When we moved from our house of 30 years into a one-level (no basement) twin home we had to downsize. It was a good exercise, but it’s hard to do unless you are actually going to move. You need to ask yourself about everything you own, “Do I really want to move this item?” When we came to our old sled we decided “Yes, we would take it with us. We do use it occasionally, for sledding with the grandkids, or pulling our winter picnic supplies.”
When our grandkids came down a couple weeks ago, we decided it would be a great day to go sledding. We went to out to the garage to get our sled, but couldn’t find it. “It must be hidden behind storage boxes on the high shelf in the garage.”
Since we were all excited to take on this sledding adventure, I was happy I remembered seeing a Little Free Sled Library at the hill where we were going to go. The sled library works like Little Free (book) Libraries. You borrow one or two sleds and put them back when you are done using them, for the next person who may need a sled.
We bundled up and crawled into the car and went to check out the Little Free Sled Library in hopes there were some sleds available. I was grateful when I saw there were three of them in the box for us to use. An added benefit was we had the hill to ourselves. We had a lot of fun sledding down the hill…even this old grandma went down a few times (the hardest part is getting back up the hill!)
I’m delighted the Little Free Sled Library has been set up here in Northfield…Isn’t this what community is all about? Sharing our resources? I’m so happy others shared their sleds for us to use this day so we could create memories with our grandchildren.
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.
*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…
We are spending a few weeks with our grandchildren in Virginia. One of the activities we like to do together is bake. We found the ingredients for chocolate chip cookies in the cupboards so we decided to make a batch.
It’s a team effort…the three of us… our oldest granddaughter, her brother and myself. We don aprons, wash our hands, and always take turns measuring the different ingredients, adding them to the mixer, stirring them all together and rolling the cookie dough into balls to drop on the cookie sheet.
Into the oven they went…one cookie sheet at a time. We checked them after nine minutes, the lowest time of the suggested 9-11 minute time check. As we opened the oven door, all three of us were there to inspect. And what we saw was not what we expected. Hmmm…
They don’t look like they normally do…what did we do wrong?
Let’s go over the ingredient list...
Sugar – check Flour – check Baking soda – check Salt – check Butter – check
Wait...oops...the recipe calls for 1 cup of butter. Oh, Oh...we only added one stick of butter when it called for one cup, which is two sticks.
Darn! I’m sorry kiddos, I told us the wrong amount of butter to use.
“It’s OK grandma…they’ll probably still taste good.” (They’re so sweet!)
And, surprisingly the cookies were tasty! We finished baking all the cookie dough and ate them all up over the next two days. In fact, I may use only one stick of butter the next time I use this recipe…they were that good!
It reminded me of a Thomas Edison quote: “I have not failed. I have successfully discovered twelve hundred ideas that don’t work”
We had a nice trip to California, to visit our son and his family.
A bright, red California Poppy.
We took walks along the ocean and to parks, the grandkids rode their bikes, we went to the harbor, and enjoyed the ocean scenes.
Pacific Ocean
We made home-made cards and lemonade (from the lemons off their tree) with the grandkids. Later the grandkids had fun setting up a lemonade stand on their driveway in front of their house.
A lemon tree.
And, we took the grandchildren to a carnival. That’s where we watched the pig races. At the carnival we went on a few rides (including a pony ride) looked at animals in the animal barn, ate a picnic lunch and finished just in time for the Pig Races.
I am on the roller coaster with our granddaughter.
There was a race track set up for the pig race, and the show began. Eight adorable pigs (I don’t know what kind they were) were trained to run this horseshoe-shaped track. Four pigs at a time were let out to run from one end to the other where their reward of food awaited them. Spectators, young and old, gather all along the racetrack to watch and “squeal” with delight! There is a second race with four more pigs. The first-place winner and runner-up of the two races competed in the final race for the championship title. The spectators were broken into four cheering sections for the final race. I’m sad to say our pig, Strawberry, did not win.
Children loved to watch and cheer the pigs on, but I think adults enjoyed it too. Just maybe…we might enjoy the races most because we’re with the grandkids.
(Unfortunately, I was not in a good spot to take photos of the pig races.)
I have never been to the National Cathedral, but have always wanted to see it. Since we were going to be in the Washington D.C. area during holy week, I checked out the cathedral’s schedule. There was a lot going on. I settled on buying tickets to see the Cathedral in Bloom.
Washington National Cathedral
The magnificent cathedral is lavishly decorated with flowers for Easter and they keep the bouquets fresh throughout the following week for people to enjoy, adding more beauty to the already impressive architecture.
Spectacular!
So once again, we took off with the grandchildren to go exploring.
Grandma & Grandpa with the kiddos.
Such beauty.
The Episcopal cathedral was chartered by congress in 1893 and established on Mount St. Alban (the highest point in the city). In 1907 the cornerstone was laid by President Theodore Roosevelt. The construction slowed during periods of economic hardship, so the building wasn’t completed until 1990.
The High Altar.
“Our” National Cathedral is for all people. “This Cathedral holds a unique place at the intersection of sacred and civic life. …we strive to serve God and our neighbors as agents of reconciliation; as a trusted voice of moral leadership; and as a sacred space where the country gathers during moments of national significance.”*
Looking up to the rose window on the outside.
Looking out the rose window from the inside.
“In a city of monuments and memorials, this Cathedral stands apart as a vibrant community of people called together to serve and renew the world around us. Our founders envisioned this Cathedral as a sacred space where the nation could gather in good times and in bad.”*
This amazing Easter Lily bouquet had a matching bouquet flanked on the other side of this entryway.
Stunning beauty.
We used a self-guided tour brochure to find our way around the massive building.
I enjoyed this space stained-glass window so I took a photo. I learned later that the small eye in the large red circle is a piece of moon rock brought back by the astronauts of Apollo 11 and given to the Cathedral by NASA
I enjoyed the gothic architecture, stained-glass windows and myriads of flowers.
The Pilgrim Observation Gallery on the 7th floor.
There was a striking observation gallery on the 7th floor, offering great views of the city.
The Children’s Chapel.
There were several smaller chapels throughout the cathedral.
Resurrection Chapel: the walls were floor to ceiling Mosaics depicting stories of Jesus.
I have noticed the choir section on television, when I’ve watched special events at the cathedral. Although there were no flowers on the choir seats, the dark, rich, carved wooden benches were stunning.
The Great Choir area.
This Cathedral took on much more meaning after seeing it and touring it. I want to think of it as our National Cathedral from now on.
On the High Altar.
A candelabra.
My enjoyment of flowers along with my enjoyment of exploring churches made this a special outing for me.
The Canterbury Pulpit is made from stone from Canterbury and was carved in England in 1929.
I had a hard time choosing which photos to include on this blog post.
Beauty invites you to enter under the arch.
Enjoy.
A baptismal fount.
Up close.
This lovely arrangement was tucked in the corner of a stairwell!
A very sweet piece on a window sill.
*Both quotes taken from the Washington National Cathedral brochure.
We took a second trip down to the Mall a few days later to complete the circle…to see the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial.
Thomas Jefferson Memorial, April 2025.
All were impressive. The last time Gary and I were in Washington D.C., in 2019, we saw the Martin Luther King, Jr. and Jefferson memorials.
Side view of Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, April 2025.
I was happy to see them again. And, we were glad we could see the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial this time. We decided it was our favorite.
Among many wise, sensible, and profound FDR quotes etched into the granite (that I wish our current administration would read, believe, and act on) the monument itself was well designed with four series of waterfalls representing different periods of FDR’s life and presidency.
One of the falls created for the FDR Memorial, April 2025.
Apparently, water was a major part of FDR’s life…from his childhood upbringing on the Hudson River to using water as a therapy during his illnesses (polio). Franklin Delano Roosevelt was 32nd president of the US and served from 1933 to 1945. In 1921 he was paralyzed at 39 years old.
The bronze statues of Franklin Delano Roosevelt (in a wheelchair) and his dog, Fala. April 2025.
The first waterfall is a simple waterfall symbolizing the fresh energy FDR brought to the presidency. The second falls are a series of steps to represent the Tennessee Valley Authority project FDR founded. The TVA Act was part of Roosevelt’s broader “new Deal” initiative to address the Great Depression. The third falls has chaotic falls to represent the destruction from World War II. The fourth falls includes a still pool that symbolizes his death.
The bronze statue of Eleanor Roosevelt, April 2025.
The FDR memorial is the largest memorial on the Mall. A couple more unique features include it’s the only memorial that includes a sculpture of a First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, and the only one to include a sculpture of a dog, FDR’s dog named Fala. Because of FDR’s disabilities, the memorial was intentionally designed to be accessible to people of all abilities.
The Washington Monument, April 2025.
Once again we walked back to the Metro station and past the Washington Monument, which I remember climbing steps to the top, as a kid, when I was in Washington D.C. with my parents.
This was another fun day with the grandkids, walking several miles everyday, for each of our adventures.
We visited the exciting city of Washington, D.C. where there is an unlimited number of interesting things to see. We saw a fraction of them, yet we saw a lot.
First, we were visiting our son and his wife and their two children. That was the best part, and the reason for our visit to the area. They moved in January for our son’s training to become a Foreign Service Officer. It was great to see all of them. The kids were on spring break from school so, while the parents went to work during the week, we took the kids exploring.
The U. S. Capitol, April 2025.
We took two days to walk around the National Mall; the area with the reflecting pool surrounded by the domed U.S. Capital, the Whitehouse and many monuments and Smithsonian museums. We missed the peak of the famous cherry blossoms which were in full bloom one week prior to our visit. However, there were a few lingering trees in bloom near our son’s apartment.
Cherry Blossoms, April 2025.
Our first day on the Mall we began our walk past the Whitehouse.
The Whitehouse, April 2025.
The reflecting pool and the Washington Monument, April 2025.
Next, we walked towards the reflecting pool and the World War II Memorial, and on to the Vietnam War memorial.
Walking towards the long black marble Vietnam War Memorial, April 2025.
The Vietnam War memorial is an impressive, black marble wall with the names carved into it of all who died in the war, or from causes directly related to the war.
The Vietnam Women’s Memorial, April 2025.
Next to this memorial was the Vietnam Women’s Memorial, created to commemorate the 265,000 women that served in the Vietnam War, many of whom worked as nurses. It was significant to see because I had just finished reading Kristin Hannah’s book, The Women, a story about three nurses who served in Vietnam (a recommended read).
The Lincoln Memorial, April 2025.
After a snack lunch, we walked up the steps to the Lincoln Memorial. This is a very impressive monument that brought tears to my eyes. We stood in awe at the looming sculpture of Abraham Lincoln, with some of his quotes carved in the marble walls that surrounded his figure. And though there were many people crowding the area, it was a very poignant moment.
The Korean War Memorial, April 2025.
We made a quick stop at the Korean War Memorial, but by now, we were tired and started our walk back to the metro station. We passed the Washington monument on our way, which we could see throughout the day, towering above us from every angle on the Mall.
These monuments and memorials are a tribute to great men and women who served in leadership positions and the United States military service. It was good to see them.
