The children’s Christmas pageant at our church, includes shepherd and angels and cows etc. Our wonderful children – telling and singing the Christmas story.
Luke 2: 8-12
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
The full set design…the stable and a living room se,t complete with fireplace, for a grandmother and grandchild to reflect on the Christmas story. A new member of our church created this elaborate set.
What do you do when it’s one of the coldest days of the year? Ring the bell for Salvation Army.
Our slotted time was scheduled long before we knew the freezing temperatures were moving into our area…-6 below with wind chills of -30’s.
Fortunately, the red bucket and stand were moved into the cart corral entry way at Family Fare foods where we stood, ringing bells. We were bundled up in boots and hats and mittens, warm jackets and scarfs, long johns and toe warmers, protected from the wind, but still cold!
A familiar sign for Starbucks coffee.
Starbucks, located right inside the store, offered complimentary hot coffee or cocoa for the bell ringers. That was a nice jesture.
People were going in and out of the store constantly. I thought maybe the cold would keep people home but that was definitely not the case. Last-minute Christmas shoppers were out buying those last-minute dinner items.
We enjoyed our two-hour shift. It was fun to be out with others on this day before Christmas Eve. People were friendly, engaging and generous.
Last week the snow started falling…sometimes it felt like we were living in a snow globe. It was, and still is, beautiful outside.
Out our front door…at dawn’s early light.Looking out our patio door, early morning.
It has continued to snow off and on, and the “frosting” has stayed on the trees, and everything else for that matter. Wherever you look, it is stunning. A true winter wonderland!
Breathtaking beauty.
We went on a cross-country ski outing at Riverbend Nature Center in Faribault before the freezing temperatures moved in. It was breathtaking…and hard to ski because I wanted to capture it on camera.
Other skiers enjoying the fresh fallen snow.
Recently, while in North Carolina, I read the chapter book “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, to my grandchildren.
Winter wonderland…
In the book, the white witch keeps winter in Narnia all year long. The white snow-covered wonderland is gorgeous, but I wouldn’t want to live in it forever.
Into the woods…
Now the freezing temperatures are moving in.
Snow laden branches.
“And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap, Had just settled down for a long winter’s nap…”
Fresh ski tracks….
It’s time to settle into the cozy house by the warm fire. I’m so grateful we can do that, knowing full well that’s not the case for everyone.
Leaves hanging on trees, some individually covered in snow!
This scene in Riverbend reminded me of the cotton fields we saw in South Carolina last month.
Northfield’s Winter Walk took on an interesting twist for me this year. The children’s book author Kate DiCamillo was at our local bookstore, Content, for a book signing. I invited my daughter-in-love to come join me for Winter Walk, to meet and greet this author, who I knew was a favorite of hers.
Kate DiCamillo signing books at Content Bookstore.
First, my daughter-in-love and I went out for a nice dinner at a local restaurant, Reunion, and then we got in line for the book signing at Content. We were assigned a wait list number, which worked well and we didn’t have to wait long. It was a brief encounter, but sweet.
Enjoying our greeting time with Kate DiCamillo.
Understandably, Kate DiCamillo was masked which doesn’t make for lovely photos, but she was very gracious, and a joy to meet. (It was interesting to learn from Wikipedia that this beloved and award-winning children’s author received 473 rejection letters before her first book was published!)
Beautiful horses pulled a wagon, giving rides throughout the night. Photo taken 2021.
After shopping a bit in the children’s section of Content, we meandered along the closed-off main street lined with luminaries; going in and out of the stores, checking out the model trains at the library, waiting in line for a quick horse-drawn wagon ride, and hearing different groups playing or singing Christmas music.
Donning our Santa hats.
The weather was mild, and the lights and crowds made it festive.
I love this tree that is lit up during the Christmas season, welcoming everyone to Northfield. It sits on top of the old Malt-O-Meal hot cereal plant, near downtown. Photo taken 2021.
Also, last week I took another walk along Central Park in Faribault. It was lined with creative and artsy Christmas trees.
The Christmas trees are decorated by local businesses, then donated to families who might not be able to afford a Christmas tree and decorations this year. For more about this event visit MN Prairie Roots…click here.
The Christmas trees are put on display in Central Park for a few days before they are given away. It’s a fun idea, and a benefit to others.
I especially enjoyed seeing the different tree toppers.
After having spent over three weeks in North Carolina, having a wonderful time with family, we arrived back to Minnesota on Tuesday. In the snowstorm.
We left behind sunny and warm fall weather there.
The temperature was almost 60* the day we left our son’s house in North Carolina.
Cold temperatures along with measurable amounts of snow on the driveway greeted us here, back home in Minnesota…hmmm…it’s a tough reality. We’ll make the transition, but it’s hard.
We did not get 7″ of snow in Northfield like they did at the airport, but there is a significant amount as indicted by the bird feeder and birdbath.
We flew back to Minnesota on Tuesday evening. Our scheduled arrival time was 1:30 pm. Before we left for North Carolina, we had arranged for friends to pick us up. Little did we know it would be in a snowstorm.
They left Northfield early to make sure they got to the airport in time. It took them two hours to drive the normal one-hour drive. It was snowing and windy and not great driving conditions. They arrived in time for the 1:30 arrival time and parked at the cell phone lot. When they left home our flight status had not changed, so they were still expecting us at 1:30 pm.
A nice touch, a piano player serenading people at the Charlotte airport.
In the meantime, we were in the Charlotte airport waiting in the rocking chairs available for passengers, and being serenaded by piano music.
Another nice touch, rocking chairs for waiting.
Our flight left Charlotte on time and we had a smooth ride, but as we got closer to Minneapolis the pilot announced we had been put in a holding pattern while they plowed the one runway that was still open at MSP. Then they closed that runway. So, our plane was diverted to Milwaukee for fuel. Everyone got off the plane in Milwaukee while we waited for updated information. Other flights to MSP flying out of Milwaukee were being canceled. We were concerned ours might be too, and we’d be spending a night at the Milwaukee airport. But finally, they had us reboard the aircraft and we were able to fly into MSP, after they opened the runways again. By now it’s 5:40 pm.
Then, we were stuck in the plane because there wasn’t an available gate agent to open the doors and let us out. That took another half hour. Finally, we were in the airport terminal and we retrieved our luggage. Our dear friends, bless their hearts, waited for us the whole time, in the cell phone lot! That was indeed an act of faithfulness, and we were so grateful!
Snow white all around.
Now, the driveway has been plowed, and the house temperature warmed up and we’re settling in for the next few months of winter. (Maybe a couple get aways to warmer climates will be forthcoming…)
These photos were taken a couple weeks ago, while riding on the Sakatah Singing Hills State trail. It was a cool, fall evening, and surprisingly we had the trail to ourselves.
The trail was canopied with trees that had not dropped all of their colorful leaves, and yet… the asphalt was covered with crispy, autumn leaves, and it was beautiful.
Gary and I rode along this portion of the enchanting path, with the sound of “crunch” underneath us. It was a fun ride!
We called her Auntie Ag. She was my dad’s older sister, Agnes. She was a special aunt…she never married so her nieces and nephews were very important to her, and she treated us well. She pass away in 2004.
I don’t know the date of this photo of Auntie Ag…perhaps she was in her 20’s or 30’s?
Last summer I inherited a couple of her photo albums from the 1930-40’s. I was amazed at what I could glean from perusing the old photos, where few photos had captions, and very few were dated!
I have many good memories of Auntie Ag. I knew her well, particularly in her older years…But when I looked through her photos, I felt I learned a lot more about her as a young woman. I found it interesting that I felt I could capture her essence from the photos. I decided we had a lot of similar traits.
When I found this photo of Auntie Ag, I remembered a dress I wore to a high school winter dance that was similar. I don’t know the date of Ag’s photo. The photo of me was taken in 1969.
I resonated with the photo of my aunt overlooking Lake Superior when she was a young woman. The photo immediately caught my attention when looking through several of her old photo albums.
Auntie Ag on the north shore. Date unknown.
One similarity is our love for Lake Superior and the north shore. It is my happy place. It was fun to see how often the north shore showed up in her photos, and to learn she went there often. I also know that my grandmother, my dad and Agnes’ mother, had a love for the north shore.
Me, on the north shore, 2022.
Another trait I share with Auntie Ag is she liked to travel. She liked to travel a lot; across the country, and to cozy cabins, and to Norway in later years. I like to travel too.
She was an adventurer…There were photos of her on hikes, on bikes, on horseback, on the water, on a toboggan, and fishing…what fun! I, too, am fond of adventure and new experiences.
You could see from the different photos she liked being with friends, and she had a lot of them. She loved hosting them for breakfasts and dinner parties, as do I.
Auntie Ag, all dressed up.
Agnes’ mother, my grandma, was always well-dressed. I think there are stories of grandma having more than one trunk of clothes when she traveled to Norway. I noticed Aggie was always well-dressed in the photos. I know when she was older, her outfits “matched” and she always wore “matching” jewelry. I am not a fashion bug by any means, but do like to dress nice.
Auntie Ag’s nieces and nephews, photo taken in 1971. I am in the front row, in the red dress.
There were hundreds of photos of our families. I know Aggie loved her extended family. She was a believer and prayed for me (and for her nieces and nephews) all her life…and for that, I am grateful. I too, am a believer, and deeply love and pray for my family.
My Grandfather Torkel and Grandmother Elizabeth in the front row. Again, I’m not sure of the year this photo was taken. Elizabeth died in 1962. The siblings in the back row L to R: Herbert (my father), Agnes, Earl, Bob.
A writing assignment was to complete this thought: I have a feeling about my tree…
I like trees. I think most everyone does, but maybe most people don’t think about them much. Even though I really like trees, I can’t identify many of them. Of course, the oaks and maples are easy, but then I struggle.
We planted 17 trees in our yard in Northfield. Many of them almost 28 years ago. Some are getting really big, or scraggly, or both. They do provide a lot of shade. I used to have sun gardens, but now I often need to consider shade plants.
The honey locust tree in our front yard, October 2022.
One tree that we planted 28 years ago, in the front yard, was a honey locust tree. It was maybe 1-2 inches around in diameter…It grew tall, and beautiful, and full, and it became my favorite tree. I can see it outside the window above my kitchen sink.
But I have a feeling about my tree…it’s dying. Last year we had a tree service company come and trim it back. This spring it leafed out and seemed to be doing well during the summer. Now, this fall we noticed more large, dead branches and I have a feeling it won’t live much longer. I won’t give up on it yet. But I will miss it when it’s gone. It is a light and airy tree, with branches that sway in the wind and offers dappled sun light through its small leaves.
The majestic oak tree at Valley Grove Cemetery. I took this photo on September 14, 2018. A tornado felled this tree on September 20…6 days later. Little did I know.
Another tree I loved was the old, oak tree that grew in the Valley Grove cemetery. If it was planted when the first church was built in 1862… it could have been well over 150 years old…some estimate it to be 200+ years old.
Photo of a photo in a pamphlet about the Valley Grove Preservation Society.
It stood tall and mighty, with long, branches spread wide and offering protection over the gravesites. It was special. It was majestic. It fell when the 2018 tornado came through. It was a huge loss.
I went out to see the downed tree on September 25, 2018. Many people mourned this sad event.
While attending the Valley Grove Country Social this fall, I learned someone made crosses from oak branches that are trimmed off other oak trees on the cemetery property. These oak trees are believed to be descendants from the majestic, old, oak tree. The woodworker was an acquaintance of mine, so I decided to contact him.
The 10″ cross made from the old, oak tree.
When I asked him if it was possible to get a cross made from the old oak tree, he told me he and several others checked out the wood from the fallen tree and found the wood to be twisted and not so good, and that there was very little salvaged from it. I said OK, please make me a cross from the other oak wood.
Valley Grove Churches, without the majestic oak tree. Photo taken August 2022.
When he called to let me know the cross was ready to be picked up, he told me he was able to make a cross from the old, oak tree…that he had found enough good scrap wood to make a cross. I was blessed!
Thousands of words, hundreds of pages, years of journaling…up in flames… Intentionally.
A few months ago, a friend and I were talking about what to do with our old, personal journals. I’ve had mine sitting around for a while thinking I’d reread them, but I’ve only glanced at them and reread a few entries. The most interesting was writing out 40 days of prayers during Lent one year.
The content of our journals were our feelings at the time…my journaling was more therapeutic than anything else and so I decided I didn’t feel the need to keep them anymore. The same held true for my friend, so we decided to burn them, together. We would create some sort of ceremony making it an event of some significance.
And so we did.
She came over and we built a fire in the fire pit in our backyard. We said a prayer, and sat around talking about all the memories we accumulated over the years, while throwing our papers into the fire.
One memory that surfaced while we were talking, was from years ago when all our kids were school age (our two families got together often and had many bon fires over the years). We would get together at the end of the school year, build a bon fire, and the kids would throw in their collected school papers from the past year into the fire.
That is what my friend and I did…We threw out all the written pages of our learning over many years, hopefully maintaining wisdom from all the experiences we had.
