Antiquing

Saturday my friend Nancy and I went antiquing and was it fun! We shopped in the charming towns of Chaska, Carver, and Shakopee. Some of the stores were disappointments (at least to me), but some were amazing! I bought a few treasures in a couple of them, adding to my Delft collection.

Heading out of Chaska, we spotted a wedding being set up on the front porch of a B & B. I can't imagine a nicer day for an outdoor wedding.

We also ate delicious sandwiches at a recommended spot - Harvey's in Carver.

Nancy and I really enjoyed ourselves!

Dinkydome Being Remodeled

Many years ago I attended Minnesota Bible College, located on University Ave SE and 15th Ave SE. Some time after I left the school, the girl's dormitory in the adjacent lot was torn down and replaced by a parking lot. In the 70's, the college sold the building and relocated to Rochester, changing their name to Crossroads College. The Grecian-style building which housed our classes and chapel, became a mall called "Dinkydome." Yes, that's right. A mall. I returned years later to see coffee shops and boutiques where we once listened to professors and sang our hearts out.

It was a surprise to see this property mentioned in the news yesterday. A builder has purchased the school building and the property where our dorm stood and is adding a 198 apartment unit to the back of Dinkydome. [This drawing is from 4th St SE and 15th Ave SE - McDonald's - looking toward the Dome, which is just to the right of the multi-story building. The University of Minnesota buildings are in the background.]

Scary, Scary!

After listening to the news last night and hearing of more rain and possible hail, I walked out to my patio to pull my planters in under the roof to protect them. One by one I pulled them back about a foot. I got to the second to the last one and there on the carpet was this big creature! I didn’t know if he was a toad or a frog, but he was large. I said, "Shoo! Shoo!" He sat there. So I clapped my hands. He still sat there. I had this fear of him jumping on me if I got too close.
I finally managed to get enough confidence to pull the planter sideways and pulled it in a bit. He gave me the shivers.

I told my girlfriend about it this morning. Leave it to her to search his breed. This is what she said:

You might have had an American toad on your patio. They’re about
the size of a person’s fist. They grow up in water but spend most
of their adult life on land, living in fields, gardens, and woods.
They’re most active at night and on rainy days. When it gets hot
and dry, they dig into the ground.

I Googled American Toad and sure enough, that’s him alright!

Apparently it's true . . .

Yep, I just heard it. Brett Favre is at the Viking's Winterpark here in Eden Prairie, getting ready to sign a contract to join the team. You can read the latest here. I'm not sure how I feel about it. What are your thoughts?

# 10

Peder at Future Poltergeist tagged me with this:


Simple Rules:

-Open your first photo folder.
-Scroll down to the 10th photo.
-Post that photo and story on your blog.
-Tag five others (or more) friends to do the same.

This photo taken April 29, 2006, in the gift shop of one of my favorite places: Gammelgården Museum, in Scandia, Minnesota. My cousins, sister, aunt and I love going here. In fact, we're heading there in October for the Traditions in the Trunk: Swedish Folk Dress, Quilts and Art Exhibit. Since I am 1/8th Swedish, I feel at home here.

Now I'm tagging:

Pat

Aunt Liz

Sarah

Lynn

Janet

Summer Food

I just finished eating a delicious lunch: a BLT sandwich made with home grown tomatoes, lettuce, and Hormel brand bacon, plus home grown cucumbers on the side - - and grape pop in a glass bottle! What a fine meal. I loved it!

Guess what's for dinner??? Home grown sweet corn! More tomatoes. And for dessert: fresh raspberries. Yum! I love summer food.

It's Hot!

After 50 days of pretty nice weather, today the thermometer reached 90 degrees. I'm not a fan of hot weather. In fact, I have a very small comfort zone. Anywhere between 65 and 75, and I'm happy. So I am staying indoors as much as possible.

The big news around here this week is the PGA golf tournament going on in one of the suburbs not far from me. It's been interesting listening to the radio and news broadcasts. I've learned that Tiger Woods is surrounded by police and FBI agents. When asked: who pays for this? I learned that all of the security surrounding him is supplied by volunteers. These officers and agents consider it a privilege to guard him. I also learned that many of the top players rent local homes in which to stay, rather than lodge in a hotel. One of my co-workers reported that when he was at the tournament yesterday, a gentleman told him that Woods rented a house in the area for $58,000 for the week - part of the money to fix the swimming pool and part to install a new hot tub. One of my girlfriends said Sunday that her son and daughter-in-law rented their home this week for $15,000. She wasn't at liberty to tell us who the golfer was, but that he, his wife, and a cook would be moving in at noon on Sunday. One other tidbit I heard on the radio was that one home owner came back to his house to pick up something, and there in the garage was the golfer - sweeping it out after just finishing moving the lawn. His explanation: it makes me feel normal, and gives me a chance to think.

Mower County Fair Turns 125 This Year

I just had a birthday, but I am not 125 years old, thank you. However, I do have good memories of going to the fair when I was young. I remember going to the midway for the rides, and taking my chances on the duck pond - plastic ducks that went through a little canal. The ducks had numbers on the bottoms of them. The contestant would pay some money and point to the duck that she thought would have a good number on it. The person on the other side of the canal would pick up the duck, turn it over, and give you the prize that matched the number. You might win a small stuffed animal, a sparkly bracelet, or some other trinket.

The food. One treat I enjoyed was the mini-donuts. They've been around for a long time! And another was the salt water taffy, pulled by the automated man that pumped up and down. I also remember liking cotton candy. All of this was the "junk food" we couldn't get any other time of the year.

Another memory was a huge pair of denim bib overalls that hung on the outside of the grandstand. They must have been 25' high!

One year - I must have been in high school - I remember taking my brother's new bike to the fair - without his permission. I forgot to lock it to the fence, and when I came out, it was gone. I felt horrible and was scared to tell him. But I did, and per usual, he didn't get mad at me. He called our insurance company and found out the bike was covered. I never did that again!

I've had occasions to go back to the fair over the years. When I do, it seems so much smaller than it did when I was a kid. One nice feature is the permanent historical center. They do a very nice job of displaying articles from the past: a telephone operator switch board, a doctor's office from the 40's, and even my old pump organ is on display - a donation I made some years ago.

The Party's Over

Laurey and Bonnie
Nancy and Gayle

One more little birthday party was given to me yesterday by my dear friends, Nancy, Gayle, Bonnie and Laurey. We went to the brunch at the Crossroads Deli, one of my favorite restaurants. They have delicious foods - including a bakery where all the goodies say, "Taste me, Buy me, Yum yum!" I held the reins a bit by only buying one loaf of cinnamon/golden raisin bread, a pan of apple crisp, and two macaroon cookies. It's a very good thing this deli isn't in my neighborhood. If it were, I'm not sure I would still fit in my car!

Nancy brought a little garland for me to wear and a darling birthday bear, which sings the chorus of Happy Birthday two times. It has a nice, rather quiet voice, but the little kids at a table near us could hear it and it brought smiles to their faces.

The brunch features beautifully displayed dishes: eggs - scrambled, scrambled with tomatoes and spinach, Eggs Benedict, cheesy hash browns, cinnamon raisin French toast, Belgium waffles, fresh fruits, creamed chicken over home-made baking powder biscuits, fresh fruits, petite Danish, cakes, bread pudding, beef tips over noodles, tomato basil soup, etc., etc., etc. At the conclusion of our feasting, the waitress brought out for me a piece of their famous, 3-layer lemon cake with coconut icing! I was so full, I couldn't have possibly eaten it. So she put it in a container for me to take home. I enjoyed it to the last crumb later in the afternoon.

"Julie & Julia"

If you like any of the following: cooking, cooking shows, writing, blogging, Paris, or Meryl Streep, I recommend the film just out this week, Julie and Julia. It is a bit of a chick flick, but has some great music, a few classic cars, lots of yummy looking food, and great acting, at least in my opinion.

I don't have a fancy cable package with my TV, so the only cooking shows I'm offered are on two Public TV channels. Just recently they have been showing some reruns of Julia Child when she hosted guests chefs. So, I've never seen her do the cooking, but have learned to recognize her voice and mannerisms. Meryl, as always, did an excellent job playing Julia's character. In reading the reviews before going to the movie, I learned Julia was 6' 1" tall. So Meryl wears shoes that must contain lifts. Plus, I read when she was shown cooking in a kitchen, she was actually standing on a little box. I won't tell you any more about it, except this: for all the bloggers in my family, it's a MUST SEE. You'll love the part of the blogging.

What is a First Cousin, Twice Removed?

Awhile back, I read an ariticle that described relationships. Up until that time, I thought if someone was related to you, if not your grandparent, aunt or uncle, they had to be your cousin, niece or nephew. Not so.

If someone walked up to you and said "Howdy, I'm your third cousin, twice removed," would you have any idea what they meant? Most people have a good understanding of basic relationship words such as "mother," "father," "aunt," "uncle," "brother," and "sister." But what about the relationship terms that we don't use in everyday speech? Terms like "second cousin" and "first cousin, once removed"? We don't tend to speak about our relationships in such exact terms ("cousin" seems good enough when you are introducing one person to another), so most of us aren't familiar with what these words mean.

Relationship Terms
Sometimes, especially when working on your family history, it's handy to know how to describe your family relationships more exactly. The definitions below should help you out.
Cousin (a.k.a "first cousin")
Your first cousins are the people in your family who have two of the same grandparents as you. In other words, they are the children of your aunts and uncles.
Second Cousin
Your second cousins are the people in your family who have the same great-grandparents as you., but not the same grandparents.
Third, Fourth, and Fifth Cousins
Your third cousins have the same great-great-grandparents, fourth cousins have the same great-great-great-grandparents, and so on.

Removed
When the word "removed" is used to describe a relationship, it indicates that the two people are from different generations. You and your first cousins are in the same generation (two generations younger than your grandparents), so the word "removed" is not used to describe your relationship.
The words "once removed" mean that there is a difference of one generation. For example, your mother's first cousin is your first cousin, once removed. This is because your mother's first cousin is one generation younger than your grandparents and you are two generations younger than your grandparents. This one-generation difference equals "once removed."
Twice removed means that there is a two-generation difference. You are two generations younger than a first cousin of your grandmother, so you and your grandmother's first cousin are first cousins, twice removed.

It's Been a Good Week

I've had a very good week, what with my birthday and all. Thank you for all of the kind greetings, phone calls, beautiful cards, gifts and flowers. I could go on and on. I had a delicious birthday cake at the office party my department gave me - even brought home the left-over cake. Yum!

I'm enjoying my flowers on my patio. Thanks to Aurelia who gave them such good care last weekend. It's a joy to sit there and relax.

Last night, after reading Rachel's blog, I grilled a steak and fixed an ear of sweet corn. Oh my! What a delicious dinner! I capped it off with the last piece of birthday cake. This coming Sunday, some of my friends and I are going to a Jewish deli (Crossroads Deli) to celebrate my birthday. This is one of my favorite restaurants. After that, I need to get serious about what goes into my mouth, if you know what I mean!

Today we're getting some much needed rain. We have been in a drought for the past two years. This morning the radio announcer said we have a deficit of 17 to 18 inches! It's especially noticeable in the area lakes.

More Fun Surprises

This afternoon two of my dear friends, Laurey and Nancy, stopped by my office to serenade me and to give me these beautiful flowers from Nancy's garden. Wow!

39 Candles on My Cake

Flowers from Hans, Rachel and the kids (just arrived!)

My birthday started out with a phone call from Germany: on the other end were my darling grand children, Josiah and Annika, singing Happy Birthday, Dear Grandma Donna! I wish I could have recorded it. They are so sweet!

Arriving at my office, I found beautiful decorations and ornaments, plus a card and chocolates! I've also received a carton of Boyland Bottleworks Grape pop - in glass bottles - from my friend, Jo. And a darling fall leaf dish with a bird sitting on it from another dear friend, Nancy.

Not long ago, I got another call from Germany. This time it was Hans wishing me a Happy 39th birthday. I LOVE my kids!

Birthdays are a special time of celebrating and remembering. I am truly blessed.

THE POSITIVE SIDE OF LIFE:

Living on Earth is expensive,
but it does include a free trip
around the sun every year.

How long a minute is
depends on what side of the
bathroom door you're on.

Birthdays are good for you;
the more you have,
the longer you live.

Happiness comes through doors you
didn't even know you left open.

Ever notice that the people who are late
are often much jollier
than the people who have to wait for them?

Most of us go to our grave
with our music still inside of us.

If Wal-Mart is lowering prices every day,
how come nothing is free yet?

You may be only one person in the world,
but you may also be the world to one person.

Some mistakes are too much fun
to only make once.

Don't cry because it's over;
smile because it happened.

We could learn a lot from crayons:
some are sharp, some are pretty,
some are dull, some have weird names,
and all are different colors....but
they all exist very nicely in the same box.

A truly happy person is one who
can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

My Weekend with Aurelia

One of my angels.

Playing Peek-a-Boo with my friend, Nancy.

Peek!

It's been a little busy for me to journal, but my little angel is taking a nap right now, so I thought I would record some of our activities.

Aurelia came over Friday afternoon with her little bags. I distracted her from Sarah and Peder's departure by giving her the elephant shaped watering can I bought for her in Seattle and asking her to water my patio plants. She thought this was so much fun, and my plants really needed a drink.

We had fun the rest of day, including while eating our dinner. Thanks to my visit to Hans and Rachel's in Germany in May, it wasn't hard for me to figure out menus. I made "pigs in a blanket" and Aurelia loved them. I used Hormel turkey hot dogs inside the crescent rolls, and I must say, they were good. And easy! It was too late in the day for me to call Rachel to ask how long they should be baked, so I just followed the directions on the crescent roll package - - perfect. Aurelia really likes fruit, and yogurt. So we had that, and sweet potato fries. And I discovered she loves dried apricots. I keep a jar on the counter. She called them crackers, and each night while cooking dinner, she would sit on my stool and eat three apricots. She is so cute and has the cutest expressions.

Saturday morning we went shopping. First we stopped at a garage sale, but came out empty handed. The next stop: Target. She was so good there. Her reward was a toy Ernie from Sesame Street. She likes him a lot. After walking through much of Target and buying a few things, we were hungry. Where to go? McDonald's. She sat in a high chair and feasted on chicken McNuggets, French fries, and chocolate milk. We each had a Happy Meal, so Aurelia got two stuffed toys: a panda bear and a pony. [These are in her diaper bag, unopened, because she didn't need them and was perfectly happy.]

My mission was to find her a sweater to wear with her darling sun dress for Sunday morning. The garage sale had none, as did Target, so next we went to Herberger's. They had sweaters, but none of them would have worked with the sun dress, so we found a cute long sleeve shirt to wear under her denim jumper. [Sarah sent plenty of clothes, but my plans were to take her to church Sunday morning and with our chilly temperatures and the A/C normally turned on in our church building, I thought she should be more protected.]

Since Aurelia was being so good, I decided we would shop at one more store: Breadsmith. They have delicious banana bread with walnuts! I treated myself to one loaf, and an oatmeal raisin cookie for each of us. This store is in a beautiful location in Edina - near 50th and France. The store has window boxes with beautiful flowers spilling out. There are little tables and chairs and benches too. So Aurelia and I had a little cookie party out on the bench, next to the fragrant fuchsia petunias. Passersby all smiled at us, and one lady commented, "Isn't this a precious moment!"

This morning, after our shower together, we dressed and left for church. We arrived a little early, in time to hear my choir rehearsing the anthem of the day, which is one of my favorites, Majesty and Glory. There was a full orchestra on stage. We stood in the aisle, Aurelia was taking it all in. At the conclusion of the anthem, we took our place in a pew about four rows from the front. I knew this could be a risky spot in which to sit, but I also knew that there would be more for her to watch if her view was unobstructed. Let me tell you, she was an absolute angel the entire service! I kid you not. You wouldn't believe how many people came up to us following the service to say they couldn't believe how well behaved she was. My choir friends, who joined us in the cafe following the service, said they watched her and thought she was just perfect.

It's hard to find words to explain what a blessing it was for me to have Aurelia with me this weekend, and especially in church this morning. I have wanted my friends to meet her for such a long time. They see the photos of all of my grand kids after I have been to their homes or they to mine, and they always comment on how cute they are. And when I tell them how good they are, I sometimes think they don't believe me. But after today, they do.

Electricity Issue Has Been Resolved

On July 12, I posted about the explosion of the transformer near my garage (It was a dark night). Since that night, we have endured the presence of police tape and orange cones from my garage to our building and other areas from the back of my garage to the back of our building. It hasn't been a pretty sight. I probably should have taken a picture of it, but I didn't. Yesterday morning we had a scheduled power outage while the electricians connected the newly installed cable. What was originally estimated to be a one to two day operation, was completed in about two hours. When I came home from work, the police tape and cones were gone; the cable was buried. Except for the red spray paint here and there on the grass, all seems to be back to normal, except for my garage door opener. I have a new garage door opener scheduled for installation Monday afternoon, because mine was fried during the explosion.

The Trip to Butternut

Saturday we stopped in the very small hamlet of Butternut where my Great Aunt Et and Great Uncle Johnny had lived for 52 years. I have the best memories of going there as a child. They were our "little house on the prairie" relatives. They had no electricity or running water. In the kitchen, there was a water pump. My aunt cooked with a wooden stove. She made the best pies! They had a pantry with home canned food, such as pickles and ground cherries, and kept butter and cream in a well outside the house. Of course, they had an outhouse – a 2 seater. I remember them letting us play on their typewriter and pump organ. They also had a wooden flat-bed cart with large steel wheels and a handle. My brother would pull my sister and me all around the yard. We were told to never go upstairs or in the garage. The garage had an old car in it – perhaps a model A or T. There were snakes by the garage, in the ferns, so that kept us away. I remember my great uncle once let me shoot his b -b gun at his pigs. I’m sure he knew I couldn’t hit them if I tried. Some of my best childhood memories took place there. We had lots of picnics in their yard. One of their grandsons went on to become a US Navy Admiral. True story. Not bad!

Today the house still stands, but one wouldn’t recognize it. There’s brown siding, new windows, and an added bedroom on the main floor. A new 3 stall garage replaced the old one. The outhouse is gone, and the new owner, who visited with us for awhile Saturday, has done some fun things with his flower gardens. One thing I liked was the use of a spindle headboard for vines to climb. It was really cute. He had a neat bird feeder too.

Across the street was the mercantile store he used to run. Nothing, and I mean nothing, has been done to it over the years. It is pretty rickety. Tall plants cover much of it. There is a gas pump out in the front. The price per gallon read: $.65/gal. I don’t recall my Uncle Johnny working there, but if my Aunt Liz says it’s so, it’s so. Apparently he was also the town clerk and had registered the birth of my Uncle Vic back in the early 1900’s. I was too busy visiting with the new owner to take any pictures, but my cousin Diane took fabulous photos.

Laura Ingalls Wilder Remembered

Dugout home on the set
Darling little girl in Plum Creek
Cousins trying out Plum Creek (this was a popular part of the bus tour)

This was the covered wagon used in the pagaent.

This past weekend six of my dear family members and I traveled to Walnut Grove, Minnesota, to see the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum and the pageant, Fragments of a Dream, based on the book On the Banks of Plum Creek. We arrived in Walnut Grove around 4:30 Saturday and quickly bought tickets for the last bus tour of the day to see the town and surrounding area, featuring all the places Laura and her family either lived, worshipped, or were educated. We saw places such as Plum Creek, the site of their first home - a dugout. We got to hear the church bell for which pa had given his last $3, rather than buy some much needed boots for himself.

The tour guide was passionate about their famous former resident. She shared this: until the TV production of Little House on the Prairie was aired, there wasn't much for tourists to see who took the journey down US highway 14. But seeing how the chapters in her books were brought to life in these TV programs, it inspired the locals to wake up and "fix" their town. Local school children planted over 30,000 black walnut trees to bring back the resource for which their town was named. The pageant was moved from the high school to an outdoor amphitheater with marvelous sets, special effects and excellent lighting. Over time, permanent seating was installed. It is now performed each year over three weekends in July.

After the tour, some of us ate supper in a darling home-style restaurant called "Nellie's Cafe." The food was delicious! I bought some home-made cookies to eat during the pageant.

Before the sun set, we took our seats and the drama began. Live horses and a cow took the stage along with a cast of over 40 locals, many of them children. It wasn't long and the sky was dark with millions of stars overhead. I loved this setting. The play was narrated by elder Laura. The scenes moved flawlessly from one to the next. I was very impressed with the grasshopper plague, the prairie fires, and the dancing at the church social. In front of our places (we had front row seats!) while little children performed, one little boy in particular had trouble with his suspenders. We laughed and laughed at how cute he was while trying to fix his clothing without missing a step. This experience was wonderful and I would recommend it to others.

Lunch Alfresco

Our weather this summer has been nothing to "write home about," except to complain about the below average temperatures and drought. Today is different. It is sunny, warm, and lovely. It's 84 degrees. As I walked to my car to drive home for lunch, I was inspired to take Peppi outdoors so we could have lunch together.

He was darling! At first he jumped from perch to perch, stopping only to stretch his neck upwards to take in all the sights. Once he settled down, he sang and sang. I think he was telling me, "Mommy, let's do this more often!"

What's that I hear?

"Peppi, what is that sound?" I asked, after uncovering his cage this morning. Umm, what could it be? I opened the blinds and discovered it was raining. Yes, rain! We haven't heard that sound in so long. I opened the patio door and listened to the beautiful sound.

Butterfly Tent and African Animals at Como Zoo

He was born May 3 and will be given a name on Thursday, July 23. He was so sweet!

Rosy at Como Zoo!

Rosy smelling the roses
Isn't this "Tweety" ice cream treat a riot?

Sparky with trainer during his show

Rosy at the carousel

This is after the ride. I made it!

What a treat it was to take Rosy to the Como Park, Zoo and Conservatory today. The only zoo she had ever gone to before was the Minnesota Zoo - a school trip while in first grade. Until today, she had never seen a giraffe or zebra!

We started out in the conservatory where she was excited to see papaya growing on a tree. She told me she likes papaya. I pointed out the bananas and other fruits. He eyes were delighted to see the beautiful fish in the ponds. Then we went to the south room, the part of the conservatory where Hans and Rachel were married. I pointed out the spot where they stood and the area where I sat. Today the flowers in the gardens were roses, geraniums, petunias, and there were beautiful water lilies in the pond. There again, she loved seeing the fish coming to the surface, their mouths wide open, expecting to be fed.

After walking through the Fern Room and the Rain Forest, we went into the butterfly tent. We saw many butterflies, but because it was so chilly today, none of them were in flight, but clung to the flowers and the screen walls of the tent. I was able to take a few photos of them on flowers.

In the Primates building we got to see the baby orangutan, not far from the mama. The mama had just put on a black t-shirt before we arrived, according to one of the visitors. Funny mama. The papa was chewing on some grass. What a cute? family.

My favorite zoo animals are the African animals. We got to see zebras, ostriches, and of course, my very favorite - the giraffes. The building that houses the giraffes (all but the new baby, born May 3 of this year, were outside), has a measuring stick on the outside - measured in feet. So when one of the male giraffes was standing there, it was easy to see he is 15 feet tall.

I told Rosy the giraffes can run very fast, when necessary. They are quiet, graceful animals. I showed her the giraffe that was a baby when Josiah and Annika visited Como Zoo back in the winter of 2007. She's still smaller than the adults, but not like the new baby in the building. The new baby, not quite 3 months old yet, is about 6 feet tall. I pointed out the baby's long eye lashes to Rosy. Then Rosy noticed her tongue was purple on the end and further inside it was pink. I told her that is because the giraffe must stretch out its tongue to eat its food. Because it reaches out so far, the purple part is protected from drying out.

Next we went into the Large Cat building. Inside we saw a lion and a lioness. The lioness walked past us and then lay down on the floor. The lion who had been lying down, got up and came close to the window where we were standing. Rosy asked me I could take a picture of him, which I did. Then I put my face right up to the glass, leaning down to his level. He surprised me and others watching by butting his face right up to mine. His big nose and eyes were only inches from mine. It was really neat. One man commented that he had never seen that before, to which I commented, "If the glass hadn't been between us, I never would have done that!" Outside the building we saw the snow leopards and the tigers. They are impressive animals.

What's next, well lunch and then watching the performance of Sparky, the seal. Now that was fun! About 15 minutes before the show, loud music began playing over the speakers. The crowds began to gather, filling up the seating area. Minutes before Sparky's appearance, the old song Lollipop, Lollipop, Oh Lolli Lolli Lolli, Lollipop started up. It has a fun beat, and the audience really got into it, singing and singing. I think Rosy was surprised that I knew the song. Then Sparky took the stage. He with his trainer did some cute antics. I'm sure Rosy had never seen a performing seal before.

We finished our activities at the zoo by riding the merry-go-round. This is a treasure for St. Paul. The merry-go-round was built in 1914. Each horse is carved totally from wood. The horses and their decorations have all been painted their original colors. It is totally restored. For $1.50, you can get a nice ride, lasting about 8 to 10 minutes. Volunteers monitor those getting on and off the horses. It wasn't easy for me to mount my horse, and once on it, I hung on tight because they go really fast. The delightful music comes from the original automated drums, cymbals and organ, which has also been restored. Rosy and I had a blast riding this beautiful carousel. What a great time we had together!

The Automated Attendant

Very few companies employ receptionists or switch board operators any longer. Automated attendants have been "answering" the phones for many years now - even prior to our economy going south. Some of them are pretty simple: For directions, press 1; for operation hours, press 2; for accounts receivable, press 3; for deliveries, press 4. Some are not so friendly: press 1 if your service is out. I press 1. Next message: please enter your account number. I enter it. Next message: enter your zip code. And on, and on it goes. Sometimes I have been in this pattern for 3 or 4 minutes before getting to speak to a "live" person. Then there are the times when you can only leave a message. Am I the only one to find this irritating?

Check out this website: gethuman.com. Finally someone has cracked the codes for over a thousand companies. I haven't had the occasion to try any of these numbers yet, but here's hope.

Hang on to your hats! Get out your sweaters!

It's unseasonably cool and windy here in Minnesota. The average high for today is supposed to be 84 degrees. Today we made it up to 71. Tonight it is supposed to drop to 52. The forecast high for tomorrow is 63 - - and windy. We're still suffering a drought in the twin cities. I'm sceptical with the "global warming" theory.

Happy Birthday, Heidi!

For the past 5+ years, my kids have been having kids. This is a lovely time in my life - watching them parenting and reaping the rewards of being a grand-parent. But a mother never forgets when she had a baby. It was 32 years ago this morning. The weather had been extremely hot: 101 degrees! Thankfully, we had central air conditioning in the parsonage in which we were living. Vacation Bible School was in progress out in our yard - in tents. This was a new idea for our church and seemed to go over well. I lucked out of not having to teach that year since I was too uncomfortable.

I woke in the morning with a slight back ache. My baby wasn't due for another three weeks. This is probably just the position of the baby right now, I thought. I passed it off. But soon the ache became stronger and I knew I was going to be delivering that day. Our sweet neighbors just across the road had 3 wonderful daughters that had become our baby sitters. I phoned them and told them my situation. 2 of the girls came over to stay with Hans and Peder, and Steve and I left for the hospital. Later that morning, around 9:45, Heidi Reneé was born. She weighed 6 pounds, 2 ounces and was 17 inches long. Since I had two boys already, I hadn't gotten my hopes up for having a girl and had the name "Nels" picked out had she been a boy. I was so surprised when the doctor said, "It's a girl!" I remembered asking, "Are you sure?"

Once home and able to go shopping, the first thing I bought Heidi was a little cloth Fisher Price doll named "Lollie." I still have it.

Happy Birthday, Heidi. I have loved you since I laid eyes on you!

Farmer's Market

My friend, Bonnie

Take a look at the chocolates!

My bouquet

Yesterday after church I got to go to the Farmer's Market in the warehouse district of Minneapolis with my dear friend, Bonnie. She often goes twice a month and has been raving about it. When she invited me to join her, I gladly accepted.

The market is huge, and very well organized. There were hundreds of booths featuring clothing, jewelry, leather goods, garden decorations, plants, cut flowers, vegetables, fruit, pop corn - both cheesy and kettle corn, huge, fresh - still warm - frosted cinnamon rolls. Bonnie and I shared one. It was nearly the size of a dinner plate! I also had fresh squeezed lemonade. After downing most of that, nothing else tempted me, including a couple of stands with home-made chocolates.

I bought a gorgeous bouquet for only $4. It was totally arranged and is making quite a statement at my desk today.

It was a dark night. . .

A half hour after I finished baking a batch of cookies in the afternoon, and just after cleaning up the kitchen, I went to my cottage to watch a little TV. I was settled into my comfortable chair with a glass of milk and a few cookies and the TV was on, when my lamp began to fade off and on. The TV went off, then on, then off, then on. I got up from my chair, turned the power strip off for the TV and made my call to the electric company. Once again (4th time in the past 6 weeks or so) my power was off - at least part of it was off.

After calling and reporting it to the automated system, I went to my patio and proceeded to phone a friend on my cell phone. All of a sudden, I heard a loud siren coming closer and closer to my building. Sure enough, it was a fire chief's vehicle. The siren abruptly stopped after passing my building. Then I heard another siren. I hung up with my friend and dashed out the front door to see what was happening. On my street, there was a big hook and ladder fire truck and three fire squad vehicles, with another hook and ladder truck out on our adjoining street. Neighbors were pouring out of several buildings to have a look. Two of the neighbors in my building reported their TVs had blown up - smoke was coming from them. Also, their circuit boards were smelling hot. Oh my!

I crossed the street to get a better look at the transformer just to the south of my garage building, and saw a fire at the bottom of it. The exposed wires were popping. Cables not yet buried from the transformer leading to our building (this is another whole story - it goes back to the first time our power was out which I mentioned in my first paragraph) were on fire. Thankfully, our lawn irrigation system had just run an hour earlier for the second time of the day, so the grass was really wet and the ground moist. No grass caught on fire, leading to who knows what! The firemen and woman went to each unit in our building to check our circuit breaker boxes. Mine was fine. Later I took a plate of cookies outside for the firemen. Only a few of them took some. The rest seemed shy.

When the electric company vehicles finally showed up, the firemen left the scene. I heard one of the electricians say our power would be out at least a couple more hours. As the sun was getting low, I went back into my home. I lit a few candles and sat in my Amish rocker inside my living room, looking out into the back yard. With not enough light to read, I sang a few songs to Peppi and myself, and then got ready for bed. At 9:30 I turned in. My power was restored at 10:40 - the lamp beside my bed comes on when the power returns. I reached up, turned it off, and went back to sleep.

Everything seemed normal this morning. I got ready for work and headed out to my garage. Guess what? There is no power to my garage, so I couldn't get the door open. Luckily my next door garage neighbor was just pulling out of her garage and she gave me a ride to work. She told me our problem is not solved and that the power company is to return today. Fun and games!

Project Completed

For a few months, I have needed to replace something because the one I had, which wasn't that old, was beginning to peel. This afternoon I put it on my shopping list and headed for Home Depot. I looked at the options, hemmed and hawed, and finally made my selection. After crossing off the rest of the things on my list, I went home, changed out of my good clothes, got out my tools, and started my project. Removing the old one was no easy task. I struggled and struggled, both with and without my glasses, and finally got it off. Wah lah! Now for the new one. I took it out of the box, lined it up, and guess what? It was too big! Argh! I changed my clothes, got my car out of the garage, and took off for Home Depot.

I must compliment the clerks at my local Home Depot. Talk about helpful. They do everything but come to your home to do your job. In about a minute, my refund was made, and I returned to the department to make another selection - this time with the right dimensions. I was pleased to see the smaller one was about $18 less! I marched to the check-out line (the second time this afternoon), flashed my plastic, and headed home to finish my project.

After changing my clothes, I opened the box and put my new purchase in place to install it. What? Not again! This time the hardware wouldn't line up. I was getting frustrated now. With my room torn up, I found my receipt for the store's phone number, and called to be sure they would still be open. I once again put on my good clothes, got the car out of the garage, and headed for Home Depot, setting the trip meter when putting the car in gear. I was curious to see how many miles I was chalking up to accomplish this task. It turned out the mileage was only 4.4 miles one way, so it wasn't that far.

I walked into the store, explained to a clerk that this was my third trip out here today and asked if someone could help me. Sure enough, a kind man took me to the right department, opened a package to see if the hardware would fit, and once again, after checking out, I was on my way home.

As they often say, third time's a charm! I now have a new toilet seat in my bathroom.

Discovery

Before I went to Seattle and again this morning, I have heard a little wren singing outside my home. He has a beautiful song. I blogged about it back on June 20: Retreat. Just moments ago I walked to my kitchen and spotted the wren on my patio lattice. Then he flew toward my patio wall. I moved over to the window by Peppi's cage so I could better see him and discovered little twigs sticking out of my hat birdhouse! I continued to watch and the little wren landed on the birdhouse perch and proceeded through the entry hole. I have hung that bird house there every spring for the past six or more years. Never before has a bird taken up lodging in it.

Now what? Are there baby wrens inside? Is Mama Wren inside, sitting on eggs? Will I be fortunate to witness baby wrens?

For years I have called male cardinals "Henry" and females "Henrietta." What should I name Papa Wren? Any ideas? This is so exciting!

Choice of Airlines

I've had the occasion to fly on several airlines in the past 8 weeks: to Germany, via Amsterdam, Branson, and Seattle. I've flown on NWA, KLM, and Sun Country. Now I've learned there was another option: Lutheran Airlines:

Lutheran Airlines is now operating in Minnysota! Also serving Visconsin, nordern Mitchigan, and Nort and Sout Dakota. The next time you fly, consider Lutran Air, the no-frills airline.

Meals are potluck. Rows 1 tru 6, bring rolls; 7 tru 15, bring a salad; 16 tru 21, a hot dish, and 22-30, a dessert. Basses and tenors please sit in da rear of da aircraft. Everyone is responsible for his or her own baggage. All fares are by free will offering, and da plane will not land till da budget is met. Pay attention to your flight attendant, who vill acquaint you wit da safety system aboard dis plane. Okay den, listen up; I'm only gonna say dis vonce: In da event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, I am frankly gonna be real surprised and so vill Captain Olson, because ve fly right around two tousand feet, so loss of cabin pressure would probably mean da Second Coming or someting of dat nature, and I wouldn't bodder with doze liddle masks on da rubber tubes--you're gonna have bigger tings to worry about den dat. Just stuff doze back up in dair liddle holes. Probably da masks fell out because of turbulence which, to be honest wit you, we're gonna have quite a bit of at two tousand feet, sorta like driving across a plowed field, but after a while you get used to it. In da event of a water landing, I'd say forget it. Start saying da Lord's Prayer and just hope you get to da part about “forgive us our sins as we forgive dose who sin against us,” which some people say “trespass against us,” which isn't right, but what can you do? Da use of cell phones on da plane is strictly forbidden, because cell phones are a pain in da wazoo, and if God had meant you to use a cell phone, He wudda put your mout on da side of your head. We start lunch right about noon and it's buffet style wit da coffeepot up front. Den we'll have da hymn sing; hymnals are in da seat pockets in front of you. Don't take yours wit you when you go or I am gonna be real upset and I am not kiddin.

After ve land ve’ll have fellowship time in da terminal. I hope everyone remembered dere pan of bars.