My Favorite Photos - November 2022

This month I started a new position with a local museum to do their marketing/PR work. One of my favorite parts of the job is photographing items in the gift shop and the museum's artifacts. Below are Dala horse salt and pepper shakers.

This is a hand-carved tomte and pine tree.

This is one of 150 dolls that were donated to the museum. Each doll has an outfit that represents the clothing typical to a region in Sweden.

When I was taking the photos, my younger daughter was helping me. At the end of the session, I took photos of her. The first one she liked the best. 

These two, though, capture her spirit more - her laugh and mannerisms. 

I took some photos of Cooper on the first day that it snowed in November. This is one of them. He is looking out at the tree and watching the birds.

On the 18th, we celebrated Olivia's anniversary of her adoption day. She found a restaurant near her college that we all enjoyed. Her anniversary is actually on the 17th, but she had a class field trip for her Humanities class that was meeting on the 17th. So, the 18th it was for our annual anniversary dinner.

On the 23rd, Olivia, Sophia, and Nessa (one of Sophia's roommates) came home for Thanksgiving. On the 23rd, we celebrated Nessa's birthday by going to a new arts organization in Wisconsin. She hadn't been to Wisconsin, so that was another bonus "gift." 

The picture above and below were in the gallery.

We continued exploring Osceola, Wisconsin, by going to an antique store. None of us had been there, so it was fun to explore a new place.

For Nessa's birthday, I made lasagna. I made some changes to my mom's recipe - like adding more mushrooms, spices, and fresh mozzarella.

I made a Toll House Chocolate Chip Pie (instead of a birthday cake). Danny (the dog) is hoping the pie is for him. 

On the 24th, we celebrated Thanksgiving. There were 14 people total. We had both a turkey and ham, plus a lot of side dishes. We had three different pies for dessert.

On Thanksgiving, my sister brought slides that my parents took. There were quite a few I had never seen before, so that was nice to see them. My brother, sister, two nephews, and I watched the slides. For some of them, we could share details that the others did not know. 

Below is my sister (on the left) and me (on the right) with my mom and dad. There's a plant to the left in the photo. It's fake. That plant traveled from the house in Minneapolis (pictured below) to the one in Plymouth. They had it for decades.

My sister explained the significance of this photo. For my parents' entire marriage, my mom wanted a real Christmas tree. My dad didn't want one because of the mess that real trees can leave in a home. Well, one year, my parents went out to get a real tree. My mom looks so happy by the tree. Another slide after this one showed my dad using a saw to cut it down. This photo would have been taken after we graduated from high school. New traditions once all the kids leave the home...I know this all too well now that Sophia and Olivia are both at college.

Another photo I never saw was this one of my sister (on the left) and me (on the right) in front of one of our elementary schools. This is the second elementary school I attended in Minneapolis - Hamilton was Kindergarten and first grade, and Loring was second grade. 

Once we moved to Plymouth, I had three more elementary schools: Cedar Island (third and fourth grades), Fair Oaks (fifth grade), and Edgewood (sixth grade). It was insane. There were yearly school border changes because the suburbs were changing and boundaries needed to be changed. 

I loved seeing this photo of (L to R): me holding my brother, my sister, and our dog, Corgi.

My mom used to sew all of our Halloween costumes. This one was my favorite one - a kangaroo. It's not the clearest pictures, so the little joey in my kangaroo pouch isn't as visible as I hoped it would be.

Getting in the holiday spirit, my handmade stocking was made by Grandma Olive (she had made my stocking during the summer of 1966 - either before or shortly after my birth in June. She died in August. So, this was an extra-special stocking). My mom made matching stockings for my sister and brother using the same concept as mine. 

This is a better picture of my stocking. I would have been about four or five years old in this picture.

If this doesn't give kids nightmares, I don't know what would. The Santa that visited us at a friend of my grandma's home wore a mask. I swear that mask doesn't even have openings for the eyes. It would have to, but it sure doesn't look like it.  

Apparently, we are either in shock or fascinated by this masked Santa. Actually, now that I look at the picture, I'm wondering if this was supposed to be St. Nicholas since he is using a cane. 

Fear set into my brother. It's probably St. Nicholas/Santa's lack of eyes in the mask. Apparently, the mask isn't bothering my sister or me. 

This is our first Christmas in our new home in Plymouth in 1974. I'm in the middle with the curlers under my mom's hair bonnet. 

So those are some of the 200+ slides we looked at on Thanksgiving this year. 

On the day after Thanksgiving, Sophia, Nessa, and I went to Feed My Starving Children to pack food. We were at a table with about eight other people. This was a hard-working group of volunteers who ended up packing 26 boxes of food for children in El Salvador. We have packed food on the day after Thanksgiving for three years now and have really enjoyed doing this. It's a meaningful way to share our time and give children who are hungry or starving healthy meals.

After packing food, we went to Momo Sushi - our traditional meal two years in a row now. We had a bento lunch box with a variety of food which we all enjoyed. 

The sunset that night was beautiful. This is the end of the sunset, so the colors are not as vibrant at they were 15-25 minutes earlier that evening.

On November 26th, we celebrated the anniversary of Sophia's adoption day. It's hard to believe that we adopted her 21 years ago. (For Olivia it was 19 years ago on the 17th.)

End of the Year Questions - Reflecting on 2021

These questions are from a swap on Swapbot that look back on 2021: 

1. If 2021 were a movie, what was the title, and what happened? The first thing that comes to mind is "Where Did the Time Go?" 

Even though the past year was packed with lots of activities, milestone birthdays, and challenges (like doing the 75Hard challenge and drastically changing the way I ate, exercised, and approached life), it went by so quickly. It seems like each year there never is enough time to get everything done that I want to accomplish. 

2. What worked well in 2021, and for what are you grateful? For the first 75 days of the year, I was using a habit tracker and doing the 75Hard challenge. I was eating well, exercising 90 minutes a day, reading at least 10 pages, journaling, and doing other activities that I wanted to do. 

I really liked the program and ended up continuing a modified version of it until about October. Then, I started getting side-tracked with the holidays and they took priority. 

I am very grateful I did the program because it showed me that if I set my mind to something difficult, I can do it. It is a matter of setting small, achievable steps to reach the major goal. 

3. What was challenging or disappointing about 2021? We had multiple major problems with our only car. This was a huge setback financially which was disappointing. 

We also struggled with Hoss's hooves from February through September, and worked with our vet and farrier to find a solution. They (and we) tried everything. In September, we made the difficult decision to give Hoss and Bailey (who were now a bonded pair) back to the Minnesota Hooved Animal Rescue Foundation. They ended up being able to discover the problem (an abscess in one hoof) that, thankfully, was caught in time. Olivia was very observant and - had she not been - things could have been a lot worse for him (either long-term issues or euthanasia). 

The good news is that both Hoss and Bailey were adopted within a month of going back to MHARF. Although they are in different homes, Hoss has a miniature companion and goats at his new farm and Bailey is at a stable with 15 other horses, and she is used for giving lessons. So, she's getting lots of attention.  

4. What were your most meaningful moments this past year? At the end of the year - from December 23rd to January 4th - we quarantined at the request of Sophia's study abroad program. In order to board her international flights, she needed a negative COVID test. So, we didn't want to risk it given the appearance and easy transmission of the omicron variant. 

Although we were sad that we couldn't do things we normally did - like go to Christmas Eve service, spend time with extended family on Christmas, go out to do special things for Sophia's 21st birthday, and go out to a Chinese restaurant on New Year's Day - we celebrated these occasions at home together as a family. 

We started some new traditions (like playing Risk together as a family over multiple days after Christmas and into the New Year), watched movies together, and made food together. We worked on projects that we hadn't had a chance to do because we were always out and about...rather than at home. 

5. Where did you spend a lot of time and energy? Although I felt like I was driving a lot to take Olivia to the homeschool co-op twice a week and to speech therapy, I did spend a lot of time and energy at home which I enjoyed. 

I enjoyed watching Olivia paint many barn quilts during the summer for clients. She was earning a lot of money that she has set aside for college.

6. What did you learn this last year? I learned how to take better photos and use my camera in ways I didn't know how to use it. 

I took a photography course at North House Folk School with Layne Kennedy, a very talented photographer. Olivia and I enjoyed photographing waterfalls.

We also explored places on our own - like High Falls at Grand Portage State Park. This park is adjacent to Canada, although - at the time - we couldn't go into Canada because the border was closed due to the pandemic.

The photography course challenged me to look at taking pictures different than I normally would do, and learn to tell a story about the places we visited.

7. Looking back on 2021, on a scale of 1-10, how happy were you overall, with 1 being depressed and 10 being happy and content? I think about a 7 or 8 in terms of being happy and content. 

8. As you look to 2022, what will be the highest use of your talents? As I think about different skills and talents during the upcoming year, I would like to use my:

- research skills to help find scholarship opportunities for Olivia, 

- writing skills to write a book for Olivia to give to her as she starts college, 

- organizational skills to keep everything in order as Olivia finishes high school and Sophia studies abroad, 

- decluttering skills as I get rid of things we no longer want or need in our home, barn, and garage, 

- organizational skills as we plan for a trip to England and Scotland for Olivia's graduation trip,

- gardening skills to make the farm look nice for Olivia's graduation party, and 

- communication skills to help me talk with potential employers as I search for a job later in the year. 

9. What will success look like in 2022? If I am able to accomplish all the things I mentioned in #8, I would feel like 2022 is successful: 

- help Olivia secure scholarships, 

- write a book for Olivia, 

- see Olivia complete high school after being homeschooled since Kindergarten, 

- hear that Sophia had a successful trip in Thailand, 

- get rid of a dumpster of things from the home/yard/barn (so a thorough deep clean and decluttering), 

- have a great family trip overseas, 

- complete the gardens so they look full and colorful, and 

- secure a meaningful job. 

10. If you select a "word of the year" - share what it is for 2022, and why you chose it. I'm not sure what word I pick. I go between four words: Trust, Acceptance, Embrace, and Change. 

I'm thinking Change might be it because there is inevitable change that comes with aging, seeing the girls get older and move to the next stage of their lives, and change in relationships. 

Then there's change that I initiate that can be positive - like saving over $70 per month by changing garbage collection companies and changing phone companies so we get faster and more reliable internet while saving ourselves money. 

2022 will be filled with many changes. I just need to trust, accept, and embrace them - whether I am ready for them or not. 

3-2-1 November 2021

I've been enjoying the 3-2-1 swap on Swap-Bot that I started participating in earlier this year. It's always good to take some time to reflect on what makes me happy, what I'm looking forward to, and things that I'd rather forget. Below are my answers for the swap.

3 things that made me happy in November

Seeing how happy Olivia was for her senior photos. She had her make up done first.

Then she had her curled and styled. This took the longest time since her hair is almost to her waist.

She wore a dress that we purchased in China when we adopted her. The Chinese headdress is one that she chose specifically for her senior photos.

Another set of photos was taken in her Tang Soo Do outfit. 

Gathering as a family for Thanksgiving. We had 14 people at our home for the holiday. It was nice to gather again in person after spending it with just our immediate family (of 4) in 2020.

Seeing the planets and moon so clearly on many nights throughout the month. During November, Saturn, Jupiter, Venus, and the moon are all were visible in the southern sky. I've never seen that many planets and the moon so close to one another. 

This is Venus to the left and the moon nestled in the tree branches.

This is Jupiter (upper left), the moon (middle), and Venus (lower right above the barn). It's not a clear photo because I didn't have my tripod. 

2 things that I'm looking forward to in December

Seeing Sophia perform in the Festival of Christmas. We saw Sophia perform in the Festival of Christmas earlier today. She's in the handbell choir this year as she was last year. During her first year - freshman year - she played the harp. 

These are photos from her first year when she played the harp: 

These are some photos from this year's Festival of Christmas. The first three are from the pre-concert handbell choir in the lobby. 

 

This is Benson Hall before the performance. I used a wide-angle lens so I could get the entire stage and the front section of the hall.

The chamber orchestra is in front, then the wind symphony, and then handbells. The choirs went on stage after doing a processional.

The conclusion of the Festival of Christmas with all the student musicians/performers on the stage and the conductors in the front. 

Finishing the quilts that my mom started, but never had a chance to finish before she died. This is one of the quilts that I was working on during December. All the quilt tops are now sewn. It's a matter of assembling the tops, battings, and backings; sewing them together; and then tying them so that the batting stays in place.

1 thing from November that I'd rather forget

Having problems with allergies. I'm not going to share a picture of what severe allergies look like. Suffice it to say, my eyes get really red, and my eyelids and under my eyes get super puffy. I have to do eye drops multiple times per day and then coat the skin around my eyes with Vaseline. 

I'm hoping that the colder weather stops whatever allergens are causing this reaction. It's not only me...many other people in our area - including pets - are experiencing the same thing.