Christmas – Valerie's Voice

Hiking

The grandkids have gone home and the Christmas decorations and beautiful Christmas tree have been taken down, and it feels too quiet in the house.

A brochure with a map was at one entrance to the trail.

Nature always offers healing energy and is good for the soul, so we have done some hiking to help move on and to take advantage of this mild December/January weather (and no ice).

Over the past few days, we have hiked at Big Woods Nerstrand State Park, walked the Dundas Trail and on paved paths in the north section of town, and hiked in the lower Carleton arb with the Faribo Flyers bike club. There is a lot of evidence of beaver activity along the river in the lower arb…well over 50 trees taken down.

Swirls of white snow and ice make pretty pattern on Heath Creek.

We also hiked on a trail in the St. Olaf College Natural lands. There is a well-defined, wooded trail that meanders along Heath Creek, and it is a hidden gem. The winter landscape is pretty for this time of year; there is light snow and ice forming patterns around the rocks in the creek, the forest floor is full of brown oak leaves. The water is flowing strong and you can hear the sound of the babbling brook as you walk along side it.

There are many mature oak trees on the trail, and some with unusual characteristics that is noticeable without its foliage. One has a branch growing straight out from the trunk, another tree has six sturdy trunks coming from one lone trunk. A very huge oak tree has fallen over the river…the enormous root system upended on one side of the creek, the trunk laying across the creek, and the upper part of the tree with its large branches on the other side of the creek…it almost could be a bridge across. (I couldn’t capture it on photo).

This oak tree has a branch growing out at a perpendicular level.

We had hiked this trail before, maybe a year ago, but now that we’ve rediscovered it, I think we will be hiking it more often.

I didn’t recognize this reddish tree. My app told me it was a red cedar.

It’s nice to have so many green spaces (natural spaces – as they are not so green in the winter) to access within such a short distance of Northfield. Each hike this week was enjoyable in its own way, and rejuvenating.

Good medicine for the soul.

A Gingerbread Manger Scene

When our sons were growing up we had an annual tradition, with another family, of decorating and assembling a gingerbread manger scene. Our friends had the cookie cutout kit that included cutouts for: a stable, Joseph and Mary, Baby Jesus in the manger, kings and camels and other animals. It was a fun activity for the whole family. Then, the five kids grew up and went their different ways.

When my friend moved from her home of 30+ years the gingerbread manger scene resurfaced. And she made the gingerbread manger scene with her grandchildren.

The first step…creating the stable from gingerbread…”glued” together with royal frosting ahead of time.

I asked her to outline the pieces of the set for me so I could try to recreate it with two of my grandchildren who were coming to stay with us for the holidays. I made the gingerbread dough and “royal” frosting (the glue) and cut out the stable pieces. Gary assembled the stable ahead of time to let it set.

Second step: After baking, we all helped decorate the manger scene cookies.

Then I cut out the paper figures my friend had given me, and placed them on the gingerbread dough and tried to cut around the outline. It was not easy, and when I pulled the paper up from the dough, some of it stuck to the paper. The pieces were a bit mangled, but then… Mary and Joseph were probably a little mangled when they finally got to the stable. I persevered, and continued cutting around the paper patterns.

Third step: Pasting the figures to the stable with the royal frosting.

The figures turned out ok – although I reduced the numbers to one king and one camel (not three), and two animals (not several… ) I baked them ahead of time so all that was left to do was decorate and assemble.

The finish: A very creative gingerbread manger scene.

We had a lot of fun creating our masterpiece, that depicted the wonderful story of Jesus’ birth.

Merry Christmas

Russian Matryoshka dolls (I bought in the Ukraine) depicting the Christmas story.

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. Luke 2: 15-20

It’s Christmas…all over the world.

Christmas Cards

The “old-fashion” Christmas card is not as prevalent as they used to be. Many of us have started sending photo cards, which we find are easy to create (after a time when they were not so easy to create) and now are readily available.

For a while we slowed down on sending Christmas cards, but when the grandchildren came along we decided to make photo cards to share pictures of them with our family and friends (since I think they are the cutest grandkids in the world)!

A fun favorite this year since I’ve been helping to feed horses on a farm, and discovered a newfound liking for these beautiful animals!

But, there are still so many traditional and beautiful Christmas cards. I enjoy looking at the myriad of designs: from doves to the Christ Child, Snoopy to Santa, snowmen to Christmas trees. A relevant message inside is welcomed too.

Christmas cards are hard to throw away, however I can’t keep them either. I already have boxes of cards and letters I’ve received over the years…from Gary, family and friends.

A three- dimensional poinsettia on velvety card stock.

This Christmas card is unique with a wonderful picture and an Irish Blessing on front.

One way I extend the joy of Christmas cards is by using them as name tags on presents the next year. They really do dress up a package. This year I’m using the pictures from last year’s beautiful cards.

I enjoy using last year’s Christmas cards for this year’s gift tags.

It’s fun to see them again. This was not my idea. My mother did this when I was growing up, and so I’ve continued the practice.

I recently used the picture from a Christmas card to write out a recipe. I cut the card to the size I needed and wrote the recipe on the blank side, the back side of the picture. The recipe was requested from a Christmas brunch so it seemed fun and appropriate.

I’ve used blank sides of picture cards for sending notes to others, too.

I hope I can think of more ways to use these lovely cards.

Bentleyville

Tucked into the middle of a string of mild November days, was one unseasonably, frigid night when the temperature dipped to 9 degrees with windchills of -11*. And that is the night we had arranged to tour Bentleyville “Tour of Lights” in Duluth, Minnesota. When planning this adventure weeks before, we had no idea we’d be walking through this spectacular Christmas light display in freezing temperatures.

The full moon and the tall, center tree of Bentleyville, which changes colors constantly. photo by ta.

We packed all our warm winter gear and headed up to northern Minnesota. We had reserved a hotel room within walking distance of Bentleyville. It was a clear night with a beautiful full moon.

The full moon rising over Lake Superior (11/27/23, 5:33 pm)

As we left our hotel, the temperatures were dropping, and the winds were picking up, and we could feel the strong, freezing wind gusts (17 miles an hour).

We entered Bentleyville through this tunnel of lights.

But we did it! We walked to the event. We walked all around the event in the cold. And we had fun, and felt a sense of accomplishment too. Bentleyville is an impressive place. Explore Minnesota informs that Bentleyville is America’s largest free walk-through (Christmas) lighting display.

Bentleyville was celebrating its 20^th anniversary. Nathan Bentley started the “Tour of Lights” in 2003 at his farm outside of Duluth. Each year he added more and more lights. It grew bigger and better every year, and of course, became more popular. Duluth’s Mayor invited him to move his display to the Bayfront Festival Park in 2008, and so he did.

One of my favorite light displays…there were many!

Another favorite: This ornament was stunning.

As we walked through tunnels of lights looking at all the different theme displays, cheerful Christmas music was playing making it even more festive…we could hardly mind the frigid temperatures.

This tunnel had pretty blue icicle lights.

Free cocoa, cookies and popcorn were handed out. There were fire pits burning in different places, but because the wind was so strong it was hard to get warm, even next to the fire.

One of the many fire pits around Bentleyville.

We did snap a few pictures, but quickly put our mittens back on…the fingers got cold very fast!

Because it was so cold outside, there was no line to see Mr. & Mrs. Santa Claus.

Back at the hotel we took off our many layers of jackets and scarves, hats and mittens, and made ourselves some hot chocolate and sat by fireplace in the lobby. We felt invigorated, while warming up by the cozy fire.

A Viking Ship. So many displays including: a manger scene, the Duluth lift bridge, dinosaurs, Disney characters, sea creatures, and much more. I can’t even begin to describe how many lights displays there were.

We can say we had merry time in spite of the freezing temps – which just made it more memorable. We’re hardy Minnesotans after all!

Second Summer

The term Second Summer is now being used instead of Indian Summer, which was the terminology I grew up with. Although the name Second Summer is preferred by the Native Americans, it doesn’t change the fact that is a great event to experience during autumn in Minnesota. According to Wikipedia, “A(n) ~~Indian Summer~~ Second Summer is a period of unseasonably warm, dry weather that sometimes occurs in autumn in temperate regions of the northern hemisphere.”

Sakatah Singing Hills Trail, November 12, 2023.

We had a beautiful, Second Summer Day over the weekend and decided to take our bikes out (which we thought were tucked away for the season) for another ride.

We went to Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail. It was delightful. We added an extra layer and felt warm enough as we cruised down the paved trail. It felt good to be out in the fresh air, soaking up some illusive sunshine. We’ve had many cloudy days lately.

Sakatah Lake. The 39 mile trail goes along several lakes.

The leaves are all off the trees and the scenery on the trail looks a bit different than during the summertime. You can see more of the lakes as you ride by, and you can see into the woods and the forest floor. There were several other folks on the trail this day.

After our ride we took a quick detour to an out-of-the-way boutique filled with Christmas crafts and decorations. It’s called, A Touch of Class. We walked around the stable-turned-boutique and got some fresh ideas for the upcoming Christmas season. I always wait until after Thanksgiving to start decorating for Christmas, but it was a fun place to peruse, and get in the mood to decorate for the holidays.

4:56pm, November 12, 2023 (sunset was 4:48 pm)

As we drove home, the sky had a pretty glow as it was near sunset, which of course is very early these days, in Minnesota.

There is supposed to be a couple more Second Summer days in the coming week…maybe we’ll get out on the bike one more time?

Valley Grove in Winter

After several days of snow and clouds, the sun broke through and the bright, blue sky revealed itself and changed our already awesome winter scenes into breathtaking sights.

One of my new favorite photos of the Valley Grove churches in winter.

We grabbed our snowshoes and drove out to Valley Grove to tromp around the beautiful landscape. We enjoy Valley Grove in every season. We especially like to hike and picnic there in the summer and fall. I also enjoy seeing these two charming, and picturesque historic churches. This is the peaceful place where Gary and I have bought a cemetery plot.

The temperature this winter day was mild because the winds were calm. The landscape was pristine and untouched, except for one short path to a gravestone. I imagined that somebody may have lost their loved one close to this time of year to make the special effort to visit. The footprints in the snow sunk at least 20-24 inches, so it must have been a very difficult walk. Our snowshoes sunk about 6-8 inches, which is expected, and makes walking much easier.

A gnarly, oak tree in front – the prairie beyond.

We enjoyed snowshoeing the perimeter of the cemetery, making fresh tracks wherever we went. We made an effort not to disturb the smooth, undisturbed snow in the center of the churches and cemetery.

We continued to snowshoe on the prairie a bit too, to marvel at the vastness of white snow covering the ground, and every stubble of grass.

Every twig and blade of prairie grass was ladened with snow.

We missed the beloved Christmas eve service at the historic Valley Grove church this year because it was canceled due to subzero temperatures. But it’s warmed up, and it was fun to visit Valley Grove on this beautiful day in January.

This photo was taken in Nerstrand, on the way to Boots & Lu’s.

We stopped for a bowl of soup and a cup of hot chocolate at Boots & Lu’s, a coffee shop in Nerstrand, before heading home.

Merry Christmas

The children’s Christmas pageant at our church, includes shepherd and angels and cows etc.
Our wonderful children – telling and singing the Christmas story.

Luke 2: 8-12
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

The full set design…the stable and a living room se,t complete with fireplace, for a grandmother and grandchild to reflect on the Christmas story. A new member of our church created this elaborate set.

Merry Christmas.

Bell Ringers

What do you do when it’s one of the coldest days of the year? Ring the bell for Salvation Army.

Our slotted time was scheduled long before we knew the freezing temperatures were moving into our area…-6 below with wind chills of -30’s.

Fortunately, the red bucket and stand were moved into the cart corral entry way at Family Fare foods where we stood, ringing bells. We were bundled up in boots and hats and mittens, warm jackets and scarfs, long johns and toe warmers, protected from the wind, but still cold!

Starbucks, located right inside the store, offered complimentary hot coffee or cocoa for the bell ringers. That was a nice jesture.

People were going in and out of the store constantly. I thought maybe the cold would keep people home but that was definitely not the case. Last-minute Christmas shoppers were out buying those last-minute dinner items.

We enjoyed our two-hour shift. It was fun to be out with others on this day before Christmas Eve. People were friendly, engaging and generous.

Winter Walks

Northfield’s Winter Walk took on an interesting twist for me this year. The children’s book author Kate DiCamillo was at our local bookstore, Content, for a book signing. I invited my daughter-in-love to come join me for Winter Walk, to meet and greet this author, who I knew was a favorite of hers.

Kate DiCamillo signing books at Content Bookstore.

First, my daughter-in-love and I went out for a nice dinner at a local restaurant, Reunion, and then we got in line for the book signing at Content. We were assigned a wait list number, which worked well and we didn’t have to wait long. It was a brief encounter, but sweet.

Enjoying our greeting time with Kate DiCamillo.

Understandably, Kate DiCamillo was masked which doesn’t make for lovely photos, but she was very gracious, and a joy to meet. (It was interesting to learn from Wikipedia that this beloved and award-winning children’s author received 473 rejection letters before her first book was published!)

Beautiful horses pulled a wagon, giving rides throughout the night. Photo taken 2021.

After shopping a bit in the children’s section of Content, we meandered along the closed-off main street lined with luminaries; going in and out of the stores, checking out the model trains at the library, waiting in line for a quick horse-drawn wagon ride, and hearing different groups playing or singing Christmas music.

The weather was mild, and the lights and crowds made it festive.

I love this tree that is lit up during the Christmas season, welcoming everyone to Northfield. It sits on top of the old Malt-O-Meal hot cereal plant, near downtown. Photo taken 2021.

Also, last week I took another walk along Central Park in Faribault. It was lined with creative and artsy Christmas trees.

The Christmas trees are decorated by local businesses, then donated to families who might not be able to afford a Christmas tree and decorations this year. For more about this event visit MN Prairie Roots…click here.

The Christmas trees are put on display in Central Park for a few days before they are given away. It’s a fun idea, and a benefit to others.

I especially enjoyed seeing the different tree toppers.

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.