Yes, I know… it’s been a very long time since I’ve updated this blog. Sometimes it seems that nothing changes, when in reality, things do change–sometimes radically–on a day-to-day basis, but we just don’t recognize it. I think it’s somewhat like having a baby… or growing a garden. You see the child (plant) every day, and while you might notice the little nuances in your own mind, you don’t think anyone else really sees it (or them). Until… you compare photos or compare garden details with a friend, and you suddenly realize how much has really changed, right under your nose.

In fact, many things have changed over the course of these last 8 months or so. As always, some for the better, some not so great. But that’s the way life is. As for “not so great”, we have grubs in our spuds, which we’ve never had before. On the other hand, we do not have rust! (Personally, I think I’d rather have the rust.) We also have some soggy/extremely pungent-smelling spuds. This is also something new, that we’ve never encountered. If anybody knows what it’s from, we’d love to hear about it.

2010 potato harvest

Many families’ holiday plans have been put on hold this year due to the nasty weather—and we’re no exception. Luckily things aren’t quite as bad snow or ice-wise here in Western Wisconsin as predicted, but just to be safe, we decided to wait until Saturday to hold the Ida-side family dinner. Actually this works in our favor since it gives us a chance to clear out an overlooked cobweb or two (In this house? How could that be?!), and finish some little details we normally wouldn’t have done, like folding napkins.

I know cloth napkins would be much better, but paper is all we had on hand (left over from Kate’s high school graduation—in 2005). These are so easy, and they add a festive touch. For square-shaped paper napkins, fold one corner down and behind itself, to make a pouch. Then turn the napkin over, fold both sides into a cone-shape, and flip it back over. If you like, you can stick  whatever embellishment you would like for the occasion in the little “pocket.”  I snipped some branches off of the Christmas tree and placed those on every-other plate, and placed a candy cane in the others. (Oh, we swiped the candle idea at the top of the photo from an area restaurant: Place a votive candle in a container of water, adding some cranberries for color. If you don’t have any livestock to feed the berries to afterward, the wildlife will appreciate them.)

Since we had an abundance of snow—and broken branches from the wind and ice—we decided to decorate outside too.

Melissa and Dennis work on our "snow family."

From our (snow)family to yours, we wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

We wish you all a joyous Holiday Season! ~ Dennis & Anne-marie Ida

Ahhh, winter in Wisconsin. As long as we have this:

We might as well bake!

If you have a good gingerbread recipe, I’d love to try it. (I should have rolled them thinner–these guys are a little on the “thick” side.)