Thank Offering Sunday

Sunday the 20th was Thank Offering Sunday.  I am the Assistant organizer for this project.  This is the Sunday that the women of the church run the service.  We have women greeters, women ushers, women readers, and women liturgists.  This year Pastor Lynnea did the sermon.  We have a procession bringing in the bible, the cross and the chalice.  This is the opportunity to put out our quilts for the congregation to see before they are shipped to Lutheran World Relief or delivered to one of the four places in Bemidji that distribute our gifts to those that need them. The final count was 79 quilts and 10 knitted items.

Craft Sale at the Legion

What fun.  Two of my classmates, a classmates wife and my golf partner were there.   The legion had many booths 25 I think.  The Legion served sloppy joes and bars  In many parts of North Dakota sloppy joes are called slushburgers.   Everyone got a laugh at that when I called them that.   I made our family easy but delicous lemon bars.  Only has three ingredients. Each Legion Auxiliary member had to bring uncut bars. 

I was selling hats. crayon aprons. cup cozies. table runners, quilts, scraves,and purses.  My smaller items sold the best.  Each table cost  $15. I shared a table.  We all had such a great time.  I almost forgot to take pictures.Don and Janet Haugen were sharing a table with me.   Sharon Hirt had a table with her mothers things.  Gail Coffin was there with her feather  figurines.  Pam and Clif Haugen came by to visit.  Gloria Peterson Joy and Wilda Willie Hegstad stopped by.

Roll day at Nielson Place

Roll day is a money maker for the Nielson Place.  The third Tuesday of each month they bake the most luscious caramel rolls on this planet.  Larry, Wilda and I try to make it every time.  I get Dave my brother who lives at Nielson Place and we eat and talk away.  There is always someone that we know and it is just fun.  A lot of people come from First Lutheran ( the coffee drinkingiest church in town). 

Walking at the Sanford center

The sanford center is a 4,700-seat multi-purpose arena and convention center in Bemidji, that opened in October 2010.  On October 18, 2010 the venue was renamed from the Bemidji Regional Events Center to the Sanford Center after Sanford Health Systems purchased naming rights for $2 million over ten years.

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday people can come and walk at the Sanford Center.  There are stairs and brightly lite halls to walk in.  It is such a great work out.  One sees people you know and can exchange a cheery hello.  What a positive experience.

Lambeau lambasting

I am not sure that I have the qualifications to write about football.  I have followed the vikings through thick and thin.  Well, we are in that thin part right now.   Although Monday during the border battle they surprised a lot of us with a defense that showed it can take charge of a game.  I tend to judge teams by their logo and the sharpness of their uniforms.  Did you say that you have to judge a quarterback by how well he throws a ball?? That's good to know, but I still think he's cute.   I kind of like to watch the tight ends myself.  But that is just me. 
Minnesota is in a conflict over building a new stadium for the Vikings.  More or less they are threatening to move if we don't.  The Vikings have TV ads and media marketing blitzes, articles in the newspaper and players making appearances all through Minnesota.  They have chosen the site of Arden Hills as the site they would like. The government just sold it to Ramsey County tentative on the stadium being built there.   The Vikings will settle for nothing less.  The law makers would like to see the Vikings stay but can't support using tax payers money to do that.

   This is the flag that is flown over at my neighbors house.  What could he be thinking.

Below is an artist rendition of the proposed stadium

Church family

One of the best attributes in the First Lutheran church is the church family.  I have never felt more at home in a church in my life.  I am so glad that I transferred my membership to this church.  I am part of the quilt group and the knitting groups which I have talked about before.  But I joined the Mary circle.  I was insistant that I join the Mary circle.  That was the circle I was in in Beach.  I told the ladies that I had just moved here and had changed everything else in my life that I needed to keep something stable and I had chosen to keep my circle the same.  Wow, was I a lucky camper to have joined this group of loving, dedicated to God women. 

We have a meeting, a bible study and eat at each meeting.  And of course we drink coffee.  Remember First Lutheran is the coffee drinkingest bunch as I have mentioned before.

We get our bible study out of the magazine called Gather.  Today lesson is on Power and Authority.
One of our members meets with our pastor and is our leader for the lesson.  After reading this lesson I can hardly wait to get to the meeting. 
We also draw names each month and pray for the person whose name we draw.  The power of prayer is strong. 

How to start a fight

I did not write this but it is so good that it needs a spot in my blog.

HOW TO START A FIGHT One year, I decided to buy my mother-in-law a cemetery plot as a Christmas gift... The next year, I didn't buy her a gift. When she asked me why, I replied, "Well, you still haven't used the gift I bought you last year!" And that's how the fight started..... ________________________________ My wife and I were watching Who Wants To Be A Millionaire while we were in bed. I turned to her and said, 'Do you want to have Sex?' 'No,' she answered. I then said, 'Is that your final answer?' She didn't even look at me this time, simply saying, 'Yes..' So I said, "Then I'd like to phone a friend." And that's when the fight started... ________________________________ I took my wife to a restaurant. The waiter, for some reason, took my order first. "I'll have the rump steak, rare, please." He said, "Aren't you worried about the mad cow?" "Nah, she can order for herself." And that's when the fight started..... _______________________________ My wife and I were sitting at a table at her high school reunion, and she kept staring at a drunken man swigging his drink as he sat alone at a nearby table. I asked her, "Do you know him?" "Yes", she sighed, "He's my old boyfriend. I understand he took to drinking right after we split up those many years ago, and I hear he hasn't been sober since." "My God!" I said, "Who would think a person could go on celebrating that long?" And then the fight started... ________________________________ When our lawn mower broke and wouldn't run, my wife kept hinting to me that I should get it fixed. But, somehow I always had something else to take care of first, the shed, the boat, making beer.. Always something more important to me. Finally she thought of a clever way to make her point. When I arrived home one day, I found her seated in the tall grass, busily snipping away with a tiny pair of sewing scissors. I watched silently for a short time and then went into the house. I was gone only a minute, and when I came out again I handed her a toothbrush. I said, "When you finish cutting the grass, you might as well sweep the driveway." The doctors say I will walk again, but I will always have a limp. ______________________________ The best one J My wife sat down next to me as I was flipping channels. She asked, "What's on TV?" I said, "Dust." And then the fight started... ________________________________ Saturday morning I got up early, quietly dressed, made my lunch, and slipped quietly into the garage. I hooked up the boat up to the van and proceeded to back out into a torrential downpour. The wind was blowing 50mph, so I pulled back into the garage, turned on the radio, and discovered that the weather would be bad all day. I went back into the house, quietly undressed, and slipped back into bed. I cuddled up to my wife's back; now with a different anticipation, and whispered, "The weather out there is terrible." My loving wife of 5 years replied, "And, can you believe my stupid husband is out fishing in that?" And that's how the fight started... _______________________________ My wife was hinting about what she wanted for our upcoming anniversary. She said, "I want something shiny that goes from 0 to 150 in about 3 seconds." I bought her a bathroom scale. And then the fight started...... ________________________________ My wife was standing nude, looking in the bedroom mirror. She was not happy with what she saw and said to me, "I feel horrible; I look old, fat and ugly. I really need you to pay me a compliment.' I replied, "Your eyesight's damn near perfect." And then the fight started........ ________________________________ I rear-ended a car this morning...the start of a REALLY bad day! The driver got out of the other car, and he was a DWARF!! He looked up at me and said 'I am NOT Happy!' So I said, 'Well, which one ARE you then?' That's how the fight started.