Scrappy Weekend

If you read my previous post, you know that last weekend was a party weekend complete with a bus trip to a Milwaukee Brewers game.  The weekend before (clearly I'm not doing a good job keeping my posts in any kind of chronological order) was a fun weekend in a completely different way.  My friends from "home", Cathy and Kelly, came up to see me.  The three of us work for the same company, which is how we met originally back when I worked in Ohio.  They still have their offices in Ohio and I, of course, am here in Wisconsin.

Cathy and Kelly introduced me to the world of scrapbooking and card making, which has become a favorite hobby and creative outlet of mine.  I'm fortunate to have a space in our house solely dedicated to crafting.  This is what the area looked like when the previous owner had this house.  As you can tell by the small window, it's in the basement, which someone at some point before we moved in professionally finished.

There is something about the candelabra on the organ that I find kind of creepy.  Every time I look at this picture, I can hear spooky organ music from a Dracula movie.

You may remember a previous post from back in 2011 about a trip Scott and I made to Ikea to get furniture to transform this section of the basement to my scrapbook room.  (link)  We left Ikea with my vehicle packed full of to-be-assembled furniture.

Fortunately my darling hubby is good at putting sh*t together.  He assembled the furniture for me and the room began its transformation.

After the furniture was assembled, all my scrapbook stuff unpacked, and a few decorative touches were added, the space ended up looking like this.

I love this space.  It's cozy and I have so much storage.  A place for everything and everything in its place.

My scrapbook area has partial walls but is essentially open to the rest of the basement, including the main area that has a fireplace and a wet bar.  Scott and I haven't been able to furnish that part of the basement yet, so it's an open space that ended up being perfect to set up tables for Cathy and Kelly to come up and have a scrapbook retreat weekend with me.  Here they are.

They made the trek up here on Friday and we spent Friday night, all day Saturday and all day Sunday in the basement crafting away.  We talked, listened to music and watched several movies throughout the weekend while we worked.  I had snacks set up in the bar area and had the small refrigerator down there stocked with beverages.

Speaking of beverages, we had some of the adult variety.  Kelly had shared with me that she's been into Mojito's lately.  I had never made a Mojito before, but decided to give it a try.

Cathy loved it.  I had to do some tweaking to meet Kelly's taste, but I think I eventually was successful.

The Sunday morning they were here, we got a little spiritual.  We listened to the Reverend Al Green on CD and had a few of these.

Can I get an amen?

It was a wonderful weekend.  Quiet.  Peaceful.  Relaxing.  Both Cathy and Kelly have been wonderful, caring and supportive friends to me over the years.  I feel fortunate to have them in life and I appreciated them making the effort to come all the way up here to spend time with me. It nurtured my soul.

Oh....before I close I feel like I should explain Cathy's "uff da" shirt.  Cathy used to live in St. Paul, MN so she is familiar with this northern region of the country and the culture, which is predominantly Scandinavian/Norwegian.  She certainly knows a lot more about the culture than I do.  She was here in WI earlier this summer for a work thing and we spent a little time together then.  We went into a shop in downtown Stoughton and saw something with "uff da" on it.  She asked me if I knew what it meant.  I had no idea.  She explained it to me and I later looked it up on Wikipedia:

Uff da (sometimes also spelled huffda, uff-da, uffda, uff-dah, oofda, ufda, ufdah, oofta, uf daa, or ufta) is an expression of Norwegian origin adopted by Scandinavian-Americans in the 19th century. It is an exclamation that is relatively common in parts of the Pacific Northwest and Upper Midwestern states of the United States.[

So what does it mean?  Again, from Wikipedia:

Usage

Uff da is often used in the Pacific Northwest and Upper Midwest as a term for sensory overload. It can be used as an expression of surprise, astonishment, exhaustion, relief and sometimes dismay. For many, Uff da is an all-purpose expression with a variety of nuances, and covering a variety of situations. The expression has lost its original connotation, and it is increasingly difficult to specify what it means now in America. Within Scandinavian-American culture, Uff da frequently translates into: I am overwhelmed. It has become a mark of Scandinavian roots, particularly for people from North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, northern Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and enclaves in and around Seattle, Washington.^[2][3] Uff da can often be used as an alternative for many common day swear words.

I wanted to have some kind of a Wisconsin-themed gift for Cathy and Kelly when they came up here and "uff da" shirts seemed to fit the bill.

It was a great weekend and I was sad when it came to an end (uff da).  Fortunately, I will see Cathy and Kelly again next month when we do a 4 day retreat at a heavenly place in Ohio called A Crop for All Seasons (link).  I'm so looking forward to it.