I read a book recently that included many quotes scattered throughout its pages. What does one do with all these interesting quotes? I decided to occasionally post different quotes that I’ve enjoyed over the years on my blog. 😉
I’ve included two quotes on this post. They are very different from each other (and were not included in the book I read recently), but they have hung around me for a long time and are two of my favorites. So I’ll start with these.
The Azores in the Atlantic Ocean…
“The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears or the sea.”
Isak Dinesen
While I understand salt water, sweat and tears do not cure everything, especially diseases, I do believe they can be good cures for emotional ailments. For me, I think escaping to the sea (or any body of water) is beneficial; “There’s no place I would rather be than by the shore or on the sea” is a line from a poem I wrote, years ago.
Tears are also cleaning for me. They don’t come easily, but when they do, it’s significant.
And then, there’s this quote on listening:
I like this beautiful picture of Two Sisters, caught unaware, and listening. (photo used with permission).
To “listen” another’s soul into a condition of disclosure and discovery may be almost the greatest service that any human being ever performs for another.
Douglas V. Steere
Listening was the main focus of a ministry I was involved in years ago: Stephen Ministries. I try to continue to practice to this day, the lessons I learned back then.
Along that line – although not a quote – someone pointed this out:
Silent has the same letters as the word listen.
It’s a good reminder… to take time… to be silent (so we can hear) and listen to one another.
My heritage is Norwegian, and I’m proud of it. 😉 I have relatives in Norway that I know personally. We’ve been together multiple times over the years, either us in Norway or them in Minnesota. We enjoy each other, and our common ancestry.
The train passes through a section of the gingerbread village.
That said, I have never been to the Norway House, a Norwegian cultural center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was remodeled in 2014. At that time they started a tradition that has its roots in Bergen, Norway; a beautiful Gingerbread Wonderland.
A large gingerbread barn with nice detail.
Using shredded wheat for the horses feed and hay bales was a clever idea.
I heard about Gingerbread Wonderland for the first time this Christmas season, 2025, so we went to the Norway House to check it out. There were creations of all kinds on display and open to the public, for a small entrance fee. We hesitantly paid and entered. Was it worth it?
A Victorian house.
Clever snowshoes, syrup buckets, campfires and a camper.
Another clever camp chair design.
It felt like we were entering a fairyland. Some constructions were elaborate, and others not so much, but all were fun and amazing to see!
A torvtak, which translates to “turf roof” or “sod roof” hut.
It was interesting to see all the food items people thought up to use for the creations. My understanding is that all things gingerbread has to be edible.
A McDonalds??? Not too Norwegian!
At the beginning of the line they handed out a Treasure Hunt game, a sheet listing individual items to look for among the vast exhibit. It was a clever way to get people to look more closely at each design.
I like “the sweet tooth express train that stops at candy stores and grandma’s house.”
In the end you were rewarded with a candy cane if you found all the items. We did (with one hint).
Putting together the gingerbread manger scene in 2023.
I have always enjoyed creating gingerbread houses with our kids when they were little. We made gingerbread houses, and a gingerbread manger scene, usually every year when they were growing up. We were able to make houses and a manger with our grandchildren once or twice, and loved doing it. But, I never knew this gingerbread decorating was in my “genes”. HA
Our own creation, 2022.
My second cousin’s wife, in Norway, has sent me photos of gingerbread creations she and her daughter have made…
Eiffel Tower made by Kari and her daughter, in 2020.
Their creations are not your ordinary, simple gingerbread houses. They are works of art.
Arc De Triomphe (France) made by Kari and her daughter Lisa, in 2024.
Both the Norway House and the designs of my cousin are wonderful pieces of art.
A carousel.
One of my favorites; a stone house.
The two model trains were a fun size.
There were two model trains running on tracks throughout the village. That added a special touch. It was fun to watch them wind around, in and out of tunnels.
Bird houses.
Twelve Days of Christmas Castle.
An arctic bar.
It was a delightful display enjoyed by both children and adults. And definitely worth the entrance fee.
Home sweet home, with a red truck in the driveway.
It was a crisp, sunny morning, a few days before Christmas. We took off with friends for a drive in the country, to a small town destination. Our first stop was a Mennonite bakery where we bought some tasty treats. Our next stop was a restored train depot. We ordered breakfast and sat down at a table near the gift shop area. This space was between the room with the order counter and a larger room with bigger tables. Soon after we sat down, women started filing into the larger room, heading to a Christmas party. We surmised this, because each one carried a wrapped gift.
I have always enjoyed wrapped gifts. Gift bags are great…they are practical, reusable, bio- friendly and beautiful, and I use them a lot, but a perfectly wrapped gift in splendid paper all tied up with a ribbon is special!
Wrapped gifts were mostly what we saw as women paraded into the big room.
Then one woman came through with a gift bag. Gary called out in jest, “oh, you shouldn’t have”…and she immediately pulled out a shiny, red apple from her bag and set it in front of him and said “Merry Christmas”.
It was delightful. We thanked her, and appreciated her spontaneity.
One single apple conveyed a lot of Christmas Spirit.
Time went fast. During our third, and last, week in Arlington, Virginia we took care of Zoey and Ezra while their mom and dad went away for a week’s training for Tim’s new job.
On Sunday we went for a walk around the neighborhood. We walked a lot while in Arlington. There are coffee shops, restaurants and stores close by their apartment, school is about a half mile away, and the Metro stop is three blocks away. Once downtown DC, we walked everywhere…and we were happy to do so.
The theme for this year’s Christmas Festive. (Photo from St. Olaf College website)
Sunday afternoon we watched the St. Olaf Christmas Festival online, while coloring postcards using colored pencils.
Ford’s Theatre
After walking the kids to school on Monday, Gary and I took the Metro downtown and toured the Ford’s Theatre, where President Lincoln was shot.
The box seats where President Lincoln was sitting when he was shot on April 14, 1865.
Next we walked to the National Archives. Another impressive building with interesting and well-done exhibits.
So many impressive buildings…this is the entrance to the National Archives.
We saw the original Declaration of Independence, The Constitution of the United States, and the Bill of Rights.
The rotunda in the National Archives houses three original documents: Declaration of Independence, The Constitution of the United States, and the Bill of Rights.
Monday evening we went to a Christmas dinner for all the apartment residents, hosted by the apartment’s management. It was tasty.
We relaxed on Tuesday, and Gary and I went for another long walk.
After school on Tuesday the kids and I make plant stakes, a craft project I brought along.
The Natural History Museum
Wednesday the kids had an early release day from school, so once again we hopped on the Metro and went downtown DC. This time we went to the Natural History Museum. (Did I mention all these museums are free?)
The Hope Diamond
Gems and minerals was my favorite exhibit of those we went to. (I also liked the animals exhibit.) We saw the Hope Diamond, a 45.52 carats blue diamond, known for its flawless clarity, rare deep blue color, and “colorful” history. Sixteen white diamonds surround the blue diamond, with 46 white diamonds making up this stunning necklace. The stone was found in India in the 1600’s. It was originally about 112 carats, but through the years and different owners, it was cut down to 45.52 carats. It was gifted to the Smithsonian in 1958.
Another colorful display at the Natural History Museum…a coral reef replica.
Thursday was a day of rest, doing laundry and a walk.
Our last ride on the Metro was on Friday. We went back to the National Mall.
Gary especially liked seeing this house because he road the C&O bike trail from PA to VA a few years ago. It followed the old canal.
As we walked along Constitution Avenue we tucked into an inconspicuous, historical, small stone house that we noticed along the way. We found it is was a Lockkeeper’s House built about 1832-1837. It served the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal. The lockkeeper was responsible for opening and closing the lock, and for collecting tolls. This house was moved about 50’ in 1915 due to the widening of the street, and moved again to its current location in 2017 and opened to the public in 2018.
We walked past the National Christmas Tree on the south side of the White House…not to be confused with The People’s Tree outside the capitol (we didn’t see that one). This tree is surrounded my smaller trees, representing all the states.
We tucked into the Museum of American History for an hour. Once again, so many interesting exhibits! We only went to a couple of them.
One exhibit at the Museum of American History.
Apparently it’s illegal to have a $100,000 bill.
Friday night the parents came home from their week’s training, and all was well.
Mostly packing and a walk on Saturday. The apartment complex where we stayed had a Christmas wrapping station set up in the lobby for the residents to use.
We had a few small gifts to give, so I took advantage of this station and wrapped them up.
That evening we all went out for a celebration dinner.
With hearts full, we flew back to Minnesota on Sunday. We were greeted with below zero temperatures! Brrrr….(But the friends who picked us up at the airport treated us to a warm, soup supper in their home before dropping us off at our house. It was a warm welcome indeed.)
*Forgive me if this comes to your email twice. I tried publishing this at 6:30 am but it hasn’t gone through so I recreated the post and am trying it again.*
Continuing a photo journal of our adventures from week two, visiting family, in Arlington, Virginia (showing one to three…photos a day).
The impressive nave and chancel of the National Cathedral. It filled up for the advent service.
Sunday, November 30, was the first Sunday of Advent, and it was a special one. We went to an advent service in the Washington National Cathedral.
Heavenly voice and Bible readings filled the spectacular cathedral, and made for a memorable event.
Zoey and I made banana bread on Sunday.
Gary and I decided to take an overnight trip up to Pennsylvania to visit Gary’s family. His hometown is only about three hours away from where we were staying in Virginia, so we got up early Monday morning and drove to Pennsylvania for an over night visit.
One perspective of the farm where Gary grew up, in Pennsylvania.
We stopped at his younger sister’s farm for a visit. Then, we drove to the farm where Gary grew up. The friendly Mennonite folks who live there invited us in for a chat. They are lovely people.
Another perspective of the farm…this is the field where one of my favorite pictures was taken of our two young boys running in the field.
Later that evening, a lot of family members joined us for a dinner out, even though it was last minute.
An impromptu family gathering.
We decided to drive back Tuesday morning, forgoing another farm visit to Gary’s other sister’s farm, simply because it was snowing and slick driving conditions. But we were grateful to be able to take this time to reconnect…our short stay was very enjoyable.
On Wednesday we ran errands and did some laundry and just hung out. Zoey and I made enchiladas for dinner.
We were ready again on Thursday to take the Metro into the city. The Metro is such a great system. We stopped at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial, honoring the 34th U.S. President, on our way to the United States Botanic Garden.
The Lincoln Memorial model made of plant parts.
There was plenty to see indoors with special December exhibits: models of DC landmarks made from plant parts, and thousands of poinsettias were placed in groups all around the gardens.
A lovely display of pink/white poinsettias…I don’t think I’ve seen this sweet color of poinsettias before.
Next, we walked to the White House to check out the new ballroom construction, but we couldn’t see a thing.
The closest we got to the White House.
After school the kids helped us count the miscellaneous coins the family had accumulated over the year. The bank said the coins had to be counted and put in wrappers. It turned out to be a fun project…and profitable.
Fun looking at and counting all the coins, and finding several foreign coins in the mix.
We went up to the rooftop to observe December’s full moon, Thursday December 4.
December 4, 2025
Lunch on Friday was in DuPont Circle. We met friends who were former neighbors in Northfield for many years. They moved to the DC area a few years ago.
We had a lovely lunch with our friends from Minnesota.
We arranged to meet at a restaurant along the Metro line so both parties could just hop on the Metro. We had a great time. As we walked back to the Metro station we stopped at a pop-up Christmas Market which was fun to peruse. There was leftover dusting of snow on trees and roses… it felt “Christmassy.”
Still swinging on the playground. The previous dusting of snow melted.
Zoey had Portuguese lessons again on Saturday. We went on another pleasurable walk with Ezra. Mid-afternoon we walked to a park near their apartment. The kids still enjoy play grounds. We stopped for an ice cream cone on the way home. It’s never too cold for ice cream.
We left Northfield a week before Thanksgiving to go visit our son and his family in Arlington, Virginia. On our way to the airport I realized I still had my slippers on! Fortunately, we were close enough to home so we had time to turn around and get my shoes! (I won’t mention the full cup of coffee I spilled all over my backpack at the airport.)
I guess I was excited. We were going to spend time with our son and his family. They are moving to India. We were happy to have some quality time to create more memories before they leave… and it was fun to take the grandchildren on adventures while mom and dad stayed home to work and pack! 😉
The nice apartment building where our son’s family has lived since January 2025.
This blog post will be a diary: a photo essay, with one, or maybe two, pictures per day to capture our first week. It was challenging to select the photos out of the hundreds I took!
A walk in the woods with Ezra. Still a touch of fall in the air.
Our first full day we dropped Zoey off for Portuguese lessons and Gary and I went for a long walk with Ezra. This is the day we made chocolate chip cookies which I blogged about a couple weeks ago.
We also “packed” Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes online. This is an outreach project by Samaritan’s Purse that delivers gift-filled shoeboxes to children in need worldwide.
Two cooks in the kitchen.
For breakfast on Sunday morning our granddaughter, who especially likes to cook and bake, made waffles. Her brother made blueberry syrup.
Ezra had a play date scheduled for Sunday afternoon. Zoey and I made a mosaic candle holder from a craft kit.
On Monday, we walked the kids to school. We did so each morning, and we also picked them every afternoon. It’s a .8 mile round-trip walk.
…a beautiful building made with marble from Italy.
On our first Monday while Tim & Andrea worked/packed, Gary and I took the Metro to the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Performing Arts. We walked down the Hall of Nations (flags from all countries) and the Hall of States (flags from all states). Minnesota’s new flag was on display. The Kennedy Center is a beautiful building, made of marble from Italy, with chandeliers from Sweden. We had a fantastic tour guide…all to ourselves.
A hall inside the Kennedy Arts Center, with beautiful crystal chandliers.
Tuesday morning Gary and I went to the Holocaust Memorial Museum. This is a somber, yet incredible, must-see museum.
Pictures of shoe piles and pictures of hair piles (from the victims) left a lasting impression. We also went through a special exhibit designed just for kids, which was very well done.
Tuesday afternoon, Zoey taught grandma how to make Flan!
The kids Thanksgiving break started on Wednesday. We took the grandkids to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center which is a Smithsonian Museum near Dulles airport (not to be confused with its companion museum, The National Air and Space Museum).
SR-71 Blackbird
The Udvar-Hazy Center displays hundreds of air and space craft, including the SpaceShuttle Discovery, a Concorde, and a Blackbird SR-71 (fastest manned jet).
The space shuttle Discovery!
The space shuttle Discovery was a sight to see. There were so many interesting aircraft in this museum. It was impressive, and a lot of fun.
We had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner together. The kids and I made apple crisp to go along with the pumpkin pie.
Of course the kids were off school on Friday too, so Gary and I and the kids hopped on the Metro …
The Metro system is so easy to use and a great way to get around DC.
and took it to the National Gallery of Art.
The National Gallery of Art.
I really liked this place.
I was immediately drawn to the first painting I saw in the museum. I envisioned myself in the painting…looking out over Lake Superior.
One really needs multiple visits to do justice to this art museum (I could say that of all of the museums), but this first time for me in the National Art Gallery was a lot of fun. We each chose an animal, color, and object to look for in the art works.
In the courtyard of the apartment building.
On Saturday, we walked through the Farmer’s Market near the apartment, took a short drive along the Potomac River, the kids showed off their skills on their hover boards, and we all went out for dinner at a Japanese restaurant.
*****
Night falls over Washington DC…
6:49 pm on November 24, 2025. Views of the capitol, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial and the Kennedy Performing Arts building (the large building with white lights on left side of photo) to name a few…
