Valerie's Voice – Page 76 – Musings on Life

Summer Solstice

It was my turn to host my book club this month and even though we met a week earlier than the summer solstice (today, June 21) I decided on a summer solstice theme to celebrate the day of the year with the most hours of daylight…something I’ve wanted to throw a party for, for a long time…so I took advantage of my captive audience!

The focus was light, of course, and I used a white lace tablecloth with a center white candle, clear glasses and white plates. I turned on the lights wrapped in the deck fence, and gathered lots of votive candles in clear glass to set around.

The weather was in our favor as it was a beautiful, Minnesota summer evening. We were able to sit on the deck until after dark, and then the mosquitoes joined the party.

I served a dessert with a fruit of summer – strawberries – and for a short time we stopped our discussion and read through “A Summer Prayer” from the book The Circle of Life by Joyce Rupp & Macrrina Wiederkehr. After each section we lit a candle and I placed the candles around the deck. It looked so festive and pretty especially as it got darker. (Celebrating the longest day of the year makes it hard to light up the dark with candles at 7 p.m.!)

Here are excerpts from the prayer:

“May the God of summer give us beauty.”

“May the God of summer give us rest.”

“May the God of summer give us joy.”

“May the God of summer give us inner light.”

“May the God of summer give us what we need for healing.”

“May the God of summer give us a sense of satisfaction in the work of our hands.”

“May the God of summer give us shelter when inner storms threaten our peace of mind and heart.”

“May the God of summer lead us to amazing discoveries as we travel the inner roads of our soul (as well.)”

Thank you fellow book clubbers for indulging me in my first summer solstice party…not to be the last!

Jemma and Me

My first official day of dog-sitting for my friend’s “Helping Paws” golden retriever trainee was on Sunday. Jemma is 9 months old…so still in puppy mode but is being well-trained by my friend.

On my first morning walk with Jemma two people stopped to ask about her and to pet her and tell her how beautiful she is…since we haven’t had a dog of our own it’s a new experience. Everybody loves Jemma.

We went on several walks between kennel time for Jemma (when we went to church in the morning and met our son and his wife and their baby girl for a visit in the afternoon) and an evening walk after supper.

Jemma did well…and I hope she wants to come back again.

Father’s Day

Father’s day…it’s a pleasure to celebrate my wonderful husband who is a great father to our two sons. But there is the sense of melancholy on father’s day when I remember my own father who died in 1974. I was twenty years old. My husband and two sons never met my dad and that makes me sad.

Herb & Ruby, circa 1940’s (my father and mother)

My dad was the son of a Norwegian immigrant, Torkel, who left Norway when he was 17 years old to find work in the USA. He and my grandmother had one daughter and three sons. Torkel was a carpenter by trade and taught my father the skills so then he became a carpenter too.

My father built this house in NE Minneapolis. We moved into it in 1953, when I was six months old. My mom sold it in 1982.

Mt dad was a kind man. He seemed to be well-liked. Favorite memories include family road-trip/camping vacations. We pulled a wooden “crank-up” camper that my dad built. The crank-up was wood, not canvas, and very heavy.

In background, the only picture I have of the crank-up wooden camper, built by Herb.

It would have been nice to get to know my dad in my adult years. I think my dad liked to have fun and had a sense of humor and a sense of adventure…I wonder if that is where I get mine?

“The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who trust him.” Psalm 103:13

Nerstrand Big Woods

Green, green – the world is green!

It’s summertime at Nerstrand Big Woods State Park.

Cleaning Closets

While I was out of town last week my husband painted our walk-in closet, which we had emptied the night before I left. We had re-painted our bedroom several years ago but not the closet. It was time.

When I returned from my trip we had the opportunity to go through every piece of clothing to decide whether or not it went back into the closet…using Marie Kondo’s suggestion… I found myself asking the question “does this spark joy?”

Of course you can’t get rid of everything but it felt good to look at our clothes and decide if we wanted to keep the article or if were we done with it.

At one point my husband said something didn’t sparkle for him and I giggled.

Our task brought to mind a visit to Pennsylvania a few years ago, visiting my husband’s family. As usual, we went to visit the old farmstead where my husband grew up. The new owners (30 years ago now) are very friendly and accommodating and always welcome us for a visit. (Their faith allows them to use electricity but not drive cars…so we always think about them using the garage door opener for their horse and buggy.)

Old Stone House, circa mid-1700’s, on Bollinger farm

The last time we were in Pennsylvania they invited us to tour their new house. They had razed the old farmhouse – including a attached stone house from the 1700’s (we were very sad it was demolished) – and built a new home. It was modern but plain. The woman of the house took me and my sister-in-laws on a tour and when we got to their bedroom I was surprised when she opened the walk-in closet door. On “his” side hung a few pair of black pants on the lower rack and several plain shirts on the top rack with a couple of hats on the shelf. On “her” side about a dozen dresses all hung neatly in a row and that was all. It made a lasting impression on me of simplicity.

So I had that closet picture is in the back of my mind as we weeded through all our clothes. Although it does not look at all like the conservative farmer’s closet in Pennsylvania, our closet has been freshly painted and cleaned out, and for that I am grateful.

I did get rid of my bowling shoes I had before we were married almost forty years ago – my husband and I met bowling but we never bowled much after that. It was time to get rid of the shoes!

Soon we will bring all the goods to Salvation Army and it feels good. We hope to continue to go through all the rooms in our house, but we’re in no hurry…we have the time now.

Roses, Butterflies and Colored Glass

I enjoyed my first adventure in “retirement” with my girlfriend, on our 28^th annual get away. We began our outings together when our boys were young, in 1989. This year I flew to Indiana where she lives and we started our road trip to Columbus, Ohio. The criteria we use to choose our trip locations are: it must have gardens, a body of water, and antiques/thrift stores.

In Columbus our first stop was the Park of Roses, one of the largest public rose gardens in the United States.

We were fortunate to be there when the 11,000+ roses were in bloom. It was so pretty. We strolled along and enjoyed smelling the roses and reading the creative names for all the different varieties and colors. We tried hard to capture the beauty on our iPhones. You can’t capture the fragrance.

We checked out many antique stores and thrift shops in-between our park visits – another activity we really enjoy doing together – and we each found a couple of treasures to bring home.

Another park we visited was the Franklin Park Conservatory which offered many fun surprises…from Chihuly glass displays interspersed in the plants, to animal- shaped topiaries, to the butterfly garden which releases many beautiful butterflies daily. They were flitting all around us.

We both are fans of colored glass and to see this display of Chihuly’s beautiful glass artwork was special. We didn’t know it was on exhibit at the conservatory when we planned our visit.

We also enjoyed time sitting near the Scioto River, walking down the cobbled streets of the German Village and dining at good eating establishments.

We had a delightful time.

A Long Bike Ride

This story is an adventure my husband had out East a few weeks ago. He took a bike trip and rode 342 miles in one week with seven other guys from his Minnesota bike club, The Faribault Flyers. A friend/neighbor from the club moved away last year and bought a home in the Washington D.C. area. Once out there he organized a bike trip for those in the MN group who wanted to join in on a ride from Pittsburgh, PA to Washington D.C. He got seven takers.

They rented touring bikes from a shop in Pittsburgh and stayed in Bed & Breakfasts along the way. They rode between 35 – 62 miles per day on the Great Allegheny Passage Trail (packed limestone) and the C&O Canal Tow Path (dirt trail). The C&O portion was a mule path along side a historic canal from the 1800’s. Mules were used to pull 12’ wide barges down the man-made canal to haul coal from the north to the south. The canal had 74 locks and most of the locks and old lock-houses are still standing along the path.

They had a great week. Lots of history and great scenery. They had no rain while biking, however the last night it did rain during the night and made the dirt trail very muddy for their last day of riding. The guys and their bikes were caked with mud after 35 miles on the muddy trail. The trail ended in Georgetown and the guys said they wanted to eat at the first restaurant they came upon…which happened to be a more upscale restaurant, but the hosts graciously accepted the eight mud-caked bikers to their outdoor dining tables, which carried the theme from indoors with white linen napkins! I’m sure it was quite a sight.

The bike trip was a challenge for the guys, riding consecutively for seven days, but it was worth the time and effort to see they could do it successfully and it certainly created some great memories.

Minnesota Landscape Arboretum

As we started walking around the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum several days ago I looked up the word “teliodoscope” on my iPhone to find the definition and learn how to pronounce it. The word is not in the dictionary and must be the creation of the artist who had a wonderful exhibit “Gardens of Kaleidoscopes” on display at the arb (now through September 2017).

Brightly colored painted, steel structures hold big bowls of bright-colored, perky pansies with a few other spring flowers mixed in. According to the brochure, the annuals in the bowls will change monthly and vary by season. The bowls rotate and there are kaleidoscopes mounted on each stand (different heights for different folks) so as you look through the scope and spin the bowl (and/or the scope at the same time) it creates a wonderful “teliodoscope” of colors and patterns and fantastic designs. It’s very creative and such fun to locate them throughout the arboretum.

The brochure tells us the artist, Robert Anderson, spent his early life on a farm in south-central WI. This exposure to nature and mechanics would create the foundation for his life’s work of “living sculptures’ as he calls them.

I, for one, am a fan of his work! I love color, I love kaleidoscopes, I love flowers…what a combination.

We also discovered a new permanent addition to the arboretum called Bee and Pollinator Discovery Center. The center is beautifully built and opened last fall. We learned some fascinating facts about bees and want to go back to learn more.

And, of course, we enjoyed the wonderful landscape of the arboretum with some spring flowers in bloom… and there will be a whole new look in the coming days as more flowers bloom and grow.

When I’m Sixty-four

Today I leave the St. Olaf Campus for the last time as an employee of the college. It’s a little surreal to call myself retired but I look forward to the next season of life.

I became curious as to how old my mother was when she retired so I looked back in our photo albums and found pictures from our family retirement party for her. I have such a different perspective now of that time in her life…she was alone (my dad died right before his retirement in 1974) and my mom lived another 22 years after her retirement.

She was 64 years old when she retired and so am I! Somehow it seems to be another confirmation of this step!

Commencement Weekend at St. Olaf College

I surprised myself when tears came to my eyes as I walked through St. Olaf campus very early this morning. I thought to myself this is the last commencement weekend I will work. It was such a beautiful morning, and it was so quiet and peaceful as the sun rose to display a gorgeous blue sky which made it apparent the ceremony would be held outdoors – that is always the preferred plan and the one we hope for.

The outdoor location was moved from the Manitou Field (the football field) up to the Campus Green for the first time this year. Mellby Hall was the wonderful backdrop for the party platform. 5,000 chairs were set up for the graduates, faculty, family, friends and guests and jumbo screens were put in place to offer up close views for the folks in the back.

Mellby Hall in background, setting up 5,000 chairs and jumbo screens for 2017 commencement ceremony at St. Olaf College

Later in the day, after I cleaned up the registration area (my responsibility over the weekend) and folks found their seats, I walked away just as the faculty and graduates were walking to take their seats for the commencement ceremony. Such pomp and circumstance. What a wonderful tradition. What an exciting time for the students and their families

The beautiful sky as I left the campus as the commencement ceremony was just beginning.

Just as I started the morning eight hours earlier, I walked away with tears in my eyes and mixed emotions…this was my last Commencement Weekend “on the hill” as I retire next week.