos.



We had a rogue bean-bag-couch-thingy that needed some recycling. This seemed like the perfect solution to our ugly Pottery Barn used-up-did-I-mention-ugly chair in Koy's room. And if Pottery Barn Teen (PBTeen) thinks they're "high end" then why the heck did they stuff the chair with CARDBOARD? Cardboard, old sponges and LOTS of styrofoam scraps. As disgusted as I was cutting open the chair , it worked for the awesome beanbag liners and covers I made, so I'm happy. (But I'm not ordering from PBTeen anytime soon.)



Yes, I don't treat my kids differently, so I made two. One small, one large! :)


Liner inside full of cardboard-foam-styrofoam!

And judging by Koy's lack of attention span due to playing PS3 today, he's pretty happy too!


(Oh and I made his shirt too. It says, "Classically Trained" with an original Nintendo paddle!)