Surprises – Valerie's Voice

Square Dancers

My childhood friend, Diane, called me a couple weeks ago, to wish me a happy birthday. We have exchanged the same birthday card since 1979. It has become a treasure. Diane called to say I would be getting the birthday card late this year, because she was “snow birding” in Florida and forgot to bring the card along to send to me from there.

It was fun to chat with her awhile, and catch up on our kids. She told me this story.

In 1953, my father built this house that I grew up in.

When Diane’s mother passed away, several years after her father died, Diane’s son bought his grandparent’s house. So, he now lives in the house where Diane grew up, and across the street from the house where I grew up, in Northeast Minneapolis. It’s wonderful to know the house is still in her family. Her parents built their house in the early 1950’s, as did mine.

A special wall painting discovered under the paneling.

Diane told me her son has done a lot of updating and remodeling of the McKinley Street house, and currently he’s working in the basement. He began tearing the old paneling off the walls. Underneath he found the typical cement blocks, but also a surprise.

Taking care to preserve this special painting.

Back in the late 50’s, Diane’s father painted two life-size square dancers on the cement block wall. I had forgotten about them, but remembered them as soon as Diane mentioned it. A few years later, when her dad finished off their basement, he covered up the square dancers with paneling. Diane recalls that when her dad covered up the painting with paneling…he said, “it will be interesting for someone to discover these dancers someday.”

A moisture control was brushed over the wall painting, to help persevere the painting.

As Diane’s son was tearing down the paneling, lo and behold, he exposed the painting of the square dancers.

Little did Diane’s father know at the time, it would be his own grandson who would discover his special treasure on the wall, under the paneling!

A Letter

I was unloading groceries the other day, when my husband brought in the mail. With a quick glance I noticed a gold envelope which was set apart from any bills and advertising, so I took a closer look. Sure enough, it was a hand-written letter from an old friend. I stopped what I was doing and opened the envelope and began reading…it was so fun to receive. Forget the groceries, this was much more important.

I’m not too surprised at my reaction. I don’t get many letters these days and it sure was a fun surprise. She told news of her family, and gave a response to a story I had written. She also included a poem and a haiku… It was great to hear from her.

Getting what has become known as “snail mail” these days is unusual, but a delightful and welcomed gift…if anyone is so inspired…it can make someone’s day.

An Unexpected Gift

I was the benefactor of an unexpected gift recently. I can’t remember the last time I received an unanticipated gift. A gift, intended only for me…for no reason…no special occasion. A friend just thought of me when she saw the gift, bought it and wrapped in up in a “brown paper package tied up with string”.

A beautiful surprise: a brown paper package tied up with string…

Wonder, why, love…were the thoughts and questions I asked myself as I read the sticker on the paper with the string forming a frame around the words, “Thanks for being you.” I was deeply touched.

I carefully untied the string and removed the brown paper. It was a small, vintage book titled, One year of haiku. What a thoughtful gift. I like books, especially old ones. I write haikus, and like to read haikus written by others. The gift inspires me…not only to write haikus, but to pay it forward.

Thank you, friend.

And so, I wrote a haiku:

Given from the heart
Unexpected gift tag read
Thanks for being you.

England, Part II

About that special birthday trip…

I mentioned the special trip my son gave me as a birthday gift one year, before either of my sons were married. It was a significant birthday and my oldest son said he’d like to take me to London. I had been there once before, when we visited him after his semester studying at Oxford University. I enjoyed London a lot and was excited to be going back. This was a wonderful, thoughtful gift. What I didn’t know is I was in for another amazing gift, and a great big surprise while in London.

An enchanting evening…the London Eye under the full moon, a photo from a page in my album.

Michael and I had spent a lovely, long day in Oxford the day before so we were having a leisurely breakfast the next morning. It was a traditional English breakfast, buffet style, at our hotel. After our first trip to the breakfast bar my son said he wanted another bowl of muesli and I got another cup of coffee. A while later he said he wanted a third bowl of muesli so I had another cup of coffee.

Little did I know he was stalling….and during that third bowl of muesli in comes my younger son. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Tim was living in Mozambique, Africa at the time and in he walks, up to our breakfast table in the London hotel, to surprise me… and I was 100% totally surprised!!! What a moment. I started to cry and then laugh and then excitedly I settled down to visit (my husband had known all about this rendezvous and managed to keep their secret).

My two sons and I spent a few more days together in London and some very special memories were made for this mom, that I will never forget and always treasure. My heart was full.

A Second Look

We were blessed to have an opportunity to travel to the north shore a second time this fall, within two weeks of our first trip up to Lake Superior.

Yellow Birch and Aspens contrast with the dark evergreen trees that line the shores of Lake Superior and Highway 61.

The first week up on the north shore we had a great time with family and saw abundant fall colors. Our second trip to the north shore we enjoyed showing off one of our favorite places to our visiting friends from New Hampshire.

The forecast was dismal…rain was predicted for every day we were to be up north. And, on our first day – the drive up – it was misty rain all day.

The beauituful, brick Split Rock Lighthouse.

The Fog Signal Building next to the lighthouse.

But, even so, we stopped at the New Scenic Café for a delicious lunch, and then toured the impressive, historic, and iconic Split Rock Lighthouse, which opened in 1910 and was deactivated in 1969.

Looking out over Lake Superior from the platform of the lighthouse…where is the lake?

The spiral staircase in the Split Rock Lighthouse.

Looking out over the railing we could not see the big lake. It was fogged in and clouded over, but inside we climbed up the spiral staircase to the top to see the special lens. Click here to read more on this fascinating lens.

The special lens in the lighthouse, only used for special occasions now.

We also toured one of the lightkeeper houses. An antique oven was lit while bread dough was rising so it was very cozy in the house as we warmed up in the kitchen on a cold blistery day.

A docent showing off the antique oven in the light keeper’s house.

Even in the rain we stopped a few more places along the way to Tofte, where our friends had rented a condo.

A different view than I normally see of a Lake Superior sunrise.

Much to our surprise we saw the sun rise over Lake Superior the next two mornings. What a treat – what a delight! We were grateful!

For two days it did not rain, and was partly sunny…to mostly sunny.

We took a another look on Oberg Mountain by hiking the trail for a second time in two weeks. The colors were fuller and even more vibrant than on our first hike two weeks prior.

It’s hard to capture the yellow trees closer to the lake which turn color later than the inland trees. Lake Superior is in right hand corner.

We meandered a long time at the top of Oberg, to enjoy God’s spectacular creation and amazing colors.

We showed our friends a taste of the wonderful north shore: Temperance River, Grand Marais, Naniboujou Lodge, and we spent time on the rocks, had a bonfire, and drove one of the fall color tours on the back roads.

The Grand Marais breakwaters, backlit with sunshine clearing from the west.

It brought us much joy to show off the beauty of Lake Superior. Time went by too quickly.

Early in the morning, on the last day, our friends headed north – they were driving back home through Canada. We headed south – back to Northfield, once again basking in the glory of the north shore and grateful for a second look at it this year

First Ride of the Season

Last Friday, temperatures were in the 50’s and the sun was shining bright and it felt like spring had finally sprung. I went on my first bike ride of the season around our “country block” which is 9.3 miles. We start at our house and ride north, then east, then south, then west back home…we are out of town within a mile so we are mostly riding in the country, on paved roads. It felt wonderful.

The name of the bike is Verve, made by Trek.

The best part of this first ride of the season…I was on my new electric bike! I was surprised on my birthday when I unwrapped a box with a picture of this bike I’ve wanted for a season or two. We picked it up in town on Friday. The bike is a beautiful coral color. I’m excited and I look forward to this biking season. Thank you Gary.

Cows

I have always loved the beauty and tranquility of seeing cows grazing in a field. Although I was born and raised in the city, I have always loved the country. But the only cows I knew about growing up were the black and white Holsteins. My husband however, grew up on a dairy farm in Pennsylvania. They milked Holstein cows, but he also knew about the other types dairy cows such as Brown Swiss, Guernsey, Jersey and Ayrshire. He was not aware of the kind I saw the other day.

I was traveling on a country road familiar to me, and although I do not travel it on a regular basis, I travel it often enough to be surprised at seeing these cows for the first time. I caught a glimpse of black and white cows. I assumed they were Holsteins, but as I got closer I noticed they all had the same markings. Unlike Holsteins that are black and have splotches of white in various places all over their bodies, these cows were black with a wide, white band around their midsection. Everyone one of the them. All 20-30 of them in the field looked identical. I took a double take, then stopped to take a picture of these unusual cows.

I checked Google…they are either Belted Galloway or Dutch Belted cows. Both breeds have similar patterns. The Belted Galloway comes from Scotland, also nick-named “Oreo cows”. They are primarily raised for their quality marbled-beef. The Belted Galloway survive well in much colder weather but their coat is longer and thicker. The cows we saw in the pasture had short hair, but maybe because we’re coming off summer – it may grow longer and thicker as winter settles in.

A second breed with the same markings is the Dutch Belted cow, from the Netherlands. They are raised primarily for dairy. In the Netherlands, the cows are know as Lakevelder, a term that means a sheet or blanket around the body.

Here are links to the two different breeds:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakenvelder_cattle

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belted_Galloway

When comparing pictures off the internet I believe the cows I saw were Dutch Belted, but I am not positive.

It was a fun discovery. They were a beautiful sight. I had never seen this kind of cow before. I will start asking around to see if others have.

It Doesn’t Get Easier

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.

Delaware

Our planned route for our road trip to the East coast took us close to Delaware. I have never been to Delaware so I thought it would be a good idea to drive through the state and add it to my list of states I’ve been in. When I mentioned this idea to our host the morning we were leaving Washington D.C. heading to Pennsylvania, he suggested we go to the Hagley Museum in Wilmington, Delaware. So we did.

The Hagley Museum is along the banks of the Brandywine River and is the site of the gunpowder works founded by E.I. du Pont in 1802. The du Pont company became the largest American manufacturer of black powder.

A side view of the Visitor’s Center and museum.

The Visitor’s Center and museum, in a beautiful brick building, includes three floors of exhibits.

More beautiful and interesting brick building walls.

Outside the museum, there are 235 acres with historic buildings to explore, and tour different parts of the gun powder operation, including the the Powder Yard with live demonstrations.

One of many buildings along the Brandywine River used to manufacture gun powder.

A demonstration of gun powder being ignited.

You can walk up to Worker’s Hill where the worker’s lived on site, and tour Eleutherian Mills, which was the first du Pont family home.

The du Pont’s first family home. – both ends have been added on since the original was built.

I especially like touring older homes…like the Rockefeller’s in Williamsburg, and now the du Pont home in Wilmington. This was du Pont’s first home in America (they immigrated to America from France)…a few miles away is Winterthur, another du Pont home where the family lived, with 175 rooms. It is now open to the public but we didn’t have time to go see it. (Maybe another trip to Delaware – who knew there were such interesting places to visit in Delaware?)

I liked this wrought iron bench painted turquoise, and the yellow pansies and the lamppost at the entrance to the house.

The du Pont company went on to become the country’s largest chemical firm. The exhibits in the museum showed many examples of their inventions: nylon (including nylon stockings), Teflon, Kevlar to name a (very) few but there are so many more.

We enjoyed this museum a lot and I said to Gary, “It’s interesting that this morning we never even heard of this place and now, here we are this afternoon, touring it and enjoying it.”

O, the joys of travel.

Springtime

Spring is finally here and so begins the yard work. For the most part, working in the yard and digging in the dirt is fun for me…but spring clean up is a lot of work. We decided to do some trimming over the weekend.

We started with a tree in our front yard. Gary climbed the ladder to cut off a branch and noticed, there in the crook of the tree, my “missing” fairy. We surmised a squirrel grabbed the fairy from it’s secret place in my garden two years ago. The squirrel must have decided it wasn’t food after all, so he left it sitting up properly in the crook of a tree, watching over us all that time. It was a fun surprise to find this fairy-angel in the tree after two winters.

Although this is not the exact spot Gary found the fairy, it was sitting upright and up high in a crook of this tree.

Next, in our back yard there is a honeysuckle vine climbing a trellis on the deck and it was getting out of control, as honeysuckle vines tend to do. So this year we decided to trim it way back. We revved up the electric trimmers and started cutting back the vine when Gary spotted a bird’s nest with eggs in it. Hmmm…we had already started trimming so we decided to quickly finish and then get out of there with hopes that the mama bird would come back to the nest and tend to her eggs.

The mama mourning dove returned to her nest to protect her eggs.

Fortunately the mourning dove is back and sitting on her eggs in the nest. It will be fun to watch them hatch right outside our window.

I noticed the lone daffodil blooming on the side of our house. There are several daffodil bulbs planted there but they didn’t seem to make it through that last winter blizzard. Even so, the one bright, yellow flower is perky and brings joy.

April showers bring May flowers, but not April snow blizzards.

It is always a delight to discover fun surprises in nature. Some are so obvious and some so hidden. I am reminded to keep my eyes open for there is so much to see.