Things we miss

So before we moved to MN Eric and I thought about all the things we would miss (and not miss) about living in Georgia. I went back to the old blog to see if the thigns we thought we would miss turned out to be true or not. Here was this list we made in May 2011:

Friends!! - We definitly still miss our friends!! More than we could have imagined!

Our CSA from Roots Farm - I dont miss this too much since we now live a block from a local co-op that I can walk to and buy fresh & local foods.

Pizza from Transmet - how could we NOT miss this?!? We have not found a substitution for Transmet in MPLS, a few close ones but nothing will ever compare!

Being close to the mountains and the beach - we dont miss this much since we have lots of open land here and a TON of lakes.

Spending time at Sandy Creek Park - I only miss canoeing on the Lake

Canoeing, camping and hiking with Michelle & Kelly! - Miss this SO much!

Movies on the lawn at the Kelley's  - YES! We miss going to the Kelley's for movies and this year's 4th of July will be lacking some crazy fireworks!!

Hiking through the Botanical Gardens (Greg & Eric do this pretty regularly, I know Eric will miss it!) We miss having this as an option but we think we have found a good substitute.... but there will never be a sub for Greg!

An early spring (with all the beautiful trees and flowers in bloom)  Knowing that the daphodills are probably in bloom right now in Athens....yes I miss this a lot!

The Founders Garden at UGA - Living with out it :)

ZUMBA classes at the YMCA and all my friends there! I still havent found a class that compares to the ones at the Athens Y!

Our church small group This is something we miss a lot as well. We have a small group here but we miss the connections we had with our friends in Athens! We learned a lot from you guys!

Eating out at The Last Resort, Taste of India, Farm 255, La Dolce Vita, and several other restaurants So we have a lot of resturants here that we are enjoying going to BUT we miss: Muffins from Walkers, Scones from Big City Bread, CHICK FLI A!, Crab Cakes from Last Resort, and many more...

Our first house I miss having our own place but I dont miss having to worry about fixing things and having a big space to clean!

Great Coffee from 1000 Faces We have some good local roasters here but still Love 1,000 faces!

Going to UGA football games... GO DAWGS!  The fall was not the same without college football but we still watched a few games on TV and cheered on our Dawgs!

Warm summer nights We actually have these in MN too! They just dont last as long :)

Looking forward to......

I have not done a list in a long time so here it goes! I am looking forward to.....

1. Going to Charleston for Eric's brothers wedding. It will be fun to be at the wedding and have Eric's family all together. PLUS it is going to be much warmer there and we are staying in a rental home near the beach...

2. AND we get to see Michell & Kelly in Charleston! They are going to meet us there and stay with us while we do the wedding thing. Cant wait to see these guys!

3. Spring time in MN. It is short season but I am ready for new leaves on trees, greening grass, spring blooms and warmer days.

4. April. It is always a fun month with our birthdays....Eric is turning 30 and I am turning....

5. Road trip. In April we are also going up to International Falls for Eric's High School Basketball Reunion Games. It will be fun to see old friends and spend time with family!

6. Gardening. We are hoping to get in on a community garden plot near our house. I plan to start some seeds in our apartment since the growing season is shorter in MN. Hopefully we will here more info soon and I will share more.

7. Time. Classes are done in May....this means more time for Eric to work on his dissertation.

8. Vacation. In June we are going to Kauai!! I-cant-wait!!!

9. Clothes. I am ready to wear my Spring/Summer clothes.... I am over my winter outfits!

10. Summer. Before I know it, Summer will be here in MN!

This time last year: February

This time last year we officially listed our home for sale. Our realtor put a video of our home on YouTube and thanks to this video our home sold 4 months later! I have to admit, I miss this house and looking at pictures makes me a little sad. We miss our friends and lifestyle in Athens but we are also enjoying new opportunities here in Minneapolis and we are enjoying time with our families.

Here are some pictures from February 2011.... spending time on the deck with the cats.

 

Last night we got about 4 inches of snow! I was excited to see it, even though we are used to spring time in February. MN is supposed to have snow during the winter and this year it has been sparse...so I am happy to have it!

Winter Wonderland

A day with cousins

Last weekend we spent Saturday out in Hutchinson, MN with some of Eric's cousins. Not all of the cousins were there but we still had a blast! We spent most of the day outside walking on their lake and playing broomball. We also played some games inside when we needed a break from running around. The weather was wonderful for the day and I enjoyed having the sun shine down on us.

Playing broomball on the lake.
If you are one of my southern friends, broomball is like hockey except you do not use skates, you use boots - which create more fun by slipping and sliding on the ice. You also use a small ball instead of a puck. And back in the day you used taped up brooms to wack the ball around - now there are plastic versions. The goal is to get the ball into the net, much like hockey.



 

Amber, taking the kids for a ride



Aren't these two adorable??





Group shot, left to right: Angie, Tim, Amber, Elena, Jake, Ian, Me, Eric, Marissa & Tim



A work of Art

Eric's aunt and uncle that live on the North Shore have been in the process of building a new house over the last several years. Most of the house has been built with their own hands. I think this house is a work or art and wanted to share it with others. Eric's Uncle Chuck has done most of the work on this house himself. He has milled and sanded every piece of wood in the home: floor, siding, ceiling and staircase. He has used wooden pegs (that he made) instead of nails. He has made his own stained glass windows, built his own fireplace and created a beautiful spiral staircase out of wood. There are several kinds of wood in the home, I don't even know what they all are. But it is beautiful and a work of art.



The 2nd floor view of the lake. The 2nd floor is a 2 bedroom loft. Here you can see how Chuck has made a walk way and window seats all along the side of the house.

 

Another view of the 2nd floor loft.



One of 14 stained glass windows Chuck made for the home.

The spiral staircase all made of wood and pegs...no nails or metal!



The free standing fire place



Wood paneling ready to be used.

 

Chuck has put a lot of design work into the floor with the different types of wood and how he has laid them out.




View of 1st floor and 2nd floor windows facing the lake

 

An old picture in the Summer of their lake front property.