Nostalgic Chicken Wings

Once a year my husband goes deer hunting with his dad. They go to Nimrod, Minnesota. When we were all younger my mom would make Curt a pan of lasagna to bring along and about 50 chicken wings. This was to make life easier for them as they went out into the woods to hunt the much wanted game! It is always a great memory for Curt and his dad... eating delicious chicken wings and then heading out into the cold nature, with beauty surrounding them on all sides. Grams probably quit making the wings for him about 5 years ago, it just got to be to much work. This year November, 2010 he decided he would cook up 3 bags of chicken wings for him and his dad, bringing back some nostalgia to the trip. Below you will find grandmas famous recipe for:

CHINESE CHICKEN WINGS

2 pounds chicken wings 3 eggs beaten
1 cup flour (or a little more)

Sauce:

3/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup vinegar 3/4 cup catchup
1 teaspoon Accent 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soy sauce

Divide wings in 3 pieces and discard tips. Sprinkle with garlic salt and let stand 10 minutes. Dip each piece in eggs, then in flour, and brown in 1/3 cup hot oil. Place in baking dish. Heat sauce and pour over wings. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.
Turn wings several times to coat in sweet and sour sauce.

Curt spent over 4 hours whipping these wings together. When he was done he had a more clear understanding of how much love was in those wings All those years of fresh made wings meant a lot more to him now that he had made them himself!

Tears

Sometimes when I pray it hurts inside my heart. I have that tonight as I pray for a family I don't know. They are grieving the loss of their two little boys tonight. If I could help them in anyway I would. But, all I can do is sit in my house and feel the pain of not being able to do anything. As I pray to our Lord to have mercy on our souls and to bring comfort to the broken hearted...tears flow and I remember that Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" Lord, hear our prayers for this family and for all those involved. May your loving arms surround them as they go through this valley of the shadow of death.
And as my heart breaks
I can feel His tears washing over my soul.
Amen

Grandmas Lasagna!

My mom and I have been around the world together. We have been from Spearfish, South Dakota to Hawaii! It seems no matter where we went together it would always be a peace offering if she would make a pan of lasagna for Curt and the kids while we were gone! Curt did go to Hawaii with us, although I think he would have preferred a good ole pan of grandma's lasagna!

LASAGNA

12 oz package of lasagna noodles (about 12) Boil according to directions, drain and toss well with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
Brown 1 1/2 pounds of hamburger with 1 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, drain hamburger.
Add 2 cups (1jar) of spaghetti sauce.
Beat with mixer: 12 oz cottage cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
12 oz or more of mozzarella cheese, shredded
Arrange 1/2 noodles in 9x13 pan.
Cover with 1/2 of meat mixture, 1/3 mozzarella, 1/2 of cottage cheese mixture.
Do this 2x more (only one more for cottage cheese) ending with the hamburger.
Top with mozerella
Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate at least 5 hours or over night.
Bake (covered) at 350 degrees for 1 - 1 1/2 hours
Uncover and bake 10-15 minuets longer
Let set up for awhile, cut and serve.

Serve with garlic bread and a nice lettuce salad
Sit back and enjoy!
Grams and I will bring you pictures of our journey!!

Grandma's Buttered Noodles

As long as I put on grandmas "special" recipe for popcorn...
I am thinking I better put on her "special" recipe for buttered noodles.
When the girls were growing up it was always their favorite thing when grams would cook up some buttered noodles. As they grew up and left home it still remains their favorite! They often call her asking her how does it! She tells them... they make them... and then call her and tell her they don't taste at all like the ones she makes. Sometimes I wonder if they know that when they say that, the next time they come home grams will whip them up a batch of their favorites?
Or, is it that when grandma makes them their is a special kind of love she puts in? A love of a grandma who has always been there, who has done more for her family than anyone could ever ask and done it all with love! Well, I guess we won't ever know unless you try a batch for yourself! I will put the recipe next. If it doesn't turn out call grams to put in some love!

GRANDMAS BUTTERED NOODLES:

Bring a large pot (5 quarts) of water to a rolling boil.
Add 2 teaspoons of salt and a one pound package of noodles (creamettes-please! You can use any shape but for goodness sakes don't buy the cheap noodles!)
Bring water back up to boiling (watch as they will boil over)
Boil for 6 to 7 minuets. (do not over boil - noodles become swollen!)
Drain but leave some of the water on (approx 1/2 - 1 cup) the noodles.
Add butter immediately (1/4 - 1/2 cup butter)
Then add parsley, dill week, or chives. Choose only one. Add enough (approx 2 tablespoons) to add color and taste.!!

Then you say a prayer for each of the people that will be eating your noodles!
You pray that the simple things in life will always be the best. And that somehow through your cooking they will know exactly how much they are loved!

ENJOY!!

Rocking Chairs

I remember when Lacey was a baby how relaxed I was with her. I knew by the time she was born how fast time goes, how quickly they are no longer a baby. I threw out all the baby books telling me what to do. When I brought her home from the hospital, we rocked... and we rocked... and we rocked...
and I just kept right on a rockin' her.
Isn't it any wonder that when she looked into my face her eyes were filled with a love that only a mother can know.
And today I saw those same eyes of love in her baby's eyes, as her momma sat and rocked her... and rocked... and rocked!
Praise the Lord for a baby's love, for a mothers arms, for time, and of course for rocking chairs!

SNIPPETS

Nola Jean is now almost five months old. She is growing and changing every time we see her. The last time they were home we laughed about her liking to eat whenever she wants to... a little "snippet here and a little snippet there". Then Lacey also said that although she has been sleeping for 8-10 hours every night sense she was two months old, now she is waking up during the night for a little "snippet" also. We were laughing quite hard when we came up with this song for our little Nola Jean:

SNIPPETS IN THE MORNING, SNIPPETS IN THE EVENING, SNIPPETS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT
SNIPPET, SNIPPET, SNIPPET,.... SNIPPET WHENEVER YOU LIKE.

This is sang to the tune of: "Sugar in the morning, sugar in the evening, sugar at supper time..."

Nola Jean enjoyed our laughter also... as we sang to her our new song. She has a beautiful smile! And, there is just nothing better than the laughter of a baby.

P.S. We learned the word "SNIPPET" from Lisa Schauer Augulaira, Lisa has written her own dictionary. SNIPPET: To have a little bite to eat!

Laughter

I love this picture, and this blog is written for the sole purpose of being able to use it! It was taken during our crazy hat Christmas party in January of 2010. Tim was laughing over one of the white elephant gifts. I have laughed with Tim, and cried with him... surely he is my friend!

Is there anything more beautiful than to see your friend laugh? When you know the struggles that we have in everyday life, you realize that laughing is the best medicine. Laughter is healing for the soul! Lord, I ask that you will help me to be a friend to others, that I will love my friends at all times. But, especially Lord I ask that I will laugh with those who laugh!

Pumpkin Eater!

Baxter is very talented there is no doubt about it. When he gets a treat he heads right out to hide it. He will hide it where everyone can see it and proudly come back in to the room looking as if he has just accomplished something great. If you put the bone right against the floor boards, it is surely hid from the humans! Baxter is the master of treats, and if he isn't eating overflow from the popcorn pan...
He is eating pumpkins!!

The handsome soldier!

My Aunt Lois is a scrapbooker. She asked for pictures of anyone who served and said she would gather them up and make a scrapbook of the Meyer family. My mom and I went through some pictures trying to find ones that were appropriate for her project. My mom did not know my dad when he served in the Korean Conflict, but we knew there were pictures of him from this time. Is there any man more handsome than in uniform? Yes, there is... my dad in his uniform!! It was in 1954. We found a picture of him standing by a big tanker of some sort. He stood by a short little guy and then by Andi Anderson who would later be in his wedding. Lois made the scrap book and used the pictures that everyone had sent her. She did an excellent job of gathering all the information and putting it together in a beautiful tribute book for all generations of the future. Thank-you Lois Meyer!!

I remember just a little bit about my dad talking of his time in war. He told me that when he went in to the army he weighed 140 and when he came out he weighed 200! He did not fight on the front lines... he was a cook! It was always kind of a joke in the family that the war made a "big man" out of my dad. When he was born he had only weighed 4 pounds. My grandma said that she put him in a shoe box and set him by the oven door to keep him warm. My grandma's sister had told her "I don't know if he has enough weight to make it Vivian". Grandma let the older kids name him and they wanted to call him Dallas William after one of their family friends. So you can see when he became the biggest man in his family - there would be stories to tell! I also know that we have a very large bible with a stand. That bible was sent to my grandma and grandpa Meyer by my dad when he was in Germany. It is now in our family. I think I will put a copy of this in there for future generations!

If I could know what I know now... I would have asked him more questions. I do know that there were very few men who talked about the war and the service that they gave to their country. I wonder what my dad would have said if I would have asked...
"Dad, tell me about the Korean Conflict". I sure wish I would have told him he was a handsome soldier!

Baxter enjoys grandma's special recipie!

Lindsey called up grams to get her "recipe" for popcorn. She didn't want the microwave popcorn, she was hungry for the good old fashioned grandmas specialty popcorn!

Take out the pan
Put in oil to cover the bottom of the pan
Let oil in pan get hot
Add enough popcorn to cover the bottom of the pan
Cover pan and shake it as the kernels get hot and ready to pop
Remove pan from heat from time to time as it is popping and you are shaking... to keep it from burning.

So Lindsey got out the pan, put oil in the bottom and heated the oil, she lovingly added the popcorn to the bottom of the pan. When it started popping
She started shaking the pan..
and soon... the pan was overflowing onto the floor!

Grams forgot to tell Lindsey the last little "hint"... MAKE SURE THE PAN IS AS HIGH AS IT IS WIDE SO THAT THE CORN, DOESN'T OUT POP THE PAN!!!
POPCORN POPPING ALL OVER...
Baxter was in heaven...
Happy that the pan was wider than it was deep
The popcorn popping on to the floor for him to eat!

Pretty momma

Today Emily called and said she was taking a bath when Conner came in to talk with her. She said she could tell right away he was in the mood for some "story telling".
He said "Mom, our other dad was sure a nice guy wasn't he?" Emily asked him "What other dad, we only have one dad?" Conner replied "Well, our other dad was a real nice guy before he died" Emily asked "What was our other dads name?" from this question Emily found out that he was thinking his grandpa Alan Harren was his first dad, that he died and then Chris took over the role of being dad. Emily took some time and tryed to explain to him how the family chain works. He listened intently figuring out in his head that Chris was indeed his only dad - and that at one time this man named Alan was his dads dad. Wow, this little guy is a thinker, trying to get all these details straight in his head. And entertaining his mom at the same time.
After much talking, questions and answers evolving into wonderful stories, Emily's bath water was getting cold. She stood up and said "Can you get me a towel Conner, Mommie is getting cold". Well his eyes about dropped out of his head as she stood up and he said...
"Wow mom you have a wet butt, your butt is pretty wet!! Your butt is pretty pretty mom, oh your butt is pretty big, we are going to need a pretty big towel for your pretty, pretty big, pretty wet butt!!"

If Emily wasn't so cold these stories could have gotten even better...
But instead she took the pretty big towel and wiped her pretty, pretty wet, pretty big butt and put on her pj's.

Good night Conner!
Good night pretty momma!

Half the same!!

When I talked to Emily on the phone she told me that Conner was playing with the calculator. A little boy who likes to read phone books and play with calculators...what fun! Emily told me that he wanted to punch in the numbers of each of their ages.
Daddy - 3 and 5
JaciAnna - 6
Conner -3
Mommy -3 and 0
Well, this caused him to think. If his number was 3 and him mommas was 30, they must be pretty close in age! So he asked his momma about it.
"Mom you and I have close numbers are we close in age?"
"No Conner, I am 30, you are 3. That makes 27 years in between us. I was 27 when I gave birth to you!"
He thought about the facts before him and came up with a big smile...
"Well, we are half the same!"
Imagine the excitement in a little guys mind when he finds this out! When you see those numbers before you on a calculator and realize that yes, you are 3 and your mom is 30 so you are "half the same!"

The endless buffet!

If you see my blog from April called "Oriental Buffets", you will understand that I have an obsession for them! Isn't it fitting that Carol would agree that our first meal in Winona could indeed be Oriental! We first had Rhoda take us to this little place that was a sit down and order Oriental. The people were so cute and we would have been the first customers... however, I just couldn't do it. I need to see it all sitting out there and come to my own conclusions on what I will eat. I make that conclusion by seeing... not by reading Chinese. So sure enough, we headed out and Rhoda showed us the "New Moon Buffet" just around the corner.

We sat down and they had a wonderful selection of food. Four or more long tables of whatever you could want! Filling up our plates we sat and enjoyed our food around 4:50 pm. By the time we were done the place was really filling up with people - all of them looking as though they enjoyed the Buffets as much as I do.

Upon finishing up I headed toward the bathroom in the back of the building. When I came out and headed to our table past the buffet... I was momentarily taken aback when I saw eight or more long tables! What the heck? Had we gotten here to early for supper and they were saving the rest of the tables of food to set out at 5:00pm?

Suddenly I started laughing (at my self) as I noted it was a wall full of mirrors making it appear as if the buffet was endless...

So, we took a picture, grabbed a bottle of water at $1.50 and left for our motel!

Legends in the Fall

We had decided on our venture that no one would believe we were really 50 - we surely don't look as old as the other 50 year olds we know. What other reason could we have for our little mini-trip? After some careful thought, we were sure we had heard a report about Brad Pitt being in Winona. Something about looking for legends in the fall? We figured it was still fall, Brad could very well still be in the area. As we were driving the streets of Winona with Rhoda we decided to punch in "I90 Brad Pitt". This way not only would we be celebrating 50 years here on this beautiful earth but looking for Brad Pitt. Surely they would believe this! And, can you imagine our excitement when we stopped at one of our little shops on 3rd Avenue and did indeed find Brad? He was working behind the counter when we ordered our Veggie Pinini! We snapped his picture while he was working...left the coffee shop just in time to hear Rhoda scream "make a u turn! you have reached your destination!"

Rhoda goes to Pickwick!

When we ventured to "PickWick" we went up a windy hill west of the "Lavender". It was just a few miles and soon we found ourselves in the middle of a site seers paradise! There was this big ole beautiful brick building approximately 5 stories high. It was set right on the bottom of a bluff with lots of trees. A small river ran behind it and a damn was built in front of it. You could just feel the history behind this old flour mill, almost as if you could see the people working and watch them walk home to the houses that were set just across the road. A young lady came out from one of the houses, we thought maybe she would take a picture of us? But, after we saw her rush to the car we didn't dare ask - so we just mixed a little technology with this old scene and took a picture of ourselves in Carols camera.
...and when we hoped back in the jeep Rhoda was still crowing about I90

Rhoda gets upset...

After our ventures in Winona we started home on beautiful Saturday morning about 10:00. First we were going to hit the "Lavender Shoppe" which was a craft shop in a little town called Pickwick and in a building that used to be a little white church. They were having their open house about 8 miles south of Winona. (We had stopped here on our way to LaCrosse yesterday but they weren't open as they were getting ready for the big open house). When we stopped there were approx 75 cars and 150 anxious people standing in line waiting to make their way in. Because we got a front row spot we decided to go in. You couldn't get ten feet past the door so we went up into the balcony. We had to refrain from breaking out into singing a glorious church hymn for all the ladies below. Looking down over the crowd we decided it would not be an enjoyable time to go down and push our way through the frenzy of shoppers. Down the stairs we went and exited the Lavender Shoppe without a single purchase.

We made a U turn on 14 and headed back to Winona, wanting to swing by "The Place of Grace" to pick up a little table and stool that Carol thought she could fix up for Mirandas new house. When we arrived we realized that the store didn't open for another 20 minutes. Since our time was so valuable we decided not to sit idle but to move onto the next store without having made a single purchase. Strike two!

We then headed to the "Sugar Bush Antiques" where Carol picked herself up a little antique table that was a steal at $45.00 - even if no one wants or needs it we didn't care as it was a great table for a great price! Carol carefully brought it down two flights of steps and we loaded that puppy up in the back seat of the small Jeep. The nice thing about this purchase was that even though it took up a little room, she put it up side down and there would be a lot of other purchases that would fit in between the legs!


Then we headed towards 14 to go North towards home - making plans on just stopping where ever we wanted to on our way home. Well Rhoda (Carols, GPS - pronounced Road-duh) did not like this one bit -she wanted us to head to I-90 and she wanted it bad -she kept telling us to "make a U turn" and to "proceed to the nearest road!" etc... Carol was having a hard time believing me over Rhoda - but soon she relaxed and realized we were going the path we needed to!

We found this great little flower shop on the side of the road called Lewiston Bouquet - we had passed it but turned around - as hey, that is what we said we were going to do is stop where ever we wanted! This little flower shop was a great building that had been an old gas station. The cute little lady who was about 55 going on 16 had a lot of flower things, and then some crafts that her husband had helped her make out of antiques. Her register counter was a great big old beveled out door. She had the door painted an old looking white and then had put pictures in the bevels, put a piece of glass over the top of it all and added four cut down porch posts for legs!! It was a great piece of original furniture that is for sure! In the bathroom we noticed on the wall an old wash stand towel hanger - they had taken the whole piece and added a shelf - white washed, put some vines and a shelf on it and hung it on the wall! It was adorable and it was a hefty $69.00. We walked around a bit and spotted this great piece on the floor that had also been made into a shelf - we asked about it as we had never seen anything like it and figured surely it wasn't for sale. Well, the proprietor's husband had told her that EVERYTHING in the shop is for sale if someone wants to buy it!! She told us the history behind the shelf. Although she rarely missed church, one Sunday when Oronoco had their junk sale, she went against her usual routine and decided God wanted her to head to the junk sale instead. So off she went to Oronoco and it was there she found this old Victorian balcony from a theater or opera house. She had bought it and had her husband make it into a little shelf so it would be useful and indeed it was for sale!!! Well, Carol knew just the room that would be perfect for this little treasure. We left Lewiston with the purchase of an old Victorian balcony!!!

On down the road we ventured as we now had a little map with 5 more places that were having open houses for "hunting widows weekend". We took a left and drove through town and the place we wanted was to be about 2 miles south of town. On our way out there we saw that someone had dropped a whole load of hay - we were laughing quite hard and on our way back to town we would be stopping there and getting our picture on the side of the road with the hay... how else would anyone believe it?? We drove in and found the "hunters widows haven", we got out of the Jeep and there to the left of us were two big buffalo... well, who would believe this if we didn't get a picture. Carol gets out her camera and I go to take a look at the Buffalo's ... all of a sudden the tail goes straight up in the air (I look at Carol confused and laughing) - and before our eyes this buffalo starts taking a buffalo sized dump!!!! We didn't know if he would ever get done! Laughing as hard as humanly possible we start singing some of the buffalo songs - buffalo girls won't you get out tonight and to the tune of You Can't Rollerskate in a Buffalo Herd we sang "Have You Ever Seen a Buffalo Spit" (word changed as to not offend any blog readers) We shopped quickly and left with no purchases - as we left the driveway we saw a tractor coming past us with a load of hay in the bucket! We were laughing... I guess there will be no picture with the hay pile on the side of the road - unless the guy lets us sit in the bucket and takes a picture of us both?! We couldn't do it to Rhoda as she was heading us toward I90 yet and this would really confuse her if we started chasing tractor buckets with hay in them all over the country!!! So we ventured North on our Highway 14 with Rhoda screaming in the back ground "make a U turn, in 1.2 miles make a U turn"!! We stopped at all the shops in town, there were crafts and old things galore! A buyers metropolis - but we did good.

We left Deb's uniques, and Al's Mantiques with a few finds. A set of candle holders for Mirandas wall, a crocheted table cloth for me to put in the drawer (but, hey, it was only $3.00!), and the find of Deb and Al's was some old "peacock" jewelery to go with my new peacock shirt from Carol, my peacock feathers and my hat!

In another shop that was in a house, we bought some wonderful dip mixes that we munched on in the back room, laughing about not needing to eat, and glad no one was there to see or hear us! We left this town with plenty of little purchases that fit nicely in between the tables and old Victorian balconies that were already purchased and paid for. We hit each shop - looking and buying a few little things, a crocheted hat for Nola - some candles for all of us - a little of this and a little of that - and a bag of chewy orange pumpkins.


Back onto 14 North we went, following the signs for Waseca as we had another shop to stop at there. It is a big old dairy barn that was lovingly turned into a "shop and party place". It is only open a couple of times during the year, so we were happy when we got there and it was open! I of course found one of the chairs that I love! It was only $14.00 - bought and paid for, BUT - it wouldn't fit in the Jeep! So... we bought it anyway and layed away until I could again get to Waseca! WE stopped at another antique shop right on the edge of town and that was a doozy also. It is just to bad that Carol and I don't have more places to decorate - as we sure are good at finding STUFF!!!


WOW! what a frenzy of shopping we had! Sitting back and starting to relax we head towards New Ulm still on 14 North. Poor Rhoda has finally calmed down and got us on the right road!

Thank-God for Rhoda and for Buffalo girls...

A Roman Art Collection

Our first morning in Winona Carol and I decided to go up and have a peaceful continental breakfast before starting out a day of shopping. The breakfast was on the second floor and we were some of the first ones there. When we sat down about 25 more people came up to get their day started right! We were sitting at a table for four and a man (whom we guessed to be the girls volley ball coach) - sat down his coffee and napkin and asked if he minded if he would sit with us. Well we couldn't very well say no as he had already made himself at home. He started out the conversation asking us what we did. Carol told him she worked for the NewUlm Diocese and he said "well, you work for the biggest cult in the United States!" Carol said "come on now... it seems every where I go lately I have to defend my church" - He said "well it's not the people it is the church, did you know they are the richest organization around? They own the biggest art collection in the world - it is in Rome."
...yes, this is how our conversation started! Little did we know that by the time we got done with our "peaceful continental breakfast" we would know...
...That our new friend indeed had a lot of Catholic friends - hey, they are good people with blinders on!
...That his favorite minister in the whole world left Spicer and was picked up later for molesting little boys.
...That basically he is rich and sold a $300,000 dollar house to a Dr. - with a full, beautiful horse barn that the Doc changed into a shed.
...That he and his wife are now leasing a place with option to buy - the way to buy real estate is LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION! Oh yes, things are selling in this economy... you just have to have property in the right LOCATION!
...That kids should NOT be insured under our insurance until they are 25 - it is a big joke - our kids need to get jobs and insure themselves. Oh yes, there is jobs out there and a lot of them!
...That his daughter carries a black berry and so does he, he lets her know what kind of add he needs - she writes it up, draws it and gets it sent back to him in less than 2 hours, where as the other artists that he used to employee would take more like 2 days.
...That his son is now done with college and needs to find a job and get the heck off his parents insurance for goodness sakes.
...That he woke up one morning and said "honey, we are selling the bar and grill - you are going to find a job and I am going to find something to do with my education, we will sell the house and downscale."
...That there is a big difference between a CROSS and a T, and for $5,000 dollars he can have the T turned into a CROSS and he will throw in the first $1,000.
...That where Carol and I are working (non-profit organizations) are the down fall of the American Economy.
...That teachers get paid way to much money for only having to work 6 months out of the year (?)
...That all Miranda has to do is spend $500.00 get some brochures made up of her art work, showing what she can and will do, get some business cards made up and deliver them to 200 people. Then if she hasn't heard from them she should give call backs. She should charge $35.oo an hour and have a disclaimer on the bottom about how many redoes she will do for the quote she gives them.
...That his son's college professor had no idea how to start a bar and grill and his son had all the information on how to successfully start one.
...That college professors are the highest paid bums in the world.
...That America is still the greatest place to live in all of the world!
and if it wasn't so late - I am sure we could have learned more about this wonderful land we live on...
But, it is time for him to go out and catch a few rays as he goes to his associates and sells them a line (or two!)
"Carol, you and I need to find something to laugh about - I think I am depressed!"
and Carol said " I think next year on our vacation we will go to Rome and see the art collection!"

Those who have glass doors should not drink bloody marys!!

So we decided to go down to the "bar", Carol and I... to have a bite to eat and a bloody mary. We had no idea that we would encounter a Californian bar tender whose signature drink was indeed... a bloody mary! He made this drink in front of us with great skill in his mind, transferring to his hands as he whipped together a concoction of tomato juice, vodka, A1 sauce, horseradish, celery salt and a pickle on the top. We enjoyed our "spicy bloody mary" - looking through the door to the pool. The door looked directly into the hot tub - this was to be our next venture... why in the world would an architect design a pool and a bar with a glass door in between them? As we are talking to each other we also find out that the guys next to us are electricians for Protech - here on business, teaching others how to take care of electrical shortages when they occur.
...we are trying to be really good listeners and yet the whole time we are trying to conceive in our minds who was this person whom designed this place? What in the world was he thinking? Did he indeed have a plan in mind and then meet up with the California bar tender and forget what in the heck he was doing?
...grammie pammie has been looking forward to the hot tub sense her new knee surgery, is she going to let it bother her that everyone at the bar will have a look at everything she presents including her new knee? Will she dare to venture into the bubbly hot tub to relax when she can see from this side of the door, all the way to the bottom of that hot tub? Picturing what she will look like to those on this side of the door...
...we continue to listen to the electrician tell us about his life on the road as he pours down a few more beers and it is harder for him to keep his eyes open.., by now Carol has decided she is not going to go into the tub - but, she will go with me and relax with her computer
They are going to brave it, Grammie slips off her triple X flannel shirt and quickly hops into the tub. As Carol sets up office - Grammie leans back and lets the hot water jets spray onto the muscles that surround her new knee. The joys of life are there for us, hot water, computers... we have forgotten about the other side of the door.
...we have forgotten about electricians with jobs and California bar tenders
...we have lost ourselves into the world of relaxation
...my 30 minuets are up - out I go - slip on the triple X shirt and some sweats and suddenly in walks about 15 people - wowser, fully dressed - sitting with Carol we start to laugh... thinking how we pulled the wool over their eyes... they'd never even guess I had been in that hot tub. They would just think we had been there talking and laughing with our friends on face book...
...unless of course they were having a signature bloody mary before they came in!!

Old Man River

On Saturday November 5th, 2010 Carol and I were on our 50th birthday trip. We went down to Winona, Minnesota. Our first full day there we went shopping for some things we needed. Carol needed yellow material. There was no Michael's or JoAnn's to be found on the GPS for Winona area... but hey, there was a CINDERELLA craft supply shop. When we found the only purple building on Mankato street we knew we were there! We walked in and could smell the faint smell of a cow barn? Everything you would have ever needed was there (except of course the color of yellow that Carol was looking for). We did meet up with the lady who owned the shop. She has lived in Winona for 50 years and has owned the "CINDERELLA" for 25 years. She said it is more of a hobby now -giving her something to do. WEll, if you could have seen her sweet face and heard her voice you would have found a few things to buy quick also. We couldn't walk out of there with out dropping a little cash on her hobby farm! So, we made a purchase and headed to downtown Winona. While shopping downtown Winona we found a little flower shop called Nola's. We stopped outside and took a picture of her sign and then went in to see the shop and meet Ms. Nola! She was a friendly lady telling me all about her name. Her mom is 91 years old and still as smart as a tack. She named her 4 daughters all names that went together: Nola Faye, Debrah Kay (I can't remember the rest I need to contact her so I can get them down as it was so clever!). She said she also had a mean brother named Charles Noel. As we were talking with her we told her what we were doing and she said "Oh! you girls need to go over to Lacrosse, I call it my little LA!, it is only about 30 miles down the road and then you cross the bridge and all the wonderful shops are right there!" ......Well, Carol and I could not miss out on this! If Nola Faye thought it was something we needed to do - we were going to do it!!! ......On our way to Lacrosse Wisconsin... we discovered a bridge - surely that couldn't be the bridge she was talking about... we couldn't go over that! It was about 17 miles long and hanging straight over the Mighty Mississippi River!
River (what in the world was holding all those miles of bridge up?) ......The bridge we saw was to our LEFT, we drove ahead a little and saw another smaller bridge - hey, maybe we could handle that one... but, what if there was more? We pulled into a gas station to our RIGHT to go in and ask ... "if we want to get Lacrosse, Wisconsin do we need to cross over a bridge?"
..."Yes, there is one bridge (she pointed to the small bridge going over a small body of water) and then you will go over another bridge and there it is." ......oh, that simple ?? "Is it the same size as the "blue bridge" we saw a ways back?"
..."Yes, it goes over the same river, it is the same size." ......"well, I don't think we want to risk our lives just to say we went to Lacrosse, Wisconsin!"
..."It's a new bridge, I don't think you would be "risking your life!" ......"well, you see my friend is driving and when she looks over the edges into that mighty Mississippi from over here she looses her scruples, her legs paralyze, and she has a hot flash..."
..."It used to be a metal bridge with grates all across it and when I was a little girl driving over that bridge with my parents I was scared, but I really think you will be fine." Smiling she tells me this, getting her money from the ATM machine.
......I go out to the jeep - tell Carol what I have found out.
We make a big turn and head back to Winona, Minnesota.
With the mighty Mississippi to our RIGHT ...and the gas station in our rear view mirror, ......singing "Old man river, that ole man river, we just keep rolling, we keep on rolling along."

Dreamin'... another story!

Conner was talking with his momma. He asked her when he would be "older again". She told him that he wouldn't have another birthday for about a year and then he would be four. Looking not the happiest he then asked his momma when he would be "older". She asked "how old do you want to be?" after thinking for a bit...
"I would like to be 16 and if I can't be 16 then 15"
Momma said "why do you want to be 15?"
and in his 3 year old almost 15 year old voice he answered...
"I would like to be bigger and older than Jaci Anna!"
Well, what can a momma say?
...she held him and smiled and just let him keep right on a dreamin' about someday being bigger and older than his sister.

MALASKA a laughing story!

When Conner D was last at our house he was reading the phone book... then he found a National Geographic. He sat on my lap and we looked at all the beautiful pictures together. He became quite fascinated with an article about the polar bears in Alaska. As we were looking at the pictures I told Conner a wonderful story about the polar bears.
...Conner D left Foley and went to Alaska to search for polar bears. While he was searching he found him self a wife and her name was Elizabeth. Together they searched, and took pictures of all the different bears they found in the cold land of Alaska. They had two children. A little boy named Oscar and a little girl named Olivia. Together they were a family looking for polar bears. One day Conner D. decided he missed his family in Foley - especially his big sister JaciAnna who was still older than him...(this is another story!). So back to Foley he went, taking his beautiful wife and children with him. They brought two polar bears back to Minnesota with them, their names were Lilly and Paco. Soon they found Foley to be to small for their big bears so they moved them to their own home in St. Paul at the Minnesota Zoo.
...as I was telling this sweet little boy on my lap the story, I would change my voice and start laughing... trying to make the story more fun. He would then put his hand to his mouth and laugh also - he was enjoying the fun that I was having in telling him this great fabricated story!
...when the story was done
...Conner D looked at me with the sweetest smile and said...
"GRANDMA, YOU'RE WEIRD!"
We laughed so hard!
Then two weeks later Conner called me and he still remembered the story of the polar bears in Alaska. He was telling me that he and his daddy were singing "North to MALASKA!" as he told me he was laughing. He also told me that his daddy made PASGETTI and round meatballs for supper... and he laughed some more.
I laughed and laughed and on the other end of the phone I could hear my little boy
enjoying my fun!!
P.S. - When God hears His children laugh... He smiles!

Harvest fest

And so I was thinking... I know, it is scary - but my mind gets to wondering as I try to figure out how things happened the way they did. ...It brings me to Halloween - which is the day before "All Saints day". It was a pagan day in which they would carve out pumpkins in scary faces and light them to keep away the evil spirits. All kinds of weird things... ghosts and goblins, witches and vampires... then there came the "tricks and treats" part - where in the world that came in I don't know. Now all of a sudden it is a big day for retailers. It is a bigger day than valentines day or Christmas as far as candy sales go. They sell lights, decorations, costumes, candy, whatever you would want you can get starting in August.
... I love the idea of kids dressing up, really, anyone getting to dress up for that matter. Be someone they want to be for a day. So why can't we just change this whole day? Lets set the rules ourselves and not let the retailers tell us what to do!
... My vote:
...September 30th, from 5:00 - 9:00
...Everyone dress up as they want to and walk the streets, knocking on peoples doors - say "hello, I am _______ and I would like a treat! Thanks!
...Start decorating the week before, carving pumpkins, setting out gourds putting up lights what ever you want... it is our day now - not the retailers! Put out some hay bales and a couple of corn shocks, a scarecrow or two. Leave it up as long as you want to - fall is a long season not just a day like halloween.
...lets just say for one year just to do fun things... no ghosts and goblins, devils or vampires. But, dress up as whoever or whatever you want, so no one knows you!
Okay - I am starting to feel better now...
Just knowing that the choice is really ours to do with it as we want to...
...Wont the retailers be surprised when all of their lights sell, all of their candy, their fall decorations etc... every last one will be gone...
- - but, there on the shelf will set all of the "scary" stuff - as we have decided to take halloween and change the whole darn thing! We will be all done celebrating the harvest by the time you realize what is going on Mr. Walmart, Ms. Target. WE are having fun -hope you will get on board next year!!
P.S. If you have any skeletons for our little ones - we are NOT buying them - send them to china or where ever they came from and pack up the bottled water too!
Thank-you!
Sincerely,
The Harvest fest steering committee.