Last week I went to the movie theater to see the 2018 Disney release “Mary Poppins Returns”. I wanted to see it on the big screen. It was well done – it had to be, to compete with the original movie “Mary Poppins” with Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. The sequel had a lot to live up to, but Emily Blunt, the actress who played Mary Poppins, did a good job, along with all the other actors and actresses. It was magical.
The first “Mary Poppins” was released in 1964. I would have turned 11 years old that year. I remember I had a birthday party and three friends went with me to see “Mary Poppins”. Of course we saw it on the big screen, at the Hollywood Theater in NE Minneapolis. All movies were on the big screen at that time. The idea of watching a movie at home was unheard of.
What I remember most about the party is a gift I received. After the movie we went back at my house to eat cake and ice cream and open presents. One of the girls gave me an umbrella – which was clever of her, and memorable for me. For Mary Poppins, her umbrella was magical…and now I had a magical umbrella too.
Interestingly, this is the only birthday party I remember having as a child.
The Peace Sign, brought to light for me in the 60’s.
My husband and I signed up for a class through Elder Collegium entitled The 1960’s – A Shared Experience. A friend of ours teaches the class, and has taught it several times. We always thought it sounded intriguing, so now was the time to sign up.
The 1960’s was a tumultuous decade, and the hippie generation. I was just 7 years old when it began and ten years later I was in high school. Sorry to say, I was pretty oblivious as to what was happening around me at that time, outside my own little idyllic (perceived?) world of childhood memories living in a safe, wonderful neighborhood. Now I am ready, and excited, to learn more about this time period.
The class is interactive. After introductions during the first session, our task was to each share a few memories about how the 1960’s impacted us. Of course, there are the top events that we all remember from that decade… the assassinations, the civil rights movement, the Viet Nam War, and themusic!!! The words people used in describing their experiences brought back even more memories for me as we shared around the room. For instance, the draft, Control Data and the first super computer, the Labor Temple in Minneapolis, roller rinks, hitch hiking, the Twist, the space program, muscle cars and so much more.
This photo of me in a field of daisies was taken in Upper Michigan in 1963. My mother had it enlarged and framed for us. Four years later, in 1967, I wore a daisy in my hair in San Francisco.
When it was my turn, I told my experience of being a flower child. I rode in an airplane for the first time 1967 and I was 14 years old. I flew with my mother to visit her sister in San Francisco. (A side note: at that time you were expected to dress up on airplanes.) The songSan Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair) was a popular song at the time, so I put a daisy in my hair when we landed in San Francisco. Not really knowing what it meant, I was a flower child for a short time! The class laughed (and no, I don’t have a picture).
I look forward to the next 8 weeks…learning history in a way that is meaningful.
Last week I was able to attend a gym session for toddlers with my 20-month-old granddaughter. It was a delight to see her playing in the room full of appropriate gym gear. There was organized time with an instructor, along with casual playtime. During the guided activities moms (and some grandmas) and children sat around in a circle on the floor entirely covered in gym mats. Of course we had to take off our shoes off to walk into the room.
My mended socks with even more holes. Tossed out.
I do have a drawer full of wonderful socks. I also received two new pairs this Christmas, so why did I put on my old SmartWool socks that… just last week… I mended the toe? (There were a couple other holes in the back that I didn’t bother with.) I am not sure why – when I dressed that morning, for spending time with my granddaughter, I figured I’d have slippers on and she would not see the holes in my socks! I did not know we would be going to the gym. Well, needless to say I was a little embarrassed when we all had to take off our shoes to go into the gym room. Hopefully the young moms did not notice. I will never know. But I did throw those socks away!
Two brand new pair of socks to wear.
And the day continued…
That afternoon, when I got home, I was working on my computer and accepted a download that I shouldn’t have, which caused a few problems that have since been corrected. That was not fun…but that was not all…
I made a great home-made pizza for dinner, and while taking it out of the oven it flipped over, and all the ingredients, including pizza sauce, spilled to the bottom of the oven and on the oven door. What a mess! We turned the oven off, closed the door, found leftovers in the frig (and cleaned the oven a couple days later!)
At that point, I settled in for a cup of tea and an early bedtime. It was fun to spend time with my granddaughter that day, but it was time to put the day to rest…thankfully each day begins anew.
I found some fun quotes on Pinterest….
Every day is a new beginning. Take a deep breathe, smile, and start again.
I am thankful for eyes to see. I think of the alternative, being blind, and wonder what it must be like, to not see all the beautiful colors God has created, like morning sunrises. In the last couple of years I have had some special care for my own eyes and I am grateful for eye doctors who know how to care for our eyes.
Sunrise on January 3, 2019.
In January 2016 I had surgery in my left eye for a macular hole. “A macular hole is a small break in the macula, located in the center of the eye’s light-sensitive tissue called the retina. The macula provides the sharp, central vision we need for reading, driving, and seeing fine detail.”* This problem was found by my eye doctor during a annual, routine eye exam. My wonderful eye doctor, Dr. O’Neil whom I have seen yearly since 1994, is going to retire in 2020. It will be hard to say good-bye to him. I trust him completely. (BTW- he thinks it’s great that he’s retiring, from being an eye doctor, in 2020!)
When Dr. O’Neil noticed this macular hole he referred me to a retina specialist. What I found interesting is that before I had this problem, I had no idea there were retina specialists, and so many, right here in the twin cities. My surgery was done in Edina, and I had anesthesia. Thankfully, it was successful, according to the ophthalmologist who performed the surgery.
2Big, brown (young) eyes…
The recovery process from this macular hole surgery was interesting…one has to keep their head down for 2-5 days. Fortunately I needed only two days. We rented a special chair – imagine a massage chair – where my head rested on a bar as I looked down to the floor and sat on the seat with knees resting on a lower bar. It was very helpful, and fairly comfortable. I could read, listen to books on tape, and use a mirror to watch TV. (On a side note, a friend came over and read children’s books to me.)
October 2018 was my last follow-up appointment for the macular hole and my left eye is back to its normal self…but cataracts are coming.
My eye (old) after the removal of a cyst.
This week I had another eye procedure, this time on my right eye. I had a cyst on my eyelid that was interfering with my tear duct, so it had to be removed. Again, I was grateful to have access to healthcare and eye specialists that can correct these problems. The cyst removal was performed right here in Northfield, in the specialist’s office. From the anesthesia injection it looks like I have a black eye, but the procedure went well and all is good.
I’m so grateful for doctors and specialists that can preform surgeries and procedures that help us retain our eyesight.
Auld Lang Syne – this familiar song has words I’ve never really understood even though I hear it every year… A little research tells me Auld Lange Syne means “time gone by” and it is a Scottish tune written by poet Robert Burns in 1788.
In church on Sunday we sang different lyrics to this
familiar tune, the title of the song being part of the chorus which reads:
Chorus
All glory be to Christ our King!
All glory be to Christ!
His rule and reign we’ll ever sing
All glory be to Christ!
It had been awhile since I visited the Como Park Zoo. I don’t remember the last time. We took our boys there when they were young, and I remember we had a winter picnic there one year. I have been back to the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory since then, but the date escapes me.
Growing up in NE Minneapolis, going to the Como Zoo was a popular place for field trips at my elementary school. I remember the cages were too small for the animals. Thankfully, they have changed that. I also remember a very large, and very old, tortoise roaming the grounds. According to Como Zoo history posted online, Toby, a Galapagos tortoise, came to live at Como Zoo in 1958. Small children were allowed to ride on Toby’s back. Toby is the tortoise I remember. In 1974 Toby was moved to the Honolulu Zoo, where he still lives today!
Monkey’s are always fun to see at the zoo.
Two other cute “monkeys” – Ezra and Zoey
Last week, before Christmas, we took our grandchildren to visit the Como Zoo. It is a nice size, not too big, and it is free. We went to see the monkeys first – a request from our granddaughter. We continued to walk around looking at the other animals including reindeer…how appropriate to see reindeer this time of year. It is fun to see the animals through the eyes of a child…
The beautiful poinsettia display in the conservatory.
We took time at the end of our visit to go into the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory. I particularly wanted to see the sunken garden room which was decked out with red poinsettias, white paper whites, and purple lavender…it was warm, smelled good, and was beautiful to look at.
Lovely to see fresh flowers in the sunken garden.
We all enjoyed wandering through the warm displays of plants in the conservatory. It is a special place, especially this time of year when the weather outside is frightful…
A path inside the conservatory.
I’m thankful for St. Paul Parks and Recreation Department who maintains the Como Zoo …I will not wait so long to visit it again.
For several years now (it has become a tradition) we enjoy going to the late Christmas Eve service in one of the historic Valley Grove Churches.
As we walked in we noticed the huge decorated Christmas tree in the front of the sanctuary, and a Hardanger fiddle, flute and an organ filled the church with beautiful music.
The beautiful, full Christmas tree filled the front of the sanctuary.
Then the church bells rang to announce the start of the Christmas Eve service.
A trio making music: organ, flute and the hardanger fiddle.
We enjoy this service for many reasons, one being… there is a time for just singing Christmas carols. The congregation make requests for different carols and we all sing to our hearts content the old familiar tunes.
Pastor John Gorder, gave a sermonette. This year he included thoughts about the beloved, old, oak tree that a tornado ripped down last September. This tree was love by many folks. The rings of the tree indicated the tree was there long before the settlers, in 1862. I can only imagine all the special events that happened around that tree.
There was a branch from the tree in the church, in front of the Christmas tree. It was holding a photo of the old oak tree before it fell. Pastor Gorder had visited the stump of the oak tree a few weeks before the service, and found an acorn from that tree. The acorn… a small seed grows into a great tree, so with baby Jesus… born to be a great King.
A branch from the beloved old, oak tree, holding a photo of the tree.
As is tradition in many Christmas Eve services, we lit candles and as the lights dimmed, sang Silent Night, Holy Night, a favorite.
We saw a few friends and said “Merry Christmas” as the ringing of the bells accompanied us out of church, after the service. A beautiful Christmas night scene met us as we walked out of church – with a bright moon and stars, and a few wispy clouds in the night sky near the old stone church and I imagined a stable long ago.
The amazing view we witnessed as we departed the historic church which is directly across from another historic church in Valley Grove.
…The children in each different place will see the baby Jesus’ face
Like theirs, but bright with heavenly grace
And filled with holy light. O lay aside each earthly thing
And with thy heart as offering, Come worship now the infant King
‘Tis love that’s born tonight….
Some Children See Him – Traditional – A. Burt, W. Hudson
This nativity set was a gift from my mother. She brought it back for me from her trip to Israel, years ago. It is made of Olive wood. The grand-kids wanted to add felt characters from a play nativity set I gave them.
When my grandson came upstairs the other day he was carrying a pink elephant he found in our bassinet filled with stuffed animals. It made me smile. This pink stuffed elephant always makes me smile. It holds very fond memories of a special young man who lived in Cherkasy, Ukraine. His name was Sasha.
I went on three mission trips to the city of Cherkasy, Ukraine and I met Sasha on the first one in 2004 (and again in 2005). I, and four others, went with a couple that had been taking mission trips to the Ukraine since 1991– sometimes as medical missionaries (he is a doctor, she is a nurse). On this trip, in 2004, they were organizing an English Language Camp, using Bible stories for curriculum.
The English Language Camp was well attended with middle and high school age students. The kids were eager to learn English from a native speaker. We spent the week in large group activities: learning songs, hearing testimonies and playing games, while spending time in small groups on English lessons. There were seven leaders, and we each had our own small group of students, and our own interpreter. Sasha was in my small group.
At the end of the week we had a celebration before traveling back to America. It was a festive event, but emotional too. We had all grown attached to our students, and to our host families (we had been placed in homes of church families and grew attached to them also).
Sasha and me, 2004
Prior to the celebration we had packed our suitcases because we were going to leave early the next morning. At the end of the evening, when it was time to say good bye, Sasha came up to me and handed me this cute pink stuffed elephant as a going away present. It was such a sweet gesture. He was a precious young man, and we had made a special connection.
Since my suitcases were packed and there was no more room in my bags, I somehow tied the pink elephant to my carry-on…I really wanted to bring it home with me. So there it was, a cute pink elephant hanging from my bag as I walked through airports, and rode on airplanes, all the way home.
This cute pink elephant found its way into my home, and now it has found a way into my grandson’s arms and I am happy.
When my son and his family knew their arrival date to Minnesota, from Mozambique, he asked us to set up dentist appointments for the family – if possible before the end of the year. So I did, but the only times available were 36 hours after they landed. They were still dealing with a significant time change, travel wearies from over 30 hours of travel time, and jet lag. On the way to the dentist office, Ezra age 2 ½, fell into a deep sleep.
Zoey in dentist chair.
Once we arrived at the office, Zoey who is 4 years old, went first. She did just fine for Dr. Brust, and enjoyed picking out a new tooth brush.
Ezra in dentist chair.
Next, it was Ezra’s turn. We could not wake him up, no matter how hard we tried. So, Dr.Brust just checked Ezra’s teeth while he was sleeping.
Dr. Brust said maybe he could use this photo for an advertising poster – to show how relaxed his clients are in his dentist’s office.
Dr. Brust checking Ezra’s teeth while Ezra is sleeping.
Ezra slept through a couple other events, but is well on his way to adjusting to the new time zone.
