We began the advent season by attending a beautiful candle-lit Vespers Service at our church Sunday evening filled with wonderful songs, meaningful scripture and expressive words.
St. Olaf Christmas Festival Program, 2017
We attended the St. Olaf Christmas Festival a few nights before that. The festival’s theme was Ris’n With Healing In His Wings (a phrase from Hark! The Herald Angels Sing).
I’ve been ushered into this season of advent in two very special ways. In the coming weeks I look forward to seeing healing in His wings, and noticing everyday miracles these “waiting days” before Christmas.
In 2014 we met friends from Boston, in Ireland. We rented a car and drove around the southern part of Ireland on the opposite side of the road for ten days. The countryside is beautiful and green, filled with old ruins, sheep, flowers and so much more. The coast is rocky and wild and we liked Ireland.
One day the four of us hiked to Mount Brandon on the Dingle Peninsula. It was the end of an ancient pilgrimage for Saint Branden (whom the mountain is named after – I don’t know why the spelling difference.) It is steep, rugged and wonderful. It’s the second highest point in Ireland, at 952 meters, or 3,123 feet.
The sheepherder and his dogs.
We stopped to ask an older man, a sheepherder whom we encountered while looking for the beginning of the trail, where the trail-head was. He confirmed our thought and then he started up the trail himself. He made it look so easy. He and his three dogs started up the trail about the same time we did but soon they were out of sight!
We started our hike at sea level in sunshine and cool weather. The trail is marked with crosses and white makers. The crosses were numbered for the Stations of the Cross. It was special to come upon each one…a mini victory each time we passed.
One of the wonderful crosses along our trail with vistas of the sea below.
The sheep were on the mountain with us and the views over land and sea were stunning. It was a difficult hike but we kept climbing. At cross #6 I thought we were half way but when we got to cross #12 and it wasn’t the end we began to wonder how much longer or higher we had to go. By now it had started to rain. We kept going…cross #13…#14…should we turn around?…let’s go to the next marker…
And then…there we were…at the top! We were excited, happy, cold and wet. We looked around to see what we could see. There was a definite edge on this peak and for a moment, a little ray of sunshine poked through the fog to give us a glimpse of the beautiful sight straight below us. We snapped a photo and then started back down the way we came up.
Fogged in at the top of Mt. Brandon, Ireland.
Though the trail was wet and slippery, the rain had stopped and we dried out on our way down the mountain. At the bottom we were proud that we completed this six-mile trek. It was one highlight from our many adventures in Ireland.
As my husband and I walked to Laura Baker’s community meal on Thanksgiving Day we marveled at how many renowned institutions are located in two relatively close, small towns in Southeastern Minnesota. I have added links to each place listed below.
For years Laura Baker Services has opened its doors to anyone in the community who wants to join them for Thanksgiving dinner. We did this year for the first time and it was very nice.
In our town, Northfield, there are two prestigious, private, liberal arts colleges: St. Olaf College established in 1874 and Carleton College established in 1866.
Northfield is also the home to Laura Baker Services Association, which was established in 1897. It provides housing, education and support services to mentally and physically challenged people so families can have options for their loved ones.
Eleven miles south of Northfield in Faribault, Shattuck-St. Mary’s School is a well-known, private, boarding school that excells in academics and hockey. It was established in 1858.
Down the street from Shattuck’s are two Minnesota State Academies, established in 1863. The academies offer two separate schools, one for the deaf and one for the blind. Their mission (taken off their website) is “to educate, create opportunities, and motive students for an independent future.”
I don’t know what attracted theses institutions to settle in Northfield and Faribault but people from all over the United States, and the world, come to seek out these special places. I believe they add diversity and richness to our towns. What wonderful gifts they are to our communities.
Sometimes I purposely leave my phone at home because I don’t want to be dependent on it. However, I forget it’s also my camera and I like to take a lot of photos.
So when we went for a bike ride on the Cannon Valley Trail last Friday (an unseasonably warm day in MN) I left my phone in the car, but soon realized I missed having it to take photos. We had pedaled just far enough that I did not want to turn around to go back and get it.
As we rode along I wanted to take a picture of the green grass/moss that lined the edge of the bike trail. It looked so bright and inviting and was such a contrast to the dried, leaf-laden woodlands that surround the trail.
I wanted to take a picture of the cloudless, deep blue sky reflecting in the calm waters of the Cannon River, making the river look blue instead of grey.
I wanted to try to get a picture of an eagle soaring low over the river along side us for several seconds while we were pedaling down the trail on our bicycles. (I probably wouldn’t have been able to capture that scene anyhow…)
I wanted to take a picture of the ridge-line and terrain that we don’t normally see in the summer when the leaves are on the trees.
I wanted to take a picture of the many trees beavers have gnawed. We wondered: where are the beavers, and why have the decided to build their homes in this area now?
I didn’t capture the scenes with my camera phone but they are pictured in my mind.
We had a good ride and passed a few others on the trail, out to get in one more bike ride before winter.
One of the most unusual trails we have hiked is in Zion National Park where we camped with our two sons in July, 1992.
The Narrows, 1992
The Narrows is the name of the canyon, and trail, between two cliffs (1,000 feet tall) with the Virgin river running through it. Most times the water level is low enough to take a hike…however, there are signs posted warning hikers of the potential danger of flash floods so you need to be sure to check the forecast before you begin your hike…you do not want to be hiking in the river when there is danger of more water rushing in.
There was a flash flood last summer that caught some hikers by surprise. Fortunately people joined arms and made it out of the Narrows safely.
The day we hiked the Narrows, in 1992, the skies were sunny and we had great weather. We hiked in about a mile up the Virgin River and then turned around. It was a great adventure and thankfully we didn’t have any problems.
It was definitely a unique and unforgettable experience.
A few days ago I received a text from my friend with a photo of her two (of three) granddaughters, ages 4 and 6. The girls were decorating sugar cookies, with the caption “Leaf Cookies!”
Leaf Cookies! Photo by FR.
I was surprised how quickly my mind went down memory lane.
Before I called Northfield home (in 1994) I would sometimes venture to this town for a day trip. Northfield’s downtown area is, and always has been, a fun destination for a getaway from the city.
In the mid 1980’s, on a fine, autumn day, my friend (the grandmother of the two girls in the photo) and I went to Northfield. While walking down the main street we looked in the windows of Quality Bakery. We were impressed by the cookies we saw there. They were sugar cookies, in the shape of leaves, decorated with frosting using fall colors. We loved the idea and immediately went out and bought leaf-shaped cookie cutters: an oak leaf, a maple leaf, and an elm leaf .
Often in the fall, I would make sugar cookies and recruit my boys to help frost the cookies. The cookies always looked festive because any touches of the red, yellow, orange or green colored frosting on the leaf shape made them look great. I remember putting two or three colors on a cookie and taking a toothpick to swirl the colors together.
A photo from my 1993 photo album.
So when I saw her photo come through on my iPhone what surprised me most was the emotions that swelled up within me. It brought tears to my eyes. I thought back to when my own boys were 4 and 6 and the good times we had, I thought about my friend’s two little boys and my two boys playing together and now one of her sons is deceased. And, then back in the present, I was filled with such joy to see my friend’s two sweet, granddaughters frosting leaf cookies.
So in this season of Thanksgiving, I am thankful…for friendships, children and grandchildren, and traditions.
We’ve been taking wallpaper paste off walls, filling holes, sanding then painting and I have been deep cleaning right along to minimize the dry wall dust from settling in places it hasn’t already infiltrated. When I went to dust the top of the bookshelves in our living room I decided, since I had the ladder out, I would put up the Christmas décor we usually place there…it’s close enough to Christmas.
The vintage set on top of my bookshelves.
I inherited the black metal Santa sleigh and four reindeer candle holders from my mom. The set holds fond memories for me. My dad was a carpenter and built the house I grew up in. The fireplace was surrounded by stone and he placed three stone shelves – high to low, in step formation – for the mantel. It was the perfect place for this Christmas decoration. On the lower shelf Santa’s sleigh was set in angel hair (to depict snow or clouds?), two reindeer were one shelf higher and the last two reindeer were on the top shelf with garland cascading from sleigh to reindeer to reindeer to connect it all.
Vintage black metal Santa Sleigh.
Although I don’t have the cascading shelves I put the set on top of my bookshelves with white lights underneath the angel hair, and then set the sleigh and reindeer with four red candles on top.
Vintage black metal stick reindeer.
Last week I was at Bachman’s in Richfield to tour their Christmas Idea House and browse the many beautiful things they have for sale in their store.
The Idea House is a historic home on the property. The brochure tells me “Arthur Bachman Sr. and his wife built this home on Lyndale Avene in the early 1920’s.” Arthur was the second son of the founders of Bachman’s, Henry Sr. and Hattie Bachman. The house stayed in the family until 2001 according to the brochure.
Bachman’s Idea House – the dining room. I especially liked the bird dishes.
The theme for this year’s Idea House is “Dressed in Christmas Greenery” using “nature’s color palette.” There was much to look at, good ideas to take home and dreams for decorating my own home.
I was surprised to find they were selling black metal stick reindeer, similar to my 1950’s reindeer that I have on top of my bookshelves for the season.
In April of 2002, my husband, our youngest son and I went to England to pick up our oldest son, who studied at Oxford for a semester. We were curious to explore Oxford and London and then travel in Europe. After touring in England we took the Chunnel to Calais, France and saw sights in France, Germany and Switzerland.
While in Switzerland we went hiking in the Lauterbrunnen Valley (which is often is referred to as the valley of 72 waterfalls.)
A photo of the hotel and one of the 72 waterfalls in Lauterbrunnen Valley. This is a photo from a brochure picture I had in my photo album. I didn’t have a great photo of my own to share.
After settling into our chalet-style hotel we started hiking towards waterfalls that were inside a mountain. We were intrigued by this. Along the way I was awe-struck by the beauty of a different waterfalls, Staubbach Falls. There was a stream of water falling off a vertical mountain face, cascading about 1,000 feet. I think it’s so spectacular because of its simplistic beauty. I still remember seeing it for the first time…I’m not sure why it impacted me so.
We continued hiking in the valley to Trümmelbach Falls, which was our destination. These falls are a series of ten glacier-waterfalls inside the mountain, made accessible by a tunnel-lift. We were able to go inside the mountain and walk around to see the falls. They were illuminated which was nice. It was fun and interesting.
Another photo from a brochure in my photo album…waterfalls flowing outside the mountain.
After coming out of the mountain we hiked back to our picturesque hotel nestled in this spectacular valley with breathtaking views.
My friend, who lives in Indiana, and I like to meet in WI when it works and it worked last week. We shop antique stores and thrift shops. It’s hard to explain the joy we get from going from shop to shop. It’s great fun and great therapy (or does the therapy come from our rich conversations?)
We stay in hotels and eat breakfast at their breakfast bars. We are used to the eggs and sausages in warmers, bread and bagels next to a toaster, oatmeal in crock-pots next to cold cereal, and the waffle maker machine – which was a great invention but has been around awhile. This time, at the breakfast bar, there was something new…a pancake machine.
Looking through the window of the pancake machine.
You press a button and plop goes the first blob of pancake batter onto the conveyor belt, then a second blob of batter is dropped and as the belt moves along they are cooked and within minutes out comes two hot and tasty pancakes! It was very fun to ooh and aah over this new machine.
Later that day we stopped at one of the largest grocery stores I’ve ever been in. We find what we are looking for and as we check out we experience another new technology…360-degre scanners. You simply unload your cart one item at a time, place it single file on the belt, and your items are automatically scanned and no one has to handle the merchandise (except for bagging it).
Who knew we’d discover not one, but two new-to-us modern technology devices in the southern Wisconsin town of Janesville.
