Two words…turtle and Lego… captured my attention last week when scanning through the newspaper. Two words for two different, but interesting, entities…together in one title. It may have caught my attention because we encountered two large turtles on Northfield’s bike trail this past summer, and because of my fondness for Legos.
The article reported of a turtle fitted for wheelchair made of Legos. Now that’s creative!
Article in newspaper that caught my attention.
The article states: “A wild turtle with a broken shell is rolling around on a wheelchair made of Legos while he’s on the mend at the Maryland Zoo.”
The eastern box turtle had fractures to the underside of his shell, and according to the article, keeping the shell bottom off the ground is important for healing after surgery. The zoo’s veterinarian asked a friend, who is a Lego enthusiast, if he would create a custom, turtle-sized, Lego wheelchair to help the turtle mend.
A photo of one Lego town (not on the bed downstairs) made by my boys. Of course I thought I had many pictures of the creations they made, but it turns out, I don’t.
My two boys played with Legos for hours when they were young…it was a favorite play time of theirs and I do believe they have good memories of building cities together, and all the vehicles and buildings that go along with that. We set a piece of plywood on top of a bed we had in our finished basement as a platform for Lego towns and Lego creations. I used to joke that at one time our Lego collection was the most valuable item in our house. We still have Legos, sorted by color, in plastic boxes, ready for the grandchildren to play with someday.
Recently we were at the Mall of America and walked past the Lego store. It’s always fun to stop and look at their displays of oversized figures and vehicles and space ships.
Huge action figure at the LEGO store in MOA.
Legos have always made me smile…to see the many different creations, and also, to remember the special memories of my two little boys playing together with their Legos.
I hope the turtle heals quickly…it has no idea of the wonders of Legos.
A friend and I went into a Christmas Store a few days ago, curious to see if they sold any fishing ornaments. She wanted one for her grandson. While looking around I saw a jet ski ornament. This friend has a cozy cabin up north, complete with two jet skis, and we vacation there together once a year. When I saw the ornament, memories of her and I on jet skis flashed through my mind…
My friend’s cozy cabin, with a beautiful porch.
The first memory is of the two of us, 60+ year old women, standing on the dock in our bathing suits and life jackets while she used her cell phone to call her son to ask a question about starting the jet skis. It was comical. We managed to get them started, back them out of the boat lift, tooled around the smaller lake before heading to a bigger lake and really taking off. We had a great time speeding across the water – up to 40 miles per hour. I always thought jet skis were loud, and they are, but now I understood their attraction.
The two jet skis in the boat lift.
My next memory was the year we were cruising around the lake and I ended up with thick weeds tangled in the motor, so my jet ski stopped in the middle of the lake. I drifted awhile until my friend noticed I was in trouble. She rode over and she decided we’d burn out the engine if we tried driving it back to the cabin, so the only alternative was for her to go get a towrope and tow me back. It took awhile but it worked. I was nervous that maybe the motor was ruined. When we got back to the dock I got into the water and pulled lots and lots of weeds from the propellers. When it was clear we started up the jet ski and it worked. I breathed a sigh of relief.
And then this year…we rode the jet skis fast then slowed into idle mode to follow the shoreline and look at cabins. We decided to go through the channel to the next lake to do the same, so we revved up and sped to Little Pine Lake. I was trailing behind when all of a sudden an alarm went off…”O no, not again”. The indicator sign was flashing “Fuel, Fuel”, the gas tank indicator went from three bars to a half bar, and the alarm kept going off. So I turned off the engine and waited once again for my friend to notice I had stopped – all the while the alarm kept sounding. She soon turned around and we decided to head back to the boat lift. We did so without incident, and with out running out of gas, but the alarm persisted until we pulled the key out. We got the skis safely tucked away and found out later the jet ski was OK, just low on fuel. I sighed another sigh of relief.
So when I saw that jet ski ornament in the Christmas store I just had to show my friend. As I picked it up it fell to the floor and broke. The store policy is if you break it you pay half price for it. So I did, and left with the broken ornament. (It was a clean break so I was able to glue it together and will add it to my Christmas ornaments.)
My new, but repaired, jet ski Christmas ornament.
On the way home from our outing I started to laugh and called my friend to tell her how fitting it was that the ornament broke… given my history with jet skis!
I’m glad she just bought a pontoon at the end of the summer.
Sunset over Daggett Lake in northern Minnesota (July 2017).
Hand-crafted broom and broom corn on my front porch.
While helping a friend clean up from the tornadoes that went through our area a few weeks ago I decided I’d like to sweep off the long driveway. Although it was cleared of trees, there was a lot of debris that made the driveway look messy and unwelcoming. I wanted the driveway to look tidy and welcoming once again (as it always had been in the past).
As I was sweeping (using broom first, then a blower) I thought back to our first trip to Africa in 2009, to visit our son who was living in a small village in northern Mozambique.
Tim met us at the airport in Malawi and we traveled a few days in that country before heading to Mozambique. We were excited to see his house, his work place and the village where he lived.
From my photo album…we drove from Malawi to Mozambique. It was a beautiful drive. We first spent a few days in Malawi, at a National Park, and at a resort along Lake Malawi.
Tim was living in a rented, small four-room house. He chose to live among the people of the village instead of at the compound that his work provided. His yard was dirt, and in his front there was a well (no running water in the house) and a banana tree.
Tim sitting in front of his house. His neighbor told us how much he and his family enjoyed having Tim as a neighbor.
Towards evening, as we approached Tim’s house, the front light was on and the yard had been swept…not raked… swept.
A young man, a native and friend of Tim’s from the village, knew the day we were arriving so he swept Tim’s yard and turned on the front light – he wanted Tim’s house to look welcoming for us. It brings tears to my eyes when I think of it (and as I write this), this small act of kindness seared in my mind. Maybe it’s a mother’s heart that makes me get emotional about that seemingly small act of kindness towards one of her children, but it is one I will not forget. It indeed made us feel welcomed.
Lucas
So as I swept my friend’s driveway maybe I was paying it forward…subconsciously I knew how it made me feel that day when Lucas made his friend’s house look welcoming for his family and I wanted to pass it on.
Obviously it’s not always sunny on the north shore. We love it when the sun shines and the sky is autumn blue and the lake shimmers, but there are cloudy days too. We enjoy all kinds of weather on the north shore. We try not to let the weather stop us from doing what we like to do.
It’s really hard to “catch” the hugeness of the waves on my iPhone.
On this particular day the skies were gray, the lake full of whitecaps, and the waves were huge. The waves were so loud as they crashed over the rocky shore right outside our cabin windows. It’s exciting to witness the rough seas of Gitchi-Gami (Ojibwe for “the big lake”).
Rough seas.
It’s fun to sit back and watch the tumultuous weather from inside the cozy, pine-sided cabin with the gas fireplace lit, looking out through large windows so close to the water’s edge, watching the drama of the waves unfold. The gulls are nowhere to be seen and the trees sway in the wind and the waves tumble to shore.
The waves look so small here…
We’ve experienced a storm on Lake Superior only a couple of times and we’re happy to see it, but we’re glad to have the safety and comforts of the cabin.
A corner of the cozy cabin.
Isaiah 25: 4 God, “You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat.”
As my excitement builds for our upcoming trip to a cabin on Lake Superior another stay on a beautiful lake in Hallstatt, Austria comes to mind.
Hallstatt is a small town but big on character! It is one of those beautiful, picturesque, mountain villages on an inland lake, and we stayed at a B&B overlooking the water.
The view from our balcony.
Bräu Gasthof is the name of the B&B where we stayed in Hallstatt. It is a quaint, 15th century building (that’s 700 years old!) that used to be a brewery back in the day.
The flowers boxes hang off the balcony rail of our B&B on the top floor where our room was located.
The arched door, low ceilings, spiral staircase (no elevator) and squeaky floors all added to the uniqueness of this B&B. Our rooms were next door to our friends and we had adjoining balconies overlooking the lake (complete with swans). The views were fantastic.
The inviting front door of our B&B in Hallstatt.Morning coffee on the balcony.Swans are a usual site on the lakes.
Our first day we took a boat ride and toured the beautiful mountain lake.
Lake Hallstatt.View of Hallstatt from the boat.
The next day we took a funicular up the mountain, continued up a glass elevator to the skywalk that led to an old building perched about 1,200 feet above the town. Many years ago this building was a defensive tower built in the 13th century to protect the salt mine which is behind it, in the mountain.
The funicular tracks.Overall view of the skywalk, glass elevator, restaurant and viewing platform.The old defensive tower (now restaurant) and viewing platform.
Today the old defense tower serves as a restaurant and is adjacent to a cantilevered viewing platform, which juts out 40 feet to provide spectacular views of Hallstatt, the lake, and the surrounding mountains. This area is a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) world heritage site.
The cantilevered viewing platform overlooking Lake Hallstatt.Another view of the cantilevered viewing platform from the skywalk.
Hallstatt claims it has the oldest known salt mine in the world. Objects found in the mine have been dated to 5,000 BC and a wooden staircase was discovered in 2003 which has been dated to 1,400 BC. To this day it is still an active mine producing over one million tons of salt per year, mostly used for road and industrial applications.
Looking down on the town of Hallstatt from the viewing platform.
Our wonderful B&B, Bräu Gasthof, also operated a restaurant right on the water outside its doors and we enjoyed a long, leisurely dinner there one evening.
A fun row of boathouses on Lake Hallstatt.
Our table was along the water’s edge and next to an old boathouse used for storage. As we were visiting, an older woman walked out of the boathouse and started talking to us, asking us about our trip and where we were from, where we were going next.
Our leisurely dinner with a lovely visitor (not pictured).Picturesque boat houses near the B&B.
Her name was Verena and she was the previous manager of the B&B…it was her grandfather who started the B&B. She managed it for years and now her daughter (also named Verena) manages it. She talked about the town of Hallstatt and the days when she was in charge of the B&B. It sounded like she enjoyed her work and did some musical entertaining too. We noticed old pictures in the menu of what looked like to be her younger self. She told us she lives on the 3rd floor in the B&B. She walks up the spiral staircase several times a day. She said she chose 3rd floor for her apartment because there are a few more minutes of sunlight each day at the higher level.
The B&B restaurant on the water.
As she talked I wondered what it would be like to live in this small, remote, tourist town for a whole lifetime. Verena seemed content. I also kept thinking, as we conversed with this local woman, talking to locals when traveling always adds richness to the experience. It was a delightful visit.
Another fun tidbit about the Bräu Gasthof was their check-in system.
The check-in chalk board with names of guests and keys hanging under room number on top.
A young woman was there to help us check-in the day we arrived, but if no one is available there is a sign telling guests to find their key, find their room and breakfast is at 8! The guest names, room numbers and keys were hanging on a chalkboard near the desk.
Instructions for self check-in.
Some people visit the town for a couple hours or one day…we felt luxurious staying two days and two nights enjoying the spectacular scenery and ideal weather in this wonderful place called Hallstatt.
The view from our balcony of an early morning sunrise over the mountain.
Our son, Tim, who lives in Mozambique, managed to arrange a visit to Minnesota after a business meeting he attended in Washington DC. It was a great surprise to learn about this visit. We hadn’t seen him since October of last year.
We had three wonderful days together and nice family time along with our older son, Michael, and his family. We did miss having Tim’s family with us though.
It’s difficult to see your children once a year – and then not all of his family – our daughter-in-love and two grandchildren. Technology helps some these days…we hope our grandchildren recognize us after seeing us on Skype when we see them in person some day…but it’s hard.
So when we took Tim to the airport once again I was sad to say good-bye. After many years you’d think it might get easier, but it does not.
I do cherish the times we have together and hopefully we will get to see the whole family very soon.
Here is a photo our adorable grandchildren who live in Mozambique.
Zoey, soon to be 4 years old and Ezra is 2 years old.
I’ve mentioned before my father was a carpenter by trade. In addition to his work projects he built a lot of miscellaneous items including (but not limited to): a wooden camping trailer, a corner cupboard for my mom for their 25th wedding anniversary, a cedar chest, a cradle for my dolls, a canopy frame for my twin bed…(I sure wish I had a picture of that canopy bed. He made it out of wood and it had flair to it.)
Rough sketch of my canopy bed.
He also made a small cupboard for me in the 1950’s, which I played with when I was a little girl, and then acquired it again after many years and basically used it for garden tools and supplies.
The play cupboard from the 1950’s, before the remodel.
Recently I decided it would be fun to clean it up and let my grandchildren play with it. There were two linoleum surfaces with spills, stains and ground-in dirt so I wanted to have the linoleum removed and replaced with vinyl or something fresh and clean. I asked a friend, who is a wonderful woodworker and has a wonderful woodworking shop, if he would fix it.
The old grubby linoleum.
He said yes. He took off the old linoleum and replaced both surfaces with plywood and applied three coats of polyurethane to them… it looks beautiful!
Eldy, the woodworker, and the cupboard.
Next, my husband and I sanded the doors and sides and added a coat of polyurethane so the whole cupboard looks bright and shiny and ready for playtime…
Restored play cupboard.
I know my dad would be thrilled knowing his great-grandchildren will play with the cupboard he made for his daughter so many years ago.
Writing prompts help with memories, thoughts and ideas. Recently one such prompt made me think of two classes I took in junior high, which were grades 7-9 at Northeast Junior High School in Minneapolis.
One class was Home Economics – they no longer call it that – now it is called FACS: Family and Consumer Science.
I learned to sew in my 8th grade home ec class. I can’t remember the teacher’s name but I can picture her, and the classroom. Our first sewing project was a waist apron made from gingham check material. The color yellow comes to mind, and we had to sew on a pocket and embroider the pocket too.
This is not my old Singer sewing machine but it had similar iron work…I have a glass top on this iron frame and use it as a shelf to hold my colored glass pieces.
After that sewing class I was able to use those skills to sew a lot of my own clothes, mostly through high school. I would sew downstairs in our semi-finished basement on an old Singer sewing machine, using a knee pedal to control it.
I enjoyed walking up to Minnesota Fabrics in Apache Plaza and sitting on a stool at the high slanted counter, paging through the large pattern books to find the right design. Once decided, the patterns were in drawers underneath the counter. It was fun to look at all the fashions in the pattern books; Vogue, McCall’s, Simplicity to name a few I remember. After I picked a pattern I’d peruse all the fabric and select just the right material for my project.
It was fun and economical to sew back then, but I stopped sewing clothes and now use my table-top sewing machine for mending and occasional miscellaneous items: valances, pajamas and shorts for my two boys when they were young, and recently, an apron from some fun fabric I acquired in Africa. I am grateful for that home ec class in junior high. Sewing is a skill that has served me well over the years.
The other class brought to mind was my typing class. I was in 7th grade. I can picture the classroom set up but not the teacher. I remember pounding out fff, jjj, etc., but I don’t remember if it was an electric typewriter. I don’t think so. Typing has been another skill that has served me well over the years. I continue to use it everyday.
My friend sent me this photo of her mother’s typewriter.
A fun typewriter story: we attended a wedding where an antique, non-electric typewriter was used to “sign” the scrolled paper as the guest book. We were standing behind some young folks who were confused…they didn’t know how to move it to the next line so we showed them how to use the carriage return.
I’ve had a few flashbacks recently, that took me back to the 50’s and 60’s.
First I was in an antique store in northern Minnesota and immediately inside the door was a furniture set like my aunt had in her basement when I was a little girl.
And it’s still in the family, in my aunt’s house. It is a Naugahyde three piece set…a sofa that folded out into a bed, a rocking chair and a stationary chair with a coffee table and two end tables. It has a western theme with a saddle embroidered on the sofa and horse heads on the chairs. The end tables have wagon wheels for the legs. It’s unique, and I’ve never seen it any other place other than my aunt’s basement where we had wonderful family gatherings over the years. My aunt’s set is in pristine condition and it seemed the set in the furniture store was also. Seeing the furniture brought me back to the 50’s.
McKinley Street: our mail dropped into the front closet, my room was the one between the front door and garage door, you can’t see the brick chimney on the left side of the house.
Next, as we were biking around the city lakes in Minneapolis with our son, daughter-in-love, and granddaughter, we rode through neighborhoods with interesting and unique homes. We passed by one house and the facade was like that of the house my dad built in 1953, the house I grew up in. It had a tuck under garage, the front door leading into the living room with a big picture window, and a brick chimney on the side for the “real” fireplace. The house, like the furniture set, was also a unique design that I haven’t seen often. It was fun to notice it. That glimpse brought me back to my happy, childhood days.
Also on that same ride I noticed a city bus that was flashing the street names for its route. Silver Lake and Johnson Street caught my attention and then I noticed the bus number 4B. I remember waiting for the 4B many, many times. The bus traveled on Johnson Street and Silver Lake Road to service northeast Minneapolis where I grew up. It was interesting that I noticed the bus and how it brought back good memories.
I recently attended a session on prompting memories so I wonder if I’m more in tune to noticing things from days gone by?
Nerstrand, as we affectionately call the Nerstrand-Big Woods State Park, is one of my favorite local state parks and I think it’s because I go there often. It’s only 20 minutes from our house where we currently live, and we used to drive down to the park from Burnsville where we lived years ago.
Nerstrand-Big Woods State Park, Spring 2018
There is no date for this memorable hike because I do not remember the year. We have gone on numerous hikes in Nerstrand-Big Woods over the years – too many to count or keep track of: wild flower hikes in the spring, long hikes in the summer, fall leaf hikes in the fall, cross-country skiing in the winter.
But the hike I’m writing about for my Memorable Hike series is when our two boys were young. We drove down to the park from Burnsville for the day. Gary had picked up a couple candy bars (which was, and still is, an infrequent treat) to put in his pocket for our hike. While hiking on one of the longer trails at Nerstrand Gary got the idea to go on ahead and place the candy bars near a tree. He wasn’t that far ahead of us to notice he was missing, and he did it quickly. Then when we were all together again, he mentioned to the boys that he thought there was a candy stand somewhere up ahead. The boys were young enough to get excited about that. We continued hiking and, lo and behold, there were candy bars on the ground under a tree. The boys were thrilled. It was silly but was quite fun, and to this day we talk about finding that candy at Nerstrand.
