Sheep Shearing Part 1

We shear sheep. Damon more so than myself but none-the-less it is something we do together.

Temperature comparison... could we pick better weekends to do this type of job!?!

Temperature from 2008...

This is a picture of a very large mama coming through the head gate... force had to be used - she was too fat to squeeze through. Apparently she needs to stay away from the feeder!

Grandpa (83) and still farming a herd of 55 sheep, Nurse Tom & Stylist Damon

It may not be a insulated barn, we may get a little cold during the process but we always have fun and one thing to be thankful for... we're not the sheep. :) We didn't get but 15 sheep done this weekend due to some shearing problems. Team Tuttle will be at it next weekend
with more pictures to follow!

Valentines?

Yes, Valentines is not for a while; however, this too is such a cute background - I can resist using it. :) I'm sure it will be changed before too long - I wish they had some fun winter/nature/outdoor backgrounds... I'd be game for those! :)

It's Here....

Tomorrow is the big day - my birthday! :) Typically I don't make a mention of my birthday; however, I'm kind of liking this new background that I found and can't use it but twice in a year - so here it is! So my birthday wish to my blog world is... show yourself! Leave me a message - who are you, where are you from? I know of about 3 people that actually pay attention to our blog page - so you know who you are!

To think... tomorrow I will be 27! Wow, I am half way to 54 (that's what Damon always says!). In tribute to myself... here are some of my thoughts of my 26th year of life:

~ This year I became an auntie and that is awesome!
~ My Parents: fire, scary, blessed, hard work, sacrifices, accomplishments, deeper love/respect
~ I'm never too old to do something stupid...
~ I'm never too old to learn from that something stupid and ask for forgiveness..
~ Blessed that God finds time in his busy schedule to make me laugh, show me how amazing life is & best of all: forgive my ridiculousness...
~ Damon: beyond understanding, always forgiving, great for a belly laugh, my best friend, my favorite person to find adventure with, sooo lucky!
~ I will make mistakes but they always bring great opportunity to grow...
~ Love is the strongest weapon.
~ Ned: bringer of joy, loyalty in a nutshell, forever lap dog & king of headbutts
~ Having a sense of humor is CRUCIAL for my life!
~ I feel blessed to live in Minnesota surrounded by family & friends!
~ May Auntie Helga always live within me!
~ No matter how old I get, Damon will always forget how old I am - love him for it! :) This year I'm only 25... yes!

In a nutshell, some day I might 'grow up' but don't hold your breath
because even though I turn older every year God made my spirit young.

The Sleeper...

Last night Damon and I spent the evening on Sugar Lake in the sleeper. It was a great time and I wanted to share some pictures of the evening. We did snag 1 fish and it was definitely worth all the long hours of fishing without any luck...

Here it is... Home Away from Home! Not sure which picture I liked more so you get both. This is the shanty that Damon has been working on for 3 years and it has finally paid off - it is a great spot to get away and enjoy some warm fishing! The first picture is the morning sunrise over Sugar Lake - what a beautiful sight!

Our supper consisted of hotdogs and chips - only what champs eat! :)

The fish! :) It was caught at 1:30am on a rattle reel and we were sleeping so... I'm sorry about Damon being in his boxers! :) It was measured at 25'' and released...

Ned was definitely invited on our sleep over and proved to be a big help with messing up lines, chasing hooks and staying watch over the holes.
Here are a few pictures of mama's helper - I love this dog!

My boys waking up... Ned is such a cupcake!

What'd think?

I guess there has been a question in the Tuttle Household as of last January/February when we were remodeling our bathroom... is there such a thing as spirits staying in a house? I guess I have believed that such things have only been coincidence but I'm beginning to think differently over the last year. Here are some examples of some 'weird' things that have happened... I would love to hear your thoughts on this type of thing... maybe there is a scientific reason and am open to suggestions!

1) When remodeling the bathroom - one tile would not stay in. No big deal right? Except that if it fell out once - it fell out 10 times! Once the project was complete - the tile has not fallen out.

2) When remodeling the bathroom - we resorted to taking our showers downstairs. I had put the clothes in the dryer, shut the door, turned it on and went into the next room. I turned on the shower and was going to the bathroom when I heard the dryer stop and the door open. Hmmm... I was the only one in the basement... interesting.

3) I went out to start the truck one morning - too cold and Ned stayed inside. I was just about back to the front door and it opened for me. Ned was standing in the kitchen with his ears alert and head tilted at the door frame. Weird.

4) If you've ever attempted to shut our front door - especially in the winter - it is tough. It never wants to open or shut because of the cold weather. So, to my surprise - the door opens itself during the day. Today it is -25 and I come out of the bedroom to find the front door wide open - huh!

This one is my favorite...

5) Damon and I just got home... I was going to pick up the house, he was going to go out to the garage. We were standing in the entry when everything off my shelf was wiped onto the floor. Damon thought it was kind of funny and says, "Now you can clean that up too!". The shelf didn't fall, wasn't shifted - just lost all it's contents... huh.

So what do you think? Can everything be explained scientifically?? I'm not seeing it; however, would love your input! :)

The Cabinets Have Arrived!

The Quilt Room Flooring

The Quilting Room

The Living Room
The Bathroom Cabinets

Today was a big day! Damon and I picked up the new furniture - exciting! We also were able to finish the living room floor, YEAH! With all the flooring completely done - mom and I couldn't wait to see what the furniture would look like. Home Depot also delivered the stove, microwave, washer/dryer and dishwasher... it's coming together and it's beautiful! Here's a sneak peak!

For those of you who follow the blog - it may seem as though I'm obsessed with my parents house! I post as many pictures as possible so Tonja can see everything and then she can give us her thoughts on colors, progress, etc... :)

More House Updates...

The kitchen and dinning room flooring is complete! It looks absolutely
beautiful and I think mama is excited about the new look! My old room before....
And after.....

Johnson wanted us to make a walk-way with the old boxes because he didn't
want us tracking in dirt... here is what mama and I came up with. :) Tapped and all!

Today the boys finished the dinning room, kitchen, my old bedroom and half of the parents room. Tomorrow is a big day! Mama is meeting the curtain lady at 8am (to get measurements for those hard to cover windows), 9am the rest of the cabinets will arrive (bathroom linen closet, entertainment closet in living room and closet for the quilting room)
and all 7 appliances should be arriving tomorrow afternoon. Slowly but surely the
parents will be moving back into their house - yeah!