5x5 - September 2019

This month for the 5x5 swap on Swap-Bot, there were five questions to answer - each requiring five answers. Below are the questions and my answers.

Besides Swap-bot, what are 5 websites you visit most often?

- Flickr.com and my page on Flickr

- The Lions Club with which I'm involved.

- Pinterest and my account on Pinterest

- Library

- Facebook

Name 5 places you'd take someone from out of town.

One of the places I would take someone from out of town who was visiting Minnesota is Split Rock Lighthouse in Silver Bay, Minnesota. After being retired in 1969, the lighthouse became the focal point for Split Rock Lighthouse State Park; and is a National Historic Landmark.

Kayaking on July 12, 2014.

The visitor also would be able to see Lake Superior which is a huge lake. The lake is so big that it could contain all the other Great Lakes as well as three more lakes the size of Lake Erie.

Taken on April 15, 2011.

Another place I'd take someone is Lake Itasca. It is a small lake in comparison to Lake Superior. However, it is the headwaters of the Mississippi River and one of the most important natural locations in the state of Minnesota.

Taken on September 5, 2012.

While seeing Lake Itasca, there is plenty to do and see in Itasca State Park, which is the oldest park in Minnesota. In addition to hiking, Sophia, Olivia, and I have enjoyed camping and relaxing at one of the historic cabins in Itasca State Park.

Taken on September 5, 2012.

While touring around the St. Paul area, I would take someone who is visiting from out of town to the Cathedral of Saint Paul which is a National Shrine of the Apostle Paul. A lot of people locally call it St. Paul’s Cathedral. It is one of the most beautiful buildings in the state.

The copper dome of the cathedral makes it one of the most recognizable cathedrals in the United States.

The building, which is an example of Beaux-Arts architecture, is comparable to the great cathedrals of Europe. The cathedral is listed as a landmark on the National Register of Historic Buildings. This is also the cathedral where my father was ordained as a Deacon in September 1990.

One of my favorite places in Minnesota is Grand Marais and the BWCA. I have taken many trips up north with the girls, alone, and once with my parents. It is one of the most beautiful places to visit in Minnesota.

Taken on June 5, 2013

Although a lot of people go up north for fishing and canoeing, we have mostly visited this area to hike and do photography.

Taken on June 6, 2013, at Honeymoon Point in Grand Marias 

along the Gunflint Trail.

We also have had fun boating...

Taken on June 4, 2013.

kayaking...

Taken on June 5, 2013.

and horseback riding.

Taken on July 10, 2014.

There are deer, wolves, Canada lynx, bobcats, moose, fox, and black bears that live in the BWCA. One year when we were staying off the Gunflint Trail, we had a young black bear who visited us while we were having dinner. We heard some clamoring going on outside the door of the home we were staying in. The bear had gone through the garbage; and had walked up the steps to another area of the yard.

Taken on July 9, 2014.

A final place I would take visitors to is the Taylors Falls area where Interstate State Park is located. There are large rock formations throughout the park and along the St. Croix River (which separates Minnesota and Wisconsin).

Taken on May 25, 2013. 

The formations and deep potholes (25+ feet or more deep) were made by a combination of lava and glacial movement. This rock, pictured below, was one that the park ranger showed us as an example of how rocks could be smoothed through this process.

Name 5 books you've read or would like to read.

I went through my Goodreads account which has a list of books I want to read and books I have read. There are still quite a few books on my list that I would like to read. So, I ordered five books from the library on September 13th:

The Bluebird Effect: Uncommon Bonds with Common Birds by Julie Zickefoose
The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary: A True Story of Resilience and Recovery by Andrew Westoll
The Christmas List by Pete Nelson
Every Day Is a Holiday by George Mahood
The First Phone Call from Heaven by Mitch Albom

Some of the books the local library has on its shelves. Others need to be ordered from libraries throughout Minnesota. I'm excited to read these books over the next month or so.

Name 5 teachers you've had over the years.

Adama Sow - my pottery teacher who I've been learning from since August 2018. He has taught me how to make bowls and mugs on the pottery wheel; and given me guidance when I've needed it with hand-building.

Glazing leaves I found and pressed into clay on September 12, 2019.

I glazed each of the leaves a different color to see 

which ones showed the veins of the leaves the best.

Chaiki O'Brien - who teaches SAORI weaving. I've taken multiple classes from Chaiki which I've enjoyed. She is a patient and encouraging teacher.

SAORI weaving I did on May 12, 2018.

Eileen Gavin - my all-time favorite professor when I went to college. She understood that not all students are good test-takers and created alternative ways to test students' knowledge.

She gave me the opportunity to show my knowledge through my strength at the time: research papers. These were much more meaningful for me and I was able to share what I had learned through writing rather than showing what I could memorize.

Jonis Agee - a creative writing professor who I had in college. She pushed me to explore different forms of creative expression including short stories and poetry. I knew I had done a good job with one of my creative writing stories when I had many of the students crying. It showed me the power of words; and how they can take someone to another place and time in their imagination by listening to a story.

Sr. Eleanor Lincoln - one of my English professors in college. She told me when I was a freshman that my writing was not college-level writing and that I needed to use the Writing Center. Reluctantly, I went so I could learn to write and express what I was learning.

By junior year, I was an student-instructor in the Writing Center and writing for the school paper; and by senior year, I did an independent study with St. Eleanor about Shakespeare. My final project was a research paper on which I earned an "A." My writing, she said, "had greatly improved" during my college years.

I am so grateful for her honesty and encouragement during my freshman year. Because of her, much of my professional career was related to writing. I wrote countless proposals seeking funding for non-profit organizations in North Carolina, California, and Minnesota.

I was able to start my own non-profit because I was able to secure funding.

Through all these organizations, artists, educators, composers, high school students, and children all were served.  

List 5 words that start with the same letter as your First Name.

Alpaca

Taken on May 17, 2007.

Archeology

 Taken on June 9, 2012.

Autumn

Olivia raking leaves on October 14, 2007. 

She was 4 years old.

Artistic

Sculpture at Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesen West. 

Taken on July 7, 2017.

Accident

Looking at an x-ray of my neck injury after a car accident in November 2018 

with my chiropractor. Taken on December 7, 2018.

Hobbies that Begin with "K" - Blogging from A to Z Challenge

During the 2018 Blogging from A to Z Challenge, I will be focusing on hobbies that I have introduced to my daughters to through their childhood and teen years. Some were done as part of homeschooling, while others were areas that we explored because we were interested in the subject or activity. These are hobbies that anyone of any age could try as well.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Looking back on Sophia's and Olivia's childhood and teen years, we have explored several hobbies that begin with the letter "K": kayaking; kids arts and crafts; kits; and knitting.

Kayaking

On June 5, 2013, we tried kayaking for the first time on Gunflint Lake.

There was a strong wind, so there were some waves on the lake which we thought would be challenging since the kayaks are so low to the water.

On the contrary, they were stable and we enjoyed the experience. What made it even better for us was that these were sea kayaks so they had rudders. We could steer the kayak if we needed to do so!

The scenery was beautiful and it was relaxing going around the shoreline.

We had a different perspective than what we normally had when we went hiking.

About a year later, on July 12, 2014, we went sea kayaking on Lake Superior near Split Rock Lighthouse. This time we had to wear wetsuits and water shoes since Lake Superior is significantly colder than in the inland lakes.

We were able to see the rocky cliffs along the shore.

There was a shipwreck (The Madeira) that we were able to see since the water was so calm and parts of it are anywhere from 20-110 feet under the surface. The Madeira was a 436 foot steel-hull ship that ran into Gold Rock just north of Split Rock Lighthouse during the storm on November 4, 1905.

The lighthouse wasn't there at the time. During the storm, 29 ships were lost. The lighthouse was built in response to these losses.

One of the neat things that you also can't see from the lighthouse are the caves along the shoreline. They are big enough for kayaks to go into and explore was a lot of fun.

We are wanting to do more kayaking, but have not been able to locate a place that rents the sea kayaks (with rudders). It may come to us learning how to use a kayak without a rudder, and strengthening our paddling skills instead.

Kids Arts and Crafts

When the girls were younger, we did a lot of arts and crafts. One of the things they enjoyed was marble painting.

February 7, 2008

Sophia and Olivia also enjoyed fabric painting. Below, Olivia is painting a purse with fabric paint.

November 5, 2008

We did projects around the holidays.

December 1, 2008

The girls used a variety of materials - including Mod Podge - with their arts and crafts.

December 1, 2008

We did projects that helped wildlife - like embellishing birdhouses with colorful gems, stones, shells, and moss.

May 4, 2009

One of the projects that Sophia learned how to do was make beeswax ornaments. She melted the beeswax and then put them in vintage cookie molds. 

December 17, 2010

They turned out beautifully and the brighter the sunlight, the more they seemed to glow.

On June 12, 2011, the girls began decorating for 4th of July. They made origami cranes which they hung on branches in a vase with some red and white marbles.

They also decorated paper bags.

The bags were used to collect candy at the 4th of July parade.

Kits

When Sophia and Olivia were younger, there seemed to be quite a few kits for various craft projects for kids. One of Olivia's favorite kits was one in which she could make daisies and then string them together to create a headband and necklace.

January 30, 2007

She enjoyed gluing the daisies together and then dressing up with her flower jewelry. We were staying at a cabin at a lodge on the Gunflint Trail when she made the daisy jewelry.

January 30, 2007

The time at the cabin was filled with crafts, dress-up times, and trying new recipes. It was a fun "girls getaway" when they were 4 and 6 years old.

Another kit we used was one with supplies to make fairies. The girls made fairies and then posed them outdoors.

October 9, 2007

I took photos of them and they created stories with their fairy-characters.

Knitting

For a brief period in 2010, the girls learned how to knit at Darn Knit in Stillwater. Below, Sophia is knitting while Eenie sits on her lap.

March 17, 2010

My mom (the girls' grandma) was an excellent knitter. She had many patterns as well as projects she started and didn't finish before she died. Hopefully, one day, the girls will take a look at the projects that their grandma started and want to finish them.

101 Days of Summer Fun - Update #8

We are continuing with the 101 Days of Summer Fun. This is what we did:

Saturday, July 12 - Today Olivia and I went rock climbing at Tettegouche State Park along the north shore of Lake Superior.

It was, by far, one of the most challenging mornings of rock climbing that either of us had ever done.

We had done rock climbing at Taylors Falls, but this type of climbing was completely different. You are lowered from the top of the cliff down to where you want to start climbing.

The first climb was very challenging because it was essentially a sheer cliff that you had to make your way up before you got to a section that had more features in it. The features allow you place the tips of your toes or your hands as you make your way up to the top.

Both of us experienced periods on the climb where we thought we couldn't make it. But, we persevered and made it!

It was such a sense of accomplishment when we reached the top of both climbs.

In the afternoon, Sophia, Olivia, and I did some sea kayaking on Lake Superior. The starting point was Split Rock Lighthouse State Park. When we arrived, we changed into wet suits, put on wet shoes, and the girls each wore baseball caps to keep the sun out of their eyes and their heads a bit cooler.

After learning how to put together the paddle and some tips on paddling, we headed out with a group. We went northeast towards the lighthouse and saw a different view of it than we had seen before.

We continued northeast around the cliff and came to a small sea cave.

We kayaked into the sea cave and explored the walls closely and then kayaked back out.

We continued northeast to an area where there was a shipwreck - the Maderia. The ship crashed back in 1905- five years before Split Rock Lighthouse was built. We were able to see large sections from the ship - including a porthole, big pieces of metal with rivets in them, and smaller pieces of the ship.

It was a beautiful and informative kayaking experience that was both relaxing as well as invigorating.

Sunday, July 13 - We drove back home from Two Harbors. We stopped at Tobies in Hinckley for baked goods to bring home.

This was such a wonderful trip and one that was filled with lots of activities and great memories!

Monday, July 14 - The girls relaxed at home and worked on 4-H projects while I visited my mom. I was able to see my brother and two of his children at Culvers where we all enjoyed lunch together.

Tuesday, July 15 - We took Cooper for his weekly agility lesson. He did very well and was focused and excited to be there.

The regular instructor, Diane, wasn't there. So, Sue filled in. She had some great tips and ideas for each of the dogs.

Wednesday, July 16 - The girls entered their 4-H projects in the Chisago County Fair this year - each having over 20 projects.

Each project receives an award that is based on 50% the project itself and 50% the youth's knowledge and interviewing skills.

The girls were pleased with how they did on their projects, and felt relieved when all the interviews were completed.

Thursday, July 17 - Sophia and I went back to the county fair to do two hours of volunteer work in the 4-H cafeteria. This is a requirement for youth who win a trip to the State Fair.

When we arrived, the trips had not yet been announced. So, we came back afterwards and the list was posted. Sophia had qualified to go to the State Fair for many of her projects. Even Olivia won a State Fair trip, but couldn't go since she was too young (next year she will be able to compete at the state level).

Sophia was pleased to see that her display about drying fruit received the Grand Champion award in the food preservation section. She decided to go the State Fair with this project.

Friday, July 18 - Olivia turned 11 1/2 years old today, and we celebrated her half birthday. As requested, I made caramel rolls for breakfast. This is a favorite breakfast of hers on special occasions.

There were gifts to open throughout the day. Lunch time brought a brownie sundae. The brownie is a sea salt and caramel one. Sophia put some ice cream and chocolate syrup on it to make it extra special for Olivia.

After dinner at Olivia's restaurant of choice (Perkins), she opened her final presents at home.

It has been a busy - but very fun - week!