ride to Tenskrike

We met at tom Stop for our Wednesday night cruise.  I was a little bit concerned that my energy level would not be enough for the ride and also the high wind we were experiencing Wednesday.  But I went.  Our destination was Poor Willie's in Tenstrike.  Our rides are getting shorter as the days get shorter.  I made a commitment to my son not to ride after dark so I some times have to leave before the bunch does.  We went up 22 to 71 and then on to Tenstrike.  I saw area I had never seen before.  I see how the lakes have really developed even to gated RV parks.  Poor Willie's is a dive, but clean and serves great food.  Wednesday was wing night.  Last week it was wing night at Becida at a dollar a wing  and Poor Willie's was at 50 cents a wing.  Maybe it is just further North you go the cheaper the wings.    Any way I was safely home by 8:00 and enjoyed the lively conversation.   

Coffee at homemakers Council

Pre history dugout found on Blackduck Lake

It was Hubbard Mothers turn to serve coffee at the Homemakers Council meeting.  When we serve coffee we also have to get the program lined up.  We chose to go to the Beltrami History Center which is housed in the Great Northern Depot.  Bemidji's Depot was the last one the J.J. Hill funded and had built.  The exhibit that is presently there is called "Trails in Time."    It is very interesting and the gals really enjoyed going back in time.  Each person found something there that just fascinated them.  I got into the time of the glaciers recede and the school exhibits.  The others found something in the logging, fur trade, ojibwe history, or Giacomo Costantino Beltrami.  All in all it was a hit and the women left excited to bring others there. 

Homemakers serve a salad

Homemakers had their annual salad supper.  This is the meeting that we plan our year, get all the committee work assigned and have great meal.  Since it was salads I could eat almost all the offerings.  I brought my pink strawberry salad.  In my home it is called Jamon salad.  I don't make it often as I don't have the opportunity.  We were informed about the benefit for a son of one of our members.  It will be held on my birthday.  I am hoping to meet the kids in Fargo and eat out.  I decided that a quilt donation was in order for this benefit because he is marrying into my family.  He is marrying my nephew wife's sister.  Shirt tail by marriage.   It had rained that day and Stone Lake road  had been graded recently but not finished.  There was a ridge in the middle of the road.  I almost did not get home as my Prius did not have the necessary clearance.  But I made it.  I should have known better then to go that way home.  Anyway all is good. 

kids

We are sitting at lunch one day when my daughter casually mentions that she and her husband are thinking of "starting a family." "We're taking a survey," she says half-joking. "Do you think I should have a baby?"
 "It will change your life," I say, carefully keeping my tone neutral.
 "I know," she says, "no more sleep...ing in on weekends, no more spontaneous vacations."
 But that is not what I meant at all. I look at my daughter, trying to decide what to tell her. I want her to know what she will never learn in childbirth classes.
 I want to tell her that the physical wounds of child bearing will heal, but becoming a mother will leave her with an emotional wound so raw that she will forever be vulnerable.
 I consider warning her that she will never again read a newspaper without asking, "What if that had been MY child?" That every plane crash, every house fire will haunt her.
 That when she sees pictures of starving children, she will wonder if anything could be worse than watching your child die.
 I look at her carefully manicured nails and stylish suit and think that no matter how sophisticated she is, becoming a mother will reduce her to the primitive level of a bear protecting her cub. That an urgent call of "Mom!" will cause her to drop a soufflé or her best crystal without a moments hesitation.
 I feel that I should warn her that no matter how many years she has invested in her career, she will be professionally derailed by motherhood. She might arrange for childcare, but one day she will be going into an important business meeting and she will think of her
 baby's sweet smell. She will have to use every ounce of discipline to keep from running home, just to make sure her baby is all right.
 I want my daughter to know that every day decisions will no longer be routine. That a five year old boy's desire to go to the men's room rather than the women's at McDonald's will become a major dilemma. That right there, in the midst of clattering trays and screaming
 children, issues of independence and gender identity will be weighed against the prospect that a child molester may be lurking in that restroom.
 However decisive she may be at the office, she will second-guess herself constantly as a mother.
 Looking at my attractive daughter, I want to assure her that eventually she will shed the pounds of pregnancy, but she will never feel the same about herself.
 That her life, now so important, will be of less value to her once she has a child. That she would give herself up in a moment to save her offspring, but will also begin to hope for more years, not to accomplish her own dreams, but to watch her child accomplish theirs.
 I want her to know that a cesarean scar or shiny stretch marks will become badges of honor.
 My daughter's relationship with her husband will change, but not in the way she thinks.
 I wish she could understand how much more you can love a man who is careful to powder the baby or who never hesitates to play with his child.
 I think she should know that she will fall in love with him again for reasons she would now find very unromantic.
 I wish my daughter could sense the bond she will feel with women throughout history who have tried to stop war, prejudice and drunk driving.
 I want to describe to my daughter the exhilaration of seeing your child learn to ride a bike.
 I want to capture for her the belly laugh of a baby who is touching the soft fur of a dog or cat for the first time.
 I want her to taste the joy that is so real it actually hurts.
 My daughter's quizzical look makes me realize that tears have formed in my eyes. "You'll never regret it," I finally say. Then I reached across the table, squeezed my daughter's hand and offered a silent prayer for her, and for me, and for all the mere mortal women who stumble their way into this most wonderful of callings.
 Please share this with a Mom that you know or all of your girlfriends who may someday be Moms. May you always have in your arms the one who is in your heart."
 Author unknown

Home

This is the home I lived in when I lived in Fergus Falls 27 years ago.  I got a chance  to drive by  it while ar Fergus Falls and snap a picture .   It still looks the same.  It has been kept up very well.  It is still is the same color, but looked like it just had a fresh coat of paint.  It surely brought back a lot of fun memories.  Jamon was four when we lived there. 

convention in Fergus Falls

Three of us from the First Lutheran Church attended the Northwestern Minnesota Synodical Women's Convention.  It was the 26th Annual Convention.  It was held at the Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Fergus Falls, Minnesota.  The theme was Pass it on.   There were speakers, baskets for a silent auction, Church services and a business meeting.  During the business meeting one of our members was elected to attended the 2014 Triennial as a delegate. the silent auction of the basket donations made money to defray the costs of the delegates attending the convention.   It well be held in Charlotte North Carolina.   The theme for the convention will by Of Many Generations. I really enjoyed this weekend, but I am very tired as I am still recovering from my infections.

Book club up and running

My book club took this summer off.  I was very happy as I needed  to read a few of my own choices.  I needed to get my fix of murder, mystery, and espionage.  I just finished Inferno by Dan Brown and it did not disappoint me.  Like his others such as The De Vinci Code, Lost Symbols, and Angels and Demons, the Inferno had such twists and turns and suspense that it had me from the first page. The first Lutheran readers start back today.  The book we are reading for September  is Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford.  It is a great read. I know I would not have read it with out it being a suggestion by a member.  I look forward to our discussion.