Minnesota – Valerie's Voice

“Frosty outside, toasty inside.”

Those were the words I wrote in a cabin journal, inviting guests to leave comments about their experience at a camping cabin where we recently stayed for a couple of nights. These camping cabins have heat and electricity. They have large bunkbeds, built-in shelves, table with benches, but no indoor plumbing. There was water available close to the cabin.

The newly built cabins were well-made with pine siding, and the wonderful smell of pine permeated them. They have a screen porch (not useful in winter) and great views. It wasn’t really “glamping”, but coming in from the freezing temperatures outside, into the warm, cozy temperatures inside the cabin felt luxurious.

We scheduled a few days away at the cabin long before we knew there would be below zero temperatures. We brought along hand warmers and toe warmers and all our outdoor, winter gear we needed to be comfortable outside.

We were hoping to cross-country ski and snowshoe, but there was little snow on the ground so that didn’t happen. We managed to get in a couple hikes and have a camp fire to grill hotdogs.

The sun glistening on the snow-covered lake and the golden prairie grass along the trails showed off the beauty of a Minnesota winter.

The full moon in January is called the wolf moon.

There was an added bonus of the full January wolf moon. Getting up in the middle of the night to walk outside to the restroom was made tolerable because of the moon shining down, casting a charming spell on the landscape. We didn’t even need a flashlight to light our way to the heated, shower house. It made walking in the below zero temperatures a little less painful. 😉

It was a fun get away, and most definitely…frosty outside and toasty inside.

The Secret Recipe

I was honored to have an out-of-state friend stop by to visit over the holidays. When people come back to town there is always many places to go and people to see, so I felt special that she carved out time to come visit. She is the daughter of a cherished friend who passed away a few years ago. I was excited to see her and her family, and for her to see our new house.

I decided to make cookies…a recipe that used to be her favorite cookie whenever she came over to our house back when she was in high school. When my guys were younger and living at home, I made a special chocolate chip cookie recipe all the time (now I tend to make my mother’s ginger cookies), but for this notable visit I decided to make my “secret chocolate chip” recipe. I never gave out the recipe back then… Now the cookies are long forgotten by many.

However, on this day my secret chocolate chip cookies brought delight. My guest was excited that I made these cookies for her and her young family. It made me happy. As her kids gobbed up the cookies, she asked me if my recipe was still secret and I said no. I made her a copy of the old, tattered recipe clipping from a magazine and handed it off to her.

She said she will take it home and let it be her own secret recipe now.

HOPE

As the fog of the past few days slowly lifts, I think of it as a symbol of the old year fading away into a bright new year.

Looking at my glass star hanging in our bedroom window.

In looking back at 2024, I marvel at how fast it went. And so much happened. We had a fun, month-long road trip traveling many miles and visiting several friends in the southeastern part of the states. A precious, baby grand-daughter was born in the spring. We went camping with two of the grandkids, agonized over a family member’s health diagnosis, and had visitors from Norway in the summer.

And then…we started the process of building a house in the fall. It was very stressful and fun, exhausting and exciting, all at the same time, and it changed the tempo of our lives the second half of 2024.

Fog hangs over the field outside the back of our new home.

Now that we’ve settled some (and really are happy in our new home) I hope we can start up some of our old routines, yet create new ones too. I hope to get back to walking daily, reading and writing, going out for coffee/lunch/dinner, traveling, feeding the animals at the farm, blogging more…things I enjoy doing, along with continuing to decorate and “de-box” (new word???) our new space.

The word hope has been so much of this past year’s prayers and dreams that I am bringing it along into the new year as my word for the year. I will continue to hope and pray for healing for others and for continued good health and new growth for myself.

My new year’s resolution is to try a new style of journaling. Tomorrow, January 1, 2025 I plan to print the word HOPE in large letters in my new journal, as we begin another year, in all its uncertainties and wonder.

New Digs

My “Van”-na White pose with the moving van.

Last Friday morning the moving van arrived in the driveway of our old house. The four movers packed up all our heavy furniture and moved it a mile south to our new house. It took about six hours. We set up the beds and slept in our new place for the first time Friday night, and slept well. It was an exhausting day.

We woke up to a beautiful sunrise Saturday morning, over the field and bluff out our back windows.

And saw the beautiful sunset that evening.

We’ve been unpacking for almost a week and we’re making progress.

We’re celebrating the next chapter in our lives.

Happy Thanksgiving…

From our home to yours.

Grateful for 30 years in our beloved, little green house on the corner.

All in the Family

We are moving one mile south of where we currently live. When we moved to Northfield in 1994, we moved into a house on the edge of town, with a cornfield in the backyard. The community grew and houses were built up all around us. Thirty years later we decided it was time to downsize and move into a smaller place. We are having a twin home built one mile south of us, and the backyard is the same cornfield view that was behind us 30 years ago. Only smaller.

So, moving into a smaller, one level space is exciting, but challenging. It is bittersweet to be leaving this beautiful green house on the corner, which I love. We have so many wonderful memories here. We were a happy family in this house. But now it’s time for a change, and to downsize.

In doing so there are many decisions to be made. It was easy to sell some stuff, donate some stuff, toss some stuff, but what about family heirlooms? Thankfully, family members wanted them. I cherish these items, but have no room for them in our new house. That they remain in the family brings me comfort!

My grandma’s desk: When my mother was given this wooden drop-front desk, she painted it. When she handed down the desk to me years later, I stripped off the paint and brought it back to its natural wood beauty (that was many years ago).

My grandmother’s china: My grandma’s beautiful, Noritake china set included more pieces than the average china set. The dishes were given to me by my beloved aunt because she knew I loved dishes. I thought of keeping part of the set, but when I knew it was to stay in the family, I gave it all away.

A military flag: The Department of Veterans Affairs provides a US flag to honor a deceased veteran’s military service. We framed this military flag that was given to my mother at my father’s funeral.

A cedar chest: My mother bought this cedar chest in 1947, the year she and my father were married. It cost $54.95 and included a 2-year moth insurance policy! Imagine that. It’s all recorded on papers inside the sweet-smelling chest.

A Norwegian painting: A 28”X38” print of the famous Bridal Procession on the Hardangerfjord is a framed print that my mother and father brought home from their trip to Norway in 1969. My mother had it hanging in her house for many years. It’s beautiful, but it’s large and we have no place for it.

A roasting pan: My mother made the best roast ever! Of course, when I asked for the recipe, she told me how she made it without any measurements. I tried to recreate it, but never got it right. So, when I brought her roasting pan home after her funeral, I thought roasting in that pan would be the secret…but it was not. My roast never did turn out the way hers did.

It would have been hard to part with these items, but it was made much easier to keep them all in the family. I am grateful.

The Honor System

Since we have been downsizing, we have been selling our more useful items on Marketplace and Craig’s list. It has been interesting to see what sells and what doesn’t sell, and for how much it sells. Our experience has been positive. With smaller items we usually meet the buyer at a public parking lot in town, but for larger items people do have to come to our house. We always ask for cash.

Sometimes, if we can’t figure out a mutual meeting time I’ll take a chance and use the honor system. I tell folks I’ll leave the item outside our front door and they can pick it up. I tell them to leave the cash under the front mat. So far, it’s worked every time. And that makes me happy.

When one party asked if I’d send a small item through the mail, I decided to go with the honor system again. I packaged it for mailing, took it to the post office and sent it off. I let the person how much the shipping cost and she said she would send me the money for the item, plus shipping. She did send the cash. And she included a few extra dollars for my time. And that makes me happy.

I’ve come to the place where I am not too worried if someone doesn’t honor the honor system. My experience is most people are honest and I am willing to trust them. And that makes me happy.

Family Concert at St. Olaf

St. Olaf College’s annual family orchestra concert’s program is put together with children in mind, using fun and unusual antics.

The concert was held in St. Olaf’s beautiful Boe Chapel.

During the opening piece by Bach, Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (Glory unto Thee be Given) the students played their instruments while walking up and down the aisles. That was different, and very engaging. I liked the idea.

Students playing their violins while walking the aisles.

And when I heard the very first notes of the concert I immediately was jolted to a place of enjoyment and contentment, and I said to myself, it’s been too long since I’ve had the pleasure of listening to this beautiful music. What a gift it is.

Louis & Dan and the Invisible Band, with the St. Olaf orchestra.

This year’s concert featured a guest appearance by Louis & Dan and the Invisible Band. Their catchy music and lyrics may work with an invisible band (as indicated in their name), but the St. Olaf orchestra was too loud for them and drowned out the two male vocal artists.

Dr. Chung Park, the St. Olaf orchestra conductor.

The traditional highlight of choosing a child conductor (this year three) from the audience is a favorite. Dr. Chung Park, the orchestra conductor, chose three kids from the audience who came forward to “try out” to be a conductor. As the students played Rossini’s famous William Tell Overture the three young kids started to conduct, however, Dr. Fang had to tell them to turn around and face the orchestra. It was comical.

The three young children conducting the William Tell Overture (facing the right direction.)

A segment called the “audience orchestra” was interesting. A student stood up front and turned to face the audience, and without words directed our hands and feet to make sounds/music. It was very well done…and during this time Dr. Fang went back stage and changed into a Lord of the Rings costume. He came out as Gandalf and conducted the final piece of the concert, “Symphonic Suite” from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

Gandalf conducting the St. Olaf orchestra.

This concert was a unique opportunity for the St. Olaf students to reach out to the children of the Northfield community. It was well attended, by the young, and the young-at-heart.

Desk Transformation

Over twenty years ago now…yikes…our oldest son was in college. At one point he moved out of the dorms into college apartments and he needed a desk. We went to the local big box store and picked out a desk that he and Gary assembled.

The best photo of my desk before I began to paint it. I forgot to take a “before” picture.

Who knew that when we bought that inexpensive desk so long ago, it would be with us today and be so functional. I have been using that desk for many years. It is a nice size. I’ve grown accustomed to it, and I like it. When I went looking for a new desk, I couldn’t find one quite like it, so I gave up looking and decided to transform the desk I had.

I used chalk paint, a product that has been around for a few years, and has good ratings. There are a lot of color choices too. I was hoping it would work as well as the reviews said. The only prep work is to clean the surface with a degreaser, let it dry, and paint it. And usually one coat works, it said in the instructions.

So I gave it the “old college try”…and it did work well, although I did have to put a second coat on the top. But I’m sure that is user error…I’m not the best painter in the world.

The color I chose is Silverado Sage. I like it.

I was happy with the results of this paint job. I was happy for the low-cost transformation and the easy process of painting the desk.

Color and Light, Morning to Night

This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.  
                                                                                                Psalm 118:24

7:03 am on 10/1/24… the moment of sunrise.

A couple hours later we trekked up Oberg Mountain and saw more beautiful colors of a different kind. Once again, I was grateful to be able to hike this trail, and was thankful to have the opportunity to do so.

10:15 am on 10/1/24…a view out to Lake Superior on the Oberg Trail.

10:30 am on 10/1/24… one of seven outlooks on the Oberg Trail.

And back at the cabin…the lovely, wispy clouds.

The sky was constantly changing, but the waves continue to roll in, year after year, reminding me of God’s faithfulness.

7:43 pm on 10/1/24… the cabin backlit by the early evening light.

8:30 pm on 10/1/24 …the end of our day, fire light on the rocks and a stunning display of stars overhead in the night sky.

Amen.