Here's the latest...

Dave and the dogs and I drove up to Fargo last weekend for his bowling tournament.  My parents also traveled up there as well as my sister and her kids.  While Dave was bowling, we visited my 97 year old grandmother.  Mom and I were able to sneak off to Prairie Yarns for some great yarn.  This shop is conveniently right across the street from the bowling alley and down the street from our hotel.  It's as if the universe is trying to make me buy yarn!

My cousin Stacey took me to Modern Textiles which is wonderful fabric store co-owned by her neighbor.  I met her neighbor years ago when we all went to knit night at Stacey's church.  She was charming, crafty and clever and I loved all her touches I saw in the store.  The entire store literally looked like a knitting or sewing magazine with the displays and vintage tables, shelves, and containers.  I was relieved to learn they do online business so I only bought what I couldn't bear to leave without, including a yard of fabric which is currently being made into a messenger bag for my next trip.  More on that later.  This store goes on my list of places to visit whenever I am in town.

 Our first night in Fargo, we all had supper together here at Randy's, which was across the street from our hotel.  It is a great family friendly diner and we all had a great meal for a great price.  Uncle Doug joined us and we all had a good visit.  I had to laugh at this sign though.  Could you be a little more specific?

 It is only right I did a little stash building in Fargo because I also did some de-stashing.  Dave's niece just had a baby this month so I knitted her a Little Sister's Dress and sewed a pair of babushka shoes.  I got to thinking that I never made her older daughter anything other than a pair of knitted booties so I made a matching dress for her.  I sure hope it fits!  They also have a cousin the same age as the older girl so I will be knitting another one to send to her.  I spent some time with Dave's niece this Christmas when I was baking hoska at my mother in law's house.  I am trying to be a better aunt to them and be more involved.

And on the stash building front...  I had to go to Hancock Fabrics to pick up a chenille cutter that I mailed to my friend Brenda.  The first thing I saw when I walked in was 3 shopping baskets full of clearance buttons and I dove right in!  I got a really good deal and shamelessly walked away with all these.  I also got a table lamp and a few cuts of fabric.  I felt a tiny bit guilty at the time, but we were just out there yesterday and they are closing the store so I don't feel bad now. 

I've been watching all kinds of Nigella Bites on youtube preparing for my trip to London next month and have been inspired by her store cupboard.  We picked up this shelf at Aldis to organize my dry goods food hoard down in the laundry.  All my canned goods, flours, pastas, oils, vinegars, stocks, broths, teas, sauces, et al are housed on it.  It is so much better organized this way and I can see what I have.

Crashed Ice was here in town over the weekend and the cathedral was lit up beautifully.  We had gorgeous warm weather for it and everyone was outside enjoying it.  I had to climb over the pile of plowed snow on the roof of my parking ramp to take this picture and I accidentally stepped off the curb and fell down.  I didn't rip my jeans but I still managed to scrape up my knee and bled through them.

It is hard to believe that only a few weeks ago, we were driving through one of the worst storms of the season.  In this picture you can barely see the cathedral in the top left corner.

Finally here is a picture of our dogs.  They are just so darned cute.  They are sitting in the sewing room waiting for me to give them a rawhide.  I put a baby bonnet on Zak because he let me.  Lopi never would but they sat so nicely together.