It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to the Most High.
It is good to proclaim His unfailing love in the morning,
His faithfulness in the evening...
Psalm 92:1-2
Happy Thanksgiving
Tag: Minnesota
“The Sherlock Carol”
Charles Dicken’s “The Christmas Carol”, is one of my favorite stories. Over the years I have gone to many different live performances, watched a video annually, and collected books with this title. A fun fact: ““The Christmas Carol” has never been out of print since its first publication in 1843.”
“The Christmas Carol” is truly a transformation story. Sometimes I need a reminder to be of good cheer and be generous with my time and money.
I have seen the traditional play many times. I have seen the play which incorporates the gospel message in the production “The Gospel According to Scrooge” (although the original already has a good news message). And now I’ve seen the play with twists and turns in “The Sherlock Carol”, a melding of two Christmas stories…”The Christmas Carol” written by Charles Dickens and “The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle” written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It’s billed as a “fun holiday mystery” as the play blends aspects of both stories together in surprising ways. “A merry & mysterious mash-up” for sure! The writer was so creative and clever to combine these two stories. It is well written.
Commonweal Theatre is in the small town of Lanesoboro, Minnesota. The theatre is starting its 37th year of providing the community with amazing productions on stage. And they are all professional actors (this is not community theatre…although I think community theatre is wonderful too!)
“The Sherlock Carol’s” main characters are, of course, Mr. Scrooge and Sherlock Holmes. The remaining four actors (total of six actors in the play) are acting out the remaining 22 characters in the show! And they do an excellent job accomplishing that feat. It is witty, and funny, and very entertaining.
Theatre capacity was filled on this third performance, with many more performances scheduled through December. The stage was full of props, yet it jumps from different locations by “shifting the lights and adjusting a single piece of furniture”. Another feat accomplished well.
Although Lanesboro is a rather long drive from Northfield, stopping for breakfast on the way down and for a lite supper on the way home and seeing an excellent play in-between, made for a delightful day.
It’s “elementary (my dear Watson)” to highly recommend this uplifting production of “The Sherlock Carol”.
“God Bless us everyone.”
The Northern Lights
It’s not often one gets to see the northern lights, especially in town, and in southern Minnesota, but the last two nights there were wonderful displays right outside our front door. A neighbor sent a photo in a text alerting me to check out the spectacular show on Tuesday evening.
I have seen the northern lights a couple times in my life. Once with the naked eye from a parking lot at our church. That was many years ago – at that time I did not have an ever-ready camera (cell phone) to look at them through the lens that illuminates them. I remember faintly seeing green streaks in the northern sky.
However, in May 2024, having heard on the news the northern lights may be visible, I drove a mile out-of-town to watch for them. There were several of us folks who had driven away from the city lights to look for them. There was excitement in the air as we did witness a spectacular light show.
In May 2024 the colors were purple and green, with some yellow and red.
Tuesday night the colors were dramatic reds and greens…(maybe because Christmas is coming? HA)
We didn’t see as much activity on Wednesday night…at least the times when we checked, but we did catch on fabulous green streak with purple hues.
What an awesome, glorious, “free event”, put on by the Father of Lights.
Every good and perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights,
who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17
Impromptu Purchase
I had a short time between appointments last week, so I decided to tuck into a gift shop in downtown Northfield. There were fall items on sale, but a large part of the store was already decked out for Christmas. I wasn’t planning to buy anything.
But, the moment I saw this painting on a wooden block, I knew I wanted it. It was a totally impromptu purchase, which I rarely do, but I loved the image and the joy it brought to me. Maybe it’s because I had been out to helping on the farm earlier this week; feeding two horses, two donkeys, two goats, two Nigerian Dwarf goats, two sheep (they’re new), eight chickens and four cats. I have grown fond of these beautiful creatures.
Most of the farm animals I work with are represented on this picture plaque. The horse, donkey, sheep, goats, and rooster are so familiar to me. The picture made me feel happy and joyful, and worshipful even. I loved to see the animals gathered around the manger, worshiping baby Jesus. Although it is a Christmas scene, I plan to keep it up all year long.
Later that same day I was driving to an art exhibit and passed a farm. “And on that farm” was a row of sheep that caught my attention. Several sheep were all lined up along a long wooden fence, with their heads hanging through the first horizontal rail. All their heads were lowered…they looked to be eating something off the ground. And then I noticed one, big brown (black?) sheep (or possibly a goat) facing the others – outside the fence. The whole scene made me smile and I turned the car around to go back and take a picture.
I went to the art gallery to see one exhibit, and afterward was lured in to another studio with a special exhibit of animals painted on clay, and other mediums. Farm animals seemed to be the theme of my day, so I took more photos.
She is a local artist in Faribault, MN.
I do love animals. It was a good day.
All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.
Stanza 1 by Cecil Frances Alexander
November’s Beaver Moon
The most common name for November’s full moon is the Beaver Moon. Apparently it’s so named because beavers are busy building their winter dams in November.
(11/6/25 4:53 pm.)
November’s full moon has two names…it can also be called the frost moon, because frost is usual in Minnesota during this month.
November’s full moon, on November 5, was a supermoon. It was the largest and brightest moon of year (the distance from the earth was the closest). There are three supermoons in 2025…October, November and December.
No matter what time of the year, it’s always spectacular to see the moon.
Peanut Butter Bars
Growing up, my mother made the best peanut butter bars, and I loved them. Actually, everyone loved them. I have her recipe…and I tried making them a many years ago…but they didn’t turn out as good as I remembered.
But, a special friend from my past was coming to visit, so I tried making them again. They had improved some, so I put a few on a serving dish. When my friend walked into my kitchen she immediately asked, “Are those your mom’s peanut butter bars?” I knew she would appreciate them, and I got the desired reaction I was looking for. And they tasted oh-so-much better when shared with her!
That was the start of our fun conversation with her and her husband, and Gary and I. She (Diane) and I grew up across the street from each other…in Northeast Minneapolis…and we shared a great childhood in the 1950’s. Her mom and my mom were best friends, her family and my family lived in houses across the street from each other until “the kids” were out of the house. During our childhood Diane and I were together almost every day, playing together (after chores – I’d wait for her or she’d wait for me). Sometimes we’d play with her sister and often with the other neighborhood kids. Our families attended the same church, camped together, played together, vacationed together and created multiple memories over the years.
Diane and I have kept in touch by sending the same birthday card back and forth since 1979, (I blogged about it here in 2016) and through exchanging Christmas cards and a few messages throughout the year, but we haven’t seen each other for many years…maybe 10? So it was time. They came down to see our new house. We talked and laughed and reminisced a bit, and we said we would not let so much time lapse before we meet again. And I’m confident we won’t (we probably can’t!)
There’s something special being with someone you’ve known all of your life. Our 72-year-old friendship is precious. I am blessed.
Captivating Colors
Random photos of autumn colors.
Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
let the sea resound, and all that is in it.
Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them;
let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.
Psalm 96: 11-12
Lake Superior Splendor
We have hiked many trails on the north shore over the past forty years…some trails we hike every time we are up there, but we are still discovering new trails to hike and explore.
This year it was Illgen Falls, a part of Tettegouche State Park.
The trail to Illgen Falls is one of the shortest walks to a North Shore waterfall, and it leads to a beautiful 40’ drop of tumbling water in the Baptism River.
After the delight of seeing scenic Illgen waterfall, we hiked to High Falls on the Baptism River. It’s a longer hike, with a steep set of stairs (and currently the bottom of the stairs are washed out). High Falls is a 63’ falls. It’s very majestic, yet dangerous. A man tried jumping from High Falls in August 2025 and died.
We hiked up Oberg Mountain which is a trail we walk up annually.
Although it was past fall-color peak (the red and orange leaves were mostly blown off the trees already), the yellows and greens were lovely.
There are no waterfalls on this hike, but there is a beautiful view of Oberg Lake from one of numerous panoramic overlooks, and also a few of Lake Superior and the inland forest on this loop trial.
We saw waterfalls at both Temperance River and Cascade River State Parks,
all intermixed with spending time sitting on shores of the Lake Superior;
either reading, eating our picnic lunches,
beach combing or just contemplating…it’s always refreshing, rejuvenating and relaxing.
A stop at Grand Marais is always a treat. This year we discovered Superior Creamery. A small business that daily makes their own ice cream. It was delicious. The best vanilla I’ve tasted!
A Moon Rising
Rain was predicted for our time up on the north shore, but we ended up with stunning weather; clear, fall-blue skies and warmer-than-usual temperatures every single day. What a gift.
We’ve been going up north once or twice a year for forty years. We are always refreshed and rejuvenated by the magnificent Lake Superior.
A practice I started years ago was to check the time for sunrise. It is so precise! If it states the sun will rise at 6:56 you can count on seeing the orange ball pop up over the horizon at 6:56.
I make sure I’m up to witness this event, and will set my alarm if need be – that is determined by the time of year. It is awesome to see the sun rise over the big lake. I have hundreds of stunning pictures of a Lake Superior Sunrise.
This year however, for the first time in forty years, we saw the moon rise over the lake. We have often seen a full moon shining on the lake (and a few times soon after it rose over the lake), but we’ve never seen it rising.
I knew we would be up north for October’s Harvest, or Hunter’s, supermoon, but I wasn’t expecting the event to happen until later in the evening.
But I happened to walk out onto the deck and looked east and there, larger than I’ve ever seen it, was the moon already half way above the horizon. I continued to watch it (and videoed it). I was so giddy to see this stunning site. It was huge, and it was rising, and it only took about 30 seconds to come into full view.
It was another amazing gift.
Give thanks to him who made the heavenly lights—
His faithful love endures forever.
the sun to rule the day,
His faithful love endures forever.
and the moon and stars to rule the night.
His faithful love endures forever.
Psalm 136: 7-9
Doggie through the Window
Recently I was up in northern Minnesota at my friend’s cabin on Daggett Lake. We sat on the bench on her dock…to read, visit, or just sit and enjoy the lake.
We also enjoyed seeing the full moon and its refection on the lake, and going for walks, playing cards, going out to eat, and teasing the dog next door.
Each time we saw the neighbor’s cute, little dog meander into the front yard of my friend’s cabin, we would peek through the window and knock on the glass and wave to him.
Each time this little pup jumped…and then started barking at us, and we smiled back at him. We teased him so, but he kept coming back.
So it was fun to see this cloud art on our way home from the cabin, reminding us of the cute, little doggie through the window on Daggett Lake.