Minnesota – Valerie's Voice

Frozen Falls

We went for a hike the other day, in 40* weather. We’ve had a few below zero days this winter, but last week we had a stretch of unusually warm weather for a typical January in Minnesota.

We have had only one measureable snowfall, and that was in December, so there is not much snow lying on the ground. As we hiked the trails through the bare trees in Nerstrand Big Woods State Park, we were walking on dirt. The sun was shining bright, with no clouds in the sky. The temperature climbed into the 50’s by afternoon.

When we arrived at the park, we noticed a group of hikers were just starting their journey on the trail we usually hike. So we decided to reverse directions and “start at the end of the trail.”

After a while we came to the creek, frozen over. As we crossed the bridge we took in the pretty sight of a smooth, sparkling white curve cutting through the brown landscape, with a blue sky overhead. It looked like an inviting trail, not a creek.

Gary walking on iced-over concrete blocks.

We continued on, crossing a frozen patch in the creek, covering the concrete block path that serves as a way across Prairie Creek normally.

We arrived at Hidden Falls. We wondered if there would be any water flowing and found it completely frozen over. It was like the White Witch of Narnia had cast her spell on these falls and the water froze instantly, in place.

Hidden Falls in Nerstrand Big Woods State Park.

It was beautiful…this blanket of white ice on this unusually warm day. Such a contrast between no snow on the ground, brown soil and trees, blue sky and lots of frozen water. It was such a great winter scene.

You can picture the water falling and splashing over the falls, now frozen in place.

We managed to sneak in a couple of photos before the other hikers descended upon us. They asked us to take their photo, and reciprocated and took ours. We found out they were a hiking club from the cities and they were identifying trees in winter. I think that would be difficult.

We continued on our fun hike…glad to be out of doors on such a winter’s day.

A Friendly Ghost

Our writing prompt was to write about a ghost. It took a couple of months for me to come up with an idea for a story…and then I encountered Toro, the Friendly Ghost.

On the shores of Lake Superior, October 1, 2024.

On our annual trip to the north shore this year, we brought some kindling from our shed. We enjoy having a campfire on the rocks outside the cabin. This is a fun activity we do when we go up to the north shore…build a campfire on the rocks near the water. On this night the sky was clear and we saw thousands of stars. A sight to behold.

I sometimes take photos of our campfires…they are so mesmerizing…and we love to sit and watch the flames dance as we poke a stick into the fire to rearrange the logs. I take photos for documentation, although most do not turn out. But I try, and so, I did this night.

It was interesting…a green blob appeared when I was framing the photo. I moved the camera slightly to get the green blob out of the photo, but it was still there. Then I tried many different angles, but the green blob was in every frame, just above the flames. I have proof!

So, we wondered… where did this “ghost” come from?

We decided it came from our shed in our backyard in Northfield. When Gary grabbed the old, blue, plastic container filled with kindling from the shed, to pack in our car, we decided this ghost hitched a ride in the plastic tub, to the north shore.

We believe that night our friendly ghost, who we named Toro (since he shared the shed with a Toro lawn mower) was set free. For the past thirty years he was confined to our shed, watching over the kindling and unlocked doors, keeping watch over our belongings. Now that we were moving away from this address, Toro felt free to ride along with the kindling.

That night, when we set the tub down by the fire ring on the rocks, he began testing his “wings” by hanging around the fire…hesitant, I believe, to let us go after all these years. Then, he remembered the reason he had tagged along in the box. He remembered we were moving away from the house, and the shed, on Aldrich Drive. He was now free and able to go find a new shed to protect.

He was hanging out at the fire saying his last good-byes. The next time I tried to take a photo…he had vanished… in the wind, or waves, or however a friendly ghost travels…

Best wishes, Toro!

“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.