Christmas lights light up the dark nights during winter solstice…the longest nights of the year… here in Minnesota anyways. Lights help us get beyond the long nights and bring joy to our world.
We went to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum to walk through their festive exhibition of Winter Lights recently.
It was after the big snowstorm, so the freshly fallen snow made it all the more picturesque.
Once again, the temperatures were mild for December in Minnesota, and it was a pleasant walk through the different light displays.
There was an interesting ice sculpture exhibit too, by Jennifer Hedberg.
An up close photo of her work.
The café was open for a snack, and the gift shop had a lot of great Christmas and other fun merchandise to look at. There were many folks out and about at this seasonal event.
I love color…and we saw color…
On our way to the arb… a beautiful sunset.
At the arb… the Winter Lights exhibit.
On our way home… individual homes with Christmas decorations lit up.
This is my writing partner’s Christmas poem for your enjoyment.
Blessings
by Sheri Ginter Eichhorn
As we gentle into winter and the holidays draw near,
my heart turns toward my loved ones, the good people I hold dear.
It is a time I cherish. During Christmas time I find
that people make more effort to remember to be kind.
We all seem to be nicer, and to be more thoughtful, too.
It brings out all the best in us and shows in what we do.
It’s a time when we remember the blessings that we share,
and it’s a time to show others just how much we care.
It seems to me that, in the end, the blessings we receive
that matter most of all to us are our loved ones, I believe.
And, though life’s not always easy, when a tough challenge appears,
It’s the hands of all those loved ones that I hold to quench my fears.
I am blessed far beyond measure with the riches of the heart.
and it matters so for me to say that you, dear, are a part
Of my lovely cache of treasures—of the people I hold dear—
and that is why I wish you love today and through the year.
My wish for you is every good that life can offer you.
A life of love and happiness and lots of laughter, too.
May all the blessings Christmas brings be yours at the holidays.
But also, may the year bless you in endless, lovely ways.
Remembering an extra special homecoming:
Bringing up the Christmas boxes from the basement.
Choosing carefully the holiday adornments.
Taking time to decorate each room.
Decorating with the grandchildren in mind.
Wanting to create for them the wonder of Christmas.
Selecting the biggest and the best Christmas tree,
Cutting it down to size to fit in the pine-sided room,
Admiring the spruce’s perfect imperfection.
Smelling its wonderful scent,
Stringing on the lights,
Leaving off the ornaments...for now,
Creating enchantment within our home.
Lingering in the precious moments,
Recalling cherished memories of Christmas’ past.
Waiting with excitement at the airport,
Anticipating their arrival from the international terminal.
Spotting their figures linked together...my heart skipping a beat.
Rejoicing and giving thanks.
Pulling into the driveway at home...
Entering the house ahead of the others to turn on the tree lights...
Anticipating the joy of the little ones seeing the lighted Christmas tree.
Coming to a standstill.
Looking in awe.
Their happy faces lighting up.
It was priceless.
The Minnesota Explorer is a magazine that highlights different events throughout our state. Recently, it featured an article on Christmas shopping in historic small towns. I love exploring different small towns and this sparked my interest, so I did a little research. I didn’t really need to shop for anything…much of my Christmas shopping was done…but the idea of walking in and out of stores, gazing at window displays, seeing Christmas lights light up the streets, was appealing to me.
A sign outside the Northfield Library. Inside the library were some model train displays. Not as many as in the past, but still fun to see.
After checking out a couple different towns I realized all I wanted was right here in my hometown of Northfield….and…the organized Winter Walk made it even more festive.
Bridge Square at dusk, the beginning of the Winter Walk.
I love to see the white-lit Christmas tree on top of the Malt-O-Meal hot cereal building at Christmastime. When we drive into town it always welcomes me home.
The Winter Walk happened last week on a beautiful evening. The weather was mild, stores were open late, luminaires lined the closed-off main street, Christmas lights lit up Bridge square and there are some fun window displays.
The streets were filled with many folks out enjoying the activities. It was a wonderful sight.
Colorful tree on Bridge Square…Santa’s small chalet in the background.
Fun necklaces were given away, until they ran out.
Walking along the street, tasting sweet treats, drinking cider and hot chocolate, smelling the wood burning fires in fire pits – offering warmth along the way,
There were multiple fire pits along the street for people to warm themselves by a fire. The aroma of the wood burning fires added to the ambiance.
watching the horse-drawn wagons full of people go by,
One of the horse-drawn carriages.
looking in the store windows and occasionally going into a store.
A window display.
It was delightful.
Donning our Santa’s hats.
Olaf made an appearance too!
Maybe I’ll visit a different small town next year but for now, Northfield’s Winter Walk was what I was looking for.
My Uncle Bob passed away Friday night. Perhaps his Spirit heard the St. Olaf choir and orchestra performing beautiful music for the Christmas Festival, which we were attending that evening. He was 94 years young (my father’s younger brother by nine years.)
Uncle Bob and his dog Max, at his home up in northern Minnesota, sweeping the deer trough. He liked to feed the deer. January 2017
He was young at heart…he played tennis into his 80’s, had a great sense of humor and he was a strong man of faith. He and his wife of 71 years were wonderful folks who were loved by many. They retired to their home on 150 acres in Northern Minnesota with shoreline on Bay Lake, near Brainerd, in the 1990’s. They had three children and eight grandchildren and multiple great-grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren.
Uncle Bob and his beloved wife, Aunt Joyce, at their granddaughter’s cabin. August 2021
My uncle was a successful business man. He started a printing business in his basement in the 1950’s. I remember going to his house as a little girl, with my father, being downstairs among the printing equipment. Then he moved the business to a small storefront space in NE Minneapolis, before moving again to a larger building in New Brighton, as he expanded the business. He eventually sold Printcraft, and retired.
Uncle Bob and me, March 2020.
Gary and I would go up north to visit them occasionally. We stopped in and had lunch with them this summer, in August 2021. I’m so glad we did. He loved that Gary and I were both interested in the family history. He told many stories about my dad and their brother, Uncle Earl (died in 2004), and their sister, Auntie Ag (who also died in 2004). My dad died 47 years ago (1974) and Gary never met him, so it was special to hear the stories my uncle told. He became like an uncle to Gary too.
Gary and Uncle Bob, Christmas 2017.
One fond memory is, for several years at Christmastime, we had a competition going…my uncle like Red River cereal, a hot cereal and a rival to the Malt-O-Meal hot cereal. When Gary started working for Malt-O-Meal we wrote limericks and read them aloud to each other on Christmas Eve. It was quite fun and something everyone enjoyed. We will reread them this Christmas.
We have many good memories of Uncle Bob. He will be missed.
Love Divine, that was the theme of this year’s St. Olaf Christmas Festival.
The St. Olaf Christmas Festival program.
After cancelling the festival last year during the pandemic, the Christmas Festival was back this season, strong and beautiful. It felt like a worship service, with praise songs, Christmas music and scripture readings, all focusing on God’s love, and the birth of Jesus.
The participants and concert goers were carefully monitored. Everyone was masked…even the performers who were singing! Every ticket holder had to show proof of COVID vaccination before entering the building. The students and conductors all had multiple COVID tests planned throughout the days leading up to the festival, and during the performance dates.
It felt wonderful to be back, sitting in Skoglund Auditorium (transformed from a gym every year) and listening to magnificent music, performed with energy and dedication, by the St. Olaf students. What a blessing!
Even through masks, the singing was glorious. However, the St. Olaf Choir director, Anton Armstrong, tested positive for COVID a few days before the first performance, so he was unable to attend the Festival. That must have been hard for him.
The St. Olaf orchestra does an astounding job under the leadership of Steven Amundson. The orchestra sounds like professional musicians. I loved the compositions played in the festival. Steven Amundson has been the orchestra conductor at St. Olaf for 40 years, and this is his last Christmas Festival. He is retiring at the end of the academic year. He is loved by the students and will be missed by many.
Although Anton Armstrong always conducts the final piece at the festival, because he was not in attendance Steven Amundson was able to step in for Anton and direct the signature ending piece, Beautiful Savior. What a marvelous, and meaningful, way for Steven to end his last Christmas Festival at St. Olaf College.
Our family celebrations will not be held in our home this Christmas, so we decided to keep our house decorating to a minimum. A few touches here and there, with table clothes and poinsettia, greenery, wreath and a manger scene. However, there is a new-to-us decoration we inherited this year that I have set above the fireplace mantel that will stand in for our Christmas tree.
Last summer I inherited several boxes of my aunt’s belongings. Amongst the many photos, jewelry, dishes and Norwegian knick-knacks in the boxes, I discovered a striking jeweled Christmas tree art piece.
I remembered it. Years ago, one of my other aunt’s had made several different jewelry boxes and art pieces using glittery, costume jewelry…the kind that twinkle and sparkle, glisten and shine. All very glitzy!
When I found this Christmas tree (and a jewelry box) I asked my cousins if they wanted these pieces their mother had made; they said no. So, I decided to keep them for myself.
I admit, I do like a bit of sparkle! I love the twinkle of Christmas tree lights, rays of sunshine glistening on a lake, art glass that shines, the flicker of hot coals in a camp fire…this dazzling tree. I like the way the jewels shimmer when the light catches them (even though I can’t capture it in a photo). I like the fact that my aunt made it many years ago.
It’s an interesting – and beautiful – piece of folk-art, created by someone I loved.
I will enjoy this piece on my fireplace mantel during this Christmas season, alluring me into the Christmas spirit, and bringing back memories of my extended family of Christmas’ past.
Walking through the prairie, on a cool November morning, was glorious.
The sky was interesting… blue patches in one direction, dark clouds in the other direction, with the sun trying to peek beyond the clouds.
We walked through the quaint cemetery at Valley Grove that leads to the prairie trails. We hiked the mown trails through tall grasses, stunningly gold in color, and as tall as us, in most areas.
We took the trail that leads down to the border of Big Woods State Park. As we walked along the edge of the park, it started to drizzle and I could hear the droplets landing on the dried leaves of the forest floor. It was a lovely sound.
Then the raindrops became heavier and we found ourselves walking in the rain…but only for a little while (and it was quite pleasant walking in the rain). The rain quickly stopped and soon the sun was breaking through in full force, and by afternoon the sky was cloudless.
We were in awe of the beauty of the golden grass on the prairie, with a slight wave in the wind, against different backdrops: two historic churches, the cospe of white birch trees, the state park and surrounding horizon.
We found our way to Hidden Falls 2 (for lack of a better name). The creek bed was dry and the water over the falls had frozen in place, into an immobile cascade. It seemed like time was standing still – until next spring, I guess. But, it too, had it’s own beauty.
Frozen!
We had the area to ourselves…no evidence of people or animals…and we continued to hike this on this splendid property maintained by The Valley Grove Preservation Society. I’m grateful for their work on behalf of this magnificent section of a Minnesota prairie.
A mown path through tall prairie grass, that doesn’t look so tall in the photo.
This is the corner of the Valley Grove cemetery where the beloved Old Oak Tree stood for 200 years, and was blown over during the 2018 tornado.
We were happy to get some fresh air and exercise before heading to downtown Northfield to support “Small Business Saturday”, where we did finish our Christmas shopping that afternoon…in the sunshine.
Autumn gel stickers put on our patio door by grandchildren.
It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to the Most High. It is good to proclaim His unfailing love in the morning, His faithfulness in the evening…
My fairy garden has taken on a winter look. While doing fall yard chores, I collected and cleaned up the fairies and table and chairs I used to create a fairy garden last spring, and stored them away until next spring…
My little granddaughter liked my fairy garden. Unfortunately, on a recent visit she wanted to see my fairy garden again, and I had to tell her I had taken it in for the winter.
But alas, now there is a new fairy in place…a winter fairy sitting by a frosted tree at the end of the glass, stepping-stone path, under the dormant rosebush in our back garden…looking out at passersby, bringing joy, and doing whatever it is that fairies do.
