My Favorite Photos - May 2023

 This month I didn't take nearly as many photos as I have in past months. It's felt like I've been working a lot and have little time to take photos of things beside work (with the exception of Sophia's graduation from college). 

The month of May started out with an event I coordinated at the museum - the season's open house. There were lots of hands-on activities - some old favorites (like "milking" a cow) and many new ones.

The museum partnered with the Living History Society of Minnesota. There were about a half dozen volunteers who dressed in outfits typical of the late-1800s. The women sew all the clothing they wear which is very impressive!

After the open house, there was a 51st birthday party for the museum. My sister and nephew were there. A friend who I've known for many years also showed up and we all had a nice conversation that evening.

The following week, I was assigned to go on a field trip to the Minnesota Zoo because there was a student who has a track record of just getting up and leaving when he no longer wants to listen or be a part of the activity. He and I get along well, so we go to spend the day together. I brought my camera and let him use it. He had never held or used a camera before. 

Within a half hour of being at the zoo, another student who I enjoy working with asked if he could be chaperoned by me. The teacher gave her permission, so the two sixth-grade boys and I spent the day together. Between the two of them, they took over 400 photos. 

We enjoyed exploring the zoo together at our own pace and having lunch together. It was starting to sink in that we only had a few more weeks together before summer break and of them both going to middle school next year. 

One of the things that saddened me was the snow monkey who somehow found a piece of gum and was playing with it. I later found out it was one of the sixth grader's chewed gum that the monkey had. I'm not sure if she spit it into the monkey's enclosure or if it fell out of her mouth. Regardless, it showed me how careless and thoughtless some kids can be. I'm glad I was with the two boys I was with that day. They, like me, were sad about the snow monkey and how a lot of kids were laughing at it as it played with the gum. 

Back to more cheerful subjects. I got assigned again to help the two sixth-graders on track and field day. Both challenged themselves to do the hurdles which was something neither had done. They both did well. Did they receive a ribbon? No, but they pushed themselves to do something different. 

Around the 20th of the month, I went to an exhibit at the county historical society. The museum is very well done.

Fast forward to the end of the month. Sophia's social work pinning ceremony was on the night before she graduated from college. Each of the social work students had a display board that presented their research findings based on their senor field work. 

That evening, we went to dinner at a Thai restaurant. The spring roll were delicious! I would definitely order them again. 

On Saturday, May 27th, Sophia graduated from college with a 3.94. So, the top honor: summa cum laude. 

The purple stole is for being a Page Education Foundation scholar. The foundation provided funding to Sophia to help with her education.

  

It is so hard to believe that she was once a little girl who I homeschooled. We learned, laughed, and discovered so much together. Now, she far exceeds me academically and did work that was out of my realm of experience and knowledge.

After graduation, we all went to dinner at Namaste, an Indian restaurant. It reminded us of our trip last year to London where there were a lot of Indian restaurants. 

After graduation, we moved both the girls out of their dorms/suites. Olivia was done right away. Sophia, on the other hand, had a much more extensive packing and cleaning job. It took much of the day to get her moved out. This is Olivia by the dorm she lived in during her freshman year.

After dropping off Olivia at home, I went to the museum for Immigrant for a Day. I had planned all the activities, but others (staff and volunteers) set it up for me. This was one of the activities - a miniature box baler. This (on a larger scale) was how hay and straw was baled. 

Another activity was writing on a slate like they would have done on the late-1800s. 

On Memorial Day morning, Sophia - who just had graduated from college two days earlier - was headed to the Baltics with the Wind Symphony. It was their final international trip of their college career.

While she was flying overseas, I was at the local cemetery listening and watching the Memorial Day ceremony. When my dad was buried at Fort Snelling, there was a multi-gun salute. I kept two the metal cases from the bullets...just like I did with the bullets from the salute to him. 

And that's May. 

Favorite Photos from April 2023

Below are some of my favorite photos from April...or at least ones that I want to remember what happened in April. 

On April 1st, there was a major snowfall. The snow, by this point, covered half of the doors and windows on the barn. This has been a nightmarish winter, to say the least. 

One of the things I like about the winter, though, is that I can see tracks in the snow. It amazes me how much "traffic" there is around the yard by different mammals and birds in the winter and early-spring.

Once the snow melted a bit, I took the dogs out for a walk. I need to get into the routine of walking again.

The dogs love to walk along this road. There isn't a lot of traffic or walker/bikers, which is nice.

These photos are of Easter Cactuses that I got this year. In April, there was continued snow and it was becoming more challenging to deal with the never-ending winter and dreariness of the snow and ice. Bright, cheerful flowers were what I needed.

  

As the month progressed, the ice and snow melted. The seasonal pond was getting larger each day. The ducks and geese were returning which was uplighting. Spring was finally getting here!

Paige and I visited Olivia at college one day. We all enjoyed dinner together.

Afterward, she showed us the drawing studio. This is one of her pieces she did with charcoal.

The red-winged blackbirds were returning to Minnesota in earnest. The tough thing for the birds is that there's not a lot of food for them since the weather has been so cold. Only a few trees have buds on them. I love to hear the birds sing and call to one another in the trees.

Ashley (one of Sophia's roommates) had her final concert. There was a wide variety of music and everyone played beautifully. Sophia played the harp and Olivia played the flute. 

Sophia and Olivia along with Nessa (Sophia's roommate) came home for Easter break. I asked the girls if they wanted to dye Easter eggs and they did. 

They used crayons to create designs before soaking the eggs in dye which they enjoyed.

I had fun shopping for Easter baskets this year. This is Olivia with her Easter basket. She had more nature- and dog-themed items in her basket.

That sunlight was bright on Easter. We enjoyed having breakfast together. Paige requested pancakes and Sophia wanted blueberries in them. It has been a while since we had fresh blueberries in pancakes.  

This is Sophia's Easter basket. She was excited about the different items - some practical and others not so practical. 

We went to my brother's home for Easter. The girls were eating with two of their cousins at this table (one is pictured and the other joined later). 

The rest of us ate Easter dinner at this table. We had an untraditional taco dinner for Easter which we all liked.

For dessert, my brother got big decorated cupcakes. Here's Olivia and Sophia with their cupcakes. 

 

Sophia made a cheesecake since Paige had to work on Easter. He loves cheesecake.

On April 15th, I coordinated and held a Service Project Sampler Day. The event took about four months to create and relied on many volunteers from the Lions and community to make it happen. We had 199 people attend the event - up from 137 last year and about 60 the year before. We had 15 hands-on projects and 21 collection drives. It was the largest one to date.

My sister is working on the Sole Hope project - creating shoe kits from blue jeans for children in Uganda who had and were treated for jiggers. 

Another project we did at the Service Project Sampler Day was knit and crochet hats for newborns in third-world countries. The hats are one of many things we made and donated, and are used as incentives for women to get pre-natal care and to deliver their babies in clinics/hospitals. 

These were pillowcases that some of the volunteers made for children living on a reservation in California. The sewers made 55 pillowcases! 

At the museum where I'm doing marketing/PR and now have become the Associate Director, we have a new exhibit called Swedish Folk Painting: Tradition and Innovation. This is one of 37 pieces that are being shown. The cupboard/case opens and has two shelves that hold tiny glasses.

This is another painting. I like it because it has two animals in it. 

There are five historic buildings at the museum, and this is one of them. Originally, it was the pastor's house and then it was sold to a family back in the 1800s. One of the children who was born in the home lived there until the 1970s. There was never central heat, air conditioning, or a bathroom in the home. It was heated by a wood stove in the living room. It just amazes me that a woman in her 80s was hauling wood in the late-fall, winter, and early-spring to keep her home warm.

The last week in April, I attended the Minnesota Association of Local History Museums in Austin, Minnesota. I went on the Tree Trek that featured over 75 trees and shrubs that can grow in Minnesota.

Here's another sign of spring.

At the Hormel Historic Home in Austin, there was an old treadle sewing machine that was set up.

This was another display at the Hormel Home that I thought was clever. I liked how the trunk is on one end and displays various linens. 

One of the activities at the MALHM conference was to find rubber ducks that had been hidden around the conference area. On the underside of each duck were raffle tickets. I found four ducks - each with a different appearance. It was a great way to add more fun to the conference.

This was a small lake with a dam in Austin. 

My sister and I went to the Como Conservatory to see their Spring Show. It was beautiful with its purple, white, and yellow flowers. 

I love the colors on these flowers.

There were brightly-colored flowers tucked in little spaces throughout the display.

The smell of the conservatory was amazing! It was just what I needed in April when things still were not in bloom yet outdoors.

This flower had tons of little tiny flowers on it. I've always wanted to grow them, but the cost per bulb is so expensive. 

There was an orchid section in another part of the conservatory. 

This was one of the flowers in the bromeliad section. These flowers collect water in their centers.

My sister stood next to one of the bonsai in the bonsai room. This one was the most impressive one because it was covered in flowers. It's an azalea. 

This was one of the little waterfalls in the Como Conservatory. 

After going to the Como Conservatory, my sister and I went to Hmong Village to look around and then have some lunch. I got three spring rolls at Hmong Village. Before I realized that I didn't take a photo, I ate one of the spring rolls. It was delicious!

At Hmong Village, Mary ordered a sesame ball with her chicken pad thai. It was huge!

There was a long aisle of Asian restaurants - each with a slightly different focus. We ordered at one all the way at the end of the aisle. This was the first available table...that's how popular this place is!

Afterward, we had some bubble tea. 

That wraps up April.