Reading is a wonderful thing to celebrate. I’m so grateful I can read.
I don’t have childhood memories of reading every chance I could get, or under the tree, or in a secret place like a lot of adults talk about, but at some point in time I started to read more and became aware of how much I love to read. It’s a wonderful thing.
I do have lots of memories from reading to my boys in their childhood. Reading was a very precious time. I loved reading to them, and we read to them a lot. Our reading times are some of my fondest memories. I can picture me sitting on the sofa with a boy at each side, cuddling up, by the light and reading and reading…many books, many times, including every night before bed. I cherish those remembrances.
I have always liked books but I believe my love of books began when I started reading to my children. I started learning about, and buying, books to read to our boys. I’ve acquired a small collection of children’s books, which I continue to enjoy to this day (and still add to my collection).
I am in a book club, which I enjoy very much. I have read so many books over the years that I would probably never have picked out to read on my own. It has been, and continues to be, a wonderful experience. I borrow most of the books I read for our book club from our local library. However, there are certain other books I buy so I can highlight or underline ideas or thoughts as I read. My husband loves to read too, so we do have our own collection of books on bookshelves at home.
The book I wrote for my granddaughter.
I wrote a children’s book. The story line is about skyping and I used clip art for the illustrations because it is about using computers so I thought clip art was appropriate. I had a print center in town print, laminate, and bind the book for my granddaughter whom I skype with – in Africa – and now, with her brother too. I’ve sent it to publishers but so far no one is interested. It was a fun project.
There’s so many more thoughts to share on reading. I love to read…here’s to “I love to read” month!
When I told others we were taking a road trip to Southern Texas many asked if I was stopping in Waco, Texas. I wondered why would we do that? I soon learned about Magnolia.
The name: Magnolia, known for it’s metal letters, among many other things.
It’s a small complex in downtown Waco with two large, historic silos, an old grain warehouse converted to a home goods store, and a small bakery in the old office. Apparently there is a popular program on cable TV called Fixer Upper that Chip and Joanna Gaines, a Texan couple, are famous for – a reality show about fixing up and “flipping” houses, with a touch of humor.
The two historic silos, on the property of, and preserved by, Magnolia. The picnic area is in the foreground. The store is on the right.
The friends we traveled with to Texas knew of Magnolia and had seen a few episodes of Fixer Upper so were intrigued to stop and see this attraction. It was very close to the 35 W exit (unlike the Salt Lick BBQ restaurant) and so we pulled off the exit early one morning on our return trip from Mission, Texas. After parking the car, we headed for the bakery first, and it was a good thing because later, as we drove away from Magnolia, the line spilled outside the bakery door and continued down the block. This is a popular place.
,,,collecting our own precepts. This sign was hanging on the bakery wall at Magnolia.
It was interesting complex and it’s always nice to get a delicious bakery treat and browse in a home store. It was certainly unique. But, I think the person who enjoyed our visit to Magnolia the most was my husband. He’s not a shopper, and he barely set foot in the store, but he was intrigued by the two historic grain silos outside, on the grounds.
Look!Vines planted in the old conveyor bucket.What’s inside?
He learned this site Magnolia now owns had been a cottonseed oil mill. Although many of the original buildings were no longer standing, Gary liked to see the old silos with their rusty conveying systems. At his first job out of college, he worked in oil-seed processing with Cargill and was intimately familiar with the types of conveyors and silos left standing, so he stood their visualizing what the site looked like in its heyday of pressing oil from the cottonseed, and the handling of the seed, oil, and byproducts. It brought back lots of memories for him.
On the tables in the outdoor picnic area.
So…at this fun stop off 35W in Waco, Texas we had an interesting twist to our visit to Magnolia.
In 2016 my husband and I took a road trip and met up with friends in Québec, Canada. We spent our time in Old Québec, a quaint section of the city with a European flair and a lot of history. French is the primary language spoken in all of Québec, and the signs, including road signs, are in French.
Looking out from Old Québec…the trail went along the top of the walls surrounding the city.
According to Wikepedia, Québec City is one of the oldest cities in North America. “The ramparts surrounding Old Québec are the only fortified city walls remaining in the Americas north of Mexico, and were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985 as the ‘Historic District of Old Québec’.”
The front doors of our B&B.
We spent a few nights in a B&B in Old Québec. Because of the narrow streets with a lot of traffic and limited parking, it was suggested we park outside the walled city in a parking ramp, which we did. We had to travel by foot to visit what we wanted to see in this historic town; Château Frontenac Hotel, wonderful restaurants, outdoor markets, sea vistas.
Château Frontenac
The memorable hike was our walking on the city wall. The circumference of the fortified wall that surrounds Québec City is 2.8 miles. It was a leisurely hike. We stopped to enjoy sights seen from on top of the wall. It was a unique hike and a fun memory from our time in Québec.
Early this morning when I looked out our bedroom window I was in awe as I saw the beautiful, full moon. Later, on my way out of town along Highway 1, the super (closest to earth), blue (second full moon in a month) moon again gave me pause to wonder. There in the western skyline was the huge, white disc hanging in the blue sky, over the farm fields covered with bright snow. It was a phenomenal sight. Behind me I noticed in my rear view mirror the sun was shining brilliantly just over the horizon announcing a new day. I marveled at seeing the moon in the west at the same time seeing the sun in the east.
The blue moon shining over expansive snowy fields -a beautiful sight.
I guess the moon just couldn’t set yet. It seemed (and was to be) extra large, like it was puffing itself up to show off. I have always liked the moon. I decided it’s because I can look at it. One really shouldn’t look at the sun, but it’s fun to see the moon in the sky, especially a full moon at night.
I pulled over to take a picture but it’s really hard to take a photo of the moon, especially with an old iPhone, my only camera theses days. But I tried.
Heading west on Highway 1.
I praise God…for his amazing creation, both sun and moon…and stars, and trees and fields and birds and animals and…
Genesis 1:14-18 “Then God said, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them be signs to mark the seasons, days, and years. 15 Let these lights in the sky shine down on the earth.” And that is what happened. 16 God made two great lights—the larger one to govern the day, and the smaller one to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set these lights in the sky to light the earth, 18 to govern the day and night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.”
Mission, Texas is home to hundreds of Winter Texans, which the surrounding communities embrace, which are also home to many other Winter Texans. The Winter Texans bring a lot of business to the area and there are signs all around welcoming them.
Our friend’s backyard patio with planters and a glass table my friend made in her glass class.
It was fun to see where our friends spend their winters: in a nice, two-bedroom home in a 55+ retirement development. They have a community room with a library, game room, swimming pool, indoor and outdoor hot tubs and a fully equipped tool shop and art studios. My friend discovered she can paint and has painted several pictures already, with lessons from an art instructor. She also enjoys making cut-glass art pieces. Her husband likes to spend time in the tool shop. They have enjoyed getting to know their neighbors and made some good friends over the years. It was fun to hear stories as we walked through the neighborhoods.
The neighbor’s give-away fruit basket.
Right across the street, at the end of the driveway, our friend’s neighbor fills a three-tiered metal basket with surplus fruit from his backyard trees, free for the taking. We grabbed a couple of grapefruit to enjoy, and I also picked one ripe grapefruit still hanging on our friend’s tree.
A large grapefruit ready for juicing.
Their backdoor neighbors have a lemon tree, also overflowing with fruit, and we were free to pick lemons anytime.
Picking lemons from the lemon tree.
Friends down the block brought a big bag of oranges from their trees (twice while we were visiting) for us to make freshly-squeezed orange juice. All the fresh fruit was a special treat. We soon got in the habit of making fresh orange juice or grapefruit juice, usually in the mornings. One day we picked enough lemons to make a fresh pitcher of lemonade. Our friends had an electric juicer, which made the job very easy and fun.
Using the electronic juicer for squeezing the lemons.Delicious lemonade from freshly-squeezed lemons.
We really enjoyed that fresh, off-the-tree citrus fruit which we don’t get in Minnesota.
Before we leave on a trip I usually ask around to see if anyone has suggestions for the area we are going to visit. That is how I got a strong recommendation for “the best BBQ in Texas”. It was only twenty miles off the freeway. It sounded like a great place, and twenty miles doesn’t seem too far…when you’re looking at a map. It’s different when you are actually driving it!
The first day of traveling we drove continuously south on 35W for twelve hours…stopping only for bathroom breaks and fuel…eating snacks and lunch in the car. We traveled with friends. We listened to an audio-book, and read a year’s worth of precepts over the 3,000 miles (round-trip), from a book recommended by a friend, 365 Days of Wonder, Mr. Browne’s Precepts: A Quote for Every Day of the Year About Courage, Friendship, Love and Kindness by R. J. Palacio. Both the audio-book and precepts helped pass the time and prompted discussion and laughter throughout the trip.
The morning of the second day we got back in the car for another long day of driving. This was the segment where we would exit the freeway and drive to the BBQ place. My co-travelers were interested, yet a little skeptical, but we decided to take a detour and try it. The GPS took us on different turns and it seemed we were on a back road in Texas.
As we kept driving down this country road I think we were all envisioning a “hole in the wall” joint along the side of the road. I kept shrinking in the back seat, thinking to myself, I’ll never hear the end of this! The twenty miles seemed to take a very long time.
Then, voilà! There was it was in the middle of nowhere in particular – The Salt Lick BBQ restaurant we were looking for. It had a huge parking lot for all the customers who come to this unique BBQ restaurant in Driftwood, Texas.
We were all pleasantly surprised. It looked very promising and our friends recognized it from a food network episode. I was breathing a sigh of relief! It was unique, rustic, large, and what one would imagine a grand, country, Texan, BBQ place to be, and best of all – it was delicious! It was the best BBQ we’ve ever had.
The Salt Lick seats about 1,000 people, the waitress shared with us. They usually turn over 3,000 people on weekend nights. It’s not uncommon to have a 2-3 hour wait, she said. We arrived at a good time…it was a Friday afternoon about 3:30 p.m. so we didn’t have to wait, although there were plenty of customers already seated.
Picnic style tables and benches/chairs in dining room of the Salt Lick. O ya, there are trees growing in the dining room.
On your way to the seating area you walk by an open fire pit where they cook the BBQ. Between the four of us we had the pork ribs, pulled pork sandwich and brisket. All were amazing. And to top it off, we ordered a blueberry cobbler for dessert, which was also the best we ever had!
Fire pit at the Salt Lick.
After our fun, tasty, and satisfying meal, we continued driving for another couple hours putting 500 miles on the car that day.
By lunchtime on the third day we finally made it to the southern border of Texas, our destination. Our friends dropped us off in Mission, Texas and they continued on to Alamo, Texas about 15 miles down the road.
We’re leaving on a road trip to Texas. To the southern border of Texas, near Mexico. It’s a long ways and a few days journey we figure. Our friends who live in Plymouth, Minnesota invited us to come visit them in their Texas home, which they bought a few years ago as a place to go to escape winter.
One day last fall, while on a bike ride with other Northfield friends, we mentioned we were going to plan a trip to Texas. They mentioned they have Minnesota friends who just bought a place in southern Texas and had invited them down for a visit too. So we got out the map and discovered the two snowbird couples live about 15 miles from each other in Southern Texas (they, of course, don’t know each other).
We found that exciting and decided to plan a road trip together to make the journey more fun. So off we go – 1,456 miles. They’ll drop us off at our friend’s doorstep and continue on to their friend’s house and then pick us up for the ride back home.
I normally don’t watch football but I think many Minnesotans who normally don’t watch football are, like me, watching the games leading up to the Super Bowl, especially since our hometown team, the Vikings, are doing so well.
After a long walk through the Carleton Arb, as beautiful snow gently fell (like walking in a snow globe) we settled in and watched the Vikings play against the New Orleans Saints. I was surprised at how engaged I was. When I thought the game was over, because the Vikings were behind 2 points and only 10 seconds left on the clock, all of a sudden the Minnesota Vikings got a touchdown and won the game! I don’t know enough about football to use football language, all I know is that it was a WOW moment.
When interviewed, the quarter back Case Keenum said the best three moments in his life were giving is life to Jesus, marrying his wife and that touchdown throw!
The Vikings play another game next weekend which will determine if the they will play in the Super Bowl… on their own turf… in the U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis.
Gary and I took another trip to Glacier National Park, this one in August 2013. I wrote the following piece upon our return. It’s a little different from my usual hiking stories. I added information about the memorable hikes at the end.
Horses heading up the mountain.
Giddy up and up and up….clip-clop goes the steady sound of our horses hoofs climbing 3300’ in 6.7 miles to Sperry Chalet. It promises to be another gorgeous day in Glacier National Park. This is our fourth day in the park. This morning we’ve packed our saddlebags and said our prayers for our two nights stay on the mountain.
The horses are sure footed and they know the trail well – going back and forth to the chalet many times a week. We form a line of ten horses and rider’s. My horse, Wyatt, sometimes gets a little too close to Bobbie, the much bigger horse in front of him, so occasionally Bobbie gives Wyatt a kick with his back foot. Although Wyatt deserves it, it can be a little terrifying for the rider on it’s back! That would be me. Gary is on Chester, who behaves nicely.
The scenery is great, the pace is steady and we finally make it up to the hitching rail at the chalet after 3 ½ hours without a rest stop. We have help getting off our horses and we stagger a little to get our hiking legs back but we’re not sore and we are so delighted to be at our destination.
It’s awesome! The smells are divine…mostly pine. The sun is shining on us and the air is fresh. We find our way to the outhouses first, the nicest outhouses we’ve been in, but still outhouses. Next we find the dining room and the welcoming college-age students are ready to take our lunch order that includes fresh, just out-of- the-oven, peach pie.
The beautiful Sperry Chalet.
In 1913 the Sperry Chalet was built by the railroad (JJ Hill affiliation) to attract visitors to the park. The railroad used Italian stonemasons to build the foundation and outside walls, made from the rubble stone at hand. It opened for business in 1914. There are four small buildings: the dining hall, the chalet (hotel with 24 rooms) the old laundry building and the new (10+ years old) outhouses. There is no electricity up here and just two sinks by the outhouses for guests to use for washing up and brushing teeth. No showers. No hot water. Just bedding (1914 era), food, fresh air and mountain goats!
We find our room, take off our backpacks and head outdoors to explore God’s beautiful creation. The chalet overlooks MacDonald Lodge, to the west and down 6.7 miles. I try imaging women in long dresses riding here on horseback and hiking around camp and up to Sperry Glacier, named after Dr. Lyman Sperry, a professor of geology and zoology at Carleton College in Northfield. He was the first to reach the glacier in 1896. Tomorrow we will hike, with a naturalist, to see what’s left of the Sperry Glacier. The hike is 4.3 miles up 1500’, to the glacier, crossing over five ice fields and five rock fields (and of course, 4.3 miles back down). It’s a little farther than it used to be since the Glacier is melting.
After a relaxing afternoon sitting on the rocks taking in all the beauty we head back to the dining hall for dinner. Much to our surprise we have a full meal deal: turkey, stuffing, potatoes, gravy, cranberries, homemade bread, pumpkin dessert. It tastes so good. The staff assigned our seats so we meet fellow companions on this adventurous journey. We sit around visiting then get our packs ready for tomorrow, and go back to the dining hall for a night cap of delicious cinnamon hot chocolate.
As we crawl into bed we are careful to put our pants, jackets and shoes near by so when we get up in the middle of the night to go to the outhouse we can easily find our clothes. They say there are no secrets at the chalet since the walls are so thin. We wake up around 3 a.m. and quietly turn on our headlamps, get dressed and head down the stairs and out the door to a star-studded evening sky! We see a falling star and stand in awe. A mountain goat greets us and watches us walk to the outhouse. We are grateful for this interruption of our sleep to experience this stunning sight on a mountain!
Glacier National Park
***This is the end of my story from the first day of our trip to Sperry Chalet***
The following day we hiked with a naturalist up to Sperry Glacier. It took several hours. The scenery was amazing and the naturalist knowledgeable. I identified a lot of wildflowers, we saw many mountain goats, and we crossed ice fields and rock fields to finally arrive at the glacier. Then we turned around and made the trek back down to the lodge. It was an exhilarating day and we were tired (a total of 8.6 miles)
Hiking back to the chalet.
That evening, after another delicious meal, we packed our backpacks. We were hiking 6.7 miles down the mountain the next day, to our parked car at McDonald Lodge. It took us three hours to hike out. Etiquette is that hikers step off the trail on the down side to let horses pass, which we had to do.
The hike down the mountain was a grand way to bring closure our spectacular time at Sperry Chalet.
A sad note: Sperry Chalet caught on fire in 2017 and was severely damaged. There are hopes to have it rebuilt at some point…but it was such a unique and beautiful historic building…it will not be the same.
Over the holidays I broke off part of a tooth eating popcorn…of course.
So I had to go to the dentist. And I need to get a crown.
When I was much younger I had my fair share of cavities that fill my teeth but over the past thirty-plus years I haven’t had a new cavity – only repair work.
I do like to get my teeth cleaned twice a year. I would get them cleaned more often if I could, but insurance only covers twice a year.
But other dental work…no, thank you.
So I leaned back in the chair while my dentist worked on my temporary crown and had to listen to the on-going drilling sound. I’m not sure there is any sound worse than the dentist’s drill. Thankfully I don’t have to hear it very often.
