Tribute

As you probably know that I love to write.  I am very fascinated with the written word.  I also love to read which go hand in hand.  But when you see a piece of writing that comes from the heart and touches yours it is amazing. My friend's daughter just had a premature baby.  It was born just under 25 weeks.  They named the baby Agustav.  Agust weighed just under 2 pounds and was 13 inches long.  By the internet I was able to watch him develop.  He was such a trooper, but God took him home early Sunday morning. He lived 7 days. His  parents were devistated. But his father wrote a tribute to his young son that was beautiful.  That is the piece that touched my heart recently.  I cannot at this time share the piece with you as I would have to have his permission.  Agust's funeral is Saturday in Thief River Falls.  I will if the weather permits break my no travel rule in the winter to go to this funeral.

Just another day with God

I wish I had written this.

Me: God, can I ask You a question?

God: Sure

Me: Promise You won't get mad

God: I promise

Me: Why did You let so much stuff happen to me today?

God: What do you mean?

Me: Well, I woke up late

God: Yes

Me: My car took forever to start

God: Okay

Me: at lunch they made my sandwich wrong & I had to wait

God: Huummm

Me: On the way home, my phone went DEAD, just as I picked up a call

God: All right

Me: And on top of it all off, when I got home ~I just want to soak my feet in my new foot massager & relax. BUT it wouldn't work!!! Nothing went right today! Why did You do that?

God: Let me see, the death angel was at your bed this morning & I had to send one
of My Angels to battle him for your life. I let you sleep through that

Me (humbled): OH

GOD: I didn't let your car start because there was a drunk driver on your route that would have hit you if you were on the road.

Me: (ashamed)

God: The first person who made your sandwich today was sick & I didn't want you to catch what they have, I knew you couldn't afford to miss work.

Me (embarrassed):Okay

God: Your phone went dead because the person that was calling was going to give false witness about what you said on that call, I didn't even let you talk to them so you would be covered.

Me (softly): I see God

God: Oh and that foot massager, it had a short that was going to throw out all of the power in your house tonight. I didn't think you wanted to be in the dark.

Me: I'm Sorry God

God: Don't be sorry, just learn to Trust Me.... in All things , the Good & the bad.

Me: I will trust You.

God: And don't doubt that My plan for your day is always better than your plan.

Me: I won't God. And let me just tell you God, thank you for everything today.

God: You're welcome child. It was just another day being your God and I Love looking after My Children...

A true understanding of Football

Subject: a joke regarding football

again not my writing

Of all the jokes, this one has to be the best -- because it makes football make sense!

A guy took his  girlfriend to her first football game. They had great seats right behind their team's bench. After the game, he asked her how she liked it.
"Oh, I really liked it," she replied, "especially the tight pants and all the big muscles, but I just couldn't understand why they were killing each other over 25 cents"

Dumbfounded, her boyfriend asked, "What do you mean?"
"Well, they flipped a coin, one team got it and then for the rest of the game,
all they kept screaming was... 'Get the quarterback! Get the quarterback!'
I'm like...Helloooooo? It's only 25 cents!!!!"

With grieving we sometimes miss the point.

This was printed in the Saturday Pioneer.  The more I thought about it the more I knew I needed to reprint it on my blog.  It is well written and written by someone that we all know -- a presidents son.


Another tremendously talented American who had riches and fame beyond most people’s dreams has killed herself with drugs. Whitney Houston’s life was wrecked and cut tragically short at 48 because she became mired in the self-destructive hell of drug use.
In the late 1970s my birth brother was living in L.A. and working as a writer on “Laverne & Shirley,” the No. 1-rated TV show in the country. It was pretty heady stuff for a 21-year-old kid from Ohio.
I remember him telling me how cocaine and other drugs were becoming increasingly popular with the creative crowd in Hollywood at the time.
He had more money than God and he found himself facing a tough choice: Put his money up his nose like everyone else or leave town.
He chose to leave. Many other young people we know never made the right choice with drugs and their lives ended like Houston’s.
Sunday night at the Academy Awards, Hollywood will be handing out Oscars to its brightest stars. At some point, tears will be shed for Whitney Houston.
She will be remembered, as she should be, for her great singing. But you can bet your favorite movie star’s Malibu beach house that the drug lifestyle that sent Houston to an early grave will be conveniently forgotten.
Instead of pretending its chronic drug problem doesn’t exist, or acting like choosing drugs is simply another lifestyle choice, Hollywood needs to take a strong stand against drug use. Illegal and legal.
The Academy Awards this weekend would be a good place to start doing the right thing. As an industry, Hollywood needs to start saying “No” to drugs.
Baseball is saying “No.” Pro football is saying “No.” Cycling, for Pete’s sake, is saying “No.” In the ’80s my stepmother Nancy was saying “No.” In the ’70s my 21-year-old birth brother had the sense to say “No.”
Isn’t it time for Hollywood and the rest of the entertainment industry to clean itself up? Dr. Drew does what he can, but he can save only one celebrity drug addict at a time.
Hollywood needs to do more than cry at funerals. It could do so much more in the fight against drugs if its grownups had the guts to use Hollywood’s enormous cultural influence for good (for a change).
Where are the public service announcements, Mr. Spielberg or Ms. Jolie? Why aren’t Hollywood’s best and brightest cranking out anti-drug PSAs?
Why do we only hear people like Tony Bennett calling for the legalization of drugs? The answer is not to legalize drugs, it’s to get people to stop using them.
Come on, Hollywood, come together. For all of us, help “Stop the Madness” now. Speak as an industry with one voice: “No more drugs.”
I grew up in Hollywood as the son of an Academy Award-winning actress. My mother Jane Wyman lived to be 90, dammit.
I want all the young talent to have the same opportunity my mother and so many others have had. I’m tired of watching our Michael Jacksons, Heath Ledgers and Whitney Houstons die young because of drugs.
The list goes on: Elvis, Chris Farley, John Belushi, and so many more.
As a country we must stop glossing over the tragedy of drug abuse. We should learn a lesson and work on the solution.
Michael Reagan is the son of President Ronald Reagan and president of The Reagan Legacy Foundation. Email comments to Reagan@caglecartoons.com.

Commercials

Evidence of the baby boomers hitting retirement age are the commercials.  To the lawyers and health workers we represent big money.  Questions like have you or a love suffered a stroke after taking ____????  Have you or a loved one suffered cancer after exposure to asbestos????  Are you and a loved one suffering from spinal pain???  How about reverse morgages????? And many more........

I think at any time there are 5-8 commercial like those above.  They have always been on, but not so many and so frequently.  I have always been proud to be a first year ninth month boomer.  The group is people born between 1946 and 1964.   You can see how many of us there are.  There are 26.1%  of America's population or 78 million people.

Along with all the good things about the boomers comes the negative side.  With that many people all kinds of things may happen in our country.  Time will tell, wait and see.

The Year of the Legend

Govenor Mark Dayton signing Paul Bunyan's birthday card.  All events this year in Bemidji will have Paul bunyan's 75th birthday as the theme.  YEAR OF THE LEGEND.  This signing of the card was one of the results of the 50 bemidji residents that traveled to the state Capital for "plaid power."  Plaid Power  a chance for Bemidji to lobby for the city's needs.  That pencil is 4 feet long.  Definately a Paul Bunyan pencil.  I bet you did not know what Paul did with all the trees he cut down in Minnesota.  He owned a pencil factory. There is an old  saying which I think is Russian which goes like this why spoil a good story with the truth.

Finlandia Ski Race

For the last 30 years Buena Vista has hosted the ski marathon.   This year, the 31st year for the event is no different, except for the snow.  Saturday was the day set for this event.  The trails are ready but we will need to have 2-3 inches of snow to have the longer races.  This year they will hold three 24K races and one 36K race. Usually it is three 25K and a 50 K race.   This year  the course was shortened to only the west side of the ski area as the east side has only marginal snow.  Skiers come for all over but mostly from the united States, France and Canada.There were over 180 skiers.   In the past I have watched some of the races.  I won't  attend this year.  Other races in Minnesota have been canceled due to the lack of snow.  The Finlandia is the only Minnesota race that is held totally on natural snow.

I am wondering how well Paul Bunyan placed this year???? 

Isn't it amazing how much there is to do in Bemidji area?  

Presidents Day

There is no such day as Preseidents Day.  That is what the merchants trying to have sales started calling it.   There has not been legislation that changed the name of  Georges Washinton birthday to Presidents Day.  It is a federal holiday in the United States in commemoration of the first President, George Washington's birthday. Here are some interesting facts about this day.
It is the first federal holiday in the United States to honor an American citizen was celebrated on February 21, the birthday of George Washington. Interestingly though, this date has a catch to it. Washington was actually born on February 11, 1731, as per the old style Julian calendar, but he changed the date the following year to February 22, the equivalent day as per Gregorian calendar. Also, the Uniform Monday Act that took effect on January 1, 1971, decided to shift George Washington's Birthday to the third Monday of February each year. Effectively, it now falls on any day between February 15 and 21.
Frankly speaking, the real answer to this confusing question lies somewhere else. Holidays were reshuffled in the US to create more three-day weekends. The Uniform Monday Holiday Act is one such legislation that did so and moved Washington's Birthday, Columbus Day, Memorial Day and Veterans' Day from their original days to designated Mondays. The Congress enacted this bill for a variety of reasons. It promised to create more jobs for the travel industry, increase revenue through tourism, cut absenteeism by workers, and provide a fillip to the do-it-yourself home repair industry.
Also keep an eye out for vacation savings and deals. Three-day weekends spell fun for people and are a great potential for retailers promoting bargain sales to clear their stocks. For example, even though analysts predicted a decline, retailers had a boom time during the long weekends of Valentine's Day and Washington's birthday.
Whichever way, commemoration of Washington's birthday does not simply imply identification with our past Presidents. On this day, business, religious, trade and civic organizations meet. It can also be a great occasion for family meets, celebrations and community events. For some, Georges' birthday also means a day when emotions and loyalties are transferred from individuals, groups and communities to the state, in solemn commemoration of those who created this great nation.

And now for the rest of the story

After I had my septic tank pumped and determined that my problems were a frozen drain field.  What else could it be??  I haven't used any water in my house except to flush an upstairs bathroom. I went into my laundry room and low and behold more water on the floor and the drain had standing water. I used my wet/dry vac and took care of the immediate problem.   Then I figured it must be the sump pump.  My nephew Rik came over and opened up the sump pump area and found the seized up sump pump.  We met at the gentleman's boutique (fleet) and I bought one just like the one we took out.  Therefore it fit just right.  Didn't have to do any jerry rigging to make it fit.  Well, I am back in business.  I can wash clothes, shower, do dishes and anything I want too.  No more camping in my own house.   But this whole process did have meaning to me.  It made me count my blessing.  And remember how easy we actually do have it.

The laundromat

At lunch with my class we were discussing how we hated to go the laundromat when our washers broke or we didn't have a washer for some reason or another.  I chimed in too to say that it was hard when you had a baby where to leave it as you carried in the loads of laundry.  My solution was to park as close to the door in as possible and then get the wash into the inside of the door while leaving the baby locked in the car.  Then get him last.  Then reserve it to leave.  Just remembering it makes my head spin.

Well not more then the next day my sewer drain field has frozen.  I got a little of the dishwasher water in my basement.  Luckily it didn't leave the laundry area. No wet carpets.  But all the clothes that I was going to wash got soaked.  Saturday I was off to the laundromat. 

My septic is a 1500 gallon model.  So I am saving all that room for toilet use. I figure with 2 gallons each flush  I have 750 flushes available for me to use.  That is 10 a day for 75 days.  Sometime in May it will be full again.  I am showering at Peak my fitness gym.  Between times my spit bathes, hair washing and dish washing water will be carried outside.  I do have a back up for emptying it if I have to, but that is not the best idea just a back up idea. 

The man from Bob's Econopump  told me to remember that my lawn will be green before the drainage field will actually thaw.  Good to know.  Going into camping mode in February will probably limit the amount of time this summer that I want to actually camp.  Or I will be so experienced that I will want to do it all the time. 

Virus

I did not write this but it was too good not to pass on.

Virus WARNING...coming sooner or later!

I thought you would want to know about this e-mail virus. Even the most advanced programs from Norton or McAfee cannot take care of this one. It Appears to affect those who were born prior to 1970!!!

Symptoms:

1. Causes you to send the same e-mail twice. Done that!

2. Causes you to send a blank e-mail ! That too!

3. Causes you to send e-mail to the wrong person..yep!

4. Causes you to send it back to the person who sent it to you. Aha!
5. Causes you to forget to attach the attachment. Well darn!

6. Causes you to hit "SEND" before you've finished. Oh, no not again!

7. Causes you to hit "DELETE" instead of "SEND." And I just hate that!
8. Causes you to hit "SEND" when you should "DELETE." Oh No!

IT IS CALLED THE "C-NILE VIRUS."

Hmmm.....Have I already sent this to you, or did you send it to me?

Life in the Northwoods

I covered my septic system with 18 inches of straw.  That is 6 more then they recommended.  But who would have guessed that my drainage field would freeze.  So when I ran my dishwasher this morning some water end up in my laundry room. Before I could get anyone there to help it went down on its own.  But it was a slow seepage.  I called Bobs Econopump and he was over that afternoon.  It was the drainage field.   The septic tank is okay.  The pipe from the house was not plugged.  And the septic tank is now empty.  Good to go if I take it easy on the water usage.  It seems anything can be fixed if you have enough money.  $118.00.

Anyway I went into camping mode and set up a bucket in the garage.  Also I am showering at Peak after my workout.  Any dishes and spit bath water is being carried outside.   I was just saying that I was glad I didn't have to use a laundromat anymore.  Well, I have a load of clothes that I will take over this afternoon.  I won't say that I will dry them at home and break my dryer too. 

This is making me remember how hard it was for our ancestors to cope with winter.  But..... I am scheduled for a colonoscopy the end of February.  Preparing for the surgery I can see all kinds of problems happening if I can not use the septic system.  Think about it.  YUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK.

TAX TIME

My Tax Return.............

IRS sent my Tax Return back!
AGAIN!!!

I guess it was because of my response to the question:
"List all dependents."
I replied -
"12 million illegal immigrants;
"3 million crack heads;
"42 million unemployable people on food stamps
"2 million people in over 243 prisons;
"HALF of Mexico and:

"535 idiots in the U.S. House and Senate.”

Apparently, this was NOT an acceptable answer

Family Values

My hat goes off to Bill Sandford for standing up to vulgarity. The use of vulgarity is becoming very wide spread.  Recently Newsweek increased their use of vulgar words in their magazine which just may stop the partnership they have with public TV.   If you pledge 36 dollars to PTV you got a subscription to newsweek.    Sandford, who is the chief excutive officer for Lakeland Public Television, used his list serve mailing to ask other CEO of public televsion what they were doing with the change of policy of the Newsweek magazine.  Well, someone sent his E-mail on to the New York Times.  Now that it is being read nation wide Sandford has to make a decision.

If you listen to television closely not a day goes by that you hear the f*** word.  If not the real one all the substitutes are used. Flipping. F-ing, fricking and freaking are the most used ones.  On live tv the blip out doesn't always cover the word so you end up hearing it anyway.  The substitues they don't even try to cover.   It really disappoints me that I hear it on my favorite show The Biggest Loser.  I have written an E-mail to them.  

I am done talking  about this matter in my freaking blog.

                                    OR

Better yet, I am done talking about this matter in my blog.

The choice is yours to which one you enjoy hearing.

 

Weekend visitors

Jamon, my son, and his wife Natalie were here for the weekend.  We had such a great time.  We shopped, played games and watched movies..  Lots of competion, noise and laughter.  But we had to take Natalie to the walk-in clinic as she was sick. I remembered in time about hepa laws so her diagnosis is left out.    The doctor said she was contageous for 24 hours.  So after they left I went into cleaning everything and washing my hands mode.  Hope I did enough.  Anyway my house is clean.

But before she went into sleep mode she downloaded a scrabble game on my phone that she and I can play continuously.  I think she has about 5-10 games going at one time with her friends and she can beat me with a drop of a hat.  Even sick she is beating me.  What I need is more friends with smart phones to play this game with. It works on I pads too.   Are you listening out there????? The app is called words free and the game is words with friends.  It even has a place for chatting.  Love it.

Valentine day dinner and gift exchange

My homemakers group, Mother hubbards cupboard, no actually that is Hubbard's Mothers, had their Valentine's dinner on Monday night.  We had delicious casseroles, salads, bread, condiments and dessert.  We each have secret pals so we each brought a Valentine gifts for them.  I got socks, a candle earrings and a box of confetti.  The directions with the confetti was to plant it and get it wet and a plant will grow.  Sounds like something just up my alley.  It is one of the meetings that are just for fun.  The March meeting I have the pleasure to serve the lunch.  We are going to do an Easter baskets to donate to the homeless. 

God enters your home in different ways

My home is oriented to face the east.  Every sunny morning this image is projected on my wall.  My wall is painted with copper paint thanks to Martha Stewart and Pete Lund.  The front door is the culprit along with the sun that makes the image and the paint makes it shine and glow. But I have enjoyed this light show for two years.  Just recently  Natalie told me that it looks like a cross.  Now I enjoy it even more.  The shadow in the middle is me taking the picture.  So sometime soon I will add a picture that doesn't have me shadowing it.  Such a beautiful picture daily that reminds me of my faith.

New High School exit test

This Was sent to me by my friends Janet and Don.  It was so interesting I had to pass it on.
Make sure to check your answers at the bottom!  New High School Exit Exam, you only need 4 correct to pass.

1) How long did the Hundred Year War last? 2) Which country makes Panama hats? 3) From which animal do we get cat gut? 4) In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution? 5) What is a camel hair brush made of? 6) The Canary Islands in the Pacific are named after what animal? 7) What was King George VI's first name? 8) What color is a Purple Finch? 9) Where are Chinese gooseberries from? 10) What is the color of the black box in a commercial airplane? Remember, you need 4 correct answers to pass. Check your answers below ... ANSWERS TO THE QUIZ 1) How long did the Hundred Years War last? 116 years 2) Which country makes Panama hats? Ecuador 3) From which animal do we get cat gut? Sheep and Horses 4) In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution? November 5) What is a camel's hair brush made of? Squirrel fur 6) The Canary Islands in the Pacific are named after what animal? Dogs 7) What was King George VI's first name? Albert 8) What color is a purple finch ? Crimson 9) Where are Chinese gooseberries from? New Zealand 10) What is the color of the black box in a commercial airplane? Orange (of course) What do you mean, you failed? Me, too. (And if you try to say you passed, you LIE or you looked them up on the internet!)   Since it is the new test for High School exit, I guess I will see you back in class next Monday.

Nine Things God Won't Ask on that Day

 
I received this as an E-mail and thought I should pass this along.

1...... God won't ask what kind of car you drove. He'll ask how many
people you drove who didn't have transportation..

2.. God won't ask the square footage of your house, He'll ask how
many people you welcomed into your home.

3... God won't ask about the clothes you had in your closet, He'll
ask how many you helped to clothe.

4... God won't ask what your highest salary was. He'll ask if you
compromised your character to obtain it.

5... God won't ask what your job title was. He'll ask if you
performed your job to the best of your ability.

6.. God won't ask how many friends you had. He'll ask how many
people to whom you were a friend.

7... God won't ask in what neighborhood you lived, He'll ask how you
treated your neighbors.

8.... God won't ask about the color of your skin, He'll ask about
the content of your character.

9... God won't ask why it took you so long to seek Salvation. He'll
lovingly take you to your mansion in heaven, and not to the gates of Hell.

      .

Ruttgers girls

Ruttger's Birchmont Lodge is located on the northwest shore of  Lake Bemidji, just north of the bustling  town of Bemidji. Nestled in the lake and forest region of north central Minnesota, Bemidji offers the solitude of the north woods but the amenities of a much larger city.  It is a beautiful resort. 

Yesterday I went to a water aerobics class there.  It was about 15 girls all around my age that do water aerobics for one hour.  It was a great work out.  I plan on join them as often as I can.  They call themselves the Ruttger's girls.  One gal from my church has been doing it for 10 years and another gal has been working out there since the beginning of the classes--25 years.   She is 85 years old.  I would not have guessed.  One of the exersizes uses simple milk jugs.  You ought to see what those gals can do with a milk jug.

There is so much to do in Bemidji that it surprises me.

Points points points

This is a picture of a smaller vision of the quilt

These are 4 of my blocks

I am making a quilt for the Historical Society in Bemidji.  They will be  raffling it off this spring as a money raiser.  Well the pattern that we agreed  to has 12 points to match in each block and there are 30 blocks.  Well, I am half done.
The block pattern I chose goes by several names.   Rosebuds, bright star, crow’s foot, Hummingbird comfort, and Maple leaf.  When it is placed in a quilt like this one it is called rosebuds.  This is a replica of the first quilt called rosebuds.  It was called that as it commemorates a civil works project in California.  One of the first civil works progress projects built under the works progress administration (WPA) was the Berkley Rose Garden considered by many to be the finest rose garden in Northern California.  The WPA was an agency created during the depression to create jobs through government sponsored projects.  The Rose Garden conceived in 1933 and completed in 1937, has 3000 rose bushes and 250 varieties of roses, along with the breathe taking view of the San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate bridge.
I chose replica civil war prints for this quilt.  Historians often think of the Civil War Era as the years from 1850 to 1880. The American Abolition Movement began in the early 1830s. Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel, "Uncle Tom's Cabin", serialized in a Washington newspaper, 1851-52, brought many of the issues to a wider audience. The American Civil War began in April 1861 and was concluded by April 1865. Reconstuction efforts had ended by 1880.
The dramatic growth of the British textile industry in the early 19th century fueled the demand for cotton which soon became the leading US export commodity. Annual domestic cloth production in the decade from 1846 to 1856 grew from 13.5 million to 97 million yards. American merchants imported an additional $17 million dollars worth of printed and dyed cotton in 1854. The selection must have been almost overwhelming!
Fabrics of the Civil War Era. Dye colors: Indigo blue, shades of red plus dull lavenders and many browns.  Print styles: Foulard style prints in geomentrics and florals plus plaids, plaids and more plaids...printed and woven.

self-help

"The very purpose of spirituality is self-discipline. Rather than criticizing others, we should evaluate and criticize ourselves. Ask yourself, what am I doing about my anger, my attachment, my pride, my jealousy? These are the things we should check in our day to day lives. Quote by the Dalai Lama.

I try really hard not to criticise others.  I do not gossip.  But I am not really very far along on the road to evaluating myself.  When people needlessly criticise others or myself I still feel the need to stirke back.  Only with  tight control of my tongue do I narrowly escape without destroying the speaker. 

When I worked I kept a daily journal which helped.  But since I retired I have quit that.  Maybe it is time to dust off the journal.     

Martha Ostenso

Since my return to Minnesota I have been trying to read Minnesota authors.  
The following is the list of authors that I have read:  John Camp, John Sandford, Anne Tyler, Gary Paulson, Jon Hassler, Fitzgerald F. Scott, William Kent Krueger and Arvid Williams.   I just finished  reading Wild Geese by Martha Ostenso. It was published in 1925.  Now I am reading Dark Dawn by the same author.  I am going to try to read all of Martha Ostenso's books.  The group of books come from my friend Norm's personal collection.

Martha was raised and educated in Canada.  She moved to the United States in 1921.  She moved to Gull Lake, Minnesota in 1931.  She then retired and moved to Seattle in 1963.
Ostenso's major achievement, Wild Geese, was her only novel set in Canada. A compelling romance, it realistically explores the strange unity between man and nature, and the spareness of both physical and spiritual life in a pioneering farm community. It is considered to be her best work.I really enjoyed the character development and the command of the written word.  The main characters name is JUDITH, my name and MARTHA (author's name) which is also my mother's name.    I was meant to read this book.

Logging Days

Since 1985, Logging Days have been an integral part of Bemidji area recreation.  It features old time logging demonstrations, induction of lumberjacks into the hall of fame, sleigh rides, live entertainment and lumberjack contest. All you can eat flapjack meals in blacksmith shop. It is held in Buena Vista.

The Buena Vista of the pioneers days has passed, and now the townsite has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The schoolhouse still stands, though some of the old timers have complained that it is now brown instead of white as it used to be. There is a Beltrami Park with picnic benches by the schoolhouse -- now the Turtle Lake Town Hall -- and a hand pump is still there for those who want a cool drink.
Depressions still mark the foundations of some buildings. The largest building of the town, the Summit Hotel -- where J.W.Speelman maintained that the rainwater from one side of his roof flowed down to the Mississippi and the water from the other side ran into Hudson Bay -- has been gone for over half a century.
Lake Julia and Little Turtle Lake are now residential lakes with both year-round and seasonal residents. Lake Julia, with its state water access, still attracts fishermen, but everyone except the inveterate boosters knows the fishing is not as good as it was thirty years ago. It is still one of the beautiful lakes of the area, very deep and cold. In the spring, when the water is like crystal, if you are near the old saw mill, you can look down and see logs that sank a hundred years ago. In the winter you can snowshoe along the trails and out onto the lakes, onto ice deep enough to hold a locomotive. It can be so quiet that in the frozen woods you can almost believe that time has frozen too.
 Main Street with its dirt and ruts is now Beltrami 15, paved with a dividing stripe down the middle. Drivers hurry by not knowing, perhaps not caring, about the memories the town site holds.
Over the century, Buena Vista has changed. There is still activity, though of a different kind from that of the old days. Instead of the Summit Hotel, the dominating feature of modern Buena Vista is the Ski Hill, and clustered below are the Chalet, the Lumberjack Hall of Fame, and the little town put up by Earle Dickinson with its church and other buildings. Attractive homes, built to withstand the winter, line the shores of the lake. There is still a lot going on at Buena Vista and in the surrounding area.

I am especially interested in this history as it is connected to me personally.  The Dickinson family developed this area.  Well, over 105 years ago one of the Dickinson family moved to North Dakota and started the Dickinson Store in Beach ND.  I purchased that store in 1998 and ran it until 2004 when I sold it to a close friend.

North woods activites

After a successful fishing trip to Lake of the woods I was able to have a few friends in for a fish fry.  These walleyes where caught 2 weeks ago when my son and his friends came from North Dakota and fished Lake of the Woods.  (check the January 23rd post titled Jamon). You can't get fish much fresher except if they were fried the day they were caught.  Cold and deep water insures fresh tasting walleye.  What a feast.  I am used to paying $15.00 plus a plate for restaurant walleyes and they do not hold a candle to the taste of the fish fried in my garage. 

What Minnesotans do best is tell stories. I love storytellers Don and Janet brought with them several SD cards full of rendezvous pictures. We had such a great time looking at the pictures.  Especially when we were getting the TV set up of showing.   Interest was generated in attending a least one rendezvous next summer.  Maybe the one here is Bemidji area.   But we do not need to dress the part because as Don said we would come as  "flatlanders." 

Then it is time to go home and we did a great rendition of the Minnesota goodbye.  First we all got up and gathered in the kitchen and continued talking.  Then in my entryway  and finally my garage.   a Minnesota goodbye may take up words of an hour.  But this one hit the average of half an hour.   I wonder if other state have this type of traditional goodbye.   We all thought we should do this again.

Hoar frost

picture taken by Stan G

Minnesota has had mild weather and now we are experiencing dense fog in the morning until around 10 AM.  The results are a fairy tale world for our pleasure. Hoar frost develops.   Hoar frost refers to the white ice crystals, loosely deposited on the ground or exposed objects, that form on cold clear nights when heat losses into the open skies cause objects to become colder than the surrounding air. The name hoar comes from Old English and can be used as an adjective for showing signs of old age in reference to the frost which makes trees and bushes look like elderly white hair.

 

Keeper

I grew up in the 50's with practical parents. A mother, God
love her, who washed aluminum foil after she cooked in it, then reused it. She was the
original recycle queen, before they had a name for it.... A father who was
happier getting old shoes fixed than buying new ones.. and NEVER bought
anything with credit.

      They were in a nice neighborhood.  Their best friends lived barely a
wave away..

      I can see them now, Dad in trousers, tee shirt and and Mom in a
house dress, lawn mower in one hand, and dish-towel in the other. It was the time for
fixing things. A curtain rod, the kitchen radio, screen door, the oven door,
the hem in a dress Things we keep.

      It was a way of life, and  sometimes it made me crazy. All that
re-fixing, eating, renewing, I wanted just once to be wasteful. Waste meant affluence..
Throwing things away meant you knew there'd always be more.

      But then my mother died, and on that clear Spring day, I was
struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't any more.

      Sometimes, what we care about most gets all used up and goes
away....never to return.. So... While we have it..... it's best we love it.... And care for
it... And fix it when it's broken........ And heal it when it's sick.

      This is true. For marriage....... And old cars.... And children with
bad report cards...... And dogs with bad hips...... And aging parents........ And
grandparents  and even a brother.   We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth
it.  Some things we keep. Like a best friend that moved away or a classmate we
grew up with.

      There are just some things that make life important, like people we
know who are special........ And so, we keep them close!

   

February 2nd

Groundhog Day is a holiday celebrated on February 2 in the United States and Canada. According to ancient folklore, if it is cloudy when a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day, it will leave the burrow, signifying that winter-like weather will soon end. If it is sunny, the groundhog will supposedly see its shadow and retreat back into its burrow, and the winter weather will continue for six more weeks. We have a freezing fog alert today.  Or at least that is what weather bug said this morning on my phone.  I can't imagine that the ground hog could see his shadow.  Last night on the news the weatherman said that the Ground hog's accuracy in the past is 39%.

Modern customs of the holiday involve celebrations where early morning festivals are held to watch the groundhog emerging from its burrow. In south eastern Pennsylvania, Groundhog Lodges celebrate the holiday with fersommlinge, social events in which food is served, speeches are made, and one or more g'spiel (plays or skits) are performed for entertainment. The Pennsylvania German dialect is the only language spoken at the event, and those who speak English pay a penalty, usually in the form of a nickel, dime or quarter, per word spoken, put into a bowl in the center of the table
.
The largest Groundhog Day celebration is held in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Groundhog Day, already a widely recognized and popular tradition, received widespread attention as a result of the eponymous 1993 film Groundhog Day, which was set in Punxsutawney and portrayed Punxsutawney Phil.  This year Phil saw his shadow.

Well, whether he sees his shadow or not I think that we are in for 6 more weeks of winter.  This is Minnesota for crying out loud.  If they are anything like what we have all ready had I'll take them.

Winter is here

I have plowed and snow blew my yard twice this week.  I hear we will have snow  Tuesday next week.  But even with that it won't be as bad as last year withour 60 some inches of snow.  Some weeks I plowed snow everyday. I really started to wonder why I moved back to the north woods. While most of our winter has been quite mild, the true chill has set in. Thank goodness I've got my sewing machine and knitting needles!