Missing MN

[DeeDee]

Hi everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year! I have to admit I thought about all of you Christmas day with your snow and my sand. I hope everyone is safe from the weather there. Our Christmas was hot as usual 80 degrees. This week it might get into the 30's. I wish it would snow but people here have a hard enough time driving when its dry. I miss it sooo much there we are planning another trip there this summer. I cant wait.

[Eric Wettschreck]

Hi Dee Dee. My folks snowbird in Florida. I chatted with them this morning. They were in Wal Mart buying sweatshirts cuz they didn't bring any down with them.

In SW MN right now it's about 6 degrees and 35 MPH wind. I have no idea what the wind chill is but it's COLD!!!!

[DeeDee]

I know ya'll must think I'm crazy, I know my cousin Franky does, I would be so excited if I could have 3ft of snow drop on me right now.

[Lisa Almquist]

DeeDee

Where have you been girl?? It's been forever since you posted! My Christmas was lovely as always! How was yours? We're in a wind chill advisory right now where it'll be 20 to 30 degrees below zero windchills tonight (9 below zero actual temps but with 15mph winds) BRRR! Gotta love it! At least we have a nice warm furnace right?? Anyway, I've been fishing alot and have to work tomorrow after many days off and I'm feeling a little depressed (why can't I be rich?? WHY!?) so you came in right at the right time. Start planning that trip up north! Let us know where you're going to go this year! Look up cousin Punchy and Lisa!

[DeeDee]

Hey Lisa!

Believe it or not I couldnt get logged in I even tried different emails, it was a pain in the butt! I have missed being on here reading all your ice fishing stories. I am so envious of you guys, at least when its cold there you have your ice fishing, skiing, sleding, snowmobiles etc, where we are just cold. Right now its 44 degrees here and they said thursday night it is supposed to drop beteen 28-32 degrees. That rarely happens. I cant wait.It will be fun to watch everyone freeze.(me too, we dont have heavy jackets here.) I still work over nightand you would laugh because we all huddle together in a corner. But as for being rich I feel the same way. I keep telling myself I'm going to win the lottery and move up there, on a lake, with a really big fireplace and a snow plow. The only problem with that is I never play the lottery. (just rechecked the weather and it will be 27 degrees tonight)

[Lisa Almquist]

I don't play the Powerball or anything either. I guess if you don't play you don't win! We're actually supposed to warm up to 36 degrees by Friday! We've had some problems with snow/slush on top of the ice on our lakes this year so hopefully that'll melt some of that so people can get around easier on the lakes. One nice thing about this powdery snow is that I can actually cross country ski this year. The trails are nice and groomed. Weren't you thinking you wanted to move back up here?

[DeeDee]

Yes we still want to move up there. Unfortunatly the market here is really bad. The only way we will sell our house is to give it away. Also my Dad wasnt doing well, he's better now he had to learn to do simple things again but he is much better. I just dont have the heart to leave him right now. We are all trying to get him to move up there too. He's the only one saying no. But were working on him.

[Lisa Almquist]

I think it'd be super hard to leave family THAT far away! All my hubby's and my family either live "up north" or in the Twin Cities. A lot of Minnesotans want to snowbird for the winter and there you are wanting some cold white fresh snow to play in! For now I guess you'll be "Minnesota Dreamin'"! Here's some snowy pics (I've never done this-I hope it works!

Snowy Field with my Son and the ice lanterns

Playhouse with Bird Feeders

[DeeDee]

OMG I MISS THAT! ! ! Here is my street and back yard...

OK so I cant remember how to put pic's on here

[DeeDee]

I got it now. Here are pictures of my street and our back yard. Dont be fooled by the green grassy substance on the ground. It appears to be grass but really its sand spurs and they hurt like a....well no need to go there. In the summer it spreads to look like a back yard full of grass. I think in the 9 years I have lived here, I've been back there 10 times. I think I may have been in the pool 12 times. Either the waters to cold or its to hot out side. By the way how can I make these pic's not so big?

[reelemin]

Lisa - a wonderfully beautiful place you have. I love it!!!!!! I too am jealous, .... we're torn between living in the cities or up north. We love both

[Eric Wettschreck]

Wow Lisa. If you're ever in the mood for company let me know. I think the Mrs and I can handle hanging out there. That's absolutely beautiful.

Nothing personal Dee Dee, but I like Lisa's place better. I was stationed in Pensacola for a while. Not that I didn't like Florida, but I'm a Minnesotan. I even eat hot dish at the pot luck.

[Lisa Almquist]

DeeDee-you have to resize it smaller in photobucket. I'm not sure what mine is but I think you want to shoot for 800X600 or something like that. I love how it always looks like summer there. I miss summer right around February 1st up here in MN. Fishing's not that great, I'm sick of clearing snow and I REALLY REALLY suck at winter driving so all I want is clean dry roads!

Tami-Thank you so much! My house is super tiny here in Carlton but it's all tongue and groove floor to ceiling. I really do like it. If I clean it up around here I'll take a pic of the inside. I live on a dead end road and what a great place to raise a kid. The biggest town I've EVER lived in is Duluth! I am such a small town girl. The cities freak me out and I'm not embarrassed to say so! Nothing about the city appeals to me. I hate shopping, I would hate commuting, I don't like a ton of people living on top of me-sorry I hope I didn't disrespect any of you or the way you live. I just feel really blessed to be an up north, backwoods, hick, podunk, not polished and homey gal. I really can't put that northern pic up here unless I can find a way to stick a smiley on my head!! I guess you'll all meet at the Burntside Bash and my face is actually already on this forum. My husband posted our family pic some months ago in the photo sharing forum-go look! Tami, what a tough decision to make-the Twin Cities or God's Country (NO BIAS THERE heehee !).

[reelemin]

Everything you said you hate - I totally agree !!!! What keeps us here is the the culture, great resturants, family, friends.... Right now family being the strong pull. But we travel alot to the mountains, we love Wyoming and Colorado and of course Grand Marais. We are definitly torn, but really do have the best of both worlds right now. But I still envy you, . Everthing you have sounds fantastic!!!!!!

[Lisa Almquist]

Double thanks Tami. The exterior of my house needs some new paint!!

Just like DeeDee, family is so precious. Mine all live in Two Harbors-not too far away. I wouldn't want to be too far from them either.

Traveling is something I have not done much in my adult life. That's very cool. Seems that the grass is always greener on the other side of whatever you have, right girls?

[DeeDee]

Quote:

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Nothing personal Dee Dee, but I like Lisa's place better. I was stationed in Pensacola for a while. Not that I didn't like Florida, but I'm a Minnesotan. I even eat hot dish at the pot luck.

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Absolutely NO offence taken! See why I hate it here? I was tickled when I left work this morning and everything was iced over! I love hotdish! The first time I made some for my husband he refused to eat it! Now he loves it, Especially tatertot hotdish. I've been looking at property up there but with out really being there its hard to know what I'm looking at. Thought about buying a piece of land and try to pay it off before we move up there. I was advised to stay away from lake property because of taxes. Do you agree?

[DeeDee]

Quote:

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Everything you said you hate - I totally agree !!!! What keeps us here is the the culture, great resturants, family, friends.... Right now family being the strong pull.

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Its also the very thing that makes us want to go back home.

[Lisa Almquist]

Quote:

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stay away from lake property because of taxes. Do you agree?

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Yes I agree-but it would be my dream to live on a lake too. Wouldn't it be great if you could wake up on a warm July morning and sit out on your deck watching the sunrise on your lake with a hot cup of coffee? Heaven! Taxes would absolutely stink-our cabin is across from a lake so we lucked out. Lake view (and another house ) but a fraction of what we could be paying!

[DeeDee]

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Wouldn't it be great if you could wake up on a warm July morning and sit out on your deck watching the sunrise on your lake with a hot cup of coffee? Heaven!

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Kids sleeping, birds singing, hubby cleaning the kitchen....just kidding. Altho I do remember waking up early last july with a cup of cofee, sitting in the sun with my long warm pajamas and fuzzy socks thinking... D**n I'm cold. By the way I seen your picture, you are so pretty, you have a very attractive family. I found a picture of our house in Howard Lake, I just have to connect my printer.

[Lisa Almquist]

Thank you for the generous compliments-you're going to make me cry.....

Not every morning in the summer in MN is warm! It's too funny that this past weekend we had some cold mornings below zero but now we have such a giant warm up with a whopping 20 degrees today!! It felt SUPER WARM !!

[Eric Wettschreck]

Dee Dee, like any other real estate it's location, location, location.

I live in the SW part of the state. We have some very nice lake front property for sale about 3 blocks from my house. The tax base on it is quite reasonable. However, good luck finding a job unless you're a farmer or a tractor mechanic.

[Lisa Almquist]

That's a good point to make Boilerguy. The only reason we don't live up at the cabin is that there isn't many jobs up in that part of MN either (Iron Range). That's one of the reasons I'm went back to college for nursing. Hopefully I'll be able to get a job up there!

[Eric Wettschreck]

My daughter is a CNA and going to school for nursing. Maybe you 2 will work together some day!!!

[Lisa Almquist]

I'll be getting my CNA license early this summer so I can work in the field before actual nursing school starts. I'm taking pre-req's like Cell Biology and Anatomy & Physiology this semester. It's scary going back and being so old! Does she like being a CNA? It's tough getting into our nursing program in Duluth-it's GPA based-not everyone gets in.

[Eric Wettschreck]

I think she likes it????

You're talkin aboot stuff waaaaay over my head.