Casa Blanca: July 2021

We were in Lincoln throughout June and had some fun connecting with friends and enjoying our Casa Blanca home.

My garden provided several lovely bouquets this month.

Rusty and I are each working on thinning out some of the items we own and no longer use. I decided to join the neighborhood garage sale and was very successful. It was a fun way to meet people from the hood; I was not surprised to see the diversity: Hispanic, Vietnamese, Muslim, African American, African, and of course White.

By day 2, most of my big items were already sold.

Rusty shows off his hillbilly attire.

I don't know if it will last, but at least now our church is having in-person services with live music.

Rusty performed at a First Plymouth Church service.

First Plymouth recently hired a new minister who's main focus will be helping our church be instrumental in striving for social justice in Lincoln, a cause near to my heart.

Reverend Juan Carlos Huertas gives his first sermon at a nearby coffee shop.

Even though my garden was planted very late this year, it has already been productive.

I've frozen bags of beans and given many away to neighbors and friends.

I've made lots of pickles and given many cucumbers away.

These came off a plant that mostly froze to death in May!

I harvested twice this many potatoes a couple days ago. It made a nice donation to Catholic Social Services.

Nearly all of July was spent at Hus OLAF. Rusty took on a project that was more challenging than he imagined and so it's not progressing as fast as he would like. But, no surprise, he's persevering.

New countertops:

The ugly 1/4" plywood covered in contact paper was removed.

Pretty crappy stuff, huh?

New cabinet to the right of the sink; 3/4" plywood installed, sink hole cut.

splash-prevention paper installed

Red Guard sealant applied

Backer Board being installed

Backer Board with sink installed

Tile installation begins

Another batch of Thinset for next row of tile

We do have many jobs at our cabin, but we love to sit and relax and enjoy the natural beauty of the place, maybe a paddle or two, and a little fishing.

We have some fun neighbors!

We attended a pre-4th party with neighbors.

Nearly everyone brought their dog to the party. One guest arrived by Float plane.

The 4th of July Parade was a big event for the small town of Ely. We couldn't resist joining the parade. Amy Klobuchar was there too!

We walked with the Save the Boundary Waters float--our favorite cause.

The local granola company, Crapola, was there.

...and cute girls on a classic car

Illustrative of our country.

Lumberjacks: a common occupation when you live in the Superior National Forest.

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Rusty's 73rd birthday was fun, but perhaps not as remarkable as last year's (the day we purchased our cabin).

Rusty found this at the lumber store. Hung on the wall like a trophy, the 8 foot level was used (along with shovels) to fight off a surprise attack by an angry bear in December.