Valerie's Voice – Page 46 – Musings on Life

The end of March is looming. Spring is here. People are getting vaccinated and venturing out. We’ve been cooped up, and staying close to home this past year, as Covid-19 hovered and infiltrated our life styles and wreaked havoc. But hope is definitely in the air as we move forward.

I’m grateful that my husband and I, and our son’s and their families, did not get sick with Covid, but the year was a tough one with masking up and social distancing.

Now that we are at the end of March and the pandemic has been around for a year, I was wondering what to write as a recap of my “designated year of March to March” for my annual blog-to-print book. Then, over the weekend we went on a hike in a new-to-us state park and I thought that would be fitting… to talk about hiking/walking this past year.

Walking was a consistent activity that I engaged in this past year, almost daily. I could probably count on my fingers the few days I missed. It was my goal, my outlet, my exercise, to get outside and walk every day (some days had to be an indoor walk). Gary often joined me, but he also rode his bike a lot more (2600 miles total last year). But I kept on walking… We also walked with another couple, two to three times a week, and that regular contact made a big difference for all of us. It kept our sanity; we like to say.

Many times we hiked in parks and through the woods. Gary and I discovered John Latsch State Park as we were driving along the Mississippi River on a bright, sunny day in late-March. I noticed the typical brown state park sign. As we passed by it on our way to Winona, I did a quick Google search on the park. The only thing the park offered was one hike, but that hike was a unique one, climbing up a beautiful bluff along the river. It told of the fantastic view from the top, and… that the hike was all stairs!

From the top: looking south at Lock & Dam #5 as a train rumbles by.

That sounded interesting. We know enough to know that would not be an easy hike (up or down) but we decided to go for it. We hadn’t walked our daily walk so we turned off into the parking lot to John Latsch State Park. We donned our hiking shoes, hat, and poles so we were ready. As I climbed 600 steps (unofficial count by a co-hiker) I thought this would be an appropriate marker for the end of the one year of pandemic…to be discovering a new state park and hiking in it.

At the top: looking north…Gary near the edge.

At the top of the limestone bluff called Charity along the Mississippi River.

We climbed up and up…the wooden stairs were wide, and sometimes slanted at an angle, and one or two were wobbly. There was a railing for parts of the trail but I’m glad we had our hiking poles with us. We took our time and made it to the top of “Charity” the name of this particular bluff…named by steamboat captains. There are three large, limestone bluffs aside each other, along the river, and steamboat captains nicknamed them Charity, Hope and Faith and used them for navigational purposes. Great names indeed.

After taking photos at the top there was a short loop trail that we hiked before descending down the steps. It was good “step exercise” and we were happy to have succeeded to make it to the top and back down again.

A railing was in place for parts of the “trail”.

My hope is that we’ve made it to the top of the Covid-19 pandemic peak, and we’re on our way down…to the end of it.

An Afghan and A Job

When going through my cedar chest recently I found an afghan I crocheted while riding the bus to a job I had in downtown Minneapolis. The afghan is wool, made of granny squares with beautiful colors. I freshened it up and started using it again.

I still like the colors of this afghan. The granny squares date it, however.

And, as often happens, I started reminiscing about the afghan and the job.

In the early 70’s I attended a community college and took a class in interior design. And because of that, I landed a job at an interior design showroom, Gene Smiley Inc., a wholesale shop for fabrics…upholstery, drapery, etc.

This was my second official job. My first job was as a maid at a hotel downtown Minneapolis, during summers, in high school. My high school girlfriend worked there too, and we made $1.85 an hour. We were able to clean rooms together. We used to walk to work from her house in lower NE Minneapolis.

At Gene Smiley’s my main job was to cut fabric samples for designers. Only interior designers were allowed in the showroom to look at the fabrics, but mostly we would cut and mail samples out to designers per their request. I enjoyed the job.

The company encompassed the second floor with two large showrooms and one room for an administrative office. I worked with two women on our side of the showroom. The younger woman, named RuthAnn, made a lasting impression on me. At the time I thought she was sophisticated. She lived on her own, in a rented house, and always “dressed to a T”. She got married while I worked there. I looked up to RuthAnn. I still have, and make, her lasagna recipe!

The other woman, Phyllis, was a much older woman…probably in her 50’s (o my!) but very congenial.

Since Gene Smiley Inc. was located downtown Minneapolis, and I was living in NE Minneapolis at the time, I took the bus downtown. Riding a bus was not something new to me. A girlfriend and I often took the bus to where we wanted to go as teenagers, so taking a bus to work was not problem. In fact, I liked it. It was much better than driving! And I could read or crochet, which is when the afghan I pulled from the cedar chest was crocheted.

There are two other events that came to mind when I started thinking about this job.

One, I remember the bookkeeper made some kind of mistake on my tax statement and ended up writing me a personal check to amend her mistake. I do not remember the extent of the mistake, but I remember her kindness. I had forgotten this tidbit until I started thinking about this job.

The other event I remember that stands out is quite comical when I think about it now. I cannot recall what I was going to do next but I was ending my time at this job and I distinctly remember asking my boss for a raise, after he knew I was leaving. He sat me down and said this was highly unusual – and I said, “but it will look good on my resume.” And if memory serves me correctly, he gave me the raise! When I think back on that now I just laugh!

I did, however, save my letter of recommendation from this job.

My letter of recommendation from Gene Smiley Inc.

At some point in time Gene Smiley Inc. moved from its Nicollet Avenue location to the International Market Square along with many other wholesale interior design showrooms. I have lost touch with the people there, but it was fun to think about them again.

43 Years

1978

Today we celebrate our 43rd wedding anniversary.

Last year on our anniversary, we made a special dinner at home because the pandemic was just becoming a harsh reality. This year we plan to go out for dinner.

A Treasure Chest

Every few years we open up our cedar chest. It holds many treasures.

We use the beautiful cedar chest my father gave to my mother (when they got married in 1947) as a TV stand. The price tag is still inside…$54.95. Also, inside is a moth insurance policy!

The cedar chest works well as a TV stand, but with the TV on top it is not conducive to getting inside. We need to move the TV and other paraphernalia in order to open it up.

A look inside the cedar chest. It still smells good.

The last time we looked inside was in 2016 and I blogged about it then. Recently we opened up this treasure chest and here a some of the treasures:

This is a baby quilt made for me by my aunts and cousins, when I was pregnant for the first time. it is precious and I put it back into the cedar chest.

This is my Brownie uniform. I gave it to a thrift store.

This is my candy striper uniform, complete with a cap! I was a candy striper at the University of MN hospital. I gave it to a thrift shop.

This baptism gown was used by me and my brother. My mother and her sister’s was also in the cedar chest but in very bad condition. I had to throw it away. I’ll keep this gown until the next time.

This “shawl” my mother knitted. It does have arms and an angora collar. I liked it. I saved it for the grandchildren to play dress-up.

These bags I made for my boys, and then stenciled them. They used them to carry their “stuff” around.

A pillow cover I made from a Norwegian stitchery kit. I sent it on to the thrift store.

This is one of my favorite dresses I sewed in high school. I put it back in the cedar chest.

This is another dress I sewed after high school. It was hard to get the whole dress in the picture. I kept the dress.

There were other items not pictured…an old Christmas stocking, a purse, some glass cat figurines I remember buying as a souvenir on one of my family road trips. It was fun going through these treasures that took me down memory lane.

I do have a story about an afghan I pulled from the cedar chest that I will share soon.

Cardinals

Below is a poem and a haiku I wrote for an assignment in my writing group. The cardinal is my favorite visitor to our yard, but I love to see them anywhere!

Take Flight 
 
The cardinal flies past the window and I know it’s melodious sound. 
For me, it is a love song, letting me know I am loved. 
His bright red color is like red lips kissing, touching the heart
And every time I see it I adore it more.
Through him God says, I see you, I know who you are and you are loved.
It reminds me what is important…family, faith, friends.
The fly-by is like a messenger delivering many thoughts saying
I am free, you can be free, take flight, be the adventurous person you are.
But then I sit back, a little anxious that I am being silly...
And writing this poem is like forbidden fruit and not worth anything.

Another assignment was a writing exercise and I ended up with three words: travel, fly and cardinal. I needed to use those three words to write a haiku.

Traveling by wings
A cardinal can bring much joy-
A bright red fly-by.

Lake Superior in March

Our mini getaway to Minnesota’s north shore happened to fall over unusual and spectacular days in March… temperatures were in the high 50’s with bright sunshine and clear blue skies on one of the days.

We did what we normally do up on the north shore…walk the rocks, hike, relax at the cabin, and enjoy the outdoors.

I read a story about someone claiming a large, old beautiful tree in his backyard sent him a silent sermon, or a blessing, each time he looked at the tree. I feel Lake Superior sends me a silent sermon each time I look at it. Lake Superior blesses me each time I stand in awe looking at it. I am drawn to it, and it blesses me.

From our cabin deck…the line in the corner of the photo is plexiglass…used for the deck railing. It is a wonderful feature of the cabin that sits so near the water’s edge.

Happy to be up at the cabin on the shore of Lake Superior.

This 58 degrees day in March also blessed me. It was unusual to have such wonderful weather this time of year. It was a gift. Our time was short, but sweet. Here are a few more photos.

An inland trail we hiked. It was a very pleasant walk through the snowy woods.

Beautiful lighting as we looked out from the deck towards evening.

There was some snow on the edge of the lake in places…not many places though.

This bear greeted us as we entered the cabin. Such a whimsical touch. I loved it.

A Fishing Hut

Our recent trip to the north shore was short but sweet. We rented a cabin for two nights and made the most of it. Arriving early afternoon, we unpacked, made some hot chocolate and enjoyed settling in. Next, we went for a walk on a scenic drive near the cabin. This area of the north shore is fairly new to us…we haven’t explored much of the Two Harbors area until recently, so there is a lot to discover. The first, for this trip, being a small fishing hut on the shores of Lake Superior. Our host told us to look for it when I mentioned we were going to go for a walk.

As we walked along the curvy, Stony Point Road we crested a hill and there it was. The all- encompassing, exquisite scene of a fishing hut between pine trees and along the water’s edge – immediately reminding us both of Norway! It was picturesque, charming and old-world. Our host told us this old fishing house, built extremely well and tight, was used by fishermen to store their fishing nets and supplies.

I loved this little hut on the shores of Lake Superior.

Many Scandinavian immigrants made a living by fishing Lake Superior in those early years. There is a North Shore Fishing Museum in Tofte, MN that shares stories and the history of commerical fishing on the north shore. I will plan to revisit that museum next fall.

A picture taken the next day, on a crystal-clear winter day.

We were delighted to see this lone hut sitting on the shores of the great Gichi-Gami (Ojibwe for great sea). From now on, this may become a short jaunt off our usual route when we drive up Highway 61 along the north shore.

Exploring new areas is fun, especially when one has a warm and cozy cabin to return to!

Sky Art

An unusual jet vapor trail, or a cloud? Either way…it was fun to watch.

My husband says it a jet vapor trail, I say it’s a cloud, but whatever it is, it made for beautiful sky art this morning over Lake Superior.

A sliver of the moon is visible too, but not captured on camera. Actually at 5 am I woke up and the yellow/orange sliver was shining brightly and reflecting on the waters of
Lake Superior.

The sunrise from our deck, on this Monday morning in March, at our cozy cabin on Lake Superior. A high of 48 degrees today.

Story Time

For me, one positive impact from the pandemic was learning about the communication app Zoom. I’m grateful for the Zoom business to allow me free access to family members across the country, and close to home, during the restrictions of meeting in person.

Grandma enjoys reading the library books.

One result has been a weekly story time over Zoom with my grandchildren who live in Colorado. At each session we; visit, read books, and then sometimes, they read to me. Lately, our oldest granddaughter is attending in-person kindergarten, so it’s just me and Ezra…and Grandpa joins in occasionally.

A favorite memory from when my boys were little was reading to them. And now, I love reading to my grandchildren. I have always enjoyed children’s books, and have several on our bookshelves around the house. One sweet gift a daughter-in-love gave to me, early on in our relationship, was a children’s book. I treasure that thoughtful gift.

During our weekly story time I lay out books and let the kids choose which ones they want me to read. Zoom has yet to cut us off at the free forty minutes deadline…we typically go for an hour so we get to read several books. I love the children’s books I own, but it is always good to find new ones at the library to add to the mix.

I go to the Northfield Library to look for new catchy titles and book covers. At my last visit to the library the children’s librarian, who presents the library’s children’s story time each week (pre-Covid), was there. I asked her for suggestions and she was very helpful. She actually remembered Zoey & Ezra from our weekly visits to her story time when they lived with us. Even now, when the kids come to visit they still want to go to story time at the library. YAY

The interaction I had with the children’s librarian that day was extra special. She told me of a book she really liked about “an overnight at grandmas”. The library copy was checked out so she went and retrieved a copy from her story time materials. When I went to the automatic checkout I noticed the book didn’t have a bar code, so I went and asked her about it and she told me this was her own personal copy and “just return it when you’re done.”

How special is that?