One wave at a time…
Faithfully rolling unto the shore
Hitting the rocky bedrock
Bringing healing as I sit and watch.
For hours.
Each time a little piece of hope
Delivered in the rhythm of the waves
Reminds me God is faithful.
Such needed blessing
During these times of uncertainty.
I am grateful to be on the shore of Lake Superior,
Doing nothing,
Watching the waves roll in.
One blessing at a time.
by Valerie Bollinger 03/25
We went up to the north shore to celebrate my birthday last week.
There was a beautiful sunrise the morning of my birthday, and the sun continued to shine all day long.
We wanted to do a little hiking. We had tried hiking at Gooseberry Falls the day before, but we had to turn back due to a very icy trail. Although there was no snow on the ground anywhere, the shaded trails in the woods still had ice cover making it difficult to hike on them.
When we stopped for a specialty coffee at Vanilla Bean in Two Harbors, another customer joined our conversation with the waitress about places to hike in the area that might not be icy. The stranger asked us about the Gitchi-Gami bike trail. And it was one of those ah-ha moments; “I can’t believe we didn’t think about the wonderful paved bike trail with sections all along the north shore.”
So we found our safe place to hike along Lake Superior, and it was lovely.
Besides the sparkling lake, we saw different images on two different hikes. Do you see what I see?
A bat…a sheet of ice still clinging to a large rock in Lake Superior, facing south (no sun to melt it).
The head of a wolf (right), and a deer lying down looking out (left) in the hollow of a tree.
Several little bear cubs climbing up the tree.
It was a fun birthday; with hiking, cabin time, and watching the waves roll in. A great beginning to another trip around the sun.
I’m not Irish but I do like the color green and I do like tales of St. Patrick – I read he used the shamrock to explain the trinity to others.
We have traveled to Ireland, the emerald isle. It is charming and picturesque, and green.
So, for those silly reasons, I decided to have a little St. Patrick’s Day celebration.
For the first time, I made corned beef and cabbage. I found a crockpot recipe that had good reviews. It called for red potatoes, carrots, onion, cabbage and corned beef, which my husband purchased at a store in the cities.
I followed the recipe carefully – 8 hours in the crockpot, before our planned dinner time.
While waiting for our dinner to cook, I set the table, looking around the house for green items to use for decoration. I had bought some fun napkins for the occasion.
Also, I found a BINGO game online, using the Irish theme. Gary helped me make up several “boards” and we went out to find some prizes which I wrapped in green tissue, of course.
As dinner time grew closer, I put soda bread (another first for me) into the oven. When it was done, we were ready to eat. The corned beef and cabbage turned out, and were very tender and very tasty. The soda bread was a little doughy. But overall, we deemed the meal a great success, all the while Irish music was playing in the background. Delicious lemon bars were brought for dessert.
We had a fun time celebrating St. Patrick’s Day.
A traditional Irish Blessing for all...
May the sun shine warm upon your face. And rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again, May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
Feed My Starving Children is a Christian ministry that started up in 1987. It organizes volunteers to hand-pack manna packets to send to hungry children all over the world. There are many packing centers around the United States. FMSC receives highest awards for integrity and trustworthiness, “earning a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator for 19 years.”
Kudos to Jeanie who has been organizing a monthly session “Jeanie’s Friends” for the past ten years. I join her and her friends when I can.
The food packet ingredients consist of: powdered vitamins, dried vegetables, soy and rice. Hand-filling the packerts is an efficient process with everyone contributing in different ways…like a human chain. Someone holds the bag open under a funnel, two people add the ingredients, then someone weights the food packet, and passes it to another who seals the packet, and then to the next person who puts the manna packets into a larger box for shipping. One box holds 36 manna packets. One manna packet supplies six meals. There are five 2-hour packing sessions each day.
On Tuesday, when I was up there to help this week, there were 100 volunteers from all over the south metro, and we packed 132 boxes…which means 28,512 meals…which will feed 79 kids a daily meal for one year.
On this day we were packing meals for Burkina Faso, a country in Africa.
It helps me to be doing something positive in these uncertain times, when it seems food uncertainty keeps growing. Today, our short work session impacts 79 more children than yesterday.
Here is a link to Feed My Starving Children if you want to find out more, or to volunteer.
I have posted about Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) a couple of times. Here are links to previous posts: https://valeriesvoice.net/fmsc/ and https://valeriesvoice.net/feed-my-starving-children/
I always enjoy setting a pretty table, and decorating for a gathering. Recently I was getting ready for one such gathering. As I was ironing a white, square tablecloth with Hardanger hand-stitching around the edges. I wondered who made it, and how many tables it has graced. If only tablecloths could talk.
I inherited this beautiful tablecloth from my Auntie Ag…and I’m sure she got it from a relative in the Hardanger area of Norway, who hand-stitched the pattern. There are so many relatives over there who can knit, stitch and sew, but Aggie is gone now, and I have no one to ask.
I don’t normally iron tablecloths, but sometimes one must. I wanted to use this white tablecloth for a book shower I was giving. Even though it wasn’t the right size, I made it work. As I was ironing it, I found a couple of light stains. I didn’t mind. It tells me it has been used, and loved.
I have had a red tablecloth for many years – it’s “wash and wear” – no iron, and it’s been used on many occasions, especially around Christmas time, and Valentine’s Day. It has many stories to tell.
Our dining room table has four leaves, so it can extend out to seat twelve comfortably. I have two celery green tablecloths…one to fit the extended table, and another smaller one. I bought them almost 30 years ago when we bought our dining room table… they have stories to tell too. Mostly of dinner parties, which I enjoy hosting.
I have a few other tablecloths in my small collection, and many pieces of colorful African fabric that I either bought in Africa, or my daughter-in-law has given me. I used them occasionally for tablecloths. They are dramatic colors and patterns and add a festive touch.
My limited collection of tablecloths includes two plastic ones that I bought when the grandchildren came along, so we could cover the table when we worked on crafts.
Tablecloths do have histories…if only they could talk.
Just blowing, swirling snow
covering the vast field in stark whiteness
And there, alone, appears one Canadian Goose
Looking at us through our sunroom windows,
Stopping to sit on the white blanket,
Offering us something...what?
An angel in disguise?
Sent with a message?
What could it be?
Hope, for some reason comes to mind,
but I’m not sure
I’ll have to dwell on that awhile.
We all need a little hope right now.
I didn't see him walk or fly away,
but eventually he was gone.
Be still and know that I am God…
even in a blizzard.
Psalm 46:10
Two weeks ago we roasted hot dogs over a winter bonfire in River Bend Nature Center. We’ve roasted “many a hot dogs” over the years. It’s fun, and they’re tasty (it’s the only way I’ll eat a hot dog). We’ve also made mini pizzas and apple pies over camp fires in our iron sandwich-maker sticks many times.
But this past weekend we roasted something over the fire that we have never roasted…we roasted donut holes!
It was a fundraiser for the Valley Grove Church steeple fund, near Nerstrand. I was intrigued when I learned about this event, so we decided to give it a try.
When we arrived, there were a couple of fire pits set up for the roasters, metal sticks in a bucket for roasting, and a variety of donut holes to choose from with extra toppings of chocolate dipping sauce and cinnamon and sugar for coating the donut hole after it was roasted.
We picked out our donut holes, stuck them on our stick and began roasting. The holes did taste good roasted…nice and warm and toasty. It was a fun and unique idea.
Afterward, we hiked one of the prairie trails at Valley Grove, down to Hidden Falls Two. I have not seen much water run over these falls in the past, but on this day there was a full, frozen ice fall.
We enjoyed the blue skies and prairie grass, and I always love seeing the two historic churches and cemetery on the hill.
On another unusually mild February day in Minnesota, we took off for a day trip to Mankato. Upon arrival we went to two sizable thrift stores, and “scored” at both, buying some fun and unusual items. After perusing the goods, it was lunch time so we found a great local pub for lunch.
Afterward we continued on to a small piece of land next to the Mankato Train Depot (the depot is no longer in service), along the Minnesota River. First, we walked past a beautiful mural, on our way to a Minnesota River lookout. The mural was beautiful, the river was very low.
Next, we walked to Reconciliation Park, a small area created for a memorial for the 38 Native American’s who were hung in Mankato in 1862, by white folks. It’s a sad part of our history. It was moving to see these two memorials. The theme of the park is “Forgive Everyone Everything.”
Next, we drove to near-by Minneopa State Park.
First, we drove through the bison paddock. and were fortunate to see many bison out grazing.
There was a large, lone bison crossing the road, walking very slowly. We decided he must be the grandfather of the herd.
It was really special to see all the bison up close with only the car as our barrier.
Our next stop was the waterfalls in the state park. We got out of the car and walked to the falls in sunny, 54 degrees temperature. Although there was no snow on the ground, the falls were still frozen over, with some water trickling down as the ice melted in the sun.
On our drive back to Northfield, we stopped in St. Peter for a coffee break and visited one more thrift store along St. Peter’s main street, which is the busy Hwy 169.
By this time of day, we were tired and the thrift shop was no longer appealing, but the coffee tasted yummy!
Last week we had below zero temperatures.
This week…balmy temperatures…comparatively.
The Faribo Flyers Bike & Ski club have an annual winter picnic. This past Sunday was the day for this winter, and it was 50* outside. Instead of being bundled in all our winter gear and eating with our mittens on as per usual, we were wearing our spring jackets enjoying the unusually warm weather. What a difference a day makes.
After hiking almost 4 miles, we came back to a large bonfire in the oval fire ring…all ready for us to roast hot dogs and enjoy all the goodies everyone brought for the potluck portion. It was tasty – we think food always tastes better in the outdoors. Nobody was standing around the fire to keep warm. We were engaged in conversations and relaxing in the Sunday afternoon sunshine.
It’s easy to play outside in this kind of weather…
On another note…we have hiked at River Bend a few times this winter. Before the cold snap, there were goats penned in a large area to eat the invasive Buckthorn. They were fun to watch. Apparently there were 120 of them! They removed the goats due to the extreme cold temperatures last week, but plan to bring them back again this spring to let them munch in another location.
It’s cold here in Minnesota. Below zero temperatures were the norm this past week…with the wind making it feel even colder.
The sun makes a difference. When it’s shining out on the field behind us it doesn’t look to be so cold…until you open the door.
When we were driving in the cities yesterday, I saw this scene and thought, only in Minnesota. The outdoor service person working for Century Link set up a portable tent to protect themselves from the cold and winds.
The clouds opened just a bit this morning, for about a minute, to reveal another stunning sunrise. Then just as quickly, it clouded up again. We are in for two more days of very cold weather.
I grew up in Minnesota, and I’ve always liked winter, but as I get older it’s harder to get motivated to go out and play in it. So, I’ll walk on my walking pad, and enjoy the outdoor scene from the warmth of our new home. And, anticipate the warm up that is coming this weekend.